movies and tv
So, have not been to the movies in awhile cos I have no money. Financial aid refund doesn’t come in for another 2 weeks, and I have not really felt like looking for a job. I should, but whatever. Don’t remember if I mentioned here, but last movies I saw were Inside Out, Straight Outta Compton, and Mr. Holmes. Before that was Age of Ultron, Ant Man, and Song of the Sea.
Song of the Sea was nice. It was made by the same studio that made Secret of Kells, so has old school animation and is based on Celtic mythology. Is about a young girl who and her big brother running away from home because they have to find this magic artifact to help the girl become a selkie, which is a type of faerie, and their father is depressed because it’s the anniversary of his wife’s death and there’s just lots of heartwarming tragedy and rebirth there.
That’s not a wholly accurate plot summary, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Has lovely music, beautiful art, and is a really sweet adventure tale disguised as a family drama.
Mr. Holmes was not what I expected, but still enjoyable. Ian McKellan plays a very elderly Sherlock who has long since retired and lives in a small hamlet by the sea with his housekeeper and her son. He is writing a book about his last case, but finds it hard going because he has Alzheimer’s. The ads made me think the movie was solely about the last case, and that Holmes was still in good shape, but no.
The story he is writing is told in flashbacks thru his senile eyes, and the movie is mostly about his relationship to the boy, and whether any of his memories of the last case are true. The over arching plot is told from the perspective that Holmes was a real person, and all his novels and short stories happened, just not as we were told because Watson embellished them to increase sales and protect the clients.
His and Holmes’ relationship is touched upon, but not in detail. In fact, they don’t even show Watson’s face in flashbacks, which I thought was a strange, but interesting choice. Anyway, the movie is only worth seeing if you really love the old Sherlock Holmes stories or are a big fan of period drama. Other than that, it is a pretty simplistic and old fashioned tale of a man wrestling with his pride and coping with losing his place in the world, and how a younger person helps him establish a new identity so he can live his final years in dignity and contentment.
I have only read three or four Sherlock Holmes stories, so can’t tell you how much fan service is given, or if there any Easter eggs from the books, but I am sure there a couple.
Straight Outta Compton is a lot of fun and a very sad movie. It’s about friendship and how hard it is to keep that type of love going when dealing with the evils of show business, and about the harsh life for Black people in poor neighborhoods. It’s violent and filled with profanity, but the violence is unfortunately part of the story and used effectively.
The acting is really good, I cared about all the characters, and was completely swept away by the emotions. The script is nothing special, standard biopic fare, but again, it’s a fun movie, and the gut wrenching aspects make up for the mediocre script. Basically, it is what movies are all about-the spectacle and imagery and emotion carry you thru and you don’t pay attention to the details.
Details matter sometimes, but not in this case.
I was not impressed by Inside Out. It was cute, and had good moments, but it left me like Toy Story 3-sitting here looking at all the White people wondering what their problem is that they felt so moved by such a generic story.
It’s not a bad movie, just not one that leapt out at me. It was an ages old tale of growing up, maturing, and coping with stress and how family love can help you overcome what you think is insurmountable, done in a modern way with bright colors and effects. And that’s fine, it’s cool, but I wasn’t blown over by it. Honestly, Pixar seems to be losing their touch the longer they are in partnership with Disney.
Their movies are becoming pretty safe and seem to lack any real depth anymore. And now that they are firmly cranking out sequels, I just feel like their attraction as a studio has disappeared, and soon, Disney will completely overtake them. And I know I am in the minority here, considering how much money Inside Out made, but different strokes and all that.
Pretty sure I already wrote about Avengers 2 and Ant Man, but if not, Ant Man was just about a perfect comic book movie in a good way, and Age of Ultron was a perfect comic book movie in a bad way. I personally enjoyed both, saw them twice, will buy them on bluray, but I can see how people would dislike AoU, and how maybe Ant Man was too silly.
But I love the entire MCU, so yeah, I will defend them both and do so proudly.
I am excited that “Jessica Jones” is finally going to premiere on Netflix. I know nothing of her except the tiny bit I learned during her time in the New Avengers comic series, so I will be able to enjoy the show without any pressure or distraction, like Daredevil. I had never read a Daredevil comic before the show, and actually hated him because of the 2003 movie and because he just seems like a lame Batman rip off.
He is a lame Batman rip off, one that misses a lot of the point of Batman, but the TV show is excellent. I liked it so much I eventually began reading the comics, and found those entertaining, too. I read the 1998 reboot, started with issue 16, and loved the stories. Things fall apart after Michael Bendis leaves, but a few issues were still worthwhile.
So, with Jessica Jones, I am hoping for something really intense and filled with dynamic characters like in Daredevil. I hope he shows up and I hope we get a larger sense of New York this time, as we get closer to the Infinity War. Reading about the series, and the upcoming Luke Cage show makes me wonder if these characters will ever meet the Agents of SHIELD, and if anyone from the TV shows will ever appear in the movies.
I hope so, seems like such a waste not to have them cross over.
Which brings me to Spider Man.
Awhile ago, I commented on Tumblr how it would BE PERFECT to introduce Marvel Studios’ take on Spider Man via the Daredevil series in season 2. We have had 5 major motion pictures, and the character is 50 years old, so we don’t need a new origin movie. He lives in New York with DD, so introduce him via the TV shows, then give him a movie later.
After reading the comics, this idea was reinforced in my mind because Daredevil and Spider Man hang out ALL THE TIME. Hell’s Kitchen and Manhattan are not that far apart and both characters are popular with the citizens while being unpopular with J. Jonah Jameson and the courts. It makes perfect sense to introduce Peter Parker this way, especially since Marvel Studios already has a plan for their movies.
But no. They pushed back Thor 3 to make room for a new Spider Man movie in 2017, and they cast a little kid as Peter. So, by casting someone so young, the actor looks like he is 14, I fear they are going with an old school Spider Man movie where he is still in high school, as opposed to the current comic version where he has been graduated for many years and has a job at a science and engineering think tank.
And with him being young, he is likely just starting out as a hero which means he may not have met DD yet or even heard of him. My idea was to have a nervous Peter Parker trying to be a hero, and meeting DD, who takes him under his wing, and helps him become a better vigilante. That could still happen, but I doubt Marvel is going that direction.
In other TV news, I still hate TV, so not watching much.
I heard Clara Oswald is leaving Doctor Who, so that makes me super happy, but I am still not psyched up for season 9 after the bore fest that was season 8.
Fargo is back, or coming back, but the only reason I watched season one was b/c of Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman, so not only with them being gone, but this season being a completely different time period and town, I am not going to be watching.
I am not a fan of the “anthology” style story telling, as I heard it called. Ted Danson and Patrick Wilson are ok, but not enough to make me care about this new season.
Someone asked me to give Mr. Robot a try, but chances are slim.
Still don’t care about Orphan Black, Hannibal was never my thing, and I have no interest in finding out how it ended, never gave Aquarius a try, but I might one day, and really can’t think of anything else new.
I am fine with Agents of SHEILD, Arrow, Flash, and Sherlock, whenever it comes back.
Song of the Sea was nice. It was made by the same studio that made Secret of Kells, so has old school animation and is based on Celtic mythology. Is about a young girl who and her big brother running away from home because they have to find this magic artifact to help the girl become a selkie, which is a type of faerie, and their father is depressed because it’s the anniversary of his wife’s death and there’s just lots of heartwarming tragedy and rebirth there.
That’s not a wholly accurate plot summary, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Has lovely music, beautiful art, and is a really sweet adventure tale disguised as a family drama.
Mr. Holmes was not what I expected, but still enjoyable. Ian McKellan plays a very elderly Sherlock who has long since retired and lives in a small hamlet by the sea with his housekeeper and her son. He is writing a book about his last case, but finds it hard going because he has Alzheimer’s. The ads made me think the movie was solely about the last case, and that Holmes was still in good shape, but no.
The story he is writing is told in flashbacks thru his senile eyes, and the movie is mostly about his relationship to the boy, and whether any of his memories of the last case are true. The over arching plot is told from the perspective that Holmes was a real person, and all his novels and short stories happened, just not as we were told because Watson embellished them to increase sales and protect the clients.
His and Holmes’ relationship is touched upon, but not in detail. In fact, they don’t even show Watson’s face in flashbacks, which I thought was a strange, but interesting choice. Anyway, the movie is only worth seeing if you really love the old Sherlock Holmes stories or are a big fan of period drama. Other than that, it is a pretty simplistic and old fashioned tale of a man wrestling with his pride and coping with losing his place in the world, and how a younger person helps him establish a new identity so he can live his final years in dignity and contentment.
I have only read three or four Sherlock Holmes stories, so can’t tell you how much fan service is given, or if there any Easter eggs from the books, but I am sure there a couple.
Straight Outta Compton is a lot of fun and a very sad movie. It’s about friendship and how hard it is to keep that type of love going when dealing with the evils of show business, and about the harsh life for Black people in poor neighborhoods. It’s violent and filled with profanity, but the violence is unfortunately part of the story and used effectively.
The acting is really good, I cared about all the characters, and was completely swept away by the emotions. The script is nothing special, standard biopic fare, but again, it’s a fun movie, and the gut wrenching aspects make up for the mediocre script. Basically, it is what movies are all about-the spectacle and imagery and emotion carry you thru and you don’t pay attention to the details.
Details matter sometimes, but not in this case.
I was not impressed by Inside Out. It was cute, and had good moments, but it left me like Toy Story 3-sitting here looking at all the White people wondering what their problem is that they felt so moved by such a generic story.
It’s not a bad movie, just not one that leapt out at me. It was an ages old tale of growing up, maturing, and coping with stress and how family love can help you overcome what you think is insurmountable, done in a modern way with bright colors and effects. And that’s fine, it’s cool, but I wasn’t blown over by it. Honestly, Pixar seems to be losing their touch the longer they are in partnership with Disney.
Their movies are becoming pretty safe and seem to lack any real depth anymore. And now that they are firmly cranking out sequels, I just feel like their attraction as a studio has disappeared, and soon, Disney will completely overtake them. And I know I am in the minority here, considering how much money Inside Out made, but different strokes and all that.
Pretty sure I already wrote about Avengers 2 and Ant Man, but if not, Ant Man was just about a perfect comic book movie in a good way, and Age of Ultron was a perfect comic book movie in a bad way. I personally enjoyed both, saw them twice, will buy them on bluray, but I can see how people would dislike AoU, and how maybe Ant Man was too silly.
But I love the entire MCU, so yeah, I will defend them both and do so proudly.
I am excited that “Jessica Jones” is finally going to premiere on Netflix. I know nothing of her except the tiny bit I learned during her time in the New Avengers comic series, so I will be able to enjoy the show without any pressure or distraction, like Daredevil. I had never read a Daredevil comic before the show, and actually hated him because of the 2003 movie and because he just seems like a lame Batman rip off.
He is a lame Batman rip off, one that misses a lot of the point of Batman, but the TV show is excellent. I liked it so much I eventually began reading the comics, and found those entertaining, too. I read the 1998 reboot, started with issue 16, and loved the stories. Things fall apart after Michael Bendis leaves, but a few issues were still worthwhile.
So, with Jessica Jones, I am hoping for something really intense and filled with dynamic characters like in Daredevil. I hope he shows up and I hope we get a larger sense of New York this time, as we get closer to the Infinity War. Reading about the series, and the upcoming Luke Cage show makes me wonder if these characters will ever meet the Agents of SHIELD, and if anyone from the TV shows will ever appear in the movies.
I hope so, seems like such a waste not to have them cross over.
Which brings me to Spider Man.
Awhile ago, I commented on Tumblr how it would BE PERFECT to introduce Marvel Studios’ take on Spider Man via the Daredevil series in season 2. We have had 5 major motion pictures, and the character is 50 years old, so we don’t need a new origin movie. He lives in New York with DD, so introduce him via the TV shows, then give him a movie later.
After reading the comics, this idea was reinforced in my mind because Daredevil and Spider Man hang out ALL THE TIME. Hell’s Kitchen and Manhattan are not that far apart and both characters are popular with the citizens while being unpopular with J. Jonah Jameson and the courts. It makes perfect sense to introduce Peter Parker this way, especially since Marvel Studios already has a plan for their movies.
But no. They pushed back Thor 3 to make room for a new Spider Man movie in 2017, and they cast a little kid as Peter. So, by casting someone so young, the actor looks like he is 14, I fear they are going with an old school Spider Man movie where he is still in high school, as opposed to the current comic version where he has been graduated for many years and has a job at a science and engineering think tank.
And with him being young, he is likely just starting out as a hero which means he may not have met DD yet or even heard of him. My idea was to have a nervous Peter Parker trying to be a hero, and meeting DD, who takes him under his wing, and helps him become a better vigilante. That could still happen, but I doubt Marvel is going that direction.
In other TV news, I still hate TV, so not watching much.
I heard Clara Oswald is leaving Doctor Who, so that makes me super happy, but I am still not psyched up for season 9 after the bore fest that was season 8.
Fargo is back, or coming back, but the only reason I watched season one was b/c of Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman, so not only with them being gone, but this season being a completely different time period and town, I am not going to be watching.
I am not a fan of the “anthology” style story telling, as I heard it called. Ted Danson and Patrick Wilson are ok, but not enough to make me care about this new season.
Someone asked me to give Mr. Robot a try, but chances are slim.
Still don’t care about Orphan Black, Hannibal was never my thing, and I have no interest in finding out how it ended, never gave Aquarius a try, but I might one day, and really can’t think of anything else new.
I am fine with Agents of SHEILD, Arrow, Flash, and Sherlock, whenever it comes back.