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Fred (860 KP) rated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) in Movies
Mar 15, 2019
Spider-Ham (3 more)
Fantastic design
Good music
Good voice acting
The choppy animation is headache inducing (2 more)
Story is bland
Some of the characters are wasted
Good. Not great.
Here we go again. Another over-rated superhero movie. Yes, it's good, but it's not great. Basically, what we got here is Miles Morales' origin story. I do love the characters & they are all acted well. I love the new Doc Oc & all of the Spider-people. The design of the characters & settings are a sight to see. The main problem is the movement of them. Every other frame is cut out, so the characters have a jerky movement to them. Supposedly, this is meant to encapsulate a comic book. Since a comic book does not move, this is a stupid reason given for lack-luster animation. There are quite a few anime out there today that use CGI-drawn animation. It looks choppy, cheap & crappy. And that's what we got here. Instead of smooth, graceful, Spider-Man like movement, we got what looks like low bitrate video. I truly feel this is why the movie, although it did well, did not do stupendous numbers at the box office compared to other recent animated movies.
Anyway, tossing that aside & taking account the design of the movie, I also found that the story was lackluster. I didn't find it too interesting or original. It just didn't grab me. I felt myself many times saying to myself that nothing special was going on. When they introduced the others from the Spider-Verse, I felt that some of them were a waste of space. Spider-Man Noir, played by Nicholas Cage, was funny but didn't do anything special. The Japanese girl with the robot, was utterly useless. If she wasn't in the film, it would be no different, except maybe to sell some toys. Now, I will say, I loved Spider-Ham, but I've been a fan of his since the 80s & still have all the original comic books. So, I am biased towards him. I would love to see him get his own movie, but I doubt he will.
Anyway, here's my bottom line. The movie was good. The style was great. Music was great. Characters were great. Story was meh. Animation was bad. After I watched the movie, I said, well that was pretty much a waste of time, but I'm not mad I watched. I just probably would never watch it again.
Anyway, tossing that aside & taking account the design of the movie, I also found that the story was lackluster. I didn't find it too interesting or original. It just didn't grab me. I felt myself many times saying to myself that nothing special was going on. When they introduced the others from the Spider-Verse, I felt that some of them were a waste of space. Spider-Man Noir, played by Nicholas Cage, was funny but didn't do anything special. The Japanese girl with the robot, was utterly useless. If she wasn't in the film, it would be no different, except maybe to sell some toys. Now, I will say, I loved Spider-Ham, but I've been a fan of his since the 80s & still have all the original comic books. So, I am biased towards him. I would love to see him get his own movie, but I doubt he will.
Anyway, here's my bottom line. The movie was good. The style was great. Music was great. Characters were great. Story was meh. Animation was bad. After I watched the movie, I said, well that was pretty much a waste of time, but I'm not mad I watched. I just probably would never watch it again.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Suicide Squad (2016) in Movies
Sep 1, 2019 (Updated Sep 2, 2019)
Yikes
I, like many of you, really like comic books. So in this day and age, where films like Elektra, The Spirit, Catwoman, Daredevil etc, are just a horrible joyless memory, it takes something truly special to make you nearly hate comic book movies forevermore.
Suicide Squad is that something truly special.
After being saddened by the underwhelming Batman vs Superman, I had my hopes set high for SS. The trailers looked fantastic. I couldn't wait to see characters such as Katana, Enchantress, Harley Quinn, Deadshot etc, finally have their moment in the spotlight. I couldn't wait to see what Jared Leto brought to the table as The Joker. I was ready to be shown that BvS was a one off misstep, and that the DCEU properties were ready to take their place amongst comic book film royalty.
I'm almost cross at myself for being so very silly.
Where to begin - I guess characters.
I have no problem with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. I thought she was fine. The script is terrible in places but that's not her fault.
Another character that suffers from the script is Deadshot. Again, I have no problem with Will Smith (except that the movie threatens to become the Will Smith show on occasion), but the script turns him into a tool to spout one liners and name check the movies title.
Enchantress is just a weird gyrating CGI embarrassment that is given little room to do anything else.
Everyone else is a waste - Katana, Killer Croc, Diablo - all so boring.
Same goes for Boomerang (although I get the feeling that Jai Courtney genuinely tried his best with what he was given)
And then there's The Joker. I can't honestly tell whether I liked him or not - he was hardly in it! Although his brief appearance was more interesting than the rest of the film for sure.
The whole film is set to a soundtrack of 'cool' rock songs that I would have put on a mixtape when I was 12, and they're relentless. It feels like every two minutes another song is obnoxiously blasted into my poor eyes and ears.
The film feels like one huge trailer. It's edited and chopped up jarringly, and it's a film that evidently has suffered from re shoots and studio meddling.
I refuse to believe that the same man who directed the damn good 'Fury' is solely responsible for this car crash.
Hopefully, James Gunn can keep the suits at bay and deliver a home run with the next attempt...
Suicide Squad is that something truly special.
After being saddened by the underwhelming Batman vs Superman, I had my hopes set high for SS. The trailers looked fantastic. I couldn't wait to see characters such as Katana, Enchantress, Harley Quinn, Deadshot etc, finally have their moment in the spotlight. I couldn't wait to see what Jared Leto brought to the table as The Joker. I was ready to be shown that BvS was a one off misstep, and that the DCEU properties were ready to take their place amongst comic book film royalty.
I'm almost cross at myself for being so very silly.
Where to begin - I guess characters.
I have no problem with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. I thought she was fine. The script is terrible in places but that's not her fault.
Another character that suffers from the script is Deadshot. Again, I have no problem with Will Smith (except that the movie threatens to become the Will Smith show on occasion), but the script turns him into a tool to spout one liners and name check the movies title.
Enchantress is just a weird gyrating CGI embarrassment that is given little room to do anything else.
Everyone else is a waste - Katana, Killer Croc, Diablo - all so boring.
Same goes for Boomerang (although I get the feeling that Jai Courtney genuinely tried his best with what he was given)
And then there's The Joker. I can't honestly tell whether I liked him or not - he was hardly in it! Although his brief appearance was more interesting than the rest of the film for sure.
The whole film is set to a soundtrack of 'cool' rock songs that I would have put on a mixtape when I was 12, and they're relentless. It feels like every two minutes another song is obnoxiously blasted into my poor eyes and ears.
The film feels like one huge trailer. It's edited and chopped up jarringly, and it's a film that evidently has suffered from re shoots and studio meddling.
I refuse to believe that the same man who directed the damn good 'Fury' is solely responsible for this car crash.
Hopefully, James Gunn can keep the suits at bay and deliver a home run with the next attempt...
Walking Dead: The Game
Games and Entertainment
App
**NOTE: Compatible with iPad 2 and up, and iPhone 4 and up - WILL NOT RUN ON EARLIER DEVICES** ...
Fred (860 KP) rated Avengers: Infinity War (2018) in Movies
May 3, 2018
Special effects are great, except Bruce Banner's head in the Hulkbuster suit. (4 more)
Great action scenes.
Great seeing just about all the Marvel characters.
PETER DINKLAGE!
Josh Brolin is great as Thanos.
Too talky at points. (5 more)
Some weird, illogical, wtf parts.
Guardians seemed out of place acting so serious.
Wasn't moved by the ending. Was kind of like, "Okay...so what? This is a comic-book movie."
Too long to introduce everyone.
Not funny.
Hype says it's better than it actually is
I knew this movie wasn't going to live up to the hype. Just like Black Panther, it's just an okay movie. Just like every other movie made these days, it starts strong, gets boring, then ends strong. Except it doesn't end too strong. It sort of ends with a whimper. I see memes where people were devastated at the ending. I felt like it was meaningless, as we know this is a comic book movie & all will be put right in the next installment.
I feel one of the main problems of the movie was the humor. When you have great Marvel movies, like The Guardians of the Galaxy films, and Thor: Ragnarok, which relied on a lot of humor and then are intertwined with a movie so dark, so deathly serious & try to keep the humor of those films, it just doesn't work. The Guardians, Thor & Bruce Banner were all throwing out jokes, but they mostly fell flat. It's hard to smile when Thanos is being an absolute terror.
All this being said, I did like the movie. Where I probably wouldn't watch Black Panther again, I would definitely watch this again. I actually have BP a 7, just like this film, I would probably change my score to a 5, as this movie was better, but doesn't deserve higher than a 7.
I feel one of the main problems of the movie was the humor. When you have great Marvel movies, like The Guardians of the Galaxy films, and Thor: Ragnarok, which relied on a lot of humor and then are intertwined with a movie so dark, so deathly serious & try to keep the humor of those films, it just doesn't work. The Guardians, Thor & Bruce Banner were all throwing out jokes, but they mostly fell flat. It's hard to smile when Thanos is being an absolute terror.
All this being said, I did like the movie. Where I probably wouldn't watch Black Panther again, I would definitely watch this again. I actually have BP a 7, just like this film, I would probably change my score to a 5, as this movie was better, but doesn't deserve higher than a 7.
Kyera (8 KP) rated Geekerella (Once Upon a Con #1) in Books
Jan 31, 2018
Geekerella is a modern day retelling of the classic fairytale, Cinderella. Our protagonist is Ella and the most important thing in her life is fandom, specifically her love of Starfleet. It was a show that she watched on re-runs with her dad and fell in love with. Her father even started a convention called Excelsicon because of his love of Starfleet. After her mother died when she was a small child, it was just Ella and her dad. Unfortunately, her father got remarried and later died in a car accident leaving Ella with her step-mother and two step-sisters. They didn’t understand her love of the sci-fi cult hit and treated her more like a servant than a sister.
Geekerella is a cute contemporary novel that will speak to your fandom loving heart. Even if you’re not super into sci-fi, comics, comic con, cosplay or those types of things, I think you will enjoy the classic human experience portrayed in this book. The Cinderella retelling aspect of the story was the least relevant to my reading experience. I personally enjoyed the development of friendly and romantic relationships, the geeking out over fandoms and the personal growth seen in this novel.
The main characters are likable and relatable, despite the fact that one of them is famous. He alternates between wanting to be normal, or down to earth, and succumbing to the intoxicating appeal of being famous. Even though you generally know the bones of the story if you’re familiar with Cinderella, the story itself doesn’t feel incredibly formulaic and can surprise you at times.
Highly recommended to young adult/teen fan of contemporary books, teen romance, nerd/geekdom, comic con, cosplay, fairytale retellings and simple, cute reads.
Geekerella is a cute contemporary novel that will speak to your fandom loving heart. Even if you’re not super into sci-fi, comics, comic con, cosplay or those types of things, I think you will enjoy the classic human experience portrayed in this book. The Cinderella retelling aspect of the story was the least relevant to my reading experience. I personally enjoyed the development of friendly and romantic relationships, the geeking out over fandoms and the personal growth seen in this novel.
The main characters are likable and relatable, despite the fact that one of them is famous. He alternates between wanting to be normal, or down to earth, and succumbing to the intoxicating appeal of being famous. Even though you generally know the bones of the story if you’re familiar with Cinderella, the story itself doesn’t feel incredibly formulaic and can surprise you at times.
Highly recommended to young adult/teen fan of contemporary books, teen romance, nerd/geekdom, comic con, cosplay, fairytale retellings and simple, cute reads.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Walking Dead - Season 3 in TV
Aug 16, 2019 (Updated Oct 25, 2019)
Contains spoilers, click to show
The third season of The Walking Dead is fairly up and down.
It's not as consistent as the first two for sure.
It's still pretty decent television however.
There's a large Shane shaped hole left after the finale of season 2 - filled by none other than The Governor. He's a piece of work for sure.
I enjoyed The Governor throughout season 3, although a lot of my friends who are fans of the comic protest that he's a far cry from the source material. As someone who is yet to catch up with the comic series, this wasn't a problem for me. He's played with aplomb by David Morrissey, who's obviously having a great time. On the surface, he's a nice guy, who's trying to help his people thrive in a post apocalyptic world - but there's certainly something sinister underneath.
We're also given back Merle, which is great because Michael Rooker. No other reason needed!
After a very brief appearance at the end of season 2, we also get a lot of fan favourite Michonne here, one of my favourite characters in the whole show, played by Danai Gurira.
As in the first two seasons, the cast are pretty great all round. No complaints from me in that respect.
It's the story which takes a bit of a hit. The majority of the season is set in a Prison, and the Governor's story is pretty slow burning as he grows to hate Rick. Some of the episodes feel like filler, with some really strong episodes dotted throughout (the fourth episode in particular is a blinder)
This is an issue that becomes more obvious as the series draw on but at this point isn't severe enough to make a huge impact.
It's still good, gory, bleak, fun? I guess?
#Justice4HershelsFoot
It's not as consistent as the first two for sure.
It's still pretty decent television however.
There's a large Shane shaped hole left after the finale of season 2 - filled by none other than The Governor. He's a piece of work for sure.
I enjoyed The Governor throughout season 3, although a lot of my friends who are fans of the comic protest that he's a far cry from the source material. As someone who is yet to catch up with the comic series, this wasn't a problem for me. He's played with aplomb by David Morrissey, who's obviously having a great time. On the surface, he's a nice guy, who's trying to help his people thrive in a post apocalyptic world - but there's certainly something sinister underneath.
We're also given back Merle, which is great because Michael Rooker. No other reason needed!
After a very brief appearance at the end of season 2, we also get a lot of fan favourite Michonne here, one of my favourite characters in the whole show, played by Danai Gurira.
As in the first two seasons, the cast are pretty great all round. No complaints from me in that respect.
It's the story which takes a bit of a hit. The majority of the season is set in a Prison, and the Governor's story is pretty slow burning as he grows to hate Rick. Some of the episodes feel like filler, with some really strong episodes dotted throughout (the fourth episode in particular is a blinder)
This is an issue that becomes more obvious as the series draw on but at this point isn't severe enough to make a huge impact.
It's still good, gory, bleak, fun? I guess?
#Justice4HershelsFoot
Niko and the Sword of Light
Book and Entertainment
App
(Niko is now an animated series! Check out the first episode on Amazon Prime!) As a child, did you...
Jim Shooter: Conversations
Jason Sacks, Eric Hoffman and Dominick Grace
Book
As an American comic book writer, editor, and businessman, Jim Shooter (b. 1952) remains among the...
Stephen Merchant recommended Play It Again, Sam (1972) in Movies (curated)
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Underwater (2020) in Movies
Sep 11, 2020
Fair play, Underwater doesn't fuck around - 2 minutes in and all hell starts breaking loose and shit hits the fan pretty relentlessly until the credits roll. It's clear that director William Eubank wants your attention from the beginning - unfortunately it doesn't quite stay like this throughout...
I actually enjoyed Underwater for the most part, it's just that somewhere in the middle, it really starts to drag a bit, and I'm not even quite sure why - there's always something going on but it just lost me a bit.
Fortunately, the up and down middle act is book-ended by a very strong and tense first act, and one hell of a final third - no spoilers here but holy fuck!!!
The ending 'reveal' honestly elevates Underwater to loftier heights.
It also benefits from a good cast. Kristen Stewart has really grown on me in recent years and she's a fantastic lead in this. Always a pleasure to have Jessica Henwick and John Gallagher Jr. onscreen as well.
As per usual, I couldn't really get on with T.J. Miller - there's just something about that dude that always feels a bit too try hard - people liked him in Deadpool and now he's just typecast as the comic relief - Underwater doesn't really need comic relief.
There are some genuinely tense moments here and there, and the Aliens vibes are prominent - it's of course a few tiers under Aliens, but the bottom of the sea feels just as empty and otherworldly as space, and the creature designs are suitably eerie. The low light levels cover up a lot of CGI, so it never looks too fake either, with the exception of a couple of dodgy gore effects.
Underwater is a decent enough sci-fi-horror thriller that suffer a bit from pacing issues, but a good watch for those of you who like movie monsters.
I actually enjoyed Underwater for the most part, it's just that somewhere in the middle, it really starts to drag a bit, and I'm not even quite sure why - there's always something going on but it just lost me a bit.
Fortunately, the up and down middle act is book-ended by a very strong and tense first act, and one hell of a final third - no spoilers here but holy fuck!!!
The ending 'reveal' honestly elevates Underwater to loftier heights.
It also benefits from a good cast. Kristen Stewart has really grown on me in recent years and she's a fantastic lead in this. Always a pleasure to have Jessica Henwick and John Gallagher Jr. onscreen as well.
As per usual, I couldn't really get on with T.J. Miller - there's just something about that dude that always feels a bit too try hard - people liked him in Deadpool and now he's just typecast as the comic relief - Underwater doesn't really need comic relief.
There are some genuinely tense moments here and there, and the Aliens vibes are prominent - it's of course a few tiers under Aliens, but the bottom of the sea feels just as empty and otherworldly as space, and the creature designs are suitably eerie. The low light levels cover up a lot of CGI, so it never looks too fake either, with the exception of a couple of dodgy gore effects.
Underwater is a decent enough sci-fi-horror thriller that suffer a bit from pacing issues, but a good watch for those of you who like movie monsters.
