Film Flam

[Triple Zero]

Green Lantern.

Worth watching if you like, have never seen a superhero movie before.

I saw the trailers of both Green Lantern and Cpt America when I was in the cinema to watch (groan) Harry Potter.

Green Lantern definitely seemed the one that'd be more fun.

(also I watched HP cause my gf really wanted to go and the entry was only 1 euro that day [if you had a certain card]. It still sucked. Didn't help I only saw 2 and 3 sort of and 7 before. Plus the subtitles translated all the weird Harry Potter words into even weirder Dutch versions [as they are in the books], which made it terribly confusing because things I didn't know about were now referred to by two separate names)

[Cainad (dec.)]

The HP movies are completely merciless to anyone who isn't a dedicated fan.

[Placid Dingo]

The HP movies are completely merciless to anyone who isn't a dedicated fan.

#5 and the most recent, I actually genuinely enjoyed.

[Cain]

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality has ruined that series even more than it was originally ruined for me, being an adult and all.

Because now I watch it and expect Harry to use his potions classes to build grenades and augment them with Muggle technology, and raid Voldemort's base (possibly while shouting "fire in the hole" or, more likely "doom doom doom!"), then transfigure a rock into a metric ton of C4 and collapse the place in on itself.

[Triple Zero]

Well that's the other problem, Harry is in fact a really really boring stiff little nothing.

He doesn't really have any character at all, does he?

Hermione and whathisname only a littlebit in the first few movies but then they turn into boring flat do-good heroes as well.

It's pretty much just Snape who's somewhat interesting to watch and that's about it.

If ONLY Harry'd mumble "doom doom doom"!

[Cain]

All of the adult actors in the series are pretty good, really.  You can see the tedium in their eyes though, especially in the case of Alan Rickman.  I'm fairly sure years from now, when asked about why, they will, to a person, reply "money, dear boy".

And yes, Harry has a little more character in the books, but not much.  But I suspect that is so the reader can put themselves in the place of Harry as they read the book, much in the way Bella has absolutely no personality whatsoever in Twilight (except, in that case, it is because Myers is such a terrible writer than any particular plan).  And, as someone else pointed out, the conceit is that Harry is meant to be figuring out all these things in order to the fight the Dark Lord, but, quite plausibly, he was led by the nose almost the entire way by Dumbledore and Snape, and he constantly has to rely on the intervention of adults and Hermione to get anything done.

Which is pretty useless, really.

I remember there was a fan theory, popular on TV Tropes, that linked into the above.  Harry was not the chosen one at all, Nigel was, and Harry was simply schmuckbait for Voldemort, set up by Snape and Dumbledore in order to catch the Dark Lord out. That would've been a far better ending, though it probably would have felt like betrayal to the vast majority of fans.

[Cain]

Anyway, back to movies.

I watched Five Days of War last night. I wished I hadn't.  I have not seen such a piece of obvious, pro-Georgian propaganda since 2008.

Short explanation: it's a film about the Russia-Georgia war in 2008.  As anyone who was paying attention knows, Georgia broke the ceasefire with a barrage of artillery into the centre of downtown Tskhinvali, killing hundreds of civilians and quite a few internationally-approved Russian peacekeepers beside.  Georgian Special Forces swiftly followed the attack, crossing the border and engaging in firefights against South Ossetian Internal Security and attempting to blow up bridges which would allow Russian forces to intervene.

Naturally, the Russophobic western press therefore decided Russia started the war.   And this atrocious propaganda film goes on allowing them to pretend that was the case.

[Freeky]

Anyway, back to movies.

I watched Five Days of War last night. I wished I hadn't.  I have not seen such a piece of obvious, pro-Georgian propaganda since 2008.

Short explanation: it's a film about the Russia-Georgia war in 2008.  As anyone who was paying attention knows, Georgia broke the ceasefire with a barrage of artillery into the centre of downtown Tskhinvali, killing hundreds of civilians and quite a few internationally-approved Russian peacekeepers beside.  Georgian Special Forces swiftly followed the attack, crossing the border and engaging in firefights against South Ossetian Internal Security and attempting to blow up bridges which would allow Russian forces to intervene.

Naturally, the Russophobic western press therefore decided Russia started the war.   And this atrocious propaganda film goes on allowing them to pretend that was the case.

[Dimocritus]

Watched "The Helix... Loaded," a rather terrible Matrix spoof. It had maybe one or two actual funny moments, but throughout the film, I couldn't help but notice a fair helping of discordian imagery. A recurring motif in the film, and the most obvious, was the number five in a golden pentagon.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

Watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes last night. Our computer tech guy gave me a "copy" and I don't want to know where it came from.  You have to understand first, I'm a huge fan and have been since I was a kid.  I even watched the TV series, so even if it wasn't COMPLETELY AWESOME I would probably like it!  However, it is absolutely amazing.  The filming is seamless.  You can't tell where the computer takes over like you can in these types of movies. 

Characters are actually rather well written given the subject matter.  The concept is believable.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  If you are a fan, you have to see it.  If you aren't and this doesn't convert you, then you won't want to see the future movies I see coming from this one. 

Charlton would have approved of this movie, no question.

[Luna]

Thinking of catching Fright Night this weekend sometime. David Tennant on the big screen!   

[Don Coyote]

Watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes last night. Our computer tech guy gave me a "copy" and I don't want to know where it came from.  You have to understand first, I'm a huge fan and have been since I was a kid.  I even watched the TV series, so even if it wasn't COMPLETELY AWESOME I would probably like it!  However, it is absolutely amazing.  The filming is seamless.  You can't tell where the computer takes over like you can in these types of movies. 

Characters are actually rather well written given the subject matter.  The concept is believable.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  If you are a fan, you have to see it.  If you aren't and this doesn't convert you, then you won't want to see the future movies I see coming from this one. 

Charlton would have approved of this movie, no question.

I concur. I loved it.

[Eater of Clowns]

Rubber.


It is about a MURDEROUS TIRE.

The tire has characterization, there's a Greek style chorus, half the characters are aware they're in a movie and the other half don't seem to be and it's ABOUT A MURDEROUS CAR TIRE.

[Luna]

Conan did not suck.  At all.

[Faust]

Rise of the planet of the apes is excellent.

The first two of the old series were great and this sits nicely with them.