[worry]

I haven't seen that one in a long time, but I remember it being cute.

[QuickTidal]

Saw TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS....and I have thoughts.

First off, I still love the first Bay Transformers movie, and I can find a lot to enjoy in Dark of the Moon...the rest were middling to really bad....but BUMBLEBEE was a bright shiny new chapter that made me want to see more.

RISE is somewhat like BB, but it also falls into some of the traps of the Bay movies. It sits squarely in between.

Spoilers

Spoiler

Things I didn't like first:

- It's a "World is ending Fetch Quest" movie. Like you could not pick a more boring plot arc overall....You've seen this movie before in any movie where "We have to get to the macguffin before the bad guys do otherwise the world is doomed!"....I very much didn't like this aspect as it's pretty much the plot of TF 1.

- Bee is down and out for most of the runtime...I always LOATHE the whole "Take out someone for the runtime for plot reasons to make things serious (see: Leia in TLJ as an empale of this)"...and that's the reason Bee is out for most of the film.

- Prime's design is bad...like he looks the worst out of every TF in this movie...and I feel like MAYBE that's plot intentional as Prime in this is NOT the Prime we know...this fucker is angry and hunting and wants to get home to fight the war....apparently the original cold open showed Prime coldly hunting down Decepticons and leaving their robot corpses in human rivers....test audiences thought that was too dark.....but honestly, this Prime is juts a ball of barely constrained rage.

- The human story that opens goes on a bit too long and has a few too many cliches....but Ramos and Fishback largely still sell it best they can.

- The third act is a cool action sequence, but it feels relatively hollow? It's the big fight you see in the trailer on the drab grey/brown backdrop. It's fine and has some cool stuff...but this is where it feels most like a Bay movie.

- Mirage doesn't have enough colour on him to make him stand out much as an Autobot, I would have preferred much more blue on him....but as mostly silver he's about as recognizable as scrap....his design has no distinctiveness either...but that may be me weaning him to be an F1 race car and not a 90's Porsche 964.

- The Maximals aren't featured enough really, and only Michelle Yeoh's Air Razor and Ron Perlman's Primal get much more than surface personas. Like Cheetor has one line, and Rinox has none. For a movie that featured the Beasts so prominently in the ads, this didn't use them too much. Although it is nice to know they kept the concept of the Maximals being from the G1 TF's future and have travelled back in time to be of their past...like the movie starts on a lush and fertile Cybertron of the future where the Great War is ended and the threat is now Unicron coming to eat the now earth-like Cybertron.

- No robot form of Unicron. Boo.

Things I liked:

-The designs for pretty much all the other Transformers (barring Optimus shabby look, and Mirage's kind of generic one) were really good, and frankly the standout is Arcee...she looks as much like a G1 Transformer in live action as I've EVER wanted. She was PERFECT and easily the best character.

- Ted Lasso's breakout star Cristo Fernández as Wheeljack was incredible....even if the design is not the Wheeljack anyone knows. His personality won through.

- Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback were both really good human characters, and I was fine with their plots.

- As I said, the third act is a sort of messy bombastic action sequence but it's still got lots of cheer-worthy moments, and they really hammer home the fact that Optimus Primal is the person Optimus Prime needs to strive to be...he needs to let go of the rage, and the desire to get home at any cost...and LEAD his people. I think he learns that in this flick, and that came across solidly.

- Ramos being offered to join G.I. JOE was a nice little Hasbro Connected Universe teease...but I'm more interested in Michael Kelly being a Joe....like who is he? Flint? I really hope the crossover happens.

It's not a bad movie and it's not a good movie. It's middle of the pack, and it has some WILDLY entertaining moments and some really kind of pedestrian ones and parts of it are boring just because it's a Fetch Quest movie and you know those plot beats off by heart by now.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 15 June 2023 - 12:49 PM

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 15 June 2023 - 12:42 PM, said:

Saw TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS....

Spoiler

Quote

...."We have to get to the macguffin before the bad guys do otherwise the world is doomed!"...

I'm out.

Quote

The Maximals aren't featured enough really, ... Cheetor has one line, and Rinox has none.

I'm EXTREMELY out.

Quote

... really hammer home the fact that Optimus Primal is the person Optimus Prime needs to strive to be...

I'm almost back in.

Chance of me spending Big Screen dollars to see this are near nil, but i'll at least glance at it when it streams.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 15 June 2023 - 01:58 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 15 June 2023 - 12:42 PM, said:

Saw TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS....

Chance of me spending Big Screen dollars to see this are near nil, but i'll at least glance at it when it streams.

This is the safest bet. Nothing about this screamed "needs to be seen on the big screen" to me, nor will it spoil you to wait...as I doubt there is anything in this that you'd need to be worried being spoiled on. It's all pretty much there in the trailers.

And hey, maybe I'm being unfair coming off the ecstatically good ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, or the equally as amazing GOTG3...or maybe I've just aged out of what they are offering me on the TF front in movies, or maybe I'm juts demanding more of films for my theatre dollars these days.

I'm starting to even waver on THE FLASH being must-see as the reviews have been all over the place and I don't know ion the nostalgia hit it reportedly delivers is enough to waste the money or support Miller's shitty shenanigans.

I AM however going to go see INDY 5, with my dad. Nothing will stop me doing that, even if it ends up being bad.

[Abyss]

SPIDER-VERSE was easily worth the money and more. So was the first one. I have zero doubts re 3 when it hits.

In contrast i haven't paid to see a TF movie since Bay #1. BUMBLEBEE gave me hope this might change but only just a little and nothing i'm hearing about BEASTS is shifting that.

THE FLASH... I waver. I love a good alternate timeline story, i think it's great Keaton is back, but the Miller thing plus the wild swerves in production leaves me very skeptical about it being worth the money vs waiting.

Similarly INDY5... i want this to be great so so much but dear gods 4 was bad bad bad and also bad so i'll have to wait and see.

(For the record i only thought CRUSADE was ok. Too much cutesy humour. RAIDERS and TEMPLE nailed the action to drama to funny balance. CRUSADE thought putting three way older dudes on screen looking panicked while Indy action happened around them was peak filmmaking. It was not.)

[QuickTidal]

I buckled and saw THE FLASH....and you know what? It was actually quite good! It will never reach things like GOTG3 or ATSV...

The Keaton stuff was so top level that it will make you salivate for him to play old Bruce in a BATMAN BEYOND movie. He's incredible.

As is Sasha Calle's Supergirl....she's amazing and frankly I wanted more of her. I really REALLY hope that Gunn keeps her around in the new DCU .

The humour was top level...and not just script jokes, but pratfall humour too.

Spoiler

When Barry called Nam-Ek Space Giant, and Faora Mistress Murder I bust a gut laughing, and my wife laughed for like 5 straight minutes uncontrollably when Barry 2's Flash Batsuit didn't fit and his mask was askew before they dropped into the fight.

We can talk about Miller's real life shenanigans all we like, but they can act...and playing two COMPLETELY different versions of Barry for 2.5 hours they do with ease (which maybe smacks of their real life mental health issues; either way, it worked).

The emotional beats in this (I mean, it's essentially Flashpoint, so how could their not be?) were also really rewarding and never felt like too much.

The action was great, and though the CGI was dodgy AS FUCK own some instances, I'm chalking that up to the VFX teams in Hollywood being overworked and underpaid and calling it a pass. There was lots of CGI that was fine.

The finally post-bit of the ending is CLEARLY a reshoot as Miller was caked in makeup, and can be read as Miller being turfed as Barry from the DCU, but is also really funny and played for a pretty solid laugh.

If I had to rank it in the DCEU? It comes 3rd after MoS and ZSJL....but really solidly up there and I now have ZERO qualms about Gunn keeping Muscheitti on board for his THE BRAVE & THE BOLD Batman/Robin (Morrison Run) in the DCU...he absolutely has it in him to make a really fun B&R flick....especially with Damien being such a shit all the time.

Note: Muschietti likes to let his Italian show as not only is pasta shown like three times, and is plot dependant for Flashpoint...but

Spoiler

Keaton uses it to describe the multiverse....lol

[Briar King]

I’ve finally been introduced to John Wayne. Fucking amazing movies. The Searchers, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, The Quiet Man and many more I’ve seen.

[worry]

The Searchers is pretty rad. Also Rio Bravo, I think that's the one with Ricky Nelson in it.

[Briar King]

Yep Rio Bravo was my 1st Wayne. Also watched the respin movie with him and James Caan. I haven’t seen one I disliked yet. The Searchers is truly jamazing though.

[Briar King]

Watched Avatar 2 and Top Gun 2. Enjoyed both.

Watched a bunch of Clint Eastwood I’d not yet seen. I still think he is a treasure and once gone whatever is left of Hollywood will be that much dimmer. Pale Rider, Josey Whales, Heartbreak Ridge, The Rookie, The Mule, Trouble with the Curve were all great.

[Tsundoku]

Briar King, on 23 June 2023 - 02:48 PM, said:

I’ve finally been introduced to John Wayne. Fucking amazing movies. The Searchers, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, The Quiet Man and many more I’ve seen.

(scans Wikipedia)

The Man who shot Liberty Valance
True Grit (fucking awesome)
The Longest Day
Stagecoach
Red River
Fort Apache
Sands of Iwo Jima
Rio Grande
Flying Leathernecks
Hondo
The Alamo
North to Alaska
The Comancheros ("Monsooooooor ..." )
Hatari!
How the West was won
The Sons of Katie Elder
El Dorado
The Green Berets
Chisum
The Cowboys
Cahill US Marshal
McQ
Branigan

this stuff was the absolute staple of the midday movies on the weekends when I was growing up in regional New South Wales. 2 channels - one the ABC (think BBC, not American ABC), and the other commercial. That's it.
Good times though.

And it turns out he was inadvertently in Star Wars!

https://www.cbr.com/...wayne-garindan/

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 23 June 2023 - 05:58 PM

[Briar King]

It’s some good stuff esp next to quite a lot of what passes for entertainment nowadays. I’m almost happy that I haven’t watched them till now.

Also saw quite a few of 007 movies for the 1st time. I don’t have access to all but I’ve seen maybe 16 of them. Q is da man! Some favs: The Living Daylights, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service(how the fuck didn’t this guy do more than one? He was awesome!), Diamonds Are Forever, Goldeneye and Moonraker was out there wacky but cool.

Craigs BondBourne entry’s completely suck though and are soulless. I can’t even finish Skyfall as of yet.

[Macros]

I read somewhere George Lazenby was covered a 7 movie deal and turned it down?

[Slow Ben]

Tsundoku, on 23 June 2023 - 05:57 PM, said:

Briar King, on 23 June 2023 - 02:48 PM, said:

I’ve finally been introduced to John Wayne. Fucking amazing movies. The Searchers, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, The Quiet Man and many more I’ve seen.

(scans Wikipedia)

The Man who shot Liberty Valance
True Grit (fucking awesome)
The Longest Day
Stagecoach
Red River
Fort Apache
Sands of Iwo Jima
Rio Grande
Flying Leathernecks
Hondo
The Alamo
North to Alaska
The Comancheros ("Monsooooooor ..." )
Hatari!
How the West was won
The Sons of Katie Elder
El Dorado
The Green Berets
Chisum
The Cowboys
Cahill US Marshal
McQ
Branigan

this stuff was the absolute staple of the midday movies on the weekends when I was growing up in regional New South Wales. 2 channels - one the ABC (think BBC, not American ABC), and the other commercial. That's it.
Good times though.

And it turns out he was inadvertently in Star Wars!

https://www.cbr.com/...wayne-garindan/

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is top notch. But it’s more of. Jimmy Stewart movie, with Wayne as a great supporting actor. And Jimmy Stewart rules.

[HoosierDaddy]

So we doing The Three Amigos avatars or something? I would enjoy being Ned Needalander or however you spell it.

[Slow Ben]

HoosierDaddy, on 25 June 2023 - 10:54 PM, said:

So we doing The Three Amigos avatars or something? I would enjoy being Ned Needalander or however you spell it.

Nah, me and "Sombra that was" had a 3 amigos back an forth in the happy thread and changed our avatars to match.

https://forum.malaza...01#entry1461001

[Cause]

So is transformers, flash or the new Jennifer Lawrence movie worth seeing?

[Tsundoku]

Slow Ben, on 28 June 2023 - 10:36 PM, said:

HoosierDaddy, on 25 June 2023 - 10:54 PM, said:

So we doing The Three Amigos avatars or something? I would enjoy being Ned Needalander or however you spell it.

Nah, me and "Sombra that was" had a 3 amigos back an forth in the happy thread and changed our avatars to match.

https://forum.malaza...01#entry1461001

Feel free to join in though with Little Neddy.

[QuickTidal]

Cause, on 29 June 2023 - 02:22 AM, said:

So is transformers

I walked out, but that wasn't becuase it was terrible (I've heard lots of people like it), but because it was a fetch quest movie and apes the story in TF1....and I was like "I've seen this before".

Cause, on 29 June 2023 - 02:22 AM, said:

flash

The wife and I both really liked it, YMMV.

Cause, on 29 June 2023 - 02:22 AM, said:

or the new Jennifer Lawrence movie worth seeing?

I have no idea, but a movie about an older woman seducing a younger dude in the vein of the old type of sex humour comedy? Yeah, I don't think there's anything there to object to there. Plus JLaw does comedy well.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 29 June 2023 - 12:26 PM

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Slow Ben, on 25 June 2023 - 06:09 PM, said:

Tsundoku, on 23 June 2023 - 05:57 PM, said:

Briar King, on 23 June 2023 - 02:48 PM, said:

I've finally been introduced to John Wayne. Fucking amazing movies. The Searchers, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, The Quiet Man and many more I've seen.

(scans Wikipedia)

The Man who shot Liberty Valance
True Grit (fucking awesome)
The Longest Day
Stagecoach
Red River
Fort Apache
Sands of Iwo Jima
Rio Grande
Flying Leathernecks
Hondo
The Alamo
North to Alaska
The Comancheros ("Monsooooooor ..." )
Hatari!
How the West was won
The Sons of Katie Elder
El Dorado
The Green Berets
Chisum
The Cowboys
Cahill US Marshal
McQ
Branigan

this stuff was the absolute staple of the midday movies on the weekends when I was growing up in regional New South Wales. 2 channels - one the ABC (think BBC, not American ABC), and the other commercial. That's it.
Good times though.

And it turns out he was inadvertently in Star Wars!

https://www.cbr.com/...wayne-garindan/

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is top notch. But it's more of. Jimmy Stewart movie, with Wayne as a great supporting actor. And Jimmy Stewart rules.

Seconded. My dad is a huge John Wayne fan so I grew up with those films. Liberty Valance and The Searchers are my top picks.