Unpopular Opinions

[WritinMan]

I don't care about The Lion King remake.

I don't care about the original version either. I've never seen it, and have no interest in seeing it.

[methodwriter85]

I was 8 in 1994 and I never really cared about Lion King or its remake. I did, however, LOVE Pocohantas although I'm positive that Disney isn't going to touch it with a 10-foot poll. (Some say that Moana was a spiritual remake of Pocohantas.)

[topanga]

30 minutes ago, WritinMan said:

I don't care about The Lion King remake.

I don't care about the original version either. I've never seen it, and have no interest in seeing it.

I loved the original. But like Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast, it did not need a live action remake. It's not even live action. Isn't the entire thing CGI?

This is all a money grab. 

[Annber03]

I'm only planning to see the new Lion King simply because I like some of the cast involved. That's it. 

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, WritinMan said:

I don't care about The Lion King remake.

I don't care about the original version either. I've never seen it, and have no interest in seeing it.

I've seen the original.  And I've seen the theater musical.  But of Disney's animated glory years of the 90s, it's my least favorite.

I do like much of the cast in the remake so I wish it well. I won't be seeing it, though.

[Crs97]

I saw the animated movie and theater musical.  After the impressive opening number on stage, which I loved, I found myself bored and ready to leave.  My family knows I have no interest in the live-action movie.  Yet l loved live-action Cinderella and Jungle Book.  Maybe they have to be remakes of movies of my childhood and not adult life?

[cpcathy]

23 hours ago, WritinMan said:

I don't care about The Lion King remake.

I don't care about the original version either. I've never seen it, and have no interest in seeing it.

I can't like this post enough. I have never seen Lion King, and I never wanted to.

Total and complete money grab by Disney (like someone upthread said): remake all the animated films so people will by the animated versions and then the remakes. I think it's heinous.

[Danny Franks]

On ‎7‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 5:07 AM, GaT said:

I don't know if this is a UO or not, but I am sick to death of all the fawning over Beyonce being in ""The Lion King". I'm watching E!News, & they are at the premiere & everybody is (including the other actors in the movie) "oh! I'm breathing Beyonce's air!" She was also the only actor who didn't give any interviews. She brought along Jay & Blue Ivy, & of course Blue Ivy couldn't be dressed like a regular little girl, she had to be coordinating with mommy. 

Not once have I ever understood the fuss about Beyoncé. Is she a decent singer? Sure. But that's about it. She's not got a transcendent voice, she doesn't write particularly good songs (I'm assuming she writes them). She's a perfect case of fame making someone special, instead of the other way around.

[Blergh]

While I like the concept of Eddie and the Cruisers, the fatal flaw is that the title character is SO entitled, surly, obnoxious and annoying to virtually every other character he interacts with that

Spoiler

when he seems to have bit the big one,

one feels relieved rather than saddened. I suppose they were trying to avoid sanctifying the character but surely they could have given him so redeeming feature besides being a great singer! 

[topanga]

On 7/12/2019 at 4:01 PM, Danny Franks said:

Not once have I ever understood the fuss about Beyoncé. Is she a decent singer? Sure. But that's about it. She's not got a transcendent voice, she doesn't write particularly good songs (I'm assuming she writes them). She's a perfect case of fame making someone special, instead of the other way around.

I do think Beyonce is a talented performer. She's a decent singer, pretty good dancer, and she gives energetic, creative live performances. 

But people who've met her says she has that It factor that makes her a star--she walks into a room, and the lights around her brighten. I've also heard people say this about Julia Roberts and J. Lo-- early in their careers, before they were famous, people would meet them and say, "She's going to be a star."  

No, being a star doesn't mean you're in a once-in-a-lifetime talent. And she kinda sucks as an actress. But she puts butts in seats.

Also, I don't think people are going to see The Lion King just because of Beyonce. It's the nostalgia factor, the all-star cast, or in my case, because my kids want to see it, and I'd feel like a bad mom if I dropped them off in front of the theater then peeled off in a cloud of smoke with tires screeching. 

[Shannon L.]

19 minutes ago, topanga said:

But people who've met her says she has that It factor that makes her a star--she walks into a room, and the lights around her brighten. I've also heard people say this about Julia Roberts and J. Lo-- early in their careers, before they were famous, people would meet them and say, "She's going to be a star."  

When I was working at a mall near Beverly Hills, an elderly man and I struck up a conversation and he said pretty much the same thing about Marylin Monroe.  He said that she glowed, like there was a light surrounding her.  I didn't quite understand what he meant until Jacqueline Smith walked in one day.  I'd describe her the same way he described Marylin. I wouldn't be surprised if Beyonce was the same way.

[slf]

I'm talking about the '94 adaptation because it's the only one I like, but I like child Amy? (Adult Amy is pretty boring, owed at least in part to the actress' incredibly, uh, subdued performance.) For starters she's hilarious; when Jo reveals she's cut and sold her hair, Amy laments, "Oh Jo, how could you? Your one beauty!" Lol. What a brat, I love her. Or when Jo scandalizes her by suggesting they allow Laurie to join their club, "We bare our souls and tell the most appalling secrets!" But she was also insightful, at times moreso than her older sisters. "You don't need scores of suitors. You only need one, if he's the right one." Or, after hilariously declaring she wants to be "disgustingly rich" when she grows up, "We all have to grow up someday, Meg, we might as well know what we want."

But she's also refreshingly and to a degree relatably childish, like wanting the limes because all the other kids had them. Even when she burned Jo's manuscript (and her paralyzing fear when Jo comes home and Amy's brain catches up to her actions and she knows an ass-whooping is imminent), which is easily the worst thing she did. That's such a classic way kids lash out at a sibling: destroy something they care about, like a favorite toy.

She's a very well-written, flawed, character played perfectly by Kirsten Dunst.

[HunterHunted]

On 7/12/2019 at 3:01 PM, Danny Franks said:

Not once have I ever understood the fuss about Beyoncé. Is she a decent singer? Sure. But that's about it. She's not got a transcendent voice, she doesn't write particularly good songs (I'm assuming she writes them). She's a perfect case of fame making someone special, instead of the other way around.

She is infamous for changing a word or two in songs written for her and demanding a song writting credit. "Baby" becomes "honey" and vice versa. "Oh, oh, oh" turns into "ooh, ooh, ooh." There have been a decade worth of pieces on the subject.

Also Beyonce is a terrible actress. She was barely satisfactory in Dreamgirls. I was 14 when the original Lion King came out. I wasn't a fan then. The middle is flabby and the songs aren't that great. I've seen the stage show. Julie Taymor was able to do amazing things with an unbelievably mediocre inspiration. I don't give a flying fig about the 3D adaptation.

Edited August 17, 2019 by HunterHunted

[Shannon L.]

Ok, now that the fan fare seems to have died down, I'm going to say this about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood:

I love Brad Pitt.  I really do.  I think with the right movies, he's a great actor.  But, I don't think he was any big deal in this movie.  He wasn't bad, but I don't get the fawning over him.  He played the straight man with a few good lines and one funny scene at the end when he was tripping.  Yes, I'm well aware that sometimes the part without the range is harder to pull off, but I just don't recall anything about his character that makes it a great performance. 

[scarynikki12]

1 hour ago, Shannon L. said:

Ok, now that the fan fare seems to have died down, I'm going to say this about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood:

I love Brad Pitt.  I really do.  I think with the right movies, he's a great actor.  But, I don't think he was any big deal in this movie.  He wasn't bad, but I don't get the fawning over him.  He played the straight man with a few good lines and one funny scene at the end when he was tripping.  Yes, I'm well aware that sometimes the part without the range is harder to pull off, but I just don't recall anything about his character that makes it a great performance. 

He isn't one of the standouts for me (that would be Margot's glowing Sharon and the scary as fuck Manson followers) but I thought he and Leo were great opposite each other (I legit hope they liked working together because I want them to do it again). If the positive reactions are focusing on their dynamic I would understand and agree with them. If focusing on just Brad's character then I'd agree with you that him alone doesn't stand out.

[slf]

When it comes to Beyonce's singing, she's either disliked for being average or defended for being more talented than she's given credit for. But here's my unpopular opinion: she's a good but unimpressive singer and that's part of what makes her so appealing. The vocal talent gap between male and female singers, especially in pop, would be hilarious if it weren't depressing. The majority of female singers can belt meanwhile most male singers...can't come close, to put it politely (YouTube once recommended me a video of a guy on some singing competiton show doing a Whitney Houston song and I almost had a rage stroke from how mediocre it was but everyone was losing their shit even tho he couldn't hit any of the notes). So here's Beyonce, an average singer most of the time, and she's probably one of if not the most popular performer in the world. Good for her! 

[Blergh]

Because this got mentioned in Not Total Recall TV Series subforum, others brought up TV series their teachers showed for 'educational' purposes. I'd like to offer a couple of humdinger movies that my teachers showed for the same ostensible reasons. Back in junior high, while we were studying Orwell's Animal Farm, the teacher insisted we had to see the WHOLE movie of Nicholas and Alexandra so we'd 'get' the book. Never mind that Mr. Orwell's tome had had nothing to do with the Russian Revolution and had no hemophiliac heir- nor was there any Rasputin figure- just pigs who forced a human farm family to amscray!   As tragic as that movie was, at least it wasn't cynical, perp-porn reveling in sadistic, random cruelties and violence as what a high school lit teacher showed us with Apocalypse Now that he insisted we watch so we'd get the book source of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.  Oh, I've never forgotten the chill I felt as a good number of the boys in class laughed at the line of equating a murder charge in combat with issuing speeding tickets at the Indy 500!  Anyway, I guess I'm putting this here under the 'what were these teachers thinking' heading. 

Edited August 21, 2019 by Blergh
Joseph Conrad for Camus

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, Blergh said:

Because this got mentioned in Not Total Recall TV Series subforum, others brought up TV series their teachers showed for 'educational' purposes. I'd like to offer a couple of humdinger movies that my teachers showed for the same ostensible reasons. Back in junior high, while we were studying Orwell's Animal Farm, the teacher insisted we had to see the WHOLE movie of Nicholas and Alexandra so we'd 'get' the book. Never mind that Mr. Orwell's tome had had nothing to do with the Russian Revolution and had no hemophiliac heir- nor was there any Rasputin figure- just pigs who forced a human farm family to amscray!   As tragic as that movie was, at least it wasn't cynical, perp-porn reveling in sadistic, random cruelties and violence as what a high school lit teacher showed us with Apocalypse Now that he insisted we watch so we'd get the book source of Camus's Heart of Darkness.  Oh, I've never forgotten the chill I felt as a good number of the boys in class laughed at the line of equating a murder charge in combat with issuing speeding tickets at the Indy 500!  Anyway, I guess I'm putting this here under the 'what were these teachers thinking' heading. 

Not your point, but it was Joseph Conrad who wrote Heart of Darkness.

Yeah, those are some inappropriate movies, especially Apocalypse Now.

[proserpina65]

Notting Hill is not a good romantic comedy.  It's neither particularly comedic, having only a few moments which I found even slightly amusing, nor romantic at all.  I spent the entire movie wondering why, exactly, William wanted to be with a spoiled, entitled, self-absorbed bitch like Anna.  There was absolutely nothing likeable, interesting or endearing about her character, and the way she used William to make herself feel better and then practically denied knowing him when he came to her movie set was unforgivable, imo.

Edited August 20, 2019 by proserpina65

[festivus]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

Notting Hill is not a good romantic comedy.  It's neither particularly comedic, having only a few moments which I found even slightly amusing, nor romantic at all.  I spent the entire movie wondering why, exactly, William wanted to be with a spoiled, entitled, self-absorbed bitch like Anna.  There was absolutely nothing likeable, interesting or endearing about her character, and the way she used William to make herself feel better and then practically denied knowing him when he came to her movie set was unforgivable, imo.

All that is true yet for some reason I love that movie anyway. Must be the Hugh Grant syndrome. 😄

[proserpina65]

On ‎08‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 1:13 PM, festivus said:

All that is true yet for some reason I love that movie anyway. Must be the Hugh Grant syndrome. 😄

He was very appealing, as was a lot of the rest of the cast.  Too bad the movie around them was so lackluster.

[Crs97]

Yes, the iconic “I’m just a girl standing in front of a boy . . .” line makes me roll my eyes.  Hard.  Then again, my UO is that I don’t think Julia Roberts is particularly good in any of the rom-coms she’s known for.  She’s the weak link for me.

[Mabinogia]

3 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

Yes, the iconic “I’m just a girl standing in front of a boy . . .” line makes me roll my eyes.  Hard.

The only good thing about that line is when Tahani said it to Chidi on The Good Place...with a little tweaking. 

[ShadowHunter]

It sucks as fans about the whole Spiderman situation but Tom Holland was not fired. In fact the actor is alive some people are talking and acting like he has passed away. That is silly.  

I'm tired of hearing about this already.  As fans it is annoying I don't deny that but the MCU will go on lol.  I know Tom did nothing wrong so it is not fair to him but still it is not the end of the world. As far as Spiderman time will tell what happens to his character. 

[Mabinogia]

I'm disappointed, but yeah, it's not the end of the world.

I am glad that he was able to finish up the Avengers storyline, and more specifically the Peter/Tony storyline. I'll still watch Spidey so long as Tom is playing him because I fell in love with the actor. He just is the most adorable guy I have ever seen. His personality shines.  

[ShadowHunter]

On 7/11/2019 at 4:26 PM, WritinMan said:

I don't care about The Lion King remake.

I don't care about the original version either. I've never seen it, and have no interest in seeing it.

I've seen the original but never loved it the way others did. I would take Flounder and Sebastian over all the Lion King characters. 

[Crs97]

The opening scene of The Lion King is magnificent.  The rest is fine.

 The best thing about the movie for me was the Disney commercial parody with the mom leaving the dad alone with the three kids.  After she leaves the two older kids beg the dad to “do it again” and he agrees.  Mom left something at home and walks in to all the stuffed animals and the two kids on the floor of the living room cheering the dad, who is singing while holding up the baby.  The baby has face makeup on and looks very confused.  We still laugh at the memory.  Best ad ever.

[Kel Varnsen]

I have realized that even though Ron Burgundy seems to be Will Ferrell's most popular character and probably his favourite I prefer Ricky Bobby. I have a bunch of Ron Burgundy podcast saved on my phone that I haven't bothered to listen to, but I would be all over a Ricky Bobby one.

[Raja]

1 hour ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I have realized that even though Ron Burgundy seems to be Will Ferrell's most popular character and probably his favourite I prefer Ricky Bobby. I have a bunch of Ron Burgundy podcast saved on my phone that I haven't bothered to listen to, but I would be all over a Ricky Bobby one.

I wish I hear radio had an ignore button as they keep trying to push that show. One misstroke on your phone and it starts up again. And it sits on your recently listened to list just waiting for another mistake 

[ShadowHunter]

On 9/1/2019 at 9:09 AM, Kel Varnsen said:

I have realized that even though Ron Burgundy seems to be Will Ferrell's most popular character and probably his favourite I prefer Ricky Bobby. I have a bunch of Ron Burgundy podcast saved on my phone that I haven't bothered to listen to, but I would be all over a Ricky Bobby one.

I thought it was Buddy from Elf.  I have lost count how many times I have seen the Gif of him saying "You sit on a throne of lies" It's used at Christmas and well the whole year lo.l.  I see people wearing Buddy and Elf shirts during the Holidays.  Son of a nutcracker! is also a popular quote.  

[Spartan Girl]

I want nothing to do with the new Joker movie.

If Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips had just continued with what Christopher Nolan gift-wrapped for them -- a homicidal psychopathic anarchist with no backstory or motivation other than just a simple brutal desire to watch the world burn and laugh while doing it -- I would have been fine with it.  Maybe.  But that's not what we're apparently getting.  Unless the trailers are doing one hell of a bait-and-switch, the movie is yet another villain sobstory blaming society for turning one man insane.  "Boo hoo, the world is out to get me, I have to go evil."

No.  Just no.  That's. Not. The. Joker.

In every Batman incarnation I've ever seen, there was never, NEVER any need to justify the Joker's actions, let alone make him sympathetic.  We loved to hate the Joker, found him entertaining, but NOBODY ever felt sorry for him.  Jack Nicholson's Joker was an asshole from beginning to end.  Mark Hamill's Joker was the maniac Clown Prince who got his kicks from murder and mayhem.  Heath Ledger was a gleeful anarchist.  Jared Leto's Joker sucked, but he never tried to give the Joker any nuance.  Not even The Lego Batman Movie tried to pull that crap -- Lego Joker's main motivation is that he wanted acknowledgment as Batman's greatest enemy, and that was it.  The only time they ever tried with the tragic backstory was in The Killing Joke, and even that was questionable since towards the end Joker admits that he makes up so many origin stories in his head that he doesn't know what the truth is anymore (so it all could have been fake).

And even though Phoenix is supposedly doing his own thing, I truly feel that the movie in general is trying to replicate Heath Ledger.  And it's wrong.  We don't need a fucking tragic Joker.  It goes against everything he ever stood for.  I don't care how much buzz this movie is getting before it's even out.  I will not see it.  All I will do is probably look up the spoiler on Wikipedia the next morning, snort in disgust, and pray that this isn't one of the rare superhero movies that actually wins an Oscar.

 

[GHScorpiosRule]

19 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

I want nothing to do with the new Joker movie.

If Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips had just continued with what Christopher Nolan gift-wrapped for them -- a homicidal psychopathic anarchist with no backstory or motivation other than just a simple brutal desire to watch the world burn and laugh while doing it -- I would have been fine with it.  Maybe.  But that's not what we're apparently getting.  Unless the trailers are doing one hell of a bait-and-switch, the movie is yet another villain sobstory blaming society for turning one man insane.  "Boo hoo, the world is out to get me, I have to go evil."

No.  Just no.  That's. Not. The. Joker.

In every Batman incarnation I've ever seen, there was never, NEVER any need to justify the Joker's actions, let alone make him sympathetic.  We loved to hate the Joker, found him entertaining, but NOBODY ever felt sorry for him.  Jack Nicholson's Joker was an asshole from beginning to end.  Mark Hamill's Joker was the maniac Clown Prince who got his kicks from murder and mayhem.  Heath Ledger was a gleeful anarchist.  Jared Leto's Joker sucked, but he never tried to give the Joker any nuance.  Not even The Lego Batman Movie tried to pull that crap -- Lego Joker's main motivation is that he wanted acknowledgment as Batman's greatest enemy, and that was it.  The only time they ever tried with the tragic backstory was in The Killing Joke, and even that was questionable since towards the end Joker admits that he makes up so many origin stories in his head that he doesn't know what the truth is anymore (so it all could have been fake).

And even though Phoenix is supposedly doing his own thing, I truly feel that the movie in general is trying to replicate Heath Ledger.  And it's wrong.  We don't need a fucking tragic Joker.  It goes against everything he ever stood for.  I don't care how much buzz this movie is getting before it's even out.  I will not see it.  All I will do is probably look up the spoiler on Wikipedia the next morning, snort in disgust, and pray that this isn't one of the rare superhero movies that actually wins an Oscar.

 

 

I don't think I need to type out how I feel, as these gifs express my thoughts clearly.

[festivus]

15 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

And even though Phoenix is supposedly doing his own thing, I truly feel that the movie in general is trying to replicate Heath Ledger.  And it's wrong.  We don't need a fucking tragic Joker.  It goes against everything he ever stood for.  I don't care how much buzz this movie is getting before it's even out.  I will not see it.  All I will do is probably look up the spoiler on Wikipedia the next morning, snort in disgust, and pray that this isn't one of the rare superhero movies that actually wins an Oscar.

I'll probably see it eventually but your post fits in with my UO and it's that I don't particularly care for Joaquin Phoenix. I've seen him in movies but I'm trying to sit here without googling to see if I can remember any of them and I can't. He may be a great actor but he doesn't stand out to me. Plus I guess he's going to steal the Oscar that I think should go to Taron Egerton but probably won't because Rami won last year for BR. Another UO is I don't really care about award shows, I think they're a bunch of horse hockey because certain kinds of movies and performances aren't considered. A movie doesn't have to be "serious" to be a great movie with great performances.

[GHScorpiosRule]

54 minutes ago, festivus said:

I'll probably see it eventually but your post fits in with my UO and it's that I don't particularly care for Joaquin Phoenix. I've seen him in movies but I'm trying to sit here without googling to see if I can remember any of them and I can't. He may be a great actor but he doesn't stand out to me. Plus I guess he's going to steal the Oscar that I think should go to Taron Egerton but probably won't because Rami won last year for BR. Another UO is I don't really care about award shows, I think they're a bunch of horse hockey because certain kinds of movies and performances aren't considered. A movie doesn't have to be "serious" to be a great movie with great performances.

I mostly agree. With the caveat that I do like award shows. Well, when my favorite actors are nominated. And I will not lie. I believe Daniel Day-Fucking-Lewis deserved every single award and Oscar he received. There should be an Oscar for Sex-On-A-Stick, and he should have won it for his performance as Nathaniel in Last of the Mohicans.

What?

[Dandesun]

14 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I mostly agree. With the caveat that I do like award shows. Well, when my favorite actors are nominated. And I will not lie. I believe Daniel Day-Fucking-Lewis deserved every single award and Oscar he received. There should be an Oscar for Sex-On-A-Stick, and he should have won it for his performance as Nathaniel in Last of the Mohicans.

What?

He was brutally hot in that movie. It hurt to look at him he was so beautiful.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Just now, Dandesun said:

He was brutally hot in that movie. It hurt to look at him he was so beautiful.

Yes! Yes, he was. The scene dubbed "The Kiss" OMGEEEE. And when he tells Cora to submit and survive, and that "I'll find you." Okay, must get out the bluray and rewatch again.

[Spartan Girl]

I love Daniel Day Lewis too. But this brings me to another UO:

I hated Phantom Thread. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 minute ago, Spartan Girl said:

I love Daniel Day Lewis too. But this brings me to another UO:

I hated Phantom Thread. 

While I love him and think he's great in almost everything, while I may love his performance, there have been times I've hated the movie. Like Nines or whatever it was called, the one he did with Sofia Loren, and the dancing and singing. Bleach. And that other indie movie, directed by his wife, where his character and the character's daughter had an icky incestuous relationship. Blech.

[festivus]

3 hours ago, Dandesun said:

He was brutally hot in that movie. It hurt to look at him he was so beautiful.

True and I felt the same about Madeleine Stowe.

Edit: I just looked up DDL and I expected his IMBD list to be longer. I realized I haven't seen him in anything since In the Name of the Father!

[methodwriter85]

12 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Yes! Yes, he was. The scene dubbed "The Kiss" OMGEEEE. And when he tells Cora to submit and survive, and that "I'll find you." Okay, must get out the bluray and rewatch again.

I rewatched it about a year or two ago. I was kind of surprised at how well it held up.

Quote

I hated Phantom Thread. 

I somehow managed to catch all the Best Picture nominees for 2017- the first and only year I've ever done that, and I agree. I couldn't stand it.

Edited September 6, 2019 by methodwriter85

[Browncoat]

13 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I love Daniel Day Lewis too. But this brings me to another UO:

I hated Phantom Thread. 

Agreed.  I didn’t like it, either.

[Crs97]

Daniel Day Lewis tends to chew a little too much scenery for my liking.

[Danny Franks]

Yeah, I have no interest whatsoever in The Joker. Even as a character in the comics, I find him tiresome and rarely worth the hype he gets. But I really have no time for nihilistic adaptations that glorify him in particular, and villainy in general.

The Killing Joke is one of the worst things that happened to Batman comics, and even Alan Moore, the man who wrote it, regrets having done so. It sparked off this desperate attempt by so many writers to humanise a character who is essentially just the personification of malevolent chaos. To explain and justify someone who exists to be the antithesis to Batman's desire to create and maintain order.

[Crs97]

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

The Killing Joke is one of the worst things that happened to Batman comics, and even Alan Moore, the man who wrote it, regrets having done so. It sparked off this desperate attempt by so many writers to humanise a character who is essentially just the personification of malevolent chaos.

I hate this trend as well.  I also blame it on the success of the novel and the musical Wicked.

The other day I read an article that called Maleficent a “beloved Disney character” and found myself saying aloud, “What the hell?!?”  

[Wiendish Fitch]

The CW's Supergirl is the furthest thing from a perfect show, but there is a moment from last season that is, IMO, damned near perfect. J'onn (aka the Martian Manhunter), calls out bloodthirsty terrorist Manchster Black (whose fiancee was murdered by people associated with the season's Big Bad) on his crap by snarling,

"I think you're glad that Fiona's gone! With her out of the way, it gives you an excuse to DO ALL THIS!!"

Exactly. That is why I hate the trend of villain apologia. Just let 'em be evil. I don't care about their mom issues, dad issues, that their sibling got 10 hugs a day and they only got 9, the prejudice they endured, the fact that they always got picked last for dodgeball, whatever.

I. Don't. Care. 

We all have choices, and if you choose wrong and hurt innocent people? Well, sorry not sorry, my sympathy goes out the window. Everyone doesn't need a backstory, and I sometimes think backstories make villains less sympathetic and interesting, not more. 

Just let the Wicked Witch be wicked, she was more fun that way.

Just let Maleficent be a petty sociopath, we don't need to know why.

Just let Gaston be a popular, entitled asshole jock who gets away with stuff, because making him a war veteran is not only weird and muddled, but it's rather insulting to real veterans.

Just let the Grinch be some dude who hates Christmas; make him in the wrong, not the Whos (seriously, why would you make this a "both sides" narrative?!).

Just let the Phantom of the Opera be some psycho who ends up alone, don't write some crappy, lurid fanfic sequel that rewards and justifies his criminal behavior (too late in Andrew Lloyd Webber's case).

Edited September 7, 2019 by Wiendish Fitch

[Spartan Girl]

What pisses me off about the new Joker is that since none of it directly relates to Batman canon anyway (other than taking place in Gotham), Todd Phillips could have just made it it an original story about a clown that goes psycho yadda yadda and re-titled it "Happy" since

 

that's supposedly his mom's nickname for him

. Todd Pihillips gets his edgy super villain movie, Joaquin gets his stupid Oscar, and the Joker is left alone. But nope. I guess it wouldn't get the same attention.

I think JK Rowling deserves a lot of credit for not going down that route with Voldemort. Yeah, his mom died, his father abandoned him and he grew up in an orphanage, but he never really gave a shit about any of that. The truth was he was always a sociopath who always wanted power and always enjoyed hurting people even as a child. 

Edited September 7, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[Mabinogia]

58 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

I think JK Rowling deserves a lot of credit for not going down that route with Voldemort. Yeah, his mom died, his father abandoned him and he grew up in an orphanage, but he never really gave a shirt about any of that. The truth was he was always a sociopath who always wanted power and always enjoyed hurting people even as a child. 

Voldy was the perfect example of that Supergirl quote. He used the things that happened to him as an excuse to do the things he wanted to do. Dead mom, deadbeat dad, and orphanage upbringing are the best things that ever happened to him because they freed him from having to be a decent human being. That is a good villain backstory. It explained who he was without giving him a free pass for who he became.

I don't get the impression she wanted us to be all "aww, poor Voldy, no wonder he is the way he is". It was more an example that evil is evil not a result of upbringing since the hero of the story, Harry, had both parents die and was raised in a closet by people who actively hated him but he didn't use any of that as an excuse to do bad things.

[Jazzy24]

8 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

The CW's Supergirl is the furthest thing from a perfect show, but there is a moment from last season that is, IMO, damned near perfect. J'onn (aka the Martian Manhunter), calls out bloodthirsty terrorist Manchster Black (whose fiancee was murdered by people associated with the season's Big Bad) on his crap by snarling,

"I think you're glad that Fiona's gone! With her out of the way, it gives you an excuse to DO ALL THIS!!"

Exactly. That is why I hate the trend of villain apologia. Just let 'em be evil. I don't care about their mom issues, dad issues, that their sibling got 10 hugs a day and they only got 9, the prejudice they endured, the fact that they always got picked last for dodgeball, whatever.

I. Don't. Care. 

We all have choices, and if you choose wrong and hurt innocent people? Well, sorry not sorry, my sympathy goes out the window. Everyone doesn't need a backstory, and I sometimes think backstories make villains less sympathetic and interesting, not more. 

Just let the Wicked Witch be wicked, she was more fun that way.

Just let Maleficent be a petty sociopath, we don't need to know why.

Just let Gaston be a popular, entitled asshole jock who gets away with stuff, because making him a war veteran is not only weird and muddled, but it's rather insulting to real veterans.

Just let the Grinch be some dude who hates Christmas; make him in the wrong, not the Whos (seriously, why would you make this a "both sides" narrative?!).

Just let the Phantom of the Opera be some psycho who ends up alone, don't write some crappy, lurid fanfic sequel that rewards and justifies his criminal behavior (too late in Andrew Lloyd Webber's case).

Thank You!!! 

This. Is. Exactly. Why. I. Hate. Most. Of A Game of Throne characters. 

I think GRRM is a good writer but him saying that every character isn’t just evil and giving them some tragic background to explain their evil drives me crazy. 

I get that bad things happen to everyone, good and bad, rich and poor, pretty and not so pretty, etc.. but that’s not an excuse. And the way some people defend these characters’ actions has me questioning humanity. 

[kiddo82]

This conversation reminds me of this video.  I thoroughly disagree with this video.

[Wiendish Fitch]

1 hour ago, kiddo82 said:

This conversation reminds me of this video.  I thoroughly disagree with this video.

Was Syndrome the hero? I can answer that in 2 words:

FUCKING NO!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited September 8, 2019 by Wiendish Fitch