TV/Movies Megathread

[CountDeMoney]

Gillian Anderson is a goddamn fox in The Fall.

Yeah, she has aged incredibly well.  I don't know if she's had any work done--I suspect not--but if she has, it's been excellent.

[celedhring]

Scott Pilgrim - The movie tries way too hard to be weird and stylish and ends up being pretty grating. The leads don't really have much chemistry (Michael's Cera character is pretty unlikeable) so it's hard to buy into the supposed heart of the film. And ultimately all the eye-popping visuals are there to hide that there really isn't much of a story.

I really wanted to like the film, mind, since the concept is neat. Is the graphic novel better?

[CountDeMoney]

Scott Pilgrim - The movie tries way too hard to be weird and stylish and ends up being pretty grating. The leads don't really have much chemistry (Michael's Cera character is pretty unlikeable) so it's hard to buy into the supposed heart of the film. And ultimately all the eye-popping visuals are there to hide that there really isn't much of a story.

Bah.  Bah, I say.  BAH!

I think there's a cultural disconnect at work here.

[Admiral Yi]

I'm surprised you didn't like it Celery.  I thought it was a totally unique take on post-adolescent love and search for manhood.

How could you not like the vegan police?

[celedhring]

The Vegan Police was great.

I really wanted to like it, since it's a 90s lovefest, and I'm a children of the 90s myself. It just tries way too hard and loses the characters in the middle of the fireworks, imho.

[CountDeMoney]

Which characters did it lose?  Other than the ones that were dispatched by Scott? 

[Admiral Yi]

Seedy, I thought you hated Scott Pilgrim. 

[CountDeMoney]

Nonsense, I loved it.  I even made a poll thread specifically about it, which unfortunately like everything else on Languish disappeared after 24 months, because vM murdered the server when he turned on the microwave and coffee pot at the same time. 

[Berkut]

People who don't like Scott Pilgrim are broken in some fundamental way.

Sadly, that includes my wife.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah I enjoyed it a lot too. It's intensely arch, but enjoyable.

[celedhring]

Which characters did it lose?  Other than the ones that were dispatched by Scott?

Well, those for example. We never get much of an idea of what Ramona saw in them (except a couple of animated flashbacks that don't really impact the story). Gideon is the only one that sort of works, because he's the super-successful guy that Scott thinks will never be able to measure up to. The others are just guys to make (sometimes great) visual jokes with. It would have enhanced Scott and Ramona's pathos if we knew more about her through the guys she was with, for example.

My main trouble with the film is that the story takes backseat to the visuals.

[Sheilbh]

My main trouble with the film is that the story takes backseat to the visuals.

Such is the way with all comic book adaptations.

And anything Snyder so much as sniffs at

[celedhring]

Yeah, that's why I will probably check the graphic novel out, it probably works better in that context.

EDIT: Also, I would NEVER dump a girlfriend called "Knives". It's too awesome a name.

[Admiral Yi]

Well, those for example. We never get much of an idea of what Ramona saw in them (except a couple of animated flashbacks that don't really impact the story). Gideon is the only one that sort of works, because he's the super-successful guy that Scott thinks will never be able to measure up to. The others are just guys to make (sometimes great) visual jokes with. It would have enhanced Scott and Ramona's pathos if we knew more about her through the guys she was with, for example.

My main trouble with the film is that the story takes backseat to the visuals.

I'm not sure character development should be the primary focus of a movie about dispatching your competitors with imaginary video arcade swords.

[celedhring]

Well, those for example. We never get much of an idea of what Ramona saw in them (except a couple of animated flashbacks that don't really impact the story). Gideon is the only one that sort of works, because he's the super-successful guy that Scott thinks will never be able to measure up to. The others are just guys to make (sometimes great) visual jokes with. It would have enhanced Scott and Ramona's pathos if we knew more about her through the guys she was with, for example.

My main trouble with the film is that the story takes backseat to the visuals.

I'm not sure character development should be the primary focus of a movie about dispatching your competitors with imaginary video arcade swords.

Well, one of the virtues of this director that I adore is how he manages to mix character development with over the top genre stuff and comedy so effectively. That's what I was looking for in this film, too.