[S07.E04: The Spoils of War]

I really enjoyed this episode right up until the last few seconds.   Everything about Bronn saving Jaime doesn't work for me. It doesn't ring true for Bronn's selfish character.  It doesn't make sense logistically (where did all that water come from?) and it is an anti-climactic way to end the episode. I mean I like show Jaime ok (he's no book Jaime) but if he either: 

1. Threw the lance at Dany and missed (left handed throw) then was killed by dragon fire. 

Or 

2. Gotten to her but hesitates and then is killed by dragon fire. 

edit: 3rd outlandish option: doesn't burn because he is secret Targaryen! 

Would have been a grand way to go out. 

It really felt like the show pulled it's punches by not having a major character go down after so much destruction. 

 

Also, let's send Bronn to fight the white walkers.  His plot armor will let him take down the Night King. 

[Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)]

I think overall I liked it, lots of laughs and the GotG themselves are all very endearing.

However had two major gripes:

1. Lots of telling rather than showing for emotional beats. I already knew from the first movie that the group is a family. You don't need to say it out loud. Conversely, all the Yondu stuff didn't work for me at all.

Spoiler

I didn't feel like they earned the emotional funeral scene or the "I'm your daddy" stuff. Quill and him barely interact and they threw in a couple flashbacks but I never bought that he was this heroic figure. It was especially out of tone with the scene where he kills like 40 people with his arrow. Side-gripe: That thing is way too overpowered. Why does he even need a gang if he has that thing?

2. Action scenes were weak. Some might say that this is a different breed of superhero movie that has a more comedy focus, but either do it well (True Lies) or do it less (Hot Fuzz). That last act in particular was such a bore to me.

And one minor gripe:

1. I couldn't follow or care about any scenes with Sly Stallone's character.

[Logan (2017)]

I also enjoyed this immensely. I don't know where they found this X-23 actress. She was amazing. I didn't think they could pull off that character with her being so young, but they did. Hey intro scene was aces. I almost wished they hadn't spoiled it in the trailers.

[Suicide Squad (2016)]

At least he recognizes that it's flawed.

Pensfanboy however needs to re-calibrate his masterpiece radar.

[Final Fantasy Games]

I finished FFXV this weekend and...mixed feelings. I'm usually all for light exposition and whatnot but I'll admit I wasn't sure what exactly was going on in the ending sequence. Not that it ruined the game or anything, it seemed like the characters knew what they were doing so I don't need some long-winded explanation about mystical mumbo jumbo, but a bit more context would have helped more than hurt IMO.

However, similar to FFXIII, I will go to bat for it because I liked that it's trying something different. Some things worked, others didn't. I agree with @PrincessEnnui that every new FF will be "worst one ever" in the eyes of the public.

Worked for Me: 

• Battle System
• Group Banter
• Summons
• World

Didn't Work for Me:

• The gang's outfits. Just awful. Thankfully they have alternates, but I couldn't fix Prompto's lack of sleeves and Ignis' ever-present gloves. 
• No party variation. There are some guest characters that I wished could have joined the group.
• Chapter 13. Just awful. Way too long. 
• Some light technical issues. Trees in my way, hitting x and jumping instead of talking etc.

[Super Social Analysis: Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and LGBT in Movies]

I was thinking of what my least favorite movies from this year were and I settled on:

Independence Day 2

Suicide Squad

Batman v. Superman

All three had Asian actors in minor roles.  So minor that it's hard not to wonder if the producers went for some sort of "Asian Participation Score" and just threw in one character to meet the quota.  

I realized that one of the reasons I am apprehensive about Rogue One is that there is an Asian character in it. Not to say that I don't want Asian characters in my movies, but having one in a bit part seems to be the mark of a studio-tempered movie that I might not enjoy. It's not enough to have them in the films, I want them to be meaningful characters in the films.

[S03.E05: Men Against Fire]

16 hours ago, Negritude said:

The last 15 minutes was great, the first 40, not so much. What's with the slow burn on some of these episodes good grief! As soon as he said he could smell the grass, I caught on to what was happening...30 something minutes into it. 

Yes I agree wholeheartedly. Overall I enjoyed the episodes but every single one could have been edited down by a good 15 minutes. Most of them have scenes that don't really add anything to the narrative, it's just more 5-star rating interaction/Blackmailer coercion/hanging out in San Junipero etc.

But this one feels the slowest because the reveal is so obvious that the payoff isn't that surprising or satisfying.

[Extra Hot Great]

Tara made my day when she said "rough stuff" the Happy Endings way. I use it all the time and get weird looks.

Yessss. I was just telling my friends that I want to use it all the time but worry that people will assume I'm having a stroke.

[S06.E10: The Winds of Winter]

As one of the biggest Lannister apologists out there, this was irredeemable from Cersei. I mean screw the High Sparrow and his holier-than-thou ways, but yeesh. Also I know she felt like she was stuck in a corner, but her current position doesn't seem much better.

Gunning for her: 

• Dorne + Tyrell Armies. Relatively untouched and fresh.
• Varys, Olenna, Tyrion, Ellaria. 4 people who are pretty good schemers.
• Dany + dragons + Dothraki + Unsullied.
• Arya?
• General populace? They didn't like her to begin with, so the thought of them killing their Queen and spiritual leader won't go over well.
• Brotherhood without Banners (+ The Hound)? Maybe. They supposed to protect the people and lots of people were killed in that explosion.

Who does she have on her side?

• Qyburn + little kids with knives.
• Zombountain.
• Jaime? (Not for long)
• Freys
• Boltons

Who can she recruit? And she better do some Tywin-tier letter writing or else her reign will be shorter than Tommen's.

• Euron Greyjoy
• Littlefinger/Vale

[Television Vs. Book: Why'd They Make [Spoiler] Such A [Spoiler]?]

I'm hoping that House Tyrell in the books isn't completely wiped out, even if they're not longer Lords Paramount of Highgarden. Even if Margaery goes down (and I hope she doesn't), there are two others. Willas Tyrell in particular I want to see. It doesn't look great for them by the end of DwD, but I'm hoping we get a Tyrell POV character of some sort.

Also, from GRRM:

Quote

And in the Tyrell family, Loras is not the eldest son in the books. There are two older brothers, Willas and Garlan. I didn’t just put them in for hoots and giggles, they have roles to play in the last two books, and they don’t exist in the show. I’ve said from the start I wish we had more hours, but showrunners [David Benioff and Dan Weiss] work 24/7, 12 months a year.

[House Tyrell: Uprooted]

Whoa I forgot that I made this topic. RIP Tyrells. You will be missed.

Honestly this was the most upsetting death for me since The Red Viper vs The Mountain. I too thought she would make it out alive, but not as Queen. I heard Natalie Dormer wanted out so she could do other projects though. And you're right, the fact that she goes to get her brother before trying to leave shows how much she cared for him. That's really what doomed her to begin with, her support of her brother. It was endearing that she stuck with him until the end.

I feel like if GRRM was writing this, he would have had Margaery to inspire Loras to fight through the Sparrows, only to have them blow up anyways. 

[S06.E04: Book of the Stranger]

10 hours ago, J----av said:

Then you are probably bias. Ramsay has been "struggling a bit" (losing Reek, Miranda and Sansa, having his dad shit on him all the time, growing up a bastard), but he always comes out on top just like Dany and Brienne. When Ramsay concurs cities in 5 min, takes two armies (like 108,000 men) in 10 min and walks out of two fires and has pet dragons, then maybe his superness can be compaired to Dany's. Dany is seen as a good person though so of course people won't hate on how poorly she can be written as much as bad guy Ramsay 

*biased

I mean if we're going to nitpick character setbacks,  let's nitpick character setbacks. 

Dany: Killed her mother during childbirth, exiled for most of her life, forcibly married/raped, lost her husband, lost her posse, lost her dragons (lol), lost her queensguard, had to exile her bodyguard because he's a creep, lost her dragon again, gets placed at Club Med Dothraki.

Brienne: Loses Renly, loses Catelyn, almost raped by mercs, almost killed by bear, lets Arya get away, lets Sansa get away.

Also, if you think that Reek/Miranda mean anything to Ramsay, 

 

Ok but really, I kinda agree that Dany gets too many lucky rolls, but just because she has "rollover the competition" story arcs doesn't mean Ramsay's are any less frustrating to watch.

[S06.E04: Book of the Stranger]

17 minutes ago, Sunnydayman said:

Jon had help doing all of his super things; Mormont's Sword, San's scheming and Mel's voudoo.  Super Ramsey only needs his wits.  There is no context for his magical powers.

Agreed. Also I don't know if I would consider Dany or Brienne as rolling over anything either. Brienne vs the Hound. Or vs Jaime. Or even vs Loras. All had her struggling a bit. Meanwhile Ramsey has barely broken a sweat.

[Captain America: Civil War (2016)]

Saw it last night. Looooved it. Other posters have gushed on why it's so amazing but I had two minor quibbles.

1. The volume was a bit low? This could have just been my theater but there were numerous times when I thought there would be a loud boom, but instead got a moderate one. Usually in action movies I think it's too loud, so this was a strange feeling. I sort of regret not seeing it IMAX.

2. I agree with @deaja that the action in the first 1/3 is hard to follow. Lots of up close shots. They did this in Winter Soldier a bit too. I'm wondering if it's a filming technique to give the illusion of super strength without the help of CGI.

But these are minor problems in a movie that got so many emotional responses out of me. Laughs! Awe! Sympathy! 

I agree that this feels like an Avengers movie more than a Captain America movie, but it really shows how he's the heart of the team. He has heartfelt conversations with: Wanda, Natasha, Tony, Sam, Bucky.

Also Ant-Man and Spider-Man's reactions to him show lots of respect.

But really everyone has their moment in the spotlight. It's crazy how many characters are in this movie and they all get something to do and all of their motivations make sense. Meanwhile BvS couldn't do that with 4 characters. 

Question: It's been awhile since I've seen Cap 1 & 2,

Spoiler

 

but did Steve really know that Bucky killed Tony's parents? When did he find out?

 

 

 

 

 

[X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)]

Have any of the trailers shown Sophie Turner speaking? Her acting is a bit hit-or-miss on GoT and i'm wondering if the studio is hiding something. Although that being said, Storm, Psylocke and Angel have had any spoken lines either.

[Captain America: Civil War (2016)]

I guess that makes sense. I know her origins in the MCU are different from the comics but I've always thought of her as a Soviet defector. Soviet defectors in my mind would be against big government control. 

[Captain America: Civil War (2016)]

It feels strange to me that Natasha is on Tony's side. I felt more connection between her and Steve in previous films.

Also I really hope they don't develop the (Avenger Romance Spoilers)

Scarlet Witch x Vision

romance. It never worked for me.

[Watch A New Trailer For Season 6 Of Game Of Thrones]

Mace Tyrell's hat in the preview image is too ridiculous for words.

[Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)]

This comment made me check this out and it's great (and on Netflix, folks) and I'm far from a DC fan. Why do the people who make the DC cartoons and TV shows seem to understand the characters better than those who run the comics and film divisions?

I knowww. I was thinking this same thing the other day. If someone were to pitch a DCAU episode to the canon what would it be?

 

Nominees:

Justice League "For the Man who Has Everything"

Batman The Animated Series "Feat of Clay" (2-parter would give more to talk about)

Superman the Animated Series "Ghost in the Machine"

[Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)]

What frustrates me most about podcasts (PCHH, Grantland, etc) and reviewers always see the super hero fight scenes all the same CGI nonsense. I mean, they're comic book movies, you should expect some action. I don't go into romantic comedies and groan whenever there is a misunderstanding. Oh wait yes I do. So maybe a poor example, but still. I look forward to the action sequences, and think that when they're done well they should be applauded and critiqued when done poorly. Not just treat them as the same nonsense.

 

1. Batman chasing the kryptonite in the batmobile: Poor. It was hard to follow, poorly executed on Batman's part (collateral damage all over the place, did he not see the start of this movie?), and had no real surprises. Bad guys shoot at Batman=>Batman shoots at them back.  The one sort of spectacular thing (batman ramming the car into the truck), was actually a terrible idea since he almost destroyed the tracking device he placed on it minutes before. D-

2. Batman vs Dream Goons: I had a hard time judging this one because the scene was so confusing and misplaced that my mind was trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I didn't really care about Superman killing Zod in MoS that much, but Batman shooting people with guns feels so wrong. D

3. Batman vs. Superman: This had some nice moments. I especailly liked Batman hitting him with each hit becoming less effective. There should have been more damage shown on Superman. Some blood, a bruise, frazzled hair...something! The ending was nonsense but overall it was decent. B

4. Batman vs. Goons: This had batman at his best. Using the element of surprise, gadgeting appropriately and just being an overall badass. I didn't like how he let the guy shoot him point blank in the back of the head though. A-

5. Wonder Woman + Superman + Batman vs Doomsday: As someone who really enjoyed the Smallville fight scene in the middle of MoS and didn't hate the Metropolis fight scene at the end of MoS, this was a mixed bag. I am definitely wowed by some of the deceptions of super speed and strength and this definitely delivered on those. It's something not really present in any other movie, not even the MCU.  I appreciated that there was less punching through buildings and more actual fighting.  Wonder Woman in particular shined by trying to do something other than punching. Unfortunately the repeated Doomsday energy blasts and the laser eyes vs laser eyes battle were momentum killing. Energy blast vs energy blasts are never interesting. Not in X-Men 3, not in Dragonball Z and not here. They sort of flubbed the ending too. There was no reason for Superman to be the one to deliver the spear with Wonder Woman still standing. IMO they should have had Superman as the last hero standing and then he makes the decision to sacrifice himself to beat doomsday. B-

[Extra Hot Great]

I think it was a good submission though. It was around the time that I stopped watching The Office. I personally didn't even care for Michael Scott all that much because he was the one that instigated non-plots like Cafe Disco. It wasn't his departure that made me stop, it was episodes like this where there were more cringe moments than funny ones.

[S01.E01: Awakening / S01.E02: Odessa]

I was going to take issue with Tara's Tekken 2 comparison because in my mind Tekken 2 looked way worse since it came out 20 years ago but this actually looks pretty similar.

 

[Final Fantasy Games]

Final Fantasy XII is my favourite after VII. Loved that world and those characters. It felt fresh and new, and a departure from the established Final Fantasy standards. Balthier is probably my absolute favourite character in the entire Final Fantasy franchise, Vaan, though? Not so much. But the great thing was that, you didn't have to use Vaan if you didn't want to.

I agree that Balthier is the best, but I feel like Vaan gets unnecessarily hated on. I was ready to hate him going on because honestly, he looks ridiculous. But the few hours of the game where he's in the spotlight he's fine. He's basically Aladdin without a monkey. He doesn't get much to do later on but I'd rather have him blend in the background than be annoying in the foreground.

 

Edit: And another thing! FFX's voice acting is much improved from X. I think it's mostly because everything sounds less silly in a British accent. But Vaan's VA is so much better than Tidus' VA, even without the benefit of an accent.

[X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)]

Yikes. I was worried when I heard Psylocke would be in this but I didn't think they'd use her 90s costume. None of them translate particularly well to live action. but 90s Psylocke is the worst.

 

I would have preferred this one:

[Final Fantasy Games]

I was so pumped up for that FFVII reveal. It's like one of those things where you know you'll be excited for something, but until it actually happens, you feel nothing.

 

Someone actually linked me with the text "FFVII remake" and I was like "oh?"

 

But actually watching the trailer I was like "OHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

 

In other news, I tried getting back into FFXIII-2 but holy crap I just can't even. I know people didn't like the linear nature of XIII but XIII-2 is "Sidequests: The Movie : The Game: The Ride". And it's soooo "Guide Dang It" that even after hours of sidequesting, i'm not even close to 100% on getting all the fragments. Back on the shelf it goes.