#Blockbusters

[nintendroid]

Blockbuster Christmas ad featuring Bram Stoker's Dracula for Genesis/Super Nintendo.

[vertigoartgore]

Actor Matthew McConaughey as Denton Van Zan in Rob Bowman's Reign of Fire (2002).

[readingtoinfinity]

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

The most impossible Mission: Impossible mission movie of all time. The movie itself is... good enough.

Coming off the cliffhanger from the last movie, Ethan Hunt and his IMF team are scrambling to find the key to disabling the Entity. Meanwhile, the nuclear powers are at the controls, wondering if they'll be the one to launch the first strike into armageddon, wondering if they can trust Hunt to save them one last time.

The story is not really there to speak of. Most of it consists of Ethan and company traveling from A to B to get thing C after a great deal of trouble. The plans in this one are the most straightforward of any Mission: Impossible plans so far, and most of them go off with the usual expected hitches.

What I don't like about these movies is the greater focus on Ethan Hunt as God's Specialist Boy™ and the Chosen One. A lot of this movie is made of Ethan's destiny, how he was meant to do this, something I don't think is particularly warranted in a series based on working hard to overcome. Not that Ethan doesn't, but I think his idea of destiny is that it's horseshit.

There's also a focus on comedy that falls flat too often in this movie. I did chuckle on occasion but more often I was stone-faced when something "humorous" happened. Tom's comedy bits fell through more than any others, however, and Simon Pegg's were nailed every time.

But there's not only bad and mediocre in this movie. The stunts are once again quite breathtaking, though they've become by-the-numbers in this movie. There's a scene in a submarine that is striking and tense, but the climax of the movie on Ethan's side leaves a lot to be desired. In total, it's a Mission: Impossible movie, and the stunts deliver. It's the perfect movie to take your dad to on Fathers' Day (Hi dad! I had fun at the IMAX theater!).

And finally, I think this movie's greatest strength is its greatest failing: Ethan is surrounded by interesting characters doing interesting things, but they are often not allowed to do so to allow IMF to do their thing. A president struggling with what may be the end of the world? Security secretaries, suggesting a heinous action to save everyone? A researcher in the arctic who has had a finger on the pulse of the black box operations since the beginning? All of these people were fascinating to watch, and even when we didn't get a lot out of them, they were memorable and engaging.

Alas, these movies must center on Ethan Hunt, by their very nature. And in this movie all the other members do get a chance to do something cool; I will refrain from spoilers so you can go in blind, but suffice to say I was happy to see them all get a chance to shine.

Should you watch it? Sure. If you've seen and enjoyed the other movies you'll probably enjoy this one. But I don't think it's a shining example of what the franchise is capable of, and if we want to have that, I think we need to focus more on the surrounding cast than Ethan Hunt himself.

(also side note: was I crazy or did Paris and Benji have some solid chemistry? Both me and my sibling noticed it during the hacking scene in the vault, and personally though I am only lightly a shipper I would ship that pairing. That's what I mean when I say there should be more of a focus on the greater circle of characters: there's potential there that could be tapped into)

[oldshowbiz]

I'd like to solve the puzzle...

[cherryblvnt]

[duchessofostergotlands]

They should bring back Blockbuster. And I’m not saying that through a nostalgia kick. Genuinely, bring it back. Get some Gen z influencers signed up, get them to say some bollocks about it being a more “intentional way to engage with movies.” Do a letterboxd partnership. You're golden.

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[idasessions]

Susan Backlinie during production of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws in Martha’s Vineyard on July 15th, 1974. Photos by Pamela Schall.

[leresq]

One of my least favourite things about blockbusters is the way average families are portrayed as having 750,000 dollar homes. Transformers, the Sonic movies, you're a small town plumber how can you afford that?!

[vertigoartgore]

James Gunn's Superman 1st movie poster (textless 4k version also). Source Source

[popculthub]

Julia Roberts

[matt0044]

“Audiences wants-“ “Audiences likes-“

Message to YouTube essayists and FilmTwitter:

Don't use highly generalized audience reactions and ratings as accrued by highly failable online sites to boister your own opinion.

Just give me your own opinion so I can either agree with you or thrust my index finger out boldly to object to. I didn't click on one person's video for some "consensus."

Especially when it comes to female characters. Maybe, juuuuuuuust maybe, Arcane doesn't need to be this standard bearer when we could have a variety. I'm sure that for everyone who worships Vi at the alter, there are some who's prefer something else.

Sincerely,

Somebody who is some friggin' tired of this "attention economy." How is that term NOT something out of a boomer's satire of kids these days?

[greencheekconure27]

Don't you hate it when a big budget sci-fi movie ruins a perfectly good alien planet setting with action heroes. I don't care about humans with running around with guns! Show me the scientists meticulously studying alien bugs! Tell me some local folklore! History! Art! Have scifi David Attenborough tell me about the fascinating behaviour of a local bird species! Stop interrupting your scientists dammit.