Matt Zimmer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
matt_zimmer) wrote2020-07-17 11:53 pm
matt_zimmer) wrote2020-07-17 11:53 pm
Fantastic Four (2015) Review (Spoilers)
Also reviews for the latest episode of Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., Doom Patrol, and The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo, as well as the new 30 Rock Special.
Fantastic Four
Caught this on Disney+.
I made a promise to myself before seeing it. I will try very hard not to harp on what everyone else harped on if I disliked it. I wanted any negative opinions I had to be my own.
Unfortunately, the only real things I took from the movie that had nothing to do with comic books and fandom is that the movie is generic, boring, too dark, and resolved too quickly and easily. All of the other things I saw wrong with it aren't actually things that I imagine are exclusive to me.
I do not demand any comic book film or series be completely faithful to the source material. Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles takes almost nothing from the Turtle canon and it's easily my favorite Turtle project because the things they changed were for the better. This is more like the Michael Bay produced Ninja Turtles film. It's not as bad as that because none of the characters here make me want to lose my lunch, but it's bad for the same reason. The things that movie decided to change were actually the selling points of the Ninja Turtles. And the things this movie got rid of from the Fantastic Four comics and cartoons were the actual good things about the Fantastic Four. The tone of the comics is goofy and weird, which makes it unique. The movie is serious and sterile instead. Doctor Doom has a huge and complicated (and arguably ridiculous backstory) in the comics. This Doom is just a guy who gets superpowers and goes insane. Reed Richards is kind of a cool lead hero. This Reed is a coward who abandons his friends when the going gets rough. I don't object to any of the superficial changes like making Johnny Storm black or Sue Storm adopted. It's the changes to the tone and subtext that weaken the film.
And I would have tolerated it all entirely if the film was any good. But it's boring. It's dull. I don't personally think it is the abortion many comic book purists claim it is, but there's very little to recommend and enjoy.
Is there anything I liked? I liked Kid Ben Grimm. Very stoic and laconic for a kid. When he tells Reed he's insane and Reed thanks him at the beginning, that genuinely put a smile on my face.
But the movie was otherwise a mess. Perhaps not as awful as its reputation suggests. But it's boring which makes it awful enough. *.
Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. "After, Before"
Passable. Decent. Acceptable. Which coming off of a contact high from last week's Best Episode Eva! is Good Enough For Me. I don't actually demand much from my TV. "Okay" will do in a pinch.
Considering the Inhuman dude lost his eyes during what happened here, it raises the question of what part of the backstory of the show we witnessed in season two was part of this new timeline. Did he originally lose his eyes in a different way? Begs the question.
Wished Jiaying and Sousa had shared a scene for a mini-Dollhouse reunion. Maybe in a couple of weeks.
I love Coulson's increasing depression over the idea that he's a robot. And the most depressing thing of all is that this seems like forever. I think the dude could use a pep talk.
I like that idea that Yoyo can still run fast, but she can't go back instantly the way she used to. It's an evolution of the power. Perhaps she should change her name to Yo.
I don't care if I wasn't amazed. I was entertained. ***.
Doom Patrol "Space Patrol"
To be honest, there was a LOT about last week I wanted and needed to discuss, but I declined to do so because the episode so negatively effected me, that I was worried that further dwelling on how much I hated it would legitimately upset me. Needless to say, I don't like hating things I watch. It makes me feel bad. So I'd a make p*ss-poor troll.
So I told myself two things going in: First, I was going to lower my expectations. I did not expect to like this episode, but I decided not to further hold that against the show if I didn't. It needed to win me back, but if it didn't, I wouldn't go nuts. The second thing is that even if I didn't dig it, I'd still be lenient and treat it with kid gloves. It's normally my nature to dig in and obliterate through prose any TV show I hate, but last week's episode was a special and unusual level of hate. Usually, I am ambivalent about bad TV shows, which allows me to talk smack and diss them in good humor. Last week of this show truly upset me. So again, if I didn't dig it, I was going to use a lighter touch rather than pile on.
But I actually dug it. A lot. The thing I was worried about the most last week was the episode's similarity to the vibe of Titans, literally the worst DC filmed project of all time, live-action or animated, movie or TV. Titans delights in destroying its characters and the show every other week and believes that's good drama. It doesn't occur to the truly talentless writers that we as an audience actually have to live with these characters from that point forward. My biggest objection to last week is that I saw what happened as a turning point that nobody could come back from. And I like this episode because instead of making out like Dick Grayson, and engaging in deplorable, psychopathic behavior to cope with their problems, everybody in this show tries to work them out, at least as a way to make peace with them with themselves. I appreciate that. The show could still blow up in the future. But it didn't this week. Yes, I no longer fully trust it. But a lot of trust WAS regained this week, which is saying something considering how much it had lost.
Let's go over the plotlines one by one.
I found the Pioneers of the Uncharted very funny, and the idea that they were dead and alien plant spore husks was a good explanation for their goofy behavior. I love the Russian Cosmonaut and the perspective she gives Larry. He's actually going to go back to his family and try again. That strikes me as a bad idea, but it's better than leaving things that way and asking Larry to live with them. That was my biggest objection to that plotline last week to begin with.
However I like the moment where Rita calls Larry a friend in need, and him instead correctly pointing out that his moment of need was actually past. That's super insightful. Feeling bad about yourself isn't an actual need, especially if there isn't anything Rita can do to help it. I like that idea.
It's lame that Silas is excited Victor has a girl, but Silas as a rule sucks, and as stupid as it is, it still makes him suck less.
I love Rita talking with the actress playing the Blob and trying to get her to see the nuance in her actions during the destruction of the town. What I loved about the scene is that the actress seems pretty insightful at points and her harsh theories about Rita hit her so hard because she half-believes them to be true, and just something she either never considered, or was never able to admit to herself. But once that ditz is talking about how all the Blob wants to do is suck up the world in her fat Rita knows not to take anything she says seriously, and that all of her previous "insights" must have boiled down to lucky guesses at best. Because the actress is super dumb.
I wasn't feeling Jane's stuff, mostly because I didn't understand it, and the fact that I didn't know where it was going made me extremely uncomfortable. We'll see how the next couple of weeks shake out but for now that was the one weak link in the episode.
I like Cliff being all "I'm Team Jane, screw Dorothy!" and Niles just dropping that ultimatum hammer down instead. He tolerates a LOT from Cliff because of guilt over what he did to him, but now it is not the time, and he'll blackmail the dude if he has to. It's always struck me as somewhat sweet that Robotman is very good with children, and despite the frustrating ending, I did like him offering to become Dorothy's family before the Chief crawls beneath his lowest expectations of him and us, because of course he does.
My favorite Cliff moment was my favorite because it had happened before, but I didn't fully grasp it until Cliff talked about it. Niles makes his young daughter promise to him that she will never make a wish again. And Cliff says that that's so sad. And that subtext of that promise that Niles has made her say before is huge, especially aimed at a little girl, and I didn't appreciate what a huge ask it was until Cliff rightly declared it so sad. I bemoaned last week for laying on the tragedy too thick, but that's the correct tragic thing for a drama like this to explore.
I liked this week a lot, but I am still cautious in my praise after last week. The show could still either way in my mind, and I don't have the faith in it I sort of had in season one. We'll see eventually whether it lives up to it's promise or lives down to my fears. This in of itself was a pretty great week. ****1/2.
The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo "Mykal-Michelle Harris / Jonathan Van Ness / H.E.R."
Couple of firsts this week: First kid guest, and first appearance from one of the Sesame Street human cast (Alan). I have to say I often feel bad for the adult humans on the show (who are often asked to do degrading things). Alan is one of those who always gets it the worst (although Maria had plenty to be ashamed about in the 1970's and 80's too). But tonight was definitely cringe, and not something you should ask a grown man with self-respect to do.
I'd say I liked Elmo and Cookie's Jonathan Van Ness makeovers but I'd be lying.
I love that Elmo not only tells Mykal her hair is beautiful, but H.E.R. does an entire song about that subject to drive the point and empowerment home. That was awesome.
Another cute week. But poor Alan. ****.
30 Rock "A One-Time Special"
Wow, I cannot get over how much I disliked that. I'll tell you biggest objection right off the bat.
It's stepping on Amy Poehler's toes for her amazing Parks And Recreation reunion. Especially annoying is that was done to raise money for COVID-19 charity, and this is literally an hour-long commercial for Peacock. I thought perhaps the NBC stations who declined to air this were overreacting. They weren't. This is an hour-long commercial and nothing more.
I have to say the only person in the entire special to make me laugh was Tracy Morgan (although the camera close-ups suggest he needs a nose-hair trimmer.) I was too angry at Tina Fey selling out to laugh at her, and I'm especially mad that she's over 50 and still super hot. Remember that moment in Family Guy where Lois is in Church and looks at Tina Fey in an annoyed voice and says "Okay, Tina Fey, you are better than Jesus." That was my expression during the entire special. Fey has gotten SO cool, it's annoying instead of enjoyable. And considering what a sell-out this special is, whether she's still hot or not, she is MUCH less cool than she used to be.
I feel angry on behalf of Amy Poehler who delivered a perfect special for the fans of that show and the victims of COVID, and one of her best friends pushes her accomplishment aside to demand unearned attention for herself. Which seems to be the story of Tina Fey's life. Tina Fey has done SEVERAL mea culpas about the "Mean Girls" phase of her life. But I still don't think she's entirely moved past it.
Ick. *.
Fantastic Four
Caught this on Disney+.
I made a promise to myself before seeing it. I will try very hard not to harp on what everyone else harped on if I disliked it. I wanted any negative opinions I had to be my own.
Unfortunately, the only real things I took from the movie that had nothing to do with comic books and fandom is that the movie is generic, boring, too dark, and resolved too quickly and easily. All of the other things I saw wrong with it aren't actually things that I imagine are exclusive to me.
I do not demand any comic book film or series be completely faithful to the source material. Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles takes almost nothing from the Turtle canon and it's easily my favorite Turtle project because the things they changed were for the better. This is more like the Michael Bay produced Ninja Turtles film. It's not as bad as that because none of the characters here make me want to lose my lunch, but it's bad for the same reason. The things that movie decided to change were actually the selling points of the Ninja Turtles. And the things this movie got rid of from the Fantastic Four comics and cartoons were the actual good things about the Fantastic Four. The tone of the comics is goofy and weird, which makes it unique. The movie is serious and sterile instead. Doctor Doom has a huge and complicated (and arguably ridiculous backstory) in the comics. This Doom is just a guy who gets superpowers and goes insane. Reed Richards is kind of a cool lead hero. This Reed is a coward who abandons his friends when the going gets rough. I don't object to any of the superficial changes like making Johnny Storm black or Sue Storm adopted. It's the changes to the tone and subtext that weaken the film.
And I would have tolerated it all entirely if the film was any good. But it's boring. It's dull. I don't personally think it is the abortion many comic book purists claim it is, but there's very little to recommend and enjoy.
Is there anything I liked? I liked Kid Ben Grimm. Very stoic and laconic for a kid. When he tells Reed he's insane and Reed thanks him at the beginning, that genuinely put a smile on my face.
But the movie was otherwise a mess. Perhaps not as awful as its reputation suggests. But it's boring which makes it awful enough. *.
Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. "After, Before"
Passable. Decent. Acceptable. Which coming off of a contact high from last week's Best Episode Eva! is Good Enough For Me. I don't actually demand much from my TV. "Okay" will do in a pinch.
Considering the Inhuman dude lost his eyes during what happened here, it raises the question of what part of the backstory of the show we witnessed in season two was part of this new timeline. Did he originally lose his eyes in a different way? Begs the question.
Wished Jiaying and Sousa had shared a scene for a mini-Dollhouse reunion. Maybe in a couple of weeks.
I love Coulson's increasing depression over the idea that he's a robot. And the most depressing thing of all is that this seems like forever. I think the dude could use a pep talk.
I like that idea that Yoyo can still run fast, but she can't go back instantly the way she used to. It's an evolution of the power. Perhaps she should change her name to Yo.
I don't care if I wasn't amazed. I was entertained. ***.
Doom Patrol "Space Patrol"
To be honest, there was a LOT about last week I wanted and needed to discuss, but I declined to do so because the episode so negatively effected me, that I was worried that further dwelling on how much I hated it would legitimately upset me. Needless to say, I don't like hating things I watch. It makes me feel bad. So I'd a make p*ss-poor troll.
So I told myself two things going in: First, I was going to lower my expectations. I did not expect to like this episode, but I decided not to further hold that against the show if I didn't. It needed to win me back, but if it didn't, I wouldn't go nuts. The second thing is that even if I didn't dig it, I'd still be lenient and treat it with kid gloves. It's normally my nature to dig in and obliterate through prose any TV show I hate, but last week's episode was a special and unusual level of hate. Usually, I am ambivalent about bad TV shows, which allows me to talk smack and diss them in good humor. Last week of this show truly upset me. So again, if I didn't dig it, I was going to use a lighter touch rather than pile on.
But I actually dug it. A lot. The thing I was worried about the most last week was the episode's similarity to the vibe of Titans, literally the worst DC filmed project of all time, live-action or animated, movie or TV. Titans delights in destroying its characters and the show every other week and believes that's good drama. It doesn't occur to the truly talentless writers that we as an audience actually have to live with these characters from that point forward. My biggest objection to last week is that I saw what happened as a turning point that nobody could come back from. And I like this episode because instead of making out like Dick Grayson, and engaging in deplorable, psychopathic behavior to cope with their problems, everybody in this show tries to work them out, at least as a way to make peace with them with themselves. I appreciate that. The show could still blow up in the future. But it didn't this week. Yes, I no longer fully trust it. But a lot of trust WAS regained this week, which is saying something considering how much it had lost.
Let's go over the plotlines one by one.
I found the Pioneers of the Uncharted very funny, and the idea that they were dead and alien plant spore husks was a good explanation for their goofy behavior. I love the Russian Cosmonaut and the perspective she gives Larry. He's actually going to go back to his family and try again. That strikes me as a bad idea, but it's better than leaving things that way and asking Larry to live with them. That was my biggest objection to that plotline last week to begin with.
However I like the moment where Rita calls Larry a friend in need, and him instead correctly pointing out that his moment of need was actually past. That's super insightful. Feeling bad about yourself isn't an actual need, especially if there isn't anything Rita can do to help it. I like that idea.
It's lame that Silas is excited Victor has a girl, but Silas as a rule sucks, and as stupid as it is, it still makes him suck less.
I love Rita talking with the actress playing the Blob and trying to get her to see the nuance in her actions during the destruction of the town. What I loved about the scene is that the actress seems pretty insightful at points and her harsh theories about Rita hit her so hard because she half-believes them to be true, and just something she either never considered, or was never able to admit to herself. But once that ditz is talking about how all the Blob wants to do is suck up the world in her fat Rita knows not to take anything she says seriously, and that all of her previous "insights" must have boiled down to lucky guesses at best. Because the actress is super dumb.
I wasn't feeling Jane's stuff, mostly because I didn't understand it, and the fact that I didn't know where it was going made me extremely uncomfortable. We'll see how the next couple of weeks shake out but for now that was the one weak link in the episode.
I like Cliff being all "I'm Team Jane, screw Dorothy!" and Niles just dropping that ultimatum hammer down instead. He tolerates a LOT from Cliff because of guilt over what he did to him, but now it is not the time, and he'll blackmail the dude if he has to. It's always struck me as somewhat sweet that Robotman is very good with children, and despite the frustrating ending, I did like him offering to become Dorothy's family before the Chief crawls beneath his lowest expectations of him and us, because of course he does.
My favorite Cliff moment was my favorite because it had happened before, but I didn't fully grasp it until Cliff talked about it. Niles makes his young daughter promise to him that she will never make a wish again. And Cliff says that that's so sad. And that subtext of that promise that Niles has made her say before is huge, especially aimed at a little girl, and I didn't appreciate what a huge ask it was until Cliff rightly declared it so sad. I bemoaned last week for laying on the tragedy too thick, but that's the correct tragic thing for a drama like this to explore.
I liked this week a lot, but I am still cautious in my praise after last week. The show could still either way in my mind, and I don't have the faith in it I sort of had in season one. We'll see eventually whether it lives up to it's promise or lives down to my fears. This in of itself was a pretty great week. ****1/2.
The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo "Mykal-Michelle Harris / Jonathan Van Ness / H.E.R."
Couple of firsts this week: First kid guest, and first appearance from one of the Sesame Street human cast (Alan). I have to say I often feel bad for the adult humans on the show (who are often asked to do degrading things). Alan is one of those who always gets it the worst (although Maria had plenty to be ashamed about in the 1970's and 80's too). But tonight was definitely cringe, and not something you should ask a grown man with self-respect to do.
I'd say I liked Elmo and Cookie's Jonathan Van Ness makeovers but I'd be lying.
I love that Elmo not only tells Mykal her hair is beautiful, but H.E.R. does an entire song about that subject to drive the point and empowerment home. That was awesome.
Another cute week. But poor Alan. ****.
30 Rock "A One-Time Special"
Wow, I cannot get over how much I disliked that. I'll tell you biggest objection right off the bat.
It's stepping on Amy Poehler's toes for her amazing Parks And Recreation reunion. Especially annoying is that was done to raise money for COVID-19 charity, and this is literally an hour-long commercial for Peacock. I thought perhaps the NBC stations who declined to air this were overreacting. They weren't. This is an hour-long commercial and nothing more.
I have to say the only person in the entire special to make me laugh was Tracy Morgan (although the camera close-ups suggest he needs a nose-hair trimmer.) I was too angry at Tina Fey selling out to laugh at her, and I'm especially mad that she's over 50 and still super hot. Remember that moment in Family Guy where Lois is in Church and looks at Tina Fey in an annoyed voice and says "Okay, Tina Fey, you are better than Jesus." That was my expression during the entire special. Fey has gotten SO cool, it's annoying instead of enjoyable. And considering what a sell-out this special is, whether she's still hot or not, she is MUCH less cool than she used to be.
I feel angry on behalf of Amy Poehler who delivered a perfect special for the fans of that show and the victims of COVID, and one of her best friends pushes her accomplishment aside to demand unearned attention for herself. Which seems to be the story of Tina Fey's life. Tina Fey has done SEVERAL mea culpas about the "Mean Girls" phase of her life. But I still don't think she's entirely moved past it.
Ick. *.
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