Off Topic Thread 4.0

troyzer

errlloyd wrote: »

I wonder is this peak avengers. I know they plan on going on, but I figure it'll lose momentum now.

I know the difference between not liking something personally and thinking something is bad (I think). And the avengers isn't my thing. My problem with it is that my mates only ever went to the cinema irregularly, and now a huge percentage of those visits are Avengers films.

They're not really going on. Several of the main actors haven't renewed their contracts and several other characters won't be reappearing for reasons made obvious in the movie.

Of course, there's still a lot left and sequels are planned. The show must go on. But they'll probably spend the next five years focusing on individual movies with occasional crossovers before building up to another epic series. Hopefully secret wars or something like that.

Disney own all of the Fox Marvel property now which included X-Men and Fantastic 4. So they're going to want to bring them into it as well.

stephen_n

errlloyd wrote: »

I wonder is this peak avengers. I know they plan on going on, but I figure it'll lose momentum now.

I know the difference between not liking something personally and thinking something is bad (I think). And the avengers isn't my thing. My problem with it is that my mates only ever went to the cinema irregularly, and now a huge percentage of those visits are Avengers films.

I don’t think there are more Avengers movies planned after this. There will be individual ones, but this is the end of the actual Avengers. Pretty sure they are going to kill off the Ironman character in this one too, guess I’ll find out tonight. The films are never going to win oscars but are pretty much the height of the action movie genre. The cinema should be about escaping life for a few hours and most of the Marvel films manage to provide that.

irishbucsfan

There are loads of movies coming out with huge crossover potential, for whoever it is that has made it out of this one alive. Some films (and I guess TV shows now) aren't going to be set in the future. So they can do whatever they want.

DGRulz

I know there's a fair few around these parts that hate Marvel movies and the whole superhero subgenre and that's fair enough but as someone that's been invested in this whole thing from movie 1 to movie 22, Endgame was potential one of the most cathartic things I've ever experienced. Surprisingly it didn't feel as long as it is. I was expecting Return of the King levels of "why does this movie never end?"

DGRulz

So ... Is it too late to start a betting pool on who dies in GoT tonight?

Erik Shun

DGRulz wrote: »

So ... Is it too late to start a betting pool on who dies in GoT tonight?

Still haven't watched the first 2 episodes...so if you spoil them For me... it'll be you

Saw Endgame over the weekend. Thought it was brilliant, the 4 Avengers films are a pretty massive success - not just commercially, but they are all fun well made films with top notch continuity. The entire Marvel Universe is unprecedented in it's commitment to quality and story telling.

Parts of Endgame are even relatively high brow. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but one of the best movie going experiences of all time in my opinion.

Looking forward to Game of Thrones, season has been a step down so far in terms of quality but it's been reliant on the weakest aspects of the show since they ran beyond the source material - writing. Looks like slightly less dialogue for this evenings episode.

awec

Deleted User wrote: »

Saw Endgame over the weekend. Thought it was brilliant, the 4 Avengers films are a pretty massive success - not just commercially, but they are all fun well made films with top notch continuity. The entire Marvel Universe is unprecedented in it's commitment to quality and story telling.

Parts of Endgame are even relatively high brow. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but one of the best movie going experiences of all time in my opinion.

Looking forward to Game of Thrones, season has been a step down so far in terms of quality but it's been reliant on the weakest aspects of the show since they ran beyond the source material - writing. Looks like slightly less dialogue for this evenings episode.

Have you read the books Venjur?

stephen_n

Deleted User wrote: »

Saw Endgame over the weekend. Thought it was brilliant, the 4 Avengers films are a pretty massive success - not just commercially, but they are all fun well made films with top notch continuity. The entire Marvel Universe is unprecedented in it's commitment to quality and story telling.

Parts of Endgame are even relatively high brow. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but one of the best movie going experiences of all time in my opinion.

Looking forward to Game of Thrones, season has been a step down so far in terms of quality but it's been reliant on the weakest aspects of the show since they ran beyond the source material - writing. Looks like slightly less dialogue for this evenings episode.

Saw endgame last night, will have to watch it again though as there are so many references to previous films and other storylines, I’m sure I misssed some. The missus wasn’t overly impressed and thought it was too long (not Marvel fan). I thought it was pretty well paced, didn’t really notice the time going by. Biggest issue they will have going forward is having single character stories match the Avengers.

DGRulz

Erik Shun wrote: »

Still haven't watched the first 2 episodes...so if you spoil them For me... it'll be you

Won't be me, I promise you that. I'm of the opinion that people that intentionally spoil something with the level of hype of Endgame or the last season of GoT should be publicly flogged.

swiwi_

Deleted User wrote: »

Parts of Endgame are even relatively high brow.

The film has subtitled dialogue in ancient Greek, excerpts from Verdi's requiem, and long panning shots where nothing happens?

swiwi_

Speaking of films, I watched the original Rocky in the weekend. I'd always thought Stallone had 2 brain cells (being generous), but this film - that he wrote - was actually pretty good. Reminded me of Marlon Brando.

troyzer

swiwi_ wrote: »

Speaking of films, I watched the original Rocky in the weekend. I'd always thought Stallone had 2 brain cells (being generous), but this film - that he wrote - was actually pretty good. Reminded me of Marlon Brando.

Rocky is a masterpiece. Rocky II is even better.

DGRulz

As a side note, is there not some law against putting election posters up in housing estates? Every general/ European/ local election theres more and more of them creeping further and further in our estate. They're not even high up, some are at ground level.

troyzer

DGRulz wrote: »

As a side note, is there not some law against putting election posters up in housing estates? Every general/ European/ local election theres more and more of them creeping further and further in our estate. They're not even high up, some are at ground level.

Why would there be a rule against it?

Squidgy Black

DGRulz wrote: »

As a side note, is there not some law against putting election posters up in housing estates? Every general/ European/ local election theres more and more of them creeping further and further in our estate. They're not even high up, some are at ground level.

Nope, only law around locations is they can't be within a certain distance of the polling station. They normally don't put them in estates because of visibility and the likelihood of someone tearing them down.

irishbucsfan

The rocky films are either quite good or absolutely horrible

Podge_irl

irishbucsfan wrote: »

The rocky films are either quite good or absolutely horrible

Rocky Balbao (Rocky VI) is actually fantastic. Premise is absurd of course but it’s the best one since the first.

Mr Tickle

Erik Shun wrote: »

Still haven't watched the first 2 episodes...so if you spoil them For me... it'll be you

Snape Kills Dumbledore

irishbucsfan

Podge_irl wrote: »

Rocky Balbao (Rocky VI) is actually fantastic. Premise is absurd of course but it’s the best one since the first.

They’ll always be ruined by the stupid Russian one and that ridiculous montage

awec

awec wrote: »

Have you read the books Venjur?

Just the first 2.

swiwi_

swiwi_ wrote: »

The film has subtitled dialogue in ancient Greek, excerpts from Verdi's requiem, and long panning shots where nothing happens?

I said high brow, not artsy

awec

Deleted User wrote: »

Just the first 2.

From about book 3 on the TV show diverges a lot from the books. The TV writers have been writing pretty much their own stuff for years now rather than just turning Martin's plots into TV shows. The books have provided relatively little. It's almost like two different stories set in the same universe with the same characters, and all that is in common is the same very-high-level plot.

The TV show in later seasons is better than the later books. The books really do get very hard to follow.

Zzippy

awec wrote: »

From about book 3 on the TV show diverges a lot from the books. The TV writers have been writing pretty much their own stuff for years now rather than just turning Martin's plots into TV shows. The books have provided relatively little. It's almost like two different stories set in the same universe with the same characters, and all that is in common is the same very-high-level plot.

The TV show in later seasons is better than the later books. The books really do get very hard to follow.

I've read them all and have to agree. Think the nature of TV means you can only introduce so many characters and sub-plots, whereas a series of books enables the author to introduce and develop many more. After a while it's hard to remember them all.

errlloyd

I agree, but I also feel that the TV show was guilty of taking plot lines from the books, and changing or merging characters based on sentiment analysis from fans.

Spoiler Episode 3

I also think the TV writers lack of the brutality of GRRM. I remmeber seeing an interview with GRRM years ago about Lady Stoneheart for instance, where he railed against the way LOTR brought Gandalf back from the dead, saying that when he brought someone back he had to bring them back lessor or weakened. Beric, Jon etc are just the same as they were before, Stoneheart doesn't exist. I also don't think GRRM would have let a few more die. Lyanna, Edd, Jorah, Mellisandre, Beric? The writers admitted they had only ever intended Lyanna as a one scene character, Edd is nothing with no house or history, Jorah completed his arc, Mellisandre and Beric were never anything either. So TV writers probably chickening out a little bit.

Podge_irl

Zzippy wrote: »

I've read them all and have to agree. Think the nature of TV means you can only introduce so many characters and sub-plots, whereas a series of books enables the author to introduce and develop many more. After a while it's hard to remember them all.

Likewise. The first 3 books are superb but its goes madly off the rails in 4&5 (and probably 6 if it ever gets released). The constraints of TV actually make the series better. There were some characters brought into the books and then killed that were just a giant waste of time.

Spoiler ep3:

I thought that was a truly awful episode full of the kind of cliches that GoT was supposedly avoiding - entire armies wiped out but somehow the main characters are the only ones left alive, people saved at the last minute, arya appearing our of nowhere utterly illogically and easily dispatching the main enemy. The entire premise of the show was this existential threat was so much worse then the "squabbling" and its dealt with just like that. I essentially think that was total **** and can't imagine the last 3 episodes will be of much interest.

Zzippy

Thanks for the spoiler tags lads. The missus would kill me if I read something and let it slip before 9pm...

Watched the new episode of Thrones:

The quality of game of thrones has gone off a cliff. Some great scenes in the new episode and the tension and ferocity was top notch at times.

But the writing, plot and seeming conclusion of the white walker threat was awful. There were huge inconsistencies throughout the episode and by the end I was pretty meh about the whole thing.

Not that bothered for next week, I hope it can revisit some of the events which were glossed over this week to give some insight or meaning to the whole thing.

Really poor season comparatively.

awec

Deleted User wrote: »

Watched the new episode of Thrones:

The quality of game of thrones has gone off a cliff. Some great scenes in the new episode and the tension and ferocity was top notch at times.

But the writing, plot and seeming conclusion of the white walker threat was awful. There were huge inconsistencies throughout the episode and by the end I was pretty meh about the whole thing.

Not that bothered for next week, I hope it can revisit some of the events which were glossed over this week to give some insight or meaning to the whole thing.

Really poor season comparatively.

Don't read if you care about book spoilers (i.e. if you ever plan on reading the books). Otherwise, if you've watched up to episode 3 (last nights) of the latest series then there's no spoilers below.

Night King doesn't exist in the books. White Walkers are mentioned a handful of times at best. This whole story arc is a sideshow, but it was bigged up in the show. Hardhome doesn't happen in the books either (well, it does, but it's a minor event and not involving any of the main characters).

The lack of a back story was evident. The way they killed him off just seemed abrupt and muddled to me. All of that and all it took was a ninja leap to kill him? Theon charging bizarrely to his guaranteed death? Jon's plot armour is seriously thick.

I don't think it was bad, but it wasn't great either. Left with more questions than answers, I just don't think we're going to get the answers.

Podge_irl

awec wrote: »

Don't read if you care about book spoilers (i.e. if you ever plan on reading the books). Otherwise, if you've watched up to episode 3 (last nights) of the latest series then there's no spoilers below.

Night King doesn't exist in the books. White Walkers are mentioned a handful of times at best. This whole story arc is a sideshow, but it was bigged up in the show. Hardhome doesn't happen in the books either (well, it does, but it's a minor event and not involving any of the main characters).

The lack of a back story was evident. The way they killed him off just seemed abrupt and muddled to me. All of that and all it took was a ninja leap to kill him? Theon charging bizarrely to his guaranteed death? Jon's plot armour is seriously thick.

I don't think it was bad, but it wasn't great either. Left with more questions than answers, I just don't think we're going to get the answers.

Not really sure it’s a sideshow. Think it is the main event in the books but it is more deliberately kept low key. He has made a bigger point of keeping the “others” as Ethereal creatures and the threat from the north much vague and ominously ill-defined. The next book is definitely doing to involve the northern threat becoming more defined though - it is not called A Song of Ice and Fire for nothing. There is zero chance the intended ending of the books was a stupid kill from behind of some supreme head that causes them all to die.

The books are never coming out at this point though so **** it.