Mr. Hakujin

Saw it in IMAX 3D and was not disappointed. The plot was actually much better than I thought it'd be. The cadet story line had an Ender's Game light vibe to it. Characters were cookie-cutter yet not boring. Only real gripe I have for this film is the fights weren't as dynamic and captivating as the original...

Did you see it in IMAX or 3D, Axels? No question if I'm gonna see this in the theater, only question is if I shell out the extra dough for an IMAX 3D ticket. Saw the first one in IMAX 3D and adored it. I'm not expecting this one to be near the same level though. Just hoping for some fun, cool looking battle sequences and maybe a little Charlie Day levity.

S5E14 Big payoff to this whole "fear dimension rift" plot point this episode. Kudos to the writers for turning what initially came across as a filler, cliched plot point to some really serious character moments. And that tag scene at the end--so much confusion and questioning going on.

Dear God, please let Deadpool 2 be half as good as that trailer promises it to be.

Thanks to HondoShare Vudu account I spent the evening finally watching Coco and 16 of the 17 special features. (I'll have to revisit it later to watch the commentary.) Wow. Homerun doesn't begin to describe this film. The fact Pixar took six years to make this film and was able to collaborate on such a grand scale is just yet another testament to why they are (arguably) the greatest movie studio/production company of all time. No hyperbole. If you've ever watched a Pixar film featurette then you know how wildly dedicated they are to story and production detail. The story often changes drastically from conception to completion. But Coco has the added layers of music and cultural authenticity. Looking at documentaries on the research and music behind this film was almost as enjoyable as the film itself.

S2E09 This episode was just outstanding. None of my previous critiques on the writing or pace apply here. Everything on point. Also, I see where this is going for Hogarth. It won't be pretty. S2E10 Twelve minutes in: Wow. That's impressive. Malcolm may be my new new hero. Twenty minutes later: Nvrmnd.

I just finished S2E8 and I'm definitely more mixed on this season thus far than I was on S1. For my money, JJ S1 was one of if not the best overall seasons of TV Marvel has put out. Tennant's Purple Man & introducing Luke Cage had a lot to do with that, but I felt the overall arc and flow of S1 was more on point. To be reductive in my critique of the writing, S1 had a few "filler episodes" but S2 feels like it's got more filler "per episode." On the plus side for S2: I like the lead actress's performance a lot more. Ritter's Jones was hit or miss for me in S1, but in S2 she's really reaching a more honest, layered performance for me. And even though I don't really find the growing supporting cast of characters as interesting, the acting is so solid it's saving some writing and pacing issues I'm having with the episodes thus far. Even Hispanic David Mack, which is written thus far just about as cliched as you can get, is coming across as tolerable thanks to the performance. Trish and Malcolm (associate status unlocked!) are having a really interesting season thus far. Hopefully that doesn't go south in the last five episodes. Some spoilery comments on S2E1-8:

I've watched that new trailer five times already. It's a bitter-sweet moment for me to be so much more excited by an MCU film than a Star Wars film coming out a few weeks later. Only thing wrong with this trailer though is there is no...

I haven't really been watching this film too closely, but that looks like Mystique over there on the far right. I thought J-Law was done with the X-films, no? Or is the character re-cast?

Yeah, this latest one was a filler episode up until the last five minutes or so. Feels.

Busy weekend, so I haven't started it yet. I wanna re-watch some of the S1 stuff, too. I'm hoping to knock S2 out this week coming up though.

That would be kinda epic, but I doubt it.

Cast looks amazing. I watched the Azn trailer for it, but I'm gonna pass on this for a bit. Same reason I let Homeland go by the wayside after five seasons--I'm just not down for real life terrorism drama at the moment. This shit scares me worse than anything Blumhouse, A24, or Rian Johnson can put out.

Caught the finale (last three episodes) last night. Wow. That was a great ending...until the epilogue...

@The NZA would you give this latest episode...two thumbs up? I straight up had like three people mock me talking like SHIELD was part of the MCU in that the show takes place in the same universe still. They acted like I was eating crayons for thinking the show still dwells in the same universe as MCU. I can't be the only one who still thinks these films and TV shows are all connected, right?

I finally caught all of S1 on HULU and it was a lot more layered than I expected it to be. Really enjoyed it. Kudos to Glover. Gonna have to wait a while for S2 though. Not living in a storage unit broke, ya know, but it's like cable is worth it--but it's not.

Is it just me, or did anyone else find this latest episode...disarming?

It will once you see S4E12-13. I swear that's Indiana Jones music they're playing when Ezra is "researching" the temple paintings. Looking forwar to seeing how this all wraps up next week with the series finale. S4E13 Spoilers

Annihilation was surprisingly cookie-cutter and ridiculously glacial in its pacing. It was acted well and shot beautifully, but ultimately it's a film that reaches for heights of cinematic metaphorical greatness but falls very short of its goals. Game Night was a surprisingly solid adult comedy that didn't rely on improve and has hilarious, well formed characters that actually have a story arc. It's also shot wonderfully.

That "11 Joins A Gang" episode wasn't terrible, but it did fell like one of those episodes from the 80s or 90s that was meant to be the introduction for a whole bunch of characters that are about to get their own spin-off show.

Well, it's happened... S8E9

Yeah, these breakdowns are really cool especially considering Vanity Fair has been putting them out while the movies are still in theaters. Taika W. did one for Thor Ragnarok that was great, but I’m not sure if I posted it in that thread or not. Definitely worth giving it a look. And here is something else pretty awesome. Mark Bernardin is probably my favorite film critic/analyst at the moment. He’s the only reason I subscribe to Kevin Smith’s channel on YouTube. He used to be a film critic for the LA Times but quit in order to pursue his dream as a full-time screenwriter. He wrapped up his first job on the new Hulu series Castlerock and as far as I know it’s still currently looking for another gig. Anyway, he has a keen eye for observation and analysis and is a true-blue diehard geek. I always look forward to hearing his thoughts on a film, especially superhero and sci-fi genre stuff.

I finished S1 last night and it was pretty fucking spectacular. I purposely avoided reading much about the books to avoid any spoilers. However, I do know there are two more books in the series and the author said in a recent interview the attention around the Netflix show has inspired him to possibly...

I’m so ready for S2 of this series. I really hope it was worth the wait as S1 is still probably my favorite of all the Marvel TV shows thusfar.

Maybe my favorite scene of the film: