reddsun1

18 minutes ago, reddsun1 said:

I too initially had a knee-jerk reaction to Cap's side-mission when I first saw it.  I thought: this is so un-Captain America-like that this is gonna piss people off to no end.  At first blush, it does seem to trivialize all the sentiments and ideals he professed to believe in and stand for in all the films that had come before.  What happened to "I'm with you 'til the end," eh?  The character of Captain America--no, Steve Rogers, the man behind the shield--is supposed to embody all that we should aspire to be as Americans [or citizens of one's respective country, I suppose].  This is like he's turning his back on all of that....

But when I gave it some more reflection, I conceded to myself: man, you need to lighten up a bit, eh?  This is still the story of a mortal man, albeit a man augmented by the effects of super-soldier serum and all the benefits thereof.  But with that in mind: even if the serum helps slow his aging process [is that ever implied/established in the MCU?], he's still not going to be able to soldier on and "fight the good fight" forever.  Eventually he would have to hang up his helmet and uniform,  Just how does someone bring closure to that part of their life, especially after sacrificing so much for it?  Audiences have spent the better part of a decade rooting for Cap, no doubt thinking and wishing that if any one Avenger could just catch a break, it ought to be him, right? 

 

ed: on a side note, I loved the elevator scene, was definitely worth a chuckle.  I got the impression that it was meant as a nod to a significant event from the comics, but also their way of saying: look, this is about as close as we're gonna get to that little "blemish" on the Captain's shield.

Actually, I take that back.  I call bulls**t.  Clint Eastwood already gave us "old Captain America." 

Hah!  I'm not the only one who noticed....

Just remember, I said it first, eh? 

18 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

See, I'm really torn about the above, because while I'm frustrated by the lack of a coherent set of rules governing the way things work, I'm also fully on-board with the plot as a whole.  I think it was an amazing ride, and a fitting end to all the build-up of the past movies.  Cap's ending was exactly what I was hoping for, honestly, from even before Infinity War.  The other big finale was literally ten years in the making, and after re-watching a few of the previous movies, you can tell it's what they had planned from long ago.  The directors have even said as much.

I just wish they had been a bit more consistent and clear about what's actually involved in tying up all the loose ends.

To quote Mordo, "The bill comes due."  I think the haphazard treatment of the universe in this film is absolutely going to take the next ten years of movies to actually unscrew.

 

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The really heartbreaking thought in the back of my head actually pertains to exactly what Tony's snap accomplished.  Obviously, Thanos and his minions got dusted, but what specifically did he wish for?  Was it that all of Thanos' forces be returned to their time?  Was it that they would cease to exist?  Or did he specifically wish for anyone loyal to Thanos to poof?

The really sad angle to this is that, depending on the exact wording of Tony's thoughts, Gamora may have wound up dusted along with Thanos.  The end scene with Thor and Peter seemed to indicate they're going to be looking for her, and I can't really imagine they'll write her out of GotG Vol 3, but we really won't know for a while.

What worries me about the multiverse angle is that they're setting up the possibility of what happened years back with the TV show "Fringe," where you had a father who lost his child kidnapping the alternate universe copy of said child, and raising them as their own.

How many universes did the Avengers screw over by the changes they made in Endgame?  How many alternate realities are going to be leaking into the "prime" universe, with alternate versions of characters looking for ways to steal victory from other timelines?  How many times are we leaving the door open for alternate copies of Tony Stark to pop in and make a mess of one universe in his efforts to help another?  

On the other hand, it does leave the MCU open for recasting a lot of folks, since it's pretty easy to handwave people looking different as being from alternate timelines where things happened differently.  It's just going to get more difficult to keep track of things, and the movies could start to imitate the comic books in ways I don't think the average non-comic book fan will be able to keep up with.

 

I too initially had a knee-jerk reaction to Cap's side-mission when I first saw it.  I thought: this is so un-Captain America-like that this is gonna piss people off to no end.  At first blush, it does seem to trivialize all the sentiments and ideals he professed to believe in and stand for in all the films that had come before.  What happened to "I'm with you 'til the end," eh?  The character of Captain America--no, Steve Rogers, the man behind the shield--is supposed to embody all that we should aspire to be as Americans [or citizens of one's respective country, I suppose].  This is like he's turning his back on all of that....

But when I gave it some more reflection, I conceded to myself: man, you need to lighten up a bit, eh?  This is still the story of a mortal man, albeit a man augmented by the effects of super-soldier serum and all the benefits thereof.  But with that in mind: even if the serum helps slow his aging process [is that ever implied/established in the MCU?], he's still not going to be able to soldier on and "fight the good fight" forever.  Eventually he would have to hang up his helmet and uniform,  Just how does someone bring closure to that part of their life, especially after sacrificing so much for it?  Audiences have spent the better part of a decade rooting for Cap, no doubt thinking and wishing that if any one Avenger could just catch a break, it ought to be him, right? 

ed: on a side note, I loved the elevator scene, was definitely worth a chuckle.  I got the impression that it was meant as a nod to a significant event from the comics, but also their way of saying: look, this is about as close as we're gonna get to that little "blemish" on the Captain's shield.

The Russos appear to have thoroughly enjoyed their opening of a great big ol' Sam's Club-sized can o' worms and tossing it right onto the middle of the dining room table, then walking right on out of the dinner party... 

From all the is-it-an-alternate-timeline-or-a-different-reality mumbo jumbo; to permanently maiming the Hulk; to the arguably un-characteristic ending for Cap; there are some aspects to this film that history and critical discussion may not be at all kind to. 

Well, hell.  Like in the other link above, Joe Russo's interview pretty much takes my little theory about the true meaning of Strange's gesture to Tony in the final battle, and:

(at least, as far as concerning just who the only one who could stop Thanos was, anyways)

other linky here: https://www.looper.com/151745/joe-russo-reveals-the-true-hero-of-endgame/

Turns out, the true hero of Endgame wasn't one of the "heroes" after all?  Ain't that a bi**h!    And my daughter totally caught that in the moment in the theater.  She was like: "hey, wait!  So the only reason he was able to get out was because of that...." and I was like: shush! we don't want to miss anything!  Turns out, she caught it alright--and I totally missed [the significance of] it at the time! 

On ‎4‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 7:32 AM, Dobber said:

Maybe that’ll be part of the plot...the search.

Chris

Ditto.  We can see Quill's searching for her [coordinates?] on the ship's control screen before everybody else comes on board at the end of Endgame.  My money says they'll definitely be "searching for Spock." 

With all the bru ha ha over J. Gunn's earlier dismissal, the discontent that it caused, with cast members rallying to his support [D. Bautista seemed 'bout ready to start burning some bridges, eh?], I just hope it doesn't/hasn't altered the chemistry between cast & crew that helped make the earlier movies so successful.  

Speaking of Professor Hulk...

LOL, why the hell does Professor Hulk look so much like human Shrek? 

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 3:35 PM, Mazinger said:

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Curious what you guys thought of Doctor Strange's number one gesture.

I'm still not sure if he was saying - you just need to remove 1 stone or more like, Spock told Kirk, "Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

 

I thought it was a brilliant bit of unspoken communication between Dr. Strange and Tony.  One way that it could be interpreted is that Strange was telling Tony: wait to make his move ["1 more minute"?, or "1 more second"?], i.e. it has to be at precisely the right moment.  OR, the much more likely meaning--at least for me--was his re-emphasizing to Tony: one way to win this. 

Well.  I stand corrected.

But damned if that widow's peak don't look like it's trying to crawl its way down over his forehead, or somethin'. 

Went to see with the kids this weekend.  Good movie.  Not great.  But good movie.  Loved the 90's nostalgia trip it was good for.  BUUUT....

1. The digital "de-aging" still has some ways to go.  There was something just a little "off" with agent Coulson's appearance; a little unnatural, for lack of a better word  (The effect was pulled off a little better with Kurt Russel's "Ego" in GoTG2).  But then there was Nick Fury...  

What in the actual FUU did they do to Samuel L.'s hairline?!?  That sh*t was actually distracting.  It kinda killed Samuel L.'s scenes for me, 'cause my eye kept being drawn to it, wondering: WTF is up with that?  It's like it was reaching over onto his fuggin forehead, trying to touch his fuggin eyebrows or something.    All these hundreds of millions of dollars spent on effects and visual wizardry making this movie, and they gave him the digital equivalent of a bad toupee.  Bad form. 

Meh.  I'll wait for cable.  In fact, I'll wait for Toho's response...

I finally got around to watching Shin Gojira just a few minutes ago; and all I can say is:

"Godzilla is God!"  

*snip*

Oops, sorry hutch--you beat me to it. 

Took the kids to see it the other day.  I must admit, I went in feeling pretty skeptical, thinking Pixar had long-since missed their chance to do a proper follow up to the original; was kinda like....

But I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.  As sequels go, it was pretty, well--incredible.  It was well written; entertaining enough to keep the kids in the audience engrossed pretty much the whole time, while still layered enough to keep the parents from being bored into a coma.  Hehe, I had to stifle the urge to yell out "That was totally wicked!" at the end of the big climax.   

That isn't to say that there aren't, erm, issues though.  Just like with Syndrome, with this story I'm not totally convinced that the bad-guy's intentions are all that, well--evil.  If you listen to what Screenslaver's actually saying during the takeover broadcast, you may find yourself thinking: um, this guy's actually making a legitimate point. 

Overall, this one gets a thumbs up.  Like a lot of Pixar's other films, it's good enough to see more than once.

What a laugh riot!  Juggy totally stole the movie for me.  When your theme music is: "You can't stop this motherfu**er, Holy sh*tballs," you know you bringin' the sh*t. 

And Zazie Beetz; what a cutie pie!   I love a woman that can kick my ass.  --Spike Spiegel 

LOL, man--fu*k the Academy, if Reynolds doesn't get an award for his death scene. 

Damn.  I'll be blasting Somewhere I Belong on the commute home with a misty eye today... 

Not sure if it goes here, but...

WHY THE FUDGE aren't more people aware/excited by this?!?  Holy sheep, it's like something from Marvel comics or a James Bond movie made practical (more or less).  All that stuff from the "world of the future" type exhibits from World's Fairs of old is finally coming to pass.

Damn.  Now that's tiger.  Or just plain nuts, depending on your point of view...

I for one have waited many moons for a release of the MM1 version of the Pursuit Special.  But I've got to decide: drop a couple hundred bones on a much-coveted model of my dream movie car? or dedicate the funds towards a shock tower brace for the 1/1 XB in the garage, so's I can brace up the chassis and move forward with metal surgery?  Dammit; not having disposable income sucks.  Knew I shouldn't have pissed away that $$ on that damned Kalashnikov...

I suppose the closest we'll ever get to a diecast version of the Knight Rider's stolen HQ would be to pick up one from Classic Carlectables and kit-bash it, as they also make some kick ass diecast Aussie musclecars.  I managed to pick up a c-carlectables XAGT (Moffat) in 1/18 from a Canadian site, Linpin Holdings I think was the name--and at what amounted to wholesale pricing to boot.  I think they're no longer able to distribute diecast models of Aussie Fords due to some licensing issues or something, IIRC. 

ed: I dunno.  Not to be a doubting-Thomas, but going to try to compose myself and take this news with a grain of salt.  Just a little odd that no news/updates to be found at the websites for Biante or AutoArt on a MM1 version release.  And I could almost swear, but if them photos in the orig post don't look like ones for some resin kits that were offered by a custom builder on evilBay a couple years back, for kit-bashing the orig MM2 ver. 

Godda**it. 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/comedian-charlie-murphy-dies-at-57/ar-BBzLJum?OCID=ansmsnnews11

RIP, Charlie.  I know I'll miss your stories...

Holy sheep, this could be bad for morale--in the services and for the general public...

Navy instructor pilots effectively "on strike"

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/navy-instructor-pilots-refusing-to-fly-over-safety-concerns-pences-son-affected/ar-BBzmi4z?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

Still bummed about the loss of Bill Paxton... 

Honestly, it's gonna be hard as f**k to take this movie seriously, knowing that James Franco and Danny McBride are going to be in it. 

11 hours ago, Hikuro said:

but got stuck due to the travel ban.

Hah!  Good one. 

IIRC, Eddie stated in an interview--as an explanation as to why we've seen so little from him in recent years--that he "didn't want to do anything else that sucked."  Here's hoping that he feels pretty good about the quality and chances of this project--if it moves forward.

on a side note: if you haven't seen them before, I'd recommend youtubing Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories.  Mind you, not [just] the Chapelle Show skits, but Charlie's taped interviews.  OMFG, that cat is f'in hilarious. 

Easy

9 hours ago, Mog said:

Don't know why they'd wanna do a sequel. 

 

 

Easy: they're all getting old now, and they need some $$ comin' in.    Well, 'cept maybe James Earl Jones; he's probably like: "nah, screw that, I'm good.  I don't need to [work] any more, I'm comfortable with them CNN checks..."  

Oh man, I remember having some of the models from that series; Roundfacer, Bushman, Blockhead, even the Mackerel.  I nagged me mum into getting them for me as a kid back in the day, when Revell released them under the Robotech Defenders line.  Alas, my meager modeling skills meant they didn't look much like the cool diorama art from the model boxes.  That, and my lack of appreciation then for the fact that models aren't exactly meant to be played around with like toys meant that sadly none of them survived my childhood.    Ah, memories...

About 2/3 of the original series eps were available subbed on youtube, and I was enjoying it.  I'm rather fond of the character and mecha designs (well, most of them); and the tone and pacing of the show, which contrasted from the 20+ minute bang-pow toy commercials that were mecha shows then and since.