The Movie Thread Reloaded

[Spinachcat]

I enjoyed Suicide Squad...but I only paid $2 at the El Cheapo. I thought Margot Robbie's Harley was fun, Leto was an odd, but okay Joker and I like Will Smith. He's pretty much always Will Smith, but he doesn't phone it in and he clearly enjoyed playing Deadshot.

But Birds of Prey? The trailers just screamed Woketard Nonsense. No surprise its flopping.

Anybody see The Grudge reboot?

[Omega]

The original? The american adaption? Or a Grudge re-reboot?

[rgalex]

Anybody see The Grudge reboot?

The original? The american adaption? Or a Grudge re-reboot?

It's a side-story that take place during and after the American 2004 movie.

I got scared off last minute by some terrible word of mouth from a few people who's opinion on horror movies I trust.  I plan to still watch it, just not until it's on a streaming service.

[ArrozConLeche]

Haven't seen The Grudge reboot and not really inspired to watch yet another reboot of a movie that is not that old and was already pretty good. That's not even counting the fact that the franchise has been milked pretty well.

[Stephen Tannhauser]

I saw Birds of Prey and something, something Harley Quinn. It had great reviews but OMG what a piece of shit. The reviews compared the humor and action favorably to Deadpool, and I have to wonder if they ever watched Deadpool. I'm trying not to be too critical, but IMO, there was nothing worthwhile in this movie.

If you like Margot Robbie's performance as Harley Quinn, which in all fairness I do (I enjoyed Suicide Squad), BoPatFEooHQ (which I'm typing only because it amuses me how clunky that acronym is) is about, eh, 40% of a good movie.

Unfortunately the 60% which is bad is just awful, including:

1) Critically defanging Harley herself in terms of what she's actually allowed to do: when she raids a police station to kidnap Cassandra Cain, she uses a beanbag gun because post-breakup Harley apparently now has moral qualms about killing cops;
2) Criminally underusing the rest of the Birds, and spending almost no time on how the characters actually, you know, relate to one another because they don't actually form a single complete team until the last 15 minutes;
3) Having no idea how to create a villain or conflict worthy of the name -- like, seriously, the arc plot vs. Roman "Black Mask" Sionis is fanfic-level "Mary Sue" bad in how utterly lacking in any engagement, suspense or tension it has;
4) A series of juggled, nonsequential plot threads in the first act which doesn't seem like anything except an attempt to be Tarantino-esque and clever for its own sake -- I have no problem with nonsequential storytelling, but you need a reason for it;
5) Not allowing any male character whatsoever (except for one briefly mentioned aside in the Huntress's backstory) to be decent, likeable or competent at all (the closest we get is Chris Messina's Victor Szasz, and the writer and director go out of their way to make him both so physically creepy nobody can like him and to get rid of him before he can really affect the final showdown);
6) Casting Rosie Perez. (Okay, that one's entirely personal, I'm sure she's a decent person and fine performer given the right material, but I've never seen her in anything where she didn't set my teeth on edge.)

It also doesn't help that most reviewers want so badly to praise the film for its feminist cred that they can't be honest about its actual flaws as a piece of storytelling. My own wife, whom I love dearly and who is herself an award-winning horror writer, loves Harley so much as a character that she thinks the film is better than it is, which is part of why I'm ranting about it here rather than at home.

[Ratman_tf]

What I don't get is the fetishization of Harley as some kind of quirky anti-hero. The bitch killed babies and children for the Joker. She's reprehensible with no redemption arc to excuse her being a protagonist in a comic book film.

[Omega]

What I don't get is the fetishization of Harley as some kind of quirky anti-hero. The bitch killed babies and children for the Joker. She's reprehensible with no redemption arc to excuse her being a protagonist in a comic book film.

You just named why so many fans love her. Shes a killer who gets a pass because shes sooooo cute!

This is a recurring problem with DC and even marvel and even manga overseas. Fans, or sometimes the parent company will latch onto the most offensive or un-likable character and elevate them totally out of proportion.

Lobo. Deathstroke, Ambush Bug, etc from DC with Harley being the ongoing fetish.
Deadpool and Squirrel Girl, oh so very very these two. Marvels idea of 'funny' tends to be the most un-funny characters ever.
Anime and Manga? Theres a long long long list.

All of these characters, with the exception of Lobo, were interesting initially and when used sparingly.

In the animated series Harley was interesting because you could never quite get a handle on her. Much akin to the Joker. Just marginally less homicidal.

Not helped that, as with everything, different writers have different ideas for what these characters are.

[Lurkndog]

My issue with Birds of Prey is that I read comics, and I know who the Birds of Prey are, and Cassandra Cain, and Black Mask, and I don't recognize any of them in the trailer.

For that matter, even Harley Quinn is considerably toned down from her sex appeal role in Suicide Squad.

[Omega]

My issue with Birds of Prey is that I read comics, and I know who the Birds of Prey are, and Cassandra Cain, and Black Mask, and I don't recognize any of them in the trailer.

For that matter, even Harley Quinn is considerably toned down from her sex appeal role in Suicide Squad.

Im getting progressively more tired of superhero shows who spend what feels like 90% of the movie more or less plainclothes.

[Lurkndog]

Im getting progressively more tired of superhero shows who spend what feels like 90% of the movie more or less plainclothes.

That was a big problem with the Birds of Prey TV series from the 2000's. Harleen Quinzel was their big bad, but she didn't go full Harley Quinn until the last episode. Also they had Dina Meyers as Batgirl/Oracle, but they only got her into costume as Batgirl once. Huntress just dressed like she was going out dancing, and Black Canary was even more forgettable.

[Omega]

Apparently the movie is not doing well and the producers believe that the moviegoers were too stupid to realize Harley Quinn was in the movie and renamed it Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.

Yup. That will change everything.

[Bedrockbrendan]

Been doing a series of Horror reviews this month to celebrate Strange Tales. I enjoyed all three of the following for different reasons.

LEGEND OF THE MOUNTAIN: http://thebedrockblog.blogspot.com/2020/03/legend-of-mountain-1979.html
This movie is definitely not going to be for everyone because it is on the slow side, very subtle in how it handles horror, and a bit of an artsy film. I like it though. It is directed by King Hu (who did Come Drink With Me, Dragon Inn and Touch of Zen), and set during the Song Dynasty on a fort in the mountains along a march between the empire and the Xi Xia. It is a ghost story, my review is spoiler-ridden, but here I will say it is atmospheric, blurs the boundary between the human and ghostly world, and does a great job of using mundane details to create a sense of unease. Not a lot of action, but very interesting and subdued magic battles.


THE ENCHANTING GHOST: http://thebedrockblog.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-enchanting-ghost-1970.html
A classic Chinese Horror Movie. It is subtle, but not as lengthy or artsy as Legend of the Mountain. Definitely feels like it was made in a prior era of film making. And there is a long lead up before anything super natural happens. However that lead up really gives the supernatural stuff its impact.

LEGEND OF THE DEMON CAT: http://thebedrockblog.blogspot.com/2020/02/legend-of-demon-cat.html
A mystery set in the Tang Dynasty that follows a monk and official investigating a demon cat who feeds on peoples eyes. The sets in this one are quite elaborate (really good fodder for a GM looking for locations in a historical Chinese setting). Devotes a lot of energy to painting pretty scenes (I have seen some people complain about the CG in places).

[Omega]

If you ever get a chance. Check out Yoso, AKA: The Bronze Magician. I commented on it a few pages back.

Still hunting for a copy of the Japanese movie Dai Touzoku, that was renamed The Lost World of Sinbad

[Ratman_tf]

Watched Gerald's Game last night.

I haven't read the book, but I got a strong vibe of Misery, especially when Paul Sheldon was left alone by Annie. In this case, King swapped sexes and made it all about the protagonist's dirty sexual secrets.

Strong start, woman goes off with husband for a kinky weekend vacation to try and put the spark back in their relationship. Dude has a heart attack while she's handcuffed to the bed. She's faced with trying to survive while various things happen.
Goes mental fairly quickly, with her discussing her issues with imaginary versions of her husband and herself.
Ending was weak, in that Stephen King way. He's great at setup and building tension, but only in a few cases has he pulled a satisfying ending out of his stories. (I really loved The Dead Zone)

Mostly, I was dissapointed that the main character's personality could be summed up with "Was sexually abused as a kid." Got it. Anything else? Nope. Everything about her revolves around that.
Maybe in the book she was a more interesting character.

[Omega]

The thread on sword and planet reminded me indirectly of an old pulp author used to read. Manly Wade Wellman and one of his non SF anthologies that was turned into a movie back in the 70s. Who Fears the Devil, featuring his recurring "Silver John" character. Though if I recall correctly in the books hes only ever called John. A wanderer who carries a guitar with strings of pure silver. And is sort of an Apellation based lovecraftian investigator sort due to his frequent encounters with creatures from the mountain legends.

The movie is based mostly on two of those stories. "The Desrick on Yandro" and "O Ugly Bird" and they actually got a folk singer to play John.

Thie stories and film can be an interesting take on how to do a CoC adventure that is not based on the standard oddities, yet still treads some familliar ground. John comes across as what a CoC PC character might be if they actually lived past one adventure. ahem.

Finding the movie though is a pain as does not seem to have come out on VHS or DVD that I've ever seen yet.