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Lazlo

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Posts posted by Lazlo

  1. On 1/22/2024 at 8:19 PM, tennisgurl said:

    I have...really mixed feelings about this movie. I admit that I am terribly biased as Mean Girls is not only one of my favorite movies ever but it also came out at just the right time for me to really see myself in the themes and characters, so of course I went into this with a lot of trepidation. I think it had a lot of good aspects to it, especially its cast, but it was just missing that spark that the original had. Some of that might have been my nostalgia talking but it just did not have the same punch that the last one had. 

    I think a big issue for me was that this movie had no real edge. There was still quite a bit of mean-ness going on and some darker comedy bits here and there, but to me this reeked of another remake that is trying desperately not to upset or offend anyone ever, trying to "fix" things that commentators have complained about in the years that followed its release. Mean Girls is certainly a mostly lighthearted wacky comedy, but it also showed how messed up and awful high school can be and how girls can be horrible to their own best friends, but this feels almost like the Disney Channel Original Movie version of the story where the movie is afraid to make anyone come off as too mean. When you take out the characters engaging in all that much of the slut shaming, homophobia, and the casual shittiness towards their friends, like the "three way call attack" and how they casually call each other slutty and annoying behind their backs, everything that made the movie feel so real, you miss out on the whole lesson about how wrong and hallow that is. I haven't been a teenager in awhile, but I cant imagine that teenage girls are still not calling each other bitches and sluts and other awful things that adults don't like admitting kids say, and without all that, its like there is no reason to learn a lesson. If no one is really that bad, than no one really has an arc and the movie doesn't really have a point. In the original, pretty much every girl has some mean moments, even generally nice characters like Karen and Janis even admits that she is also pretty mean just in a punk goth girl way, which is why the end is so important when everyone realizes how awful they've all been. This movie cuts out all the sex, all of the edgier jokes (even ones that aren't particularly offensive by modern standards) and takes a lot of the mean away so that no one can be too unlikable. 

    I liked most of the songs alright, some were boring, some were really fun, some were those sort of "radio play" musical songs where the song has basically nothing to do with the actual story and exists to just be a song to be played as a single on the radio. I was watching a lot of those songs thinking "what all was cut from this story to make room for this? Cady and Regina's dads? Most of Miss Norbury's subplot about her life taking a downward spiral? The feeling that a whole year had passed?" This just felt so rushed, in the first movie Cady's turn from innocent to queen bee is pretty gradual but here it all seems to happen at once. Regina is embarrassed at Christmas and then Cady went from nice girl to mean girl like a switch was flipped. The cast was at least really good, you can see why Renee Rapp is becoming such a IT Girl, she has ridiculous amounts of charisma, and I did like some of the changes. I like that Miss Norbury and Principle Duvall are a couple, I thought there were a lot of good lines (especially from Damien) I like that Janis is a lesbian now and that it gives new context for why she hates Regina so much, I loved the Lindsay Lohan cameo, there really is a lot to like here, but it was hard to watch this and not think about how this makes me want to watch the original. 

     

    I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt the film lacked real bite.

    I do understand that attitudes have changed since 2004. Regina being homophobic in the first movie was meant to show her as callous even at the time, but it was also probably a pretty common attitude among girls her age (to say nothing of wider society - remember back in 2004 60% of Americans opposed same-sex marriage and only 31% were in favour.) Likewise the slut shaming was frankly very widespread and 'accepted'. So I do understand having a 2024 version of Regina spouting the same lines would hit harder, but I do think there was probably some sort of happy medium.

    I'm also not sure how I feel about a film that went to a lot of effort to diversify the cast erasing Gretchen's Jewishness. That was weird.

    That said the songs were bangers. I thought Janis was a gigantic hypocrite (also something I felt about her in the original movie) who deserved a lot more criticism for her 'meanness' but even given that her song was amazing. 

    • Like 1
  2. I kinda liked the episode but I had a feeling the show wouldn't have the nerve to portray Lisa as a villain for the whole run. Then Bart and even Marge joined in and I knew we were headed for a Homer apology at the end even though everyone was horrible to him.

  3. 1 hour ago, KatWay said:

    I've never played D&D and I thought the movie was hilarious. Don't remember the last time I laughed so much in the cinema. It was predictable in a good way, it just felt so comfortable watching.

     

    Hopefully it will have encouraged a few people who've never tried it to take a look at the game. I really liked the film but the heart of D&D is always going to be rolling dice with your friends (and then yelling at those dice when they come up the wrong number...)

    • Love 1
  4. That was a lot of fun!

    As someone who has played a lot of D&D (and is still an active gamer) I was probably biased going in but there was plenty of charm and humour there along with some surprising heart that I think even the non-gamers will enjoy. Hugh Grant and Michelle Rodriguez especially looked like they were having a ball with their characters.

    • Like 5
  5. Very sad to see it go. I had some issues with the show and yes the nostalgia was a big draw - I was a fan of the original series as a pre-teen - but it was still pretty fun.

    At twenty episodes this show just pips The College Years (19 episodes) and more comfortably Good Morning Miss Bliss (13 episodes) but falls far short of the original series (86 episodes plus two TV movies) and The New Class (143 (!) episodes.)

  6. So Garsa Fwip was definitely killed then. What a unbelievable waste of Jennifer Beals and a potentially very interesting character. From the interviews I've read it sounds like Beals put a lot more thought into her character's motivations and backstory than the show did.

    Actually that gets to one of my major problems with this series. Time and again we hear Boba talk about how Mos Espa is his city and how he can't leave it and so on, but the show did absolutely nothing to establish any of the Mos Espa citizens besides the mod gang (street punks he hired as muscle), Garsa (dead after Boba completely failed to protect her), the mayor's majordomo (cowardly comic relief) and the mayor and other local leaders (who all conspired with the Pykes.)

    In other words, with the exception of one surviving Twi'lek and a half dozen cyborg ruffians Boba had no relationship with any of the Mos Espans that wasn't cut off by their death (Garsa) or them betraying him. All of his other allies were from offworld or other parts of Tatooine and even then the people of Freetown and Peli were brought in by Din Djarin, not because of any connection to Boba.

    It's just such a bizarre way to tell a story. I still don't know why Boba wants to be Daimyo and I don't know why the (surviving) people of Mos Espa want him.

    • Love 7
  7. On 1/30/2022 at 8:31 PM, Anduin said:

    Kathleen Kennedy said they weren't going to recast Leia for TROS, and I think that applies to further portrayals. Even though Millie Bobby Brown looks a lot like a young Carrie Fisher, and Kristen Bell could channel the same spirit. Presence.

    I suspect if they ever did recast Leia Billie Lourd would probably be publicly approached first; even she wasn't interested her 'blessing' would be great PR for whichever actress they did settle on.

    • Love 5
  8. 47 minutes ago, arc said:

    (That said, I'm writing this in a forum about a show that started by killing off Bib Fortuna and crew, and then merciless bounty hunter Boba Fett has spent the rest of his time trying to be a violence-free, crime-free "crime lord".)

     

    Yeah, that has been a real problem for me. It is very hard to read this Lawful Good version of Boba as the same guy he was even as recently as The Mandalorian. Bib Fortuna was obviously not a particularly nice guy but straight up murdering him in cold blood simply to take over his racket seems wildly out of character for the Boba we've been following for the last 6 4 episodes.

     

    53 minutes ago, arc said:

    I'm sad Jennifer Beals went out like that. What an underwritten part.

    It is a mind boggling waste not only of a charismatic (and stunning) actress but also a character with a lot of potential - seriously, a mysterious, morally ambiguous Twi'lek ex-slave who runs a 'neutral' cantina on Tatooine. I mean that's a heck of a hook but the show seems to have gone out of it's way to ignore her.

    • Love 5
  9. 19 hours ago, edhopper said:

    I use to be the same age as Homer and Marge, now they are as old as my niece and nephew.

     

    I turned forty this month. For the first time Homer and Marge would have been in my graduating class... which is wow.

     

    Speaking of weird aging things why is Marge's mother so ancient looking and sounding? I mean I guess she always has been but I never really noticed it before because we see her so infrequently. If Marge is in her very late thirties to seems a bit unusual to have a mother who seems to be in her eighties.

    • Love 2
  10. On 5/28/2021 at 4:26 AM, Lady Whistleup said:

    I feel like David Schwimmer's Ross is the underrated actor of Friends. When I rewatch old episodes I'm amazed at how funny he makes Ross. The other episode that always makes me cry with laughter besides "PIVOT" is the episode where Ross moves in with Joey and Chandler and promptly annoys the hell out of them.

    I think David Schwimmer was maybe the best overall performer on the show, even if Ross the character wasn't always the best written (to be clear I like Ross a lot and think he gets criticised too harshly but I can see why others don't.)

    • Love 13
  11. 21 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

    I was actually wondering about that. The Third Man is one of the greatest movies ever made but do most people know about it nowadays? If you haven’t seen it, it’s really worth watching. 

     

    I'm a huge fan of The Third Man and I just sort of naturally assumed that it is so well known and famous that everyone would get the references. I was a little shocked to see how many people on-line seemed completely unfamiliar with it. 

    I suppose that goes to show though. I'm a film buff and I have a nerdy taste for classic era films and in those circles The Third Man has legendary status. I think I might have overestimated how familiar mainstream people are with it these days. 

  12. 12 hours ago, qtpye said:

    If Marge is 42 than that means she was born in 1979..the height of women’s lib.

    She would be college age in the 90’s...hardly a time women were forced to give up their dreams and become housewives.

    That's one of the problems with writing a character who was originally conceived of as a Baby Boomer (and is still largely written by Boomers) but who is supposed to be nearly the same age in 2021 as she was in 1989. In a couple of seasons Homer and Marge will be Millennials (they are already Xennials) and I'm sure she'll still be a housewife.

    I have to admit one joke I did enjoy was Bart's "it's somehow still cool" given The Simpsons themselves pointed out only last year (in 'Highway to Well') that legalisation has robbed marijuana of much of it's supposed 'coolness' and that future Bart's business is probably about as hip as if he was marketing vitamins.  

    • Love 2
  13. Is it just me or is Lois written as noticeably dumber in recent episodes? I mean she's still smarter than Peter (talk about a low bar!) but we seem to get more jokes at her expense these days.  

     

    "I'm glad you're finally getting your hair cut, Peter. You were starting to look like that Bongo from The Beatles."

    "You know, I always thought that peanut allergies just went away when you became an adult. You know, like tonsils. Tonsils go away, right? I thought I read that. What are tonsils?"

  14. On 4/19/2021 at 2:59 AM, Galileo908 said:

    "Come see where your kid gets sick!" Yeah, that's preschool for ya.

    We get it, we Millennials suck. But at least these were actual millennials. They work, they have kids, they rent overpriced apartments. Peter and Lois are Gen Xers, Baby Boomers they're not young anymore. Chris and Meg? Yeah, technically they'd be millennials. It was nice seeing those two in a plot.

    Yeah, it wouldn't be Family Guy unless all those Millennials' kids ended up dead.

     

    The show has had a Millennial in the main cast for two decades at this point (the 1983 born Mila Kunis) so I'd expect them to realise they aren't teens and that the oldest Millennials are pushing forty.

     

    It's weirder seeing Millennial jokes on The Simpsons, which still uses a 'sliding timescale' but is a bit more realistic. Homer and Marge might have begun as Baby Boomers but they are rapidly entering Millennial territory.

    • Love 1
  15. I liked it but there were enough logical flaws to keep me from loving it. Professor Frink was the one who came up with the burgers (which actually makes him the true villain when you think about it) but he disappeared completely after one scene. Also surely making veggie burgers from rare Amazon plants would be ridiculously expensive? Was Mr Burns prepared to lose money on the deal to be liked? 

    • Useful 1
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  16. On 3/29/2021 at 1:34 AM, Galileo908 said:

    Wow, it was actually Bob Seger this time and not Bob Saget. I wish they did more with him, though, but his cameo was pretty fun regardless.

    "We've got to go make it up to Bob Seger! And our wives."

    Everyone's getting recast, Sarah Wiggum is voiced by Megan Mullally now. It took thirty years, but we finally got some development for her. And Lindsey Naegle. I honestly liked the jewel heist plot. It was fun, and Lindsey's tumble down the stairs was really well animated.

    I liked Fat Tony bonding with Ralph. 

    I guess l would have liked some recognition of the fact Marge and Lindsey Naegle actually have quite a lot of history with each other some of antagonistic, some of it less so. You'd think Marge would remember the woman managed her mayoral campaign. 

    • Love 2
  17. I don't really understand why we were meant to be cheering Marge and Lisa on when they wanted to get the whole club shut down because Marge had an issue with Bart 'sucking up'. Sure the golfers were pretty condescending but they still paid their caddies pretty well, did not otherwise seem to mistreat them and didn't seem to be causing problems generally. If it was a brand new golf course being built over a public park or if they were excluding someone out of pure intolerance then sure, but as it was they seemed to be minding their own business. Even the religion scam was only something they started because Marge was already trying to take them down.

     

    What a weird episode. 

    • Love 5
  18. Just binge watched the show.

    That was an interesting experience. I liked it mostly and will happily watch a second series but as a fan of the original series there were definitely some rough points and I'd have preferred a less cartoonish version of Zack and Kelly and I hope we get a less dim and shallow Mac (I think in retrospect I'd have gone in a different direction with Zack and Kelly's kid generally.)

    • Love 3
  19. On 12/1/2020 at 11:36 PM, Aileen said:

    After finishing the series, I binged some OG SBTB, and Zack really was the worst. I felt like the revival had a duty to be real about Zack and Slater, who was unbelievably sexist.

    I really like the character of Mack and thought he was used perfectly. A little goes a long way and the writers know this. I actually like all of the characters very much. No one is a stereotype and they have a lot of layers as the episodes progress.

     

    By the standards of 2020 Zack and Slater are definitely sexist. By the standards of 1989, especially teen characters, they were sort of normal.

    Which I think is part of my frustration with the show, even though I mostly like it. Values have changed a lot since the original yes and Mac sucks more not just because the actor isn't as charming or because the show wants to mock him but because Zack fit pretty comfortably in his 1989 zeitgeist while Mac is intentionally ridiculous in 2020.

    • Like 1
    • Love 1
  20. On 11/20/2020 at 12:40 AM, 3 is enough said:

    Small nitpick, but during the opening sequence when they were showing the various Commonwealth nations while the Queen was giving her speech they omitted Canada.  Pissed this Canadian off.

     

    They also left out Ireland, which in 1947 was still part of the Commonwealth (we left in 1949.)

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