A movie like Brainscan is unique. The characters in this film only exist in the time that the movie was made. Brainscan can almost be called a period film today due to its embracing the troubled...
Its a fun to play with friends, find fun quest and just have a blast! I have been playing for several years and i keep going back. always new things to do or find! Just wish there wasnt so many...
TLDNR REVIEW: “Amazing Spider-Man” is almost good, just like powdered mashed potatoes are almost real.
Look, guys. I realize that anyone that is reading this review has already made up their...
I think of "Spider-Man" more like a dry run or even prologue for "Spider-Man 2". Devin Faraci described "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" the same way, but I think "Batman Begins" stands well enough on its own.
I always re-watch "Spider-Man" before "Spider-Man 2" because I like how one sets up the other, but while I like its sequel way, way more, I still think "Spider-Man" is pretty fun by itself.
There's a lot of awkward, ill-conceived stuff in it, but it's passable and doesn't have too many really frustrating parts.
In contrast, I will never watch the first X-Men movie again because I think there's too much stupid shit in it. I can watch its sequel without watching it first and not feel like I'm missing anything worth watching.
Same goes for "Superman" and "Superman 2". "Superman" has some really cool stuff in it, but I feel like the crap (i.e. Superman flying while Lois holds on scene, the time reversing bullshit) taints it too much.
I guess I did a bit of a 180 on "Superman". The first time I saw it (as a teen) I was quite enthralled by the charming performances (especially Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman) and the special effects, which are still very neat, even if they're way outdated.
Watching it as an adult, I just can't suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy the preposterous climax. And that flying 'date' just makes me cringe.
I go straight to the sequel, which also has its fair share of cheesy moments, but remains consistently watchable in spite of them due to the incomparable Terrence Stamp's unforgettable turn as one of the greatest self-obsessed, power-hungry, megalomaniacal prick villains in movie history. Speaking of which...
Quote:
X2 is a series of isn't that really fucking cool? action scenes strung together with the least amount of characterization possible.
"Why do you say this to me...when you know I will kill you for it?"
I just watched this clip for the umpteenth time (I own the movie on DVD), and I laughed my ass off AGAIN. I don't know how anyone could listen to Zod's line here and not react that way. EVERY TIME.
The dynamic between Xavier and Lensherr has always been at the forefront of what made the X-Men great and deserved the bulk of the screen time that it received in FC. And First Class, while certainly not a perfect film, at least earns it's character moments. There is not a single moment in the original X-Men trilogy that even comes close to the move the coin scene at the climax of FC. Singer's films, on the other hand, approached the philosophical elements of the X-Men story through cheap exposition laden, on-the-nose dialogue, before quickly moving to the next expertly shot, yet wholly unmoving set piece. X2 is a series of isn't that really fucking cool? action scenes strung together with the least amount of characterization possible.
Yeah, I don't get that complaint at all. I really enjoy First Class, but the only character moments that work are those with Magneto and Xavier. The X-Kids are all barely sketched out, and the "lets give each other code names" scene is painfully bad. The only thing that feels earned is Magneto's arc, and even that is rushed at the end.
X2 does a much better job of conveying the central conceit of the X-Men, that being mutants as outcasts. The idea of being rejected from your family for being a mutant, that's classic X-Men. Sure, "move the coin" is a great scene, but if we're talking about who captured the core of the X-Men better, it's Singer without question. You want to talk about "cheap, exposition laden, on-the-nose-dialogue", I felt like that's at least a good 50% of First Class. Everything out of the kids' mouths is either exposition or on-the-nose. I mean, the repeated "mutant and proud" line? That isn't on-the-nose?
If you want to watch "The Magneto Story", then First Class is great. In every other aspect, X2 is, to me, clearly the better X-Men film.
Noooo! Not Superman! And dammit, I love First Class more everytime I see it...warts and all.
ETA: I want to add Evolution to this list. I know I know. But it had great effects and it gets funnier to me. Unoriginal? Yes. But man did I hate it the first time.
After having it available to watch anytime I want (and taking advantage of that) via DVD, it started to lose its luster.
The final nail in its coffin came when I watched it with a friend (who had never seen it) and she guessed the ending 20 minutes before Spacey's famous exit stroll down the street; without the ending. The Usual Suspects is just a generic, monotonous and, at times, outright boring heist picture. It saddens me that I used to rank it up there with Pulp Fiction as far as movies of the 90s go.
I'm with Ambler. I can't think of any movie I've done a complete 180 on. At most, I've cooled on movies or come to appreciate one more later on. But not a full turn-around.
The closest thing I can think of is my utter disdain for Avatar now. During its theatrical run, I was so excited for it that I was really trying hard to think of things I liked about it (and there are genuinely good things about that movie to find). But even then, I could feel the strain. Even my utter disdain at the moment is a bit of a put on. I just have fun hating on Avatar around here.
After having it available to watch anytime I want (and taking advantage of that) via DVD, it started to lose its luster.
The final nail in its coffin came when I watched it with a friend (who had never seen it) and she guessed the ending 20 minutes before Spacey's famous exit stroll down the street; without the ending. The Usual Suspects is just a generic, monotonous and, at times, outright boring heist picture. It saddens me that I used to rank it up there with Pulp Fiction as far as movies of the 90s go.
Huh.
Happened to be on HBO I think, last night, and I watched the last 40 minutes or so. Couldn't agree with you less. Suspects is a tight, well paced and masterfully acted/directed thriller. I mean, good for your friend for guessing the ending 20 minutes in, but when I saw it in the theaters 15 or so years ago, I was totally taken by it, and found myself similarly swept away last night. Every individual member of the gang is just fleshed out enough to either be a.) a figment of Verbal's/Keyser's indepth con, or b.) a decent, well-rounded part of an ensemble in a modern thriller.
After having it available to watch anytime I want (and taking advantage of that) via DVD, it started to lose its luster.
The final nail in its coffin came when I watched it with a friend (who had never seen it) and she guessed the ending 20 minutes before Spacey's famous exit stroll down the street; without the ending. The Usual Suspects is just a generic, monotonous and, at times, outright boring heist picture. It saddens me that I used to rank it up there with Pulp Fiction as far as movies of the 90s go.
Fascinating. You and I are watching a different film.
Agreed. I have argued before that Usual Suspects is the best movie Singer has ever, and will ever, make. He gets a fuck ton of goodwill and credit that I feel is unearned and mostly because of how he blew almost his whole wad on his first outing. I just think he should produce and occasionally write anyway. As a director, I think he kinda stinks. This is coming from someone that appreciates Superman Returns a tad.
I'm sort of with Ben. Without that ending TheUsual Suspects is an average movie with great performances... not a bad movie, but not the classic it has become either. For me, the novelty of the ending wore off years ago. I can still appreciate the film but I have zero inclination to watch it any time soon. It's more of a 90 for me than a 180...
Without that ending The Usual Suspects is an average movie with great performances...
And that's why I brought up my friend guessing the ending, not because it was telegraphed but because the ending is so unique and memorable that it actually fooled me into believing that the entire film was as clever. And, in my opinion, it just isn't.
Using the the spoiler just to be on the safe side. I figured out that Verbal was Keyser because he was the least likely one to be him. It still didn't hurt my enjoyment of the movie.
Huh. I agree with Ben inasmuch as The Usual Suspects is a movie I've cooled on to the point that I now feel it is massively overrated because it had a twist ending before every crime and horror movie had to have one. But for the complete opposite reasons. I have come to hate the twist over time, all the more so because it invalidates the perfectly good, taut crime thriller that it had going for 90% of the runtime.
I hated The Searchers when I first saw it a few years ago. It's commonly cited by many directors as one of their favorites. I just didn't get it. I didn't find it particularly compelling. It was racist and at times farcical. Other times, it took itself too seriously. My favorite westerns were the Leone spaghetti westerns and I hadn't really gotten into American westerns. Overall, I found it massively overrated and even stupid. I gave it another shot, and it's very good. There's an edgy darkness to John Wayne's character. Much of it harkens back to the the sense of innocence and family that we've sort of lost as a culture. It's a piece of Americana that gets the beauty, promise, and harshness of the American West.
Evil Dead 2, although, to be fair, it comes entirely down to the context in which I first saw it, and I didn't watch much of it. I was probably about 10 at the time (it was a couple of years prior to Army of Darkness coming out), I'd never seen the original, and I had no idea what tone to expect. Those first 8 minutes of hyperactivity just killed it for me; I had no idea that I was watching a re-cap of the first movie, and I didn't understand why the entire set-up was being rushed through. It frustrated me, and I don't think I got more than 15 minutes in before giving up. Fast forward several years, and I saw it in context with the original and flipped my wig over its wall-to-wall awesomeness.
