OT: Consolidated Entertainment Thread (TV, movies, books, games) part VI - use spoiler tags!
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Oneiro
Registered User
- Mar 28, 2013
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I'm excited to see Nosferatu. If it hits, it might be the only story I can think of where the original, the 70s remake and the modern remake are all good. I hope it's good.
I've been on a tear watching stuff lately, partially because I've been on so many flights the past two months. Brief thoughts:
Anora - great movie. Kind of Uncut Gems-y in how stressful it is but well done.
Robot Dreams - fun, moving animated movie. No real dialogue but it doesn't matter. Think it's the sort of thing that hits for older kids and adults.
Challengers - I enjoyed it a lot. It's silly and kind of like watching a high end version of an MTV drama from the 00s, but well done and entertaining.
The Whale - I get it if others have mixed feelings on it, but I was moved. Aranofsky is about as subtle as a car crash but it's still pretty unforgettable. Can be a tough watch for a lot of people, I imagine.
Hit Man - Entertaining black comedy. Also absurd and you have to shut off your brain a bit but it's fun.
Zone of Interest - total, obvious garbage. I'm kind of done watching anything involving WWII or the Holocaust as well. Something about the constant re-examination of that period strikes me as infantile now. Look to other things, Western filmmakers. This is just a silly, bottom of the barrel take on what we already know.
Megalopolis - I love Francis Ford Coppola. This is a gloriously bad movie. He's trying to say something but it's incoherent. Still beautifully made but a mess. A weird casserole of a lot of influences from theater to Fellini to Metropolis, etc. He really wanted to throw everything in this movie. I can't recommend it but I also think aspects of it are unforgettable and masterful. Even when he's bad, he's still kind of good in a lot of ways.
I've been on a tear watching stuff lately, partially because I've been on so many flights the past two months. Brief thoughts:
Anora - great movie. Kind of Uncut Gems-y in how stressful it is but well done.
Robot Dreams - fun, moving animated movie. No real dialogue but it doesn't matter. Think it's the sort of thing that hits for older kids and adults.
Challengers - I enjoyed it a lot. It's silly and kind of like watching a high end version of an MTV drama from the 00s, but well done and entertaining.
The Whale - I get it if others have mixed feelings on it, but I was moved. Aranofsky is about as subtle as a car crash but it's still pretty unforgettable. Can be a tough watch for a lot of people, I imagine.
Hit Man - Entertaining black comedy. Also absurd and you have to shut off your brain a bit but it's fun.
Zone of Interest - total, obvious garbage. I'm kind of done watching anything involving WWII or the Holocaust as well. Something about the constant re-examination of that period strikes me as infantile now. Look to other things, Western filmmakers. This is just a silly, bottom of the barrel take on what we already know.
Megalopolis - I love Francis Ford Coppola. This is a gloriously bad movie. He's trying to say something but it's incoherent. Still beautifully made but a mess. A weird casserole of a lot of influences from theater to Fellini to Metropolis, etc. He really wanted to throw everything in this movie. I can't recommend it but I also think aspects of it are unforgettable and masterful. Even when he's bad, he's still kind of good in a lot of ways.
I watched the most recent Halloween movie with Jamie Lee Curtis. As someone who loved the original and can suspend disbelief if you just don’t insult me I thought this movie was awful. It was pretty close to that insurgence commercial where they make stupid decision after stupid decision.
No, I think audiences are burnt out on mediocre comic book movies. DC has been one long list of misses outside of the first Joker, which isn't connected to the DCU and the Batman. Even Marvel has taken a downturn in quality since End Game. Put out a quality mainline DC or Marvel movie and I think audiences will be excited again.
Hopefully this Superman movie is good, because basically the entire DCU (or whatever they're calling it) riding on it. If they miss on one of the pillars of their entire universe again (although I actually didn't mind Man of Steel), they're dead in the water.
About to rewatch one of my favorite shows. The Leftovers on HBO. FANTASTIC series. Definitely a much watch if you have never seen it. The first few episodes are a bit tedious but stick with it and the payoff is amazing.
TheBeerNerd
Registered User
I don't know if anyone has heard of the game OFF, but it's on Steam right now. It's a short RPG Maker game, maybe a five-six hour playthrough. It's vaguely unsettling until you get to the end, when it becomes a massive mindf***. The ending stuck with me for a couple of days. If you like stuff like Earthbound, LISA, or Undertale (for which OFF was a direct inspiration), I suggest you give it a shot.
The problem with superhero movies isn't that they are inherently bad. Give me Donner's Superman and Spider-Man 1 & 2 all day. But ever since Guardians of the Galaxy, they've become formulaic. Needle drops, awful visuals, ironic detachment, "soy banter," everything just being a set up for the next movie... miss me with that. And to be honest, I watched up to Endgame and didn't watch a single one of them in theaters, I marathoned all of them with my wife. Some are good, some suck, but past a certain point they all blend together. Only ones I saw after that were Eternals (bad) and Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness (bad). I'll probably watch Deadpool and Wolverine but I know it's a lot of reminding you that yes, Disney has the movie rights to the old Fox Marvel library now. Comic books have been about one person's take on a hero for a while now, but with the movies, it's one person's vision that directors have to abide by- a Kevin Fiege or a James Gunn.
The other issue I have is a larger one about movies as a whole. The MCU and DCU may not have the pull on audiences they once did, but the model is all over Hollywood. Nothing can be one-and-done, or even something that gets a sequel if it does well. Something has to be planned in advance and looked at as a long-term investment. It ensnares directors and actors into long-term commitments. Basically, they recreated the studio system, except with far less appreciation for movies as an artistic medium. I've not seen anything from China because they have no interest in gaining a market beyond their borders, but I have seen RRR from India, and it laps any big-budget movie I've seen in the last decade or so.
It's not that there are no good movies these days, but there aren't as many of them, and good big-budget stuff is out of the question. There's some good low budget stuff, but sometimes you have an itch that only something with a big budget can scratch. Only movie I've seen like that lately was The Fall Guy, and that flopped. It's a shame because it was good.
I'm just an on-the-verge of middle-aged man grumbling, it's just one guy's take. But I do think about this from time to time and sigh.
I want to see this so badly. One of my friends watched it under the influence of an edible. That was a mistake, it caused her to overthink it and you REALLY don't want to do that with this particular movie.
(forgive me, long post ahead)
The problem with superhero movies isn't that they are inherently bad. Give me Donner's Superman and Spider-Man 1 & 2 all day. But ever since Guardians of the Galaxy, they've become formulaic. Needle drops, awful visuals, ironic detachment, "soy banter," everything just being a set up for the next movie... miss me with that. And to be honest, I watched up to Endgame and didn't watch a single one of them in theaters, I marathoned all of them with my wife. Some are good, some suck, but past a certain point they all blend together. Only ones I saw after that were Eternals (bad) and Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness (bad). I'll probably watch Deadpool and Wolverine but I know it's a lot of reminding you that yes, Disney has the movie rights to the old Fox Marvel library now. Comic books have been about one person's take on a hero for a while now, but with the movies, it's one person's vision that directors have to abide by- a Kevin Fiege or a James Gunn.
The other issue I have is a larger one about movies as a whole. The MCU and DCU may not have the pull on audiences they once did, but the model is all over Hollywood. Nothing can be one-and-done, or even something that gets a sequel if it does well. Something has to be planned in advance and looked at as a long-term investment. It ensnares directors and actors into long-term commitments. Basically, they recreated the studio system, except with far less appreciation for movies as an artistic medium. I've not seen anything from China because they have no interest in gaining a market beyond their borders, but I have seen RRR from India, and it laps any big-budget movie I've seen in the last decade or so.
It's not that there are no good movies these days, but there aren't as many of them, and good big-budget stuff is out of the question. There's some good low budget stuff, but sometimes you have an itch that only something with a big budget can scratch. Only movie I've seen like that lately was The Fall Guy, and that flopped. It's a shame because it was good.
I'm just an on-the-verge of middle-aged man grumbling, it's just one guy's take. But I do think about this from time to time and sigh.
@NjDevsRR my middle son is coming home for Christmas and has already said he can’t wait to see Nosferatu. I know my youngest is fired up for it. Eggers owes me big time and this movie better be everything it should be. The good news is this has been his passion project for a long time and if he can’t make this he needs to turn in his director’s guild card.
Looking forward to that, the Bob Dylan Biopic and Wolfman
I saw the Wolfman trailer the last time I was at the movies, it looks really good too.
I really wish that classic universal monsters universe movies would have been succesfut. I thought Dracula Untold was actually decent but the Tom Cruise Mummy movie killed the whole thing.
I am more excited for the Dylan movie than the rest of my family. Haven’t seen a Wolfman trailer yet but I’m in.
Looks fun. Although why does every horror movie take place in a universe where there are no horror movies?
TheBeerNerd
Registered User
I watched Wicked yesterday with the wife and toddlers (well behaved by their standards). I'm not a Broadway head, but I could tell it felt very Broadway-like and had a lot of respect for the source material. Ariana Grande emoted very well with what little of her face she can still move.
It was the second time my wife saw it. She's the real Broadway head, so naturally she watched it opening night by herself while I looked after the baby we had in our care at the time. She also took an edible or two. It seemed to have enhanced the viewing experience.
It was the second time my wife saw it. She's the real Broadway head, so naturally she watched it opening night by herself while I looked after the baby we had in our care at the time. She also took an edible or two. It seemed to have enhanced the viewing experience.
I didn’t love it. It took a long time to grab me and I felt it moved too slowly. The music and production were of course top notch. The characters were also a bit inconsistent to me. Just how it struck me not stating it as fact.
TheBeerNerd
Registered User
I personally didn't feel the runtime at all. It was well paced to me.
Also, Ariana Grande was excellent for someone who can barely move much of her face anymore. She might get a Best Supporting Actress nomination.
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