
Johnny-the-Film-Sentinel-2187
Joined Oct 2010
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Johnny-the-Film-Sentinel-2187's rating
Gladiator II thought it was gonna live up to the original's 20+ years of legacy and Oscar-baiting to match; but the film's come and gone from cinemas and it's just one of the many cogs in the 2020s cinematic landscape to also be one of the decade's most notable 'legacy sequels'.
Legacy sequels can be done well, but they're becoming creative shorthands for ANY given iconic film in the past 20/40 years or so. Films like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal have had legacy sequels in the works now for eons: and they're just one of many examples of cult classic films to be in production; Blade Runner: 2049 was another one, as was Top Gun: Maverick. Makes you wonder if films like Dick Tracy are gonna get a sequel (another gestating film that's had MANY false starts), and the recently announced RoboCop sequel that retcons the sequels AFTER the first movie from 1987 (or so I've heard).
Legacy sequels shouldn't have the same 'taken for granted' status as follow-ups to stuff like the Fast and the Furious or Avengers or goddamn Final Destination or Saw; these long-developed films should justify their long development times in multiple ways. If the wait was ridiculously long, why not let the final thing justify everyone's patience in any given case?
Gladiator II constantly reaffirms that the first film indeed happened, but I guess the main character is a 'retcon' baby of Russell Crowe's character? I don't know. Off-screen families are nothing new (look at Star Wars and James Bond), but sometimes the implications of them can make things complicated regarding 'story and character ethics'. It's still a story of slavery and arena fights in The Colosseum, all against a backdrop of regular people against monarch-like authority.
Gladiator II isn't bad, but it's not the 'blow-you-away' event film it probably thought it was gonna be. The first one wasn't perfect, but it was special. And its connections to the first movie sometimes feel kind of far-fetched.
Legacy sequels can be done well, but they're becoming creative shorthands for ANY given iconic film in the past 20/40 years or so. Films like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal have had legacy sequels in the works now for eons: and they're just one of many examples of cult classic films to be in production; Blade Runner: 2049 was another one, as was Top Gun: Maverick. Makes you wonder if films like Dick Tracy are gonna get a sequel (another gestating film that's had MANY false starts), and the recently announced RoboCop sequel that retcons the sequels AFTER the first movie from 1987 (or so I've heard).
Legacy sequels shouldn't have the same 'taken for granted' status as follow-ups to stuff like the Fast and the Furious or Avengers or goddamn Final Destination or Saw; these long-developed films should justify their long development times in multiple ways. If the wait was ridiculously long, why not let the final thing justify everyone's patience in any given case?
Gladiator II constantly reaffirms that the first film indeed happened, but I guess the main character is a 'retcon' baby of Russell Crowe's character? I don't know. Off-screen families are nothing new (look at Star Wars and James Bond), but sometimes the implications of them can make things complicated regarding 'story and character ethics'. It's still a story of slavery and arena fights in The Colosseum, all against a backdrop of regular people against monarch-like authority.
Gladiator II isn't bad, but it's not the 'blow-you-away' event film it probably thought it was gonna be. The first one wasn't perfect, but it was special. And its connections to the first movie sometimes feel kind of far-fetched.
Dracula has been done-to-death in popular culture what with him now being a longtime public domain darling: the character's been reimagined countless times more so than the actual story he came from. So it goes without saying that Bram Stoker's Dracula is just one of MANY Dracula films that have been made since the character basically left a big-bang impact on horror literature and pop-culture.
The iconic vampire has now been deified as a misunderstood romantic who literally thirsts for blood, and is an embodiment of Eastern European eccentrics who long for a normal life out of the shadows of obscurity and isolation. I don't know if that's the intent, but still: Dracula has become a mascot for gothic culture and a 'model brooder' shunning normalcy. And honestly if you told me that the Godfather guy did this film, I'd be like "this is more like Tim Burton than Francis 'Apocalypse Now' Coppola"! But the fact he did this was ballsy enough, and a character as tried-and-true as Dracula was definitely an interesting choice for the guy who made Don Vito Corleone a cinematic icon.
Bram Stoker's Dracula has a lot of good stuff about it like the atmosphere and the story, but some of the acting and accents are as consistent as brevity in a B-movie from Ed Wood. Gary Oldman was great, but Keane Reeves and Winona Ryder left a lot to be desired; also, Anthony Hopkins being Van Helsing is very on-brand for a horror icon even if he's a good guy this time around.
Having not seen this movie for eons but FINALLY seeing it recently, I can honestly say its reputation as a 90s classic is well warranted, both the good and bad stuff in it. 7/10 IMDbs. 3.5/5 stars. For all the good it does the story, it does just enough to stop it from being a 'perfect' representation of the Dracula story.
The iconic vampire has now been deified as a misunderstood romantic who literally thirsts for blood, and is an embodiment of Eastern European eccentrics who long for a normal life out of the shadows of obscurity and isolation. I don't know if that's the intent, but still: Dracula has become a mascot for gothic culture and a 'model brooder' shunning normalcy. And honestly if you told me that the Godfather guy did this film, I'd be like "this is more like Tim Burton than Francis 'Apocalypse Now' Coppola"! But the fact he did this was ballsy enough, and a character as tried-and-true as Dracula was definitely an interesting choice for the guy who made Don Vito Corleone a cinematic icon.
Bram Stoker's Dracula has a lot of good stuff about it like the atmosphere and the story, but some of the acting and accents are as consistent as brevity in a B-movie from Ed Wood. Gary Oldman was great, but Keane Reeves and Winona Ryder left a lot to be desired; also, Anthony Hopkins being Van Helsing is very on-brand for a horror icon even if he's a good guy this time around.
Having not seen this movie for eons but FINALLY seeing it recently, I can honestly say its reputation as a 90s classic is well warranted, both the good and bad stuff in it. 7/10 IMDbs. 3.5/5 stars. For all the good it does the story, it does just enough to stop it from being a 'perfect' representation of the Dracula story.
Plumbers Don't Wear Ties may be the ONLY video game in existence where you can play the game by NOT playing it and simply watch reviews of it on YouTube; because this semi-interactive slideshow of stupidity is as interactive as static DVD menus that have cards for 'play movie' or 'chapter select' and some such other features. But the menus play the most surreal slideshows of utter nonsense you've ever seen printed onto an interactive disk (and this was 1993/94 for God's sake).
It's honestly incredible how involuntarily awful this game is; from mis-utilising it's then brand new technology for menus that weren't yet standardised, to the awful storyline and phoney acting, and the 'movie-like' nature of the game being a complete lie besides the opening video. Plumbers Don't Wear Ties is proof that widely available tech like CDs didn't mean every product was gonna be a cultural equal in the gaming space of the 1990s.
In such a landmark decade for video games like the 1990s, it's outrageous how much of a far cry this game is to the likes of Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, and ANY of the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 classics using ROM-cartridges; heck, Superman 64 is more innovative and important than Plumbers Don't Wear Ties. Never thought I'd say that in my life. In a world full of Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Banjo-Kazooie, Rayman, Crash Bandicoot, Sonic, Star Wars and Doom games, these 'Plumbers' really don't ever measure up to the 'better' bad games of the 1990s; or even later ones. It's like the midnight movie equivalent for gaming rather than an actual full release from the 3DO.
Plumbers Don't Wear Ties shows that not all games are created equal, and but it does bring about some inspired cringe laughs that'll be a bliss for gamers wanting ironic fun instead of actual joy. It's hilarious for all the wrong reasons, the limitations against it were never gonna make it forgiving surviving the 'against time' test, but it's nice that game memes have brought some laughs out of a pointless affair such as this.
It's honestly incredible how involuntarily awful this game is; from mis-utilising it's then brand new technology for menus that weren't yet standardised, to the awful storyline and phoney acting, and the 'movie-like' nature of the game being a complete lie besides the opening video. Plumbers Don't Wear Ties is proof that widely available tech like CDs didn't mean every product was gonna be a cultural equal in the gaming space of the 1990s.
In such a landmark decade for video games like the 1990s, it's outrageous how much of a far cry this game is to the likes of Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, and ANY of the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 classics using ROM-cartridges; heck, Superman 64 is more innovative and important than Plumbers Don't Wear Ties. Never thought I'd say that in my life. In a world full of Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Banjo-Kazooie, Rayman, Crash Bandicoot, Sonic, Star Wars and Doom games, these 'Plumbers' really don't ever measure up to the 'better' bad games of the 1990s; or even later ones. It's like the midnight movie equivalent for gaming rather than an actual full release from the 3DO.
Plumbers Don't Wear Ties shows that not all games are created equal, and but it does bring about some inspired cringe laughs that'll be a bliss for gamers wanting ironic fun instead of actual joy. It's hilarious for all the wrong reasons, the limitations against it were never gonna make it forgiving surviving the 'against time' test, but it's nice that game memes have brought some laughs out of a pointless affair such as this.