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Hot Wheels VW Beetle 'Bumblebee' from Transformers. 2024 series 186/250, 'Screen Time' 9/10. The second release of this in the same year was in metallic gold: www.flickr.com/photos/adrianz-toyz/54108090792
I saw Civil War on Saturday night at a 10:00 PM screening at a small arthouse theater. While I have yet to write up my formal review of Batman v Superman that is frankly (and unacceptably) overdue by a couple months, I thought it would be easier for me to quickly share my thoughts on a less polarizing movie than DC's entryway into its cinematic universe. Plus I had a really nice weekend (finals halfway done, a hot date, and gorgeous spring weather).
If you haven't seen the movie yet, please refrain from reading this review for your own sake. It is a great MCU film, and you should see it soon! While it doesn't really have any huge surprises for fans who have been regularly following both the news and merchandise up to its release (and that's essentially all of my Lego-based followers), it still deviates enough from the trailers and the comic inspiration to provide moviegoers of all preparation with a very original story.
Whenever I see a comic book movie, my immediate and visceral measure of its worth arises from whether it met my preceding expectations. Like everyone else, my expectations for a movie will vary depending on my personal opinion of the cinematic universe's correct trajectory, a realistic judgment of the film's budget, intended audience, and MPAA rating, and its accurate portrayal of the comic book tropes and abilities that all of us fans love so dearly.
My expectations for CA:CW were not only very high, but also very nuanced. Its predecessor was highly acclaimed as not only a brilliantly executed superhero film, but also as a sublime political thriller that explored highly relevant themes to the modern age, such as government surveillance, preemptive warfare, and political secrecy as a necessary evil to keep the wheels of the world turning. The insidious re-emergence of Hydra served as an efficient scaffold for Steve's character transformation from a dutiful American soldier to an unyielding defender of abstract individualistic freedom. This stubborn refusal to submit to the iron fist of authority is THE core element of the comic book character, and the Russo brothers absolutely nailed it in their first MCU adaptation of Captain America. Nevertheless, this character quality requires an insufferable level of self-righteousness to maintain in the face of majority opposition. If everyone else wants to submit to subjugation, is it still morally right to stand as the lone figure of opposition? Is individual freedom really the paragon of all moral values? Is there any value at all to compromise?
In Civil War, I expected Steve's self-righteous view of the world to come crashing down around him just as it did in the comic book inspiration. As he raises his shield for the final blow on a downed Iron Man, he briefly looks around at the smoldering rubble of New York City only to be tackled by a small horde of civilians who have had enough of the devastation and destruction caused by the superhero skirmish. When Cap falls to the ground, he has a sudden realization that he's been going about his reckless crusade the entirely wrong way. No matter what you believe you are fighting for, others who are not involved in the conflict can only end up as unexpected victims from the inevitable crossfire. Thus, there is some value in compromising free will for security, and it is foolhardy to believe that the freedom of the individual can always be valued more than the wellbeing of the many.
With respect to my specific expectations for the film, Civil War was underwhelming to me. It focused too little on Cap's personal journey and his complex relationship with Bucky, and failed to delve deeply into the ethical and political undertones of superhero vigilantism. Instead, the film uses a significant portion of its screentime to focus on the many other superheroes that clog up the ensemble cast. To those of you who might contend that the conflict over superhero vigilantism was indeed the main plot component of the film, I absolutely agree. However, the Russo brothers failed to deliver on this theme by forgetting one of the most important tropes in storytelling: that showing is a far better and more effective technique than telling. Outside of the heated debate that follows the introduction of the Sokovia Accords, there are no instances in the film that actually showcase Captain America's prediction that U.N. oversight of the Avengers would lead them to places where they shouldn't be, and keep them out of places where they are absolutely needed. While the alternative material is still masterfully done (ie: multi-stage, well choreographed fight scenes, small vignettes that humanize and develop the various new superheroes that now populate the MCU, the circlejerk over Spider Man, and Tony's tragic efforts to hold the team together), I would have been more satisfied with a film that had much fewer characters and a greater focus on what it would truly mean if the Avengers were under the rigid control of a governing body (much like a reversal of DC's Justice Lords).
Some say that CA: CW was most ostensibly a tale of either overcoming or falling prey to vengeance, and in that respect, I wholeheartedly agree. I was completely blown away by the distinct character arcs of Black Panther and Iron Man. The former was the absolute highlight of the film for me. His unique fighting style, speed, agility, and raw power were breathtaking to witness, and T'Challa stood out as the most noble and intimidating character in the entire MCU (even in comparison to Odin). RDJ's acting ability was supremely highlighted through Tony's valiant efforts to hold both himself and the team together. I felt awful for Tony by the end of the film, and thought it was in poor taste for the film to end with not only a shot of Cap smirking as he prepares to break his Secret Avengers out of the Raft, but also the unbelievably stupid tagline of "Spider-Man will return" (it's a Captain America film for heaven's sake).
I don't have anything too lengthy to say about the other elements of the film. The humor was excellently proportioned (unlike Big Bang Ultron), and the fight scenes were absolutely spectacular with respect to the film's limited budget and the artistic restraint with which the Russo brothers direct their action sequences. Zemo was a unique villain whose modus operandi felt very similar to that of DCEU Lex Luthor, which is something that I really liked a lot. The score was less compelling than TWS, but I still appreciated the somber new theme that blared throughout the final conflict between Cap, Bucky, and Iron Man. While I was really disappointed that Red Hulk didn't make an appearance, I now realize that he would have only clogged up the film even more and diluted what I originally wanted out of the film.
Overall, I would give this movie a solid 7/10. What do you guys think?
(Apologies if I haven’t pumped out anything lately, so I’ll just leave this review here for now.)
I saw this film today in Sydney just about when I couldn’t see it back home because of the crazy virus thing that’s going on and also in preparation for my university stuff,
My breakdown of the film is as goes; its a great movie to watch honestly (and surprisingly), it’s pure popcorn fun entertainment, with a relatively simple storyline for a comic book film. It’s also the first R-rated film in the DCEU, so lots of swearing, violence and well, sex is kept to a minimum so just probably some of the skimpier outfits and sex jokes.
The plot follow Harley being dumped by the Joker after the events of Suicide Squad, which she mentions through time and time about her experiences and her relationship with him. (And no, the following is not much of a spoiler because Jared Leto does not appear in any capacity, it’s more likely a body double mixed with archive footage). After their breakup, she encounters Cassandra Cain, who’s stolen Roman Sionis/Black Mask’s diamond, which becomes the centerfold of the story and gets involved with a lotta shit.
For a film crammed with anti-heroines and villains, there’s lots of action and jokes, sometimes going over the top. Performances from Robbie to McGregor are enjoyable at its finest as they play their roles perfectly, with one psychotic and the other a sociopathic crime lord. Smolett-Bell, Perez and Basco are scene stealers, Winstead is awesome but I wish she got more screentime because out of all the female characters she gets the least and most limited. Messina plays Zsasz perfectly and he’s creepy, gives off some rape-y vibes.
Some might argue this is like Deadpool which in a matter of fact it kinda is, but Harley Quinn is her own character, also deranged and crazy, and mostly narrating the film which jumps back and forth sometimes. In a way I would call it Harley Quinn 2.0 or Harley Quinn and co, maybe to an extent Suicide Squad 1.5 since Margot Robbie is the main lead of the entire film alongside the others.
But in the end it’s enjoyable, it’s crazy fun that may be forgettable to most but the film sets up bigger things, as the character is popular and Robbie will star in the Suicide Squad sequel next year. Various Easter eggs, references, lore, plus some stuff that are blink and miss, and there’s a very quick cameo of another Squad member who appears in a photo.
Overall rating. 8/10. Great movie and aesthetics, good music, very standalone for a spin off, but will still recommend to watch Suicide Squad before seeing this. Ranked in between Aquaman and Shazam for me, as Wonder Woman is the top of my film rankings, with Man of Steel in second.
The relentless push for new technologies, digitization and AI, has things moving forward very quickly. This conjures up thoughts of "Skynet" taking over and realizing that we humans are too flawed to salvage, and robots and cyborgs roaming a dystopian Earth. Given how attached we are to our smartphones, I'm thinking we're already cyborgs.
Strobist: AB800 at 1/32 power, unfiltered directly at subject. Triggered with PWs.
Behrad Tomaz was born under the thumb of a fascist America, governed by the country's former special ops and research division ARGUS. When he and his family were forced out of their homes and moved to a ghetto, he and his sister Zari joined the fight against ARGUS's dicatatorial rule. Behrad wielded a family heirloom, a magical amulet that let him control the wind. His powers and acts of resistance made him a high-priority target for ARGUS, who eventually raided his family's home and killed him. His sister Zari would take up his amulet, and after meeting the Legends of Tomorrow, would join them in trying to prevent their future and her present. She and the Legends did succeed, but the change in the timeline meant that Behrad would join the team, with Zari's fate left uncertain.
I am desperately hoping we don't have to trade Zari for him. With us losing two pretty significant Legends this year, taking a third that hasn't really gotten the chance to shine would be a crime. Ideally, the two of them will get to coexist, maybe with Crisis rewriting their histories to lean into their traditional origins so both of them can have powers. Speaking of Crisis, it's gonna be real weird going in with a character that's a total stranger like that. We have no idea the full extent of what changed to fit him in here, or even what he's like as a person. I'm betting he either fills the background or stays out of it entirely.
This guy is definitely in the running for Least Screentime out of all the figures I've made here. He's only appeared in one scene in last season's finale, and only realy for a moment. With not a lot of reference images, I think I did okay!
Kinda bored these days, i don't know what to do with my dolls... So I decided that Ace needed more screentime, let's photo shoot him /o/
So Here is the one who shots the testicals from Sam Jackson. Really cool Character, but he could have got more screentime. Anyway His hat is a modified Cad Bane one. Face is entirely painted and I think I got the likeness from Channing Tatum.
His coat was made out of Fabric and the fur is real fake fur. I also made the Holsters outta fabric. His revolvers are custom ones. Everything else was painted by me. This is also probably my last Hateful 8 figgie. Maybe I´m gonna make some trades and let them make the other characters.
Hope you guys like it.
He's treating the park like it's his own room now: lying down on his stomach and using his data as if it were Wi-Fi.
Nikon D850
AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G
“Don’t try to understand it, feel it”.
The same words that have been uttered throughout trailers and part of the marketing, and since Nolan + WB announced this movie, I’ve been more than obsessed—three years after his last release, Dunkirk (2017), which I saw with a friend while having a fever (still sat through it anyways). It’s also the first time in 7 months since I’ve seen a film in theatres with the last three being in February (Parasite’s 2nd viewing, Birds of Prey and Sonic the Hedgehog).
But to make a review for Tenet, is simply incomprehensible. I had to make it brief on my Instagram story, and I’ll try my best to make it in what I’ve seen without spoilers—the premise involves time and an agent with the secret organization known as Tenet as they try to prevent/stop World War 3 from happening. Bear with me in this long review if you will:
The cast: John David Washington plays the main character, which isn’t really much of a spoilery detail, he’s a nameless CIA agent except he’s being called the Protagonist. That’s just it, which keeps the mystery going. JDW has the talent and appeal of a leading star, and his action beats proves he’s more than being Denzel’s son, has the merits and traits of a leading man in a Nolan film. Robert Pattinson plays Neil, second fiddle and the other lead. With his great hairstyle throughout the movie, he’s got a charismatic wit, a snarky sense of humour using his natural accent—as he returns to the main screen after being in indie and smaller films like Cosmopolis (2012) and Good Time (2017), which I throughly enjoyed and loved his character which he should really have a movie of his own. Both Rob and John have a friendship chemistry, which builds up their bromance of sorts, entrusting each other to do the right things and what’s needed to save the world.
Then there’s Kat (Elizabeth Debicki), an art auctioneer (and the tallest in the cast followed by Robert Pattinson), who is a damsel in distress yet a strong, independent woman. One would assume Kat is Nolan’s archetype of a woman set up to be a potential dead wife or mother given from the trailers, but more than that. She’s at the centrepoint who is the tritagonist—caring for her son Max and trying to stay away from her estranged husband, a Russian oligarch who abuses her and sees Kat as nothing worth. But Debicki isn’t the one giving off a strong performance, as the Russian antagonist, Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh), who’s quite stoic and menacing with a somewhat tryingly convincing Russian accent, not the first time he’s done it as he played an evil-doer in his previously in his self directed Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014). With his second collaboration with Nolan (both worked on Dunkirk), Branagh’s character might be the most complex villain yet, with such motives that is beyond my thought. Others in the cast show highlights and moments in supporting roles, such as Himesh Patel as Mahir the fixer, Aaron Taylor Johnson’s nuanced military commander Ives, Dimple Kapadia’s Priya, the mysterious arms dealer. Lesser supporting roles who still play to a degree include Clémence Posey’s scientist character, Laura who we’re introduced early in the film, Michael Caine’s cameo (just like Dunkirk), Martin Donovan’s short screentime as the Protagonist’s CIA boss and Fiona Dourif as a military leader just like Ives.
Cinematography/music: It’s hard to encompass what I’m putting in here in a 2.5 hour long movie, from the luscious cinematography of recurring Nolan collaborator Hoyte Van Hoytema, capturing small details and big ones too, cuts, scenes and jumps are pretty fast. I can see why the budget here is big for such action set pieces from Nolan’s craft; including the insane stunt of reverse car crash flips, crashing a plane into an airport as Neil describes as “a little dramatic”. If we took in Mission Impossible and James Bond by account, then Nolan has taken this to a next level for a science fiction action spy thriller film. For the first time, Hans Zimmer doesn’t compose for this film as he would do for Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming Dune (you’ll get a preview of that before the movie starts + before the trailer drops on the 10th). Instead, it’s Swedish composer Ludwig Goransson, who you might be familiar from his works with Childish Gambino, soundtracks for the Mandalorian and Venom. The beats are insanely great, as I’ve spent a good chunk of three days listening to the Tenet soundtrack while studying in the days leading up to the release. As the film ends, you’ll notice Travis Scott’s the Plan play in the background.
Everything else, themes etc: World War 3 implies the end of the world, and people have to do something to stop it. In twists and turns, Nolan’s love for mathematics, complicated terms, dialogue, it’s what makes it great and confusing, beginning to end is crazy and big. I’ve heard reviewers complaining about the loud sounds over muffled dialogue, but I’m sure I could understand everything somehow, there are scenes where I didn’t in what characters were trying to convey but not the context.
The verdict: 10/10. Bond, spy film on acid, really but with gravitas. Bigger than Inception also in terms of globetrotting and travelling across places that Interstellar might be a simpler opposite version if it’s in space. So much going on. Like most Nolan films, this isn’t linear or non linear, it’s a mix of both—inverted, forwards and backwards. He manages to stack a diverse cast of young and old, with new and returning faces that work well with one another in the play of conflict and dynamics and having important and minor roles. And it might be impossible to understand things, you’ll need to rewatch it again to grasp story points and potential plot holes and mysteries. I promise you’ll be leaving the theatre asking so much as I’m trying to find analysis and breakdowns and wondering if this should be a movie on its own deserving a prequel or a sequel as well.
Alright, I guess that’s a post for today, September is looking great so far (hopefully). A majestic European and Indian experience. If it’s crazier than X-Men: Days of Future Past or any other time travel related film, then I’ll recommend Primer (2004).
I watched Thor The Dark World this weekend, it was great and definately beats the first movie. The next day I immediately started building a small recreation. Hope you like it, and here is my review (There are SPOILERS, so you are warned)
The Characters:
Thor was pretty badass in this movie. In the first one he is Thor for like 20 minutes, and here he is just like this in the entire movie, there is a lot of hammer time, loved it :D
Loki was in my opinion the best character in this movie. Not only does the actor a great job, but he is so much more interesting in this movie than Thor and the Avengers.
Jane was pretty much the same person as we saw her in Thor. She wasn't that special. I did like how Malekith actually had a reason to come after her instead of the old Spider-Man movies where the villian just kidnapped the girl to get the hero's attention.
Malekith was a pretty cool villian, but there is just something about him that I don't like. His powers didn't really get explained, and he was mysterious. Of course, that doesn't has to be bad, he was cool but not superior.
Other characters:
Most of them were nice to see again. I liked how some of Thor's friends got more screentime. You also see Thor's parents more, and of course we see Darcy and Eric again. Eric is completely messed up, he was also quite funny, but I have no idea where they got the idea to turn him into this messed up scientist.
Story:
The story was pretty good, of course there are some plot holes, but they were not really big. I really liked how Loki was so unprodictable, and there were quite some scenes where I was like: 'Huh, what the hell?' But most of it got explained later in the movie. There were some things that were a little bit overdone. Like the death of Thor's mother was way too dramatic, but I did not care about her that much, she barely appears. However, I was really sad when Loki faked his death. That was pretty sad, but strange enough after his death it goes again to a funny scene what really ruins the feeling of it. I liked how the end battle was in London, instead of New York in every movie. This small moc represents the scene where Loki betrays Thor when they are close to Malekith's ship.
(spoilers end here)
Overall it is a great superhero movie, this is one of those movies that you can keep watching over and over again, not something like the Dark Knight or Iron Man 3. I give this movie a 8 out of 10. It's a great movie, not only for non-superhero fans, it's also a bit fantasy-like. Go watch it, great movie!
Also (spoilers again) the after credits scene, I believe it was something with Guardians of the Galaxy, I couldn't tell, I'm not such a comic book fan, please tell me :)
Now after the incredible trailers, Suicide Squad has been a highly anticipated movie for a lot of us. The concept of this movie is so cool, and the talent they have both infront and behind the camera, there was no way for this movie to be crap! Right?.... R-right? Well, after the low Rotten Tomatoes score and the countless bashing from the critics, I kept my expectations very low and went in with an open mind. So since it worked with Batman v Superman for me, did this movie hold up, or were the critics right and was truly a turd? Let’s check it out!
Good: Alright so the first act of this movie was amazing! I don’t want to spoil much, but there’s this montage that basically introduces the Suicide Squad and it’s INCREDIBLE! That montage was my absolute favorite part of the movie! This montage gives us such a big promise of what’s to come in the movie, it was packed with badass character moments, and a HYPED cameo that had me internally SQUEALING!!! Speaking of the squad, the characters in this movie were great! My personal favorite was Deadshot, because I love Will Smith and he was awesome in this movie, seriously, I haven’t seen Will Smith this great in an action movie since like the first Men in Black! My second favorite character was Captain Boomerang, Jai Courtney was actually good! He perfectly embodied Captain Boomerang and how much of a douche he is! Now I NEED to see Captain Boomerang in the Flash movie! Another great character was Harley Quinn, she was exactly what you’d expect for Harley, she was crazy and she definitely held most of the comedy in this movie. El Diablo was very surprising for me because I did not expect to get so much character development from him, and it was pretty good! The last character that I’d like to go in depth in is Amanda Waller, she was perfect. She was evil, she was mean, and she was professional and I hated her just as much as I did in the Justice League cartoon, and that’s a compliment! Other characters in this movie were great like Killer Croc and Katana, who I wish had more screentime, and Rick Flagg, who was kinda basic, but that’s what I expected from him. Now that last two things I’d like to talk about are Batman and the Joker. Now without spoilers, I was so surprised how much Batman there was in this movie, it was awesome! As for the Joker, I have to admit Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson are better than him, Jared Leto did a fine job, but there wasn’t enough of him to compare him with the other Jokers.
Bad: Alright now everybody’s coming out of this movie, whether liking it or not, they said it was fun, now I do agree for the most part, but once the Squad comes together to start their mission, man this movie gets boring. I felt like all they do is just walk around the city with their guns out and it was really awkward because they were just walking around and got some occasional fights. Speaking of the fights, I wasn’t impressed with them. I was really hoping for like some John Wick madness from start to finish, but the action in this movie wasn’t all that great and there was barely any at all it felt! Now the next thing I’d like to discuss is the soundtrack. Now the soundtrack is fine, but it was terribly paced, there were so many pop songs shoved in the beginning and then there was like barely any music at all in the middle then there were some at the end. I was hoping for this original soundtrack to be great like most of the DC films, but it was so forgettable, I gotta go on youtube and check out the music to see if there really was something good. Now last but certainly not least was the villain. This villain, Enchantress, was one of the worst comic book villains I have ever seen! She should’ve been in a Ghostbusters movie, not Suicide Squad! She was just so damn weird and there were no stakes because her henchmen were these weird eyeball bubble monsters or something.
So overall, Suicide Squad was a disappointment for me, but that’s not to say that it was a garbage fire! The villain, story, and action in this movie really let me down, but thankfully the characters and their moments saved this movie for me and left off with me liking this movie. Now because the characters were so great, I would really like for them to be brought back in future DC films like Deadshot and Harley Quinn and Joker in a Batman movie or something. Hell, I’d like a Suicide Squad 2, but this time, I’d like them to spend more time on the script. For these reasons, I’m going to give Suicide Squad a 7/10. I say to go check it out for yourself and form your own opinion on it!
Screens have always been a measured, controlled distance for me. I’ve grown up alongside the changing digital landscape, from vice to necessity, for better or worse. I have been everyone and no one online; I have been naively vulnerable and rigidly cryptic. I sarcastically joke about “my stint with agoraphobia” years ago because it’s easier than explaining the painful terror of that kind of isolation. Now it’s a global stint. Now it’s more screen time for everyone, the place that’s been my home inside my home since we had to hum along to dial-up. I think now about the nostalgic sounds of doors opening when people were available to you and closing when they weren’t. I open and close the doors between myself with others as a second nature and I weave in and out of my connectivity along the way. Do you know me? Can you ever know me? Would I even let you?
I just got back from seeing Spectre, so I thought I'd post a little something. I don't think there'll be a Lego video this time, I ran out of food puns.
Anyway, I really enjoyed it, 8/10 for me. Not quite as good as Skyfall, but enjoyable nonetheless. By the way I might accidentally delve into some spoilers here so if you haven't seen it yet don't read on. Anyway, the cast was fantastic as ever, Waltz played a great villain, that is for what was the 5 minutes of screentime he had. Moriarty was also a pretty cool villain, though the twist that he was evil was sort of quelled, well, by the fact that he's Moriarty. Drax the Destroyer was one of the worst Bond henchmen ever.
The action was solid, though some of the CG was off (looking at you, building collapse in Mexico) but that's just nitpicking really. Also I don't know why Spectre's base blew up. Like, I understand the first explosion when Bond shot the gas canisters, but then the whole complex just blew up and it felt like overkill. Also, films need to stop pretending the main bad guy is dead only to bring him back 10 minutes later. We get it! I think the film suffered from showing too many locations, part of the charm of Skyfall was that bar the opening sequence, I think we saw London, Shanghai, the floating city in China, London again and Scotland. But again, I'm being pedantic.
The story did, at times, feel a little bit like a Part 1 of 2, and given how it ended I think that's exactly what it's going to be. Blofeld's motivation was pretty rocky in this film, but now he's got a decent reason to go after Bond for revenge. I think Daniel Craig is signed on for one more film, so whenever that is, it should be good.
As a side note, some of the action sequences bordered on the comic book level. Part of the charm of Casino and QoS was that Bond felt mortal, and was placed in this gritty environment. Although Skyfall meandered a bit from this his stunts still felt believable. Some of the stuff he was getting up to here just felt a bit cartoon-y for me, which is absolutely in the spirit of the old films but I just preferred the way the first 3 were presented. Regardless, it was a solid action flick and I'd definitely recommend it, easily one of my favourites of the year (despite my picky comments)
Anyway, that's enough from me. Have you seen Spectre, and if so, what did you think of it?
Zack Snyder is a brave, bold filmmaker. I'll give him that. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a lot to take in, during the first watch, and proves to be yet another divisive film in the DCEU. As it turns out, people are apparently more hot on Man of Steel than BvS, or at least critics are. Honestly, I like Batman v Superman better...but I can't argue with anyone who doesn't fully enjoy the movie. And this should have been so much better than Man of Steel. Unanimously.
But Snyder put so much into this movie, plot-wise, visually, contextually...and that clearly is a problem. Excess, that word sums up my problems with Dawn of Justice. My thoughts on this are going to be all over the place...much like the film. I liked it, I didn't love it. I saw it twice. And I have a lot of problems.
SPOILERS
First of all, did we really need to see the murder of Martha and Thomas Wayne, again? This was unnecessary, and Snyder had to make it worse by filming it in slow-motion. He had to re-do it by using visuals from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. Just couldn't help himself - and then he had to bring this scene back up later on in the film after Superman tells Batman to save Martha. This is a small example of excess in this movie.
A much bigger example would be the "Knightmare" sequence. Good Lord, Zack. Batman killing with guns, Parademons, the Omega symbol...way too much to process in one scene. And it means absolutely nothing within the context of the scene that came before it. We pretty much learn that this scene is just a setup for these two Justice League movies. But as it's happening, there's no context, it's jarring and confusing. I notice the references because I read comics, but general audiences are gonna be fucking confused - and they are - especially when Flash show's up after. Which is just another setup for future movies. It's difficult to hear him and if you don't already know that Ezra Miller was cast as Barry Allen/Flash, you'd have no fucking idea that was the Flash. You'd have no idea it was Barry Allen. And you probably don't know that he is time travelling, or travelling between different universes/realities.
It all felt incredibly forced. If you're trying to hint at future movies, Jesus Christ, you need to be more subtle than this. This is beating me over the head with a frying pan.
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The subplot involving Africa and Scoot McNairy's character (Wally, the legless wheelchair man), was so unnecessary. The congressional hearing in this movie should have been about Superman's fight with Zod. He destroyed the city, that's more than enough of a reason to have this hearing. We did not need this additional subplot with Lois being in Africa. It seems to only exist to give Amy Adams something to do. I'm glad she had more to do this time, but this subplot was just excess.
It takes away from the main conflict and point of the movie. We're supposed to be watching Batman go up against Superman because of their differing ideologies. First off, Batman/Bruce Wayne/Ben Affleck seems to get much more screentime than Superman/Clark Kent/Henry Cavill. I understand Bruce Wayne more than I understand Clark Kent, Batman's motivations are made perfectly clear. Superman, however, is only fighting Batman because Lex kidnapped his mother. They're not fighting over their different ideologies and that's a problem. We don't really get to see them hash that out. Daredevil season 2 did a better job of that, in ONE episode. Clark and Bruce have one scene together. Batman and Superman have two, one where Batman's Batmobile crashes into a gas station, and then their fight.
We see Batman being a ruthless vigilante, sort of. We don't see Superman being hopeful. We barely fucking see him smile. I can't remember him smiling at all in this movie. He blows off the senate hearing Lois tells him about, because he's only concerned about her. "I don't care." Really? You're our hero and you don't care? I saw that Lois was trying to get him to understand everyone else's point of view. She should have been the one to convince him to go to that hearing, and we actually should have heard Superman defend himself. He didn't say anything. At all. He didn't even say anything after the bomb went off. He didn't look horrified. He barely even flinched. He just looked a little frustrated, he wasn't reacting like it was a horrible tragedy...which it was. He reacted like it was just some minor irritation.
I don't buy that Superman cares. I've been hearing people talk about the movie, saying that Snyder doesn't like Superman...and I'm starting to agree. He just doesn't like this character. They find his "boyscout" persona boring and they think this is more interesting. Him being an asshole. This version of him is not more interesting and it's clear that Snyder does not actually understand this character - or, maybe more specifically, he does know how to illustrate the best qualities of the character. He does not respect humanity...there's no regard for his power over us. He doesn't care. He genuinely wasn't interested in hearing people tell him why they're upset, with that congressional hearing. He wants to live here, blend in, date Lois Lane, but the rest of y'all? Fuck you. Don't question me.
This is no different to me than a "white ally." He's stepping into someone else's space, doing something destructive, then acts like he's above criticism. That's bullshit. Superman is an asshole. I don't care if he still had his training wheels on in Man of Steel and didn't know how to properly be mindful of his surroundings. What happened happened. People died. They have every reason to be upset. "But he saved Earth!" So? People aren't going to continue to grieve over the loss of their family members, co-workers? We're supposed to shut up and get over it? Nah. That's not how it works. Zod came to Earth looking for Kal-El, he's at least partially responsible.
Superman does have one genuinely heroic act, that is completely glossed over. Most people haven't noticed it. I didn't notice until someone else brought it up. Lex Luthor is evil. He's orchestrated this battle between Batman and Superman, he blew up that courtroom, he kidnapped Martha Kent. He is truly a piece of shit. When Superman confronts him, right before Lex introduces Doomsday, he could have just let Lex be killed. Because Doomsday took a swing - and he was going to hit Lex. But Superman leapt in front of him and protected him. I'll say that again. He protected the villain of the movie, the same guy who 20 mins earlier, showed him pictures of his mother being held captive. Superman was ready to obliterate Lex with his laser eyes, he was holding back so much rage. But he still saves his life.
That is the goodness of Superman - that is a perfect example of his heroism. That one moment, that incredibly quick moment that maybe only lasted a second, was completely ignored. Did Snyder emphasize it, and show Lex being shocked? No. It's treated just as an action beat, nothing more. It's completely forgettable. That moment, the one moment that demonstrates how good Superman is, is ignored. That's a POWERFUL moment, it should have been a huge moment. It wasn't. Snyder is not at all interested in highlighting that part of Superman. Those montages of him doing good, he was just holding giant CG objects and people were looking up at him like Jesus. That's not the same as what he just did in this scene.
Wonder Woman is only in the movie because she needs to retrieve a photograph. Which is incredibly stupid. If she didn't want that picture getting out, why pose for that picture at all? It doesn't make any sense. It's a picture taken nearly 100 years ago. It's a weak reason for her being in the film, she doesn't have a strong motivation for being in this story, but WW was good in her action scenes.
The "Martha" scene...I liked it when I saw it. Looking back, I understand why it bothers people. It was supposed to be enough to snap Batman out of his rage. I don't think it was strong enough. The motivation to get Batman to put the spear down should have been bigger. The two would then begrudgingly work together (this is if the script was completely rewritten from start to finish) and then Clark could tell Bruce his mother's name is Martha and at that moment, the two could connect as friends. And not just two guys trying to take down Lex Luthor. I get that "Martha" is supposed to be humanizing, but I don't buy it as enough of a reason to completely erase that rage and hatred Batman had for Superman.
Superman never even bothered to ask if his mother was okay.
This movie is trying to be a sequel to Man of Steel and deal with the consequences of that, be a Batman versus Superman movie, set up a new Batman, include the Death of Superman story, Injustice, Crisis on Infinite Earths and Darkseid. That is way too fucking much to cram into one movie. This is actually what I was afraid of in 2013 after MoS opened. Talking about how WB would build their DC Extended Universe, I was hoping they wouldn't be impatient and rush it. And Cavill himself even stated that he would have prefered if they took their time introducing all of these other characters. They're going to move forward with a Justice League movie, of course, but this was such a sloppy, disappointing introduction into that world.
I liked most of the score. Action scenes were fun, Batman busting into the warehouse was one of the best. I liked Jesse Eisenberg's performance but I understand why people don't. Affleck was fine. Cavill didn't have much to do. I liked Jeremy Irons. I liked the intro of the film (Bruce driving through Metropolis).
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is decent. Sure it's pretty to look at, in certain scenes. It's rushed and impatient. With so many missed opportunities.
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So I saw this film back in early June and wasn't as eager to see it as soon as it was released after the extremely long and abysmal Last Jedi(Sorry TLJ fans)but this review is about Solo so I will move on.
Now onto the Pros & Cons
Pros:
The soundtrack was brilliant and miles better than TLJ(Oops sorry again LJ fans,you weird bunch;p) (jokes).
I loved the western style tone.
Tobias Beckett was fantastic after all he was played by the very charismatic Woody Harrelson. So I could have thought of no one better to play Han Solos mentor figure aside from maybe Jeff Bridges or Bruce Willis but I would probably have gone with Harrelson too. Infact I would have for sure if making Solo.
Jon Favreaus character Rio Durrant was amazing but far too short lived. Hopefully we will get to see him again in another spin off or series along with Beckett and Val.
Val:played by a brilliant actress and looked very cool but felt a little underdeveloped and yet again far too short lived for the story.
The design of the Mudtroopers,Mimbantroopers,the alien Mimbanese warriors and that whole epic battle sequence and planet which was different therefore memorable.
The planet Correlia was really envisioned well in the canon and felt very accurate to that of the EU.
Correlian Hounds
The white worms gang was cool as was their leader but the queen worm was poorly acted.
Drydon Vos:was a perfect villain if not henchmen with his cool,chilling,charismatic personality and creepy near human appearance though he could've been a little scarier.
Drden Vos's yacht/ship
The amazing costume design was SO SO AWESOME especially those done for the main characters,Enfy's Nest and those aboard Dryden Vos's yacht. I read somewhere that they made over 1000 costumes for this film,the most yet for a SW movie.
L3-37.
Lando :Donald Glovers acting was one of the best parts and his likeness in appearance and acting to Billy Dee Williams was superb along with Landos new costumes especially that white shirt with the picture printing at the end. I would love to see more of young Lando.
Alden Enreich was okay as Han though his acting felt wooden and cringe worthy at times especially seeming like he was trying too hard to perform like how Harrision Ford played him even though he said he wasnt trying to do that. I also didnt like Hans brown jacket costume for some reason as it looked boring and like something from a cosplay convention cheaply stitched together.He could of worn the leather jacket Han wore in TFA.
Enfy's Nest: Like Boba Fett and and Captain Phasma she defiently looked the part if not the best in the film going by that helmet, vambraces,coat and shoulder scarf thing but was underused and a weak villain that was revealed to be a very unscary child not like Kylo.
Tobiass Becketts blaster pistol especially the revolver one.
The white worm gangs costume design was really cool but Moloch looked too similar to TFA's Sarco Plank when he had his helmet hood thing up.
The Correlia car chase was very cool and felt very Grease,American Graffiti,Baby Driver,fast and furious what have you which I liked along with the new imperial patrol officers.Though what was the point of those patrol officers appearance when you've already got scout troopers,stormtroopers and those other scout/AT-DP style troopers in Rebels especially when it wasn't a different climate.
The Kessel run and the really cool giant headed spider octopus/squid style nebula monster.
The Kessel mines wookiee,droid and slave revolt.
It expanded the canon well and did service to the EU lore.
The train heist scene was absolutely superb and one of if not the films best moments. Its just a shame I drank too much beforehand and had to desperatly pop off to the toilet during the sequence only to miss Vals death when I had come back. :(
Viper droids.
Drydon Vos's alien security personel.
The sabacc game over the Falcon between Lando and Han but I thought it would take place in the casinos of cloud city or even on Canto Bight for greater movie connections.
Cons:
The character of Qi'ra/Emilia Clarkes acting was just damn right awful for me and so off so many times especially during that cloak room scene on the Falcon. She just couldnt seem to say her lines right with enough believabilty ,emotion or urgency like the others and she hardly seemed like a dangerous double crossing fem fatale. Its a real shame as I think Emilia Clarke is usually a great actress and I really like her but in this film she was just a pretty and unconvincing face. Mary Elizabeth Winstead or Lizzie Caplan would have been far far better choices and Emilia Clarke looks too similar to Leia in a way.
The film was way too fast paced at the beginning especially during the Corellia and Mimban scenes as it would've been great to of spent more time at those locations and see larger sequences.
Tobias Beckett being killed off. (Really wasnt expecting that so soon or Dryden Vos's death as I heard Solo was rumoured to be part of a trilogy.
No Kashyykk or sign of Tarful and Chewies family. Not even in the spice mines of Kessel.
The Pykes didnt look like the Pykes from CW which was disappointing.
The scene where Han freed Chewie on Mimban was a bit too rushed and underwhelming for me compared to how it plays out in the EU as it is much more importanat and emotional because Han Solo is ordered to execute him as an imperial TIE fighter cadet then doesn't which sets him apart from the Empire and shows that he actually has a heart and escspes witb Chewie before being courtmarshked hence the life debt. Why couldn't they have done this instead of making the scene a comedy plot point to just tick off the backstory list.
Now lastly onto that interesting Darth Maul cameo. I loved the idea about it but unfortunatly had it spoiled for me before going to the cinema. Im in two mind about this cameo. Firstly I love it and think its great to see Ray Park/Darth Maul back in live action canon again even if it may seem a little confusing for those who think hes dead and didnt watch Rebels or CW. I also heard strangely that CW Maul voice actor Sam Wittwer did the voice which seemed uneccesary considering Ray Park did the voice in Phantom Menace for just as much screentime. However we know now that before this that Maul has officially died for real this time in Rebels before Solo, so his return feels less powerful and more meh I know when and how you're going to die so Im no longer interested.
His death should have been left for a live action series after Solo IMO or and Obi wan film.
Final verdict 4/5
The original Kingsman was quite a pleasant surprise for all of us. It was such a refreshing and new kind of movie, while at the same time paying homage to the great spy movies of the past. I enjoyed the first film quite a bit, so I was pretty excited to see Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Everything surrounding this film, from the cast to introducing an American secret service, had me so on board for this film. So I just got back from this film tonight and I’m ready to give my thoughts on it. Also, while I was checking out my review for the first film, I realized that, not including my Spoiler talks, this is my 100th movie review! That’s pretty exciting, and I can’t wait to bring you 100 more! Anyways, here’s what I thought about Kingsman: The Golden Circle!
Good: God damn, Matthew Vaughn is such a great director, I absolutely love his style of filmmaking! With movies like Kick Ass, X-Men First Class, and these Kingsman movies; Vaughn absolutely nails absurd and over the top action, but still presents it in a way that isn’t visual noise and is super easy to follow. This film does not disappoint when it comes to the action, it’s some of the best action and choreography I’ve seen all year! Of course all the protagonists we love from the original are back and they’re as good as ever. I’m surprised Taron Egerton hasn’t blown up yet, so far I’ve only seen him in these movies, Eddie the Eagle, and Legend. This dude is great and I really hope to see him pop up in more stuff in the future! We also get the return of Colin Firth and Mark Strong. Now I won’t spoil how Colin Firth comes back, but I was sort of middle-of-the road with the reveal. But once he was on screen, I forgave the odd explanation because Colin Firth really does make this franchise what it is. Now the Statesman, which are basically the American Kingsman, are perfectly cast in this movie with the likes of Jeff Bridges, Channing Tatum, and Halle Berry. But once Statesman that’s really been underappreciated in the marketing for this film is Pedro Pascal as Whiskey, which is odd because he’s probably the most important Statesman with the most screentime. Damn Pascal was great in this movie, he really knows how to make a lasso and a whip look cool! Finally, there’s a certain recurring cameo in this movie that was awesome and drew some really great comedy.
Bad: Now I’m just going to say this, if you weren’t a fan of that controversial ending of the first movie, I don’t know how you are going to feel about this movie. I personally didn’t mind the ending at first but I can see why people were upset. Honestly, this movie really redeems that ending by having that princess who Eggsy goes to town with be a pretty important love-figure in this movie. But at the same time, there are moments in the movie where there is just this unnecessary use of sex and using women that really just pulled me out of the film. I think my main problem with this movie is the script. Because along with those unnecessary actions and some odd dialogue, there’s some things that happen to characters and how they’re dealt with that I didn’t necessarily like. I mean this isn’t really a spoiler, but we barely get to see that much of the Statesman characters that we were promised in all the trailers, which really disappointed me because that was the aspect I was looking forward to seeing the most!
Overall, this sequel does bring back most of the magic to the original, but is brought down by some questionable choices to characters and an odd script. For this reason, I’m going to give Kingsman: The Golden Circle a 7.5/10. If you really loved the first movie, I think you’ll have a good time with this film. Anyways, if you have seen Kingsman: The Golden Circle, let me know what you thought about in the comments below!
These days, it's so easy for anyone to record a video that the act of recording and then playing back a video clip on the spot has become synonymous with being human—and yet that ability has only been around for a few decades!
Nikon D700
AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G
Willow Hood aka. The Ice Cream Maker Guy LEGO Minifig Decal
Probably the most famous Meme in the Star Wars Universe, defensively the biggest in-joke. From a simple, podgy extra running around Cloud City with a Ice Cream Maker as a prop, to a Hero of the Rebellion escaping with the City's Memory Core, holding the names of the Rebel's biggest financiers. This guy epitomises the Star Wars fandom and the Expanded Universe, where any background extra can get a back story tightly woven and is integral to the main plot of the films, all from a couple of frames screentime. He's a tribute to the fandom's sense of humor, and devotion they have to the series.
Surprised nobody's made a LEGO version of Willrow to date (that I could find). Thought he might have turned up in the LEGO Star Wars Games as background joke/tribute, but nothing, where's the Willrow Love?
Willrow would be nothing without his "Computer Memory Core", so the instructions for that are supplied. I noticed from what footage there is on him in the Empire Strikes Back, that he's basically wearing a Rebel's Pilot Jumpsuit without the equipment vest, if he's popular enough I will upload a version with this attached so Willrow can take to the skies and get that Memory Core to safety off-world!
If you do use this decal, I would love to see how it turns out and where in the universe he ends up. So do send me a link to any pictures or MOCs you have either through Flickr or any of methods on the bottom of the image, enjoy!
THIS GUY WOULD BE AN AWESOME COMI-CON EXCLUSIVE!
The Blank Version for transparent printing can be found here; CLEAR VERSION
This Decal is for Personal Use Only! This Decal is NOT for Commercial Use!
Spied in the Hangar awaiting its next test flight.
Hot Wheels diecast. Converted into a plane from the Grumobile.
Didn't get alot of screentime but it's still worthy of it's own post. A police Patrol bike of a cyberpunk dystopia of your choice. Pretty much a modded variant of my old Spoiler Bike from many winters ago.
Anzac Service in Tewantin, Queensland, with a special focus on the Women who served.
There is a very good TV series which tells the stories of the Nurses who supported the Anzacs in Gallipoli... ANZAC Girls is an Australian television drama series that first screened on ABC1 on 10 August 2014. The six-part series tells the rarely told true stories of the nurses serving with the Australian Army Nursing Service at Gallipoli and the Western Front during the First World War. The series is based on Peter Rees' book The Other ANZACs as well as diaries, letters, photographs and historical documents. The series was written by Felicity Packard and Niki Aken, produced by Screentime, and filmed in South Australia.
A rather lazy day with rather a lot of screentime. We briefly braved the cold for a play in the garden. The children lasted 5 minutes on the trampoline and 2 on the swing before heading back inside. I stayed out for rather longer, playing around with laying the camera (with wide angle lens) on the trampoline, setting the 2 second timer, and jumping over it. Lots of fun, if rather precarious for the poor camera. I ended up doing more balancing/striding than actual jumping to get a little more control over the result, and eventually gave up when I could no longer feel my feet due to cold.
Hot Wheels 1/64 diecast.
The older version is on the left with regular wheels and a slightly different, darker shade of red.
The car is made in Thailand and carriers only the name Mattel with no hot wheels branding?
The newer version on the right is part of the 'HW Screen Time 2019' range and has more specialist wheels.
This was the car used in the James Bond Film Diamonds are forever.
Both cars have received a minor amount of detailing and some touch up painting on the older model.
What a desolate place this is.
The popularity of this little bucket is astounding. How many seconds of screentime did it actually have?
Screens have always been a measured, controlled distance for me. I’ve grown up alongside the changing digital landscape, from vice to necessity, for better or worse. I have been everyone and no one online; I have been naively vulnerable and rigidly cryptic. I sarcastically joke about “my stint with agoraphobia” years ago because it’s easier than explaining the painful terror of that kind of isolation. Now it’s a global stint. Now it’s more screen time for everyone, the place that’s been my home inside my home since we had to hum along to dial-up. I think now about the nostalgic sounds of doors opening when people were available to you and closing when they weren’t. I open and close the doors between myself with others as a second nature and I weave in and out of my connectivity along the way. Do you know me? Can you ever know me? Would I even let you?
I'm so pleased that Apple introduced the ability to check how long you have been on any of your (Apple) devices during the course of a day and on a weekly basis.
I'm doing my best to reduce the time that I pick up my iPhone or my iPad ~ at least I'm 16 minutes below my average for today!! Resolution is working!!
Flickr Lounge - Weekly Theme (Week 2) ~ Resolutions ....
Thanks to everyone who views this photo, adds a note, leaves a comment and of course BIG thanks to anyone who chooses to favourite my photo .... Thanks to you all.
I had a spare small frame sitting around, so I turned it into another mini-version mobile suit. The GM Sniper is one of my all-time favorite suits, despite having a grand total of like 15 seconds screentime. Someday I'll do one in my medium frame size, just need to bricklink a fair amount of parts first.
I liked the movie! It was cute and such. I heart Draculaura so it's nice to have her featured again. I wish these ghouls had more screentime! They're to presh!! And WTF, we totes need a Black Carpet Robecca!!! Why did they give us a Lagoona (who was barely in the movie) anyway? Robecca was, like, crucial! Anyways, can't wait for the DVD. Hope we get Scaris and Skull Shores soon! I love MH, omg.
XXXO