So I watched American Assassin and was a bit disappointed. The action is okay but the plot and the characters, especially the MC, have left me wondering if this was intended to be a "deconstruction" or not. Because the main character is one of the most uncharismatic and unlikeable characters I have seen in recent memory and some of the plot/actions are extremely cringeworthy.

 

American Assassin's big "event" at the end was pretty cool visually. I always like Michael Keaton which added some texture to the movie as the main actor/character was quite bland. It had a 70s spy movie feel without any political correctness message. I was entertained but it's not a movie I would watch again.

 

I was less down on Mitch. The character in the books gets more interesting with age too.

 

I saw Thor: Ragnarok on the weekend. So good! I highly recommend it.

 

Just managed to catch Thor 3.

This movie could've been 2 straight hours of Cate Blanchett walking in a straight line and I would have been satisfied.

I mean don't get me wrong, fun movie, but y'know. Always room for improvement.

 

One thing that always little surprised me was that there apparently isn't any billionaire wishing to do a Mary Sue Self Insert character on bigger scale. Instead of writing a fic, just do a film with biggest stars of whatever genre is their favourite with them as their equal.

Until now that is.

The main hero, Jack Ma, is one of the wealthiest people in the world and the chairman of Alibaba Group.

Can't say I wouldn't do something like that if I had a money, though I would probably do a blockbuster fantasy film based on one of my unfinished books.

 

At first I thought the hero of the film is a dude named Jack Ma who's the head of the fictional Alibaba Group, because it sounded too silly to be real. Then I clicked the link and found out that there is indeed a man named Jack Ma and he presides over the adorably named (in a Disney-like fashion) Alibaba Group. TIL.

 

So I just watched the new Netflix original, Bright. Directed by David Ayer (who did the tremendously shitfucked Suicide Squad) and written by the weirdo Max Landis. I--

I don't know what the fuck that was supposed to be. Apparently critics hate it, but audiences love it. I'm more with the critics. It's a strange blend of tough noir, buddy cop drama, and fantasy (elves and centaurs and orcs and magic and shit).

Some things just don't go together. Landis really wanted to mix a cop drama with high fantasy (think Dark Lord type stuff, prophecies and magic McGuffins) and... I don't know, it's just weird. Like, I kinda liked it in the beginning, I was expecting something like District 9, with fantasy races as stand-ins for minorities so the movie can deliver race relations social commentary, but it went totally off the rails. The climax left me kind of stunned because I don't what the fuck that was supposed to be. The film seems like it lacks some kind of grounding, some plot elements I thought were entirely out of place. I can't even really decide if I like it or hate it.

It's like it's hitting uncanny valley, because the world presented seems too normal, too much like the real world to accommodate the fantasy elements, I feel like it should be stranger. All of my wut.

 

I liked it, but it needed more at the ending. The ending was too open ended.

Biggest weakness of this was it’s a buddy cop flick in real/fantasy world, but does very little to world build. I liked it, but it could have benefitted from a prologue explaining the history of the world.

Would work better as a book series or tv series than a single movie imo.

 

That’s good to know. A sequel exploring Ward’s abilities as a bright could be fascinating.

 

I really enjoyed Bright. It had a strange and surprising vibe which felt really fresh. Can't really put my finger on why exactly. It also feels like a cinema movie and a tv movie at the same time as production is on cinema level but its pace/editing is closer to TV.

Still wondering how Smith got involved in this production.

Definitely worth seeing.

 

FTFY

 

^This.
Movie critics are some of the whiniest little bitches to exist. They’ll complain about literally anything they think will get their name more notoriety.

Also I just saw Justice League and I absolutely loved it. If nothing else the entire scene where they revive Superman made the movie worth it. They actually put a good portrayal of Superman’s power on screen for once and I laughed until I could barely breath when they showed that when Clark stops dicking around Batman is barely worth a backhand and is in no possible way a credible threat to him. Also the scene where Aquaman tries to jump him with his trident and Supes barely even looks at him before punching him several city blocks away was pure gold.

 

I know but barring the Wonder Woman movie I’ve always kind of felt that it was a more of a fanboys not being catered to problem as opposed to DC actually making a bad movie.

 

Now that is 100% fair, Marvel is one hell of a juggernaut to try and match with in the Superhero movie genre. I just feel that DCs movies are getting a hell of a lot worse rap than they deserve.