[xasop]

The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1983)

This film tells the story of the very early beginnings of the US space programme, from Chuck Yeager's historic breaking of the sound barrier in 1947 up to Project Mercury in the early '60s, which saw the first seven astronauts orbit the Earth. It therefore functions as a sort of prequel to the many media covering the later Gemini and Apollo programmes, which is why it piqued my interest.

I'm glad I watched it, but it isn't actually a very good movie. There are lengthy sequences covering fairly dull moments, such as the extensive and at times confusingly bizarre treatment of the medical tests the prospective astronauts were subjected to, or the seemingly forced insertion of Australian Aboriginal myths without any real explanation of why they were relevant to the story.

Meanwhile, most of the actual spaceflights are glossed over almost entirely, with only the launch and landing being shown, if that. The only significant depiction of time spent in space is John Glenn's Mercury-Atlas 6 flight, presumably because the suspicion of a loose heat shield was considered an opportunity for dramatic tension.

There is plenty of potential here, but this footage simply does not justify its 192-minute runtime. A pity, because it could have been much more focused and engaging if condensed to 90 minutes, without leaving out any important details.

[Crudblud]

The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1983)

This film tells the story of the very early beginnings of the US space programme, from Chuck Yeager's historic breaking of the sound barrier in 1947 up to Project Mercury in the early '60s, which saw the first seven astronauts orbit the Earth. It therefore functions as a sort of prequel to the many media covering the later Gemini and Apollo programmes, which is why it piqued my interest.

I'm glad I watched it, but it isn't actually a very good movie. There are lengthy sequences covering fairly dull moments, such as the extensive and at times confusingly bizarre treatment of the medical tests the prospective astronauts were subjected to, or the seemingly forced insertion of Australian Aboriginal myths without any real explanation of why they were relevant to the story.

Meanwhile, most of the actual spaceflights are glossed over almost entirely, with only the launch and landing being shown, if that. The only significant depiction of time spent in space is John Glenn's Mercury-Atlas 6 flight, presumably because the suspicion of a loose heat shield was considered an opportunity for dramatic tension.

There is plenty of potential here, but this footage simply does not justify its 192-minute runtime. A pity, because it could have been much more focused and engaging if condensed to 90 minutes, without leaving out any important details.

You might be better off reading the book it was based on. I haven't seen this film, but I know Kaufman has a tendency to impress himself upon the subject, and if you aren't into his style it can easily make an interesting subject totally unappealing. Then again, the same can be said of Tom Wolfe, who wrote the original book.

[Fortuna]

Dune

See it in the theater while it's still playing.

[xasop]

Apollo 11 (Todd Douglas Miller, 2019)

I went into this with some scepticism, given the (largely unjustified, in this armchair movie watcher's opinion) fixation of existing media on Apollo 11 at the expense of the longer and more interesting later moon missions. That scepticism turned out to be somewhat justified. While the exclusive use of found footage does set this retelling apart and convey a deeper sense of authenticity than the dramatisations found elsewhere, large portions of the film simply feel routine to someone already familiar with the existing media.

In some cases, the exclusion to found footage works against this film, such as when the 1202 computer error is registered during the lunar descent. It is treated here as little more than a minor curiosity, whereas the dramatic flair at this moment in the From the Earth to the Moon miniseries is far more engaging. The one aspect of the film with which creative liberties could have been taken is the soundtrack, which I found to be adequate without being particularly stimulating.

As a scientist and a pedant, I also have to remark on the overlaid data provided throughout the spaceflight regarding the speed and position of the craft. First of all, these data overlays incorrectly label speed as "velocity", a sophomoric error that could easily have been avoided. Second of all, while the use of US customary units of measure in the audio track is expected, given that the narration is all original to the found footage, no SI conversions are provided in the overlays, which unnecessarily imposes the tedium of comparing distances in miles with speed in feet per second upon the unprepared modern viewer.

I'm glad I watched it, and it is a decent movie, but a lack of dramatic flair coupled with scientific illiteracy make this seem to belong as neither entertainment nor documentary, while also retelling a story that has been told ad infinitum. I probably would have enjoyed it more if it had shown one of the later missions with a longer moonwalk and more interesting experiments.

[juner]

Eternals

A bunch of shit happens that doesn't really matter and you wonder if the infinity stones actually ever made a difference.

But also, Thanos has a brother so that is fun...

[Fortuna]

A bunch of shit happens that doesn't really matter

That sounds like every Marvel movie.

[juner]

That sounds like every Marvel movie.

They're building up to it. And this tie, it's personal.

[honk]

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Destin Daniel Cretton, 2021)

Easily the best MCU production in years - right up until the last twenty minutes or so, when the hero's compelling struggle against his villainous father (masterfully played by Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung - his performance is by far the best part of the movie) is abruptly shoved aside in favor of an incomprehensible CGI clusterfuck in which big blobs of CGI smash against each other so that the heroes can save the world or something. And it had been going so well. I loved almost everything up to that point. It all felt so cool and unique, with the emphasis on fantastical martial arts clearly inspired by wire fu films. And then right at the climax, all that stuff which was working so well is quickly thrown out the window and we get to see the exact same capeshit "destroy the big CGI thing" cliché we've already seen a million times. Why? Why was this necessary? Why did it have to be a big ugly CGI thing yet again?

Also, this isn't really a major problem with the movie or anything, but Marvel's approach to empowering its female characters is really, really bad. I'm not an anti-feminist or anything like that, far from it, but this weird thing they've been doing over the past few years where they have characters just shilling how awesome the female characters are, or have the female characters themselves condescendingly putting down the males and telling them smugly how much better than them they are just isn't how you do it. It's bad writing, and it's bad representation. Shang-Chi is another example of this annoying tendency, with the movie going to great pains to emphasize how totally badass and successful the hero's sister is and how she's a better martial artist than any man despite being entirely self-taught (Yeah, did you know that you can just teach yourself martial arts? That's totally how it works!). Textually, the character has a genuinely poignant arc about how she feels broken and betrayed by how her brother abandoned her years ago, and her struggle to come to terms with that. But that implies that she has vulnerability, and any vulnerability the character is meant to have is drowned out by the movie's furious chest-beating about how awesome Captain Girlboss is.

[honk]

Dune (Denis Villeneuve, 2021)

This is really good. It looks fantastic, has a great sense of size and scale, and even Hans Zimmer's soundtrack has a unique, stylish feel to it, rather than the generic "BWAAAAA" droning so much of his output seems to be defined by lately. It also has an amazing cast full of some really talented actors - and also Jason Momoa. I can only assume that Momoa was hired because they really wanted to slap another big name on the poster and he was the highest-profile actor being considered, because he is awful in this. Nowhere near as bad as Jared Leto's atrocious performance in Blade Runner 2049, to be fair, but still bad enough to be the worst part of the movie. Momoa simply can't act. Every line from him is delivered in the same nonchalant dudebro tone of voice and accompanied by the same shit-eating grin. Maybe this bothers me more than it does most other people, but his presence was a major distraction. The rest of the cast melted into their roles, but Jason Momoa playing Jason Momoa stood out and shattered my immersion every time he appeared on the screen.

[Crudblud]

Jason Momoa (Jason Momoa, 2021)

This is really Jason Momoa. It looks Jason Momoa, has a great sense of Jason and Momoa, and even Jason Momoa's Jason Momoa has a unique, stylish feel to it, rather than the generic "JASON MOMOA" Momoaning so much of his output seems to be defined by lately. It also has an amazing Jason full of some really talented Momoas - and also Jason Momoa. I can only assume that Momoa was hired because they really wanted to slap another big Jason on the Momoa and he was the highest-profile Jason Momoa being considered, because he is Jason Momoa in this. Nowhere near as Jason Momoa as Jason Momoa's Jason Momoa performance in Jason Momoa 2069, to be fair, but still Jason Momoa enough to be the Jason Momoa part of the movie. Momoa simply can't Jason. Every Jason from him is delivered in the same nonchalant Momoa tone of voice and accompanied by the same Jason Momoa grin. Maybe this bothers me more than it does most other people, but his Jason was a major Momoa. The rest of the Jasons melted into their Momoas, but Jason Momoa playing Jason Momoa stood out and Jasoned my Momoa every time he appeared on the screen.

[garygreen]

last night i finished watching ad astra. it really is more like ass asstra though because it is ass.

imagine if the movie contact had an even shittier, more boring ending, and that's basically what this is. brad pitt hangs out in space looking for his stupid idiot father because the solar system is going to blow up or something? then the movie rolls through two hours of every awful spaceshit trope until brad pitt finds his idiot dad who isn't an alien but just a crazy person doing crazy shit for no real reason and the movie mercifully ends.

then in the final scene the movie tries to pretend that it has a point, but since no foreshadowing of this point ever appears anywhere else in the movie, it completely fails.

the end. i give this movie pi out of tau stars.

[Rama Set]

I was really surprised that it was as well-reviewed as it was.  I found it to be boring as fuck.

[Fortuna]

I just rewatched Dune. 10/10

[rooster]

Dune was good. Jason Momoa was great.

[honk]

Dune was good. Jason Momoa was great.

Yes, I'm sure that fans of Momoa eager to see him once again play himself will enjoy his role.

[juner]

poe was the best in dune

[xasop]

Jason Momoa is Ronon Dex. He will never be any other character.

[rooster]

Dune was good. Jason Momoa was great.

Yes, I'm sure that fans of Momoa eager to see him once again play himself will enjoy his role.

Do you even know what Jason Momoa is like? Because Duncan Idaho doesn't seem like a goofy surfer bro full of hippie love. But stay mad that actors are typecast. I bet you hate Denzel Washington for frequently being the same character too.

[Rama Set]

Dune was good. Jason Momoa was great.

Yes, I'm sure that fans of Momoa eager to see him once again play himself will enjoy his role.

Do you even know what Jason Momoa is like? Because Duncan Idaho doesn't seem like a goofy surfer bro full of hippie love. But stay mad that actors are typecast. I bet you hate Denzel Washington for frequently being the same character too.

The number of actors who seem like “not themself” from role to role is very small. It’s something people throw out when they just don’t like an actor and want to concoct a reason.

[rooster]

The number of actors who seem like “not themself” from role to role is very small. It’s something people throw out when they just don’t like an actor and want to concoct a reason.

Exactly. Honk clearly just hates Momoa for some reason.

Idaho was unironically one of the better characters in that movie and I thought Moma did great.