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  1. Where does it rank compared to superhero movies of recent years?
  2. I think it's far better than most of the recent films. But I'm also quite picky with which Marvel movies I really like. I haven't seen any of the MCU tv series though, but I've heard they're good. It helps to have seen the other Spiderman films when you watch this new one, as it has some nostalgia for the earlier films.
  3. Filmscoregirl wrote
    Wasn't willing to risk the theater in December with covid around, so pre-ordered Spider-Man: No Way Home in 4k blu-ray for my birthday and it was just released this week! I was able to finally watch it yesterday! It was really awesome, and I totally loved it! And definitely cried. I won't give away any spoilers if others haven't seen it yet, but highly recommend for superhero fans!


    I saw it too, by far the most serious Spidermans with Tom Holland. My brother is not a fan of the Marvel films, not of Spider-Man (Tom Holland films) in particular, he loved the older Spider-Man films. So I hope he'll appreciate this one. He needs to get through the first half hour, and then I hope it's gonna be okay wink
    waaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! Where's my nut? arrrghhhhhhh
  4. Yes, I totally know what he means! The Tobey Maguire ones are my favorites. Really disliked Andrew Garfield's portrayal...it's hard to root for the hero when he's arrogant, but I like him more now after seeing this new film because his character matured some. I enjoy the Tom Holland films fine, and thought this newest one was probably the best of them, but it was also the most heart-wrenching. But I'll need to see this new one again before determining the order of their appeal. smile Yes, I think he'll adore the second half!
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeApr 15th 2022
    I'm so tired and weary of of most blockbuster films (and especially superhero things). But I did watch the latest SPIDER-MAN movie out of obligation, mostly. It was OK. The references to previous SPIDER-MAN movies was an added bonus. What I do miss, however, is a desire to explore beyond the mainstream. But maybe it has to do with limited availability, I don't know.
    I am extremely serious.
  5. Some recent viewing.

    Tokyo Vice (episode 1) - So great to see the Michael Mann of The Insider in action again. It is, alas, only a TV-hour. But the sense of place, the love of workaholic characters, the knack for blending romanticism with realist touches: It was welcome, I'll say that.

    Kimi - Steven Soderbergh's latest offering from retirement, starring Zoe Kravitz in the Jimmy Stewart role from Rear Window. I thought it was great. The use of lenses for different parts of the story to characterise the protagonist's agoraphobic is very effective. Cliff Martinez score also superb.

    Alien Covenant and Prometheus. Love the style. Love the actors, and their commitment. Love the real elements in the set design. Prometheus does however, spectacle aside, deserves its reputation for stupidity. Every time I watch it I end up hating myself almost as much as the filmmaker seems to hate humanity. Every time, I hope it's going to be better, and it turns out to be the same film that let me down last time. Covenant has a bit more to redeem it, although the linear nihilistic trajectory does mean that it can be a bit flat. It's a shame, as the themes, that 'faith will not save you' (for Prometheus) and 'loyalty in love will not save you' (for Covenant) are worth exploring.

    The first two films on the list - there's a lot more to find in them, I'll say that.
    A butterfly thinks therefore I am
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeApr 20th 2022 edited
    Don't even get me started on PROMETHEUS and COVENANT. Love them to death, and have written several articles unwrapping their many sophisticated layers. And the more people hate on them, the more I love them. Top movies from each respective year!

    I'm looking forward to TOKYO VICE; heard good things about it from fellow Mann fans.

    As for KIMI, I haven't seen it, but wasn't that thrilled with the score. Martinez tries to do what Reznor and Ross did for MANK, without quite nailing it to the same degree. Big fan of Martinez, but I prefer him more when he's in his standard mode with steel drums and ambient textures.
    I am extremely serious.
  6. The music of Kimi might not be so sophisticated in its construction, but the collision of it with the image is really lovely. Genuine counterpoint. Maybe an editor’s work more than a composer.
    I should probably stress Kimi isn’t Rear Window by any means, but it is clever fun.

    I do agree that Prometheus and Covenant have a lot of richness in them. (The relationship between design and themes is particularly strong.) I can’t ignore the character logic and credibility being sacrificed to the aesthetic effect, but it’s definitely arguable that this is how the genre works. Your articles wouldn’t exist in English would they? (I do like to read about these films, which is why I get frustrated with them when I watch them.)
    A butterfly thinks therefore I am
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeApr 21st 2022 edited
    Alas, my articles are not available in English, but I suppose one can get some understanding out of a wonky Google translation:

    PROMETHEUS (Google Translated)
    ALIEN: COVENANT (Google Translated)

    Looking forward to seeing KIMI. Soderbergh is hit and miss, but that's part of the charm of going into one of his films.
    I am extremely serious.
  7. Watching a few things at the moment. STRANGER THINGS is back, and I was very disappointed with the opening episode - boring and too much feeling like a soap. Hopefully it will pick up. NIGHT SKY has potential but it is a bit slow - they could advance the plot in half the time. THE BOYS is back too. It feels a bit tired now, which is a shame. OBI WAN KENOBI is another disappointment. Slow, full of plot holes and convenient coincidences.

    I also gave THE ORVILLE another go. The first time around I didn't get past the first episode. This time I gave up after the second. I just don't find it very interesting and most of the characters are just plain annoying.

    Here's hoping for THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY next week.

    And, without exception, the music is uninspired or not that interesting.

    One thing that is rivetting is a new BBC show, SHERWOOD (google it!). Two episodes in and it's one of the best things on TV this year so far.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  8. Just finished watching the first three episodes of ANDOR. I am in the group of people who thought that the opening couple of episodes were good scene-setters for what is to come. I like the world that's been developing. Just hope the story delivers. Not sure about Nicholas Britell's score for the show. And what was he thinking when he composed the music for the end of episode 2. Channeling Cassian as some sort of rock idol perhaps!

    I have lost track of the number of episodes of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER there have been so far but I am finding the whole feel of the show not quite living up to the hype and expectation. Not quite by some ways. It looks lovely when you see all those CGI landscapes but the close quarter scenes just look so staged. It doesn't have that lived in feel to it. I haven't listened to any of the albums of Bear McCreary's music yet but there's nothing that memorable that I can think of. The powers that be are certainly promoting the music as the natural successor to Howard Shore's multi-themed musical world. But I can't hear it. So far THE RINGS OF POWER sits well behind the original LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and even behind THE HOBBIT trilogy too.

    By far the most enjoyable thing I am watching at the moment is the Spanish Netflix series ALMA (aka THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR). It's perhaps a bit too young adult to be very good but I am enjoying it. And the very impressively produced crash in the opening episode did a lot to fan the flames of anticipation. Fernando Velázquez's music has helped maintain the enjoyment. It has sounded a bit Bernard Herrmann-y in placed - which has helped enormously. It's a score I look forward sampling separate from the show.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  9. I haven't seen Alma yet, but just listened to the music. As always with Velazquez, it's nice and capable. But I never have the feeling it sticks in the mind. Like always there isn't a hook, a theme or a melody. So sad because he's a capable composer. But for the love of god, use themes or motives to tie it together man
    waaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! Where's my nut? arrrghhhhhhh
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 27th 2022 edited
    ANDOR is pretty good, but so have all the STAR WARS shows been, IMO. Vice versa, the music has been disappointing so far. I had high hopes when Britell was announced. I didn't like him for several years untill he did SUCCESSION, which I loved. So I had hoped he brought some of that classicism into it. Alas not. It sounds rather monotonous and boring, just as every single STAR WARS spin-off has been (except SOLO). I hate this disconnect between the high quality of the spin-offs and the low quality of the music.

    The new competing fantasy shows THE RINGS OF POWER and HOUSE OF THE DRAGONS are also OK, but very uneven in quality compared to the original LOTR films and GAME OF THRONES. There's a slick, digital look to RINGS that also plagued the HOBBIT movies, but I liked the few elements of visual flair and experimentation that Bayona brought to the first couple of episodes. DRAGONS seems to meander a bit at the moment, but will hopefully pick up. Musically, I'm not really impressed with either McCreary or Djawadi's work, but McCreary at least has a couple of nice cues, in the ethereal vein (of course, some of my lukewarm reaction is boosted by the irriating, excessive soundtrack situation).

    Haven't seen ALMA, but I've heard the soundtrack. Nothing terribly exciting, IMO. I'm waiting for Velazquez to wow me again like he used to back in the day.

    I'm watching the new DAHMER series on Netflix, which has received loads of buzz due to how supposedly 'disturbing' it is. Maybe I'm all fucked up because I've seen so many gruesome films over the years, but I don't really find it disturbing at all. It could go much, much further to get closer to the actual horrors that Dahmer inflicted. Then I have higher expectations for the docu series on Dahmer that is expected on Netflix later. Evan Peters is great as usual, though.

    I've also watched a few things on the Thai cave rescue incident a few years ago. First Ron Howard's THIRTEEN LIVES, which I found merely OK. Then I saw the 2021 Thai documentary THE RESCUE, which was much better. While both of these films focussed on the dramatic rescue attempts, there's now even a new fictionalized series on Netflix about the incident seen from the trapped boys' angle. Will probably check that out too. I remember the headlines from when this happened, but I never read much about it since it was in the middle of the summer and the World Cup was going on at the time. So seeing these all these details about the rescue has been very illuminating and dramatic.
    I am extremely serious.
  10. There has definitely been a run of movies and documentaries on the Thai cave rescue. Once the flurry has died down it would be interesting how the different approaches, including how the music, are handled.

    In ANDOR, what sticks in my mind most is the music associated with the flashbacks. Primitive society living in the jungle... We must have ethnic rhythms, etc. Seemed a bit simplified to my ear.

    The story of ALMA doesn't really lend itself to grand thematic moments. The show is pretty low key in terms of content so that probably explains a lot. There's not even much of a title sequence for any thematic material to be established.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeOct 1st 2022
    By the way, I rarely post in "recent viewing"-type threads, because it gets a little too close to work. I channel most of my writing about films I've seen into articles and stuff. But if anyone is curious about some of my 2022 recommendations, I always keep this up-to-date list on new films, ranked:

    https://mubi.com/lists/2022-films-ranked
    I am extremely serious.
  11. Interesting list. Will visit regularly.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  12. Just finished Season 3 of PICARD and, on balance, I am glad it's over.

    It's been a couple of hours now and I am still high on the saccharine-fuelled sugar rush (if that's possible). It was good to see some familiar faces again but the self-congratulatory nostalgia and fanservice exhibited was tiring.

    Similar to all the STAR WARS spin-off shows, I always wonder why I stick with these STAR TREK spin-offs too.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  13. Strange New Worlds is excellent as a reinvention of the classic and original concept.

    Lower Decks is amazing once you get used to the insane dialogue speed.

    Prodigy was a great introduction to Trek concepts for kids.

    Picard was hit and miss in seasons 1+2. I don't mind S3's nostalgia. We've waited two seasons to get it. I consider this TNG Season 8, and it was a much more satisfying conclusion to this crew than Nemesis.

    Discovery is its own thing. Love it or hate it, but it's certainly consistent. People who like it REALLY like it.
  14. Strange New Worlds is probably my pick as a favourite Star Trek spin off series. Though I haven't seen Lower Decks, Prodigy or The Orville ( wink ).

    Picard Season 3, I enjoyed but I thought that the went a bit overboard with the nostalgia. And, as for Discovery, I enjoyed the first few seasons but then it started taking itself far too seriously and it then became annoying.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  15. I agree on the S3 overboarding of nostalgia, but as I said, they gave us three seasons of nostalgia content in one, and I think I'll accept it as a reward for staying with them, but I couldn't really enjoy it because I expected them to drop the ball again any moment, which they didn't, eventually. I will have much more fun on a rewatch, which I will definitely do should they come to their senses and greenlight Legacy.
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 4th 2023 edited
    Enjoyed PICARD. Also dug DISCOVERY because it was so "un-STAR TREK" in many ways (I'm not a big STAR TREK fan, even though I've seen all the films, followed TNG on telly as a young man etc.). Haven't seen STRANGE NEW WORLDS yet.
    I am extremely serious.
  16. After an initial indifference to AHSOKA on Disney+ I watched the first couple of episodes and quite enjoyed it.

    I have no idea of who the character is and I like how detached I am from all the baggage that cones with a familiar character. And, so far, it feels only tangentially related to the larger Star Wars universe. Which is again a positive.

    I have been watching a lot of South Korean fantasy stuff recently. Just finished the second season of THE UNCANNY COUNTER and BULGASAL. Two series on Netflix that are entertaining and also give a bit of an insight into their culture and how they approach fantasy storytelling.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 4th 2023 edited
    FalkirkBairn wrote
    After an initial indifference to AHSOKA on Disney+ I watched the first couple of episodes and quite enjoyed it.

    I have no idea of who the character is and I like how detached I am from all the baggage that cones with a familiar character. And, so far, it feels only tangentially related to the larger Star Wars universe. Which is again a positive.


    A couple of years ago, I did manage to work my way through all the animated "kiddie" shows where she appears as a main character, but I've forgotten most of the plotlines and properties by now, other than that she was Anakin's apprentice. So I went into AHSOKA "semi-fresh". Pretty good so far; Dave Filoni is good at tying his whole mythology together. Tone is lighter than some of the other shows, like THE MANDALORIAN and ANDOR.

    FOUNDATION and INVASION are currently back on for a new season; love those.
    I am extremely serious.
  17. Apple TV is one of the few big streamers I don't have!
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  18. I have yet to find a bad show on Apple TV. Given how cheap it is, the return value is immense. They have a short watchlist, but there is such great stuff on it.