28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Sven]

even footing with Thor.

I have become consumed by this strange phenomenon of people liking Thor. It's like I've slipped into a dimension where people express disgust with compliments.

[TGM]

A recent rewatch of Thor wasn't kind to it at all. I thought it was merely okay the first time around, mainly due to its humor. But the second time through, its flaws were that much more noticeable, and the humor really didn't hold up much at all. I still wouldn't say it's a bad movie entirely, but it is very much a flawed experience.

[Watashi]

I still think Thor is the best of the super flicks of 2011 (though it's probably the only one I actually enjoyed).

[EyesWideOpen]

I still think Thor is the best of the super flicks of 2011 (though it's probably the only one I actually enjoyed).

I agree with that although I haven't seen Captain America or Green Lantern.

[MadMan]

I have become consumed by this strange phenomenon of people liking Thor. It's like I've slipped into a dimension where people express disgust with compliments.

I hate to be one of those people, but critics liked it, people liked it, hell I liked it. This isn't the same thing as wondering why people enjoy Twilight or Transformers, movies that are not entertaining or even remotely decent. Thor was a good, solid, entertaining super hero movie with a charismatic lead actor and some cool action sequences. This isn't rocket science, yo.

[Derek]

I have become consumed by this strange phenomenon of people liking Thor. It's like I've slipped into a dimension where people express disgust with compliments.

It's thoroughly mediocre, but people crave big budget nonsense in the summers, so if it doesn't suck, it'll likely get way more credit than it deserves.

[D_Davis]

I watched a movie!

Limitless

It was pretty good. Very slick. I liked the high-contrast look, and the zooming-tunnel effect during the trip-out parts was hella cool.

[Milky Joe]

I finally saw Midnight in Paris the other day. I could watch that movie on an endless loop. So good.

[Sven]

And now I have watched Punisher War Zone, which is, as expected, bereft of worth. Ugly in every way.

[MadMan]

Punisher War Zone is a mediocre movie at best, but I won't lie: when [

Show Spoiler

that one guy goes "Ha ha!" and then the guy behind him gets blown up by the Punisher, I laughed my ass off.

]

I mostly preferred the first one because of Thomas Jane, plus John Travolta as the bad guy. Also that one had a better script.

[Derek]

And now I have watched Punisher War Zone, which is, as expected, bereft of worth. Ugly in every way.

Why are you doing this to yourself?

[Sven]

Why are you doing this to yourself?

I kickstarted this marathon with a rewatch of Seven Samurai, so that I could properly ensconce myself in a healthy sheath of cinematic good will. But I think what ended up happening instead is that I put these films at a dramatic disadvantage by comparison.

[Grouchy]

I watched a movie!

Limitless

It was pretty good. Very slick. I liked the high-contrast look, and the zooming-tunnel effect during the trip-out parts was hella cool.

Two questions about this movie:

[

Show Spoiler

1) If Bradley Cooper is so smart all of a sudden, why doesn't he realize until the last minute he will eventually run out of smart pills?

2) Did they just forget about the plot of the murdered woman in the hotel? Why was that even mentioned?

]

Anyway, Robert De Niro has no shame or dignity left in him.

[TGM]

Two questions about this movie:

[

Show Spoiler

1) If Bradley Cooper is so smart all of a sudden, why doesn't he realize until the last minute he will eventually run out of smart pills?

2) Did they just forget about the plot of the murdered woman in the hotel? Why was that even mentioned?

]

Anyway, Robert De Niro has no shame or dignity left in him.

1. Because smart as the characters are supposed to be, the movie itself is stupid.

2. They want us to assume that he's so smart that he was able to get away with it. Why? See #1.

[Ezee E]

Watched Black Snake Moan again today. Still think it's great, although it peters out after the concert scene and Timberlake's reemergence. He's so wimpy compared to the other two characters that he just feels out of place.

Both of those characters are going through radically different lifechanges. Timberlake has anxiety, especially with loud noises. Just doesn't fit.

[MadMan]

Justin Timberlake clearly got much better as an actor, although he really wasn't that important to Black Snake Moan being a good movie. Samuel L. Jackson did great work in that film-he was right at home playing a down on his luck blues musician.

[eternity]

Limitless was insufferable. My family all seem to agree it is a "really smart movie."

Gah.

[transmogrifier]

Why are you doing this to yourself?

I think it's worth checking out generally derided films every now and then if it has a overall premise that appeals to you - sometimes you stumble across something that appeals to you (and maybe you only). Plus, it helps you to appreciate more movies done right.

[ledfloyd]

Watched Black Snake Moan again today. Still think it's great, although it peters out after the concert scene and Timberlake's reemergence. He's so wimpy compared to the other two characters that he just feels out of place.

Both of those characters are going through radically different lifechanges. Timberlake has anxiety, especially with loud noises. Just doesn't fit.

i liked the film a great deal when i first saw it, but the one aspect of it that has stuck with me are timberlake's anxiety attacks. perhaps it's hard to convey cinematically (and maybe he's not up to the task of conveying it dramatically) but they really do affect you radically. i could relate, anyway.

[Derek]

I think it's worth checking out generally derided films every now and then if it has a overall premise that appeals to you - sometimes you stumble across something that appeals to you (and maybe you only). Plus, it helps you to appreciate more movies done right.

I completely agree with you, but Sven was going for about a dozen in a row.

[megladon8]

Punisher War Zone is a mediocre movie at best, but I won't lie: when [

Show Spoiler

that one guy goes "Ha ha!" and then the guy behind him gets blown up by the Punisher, I laughed my ass off.

]

I mostly preferred the first one because of Thomas Jane, plus John Travolta as the bad guy. Also that one had a better script.

Yuck. Have you watched the Thomas Jane one lately? It has aged terribly, and is just, well, terrible.

Both Punisher movies are atrocious.

I almost, at this point, give the edge to War Zone because it at least tried to have some visual panache, and Ray Stevenson was a much more inspired casting choice.

But really, it's like saying I'd rather have diarrhea than be throwing up. It may be true, but ideally I'd rather do neither.

[Sven]

Yuck. Have you watched the Thomas Jane one lately? It has aged terribly, and is just, well, terrible.

I'll have to watch it again. I remember liking it's handle of tone and pace.

Both Punisher movies are atrocious.

Will have to check out the Lundgren one at some point. Saw it as a child.

at least tried to have some visual panache,

Really? I don't remember much panache. It was an overexposed, grimy eye-sore cast in the most unimaginative blue-gold lighting scheme this side of straight-to-DVD cover boxes. And the Jane film had plenty of stylized visuals.

and Ray Stevenson was a much more inspired casting choice.

We clearly have different ideas of the character. Stevenson was embarrassing. His jowls cast his mouth in a permanent droopy frown. The slicked hair and absence of jawline made him look like a coke dealer from a Golan-Globus film.

The positives: I liked Dash Mihok as Soap. I think Ennis is too hard on the character, and Mihok bypasses the more aggressive patheticness with which he was conceived. And I liked Dominic West's overemphatic Brooklyn accent.

[Grouchy]

I remember liking the Thomas Jane movie too. Of course, I haven't seen it since it came out, and I was young. So young.

[MadMan]

Yuck. Have you watched the Thomas Jane one lately? It has aged terribly, and is just, well, terrible.

Both Punisher movies are atrocious.

I almost, at this point, give the edge to War Zone because it at least tried to have some visual panache, and Ray Stevenson was a much more inspired casting choice.

But really, it's like saying I'd rather have diarrhea than be throwing up. It may be true, but ideally I'd rather do neither.

Yes I've seen the Thomas Jane Punisher recently, and I still dig it a lot. Both movies actually had good visuals, and I will say that War Zone was better looking, but that doesn't mean it was the better movie. Stevenson deserved to be a much better movie without really shitty dialogue, too-he was good as the Punisher. Despite West's attempts, I really didn't care for the villain in War Zone at all. Having his face all managled up was, to me anyways, just a weak attempt to make him more interesting than your average gangster. I'm not saying that Travolta's gangster in the first film was any better, but at least Travolta gave the character some kind of sinister quality.

The Punisher-80
War Zone-55

Is about how I would rate both.

[Fezzik]

I've decided to do a list for Match-Cut coming up soon. I haven't done one here in a while, and I just felt like doing one.

And when I say "for Match-Cut," I mean it literally. It's inspired by the discussions I've seen and been a part of here.