I'll admit I liked Bulls-eye in that movie. Just as freakin' crazy in the comics.
[Movies] Talk about the last movie you saw 2: Electric Threadaloo
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Oh, right, I almost did the Seinfeld hands-in-the-air-leave-the-theater when Bullseye made DD's blunt billy clubs pierce Electra's dad's sternum. He's Bullseye, not Superman. Hell, even if he was Superman, the impact would be distributed across the ribs, as nature intended.
Oh and then I almost left again for the see-saw fight.
Oh and then I almost left again for the see-saw fight.
He...pierced Elektra's sternumd...with billy clubs. Sounds like somethin' Bulls-eye would do! Not sure if he COULD do it, but if he could he would.
he's literally a supervillian, I don't really care when he does crazy shit
The man can stop his hear-beat at will, I can imagine him stabbing someone with a billy-club.
I'd even hesitantly say that the Fantastic Four movies weren't that bad, either. Now mind you, when I saw them in theatres, it was after reading a lot of its bad reviews. So I went in with very low expectations. As a result, I enjoyed them for being fun popcorn flicks. Plus, Michael Chiklis as The Thing was the absolute best casting ever. Still, it's been a long while since I've seen them, so I don't know if I can stand by my positive opinion of them. Maybe I'll watch them this weekend.
You'd be wrong.
Actually, I haven't seen the second one, so maybe it really is okay. But trust me, the first one is absolutely that bad.
The FF movies weren't bad, but they were just incredibly bland and uninteresting. That's a worse movie to me than something like Ghost Rider
Man, Ghost Rider was great! It was the comedy of the year! I mean, every time Nicholas Cage pointed, I swear he wanted to start shaking his leg or hips like Elvis. Comedy frigging gold.
What? It wasn't meant to be a comedy?
....mother of God.
But Jessica Alba was just perfect for the roll of Sue Storm.
/sarcasm
/sarcasm
It makes me more upset since Julian McMahon is an awesome, very charismatic actor from Nip/Tuck and I know he could have pulled off a better Doom.
About Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider....really? Wasn't Jonny Blaze like, in his twenties in the comics? Nicolas Cage looks like he's been 40 for the 20 years.
Yeah, I think I was working my way through N/T around the time I saw Ghost Rider, and was really disappointed with his performance. He's amazing in the show, but so flat and bland in the movie.
Powerpuff Girls movie: Probably one of the best movies based on a cartoon series I've seen. The dark imagery was just sooooooo cool.
Fantastic Four
Making it a two-movie watch tonight. Will be following up later with the second one. And I think I figured out where things went wrong with this movie. Let me explain.
See, there's a lot to like about this movie. Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis are great in their respective roles, along with a great chemistry. Any interaction between the two is probably the best stuff. The guy that plays Reed is pretty good, suits the role well, and is written pretty close to the comics. Now, the stuff that works? The special effects are pretty good for the most part and surprisingly hold up, though they're not - ahem - fantastic. Johnny's fire effects are great, and I'm still a fan of Chiklis in The Thing suit. Doom - who I'll get to in a moment - looks pretty cool once he's in the full get up. And the story is more about the interactions between the four of them and most of the development is with The Thing, which is fine by me. It's more light-hearted of a movie, willing to just have fun with the concept.
The problems? Alba as Sue, obviously. Sure, she looks great in a skin-tight outfit, but that's about where the enjoyment ends. She's a pretty face with almost no chemistry with anyone and horrible acting. Unlike the rest, you can tell she's not really enjoying herself. Her story with Reed is fine, and they have some with him, but it's more on his side than hers.
The movies most major problem is Victor Von Doom. For one, he's written as a business mogul instead of the dictator he's infamous for. And his whole plot for revenge is paper thin, not to mention his "evil plan." The actor is great, but the writing, set-up, reasoning, and motivation for the character are just all horrible. He's basically there just to be a villain-sized punching bag for a final fight scene (which, with all due respect, has some great special effects). They could have easily replaced him with any other villain and made it work better. Mole Man, for example. Everything else about the movie was fun, but Doom just pulls the whole thing down as a whole.
Making it a two-movie watch tonight. Will be following up later with the second one. And I think I figured out where things went wrong with this movie. Let me explain.
See, there's a lot to like about this movie. Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis are great in their respective roles, along with a great chemistry. Any interaction between the two is probably the best stuff. The guy that plays Reed is pretty good, suits the role well, and is written pretty close to the comics. Now, the stuff that works? The special effects are pretty good for the most part and surprisingly hold up, though they're not - ahem - fantastic. Johnny's fire effects are great, and I'm still a fan of Chiklis in The Thing suit. Doom - who I'll get to in a moment - looks pretty cool once he's in the full get up. And the story is more about the interactions between the four of them and most of the development is with The Thing, which is fine by me. It's more light-hearted of a movie, willing to just have fun with the concept.
The problems? Alba as Sue, obviously. Sure, she looks great in a skin-tight outfit, but that's about where the enjoyment ends. She's a pretty face with almost no chemistry with anyone and horrible acting. Unlike the rest, you can tell she's not really enjoying herself. Her story with Reed is fine, and they have some with him, but it's more on his side than hers.
The movies most major problem is Victor Von Doom. For one, he's written as a business mogul instead of the dictator he's infamous for. And his whole plot for revenge is paper thin, not to mention his "evil plan." The actor is great, but the writing, set-up, reasoning, and motivation for the character are just all horrible. He's basically there just to be a villain-sized punching bag for a final fight scene (which, with all due respect, has some great special effects). They could have easily replaced him with any other villain and made it work better. Mole Man, for example. Everything else about the movie was fun, but Doom just pulls the whole thing down as a whole.
I think Doom is A major problem, but not the big one. The big one is that the movie is overall a waste of time. It diddles around from one uninspired opening, to a kinda okay rescue bit, to a boring (though flashy) climax. Why be so dull? Really, they could've skipped much of this and just begun with the Fantastic Four already established, kind of like the comic (sort of) did. Their origin isn't that interesting, really.
I tried to be optimistic that maybe the next one would be better since they'd gotten all the dicking around done with in the first film, but everyone tells me no, that's not the case, and trailers confirmed it with crappy sub-plots like powers being switched. Really. Lame filler episode of a cartoon plot.
It's unfortunate Chiklis couldn't have been hired as the Thing for whatever Fantastic Four reboot comes in the future, instead of this crap.
I tried to be optimistic that maybe the next one would be better since they'd gotten all the dicking around done with in the first film, but everyone tells me no, that's not the case, and trailers confirmed it with crappy sub-plots like powers being switched. Really. Lame filler episode of a cartoon plot.
It's unfortunate Chiklis couldn't have been hired as the Thing for whatever Fantastic Four reboot comes in the future, instead of this crap.
I didn't find it dull at all. See, the two strongest points about the Fantastic Four are the chemistry among the characters, and that it's like scientific exploration. They're explorers of the unknown. So most of the movie was pretty much that: interactions among the four of them in different ways (I liked Reed and Ben's friendship for example), and exploring how their powers work and such. Again, Doom is where a lot of the stuff doesn't work. I don't find their origin uninteresting either, as it ties in with the scientific exploration. And in fact, they didn't just jump right into being heroes in the comic. They didn't even get the iconic blue costumes for about two or three issues, which back then was a long time for a comic.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Again, I won't defend this for being the greatest movie of all time. It's decent-to-good at best. The special effects are spectacular, especially with the Silver Surfer. And again, it's clear that all the main cast - even Alba this time - are having fun in their respective roles. This is a much more light-hearted kind of superhero movie that doesn't try to hide all the over-the-top silliness that superhero comics have. In fact, it embraces it. Reed Richards cuts it up on the dance floor, switching powers, the Fantasticar that splits into multiple parts. It's all very silly and the movie is more than aware of that. The absolutely best part of the movie was the rescue operation in London, where the team works together to save a number of people.
Doom, though still badly mis-written, at least has motivations similar to his comic counterpart: acquiring more power. And his manner in doing so at least falls somewhat in line with the comics.
Of course, like the previous movie, the biggest problem is the "villain". In this case, Galactus. I doubt a giant man in purple armour would have gone over well, but a giant storm cloud isn't better. That said, it does fall into line with Galactus being a force of nature rather than a moustache-twisting villain. But...a cloud. Ugh. Special effects on said cloud were good, but...a cloud. Ugh.
Plus, this movie is short: less than 90 minutes. So it doesn't overstay its welcome. They get a lot of great character moments and interactions again, some fun uses of their powers (many for comedic effect that are quite funny) and the story goes along at a brisk pace.
So yeah, I stand by my reasoning: they're not bad movies. They're not great movies, but they're not the horrendous, soul-killing time-wasters like Elektra, Catwoman, or Steel.
Again, I won't defend this for being the greatest movie of all time. It's decent-to-good at best. The special effects are spectacular, especially with the Silver Surfer. And again, it's clear that all the main cast - even Alba this time - are having fun in their respective roles. This is a much more light-hearted kind of superhero movie that doesn't try to hide all the over-the-top silliness that superhero comics have. In fact, it embraces it. Reed Richards cuts it up on the dance floor, switching powers, the Fantasticar that splits into multiple parts. It's all very silly and the movie is more than aware of that. The absolutely best part of the movie was the rescue operation in London, where the team works together to save a number of people.
Doom, though still badly mis-written, at least has motivations similar to his comic counterpart: acquiring more power. And his manner in doing so at least falls somewhat in line with the comics.
Of course, like the previous movie, the biggest problem is the "villain". In this case, Galactus. I doubt a giant man in purple armour would have gone over well, but a giant storm cloud isn't better. That said, it does fall into line with Galactus being a force of nature rather than a moustache-twisting villain. But...a cloud. Ugh. Special effects on said cloud were good, but...a cloud. Ugh.
Plus, this movie is short: less than 90 minutes. So it doesn't overstay its welcome. They get a lot of great character moments and interactions again, some fun uses of their powers (many for comedic effect that are quite funny) and the story goes along at a brisk pace.
So yeah, I stand by my reasoning: they're not bad movies. They're not great movies, but they're not the horrendous, soul-killing time-wasters like Elektra, Catwoman, or Steel.
Rango
Why didn't I see this one before? Oh it was excellent. I probably wouldn't have liked it half as much if it had come out two years ago, but watching all those Spaghetti Westerns last year, turned me into enough of a fan of the genre that I recognized a lot of the little nods, and that made it all the more enjoyable to me. Seeing Rattle Snake Jake's little Lee Van Cleef style moustache, and hearing that same creeky windmill from the opening of Once Upon A Time in the West... and so many others, I loved it
Some of the character designs are a little weak, others are fantastic. Its a bit of a mix match there, but the animation is excellent, and so to is the set design and especially the cinematography. I was very pleasantly surprised. Have to add this one to my list of DVDs to buy.
Why didn't I see this one before? Oh it was excellent. I probably wouldn't have liked it half as much if it had come out two years ago, but watching all those Spaghetti Westerns last year, turned me into enough of a fan of the genre that I recognized a lot of the little nods, and that made it all the more enjoyable to me. Seeing Rattle Snake Jake's little Lee Van Cleef style moustache, and hearing that same creeky windmill from the opening of Once Upon A Time in the West... and so many others, I loved it
Some of the character designs are a little weak, others are fantastic. Its a bit of a mix match there, but the animation is excellent, and so to is the set design and especially the cinematography. I was very pleasantly surprised. Have to add this one to my list of DVDs to buy.
My thoughts on the FF movies are that, while not exceedingly good movies, deserve far less of the hate than they get. There were some bright spots. As was pointed out earlier, Michal Chiklas and Chris Evans pretty much made the movies for me. In regards to Jessica Alba playing Sue Storm, I still don't see the big deal, unless it's the fact that she's not white. If that's the case, get over it. Yes, she is bland as bland can be, but then again, so is the character of Sue Storm. There were only a few writers in the history of that book that used her for more than a subservient housewife, or sexpot.
So I just learned three things.
1) It's not strictly Jessical Alba's fault, the character sucks even in the comics.
2) bowielee thinks I'm a racist
3) Jessica Alba isn't white
1) It's not strictly Jessical Alba's fault, the character sucks even in the comics.
2) bowielee thinks I'm a racist
3) Jessica Alba isn't white
The race thing was HUGE when they released the choice of casting her as Sue Storm. Generally, when people talk about how miscast it was, that's the main reason that people give.
I wasn't necessarily saying that's why you thought she was miscast for that reason. So, no, I'm not trying to accuse you of racism. For the record, Jessica Alba is half Mexican.
racist
Yeah, the race thing doesn't bother me a bit. That'd be like saying Michael Clarke Duncan shouldn't be Kingpin in Daredevil, even though he was probably the highest of the highlights.
I would say she was miscast just because she's a bad actress. It didn't help that the other three did much better than her.
I would say she was miscast just because she's a bad actress. It didn't help that the other three did much better than her.
FF movie, stupid and goofy. FF comics, stupid and goofy. I never saw a problem with the film, considering it is so close to source material.
Eh, I wouldn't use the term "stupid" to describe either. Silly or goofy, sure. There's been some really great creative team runs in the comics. My personal favourite was Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo. The writing was so great that I remember doing a review once and had to go back and edit the document because I referred to all the characters by their regular names, not their code names.
I think you're exaggerating. I remember when the movie came out; people were bitching about Alba the way they bitched about Katie Holmes in Batman Begins. It had nothing to do with race then; maybe during casting, but at that point I remember people were complaining about the choice of effects for the Thing (even though no one had seen the stuff yet). I've been on plenty of discussion boards that talked about FF when it was released; no mention of race stuff with Alba. Maybe that was going on at IMDB and that's why I missed it.
Also: Alba is a terrible actress. But, she was in a terrible movie, so in a way she was more appropriately cast than Chiklis.
127 Hours
Amazing performance from James Franco. The use of the fish eye lens and all the tight shots really help sell the claustrophobic environment and really get you feeling unnerved. Not sure if I'd watch it again or buy it on DVD because it is an odd sort of movie that I just don't think has the rewatchability. But if you want to see how cinematography can be put to good use to alter the audience's emotions, and want to see a truly excellent, very emotional performance, you need to see it at least once. Absolutely.
Amazing performance from James Franco. The use of the fish eye lens and all the tight shots really help sell the claustrophobic environment and really get you feeling unnerved. Not sure if I'd watch it again or buy it on DVD because it is an odd sort of movie that I just don't think has the rewatchability. But if you want to see how cinematography can be put to good use to alter the audience's emotions, and want to see a truly excellent, very emotional performance, you need to see it at least once. Absolutely.
As a fan I should complain...but I have read the first Essential. Carry on.I'll agree with you there:
"We have this cast pretty much rounded out... now just for Sue. But she's so lifeless, emotionless, eye candy that whores out on her husband because he doesn't dotte on her 24/7.... who can we get to play that part?"
American History X
Put this on while I was "Sorting my clothes for the move tomorrow", and instead, just watched the whole thing without getting any packing done whatsoever. Just, too gripping for me to get anything else done. My only criticism would be about the music. The score is too big at times, giving it that kind of cheesy feel that sort of detracts from the scene instead of enhancing it.
Put this on while I was "Sorting my clothes for the move tomorrow", and instead, just watched the whole thing without getting any packing done whatsoever. Just, too gripping for me to get anything else done. My only criticism would be about the music. The score is too big at times, giving it that kind of cheesy feel that sort of detracts from the scene instead of enhancing it.
I disticntly remember that being an issue on the boards, because I found it funny that the people who always white knight the whitewashing of films seemed to be the ones who had the biggest problem with a mexican being cast in the role of the very aryan Sue Storm.
I remember seeing that when I was in Elementary, good ass movie. The rape scene though ...ugh.