Film you recently watched: part 3

I have yet another...

Spoiler: ...guilty little secret:

I saw "Alita* Battle Angel" last night and I really, really enjoyed it.

*The name of Lithuania's premium 'champagne' (and Brandy) brand - made from genuine 100% French grape concentrate.

 

I've heard really good reviews and am looking forward to seeing it.

It's interesting how people in the Twittersphere are comparing this to Captain Marvel since Brie Larson decided she only wanted to make it a feminist message movie - seems it's caused quite a stir.

I saw her presser where she claimed there wasn't enough diversity in movie reviewers and kept harping on about how she didn't care what 'white dudes' thought of her films. Then criticised a black middle aged male movie reviewer who panned 'A Wrinkle in Time' saying she didn't care what he said as it wasn't made for him. She also said she didn't want as so many white dude movie reviewers on her press junkets.

Seems to me Marvel are making the same mistake as Star Wars.

I'll be honest, Captain Marvel I'd never heard of til Infinity War and iI'm not really interested in her origin film, more worrying is her role in Endgame whch I hope doesn't spoil the last 10 years of build up.

 

I 'm into comics but I never got 'Manga' and 'Aime' - I did try with 'Akira' but suddenly midway through t the stuff they would do something 'very Japanese' which just threw me.

Spoiler

Alita... did a lot of this (such as the "curvaceous child" cyborg being lusted over by an adult male but it's OK as she was turned into a "hot babe cyborg" but that's now alright because the bloke was turned into a cyborg too)

but it didn't really matter as it looked fantastic and the fight scenes were awesome and 'Rollerball' has a special place in my heart.

 

Just watched the Netflix movie 'Paddleton' starring Ray Romano. A nice change to a lot of movies out there at the moment, and really gave me the feels whilst also providing fleeting moments of comedy. Highly recommended.

 

So more out of duty than interest I sat down and watched Michael Moore's latest 'Fahrenheit 11/9'. When it started - I was expecting the usual 'Trump' movie pointing out 'the usual': vulgarity, bankruptcy, his rise mimicking Nazism, Russian links etc. (oh and blaming it all on the actions of a single celebrity*). But then Moore shifted the story's focus to his hometown of 'Flint' and the story of its incompetent 'government' but explored how the Democratic 'old guard' is failing the country's democracy (especially with the rise of 'young activists') - Obama is portrayed in a extremely unflattering light. A very interesting 'mature' film and not what I expected.

*

Spoiler: I **** you not.

Lady Gaga.

 

I watched Lego Movie 2 with my children last week. Not as good as the first but the children seemed to enjoy it.

 

Captain Marvel. Very enjoyable film.

 

I found Captain Marvel to be formulaic, overly dripping with SJW overtones, littered with Deus Ex Machinas, Samuel L Jackson was portrayed as a pathetic fool, it was cheesey and Brie Larson is the 6th Spice Girl.

It was average.

 

Green Book. What an amazing film. Loved it. Laughed through it. Welled up during it.

Such a lovely couple of hours and the actors were brilliant.

 

We went to see The Favourite at the weekend, I don’t know if it’s still on in the big cinemas as it’s been out for a while but they were showing it at our local one. I had no idea what to expect or what it was really even about, just knew that Olivia Coleman won an Oscar for her performance.

I haven’t enjoyed a film so much in a very long time, it’s hard to describe exactly why it’s so brilliant other than having amazing acting, direction and being really funny. Can’t wait to watch it again.

 

Watched The Highwaymen on Netflix. Very ploddy but Harrelson and Costner make a cracking partnership in it.

 

Took my youngest to see this last night and I'm now worried as I thought it was actually a pretty good film - so far from all of these DC*/Marvel comics things the least worst one I've st through was 'Dr Strange'. Samuel L. Jackson 'acting' was another revelation and Brie Larson was extremely watchable especially with the grungy sound-track.

*I seem to remember 'Watchmen' is owned by DC but they didn't do the film (which is a masterpiece).

 

Watched Endgame at the Watford Cineworld iMax yesterday...jeez that screen is huge!! I'd say it's as tall as the Rookery - I had to set up a base camp half way up the stairs.

Anyway, no spoilers but I enjoyed it and the 3 hours seem to whiz by...it was a little clunky and not as good as Infinity War (just my opinion) but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

In all honesty, I'm pretty much done with MCU except for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, Thor 4 and maybe the new Spiderman, however I didn't particularly like Captain Marvel - it was meh and Black Panther was pretty formulaic and dull - so I won't go and see those follow ups at the cinema.

What I will say is for the last 40 minutes, I was desperate for a pee but managed to hold it until the end - however, if there was a post credit scene, I missed it as I was saying 'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' at the urinal - it's difficult to judge when to take a comfort break as it jumps from scene to scene quickly.

 

Watched "Us" this week. Full of holes but loved the music.

 

I had the same need to pee problem which got me tutted at when I had to leg it straight out after a key scene.

Great film. Assemble still the best.

 

Saw Endgame last night. Thoroughly enjoyed it, but I would say unless you've seen most of the other Marvel films you probably would struggle to know what was going on. To their credit, they assume you know the score and make no awkward exposition attempts.

I liked it better than Infinity War; it had a different tone, more desperate, reckless. Some absolutely spectacular sequences, including some really character defining moments, and it excellently tied everything up. I had a few quibbles but they are specific and minor, and would spoil elements of the movie.

As a whole though, an excellent way to spend 3 hours if you have any interest in the MCU.

 

There isn't, so your pee was justified!

 

Watched it tonight. The end(game) boom boom justified the long build up at the start as it seemed to be going off on all sorts of tangents.

I think a second watch knowing the end will pull things more together.

Though as you say, perhaps it was the desperation and chaos of the situation that they were in bringing across .

 

Aside from the film, we had little brats who wouldn't sit still who had no adults around (12A right?), adults drinking beer and needing a wee every 20 minutes, people talking throughout and checking their phones, and popcorn and food spilled all over the floor.

Though that may be more to do with the pokey little town we went to watch it in.

 

I'll never understand people who run out to see a film on opening week when it's basically sold out everywhere and then behave like that. Tickets are hard to come by - if you care that little then why on earth did you go week 1? It's truly bizarre.

 

Endgame needs a second watch. I'm hoping it's more to strand it all together as opposed to pick it apart though. I loved it, my 7 year old boy loved it. We have the same IQ. Ticked all the boxes for us.

 

Exactly why I wait until literally everybody has seen a film before I go, (usually just before it ends at the cinema). This way you can, (usually), avoid the idiots.

 

I usually wait a few weeks but there were way too many spoilers floating around from idiots who feel special by ruining everyone else's experience this time.

I'd already accidentally seen a couple on Facebook.

 

I understand I may be in minority, but I just don't get the avengers films. Sure, the special effects and music and sound effects and all that jazz might be great, but I feel nothing toward it, no love or awe or sentiment.

How can anyone feel anything for ironman, a mega rich guy with a cool suit and a bad attitude? The hulk smashes stuff, cool when your 8 years old. The whole thing is the equivalent to WWE in the world of sport.

 

I think if you invest time in 20 odd movies beforehand then you feel a part of the journey and are excited for the next instalments.

I love marvel and cannot wait for each film.

I've never watched GOT, but it will be the same for people who are into that.

Or a football season to tie it in to this website!

 

The fact that there are more than 20 films culmulating in the last one constitutes half the problem. Milked you say? When I was young there was superman, batman, spiderman and the hulk. Wonderwoman and supergirl were there to appeal to girls but were ****.

Now theres probably over 100 superhero characters in various tv shows and films. When this lot are completely creamed with a few more prequels and remakes we'll get more glowing eyed flying teenagers with an uncle who got killed by a big corporation in an acid accident. And we shall "go again".

 

Ok. You don't like them then. Each to their own.

 

No, I’m in that category. Mrs Willis likes it but fantasy, ‘cartoon’ or otherwise, leaves me cold. I can cope with some SciFi, although not the Star Wars type stuff which strikes me as a bit childish.

 

I recently bought The West Wing boxset for £50.

Also bought the Harry Potter boxset last year.

Don't judge me! :'(