ValueSubtracted

joined 2 years ago
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I supported Section 31 until I saw it.

Hey, nothing wrong with optimism.

Hell, I still think that story could have been decent, had it been a 10-episode series as originally intended.

But yeah, I think SFA has turned out a very strong first season, so far.

And of course, the Vietnam War is the perfect setting when you're not looking to make jingoistic propaganda.

After I made this post, I read that Apocalypse Now was a direct influence of this, and...well yeah, that tracks.

As long as Star Trek remains popular enough, I think it might be advantageous to not be considered one of the "crown jewels" - flying under the radar has its advantages.

David Ellison seems to genuinely love movies - I had high-ish hopes back when he was initially looking to buy Paramount for that reason.

Unfortunately, he also seems to be willing to trample over anyone and their grandmother in order to make those movies.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 3 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I really despise having to read the tea leaves about this stuff, but in the absence of solid information here we are.

An interesting anecdote that I've noticed is that two podcasts (Star Trek Academy, which I recommended a few days ago, and Larry Nemecek over on his YouTube channel) have said that SFA has led to a large increase in their audience. What does it mean? Who knows!

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 3 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Ah, the tail end of a season, when the publicity stills are even less informative than usual.

As the year comes to an end, Caleb must choose between the life he thought he wanted and the life he’s built for himself at Starfleet Academy. Meanwhile, Nahla breaks protocol in one final gambit to keep a promise to Caleb.

Sounds like the rumours I saw that Tatiana Maslany would be back this week are likely true.

I won't pretend to be an expert, and I do hope that someone out there will get an actual therapist to guest on a podcast or soemthing to talk about the episode, but I do know that therapeutic confrontation is a real thing.

I'm not really familiar with her past stuff - I think "Absentia" is probably the best-known?

What interests me is that she got that sole "created by" credit, and yet isn't a showrunner. That seems...very unusual.

I think both things can be true to be honest.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 8 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

It's a shame, but I can also understand why - council meetings and other open events are increasingly security risks, full of wingnut conspiracy theorists.

But, the way we designed the transformation of Sam, we called it sort of colloquially in the writers room, “Sam 1.0” and “Sam 2.0.” Sam 1.0 was just a couple months old and was a baby in so many different ways. And the contrast that you start to see in episodes 9 and episode 10, but in a big way in season 2, is that Sam 2.0, while she does carry the memories of Sam 1.0, she really is a totally different person. She feels things that Sam 1.0 never felt.

I'm very curious to see how this plays out.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That is helpful - setting a series after King of the Monsters would be...expensive.

While it seems unlikely that Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston will reprise their roles as Mason Weaver and James Conrad, Monarch can mine plenty of unexplored story between the isolated events on Skull Island and the eventual world-changing events of Godzilla in 2014.

Seems like a good candidate for the "Cold War thriller"?

 

What the heck - it's Saturday, I don't have other plans, so how about one more?

I found this one to be better-balanced than the 2014 film - it's still a disaster movie, through and through, but it seems to be a little lighter and self-aware than the first one (though not nearly as much as Skull Island).

I admire their restraint in minimizing the amount of "destruction porn" throughout - even as the world was devastated by monsters, you didn't really get to see much of it aside from a few establishing shots of DC. Sadly, a lot of it was set at night or in the dark once again.

I know the laws of screenwriting say Emma has to pay for her crimes, but I wish they'd kept her around rather than have her sacrifice herself. A reformed villain can be a fun toy to keep on the shelf.

The eco-terrorism angle is interesting - it actually reminds me a lot of what the later "Jurassic World" films were attempting to do.

Unfortunately, Alan Jonah didn't really register for me at all as a character. The post-credits scene suggests he'll be a going concern, which...sure, okay.

All in all, a fun watch. It's always good to see Kyle Chandler in things. And the mass destruction seen in the film makes for interesting table-setting for future instalments.

But I think I'm monstered out for one day - I'll continue my journey in the near future.

 

Godzilla

Okay, I watched this several days ago, and honestly didn't have much to say about it. I enjoyed it, but I found it pretty perfunctory. The most interesting aspect to me was the backstory of the 1950s nuclear tests secretly being attempts to kill Godzilla - fun worldbuilding!

The characters are pretty generic, buoyed by good performances from Elizabeth Olsen and Bryan Cranston, in particular. Ken Watanabe gets the instant classic "let them fight." Unfortunately, I didn't care much for Ford, or Aaron Taylor-Johnson's portrayal of him.

It was fine! I enjoyed it! But not a lot to chew on long-term.


Kong: Skull Island

This one, on the other hand, was a hoot. The movie has personality to spare, taking full advantage of its Vietnam-era setting, from the character archetypes in play to the musical choices. That setting also gives it a little more thematic weight, as the Americans showing up and bombing the crap out of Skull Island sets the film's events into motion.

Kudos to the filmmakers for daring to set a number of the action pieces in daylight - a confident move.

Both movies have a good thoroughline of the MUTOs being fairly amoral, not necessarily "good" or "evil." Between the two Hero Monsters, Kong comes off as smarter and more empathetic, while Godzilla is more of a force of nature.

My biggest complaint? It took me about 20 minutes to figure out why the movie looked so weird before I concluded that it must have been filmed with 3D in mind. I really hate that.

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