Modern cinema

[Derek.McManus]

I'm old enough to remember the 80's and the release of the Transformer toys...lots of easter eggs and nods to the era. It's a fairly simple story but done quite well character development hero's journey and all that good stuff. It's not an epic  movie but I was certainly not disappointed.

[Lizerd]

Transformers, robots in disguise. I remember when I was a wee lad those toys were all the rage, now its a series of movies with some pretty impressive explosions.

Perfect model of making 6 sequels then more prequels then a reboot!

[Derek.McManus]

https://www.gamesradar.com/upcoming-star-wars-movies/

Ah yes, don´t let the fact that there are numerous movies and a tv show coming in the near future deceive you. Star Wars is, indeed, very dead. 

Literally 2 TV shows (3 if you count the clone wars revival), another movie and another trilogy, potentially.

I think most people who say that "star wars is dead" just didn't like the last Jedi. Which, whatever. But, that just means it's dead to them. To me, star wars died probably sometime shortly after star tours, and was incredibly dead until, like, the clone wars. Though, gotta say, that 2d clone wars was pretty great tbh.

If you think Star Wars is not dead it is in a very bad place...Last Jedi was at best devisive and has caused a large backlash amongst fans.I didn't see Solo and have no intention of watching Episode ix and I saw every other Star Wars  movie in the cinema. Still if people like it I'm happy for them. I think a choice was made to try and appeal to a different audience and it may have backfired, still Ruin Johnson did want to subvert expectations and he certainly did that with his momma jokes, space walrus breastfeeding Luke, space horsey racing, Leia Poppins, bombs falling in a vacuum and Admiral Gender Studies to mention just a few.

Admiral Gender Studies? What exactly are you trying to imply here? It better not be a "trap" joke.

It better not be a trap joke?What is a trap joke? Also why better not? Is that some sort of threat or implication of punishment / disiplinary measures / sanctions? Or are you Star gate Dalek going to call round to my place and physically punish me?

I'm genuinely curious as to what you mean with your little passive aggressive that better not be a trap jibe and I look forward to your response.

Regards Derek

[stargatedalek]

https://www.gamesradar.com/upcoming-star-wars-movies/

Ah yes, don´t let the fact that there are numerous movies and a tv show coming in the near future deceive you. Star Wars is, indeed, very dead. 

Literally 2 TV shows (3 if you count the clone wars revival), another movie and another trilogy, potentially.

I think most people who say that "star wars is dead" just didn't like the last Jedi. Which, whatever. But, that just means it's dead to them. To me, star wars died probably sometime shortly after star tours, and was incredibly dead until, like, the clone wars. Though, gotta say, that 2d clone wars was pretty great tbh.

If you think Star Wars is not dead it is in a very bad place...Last Jedi was at best devisive and has caused a large backlash amongst fans.I didn't see Solo and have no intention of watching Episode ix and I saw every other Star Wars  movie in the cinema. Still if people like it I'm happy for them. I think a choice was made to try and appeal to a different audience and it may have backfired, still Ruin Johnson did want to subvert expectations and he certainly did that with his momma jokes, space walrus breastfeeding Luke, space horsey racing, Leia Poppins, bombs falling in a vacuum and Admiral Gender Studies to mention just a few.

Admiral Gender Studies? What exactly are you trying to imply here? It better not be a "trap" joke.

It better not be a trap joke?What is a trap joke? Also why better not? Is that some sort of threat or implication of punishment / disiplinary measures / sanctions? Or are you Star gate Dalek going to call round to my place and physically punish me?

I'm genuinely curious as to what you mean with your little passive aggressive that better not be a trap jibe and I look forward to your response.

Regards Derek

As in a transphobic joke. Trap is frequently used as a transphobic slur, and many people using it will quote a certain famous Star Wars admiral when using it.

You used "gender studies" as an insult, I feel like that is fair grounds for assuming your intentions were not built on respect. So it's only natural I would respond in an accusatory way to an aggressive comment given the aforementioned.

[Syndicate Bias]

@Blade-of-the-Moon

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

@Blade-of-the-Moon

"You rang? "

[Halichoeres]

I think the original "quip" was a derisive allusion to Vice Admiral Holdo, because lots of people wanted the hot-headed rapscallion to be right about everything in the end.

[Shadowknight1]

I think the original "quip" was a derisive allusion to Vice Admiral Holdo, because lots of people wanted the hot-headed rapscallion to be right about everything in the end.

Honestly, I thought that the reason she wouldn't tell him anything was because of a potential traitor.  One line of dialog addressing this might have helped.  But hey, I liked it, that's all I care about.

[Derek.McManus]

https://www.gamesradar.com/upcoming-star-wars-movies/

Ah yes, don´t let the fact that there are numerous movies and a tv show coming in the near future deceive you. Star Wars is, indeed, very dead. 

Literally 2 TV shows (3 if you count the clone wars revival), another movie and another trilogy, potentially.

I think most people who say that "star wars is dead" just didn't like the last Jedi. Which, whatever. But, that just means it's dead to them. To me, star wars died probably sometime shortly after star tours, and was incredibly dead until, like, the clone wars. Though, gotta say, that 2d clone wars was pretty great tbh.

If you think Star Wars is not dead it is in a very bad place...Last Jedi was at best devisive and has caused a large backlash amongst fans.I didn't see Solo and have no intention of watching Episode ix and I saw every other Star Wars  movie in the cinema. Still if people like it I'm happy for them. I think a choice was made to try and appeal to a different audience and it may have backfired, still Ruin Johnson did want to subvert expectations and he certainly did that with his momma jokes, space walrus breastfeeding Luke, space horsey racing, Leia Poppins, bombs falling in a vacuum and Admiral Gender Studies to mention just a few.

Admiral Gender Studies? What exactly are you trying to imply here? It better not be a "trap" joke.

It better not be a trap joke?What is a trap joke? Also why better not? Is that some sort of threat or implication of punishment / disiplinary measures / sanctions? Or are you Star gate Dalek going to call round to my place and physically punish me?

I'm genuinely curious as to what you mean with your little passive aggressive that better not be a trap jibe and I look forward to your response.

Regards Derek

As in a transphobic joke. Trap is frequently used as a transphobic slur, and many people using it will quote a certain famous Star Wars admiral when using it.

You used "gender studies" as an insult, I feel like that is fair grounds for assuming your intentions were not built on respect. So it's only natural I would respond in an accusatory way to an aggressive comment given the aforementioned.

Genuinely never heard of 'trap' as a transphobic joke, never even realised that transphopic jokes where a thing? My main 'trap' reference would be Admiral Ackbar in Return of the Jedi which is a popular meme and in reference to my many years service in the Royal Navy when to 'trap' was to secure a willing sexual partner. Also when in the Royal Navy I did interact with some fairly senior officers...Second Sea Lord being the highest  (3rd in chain of command )there is a First Sea Lord after all but that's another story but I don't recall any senior officers having purple hair and running about in a party frock in a time of war especially when a ship was under fire. However while you have answered part of my request regarding 'trap' I'm still quite curious about your it better not be implication? I'm still curious about the consequences?

[laticauda]

Hollywood has gotten stale.  It has happened before and it is happening again.  When the studio system fell apart the second time in the early 1970's, they turned to new directors and were willing to take chances.  That's why we got movies like Jaws and Star Wars.  They never would have been made ten years previously.  The studios now are relying on a basic formats and franchise, but not giving full freedom to the directors.  They forget that no matter how great the special effects, or the actors, it is all about story.  The best and worst films come from risk and directors able to pursue the story they wish to tell. 


Why are the new Star Wars movies filled with nostalgia, unoriginal storytelling, and focusing on perceived social issues?  Survey says, its the safe choice.  Safe choice can get you entertaining movies, but not great movies.  Which is why so many movies are just meh.  There not bad, but not good either. 

[Halichoeres]

I think the original "quip" was a derisive allusion to Vice Admiral Holdo, because lots of people wanted the hot-headed rapscallion to be right about everything in the end.

Honestly, I thought that the reason she wouldn't tell him anything was because of a potential traitor.  One line of dialog addressing this might have helped.  But hey, I liked it, that's all I care about.

I liked it, too!

[stargatedalek]

Why are the new Star Wars movies filled with nostalgia, unoriginal storytelling, and focusing on perceived social issues?  Survey says, its the safe choice.  Safe choice can get you entertaining movies, but not great movies.  Which is why so many movies are just meh.  There not bad, but not good either.

Personally I disagree. The Force Awakens was definitely centered around nostalgia, I will even say I think it was practically a remake of a new hope. But I also think there was a lot more behind that decision than "this is working for movies these days", I think it was exactly what the franchise needed and even if it wasn't something I particularly liked I appreciate how well executed that concept was.

This was something I enjoyed very much in The Last Jedi, the moments where it went out of its way to dash those expectations of repetition that were set up in The Force Awakens. But I can also understand why people might have been looking forward to those reveals, so I understand why not everyone would like that.

Including social issues in a movie, especially movies known for their, shall we just say, self-contained fan-bases, is absolutely not a safe decision. As the comments of Derek.McManus illustrate quite well. Issues like minority representation in film are not merely perceived, and are very serious. While change is happening, it's still something that we should be consciously working towards improving. I don't see why films should be attacked for making a conscious effort to improve the context of their medium and industry. If they were making claims about representation or including serious social issues and then failed to deliver, yes, absolutely make a stink over that, but Disney never made a big deal about it, they never marketed the movies as some big social push, so why are we making a big stink about it?

If it doesn't matter enough that Disney isn't trying to profit from it, than maybe that says a lot more about us than about these movies.

And all of this is just incredibly ironic since Star Wars has always been deeply political, the original trilogy in particular drew heavy inspiration from anti-fascist metaphors.

[Derek.McManus]

The Force Awakens was definitely a re telling of a New Hope on first viewing I left the cinema dissatisfied because of that point, I went back with a friend and enjoyed the movie for what it was and I will defend to anyone that the finale was amazing however the potential was squandered.

[Derek.McManus]

Stargatedalek you may not like the way I express myself at times because frankly I believe a lot of the modern western world is acting stupidly at the moment but as I have in the past if I see someone in trouble I will step in and help them I don't give a flying crossways [heck] if they are male female trans black white tall small etc if someone's being nasty to them in my view I will address that issue..I find that being over 6 foot tall and quite frankly looking intimidating seems to work rather well.

[ITdactyl]

Just responding to an old request.

I'm still putting these in spoiler tags.
The prehistoric beasties in the Aquaman film - not including the Mosasaur royal mount and the background archelons(?) in the Atlantis scenes.

Spoiler

These critters had 2-3 seconds of screen time so interpretations of their impact in pop-culture may vary.

Bunny handed theropods:


Bat-winged* pterosaurs and swan-necked plesiosaurs**:


*The pteranodon appears to have styliform bones similar to Yi Qi.  This was only visible when one flies over Aquaman, and the light from the overhead crystals shine through the wing membrane.
**There's a possibility that what I labelled as a plesiosaur may actually be a sauropod since one of them appears to be eating seaweed/kelp.

[close]

I guess prehistoric tropes will remain pervasive in "modern cinema" unless money says otherwise.

[Lizerd]

Kinda fascinating, seeing some dinosaurs being put in. At least people recognize that dinosaurs are awesome.

[Silvanusaurus]

  Must... resist... getting involved... in contentious... popular film... discussion... on the internet...
I'll pay it safe and posit the suggestion that cinema as an art form died with the introduction of sound. I'm sure there can be no controversy about this. 

[Lizerd]

Reachers for pitchfork.
No sound means no beautiful Dino roars

[stargatedalek]

Cross posting this from Twitter since the movie was discussed here at some length. Spoilers for Aquaman and more importantly for How to Train Your Dragon 2.

So I've spent the past few days trying to think of a way to effectively convey how awesome the Venom movie was and how I feel like it was genuinely treated unfairly by critics, but I just saw Aquaman and I'm overcome with a need to rant about how awful it was.

For the record, I'm not going to rate Aquaman relative to Justice League (that bar's giving ants head injuries), or relative to "what everyone would expect from an Aquaman movie" or whatever.

This movie outsold Bumblebee and Into the Spider-Verse, it gets no holds barred.

So first off all, the CGI felt fake and unnatural. And I stress that that's not something I usually hold against a movie, but again this is the movie audiences apparently thought was better than Bumblebee which had perhaps the best integrated live action CGI I've ever seen. In comparison most of the backdrops in Aquaman were more noticeably fake than miniatures or painted backdrops. It wouldn't be half as bad if they didn't overuse CGI backgrounds needlessly. Could they not find a real lighthouse to film at? There were so many scenes of actors green-screened in front of generic shots of fake looking marine life and very fake looking underwater scenery that could have been at least using stock footage instead.

And again, they CGI'd a lighthouse. At that point why even live action?

Most of the films visuals were lifted almost directly from other things. And yes I made a list. I was that bored while watching this. I'm aware most of these probably weren't conscious copies, but my larger point here is that the visuals were unoriginal and had already been used.

-Atlantis was Coruscant (even had ships lined up like the flying cars).
-Mosasaurs were far to similar to Jurassic World's to be a coincidence.
-Sea creature meks were very Dinotopia esque.
-Underwater glowy visuals felt like watered down Tron (only one of these jokes I swear).
-The trenched are eerily similar to Fallout 4 Mirelurk Kings.
-The flare scenes use the rain and windows of the boat to mimic the lighting of the Tyrannosaurus scene in Jurassic Park.
-The giant monster is just a reskinned Acklay (Geonosian pit monster from Attack of the Clones).

For crying out loud they stole the reveal of his mother from How to Train Your Dragon 2 down to the design of her armor. Someone knew what they were doing, you don't do something that blatant by accident (especially when it feels so ham-fisted into your movie).

The only thing I thought was particularly original were the raptor-seahorses (which admittedly were really neat), and they just kind of felt forced into the movie among the real world sea life.

And while the visuals were probably what stood out the most, there were other glaring issues.

Like the Atlantians hate humans because we pollute the oceans yet they wear live animals in their clothing and ride animals into dangerous warzones when they have robots and meks.

The movie also goes out of it's way to show Aquaman knew what he did to Manta's father was wrong, then show that he didn't actually feel bad rather he thought it was just a stupid thing to do. If you're going to be that context blind to YOUR OWN MOVIE skip the reflective scene.

Now for what really matters. The most important part of the movie, and the part they did oh so painfully wrong...

They had dinosaurs and they wasted them as background props.

I was inclined to think the Dinotopia mek similarities weren't even worth bringing up until they traveled through a storm to reach a hidden world of dinosaurs. Though that was more likely intended to lifting the sanctuary from How to train Your Dragon 2.

Also the dinosaur designs were derivative and generic. You can add "Bootlegged Jurassic Park compy." to that list from earlier. The Pteranodon had bat wings. Not even something weird or interesting like the ARK Pteranodon at least has going for it, just generic bat wings.

They could have at least done something interesting with that How to train Your Dragon direction and given his mother her own mosasaur or something (or had her be the one leading the trenched). Which would have also made her arrival at the end more interesting/relevant. But nope.

I hated this movie so much that it genuinely drained me and I needed to make this rant just to feel like I got something out of my time.

[ITdactyl]

 

I'm one of the imps who actually enjoyed the Aquaman experience even if I actually agree with every bit stargatedalek said (just not the hate part).  It certainly is driving pop cinema in an unfortunate direction - 'not sure how much its box office earnings will affect Western cinema as a whole though.

It was too bad "Spiderverse" didn't have the proper marketing that could've attracted more viewers.  It certainly is a visually impressive piece with a good story.