You're actually right, I wouldn't mind exploring lighter themes, right now. Isle of Dogs is next on my list.
Ready Player One is pretty good. I'd give it around 90%. Immensely stylish with nice graphics, very solid cast, good humour and action, and stuffed with fun references. Story is a little predictable and perhaps contrived, but it's pulled off well enough with enough interest that it's still a very solid movie.
I saw Darkest Hour last night. Pretty good movie, amazing acting and makeup/prosthetics, but... I can't bring myself to check the historical accuracy yet. I know something of the period, but very little about the personalities within the British government beyond the obvious about Churchill and Chamberlain. I just want to enjoy it a little longer before I go dig for the truth.
I saw this the other day, too. Not too bad, but the stench of the Spielbergian miasma reeking from the theater could be detected for blocks in any direction. If you're familiar with Spielberg movies, you could practically quote the whole third act of Ready Player One verbatim before you see it. I yawned, and probably snored, through a lot of this movie.
Not too bad on the accuracy front. One or two elements with Chamberlain that contradict history, and one or two scenes that theoretically could have happened that were invented, but nothing too important.
I watched Tremors for the first time tonight. It's one of those films one keeps meaning to watch because of the fanbase and cult status, but never gets round to. Anyway I loved it.
Almost all of my enjoyment of Ready Player One came from staring at the crowds of characters in every Oasis scene and trying to pick out who they were. When it comes out on blu ray I will probably watch it again in slow motion to catch everything.
Okay, so, Avengers: Infinity War. Whoa. All I'm going to say is that if you're into the MCU, see this as soon as possible, because this is one of the most spoil-able movies I've ever seen. Like "Darth Vader is Luke's father"-level spoilers. Shield your eyes from any reviews or writeups until you see the movie. Which is not going to be easy because obviously everyone is talking about it. Hence, see it ASAP.
I left it too late to get a decent seat last weekend to see it at iMAX (won't be surprised if it's the same situation this week). I'm not rave about the Avengers, but of course I've seen almost all the Marvel films and am aware this is likely movie of the year (I mean in terms of popularity). Now you have me truly living in terror!
*Groan* just had a lucky near miss on Facebook w/ regards to Infinity War - luckily I was just scrolling past and no details stuck. No Facebook for me then
Major spoiler ahead: Any "twists" in the MCU are 100% designed to expand the franchise, which means that anything that happens, just like in a soap, can--and probably will--be erased in the next film.
I finally realized, a few movies ago, that I'd never really read comic books as a kid, didn't enjoy the genre, and was getting no enjoyment from the movies, so I gave them up. I think it might have been Jeremy Renner who helped me to the conclusion. Something about him just kills any enthusiasm I might have for a film, and I had little enough to begin with.
Ready Player One. Basically just spoilers. Spoiler: Wall o' Spoiler questions Why do the Sixers all use the same car? Don't different vehicles have different strengths and weaknesses? Related: Why don't the Sixers use teamwork? Blockers, Bashers, Runners, etc. Put a wall of monster trucks around a wall of fast cars around a whole bunch of lightweight, speedy bikes or something. Why was Hotty allowed to pull her bike up into a non-grid space? A fucking birthmark? To be completely objectifying, a hawty like that could use a dab of concealer and you'd never know til the next morning, but a fucking birthmark? And a fairly minor, that's kinda cool let us see it one at that? She coulda been played by Jack Black. Or Stephen Hawking.... William Gibson must be spinning in his grave. Yeah, I know he's still alive, but if his next book is as bad as his last one... Fucking Singularity... Wait, why did he fire Mr. Scott? And why is Mr. Scott so cool about it? And why don't they just jack out at critical points? And how long does it take to render an entire office from memory? I ask as a Sketchup/Shapeways user... Every Marine in the audience lost interest the moment you called the upgrade a "boot suit." Seriously? A fucking birthmark?!? Finally, why the hell do you make what's basically a YA movie that's chock full of references for the Gen-Xers? The Venn diagram of people who get the references and people who enjoy the storyline is going to be vanishingly small.
This is kind of old news now, but I enjoyed Isle of Dogs overall, though it wasn't especially beautiful to look at. It's interesting Wes Anderson's been attacked for the film being racist, because it actually made me think of White God, the Hungarian film. It's also true though that I did ask myself a couple of questions about some choices he made, including why the Japanese MC just had to have green eyes.
Avengers: Infinity War: Won't say too much about it, of course, for those of you who haven't seen it, for saying anything could pretty much constitute a spoiler. But let it be said that this by far the best Avengers movie and the action is incredible: the best seen in a Marvel film so far. I'd been growing bored of egenric superhero action, but Spiderman: Homecoming, and now this has restored the faith - 8/10 Rampage - Mindless action, yes - but it fully embraces that, and gets the job done - 6/10 A Quiet Place - I don't usually do horror, but heard all the good reviews so I thought I'd chance it. I'm a jumpy person. Not because I'm easily scared, of course; I prefer to think of it as I just have good survival instincts So I thought I'd risk the mild chance of a heart attack and go and see it and boy was it good. That there was complete silence in the cinema throughout speaks for itself. It was almost as if the audience were gearing up for survival. And it was refreshing to see the usual horror trope subverted and see the family whom the film follows actually pretty prepared and competent and don't leave you wondering how they ever lasted this long in a post-apocalyptic situation. Just don't think too hard about the premise and you'll be sure to enjoy it - 9/10
I really need to see A Quiet Place. I love well-paced understated horror/thrillers and everything I've heard about this one is good. Watched Molly's Game last night. I admit it, I am a sucker for Aaron Sorkin's dialogue, with his improbably smart and articulate characters jabbering at each other endlessly. It's self-indulgent and totally unlike the way people actually speak but I still find it entertaining. Also Jessica Chastain is fantastic in this. If you hate Sorkin this won't convert you but if you enjoyed shows like West Wing and Newsroom you will probably like this too. There's one scene near the end that is so contrived it almost wrecks the movie but overall I still dug it.
Part two of Che earlier. I'm not too clued up on the Cuban and (failed) Bolivian revolutions so don't know how many liberties were taken with the story, but I enjoyed them both very much and can thoroughly recommend them.
Assuming Marty's initial time-travel in the first film was an accident (he inadvertently knocks the time circuits when changing gear, and then only hits the required 88 mph because he's trying to outrun the Libyan terrorists) why does he try to drive directly into a newspaper stand?
