What Movie Are You Watching?

As someone more of a Detective Comics fan and not a Marvel Comics fan, I have never gotten into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (to be fair, the Detective Comics live-action movies are a hit or miss with me, with The Punisher and Shang-Chi probably being the only characters I like. However, Black Widow did moderately catch my attention primarily due to the Femme Fatal genre. So I will probably see it at some point.

That being said, I enjoy Michael Keaton and Benjamin Affleck as the live-action Batman while Kevin Conroy is the definitive voice of The Dark Knight for me. Also, this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I never really connected with Christopher Nolan's take on the Batman mythos nor Heath Ledger's Joker. It was not bad, but I did not see what was so special about his performance much like Sonic Mania. That being said, I did enjoy the utterly nihilistic Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of the Joker though.

My favorite live-action film is still Batman Returns directed by Tim Burton. My favorite animated film is still the underrated (in my opinion), animated Batman feature Mask of the Phantasm released in 1993. Hell, I remember even Siskel and Ebert expressing remorse for overlooking it lol.


Finally, I am also a big fan of the Arkham video game series and The Dark Knight Returns comics by Frank Miller. As far as movies premiering soon, I am only really interested in Shang-Chi and Snake Eyes (even though I was never a GI JOE fan).

I actually like The Punisher character too as he's very anti-superhero and more like a normal guy that tragedy befalls but they haven't done a good movie with that character. The Dolph Lundgren 1990s Punisher is unwatchable and the 2004 Thomas Jane Punisher movie had potential and John Travolta was easily hateable as the villain, but the rest of the movie went for the comical aspects and never really evolved. Thomas Jane was not convincing as Punisher.

Shang Chi I have never heard of until I saw the preview for it at the cinema during Black Widow. I love Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh so they are reason enough for me to see it, and I must admit, it does look good in and of itself and much better than I would have expected from a comic book movie on a virtually unknown character to non-comic book fans. I may just be a sucker for the Asian lore aspect, or maybe it's really going to be a solid film? Perhaps Marvel is getting a bit more gritty with their direction, which is a big surprise under Disney, but it's a welcomed surprise.

Since you enjoy both well written intellectual content and pure entertainment content I cannot recommend Black Widow enough, preferably in the cinema for the ultimate experience. After sleeping on it I may have to bump my review up to an 8/10 on the general film scale, and maybe a 9.5/10 on the comic book film scale, its really a damn good film, I just have a hard time not thinking that it could have been so much more without the chains of Marvel being involved, but if you take it for what it is, even with its restrictions its really good. I really appreciate that they let Johansson portray the character the way she wanted to in this film rather than leaning on the directors interpretation like in Iron Man 2 and the Avengers films. It's the first time they really give any type of justice to the character by not patronizing her and overly focusing on the cheeseball aspects of oversexualizing and cheapening the depth of the character and what she is facing with the child trafficking. They also don't throw a potato sack on the character to please the feminist culture and gut the film of keeping it as real as possible. Her sister is equally as impressive as a character and the actress Florence Pugh performs at a high level where at times I was more engaged and moved by her performance than Johansson or Winstone. The other two main hero members of the cast are great for supporting roles as well.

I grew up with the 90's Batman films and they were enjoyable during that time when I was a kid. I've seen parts of them in passing over the years as an adult and I don't really feel I could get into them much now, but they were entertaining for their time, and I feel they have aged much better than of the Spiderman, Avengers, Superman and other comic films in the last 20 years. When they were limited on having any good CGI it made the movies feel more hokey but also more interesting in that they had to lean on character development a bit more during that Batman era than during the current gen comic films where everything is action and CGI explosions. This is the reason I enjoyed Bale's Batmans as well that it grounded itself in more reality. I have yet to see Phoenix's Joker but he's a top notch actor in everything I've seen him in, so no doubt that is a good film.

I saw the trailer for Snake Eyes on a YouTube commercial a week or so ago and thought it looked like a really entertaining popcorn flick, until I saw the GI Joe part at the end, that turned me off entirely. It's possible though that if I can confirm from spoiler free reviews that it doesn't feel like a GI Joe film, or possibly if I don't have to be completely in tune with the GI Joe lore in order to enjoy it, I'll probably see Snake Eyes as well.
 
At last, I've finally watched Fast Five through Furious 7. As I expected, I very much loved Fast Five and thoroughly enjoyed F6 and F7. Gonna try and watch F8 tomorrow.



I don't really care about the Shang-Chi in the comics, but I'm VERY much looking forward to the movie primarily because we'll finally see The Mandarin, which I pray they do him justice. It always bothered me how they dropped the ball on that with Iron Man 3 but they have an opportunity to right this wrong.

Also love Batman Returns. For the longest time that was my favorite Batman film before Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises came out.
Did you like Fast 6 or 7 better overall? That's a hard one for me its so close, though 5 would be the best in the franchise overall.

Have you seen the other Fast films? If not, you've already seen the best ones with 5, 6, and 7 lol. F8 is a major step down in the franchise, regardless of the Paul Walker situation. Charlize Theron is one of my favorite actors, and probably what I'd consider to be the most convincing actress I've seen in the last few decades and even she couldn't take the film to the next level. F8 isn't as bad as the original movie or Tokyo Drift, but it's on the lower side of the saga. I know with Fast & Furious it's all popcorn action with mostly bad acting led by Vin Diesel, but those movies are a lot of fun with exception to the original and a good chunk of Tokyo Drift. What can we expect from the story and action 8 or 9 films into it? I'm considering going to see F9 before it leaves theaters, but just might wait until it hits digital.

@I Got Sriracha In My DNA What's your ranking on the Fast films? Not having seen F9 yet for me it's:

5
6
7
4
2
Hobbs & Shaw
8
3
1

1 is probably technically better than 3 because at least it has characters I liked, but the film itself was boring where Tokyo Drift at least had a different style of racing introduced. I honestly didn't think at the time 3 released that the franchise would ever get another film. 1 felt like a forgettable popcorn flick and 3 felt like a straight to VHS/DVD bargain bin film.
 
Did you like Fast 6 or 7 better overall? That's a hard one for me its so close, though 5 would be the best in the franchise overall.

Have you seen the other Fast films? If not, you've already seen the best ones with 5, 6, and 7 lol. F8 is a major step down in the franchise, regardless of the Paul Walker situation. Charlize Theron is one of my favorite actors, and probably what I'd consider to be the most convincing actress I've seen in the last few decades and even she couldn't take the film to the next level. F8 isn't as bad as the original movie or Tokyo Drift, but it's on the lower side of the saga. I know with Fast & Furious it's all popcorn action with mostly bad acting led by Vin Diesel, but those movies are a lot of fun with exception to the original and a good chunk of Tokyo Drift. What can we expect from the story and action 8 or 9 films into it? I'm considering going to see F9 before it leaves theaters, but just might wait until it hits digital.

@I Got Sriracha In My DNA What's your ranking on the Fast films? Not having seen F9 yet for me it's:

5
6
7
4
2
Hobbs & Shaw
8
3
1

1 is probably technically better than 3 because at least it has characters I liked, but the film itself was boring where Tokyo Drift at least had a different style of racing introduced. I honestly didn't think at the time 3 released that the franchise would ever get another film. 1 felt like a forgettable popcorn flick and 3 felt like a straight to VHS/DVD bargain bin film.

Good question, I'm still pondering which I like better between F6 and F7. I think I give the slight edge to F7 because Jason Statham is awesome in it, but I do feel like the loss of Han and Gisele, as well as Hobbs' small screentime makes it a real close call. 6 has great chemistry between all the members of the team and I love that Letty comes back into the fold.

Also yeah I saw Fast 1 thru 4 ages ago all in theaters. Don't ask why I never caught the the real good ones after lol but I did always like 1 and 4. How I would rank it is:

5
7
6
4
1
2
3

And yeah I thought the series was toast after 3, but thankfully 4 barely saved the franchise enough to get to Fast 5 and beyond. Which by the way, I like that you have 4 high up on your list. Most people I know have it real low but I've always had a soft spot for it myself. In retrospect, 4 really set the stage for the superior installments.
 
I like The Punisher character too as he's very anti-superhero and more like a normal guy that tragedy befalls but they haven't done a good movie with that character. The Dolph Lundgren 1990s Punisher is unwatchable and the 2004 Thomas Jane Punisher movie had potential and John Travolta was easily hateable as the villain, but the rest of the movie went for the comical aspects and never really evolved. Thomas Jane was not convincing as Punisher.

Shang Chi, I have never heard of it until I saw the preview for it at the cinema during Black Widow. I love Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh so they are reason enough for me to see it, and I must admit, it does look good in and of itself and much better than I would have expected from a comic book movie on a virtually unknown character to non-comic book fans. I may just be a sucker for the Asian lore aspect, or maybe it's going to be a solid film? Perhaps Marvel is getting a bit more gritty with their direction, which is a big surprise under Disney, but it's a welcomed surprise.

Since you enjoy both well-written intellectual content and pure entertainment content I cannot recommend Black Widow enough, preferably in the cinema for the ultimate experience. After sleeping on it I may have to bump my review up to an 8/10 on the general film scale, and maybe a 9.5/10 on the comic book film scale, its a damn good film, I just have a hard time not thinking that it could have been so much more without the chains of Marvel being involved, but if you take it for what it is, even with its restrictions it's really good. I appreciate that they let Johansson portray the character the way she wanted to in this film rather than leaning on the director's interpretation like in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers films. It's the first time they give any type of justice to the character by not patronizing her and overly focusing on the cheeseball aspects of oversexualizing and cheapening the depth of the character and what she is facing with child trafficking. They also don't throw a potato sack on the character to please the feminist culture and gut the film of keeping it as real as possible. Her sister is equally as impressive as a character and the actress Florence Pugh performs at a high level where at times I was more engaged and moved by her performance than Johansson or Winstone. The other two main hero members of the cast are great for supporting roles as well.

I grew up with the 90's Batman films and they were enjoyable during that time when I was a kid. I've seen parts of them in passing over the years as an adult and I don't feel I could get into them much now, but they were entertaining for their time, and I feel they have aged much better than the Spiderman, Avengers, Superman and other comic films in the last 20 years. When they were limited on having any good CGI it made the movies feel hokier but also more interesting in that they had to lean on character development a bit more during that Batman era than during the current-gen comic films where everything is action and CGI explosions. This is the reason I enjoyed Bale's Batmans as well that it grounded itself in more reality. I have yet to see Phoenix's Joker but he's a top-notch actor in everything I've seen him in, so no doubt that is a good film.

I saw the trailer for Snake Eyes on a YouTube commercial a week or so ago and thought it looked like an entertaining popcorn flick until I saw the GI Joe part at the end, which turned me off entirely. It's possible though that if I can confirm from spoiler-free reviews that it doesn't feel like a GI Joe film, or possibly if I don't have to be completely in tune with the GI Joe lore to enjoy it, I'll probably see Snake Eyes as well.
Thank you for the recommendation with Black Widow as I will probably check it out soon. When it comes to Batman, it has more to do with appreciating the more mature tones and themes that I missed when I was younger. Much like life, it shows the utter cynicism of the world, and as someone who prefers the grittier iteration of Batman, these speak to me more. Also, while I highly recommend the Joaquin Phoenix Joker film, be warned that it is an utterly nihilistic movie.

The Punisher is someone I like because he reminds me of what Batman would become if he broke his no-killing rule. And while his canceled series on Netflix was not one-hundred percent faithful to the comics, it was a good effort and I enjoyed it a lot. The Punisher MAX comics are still my favorite interpretation of The Punisher though.

Like you, I am also heavily attracted to Asian culture which is why I am interested in Shang-Chi and Snake Eyes even though I do not have any interest in GI JOE even when it was a big hit in the eighties.
 
Watched Fate of the Furious, and @otbr87, you weren't kidding. F8 is a huge step down. The action setpieces are very well done but they're kind of exhausting to watch. I don't watch these movies for the story, but I do need to buy into either the absurdity or character dynamics and there are some serious problems I have regarding these with this film.

My updated ranking is:

5
7
6
4
1
8
2
3
 
Good question, I'm still pondering which I like better between F6 and F7. I think I give the slight edge to F7 because Jason Statham is awesome in it, but I do feel like the loss of Han and Gisele, as well as Hobbs' small screentime makes it a real close call. 6 has great chemistry between all the members of the team and I love that Letty comes back into the fold.

Also yeah I saw Fast 1 thru 4 ages ago all in theaters. Don't ask why I never caught the the real good ones after lol but I did always like 1 and 4. How I would rank it is:

5
7
6
4
1
2
3

And yeah I thought the series was toast after 3, but thankfully 4 barely saved the franchise enough to get to Fast 5 and beyond. Which by the way, I like that you have 4 high up on your list. Most people I know have it real low but I've always had a soft spot for it myself. In retrospect, 4 really set the stage for the superior installments.
I enjoyed the family crew vs all business crew dynamics in 6, but Jason Statham as the villain in 7 with his motivation from what happens to his brother in 6 is probably why my favorite villain in the franchise is Statham and would have originally tipped the scale towards 7 over 6 just slightly back when 7 was the newest film, but when 8 changed the narrative around Statham I didn't enjoy that aspect at all considering what happened to Han in Tokyo Drift, it was a not so good idea to shift Statham that way, but admittedly Hobbs and Shaw works as a result of that. Are you planning on watching Hobbs and Shaw?

What fascinates me about 4 is that everyone loved 4 when it launched and said it was by far the best film with 1 following it, but after 5, 6 and 7 came out 4 got buried because those ones far surpassed it, and I guess people wanted to grab onto the nostalgia of 1 so 4 was put down there with 2, even 3 was all of the sudden considered a much better 'hidden gem' than it was at launch, which I cannot believe lol, I watched 1 again last night and have been reconsidering my placement of it behind 3. When 4 came out I waited to rent on DVD because of the lack of depth in the first three, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt it was the first film to really go all in on attempting to tell a solid story considering the genre, and the chase scenes were more fun, although it's hard to believe a 1980s Chevy Impala or 1990s Ford Taurus are keeping up in a high speed chase with 1970s muscle cars. This is why I put 4 higher than the older ones, I suspect that 9, 10 and 11 will not pass 5, 6 or 7 in quality but I think it's possible they may pass 4, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did not. The reason I like 2 better than most people is fairly simple: No Vin Diesel and adding Tyrese, braw! At the time I couldn't stand Vin Diesel even as an action film actor, but admittedly he's grown on me in the franchise and I feel it's his best work, but in 2003 I was happy he wasn't in 2. Tyrese cracks me up and was the highlight of 2, he was saying bruh, braw, breh in 2003 long before everyone else started using it excessively 5 years ago. I remember thinking wtf is bruh? Besides, we hungry!

If you see Hobbs and Shaw and F9 I'd like to know your placement on those too. I suspect F9 for me will fall on either side of 4, so right after 6 or behind 4. I suppose it depends on how they make up for The Rock and Paul Walkers absence this time. John Cena as a villain is compelling, and was the right choice. If they tried to make him a hero and hook up with the family, it would probably be the worst film in the franchise. I have low expectations but I doubt 9 will be worse than 8, at least I'm hoping. I'll update once I see 9.
 
Thank you for the recommendation with Black Widow as I will probably check it out soon. When it comes to Batman, it has more to do with appreciating the more mature tones and themes that I missed when I was younger. Much like life, it shows the utter cynicism of the world, and as someone who prefers the grittier iteration of Batman, these speak to me more. Also, while I highly recommend the Joaquin Phoenix Joker film, be warned that it is an utterly nihilistic movie.

The Punisher is someone I like because he reminds me of what Batman would become if he broke his no-killing rule. And while his canceled series on Netflix was not one-hundred percent faithful to the comics, it was a good effort and I enjoyed it a lot. The Punisher MAX comics are still my favorite interpretation of The Punisher though.

Like you, I am also heavily attracted to Asian culture which is why I am interested in Shang-Chi and Snake Eyes even though I do not have any interest in GI JOE even when it was a big hit in the eighties.
Batmans no killing rule is unique to him and I like that he has that, but that's a part of my issue with DC, even over pre-Disney Marvel is that DC films outside of Batman feel like they're rated G or PG at best, the characters feel like they're tailored towards young children, which is why I actually liked The Incredibles better than anything DC outside of Batman. The Incredibles felt like a kids movie jab at the 1930s "gee willikers that's awfully swell!" leave it to beaver type of vibe I get off of DC material. Its like a competition to see how many characters can wear spandex and be more absurd than the other lol.. Batman is a gem within that universe, any version of Batman 1980s to current is a respectable character to me.

I owned about 5 Punisher t shirts when I was a teenager, I stopped wearing them after 2004 Punisher as it sortve ruined the character for me. Even the sequel they did that was super violent with the new actor wasn't any good. Punisher is a film much like Black Widow that needs a solid foundation in story telling and character development. It can't get by on humor and over the top action or even violence alone. I actually wished Black Widow was written with the Punisher style gore factor. She's willing to kill but with the rating and PG-13 aspect it kindve kills the vibe on that aspect. I wonder how Black Widow would have worked pre-Disney Marvel. Scarlett Johansson would have been a bit too young and most likely more sexually objectified at the expense of the character. If we could get 2021 Black Widow character, story telling and current Johansson with 2004-ish rating and story line appropriate violence it would have been perfect.
 
Watched Fate of the Furious, and @otbr87, you weren't kidding. F8 is a huge step down. The action setpieces are very well done but they're kind of exhausting to watch. I don't watch these movies for the story, but I do need to buy into either the absurdity or character dynamics and there are some serious problems I have regarding these with this film.

My updated ranking is:

5
7
6
4
1
8
2
3
I agree whole heartedly. Something is off with F8, though I cannot say exactly what because the new cast members and general presentation is there, but it lacks elsewhere. I understand Brian being written out due to Paul Walkers death was a unfortunate yet good decision rather than have his brother act as him with a CGI face the entirety of F8, but I don't feel that Brian missing is the only reason F8 felt a bit flat. I actually liked the base idea of Dom turning on his family and the way it built up, but the pay off wasn't there for me. As for the action I enjoyed that less, not liking the submarine aspects, but I get it...it's the 8th movie, what else is there to do? I hope 10 and 11 maybe go for a little less over the top and ground themselves back into what made 1 through 4 enjoyable, which was less over the top. While I liked 5, 6 and 7 the best and largely because of the over the top aspects, I feel like they've peaked in that department and for the final two films it'd be nice to return home a bit more. It doesn't have to be just street racing, but less driving cars out of planes and running from a submarine on ice in a Ferrari and more highway pursuit type stuff.
 
I enjoyed the family crew vs all business crew dynamics in 6, but Jason Statham as the villain in 7 with his motivation from what happens to his brother in 6 is probably why my favorite villain in the franchise is Statham and would have originally tipped the scale towards 7 over 6 just slightly back when 7 was the newest film, but when 8 changed the narrative around Statham I didn't enjoy that aspect at all considering what happened to Han in Tokyo Drift, it was a not so good idea to shift Statham that way, but admittedly Hobbs and Shaw works as a result of that. Are you planning on watching Hobbs and Shaw?

That's one of the serious problems I have with the character dynamics in F8. Statham is a great villain and I actually was down with him being an anti-hero. But having Dom and him share a laugh and being invited to the cookout didn't sit right with me at all considering what happened to Han; and Shaw's brother being somewhat responsible for Gisele as well. It seemed very out of character to me that anybody on the team would want to associate with Shaw on friendly terms besides maybe Hobbs (who wasn't close to Han or Gisele anyway). Its a bit of a slap in the face to fans too to think we'd forget that. But yeah something is just missing in F8.

I do plan on watching Hobbs and Shaw so I'll let you know what I think of it whenever I decide to watch it.

The reason I like 2 better than most people is fairly simple: No Vin Diesel and adding Tyrese, braw! At the time I couldn't stand Vin Diesel even as an action film actor, but admittedly he's grown on me in the franchise and I feel it's his best work, but in 2003 I was happy he wasn't in 2. Tyrese cracks me up and was the highlight of 2, he was saying bruh, braw, breh in 2003 long before everyone else started using it excessively 5 years ago. I remember thinking wtf is bruh? Besides, we hungry!

Lol, even though I dislike 2, Tyrese was always my favorite thing about 2, (I also feel the same way about Han despite disliking Tokyo Drift) so I was pleased when I learned they brought Roman back in 5. Actually, if I have one consistent complaint about F5 through F7 is I felt they focused too much on Brian and Dom's bromance at the expense of Roman and Brian's. They didn't treat Roman like garbage or anything and we still got some gold interactions between them however that's Brian's childhood best friend and it should've been more like a Brian/Dom/Roman bromance instead of splitting Roman off to Ludacris. I know it's increasingly becoming Dom's franchise (which is a separate issue I have) but for example I felt like Roman should've been in the car with Dom at the end of F7 saying goodbye to Brian. Not a deal breaker of course but that would've been one of those little touches that would've capitalized on what was built in prior films.

I have low expectations but I doubt 9 will be worse than 8, at least I'm hoping. I'll update once I see 9.

So do I, as my pals haven't had much good things to say about it. Looking forward to see what you think of it when you watch it.
 
That's one of the serious problems I have with the character dynamics in F8. Statham is a great villain and I actually was down with him being an anti-hero. But having Dom and him share a laugh and being invited to the cookout didn't sit right with me at all considering what happened to Han; and Shaw's brother being somewhat responsible for Gisele as well. It seemed very out of character to me that anybody on the team would want to associate with Shaw on friendly terms besides maybe Hobbs (who wasn't close to Han or Gisele anyway). Its a bit of a slap in the face to fans too to think we'd forget that. But yeah something is just missing in F8.

I do plan on watching Hobbs and Shaw so I'll let you know what I think of it whenever I decide to watch it.



Lol, even though I dislike 2, Tyrese was always my favorite thing about 2, (I also feel the same way about Han despite disliking Tokyo Drift) so I was pleased when I learned they brought Roman back in 5. Actually, if I have one consistent complaint about F5 through F7 is I felt they focused too much on Brian and Dom's bromance at the expense of Roman and Brian's. They didn't treat Roman like garbage or anything and we still got some gold interactions between them however that's Brian's childhood best friend and it should've been more like a Brian/Dom/Roman bromance instead of splitting Roman off to Ludacris. I know it's increasingly becoming Dom's franchise (which is a separate issue I have) but for example I felt like Roman should've been in the car with Dom at the end of F7 saying goodbye to Brian. Not a deal breaker of course but that would've been one of those little touches that would've capitalized on what was built in prior films.



So do I, as my pals haven't had much good things to say about it. Looking forward to see what you think of it when you watch it.
@I Got Sriracha In My DNA ok, bruh! I went and watched F9 today right after replying to your post. I won't spoil anything for you but I'll say a bit on my general thoughts and what to possibly expect. F9 is much better than 8, but isn't a top place contender. It's exactly what I expected either above or below 4, I haven't fully decided yet. I'm rewatching the franchise I've decided so maybe in a week or two I'll have a definitive list of best to worst, but for now F9 sits somewhere around 4 in quality. There's some ridiculous stuff that doesn't work, there's actually a somewhat emotional moment I didn't expect, emotional by the terms of an action flick, of course. The action is quite nice and better than I expected. Not as solid as 5, 6 and 7 but not as much of a chore as 8. Brian missing is still noticeable but they worked around that much better in 9 than in 8. I promise you will see the hands down most ridiculous scene/stunt/idea in ANY of the FF movies, 9 has it and when you see it, you'll know it without hesitation. This crazy scene is over the top x10 but it actually works with the story line to some degree. There will be some questions you have expressed concerns over that will be addressed as well.

As for Brian and Roman and Doms dynamics yeah I really wish they would have made it more of them 3 having the bromance. Tyrese and Walker have a better on screen chemistry than Diesel and Walker, although Diesel and Walker works too. I would have liked to see Dom and Roman become a little closer now that Brian is out of the picture, but oh well.

I'd like to hear what you think of F9 as well if you happen to watch it, maybe we can discuss the details we liked/disliked at that time.

One last thing on F9, make sure you watch the scene after the credits. Much like F6 setting things up for F7 after the credits, F9 has something afterwards.
 
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Batman no killing rule is unique to him and I like that he has that, but that's a part of my issue with DC, even over pre-Disney Marvel is that DC films outside of Batman feel like they're rated G or PG at best, the characters feel like they're tailored towards young children, which is why I liked The Incredibles better than anything DC outside of Batman. The Incredibles felt like a kid's movie jab at the 1930s "gee willikers that swell!" leave it to beaver type of vibe I get off of DC material. It's like a competition to see how many characters can wear spandex and be more absurd than the other lol. Batman is a gem within that universe, any version of Batman from the 1980s to the current is a respectable character to me.

I owned about 5 Punisher t-shirts when I was a teenager, I stopped wearing them after 2004 Punisher as it sorta ruined the character for me. Even the sequel they did that was super violent with the new actor wasn't any good. Punisher is a film much like Black Widow that needs a solid foundation in storytelling and character development. It can't get by on humor and over-the-top action or even violence alone. I wished Black Widow was written with the Punisher style gore factor. She's willing to kill but with the rating and PG-13 aspect, it kinda kills the vibe on that aspect. I wonder how Black Widow would have worked pre-Disney Marvel. Scarlett Johansson would have been a bit too young and most likely more sexually objectified at the expense of the character. If we could get 2021 Black Widow character, storytelling, and current Johansson with a 2004-ish rating and storyline appropriate violence it would have been perfect.
To be fair, a lot of that vibe was due to the influence of Frederick Wortham being the pioneer of the notorious Comic Codes Authority. This group was responsible for not only Detective Comics being censored but Marvel Comics as well. That is why it was best to go with independent comic books instead. That is how I discovered the Spawn series by Todd Macfarlane ironically enough. Nowadays most Detective Comic live-action films or direct-to-video films tend to range from PG to R in ratings. Also, most comic books released by publishers are not restricted by the Comics Code Authority due to the organization going defunct in 2011 due to every comic book artist and publisher boycotting it.

As for Black Widow, that is kind of disappointing but not surprising considering Disney. I am probably going to go see the film tomorrow but with tempered expectations. I have always had a soft spot for assassins due to their lone wolf stoic persona. Or that one of my favorite characters in all of fiction Ogami Itto was an assassin of the samurai class.
 
To be fair, a lot of that vibe was due to the influence of Frederick Wortham being the pioneer of the notorious Comic Codes Authority. This group was responsible for not only Detective Comics being censored but Marvel Comics as well. That is why it was best to go with independent comic books instead. That is how I discovered the Spawn series by Todd Macfarlane ironically enough. Nowadays most Detective Comic live-action films or direct-to-video films tend to range from PG to R in ratings. Also, most comic books released by publishers are not restricted by the Comics Code Authority due to the organization going defunct in 2011 due to every comic book artist and publisher boycotting it.

As for Black Widow, that is kind of disappointing but not surprising considering Disney. I am probably going to go see the film tomorrow but with tempered expectations. I have always had a soft spot for assassins due to their lone wolf stoic persona. Or that one of my favorite characters in all of fiction Ogami Itto was an assassin of the samurai class.
I've never heard of Wertham or the CCA but that explains a lot. I'm massively against censorship in all capacities, with some basic regulation. Like with video games the ESRB/PEGI system I think is very fair and good to have to know what is age appropriate, but the idea that anything should be censored from existence or watered down when the creator doesn't want it to be is complete BS. Until human beings in real life learn how not to go to war and kill one another for the government that allows and governs censorship I won't even consider censorship of any adult content be it violent, sexual or controversial. Kids not being exposed to adult content is also equally important to me too, but that's more of a parenting issue and that's what a rating system helps encourage to inform good parents of what their children may be exposed to. Good parents is another issue entirely from governmental censorship. I never could get into Spawn or Image Comics in the 90s. I appreciated their grittier side but still thought Marvel was better in the 90s, it wasn't until Marvel started making the Xmen and Spiderman movies around the turn of the century that it really tanked and I lost complete interest. I never liked Spiderman or even all of the Xmen characters, but I did enjoy Punisher, Black Widow and Iron Man back in those days.

I'll be curious to hear what you think of Black Widow whenever you do end up watching it. It's sort of a return to form for a grittier film from a sterilized Marvel. The combat sequences are very enjoyable as is the dialogue and story dynamics, but the violence could be cranked up a bit. There's a secondary lone wolf character element as well that you may enjoy.
 


Casino -- I'm just gonna come out and say it...I like Casino more than Goodfellas. Heresy in some circles but yeah, I much prefer Casino over Goodfellas. Don't get me wrong, Goodfellas is a great film too, but for some reason, I like Casino better. Plus, I could listen to Joe Pesci cursing up a blue storm all day; "You mudda fucker, you!" :D
 

Casino -- I'm just gonna come out and say it...I like Casino more than Goodfellas. Heresy in some circles but yeah, I much prefer Casino over Goodfellas. Don't get me wrong, Goodfellas is a great film too, but for some reason, I like Casino better. Plus, I could listen to Joe Pesci cursing up a blue storm all day; "You mudda fucker, you!" :D
It really is a toss up for me. I like the narrative of Casino more than Goodfellas, but I like Goodfellas just a tiny bit more than Casino. You can’t go wrong with either one. Watching both of these and then following up with The Irishman, that trilogy is really something.
 
the last 2 films i watched back to back were: happy death day & happy death day 2u.

i would give the first film 6/10 & the second film a solid 7.5/10.

the first film is a very basic, "groundhog day" type time loop movie but with a murder on the loose but the second film is much better because it builds upon the first film and (sorta) explains why the time loop is taking place. they are both silly films but fun.

apparently there is talks of a 3rd film, which could be funny.
 

Casino -- I'm just gonna come out and say it...I like Casino more than Goodfellas. Heresy in some circles but yeah, I much prefer Casino over Goodfellas. Don't get me wrong, Goodfellas is a great film too, but for some reason, I like Casino better. Plus, I could listen to Joe Pesci cursing up a blue storm all day; "You mudda fucker, you!" :D
They both leave Godfather and Scarface in the dust. Scorsese is king of mafia flicks.
 
It really is a toss up for me. I like the narrative of Casino more than Goodfellas, but I like Goodfellas just a tiny bit more than Casino. You can’t go wrong with either one. Watching both of these and then following up with The Irishman, that trilogy is really something.
Don't forget Mean Streets ;)
 

Casino -- I'm just gonna come out and say it...I like Casino more than Goodfellas. Heresy in some circles but yeah, I much prefer Casino over Goodfellas. Don't get me wrong, Goodfellas is a great film too, but for some reason, I like Casino better. Plus, I could listen to Joe Pesci cursing up a blue storm all day; "You mudda fucker, you!" :D

I also am biased to Casino, primarily because I too think every muffin should have an equal amount of blueberries. No exceptions.
 
Good question, I'm still pondering which I like better between F6 and F7. I think I give the slight edge to F7 because Jason Statham is awesome in it, but I do feel like the loss of Han and Gisele, as well as Hobbs' small screentime makes it a real close call. 6 has great chemistry between all the members of the team and I love that Letty comes back into the fold.

Also yeah I saw Fast 1 thru 4 ages ago all in theaters. Don't ask why I never caught the the real good ones after lol but I did always like 1 and 4. How I would rank it is:

5
7
6
4
1
2
3

And yeah I thought the series was toast after 3, but thankfully 4 barely saved the franchise enough to get to Fast 5 and beyond. Which by the way, I like that you have 4 high up on your list. Most people I know have it real low but I've always had a soft spot for it myself. In retrospect, 4 really set the stage for the superior installments.
@I Got Sriracha In My DNA so I rewatched all of the Fast saga films in the last week and a half and have a few changes in my ranking:

5
7
6
9
4
8
2
3
1
Hobbs and Shaw

5 still remains my favorite and the most rounded of the franchise. I decided that I enjoyed 7 more overall than 6, despite them ruining the dynamics with Deckerd Shaw in later films. 9 is a nice comeback for the series and it shows that they do not need Hobbs and/or Shaw to carry the franchise, in fact I'd rather not see them bring back either of those characters after ruining them in the spin off. According to the statement The Rock made today, it looks like my wish will come true with F10. I'm still a bit torn on 4 or 8 being better because Charlize Theron is the best villain of the franchise and her role is much better in 8 than in 9, but 8 has that funky energy with all the backstage drama between the lead actors and of course Paul Walker missing made the movie funky as well. It was far more enjoyable upon revisiting it than I originally felt about 8, but still isn't near the top of the list. The rest of the movies aren't very good, but my feelings towards 2 being a comical bad action film with good laughs still holds, 1 and 3 were a bit difficult to sit through and even though 1 has better characters than 3, I find 1 to be very boring and cliche of a movie from the early 2000s, whereas 3 feels like a low budget straight to DVD flick, but it has a unique feel that 1 doesn't. Hobbs and Shaw is trash and the only one I would rank lower than average, it's not good as a buddy cop comedy, it's not good as a Fast film, it ruins the characters of both its lead stars, the cameo comedians are out of place, the action is boring. The only redeeming qualities are Idris being a really solid actor, it's too bad his character sucks in this film and the highlight is Vanessa Kirbys character who would have been better off in the main Fast franchise as a villain.
 


This movie is far better than I anticipated, which is mainly due to the trailer being one of the worst I've seen in years for misleading the viewer to think the movie is some shallow action flick. Taraji Henson is a top notch actor and I actually passed this movie up multiple times since it's 2018 release simply based on how bad the trailer was, but I was in the mood for something new from Taraji that I hadn''t seen so I decided to give it a watch finally, and it's well worth the time if you enjoy her exceptional acting ability and a movie that actually has a good story to it with some depth. It's a bit on the short side and low budget side of things, but its still worth the watch. Please don't let the trailer fool you, I was expecting some subpar trash like Atomic Blonde as I know Hollywood likes taking top notch actresses that have so much more to offer than good looks and putting them in tight clothes with guns but no good plot or depth to the story, this movie isn't anything like that. You can stream it free on RokuChannel dot com at the second link.
 
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