Which movie did you watch today and how would you rate it?

[Tom Sawyer]

I'm actually super-psyched for this Thor film. I don't know why, I saw a small trailer (usually try to avoid them, but it was in the theater), and I absolutely thought it was going to be a killer film. Which is odd because the two Thor films have been good, but not great. Better than Ironman 2 and 3, but not fantastic like Captain America. I think this will be the Winter Soldier for Thor. And I know almost nothing about the movie.

The initial reviews are saying that it's excellent. A good blend of humour, action and story. I'm really looking forward to it as well.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I'm actually super-psyched for this Thor film. I don't know why, I saw a small trailer (usually try to avoid them, but it was in the theater), and I absolutely thought it was going to be a killer film. Which is odd because the two Thor films have been good, but not great. Better than Ironman 2 and 3, but not fantastic like Captain America. I think this will be the Winter Soldier for Thor. And I know almost nothing about the movie.

The initial reviews are saying that it's excellent. A good blend of humour, action and story. I'm really looking forward to it as well.

The blending is the important part. Ironman 2 and 3 seemed not to know how to do that with the humor.

 

[Underseer]

I'm actually super-psyched for this Thor film. I don't know why, I saw a small trailer (usually try to avoid them, but it was in the theater), and I absolutely thought it was going to be a killer film. Which is odd because the two Thor films have been good, but not great. Better than Ironman 2 and 3, but not fantastic like Captain America. I think this will be the Winter Soldier for Thor. And I know almost nothing about the movie.

Kevin Feige has said he wants to use Guardians of the Galaxy to influence other Marvel films, and Thor is certainly a good candidate. Asgard is definitely part of the "cosmic" part of the Marvel universe, and Chris Hemsworth has genuine talent as a comedic actor, so why the heck not? Especially when Thor gets used for "fish out of water" humor in comic books and cartoons.

But if they do any of this wacky-goofy stuff in Black Panther, I'm going to blow a gasket. T'Challa does not do the banter thing.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I'm actually super-psyched for this Thor film. I don't know why, I saw a small trailer (usually try to avoid them, but it was in the theater), and I absolutely thought it was going to be a killer film. Which is odd because the two Thor films have been good, but not great. Better than Ironman 2 and 3, but not fantastic like Captain America. I think this will be the Winter Soldier for Thor. And I know almost nothing about the movie.

Kevin Feige has said he wants to use Guardians of the Galaxy to influence other Marvel films, and Thor is certainly a good candidate. Asgard is definitely part of the "cosmic" part of the Marvel universe, and Chris Hemsworth has genuine talent as a comedic actor, so why the heck not? Especially when Thor gets used for "fish out of water" humor in comic books and cartoons.

But if they do any of this wacky-goofy stuff in Black Panther, I'm going to blow a gasket. T'Challa does not do the banter thing.

That's one of my concerns about the Justice League movie. They seem to have Batman getting involved in a lot of witty banter, which does not fit the character at all. It's a good addition to have when it fits, but it's not just something that you can plug into films because it tested well in other films.

 

[Underseer]

Kevin Feige has said he wants to use Guardians of the Galaxy to influence other Marvel films, and Thor is certainly a good candidate. Asgard is definitely part of the "cosmic" part of the Marvel universe, and Chris Hemsworth has genuine talent as a comedic actor, so why the heck not? Especially when Thor gets used for "fish out of water" humor in comic books and cartoons.

But if they do any of this wacky-goofy stuff in Black Panther, I'm going to blow a gasket. T'Challa does not do the banter thing.

That's one of my concerns about the Justice League movie. They seem to have Batman getting involved in a lot of witty banter, which does not fit the character at all. It's a good addition to have when it fits, but it's not just something that you can plug into films because it tested well in other films.

It depends on how they do it.

Batman does have a dry sense of humor. Honestly Flash would be better for comic relief, and it sounds like they're pumping up Aqua Man as additional comic relief.

It sounds like they are doing the "I doubt my own humanity" tragic version of Cyborg so the loud and goofy version people know from the cartoons won't be here.

So Flash and Aqua Man can be comic relief, Superman and Wonder Woman can do the "hope-y" thing. Wonder Woman can do substitute comedy in the form of "fish out of water" jokes, while Batman and Cyborg rain on everyone's parade.

In an ideal world, that's how it would work anyway.

As for Green Lantern, that depends entirely on whether they bring Hal Jordan or John Stewart. Hopefully they won't do Hal Jordan after that disaster of a Green Lantern movie. Besides, John makes an excellent straight man. Marines are inherently good at playing the straight man.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

That's one of my concerns about the Justice League movie. They seem to have Batman getting involved in a lot of witty banter, which does not fit the character at all. It's a good addition to have when it fits, but it's not just something that you can plug into films because it tested well in other films.

It depends on how they do it.

Batman does have a dry sense of humor. Honestly Flash would be better for comic relief, and it sounds like they're pumping up Aqua Man as additional comic relief.

It sounds like they are doing the "I doubt my own humanity" tragic version of Cyborg so the loud and goofy version people know from the cartoons won't be here.

So Flash and Aqua Man can be comic relief, Superman and Wonder Woman can do the "hope-y" thing. Wonder Woman can do substitute comedy in the form of "fish out of water" jokes, while Batman and Cyborg rain on everyone's parade.

In an ideal world, that's how it would work anyway.

As for Green Lantern, that depends entirely on whether they bring Hal Jordan or John Stewart. Hopefully they won't do Hal Jordan after that disaster of a Green Lantern movie. Besides, John makes an excellent straight man. Marines are inherently good at playing the straight man.

Jebus... they do one good DC comic movie (excluding the recent Batman trilogy) and you guys start having illusions of grandeur for Justice League.

I'm hoping Cyborg is just like the robot in Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy.

 

[KeepTalking]

But if they do any of this wacky-goofy stuff in Black Panther, I'm going to blow a gasket. T'Challa does not do the banter thing.

Heh, too true. The latest issue of Guardians of the Galaxy had the Guardians splitting up to talk to other superheroes, trying to find leads on the infinity stones. Early in the issue, Rocket says, "Why did I have to be the one to talk to Black Panther? That guy has no sense of humor."

Fortunately, from the trailers so far, it looks like the Black Panther movie will not go the same lighthearted route as Thor: Ragnarok.

 

[Underseer]

It depends on how they do it.

Batman does have a dry sense of humor. Honestly Flash would be better for comic relief, and it sounds like they're pumping up Aqua Man as additional comic relief.

It sounds like they are doing the "I doubt my own humanity" tragic version of Cyborg so the loud and goofy version people know from the cartoons won't be here.

So Flash and Aqua Man can be comic relief, Superman and Wonder Woman can do the "hope-y" thing. Wonder Woman can do substitute comedy in the form of "fish out of water" jokes, while Batman and Cyborg rain on everyone's parade.

In an ideal world, that's how it would work anyway.

As for Green Lantern, that depends entirely on whether they bring Hal Jordan or John Stewart. Hopefully they won't do Hal Jordan after that disaster of a Green Lantern movie. Besides, John makes an excellent straight man. Marines are inherently good at playing the straight man.

Jebus... they do one good DC comic movie (excluding the recent Batman trilogy) and you guys start having illusions of grandeur for Justice League.

I'm hoping Cyborg is just like the robot in Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy.

Actually, I expect that Justice League will suck because it is effectively the last of the Zach Snyder films. After this, however, I expect that Patty Jenkins and Joss Whedon will be steering the DC ship, so I have higher goes for the DC movies after this. Hopefully they will finally figure out that each hero needs their own tone and style and not everything has to be turned into Batman-style grim and dark shit.

 

[Underseer]

But if they do any of this wacky-goofy stuff in Black Panther, I'm going to blow a gasket. T'Challa does not do the banter thing.

Heh, too true. The latest issue of Guardians of the Galaxy had the Guardians splitting up to talk to other superheroes, trying to find leads on the infinity stones. Early in the issue, Rocket says, "Why did I have to be the one to talk to Black Panther? That guy has no sense of humor."

Fortunately, from the trailers so far, it looks like the Black Panther movie will not go the same lighthearted route as Thor: Ragnarok.

Yeah, Marvel is known for levity, and Black Panther is very much not a funny, quip-spewing guy. When he does crack a joke, the joke is so dry that you might miss it if you're not paying attention.

Priest solved the problem by introducing the Everett K Ross character. He serves both as the perspective character (the audience learns about Wakanda as Everett learns) and the comic relief.

 

[Jayjay]

Heh, too true. The latest issue of Guardians of the Galaxy had the Guardians splitting up to talk to other superheroes, trying to find leads on the infinity stones. Early in the issue, Rocket says, "Why did I have to be the one to talk to Black Panther? That guy has no sense of humor."

Fortunately, from the trailers so far, it looks like the Black Panther movie will not go the same lighthearted route as Thor: Ragnarok.

Yeah, Marvel is known for levity, and Black Panther is very much not a funny, quip-spewing guy. When he does crack a joke, the joke is so dry that you might miss it if you're not paying attention.

Priest solved the problem by introducing the Everett K Ross character. He serves both as the perspective character (the audience learns about Wakanda as Everett learns) and the comic relief.

According to the director, the movie will be heavily influenced by Priest's run. It's quite possible that this is exactly what Martin Freeman as Everett is going to be.

 

[DrZoidberg]

The Night Porter (1974) 6/10

So I did another classic. It's been recommended by so many that I'm surprised that I didn't like it. The story is that it's after WW2 and a former SS officer at a concentration camp works as a night portier. One night a couple shows up. The woman in the couple used to be an inmate at the same concentration camp. She had been used as the SS officers S/M sex toy. This is the night porters sex toy. There's also a story of a group of ex Nazi officials who are killing witnesses of their war crimes. The night porter is part of this group.

Where it gets complicated is that they both realize that they love each other. She ditches her husband and they basically elope together to escape the Nazi killers, (his friends) and to live in sexual BDSM ecstasy. This is marketed as a S/M erotic psychological drama.

It's extremely well made. Acting is great. It's over the top. But with a story like this, it fits just nicely. Filming is gorgeous. They're mostly indoors. Due to budget constraints, no doubt. But it creates a great claustrophobic effect. So it works. The flashbacks from the concentration camp are surreal. More reminiscent of Flashdance than any attempt to make it realistic. Very erotic.

What doesn't work for me is the setting. I just don't think Nazi's are fun-happy-go-lucky types. I also find the premise a wee bit too tacky and tasteless. Perhaps it's just me. My ex-wife was Jewish and I've met survivors from concentration camps, as well as a soldier who was among the first to enter Bergen belsen. Not to mention all the documentaries. For me, that killed a lot of the sexual tension. I couldn't get it out of my mind. A concentration camp prisoner enjoying her torture is a hard sell. I'm not buying it. Sure, it's Stockholm syndrome. I guess they tried to show that. But this is an erotic film. There's nothing erotic about Stockholm syndrome IMHO. What makes it more troubling is that she got into the concentration camp as a teenager. Ok... less erotic, right there.

I also have a problem with how the characters are portrayed. It's supposed to be a psychological drama. Ok. So, let me know about their inner lives. Nope. This is typical for the time. Women aren't interesting other than what relationship they have with men. So we don't know anything other than that she's pretty. And a masochist. But we have higher standards now. Today we want to know about her inner life as well. Especially her relationship with her husband. The night porter was portrayed well I thought.

But it still deserves being watched since it's one of the few portrayals of BDSM that focuses on the psychological aspect of it, rather than sexual.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Jebus... they do one good DC comic movie (excluding the recent Batman trilogy) and you guys start having illusions of grandeur for Justice League.

I'm hoping Cyborg is just like the robot in Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy.

Actually, I expect that Justice League will suck because it is effectively the last of the Zach Snyder films. After this, however, I expect that Patty Jenkins and Joss Whedon will be steering the DC ship, so I have higher goes for the DC movies after this. Hopefully they will finally figure out that each hero needs their own tone and style and not everything has to be turned into Batman-style grim and dark shit.

One question, are we supposed to act surprised that Superman is alive? Or did they purposefully make it obvious at the end of Batman v Superman?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Actually, I expect that Justice League will suck because it is effectively the last of the Zach Snyder films. After this, however, I expect that Patty Jenkins and Joss Whedon will be steering the DC ship, so I have higher goes for the DC movies after this. Hopefully they will finally figure out that each hero needs their own tone and style and not everything has to be turned into Batman-style grim and dark shit.

One question, are we supposed to act surprised that Superman is alive? Or did they purposefully make it obvious at the end of Batman v Superman?

I really don't think that we're supposed to act surprised. I recall when watching BvS and they were having Superman's funeral, my kid turned to me and asked "Is Superman really dead?" and I just said that "No, he isn't" because it didn't even occur to me that anyone would think that they'd actually killed him off. He'd already been shown in the initial marketing campaign posters for Justice League at that point.

I think that Snyder just wanted to shoot the Death of Superman comic for the visuals, so they found a cheap way to work it in which they'll immediately roll back.

 

[Underseer]

Actually, I expect that Justice League will suck because it is effectively the last of the Zach Snyder films. After this, however, I expect that Patty Jenkins and Joss Whedon will be steering the DC ship, so I have higher goes for the DC movies after this. Hopefully they will finally figure out that each hero needs their own tone and style and not everything has to be turned into Batman-style grim and dark shit.

One question, are we supposed to act surprised that Superman is alive? Or did they purposefully make it obvious at the end of Batman v Superman?

It was supposed to be obvious.

On top of that, these days they expect people to be familiar with the comic books. The Death of Superman story was one that even non-comic book people heard about, and I think most people know that the death of Superman was temporary. So even if someone didn't pay attention to the levitating dirt on the casket, they could probably figure it out.

Anyway[ent]hellip[/ent]

Just got back from Thor: Ragnarok, and it rocked.

If you think of it as an adaptation of the comic book version of Ragnarok or an adaptation of the Planet Hulk story, it sucks, but as its own thing? I was surprised, but it worked. The arena fight was epic, the goofy parts were hilarious, but the tear-jerk parts still got to me at the right time and in the mid-credit scene[ent]hellip[/ent]

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[ent]hellip[/ent]I could be wrong, but it looks like they're setting up the Beta Ray Bill story.

The mid-credit scene sets up a future movie. The post-credit scene is just for laughs, and it delivers.

The Valkyrie character was great and it looks like she will be a regular feature in future movies. Jeff Goldblum was hilarious.

Other than that[ent]hellip[/ent]

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[ent]hellip[/ent]Thor lost an eye, won't be getting his hammer back, but got a big power upgrade just in time for Avengers: Infinity War.

Oh, and something fun with Loki. The best thing about Loki is that you always hope he'll do the right thing even though you know he won't. This time he did. He did something really, genuinely epic and saved the fucking day.

Oh, and Odin is dead, so they won't have to explain why Odin and his Odinforce isn't helping Earth in Infinity War.

If I am right and they are setting things up for the Beta Ray Bill story, the remnants of Asgard will be among the refugees on the Scuttlebutt being chased by Surtur.

It was a blast, I laughed plenty, my tears got jerked in the right places. I give it 8/10, although I don't know why critics gave it a higher rating than any other Marvel movie. It was sort of like Guardians of the Galaxy, but a little more thought-provoking. Still not as good as Winter Soldier or Civil War.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

One question, are we supposed to act surprised that Superman is alive? Or did they purposefully make it obvious at the end of Batman v Superman?

It was supposed to be obvious.

On top of that, these days they expect people to be familiar with the comic books. The Death of Superman story was one that even non-comic book people heard about, and I think most people know that the death of Superman was temporary. So even if someone didn't pay attention to the levitating dirt on the casket, they could probably figure it out.

I didn't know they were following any particular comic book, and I didn't need to wait for levitating dirt to tell me he wasn't dead. When he was "dead", I was thinking "Are they really trying to sell that he is dead". Then they have the funeral and I'm thinking, "He obviously isn't dead!" And I didn't know that Justice League was coming out. It was one of the most anti-climatic deaths ever in cinema.

Just got back from Thor: Ragnarok, and it rocked.

Seeing it this weekend... hopefully. Broadway then Marvel.

 

[Underseer]

I'm probably wrong about the mid-credits scene. Everyone else is saying that is something else.

 

[Shake]

Well, it was incomplete, so I can't give it a final rating, but the wife and I were watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith on TV last night. Neither of us knew particularly too much about it, but found what we saw of it quite enjoyable. It's been a long week though, and seeing as it was going to go on til midnight, we just couldn't stay up for it. We agreed that we'll have to rent it, borrow it, or try to find it on demand or something. Brad Pitt's character seemed in some ways similar to the one he played in Ocean's Eleven, et al, which I really enjoyed. It didn't hurt things for me, that Angelina is very easy on the eyes either.

 

[Arctish]

I saw the re-release of Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) in the theaters last Sunday. It's part of Studio Ghibli Fest 2017. They've been showing a Studio Ghibli film in theaters nationwide each month since June.

Spirited Away is amazing. The story is really interesting, the characters are clearly and lovingly defined, and the artwork is sublime. One of the things I love about Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki films in particular is that they allow quiet moments to unfold naturally. They don't try to pack every minute with noise and bustle or hurry the plot along with silly sidekicks. But when they do go for action it's great! Haku and the paper birds, No-face in the bathhouse, and my favorite scene where Sen helps the 'stink spirit' are exciting and beautifully done.

If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing a Miyazaki film on the big screen, the next one up is Howl's Moving Castle. It will be showing in theatres the last weekend in November.

 

[Underseer]

I saw the re-release of Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) in the theaters last Sunday. It's part of Studio Ghibli Fest 2017. They've been showing a Studio Ghibli film in theaters nationwide each month since June.

Spirited Away is amazing. The story is really interesting, the characters are clearly and lovingly defined, and the artwork is sublime. One of the things I love about Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki films in particular is that they allow quiet moments to unfold naturally. They don't try to pack every minute with noise and bustle or hurry the plot along with silly sidekicks. But when they do go for action it's great! Haku and the paper birds, No-face in the bathhouse, and my favorite scene where Sen helps the 'stink spirit' are exciting and beautifully done.

If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing a Miyazaki film on the big screen, the next one up is Howl's Moving Castle. It will be showing in theatres the last weekend in November.

I love Miyazaki films, and that film is in my collection. What was changed in this release?

 

[Arctish]

I saw the re-release of Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) in the theaters last Sunday. It's part of Studio Ghibli Fest 2017. They've been showing a Studio Ghibli film in theaters nationwide each month since June.

Spirited Away is amazing. The story is really interesting, the characters are clearly and lovingly defined, and the artwork is sublime. One of the things I love about Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki films in particular is that they allow quiet moments to unfold naturally. They don't try to pack every minute with noise and bustle or hurry the plot along with silly sidekicks. But when they do go for action it's great! Haku and the paper birds, No-face in the bathhouse, and my favorite scene where Sen helps the 'stink spirit' are exciting and beautifully done.

If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing a Miyazaki film on the big screen, the next one up is Howl's Moving Castle. It will be showing in theatres the last weekend in November.

I love Miyazaki films, and that film is in my collection. What was changed in this release?

Nothing was changed that I noticed, although some of the end credits were cut off because of the way the picture was cropped.

This screening was part of Ghibli Fest 2017. The first movie they showed, My Neighbor Totoro, had an entirely new English dub* with a different cast of voice actors and somewhat different dialog.

Kiki's Flying Delivery Service was pretty much unchanged but the musical score was different in places.

Castle in the Sky was missing a few lines of dialog. I heard that was because the original US release had added lines that Ghibli took back out, but there's a line spoken by a soldier ("Give me a hand grenade") that was in the first US release and the original Japanese that wasn't in this one. There was also an issue with cropping in a scene with Muska where you couldn't see his head.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind appeared to be unchanged.

So who knows what surprises Howl's Moving Castle may hold. Most likely it will be unchanged due to it being so recent but you never know.


* My daughter says the new dub is terrible