Movies + TV series: Past and New Recommendation

[Mr. Perfect]

the standard explanation for that is that Kevin Feige is actually a fan of the material unlike the others who are trying to tell their own stories and agendas using the material.

That would explain a lot. Chief agenda seems to be career springboard or validation. However the track record is always horrible for that. If you aren't into it people can tell right away.

when you see big dumb action comedy done well its so obvious and easy, like peak Schwarzaneger or Die Hard and the classics - all the arty types dismiss it for being stupid and formulaic , yet somehow its damn near impossible to produce reliably.

Boy. Are you ever right about that.

This more than anything is the vein Marvel is mining and despite some SJW feature creeps, it hasnt gone so far that in direction as to alienate anyone by lathering it too hard.

Yep. What's amazing is Marvel has the most overtly anti Trump employees yet it doesn't really spill over into the movies that much.

all the signs point to the next round of movies being crap tho - it will be very hard indeed to replicate the charisma and star power of their current generation, who are all getting a bit long in the tooth.

Hard to say.

I thought they had jumped the shark with Thor III, it was all jokes and visual effects. I thought they were done after that one. Little did I know Infinity Wars was heading down the pike.

What Feige is doing blows my mind. It's near impossible to squeeze 3 movies out of a franchise and escape with the shirt on your back and yet they are setting new records after the 18th movie. There is no precedent in history for what he is doing. Looking back, he knew that Infinity Wars was going to be the big climax but he managed to get 17 other movies in first. There has never been anything like it.

Theoretically he could put 17 more out before climax #2, as there are dozens of other stories to rip off in the archives.

I would like to say that Jim Starlin wrote Infinity Wars and was not credited. The whole backbone of this thing was written by him and he or his family apparently have not seen a cent. His name should have been on the poster, but it only showed up halfway through the credits not saying what he did. He should be making as much as anybody. Real uncool move.

But, in the history of the movie business we've never seen this before.

And, everything comes to an end.

[Mr. Perfect]

And I should say I was blown away by Infinity Wars. I've had mixed feeling about all the movies, but they have avoided any real stink bombs like we've seen from Star Wars and DC.

Like I said, I thought Thor III was the beginning of the end, but Infinity War was an historic entertainment product. That is, the story was unremarkable for the genre, but Feige weaved an ensemble of characters into this vast movie with the highest production values we've ever seen. It's an accomplishment without a rival.

I was sitting next to my nephew in the theater and I said to him at least 3 times, "I've never seen anything like this before".

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Mission Impossible: Fallout is arguably the best installment in the action franchise.

From the get-go, it is almost one action scene after another with well-placed humor. Even a particularly cheesy part, early on in the film, is actually a very clever way to set up something latter on.

And the action scenes are very good- very, very good. I'd elaborate but don't want to spoil anything for anyone interested in seeing it.

It's beautifully shot, clear, precise and classic. It has a great energy and pacing, scene by scene. If anything, there are so many good sequences that it runs a tad long, though I couldn't see what one would cut out. I have a particular stunt in mind, early on, which is absolutely great as far as stunt-filming goes, but sort of unnecessary to the plot and falling a bit below the other scenes. Sort of the type of idea you don't throw away but save for another movie. The score is very good and has a classic feel to it too. The cast is obviously capable, and new comer Henry Cavill fits the role very well.

What it comes down to is that Tom Cruise knows movies and he knows action movies very well; and knows how to put them together.

The one weakness remains the perennial one.

One could live with the convoluted spy tropes and how everyone is double-triple crossing everybody else at all times.

But why should anyone care?

Sometime ago, maybe by the 4th movie, Tom Cruise gave up any pretense that he was playing a character or that having an engaging story for his plots was all that important.

Now, this one, does fairly well with what it has. But I'm hard pressed to find a reason to root for characters beyond "that's Tom Cruise and a bunch of guys who've shown up for multiple movies." That's fine, and I don't think anyone wants to see this bogged down in character studies, but it takes me out of the movie.

Maybe it's just the genre- James Bond films (from what I've seen) suffer from the same thing. Who needs a story when you can mug and affect charisma?

With that comparison, the Mission Impossible films do everything better. Which is a weird thing- the iconic aspect of James Bond weighs down the franchise in a way that the "iconic-ego" aspect of Tom Cruise doesn't. And that leaves room for more fun popcorn movies.

This one, if it is indeed the last as a Tom Cruise vehicle, gives you your monies worth and would be ending this chapter of the franchise on a high note.

[noddy]

cool., sounds promising.

id love for a new action comedy that wasnt youknowwho.

the new predator is looking awful from the teaser trailers, i doubt id even watch it for free based on the current appearance, which is a dead shame considering Shane Black knows how to make a good movie.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

E_Ci-pAL4eE

Room- not to be confused with the infamous, THE Room- is a very good thriller/drama told through the eyes of a 5 year old boy whose whole life has been spent in captivity, in one room (more precisely a shed,) with his mother, who is the only other person he's known.

To say anymore would be giving too much away; though it's easy to guess at least some of the story beats.

[Parodite]

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[Typhoon]

And I should say I was blown away by Infinity Wars. I've had mixed feeling about all the movies, but they have avoided any real stink bombs like we've seen from Star Wars and DC.

Like I said, I thought Thor III was the beginning of the end, but Infinity War was an historic entertainment product. That is, the story was unremarkable for the genre, but Feige weaved an ensemble of characters into this vast movie with the highest production values we've ever seen. It's an accomplishment without a rival.

I was sitting next to my nephew in the theater and I said to him at least 3 times, "I've never seen anything like this before".

Interesting. I found myself bored watching it despite the first rate cgi and the promising premise - a self-appointed altruist determined to destroy half of the life in the universe for the supposed greater good. The one Marvel film I did enjoy was the first Guardians of the Galaxy.

[noddy]

saw MI Fallout - it was one of the better ones, but i think Tom is looking a bit long in the tooth for it.

now onto Michael Schur.

its rare for one of the woke ones to have so much sympathy for even the people he is picking on and The Good Place is close to the only modern comedy I actually enjoy.

the premise is philosophical morality and the mechanism is to mix it up and move it forward every damn episode and never settle too much into any comfortable rut, so far into its third season its managed to surprise me and keep me guessing for much of it.

thats probably coming to an end now, the meta is established enough for me to see where its heading but in a world of laugh track sitcoms, its the closest thing to clever ive seen in long time, even if i dont always agree with the philsophy.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

saw MI Fallout - it was one of the better ones, but i think Tom is looking a bit long in the tooth for it.

definitely can see that; old man tom cruise is gonna need to find a different niche if he wants to keep going because he's coming to the end as action man.

He has done well as sci-fi man in recent years. I can see him doing a bunch of Charlton Heston older man sci-fi roles, if he chooses to accept it.

now onto Michael Schur.

its rare for one of the woke ones to have so much sympathy for even the people he is picking on and The Good Place is close to the only modern comedy I actually enjoy.

the premise is philosophical morality and the mechanism is to mix it up and move it forward every damn episode and never settle too much into any comfortable rut, so far into its third season its managed to surprise me and keep me guessing for much of it.

thats probably coming to an end now, the meta is established enough for me to see where its heading but in a world of laugh track sitcoms, its the closest thing to clever ive seen in long time, even if i dont always agree with the philsophy.

The New York Post (I think) had an article about this show recently, and why NBC kept renewing it. Apparently, it gets awful *live* numbers but is killing it in streaming and delayed viewing ratings in the United States, making it a big hit.

I've avoided checking it out because, well, it was Michael Schur and Kristen Bell...I can't remember where I first saw her, but I had enough then. heh.

Michael Schur, I've never seen anything by him which I didn't like at first but then came to loathe.

And that includes his old baseball blog: Fire Joe Morgan

Which is such pure contempt and sarcasm that it really makes him look worse than his objects of ridicule.

I have real trouble seeing him involved with anything that shows any real empathy for other people.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

And speaking of the Office, the US and UK versions:

The UK one may be better overall, but one couldn't pay me enough to sit through some of those Ricky Gervais scenes ever again. They are so uncomfortable and so beyond humor- he's not funny at all [on that meta-humor/detached/outrage level they were aimed], I stopped "laughing" at that joke a few episodes in and wonder how misanthropic you need to be to stick to it.

And his co-creator Stephen Merchant, is no better- he's a bully. A very clever one, I'll give him that. But Norm MacDonald really exposed it in one of the most fascinating (and cringing) podcast interviews I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it's no longer online as Netflix now owns the series and pulled the full episodes off youtube; but MacDonald treats him to the behaviors of his characters and Merchant comes off looking absolutely silly by the end.

-----------------

The US version has the charismatic Steve Carrell and John Krasinski (who plays a very good Jack Ryan, if only he had stronger scripts)

but the US version is all narcissism- in the character and in flattering the audience; which adds a layer of contempt that the UK version doesn't even bother with.

That show had two end points: at the end of season 3 and at the end of season 5. So naturally, they went 9 seasons. And those last, from what I saw, were absolutely brutal paycheck cashing schemes.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

But The Office did produce gold.

Mackenzie Cook (Gareth from the UK Office) co-wrote and acted one of the best written comedies I've ever seen.

The Detectorists: "The series is set in the fictional small town of Danebury in northern Essex and the plot revolves around the lives, loves and detecting ambitions of Andy and Lance, members of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club (DMDC)." (quote from Wikipedia)

It's three series- 18 episodes and 1 special.

It's the type of show you are either on board with or not. It's gentle and subtle and very dry but sweet.

But it is so well written and well acted that it's the type of show I can bore anyone's ear off about.

And that they ended it after three series, knowing (and caring for) that the story is finished is so impressive and satisfying.

I think the BBC pulled all episodes off of streaming services (in the US) to promote their own streaming service...but I'm prett sure the whole series can be found on youtube, if you don't want to pay 9+ bucks to some half-baked limey money grab!

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

A Stupid and Futile Gesture:

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A vaudevillian romp through the tragi-comic life of Doug Kenney; a founder of the National Lampoon, the Lemmings (and indirectly, Saturday Night Live, ) and writer of Animal House and Caddy Shack.

Much better than I anticipated. The cast was the highlight- Will Forte played Kenney very well and Joel McHale really nailed his caricature of Chevy Chase.

David Wain and company treated the project as a labor of love and that shines through; and Kenney, being the comedian behind the comedians, is an interesting subject.

I'm not sure they really the movie blends the tragic and comic all that well. The mood shift from joke lines to coke lines is jarring and has a sort of feeling of "right, need to get on with the rest of this story, now."

Which is understandable, a clown who cries character study isn't really the point. It is to emphasis that this guy who brought cheer and made a lot of people laugh is missed and shouldn't be forgotten.

============

At the same time, in these sensitive and woke times, Kenney comes off as an intensely selfish, aggressive jerk more than humorous or madcap or zany (or whatever.) He doesn't come across as all that sympathetic or likeable.

That he was influential, and he was considering almost every famous American comedic writer/actor from 1970 onwards had to go through him (or one of his vehicles, ) may not have been a good thing for pop culture.

Which is not the impression that the film wishes to portray but it's pretty evident. His face is found in the dictionary under "toxic culture", as he was a man-child who hated life and was never happy belonging to anything or anyone.

[noddy]

I've avoided checking it out because, well, it was Michael Schur and Kristen Bell...I can't remember where I first saw her, but I had enough then. heh.

add Ted Danson to that list.

yeh, I had zero interest in it based on all that but the conceit of having it revinvent itself every few episodes has elevated it and despite his prejudices, it is fairly light hearted.

Michael Schur, I've never seen anything by him which I didn't like at first but then came to loathe.

And that includes his old baseball blog: Fire Joe Morgan

Which is such pure contempt and sarcasm that it really makes him look worse than his objects of ridicule.

I have real trouble seeing him involved with anything that shows any real empathy for other people.

its all relative, its a woke persons view on empathy . hah.

[noddy]

And speaking of the Office, the US and UK versions:

The UK one may be better overall, but one couldn't pay me enough to sit through some of those Ricky Gervais scenes ever again. They are so uncomfortable and so beyond humor- he's not funny at all [on that meta-humor/detached/outrage level they were aimed], I stopped "laughing" at that joke a few episodes in and wonder how misanthropic you need to be to stick to it.

And his co-creator Stephen Merchant, is no better- he's a bully. A very clever one, I'll give him that. But Norm MacDonald really exposed it in one of the most fascinating (and cringing) podcast interviews I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it's no longer online as Netflix now owns the series and pulled the full episodes off youtube; but MacDonald treats him to the behaviors of his characters and Merchant comes off looking absolutely silly by the end.

-----------------

The US version has the charismatic Steve Carrell and John Krasinski (who plays a very good Jack Ryan, if only he had stronger scripts)

but the US version is all narcissism- in the character and in flattering the audience; which adds a layer of contempt that the UK version doesn't even bother with.

That show had two end points: at the end of season 3 and at the end of season 5. So naturally, they went 9 seasons. And those last, from what I saw, were absolutely brutal paycheck cashing schemes.

the office, in both of its flavours, suffers from dilbert syndrome, its not funny if your living it!

my fave of the english sitcom writers is the fellow behind Black Books and the IT Crowd, those 2 had some great moments in them.

[noddy]

But The Office did produce gold.

Mackenzie Cook (Gareth from the UK Office) co-wrote and acted one of the best written comedies I've ever seen.

The Detectorists: "The series is set in the fictional small town of Danebury in northern Essex and the plot revolves around the lives, loves and detecting ambitions of Andy and Lance, members of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club (DMDC)." (quote from Wikipedia)

It's three series- 18 episodes and 1 special.

It's the type of show you are either on board with or not. It's gentle and subtle and very dry but sweet.

But it is so well written and well acted that it's the type of show I can bore anyone's ear off about.

And that they ended it after three series, knowing (and caring for) that the story is finished is so impressive and satisfying.

I think the BBC pulled all episodes off of streaming services (in the US) to promote their own streaming service...but I'm prett sure the whole series can be found on youtube, if you don't want to pay 9+ bucks to some half-baked limey money grab!

Ill hunt it down, this kind of thing is the backbone of my tv viewing, a new good comedy is like gold.

recently saw sick note , anotrher british comedy - which is almost too much in the sense that everyone is nasty and unlikable but somehow comes full circle in that, well, everyone is like that and once that baseline is established, sillyness happens.

[noddy]

one line reviews on schlocky action movies Ive seen over holiday season

the new predator was sadly poor, a real miss from a guy that should have delivered action comedy win, it was worse than bad, it was muddled and unfocused and lacking in any spirit.

the meg was another miss, better than the predator but it should have been over the top pulpy absurdity, instead was family adventure with lame attempts to make it relevant to china.

venom was barely average and forgettable, massively upstaged by a b-grade australian movie that told the exact same story, upgrade - which was a bit nasty but had some much needed spunk in it that the hollywood movie did not.

ive almost given up on movies, been so long since their was something vaguely entertaining.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

I'll toss Aquaman onto that list:

Some great CG work and some very competent, sometimes bordering on very good, cinematography.

James Wan is a capable director but he can only do so much, he's not a visionary.

The soundtrack is all over the place- lots of strange choices...like 90s rom-com type cliche music suddenly; then parts where the soundtrack is a Blade Runner rip off; then the faux-John Williams...

The real problems:

-the story is a mess, one beyond just being schlocky-pulp superhero fare. There is too much story; and too much of it unnecessary beyond pleasing comicbook fans+selling toys

-the script is so dum the 'b' fell off and it's some of the worst dialogue I've ever heard. These international movies, simplified to easily translate into any language, are killing movies. Everyone now speaks like characters in Rocky IV- in every movie.

-Jason Mamoa and Amber Heard and very, very pretty people. But they have zero charisma, zero acting chops and zero chemistry together.

The movie is mostly these non-actors delivering terrible lines in a stupid story for close to 3 hours (or it feels like). It's torture.

[Simple Minded]

Based on his appearance in the previous DC comic movie who name escapes me, I made a mental note to ignore anything Aquaman related in the future.

But then I heard some good reviews. I'll probably wait for the dvd release and rent it from Redbox so I don't feel obligated to watch the whole thing.s

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Based on his appearance in the previous DC comic movie who name escapes me, I made a mental note to ignore anything Aquaman related in the future.

But then I heard some good reviews. I'll probably wait for the dvd release and rent it from Redbox so I don't feel obligated to watch the whole thing.s

That is the smart move.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Game Night it was...okay or just a little better than okay.

Jason Batmen and Rachel McAdams were good as the leads and the whole movie kept me invested to a certain degree, all set-ups were accounted for, and it had a strong pacing. What keeps it okay is that most of it is little more than lame filler. It had a good premise, hung its hat on that and sort of just exists.

It's a movie out of time. If this came out 15 years ago, it'd have been a small box office hit and then been one of those silly b-comedies that forever played on cable tv.

===================

Isle of Dog was really good; exceeding my expectations

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[noddy]

Aquaman I was going to wait until it sailed on the high seas, Amber Heard shits me for some reason.
Game Night I think Ive seen, or maybe it was another simmilar suburban highjinks thing, its so hard to tell, they all blur.

I just checked, I did see it., in one eyeball and out the other it seems.

watch first ep of detectorists, was very low key and kinda fun, will find more of them.

[Simple Minded]

Game Night was a fun movie, not memorable, but entertaining.

I recently watched a classic, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles with John Candy and Steve Martin.

No doubt much funnier back then in the pre-TSA days when traveling was almost effortless and delays were almost unheard of, than in reality of today.


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[NapLajoieonSteroids]

watch first ep of detectorists, was very low key and kinda fun, will find more of them.

Glad to hear it.

Low key is a great way to describe it.

I'd like to hear your take when you get done with however much you end up watching.

[Miss_Faucie_Fishtits]

watch first ep of detectorists, was very low key and kinda fun, will find more of them.

Glad to hear it.

Low key is a great way to describe it.

I'd like to hear your take when you get done with however much you end up watching.

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Yeah..... My Dad and I liked that series when PBS ran episodes on our local station. A series I'd like to see...'>....:

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[noddy]

watch first ep of detectorists, was very low key and kinda fun, will find more of them.

Glad to hear it.

Low key is a great way to describe it.

I'd like to hear your take when you get done with however much you end up watching.

ive seen the season 1 now - my local netflix has the first 2 available.

the farce of relationship problems in eps 4/5 almost ruined the tone but they managed to navigate that well enough to not trigger my anti melodrama radar.

barring that small quibble, the rest remained very light hearted and dry, with clever little moments all over the place, which is so unique.