DSL's Movie/TV Reviews and Discussion

[Dr. Strangelove]

Yeah, well the people I'm hearing from aren't Zack Snyder fanboys. More the opposite. And I don't want to overstate things. They don't think the movie's a masterpiece or anything. Just that it's obvious now that Joss Whedon and the studio are why that movie was such a piece of shit and the stuff they cut out is better than what they left in or what Whedon himself added (lots of terrible terrible jokes mainly).

Comic book movies are big for a couple of reasons...one is that CGI and effects have advanced to the point to actually do the stories justice and make them a spectacle. Another is that studios are now very risk-adverse because there's so much competition for your entertainment dollar. Comic book movies, sequels, remakes, and other movies based on established properties are much safer than investing in something that might be the next Jupiter Ascending.

[Dr. Strangelove]

In 1980 among the top ten grossing movies of the year there were 2 sequels (Empire Strikes Back and Smokey & the Bandit 2), one film based on an established property (sort of) (Blues Brothers) and 7 original ideas.

In 1990 among the top ten grossing movies of the year there were 2 sequels (Die Hard 2 and Back to the Future 3), one film made based on an established property (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and 7 original ideas.

In 2019 among the top ten grossing movies you had 2 remakes, 6 sequels, and 2 movies based on established properties (Joker and Captain Marvel). Zero original ideas.

[Dr. Strangelove]

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HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS (1983)
d. Pete Walker
Starring: Desi Arnaz Jr., Julie Peasgood, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Sheila Keith, John Carradine

Credit where credit is due. The Pros do the best with what they have to work with here. But it's a horribly mediocre "horror" picture in which they all are second fiddle to Desi Arnaz Jr. and Julie Peasgood, two remarkably unappealing, non-charismatic leads. Apparently the story is an adaptation of "Seven Keys to Baldpate", a play from 1913 I had never heard of before researching the film, which is only one of a half dozen adaptations. The ending is an incredible cheat, not that anything you've watched has likely had an impact on you anyways.

If you have younger kids or grandkids and you'd like to introduce them to some classic horror actors, this is tamer than most Hammer horror films and could genuinely be a good intro to the genre. In an era when slasher films were at their peak, Cannon actually thought this would be a box office bonanza.

House-of-the-Long-Shadows-1983.jpg

[froot loops]

Yeah, well the people I'm hearing from aren't Zack Snyder fanboys. More the opposite. And I don't want to overstate things. They don't think the movie's a masterpiece or anything. Just that it's obvious now that Joss Whedon and the studio are why that movie was such a piece of shit and the stuff they cut out is better than what they left in or what Whedon himself added (lots of terrible terrible jokes mainly).

Comic book movies are big for a couple of reasons...one is that CGI and effects have advanced to the point to actually do the stories justice and make them a spectacle. Another is that studios are now very risk-adverse because there's so much competition for your entertainment dollar. Comic book movies, sequels, remakes, and other movies based on established properties are much safer than investing in something that might be the next Jupiter Ascending.

Oh I know the reasons and it makes it even more depressing as it seems like something that is a permanent shift. Most of the genres that are nearly extinct in movies are now moved over to TV shows. It's good in a way because it gives you more of a story, but if you watch enough 10-12 episode seasons the beats of a season became pretty obvious. It is basically the Buffy template distilled to it's purest form. One big bad, 60 percent episodes devoted to the storyline, 40 percent monster of the week episodes. The monster of the week episodes always introduce some sort of Checkov's gun to tie in the episode to the larger plotline. It is all very safe, much like the movies

[froot loops]

House of the Long Shadows was just on tv the other day at.least I think it was that one. Those Hammer horror films were great, a lot of my favorite classic Dr. Who episodes are basically a pastiche of those films.

[AlabamAlum]

On Amazon Prime they have the BBC series The Musketeers. It was on for three seasons, I'm on season two, season one was really good, season two is promising.

Froot,

Solid recommendation.

[froot loops]

I just finished season 2, it was awesome! Probably the best Musketeers adaptation I've have seen.

[Cody_Russell]

TV Series > Movies nowadays. More fleshed out characters.
Seeing the same movie tropes over and over has become annoying. Unless there is certain buzz around it like the amazing film "Parasite" or a classic that I haven't seen... hardly worth the time IMO.

All that said, I will watch "Godzilla vs Kong" next week. 🤣

[AlabamAlum]

I just finished season 2, it was awesome! Probably the best Musketeers adaptation I've have seen.

Yeah. Just starting season 2. This has been worthwhile, but most BBC period pieces are. Plus, the Musketeers is nostalgia. Also, Dumas, in a very real way, invented the action/super hero genre.

[iam416]

fucking francophiles

[Dr. Strangelove]

Better food. The English boil everything until it's a tasteless mush.

[AlabamAlum]

I went to Paris last in December 2019 (ahh, pre Covid times). The line to see the Mona Lisa was 1.5 hours long. So, I held my phone over my head from 30 yards away and took this pic with zoom and no flash. The docent acted like I had shat on the painting and stomped on it.

Fuck the French.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Looks like an Impressionist's interpretation of a visit to the Mona Lisa.

[AlabamAlum]

Yes.

Want more pics from my last visit to France? Sure.
Here is a pic of a statue. I am pretty sure it commentates the first Paralympic Games.

[AlabamAlum]

Here is a pic of what I believe to be a large T-Mobile tower: