PCFormat Forum Archive

Wow - even John Stewart! I am honoured.

And that one with Riker is from a Q episode I believe - I sooo wan to be a Q

I got all the ones that seemed sincere. I was going to put the joker too, but that would have sent completely the wrong message .

Yeah, being a Q would be awesome. I also think he should have had his own TV series. A zany sitcom of him trying to fix the universe one reality at a time, but always managing to mess it up despite the best of intentions, and then at the end of every episode there would be a moral that he learns after putting everything back to where it was.

Bwahahahahaha - naah it would be better if he just left it a mess. My version would not have lessons

Went to watch Monsters University.

When a 10-year old tells you the movie isn't nearly as good as the first and that the 3D isn't all that good, I guess one should heed their words.

She was right. Blegh.

I saw an Indonesian movie called The Raid: Redemption. Most entertaining action movie I've seen in years.

Saw Man of Steel last night.
Was a cool movie and certainly action packed- too many lens flares though.
Regarding the story itself- anyone have some thoughts on that?

hamin_aus wrote:If anyone is thinking of going to see After Earth... and really, why would you...

My advice is rather punch yourself in the reproductive organs. That experience will at least be more memorable than this movie that went absolutely nowhere.

I agree.

Also went to see Monster University Thursday. Maybe I'm biased (because I love animation) but I enjoyed it. It had a good tie in with where the first one started (although I'm not a fan of Prequel Sequels).

Went to see White House Down last night. Pretty good action movie. Although I find it amazing how the thugs can be so accurate with pistols and so flippen skeel when it comes to auto's.

Spud 2 - 6/10 - Rather lame sequel. Bad acting all around and nothing really makes this flick stand out at all...

Monster University - 6/10 - Also thought this was quite average. They literally go through all the typical university stereotypes and happenings, just with a animated skin...I expected a lot more from Pixar...

After Earth - 4/10 - Terrible, TERRIBLE film...nuff said

Man of Steel - 7/10 - Decent reboot which is leaps and bounds better than the last attempt, with some INCREDIBLE effects/3D to boot! However, I felt it was a tad too long and does become quite drama-ish at times, making the story lull. Not to mention certain characters aren't fleshed out enough, they are there just to speak their part and move the story forwards, in other words I didn't care about them a whole lot. It was good, just not incredible...or in Laymon terms, it wasn't "Batman Begins"

I am looking forward to how a sequel will progress, seeing as the origin story is now out of the way...

Evil Dead (2013) - 7/10 - Cool reboot with some great effects, creepy moments, nods towards the original and the GORE! However, there are plot holes a plenty and human logic goes out the window unfortunately..

The Call - 6.5/10 - I quite enjoyed this thriller, that is until the 3rd act, then the movie floundered into generic territory. However it was an entertaining flick, albeit predictable ending.

Syrup - 6.5/10 - Above average marketing drama. I enjoyed the style of the film and the way it progresses, however it seems to drag in certain scenes. Worth the watch if you are looking for something different.

Bullet to the Head - 6/10 - Straight forward kill everything that moves revenge flick. It has it's moments, otherwise don't expect anything new here.

Identity Thief - 6/10 - Average comedy that didn't really make me laugh at all. I just wanted to see what would happen next.

The Purge - 5/10 - I had high hopes for this flick, but was sorely disappointed. It has so much potential and a great plot, but then it all gets flushed down the loo...

The Usual Suspects - 8/10 - Great crime thriller. The story is quite complex, but keeps you thinking.

Watched 1408 - have to get the book and read it. Movie not bad but I bet the book is 100 times better

Tribble wrote:Watched 1408 - have to get the book and read it. Movie not bad but I bet the book is 100 times better

The best novel/book/comic based movies realise that the only thing they can do is try and give a valid interpretation of the content. The images we create from the written word via imagination is potentially more powerful than anything that any movie production team can come up with.

Monsters University was meh, my 8-yr old fell asleep.
Man of Steel, interesting story to it.
Evil Dead, Holy Crap!

Molean wrote:
The Usual Suspects - 8/10 - Great crime thriller. The story is quite complex, but keeps you thinking.

The original one with Kevin Spacey or is it a remake?

Molean wrote:Man of Steel - 7/10 - Decent reboot which is leaps and bounds better than the last attempt

Honestly, that's kinda like saying that "Die Hard" was better than "Silence of the Lambs." It's hard to compare good movies from completely different perspectives.

The problem with "Superman Returns" is that everyone was comparing it to "Batman Begins" and the other superhero movies released recently, which it was never intended to be. "Superman Returns" ought to be compared to the first two Christopher Reeve Superman films. It was really intended to be what "Superman III" was intended to be but never became.

"Man of Steel," on the other hand, was made to compete with "Batman Begins" and "The Avengers."

That said, I was . . . shall we say . . . whelmed. That is, I was neither overwhelmed nor underwhelmed.

Spoiler: (show)

Many of the things I thought I wouldn't like actually worked in the end: the redesigned costume and the lack of Kent glasses, for example. The way they worked those things into the film worked. Casting was almost perfect, with the possible exceptions of Fishburne (Perry White) and Shannon (General Zod). Shannon's portrayal was okay, but not memorable. The rest were great. Costner, in particular, impressed me with his interpretation of Jonathan Kent.

The editing was slightly jarring at first--jumping back and forth between now and flashbacks--but I got into it in the end.

The action was pretty much what everyone asked for and expected, though perhaps some of the action scenes were a little prolonged. What I missed, strangely, was the down-to-earth hero nature of Superman. I missed Superman stopping bank robberies or helping kittens down from trees. I understand that such little things probably wouldn't have fit into this particular story, but the missing element did make it a little less Superman to me.

I was hoping for a Lex Luthor cameo at the end (though I didn't wait for any Easter egg scenes during the credits; I was told not to), but I suppose that a world of opportunities are now open for a sequel.

Once again, I think I let the anticipation build a little too much for my own good in the end. It was good, but I seem to recall walking away with a much better feel-good after "The Avengers" than after "Man of Steel."

that doesn't sound discouraging at all Mousey ,,,
at least you're leaving room for everyone to make up their own minds.... kudos

Stuart wrote:

Molean wrote:Man of Steel - 7/10 - Decent reboot which is leaps and bounds better than the last attempt

Honestly, that's kinda like saying that "Die Hard" was better than "Silence of the Lambs." It's hard to compare good movies from completely different perspectives.

I disagree with your comparison of "Die Hard" to "Silence of the Lambs" those are two different genres all together...

I understand that "Returns" was more inclinded towards the "Reeves" version of films, but it still makes "Man of Steel" a better Superhero flick than the latter...

I thought Lois Lane's character was rather dismal and quite enjoyed Sharron's performance of Zod.

I was really keen to see Man of Steel. Then I saw this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKixEh0541k
and this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw_GlYve_Lg
And now I have really been put off. Mr.Landis' video is particularly hard hitting.

I'd say I agree with that second video, didn't watch the first one. It was kinda who I felt watching the movie.

Spoiler (show)

At least the parts regarding the people dying/city being destroyed and his killing Zodd- I thought Superman doesn't kill, at all

SykomantiS wrote:

Spoiler (show)

At least the parts regarding the people dying/city being destroyed and his killing Zodd- I thought Superman doesn't kill, at all

Spoiler (show)

He has in the comics in order to serve the greater good.

GreyWolf wrote:I was really keen to see Man of Steel. Then I saw this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKixEh0541k
and this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw_GlYve_Lg
And now I have really been put off. Mr.Landis' video is particularly hard hitting.

Some excellent points made there. Pretty much why I say I was "whelmed."

Spoiler (show)

I must admit, I wasn't TOO concerned about character development. I'm well acquainted with the various characters, so I didn't think, for me, much time needed to be spent exploring them. I see the complaint though.

I also didn't care about not seeing much of CK in this film. It was an origins story, and they built up to his dual identity. I get it.

I completely agree about the over-the-top action, and the concept of trying to one-up recent blockbusters and superhero flicks. It was exactly as they said: The writers saw The Avengers and tried to do one better.

The one character you do care about, obviously, is Superman, and as those videos say, it's a very different Superman, and I'm not sure any better. I 100% concur that it feels odd watching mass destruction in a fight with other Kryptonians while people are people killed all over the place and Superman does nothing about it. At one point, he advises residents of Smallville to go inside because it's not safe, and he cares about Zod potentially killing one family when thousands of others have already died, but it's exactly as that second video said: They took the hero out of superhero and made Superman into a rock star. Max Landis is spot on: Superman would have tried to kill Zod immediately if the alternative was thousands of humans dying, and would taken the fight somewhere where thousands of people were not in jeopardy. It wouldn't have been as visually orgasmic, but it would have been truer to Superman's character.

As I said earlier, I missed Superman doing everyday hero things before this big apocalypse took place. As that first reviewer said, you don't get to see him mature into someone who cares before all hell breaks loose. In that sense, you don't actually see Superman.

It was also a good observation that Superman is very passive in this film. I get that they were trying to make him more relatable with this identity crisis and decision making and stuff, but that's exactly the thing about Superman: He's not a relatable character. Growing up reading comics, you could relate to Spiderman or Batman or Green Arrow, but Superman was something else. You're supposed to look up to him, not relate to him. I love what that first reviewer said, "Zack Snyder is no master of subtlety." YOu get impressive fight scenes, but at the end of the day you're not really impressed with Superman. Yes, one woman at the end of the film looks at him admiringly and says, "He saved us," but he saved those who were still alive, not the thousands who died as casualties of war. As is said in those films, dark and gritty works for Batman, not for Superman.

Landis made a very good observation: I wouldn't recommend people taking their kids to see this, and that completely takes away from Superman. In fact, a friend asked me over the weekend if his five-year-old son could watch this, and I advised him to see it himself first and then decide. I would have had no hesitation saying yes to that same question regarding Superman Returns, but not Man of Steel. In fact, last night I took my daughter to watch Despicable Me 2, and saw some friends there. When they saw me, they immediately asked if I was there to see Man of Steel, but then they saw my daughter and were like, "Oh, I guess not." A Superman movie that's not for kids is just weird.

The best part of those videos is when that one guy said, "If you're one of the mouth-breathing idiots who hated Superman Returns because he didn't hit enough stuff, you probably love this film." Superman Returns exemplified Superman as he ought to be. At one point in Superman Returns, Superman is flying towards that new continent that Luthor is creating, but then he sees that a fault line is creating danger for the citizens of Metropolis, so he turns around, flies back to save them, and then goes to deal with Luthor. That's who Superman is, not the reimagined character in Man of Steel.

Still, it's not a terrible movie, and I don't think you would be wasting money to see it. I said to my wife that I would probably be watching it over and over again, but after seeing it the first time I'm happy to wait for it to come out on DVD for my second viewing.

Last night I watched another video by comicbookgirl19 where she discusses 2 Superman story lines that exemplify what Superman is about ("Superman Birthright" and "All Star Superman")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation ... TMovKM1K50

And for the first time in my life I baught a Superman comic, and then another, and then another. If anyone here is into comics, I do recommend "All Star Superman".

Stuart wrote:Still, it's not a terrible movie, and I don't think you would be wasting money to see it.

So it may not be a story about Superman as it should be, but as a movie, it is worth watching?

GreyWolf wrote:

Stuart wrote:Still, it's not a terrible movie, and I don't think you would be wasting money to see it.

So it may not be a story about Superman as it should be, but as a movie, it is worth watching?

If you sort of enjoy superhero movies and want mind-blowing action and nothing to think about for two hours, yeah.

Stuart wrote: If you sort of enjoy superhero movies and want mind-blowing action and nothing to think about for two hours, yeah.

Thanks, I do appreciate the advice.

GreyWolf wrote:

Stuart wrote: If you sort of enjoy superhero movies and want mind-blowing action and nothing to think about for two hours, yeah.

Thanks, I do appreciate the advice.

Just make sure you are not tired when you see it, or certain scenes may put you to sleep...

surely none of you expected a run-of-the-mill conversion with Chrisopher Nolan involved? - Seriously????

ghett0_ghuru wrote:surely none of you expected a run-of-the-mill conversion with Chrisopher Nolan involved? - Seriously????

No, I expected more...