Davedevil

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Everything posted by Davedevil

  1. Split (2016): Continuing my Letterboxd list of comic/superhero movies I've missed. James McAvoy is one of my favorite actors, which is why I've always had some interest in this, but I never really sought it out until I watched and loved Unbreakable. Goddamn was this good. For all the unease around this movie's depiction of DID, I do think it's sympathetic to Kevin Crumb while still showing his alters' actions as horrifying. Then you have Casey (Anya Taylor Joy) being a survivor as well. It's a little typical for a horror movie with this type of premise, but it's a solidly told story with a good amount of empathy. Really curious how Glass ties it all together. I've heard mixed things but I feel like it'll be interesting regardless.
  2. The Fable and Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill - Two movies based on a manga about a guy who can kill any person in six seconds but is ordered to spend a year not killing anyone. It's mostly a fish out of water comedy about a stone-faced guy adjusting to life in quiet Osaka, but the fight scenes when they come around are incredible and very creative. They're both about the same quality, though I might personally favor the second one for having a more emotional story and two action scenes that are at just the right level of over the top. I don't know what happened in the manga afterwards but I'd love more movies in this series. The Running Man - Good movie, it's just about what I expect from this type of project at this time for Arnold. Knowing the premise, I thought nothing could shock me but the setup that he's been made a criminal for refusing to murder peaceful protesters, then deepfaking it to look like he did so that everyone hates him, still kinda took me aback. The actual Running Man part of it was really enjoyable, I lost my shit when the Dynamo came in. A big dude shooting lightning out of his wrists and singing opera? If that came from the book, then God bless Stephen King's coke-addled brain. The last act did lose me though, it was pretty cliche but it was the 80s after all. I'd be curious if there was a 70s equivalent, I'm sure that would be bleaker about it.
  3. Back on my Classic DW bs, continuing the Sixth Doctor (I tend to watch a season at a time, then move on to a different Doctor). The Two Doctors was one I enjoyed, quite surprisingly. Having the most normal multi-Doctor story with these two TARDIS teams was an interesting choice. It's slow, and I can see why people think it's boring, but I enjoy it for being a nice change of pace. I think people would be into it more now if it was a Big Finish audio, to be honest. The 45 min episode structure works with the length of the overall story much more than it would have as a 6 parter. I already watch Classic Who two parts at a time, but formatting episodes like that from the start hasn't been a bad thing in my opinion. It's a bit of a shame they went back to the original format. Tackling the theme of colonialism through cannibalism and consumption in general, in a story set in Spain, was interesting. It has the Saward era's signature nastiness (I feel so bad for Nicola Bryant with how literally every serial has someone preying on Peri), but like Vengeance on Varos, I think it earns it more than something like Warriors of the Deep. Timelash is Timelash, but I enjoyed Paul Darrow hamming it up as Tekker. And I really like the idea of coming back to a planet where a past Doctor has had a major impact. I'm sure this is an inspiration for Moffat with his idea of the word Doctor and all its connotations coming from him. Side note, the copy of this that I had...acquired, featured the digital effects instead of the original ones, and I gotta say that they looked era-appropriate, I didn't even question it until I remembered BOTI making fun of the tinsel they originally used. I may or may not watch Revelation of the Daleks since I've seen it before, but I'll just say that S22 is a noble failure of an experiment. It tries a bunch of different things, but the emphasis on violence and nastiness while also having a Doctor who's just mean and a companion who's suffering, is off-putting to say the least. I'm looking forward to the Trial season though. EDIT: Oh yeah, and I watched Dr. Who and the Daleks for the first time since I want to listen to BOTI's coverage. I think it's a decent rework of the first Dalek story in a more cinematic format but man, Ian and Barbara's characterizations were godawful. Who are these bumbling fools, when the original pair were two of the most competent companions in the show's history? I will say though, Susan was surprisingly delightful. Peter Cushing was good, but no substitute for Hartnell in my opinion.
  4. Krampus: Really fun movie! Practically gleeful in how it moves from setpiece to setpiece.
  5. If you're cool with digital comics (in PDF and epub format so they're not locked to a single website), Humble Bundle has a bundle with just about every Hellboy comic.
  6. I'm still doing my comic/superhero movie gap filling on Letterboxd, and the latest that really fascinated me was Popeye from 1980. What a quirky movie. It's Popeye Begins: The Musical? Sure. And the town is incredible, it feels like a real place (apparently it's been preserved as a park/museum since then, which makes sense). I don't think it's a really great movie, I wasn't very engaged by the first act or so, but the cast is all-in (I wish Williams did a bit less mumbling though) and I think it's one of those that would be really fun to have on VHS growing up.
  7. And we're back. This felt like a great follow-up to RTD's first run, but modernized in a few ways, having even more diversity to it, along with a willingness to bring together new and old (seeing Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons credited was wild). I shouldn't have been surprised since he was a great actor but Tennant played the Doctor differently enough to dispell my skepticism. 10 still came through, especially with a big tantrum scene near the end, but it was great seeing him again. And of course, Donna was Donna. Gender playing a role in the plot was interesting, not sure if they pulled it off quite right (some lines are just really cringey, even for someone on the queer spectrum), but still it's cool to see a hugely popular show with a large kid audience validating other identities like this. It was perfectly Davies in how big, emotional, and messy it is. Looking forward to the rest of the specials and whether they'll continue in that vein or branch out. Either way is exciting, which the show hasn't really been, other than a few flashes, in a while.
  8. The Marvels - Had a bit more going on than Captain Marvel, which I found kinda bland outside of Brie Larson's acting. Pretty uneven though. When it's on, it's really fun at least, with the first fight scene being the highlight for me personally. On the whole, it just makes me want a season 2 for Ms. Marvel.
  9. Wasn't expecting much from this but I was pleasantly surprised. Had a lot of fun with it. Surprised it's caused an uproar with certain parts of fandom, but that's on me for being naive. The short already said that timelines and canon are falling apart, so there is a point to the discrepancies. Plus if it gets rid of one of the few disabled characters on the show being a mutated Nazi, then there's nothing wrong with that.
  10. The Power or Shazam Vol. 1 - I was quite excited to read this, both Shazam films are some of my favorite superhero movies and this has had a good reputation over the years. I found it a mixed experience though. I liked the characterizations, this version of Billy is interesting, being pretty rough (which I've gotten used to through the movies) but still innocent more or less. Mary Marvel got a surprising amount of page time and had an engaging journey (I like how she stakes a claim on the Captain Marvel name). Captain Marvel Jr. was decent, kind of one note but I get it, and I hope he gets more material later on. Black Adam was alright, I don't know if it's just the writing style but I enjoyed the corny humor and unabashed villainy in his dialogue. Dudley was amusing enough, he was the one character I had almost no clue about. My biggest issue is the writing as a whole. This is probably my modern sensibilities talking but the plotting was too dense for my liking, introducing all these characters while slowing things down to a crawl with the occasional info dump. The exposition gets heavier by the end of the book too. The art wasn't fully to my liking either. Mike Manley and Peter Krause do a lot of good work here, but then there'd be occasional weird faces and poses, which is jarring. When they'd have other artists, like Curt Swan or Ordway himself, then it just felt right for the Golden Age vibe this book was going for. I liked the graphic novel, but felt something of a disconnect with the series. I might continue the series, but maybe after some more of the modern Shazam, or the older ones even.
  11. Noted! I'm a fan of sequels that try to do different things but end up messy, at least. Honestly, that ending narration (which felt very RPG, like I was watching an epilogue in a Fallout or Dragon Age game) was enough of a wrap-up to the story they were doing in the first movie that anything more they do is totally separate.
  12. Conan the Barbarian: I was kinda floored by this movie? Knowing him from when they leaned into his inherent goofiness, I was surprised by Arnold's acting in this. I really bought into the character of Conan through this whole thing, even as he didn't speak a whole lot. The rest of the cast is great too, especially James Earl Jones. The action is incredible, everything feels so weighty. Killing someone is a lot like chopping down a tree in this. The massive sets look fantastic too. I was expecting a much more straightforward revenge story but this was an amazing adventure and really contemplative in a lot of places. I can easily see myself putting this on again sometime soon.
  13. Castlevania Nocturne: I liked the first series, despite itself, but this one was genuinely well-done. The animation was incredible and I really appreciate how they adapted parts of the source material. Can't wait for more.
  14. Speed Racer: I'm glad this movie found its audience in the years since it came out. I respect what the Wachowskis were doing here, and even got into it a few times (the race with the ice caves and the final one had me giddy as hell) but there's so much going on visually for a fairly lengthy film. It does have a ton of heart to it though, I enjoyed John Goodman quite a lot, Cristina Ricci is fun, and I really liked Racer X. Overall, I get why it works for its fans, but I'm not sure if it's totally for me.
  15. Unbreakable - Wish I'd seen this sooner. Bruce Willis and Sam Jackson were incredible. Hellboy (2019) - Uninspired, wastes a good cast. Was also reminded that they made another reboot this year, I'm hoping that's better, but I have doubts by now.
  16. Hulk (2003) - Doing a thing on Letterboxd where I'm catching up on the comic book/superhero films I haven't seen yet and this was the first a friend picked out for me. Being a big fan of the 2008 Incredible Hulk, I was really surprised how much I liked it; time has been pretty kind to this movie. I know comic fans have either forgotten this or lightly make fun of it for the "Shrek Hulk", the comic panels, or who knows what. Whatever it is, I think this movie does deserve a reappraisal. It has a lot of themes to think about, great visuals and the performances are fantastic. The comic panels could've been done better, but they added a unique feel to the film. I don't know if they can be done outside of animation, but I wouldn't mind seeing it be tried again. Don't know if it's the most rewatchable movie, but I really enjoyed this.
  17. Blue Beetle - Just getting it out of the way, I'm a huge fan of Jaime Reyes and his original series from the 00s, and have read most of his solo books since then; the set-up of him already being an adult isn't what I would've liked to have seen, personally. I thought a lot of the charm was him dealing with high school and the wider DCU knocking at his door at every given turn. Kind of like Spider-Man Homecoming, actually. Maybe that's why they didn't go with it, maybe they want Shazam to occupy that niche (good luck with the kids being older plus the second film flopping). This feels more like DC's version of Ant-Man. Aside from that, I enjoyed the film quite a bit. Xolo MaridueƱa gives a great, heartfelt performance. He was the favorite for the role, and I'm glad he got it. The rest of the cast is good, but their dialogue was pretty cliche, especially Milagro. George Lopez was fun at least. I'm intrigued to see where they could go with the Kord family in the future. The villains were just there characterization-wise, but made for some cool scenes and thematic connections. The action scenes were great, and I'm glad they took inspiration from his depiction in Injustice 2, with a lot of the attacks being straight from that game. Plus, being a big fan of Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, it was really fun seeing the influence. An annoyance with this: like a lot of the other non-Snyder DCEU films, they jam a million pop songs back to back, and it feels really ham-fisted as far as setting the tone of the scene. And the tone was odd for Blue Beetle, if typical for the DCEU as a whole. Just kinda sarcastic and trying hard to be cool. There is an earnest heart to the story but around it feels very New 52. I think Shazam did a better job of jumping between tones. A bigger problem for me is the editing. It's not an especially long movie, for this genre and age, but scenes Feel long and not in a way that serves them well. I don't want movies to feel focus-tested to hell (even though they are anyways) but I would like a bit more snap to a movie that has to rapidly switch between banter and more serious stuff. Speaking of which, the midpoint(was it? I really don't know what its place would be in the movie) was harrowing as hell, especially for people who feel close to situations like that. Really effective, it brought a lot of emotion. So yeah, I'd say it was good. I think a CW show (or any appropriate equivalent now that their superhero stuff seems to be winding down) would've served Jaime and his world the best, but I felt the heart they put into telling his story. Dunno if they'll get the chance to follow it up, but I hope so.
  18. Shin Kamen Rider - Tough film for me to judge, honestly. In contrast to Shin Godzilla (a wonderful introduction to its franchise) or even Shin Ultraman, (denser but still kinda easy to get), I don't know how well this would play to general audiences. I'd immersed myself in just about everything related to the early Kamen Rider (except the manga, which apparently informed the parts that didn't come directly from the show or weren't completely original) in the past year, so I was fine on that end but even I had a lot to keep up with. I've seen a few reactions from non-fans, some even glowing, but the esoteric nature of it must explain the muted public response to it compared to the others in the Shin series. Still, I mostly enjoyed it. It's dense yet blunt in its themes and dialogue, but there's a lot of interesting stuff to chew on and unpack. More than any of the previous films, This is a movie made by the Evangelion guy. The action is pretty spectacular, it's visceral in ways I didn't think I would see in a Kamen Rider movie, but also has that "cheesy" appeal to it. The character designs are all spot-on, from the faithful but modernized Riders to the completely redesigned villains, everyone looks phenomenal. I'd be curious if it gains a bigger audience when it comes to Prime Video later in the month, I'm sure Hideaki Anno fans will have a lot to talk about, and the action scenes will probably be shared around quite a bit, but I'll be surprised if people will connect with it. So it's kind of a disappointment to me, considering I was praying for this movie to become accessible every day for the past year and was absolutely sure I'd love it completely, and walking away a little perplexed. It's a mess, but one packed with so much heart and soul, some of it akin to mine, that I can't help but like it. Possibly the strongest I've felt about a 7/10.
  19. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts - This was okay. It tries to bridge the styles of Bumblebee and the Bay films and does an okay job there. It just felt like the same old story, though having a cleaner directing style makes it a lot more palatable. I did feel for the leads but a lot of that is carried by the acting. Mirage was fun, Optimus is a bloodthirsty bastard again (I don't know why they're so fond of that characterization), Bumblebee could've used more (his design is adorable though), Arcee was wasted. Optimus Primal was great, the other Maximals besides Air Razor were just there. Doubt I'll watch it again, but it was enjoyable enough.
  20. That's a great show, I've listened to the Zelda episodes, I've been meaning to check out more. The Art of the Score is another great soundtrack-centric podcast, the last episodes (for now, hopefully) are about studio fanfares, which I find a really fascinating topic to share research about. I've been listening to Godzillavangelists lately, it's one of those "longtime fan introduces friends to a franchise" shows and it's been fun hearing newbies develop an earnest appreciation for this series while still not having childhood nostalgia goggles for the stuff fans take for granted.
  21. I think I watched that whole thing in one night. So good. I just might revisit it now, it's been a while.
  22. Same, Star Wars has gotten far too toxic to engage with in general, I'm glad it's always fun with E-2. Great episode, y'all. A friend and I recently used this site to rank the films, and this is how my list shaped up. The Last Jedi The Force Awakens Return of the Jedi Rogue One The Empire Strikes Back Revenge of the Sith A New Hope Solo The Rise of Skywalker Atack of the Clones The Phantom Menace It's probably blasphemous to put the original film that low, but it's a bit dry for a kid who'd already watched blockbusters that came out decades after. The ones that came after were the ones that had more of an emotional connection. The sequels are definitely my era of SW though, and I'll be really curious if there's gonna be a reappraisal for them on the level of what the prequels are getting. I dread that its target audience being much more online than the prequels' demographic was when they came out, changes things somewhat. In hindsight, they kinda shot themselves in the foot by telling a story that short. The prequels are getting a lot of love because the Clone Wars and all the other EU material that filled in the gaps (along with not letting fan outcry shape the story). While it was a pleasant surprise that TLJ carried on immediately after TFA, it leaves us with a trio that don't share a scene until the final movie. I adore those three, but maybe sticking too closely to the trilogy format hindered them. I'm really curious about their future plans with Rey at least.
  23. Kim's Convenience: Been watching this on the treadmill. Amazed at how it can have such an easygoing vibe while also having some of the most painfully awkward interactions I've seen in a show lately.