sleepy9

Not a big super hero fan, but Thor Ragnarok was hilarious so I decided to give the Avengers a shot. Unfortunately The Avengers isn't a movie for anyone but a die hard fans, like Star Wars episodes 1,2, and 3. Hulk smashing and Loki are the film's only redeeming factors, personally I think Loki would have made a great king. At the very least as king Loki would have prevented any sequels to The Avengers.

I agree that The Matrix is not necessarily a great movie. Formally it can't hold a candle to the worst of Wong Kar-wai's films, its effects look dated, and the dialogue feels heavy handed. But at 14, the effects were state of the art, I was too wrapped up in the matrix to notice the sub-par script, and I had never seen a Wong Kar-wai movie. The Matrix blew me away. Re-watching the movie 15+ years later, while there where moments that reminded me of feeling the world I knew dissolve as I watched, it was just a reminder, not the experience itself. Listening to the podcast discuss a queer interpretation of The Matrix, as a straight man, I had that experience again. The movie feel just as transgressive and mind blowing as when I was sitting in the theater that summer. Thanks for that. I think any work of art that forces one to re-imagine their preconceived world deserves to be in the canon.

I haven't seen Lost in Translation since it was in theaters. The 'other' visual jokes made at the expense of the Japanese put me off although I acknowledge these may have been a commentary on rude american tourists. I also felt no empathy for Scarlett Johansson's characters disorientation in her golden cage having traveled extensively with a fraction of her financial means. Marie Antoinette on the other hand cannot be interpreted as a commentary on French 18th century politics with its rabid consumerism and post punk soundtrack, it is pure fairy tail without the fairy tail ending. I think Marie Antoinette accomplishes all the sophisticated character analysis of Lost in Translation without any of its cringe worthy aspects by going harder and not bothering to be historically accurate. Marie Antoinette has a more mature vision then Lost in Translation, it knows what it wants and takes it.