Also that Stallone would still be an action hero in ten years (probably).

The King's Man

It's strange. I totally get why it's getting poor reviews, and yet I really enjoyed it.

The bad thing is that tonaly it's a mess. It's hard to make this kind of comic book movie about World War I. WWII is different, despite all its horror it was being turned into pulp fiction practically live, and during it the golden age of superhero comcis happened. But WW I doesn't have that kind of legacy in popular culture. It's memory is more faded and sombre. Wonder Woman somehow menaged to thread this needle. The King's Man didn't. It goes from over the top goofy sword-dance fights with Rasputin to intense, dark war drama and back again like a rollecoaster. And the overall plot honestly doesn't make much sense. The trailers did a great job of hiding the actual plot of the film (Rasputin isn't even the main villain, and that's no spoiler, it's revealed at the very start), but that actual plot is way more pedestrian and nonsensical than whaI thought it would be.

So why did I like it? The war drama part, as out of place as it may feel, was great. There's a no man's land sequence that's just superbly creepy and shocking, and it's done just superbly. For all the problems with how jarring and episodic the movie feels, it has more genuine emotion keeping the action grounded than either of the previous two films. The action might have been more impressive there, but I cared about the characters doing the fighting more here (except for the big villain, he sucked). Ralph Fiennes is just phenomenal here, in his grief, his love, his pangs of regret and moments of determination he brings his A game to this and gives the best performance in the series to date.

I can't predict how anyone else will feel about it, but I'm glad I saw it, and on the big screen.

Jordan Peterson made big hay of that for profit (controversy gets speaking engagements and appearances on programs ETC which pay money for this too as well as other ways you can get money just for being famous. Also some on the right always fall for culture war BS which gets you a fan base which gets you more money). But it's total fiction, no more real than the movie Demolition Man.

https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/canadas-gender-identity-rights-bill-c-16-explained

You've been scammed, but don't feel bad, JP regularly scams lots of people with BS.

Yet, the link you provided states: As far as I can say, that is exactly what JP was talking about so, yeah... ;^p

Also, slippery slope.

If JP were to actually have gotten any serious legal threat against him, that would be one thing. Or at least a single example of this absurd scenario even partially threatening to come true.

But absurd theoreticals invented to get money is something completely different, certainly nothing like the movie Demolition Man.

Let me put it another way. Let's say there is a law preventing discrimination against people based on skin color. Does that mean the word "niger" is now illegal? No.

But someone who does toss the word "niger" around in a derogatory fashion when referring to people of dark skin.
That could be said to be showing discrimination which would run afoul of the law. But that doesn't mean the law is about what words are used. That person saying "niger" all the time is probably not just using a taboo word but likely acting in other discriminatory ways too, where this is just a visible sign of those other things.

There is no evidence to show anyone is going to be fined or jailed solely because of what pronouns they use.

Spider-Man No Way Home

How can I review this without spoiling it?
Hmm.......
.....

Just watch it if you like spider-man. Worst review ever I suppose but I really can't say anything without spoiling something.. it's one of those movies.

You can't tell us how much you liked it without spoiling it?

Don't Look Up (2021)

It started out promising but then I feel it got increasingly boring.

Isn't satire supposed to be funny ... you know ... humorous? to me that element was missing or simply not done well enough in this film. It's as if the writer wanted to make a point more than to actually entertain. A good satire needs both I think.

My definition of a good satirical movie is something like Dr. Strangelove, Life of Brian, Brazil, Kung Fu Hustle, Hot Fuzz, etc. Movies where you can't help but laugh or marvel at the absurdity that is presented to you.

I feel that the movie in question did not go absurd enough, that it tries to keep things reigned-in, that it tries to be more realistic or serious than it should be. What I see in this movie feels like everyday US news media to me. So the fantasy element is lost to a large extent.

I can't fault the acting or directing, It's the writing that feels incomplete or downright lazy, the writer just drops the bomb but then does nothing with it: "boom, here's the absurd thing! ... now enjoy the remaining 100 minutes of the film where nothing really happens".

Encanto (2021)

Disney letting Lin-Manuel Miranda do what he does best: tell a heartwarming story about overcoming adversity, with great visuals and awesome music. It's also surprisingly deep for a kid's movie, exploring a complicated family dynamic and an unusually sad (for Disney) backstory. Most people will probably see the end coming from a mile away, but the fun part is still how they get there

This was also the first movie I've watched on my brand-new 55" smart TV, since saying "Eff off" to the cable company and going streaming services only

The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)

An excellently crafted story about repression in East Germany following a Stasi agent who spies on a writer suspect of subversive ideology.

The Ice Road

As far as the recent Liam Neeson movies go it's just kinda average, but then again it doesn't even try do be something as clever as Cold Pursuit. It's just a straight forward thriller with a decent premise (Neeson and a few other characters need to transport mining equipment in trucks over dangerous frozen waterways while someone tries to stop them), executed well enough for such a simple film. I was actually more into it than I thought from the trailers. Nothing great, but an allright popcorn flick. Still better than quite few hyped big budget movies and shows I saw recently.

Mad Max: Fury Road

First movie without the original Max. It still has the gritty flavor of the previous movies. It has blood, explosions and car chases.
Extra bonus points for the flame-throwing guitarist thrasher/drummer massive bandwagon. And captured Max being a body shield in a raider's car.
The Max Max game is different and according to wiki; non-canonical. But I still enjoyed both the movie and game. I finished the game last year before I got to see the movie.

From Bedrooms to Billions. A crowdfunded documentary about the British videogames industry, from its start with teenagers making Spectrum games in their rooms to bloated modern games being assembled by armies of programmers tightly controlled by giant publishers and their marketing teams. It's quite well-done and it's nice to put faces to some of the names behind games I've played. It made me wish someone would do a similar documentary about the 8-bit computing scene in the U.S. There are people who made games for the Apple II, Tandy line, and TI-99 who could tell interesting stories (I bet John Romero would love to go on about his Apple programming roots), and it would be interesting to compare how the industry developed in the U.S. compared to Britain and elsewhere. The directors have made sequels, but those cover the Amiga and Playstation years, presumably with a British focus again.

Moonfall

Uhm yeah... It's dumb fun with some truly spectacular visuals in places, but it's way too long, and keeps jumping from the more interesting 'moon scenes' to painfully uninteresting family scenes on Earth. Some of the dialogue's pretty grating as well, especially from Halle Barry's character.

It's kind of like a mix of Independence Day and 2012, without being nearly as good as the former or even the latter. However if someone could edit away at least a solid 30 min of the film, particularly the family stuff, it could rise to a respectable rank in the dumb fun genre.