ukproject
Joined Nov 2007
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I can see where the Expanse drew alot of inspiration from and I have to admit that Battlestar Galactica was a gripping series. Unlike the Expanse, Gallactica succeeds in being a pretty linear show where all 4 seasons connect really well, whereas with the Expanse latter seasons felt disconnected from earlier ones.
With Gallactica I started out intending watching just 2 episodes a night but often ended up watching 3 or 4 and when I finally switched off couldn't wait to watch the following episodes the next day.
Sure some characters were simply downright annoying, but the actors were playing annoying characters so you could say that they nailed it. The most annoying character for me being Baltar and my favourite being Colonel Tigh.
While I am most definitely not religious I do believe that the universe is far more complex than we will ever know or experience and the further we look be that out into space, back in time or deeper into the realms of the subatomic and the quantum, the more inexplicable the universe will get with each further discovery getting harder and harder to go beyond.
Organised religion has never really done it for me and probably never will but nevertheless I get the need for faith, guidance and a sense of belonging. Some people need that in their lives and I get it.
By the end of S4 though the mysticism in the Battlestar Galactica universe just felt like a great big MacGuffin designed purely to hold the plot of the entire series together.
While there was a mystery as to it's origin and purpose it held my interest as I was expecting a more pragmatic and grounded explanation
But when it finally all came together I was just, disappointed. Particularly when Battlestar Galactica went from being about it's own universe to end up tying itself to our own history.
The cyclical nature of existence shown in the show from being simple hunter gatherer tribes, to the development and advancement of AI, to mankinds destruction, to escape and relocation, only to develop and follow the cycle all over again could have been done purely without all the pseudo-religious stuff and would for me have been a far better show.
Midway through season 4 I had intended to watch the whole show once again after finishing it as there were a few plot holes that I felt would be cleared on rewatching. As season 4 drew to a close though I realised that viewers were simply expected to accept many outlandish scenarios on faith, literally.
As much as I liked Battlestar Galactica, I can't see myself watching it ever again.
With Gallactica I started out intending watching just 2 episodes a night but often ended up watching 3 or 4 and when I finally switched off couldn't wait to watch the following episodes the next day.
Sure some characters were simply downright annoying, but the actors were playing annoying characters so you could say that they nailed it. The most annoying character for me being Baltar and my favourite being Colonel Tigh.
While I am most definitely not religious I do believe that the universe is far more complex than we will ever know or experience and the further we look be that out into space, back in time or deeper into the realms of the subatomic and the quantum, the more inexplicable the universe will get with each further discovery getting harder and harder to go beyond.
Organised religion has never really done it for me and probably never will but nevertheless I get the need for faith, guidance and a sense of belonging. Some people need that in their lives and I get it.
By the end of S4 though the mysticism in the Battlestar Galactica universe just felt like a great big MacGuffin designed purely to hold the plot of the entire series together.
While there was a mystery as to it's origin and purpose it held my interest as I was expecting a more pragmatic and grounded explanation
But when it finally all came together I was just, disappointed. Particularly when Battlestar Galactica went from being about it's own universe to end up tying itself to our own history.
The cyclical nature of existence shown in the show from being simple hunter gatherer tribes, to the development and advancement of AI, to mankinds destruction, to escape and relocation, only to develop and follow the cycle all over again could have been done purely without all the pseudo-religious stuff and would for me have been a far better show.
Midway through season 4 I had intended to watch the whole show once again after finishing it as there were a few plot holes that I felt would be cleared on rewatching. As season 4 drew to a close though I realised that viewers were simply expected to accept many outlandish scenarios on faith, literally.
As much as I liked Battlestar Galactica, I can't see myself watching it ever again.
I watched the 1st Tron movie at the theater when it originally came out, as I did with Tron: Legacy which I also loved even when everyone else was trashing it. So much so, that when I was able to I bought a 110" screen and 3D projector and Dolby Atmos surround system to play my own Blu Ray of Tron: Legacy in 3D whenever I felt like being sucked into the Grid and it is still an event every single time I watch it.
Since then I've built up a sizeable collection of 3D movies including Gravity, Dredd, both Avatars, every Marvel 3D movie and any others I could find, and Tron: Legacy is still is one of the most immersive movies I've ever seen. It is also by far the most re-watchable 3D movie. And I should know. I've watched it countless times. It is one of my all time favourite movies.
Immersion and soundtrack aside, the father/son story line resonates with anyone with a complex father/son relationship both as a father and as a son. It also had some stand out complex characters like CLU who although being a totally digital character is given a distinct personality through Jeff Bridges superb voice acting. At the final confrontation with Kevin Flynn you can feel the pain in CLUs voice.
Add to that Sam, Quorra, the weasly Jarvis, and one of my favourites, Micheal Sheens Castor and Legacy is packed with personality, and emotion and the ending provided a perfect opening for the next Tron movie.
There was a ready made story there just begging to be written.
Instead the executives seemed to have concluded that all they had to do was pack the new movie with CGI and a banging soundtrack, drag Jeff Bridges in for a token appearance, sprinkle a pinch of nostalgia from 82, and shoehorn a storyline that left Legacy stuck in the Grid forever to somehow drag the corpse of Tron to the end credits and concoct yet another money milking never ending storyline franchise.
And this was after Tron: Legacy was finally getting the recognition it deserved with increasing watch alongs and favorable reviews on Youtube over the last few years. And these watch alongs and reviews weren't even of the 3D surround sound version. Take the 3D and surround sound out and Legacy is still a great movie in it's own right.
Tron Ares is a trademark Disney visually stunning, awesomely sounding 2 hours of nothing. Take the 3D IMAX experience out and there's really nothing memorable there except for the soundtrack which Legacy also outshines with a pitch perfect soundtrack and the seamless way Daft Punks cameo slotted into the Tron universe. With plastic cookie cutter characters, one-liners that fall flat on their face and not a single memorable line that I could quote off the top of my head Ares is near forgettable once you exit the theater.
Judging by the comments the high ratings of Tron: Ares now are overwhelmingly influenced by the 3D IMAX experience and that's understandable. And despite my obvious disappointment and critique of Tron: Ares, it is still worth watching in IMAX 3D because it is a visual treat. Watch it and judge for yourself. Others have watched and enjoyed it, and you may too. It's just a shame that it's such a massive jarring misstep for fans of Legacy. It's like watching the first half of a soccer match, waiting 15 years for the second half only to find that it will be completed with a rugby match instead. Sure the two halves may be somewhat entertaining, and connected because they both involve two teams playing with balls but the entire match becomes an infuriating meaningless farce.
After a 28 year gap, Legacy STILL managed to tie itself to the original film AND take it in a new direction where fans were prepared to follow the story of Sam and Quora. Two characters who had nothing to do with the first movie.
And with a mere 15 year gap by comparison, Ares couldn't even manage any of that. It failed to do what Legacy had already done. If any character deserved to enter the real world after the ending of Legacy in search of Sam and Quora it was Tron. If Kevin Flynn could be brought back after the ending of Legacy, then bringing Tron into the real world should have been a piece of cake.
Even as a Tron fan I know that the story has limited appeal and can only go so far. The 1st Tron explored the Grid. The second introduced the possibility of the digital world entering the real world and the effects of that on humanity.
And the 3rd should have been about just that and in the process tying all the loose ends and wrapping the story up. The last in the Tron Trilogy. A final confrontation between a version of AI that elevates humanity against the kind of AI that dominates it. The battle of Utopia vs Dystopia. Tron, Quora and Sam Flynn on one side versus Edward Dillinger, the MCP and Ares on the other.
I would in fact have marketed it as the last Tron movie. A 43 year saga coming to a close and in doing so being incredibly relevant to one of the biggest issues facing humanity right now: At a time where even the developers of AI have no consensus on its future impact, what if both versions battled for supremacy and where would that leave us? It could have been a mind blowing philosophical yet entertaining masterpiece blended into an audio visual extravaganza and gone out with an absolute bang with real world impact on the discussion over AI.
Following that ending if popularity demanded it then Disney could always then branch off in a "new direction" with Ares, an ISOs origin story, a following on from Tron: Uprising or whatever else. I know I'm suffering from franchise fatigue and just can't follow all these endless meandering universes anymore.
Disney are addicted to trying to turn every franchise into an MCU style endless money sucking saga. You're supposed to be making blockbuster movies, not a TV series for the big screen. Make it a trilogy, or at most a quadrilogy and bring the story to a close. Sadly, it may be too late for Tron because Disney may have ended up killing off their own franchise.
Well done Disney you overvalued useless organization. You've done it again.
You're really messing with my Zen thing man.
Since then I've built up a sizeable collection of 3D movies including Gravity, Dredd, both Avatars, every Marvel 3D movie and any others I could find, and Tron: Legacy is still is one of the most immersive movies I've ever seen. It is also by far the most re-watchable 3D movie. And I should know. I've watched it countless times. It is one of my all time favourite movies.
Immersion and soundtrack aside, the father/son story line resonates with anyone with a complex father/son relationship both as a father and as a son. It also had some stand out complex characters like CLU who although being a totally digital character is given a distinct personality through Jeff Bridges superb voice acting. At the final confrontation with Kevin Flynn you can feel the pain in CLUs voice.
Add to that Sam, Quorra, the weasly Jarvis, and one of my favourites, Micheal Sheens Castor and Legacy is packed with personality, and emotion and the ending provided a perfect opening for the next Tron movie.
There was a ready made story there just begging to be written.
Instead the executives seemed to have concluded that all they had to do was pack the new movie with CGI and a banging soundtrack, drag Jeff Bridges in for a token appearance, sprinkle a pinch of nostalgia from 82, and shoehorn a storyline that left Legacy stuck in the Grid forever to somehow drag the corpse of Tron to the end credits and concoct yet another money milking never ending storyline franchise.
And this was after Tron: Legacy was finally getting the recognition it deserved with increasing watch alongs and favorable reviews on Youtube over the last few years. And these watch alongs and reviews weren't even of the 3D surround sound version. Take the 3D and surround sound out and Legacy is still a great movie in it's own right.
Tron Ares is a trademark Disney visually stunning, awesomely sounding 2 hours of nothing. Take the 3D IMAX experience out and there's really nothing memorable there except for the soundtrack which Legacy also outshines with a pitch perfect soundtrack and the seamless way Daft Punks cameo slotted into the Tron universe. With plastic cookie cutter characters, one-liners that fall flat on their face and not a single memorable line that I could quote off the top of my head Ares is near forgettable once you exit the theater.
Judging by the comments the high ratings of Tron: Ares now are overwhelmingly influenced by the 3D IMAX experience and that's understandable. And despite my obvious disappointment and critique of Tron: Ares, it is still worth watching in IMAX 3D because it is a visual treat. Watch it and judge for yourself. Others have watched and enjoyed it, and you may too. It's just a shame that it's such a massive jarring misstep for fans of Legacy. It's like watching the first half of a soccer match, waiting 15 years for the second half only to find that it will be completed with a rugby match instead. Sure the two halves may be somewhat entertaining, and connected because they both involve two teams playing with balls but the entire match becomes an infuriating meaningless farce.
After a 28 year gap, Legacy STILL managed to tie itself to the original film AND take it in a new direction where fans were prepared to follow the story of Sam and Quora. Two characters who had nothing to do with the first movie.
And with a mere 15 year gap by comparison, Ares couldn't even manage any of that. It failed to do what Legacy had already done. If any character deserved to enter the real world after the ending of Legacy in search of Sam and Quora it was Tron. If Kevin Flynn could be brought back after the ending of Legacy, then bringing Tron into the real world should have been a piece of cake.
Even as a Tron fan I know that the story has limited appeal and can only go so far. The 1st Tron explored the Grid. The second introduced the possibility of the digital world entering the real world and the effects of that on humanity.
And the 3rd should have been about just that and in the process tying all the loose ends and wrapping the story up. The last in the Tron Trilogy. A final confrontation between a version of AI that elevates humanity against the kind of AI that dominates it. The battle of Utopia vs Dystopia. Tron, Quora and Sam Flynn on one side versus Edward Dillinger, the MCP and Ares on the other.
I would in fact have marketed it as the last Tron movie. A 43 year saga coming to a close and in doing so being incredibly relevant to one of the biggest issues facing humanity right now: At a time where even the developers of AI have no consensus on its future impact, what if both versions battled for supremacy and where would that leave us? It could have been a mind blowing philosophical yet entertaining masterpiece blended into an audio visual extravaganza and gone out with an absolute bang with real world impact on the discussion over AI.
Following that ending if popularity demanded it then Disney could always then branch off in a "new direction" with Ares, an ISOs origin story, a following on from Tron: Uprising or whatever else. I know I'm suffering from franchise fatigue and just can't follow all these endless meandering universes anymore.
Disney are addicted to trying to turn every franchise into an MCU style endless money sucking saga. You're supposed to be making blockbuster movies, not a TV series for the big screen. Make it a trilogy, or at most a quadrilogy and bring the story to a close. Sadly, it may be too late for Tron because Disney may have ended up killing off their own franchise.
Well done Disney you overvalued useless organization. You've done it again.
You're really messing with my Zen thing man.
My family suggested we watch this movie which according to them had a very high IMDB rating. Being a veteran IMDB contributor of 17 years with 150+ movies reviewed I know that ratings are no indication at all of whether a movie is good or bad. Some of my favourite movies are rated 6 and below and some of my most hated movies are often rated 7+.
And so it proved to be yet again in the case of Weapons. For me this is a nonsensical senseless crock and nothing more. The only horror I experienced was the realisation that anyone would rate this movie higher than a 4.
And that is being generous.
Firstly I have to admit that supernatural horror has to be something really special for me to be fully invested in it. Sure, I'll suspend my belief and be immersed in it, but at least give me something to work with.
The only true element of horror I found was the psychological manipulation of the child in terrorising him to accept his fate and suffer in isolation in his own home. That was it.
The rest was pure mumbo jumbo hocus pocus garbage that made me laugh more than anything else.
A massive inconsistency for me was the way the location of the perpetrator was discovered by drawing two intersecting lines based on the direction two of the children were running in. Every single child was shown exiting their front door and running across the street to the other side, and at the other end approaching the witches house all the children were shown running together down the middle of the streets making turns into other streets.
So at no point we're they headed down a straight line to anywhere.
Also along the entire route it seems nobody had a doorbell camera or CCTV to catch any of them running past.
I hope and pray that these high scores and glowing reviews are fake, because if they are genuine then it confirms that as a species we've collectively dropped a few IQ points. And all that's needed to prop up a substandard movie is hype and marketing and Hollywood can throw any turd up on the screen and the movie going public will just lap it up.
If you're thick enough to suspend belief to swallow this garbage you might enjoy it.
One of the worst horror movies I've seen in recent years.
And so it proved to be yet again in the case of Weapons. For me this is a nonsensical senseless crock and nothing more. The only horror I experienced was the realisation that anyone would rate this movie higher than a 4.
And that is being generous.
Firstly I have to admit that supernatural horror has to be something really special for me to be fully invested in it. Sure, I'll suspend my belief and be immersed in it, but at least give me something to work with.
The only true element of horror I found was the psychological manipulation of the child in terrorising him to accept his fate and suffer in isolation in his own home. That was it.
The rest was pure mumbo jumbo hocus pocus garbage that made me laugh more than anything else.
A massive inconsistency for me was the way the location of the perpetrator was discovered by drawing two intersecting lines based on the direction two of the children were running in. Every single child was shown exiting their front door and running across the street to the other side, and at the other end approaching the witches house all the children were shown running together down the middle of the streets making turns into other streets.
So at no point we're they headed down a straight line to anywhere.
Also along the entire route it seems nobody had a doorbell camera or CCTV to catch any of them running past.
I hope and pray that these high scores and glowing reviews are fake, because if they are genuine then it confirms that as a species we've collectively dropped a few IQ points. And all that's needed to prop up a substandard movie is hype and marketing and Hollywood can throw any turd up on the screen and the movie going public will just lap it up.
If you're thick enough to suspend belief to swallow this garbage you might enjoy it.
One of the worst horror movies I've seen in recent years.
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