Really? I thought the DCEU sucks because of terrible scripts, but what do I know...

 

Yes and no, I loved Man of Steel personally but I hated BvS because of the writing. The set pieces were fantastic but the actual script felt so damn forced it was like someone held a gun to the writers baby’s head. I certainly don’t expect to be universally agreed with but personally I feel like the script issues came about because the writers were held under the incredibly stupid premise that “Okay, make this gritty and realistic for a superhero movie but humans with fancy toys have to be a credible threat to the living god.” It’s why I loved Justice League so much, they didn’t nerf Superman down. Batman wasn’t some omniscient threat that can defeat anything with prep time, he was barely worth a bitch slap and tossed away like a sack of garbage as soon as Clark saw Lois. The Flash tried using his speed to blitz him and to me the moment where Superman’s eyes turned and tracked him with ease was amazing. The sheer look of dawning horror that said “Oh dear god no, I have made a tragic fucking mistake and am about to die for it” when Barry realized it is now one of my favorite scenes ever. Wonder Woman tried going mano e mano with him and not only was he completely unharmed but he head butted her into the ground hard enough to make a crater through concrete and barely even broke his stride.

 

There's no reason for the Justice League to exist thanks to that movie. Heck, it makes every movie about the individual characters going forward into a joke. Superman solves everything, the end. If that doesn't happen it's just plot (in)convenience.

That aside, the DC movie and tv franchise is a mess. Movies that should've been tv shows (suicide squad), tv shows that don't matter since they don't sync up with the movies, etc. They're trying to ape Marvel but they don't have the confidence in their products and end up half-assing them as a result.

And this is just them mismanaging the movies and shows. If they actually try to portray actual DC crisis events they'll end up rebooting their movie universes and jump the shark entirely.

 

I have to disagree, I think that the movie does an excellent job at demonstrating one very simple idea, what actually happens when Superman loses the kindness, nobility and compassion that makes up who he is. If he really wanted to he could turn every single one of them into a greasy stain but he doesn’t because he’s a symbol of hope.

I thought it was probably the most apt quote I’ve ever seen about Superman when I saw this.

It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then... he shoots fire from the skies and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him. - Bruce Wayne

 

As far as the movies go, they've cemented all their new characters as second-fiddle to him and it shows a remarkable lack of confidence in any of their franchises to bring superman back pretty much immediately after his death in BvS. Their movies aren't going anywhere, not even Wonder Woman's. Superman's own portrayal in his own outings are going to detract from any success future films about him outside of a reboot (which will also not go well due to audiences being fed up with reboots by this point). They've put themselves into a corner that they might not be able to get out of. Sure the individual movies might make money but there's nowhere for them to go- certainly not like Marvel has.

To use one specific example- the fact that this Flash wasn't the same actor or character as the one from the tv show shows a lack of confidence in the franchise on both sides as well as incredibly incompetence given the amount of money surrounding DC's properties. They made a movie franchise. They made a successful tv show. They're already trying to copy Marvel and hey have their own niche fanbase. If they don't want to go all-in, then the people in charge of said franchises shouldn't be, as they don't understand it the way someone in their position really should. I'm not saying "I could do it better" so much as I'm saying that they're fundamentally mismanaging DC right when they're losing the opportunity to take advantage of it. It's either before superhero movies stop being popular (something all movie genres experience) or a decade or so after Marvel pulls the plug on its movie production.

I'm looking at it from the perspective of the media franchise, not the in-universe reasons. Frankly, I don't bother with powerlevels in DC because it's wildly inconsistent and will no longer be canon in a few years due to reboots anyway. But that's a comics discussion; a separate matter entirely.

 

I for one am super glad that the shitty DC show characters weren't included in the movies.

 

Just seen Bright.

That was really fun.

The elves (or is it just the inferi elves?) are all really good at parkour. They dress real flashy too. I'm curious as to what their power of scent actually does. They kinda like to touch a lot. Oddly sexual? Sensual? I don't know. Or maybe it's just elf!Bellatrix who's a bit of weirdo.

Jakoby had some funny lines. Was surprised to find out the actor's Australian. Will Smith and another cop with a damsel in distress (but with a twist, cos she's a witch) made me think of Bad Boys.

The opening scene was enough of a set up for the AU. Just had to pay attention to the graffiti, and then the movie fills in the blanks as you go along. They also tried to make a few statements about gender and race. If there's other types of humanoids, who gets the short end of the stick?

As for the plot being a bit WTF, I agree. I remember Chronicle (only other Landis film I watched) being very weird that way too.

I guess this movie served as laying the groundwork for a bigger project while doubling as a cop action comedy.

But also, Will Smith is Harry Potter.

 

Regarding DC and Justice League specifically, I'm surprised Zack Snyder hasn't come out and claimed that JL ticked off Injustice too because Superman was "evil" for 5 minutes.

 

Eagerly anticipating My Days of Mercy.

 

I'm sure the plot's going to be quite excellent. xD

Might go check Bright sometime soon. Looks like an enjoyable ride.

 

r/WatchItForThePlot

Now that I've been made aware of it, I am also eagerly anticipating the movie.

 

Bright does not get the honor of "worst film I saw this year" because one of the rules there is "must have been released in theaters this year."

 

Saw Bright. Colour me unsurprised that the criticism is hyperbolic at best.

 

'Bright' was great. People who want every little thing explained to them need to learn to watch the damn movie. With luck they'll continue on with it.

 

So Australia got Coco suuuper late - came out on the 26th of December here - so sorry if this seems late or if it was already discussed, but Coco is easily my favourite movie of last year and Pixar's best by far imo. The themes really hit close to home, I loved all the characters and, as usual for Pixar, it's visually stunning.

It does my head in seeing these movies awarded in the 'animated' section as if they don't stand on their own against the non-animated darlings.

This fucking movie hit me in the feels like nothing I can remember. Even hearing the soundtrack sets me off like a little bitch-baby.

Speaking of, I highly recommend the Spanish OST. The songs in the movie were top notch, but for me I could really tell (or at least it sounded like) they were Spanish songs translated into English. They flow much better in Spanish, even if I can maybe understand one in twenty words at best.

 

To touch on what @Gengar said, Inside Out (Pixar's 2015 thing) is a masterpiece and emotionally, it was a wrecking ball. I never really got the feels of Up, but Inside Out hit me like nothing since Bridge to Terabithia.

 

Up is miles and miles ahead of Inside Out imo. I think Inside Out was overhyped. I went in expecting greatness and came out disappointed. It didn’t resonate with me at all.

 

I wouldn't call it overhyped, I think it's an excellent movie that resonated really strongly with lots of people.

I wasn't one of those either, but i can easily see how it could.

 

@Gengar, Coco isn't out in the UK till next week, so you're positively early with it as far as we're concerned!

 

Wtf I get it coming out early in Mexico, but wtf is with this ridiculous staggered release...?