Recently watched movies!

[jellydonut25]

[Dr Kain]

While you're not wrong, that is how every comic book storyline is these days, just without it being CGI since it is hand drawn.

The problem with the MCU is just the main problem with movies in general, the sequel always has to be bigger than its previous installment, and that is not the way it should be. That is why some things like Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Black Panther, Spider-Man Homecoming, and the first Thor are so great as it kept things small. Avengers had to be big because the threat needed to be there for the team, but also the movies before it were just a build up. As for AoU, I don't hate it like other people do, but I do see its flaws the more I watch it, regardless, it tries to be bigger than necessary and threw in too many plot points that were irrelevant (such as Thor's pointless dream sequence).

Still, these are comic books brought to life and 95% of them have been done right, so I can overlook the little nitpicks because they are entertaining and respect the source material they have been taken from. Sure, Ultron was a big change from his comic counterpart, but this version took one look at the internet and went crazy from it. That would happen to every AI.

[jellydonut25]

[Benjamin Haines]

[jellydonut25]

[eabaker]

[Benjamin Haines]

^ Sure, and none of the shots I mentioned are bad shots unto themselves. They accomplish what the directors wanted them to do. I'm just saying that my personal suspension of disbelief has one big weakness and it's when a composite shot is made to depict the illusion of a camera moving in such a way over such a distance that it could not possibly have been recorded in a take with an actual, physical camera. The impossibility of the would-be camera motion just sticks out to me. I can be totally engrossed in a story involving all manner of fantasy elements and special effects and that'll be the thing that pulls me out of it.

[lhb412]

[Benjamin Haines]

^ That is true, and Speed Racer is a good example. That movie is unique because the whole thing makes extensive use of green-screen compositing to achieve the look of a cartoon come to life. That aforementioned "moving shot" from The Avengers looks like a shot out of Speed Racer and that makes it stick out from the rest of the action.

[canofhumdingers]

It’s funny, while it’s obviously done better sometimes than others, if the shot is cool and looks good enough then I actually enjoy the wild impossible cgi camerawork in comic book movies. Like your comparison to speed racer, these aren’t real. They’re comic books come to life. And wild, impossible, but really cool images are VERY MUCH an inherent part of comic books.

[Dr Kain]

Happy Death Day - Not the greatest horror movie as far as suspense goes, but it had enough originality (sort of) with a strong lead that made it well worth sitting through. No idea who this actress was, but she did a great job of holding the movie on her own. The plot twist is a little meh, but I am cool with it since it did so much else right. I think an 8/10.

[eabaker]

[lhb412]

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

One year before the events of the first episode of Twin Peaks a girl is murdered in the town of Deer Meadow. Two FBI agents are sent to investigate, but none of the clues get them closer to the killer. Deer Meadow is a kind of seedier, grimier version of the town of Twin Peals (which, despite all the dark secrets everyone has and the lurking supernatural evil, seems to be a rather nice place to live), that makes this opening segment like a mirror universe episode of the show. Back at the FBI office the apparition of David Bowie with a Texan accent tells of a strange vision he witnessed and main series protagonist Agent Dale Cooper (here in a supporting role) goes to Deer Meadow to do some some follow-up work, He senses the killer will strike again. Then we flash forward and the rest of the movie deals with the last few days in the life of Laura Palmer, the girl who's found dead at the beginning of the first episode of the show, a mystery which sets off the plot of the series. She's a looming presence over the TV show, a symbol, and in this movie we get to see her as a flesh and blood person in all her deeply sympathetic, troubled glory.

Laura Palmer is played by Sheryl Lee and she's fantastic. Wonder why she never became more famous? I don't know if she's considered a 'scream queen,' but whenever she screams in horror the effect is truly frightening.

Anyway, this movie bombed back in the day and it's easy to see why: Twin Peaks is a great show, but it's popularity in the pop zeitgeist was a fad and one that had expired by this point. Also, the movie counts on the viewer having seen the TV show and memorized many key details, making it all but impenetrable to a casual viewer. It certainly shouldn't be viewed before the series; even though it's a prequel it's meant to be watched as a sequel. It gives away the central mystery for gosh's sakes!



Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces

Apparently David Lynch shot about four hours worth of movie for Fire Walk With Me, and instead of just putting those deleted scenes up in the usual way he put them in sequence, finished the editing and music and even an effect or two, and presto: what is essentially a feature length plotless movie made up off all the details left out of the main movie! What were Ed Hurley, Donna's parents, Bobby's parents, and the men and women of the Twin Peaks sheriffs department doing during the events of Fire Walk With Me? Now you know! It also provides a coda to the cliffhanger ending of the show's second season, basically just reminding the audience of it because Lynch apparently intended to make two more movies that wrapped up the Twin Peaks story... that didn't happen, and the wrapping up had to wait 'till the third season in 2017!

[Dr Kain]

If I know next to nothing about the show, is the Twin Peeks movie going to make any sense?

[lhb412]

^ No. It'll make no sense, and it'll spoil the mystery that that you spend the first season and the first third of the second season unraveling.

[jellydonut25]

[Dr Kain]

Really? Becuase it says it takes place before the show.

[jellydonut25]

[canofhumdingers]

Dude, did you not read what lhb said? The movie spoils the central mystery that drives the entire first and a crucial part of the second season of the show. I've not watched the movie, but I have watched the first season and am well into the second season. You do NOT want to watch the movie first. The mystery that propels the show is great and it would RUIN the show to have it spoiled before it plays out.

Forget chronological order. The overall story was written to be viewed in the order it was released. Think of the movie as a flashback (because that's what it is). It will not make sense if you haven't watched the original show, and it will COMPLETELY SPOIL what makes the show so good.

Edit: beaten by JD. But still... DONT WATCH THE MOVIE FIRST!!!!

[jellydonut25]

[Dr Kain]

lol I forgot to add my second sentence there before I posted.

Thanks for the info as I'll hold off on watching the movie now.

As for the Star Wars argument, I've always wondered about what it would be like to watch the movies in chronological order. I bet someone who does would find themselves loving the prequel trilogy and being blown away by the ending when Anakin becomes Darth Vader. That would probably be some shocking stuff to see your main hero become the villain.

[jellydonut25]

I think it's telegraphed throughout so often that it wouldn't be shocking. As much as Lucas claims they are in fact meant to be watched in order, they're not. A lot of what the prequels do holds no weight unless you've seen the OT, and a lot of what happens in the OT is spoiled by the prequels.

[O.Supreme]

Just for fun, the Day After Thanksgiving, 2005, me and a group of friends decided to marathon them all in order (as III had just come out on DVD). Of course having grown up with the OT, watching them in I-VI order only meant they got better as they went (I know most people like Empire better, but I've always had a soft spot for [img]Jedi[/img]... ) . Originally I wanted to expose my kids to them with the OT first, then Prequels, but since I'd watch a random one on occasion, I really have no idea what order they saw them in initially, we watched them all in I-VI order after TLJ came out, but that just seemed to be the easiest way.

I do agree that watching the prequels first does spoil much of the intrigue of the OT, but 99% of the time I just watch the OT anyway.

On a separate note, my family all just got out of seeing A Wrinkle in Time. The kids read the book, and I really had no interest in seeing it. They texted me and said they seemed to like it. Sorry I cant share details other than my wife, 2 kids (ages 12 & 13), and my mother all liked it.

[lhb412]

[jellydonut25]