[Movies] Talk about the last movie you saw 2: Electric Threadaloo

GasBandit

Staff member
10 Cloverfield Lane. Surprisingly good given how meh I was about Cloverfield. I guess it helps that it didn't really have anything to do with the other movie. But I like how it kept me guessing right up until the end... not a lot of movies can do that. But OH MY GOD was that girl loud when she should have been quiet. Bang crash gasp pant grunt whine bang crash.
 
X-Men: Apocalypse


It's decent, but flawed. The cast are a bit uneven, with Fassbender and Mcavoy outstanding as usual, but the new guys are all over the place. It also relies a bit too much on prior knowledge of the comics. If you're not a fan of the comics, the resolution of the final conflict will feel like a huge ass pull. Finally, the pacing dragged a bit too much. The movie could have been half an hour shorter, and it would've made everything feel tighter and more focused.

Oh, and Wolverine's cameo was pretty unnecessary and was clearly added for fan service.

On the other hand though, the visuals were spectacular, the plot was interesting, the stakes felt suitably high for a villain of Apocalypse's level, and the girls were hot.

All in all, 6 out of 10 for me. It's a bit of a let down after the excellence of First Class and Days of Future Past, but it's still a worthy X-Men movie, and still worth a watch.
 
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GasBandit

Staff member
13 Hours The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi even though i wanted to change my mind halfway through typing the name, this was pretty good.
It was pretty entertaining watching Jim Halpert lead a half dozen grizzly bears to rescue Detective Nick Burkhardt. And yes, it was surprisingly apolitical.
 
The Voices - I watch weird movies when left to my own devices. And this...I don't know how to describe? Has anyone else seen it? It stars Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton and Anna Kendrick. The best way I can think to describe it is a movie about the human experience, if said human had a really shitty childhood and is living with Schizophrenia. Despite it being somewhat fantasy, I found the emotion of it to be real. It's weird, violent, funny and dark. I watched it because I wanted to see Ryan Reynolds play opposite an evil cat and angelic dog - who he voices. The cat is extremely Scottish and I just. If you're into weird stuff, give it a watch.

Stretch - Like I said, I watch weird stuff when I'm alone! Although, this one isn't nearly as odd as The Voices. Limo driver, down on his luck, has to pay back a debt and so he goes above and beyond to please his insane client. Chaos ensues. I actually liked the writing, I found it rather funny. And it has a fair amount of situational humor. I don't think it will ever grace a lot of people's screens, but I enjoyed it.

Goosebumps - I had more fun watching this than I expected to, much more! I was only a casual Goosebumps reader, but I still got excited when I recognized dozens of the monsters. It was nice to see Jack Black do something other than Kung Fu Panda and it was an overall fun romp for me.
 

fade

Staff member
I know I've presented my Star Wars theory before, but I'll say it again in regards to the anger conversation and power: Luke was the one who brought balance to the force and the true subject of the prophecy. And he didn't do it you killing Sith, either, because how does that balance anything? He did it by coming to terms with his emotions. He didn't arrive there on his own either. Qui-Gon was a unique Jedi who did not avoid emotion, and his student lineage followed suit. But Obi-Wan was too devoted to the old ways, and Anakin, too emotional. Luke found the balance. He did not avoid his emotions like Yoda ("they do you credit"), nor did he give into them. Balance.

We still don't know Obi-Wan's story. I'm not sure how it works with Disney's ownership, but Lucas had decreed that no one could tell Obi-Wan's backstory but him. Seems like he had something in reserve.
 
We still don't know Obi-Wan's story. I'm not sure how it works with Disney's ownership, but Lucas had decreed that no one could tell Obi-Wan's backstory but him. Seems like he had something in reserve.
There was a book about him. IIRC he was going to be kicked out of the Jedi Order for not finding a master before Qui Gon took him on last minute.
 
There was a book about him. IIRC he was going to be kicked out of the Jedi Order for not finding a master before Qui Gon took him on last minute.
That's idiotic. No, seriously. You institutionalize a kid, and then because some master doesn't want to take him on, you threaten to expel him from the only life he's ever known? Even though he's a powerful psychic who can warp people's perceptions and kill with a laser sword?
 
That's idiotic. No, seriously. You institutionalize a kid, and then because some master doesn't want to take him on, you threaten to expel him from the only life he's ever known? Even though he's a powerful psychic who can warp people's perceptions and kill with a laser sword?
Actually, IIRC, Obi-Wan was on the verge of being reassigned to the Jedi Service Corps. Basically, younglings who didn't make it out of basic training, and/or were not selected by a Jedi to be their padawan, are assigned to the Service Corps. They serve the Jedi Order and the Republic in fields such as agriculture, exploration, education, and medicine. They're not Jedi knights, and they don't carry lightsabers, but they're still sensitive enough to the Force to use it in their civilian field.

So, basically, no they weren't about to turn a psychic loose with a laser sword.
 
I haven't seen Civil War, so maybe they will explain it there, but outside of Ant Man, Iron Man and War Machine, is there any real reason why these people wear the same outfit all the time? Does Scarlet Witch just have a big closet full of that coat/corset combo? Did Hawkeye get a deal on leather vests? What the hell is going on there, outside of "there's so many characters now, if they change their clothes no one will know who they're looking at?
 

GasBandit

Staff member
I haven't seen Civil War, so maybe they will explain it there, but outside of Ant Man, Iron Man and War Machine, is there any real reason why these people wear the same outfit all the time? Does Scarlet Witch just have a big closet full of that coat/corset combo? Did Hawkeye get a deal on leather vests? What the hell is going on there, outside of "there's so many characters now, if they change their clothes no one will know who they're looking at?
I pretty much wear the same thing every day, and yes I have a closet/drawer full of pretty much this exact outfit.
 
I haven't seen Civil War, so maybe they will explain it there, but outside of Ant Man, Iron Man and War Machine, is there any real reason why these people wear the same outfit all the time? Does Scarlet Witch just have a big closet full of that coat/corset combo? Did Hawkeye get a deal on leather vests? What the hell is going on there, outside of "there's so many characters now, if they change their clothes no one will know who they're looking at?
Pretty sure its an intentional artifact of comic art. They wear their characteristic outfit so readers can easily identify them in print, and when they've made movies with more variety they don't 'feel' like the comics.
 
They all wear street clothes most of the time, but yeah it's just a costume thing. Likely the clothing has some kind of protection/Stark Tech woven in so they're not totally helpless outside of powers.
 
I haven't seen Civil War, so maybe they will explain it there, but outside of Ant Man, Iron Man and War Machine, is there any real reason why these people wear the same outfit all the time? Does Scarlet Witch just have a big closet full of that coat/corset combo? Did Hawkeye get a deal on leather vests? What the hell is going on there, outside of "there's so many characters now, if they change their clothes no one will know who they're looking at?
Well, what would you prefer? Yellow spandex?

--Patrick
 
I haven't seen Civil War, so maybe they will explain it there, but outside of Ant Man, Iron Man and War Machine, is there any real reason why these people wear the same outfit all the time? Does Scarlet Witch just have a big closet full of that coat/corset combo? Did Hawkeye get a deal on leather vests? What the hell is going on there, outside of "there's so many characters now, if they change their clothes no one will know who they're looking at?
I'm really not sure what you're asking here. For most of the characters, you see them in their uniform / personalized gear. High tech combat gear isn't cheap, and since you want performance to remain the same, it would be relatively standardized. Captain America's combat uniform is as much about being a symbol as it is personal, so even if he has 10 of them, they'd all look pretty close to the same. And even then, they're not wearing the same clothes all the time. The clothes that Wanda and Pietro are wearing earlier in Age of Ultron are not the clothes they're wearing when they join the Avengers - they're shown to change outfits before returning to Sokovia. In Civil War, Wanda is wearing a different outfit in Lagos than she is in Germany.

To use the example of Hawkeye: In Avengers, he's wearing SHIELD Tactical gear - a vest that is both protective and load-bearing gear. But he's wearing a different shirt underneath from when he's taken over by Loki than at the showdown in New York. In Age of Ultron, he's wearing a longer coat with sleeves because they're operating in a snowy forest in the mountains of Sokovia, but when they're on Klawe's ship in Africa, he's back to the vest because it's too hot to wear the long coat. In Civil War, he's come out of retirement so he probably only had like one set of gear available that he had socketed away.
 
X-Men Apocalypse was acceptable. Quicksilver was a scream as always. The bits with Magneto were also well done.

I felt the final battle was slow, ponderous, and overlong. Throwing in the melodramatic choir music was just too much. The climax felt like something from Batman vs. Superman, which is a bad thing.
 
Everyone's descriptions of X-Men: Apocalypse sounds the same, only difference is whether they liked it or not, and the general concensus seems to be "eh."

I chose to watch something of a stronger reaction tonight; rewatching Guardians of the Galaxy. I've made it no secret that I adored Civil War, but I still think this is strongest because it can stand alone and still be fantastic. The funny parts stay funny and I can appreciate some of the not funny stuff a little more with repeat viewings. I'm a little annoyed with Tumblr (who isn't? :awesome:) on complaining about Gamora not having a story of her own. I feel like I let them brainwash me a little, because she so fucking does. She's learning to be a person again after the trauma and torture she underwent through Thanos. That's hard. Makes it easier to hate Thanos, too. He destroys lives, then picks up the pieces, reshapes them through pain, and then calls them his family. Disgusting.

Looking forward to seeing him be the main villain in a couple years.
 
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