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By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

BYOINFINITYWAR Spoilers, If You Like

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81 Responses to “BYOINFINITYWAR Spoilers, If You Like”

  1. Pete B. says:

    Geez, this is up already and its only Wednesday morning? Looks like I’ll have to avoid this website til Friday too.

  2. Ray Pride says:

    This is here to keep comments out of general threads (which may be moderated.) Steam valve.

  3. Hcat says:

    I have no spoilers just speculation and hopes:

    Stark dies and Panthers little sister takes up the armor. The character has the tech background to make it work storywise, but mostly I just want to see that actress headline a movie, I could watch her onscreen all day all night all week into the following Wednesday.

    Funny, I am not terribly excited about seeing Avengers, or most of the uber-blockbusters but I have still have the giddy pre summer movie season electricity high. Even though after Avengers this summer has the potential to be a complete bloodbath.

  4. JSPartisan says:

    If you want spoilers… FORBES POSTED EVERY SPOILER! Every single story beat, because Forbes never wants access to anything Disney again. Whatever the case, it’s insane that everyone is trying to avoid them, and Forbes just put them out there.

  5. Stella's Boy says:

    I don’t care about spoilers, but why did they do that? Did they state the purpose? Just to start shit and drive traffic?

  6. Hcat says:

    I’m a crank and a malcontent that doesn’t care for superhero movies that much and even I think that, if true, the Forbes thing is an extremely DICK move.

    Why does Forbes even review movies anyway? I can see them writing about the industry itself but Vulture type trend pieces seems like it should be outside their mission.

    I like talking and arguing with you lot but when something like this happens it just reinforces how much the internet absolutely sucks.

  7. Ray Pride says:

    Asian majority owners need clicks. “a majority stake in the publisher had been sold to a group of investors through their vehicle Integrated Whale Media Investments.”

  8. Dick says:

    If this opens as the projections intimate, does David think we’ll see Ayaz finally take the reigns at Disney Marketing?

    What exactly is Ricky doing?

  9. Dr Wally Rises says:

    It’s….. okay I guess. Panther and Thor Ragnarok were more stylish, more irreverent and had the more iconoclastic sensibilities of their respective directors intact. IW starts out well, the coming together of the various branches of the MCU has an undeniable buzz to it, but between the Scotland sequence and the battle of Wakanda things get increasingly baggy, with so many side missions, running gags and routemarking that the initial energy just ebbs away. Thor calling Rocket Racoon ‘The Rabbit’ is funny the first three times. By the sixth time? The audience gets fidgety. The reprise of Peter Parker’ s ‘Do you remember that really old movie?’ rescue trick from Civil War doesn’t work as well this time.

    It is worth seeing. There is at least one character exit (and one character reappearance) that successfully blindsided me. But once the initial hoopla subsides then I expect the bloom to be off the Infinity War rose faster than you can say Star Trek Into Darkness.

  10. Michael Bergeron says:

    my favorite moments in the film were where Rocket Racoon gives Thor his eye back, and the end of credits sequence

  11. MarkVH says:

    Eeeeeeeeeeeh it’s fine. Not great. For a movie that’s supposed to be EPIC it feels small. Everything in it seems smaller than it should, probably because the Russos have no sense of scale. Brolin is good but Thanos’s motivation is totally half-assed. Some really fun moments, mostly in the first hour before the movie just starts repeating itself. No great action sequences, though I suppose that’s to be expected at this point. It doesn’t really feel like a culmination of anything, more like a very special crossover episode. There’s maybe one big character death in it that I expect actually sticks for the next movie – everything else will be retconned. Can’t help but think that even though he’s not a great filmmaker Whedon would’ve handled it better.

  12. JSPartisan says:

    It’s the best film in the entire ten years. It’s incredible on every single level, and it sets up a hell of a finale. Whedon is a hack compared to the Russos, and if you think the bloom is coming off the rose. Don’t be surprised, when this film lives in its own box office neighborhood. 1.8bn.

  13. Amblinman says:

    “The audience gets fidgety“

    Speak for your own audience. Mine lost their ever loving shit the entire movie. Best thing I can say about it is it doesn’t feel like a Marvel Studios movie. It feels like an old school summer blockbuster, and I mean that as a high compliment. So impressed with how the Russos sustained that third act. Thanos might be the single best MCU character ever produced. Minor nerdy complaint: the Black Order deserved better deaths.

    Can’t wait to see this one again tomorrow night.

  14. JSPartisan says:

    Knowing that this can all be waved away. Doesn’t change the profound sadness of that ending, and how badly a lot of people will want it resolved. The audible gasp in my theater, when T’Challa faded away. That’s some effective filmmaking, and it’s a movie led by the best mocap character ever. Brolin was fucking amazing.

  15. Chris says:

    “The audience gets fidgety“

    If by fidgety you mean sat in rapt attention, clapped and applauded at character entrances, and gasped and cried at character deaths, then yes the folks in my packed screening were “fidgety” as well.

  16. Stella's Boy says:

    Simmer down. Not everyone is going to have the same experience just as not everyone feels the same way about the movie. No one is invalidating how you personally feel about it.

  17. Hcat says:

    So how close does the ending of the movie come to the cliffhanger of Issue 11 of the original Secret Wars?

    That was the nerdiest question I have ever ever asked.

    And its obvious that there are some pretty heavy fatalities, how effective were they handled compared to say Superman and Han Solo’s demises (which I both felt were underwhelming)?

  18. MarkVH says:

    Hcat, I’d say for the most part they’re handled pretty clumsily, about on par with Han Solo. They don’t linger on any of them, just kind of check the box and move on, though they do call back to them later (albeit briefly). The Russos aren’t good enough directors to give them any real impact. The second one is probably the most effective and I’m pretty sure it’ll be retconned. YMMV.

    And for what it’s worth, the audience I saw it with didn’t seem fidgety. Ate it up. Seemed mostly blown away by the ending.

    Lastly, I’ll admit to not having loved any of the Marvel movies but this doesn’t even crack the top five for me. Spider-Man: Homecoming, Black Panther, Avengers 1 and Cap 1 and 2 and Guardians 1 are all better (I haven’t seen any of the standalone Thor movies or Guardians 2).

  19. JSPartisan says:

    The deaths are devastating. If you’re invested in this series. Again, Cap just gets his friend back, and.he turns to leaves. The General, gave up her own husband for T’Challa, and she sees him dissolve into leaves. The one that will destroy you is Pete. That’s the closest character to Tony, and he holds him while he dissolves. If that doesn’t move you, then have a good day.

  20. MarkVH says:

    I guess I was referring to the “real” deaths, since the ones you mention will all be undone so there’s no reason to invest emotionally in them.

  21. Hcat says:

    To be fair, Superman was undone as well and we all knew it would be when it happened, but it still should have been a kick to the gut.

    The older kid desperately wants to see it so just wanted to see how rough it will be on her psyche. She handled the near sadistic Dogs Purpose alright and it sounds like the physical representation isn’t gruesome.

  22. JSPartisan says:

    There’s no reason to invest… In Han getting out of Carbonite, Aragron and company saving Pip and Merry, or Marty saving his asshole kids. Your argument, Mark. Negates how sequel movie making works, and how it’s the journey not destination. Again, I’m still fucked up by seeing Pete die on screen. I know the Avengers will fix this, but I’ll never be able to watch Infinity War without watching it’s sequel immediately afterwards. That’s effective storytelling.

  23. MarkVH says:

    Cool, thanks. I didn’t realize how sequel movie making works. Appreciate that explanation.

  24. JSPartisan says:

    Well. The way you were complaining. It seemed like you missed something.

  25. Justaburger says:

    I continue to be impressed by how emotionally invested I can be in these characters, thanks to strong performances and clever screenwriting. I know full well that nothing is “final” in comics per se, but damned if I wasn’t on edge worrying about the safety of these folks while the saga unfolded. I didn’t really WANT any of them to die, although it’s in the best interests of this series to have some of deaths stay permanent (still, Gamora can return ASAP and I’d be happy to have her and Nebula still kicking ass onscreen anytime…and we need Valkyrie to be safe and sound too, wherever she may be).

  26. arisp says:

    Oh god – can’t wait for the inevitable post here saying this should be a best picture nominee. lol

  27. Hcat says:

    So with all the heavy hitters that get wiped, does the next chapter set up Hawkeye to be the calvary and save the day dislodging the gems with some arrows, making the case that even though he has the least powers it is the size of the spirit that can defeat all evil or whatnot?

    I would actually love if the turn of the tide in the next one somehow hinged on a certain already cameoed Waterfowl who has experience in such cosmic affairs. But that is probably way too out there for the billions of dollars at stake.

    Speaking of billions, not sure if Infinity will take the weekend title but Disney should cross the billion domestic threshold by midnight tonight, beating their record by two weeks. And the next billion will be crossed in another six weeks. With that box office it will be hard to watch Thanos and not see Disney.

  28. Justaburger says:

    Who knows? That’s the fun of it all for the time being — we know Ant-Man, the Wasp, Hawkeye and now Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (hell, maybe even Adam Warlock) have yet to make an appearance. All we know for now is a mention of Clint and Scott Lang being under something akin to “house arrest” in order to stay with their families as a result of the events thru Civil War. It’s possible that some of this will be touched upon in July’s “Ant-Man & the Wasp” release, and we’ll get a ton of backstory next March when Carol’s backstory is revealed in her own film. I’ll be impressed to see just how much Marvel keeps under wraps over the next twelve months leading into Avengers 4, starting with the actual title…

  29. amblinman says:

    “Simmer down. Not everyone is going to have the same experience just as not everyone feels the same way about the movie. No one is invalidating how you personally feel about it.”

    Ironic considering the initial comment “The audience gets fidgety” is designed entirely around validating the writer’s own pov on the film.

    I’m somewhere in middle on how affecting the deaths in the movie are. Of course no one really believes, say, Black Panther coming off one of the biggest film runs in history is actually dead. Cynicism and economics tell us these deaths aren’t permanent. But it was handled as effectively as possible, I thought. Peter’s pleading was almost borderline shocking.

    I’ve not been a huge champion of MCU stuff but I’ll give them credit: it struck me as almost miraculous how much history and backstory has been created for virtually every character on screen. We’ve become used to a shared cinematic universe but this is really an incredible achievement, and we should take a step back and appreciate that. Like, it was awesome af to watch two established egotistical dickheads like Strange and Stark go at it, knowing that their first impression of each other would be disdain *because* we know how these characters react to things. (I was also reminded how much I love MCU Dr Strange and how much I want a sequel right now now now.)

    Also loved giving us a dose of the Hulk in the beginning and then hiding him the rest of the film. I’m hoping for a huge “moment” when he finally gets back into the fight in the next film. And hey: Thor is a badass again. I enjoy goofy Thor but it was neat the way the movie reminded us this is supposed to be a legendary warrior who can wreck house.

    “and now Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (hell, maybe even Adam Warlock) have yet to make an appearance.”

    I’m guessing that Marvel is going to take the role played by Warlock in the original Gauntlet series. At least I hope so. Always thought Adam Warlock sucked.

  30. Stella's Boy says:

    Someone having a different opinion does not mean they missed or didn’t get something. Let’s not go down that road. I’ve read about and heard different reactions from people. And that’s OK. It’s bound to happen. Variety is the spice of life.

  31. MarkVH says:

    Thor’s return was definitely one of the coolest moments in the movie. Cap’s first appearance as well, and it’s a shame they couldn’t really find anything interesting for him to do. Guess there’s always Part 2.

    Also, it would have been really cool to give away the name of the next movie after the credits of this one (or maybe before them?). Like an “The Avengers will return in Avengers: XX.” Unless they still haven’t figured out the title yet.

  32. Hcat says:

    The Avengers will return in Avengers against the World Crime League!

  33. Amblinman says:

    Reading Feige’s comments about X-Men not appearing in MCU for years, I believed for a split second they were gonna be the end credits surprise. I thought the timing of Feige’s comments felt too much like a set up for a swerve. But I guess it would have been impossible to film a frame of the second Infinity War movie with X-Men in it secretly.

  34. JSPartisan says:

    They’ve known the title for years at this point. If it’s Avengers Forever, that’s weird to hide it this long. Whatever it is. I’m sure we will know it, by the time Ant and Wasp come out.

    SB, I’m cool with the idea, but the execution usually bites me in the ass :D!

    Arisp, that’s Black Panther!

    The Russos want to do Secret War, so that’s how they introduce the Xmen. Whenever the Xmen show up.

    Jesus, that’s the preferable title.

  35. palmtree says:

    The 9AM screening still greeted moments with lots of laughter and applause. The jokes were funny, and the character dynamics were well-thought out. And it does leave you wanting more (as in WTF now). This movie works, and I’ll probably have to see it again.

  36. Pete B says:

    Amblinman, your comment about Adam Warlock would cause a fistfight at my house. I think Jim Starlin’s run with that title is one of the finest comic sagas ever done.

    It amazes me that with almost 20 movies under Marvel’s belt, half the crowd at my theater still got up and left as soon as the credits started. Are they not aware there’s always something extra?

    One disappointment is that this film crapped all over the ending of Ragnarok, kinda like what Alien 3 did to Aliens.

  37. Stella's Boy says:

    It’s a long movie. Maybe they were tired and didn’t care. I’m aware but I haven’t stayed through the credits at the Marvel movies I’ve seen in theaters. I’m exhausted and just want to go home.

  38. Dr Wally Rises says:

    “For a movie that’s supposed to be EPIC it feels small. Everything in it seems smaller than it should, probably because the Russos have no sense of scale.”

    Mark, yes! Thank you for articulating something I noticed but couldn’t quite put my finger on. For all the $300 million spectacle IW does look a bit poky at points. The New York fight and the Titan sequence look exactly like what they are – a scuffle on a studio backlot and a scuffle on a greenscreen stage respectively. You know a director who can depict superpowers with flair and sell you a sense of grandeur of scale? Bryan Singer, although obviously he’s toxic right now. Gore Verbinski knows how to bring the huge. Gareth Edwards can do it. Even Snyder in the better parts of MOS gave us a proper impact of scale. The Russo brothers? Not so much.

    Pete – I thought of Fincher flipping Cameron the bird a the top of Alien 3 too. The valiant and costly rescue of the Asgardians was now all for nothing. I do hope Doug’s alright….

    And no, in no way can this be a Best Picture nominee. But Brolin absolutely should be a Supporting Actor nominee. As a screen villain he’s right up there with Hopkins’ Lecter and Ledger’s Joker. He makes Thanos charismatic, persuasive and even sympathetic at points, and you never catch him playing evil. Time to look past the mocap stigma and recognise that great acting is great acting.

  39. Stella's Boy says:

    Wally that’s exactly how I feel about The Avengers. I couldn’t believe how cheap it looked. Once the action starts the entire movie looks like it was filmed with the same three-block set. The scale is so small for something that cost so much. Very un-epic. Years later and different directors and it sounds like nothing has changed.

  40. JSPartisan says:

    You both would be the worst production designers, and you obviously do not watch the DC TV or the Marvel TV shows. If you did? You’d see the millions on screen, but please feel free to kick something that’s never ever happened in the 100 plus years of cinema. It’s really giving something a that gives you three dollars, and you’re throwing back nickels. Also, all of the Pirate movies, are small films with set pieces that seem large, but don’t hold a candle to any Avengers film. It’s whatever, but your criticism lacks scale, and Singer? Whoa. That’s hilarious.

  41. Stella's Boy says:

    I would be a terrible production designer as I have no qualifications for it. I watch Jessica Jones. It’s pretty good. It’s hardly a unique complaint. I’ve come across many similar criticisms of The Avengers. Ooh good burn though.

  42. JSPartisan says:

    I love Jessica Jones, and that show fits Wally’s description.. The whole dismissing of these films, in that way, is so 2012. It just comes off as rather pat.

  43. Stella's Boy says:

    I don’t know what that means. Is 2012 that long ago? I don’t really care how it comes off. It’s an honest opinion.

  44. palmtree says:

    The movie did have grandeur. Just look at what they were able to do with Peter Dinklage!

    In all seriousness though, the movie was as grand as it needed to be. And for all the complaints about the action, I thought there were actually quite a few beautiful quiet moments that sold me on the grandeur of distant planets. With all the 18 films and 10 years worth of previous directorial styles and characters and designs and countless decisions that had to be made, the fact that this movie is this good and competent is really nothing to scoff at. Could it be better, sure. But could it have been a lot worse, oh easily.

  45. Amblinman says:

    I don’t get these impressions. The first fight in NYC looked like…a fight in NYC. Titan was supposed to be a destroyed planet. If you guys are saying it looked cheap, I really don’t get that. Reminds me of people who look at CGI and blandly repeat “looks like CGI”.

  46. JSPartisan says:

    Go back to Avengers opening weekend post. It’s the same argument. It can be an honest opinion, but reality can constantly disagree with it. Again, I get that being pissy about these movies is always the hottest take, but slamming the scope and the scale of them. When everyone and their mother is floored by it. Seems pat. Also, SB, why are people forcing you to see movies you just don’t like? I feel for you.

  47. Stella's Boy says:

    So my opinion is fake news? You are so petty and defensive about these movies. Why does everyone have to feel the same way as you about them? How is my take invalid because it’s not just like yours? That is so damn obtuse. And just the comments here prove not everyone is floored by them. No one is forcing me to do anything. I have children. I’ve stated numerous times why I’ve seen some but not all of the marvel movies. I feel for you JS, that you get so bent out of shape because people disagree with you about these movies. You want a sheep mentality. Dumb.

  48. JSPartisan says:

    SB, that’s a bit of an overreaction. Seriously. I’m not dismming your opinion, but stating I feel it’s pat. I don’t remember you saying you have kids, and that’s why I was asking. Seriously. Again. You’re the one getting all bent out of shape. Sorry for upsetting you, but that’s a really out of sorts.

  49. MarkVH says:

    Stella, it’s pretty simple. When you agree with JS, you’re right. When you don’t, you’re disagreeing with “reality.” #MAGA

  50. Stella's Boy says:

    Sad but true Mark.

  51. JSPartisan says:

    If you think that little of me, then you’re just not secure enough in your opinions. My own brother, who I love and adore doesn’t always agree with me, but you’re telling me I throw him out when he doesn’t like something?

    This whole line of thought is ridiculous. I’m not referring to you as assholes for your opinions. You are being an assholes for equating a disagreement over a movie, to a man who just yesterday in front of disabled athletes told them they were hard to watch.

    What’s sad, Stella, is that there’s nothing above insulting you. You overreacted, but you just want to pass the buck. Whatever the case, if I didn’t respect you. I wouldn’t disagree with you… With respect.

  52. MarkVH says:

    I don’t think you’re an asshole, JS. I just think you’re kind of a sonofabitch.

  53. JSPartisan says:

    Mark, I think you’re acting like an asshole, for referencing trump. I really do not care, if you or SB like Avengers. I never have or will, but the comment about the scale is six years old, you probably both made it about the original Avengers, and I find it rather pat. Am I supposed to not reply to something I find preposterous? Should I use a lot of cursing for effect? Again, that I’m trump and sob for disagreeing respectfully to a comment, makes Schumergate seem rational!

  54. Stella's Boy says:

    My friend went to see it last night with a diehard MCU fan, someone we know from work but not very well. After my friend said she didn’t like it all that much and prefers DC to MCU. The diehard MCU fan said she didn’t think they could be friends anymore as she doesn’t trust my friend’s judgment. People, it’s just a movie.

  55. JSPartisan says:

    Yeah. That’s dumb. I also enjoy the Justice League movie, so should I stop being friends with myself? That’s harsh.

  56. Stella's Boy says:

    Next week will be awkward. It is very dumb. Variety is the spice of life. Enjoy whatever makes you happy and if someone doesn’t enjoy it, no big deal.

  57. Amblinman says:

    Stella needs friends that aren’t giant morons, I guess.

    The rest of you simmer down.

  58. Stella's Boy says:

    Not my friend, as I said. Can’t imagine someone like that has many friends.

  59. brack says:

    I’m not sure how Infinity War seemed “small” in scale. The sets and effects were top notch, made the settings believable enough. *shrug*

  60. Hcat says:

    Admit it though, If the coworker said she preferred the transformer verse everyone here would immediately call a cab

  61. palmtree says:

    AO Scott’s “so bad it’s good” review for Transformers 3 convinced me to actually see it in a theater against my better judgment. I still get a chuckle reading that review. Of course it absolutely bored me to falling asleep but still I did give it chance.

  62. JSPartisan says:

    You’re all funny. You make me laugh.

  63. brack says:

    I’m funny how, I mean funny like I’m a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I’m here to fuckin’ amuse you? Waddya mean “funny”? Funny how? How the fuck am I funny? What the fuck is so funny about me? Tell me. Tell me what’s funny.

  64. Ray Pride says:

    Could be the handful of cramped street scenes that stand out: NYC dressed with one postal service van, one NYC cab, one NYPost newpsaper box, or the downtown Atlanta street at the very end with the Rialto marquee in the b.g. Might as well be four people talking inside another foyer/entryway scene that happens to be in a spaceship or townhouse that contains only a big staircase.

  65. Hcat says:

    I believe this is intentional, Disney will eventually attempt to make broadway shows out of all of them and they don’t want the transfer of the action to seem diluted when it moves to the stage.

  66. palmtree says:

    Ray, so if I understand the argument correctly, the thing the movie needed more of was establishing shots? Or maybe just more believable set dressing?

    I guess I can see that, but that didn’t really diminish my enjoyment. I hardly remember those issues, but I’ll look out for it next time. I mean, it wasn’t Rumble in the Bronx level bad where Vancouver looks nothing like NY. Was it?

  67. Triple Option says:

    The movie did do some things that a film with a lesser budget would do to try to make it look bigger. Like the conclusion of the Dr Strange – Tony Stark meeting when Iron Man says, “Are you making your hair move on its own” and then they outside and see all the debris blown down the cross street. There was pretty good anticipation leading up to see what was happening around that corner. It sorta reminded me of ID4 when see the line of cars stop across four lanes, hardened NY cabbies who’ve seen in all, come to a halt and stare mouth agape. Only in Independence Day you get the big payoff of the shadow coming in a straight line across half the screen and the giant space ship sending a laser beam to destroy the Empire St bldg. Here, not so much.

    It’s hard to top everything we’ve seen thus far visual f/x wise but some were somewhat of a letdown. Thanos’ black smoke whirling into being entry would’ve been fine at any other point but when we’re wondering how is he going to get through the force field at Wakanda, it actually felt like a bit of a letdown.

  68. brack says:

    We are talking about Thanos, who was at that point just one-Infinity-Stone-from ruling the universe? I’d bet my life Thanos can walk through force fields at this point. The most powerful being in then universe to be bested by a Wakandan Force field? That’s just silly.

  69. palmtree says:

    I can see the issue of the NYC scenes being not convincing scenery, but it’s an issue on so many other films, not just this one. Certainly could be better, but really doesn’t seem to be a problem most of the time.

    And having the Transformers shot on location didn’t make those movies better (keep in mind I’ve only seen part 3 but it was shot on location in Chicago I think). So I’m just wondering why it’s really important here.

  70. Ray Pride says:

    I have heard at least three people say they were jerked out of the flow of wild-and-crazy galactic complications by suddenly seeing generic street views. Nothing to do with any other film. Just what, for them, was likely a minor quibble in otherwise wholly engaged conversation.

  71. Triple Option says:

    @brack – So why doesn’t Thanos walk through the force field? It would’ve had a greater cinematic impact. As it was, they obviously accounted for the force field presenting some sort of barrier in his present state that’s why he entered as a gas instead of solid. My problem was it seemed like any run-of-the-mill wizard or alien or magical villain from the Marvel world would likely be to do the same. Now if we had seen Thanos go from solid to gas to solid as he approaches and then goes through the wall it would’ve seemed much more impressive. I would’ve rather have seen a more of power display or imaginative entry.

  72. palmtree says:

    Of all the movies with origin backstories, the one we haven’t seen yet is Thanos himself. And I’d totally watch that movie btw.

    Overall, I think there was a lack of explanation of Thanos’s actual powers and how the Infinity stones added to those powers and/or just gave him new powers. I mean, the time stone allows for rewinding time a little. And the reality stone means you can change the reality people see. And the soul stone houses souls? But what about the other ones? And what does getting them all allow you to do (other than snap your fingers and kill half of everyone)?

  73. Night Owl says:

    I get the “small” complaints. The Wakanda battle was appropriately grand and FANTASTIC but everything else was green screen heaven and very “one location”. Where were we on Titan? How big is it? No scale at all.

    It was good. Like every other Marvel movie I enjoyed the hell out of watching it and have already started forgetting it. I’ll be there for part 4 though. It’s just that nothing in these movies sticks. They’re cute, entertaining…that’s about it. Thanos is their first great villain though, and I felt a twinge for Peter Parker (good acting) I will say, and for the real deaths.

    And I will be somewhat impressed if they have the stones (so to speak) to make the “non-dusting” deaths stick.

  74. JSPartisan says:

    Night owl, they got your money. Forget at will. That’s just a weird comment to throw around, for any movie.

    Palm, the space stone let’s Thanos teleport. While the power stone, let him beat the ever loving crap out or the Hulk. You did just experience his origin movie, and why does he want half the universe dead? His home was destroyed by too many people and too few resources. He’s a mad man. They usually just want to do it. Whatever it is.

    And why would they eliminate characters forever? That’s just a waste of acting talent and assets.

  75. palmtree says:

    JS, I’d say this movie was Thanos at his peak, not his origin. Yes, we understand his motives because he talks about them, but it’s not dramatized in the movie itself. That’s all. But it could make a cool movie to see him rise to power almost like seeing the young Vito turn into the Godfather.

  76. Night Owl says:

    Maybe a weird comment JS, but an honest one. I enjoy Marvel like a roller coaster ride but I’ve never had one stick with me. Great movies stick with me.

    And no I’m not talking down about genre, I’m talking genre classics like Jaws, Star Wars: A New Hope, Raiders of the Lost Ark. I also accept though that if I was a child Marvel would probably make an impact closer to that. I love that kids have these, but I’m mystified when adults find them more than a fun evening and a pleasant diversion.

  77. Hcat says:

    For a tiny defense of the MCU, they do a better job revisiting my childhood than Crystal Skull did.

    And I can’t believe I am defending Transformers in any way, but #3 is the only one I can stand, and I was impressed with how they used Chicago, the flying squirrel paratroopers, the trapped in a falling building, the robots scrambling around the skyscraper like Kong. It knocked home that the humans were fragile and tiny and outmatched.

    Raimi did a good job with New York, sending Spidey bouncing through the city like a ping pong, and of course Dark Knight made every crunch of concrete count.

    Now I am more of an enthusiast than an expert, but is this simply camera angles? The Avengers fill the screen with the character, often looking up at them while the others do wide far shots, from a downward angle minimizing them in the frame? Because what helped give the LOTR films the scope were all the helicopter shots of them running through the plains.

  78. JSPartisan says:

    Night owl, now you’re just being funny. If you are confused by people finding profundity in something, then I find it confusing you get that confused by people not being you. Let people be.

  79. palmtree says:

    The moment that gets me in the MCU is when Steve Rogers throws himself on the grenade. In fact, that whole first act of Cap 1 is pretty moving. And then when he says “I can do this all day” in Civil War…that’s pretty great stuff.

  80. KrazyEyes says:

    Comparing these movies to a roller coaster ride is spot on for me. I enjoy them just fine while they’re happening but they don’t leave any lasting impression on me. It’s barely been 48 hours since I saw it but if it wasn’t for this thread I’m not sure I would be thinking much about it — at least until the next MCU trailer pops sometime in the near future.

    I’m done with the current run of DC movies though. At least the Marvel films can say they’re a *fun* roller coaster ride.

  81. Hcat says:

    With the exception of WW the new DC films are less Roller Coaster and more county fair Tilt a Whirl. All grim and blurred images with the stench of stale cigarettes, carnys, and funnel cakes and the only motion you feel is disorientation and nausea.

    And the blonde walking by in the jiggle shorts is the only thing of interest yet you would hardly call that a ‘redeeming’ aspect of the experience.

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon