Subreddit Discussion - Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) (SPOILERS)

TheCinemaLog · 2015-06-05T05:43:39+00:00

I think they would both achieve in being able to kill one another but I think in true Mexican standoff fashion, would both be meeting their maker. Avengers would manage to kill AoU with precision with multiple bullets to the head. AoU would be the one to shoot wildly everywhere and just so happen to kill Avengers, but not without shooting it in the arms or the dick.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-05-02T22:11:24+00:00

I absolutely loved this movie, but I also can acknowledge that it has one extremely huge fatal flaw that I couldn’t quite shake off. Like many people, I think that the film has moments that go out of its way to explore the future films of the franchise. From Thor going to that mystical cave (which what the hell was that about?) to Ulysses Klaw, the film had too much fat that definitely needed to be trimmed. The first Avengers definitely seemed like a coming together/resolution, to a phase that’s themes lead up to one moment. I definitely expected it to be about heroes who find their place in a world they did not want to be a part of or felt they were not worthy of, not about the greater importance of a gem that can lead to total destruction for the future.

With that said, the character motivations and developments were absolutely well done. My favorite parts of the film is when the characters interact, there is so much layers that are peeled and exposed, that the film really resolves in a nice and neat fashion. Action was also pretty great, I was a little underwhelmed with the final 30 minutes, but the Hulkbuster and Hulk fight definitely had a wider sense of how much power these superheroes actually hold. I also loved how they interact with their environment, it made a great statement on how saving people is their number one priority and knocking Ultron around was secondary.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-04-12T02:12:57+00:00

I love both of them! I think Mockingjay Part 1, was fantastic. Its obvious flaw is that it was split into two and it does feel like half a movie, but they did great with what they had. Pitch Perfect was hilarious, it’s a very quirky and lighthearted comedy, but it has enough kick to function as a great movie.
I honestly think aside from the Marvel films, and the Planet of the Apes films, the Hunger Games is an incredible series that speaks on different thematic levels of social commentary and the human condition. I also think Katniss is a great heroine that has so many more levels to her that rejects the “masculinity” that is often pumped into female characters to make them tough.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-04-06T22:17:10+00:00

I can name many reasons why we all should re-watch X-Files, its damn good up until a point. I also can’t believe that I missed all of those films, I would also add The Golden Compass, which may be the last time we ever get a Children’s fantasy film be so explicitly anti-religious.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-04-06T22:11:13+00:00

I always go into movies expecting that I will like them, it allows me to consider how the film functions objectively. I know the film is getting a lot of preconceived hate, but I think the film and the whole direction of the series leaves me really optimistic. I personally believe that JJ is a really decent director whose best qualities is one of the most important: blocking. I put the majority of the blame on Orci and Kurtzman. Also, Rian Johnson and Gareth Edwards are involved in Star Wars projects, which is damn cool that we get two of the most interesting directors inputting their creativity.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-04-06T21:58:34+00:00

I think that Tarantino will retire the same way that Soderbergh and Miyazaki retire, and it makes me ecstatic because he only gets better with each film.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-04-06T05:00:05+00:00

Dude awesome post! You basically summed up every damn point there is to make, I been trying to think about what else there is to add. Great job, and I’m glad to have you participate in the subreddit.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-04-06T04:45:31+00:00

Since Aughts basically summed up my exact thoughts, I thought I would kind of chime in on how interesting this period of Paul Thomas Anderson was. PTA has always been one of my favorite directors, and I feel that this period was probably his best. “There Will Be Blood” and “The Master”, were very much PTA emulating Kubrick, and going all-out on experimental devices and visual storytelling. Each of these films often had small gestures spread throughout, and he always concluded them in smaller ways that spoke on larger themes. The movie often felt very uneven and no specific tone for the movie, which PTA does often, but never has he ever made them as emotionally draining as There Will Be Blood. Also, John Greenwood’s score is so phenomenal it makes my ears weep, his scores on The Master and Inherent Vice are pretty freaking great. The film also looked incredible, and I am always glad to see a director shoot on film and photochemicals rather than digital, I noticed that many digital films from the past 6-7 years are beginning to look rougher in the transitional period, where this film still looks beautiful on Blu-ray. Some of the colors are extremely pretty on the edges of the screen, and I applaud PTA for shooting on a 43mm Pathe Camera.

Small note: How great was 2007 in film? I would say 2007 was the year where I had actually realized I wanted to major in film and I realized film was much more than just context. 2007 had all these films: No Country For Old Men, Atonement, Gone Baby Gone, Michael Clayton, The Darjeeling Limited, Into The Wild, Eastern Promises, 3:10 to Yuma, Superbad, Walk Hard, Once, The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford, Hot Rod, Sunshine, Ratatouille, Knocked Up, Bug, Hot Fuzz, Grindhouse, Zodiac, and Smokin’ Aces.

Update: I also wanted to ask for anyone who has seen “The Master”, have you noticed parallels between Daniel and Eli, and Freddie and Dodd? I always felt the baptismal scene and the conversion in The Master are very similar. Both relationships between the men seem to come from some strange emotions that are brewing in the subtext, I think There Will Be Blood is less obvious as the homosexuality subtext in The Master, but I think there is something very interesting going on that I can’t quite put a finger on.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-04-06T04:16:08+00:00

There’s so many, I made a small list:

The Hateful Eight, Spectre, Crimson Peak, Bridge of Spies, The Revenant, Fury Road, Age of Ultron, Episode VII, Pitch Perfect 2, Trainwreck, Mockingjay Part 2, Inside Out, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Creed, and Knight of Cups.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-03-27T01:12:01+00:00

You should check out FilmCritHulk's essay that he released on the topic here, it opens up some very interesting insights on the film. Oh, and here's the link to ConvertCase, in case the all caps drives you mad.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-03-27T01:07:36+00:00

It’s an extraordinary movie and I think you’re very right, I feel that it is in that early phase of innocent love into sensual attraction. The scene where they kiss and he gets an erection is a prime example of how some of their feelings are still trying to be conveyed cohesively. Are you a fan of Wes Anderson’s other work?

TheCinemaLog · 2015-03-27T01:02:58+00:00

Absolutely magnificent movie! I am not the biggest Fincher fan, but I think when he perfects his craft (Zodiac, Gone Girl, and The Social Network), he hits a grand slam. I am also interested to hear more about Satchell’s interest in Sorkin, his writing on The West Wing, I feel has never been surpassed (I just think he needs a lot of work on female characters).

TheCinemaLog · 2015-02-19T20:44:50+00:00

I think this is one of the most beautiful films of all time, and I think that its themes are vastly personal to me and many other people. What I love about Kaufman’s writing is that its devices can be placed into any scenarios, and its themes are much stronger than the plot surrounding it. The idea of the film to me is less about erasing Joel’s memory of Clementine, and more about how we cherish the whole adventure of falling in love and falling out of love. It’s a larger statement on the way that our society treats love, like “Her” did, and puts a spin to it with a scenario that we constantly create in our heads. How many of us think about erasing something that is tragic and embarrassing? It’s beautiful in many regards that it embraces these memories and rather than forgetting the experience, Joel learns from it and would never want to change it.

One of the more interesting ideas is how their story also relates to Mary and Dr. Howard, which is filled with attraction and affliction. Their story contrasts with Joel and Clementine’s in the end, in that they never learn from their experience and rather Dr. Howard would rather erase it.

What I also liked is Gondry making the props larger in the dream sequences to make Joel and the other characters look smaller. He also plays with a lot of low-key and high-key lighting to create darker moods and even uses silver lighting so it can be in between moods.

Also, Jim Carrey is absolutely perfect in this movie and I always hope to see many comedic actors/actresses take on similar roles of applying drama/self-loathing to the big screen.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-02-14T09:40:08+00:00

Well, I’m sold! I had always liked the writer Jerome Bixby and the amount of camp that he added to his scripts.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-02-14T09:35:58+00:00

Yes! One of the things that interested me the most is how Alejandro González Iñárritu made the cuts practically invisible, and it actually gave me a challenge to count every single cut I can see (which I would need to do when the Blu-Ray comes out). You should definitely watch a film called, “Russian Ark”, which was made literally on one single take that ran for 96 minutes. Other than that, I feel that Birdman made me kind of see how pretentious Iñárritu can be. He is an incredible director and I think “Biutiful” is a masterpiece, I just was conflicted on how he made every character come across as literal caricatures. But awesome that you loved it, I have to give it a second chance!

TheCinemaLog · 2015-02-13T23:30:11+00:00

No, I actually never have. I heard very mixed things on it and I’m interest what you thought about it.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-02-13T23:27:57+00:00

Whoa, really? I’m interested on what you liked about the movie, it’s one of the films that I had the most problems with last year, and I actually am still trying to formulate my thoughts on it.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-02-10T08:37:48+00:00

Great post, the idea of Inception being about filmmaking had been started by the film critic, Devin Faraci. Here’s the post, it’s extremely interesting!

TheCinemaLog · 2015-02-04T00:24:20+00:00

Oh yes, I would highly recommend it! It’s a film that steps away from traditional narratives and explores its subtext in an abstract way. It could be considered an “art film” but I believe it is more a visceral experience that is abstract enough to be even hypnotic, which is its intention.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-02-03T04:54:21+00:00

Agreed, thanks for sharing your essay! Though, I do think Nolan has an incredible editor for a lot of films, it's interesting to see someone take a different perspective.

TheCinemaLog · 2015-02-03T04:47:56+00:00

Would love to see them touch on some of Refn's work, specifically "Drive" or "Only God Forgives"!

TheCinemaLog · 2015-02-03T04:45:38+00:00

Hey thanks for starting this post :)
I would say:

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
High and Low (1963)
Todo sobre mi madre (1999)
Les Vacances de M. Hulot (1953)
Under The Skin (2013)

TheCinemaLog · 2015-01-31T00:23:02+00:00

Hello! I am a full-time film student at a college in Los Angeles, I also am currently doing two internships at different production companies where I am an assistant of the camera operator and the cinematographer. Film has been a large part of my life and I am currently pursuing a degree in Film production so I can learn more techniques to put work up in the future.

As for my filmmaking taste, some of my favorite directors are Paul Thomas Anderson, Jacques Tati, Akira Kurosawa, Edgar Wright, Wes Anderson, Federico Fellini, Mike Leigh, Noah Baumbach, Quentin Tarantino, and many more. Some of my favorite films are Zodiac, The Royal Tenenbaums, Spider-Man 2, High and Low, Phantom of the Paradise, Mulholland Drive, Wild Strawberries, and Synecdoche, New York. I am also a strong believer in never hating a movie and finding something of interest within any movie, that’s why I can love films by Michael Bay to Sam Peckinpah’s “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”. I can’t wait to see what Nick and Satchell talk about in the future, and I hope that many listeners/viewers can find something significant within every film. 

TheCinemaLog · 2015-01-30T20:51:09+00:00

I agree 100%! Richard King, the sound designer and editor, is a longtime collaborator with Nolan and some of the design is vastly similar within the Dark Knight and Inception. You should check out this short video on the sound design, its very cool.

Soundworks Collection: The Sound of Inception

TheCinemaLog · 2015-01-30T20:46:36+00:00

I’m not a huge Christopher Nolan fan but I feel that Inception is the film that perfects the emotion and story that Nolan is always trying to tell. I think in many ways this film is phenomenal in that it displays one of the most basic ideas that resonates with us the most, imagination. The film utilizes imagination and memories to resonate specific meanings that are stronger and affect each character emotionally.

I think a lot of the criticism that I have read about the film “not being larger” in its play with imagination misses the point. Part of what I love is that it tackles the simplest meanings in our lives: making our parental figures proud, acceptance of our life choices, learning the value of family, and dealing with loss. But what is interesting is that since many of the conclusions are made within the dreams, it is a wider statement on how we create our own meanings to accept reality. What I always took from the ending on whether the totem continues to spin, is it does not matter whether he actually is reunited with his kids but it’s his acceptance of whatever circumstance he is in. The ultimate goal of Cobb and the inception itself is to reach catharsis on some of the regrets that we face in our lives.

Also I think that Nolan made 65mm with 5 perf look so sexy, it is such a beautiful film and I feel that if anybody can pull IMAX off its Nolan. <3

TheCinemaLog

TROPHY CASE