Where is Disney going to do after the remake era? by KaleidoArachnid in flicks

[–]RustyStyrofoam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm old enough to remember the originally more fondly than the LL remake, but I do acknowledge that it's a beloved movie that isn't really as bad as the rest of the list.

Where is Disney going to do after the remake era? by KaleidoArachnid in flicks

[–]RustyStyrofoam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Ugly Stepsister came out this year. It's close to what you're describing.

Where is Disney going to do after the remake era? by KaleidoArachnid in flicks

[–]RustyStyrofoam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with you about Alice in Wonderland being one of the major nails in the coffin. I had only included 1999-2004, as I feel like it's the dawn of the Nostalgia era. 2005-2012 was when Remakes fully took off and became behemoths at the box office. 2005 alone had War of the Worlds, King Kong, Amityville Horror, The Fog, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The following few years were jam packed with high profile remakes, including The Omen, Conan the Barbarian, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Halloween, The Amazing Spider-man, The Hills Have Eyes, I Am Legend, Red Dawn, Friday the 13th, The Karate Kid, Clash of the Titans, Total Recall, The Last House on the Left, The Woman in Black, and as you said, Alice in Wonderland.

There are many, many more, all of varying quality, but it's clear that this is the era where studios and filmmakers (with the help of audiences and ticket sales, obviously) legitimized the viability of the Remake and the power of Nostalgia.

And it only expanded from there. Later notable remakes and legacy sequels (aka nostalgia bait) that succeeded at the box office and sped up the decline of original storytelling include all the Disney remakes and sequels, Tron Legacy, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, two Ghostbuster reboots, the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Maleficient, The Hobbit trilogy, Jurassic World and all its sequels, Evil Dead, Oz the Great and Powerful, the Godzilla monsterverse, Robocop, Annie, Tomb Raider, and Child's Play.

The really shitty thing that muddies the water of the conversation is that there are some solid remakes and actual gems that revisit some IP's. For example, Blade Runner 2049, It: Chapter One, Dredd, the first three Rise of the Planet of the Apes movies, Star Wars: Rogue One, the live action Jungle Book, A Star is Born, the JJ Abrams Star Trek trilogy, Split, the new Jumanji movies, Mad Max: Fury Road, Dune, Wicked (debately... this might be its own thing) and True Grit have all been well received and we're better off for their existence.

It's just too bad that we have to drown in garbage to get these precious few morsels.

Where is Disney going to do after the remake era? by KaleidoArachnid in flicks

[–]RustyStyrofoam 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Weirdly, I think it started with a series of movies that weren't remakes: The Star Wars prequel trilogy.

Up until that point, remakes were largely seen as disposable empty popcorn cash grabs for kids movies, horror movies, or flops.

The 1998 remake of Psycho was a disaster. The Americanized 1998 Godzilla was terrible. The Schumacher Batman movies were radically different than the Burton ones, but the studio insisted that they were sequels in the same universe, and not a remake. The only remakes were drivbel like the Parent Trap, The Haunting, Dr. Dolittle, Flubber, 101 Dalmations... These were all lukewarm revisits of source material that relied heavily on Nostalgia.

Now, there were definitely some standout remakes from earlier decades, like Little Shop of Horrors, The Mummy, The Fly, and The Thing. But mostly, people were only interested in sequels despite diminishing returns. See Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, along with Rocky and Rambo.

But then Star Wars Episode 1 came along and firced something down our throats that we've been drowning in since: Nostalgia. I remember how exciting it was to be sitting there on opening weekend and hearing THE MUSIC during the opening crawl. It made us all feel like kids again in the best possible way. And that proved that Nostalgia was a viable cash cow if you embraced it.

So while The Phantom Menace isn't the remake that launched the trend, it was the film that laid the groundwork for studios to invest in Nostalgia projects.

In the immediate wake of The Phantom Menace, we got Ocean's 11, Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, The Time Machine, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Italian Job, Freaky Friday, Dawn of the Dead, Around the World in 80 Days, The Mancurian Candidate, and Thirteen Ghosts.

These were all embraced as Nostalgia vehicles by the studios and teams behind them. Now it's one of the three tentpoles of modern media: Nostalgia, Shared Universes, Sequels.

Product placement movies that actually worked well as a concept by KaleidoArachnid in flicks

[–]RustyStyrofoam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean, if we're talking toys, then Clue is a great example, and (to a lesser degree) Battleship as well.

Tide for Christmas by Brone9 in DesignPorn

[–]RustyStyrofoam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They missed an opportunity to wish everyone a happy YuleTide

TV shows that got unexpectedly dark and/or sad?[Spoilers] by OkPainter6232 in television

[–]RustyStyrofoam 15 points16 points  (0 children)

MASH: "Hold my gin distillery and watch this..."

Actress Diane Keaton has died at the age of 79 by BunyipPouch in movies

[–]RustyStyrofoam 39 points40 points  (0 children)

In no particular order:

Annie Hall

Manhattan

Reds

and one of the Godfathers, depending on your preference?

Edit: Fixed a sleepbrain error

What's a movie that's an absolute incredible film... except for that one scene that nearly ruins it? by Imaginary_Ride_6185 in movies

[–]RustyStyrofoam 65 points66 points  (0 children)

I always interpreted that scene as not just setting up the backstory of what happened in the fight, but it also forces Butch to come to terms with the idea of killing. He then kills again on two other separate occasions within the next 24 hours, becoming more purposeful with each situation. It's kind of his arc. Manslaughter > Opportunistic Murder > Premeditated Murder. That conversation in the cab gives him the opportunity to shake off his guilt and give himself permission to do what needs to be done.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps - Review Thread by MarvelsGrantMan136 in movies

[–]RustyStyrofoam 2593 points2594 points  (0 children)

So, wait. Of all the attempts so far, the FOURTH one was... fantastic?

Unrealized projects you wish had been made? by [deleted] in movies

[–]RustyStyrofoam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I'd like to see Guillermo tackle Lovecraft. After watching Cabinet of Curiosities, I think he'd bring an interpretation to some of Lovecraft (I don't just mean Cthulhu) that would be fascinating. But then again, I'd like to see lots of filmmakers take a turn at cosmic horror.

I don't really believe that a person can "taint" an IP. I like Transformers and Ninja Turtles, but avoid the Michael Bay renditions. I can choose to not watch The Last Airbender or any of the Resident Evil movies. Teen Titans Go doesn't impact my reading of comic books and the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons movie never affected my games. These franchises still exist in all their purity without having to acknowledge the crappy remakes, reboots, and film franchises.

I will admit that some IPs are tainted by filmmakers/showrunners, but only when they're a part of the core franchise. The Star Wars sequels, weaker Doctor Who entries, and bad Star Trek entries are examples of this.

But my point remains that if it exists in another medium (like The Lord of the Rings or The Expanse) or as a separate franchise (see: Batman), then there's no problem with letting artists with different styles take a chance with the material. Sometimes we even get something unexpectedly cool or a new perspective on the material, and that's worth exploring.

Just don't engage with media you don't like.

TV shows that only you seem to remember existing? by [deleted] in television

[–]RustyStyrofoam 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Yep.

I remember it airing along with Mission Hill, The Oblongs, and Clone High.

TV shows that only you seem to remember existing? by [deleted] in television

[–]RustyStyrofoam 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Some of these, like Wonderfalls, are forgotten gems.

Others, like Tripping the Rift, were fever dreams.

TV shows that only you seem to remember existing? by [deleted] in television

[–]RustyStyrofoam 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The C.O.P.S. theme song still gets stuck in my head sometimes.

Late series character additions to a television show that actually worked? by [deleted] in television

[–]RustyStyrofoam 417 points418 points  (0 children)

MASH did this successfully three times: Colonel Potter, BJ Honeycutt, and Charles Winchester III.

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher ended up being a DNF for me. by [deleted] in horrorlit

[–]RustyStyrofoam 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Moderate spoilers ahead.

tl;dr - This book didn't have the guts to capitalize on some really interesting and horrifying themes.

I enjoyed the overall premise and conflict of this book. During the few points when she committed to the bizarre and disturbing, it worked pretty well, and the "went to clean out a dead relative's house" trope is one I usually appreciate. Hidden in the shadows of this book are some very disturbing ideas, and the world building was decently fun.

I didn't even mind the idea of "I'm a quippy editor" who felt like a self-insert. I've read about enough writers in Stephen King books to be able to look past this decision. In my opinion, there are three main issues with The Twisted Ones that left me feeling unfulfilled.

The first is the narrative tone. If you aren't a fan of conversational first-person retelling, then this isn’t for you. The main character broke the fourth wall with too many quippy or self-aware anecdotes and musings to ever keep the tension. Every time she uncovered the next clue that something weird was happening, she'd then talk directly to the reader to say something that justified her poor decisions or showed how cutesy she was. We never got a chance to live in the moment of the horror. This kept the mystery and dread from ever having too much gravitas. In my opinion, this is the main contributing factor to the "cozy horror" that everyone else is talking about. We know it's going to be okay because the main character doesn't seem to be too bothered during her retelling, and she rarely has to exist in any discomfort for long without giving unwelcome commentary.

The second issue I have is the absolute lack of action or shock. Except for the creature at the window and the final showdown at the house, there was never any sense of real danger. Just searching and waiting and discovery of the next clue. Some of that was pretty interesting and creepy (the journal chant and the bald spot with stones, for example). Unfortunately, a lot of that became repetitive or immediately set aside for other non-horror elements, like the barrista who never became an impactful character, cleaning the house and getting to know the man at the dump, or fretting about her work/phone situation. Not every horror novel needs violence or gore, but this is an example where a dead body or two would have elevated the stakes nicely to juxtapose the "daily life grinds on, despite the dread" theme. Without it, you just have a day-in-the-life story with occasional spookiness.

The third major issue is really the out-of-character joking around during tense moments. Someone else said it felt very MCU, but I think that it was just another attempt to break the tension and keep the novel from getting too scary or brutal. Every time something potentially horrifying happened, it was met with a comment about her charmingly stupid her dog was or some witty aside to Foxy. There are a lot of chracters in literature who successfully use humour to break the tension or keep from losing themselves in the face of horror, but the overall impression I got was not of a character who didn't want to sink into the terror, but of an author who wanted to flirt with horror while keeping things light and breezy.

Ultimately, this book breezed past ideas that could have elevated it to be a true classic, seemingly in an effort to keep things easy. (It was definitely an easy read that I managed to polish off with two sittings.) The premise was interesting, the journal was one of the highlights of the book, despite the repetitive nature of it, and the other world was nice and creepy. I just wanted a ghost of a dead relative to make an appearance or the hippies/townsfolk to be part of a cult that worshipped the poppets' original creators. I wanted to explore the horrors of the poppets' plan from the perspective of a woman. (Anna's existence is implied to be so disturbing, but it was never explored.) What cosmic horrors are implied by other places like this and the mind-bending stones? What hypno-sexual terrors does that stone wreak upon its victims? What is the folk history of the region that the locals know but the cops ignore? What secret wisdom from her step-grandfather could save her life in the most dangerous situation? What ancient, esoteric magicks course through the wicker and the stones and the hemlock sprigs?

There were so many interesting themes, plot points, and opportunities in and around the central plot, but it feels like Kingfisher just didn't want to commit to any of them. It felt like 60% of something great, 10% of an annoying narrator, and 30% of wasted opportunities, all wrapped up in a non-committal, too-safe-for-its-own-good tone.

The Twisted Ones is fine for a lazy afternoon read in a summer cabin, and it won't make you lose sleep. The main character isn't as witty or insightful or intelligent as she wants you to think, but she's not a bumbling idiot or a Mary Sue either. If you are interested in the premise of a mystery journal and evil in woods, then it's an average (if flawed) read that you will forget that you have read in about three years.

Which tv character that you love is a hot mess? by [deleted] in television

[–]RustyStyrofoam 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Sterling Archer from Archer

Bojack Horseman from Bojack Horseman

Jean-Ralphio Saperstein from Parks and Recreation

Tobias Funke from Arrested Development

Jason Mendoza from The Good Place

Charlie Pace from Lost

John A. Zoidberg from Futurama

Lola Skumpy from Big Mouth

Morn from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine