I disagree. I liked that they didn't got for something so specific for one of the main cast; that'd be too much like wanking off one specific company/franchise over all others.

Edit: Fuck yeah that Gundam scene was the fucking bomb.

 

Just got back from Ready Player One. It was better than I'd thought it would be. A decent popcorn relax story, and try not to think too hard about the gaping plotholes.

Meme game on point though.

 

So, one of my favorite short stories is getting a movie.

How to Talk to Girls at Parties: Trailer.

Now, I understand that to be made into a movie, the story must be lengthened a fair bit. And while the story has been randomly moved to Britain from America, I like that the director is using the opportunity to explore British subcultures at the time. I also get that it would be hard to translate the feel of the book to film, as the strange events were fairly low-key since it's narrated by a boy who's main concern was scoring with one of the girls so therefore ignored everything they actually said. The girls also weren't described in a way that would stand out in a movie (absolutely gorgeous, symmetrical, movie star clothes, weird-colored eyes). It's evident that the genre of the movie is something completely different and I admire a director that is able to bring their own vision to life from the foundation of a different story.

I'm saying this to stifle my automatic reaction of THEY FUCKED IT UP

I just suppose this movie isn't for me and that's completely okay.

Spoiler

YOU BASTARD

 

Aaaand it's been bumped to next year. :/

 

All that means is we must write stories with some New Mutants in them. I choose Magik!

 

I've recently seen Pacific Rim 2, and Tomb Raider.

I forgot I'd seen Tomb Raider. It was another superhero origin story, which I've had quite enough of. And whilst I've not played the recent game, I've some familiarity with it/'s plot. This took just enough from it to be recognised, but dropped enough to pretend to be different, and I don't think it worked.

I honestly can't recommend watching it.


Pacific Rim 2 was awesome.

The soundtrack wasn't as good as the first one, the fights weren't as incredible, and there weren't as many as I would have liked... But I still loved it. I'm a simple man, and giant robots having giant fights amuses me.

Boyega was good on screen, and there was a decent supporting cast. There wasn't (really) an unneeded romance, although there was a "youngster coming of age" thing.

If you liked the first one, give it a go. If you didn't like the first one, you'll not like this one either.

 

I've been reading very discouraging things about PR2, tbh. Consensus that I've seen seems to be that this is little more than an attempt at marketing toys while wrecking the story that the first one built.

 

Except there was barely a story to wreck in the first film. The first was an excuse to have robots punching kaiju. The second is also an excuse to have robots punching kaiju.

I think the only thing really wrong with the sequel is that it didn't do anything novel.

 

The story is connected - the plot follows on from a 'mistake' made by characters in the first film, and the film mostly follows Boyega, who is playing Elba's son (who we never saw in the first film).

But it's not exactly a clever film. There's not really any major plot twists, or really deep lore (although there probably is in the all the books and everything).

One of my major worries going into it was, based on the trailers, that the Jaeger didn't seem to have weight - they moved too quickly, and flipped around like Power Rangers.

There wasn't much of that in the film, maybe a few scenes with one of the larger Jaeger, but mostly only with a smaller one. They didn't seem to lose the feeling of weight they had.

I didn't see it in 3D, but I'm tempted to go back and watch it again.

 

The movie has charm and feels like old class Spielberg. You have a good time, no alcohol required.

 

Ready Player One was very enjoyable, and stayed faithful to the spirit of the book. They changed things and shuffled others around, but that's what you get with adaptations.

What plot holes did you notice?

 

Perhaps plotholes is too big of a word, but it felt like some of the scenes were designed without any idea of the 'culture' behind them.

The first one that springs to mind is the race, and how it was solved.

Spoiler

Maybe companies in the future don't have game-testers, but the point nowadays is to interact with everything, in every possible manner - "if I drive off the road at 65 meters, does anything happen? No, right, then let's try 70! Let's try going backwards!".

I've seen clips of game testers, and it's just running around interacting with everything. And given that IOI was 'killing' off the racers anyway, then it shouldn't matter if they attempted destructive testing of everything.

Then there's the clues.

Spoiler

I've looked up the book versions, which actually look much more realistic, for a nerd to make. I'd have no clue on how to solve them, and they require 'real world' knowledge.

The first two require intensive knowledge of Halliday's life, and then some pop culture. Admittedly, we're seeing the clues being solved by someone really invested in them, but again, it seems like IOI should have been able to brute force them the same way they did the last - watch every single clip of Halliday's life, make notes, pass them up the ladder.

That can be attributed to IOI's incompetence, I guess.

But then the third clue - number ultimate divided by number magic - gives the location REALLY easily. Both clues are pretty much ubiquitous in a modern setting. And for the entire Rebel Alliance to be unable to decipher either feels weird, especially as IOI figure it out themselves.

Finally, locations.

Spoiler

All his friends and his idol all live in the same city? I could buy it if the Oasis had geographical servers, but given H's statement of "I could be a fat dude in Detroit!", it doesn't seem likely they're on a city/state basis.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the film. Not enough to go and see it in the cinema again, but it was good.

Having actually looked into it, my issues are more with the changes made from the book. They're not so much plotholes, as things that stretch disbelief just that little bit too much.

 

Solo dropped a new trailer. Really don't know whether to be excited or not. Main actor has more of a voice in this one, and I can see some Han in his one-liners.

But it looks like your typical 2018 heist flick. Basically Fast and Furious but set in the Star War universe. I'm thinking it'll be entertaining, but can't help but feel like it'll be disappointing as a Star Wars installment.

 

I'm thinking the exact opposite. I like this trailer a hell of a lot more than the last one. They were trying too hard to make it feel awe inspiring in the first; the second lets the movie speak for itself. Alden still doesn't feel like Han Solo, but that's pretty much impossible to pull off well enough for me to like it.

I'm a lot more hyped for this than I was.

 

After the Last Jedi...I just cannot summon any enthusiasm for star wars movies.

Luke was my favorite character and their interpretation of him as an older man still makes me frustrated.

I'm not petty enough to say they killed my childhood or some other bullcrap...I just don't care about the cinematic star wars anymore. If you need me I'll just be rereading the Thrawn Trilogy.

 

Fans excited as 'Solo' trailer sheds light on specifically how it will suck.

Sometimes, the Onion is more truth than satire.