On February 21 2019 03:14 Plansix wrote: These are the same section of humans that got offended when people called for more diversity in the Oscar and argued that Oscars were some sort of meritocracy. People yelling about keeping "politics" out of....art and having zero idea what the Oscars are and how the film industry works.
Captain Marvel looks like a good time. The author, Kelly Sue DeConnick, who reimagined Carol Danvers for the modern run of the comic said it best:
“Carol falls down all the time,” DeConnick says, “but she always gets back up — we say that about Captain America as well, but Captain America gets back up because it’s the right thing to do. Carol gets back up because ‘Fuck you.’
”I think that quality in her attracts people who are the same; who are always kind of trying to get back up and do better, and who have something to prove.”
Also, people who characterize her as someone who doesn't have to struggle are not similar with teh character. Her entire story centers around a loving, but sexist father that didn't believe she could any number of things. And in true protagonist fashion, she sets out to prove him incorrect. But before she can return as the fighter pilot and hero to prove him incorrect, he passes away. And audience is left with teh understanding that he would have accepted he was wrong because he wasn't a complete trash person. But that never happens, so the character is chasing validation from one person that can never happen.
As Marvel characters go, that is more struggling that most how often fall into their powers or are just staggeringly wealthy and smart just because.
Brie Larson is sexist and racist. I will not support her, ever.
And Captain Marvel is pretty shitty character (there's a reason why the comic book series was restarted several times). And having a loving but sexist father and trying to prove him wrong is no struggle at all. Princess Mulan had a lot tougher struggle than that. And when talking about MCU we don't have to look very far for characters that had much, much tougher struggles. Take X-23 for example and gaze upon the magnificence of this small excerpt from her history:
"[...] As revenge for her insubordination, Rice forced Kinney to act as the surrogate mother for the clone, and she gave birth to "X-23."
Raised in captivity, X-23 was trained to be a weapon. Kinney did her best to ensure the child retained some semblance of humanity, but her efforts appeared to be in vain. After seven years, Rice had X-23 subjected to radiation poisoning in order to accelerate the activation of her mutant gene, then forcibly extracted her claws and coated them with Adamantium. Next, Rice created a chemical compound he called "trigger scent" that sent X-23 into an involuntary berserker rage upon smelling its presence. Three years later, X-23 was sent on her first field mission to kill Presidential candidate Greg Johnson. Numerous other missions followed, as X-23's services were sold to the highest bidder, and she was left emotionally stunted as a result. Rice, in an attempt to avenge his father's murder, abandoned X-23 on a particularly dangerous mission, but she survived against overwhelming odds and managed to return to the facility.
Ultimately, Rice persuaded Sutter to hand over control of the program to him, then secretly ordered X-23 to kill Sutter and his family. Later, Rice revealed to Kinney a chamber with dozens of incubation pods containing female clones before he fired her. Before fleeing the facility with X-23, Kinney gave her one last mission - destroy the pods and kill Rice. However, Rice was able to exact revenge on Kinney from beyond the grave, as he had earlier exposed her to the trigger scent, sending X-23 into a rage that caused her to kill her mother. As she lay dying, Kinney named X-23 Laura.
X-23 surfaced in New York two years later and was found living on the streets by a pimp named Zebra Daddy, who took her in and employed her as a prostitute. During her time as a prostitute, X-23 seemed to suffer from a self-mutilating disorder. She superficially cut herself with her own claws whenever she was in a threatening situation. She also seemed to suffer some personality issues which left her mostly mute and unable to free herself from the grip of Zebra Daddy. [...]"
Now that is some struggle to overcome. Winning approval from sexist daddy who still loves you isn't anything special.
The totally relatable not at all overused trope of an endlessly being abused and being forced to become a sex worker to prove how badass and powerful a female character is. And nothing says deep rich character like endless suffering and terrible events happening to them over and over. Totally not a 90s comic book trope that is beyond played out.
X-23 is a fine character and a lot of fun when well written. And I’m glad you like her. But that doesn’t change my opinion of Carol Danvers. And in a world of Tony Starks and Thors being accepted fun characters with pathos, she fits right in.
Yeah, I’m not super interested in engaging with the discussion of what is or is not racism or sexism and how it applies to Brie Larson. Which is why I focused on the other part of the discussion, the background of Carol Danvers when compared to many other Marvel heroes.
The background for Carol Danvers is bland and her motivations childish (trying to impress her father). Her background is similar to that of Bruce Banner (abusive alcoholic father who despised his son and close relation he had with his mother), who was also bullied at school. Personally I prefer a bit more dramatic origins (like in Laura Kinney's example above or Wolverine's upbringing where he killed his own biological father which caused his mother to commit suicide) and protagonist dragging themselves from the bottom in a journey of self-discovery.
The most super-hero of all super-heroes is actually the guy with practically no powers: Star Lord. He is constantly struggling, mostly with his own flaws and manages to overcome adversity despite them. He is not perfect and he knows it. He accepts who he is and is working to improve but never to be "the best of the best of the best, sir" because it doesn't matter. What matters is that when it counts others can count on him.
Ultimately Carol Danvers is a rather boring character that has her road paved ahead of her.
Edit: Also, comic book fans now call her Carl Manvers because the artwork is atrocious.
And some savage comments about the movie:
My 11 y/o daughter loved Wonder Woman, but she has told me she doesn't want to see Captain Marvel. I asked her If there was a reason, she said, "I like Black Widow and Wasp but that Captain Marvel lady is boring."
Have any of the advanced screening "critics" stated anything critical about the movie? I briefly skimmed through an IGN article and it looked like unanimous, unconditional praise.
On February 22 2019 04:40 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Have any of the advanced screening "critics" stated anything critical about the movie? I briefly skimmed through an IGN article and it looked like unanimous, unconditional praise.
Yeah well we all know that THE MEDIA is in on the SJW conspiracy to get people to respect women. No point listening to them.
On February 22 2019 01:23 Manit0u wrote: The background for Carol Danvers is bland and her motivations childish (trying to impress her father). Her background is similar to that of Bruce Banner (abusive alcoholic father who despised his son and close relation he had with his mother), who was also bullied at school. Personally I prefer a bit more dramatic origins (like in Laura Kinney's example above or Wolverine's upbringing where he killed his own biological father which caused his mother to commit suicide) and protagonist dragging themselves from the bottom in a journey of self-discovery.
The most super-hero of all super-heroes is actually the guy with practically no powers: Star Lord. He is constantly struggling, mostly with his own flaws and manages to overcome adversity despite them. He is not perfect and he knows it. He accepts who he is and is working to improve but never to be "the best of the best of the best, sir" because it doesn't matter. What matters is that when it counts others can count on him.
Ultimately Carol Danvers is a rather boring character that has her road paved ahead of her.
Edit: Also, comic book fans now call her Carl Manvers because the artwork is atrocious.
My 11 y/o daughter loved Wonder Woman, but she has told me she doesn't want to see Captain Marvel. I asked her If there was a reason, she said, "I like Black Widow and Wasp but that Captain Marvel lady is boring."
That quote is both not believable and, even if it were true, is the opinion of an 11 year old.
Also the opinion of online comic book fans on the realism of a cartoon depiction of a woman's body is not especially great source material. A lot of women don't wear catsuits struggling to contain their enormous boobs, and even if she was naturally overendowed and wanted to pursue a career in vigilante crimefighting it'd be likely that she would get a boob reduction. While it may not be in line with their expectations of how a comic book should depict women that doesn't mean it's wrong. Online comic book fans are not known for their realistic expectations in this regard, just because they think she looks mannish doesn't mean she does.
If you're going to present the opinions of other people as arguments could you at least find some smart people to take the opinions from?
I watched Roma. That was deserving of praise, a beatiful film, so many perfectly framed and executed wide-angle pans that lend the film a visually stunning quality that is often lacking in more personal tales.
On February 22 2019 01:23 Manit0u wrote: The background for Carol Danvers is bland and her motivations childish
if you want to check out a female action hero... i highly recommend Pamela Grier.
The Original Female Action Hero : Pam Grier
During the 70s Blaxploitation film era ... critics were always able to find a white equivalent for the male stars. There was no white equivalent for Pam Grier. Critics bent over backward trying to find one. They never could. She was a trailblazer for all women.. not just black women... and as Tarrantino explains she was never replaced.
Tarrantino goes into some depth discussing this at 7 minutes and 2 seconds...
Her Blaxploitation films include... Coffy ( 1973 ) , Foxy Brown ( 1974 )
To understand the title name "Foxy Brown" ....In the 1970s ...if a guy thought a girl was hot he'd call her a "fox". Guys would generally say it with a wave of reverence in their voice. I heard the term "fox" a lot watching the 70s show "Welcome Back Kotter" on DVD.
In the video provided Tarrantino and Grier are discussing the 1997 movie Jackie Brown. Grier is the protagonist of the film and she is "Jackie Brown".
Just watched Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. God damn it was just as good as i thought it would be. Such a great film, so good!
Story was actually very good and the first time seeing the King Pin in action since the 90s cartoon for me as well which was great. Hope it deservedly wins itself an Oscar tonight!
Edit: Nevermind. It's not that good. Wanted to know what the hype is all about but it it's just a movie that drags on forever. Think of it as 2012 in space.
Watched some films in preparation for today's oscars:
Shoplifters
Incredibly touching movie about a bunch of social outsiders who just want to make it work in japan. First and foremost this is a film which asks the question: "what is family", is it strictly the scientific, biological connection or is and should it be so much more than that. What makes this thematic study all the more interesting and fleshed out is the movie's delicate understanding of human nature, there is no black and white, there is only grey. It doesn't go the easy way, it makes you question decisions, circumstances, actions and at the same time still lets you get attached to the characters we follow. Masterclass of humanistic filmmaking!
9/10
Black Panther
This isn't any better or worse than your typical marvel movie, it's just the same inoffensive formula we have seen countless of times before. I understand that it's a big film for the black community, but this doesn't change the quality of the movie and make it better than other marvel projects. What i like about this one more than the average marvel one is that the villain is actually interesting, sadly the potential this aspect could have brought didn't manifest itself fully because they don't give it enough time and instead focus on completely different parts of the story in its first half or so. If you enjoy marvel there is no real reason to not enjoy this one as well, but for me it is just the same old, this time in wakanda instead of america.
5.5-6/10
The Favourite
Without a doubt Lanthimos' most accessible film to date, thankfully it still possesses the qualities of his other work though. So what is this? A periodic piece with all the aesthetically pleasing parts you would expect (dresses, palaces, etc) while adding the grotesque humor lanthimos' is known for, even if a little less sharp. The leading trio of Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone is fantastic, the script is clever and the cinematography beautiful (even though i didn't think the fisheye lenses at places added a lot) One of the best movies of the year, go and watch it!
8-8.5/10
Cold War
This years' foreign film category is stacked and cold war is part of the reason why! Beautifully shot with images which will burn themselves into your mind, great performances and musical numbers you'll also remember for a while. In its essence this is the story of two very different people who fall for each other, a destructive love which might just be too much for either of the two to handle. The narrative style of vignettes is both a strength but also the weakness of this one imo. While it allows to tell a story which spans over a long time and feel realistic while doing so (no less in only 90 minutes!), it ultimately impacted me less emotionally than i would have hoped for (at least during some crucial scenes) Still an excellent film though, pls go and see it.
On February 25 2019 02:21 The_Red_Viper wrote: Cold War This years' foreign film category is stacked and cold war is part of the reason why! Beautifully shot with images which will burn themselves into your mind, great performances and musical numbers you'll also remember for a while. 8-8.5/10
On February 25 2019 02:21 The_Red_Viper wrote: Cold War This years' foreign film category is stacked and cold war is part of the reason why! Beautifully shot with images which will burn themselves into your mind, great performances and musical numbers you'll also remember for a while. 8-8.5/10
Cold War was great. Thanks for this review.
Do you agree with the little criticism? I think it was a little cold and emotionally distant through some of the scenes, which imo made the love story and its ending (no spoilers!) less convincing. If not for that it might even be my favorite of the year, but it's still something people should definitely watch ofc.
On February 25 2019 02:21 The_Red_Viper wrote: Cold War This years' foreign film category is stacked and cold war is part of the reason why! Beautifully shot with images which will burn themselves into your mind, great performances and musical numbers you'll also remember for a while. 8-8.5/10
Cold War was great. Thanks for this review.
Do you agree with the little criticism? I think it was a little cold and emotionally distant through some of the scenes, which imo made the love story and its ending (no spoilers!) less convincing. If not for that it might even be my favorite of the year, but it's still something people should definitely watch ofc.
Well i'm going to stereotype cold war era eastern europe ... cold and emotionally distant is how they roll. That's how the hockey teams were and how the audiences were at big hockey events during the cold war... cold and distant. "do these guys ever smile" was a frequent comment.
So I felt the emotional coldness fit the geographic location and the time period.
On February 22 2019 01:23 Manit0u wrote: The background for Carol Danvers is bland and her motivations childish (trying to impress her father). Her background is similar to that of Bruce Banner (abusive alcoholic father who despised his son and close relation he had with his mother), who was also bullied at school. Personally I prefer a bit more dramatic origins (like in Laura Kinney's example above or Wolverine's upbringing where he killed his own biological father which caused his mother to commit suicide) and protagonist dragging themselves from the bottom in a journey of self-discovery.
This has been a noticeable trend with female action protagonists over the past couple of years. It first irritated me during the first time I watched the new Tomb Raider. Originally, Lara Croft was depicted as someone who relished adventure and discovery for its own sake; being the scion of nobility, she could indulge in said exploits as part of a fantasy genre in the vein of Doc Savage. Both the movies and games deliberately obscure the details of her upbringing so she can exist ipso facto.
The remake portrays her as a troubled woobie abandoned by her father who undertakes the journey solely to find out what happened to him. It trades escapism for a grim realism that further highlights how improbable the entire premise of the narrative is, including why Lara would willingly pursue more archaeological expeditions after how terrifying her initial undertaking turns out. I don't know why Hollywood writers insist on making female characters that lack internal motivation, nor why the external ones consistently turn out to be daddy issues.
On February 22 2019 01:23 Manit0u wrote: The most super-hero of all super-heroes is actually the guy with practically no powers: Star Lord. He is constantly struggling, mostly with his own flaws and manages to overcome adversity despite them. He is not perfect and he knows it. He accepts who he is and is working to improve but never to be "the best of the best of the best, sir" because it doesn't matter. What matters is that when it counts others can count on him.
How is this any different from Iron Fist under Matt Fraction, Hawkeye by said author, Spider-Man, Batman, Richard Rider Nova, Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle, etc.?
On February 22 2019 01:23 Manit0u wrote: Ultimately Carol Danvers is a rather boring character that has her road paved ahead of her.
Which was rather bizarre since the old Carol Danvers didn't need her personality to be retooled.
On February 24 2019 03:08 KwarK wrote: If you're going to present the opinions of other people as arguments could you at least find some smart people to take the opinions from?
There are many salient points to argue that Carol Danvers 2.0 is an unsympathetic hero with few relatable traits who embarks on a permanent power trip with undisguised approval from the writers. Yet that is the comic book version. Any vaguely informed fan knows that Marvel Studios will reinvent, recontextualize, or wipe out facets of a character's personality to make them more palatable on the big screen. Regardless whether comic book fans embrace or reject her, Marvel is betting the general audience will head out in droves to view this version. Tony Stark was made infinitely more charming and roguish during the first movie than his previous comic book incarnations - which lead to the latter being molded to resemble the former. It may be Carol Danvers undergoes the same transmutation and fans end up loving her.