<![CDATA[Movie reviews and discussions]]>Hey I don’t think a thread about movies exists. If it does please feel free to move this post there.

Black Panther 2 was very good. Easily the best post-Endgame phase film so far.

Just to get it out of the way, the things I didn’t like: Ironheart (as a character) was below par, and her portrayal… eh. The final fight too wasn’t anything special.

The things I liked: Shit, everything else. I’m not a fan of Letitia Wright’s after her anti-vaccination public stance came out but she killed it. Angela Bassett’s Ramonda almost stole the entire film. Even support characters’ arcs like Okoye, Nakia, hell even Martin Freeman’s Ross were really well done.

Wakanda itself was a character, and it was played really respectfully. Its culture, dress codes, traditions were quite memorable.

At last, a genuinely great movie from this franchise in phase 5.

]]>https://brandmu.day/topic/255/movie-reviews-and-discussionsRSS for NodeSat, 04 Apr 2026 17:03:33 GMTSun, 13 Nov 2022 01:32:01 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Wed, 27 Dec 2023 02:19:28 GMT]]>Godzilla Minus One was the live-action Grave of the Fireflies/Kaiju film mashup I never knew I needed in life.

It’s wonderful but also a gut punch.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/21066https://brandmu.day/post/21066Wed, 27 Dec 2023 02:19:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Mon, 25 Dec 2023 22:31:46 GMT]]>@Kestrel We saw that last weekend, and REALLY enjoyed it. It was beautifully done.

Also, we saw Wonka today. And while a MUCH lighter version… The same concept of evil corporate empires vs. dreamers and collaborators was subtly but beautifully woven through it.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/20979https://brandmu.day/post/20979Mon, 25 Dec 2023 22:31:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Mon, 25 Dec 2023 21:29:38 GMT]]>I really liked The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

It exceeded my expectations for the YA dystopia genre. I never read the books, because the fad hit its stride when I was just exiting my YA phase. And I think I wrote off the entire series because I mentally associated it with Twilight nonsense.

Honestly though, I recently rewatched the entire film series and now feel like I was actually too young to understand it when it first came out. Propaganda, the main theme of the series, was too big of a word for me at the time. The events of Mockingjay are surprisingly topical to current events, and the series got better with each successive instalment.

My Jewish arse watched the new prequel on Christmas Eve, the very last day of it being shown in cinemas in my local area, so it may be too late for most people to catch it in on the big screen now. But I’d recommend streaming/pirating it; don’t write it off for its target audience. The storytelling is heavy-handed in places, but the themes are surprisingly mature.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/20976https://brandmu.day/post/20976Mon, 25 Dec 2023 21:29:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Sat, 19 Aug 2023 01:11:32 GMT]]>@Jennkryst said in Movie reviews and discussions:

@Kestrel said in Movie reviews and discussions:

I give the Barbie movie 3 stars.

I give the hilarious meltdowns over it 5 stars.

Both of these feel like they are rated far too low.

12/10. Would watch the screeching man-baby tantrums again.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/18838https://brandmu.day/post/18838Sat, 19 Aug 2023 01:11:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Fri, 18 Aug 2023 22:52:15 GMT]]>@Kestrel said in Movie reviews and discussions:

I give the Barbie movie 3 stars.

I give the hilarious meltdowns over it 5 stars.

Both of these feel like they are rated far too low.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/18828https://brandmu.day/post/18828Fri, 18 Aug 2023 22:52:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Fri, 18 Aug 2023 19:14:17 GMT]]>I give the Barbie movie 3 stars.

I give the hilarious meltdowns over it 5 stars.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/18827https://brandmu.day/post/18827Fri, 18 Aug 2023 19:14:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Sat, 22 Jul 2023 07:07:00 GMT]]>@Coin said in Movie reviews and discussions:

Barbie knocked it out of the park.

Watching the crowds all dressed up in pink was almost as much fun as the movie.

Almost.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/17488https://brandmu.day/post/17488Sat, 22 Jul 2023 07:07:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Sat, 22 Jul 2023 03:38:22 GMT]]>Barbie knocked it out of the park.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/17487https://brandmu.day/post/17487Sat, 22 Jul 2023 03:38:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Wed, 07 Jun 2023 17:50:00 GMT]]>Hey, you. Yeah you, right there. Go see Spiderverse 2. It is good and everyone should see it. EVERYONE.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/16330https://brandmu.day/post/16330Wed, 07 Jun 2023 17:50:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Wed, 24 May 2023 01:17:30 GMT]]>Moonage Daydream was amazing. I’m a huge Bowie fan and it was perfect. Just perfect.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/16169https://brandmu.day/post/16169Wed, 24 May 2023 01:17:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Thu, 27 Apr 2023 02:44:21 GMT]]>I was disappointed by Evil Dead Rise, and can’t recommend it. The spoilers that follow don’t mention anything specific, but do speak in generalities that might give away more than you want to know. I’m mostly spoilering it because I feel kind of guilty about being so negative about a movie I was looking forward to.

Long story short, I was bored throughout the whole movie. The editing made it seem almost like the TV cut of an R-rated movie. I enjoy the Evil Dead movies because they are all transgressive in some way and do not flinch from showing us the violations they visit upon their characters, often breaking horror movie rules to do something truly shocking and upsetting. This movie kept the violence at arm’s length. Hell, several of the kills literally happen off-screen, which, after the visceral brutality of especially the movie’s predecessor, I found underwhelming at best.

But more substantively, I just don’t think it’s very well made. I felt the scares were all telegraphed so far in advance everything felt predictable, and that’s an absolute death knell for horror. The movie had good ideas it seemed to not have either the budget or the technical skills to achieve, judging by how it was edited to never let us see the monsters, the attacks, the kills. The writing kind of grates, with characters regularly expositing their relationships in dialogue or inserting references to previous movies at the absolute worst spots like it’s actively trying to pull me out of the moment and make me say, “Oh yeah, I also remember when that guy said that thing thirty-five years ago.”

The actors are doing their best but seem to be getting no direction, just standing around making faces at something off-screen instead of doing anything interesting. The setting is interesting enough, moving things to an urban location and coming up with new ways to isolate the protagonists from any help, which makes it feel super weird they include five or six minutes of the Deadites going back to the woods for no apparent reason. There are big changes to the lore that are potentially intriguing but feel wasted here because things that could have been surprises for the audience get explicitly listed off to the audience by NPC exposition.

The whole thing feels like a giant misfire to me. I really hope everyone else enjoys it more than I did.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15816https://brandmu.day/post/15816Thu, 27 Apr 2023 02:44:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Wed, 26 Apr 2023 10:55:46 GMT]]>I loved Evil Dead Rise. Felt fresh and enough like the old one to make me happy! My S/O got through it way better than they thought they would and liked it. But I loved it, she has only seen the first evil dead before, so not addicted like myself.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15807https://brandmu.day/post/15807Wed, 26 Apr 2023 10:55:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Thu, 20 Apr 2023 14:04:24 GMT]]>That cheese grater though

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15786https://brandmu.day/post/15786Thu, 20 Apr 2023 14:04:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Thu, 20 Apr 2023 12:06:42 GMT]]>@GF Fair! It’s been my favorite movie series since I was a teen. I even loved the remake and the show. But my S/O has the same worries.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15784https://brandmu.day/post/15784Thu, 20 Apr 2023 12:06:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Thu, 20 Apr 2023 12:02:57 GMT]]>@BloodAngel Part of me is very excited to see the new Evil Dead movie and part of me is very worried I won’t be able to stomach it.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15783https://brandmu.day/post/15783Thu, 20 Apr 2023 12:02:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Thu, 20 Apr 2023 02:38:23 GMT]]>Renfield was awesome! It was exactly what I wanted dumb fun and a bloody good time! Seeing Evil dead on Sunday! SO PUMPED!

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15777https://brandmu.day/post/15777Thu, 20 Apr 2023 02:38:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Thu, 06 Apr 2023 05:49:57 GMT]]>I’m looking forward to seeing this film, but I’m worried that my absolute love of The Gamers film series will marr my appreciation.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15541https://brandmu.day/post/15541Thu, 06 Apr 2023 05:49:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Thu, 06 Apr 2023 03:42:15 GMT]]>@Coin No, but in the context of me already saying I think the druid is the weakest character…

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15536https://brandmu.day/post/15536Thu, 06 Apr 2023 03:42:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Thu, 06 Apr 2023 03:34:33 GMT]]>@Cobalt said in Movie reviews and discussions:

@GF We’ll have to disagree there. I thought she was fantastic and her arc more read to me that she was learning to trust outsiders. Plus, she was just the type of sarcastic curmudgeon I loved.

Personally I found the ex-thane paladin to be the weakest character.

@GF said in Movie reviews and discussions:

@Cobalt I disagree about the paladin, but only because I found him hilarious in a very meta way. How many games I have been to where someone rolls too high for their starting stats and plays a paladin who’s literally too good for the rest of the party? It cracked me up.

These two things are not mutually exclusive.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15535https://brandmu.day/post/15535Thu, 06 Apr 2023 03:34:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Thu, 06 Apr 2023 01:49:52 GMT]]>@Cobalt I disagree about the paladin, but only because I found him hilarious in a very meta way. How many games I have been to where someone rolls too high for their starting stats and plays a paladin who’s literally too good for the rest of the party? It cracked me up.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15522https://brandmu.day/post/15522Thu, 06 Apr 2023 01:49:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Thu, 06 Apr 2023 01:40:54 GMT]]>@GF We’ll have to disagree there. I thought she was fantastic and her arc more read to me that she was learning to trust outsiders. Plus, she was just the type of sarcastic curmudgeon I loved.

Personally I found the ex-thane paladin to be the weakest character.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15521https://brandmu.day/post/15521Thu, 06 Apr 2023 01:40:54 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Wed, 05 Apr 2023 20:35:46 GMT]]>@Cobalt The tiefling druid. There were just a couple too many scenes for my taste where her character was standing around looking lost because the screenwriters or editors (my intuition says editors, but I can’t back that up at all) decided her primary character arc should be learning to like-like a guy she’d been too mean to.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15496https://brandmu.day/post/15496Wed, 05 Apr 2023 20:35:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Wed, 05 Apr 2023 20:31:29 GMT]]>@GF Inyook my niece and nephew (18 and 20), and they both really enjoyed it despite never having touched a D&D book in their life.

Which one is Sophia Lillis?

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15495https://brandmu.day/post/15495Wed, 05 Apr 2023 20:31:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Movie reviews and discussions on Wed, 05 Apr 2023 20:28:17 GMT]]>Just got out of the theater! I love it. Opening up with a character explaining their backstory to a DM-insert NPC who’s telling them to get on with it sets the mood excellently. The characters are likeable, the story’s pretty good, the action is inventive and inspiring, and all the actors are doing good work, though I’m a bit disappointed at how little they gave Sophia Lillis to do. I think my biggest criticism is that I wonder how much this movie could possibly appeal to anyone who isn’t already a D&D fan given that the lack of exposition seems to assume a baseline amount of familiarity with the material, so in that regard the movie’s choice to omit any kind of divine magic (despite having two divine characters) feels like a craven capitulation to a group of prospective critics who already think D&D is a satanic guidebook anyway so who cares what they think?

Let’s call it 8/10. I had a good time and would definitely watch it again.

]]>https://brandmu.day/post/15493https://brandmu.day/post/15493Wed, 05 Apr 2023 20:28:17 GMT