The Film Thread

I suspect this is why with comic book movies it is usually only the original foundation story that is any good. It’s a pity with Black Panther, though, because the whole Afrofuturism genre has a lot of potential.

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I was wondering if you could expand on this at all? I may well be misunderstanding your comment, but it feels very much like a throwaway comment which wouldn’t stand up to much scrutiny. Though I appreciate you say this is just an opinion.

Just starting with DCs treatment of Ray Fisher and his Cyborg character seems like the very definition of tokenism?

It’s not a throwaway comment, it is one of the reasons why I struggle with Marvel. The whole Black Panther story seemed like an exercise in giving platform to black characters but still keeping them a bit isolated from the rest of MCU. Same goes for Hispanic and Asian characters. You may also find occasional scenes where gay relationships are just briefly mentioned (I remember three such occurrences). The “girl power” scene from Endgame was vomit-inducing. These are just some of the reasons why I grew tired of Marvel, I don’t see much substance there anymore, to be honest.

DC’s treatment of Ray Fisher was appalling but I got the impression that it was one really powerful man who had a strong grudge against Fisher - then again, I might have missed some important info there.

When it comes to their universe(s), Doom Patrol caught my attention because it gave us fully fleshed out characters of black and Hispanic origins, as well as emotional, detailed portrayal of gay and transgender people, something that I’m yet to see in any superhero universe. It all feels completely natural, unlike in Marvel where it feels forced in order to pander to wider audiences - at least to me.

Fair enough, I thought you were just talking about the DCEU movies vs the MCU movies. I’ve never heard of Doom Patrol.

Crying watching that. Now that really wouldn’t be made today, they’d be in the locker room discussing their feelings.

Scouts?

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Disney is almost creatively bankrupt. It makes me so sad as Walt was a dreamer and an achiever. He had so many new projects and so much imagination. Now they just photocopy the last film, insert more identity politics and colour it in slightly worse.

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Big decreases in subscribers for Disney+ was already baked into the price due to the way they reported their numbers (combined numbers from multiple services, most of which were not Disney branded) and what they did to get their previously astronomical high numbers (essentially giving away millions of free subs in India, on terms that were due to expire this year).

This doesnt negate criticism of their content, but we also shouldnt use the drop in subs to validate a prior.

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People are dropping in droves for many reasons I’m sure. Their new content being shite preachy woke garbage MIGHT be one of them. Did you watch Loki? Hideous.

This article actually gives some proper context which isn’t even mentioned in the BBCs analysis.

Disney’s revenue for the last three months of 2022 was up by 8% to $23.51bn. It is not short of a bit of change.

However, the surprise was that subscriber numbers for its Disney+ streaming service – arguably the company’s biggest swing in a generation – tumbled by over 2.4 million. Looking deeper at the numbers, the higher than expected fall was down to a version of the service that Disney offers in parts of Asia and an India, Disney+ Hotstar. There, the loss of cricket broadcast rights has hit numbers. There’s still growth elsewhere in the world, but inevitably it’s slowing down, and the competition is getting tougher. That, and the costs of making programmes are increasing.

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Yeah, I mentioned it previously. Within the past 12 months wall st has changed the incentives it making streamers chase. Previously it was raw subscriber numbers at any cost with no consideration of revenue or profitability. Companies like Disney with money to burn spent a LOT of money to essentially juice those numbers. Now the incentives have turned back to rational economic metrics they are having to adjust their membership offerings and so are expected to lose a lot of subs.

The idea they are any more “woke” today than they were last year when they jumped into the lead in worldwide subs is funny.

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Regarding the whole Marvel/DC/Avenger type films, I feel the storyline/relationship to a character is becoming diluted. How many times do they need to reinvent a character.
I that there is a large demand for it but it is becoming a bit tedious, it also feels like the screen writing/storyline is a becoming a bit rushed.
With a story about superheroes you have almost a free licence in writing but you still need to make it relative/interesting.
I personally like defenders of the galaxy because it is not serious and the characters have not had the personalities changed numerous times.

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Father Stu.

First hour is typical Wahlberg chasing around some women like some schoolboy kid.

Turns on it’s head after the accident and for me is where the film actually starts.

Will Ferrell spotted drinking a pint in Wrexham pub as he cheers on Ryan Reynolds side…
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I’ve just been watching Trautmann (possibly called The Keeper in English) before the match comes on tonight.

It’s a biopic of Bert Trautmann who was the German POW who became the Manchester City goalkeeper in the 1950s and early 60s and who famously played on in the 1956 FA Cup final with a broken neck.

It’s actually not so much a football film rather than a drama about the effects of the Second World War and the beginnings of reconciliation.

Generally it’s very well done and definitely worth a watch if you are interested in that period of football and social history.

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This might be a new cult favourite in the making

Film we had advertised at half time - Cocaine Bear, a stalker/slasher movie about a bear on a rampage after getting high :rofl:

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Saw that!! WTF was that?! That’s on par with Sharknado!

Based on a true story as well.

No bloody way :rofl::rofl: