Movies are awesome

[Gomess]

Watched HP4 w/Rifftrax last week, and I could not BELIEVE what an awful movie it was. Never mind what a poor adaptation of a good kids' novel it is; it fails on its own merits as a *film*. I have seen a lot of movies, and I have neverrrr seen such a clunkily compressed narrative with so little sense of pacing, tension or resolution. It was incredible. So if HP7 improves on that (and I am glad they've split it in two to more accurately cover the novel), it's already streets ahead.

Hey, any of you guys familiar with the works of Godfrey Ho? I've been building up a collection of his 'ninja' 'movies' for a couple years now, especially those starring Richard Harrison and Bruce Baron. As an aficionado of martial arts-based fiction, I have to say they're some of the most creative accidental comedies I've ever seen.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, enjoy this little mashup. Omega Supreme is in that movie, too!

[Dominic]

Gomess, I thought you hated Harry Potter.

[Gomess]

That must've been Shattered Glass Gomess. But even if I did hate it, it's not unusual for me to say "This adaptation of a thing I don't even like was an awful and disrespectful adaptation". I'm quite the pragmatist.

Children's fiction is my Thing, so I can't really *afford* to not own all seven novels. =p It's a happy coincidence that there's a lot of good stuff in there. And don't get me wrong, there's PLENTY in HP I really don't like (the usual lazy race and sex representation, mostly uncompelling villains), but on balance, they're definitely a win.

[Sparky Prime]

First shot of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man:
http://www.superherohype.com/news/artic ... spider-man

[Gomess]

omg it looks so hardcoooooooore best Spider-Man ever



No, really, he looks like Matt Smith trying to look intimidating. It's beyond terrifying.

[Shockwave]

The costume looks similar to baconlantern. Except moreso because this one has some red in it.

So, since this is the movies thread, I actually saw some movies recently so I'm gonna review 'em.

Iron Man 2: Finally got around to seeing the second installment and thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the bit during the trial where Stark shows everyone else's failures in attempting to develop the Iron Man armor. I didn't really care for Whiplash very much but then again I think that's kind of the point. Still I think they could have written something other than "personal grudge against protagonist". I did like seeing War Machine get some time in this one, and while I like Don Cheadle and think he's a great actor, I was REALLY miffed not to see the same "Rhody" from the first one (this is mostly because there was no real reason to replace the actor other than stunt casting). I also really liked seeing a lot more of Nick Fury and getting to see Black Widow as well.

Toy Story 3: I've always liked the Toy Story movies, probably because of my large fondness for toys (I'm posting here so that almost goes without saying). This is one of the best Toy Story movies of the series and it shows how much someone can go on caring about the things they played with as children even in the onset of adulthood. What I'd really like to see is a follow up Toy Story 4 where Andy is a working adult with kids of his own and wants to get his toys back to share the experience with his children. It would give them the opportunity to show how and why adult collectors do what we do. The second movie did show an adult toy collector but I found the portrayal to be stereotypical and almost offensive.

[BWprowl]

Iron Man 2: Finally got around to seeing the second installment and thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the bit during the trial where Stark shows everyone else's failures in attempting to develop the Iron Man armor. I didn't really care for Whiplash very much but then again I think that's kind of the point. Still I think they could have written something other than "personal grudge against protagonist". I did like seeing War Machine get some time in this one, and while I like Don Cheadle and think he's a great actor, I was REALLY miffed not to see the same "Rhody" from the first one (this is mostly because there was no real reason to replace the actor other than stunt casting). I also really liked seeing a lot more of Nick Fury and getting to see Black Widow as well.

I recall hearing that the whole Rhody situation was caused by the actor from the first film demanding higher pay than the producers were willing to give, or creative disagreements, or something like that. Either way, it was the result of the actor or studio opting out first, and then hiring Cheadle to replace him, as opposed to just not calling the first guy back.

Whiplash was, I felt, an annoying and simply idiotic villain. When the main character of the film- the guy you're trying to take down, actually tells you why your plan was stupid and how you could have done it better, then you've got some problems. He simply spent the whole movie being a gigantic troll to everyone, even when just being a *little* more cooperative would actually benefit him.

Rest assured, I have WAY bigger problems with IM2 than Whiplash. That movie did the opposite of impressing me.

Toy Story 3: I've always liked the Toy Story movies, probably because of my large fondness for toys (I'm posting here so that almost goes without saying). This is one of the best Toy Story movies of the series and it shows how much someone can go on caring about the things they played with as children even in the onset of adulthood. What I'd really like to see is a follow up Toy Story 4 where Andy is a working adult with kids of his own and wants to get his toys back to share the experience with his children. It would give them the opportunity to show how and why adult collectors do what we do. The second movie did show an adult toy collector but I found the portrayal to be stereotypical and almost offensive.

Wayne Knight's character in TS2 seemed, to me, to be more of a parody of toy appraisers, or even scalpers. IE People who look at toys as nothing more than an investment to make a buck off of. In that case, stereotype away, those people ruin everyone's fun!

As for your idea for TS4, I just gotta say: Man! No way! Andy's outta this, his chapter is over and the toys have a wonderful new life ahead of them. You seriously want to see Andy go back to the sweet little girl he passed them on to and demand that she give him his toys back? I felt that TS3 was the perfect ending to the story, and a great movie in general (moving the story ahead in real time was a stroke of genius).

[138 Scourge]

omg it looks so hardcoooooooore best Spider-Man ever



No, really, he looks like Matt Smith trying to look intimidating. It's beyond terrifying.

I could get behind Matt Smith as Spider-Man, actually. He's kind of funny, in his way. Though I can't decide if it'd be more entertaining if he went with his regular accent, or went with a horribly exaggerated "Noo Yawk" accent.

Texture-wise, it doesn't look that different from the last one. And both of them still make me laugh that a kid that claims to hate sewing just made 'em in his house. I mean, my girlfriend makes clothes and enjoys doing it, and she could not make a suit that good. She does make a damn fine Dr. Who scarf, though.

Also, I like the pics of Chris Pine as Captain America, but I won't even lie, I still think John Barrowman would be the perfect Cap. He makes for a helluva action hero, he's charismatic as anything, he's got that kind of timeless poster-boy face, and FOX new's reaction to Captain America being played by a gay guy would've been hilarious. Sigh, one for the "Pipe Dreams" thread, I guess. Also, if they ever want a movie where the FF and Avengers team up, which is less implausible these days, then what?

Rest assured, I have WAY bigger problems with IM2 than Whiplash. That movie did the opposite of impressing me.

I thought Iron Man II was okay. Didn't blow me away, but it is the first time I've ever enjoyed seeing War Machine. I like Rhodey, and I like Rhodey as Iron Man, but "War Machine". Criminy. That's the worst codename since...Deadpool, I think. Fuckin' 90's comics, man. But I liked him in this movie! Whiplash was okay, I'm glad they went with him, actually, and did him up so he could be a credible threat. Most of Iron Man's enemies are armored dudes, cold war sterotypes, or cold war sterotype armored dudes, so I'm glad they tried to break that trend. By making an American supervillain with a super-whip a Russian villain with super-whips. Hmm. I was hoping like hell for the Living Laser or the Mandarin, though. Those guys are awesome.

[Shockwave]

I actually thought they could go back after she's about to go off to college and is getting rid of the toys. Andy's visiting the parents and sees the toys and offers to pass them on to his kids.

Way I heard the Rhody thing was that it was the studio's decision to go with a bigger name actor so they axed the other guy. I heard he wasn't asking for extra money or anything, they just said "Oh, Academy Award winning Don Cheadle wants to do it vs. this perfectly fine relative unknown we have doing it? Fire that guy and get Cheadle!!"

[Sparky Prime]

I like the new Spider-Man costume personally. It still mostly has that classic costume look to it, and while it looks to have some of the same design ideas from the previous movies costume, it's nice to see them distinguishing it somewhat from those other films. And I think Andrew Garfield pulls off looking like Peter Parker quite well. He's already a much better choice than Toby McGuire was (who I never thought was quite right for the role).

From what I heard about the situation with Terrence Howard in the Iron Man films, it was a couple of circumstances that lead to his replacement... Not hard to imagine, money was one factor. Another is that supposedly the film makers were not happy with his performance in the first film, having re-shot or cut out several of his scenes and were looking to reduce his role for the sequel as a result. Supposedly at that point Marvel stepped in to try to renegotiate with Howard's agents but things broke down and he ended up getting replaced instead. Can't say I like it when they replace an actor, but I thought Don Cheadle did a great job in the role so I can't complain. Both Iron Man movies were great.

Also, I like the pics of Chris Pine as Captain America,

I think you mean Chris Evans (formerly the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies).