A long , long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I used to embark on a fun adventure called “Tuesday afternoon movies”. Essentially, I’d spend an afternoon or so every month at the movies, in order to relieve some of the stress of day to day life. I’ve been ignoring that for the past few months, partly because nothing ‘good’ came out I wanted to see, partly because winter, and partly because, lazy… Well, today, I ventured out into the world of movie theater again, and here’s what I thought of it.
Please note:
The opinions inside are absolutely my own and in no way represent those I know, friends or the like. I’ll happily discuss these opinions with you, or others, in a calm and rational fashion. However, I will not tolerate in any way, shape or form, harassment, bullying, or the like. Just because I don’t like something you do doesn’t give you the right to attack me. Show the same respect I show you, ok?
I’ve tried to keep these as spoiler free as possible, so please do keep that in mind, in the comments!
Movie 1: Captain Marvel (4/10)
I was originally going to swear this one off and call this my first Marvel ‘miss’. I mean, why would I want to contribute anything to an individual who clearly wants to silence my opinion and my voice?
Being the open guy I am (and having a few bucks saved up for movie rewards, thanks Marcus!), I figured that since I’m not spending my money directly, I’d give it a shot. Here’s what I thought:
The titular character (Captain Marvel) couldn’t have been more poorly cast if they tried. Many have said “hey, it’s just poor writing”, but having seen (and owned) a few of Brie Larson’s other roles, and seeing her performance here, I’d say the problem wasn’t with writing, but with the actress herself. She delivered a bland performance, without any sense of , well, anything. It was a ‘forgettable’ character.
The saving graces in this movie are the flerkin cat (seriously, I’m convinced they made that word up somewhere just to get away with swearing), the Skrull (who I found at times to be oddly amusing, don’t hate me), and the always entertaining Samuel L. Jackson. When you find out how he loses his eye, well, let’s just say that’s comedy gold right there… That, of course, is also an indication that it’s not the writing that failed this movie.
Going into end game, I am not sure what my attitude is going to be going forward. If we have to deal with Captain Marvel as the path forward to Marvel, I may exit after phase 1. This would be sad, because I’ve loved what I’ve seen of phase 1 (sans BP and CM), and own all of the films (again, sans those two), but it is what it is.
Movie 2: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (7.5/10)
(Man, oh man, I swear to all that is great… If you didn’t cry at the end of this one, there is ABSOLUTELY something wrong with you. Have your humanity checked, because WoW!!!
Like it or not, this is the end of the HTTYD series. It’s alright, we’ve seen a good bit of this, and I’d rather it end in a good place , with a clear end than let it drag on and on and on and on forever.
This movie was good stuff. Yes, it’s a kid’s movie. Yes, it’s meant to be entertainment, and it clearly was. I found it highly enjoyable and it stuck to the storyline rather well. Yes, it was predictable. Yes, it was sappy, and yes, some of the stuff they did was rehashed in the first two as well. Still, a good movie overall.
Movie 3: Alita : Battle Angel (9/10)
Holy BALLS, that movie was amazing. I went into this with no knowledge of what the source for the movie was. I knew Cameron had been trying to get it done for ages, and that’s IT! I saw a few trailers which had me going ‘meh’, which is why I put it off for so long. Yeah, WOW!
If you’re unsure of the movie, think Real Steel (admittedly a bad movie) meets Pinocchio meets Ready Player One. It is a manga, so you may already be familiar with her , and I cannot say how well it follows the manga , or how accurate it is (I don’t do that, sorry :)).
I found the movie to be quite engaging. I was constantly amazed at the character growth. Maybe, though, it’s just her huge brown eyes that (literally) take over her face. I LOVED that. This is one I will definitely be picking up, likely breaking my ‘no more physical copies’ rule.
Overall, today was a decent day at the movies. One disappointment, one huge (yuge) surprise, and one just as expected. I love Tuesdays, where I can get in for $5/movie, seriously… Even better, I love it when I can get in for free. Today’s movies were all about that.
$5 Marcus card – HTTYD
$5 ‘rewards’ cash – Marvel
$5 ‘Nielsen’ survey (got home and found that in the mail tonight) – Alita
$5 snack cash (thanks Kim!)
For the movies I saw, I paid nothing. For a large popcorn and pop? $4.25. Not EVEN $5 for a day at the theater. Pretty damned awesome!
