lol I’ve definitely found one xps
― jammy mcnullity (wins), Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:48 (three years ago) link
Buffy had a lot of valuable and creative stuff that a lot of people, not just Whedon, deserve credit for, but I'm not uh exactly in a rush to revisit.
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:50 (three years ago) link
it's no doubt a popular strawman 'round these parts but when/if you come across an ILXor who's all 'you SHALL NOT criticize my beloved MCU!!!' be sure and let me know. Some guy had a multi-post freakout at the start of the MCU: classic or dud 2 thread at the very idea of anyone answering the thread topic iirc.
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:50 (three years ago) link
to be clear, I didn't mind Buffy all that much even though it was mostly Not My Thing until people started trying to push that fucking terrible musical episode on me
― Dana Jel Pey (DJP), Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:52 (three years ago) link
lol yeah, literally the first response to the thread is OL coming in with this exact brand of not-mad zany sarcasm because he was pre-emptively madd that ppl might vote dud
― jammy mcnullity (wins), Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:54 (three years ago) link
at this point, I'm in this thread mostly to trick Brad into watching WW84
― Dana Jel Pey (DJP), Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:56 (three years ago) link
Criticizing any of these movies is fine and necessary, it's the bad faith that people put behind them that grates.
Like the "slurry-like consistency" comment rubs me wrong, because the insinuation with that choice of words is, "yup, those rubes will slurp up anything the MCU slops down in front of them".
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:57 (three years ago) link
I mean there are so many valid criticisms of the MCU - the military shilling, the sometimes incomprehensible action sequences, the overreliance on lazy "I know that reference!" easter egg zings, shoehorning in continuity in ways that slow down the films, etc etc. I just think the "all MCU movies are the same" is a lazy dismissal from people that have no intention of granting them any credit at all, and it grates.
― Nhex, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:00 (three years ago) link
Some guy had a multi-post freakout at the start of the MCU: classic or dud 2 thread at the very idea of anyone answering the thread topic iirc.
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:03 (three years ago) link
I think of “slurry-like consistency” as applying to the incoherent pixelated look of the animated final-boss battles in half+ of the ones I’ve seen
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:04 (three years ago) link
(not u Peyton bb)
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:05 (three years ago) link
Somehow the consistency of the MCU has been twisted into a sort of strange criticism. "Yeah, the casting and acting and effects and stories are pretty reliably good, and they're mostly very entertaining, but ... they're all the same! Why don't they coat everything in digital charcoal and throw in more erratic storytelling and a bunch of slo-mo and ramping for a change? Sure, it may be indulgent and tough to endure, but at least it has personality." Which, tbf, is indeed probably preferable to dreck like WW84, which is like the worst traits of the MCU and DCU combined but otherwise completely bereft of *any* real distinction.
Fwiw, for comparison's sake "Endgame" (minus credits) runs I think a little more than a full hour shorter than this one does. But apparently this one breaks things up into chapters, so suck it, Scorsese, Snyder Cut is all but *designed* to be paused at home while you go off to make popcorn and check your email.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:12 (three years ago) link
I don't think the fight scenes in the MCU movies are at all incoherent, not in a world that also contains a successful Transformers franchise.
― Dana Jel Pey (DJP), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:13 (three years ago) link
Seriously. Those movies are like watching a lunatic try to solve the world's biggest CGI Rubik's cube.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:16 (three years ago) link
mean there are so many valid criticisms of the MCU - the military shilling, the sometimes incomprehensible action sequences, the overreliance on lazy "I know that reference!" easter egg zings, shoehorning in continuity in ways that slow down the films
yes
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:18 (three years ago) link
I don't find MCU action direction incoherent, just perfunctory and unmemorable
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:19 (three years ago) link
(action direction not Snyder's strong suit either tbh)
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:20 (three years ago) link
I only saw the first Transformers and the scene from whichever later one they destroyed Chicago, those definitely set the standard for completely incomprehensible action sequences. Just blurs of terrible CGI color. Still mystified by how successful that franchise became.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:22 (three years ago) link
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Thursday, March 25, 2021 9:20 AM (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
by direct comparison it's leagues better imo
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:25 (three years ago) link
i mean as with massive cgi superhero battles u gotta love ur grays and oranges
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:27 (three years ago) link
as with all*
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:28 (three years ago) link
prob my favorite snyder action sequence is the climax of man of steel, which everyone hates, but which i thought was amazing
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:29 (three years ago) link
I'm sure I'll be alone in this one, but one of the reasons I enjoyed Endgame as much as I did was that I was genuinely surprised by how well they handled the epic, every character ever super fight. It was way more comprehensible and structured than I'd been dreading.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:29 (three years ago) link
(action direction not Snyder's strong suit either tbh)― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Thursday, March 25, 2021 9:20 AM (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglinkby direct comparison it's leagues better imo
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:30 (three years ago) link
Yeah "incoherent" isn't right. Someone on the MCU thread (maybe?) posted a video breaking down how unreal the physics of the CGI fight between Black Panther and Killmonger were and how that undercuts the drama of it, and I thought that was otm
― rob, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:33 (three years ago) link
don't think the fight scenes in the MCU movies are at all incoherent, not in a world that also contains a successful Transformers franchise.the thing is that we live in a world that also contains successful films by Corey Yuen and Sammo Hung and Stephen Chow and Jackie Chan and Prachya Pinkaew and Gareth Evans and Park Chan-wook and Chad Stahelski and George Miller and Brian Trenchard-Smith
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:36 (three years ago) link
“Bad” physics is one of the things that contributes to making these things incoherent to me
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:39 (three years ago) link
I can only speak for myself, but I don't ever expect tentpole blockbuster summer popcorn flicks to have the same level of fight choreography as niche films for which said fight choreography is the main draw.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:43 (three years ago) link
'But,' said Devil's Advocate, 'what is the main draw of a tentpole blockbuster summer popcorn superhero flick if not the fight choreography? Check, and also mate.'
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:46 (three years ago) link
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:46 (three years ago) link
is that an example of your tongue-in-cheek preemptive defensiveness, OL?
― rob, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:48 (three years ago) link
Yes, sorry, #tongueincheek
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:48 (three years ago) link
is “fight choreography” even a thing that exists in the Transformers movies?
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:48 (three years ago) link
Gotta make myself a Post-It. 'Note to self...incluuuuude haaaashtaaag.'
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:49 (three years ago) link
it only takes up like 1/5 of the movie, no point making it look distinctive or memorable
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:49 (three years ago) link
sic, I'd definitely raise an eyebrow if someone told me they choreographed a mosh pit
― rob, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:49 (three years ago) link
When I think superhero fight scenes I have an entirely different set of expectations as to what a fight scene will look like than I would approaching a Hong Kong action flick.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:50 (three years ago) link
Lookit, if you're approaching these things as anything other than really nicely-polished b-movies, you might be doing it wrong, is the thing.
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:51 (three years ago) link
otm
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:52 (three years ago) link
Ok but this started because you got mad I said they follow a successful formula
― rob, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:54 (three years ago) link
Wait, are they summer tentpole blockbusters, or are they b-movies?(The idea that Sammo and Jackie and Chow and the creator of Happy Feet are making “niche films” and not blockbusters doesn’t really play either)
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:54 (three years ago) link
They are not literally b-movies, no, I don't think anyone would argue that. That they embody the spirit of b-movies is one of the reasons I appreciate them so.
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:58 (three years ago) link
They're way too sexless to be b-movies.
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:00 (three years ago) link
My bad for taking sic's disingenuous troll bait, sorry guys.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:02 (three years ago) link
oh god this is getting into the territory of a truly terrible essay I bailed on that complained that the MCU movies didn't have messy boning in them
it started by making a "do you SEE" point about Starship Troopers that showed the author fundamentally misunderstood the point of Starship Troopers
― Dana Jel Pey (DJP), Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:02 (three years ago) link
xxpost There are plenty of sexless b-movies, come on now. '50s sci-fi movies generally contained no more than a completely flaccid penis here and there, for instance.
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch), Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:03 (three years ago) link
like, there are a multitude of reasons why I enjoy MCU movies and none of them are "I want proof that all of these beautiful people penetrate each other constantly"
― Dana Jel Pey (DJP), Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:04 (three years ago) link
When I think superhero fight scenes I have an entirely different set of expectations as to what a fight scene will look like than I would approaching a Hong Kong action flick.Why do you have exactly the same expectations for a superhero fight scene as for a Michael Bay animated robot scene, then?(and do you have the same expectations for a Hong Kong fight scene as for a Hong Kong helicopter chase, or a Thai fight scene, or a Hong Kong dance scene, or a Welsh fight scene, or a Korean escape scene, or an American horse scene, or an Australian car chase, or an Australian baby pig and dozens of animals swarming a hotel, or an Australian bicycle chase, which I also carefully cited so that it wasn’t just comparing one style to another?)
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:04 (three years ago) link
sic, it's time to reboot
― Dana Jel Pey (DJP), Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:05 (three years ago) link
My bad for taking sic's disingenuous troll bait, sorry guys.oh hey get fucked
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:06 (three years ago) link