Media itt: movie/film discussion - Beware Spoilers

WaterBomb

Two kids no brane
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my beef with the avengers was that they spent way too much time leading up to the battle with the army, and then very little time on the battle itself (in relation to the overall length of the movie). Although there was plenty of lols, my favorite being the Hulk bringing Iron Man out of unconsciousness.
 
2 reviews for highly anticipated but kinda eh movies from this year:

The Hunger Games is an interesting movie. For one, its visuals for the bureaucratic-dictatorship view heavily reminded me of Brazil, in addition to the somewhat comedic Gilliam-esque neo-retro futuristic views of a country. This also draws from the Orwellian roots from which Brazil was drawn from. Now, the writer claimed to have never heard of Battle Royale, which this movie seemed to have MANY similarities to, and that's all well and good, I believe em. The action sequences were somewhat well done, the CGI was at least a little above average, and the mood was captured very well. There was some good acting, bad acting, good casts, miscasts, etc. which can be expected of any movie.

That being said, there were NUMEROUS issues with the movie. The first is the heavily chilched romance, which seemed place,sudden, out of place, and could have been done MUCH better. There seemed to be a number of coincidences that, overall, I was somewhat confused about how Katnis had gotten so lucky throughout the movie, but this, like the Battle Royale coincidence, was excusable. However, the biggest problem was the shaky-cam. Now, I know exactly what the reply to this would be from the director: It was done to give a claustrophobic vibe throughout the fight scenes. Well, that's fine. Now...tell me exactly why the violence wasn't shown entirely on camera? No, it wasn't due to the shaky-cam, either as a gimmick or as to give the film a kind of uncomfortable feel, because flat out violence would have been better with the latter. The one thing that strikes me in the movie is the fact that the movie could have been better without a doubt. The movie was made to appeal to masses. Great. The movie could have been better, which any 9-year old could tell you that the flat out violence would have been more appropriate considering the overall mood of the film was to be a cutthroat and cruel game. Overall, the actual movie itself was entertaining, but the execution could have been done much, MUCH better.

Final score: 6/10


The Avengers:

The Avengers is an action movie. The Avengers is a superhero movie. The Avengers has a flurry of big names in the entertainment industry, in addition to Bay-esque explosions and great tense, tight action sequences. All in all, I walked in expecting all of this, and I’d say that the majority of viewers did the same. I wasn’t expecting it to be as funny as it was, which is always a nice touch. It was filled with action movie clichés, which I guess now every movie Hollywood chunks out is.

However, once you get past the attractive cast, explosions, and witty humor, the movie has literally nothing going for it. I’m not in any way suggesting I don’t love entertainment; Terminator 2 is one of my favorite movies. However, Terminator 2 gave off an eerie, claustrophobic, and tension-building atmosphere, while Avengers just kinda…was there. I didn’t feel anything huge throughout the movie, and my mind began to drift very quickly. The plot was flat out much too simple for anyone with half a mind to follow, which can work in action movies to an extent so this was somewhat forgivable.

Here’s where my traditional mode of movie thinking comes in though: I walk into a movie expecting to be entertained and have a constant mood of the film given to me. In Terminator 2 and Aliens, I felt a tense, scared, and yet somewhat hopeful feeling throughout both movies. As far as “mindless action” goes, when watching Mad Max 2 or something similar, I felt a desperation and sympathy for the main character. In Avengers, I just kind of sat there, not really feeling anything. I understand this appeals to a large crowd, but not to me personally. I want to have that art of the film appear on the screen, not just explosions and CGI, which the film relied A LOT on.
I stepped back after the movie and realized: not a lot happened. The entire film literally could have had about half the running time and the movie still would have been possible to make since there was just so much action and special effects crammed into the movie. ESPECIALLY THE LAST SCENE. OH MY GOD, THE LAST SCENE. The entire war-fight was extended much past its dues and was clearly only done to entertain, and it got old quite quickly.

Despite its numerous flaws, The Avengers clearly entertained me, and is among the best superhero movies (The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, and Watchmen are all superior in my opinion) and is a good, funny popcorn flick if that’s what you’re looking for.

7/10
 

vonFiedler

I Like Chopin
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I stepped back after the movie and realized: not a lot happened. The entire film literally could have had about half the running time and the movie still would have been possible to make since there was just so much action and special effects crammed into the movie.
A group of some of fiction's greatest heroes unite as a team to stop a devastating force. It's only a totally unprecedented culmination of six movies worth of effort, not a big deal or anything.

You completely gloss over how The Avengers was a character piece, what with the dialogue carefully tailored to each character's very different background and every word being important and often analyzed by other characters in the middle of the movie. You seem to forget that a large section of the plot was devoted to this, or that the movie actually had a large number of significant plot points compared to the other Marvel movies (so when you say not much happened, I guess you mean compared to Pulp Fiction or something, cause a lot LESS happened in Terminator 2 or Mad Max).

Also no one is a Large Audience, if you want to say idiots then say so. But most people liked it for its amazing script and ambition, not for explosions.
 
@von nice reply!

The script was definitely smarter than the average action script, so I'll agree with you on that one. The fact that the characters had different backgrounds and personalities and talked different is referenced in a great majority of movies, I didn't include that because almost all movies are like that. Notice I say almost. Not a lot happened in Mad Max, I'll admit, but Terminator 2 had a great deal of things happening, but that's a stupid discussion anyways

Since I belong to the retarded generation of mid-90's children, most of my friends liked it because it had recognizable people and explosions. So yeah, idiots.
 

WaterBomb

Two kids no brane
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Am I the only person looking forward to MIB3?

Also I prefer Edward Norton over Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner...
 

Dozz

Has anyone in this family ever seen a chicken?
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Am I the only person looking forward to MIB3?
Nah, I'm excited for this. I usually get really annoyed when studios revive things for a trilogy, but as I loved the first pair when I was younger, and the trailer looks pretty damned good. As long as it's near this standard, I'm sure it'll be good.

Edit: the first one was on the telly box today, still thoroughly enjoyable
 
jw, why are recent american movies coming out in the U.S. way after they make their worldwide premiere?

also, it looks like Black Widow is getting her own movie. I want Hawkeye to have a significant role in it too. link
 
Am I the only person looking forward to MIB3?

Also I prefer Edward Norton over Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner...
I too prefer Edward Norton but Ruffalo exceeded my expectations in the Avengers.

also MIB3 looks like it'll be great. I'm eagerly anticipating MIB3, Spiderman, Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit
 
I know everybody says that Norton was much better than Ruffalo as Banner...and I'm not really going to outright disagree...but Ruffalo was really, really good in The Avengers. Not only did he get the dual personas thing just right (imo), but he really gave the kinda haunted expression of a guy who's been kinda forced into this stuff and sort of accepts his nature as half 'giant green rage monster' (to quote Stark) and still gets that kind of dry humor...

Also Hulk totally stole the final battle. Two classic moments:

"And Hulk?"
"Smash."


"I AM A GOD! I AM ABOVE YOU! I CANNOT BE-"
*Smashed into floor*
 

DM

Ce soir, on va danser.
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I'm going to be the weird one and say Bana was the best Hulk, and Ang Lee's version was the best film.
 
I'm going to be the weird one and say Bana was the best Hulk, and Ang Lee's version was the best film.
never saw that version but i've heard that it's rather askew, both in tone and in adherence to canon. i've also heard it's really interesting though, and the bit about him modeling the hulk's movements after king kong struck me as pretty neat, i should probably see it
 

DM

Ce soir, on va danser.
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It's a fantastic film stylistically, Lee nailed it. As for the storyline being canon, nigga please. The X-Men movies take giant dumps on canon, yet those aren't so reviled. Granted, I never read Hulk comics so I'm not entirely familiar with him, but the way Lee treated it as his internal struggle was so much more interesting than Spiderman 2's "woe is me" garbage. It really was a film like I mentioned, not a movie.

Also, Jennifer Connelly is a fucking goddess.
 

SkullCandy

She Bangs The Drums
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Want to tell us WHY it was bad? Captain America was a fine movie.
Captain America was bad because it was trite, boring, loud, predictable and in 3D.

And so far I think 21 Jump Street has been the funniest film of the year and Hunger Games the best. I'm also seriously looking forward to Prometheus and The Dark Knigh Rises.
 
Captain America was bad because it was trite, boring, loud, predictable and in 3D.

And so far I think 21 Jump Street has been the funniest film of the year and Hunger Games the best. I'm also seriously looking forward to Prometheus and The Dark Knigh Rises.
I thought CA was ok actually as I was just expecting a brainless, fun, and probably predictable action film, which is what it was. And I still think it was better than Thor V_V

I haven't seen the hunger games yet, but I heard from a friend who really enjoyed the books that it was quite dissapointing.

Prometheus looks good, though I am majorly hyped for DKR as well as the hobbit.
 
avengers was amazing and if you haven't seen it yet please do i saw it for my birthday and i was just blown away
 

ginganinja

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Now...tell me exactly why the violence wasn't shown entirely on camera? No, it wasn't due to the shaky-cam, either as a gimmick or as to give the film a kind of uncomfortable feel, because flat out violence would have been better with the latter. The one thing that strikes me in the movie is the fact that the movie could have been better without a doubt. The movie was made to appeal to masses. Great. The movie could have been better, which any 9-year old could tell you that the flat out violence would have been more appropriate considering the overall mood of the film was to be a cutthroat and cruel game.
just pointing out that I think you missed the point of THG. The author (who had a large say in the movie itself) wanted to show and reflect the fact that violence is not o.k, its not the answer etc etc. The idea was to get this message to as many people as possible hence they aimed for a M(?) release. I think there was a quote saying this somewhere but im 2 lazy to find it now. Showing the violence would have raised the rating of the movie (it only just scrapped through its rating as it is) and yea, apparently they was a conscious goal to deliver that message.

I also disagree that all its about is a cruel and violent game (coming from someone who read the entire series not just watched the movie). I think its more about rebellion which you could see throughout the movie (I don't need to list examples there are many obvious examples) so yea, just wanted to answer your point about violence and shaky cam
 

vonFiedler

I Like Chopin
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Captain America was bad because it was trite, boring, loud, predictable and in 3D.
Good job making a review entirely out of cliches, though you know you don't have to see a movie in 3D right?

What made Captain America stand out to me as the best of the Marvel origins was the USO shows. This was an extremely logical progression (establishes his suit, his name, gets him into France without the army willingly putting its experiment in harms way, even has him punching "hitler") and you are a liar if you tell me you predicted that plot point.
 
Avengers was an absolutely fantastic movie: first superhero movie in ages where I felt there wasn't parts that dragged on for too long. It was a great movie theater experience, with the entire room absolutely exploding in laughter at parts. It had a great blend of humor and action, and the final blow actually got me tense. Everyone performed well too, and everything felt like it fit. Even Hawkeye, which I hate with a burning passion, was awesome.

All I have to say is that I wanna see it again in theaters, so I can catch absolutely every joke, reference, and part.
 

SkullCandy

She Bangs The Drums
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Good job making a review entirely out of cliches, though you know you don't have to see a movie in 3D right?
It's ironic that you're calling me clichéd when criticizing a film that is so ridiculously clichéd itself.

What made Captain America stand out to me as the best of the Marvel origins was the USO shows. This was an extremely logical progression (establishes his suit, his name, gets him into France without the army willingly putting its experiment in harms way, even has him punching "hitler") and you are a liar if you tell me you predicted that plot point
Yes little details weren't predictable, no one can predict a whole movie. A lot of it was so 'done that'. The young, previously feeble 'apprentice' (Steve Rogers) avenging his mentor (Dr. Erskine) with his 'cool' friend (Bucky Barnes). Did I mention the huge amounts of explosions and the fact that the person they are killing is horribly disfigured? Hmmm... sounds a lot like Star Wars to me. Add to that shitty 3D (sorry if I didn't make this clear enough) and a predictable three act plot and you have Captain America. The last scene was decent though.
 

Lee

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In fairness Captain America predates Star Wars by about 30 years but whatever. For me it was the cliches that made Cap so much fun - rather than shying away from it, it openly embraced it's cheesiness. And it was far more refreshing than you give it credit for - the blending of superhero film and WW2 film was the highlight of the film for me and that was unique to my knowledge.
 

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