Glass (film)

Haha :) It's the parking at the end is the tricky part.

Night!

Last edited by erdelyii on Feb 7, 2019, 9:22:07 AM


Just heard from the person I'm going with tomorrow (who follows him) that Kojima just tweeted this --

:)

Just!!

ed: today. Not that it matters, just looking forwards to seeing it, big screen and all. Review? Mayyyybe.
Last edited by erdelyii on Feb 24, 2019, 9:49:45 AM
Battle Angel Alita Review
Inspired by someone who is far better than me at reviewing films. I hope to read his of this one day.



[There is one main, one minor, plot point revealed below, so if you want 0 spoilers, halt here].



Near the end of Battle Angel Alita, Alita stares deeply into the Motorball arena dressing room mirror. A single tear falls from one of her enormous, limpid eyes. Alita moves, viper fast, and cleaves the tear in half with her Damascus sword. The tear falls, bisected, to the dirty tiled floor. Alita moves from small, breathtaking moments like this to rendering a huge, impossible city with incredible skill and never misses a beat.





I can't imagine anyone wouldn't agree that the fight scenes, and the Motorball scenes (which are also really fight scenes) are brilliant. Every time Alita swung into action, she had such great heart coupled with powerful punches and kicks, it caught me up and had me all emotional and wanting to get in fights like that. Rosa Salazar and the animation team did a brilliant job of making Alita a compelling and endearing character to watch and become invested in. Mostly she looked concerned, passionate, cute, but sometimes she looked downright evil. Wonderful.



I do not stand by in the presence of evil - Alita

Having cyborgs as most of the enemy combatants meant that a lot of heads could get removed, bodies cleaved, and limbs ripped off in viscerally satisfying ways. Plus, they could do things that no human could do in terms of speed, flexibility and power, which was exciting and satisfying to watch.

For all that, the violence was mild, and one let's keep the non-R rating Fuck was said, used in the very best spot possible. No human-cyborg sex. Despite a kiss, the whole issue was skipped over. In my ideal world, the movie would go there and be grittier but then it might lose a lot of the fun, so I'm not complaining.

Seeing Battle Angel Alita on the big screen in 3D absolutely helped showcase the movie's strengths. Hadn't planned for the 3D bit, but it was the session on offer at the good time, so happy accident.

On the downside, probably the most glaring issue was the romance between Alita and human Hugo. This worked and was really sweet until Alita trashed her first, young teenage girl body. When she got her Martian battle beserker body and grew into herself (and the larger plot), poor Hugo's character and weak acting skills just couldn't keep up. Hugo wasn't helped by some truly ridiculous developments in his character arc, which I won't spoil. There was a lot of wasted potential for some gutwrenching betrayal and harsh choice for Alita here that didn't happen, sadly.

Possbily the most unintentionally funny moment in a movie I've seen in ages happened to Hugo. Not pictured.



This element did not ruin the movie. The edginess and drama of the plotline (complete with gaping holes that may or may not be resolved in the sequel) and how it was brought to life by Cameron (screenplay) and Rodriguez (director), gave it a real manga feel. The rest of the cast was pretty good, with some nice moments of comic relief sprinkled throughout. I didn't know any of the story before going today, so it makes enough sense.

I think if you appreciate how extra manga is, enjoy a great fight scene, love sci-fi aesthetics, can get behind a heroine with a huge heart, can cope with romance that starts sweet and ends in wtf die already, and can set aside a need for perfect plotting for a while, you'll enjoy Alita a lot.

Complicated list? Seriously, it's worth it for the gorgeous action sequences alone. The pacing is tight, all the way through, and there is a lot of action.

I've heard that female cyborgs wouldn't have boobs unless they are wet nurses or sex bots, but I think Alita's boobs make perfect sense.

No rating, but I'd definitely see it again tomorrow.







Last edited by erdelyii on Feb 25, 2019, 5:16:37 AM
Get Out


Graphic of director, Jordan Peele surrounded by some movie aspects.

Just a short review. Watched this last night in preparation for Peele's next film, Us which is out now in cinemas and I'm probably off to see tomorrow, maybe next week. I've wanted to see Get Out for a while but it's gotten such mixed reviews I've put it off.

Horror movies aren't for everyone, indeed, I can't stand the gross violent ones like Saw. Reign back the gratuitous ugliness, toss in some psychological aspects / paranormal, on a big screen especially, lots of fun. Oh and I watch through my fingers, often enough. The subtext in good horror makes me happy to ponder on.

Us looks real scary and gory. Get Out is in the vein of Wicker Man, I'd say. Ok, more gore than that, at the end. Something's obviously not right here in this isolated enclave, dude.... get the fuck out. It was genuinely creepy, well-acted, funny in parts, uncomfortable (the foreboding, the weirdness, and especially the racism), and has enough what's really going on subtext to provoke satisfying thought afterwards.

"
In Get Out, the opening title sequence plays over an ominous song by composer Michael Abels called "Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga." Fusions explains that the title means "Listen to (Your) Ancestors" in the East African language of Swahili, another reference to slavery and racial identity. Peele stated to GQ Magazine that he wanted the music to be "distinctly black" and with an "absence of hope." The lyrics reveal even more; after chanting "Brother, brother," in English, the Swahili lyrics translate as a warning, loosely "Something bad is coming. Run!" It's an affirmation of the title Get Out and the foreboding sense that something bad is going to happen. According to Peele, it also reflects a tradition of African-American viewership to talk back to movie screens during horror movies, admonishing characters for taking actions that put themselves in danger rather than just getting the heck out of Dodge.


Thumbs up for Get Out.






Last edited by erdelyii on Mar 30, 2019, 3:33:38 AM
Get Out or Battle Angel Alita? Go!
"
BearCares wrote:
Get Out or Battle Angel Alita? Go!


Both are good, but not outstanding. Certainly worth a watch. For you, Alita, as you're into anime and it might inform your game. But you're from the Deep South so maybe Get Out will be interesting, without knowing too much about you or your life.

You wanted me to just say one word, I guess. Psh. Both.

Didn't see Us today, something came up; probably during the week one night.








Last edited by erdelyii on Mar 31, 2019, 10:04:20 AM

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