What Movie Did You Just Watch

[gunswordfist]

Yes it is!

[Avaitor]

I never really understand what goes on with AFI's lists. I don't really know how you could find Wonder Woman better than Logan. I'll admit that Logan gets a little familiar with comic book cliches in the end, but WW is full of them all over, and the more I think about it, its climax is stupid. But at the same time, Patty Jenkins is an AFI alum, so it's not that shocking.

The TV side really confuses me, though. Game of Thrones still ranks? This was not The Americans' best season either, but it's ten times the show GOT has become, and is far more deserving of acclaim. And I still can't jump on the Stranger Things bandwagon. It's just reheated Spielberg and Stephen King cliches with slightly more obnoxious kids.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Wonder Woman is (and I hate to say this, but it's true) a good but flawed movie that's held to a higher pedigree than it truly earns through certain biases (Avaitor already mentioned Patty Jenkins and her position with the AFI) and above all else its status in today's social climate. Essentially it adapts one of America's biggest fictional female icons and role models and by all accounts is the first major Hollywood production to do it well.

It definitely deserves credit for that, and I don't have any desire to deny its importance and potential impact on not just the genre, but the industry.

That said, the apparent blindness that many critics have to its flaws is what baffles me. Much like Nolan's The Dark Knight, this is a movie that will always be regarded as a classic, but I also feel as though time will make its issues all the more clear just like with TDK (which I also still genuinely enjoy, but it's hardly perfect).

That said, I'm honestly fine with the movie being as well-liked as it is. That said, I just want to point out that it bears a lot of similarity to Captain America: The First Avenger, a film which I have a strong personal love for though am not blind to its shortcomings. Even so, it does irk me a bit that people can so easily pick out what they don't like about that film yet leave Wornder Woman untouched by any hint of criticism. That reeks of hypocrisy to me.

[Dr. Insomniac]

That said, the apparent blindness that many critics have to its flaws is what baffles me.

I'd say it was their lowered expectations to DC movies after the last 3 that made them praise Wonder Woman more than they should. It has flaws, but they weren't as glaring as Pa Kent telling Clark that he should let kids die, or Bruce going on an insane drive to kill Superman only to stop after finding out his mother shares the same name as his own. And definitely not as bad as the Joker telling one of his henchmen to have sex with Harley, then shooting said henchman when he doesn't want to.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Oh, I'm certainly not denying any of that. I actually like Wonder Woman. It just still has issues, albeit on a much smaller scale than any of its sibling films. I was also relatively impressed going into it with low expectations, but I still saw the dumb bits of writing for what they were all the same.

[Dr. Insomniac]

It was amusing how the insane DCEU fandom that thinks Zack Snyder is a cinematic god and how the negative reception to their movies is all part of some Illuminati-tier conspiracy by Disney became so quiet during Wonder Woman's critical and box office performance.

[Foggle]

I never really understand what goes on with AFI's lists.

Where is Twin Peaks wtf

[Dr. Insomniac]

So a day ago, I realized something: Nobody talks about Uwe Boll anymore. I haven't heard anybody mention Uwe Boll in years, even that retirement announcement of his last year was something I only found out about yesterday. Compared to how people still talk about The Room years after it became a meme, almost all of the other infamous bad movies have seemingly faded away from modern culture. Nobody cares about Gigli, Battlefield Earth, or Baby Geniuses 2 anymore. And it seems like the consensus on legendarily bad movies of all time is in flux.

[Avaitor]

Oh yeah, I got to see Blade Runner 2049 the other day. It has a lot of what I thought was missing from the original- an actual mystery, an interesting protagonist, impressive visuals, and solid pacing. I know that some people like that the original was more of a mood piece instead of a legit mystery, which is fine, except that I think that its aesthetic sucks, and it's shockingly flat visually.

That said, I think that the film would have been better without Deckard. Which I would have written as a spoiler, except that Harrison Ford is all over the marketing despite not appearing until the last third. Obviously it's his mystery, but I don't think writing him in really added anything. And it still isn't great with women, either.

I also liked Call Me By Your Name, aside from some choppy editing. I can definitely see Timothee Chalamet take the Oscar home.

[gunswordfist]

Glad I'm not the only one who thought Blade Runner wasn't that good. I've never said anything before because I thought I might have been "missing the point"/

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I've also said that before on this board (I also said that I personally prefer the original novel). Blade Runner as a film is something that I appreciate on a technical level more than I actually like. Blade Runner 2049, on the other hand, is a superior film in every way from (IMO) a better director than Ridley Scott. I like some of Scott's films, to be sure, but I also have my issues with all of his movies as well.

[Avaitor]

I'd be lying if I said that Villeneuve has fully won me over with any of his movies, but I do think that Scott is fairly flawed, himself.

I also don't like that he's trying to become the grand vizier of the Alien franchise. Besides personally preferring Aliens, he was hardly the only one who made the original work in the first place, and if Covenant is any indication, I don't think that he's the best voice for it anymore. I'd like to see the franchise continue without him.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'd say that Sicario and Blade Runner 2049 are genuinely great movies, myself. Arrival is well-made but does suffer a bit from being too overhyped by film snobs. His earlier films tend to be generally good in certain aspects but lacking in others. He's not nearly as great of a director as some people want to make him out to be, but he's shown steady improvement and I could see him eventually earning that status if his films continue to improve as they have been.

[Avaitor]

That's a fair assessment. I definitely liked 2049 more than I was expecting to. I'm at least curiously excited about his Dune adaptation.

[Avaitor]

Oscar nominations are in, and this year's Best Picture nominees are:

• Call Me By Your Name
• Darkest Hour
• Dunkirk
• Get Out
• Lady Bird
• Phantom Thread
• The Post
• The Shape of Water
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Whoa, I've seen 2/3rds of these before the nominations even came out! I'll admit that I'm not as interested in seeing Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, or The Post, because I don't like Nolan or movies about journalism, and Darkest Hour just doesn't sound all that appealing to me, as much as I like Gary Oldman. I liked everything else that I've seen, though. Phantom Thread might be my favorite overall in terms of enjoyment, but I actually want Three Billboards to win. It's the right kind of messy, and while I understand where its detractors come from, I think it's on the good side, and the movie knows that Dixon's "redemption" is bullshit.

But besides that, Logan earned a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination! Well deserved in my eyes.

Also, the Paddington movies are amazing, and among the best family films ever made.