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 Flinty wrote:
My. Netflix advertising email from today confirms 12th December

I rather like the films. As a frequent critic of people mangling UK accents, how is Mr Craig’s drawl from the native point of view?

I was not under the impression it was supposed to be good. It fits in well with the cast of big personalities in the first two films though.


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Caught a Pedro Pascal double feature over the holiday:

Fantastic Four: First Steps. Surprised how much I liked this one. The cast really clicked with me. Sue in particular carried so much of the film on her back. Galactus is great and this is one of the best versions of this story I've seen. I suspect I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I'd seen it closer to Superman as it definitely didn't leave me buzzing the same way, but overall I was not at all disappointed.

After that I finally got around to seeing The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent which is a film so perfectly attuned to my tastes I'd kind of been waiting to make sure I could really savor it. An absolute delight and instant classic for me.

I am curious why the F4 raced to the Galactus story line so quick. That is a penultimate F4 story, but they seemed in a rush to show it.

Perhaps an aftertaste from the last few efforts, but that is a difference between old MCU and new. The villains were not always the penultimate story first, they tried to build up to it. New MCU does not seem to have that patience level.

 Easy E wrote:
I am curious why the F4 raced to the Galactus story line so quick. That is a penultimate F4 story, but they seemed in a rush to show it.

Perhaps an aftertaste from the last few efforts, but that is a difference between old MCU and new. The villains were not always the penultimate story first, they tried to build up to it. New MCU does not seem to have that patience level.

And they are about to do it again with Dr. Doom, imo.

I think it comes back to them not recasting Kang.

 Easy E wrote:
I am curious why the F4 raced to the Galactus story line so quick. That is a penultimate F4 story, but they seemed in a rush to show it.

Perhaps an aftertaste from the last few efforts, but that is a difference between old MCU and new. The villains were not always the penultimate story first, they tried to build up to it. New MCU does not seem to have that patience level.

Honestly, I think they were just terrified of doing their origin story for a third time, and Galactus is their other go to story-line. Like how we're inevitably going to get a Dark Phoenix film once they reboot the X Men again.

It's a shame because I think I would have liked the film more if they had set it in their early days, actually seen them go up against the Mad Thinker or Red Ghost and his Super Apes, rather than just getting a montage of their earlier adventures.

Never enjoyed the Galactus story arch.
On the subject of X-Men I'd like to see the Jim Lee story arch where they confront Magneto on his asteroid and he rips out the Adamantium from Logan's body. If they could do that in the first of a rebooted franchise I think that's be a fun spin off for a Wolverine series following the comics. Mostly because we haven't seen that as movies yet. A little creative stuff to introduce characters like Cyber dipping into the Marvel comics presents, the Sam Keith run.
The more I think about it the more I think a Series would do a better job just given the number of hours needed to tell the story.
Also I think I look fondly at that because those were the comic runs I followed the most. So it's probably not a really good idea.

Unlikely they do the Adamantium Rip immediately given they just did in the cartoon. I'm expecting something similar at the end of Doomsday though.

As for Galactus... I wouldn't call it penultimate. It's a pretty early adventure for the team overall, appearing half way through Stan Lee's original run. It's probably their most famous story by far, but a big part of that is due to the team never getting adapted beyond it.

Part of the problem with the team is that they're very prototypical and their early years and villains have been recreated several times over. Most of their old stuff is pretty generic or became more iconic when it was fleshed out elsewhere. Skrullburgers are neat, but the Kree-Skrull War and Secret Invasion do a lot more with the concept. Even in comics, they haven't been able to do direct battles with costumed nemesis without coming across as generic.

In a lot of ways this movie is acting as an origin story for what defines the modern team. Reed and Sue have long been the responsible couple with kids in the super hero friend group that explore the cosmos on family vacations. This film is very much about establishing that version of the team. Kind of like how Sam Rami's original Spider-Man film speed runs the Silver Age version of the character, this movie feels like it wants to get to the first family era as soon as possible.

(Also they probably desperately want to do the Galactus bit from Secret Wars in Secret Wars...)

 Easy E wrote:
I am curious why the F4 raced to the Galactus story line so quick. That is a penultimate F4 story, but they seemed in a rush to show it.

Perhaps an aftertaste from the last few efforts, but that is a difference between old MCU and new. The villains were not always the penultimate story first, they tried to build up to it. New MCU does not seem to have that patience level.

I don’t think the audience has the patience for it either. How many superhero movies have been “wasted” building towards a beloved villain who will never arrive? The Green Lantern was a dud perhaps because it put off the character’s strongest stories and villain. Justice League thought people would be fine waiting to come back for Darkseid. Shazam never got to fight Black Adam.

At least the film didn’t try to cram in an origin story and Dr Doom.


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 warhead01 wrote:
Never enjoyed the Galactus story arch.
On the subject of X-Men I'd like to see the Jim Lee story arch where they confront Magneto on his asteroid and he rips out the Adamantium from Logan's body. If they could do that in the first of a rebooted franchise I think that's be a fun spin off for a Wolverine series following the comics. Mostly because we haven't seen that as movies yet. A little creative stuff to introduce characters like Cyber dipping into the Marvel comics presents, the Sam Keith run.
The more I think about it the more I think a Series would do a better job just given the number of hours needed to tell the story.
Also I think I look fondly at that because those were the comic runs I followed the most. So it's probably not a really good idea.

The Jim Lee arc, and his relationship with Marvel, ended years before the arc where Wolverine lost his Adamantium. They’d probably combine them for a film, so I’m just nitpicking, but still.

What I’d love to see is a film based on the X-tinction Agenda storyline. Kind of simple, but fun.


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 Sigur wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Do you need to see Glass Onion before Wake Up Dead Man?

Nobody needs to see Glass Onion, but the first one was pretty neat.

Indeed. We saw the first movie, but not the second. However, we watched the series Only Murders in the Building, which scratches the same itch.


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 nels1031 wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Pan’s Labyrinth


What a beautiful, hard-hitting fantasy movie. I wish I could watch it again for the first time. I wish I knew of more movies like this one.

Love that movie.

Its been a bit, but I enjoyed The Devils Backbone, an earlier work by Del Torro is a ghost story set in the same time/region (Spanish Civil War). I recall really liking it, and it having a pretty somber ending like Pan’s Labryinth.

Thank you. We’ll check it out.

 Easy E wrote:
I am curious why the F4 raced to the Galactus story line so quick. That is a penultimate F4 story, but they seemed in a rush to show it.

$$.
They want to sell tickets, but the FF really only have 3 highly recognizable things to draw from.
1) Origin story - Oh God, please don't show us the origin story AGAIN. (it's been covered in 3/4 of the previous films) No actual comic fans need this repeated again.
2) Dr. Doom - Sorry, he's busy being used in another project atm....
3) Galactus (+Silver Surfer)

Well, who had ever heard of.....

1. Iromonger
2. Red Skull
3. Killmonger
4. Kaecillius
5. Abomination

etc. in the first few Marvel intro movies?

 Easy E wrote:
Well, who had ever heard of.....

1. Iromonger
2. Red Skull
3. Killmonger
4. Kaecillius
5. Abomination

etc. in the first few Marvel intro movies?

Never heard of the Red Skull?

Seesh, Makes me wonder if you somehow missed Nick Fury (no, Not Nick Fury, Jr. from the MCU) killing Adolf Hitler.

Well, we know from the end of Thunderbolts that the FF4’s ship ends up in the main MCU reality.

I was expecting that to be a result of Galactus, but seemingly not. My guess is they wanted to get Galactus out of the way, freeing them up for that now inevitable crossing over.


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Kicking it old school tonight wiiiiiiiiith

The Money Pit

Tom Hanks charms, as does Shelley Long in this comedy about a young couple sold an absolute lemon of a house by someone that turns out to be a con artist.

Not gonna lie, had this in the back of my mind when buying my house this year. But thus far I’ve avoided big spending. I dare say it may be something others associate with on their first home.

A film that very much reminds you why Tom Hanks was such a massive star. He plays the hapless homeowner absolutely perfectly. A mix of desperation and acceptance, with perseverance and paranoia,

Think I might do a small series of 80’s comedy classics.

"Two weeks."

This is such a good film. Does a nice balance between the melodrama and comedy.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Well, we know from the end of Thunderbolts that the FF4’s ship ends up in the main MCU reality.

I was expecting that to be a result of Galactus, but seemingly not. My guess is they wanted to get Galactus out of the way, freeing them up for that now inevitable crossing over.

Very much this. They needed to get Galactus out of the way before the FF crossed over into the main reality, because if he had shown up in the regular universe there would have been an entire planetful of superheroes to fight him off, not just the FF. He just wouldn't make sense as a standalone FF story on the regular Earth.

Speaking of which, I enjoyed both FF and Superman far more than I expected to, which was nice. The Four felt far more believable as a family of people who enjoy spending time in each others' company than the previous attempts, and Gunn managed to actually make Superman a likeable character... which, given my normal level of disdain for the big boy scout in general, is an achievement. Both movies were a lot of fun to watch.




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Also checked out 28 Years Later, and found it not terrible, but not as enjoyable as the first two... Even aside from the missed opportunity in not including a cameo by Sandra Bullock that I likely would have been the only person on the planet to find amusing, it just felt like a completely different setting. They ignored the setup from the 2nd movie and went in an entirely different direction, which largely consisted of turning the Rage Zombies into varying types of video game opponents, with no time wasted on pesky details like explaining how they still exist in the first place... I'm fairly forgiving of plot holes, but when the entire premise of your movie relies on one, you need to make some effort to fill it.

Sounds like they morphed it into Resident Evil.

Cause yeah the big end point of the first 28 Days Later film was that zombies would eventually run out of food and just start falling apart as their bodies cannot function.

Heck the following films mostly relied on major "hives" of zombies just managing to hide long enough to spring surprises on people.

I watched the Dolph Lundgren Punisher from the 80s.

As you would expect Frank does as Frank is prone to do, and that's bad news for the mafia and yakuza.

It's been forever since I saw the movie, and to my surprise it's better than I remembered. It's maybe a little compressed due to the hour and a half runtime, but it does a decent job of getting the Punisher feel across.

 Overread wrote:
Sounds like they morphed it into Resident Evil.

Cause yeah the big end point of the first 28 Days Later film was that zombies would eventually run out of food and just start falling apart as their bodies cannot function.

Heck the following films mostly relied on major "hives" of zombies just managing to hide long enough to spring surprises on people.

We’ve the second half coming in January (I think!). I’m expecting to learn the original Rage Virus mutated. So whilst most infected did die off? Some survived, possibly as actually not living anymore types.

I mean, the spread was super rapid, so it seems unlikely many people were able to evacuate. So there should be millions of the buggers if all infected did become Proper Zombies.

By making it only a small percentage? You retain the threat, but make it a more manageable one if you’re super sensible.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Well, we know from the end of Thunderbolts that the FF4’s ship ends up in the main MCU reality.

I was expecting that to be a result of Galactus, but seemingly not. My guess is they wanted to get Galactus out of the way, freeing them up for that now inevitable crossing over.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Kicking it old school tonight wiiiiiiiiith

The Money Pit

Tom Hanks charms, as does Shelley Long in this comedy about a young couple sold an absolute lemon of a house by someone that turns out to be a con artist.

Not gonna lie, had this in the back of my mind when buying my house this year. But thus far I’ve avoided big spending. I dare say it may be something others associate with on their first home.

A film that very much reminds you why Tom Hanks was such a massive star. He plays the hapless homeowner absolutely perfectly. A mix of desperation and acceptance, with perseverance and paranoia,

Think I might do a small series of 80’s comedy classics.

A remake-ish of Cary Grant's Mr Blandings Build his Dream House - also worth a watch if 'old school' reaches back into the black and white era.

I was always more of a fan of early Tom Hanks: the comedy actor as opposed to his later stuff. But then he was cast in Philadelphia and all went downhill.

Not really one for B&W movies. I put that peculiar prejudice down to the sort they’d air during daytime TV, and I’d have to watch at my Grandparents.

Now of course, not all B&W films are cut from the same cloth. But there’s only so much of everyone delivering their lines as quickly as possible a young mind can take!

Next up on the slate?

Vice Versa

Judge Reinhold is Fred Savage, and Fred Savage is Judge Reinhold in this body swap “learning to understand each other across the generation gap” gentle comedy.

Actually saw this in the cinema, in Harrogate, when it came out. Special memory as it was with Dad who being the bread winner wasn’t the usual Activity Parent. If there are any Harrogate Based Dakkanauts? We went to Betty’s first, then Damn Yankee after.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

 Overread wrote:
Sounds like they morphed it into Resident Evil.

Cause yeah the big end point of the first 28 Days Later film was that zombies would eventually run out of food and just start falling apart as their bodies cannot function.

Heck the following films mostly relied on major "hives" of zombies just managing to hide long enough to spring surprises on people.

We’ve the second half coming in January (I think!). I’m expecting to learn the original Rage Virus mutated. So whilst most infected did die off? Some survived, possibly as actually not living anymore types.

I mean, the spread was super rapid, so it seems unlikely many people were able to evacuate. So there should be millions of the buggers if all infected did become Proper Zombies.

By making it only a small percentage? You retain the threat, but make it a more manageable one if you’re super sensible.

The other option is it was further engineered by someone. The virus did start off man-made

 Geifer wrote:
I watched the Dolph Lundgren Punisher from the 80s.

As you would expect Frank does as Frank is prone to do, and that's bad news for the mafia and yakuza.

It's been forever since I saw the movie, and to my surprise it's better than I remembered. It's maybe a little compressed due to the hour and a half runtime, but it does a decent job of getting the Punisher feel across.

I have not seen this movie in about 30+ years, but I still recall the scene with the Teddy Bear.

And onto volume 5 of the Children’s Film Foundation Bumper Boxes.

Cor! talk about can’t make them like that anymore! Kids left to their own devices, including mucking around in old ruins, mucking around on level crossings, mucking about on building sites, mucking about with the crane on a building site.

And they’re meant to be the goodies!

I think the safety Elf must’ve been having a decade off.