Movies and TV

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REVIEW

Star Wars Rogue One

Minor Spoiler: Very minor, regarding costumes.

4.8 of 5 stars on the entertainment meter. It is fun, adventure, heroism, great FX, good story, good characters, good acting, and it has the Star Wars "flavor". Once again I am astounded to report that a Disney movie has no PC especially since I heard rumors it was written by SJW's. Pros: This is a good well done movie. I was pleased to see that the young heroine was not presented as an angry teenager who's emotions and stupidity are what is needed to save everyone. Her character had an appropriate personality and place in the story and was well written and acted. Cons: Some supporting characters were not developed/written/acted well compared to others. I didn't like some Vietnam/WWII era costume choices. I see what they were trying to do but it was just clumsy.

Local problem. I always wear ear plugs at the theater because they turn the volume up too loud. This one was even louder. I don't like having to wear the plugs since it removes subtle sounds and part of the music.

[Draise]

I loved that film.

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REVIEW

Arrival

4.0 of 5 on the entertainment meter. For me most of the entertainment value is in the FX and the mystery but the characters are very well written and the powerhouse cast portrays them expertly. This movie is a "thinker" with intellectual interest. There is little action and what there is is poorly conceived. Matters related to that action contain the small amount of PC in the film. It has an interesting premise but the reveal of it could have been done better. That was a significant flaw but otherwise it was very well done. This story is probably better as a book.

@Draise: I read that they used SoftImage along with Maya and Arnold.

[Draise]

Doesn't surprise me! Very nice. They used SI for the spaceships in Guardians of the Galaxy too (Spaceship AI and animation, etc), I am sure they did something similar for Rogue One. It's a great software, very capable today still, even if you can't buy it.

You can get the student version of Softimage free from Autodesk now though!

Arrival, was a great way to approach Science Fiction. Love that film too, haha

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I mostly don't watch TV now. Limitless was canceled. Supernatural is reaching for stories having been on for so many seasons. They should have kept the Frankensteins. I'd have thought it impossible to make a cute chick in miniskirt unwatchable but Supergirl achieved that with wall-to-wall PC and otherwise stupidity and bad writing. Blindspot veered from its forumla of mysterious origin and tatoos solve crimes which is what made it interesting.

[spacekdet]

The 'Blade Runner' director is going to take a crack at 'Dune'.
http://www.slashfilm.com/legendarys-dune-movie/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
You may remember it as the book series that Lucas ripped off to make 'Star Wars'.
I will not speak of the Lynch attempt.

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Looks interesting. Might be another Jupiter Ascending with not so great story but there will certainly be FX.

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REVIEW

Kong Skull Island

4.3 of 5 on the entertainment meter. A fun simple monster movie. PROS: Lots of action. Monsters. Great FX. The story is simple enough to avoid interfering with the action but still provides a suitable platform for plot and characters. Although it is set in the mid 1970's, end of the Vietnam war, era there was little PC and what there was was historically appropriate for the characters and era. Acting and characters good. CONS: While I don't expect or want "reality" in a monster movie the resilience of the monsters vs. modern weaponry and other injury is too much. They are not supernatural creatures in this movie. There are supporting characters who are just there. They play no significant role in the story. One character is recruited for jungle experience but his background is not appropriate for that.

The movie had a quality that I don't know how to describe easily. I like the concept and it occurs in some movies. It is something like positive and negative are related in nature. Its wonder and beauty come with the price of danger. This movie combines the natural beauty and power of the island with its danger in this way. A character has a brief line about that.

After I saw it someone told me that there is something to see after the end credits. I saw an epilogue of sorts during the credits but he meant after. Don't know what but you might stay to see it.

[v3rd3]

Went to see "Atomic Blonde".... awesome film. Fx are fantastic and Charlize Theron is amazing in the fight scenes. Probably some of the most realistic fight choreography in years. Plot and writing wander a bit at times but it is nonetheless an excellent film.

Also saw the new Spiderman entry. Clever, entertaining but it takes a bit getting used to the idea that this is yet another film with expository material on the lead character.

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Interesting