Last movie watched...

[Richmond Clements]

Anyway, not nearly as annoying as killing off Anya, probably Whedon's best character.

Which is, of course, the perfect reason to do it! Killing off a character you're getting attached to is a great way of keeping the writing fresh.

Unless its from Whedon of cause. In which case its all par for the course.

Hello? Is this thing on..?
I just explained why he did it - I'm at a loss as to what your point is...

[JOE SOAP]

Anyway, not nearly as annoying as killing off Anya, probably Whedon's best character.

Which is, of course, the perfect reason to do it! Killing off a character you're getting attached to is a great way of keeping the writing fresh.

Unfortunately in Serenity's case at least one of the deaths ([spoiler]Shepard Book[/spoiler]) was purely to serve the expediency of the plot rather than out of dramatic bravery.

[Hawkmumbler]

Anyway, not nearly as annoying as killing off Anya, probably Whedon's best character.

Which is, of course, the perfect reason to do it! Killing off a character you're getting attached to is a great way of keeping the writing fresh.

Unless its from Whedon of cause. In which case its all par for the course.

Hello? Is this thing on..?
I just explained why he did it - I'm at a loss as to what your point is...

Forgive me, I see what you meant now. I read your comment is a cynical manner and I was trying to be clever so i'll eat my humble pie and sit down.

[TordelBack]

Anyway, not nearly as annoying as killing off Anya, probably Whedon's best character.

Which is, of course, the perfect reason to do it! Killing off a character you're getting attached to is a great way of keeping the writing fresh.

I'd normally agree wholeheartedly, but in a big melee in the last five minutes of a 7-season show?  It didn't serve much dramatic function, it wasn't particularly redemptive, it wasn't a logical conclusion to her story, it was just unsatisfying.  While it may have served to emphasise the peril and seriousness of the climax, this was undone by the other main casualty of that fight popping up in the spin-off series a few weeks later.  Joyce's death earlier in the series was a much better example of how sudden apparently pointless loss of a key character can make something fresh, and permit new directions.

I generally dislike overly fastidious tidying of loose ends, and enjoy an element of random events that aren't related to some pre-ordained story arc or destiny*, but sometimes characters deserve their happy ending, unless the story is demonstrably better for having it denied.


*one of the reasons why I enjoy Patrick O'Brian's writing so much: random deaths, natural disasters and last-minute reversals frequently scupper the apparent thrust of the plot to the extent that characters fail despite doing everything right, and succeed despite cocking up, which makes for very exciting reading.

[JOE SOAP]

Star Wars and Marvel both belong to Disney, so it could have happened if they wanted it to.  Most likely there was just a lack of imagination when suits were asked who they fancied for directing a big space adventure that's a bit silly but supports a worldwide fanbase not afraid to spend money on merchandising tat.

Maybe- but in the first few months there seemed to be a general stand-offishness from anyone with talent willing to fill the position. Whedon's success with Avengers (and acting as general script-doctor for Marvel) may have convinced both Disney and Whedon himself not to break what isn't broken.

[Professor Bear]

Whatever the reasons, it doesn't help me shake the notion that Abrams is who you get when you can't get Whedon.

[Frank]

suggestions for genuinely good romcoms?

Gregory's Girl is a funny film about romance, but its focus on the male half of the equation probably means it's filed under Coming Of Age in video libraries and film guides, rather than Romantic Comedy. Depending on your tolerance for the schtick of Jennifer Aniston and/or Vince Vaughan, The Break-Up is worth a look.

[Mabs]

Chasing Amy is also another fun rom-com! I also liked Knocked Up.

[JamesC]

Not sure it's a Rom Com but I think About a Boy is a good film.
I like the bit where he gets to drive fast behind the ambulance - Hugh Grant is really good in this!

[Professor Bear]

Star Trek Into Darkness is a decent romantic comedy about a jock (Jim) struggling with his love for a geek (Spock) while both are in denial about it and fruitlessly pursue destructive relationships rather than confront their feelings head on.  After seeing it for the second time, this is the only reading I have that makes sense of what I have just watched.

Pain And Gain - a Michael Bay film that looked good in the trailer, but falls apart within minutes.  Poorly structured, uneven in tone, no good lines or memorable scenes.  The Rock is always watchable and one good byproduct of the scattershot story and direction is that once he hits the drugs you genuinely have no idea if he's going to explode and tear someone apart at any given moment, but apart from that there's not much here.  I think it commendable that Bay wants to establish some credibility as a director, but this project was not the vehicle for it, and the end result comes off as half-formed and thrown together.

[pictsy]

Michael Bay would surely struggle to garner credibility.

I still think one the stupidest things I've ever done is watch Transformers 2.

[TordelBack]

I still think one the stupidest things I've ever done is watch Transformers 2.

It's ruddy Bladerunner when compared with Transformers 3. 

[Professor Bear]

Transformers 2 made me get a Twitter account, as I knew if I ever had to watch something that terrible ever again and didn't have a way to shout my displeasure at the world I would literally explode and kill someone.  And T3 was bad, I admit, but that bit with the building toppling nicked from Uncharted 2 started out good before it became boring.

[I, Cosh]

Action classic Point Break, for the first time in what must be over ten years.

Still great - but quite a lot sillier/unintentionally funnier that I remember.

Out of interest, what did you think was unintentionally funny? I love Point Break but I've always assumed it's aware of the daftness of it's testosterone fuelled macho bonding but plays it straight deliberately.

I was wondering, though - suggestions for genuinely good romcoms? They're few and far between, but there must be some gems?

Don't know if it really classes as a romcom but I loved Silver Linings Playbook and it does have a disturbed, odd-couple romantic relationship at its heart.

50 First Dates 

I was conned into watching that once when I thought I'd be watching The 51st State.

Brilliant.

Ha! If it's any consolation, The 51st State was fairly pish.

[I, Cosh]

Highlander. Watched it for the first time in 15 years. Jesus H Christ, what a shite film.

Imfind it shite in a way that is extremely entertaining.mits clearly not very well made, or acted, and doesnt have the most solid script. But you can at least tell there was heart put into it, and unlike some vapid blockbusters that have achieved critical and commercial successe these days that have turned out (unsurprisingly) to be utter drivel, Higlander has something about it that makes it quite a compelling watch. Thes sequels on the other hand.....

Sorry lads. Not having this. Not having this at all. Amongst me and my mates growing up in dreary Central Scotland, Highlander was probably second only to Robocop in terms of rewatchability and endless quotability. I'm aware that doesn't make it objectively good but I'm here to stick up for it anyway.

While perhaps not the greatest actor in the world, Christophe Lambert was, for a brief period, an absolutely magnetic screen presence. Like some proto-Euro Chow Yun Fat. By "a brief period", I do of course mean "this and Subway (and maybe Greystoke if you're in a good mood)" but that's better than most seedy Frenchmen get.

I'll happily agree the effects aren't the best but at least they had the sense to go for something deliberately non-realist in the first place. I actually think the overall plot and the time-split narrative works really well. On the other hand, I also think Mulcahy's The Shadow is tied for first place in the most incomprehensibly underrated films of all time stakes with Last Action Hero.