Guardians of the Galaxy

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

Well...I did like Guardians before it was announced. Doesn't make me a hipster though. I'm glad to see these characters being brought to the masses. That's the opposite of hipster mentality.

Yeah, someone doesn't even know the proper definition of a hipster.

[Pizzamorg]

I find it amusing, because I'm usually infuriated by the critical bulletproof Marvel films get, pretty much the entire catalogue is overhyped and glaring flaws are brushed over and the fans go "lalalala" with their hands over their ears if you try and point it out.

Then, the one time I believe Marvel actually releases a genuine classic, a film that lives up to the usual Marvel hype and is probably the best film they have done that NOW people start complaining about the usual Marvel hype machine.

Where the hell were you guys when people were calling Winter Soldier "the best film of the year" despite having exactly the same issues as the much derided Amazing Spider-Man 2?

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

I find it amusing, because I'm usually infuriated by the critical bulletproof Marvel films get, pretty much the entire catalogue is overhyped and glaring flaws are brushed over and the fans go "lalalala" with their hands over their ears if you try and point it out.

Then, the one time I believe Marvel actually releases a genuine classic, a film that lives up to the usual Marvel hype and is probably the best film they have done that NOW people start complaining about the usual Marvel hype machine.

Where the hell were you guys when people were calling Winter Soldier "the best film of the year" despite having exactly the same issues as the much derided Amazing Spider-Man 2?

I was with you until the comparison between amazing spiderman 2 and winter solider. You're so way off.

[Pizzamorg]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

I was with you until the comparison between amazing spiderman 2 and winter solider. You're so way off.

Primary complaints from critics complain that AS2 is overstuffed, overlong, poorly paced and would have done with cutting out Electro entirely, and focused more on its own story than the sequel.

Primary complaints with Winter Soldier is that the film is overstuffed, overlong, poorly paced and would have done with cutting out Elec- The Winter Soldier entirely, and focused more on its own story than the sequel. Yet the film seems to always come out with a higher score, and more positive tone to the writing, overall. So...eh?

[Astro Zombie]

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

Primary complaints from critics complain that AS2 is overstuffed, overlong, poorly paced and would have done with cutting out Electro entirely, and focused more on its own story than the sequel.

Primary complaints with Winter Soldier is that the film is overstuffed, overlong, poorly paced and would have done with cutting out Elec- The Winter Soldier entirely, and focused more on its own story than the sequel. Yet the film seems to always come out with a higher score, and more positive tone to the writing, overall. So...eh?

None of those complaints apply to Cap 2.

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

Primary complaints from critics complain that AS2 is overstuffed, overlong, poorly paced and would have done with cutting out Electro entirely, and focused more on its own story than the sequel.

Primary complaints with Winter Soldier is that the film is overstuffed, overlong, poorly paced and would have done with cutting out Elec- The Winter Soldier entirely, and focused more on its own story than the sequel. Yet the film seems to always come out with a higher score, and more positive tone to the writing, overall. So...eh?

Winter Soldier didn't feel overstuffed at all, with a much better coherent plot, better acting, and the tone was more consistent than ASM2.

[Pizzamorg]

I'm only going by critical reviews, not personal opinions. In my personal opinion I didn't find those criticisms really apply to either film, although I don't know why Winter Soldier is named as such since Winter Soldier wasn't really an important part of the narrative and more just sequelbait. It was more to highlight that for every criticism that Transformers is pure trash, there is someone claiming Avengers is the greatest film of all time. For every normal blockbuster, it's quickly criticised, for every Marvel film, it's quickly praised, whether ultimately deserving or not.

For the first time, a film deserves it, that film is Guardians and for the first time the people are not happy with the praise. What is wrong with the world.

[Carlanga]

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

I find it amusing, because I'm usually infuriated by the critical bulletproof Marvel films get, pretty much the entire catalogue is overhyped and glaring flaws are brushed over and the fans go "lalalala" with their hands over their ears if you try and point it out.
...

I recommend you see the rotten tomatoes scores for the marvel movies, apart from Iron Man, the Avengers and almost is Winter Soldier all others haven't gotten 4.5-5 starts reviews. Guardians of the Galaxy is not a 4.5-5 * movie in my opinion it falls in the 3.5-4.0 * rating, very good but not amazing. Maybe because of all the hype the movie has been getting I was expecting much more but whatever...
I myself actually fell asleep halfway on the first cap america movie, the second cap was so much better than many of the phase one movies, especially if you watched shield on tv and you can't compare it to the meh movie that was AS2.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

Winter Soldier didn't feel overstuffed at all, with a much better coherent plot, better acting, and the tone was more consistent than ASM2.

Also, it wasn't over long. It was the exact length it needed to be to cover the whole story. It didn't have the glaring tonal issues that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 faced, and it had a much stronger villain, in both The Winter Soldier and in

[Show spoiler]Robert Redford's Alexander Pierce

. The smaller side villains even worked, because they were handled effectively, unlike The Amazing Spider-Man 2 which managed to actually make me hate Paul Giamatti in a movie, which has never happened before, and waste Dane Dahaan as the Goblin. The movie was all over the place, and it's clear it never knew what it wanted to be. Why? Because the studio and the producers continued to interfere with the film.

The exact opposite of what happened with The Winder Soldier, which made a much better viewing experience. The film told a fantastic story, had great characters, and worked well, and is the crown jewel of the MCU, only being touched by The Avengers and Guardians. Nothing at all like the mess that was The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which outside of Garfield and Stone, made Spider-Man 3 look like The Godfather...And I say this as someone who truly preferred the first Amazing Spider-Man over the Raimi films, because I liked Garfield better in the role. If we actually got a Webb film, with no interference from Avi Arad, the films would be the bette for it, but you can tell his voice is being squashed by producers who don't understand the character.

The fact is, The Winter Soldier is probably the most lovingly handled film in the entire MCU, save for Guardians, because the Russo Bros. truly love the character, and it shows. They brought the Ed Brubaker comics to life in a really great way. I could have used a bit less shaky cam, but I think the film is testament to the fact that the MCU can be so many different things. Every one of Cap's stories so far in the three we have seen have been vastly different, and the Russo Bros. absolutely nailed him in this 21st Century thriller. It worked, and it deserves the praise. The MCU films have problems, but really, they're not nearly as glaring as some would like for people to believe either. They work great, and the universe feels vast and interesting because of it.

Just my two cents.

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

I'm only going by critical reviews, not personal opinions. In my personal opinion I didn't find those criticisms really apply to either film, although I don't know why Winter Soldier is named as such since Winter Soldier wasn't really an important part of the narrative and more just sequelbait. It was more to highlight that for every criticism that Transformers is pure trash, there is someone claiming Avengers is the greatest film of all time. For every normal blockbuster, it's quickly criticised, for every Marvel film, it's quickly praised, whether ultimately deserving or not.

For the first time, a film deserves it, that film is Guardians and for the first time the people are not happy with the praise. What is wrong with the world.

The difference between the Tansformers films and the MCU films, namely The Avengers, is obvious: Characters we care about. It gets praised because it's fun, and we love the characters, and it made us want to root for them coming together for the first time. There had never been anything like that in a blockbuster before. The action gets a little long, maybe, but it's still fun to watch because every character gets a moment to shine. Nothing like the overly bloated, over long Transformers films that have weak characters, no story, and very little to care about. The difference is huge...

[Elandyll]

Originally Posted by Bolty

What's the deal with GotG overseas Box office?

Did it open later overseas than other marvel movies?

Or is there less appeal for it overseas for some reason?

The release in Europe is very weirdly staggered, there are still some -very- big markets to see. Even Japan and China are weirdly far away: September and October.
Western Europe (beside UK) -just- released this Wednesday and I do not think they are included yet. Austria, Italy and Germany are end of August.


Belgium 13 August 2014
Switzerland 13 August 2014 (French speaking region)
France 13 August 2014
Kuwait 13 August 2014
United Arab Emirates 14 August 2014
Spain 14 August 2014
Hungary 14 August 2014
Iraq 14 August 2014
Lebanon 14 August 2014
Netherlands 14 August 2014
Luxembourg 18 August 2014 (Kirchberg & Belval, Luxembourg) (premiere)
Nepal 22 August 2014
Austria 28 August 2014
Germany 28 August 2014
Greece 4 September 2014
Cyprus 5 September 2014
Japan 13 September 2014
China 10 October 2014
Switzerland 22 October 2014 (Italian speaking region)
Italy 22 October 2014

[Pizzamorg]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

The difference between the Tansformers films and the MCU films, namely The Avengers, is obvious: Characters we care about. It gets praised because it's fun, and we love the characters, and it made us want to root for them coming together for the first time. There had never been anything like that in a blockbuster before. The action gets a little long, maybe, but it's still fun to watch because every character gets a moment to shine. Nothing like the overly bloated, over long Transformers films that have weak characters, no story, and very little to care about. The difference is huge...

That is like, your opinion. Avengers was fun, yes - well until the monotonous final hour - but not the "greatest film ever made" which is what the hype machine was chanting. To act like the Avengers is on some other level as Transformers, to me, is truly laughable. Especially the last two Transformers films which I think have really learnt, and built, on past mistakes.

[Carlanga]

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

That is like, your opinion. Avengers was fun, yes - well until the monotonous final hour - but not the "greatest film ever made" which is what the hype machine was chanting. To act like the Avengers is on some other level as Transformers, to me, is truly laughable. Especially the last two Transformers films which I think have really learnt, and built, on past mistakes.

Did we watch the same cut of Transformers: Age of Extinction?

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

That is like, your opinion. Avengers was fun, yes - well until the monotonous final hour - but not the "greatest film ever made" which is what the hype machine was chanting. To act like the Avengers is on some other level as Transformers, to me, is truly laughable. Especially the last two Transformers films which I think have really learnt, and built, on past mistakes.

Did I say it was the greatest film ever? No. Is it even the greatest comic book film ever? Probably not. Is it Marvel's best film? Nope. But it's not on the same level at all of the Transformers films. The Avengers is built around four separate characters you truly care about, from different movies, which makes it easy to love. I'd dare say that's the film's strongest aspect, and is what separates it from most blockbusters. It got to cut a lot of the fat to setting up the characters, and just got to go for broke and be a pure, comic book film. The closest we've gotten to that since is, not surprisingly, Guardians of the Galaxy, another Marvel film.

The Transformers films have clearly not learned though. They keep falling into the same mistakes over and over again, because Paramount, Bay, and Erhen Kruger truly just don't care anymore about making a decent film with story. They see the box office and think that all they need is explosions, CGI, and hot girls. That doesn't make a good movie. There's nothing outside of the first film to really latch onto, character or story wise. Especially in the fourth. There's moments of goodness in all three sequels, but none ever lived up to the promise built in the third, and they've become monotonous, bloated, hellish cinema that just grates as it continues. It's sad, because there's something good to be had there, but Bay and co. can't crack it, or they just don't care enough to try to.

You can have a lot of CGI and action, as long as there's some sort of dynamic built into it. The Avengers, again, while it may run too long to some, gives every character a chance to shine, and do something to make it worth sitting through. There's some great parts to the battle of New York. Outside of a few moments in throughout every battle in the Transformers films, with the falling building in Chicago taking the cake as the best part of the third film, it all becomes the same thing. Again, stemming from the fact that these are characters we truly don't give a sh*t about. At all. There's nothing for us to care about. If you don't like The Avengers, that's fine, but the huge difference between what makes that film work, and The Transformers films work is, again, obvious. Characters that make it worth watching and loving.

[Batman1980]

Seen it six times now, Walt's Ghost.

[Pizzamorg]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

Did I say it was the greatest film ever? No. Is it even the greatest comic book film ever? Probably not. Is it Marvel's best film? Nope. But it's not on the same level at all of the Transformers films. The Avengers is built around four separate characters you truly care about, from different movies, which makes it easy to love. I'd dare say that's the film's strongest aspect, and is what separates it from most blockbusters. It got to cut a lot of the fat to setting up the characters, and just got to go for broke and be a pure, comic book film. The closest we've gotten to that since is, not surprisingly, Guardians of the Galaxy, another Marvel film.

I was never talking about you, I was talking about the hype machine, and that I can never seem to stay on the same side as it even when I have good things to say. So contrary.

Even if we were speaking personally, I wouldn't even rank The Avengers in the mid flight of blockbusters in general, let alone anything else. I thought it was a weak film overall.

[Drewbee87]

I absolutely LOVED The Avengers when I first watched it, just loved it the second time, liked it the third, thought it was OK the fourth.... I don't think I need to go on. lol Still planing on seeing this in theaters once my sister figures out her work schedule(she's taking me to see it as a birthday gift). I truly hope this doesn't turn out like The Avengers did for me. Still need to watch CA:TWS again to see if I still think it's amazing.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

Even if we were speaking personally, I wouldn't even rank The Avengers in the mid flight of blockbusters in general, let alone anything else. I thought it was a weak film overall.

And to quote your previous posting:

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

That is like, your opinion.

[Pizzamorg]

And that is exactly what I mean, I don't understand how people can be so forgiving to flat out blind to The Avengers failings yet those same people question the validity of the praise for Guardians. I understand "different strokes for different folks" but not everything in life is purely subjective. I just give up I think on ever trying to enjoy the Marvel films with others, it's been hopeless trying to match their rhythm from the moment I fell in love with the first Thor film.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

And that is exactly what I mean, I don't understand how people can be so forgiving to flat out blind to The Avengers failings yet those same people question the validity of the praise for Guardians.

Might it be that such people don't agree with you with respect to the "failings" you see in The Avengers? Even if they do acknowledge the failings, and are willing to forgive, it comes down to a simple matter of believing that the virtues outweigh the flaws.

[fitprod]

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

To act like the Avengers is on some other level as Transformers, to me, is truly laughable. Especially the last two Transformers films which I think have really learnt, and built, on past mistakes.

Are you saying that they have learned, and continue to build on previous mistakes? Damn right, the Transformers films are progressively getting worse.

First film was decent, and considering some of the limitations that instantly hog tied the film to match the original cartoon and comics (i.e., The was no way to handle 50 characters) Bay did a good job.

The second film was the start of the decline... All I'll say is Ghetto Bots and robot "balls."

The third film, too long and bloated...

Age of Extinction... Let's see everything that was wrong with this film... 1. Kelsey Grammar, total throw away roll. 2. Mark Whalberg, and this has nothing to do with his acting ability, he just didn't care. 3. Another useless air-headed female lead. (In retrospect, making Megan Fox look Oscar worthy.) 4. Throwaway addition of Dinobots, which served no real purpose outside of trampling stuff, and had no character. Where the conflict between Optimus Prime & Grimlock for leadership? 5. Longest film of the series, and it should have been 40 minutes shorter. 6. Forced promotion for Chinese products in illogical locations... WTF is the car driver drinking Chinese Red Bull in the middle of Texas? (And I'm not going to even address the random domestic shit that made no sense.)

It's apparent none of the creative forces actually care about Transformers, besides the box office cut; and since the rest of the world has apparently passed the US in the ability to eat up complete dreck, I suppose this will be completely run into the ground for another 3 or 4 pointless flims.

fitprod