Rewatch with my dad in anticipation of Chapter 3 hitting next month.

Third act is still a bit of a whiff—the choice to cold-open with most of the emotional catharsis rather than, y'know, leaving it as the emotional catharsis, is crippling. And while the visuals carry hints of the neon-drenched ballet of carnage that would fully bloom in Chapter 2, for the most part they're a drab, mundane affair. Still, can't argue with those action sequences, and if you can't be a masterpiece then being a prelude to one is a good consolation prize.

Funnily enough, the friend who introduced me to JW in the first place hates Chapter 2. Probably because this first movie is still pretty enamored with how badass its protagonist is while the sequel fully embraces how much it would absolutely suck to be him. Not to say this first movie doesn't recognize that John is a tragic figure—it's full of portentous statements about this life reaching out and grabbing him—but

The DC live-action film universe has finally taken a clue from its animated counterparts (Lego Batman and Teen Titans) and delivered an unpretentious movie that's simply fun to watch. Gone is all the self-importance and gloom of previous installments; even the costume is taken straight out of Orgazmo. Shazam! is no masterpiece and holds no candle to Lord & Miller works, but it manages to deliver some good entertainment. It may be the long-awaited turning point for DC.

Eight years after DiF made me aware of its existence, Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation screened at Trylon in the Twin Cities. No way in hell I was gonna miss this.

The crowd fucking LOST IT during the truck chase. R.I.P. Snickers.

That this isn't frequently mentioned in the same breath as Vertigo stuns me, and to be honest I think it's the better film. Hitchcock and Connery's involvement almost makes it feel like a self-lacerating confession--Connery's Mark is a monster, a gaslighting, paternal rapist whose role as the movie's "hero" plays as a cruel joke (and is eerily reminiscent of Hitchcock's behind-the-scenes treatment of Tippi Hedren, whose career he ruined when she refused his advances). Hedren herself gives the best lead performance of any of the Hitchcock movies I've seen--she's a proto-Laura Palmer, a raw nerve of trauma barely covered by the criminal habits she's taken up in order to survive. Marnie succeeds where Vertigo fails--that movie's greatest weakness is its relative lack of attention to Madeline/Judy outside the lens of Scotty's obsession, while this one puts us through Marnie's torment through her own eyes, to a degree that would be histrionic in lesser hands but instead is harrowing.

Rear Window is still my favorite Hitchcock, and that's not likely to change--besides being a masterclass in tension, it's incredibly fun to watch. This movie is decidedly not, but it takes the runner-up spot. Due for a critical reevaluation, to say the least.

Last edited by Abbie (2019-04-24 05:36:15)

Also... fun fact: The first feature directorial outing for old-school-Youtube's own MysteryGuitarMan.

(I haven't seen it yet, but you follow enough youtubers and eventually someone retweets something from a youtuber you haven't seen in more than 6 years.)

I Netflixed 2008's Get Smart last night between bouts of my eldest's Algebra homework (zeros of higher order 2-dimensional polynomials, as one does).
I've never cared for Steve Carell as an "actor" performing "characters." I couldn't stand The Office (U.S.), and Mel Brooks is overrated.
...and Dwayne "The Rock" supports

BUT, I love me some Anne Hathaway, and this movie features her gloriously.

Ms. Hathaway brings the objectification to be sure, but her real job is to grow agent 99's relationship with 86 from contempt to "it's complicated," and she nails that more convincingly than Barbara Feldon ever did on the original TV series.
An example of the writing that I liked:
Carell's Maxwell Smart has recently lost a huge amount of body weight that had restricted him to being an office-bound "analyst," while he dreamed of becoming a field agent for the american CONTROL spy outfit in the battle against KAOS. Finally fit, and subsequently passing his agent's exam, he's finds himself on a mission partnered with the femme fatale agent 99. In a bid to make her jealous during a formal dance party in the home of their russian adversary, Smart selects the adorable plus-sized Lindsay Hollister as his dance partner and proceeds to earn everyone's respect, and thus pays off the wieght-loss plotline.

6.5 IMDB stars is about right overall.

Last edited by drewjmore (2019-04-24 16:11:23)

To nobody's surprise more than my own, I'm actually seeing this tomorrow night.

To nobody's surprise whatsoever, I haven't seen trailers. (...or the previousquel.)

I'll report back, natch.

Oh yes.

Confusion is predicted.

I love you so much, Trey.

Honestly, it was better than I was expecting. I think they did a hard job about as well as it could have been done.

(This also cuts against my predictions from years ago about non-Joss-Whedons making 'good' Avengers movies.)

I have plenty of critiques in the mix, too, of course — some are so massive as to destabilize my ability to enjoy the movie in the first place, so I'm just deciding not to focus on them — but, I think it'd be ideologically dishonest for me to hammer on my complaints as if the larger context of this movie was "failure" rather than "success." Good movies, even within genres that I don't particularly care for myself, are impossibly difficult to make, and this was a good movie. That's the context.

This was impressive, and — as little affection as I have for the MCU, at this point in my life — in terms of cultural history, I'm glad I randomly ended up watching this one. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but this one turns out to have been a cultural moment, and if nothing else, I value new notches on my cultural timeline.

In any case, yeah:

"Ralph Breaks the Internet"

Watched this with my daughters in my ongoing series of "fireproof is constantly behind on pop culture."

Absolute blast, and a lot of fun, plus tears. Was really impressed by the handling of the villain in this one, as well as the incredible visualization for the Internet and how it all works, as well as insight in to users reactions. It won't beat out the first one but I still did a good job with tugging the heart strings and I highly recommend it.