Cameron H.

Ahhhh...yeah. If it makes you feel any better, I frequently lie--even in spoiler tags. ETA: I edited that last sentence to be a little more vague, just in case anyone else does the same thing. I'm sorry, man. I know I tried to hide it, but I still feel bad.

I get everything you're saying, but... Hopefully, that all made sense...let me know what you think.

I liked Stick, just fine. Which is to say, I don't think he's supposed to be "likeable," and Scott Glenn does a good job being that insufferable, nuisance. As for Elektra, I liked her as well. I like how they contrasted his relationship with her and Karen Page. Elektra being that ex that everyone has--where the sex was great, and there was certainly a lot of passion, but that same passion leads to a lot of drama; and Karen, the new girlfriend--representing a more mature love, based on genuine affection, that suffers due to lingering feelings about the aforementioned ex. I think where the Elektra storyline suffers was that it just didn't equal the stronger Frank Castle stuff, and watching Matt literally ignore that plotline so he could be involved in some weird mystical ninja subplot was kind of frustrating. It wasn't that it was bad, just that they set us up to really care about what was going on with Castle and then abruptly changed focus. I should also say, I have no strong feelings about Elektra (or even Daredevil for that matter), so if she was mischaracterized at all, it didn't bother me. I thought her story was interesting, it just came at the wrong time--both for the characters (which makes for good drama), and the audience (which makes for a frustrating viewing).

I wonder if they're trying to bank a couple episodes like they did with June's first pregnancy... If I remember correctly, Mr. Nanny came out months after they recorded that show to cover the period when they were going to be out. I could be wrong, though....I'm probably wrong...I'm always wrong. .

To continue our discussion from the min-sode thread... I finished Season 2 of Daredevil last night. Overall, I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure if I like it more than the first season, but I felt it was really good. That being said...

But, it's like, a really thick accent...

TaylorAnne's cruel campaign of disinformation will prove ruinous to the continued harmony of these forums. I call for a vote for her immediate and unceremonious removal before her unholy chicanery and mischief leads us all into anarchy.

Very true about the lose/lose situation. If you make him white, then it's appropriation; if you make him Asian, then it's stereotyping. Honestly, I'm just happy to be living at a time where Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, and apparently, Shang-Chi are going to be in anything. They could all be Muppets for all I care. That was some breaking news you had there! I had to look it up for myself. Holy Shit, motherfucking MOON KNIGHT, too! This is totally rad!

That's a good question...Like, he has to be coming home all bruised up and his parents don't do anything? Not even, "Hey, I don't want you to go over there anymore?" What the fuck? Well, Iron Fist is coming... (I would like to say--as an avowed Iron Fist fan--I'm not disappointed with the casting, but then again, I wouldn't have really cared what race he was as long as the show is good. So far, as far as I'm concerned, Netflix has been batting .1000, so I'm willing to trust that they know what they're doing. That being said, do you know what I wish had happened? Continuity be damned (and this for one of my top five characters), but after watching Jessica Jones, I said I would have been happy if Eka Darville, the guy who played her junkie neighbor, had said to her, "Oh, and by the way, my real name's not Malcolm--it's Danny Rand!" That would have made me happy as shit. For some reason, he really pulled off how I think Danny Rand should be played, although his character could not have been more dissimilar.

Fair enough, although I would like to clarify, despite how it may have sounded in my previous post, I don't have strong feelings about Superman, either. Even though I don't think Supes was portrayed particularly well, my "anger" for MoS had less to do with mischaracterization, and more with the overall style, tone, and its interminable length. By the end of it, I just felt assaulted and exhausted--it wasn't an adrenaline rush, it was a relentless ambush on my senses. And since the feel of the movie was muted, depressed, and hopeless, that's all I was left with. In other words, I wasn't angry because I felt like they had ruined a childhood favorite, I was angry because that's the emotion that was being thrust upon me.

But would you go see it again--in theaters?

In regard to the "kissing" cousins' question regarding Chong Li's snot rockets, I have two theories: 1) He's opening up his airway so he can breath better, reducing his chances of getting winded during the match. 2) Rather than flexing his muscles, he was making a derisive gesture at his opponent. Aside from someone actually picking a booger from their nose and flicking it at you, I don't think there is a more effective way of conveying to a person you're about to fight that they're beneath you than to project a gooey, green booger at their feet.

I feel the same way. Not only do I not want to have to pay full admission for a movie I'll probably not like, I just don't have the time to go to the movies as much as I'd like--period. Usually, if there's a movie I want to see, I'll just purchase it from Amazon, and if I don't like it, it feel like it's still cheaper than going to the theater; however, in this case, after reading the reviews (particularly PlanB's, whose tastes seem to parallel my own in regard to most movies), I may just rent it instead. I get that we shouldn't pre-judge these things, and we can't let reviewers write our opinions for us, but I also firmly believe in voting with my dollars. I HATED MoS--the only movie I can think of that actually put me in a bad mood after watching it--and the trailers for BvS make it look like it's just more of the same. The only thing I was even remotely interested in seeing was Wonder Woman, and from what I understand, she only has a few lines. Granted, this is Batman v Superman, but still... Finally, aside from the apparent tone of the movie, I still can't get behind the casting. Cavill just doesn't do it for me as Supes. I'm not married to the idea that Superman has to be Christopher Reeves (or a clone of him), but I just don't see Superman as a brooding character. From watching the trailers, it seems like maybe some people in the movie seem to see him as a symbol of hope, but even then it seems to be more because of what he is, rather than who he is. I like Affleck just fine, but I also think he's a little bit too big of a name to play Bruce Wayne. I feel like the whole time he's on screen all I'm going to see is Ben Affleck, not Batman. I like how Marvel has always seemed to cast lesser knowns and up-and-comers, sprinkled with a dash of and legitimate, solid actors (something, I would argue, Affleck is not). And I'm not even going to touch Jesse Eisenberg, who just looks and sounds dumb. I mean, maybe I shouldn't make up my mind before seeing it, but they've had a few trailers at this point to try to get me on board, and despite having a movie starring three of DC's premier characters, they were never able pique my interest the same way, as say, The Winter Soldier and Cap fighting Iron Man in the Civil War trailer--and this even after me hating AoU. I wanted this to work! I love superhero movies! I am solidly in their demo. This shouldn't have been hard for them. It's an easy sell, but ultimately, I find myself hesitant to even open the door for them. I don't know...I got to see Season 2 of Daredevil this week. I'm more than happy with that!

Has anyone done my idea? I want to start a podcast called "Troll Patrol--Operation: Flame War." Basically, it would be scouring the Internet for the most egregious examples of trolling (probably a lot from Yahoo! commenters), taking their points at face value, and making fun of how dumb they are. Any interest? I'm looking for co-hosts...

This should really be included as well...

Yeah, I just rewatched the Dux/Hossein fight. I guess I got my details a little mixed up. It was unfair of me to so harshly judge this movie, and Dux in particular, without having my facts straight. He can keep his title. But at least we got an answer for why referees are needed...

Definitely a touchdown.

Despite Lin's excessive expository dialog explaining the rules of the Kumite (which basically amounted to "punch and kick each other as brutally and in any way you want to until someone finally stops moving...and sometimes, even after that"), there is one rule I'm still a little fuzzy on... In Dux's first fight with Hossein, he knocks him to the ground with a single kick. He is immediately declared the victor and World Record holder for fastest win in the Kumite. While this is happening, Dux stands over Hossein and gives him the old "Crocodile Dundee subduing a wild animal" stare and then quickly takes his victory bow. While his back is turned, Hossein then leaps up and attacks Dux, and is--once again--soundly defeated. Okaaaay....now I'm confused. When Chong Li was put to the mat in his fight with Jackson, and the exact same scenario played out, he was on the ground for much longer than Hossein. So assuming it's legal to get back up after your opponent has put you to the ground, and if they want to, they can still get up and attack you while doing your victory lap, does Dux really deserve to hold the "World Record?" Since Hossein didn't concede (i.e. say "matte"), technically, the fight was still on. Revoke that shit! #kumiterecordasterisk

I'm hesitant to bring this up as I don't want to appear in anyway insensitive to a horrible, historical event, or in anyway make light of it, but I have an honest question regarding Mr. Tanaka's decision to emigrate to America. In the movie he tells Dux, "In the war, I lost my first family--my son, daughter, and wife. They lived in Hiroshima. I left Japan because of the war. War was wrong. I came here to start over..." Okay, I realize that this is going beyond the scope of just the movie and treading into deeper territory then we're usually accustomed. I also recognize this is something that I'm relatively sure many people did, but honestly, I don't get it. I get wanting to get away from the violence of war, but isn't Tanaka's decision to move to America kind of strange? It would be like if the US was at war with Canada, my home city was bombed--killing all my family and friends--and me thinking, "I need to get out of here! I guess I'll move to Toronto." I simply can't put myself in a position where my first, or even last, choice of places to move to is the same country responsible for my loved ones' deaths. Again, I apologize if anyone finds this offensive, but it honestly gave me pause while I was watching the movie. I only ask because I'm ignorant on the matter, and if there's a logical reason why someone would make this decision, I really would be interested to hear it.

I am simply undone! I hate to be repetitive, but you guys are bringing your A game!

No apologies necessary! I realize I didn't "like" your comment, which may have made it seem like I didn't take it as good-naturedly as I was sure you intended. Trust me, I had a good chuckle when I read it. In a nut shell, it's about the heroic rise and tragic fall of Alexander Hamilton, the First Secretary of Treasury. As SuperNintendo alluded, it is pretty historically based, but it's not just History porn. In fact, you don't need to know much about that period to like it--I certainly didn't. Although it has inspired in me a crazy desire to learn as much about that period of time as I can--much to the chagrin of those around me. TaylorAnne and I went on and on a few weeks back about our mutual love for it, but I was beginning to feel like my enthusiasm might have been doing more harm than good. What I can say, if you're interested, is you can listen to the whole thing for free ! Although, I will say, if you find you like it, I would urge you to get the album since many of the songs flow into one another in such a wonderful way. There are call backs and repeated themes that I feel like you could miss if you have to wait for each song to load.

Damn! You fuckers are on fire today! That's fucking awesome!

I think I may have a legit correction for this episode; however, I would never have arrived to it without a valuable assist from the gang. So thanks, guys! To the question as to why JCVD is being pursued by Forest Whitaker and the old guy, I had questions about this too, especially because the weird, wooden guy who watches JCVD shower at the beginning of the movie tells him that the colonel wants to see him before he goes on furlough. It seemed odd to me that they would be so concerned about what he was doing on his own time--even if the thing he wants to do is participate in some crazy, possibly illegal, underground fighting tournament. However, knowing now that he was evidently being trained to be "a killing machine" for the government, and therefore probably a valuable asset that they've poured considerable time, resources, and expense into training, it makes sense that they wouldn't want it see that just thrown away for--what they would consider--a senseless blood orgy in which their weapon could conceivably be irrevocably maimed or killed just to win a silly, ceremonial sword. I mean, it probably would have been nice if the movie had payed even a little bit of lip service to this and made their motives a little more explicit, but it's a Cannon film--what do we really expect? It's not like they spent most of their dialog explaining the obvious rules of a full contact, anything goes tournament... ETA: I'm pretty sure the significance of the sword was that the father of his friend had competed in the Kumite and had, years ago, won it himself. Hence, his line about having to earn it, and it being the prize at the end.