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Post by Webber3000 on Mar 6, 2019 16:47:27 GMT -5
Yeah, the backlash is absolutely ridiculous, but I sadly expect no less from the Internet these days.
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Post by mr. excellent on Mar 8, 2019 21:59:45 GMT -5
That's awesome man. There's some hard trolling going on in various communities out there, but it seems that the movie is making a lot of money in its opening frame and the general consensus is a positive one. I would've seen it already but my wife has a bad asthma-flu combo that we're nursing her thru. We'll see it soon enough.
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Post by BackinBlack on Mar 8, 2019 23:30:53 GMT -5
I feel like sites like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic are ruining movie going experiences. People put so much stock in them to make their own opinion. Then you have the trolls review bombing Captain Marvel; you can't trust the audience score because of that, even if people legitimately didn't like it and not having to do with the Larson "controversy." But the worst part is there are people who see it as a conspiracy that "people have to like the movie or they're sexist", because they don't understand or care about the real problem. Let's compare it with Ghostbusters 2016. People had problems with it since the first trailer, ranging from the sexists to those with legitimate concerns. What lead to its box office disappointment though was that they lumped all the naysayers together into the sexist category, even using it in its marketing. With Captain Marvel, none of these problems came until about a month before its release, and Marvel's gone the high road by not even acknowledging the trolls. Yet when people say the review bombing is just people expressing their opinions, they ignore the signs of how blatantly overwhelming it is. Hell, it has more audience reviews than Infinity War has had in almost a year; they don't see how fishy that is?!
I'm seeing it tomorrow, and as I always do with movies, I will form my own opinion.
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Post by brotherandbassist on Mar 11, 2019 19:54:38 GMT -5
I feel like sites like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic are ruining movie going experiences. People put so much stock in them to make their own opinion. Then you have the trolls review bombing Captain Marvel; you can't trust the audience score because of that, even if people legitimately didn't like it and not having to do with the Larson "controversy." But the worst part is there are people who see it as a conspiracy that "people have to like the movie or they're sexist", because they don't understand or care about the real problem. Let's compare it with Ghostbusters 2016. People had problems with it since the first trailer, ranging from the sexists to those with legitimate concerns. What lead to its box office disappointment though was that they lumped all the naysayers together into the sexist category, even using it in its marketing. With Captain Marvel, none of these problems came until about a month before its release, and Marvel's gone the high road by not even acknowledging the trolls. Yet when people say the review bombing is just people expressing their opinions, they ignore the signs of how blatantly overwhelming it is. Hell, it has more audience reviews than Infinity War has had in almost a year; they don't see how fishy that is?! I'm seeing it tomorrow, and as I always do with movies, I will form my own opinion. ^this My thoughts exactly
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Post by mr. excellent on Mar 15, 2019 13:19:39 GMT -5
If we go back before this review bombing craze, Rotten Tomatoes in and of itself was just fine. It was the users who were actually invalidating the process. People who were willfully ignorant of a film's quality because they became obsessed with the tomatometer. That wasn't the fault of the site, but rather of the people who refused to form their own opinions. Me personally, I loved using the site, but I'd still go and watch movies to see them for myself before forming my own opinions... if I could afford it that is. Granted, we are a community of people who follow movies and movie production in the same way people follow sports franchises, the draft pick, team management, etc. We're going to see a movie we've been following for years regardless. Back to the point of taking the word of other people with regard to a movie's quality, I'd take the word of my personal friends a lot more seriously than the reviews on rotten tomatoes because I've built relationships with those people who know me well enough to let me know if a movie is my cup of tea. With regard to taking the word of certain movie critics, I don't know any professional critics personally, but I've followed some of them long enough to really get to know their biases and how that would reflect on my own interests. Take ScreenRant for example, I know critics like Rob Keys and Hannah Shaw Williams reviews' well enough to know that when they criticize a movie for reason A, B, or C, the movie may still be up my ally. It's not full proof, but it's just something that helps me determine whether or not to save my hard earned money to see a film at home.
Now a days, I still think rotten tomatoes is just fine. However, I will admit that users are becoming more creative in finding ways to skew movie scores, and they are taking something meant to be helpful and working to delegitimize it. Not the fault of the site per se, but something the site's owners will have to consider going forward. In the same way that Youtube is constantly having to go back and regulate the way their content creators are using YouTube as a platform, Rotten Tomatoes has to as well. They are to a certain extent, and just like YouTube they have stumbled on more than one occasion. I just hope they can figure it out because I still enjoy using the site and overall I think there's more potential for it to do good than otherwise.
My final thoughts on this for the moment are this: Captain Marvel is doing just fine, more than fine actually in spite of these crazy review bombing schemes. The movie is making crazy money. Heck, Black Panther was also more than fine. I'm thinking BP will still be the solo movie king even when Captain Marvel's box office run is up... but even still: Captain Marvel is already considered a box office smash and it has only been out for one full week, and starting weekend 2 today. I'm super excited about finally being able to see it today. I can't wait to be entertained and amused, to get emotional over Stan Lee's cameo / tribute, and sentimental over the fact that this will be the first MCU film that has come out since my buddy Matt passed away. We've seen every superhero movie in theaters together since Spider-Man 2. Every single one, both good and bad. Okay, so I'll admit, we skipped out on the 2015 Fantastic Four, and we also missed out on Aquaman (he passed away before we had a chance to see it). But there are so many MCU films in the line up of superhero films post 2003, it's just a bit of a sad milestone in my life to go and see one without him. RIP Matt, this one is for you brother.
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Post by mr. excellent on Mar 31, 2019 2:43:11 GMT -5
Nice! How long did this take you?
On a completely different topic, I was on YouTube and the Vanessa Hudgens episode of Hot Ones came on. I never had an opinion on Hudgens besides seeing her as one of the Disney teens, but I remember a while back she did a webisode or something like that with Bear Grylls. It gave me a whole new perspective on her, and then I sort of forgot about it. Now, seeing her again on Hot Ones, I'm starting to find that I enjoy her in interviews. I got to thinking that for such a big star, I don't even know what songs she is super famous for as a recording artist, so I went to her Wikipedia page to look up her discography and found the stories of her leaked nude photos from back in 2007 and again in 2009 I think it was? It really blew my mind to read about the way she addressed the issue at the time, no doubt, at the urging of her publicist(s). For those who don't remember, she apologized for having taken photos of herself in lingerie and also topless, and Disney even commented that they hoped that "[she learned from her mistakes]". I remember at the time thinking she was misguided for having taken the photos, but looking back, I don't think it's either here nor there. Someone went out of their way to illegally obtain the photos from her device, obviously without consent, and then went public with them. How in the hell did she have to apologize for that?? That's the virtual equivalent of being burglarized. Imagine having to apologize to the world because someone broke into your home and stole your s***. It's mind boggling to my sensibilities in 2019. I wonder what we'll be saying 10 years from now with regard to issues like this.
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Post by mr. excellent on Apr 27, 2019 15:39:35 GMT -5
Another track and field season has ended. I feel relieved because coaching track takes so much work. Entering 20+ athletes (which is small for a track team) in 2-4 events that vary from track meet to track meet... going to pick up checks to pay for the events we're participating in, communicating with parents, weekend practices, convincing kids not to quit, grade checks, etc. It's a lot. Yet, you grow attached to your kids. In middle school, sports seasons only last about weeks (at least, here in the central valley of CA). However, I train my kids for months to get them ready. My philosophy for the middle school kids is that anyone can be a champion if they're willing to put the work in. While it's far fetched, I believe it. Especially in middle school because the most talented kids out there tend to not take the sport seriously. If you have average talent and the work ethic of Rocky 4 Stallone, you can make up a lot of ground, haha. That much I know is true. Most of my kids started doing the mile in the 7-8 minute range as 7th graders (some slower), and now at 8th graders they're doing the mile in the 5 and 6 minute range. I didn't have any champions this year, but in my eyes they have the heart of champions. I had a kid who ran the 400m (1 lap) in 1:30 just 3 months ago, and two days ago he ran it in 1:05. He didn't win, but no one improved as much as he did.
We have a 7th grader this year who throws the shotput. He's in the school's special education program and has had to overcome a lot. At the beginning of the year he'd go around cussing everyone out, being rough with the other kids. His social skills needed a lot of work, to say the least. Then back in January he discovered wrestling. While he struggles socially and academically, physically he's a force to be reckoned with. He made it to the valley championships after only 3 months of training wrestling kids who have been wrestling since they were 5 (that's how they do it in the wrestling world). No one could pin him, even when he lost. He was the wrestling team's MVP this season. Our school's custodian, a really awesome, wonderful human being, directed this student to us and asked us to recruit him for track. He said if we worked with him, that boy would inspire. He truly has. Yesterday he placed 2nd in the shotput, competing against 11 other schools to qualify for our valley championships. When he walks around campus now, he looks genuinely happy. He's not playing so rough with the other kids any more, and he has cleaned up his language quite a bit. He's one of those kids where sports have truly changed his life. I've said a lot, but honestly, I cannot say enough about this boy. I have a girl whose home situation hasn't always been the best. She's leaving us when the school year ends, but she has come so far. From having drama every day and poor grades to getting almost straight As and Bs and not being the center of negative attention any more. She has been a pain in my side and one of my greatest points of pride. Aaaaghhh!!!
Honestly, teaching is difficult for a variety of reasons, but one of the most difficult aspects of teaching is dealing with the bittersweet. Seeing the kids promote and move on to bigger and better things after you've invested your time and energy and emotions into them... It's crushing, but also so fulfilling. What an existence.
Top that off with the fact that Endgame is out and Cobra Kai season 2 destroyed my emotions last night. I'm an emotional wreck, but for good things.
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Post by mr. excellent on Apr 27, 2019 19:43:11 GMT -5
That's nuts! I remember you talking about the Jars of Clay kid, but the Billy Zabka news is pretty cool. Zabka is a revelation in Cobra Kai, both seasons.
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Post by mr. excellent on May 13, 2019 0:44:30 GMT -5
What a lovely fan film. One of the best I've seen. They really capture the spirit of Spider-Man from that time. I've yet to see a modern day retelling of the stories from the 60s, that was actually set in the 60s.
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Post by Webber3000 on May 13, 2019 11:57:40 GMT -5
That's really awesome, thanks for sharing! And it's true, eh? I wonder if the inevitably upcoming Fantastic Four movie in the MCU will take place in the 60s.
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Post by brotherandbassist on Jul 16, 2019 20:14:39 GMT -5
Anybody remember Amazing Fantasy 16 with the villain Supercharger? I feel like he is criminally underrated. I would love to see him adapted as a villain in a film. His motives are direct to Spidey's origin.
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Post by mr. excellent on Jul 17, 2019 3:29:54 GMT -5
I don't remember that, but I know I've read it before. Been a while though. I'll have to look for a YouTube video essay to remind myself what I've forgotten. I came here to mention 2 things.
Thing 1: The Haunting of Hill House is sooo good. It's kind of a slow burn and I was only able to get 2 episodes in when I first started watching it. That said, once I started episode 3 I couldn't stop thinking about it. Finished the remaining 7 episodes within 3 weeks, and these have been a very, very busy 3 weeks. The show contains the single worse jump scare I've ever experienced. I actually hate jump scares, but the way the show does them doesn't feel gimmicky, it's very drama and story based.
Thing 2: I'm in Cayucos, CA at the moment, which is 30ish minutes away from the Mid State Fair. This band called "Why Don't We" is performing there, which I discovered via local commercials playing at the Bed and Breakfast we're staying at. My wife and I had no idea who this band is, so we looked them up and apparently, they're on the verge on becoming the next big Boy Band here in the States and possibly internationally too. It's probably no surprise that I've never been a fan of boy bands, but in this case I'm feeling kind of like Hank Hill in that episode of King of the Hill where he gets into that fictional band called "Get Your Freak Off". These kids are actually talented and have released a slew of live acoustic performances of their singles that show they're the real deal talent wise though. What kind of blew me away is that I recognize one of these kids from season 14 of American Idol. His name was Daniel Seavey, and I remember sort of hating on the kid at the time because I felt he wasn't as good as the others in the top 15 he was in company with. He had/has talent and could/can play a wide variety of instruments, but his voice was changing and you could hear it when he sang. To his credit, he found a way to actually make it sound good most of the time, but it was still limiting. Spoiler alert: he didn't win. All that goes to say, the kid kept at it, his voice continued to mature, and now he's killing it with this band. I really do see them being the among the biggest things on the planet in terms of bands give or take a year. They've really been blowing up apparently, and I wish them the best. Their music is actually pretty authentic right now, so hopefully they continue to rely on their talent and don't get too produced. Totally random tangent, I'm just kind of blown away that this kid kept it going and I'm happy for him.
Edit: Okay, on thing 1, I'm actually trying to finish the final episode but I've been traveling a lot lately.
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Post by mr. excellent on Jul 20, 2019 23:49:27 GMT -5
I'm just going to say this here, BIB, thank you for doing the Lords work in the movie space. I was wondering who was going to create all the new threads and I felt too lazy to do them all, haha.
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Post by mr. excellent on Jul 21, 2019 3:51:53 GMT -5
Triple post+ time! Just finished Haunting of Hill House officially. Oh my goodness, guys, what a show. I dunno about continuing the series, it wrapped itself up so beautifully (I'm not saying it's a happy ending or a sad one btw) but if further seasons are of similar strength as this one, it'll go on to be one of Netflix's greatest shows ever. Already with just 1 season, it's superb.
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Post by Webber3000 on Jul 22, 2019 0:21:42 GMT -5
Woah, big praise, might check it out!
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