TV & Film TV & Film Opinions/Comments

[bad wolf]

For the fellow cinephile and movie-going enthusiast. If you've got an opinion and/or a comment, share it!
Could be about a specific TV show or movie. Could be about the different tropes, genres, etc.

Discussion is encouraged but please keep in mind RPN's rules and be respectful.

 

[bad wolf]

Suppose I'll just throw mine in as they come. xD To start:

Doctor Sleep (2019) wasn't that bad. It was a weird change from the original story, but it still held up. I feel like a lot of people had trouble with the movie because they went in expecting another haunting like The Shining and got something very different instead.

As iconic as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) might be... It's still pretty bad.

Season 1 of Westworld was top tier, genuinely some of the best television I've seen. However, the following seasons definitely don't live up to the first.

Concerning Supernatural: The first five seasons were magic. After Kripke left, the story-telling and acting was very immediately and noticeably worse. I'm seriously happy Jensen Ackles can finally move on and pursue better things.

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010) is my favorite DC animated feature.

I suppose you've got to respect its origins, but Mad Max: Fury Road is easily better that the prior three films combined.

Signs (2002) is terrifying. The music, the build up, and the quietness of the film is so unsettling.

ATLA is incredible. Beyond words. So utterly complete and emotional and appropriate for people of all ages. I love this show.

Watchmen (2009) is underrated.

Hawkeye's entire character in the MCU needs to be rebooted and done right. There's no love or understanding in the MCU's portrayal. Literally the only thing similar to the comics is the freaking bow and arrow.

 

[bad wolf]

When it comes to medieval warfare and fighting in plate armor, I feel like The King (2019) is about as realistic of a portrayal as you're going to get. Swords aren't going to penetrate metal armor like butter; no one's standing alone and completely upright the whole battle. You're going to beat the living hell out of someone with your sword, wrestle them to the ground, and find a weak spot in their armor. It's not pretty. It's brutal and tiresome.

The fight scenes in The King were just that. The choreography was brilliant and realistic. Like, seeing someone actually pick up their sword and hold it by the blade when fighting instead of swinging it by the hilt was very cool! I haven't seen that in a whole lot in movies.

 

[bad wolf]

Y'all.... I just want to talk movies.

The Batman (2021) trailer looks absolutely fantastic! The tone is spot on; the casting is just stellar. It very much feels like Matt Reeves is staying true to the detective trope. Batman's got a riddle to solve, a murder mystery. And I haven't seen that in a Batman movie since god knows when. The youngness of this Bat, the newness of his suit and the batmobile. It's not an origin story but he's still learning his role, working on improving his gadgets and fighting style. He's ruthless towards the start, he doesn't hold back because he hasn't faced too many consequences. He's not tired yet. He's just angry. It's stuff I've seen in the comics. It's giving me nostalgia like crazy and I'm just so stoked for this film already.


Just realized the shot of Gordon walking down the hall full of Gathom's "finest" is a pov shot and they're all looking past him at The Batman.
The sort of duct tape fashioned mask that Riddler is sporting (I can't tell if that's totally correct because of the lighting and length of the shot) is giving me Hush vibes and just.... REEEEEEEEEE.

I seriously love Christian Bale's Batman but I think Robert Patterson is going to hit it out of the ball park with this one.

 

[Daisie]

Concerning Supernatural: The first five seasons were magic. After Kripke left, the story-telling and acting was very immediately and noticeably worse. I'm seriously happy Jensen Ackles can finally move on and pursue better things.

For the most part, I agree. Though I think the first two seasons were real rough. It took until midway through s2-3ish for things to pick up, and for the good, engaging episodes to come more and more often. When they did though, it was really something.

I don't think I noticed a difference in acting when it came to s6+ to be honest. What I did notice was a huge change in tone - not necessarily a BAD one, just a different one. Things certainly shifted, but the plotline and characters were still interesting enough to me to press on. I think of seasons 6+ as an entirely different show - it's easier to enjoy that way.

In fact, some of my favourite episodes and character arcs are post-s5, but as you get farther and farther along, the quality just slowly corrodes away. Eventually (I think it was around the 10th, give or take a couple seasons) I noticed that I just really wasn't enjoying it anymore. Good episodes were becoming rarer and rarer, and the characters were just becoming more watered down.

It's honestly sad. I can't name a single defining trait of Sam, Dean, or Cass in the latest season. It's just gotten so dull and soul-sucking. I kind of want to go and rewatch the first 5 again.

Spoiler: Just throwing this all in here, just in case.

They should have ended it there, no doubt. It was really a glorious ending, immensely satisfying. Sam going to not just Hell, but the CAGE is a huge sacrifice that tied the series up with a bow. It made it all mean something. Every fight, every mistake, every brutal struggle. It was the ultimate, most dreadful hail mary.

Also, can't talk about the finale without mentioning that Death has the single best character introduction I've ever seen, period. So, SO peeved how they absolutely destroyed his character in his final days. I'm SO freaking sour over that still. I hate Billie. So much.

 

[Daisie]

Double post, but I have to comment. Just noticed! I take it you're a Hannibal fan? bad wolf

 

[bad wolf]

For the most part, I agree. Though I think the first two seasons were real rough. It took until midway through s2-3ish for things to pick up, and for the good, engaging episodes to come more and more often. When they did though, it was really something.

I don't think I noticed a difference in acting when it came to s6+ to be honest. What I did notice was a huge change in tone - not necessarily a BAD one, just a different one. Things certainly shifted, but the plotline and characters were still interesting enough to me to press on. I think of seasons 6+ as an entirely different show - it's easier to enjoy that way.

In fact, some of my favourite episodes and character arcs are post-s5, but as you get farther and farther along, the quality just slowly corrodes away. Eventually (I think it was around the 10th, give or take a couple seasons) I noticed that I just really wasn't enjoying it anymore. Good episodes were becoming rarer and rarer, and the characters were just becoming more watered down.

It's honestly sad. I can't name a single defining trait of Sam, Dean, or Cass in the latest season. It's just gotten so dull and soul-sucking. I kind of want to go and rewatch the first 5 again.

Spoiler: Just throwing this all in here, just in case.

They should have ended it there, no doubt. It was really a glorious ending, immensely satisfying. Sam going to not just Hell, but the CAGE is a huge sacrifice that tied the series up with a bow. It made it all mean something. Every fight, every mistake, every brutal struggle. It was the ultimate, most dreadful hail mary.

Also, can't talk about the finale without mentioning that Death has the single best character introduction I've ever seen, period. So, SO peeved how they absolutely destroyed his character in his final days. I'm SO freaking sour over that still. I hate Billie. So much.

I think I get what you're saying about the first two seasons. There are episodes in-between major plot points that didn't quite hit the mark, but I still think the storytelling, the tone, and those parts of the plot that did matter hit home. As a whole, it all holds up and aides the general flow of the story. It's refreshing b/c it's new and hasn't been rehashed all the hell like they did in the more recent seasons.

I really tried to hang on after season five b/c I did like the show so much, but I genuinely just thought things started bad and progressively got worse. That's not to say that the show didn't have a few plot points or episodes that were interesting and fun! But those came fewer and far between. I don't think the writers knew where to take it after season five and jumped the gun a little. They didn't think things through as well as the should have.

I dunno. I just seriously hate some of the decisions they made and how that reflected in the characters and the choices they made. It felt out-of-character. Like, you know you did something wrong when the people who've been playing these characters for years start complaining. Its just upsetting b/c these characters are very good, the main cast tries to do a stellar job with what they're given. But it's tiresome after a while when nothing's going right.

Spoiler: spoilers mah dudes

YES. I agree completely. It really was a swan song. Kripke went out strong. Dean attempts to lead that white-picket-fence life he always wanted but never tried, Sam redeems himself completely by saving everyone. The emotional impact was all there and I honestly didn't feel it after that point till maybe season five when Dean dies and become's a demon. His "I'm proud of us" just nails me every time.

But that also leads to my biggest beef with season 10 in which they SOLVED DEMON DEAN'S THING IN ALL OF THREE EPISODES. He had the acting chops to pull that off and they threw it away. I hated that. I got chills when he opened his eyes at the end of season 9 and just completely lost my shit the following season.

AND YES AGAIN. xD I think that's pretty much universal. The way they handled Death as a necessary evil or not even that, just something that was necessary, was amazing, too! I loved his whole demeanor. I haven't seen much of what they did to his character in the recent seasons but I've seen scenes and just.... I feel yah there.

I'm also just immensely disappointed with their fight against Michael and Lucifer. I saw the scene and that was just laughable. I'm not sure if they reasoned this away, but wasn't a fight between them supposed to level half the planet? There are so many shows out there with a small budget and better fight choreography. These two just floated through the air and banged up against walls....

The show tries to out do itself with the next season and the season after that. Something bigger, something "better". But nothing since has lived up to season five and it really didn't have to.

 

[bad wolf]

Double post, but I have to comment. Just noticed! I take it you're a Hannibal fan? bad wolf

It's all good. And yes! More so just a Mads Mikkelsen fan but Hannibal is SO good, too.

 

[bad wolf]

Yo! Raised by Wolves looks pretty interesting. Visually, it's very stunning already.

BUT ALSO.... It's got yah boi Ragnar Lothbrok!

 

[tuxedo-fish]

Hawkeye's entire character in the MCU needs to be rebooted and done right. There's no love or understanding in the MCU's portrayal. Literally the only thing similar to the comics is the freaking bow and arrow.

I think Hawkeye suffered the most from being handed between different writers with very different assumptions on what they were starting with, and where they wanted to go.

Whedon was obviously going for an Ultimates-esque take, whereas other people were keen on letting him edge closer to classic!comics!Clint in how he related to Natasha and the rest of the team, and Renner just seemed to want to be great at boats. And each of those would have been valid and interesting to watch, if they hadn't all met at the station in a horrifying wreck.

For my part, I felt like once Clint had a consistent writing team in Marcus and McFeely, he really came into his own. Civil War!Clint is a joy. And, even though I really dislike the Hidden Farm Family part of his backstory, I never felt like his throughline in Infinity War/Endgame was forced, for having it revolve around the loss of said family. It feels absolutely consistent with the Clint we've been shown, and Renner sells it -- even when Clint's channeling his inner Hot Topic as Ronin.

 

[Daisie]

I just remembered that this thread was a thing, I'm so sorry for taking so long

I think I get what you're saying about the first two seasons. There are episodes in-between major plot points that didn't quite hit the mark, but I still think the storytelling, the tone, and those parts of the plot that did matter hit home. As a whole, it all holds up and aides the general flow of the story. It's refreshing b/c it's new and hasn't been rehashed all the hell like they did in the more recent seasons.

Oh yeah. In the case of atmosphere and whatnot, the first 2 seasons really did hit a mark with it. SPN has had that very distinctive "SPN flavour" from the beginning, and I commend them for that. It sure took them awhile to get their pacing & acting under control though. Once they got a hold of the characters, it was smooth sailing. Cass really brought something new to the show too.

I really tried to hang on after season five b/c I did like the show so much, but I genuinely just thought things started bad and progressively got worse. That's not to say that the show didn't have a few plot points or episodes that were interesting and fun! But those came fewer and far between. I don't think the writers knew where to take it after season five and jumped the gun a little. They didn't think things through as well as the should have.

That's fair too. When I was introduced to it, I was told that the series would undergo severe writing changes when s5 turned to s6, and that there was no longer an overarching plotline, but rather a "baddie of the month" format. So having seen it coming, I think I was able to deal with it just fine and regard it as a new TV show as a whole.

I dunno. I just seriously hate some of the decisions they made and how that reflected in the characters and the choices they made. It felt out-of-character. Like, you know you did something wrong when the people who've been playing these characters for years start complaining. Its just upsetting b/c these characters are very good, the main cast tries to do a stellar job with what they're given. But it's tiresome after a while when nothing's going right.

Again, I can't say I've seen heinous acting changes, nor the actors openly complaining about the writing. I've seen them poke some tongue-in-cheek humour, but I've not yet witnessed the "complaining" you're going on about. I can only think of one such instance. Is it in an interview or something you can link?
I will say though that I did start noticing the characters fundementally changing. I can't pinpoint exactly when it started happening, but with the most recent season, I had the stunning realization that you could switch out Sam, Dean, and Cass for any other one of the three and it wouldn't make a single difference. Their personalities and moral compasses just became stale, watered-down stereotypes for their own show.

Spoiler

YES. I agree completely. It really was a swan song. Kripke went out strong. Dean attempts to lead that white-picket-fence life he always wanted but never tried, Sam redeems himself completely by saving everyone. The emotional impact was all there and I honestly didn't feel it after that point till maybe season five when Dean dies and become's a demon. His "I'm proud of us" just nails me every time.

But that also leads to my biggest beef with season 10 in which they SOLVED DEMON DEAN'S THING IN ALL OF THREE EPISODES. He had the acting chops to pull that off and they threw it away. I hated that. I got chills when he opened his eyes at the end of season 9 and just completely lost my shit the following season.

Ohhh my gosh, so I'm really happy that someone likes demon Dean as much as I do. The black eyes opening was a legendary moment that gave us so much new information in the span of .5 seconds and then just ENDED. To someone who hasn't watched the show, that would have meant NOTHING, but it's the context that gives it power. The writers don't have to spell anything out for you and that is refreshing.
Some of the best scenes are with demon Dean too, one of my personal favourites being him and Sam in the car. Ugh, just awesome from beginning to end.
It's a real tragedy that they ended it in 3 EPISODES. That was really the last plot thread that I was truly invested in, the show gave us that diamond in the mediocre dump and then moved onto a straight-up worse dump with no diamonds whatsoever... Aside from the occasional one-off episode. Such a shame.

AND YES AGAIN. xD I think that's pretty much universal. The way they handled Death as a necessary evil or not even that, just something that was necessary, was amazing, too! I loved his whole demeanor. I haven't seen much of what they did to his character in the recent seasons but I've seen scenes and just.... I feel yah there.

I absolutely adored how Death just hovered above it all. Like they made it very clear that he is a comsically large being that doesn't give a crap about this tiny planet and its tiny problems. Dean - I reiterate, DEAN - of all people was terrified of him. The guy who's all "We're gonna stand up against Satan". That speaks for leagues by itself.
In as spoiler-free of a fashion as I can manage, they replaced the actor for Death with some new chick. But not before butchering his character and giving him the dumbest, most underwhelming sendoff of all time.

I'm also just immensely disappointed with their fight against Michael and Lucifer. I saw the scene and that was just laughable. I'm not sure if they reasoned this away, but wasn't a fight between them supposed to level half the planet? There are so many shows out there with a small budget and better fight choreography. These two just floated through the air and banged up against walls....

Oh, "laughable" is an apt word to describe it. I was very nearly chuckling. You could replace the background music with royalty free funny music and it'd suddenly be transformed into a comedy. Like SPN has never been one to go for the fancy, anime-style midair combat. It was always a lot more gritty and real, why the heck did that happen, that's just straight out of left field?

 

[No_One_In_Particular2]

John Wick 3 was E P I C !

(Like if you agree)