Amph What was the last movie you saw? (Ver. 2)

What was they thinking? They are really not using his looks

 

It looks “cheesy” pun intended. But its actually deep and soulful. Give it a free view on Prime or wherever.

 

I like this image of him. The movie looks worth a try!

 

Hayden has had quite a journey: Jedi Chosen One, Crusader Knight, Pastor, and Pizza Master.

 

Captain Marvel (2019) – Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

I have nothing to prove to you.

There are a lot of intriguing ideas on display in Captain Marvel. It has its heart in the right place in every way, but it’s also flawed in a couple of important ways. But I respect that the filmmakers aren’t content to just make a “safe” MCU movie; they could have done so and had a movie that was maybe more successful in some key ways, but I think I appreciate a film that’s trying to do something different even when it doesn’t completely succeed.

I like that the movie commits to Carol Danvers herself being a very different kind of character from a lot of the typical Marvel heroes. She has a sense of humor, but it’s different from the typical Marvel style in some ways. She’s a character that, in an interesting way, doesn’t really rely on charm at all, which is kind of the main currency in play with MCU characters. Brie Larson, who is quite good in the film, if not quite up to her usual excellent level, is definitely playing Carol as a stand-offish character and she’s genuinely a bit difficult to connect with at the beginning of the film. I think she’s going to work better in ensemble films going forward where her character can bounce off of others. You get a taste of this here in her chemistry with Samuel L. Jackson who gives what is possibly his very best performance as a younger, more naïve Nick Fury; the two of them are great together and the movie wisely realizes this and leans into building that relationship. Ben Mendelssohn, per usual, steals every scene he’s in as the Skrull Talos. The movie has a lot on its mind in terms of the villains and Mendelssohn’s performance is pitch perfect at any given moment, no matter where in his own personal character arc he is. Jude Law is also very good in a pivotal role. Carol’s relationships with Law’s character is a fraught one and the movie gets at a lot of really psychologically complex things with it. This movie isn’t particularly interested in the way women are kept down in society; there are a few moments where this is referenced and these are some of the clunkiest moments in the movie. What it’s interested in is how women are oppressed on the level of the interpersonal relationship and you can tell “gaslighting” was heavy on the minds of the writers here. The way that plot is set up here and the way her relationship with Law’s character is contrasted with her relationship with Fury is smart and unique. In short (lol), this film really shines in its characters and its performances. Speaking of other performances, Lashana Lynch particularly shines as an old friend of Carol’s. And it’s fun to see Clark Gregg and Lee Pace showing up to really prequelize things.

But the film has some serious flaws. Chief among is the fact that there’s not a single really good action scene in the entire film. And look, I’m really glad that Marvel is giving these movies to outside the box choices who are able to really get into character and story. And action isn’t enough by itself to sell me on a comic book movie, but these are still comic book movies, so sue me if I think they should have good action. There’s a reason the shot of Carol rolling onto the top of the train was in every trailer; it’s the one genuinely good action shot in the entire film. But this is also a problem I had with Spider-Man: Homecoming (though it did have one cracker-jack action scene, the edge-of-your-seat, vertigo inducing Washington Monument sequence). Maybe some of these directors don’t really have a facility for great action; we kind of lucked out that the Russos did, honestly. Maybe it’s time for these directors to start leaning more heavily on second-unit directors or choreographers or something because much of the action here is downright bad. The big fight scene where Carol takes on the crew she used to roll with is a great example; it should feel like a huge culmination and we should feel like she’s using her knowledge of these people to her advantage and it’s just a dull misfire, not helped by a horrible song choice. Which does bring up another big flaw with the movie which is all the nostalgia baiting. I love the movie being a prequel and all the fun stuff that allows them to do with the characters, but the NIN t-shirt, the nineties music, which is perpetually just not quite the right song choice, and some of that stuff just really felt forced to me. You get the feeling the movie wants to kind of have the success Guardians did with their music and it just doesn’t happen, unfortunately. That’s, I suppose, a pretty minor complaint.

Honestly, I liked the character & psychological stuff in this movie so much that I’m leaning toward being really generous given that the action doesn’t work. I suppose it’s testament to just how right Marvel is getting everything that they managed to make this movie work really well without getting any action scenes right. At the end of the day, I suppose better that way than the other, but really, let’s get some ADs in there or something. 3 ½ stars.

tl;dr – with well-written characters and a lot of ideas and ambitions, Captain Marvel manages to rise above its flaws in an impressive way; still, did the action have to be this bad? 3 ½ stars.

 

I guess he finally was granted the rank of master.

 

Completely agree with your analysis of Captain Marvel, Stephen. And man yeah they COULD have had some great 90s songs. But they chose poorly.

 

I, Tonya (2017)
Funny and kind of touching. Margot Robbie is great, but Allison Janney still manages to steal scenes out from under her as Tonya's hard-as-nails mother.

 

The two genuinely great 90s songs they used in Captain Marvel were Only Happy When It Rains and Just a Girl and they were both really misused. Just a Girl just doesn't have the right beat/tempo/tone for a big action scene and it's also annoyingly on the nose thematically. The Garbage song is just a weird choice for the movie in general. It doesn't speak to the characters or the plot in any way, so it just feels random.

 

Train to Busan


In an emoji:

 

I got around to watching that a little while ago (I believe I mentioned it here). Solid zombie drama. I'm not really into horror as I've said many times, but I'll occasionally make exceptions for things I hear are especially good, and this didn't disappoint. Hard to watch at times, but compelling storytelling, solid acting, strong emotional pay-offs, so basically what I look for in a movie. Worth the watch.

 

Freaking loved that movie. They're doing a US remake, but all I want to do is watch the original again.

I watched Big Hero 6 yesterday. I liked it quite a bit. Definitely a unique direction for Disney to go in, no princesses or whatnot. I've heard the show adapting more of the manga is good too.

 

Big Hero 6 is great too! Wouldn't mind a sequel. I heard there was a TV show but I haven't seen it. Should read the comics at some point.

Also I believe Train to Busan is coming out with a sequel this or next year.

 

Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Jerry Kwan (Jackie Chan) leads a very easy-going life with his girlfriend, Nancy (Kristine DeBell), and his family. After beating up some mob muscles a couple of times he catches the eye of the mob boss Mr. Leggetti for his unique and talented fighting abilities.


The mob kidnap Jerry's brother's fiancée and forces Jerry to join the Battle Creek Brawl fight in Texas, promising to return his brother's fiancée and give him the prize money as long as he wins the tournament. He gets help from his uncle, Herbert (Mako), a chiropractic and kung-fu master to train him for the big fight.

At the same time a rival mob - who are behind Billy Kiss (H.B. Haggerty), the big, bulky, who kisses his opponents after they are defeated and beat the mob's previous contender - makes plan to prevent Jerry from winning.

Overall I liked this movie: Jackie Chan and Kristine DeBell are really charming and have good chemistry as a couple, Mako is excellent as a stern teacher who is not as above it all as he wants to appear, and the villains are good at being bad guys (even if they are not always that competent). The fights are not that realistic but funny, creative and well done.

If there is a main complain so is that it feels like the movie set up some stuff that it don't follow up on which makes the end feeling rather sudden. Also the end fight is not as good as some of the earlier ones.

 

Endgame for the 6th time. Yes, I enjoy it. Very, very much.

 

Aladdin (2019)

Very enjoyable. Will Smith brought his own unique take as the Genie.

 

Us
Should have been called Attack of the Clones. Movie was lackluster.

John Wick 3
Loved every minute of it.

 

My dad turned to me during the final fight sequence in John Wick and yawned, then pointed at his watch to indicate, "This is going on too long." I can't say I fully agree... I loved all of it, too.

 

For a Few Dollars More. Take the greatness of A Fistful of Dollars and add Lee Van Cleef in an uneasy bounty-hunting partnership with Eastwood, taking on a gang of bank robbers. It’s just nonstop badass fun.

 

I really love Van Cleef's performance in For a Few Dollars More. He's definitely a badass, but it's also the rare sympathetic role. He almost never got to play those.

 

For a Few Dollars More is a dark ******* film. El Indio is one of the most disturbing villains ever. I found the whole thing very disturbing.

I watched The Proud Rebel (1958). A man (Alan Ladd), a boy (David Ladd), and a tough woman (Olivia De Havilland) on the homestead. It's basically Shane, but of lesser quality. It's not as dramatic, nor is the scenery quite as pretty. The performances are quite poor; De Havilland is the only human being in it. Early appearance by Harry Dean Stanton in a role not well suited to him, credited as Dean Stanton.

 

I always thought A Few Dollars More was kind of an interesting glimpse at what The Man With No Name series could theoretically have turned into, like some kind of pseudo-anthology thing with him in more of a supporting role (I know this has been done but I’m hard-blanking on specific comparisons). I mean, I’m not about to spit out a take about how TGTBTU isn’t what Leone should have done, I’m not a monster, but still, an intriguing alternative.

 

The Virgin Suicides. The seventies-set story of a gang of boys who are haunted by their inability to understand the suicides of the family of beautiful, repressed daughters across the street, it has a lot of the features and rhythms of your average period coming-of-age piece, but with a dark twist. It’s interesting, with some good performances, and shows off Sofia Coppola’s talent, but the subject matter keeps it feeling kinda morbid and off-putting. And because it’s all about unresolved mystery and doesn’t really find much else to say, it doesn’t seem to have a clear point. I’m glad I watched it but I wouldn’t feel the need to see it again.

 

Breaking In A bit of a twist on the hostage family gang robbery theme. In this one a mother takes her 2 kids away to her recently deceased dads mansion. A gang have already broken in and looking for her dads safe and money, they take her kids hostage whilst she is stuck outside the house. So she has to break in to rescue them. Not an easy task when the house is a technological fortress. This isn’t that bad actually, kind of a Panic Room, Skyscraper, Firewall sort of b-movie action vibe to it, but it’s watchable enough.

Caught the final hour of Jaws this morning. A perfect lesson in how to make a monster film interesting, thrilling and riveting. Genius IMO.