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bjsmall · 8 months

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2023

This is my copy of the Ice Age Essential Guide (featuring 1, 2 & 3).

It is a movie guide book written by Glenn Dakin. It was published by Dorling Kindersley (DK books) in 2009 following the release of the third film. The book features 64 pages.

In this post I will talk about the two menacing aquatic dinosaurs from Ice Age 2 The Meltdown, Cretaceous (an Ichthyosaur) and Maelstrom (a Pliosaur).

Cretaceous and Maelstrom are first seen frozen in a block of ice during the waterpark migration scene. These two have spent millions of years trapped in an ice berg since the Mesozoic era, but due to the warming weather they're beginning to thaw out and are very hungry. Along with the vultures they are seeking to eat all the mammals they can during the flood. Stu (a Glyptodon) becomes their first victim.

They work together as a team to bring down their prey. Both reptiles split up to try and hunt the herd in the movie and Scrat in the games. They can also defend each other for example If either Cretaceous or Maelstrom get hurt the other stands in to attack. Cretaceous is shown to have more strength and courage to take on Manny the Mammoth, whilst Maelstrom tries to take on the rest of the herd.

Their fate at the end of the Meltdown involves a fight with Manny who is trying to save Ellie from the cave. As they attempt to attack him, Manny wedges the tree trunk into the rock. He quickly gets out of the way as they bite onto it instead and are then taken down by the rocks as they crumble down saving Ellie in the process. Both reptiles are then sucked into a whirlpool as the ice dam breaks open thanks to Scrat. As a result, these two reptiles end up becoming a snack for the Mini Sloths (in the essential guide) and the Lone Gunslinger Vultures (in the movie storybook).

Cretaceous and Maelstrom also appear in the video game adaption of Ice Age 2 and are featured in Scrats Nutty Adventure (2019) as bosses. 3D rendered models which were used for the Scrat's Nutty Adventure videogame can be found here:

https://aaronhumphreys35.artstation.com/projects/w8gWa5

In the videogame of Ice Age 2, Scrat navigates through Maelstrom's digestive system to escape when he is eaten along with his acorn.

Cretaceous and Maelstrom's sound effects were a mixture of whales, tigers growling and human voices, which was used to give an eerie quality. In an early script, both reptiles could talk but this was removed from the movie as the studio didn't want too many characters with speaking roles.

The Art of Ice Age book published by Titan Books and co-written by Tara Bennet, features an early concept of Cretaceous and Maelstrom revealing that they were going to be alongside another character known as a Axolotl. All three characters are called 'The Villainous Trio' in the art book. The 3D sculptures were created by Michael Defeo and character drawings were done by Peter De Sève.

A Axolotl is only featured in the videogame of the second movie. Here is a screenshot featuring an Axloti in the Mud Bog stage alongside Scrat. Image from Sierra Chest.

Read more about the removed material from 'The Meltdown' here:

https://iceage.fandom.com/wiki/Ice_Age/Deleted_Material#Ice_Age:_The_Meltdown

See links below for more information:

https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Cretaceous_and_Maelstrom

https://iceage.fandom.com/wiki/Cretaceous

More recently, Cretaceous and Maelstrom are depicted chasing the herd in cave paintings in the opening sequence of the sixth Ice Age spin-off movie called 'The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild' which was created and released by Walt Disney Studios in January 2022.

Disney's 'The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild' was followed later by 'Ice Age: Scrat Tales', a collection of short films produced by Disney with the help of a small team of Blue Sky Studios animators. Scrat Tales was Blue Sky Studios final farewell production following the studios closure.

See the Ice Age movies website here:

https://iceage.disney.com/

The images underneath show an artist's impression of an Ichthyosaur (Cymbospondylus) and a Pliosaur (Pliosauroidea).

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iceagearchive · 9 months

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Ice age : iced in comic book by kaboom!

Released February 21, 2012

Happy National comic book day !

🧊link🧊

#ice age collision course #blue sky studios #ice age #ice age continental drift #ice age dawn of the dinosaurs #ice age movie #ice age the meltdown #scrat tales #the ice age adventures of buck wild #manny #diego ice age #sid the sloth #kaboom!#comic books #comics #scrat

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puccafangirl · 2 years

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So after postponing it for so long for obvious reasons, I gave that new Ice Age Buck movie a watch and yeah...it was as direct-to-DVD sequel material as everybody said it was. Lackluster animation, different voice cast, not made by Blue Sky, you get the gist.

But, and I'm so sorry cause I REALLY hate to admit it but there were still some things I liked about it. At least, particularly the family bonding moments between the herd. One of the main reasons Ice Age 5 didn't sit well with me was because I felt that it didn't have enough bonding moments between the herd like the past 4 films had.

Because while Scrat will always be my favorite character ever, I still adore the rest of the characters too. In fact, this franchise and these characters are what really fueled my love for the found family trope! ^^

Apparently there was still some people who worked on it who worked on the other Ice Age films and tbh I don't know if that makes it better or worse. Cause on the one hand, at least they got SOME familiar people back to work on it, and I think it would explain some of the better scenes.

But on the other hand, the fact that it still wasn't done with all the rest of the talented people at Blue Sky still really crushes me. I know it's because everyone had to move on after the shutdown but, it just makes me sad that not every single person we know of who usually works on the Ice Age films could be together to work on this no thanks to Disney. The franchise will truly just never be the same without them. 😞

It really bothers me though that even though the film is supposed to take place after the 5th one, we don't see Peaches and Shira anywhere. I guess it's because the focus was supposed to be on the herd from the first two films since Crash and Eddie had big roles in it, but it still really bothered me seeing them nowhere in sight. Cause they're part of the wonderful family too dammit!

AND SCRAT. I know he finally got the happy ending he deserved but he's still the face of the franchise and my dearly beloved, so it still felt incredibly lonely without him! ;A;

But yeah, I know it wasn't very good, especially since Blue Sky didn't work on it. But the fact that there's still just a few aspects I enjoyed just shows what utter trash I am for this franchise lmao. Cause I feel that way about Ice Age 5 too. I didn't like it very much and I can definitely see why people see it as the worst in the series, but there were still a few aspects that I enjoyed from that movie too.

I'm sorry, I know that probably makes me cringe in the end but that's just how I feel! That's just how much I love these characters! Anyway though, still not looking forward to that other upcoming Ice Age movie very much either. Because no matter what certain aspects I may still enjoy out of them, it's just not the same without Blue Sky and it never will be. And I'll always be salty over DIsney continuing the series without them since it's just more proof that they only wanted the IP's.

Glad I finally got that viewing out of the way though lol. Sorry, this was also pretty long. But this franchise is my everything so I had to go into detail y'know? But anyway, just gonna casually go back to watching Scrat Tales and the ones made by Blue Sky for my never-ending coping with their shutdown. :')))

#i'm sorry if this is too long and y'all want me to put it under read more feel free to tell me lol #ice age #the ice age adventures of buck wild #personal

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oneeyedcharactercompetition · 1 year

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Prelim Updates & Character List!

First, competing as a team won for all four prelim polls! Everybody's in, together! (For some reason I had a feeling the Naruto poll was a wild question, and with my practically non-existent knowledge figured Kakashi would win, but glad it's funnier this way lol)

Second, I have still neglected to organize the Portal prelims. Whoops. I'll probably figure that out today and post that tomorrow evening (5/1). Relatedly, I also realized I missed one more non-Portal prelim poll, so that'll go up at the same time (it's for Percy Jackson).

Third, uhh you guys probably want the character list huh. Don't know why I didn't do that in my original form is closed update. Here you go!

(One asterisk means they'll be on a team, two for the prelim I missed. Portal/etc will be at the bottom.)

Allison Ruth (Kill Six Billion Demons)

Annie (Skullgirls)

Asuka Langley Soryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

B.O.B (Monster Vs. Aliens)

Bazooka Joe (Bazooka Joe)

Breakdown (Transformers)

Brightheart (Warrior Cats)

Buck the Weasel (Ice Age)

Captain Hook (Peter Pan)

Captain Typho (Star Wars)

Catherine Foundling (A Practical Guide to Evil)

Celia (Monsters Inc)*

Chevalier (Worm)

Dark Choco Cookie (Cookie Run)

Demoman (Team Fortress 2)

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Docm77 (Hermitcraft)

Dusclops (Pokemon)*

Dusknoir (Pokemon)*

Duskull (Pokemon)*

Ethan Nakamura (Percy Jackson & The Olympians)**

Every Dalek (Doctor Who)

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu (Danganronpa)

Garrett (Thief)

Glenn Close (Dungeons & Daddies)

Hero's Shade (Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)

Himeno (Chainsaw Man)

Hua Cheng (Tian Guan Ci Fu)

Hudson (Gargoyles)

Hyakunosuke Ogata (Golden Kamuy)

Iris Clops (Monster High)

Iron Bull (Dragon Age: Inquisition)

Jack (Minecraft story mode)

John Silver (Treasure Planet)

Juno Steel (The Penumbra Podcast)

Kakashi Hatake (Naruto)*

Kaname Date (AI: The Somnuim Files)*

Kubo (Kubo & the Two Strings)

Kuruto Ryuki (AI: The Somnium Files)*

Laura Kearney (The Quarry)

Lila Bard (Shades of Magic trilogy)

Magnus Hammersmith I (Metalocalypse)

Man-at Arms (Darkest Dungeon)

Marie Mjolner (Soul Eater)

Merle Highchurch (The Adventure Zone - Balance)

Mike Wazowski (Monsters Inc)*

Midari Ikishima (Kakegurui)

Mizuki Date (AI: The Somnium Files)

Mr. Fischoeder (Bob's Burgers)

Nick Fury (Marvel)

Nifty (Hazbin Hotel)

Obito Uchiha (Naruto Shippuden)*

Odin (Norse mythology)

Pibby (Pibby)

Plankton (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Prismo (Adventure Time)

Qifrey (Witch Hat Atelier)

Rachel Duncan (Orphan Black)

Rae Morningstar (Fable SMP)

Red Beard (Asterix)

Redcloak (Order of the Stick)*

Rem (Death Note)

Right-Eye (Order of the Stick)*

Rose Copen (Y: The Last Man)

Rose Wilson (DC Comics)

Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Sigma Klim (Zero Escape)

Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop)

Tengen Uzui (Demon Slayer/Kimestu no Yaiba)

The One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying Purple People Eater (song by Sheb Wooley)

The Virtual Reality Assistance & Education Core (SteamVR opening tutorial)

Tyson (Percy Jackson & The Olympians)**

Viktor Vasko (Lackadaisy)

Violet (The Walking Dead (S4 Game))

Vriska Serket (Homestuck)

Wolf O'Donnell (Star Fox)

Xander Harris (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Zuko (Avatar The Last Airbender)

Portal/Portal adjacent:

Alan (Aperture Hand Labs)

Anger Core

Atlas

Bill (Aperture Hand Labs)

Cake Core

Curiosity Core

Deceptive Devin (Aperture Hand Labs)

Defective Turret

Fact Core

Friendly Frank (Aperture Hand Labs)

GLaDOS

Grady (Aperture Desk Job)

Morality Core

P-body

Party Escort Bot (Portal/Lab Rat)

Rick the Adventure Core

Space Core

Turret

Wheatley

#one eyed character masterposts

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disneytva · 2 years

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Disney+ Originals Monsters At Work and Chip “N” Dale: Park Life Join Disney Channel’s Animation Slate On January 2023 Due A Previous Contract With Former Disney CEO.

Back in October the second season of “The Mysterious Benedict Society” was recently released on Disney+ in October, the series also did something a little different, in that new episodes, were being released on the Disney Channel the day before they were being added on to Disney+.

Since then many Disney+ Originals have aired on Disney Channel with The Wonderful Autum of Mickey Mouse on Thanksgiving weekend and Lady And The Tramp 2019 slated for December 16 and on The Oscars weekend Disney Channel aired some Pixar SparkShorts in honor of the award season

While many fans thought this was a way of promoting the show more, trying to get a bigger audience and utilise the value of a show with a dual streaming/linear release.

This lead to speculation as Disney+ Original Animated Series & Films like “The Wonderful Worl Of Mickey Mouse” “Forky Ask A Question” “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” “Dug Days” “Star Wars: Visions” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7″ “Star Wars: Tales Of The Jedi” “The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Specials” “Baymax” “Zootopia+” “Olaf Presents” “Cars On The Road” “Diary Of A Wimpy Kid” “Ice Age Scrat Tales” “Ice Age Adventures Of Buck Wild” “Phineas And Ferb The Movie: Candace Againts The Universe” “Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers” etc.. will join the Disney Channel lineup.

This got confirmed recently as Disney+ Original Animated Series Monsters At Work & Chip N Dale Park Life will join Disney Channel’s Animation Lineup starting January 2023.

The reason of this comes with a contract by previous Disney CEO “Bob Chapek” was trying to shift the show’s production and marketing budget from the streaming division to the linear division.

According to the WSJ,

Disney is moving some shows that were supposed to be Disney+ originals and air them first on other networks including the Disney Channel, people familiar with the matter said. By doing so, the costs of production and marketing of the shows—which included mystery show “The Mysterious Benedict Society” and medical drama “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.”—would be shifted away from the streaming service, making its financial performance look better, they said. Ms. McCarthy was concerned about this strategy, the people said.

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listieshadows · 10 months

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Listie says some words about every new movie she saw in July 2023 that she hadn't seen before

Eh, why not? I may as well say a few words about every movie I saw last month that I hadn't already seen before (at least according to the spreadsheet I've been keeping up with since February 2017). So, here we go—below the cut, of course, since this is gonna really run long.

(A note from right before I posted this: I actually kind of underestimated how long this would be when I started writing this, oh my goodness. This is 22 films I said words about down there.)

Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (2023)

Date seen: 2023-07-02

I'll admit I liked this one more coming out of the theater than I do now, so many days removed from it. Back when I made my Indiana Jones ranking post, I ranked it dead in the middle, as worse than Last Crusade and better than Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, but, honestly? I think I might like Crystal Skull a it better than this, actually?

Of course, I might change my mind again if I ever re-watch it, but... I don't know. I can't exactly pinpoint anything specific about it. There's not even nitpicks I can point to to make a mountain-out-of-a-molehill deal out of like everyone did back when Crystal Skull was released.

And, actually, maybe it is just that Dial doesn't have any big, goofy, unbelievable movie serial/B-movie moments like any of the others did. For the most part, it is kind of just a Fast & Furious spectacle with some tomb raiding thrown in there. And when we do get that big moment... Somehow, in a franchise where aliens have already happened, this still seems like a small step too far?

I don't know. I'm not gonna declare it the worst film of 2023 like I'm sure some other people already have, because I did enjoy my time in the theater. I didn't start to wonder two-thirds of the way through "Maybe this isn't good, actually?" like I did SHAZAM! Fury Of The Gods. I'unno. At any rate, this still feels like a better adventure for Jones to bow out on than Crustal Skull. At least until they deepfake Harrison Ford for a sixth film, anyway.

Nimona (2023)

Date seen: 2023-07-03

Jeez, and I'd thought that Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse would the best 2023 film I'd see all year. Like, I knew Nimona would be good, but I didn't expect it to hit me as hard as it can. It legitimately made me cry, which, despite how much my mom teases me about it, is not something I do that often.

It really is incredible to me that Disney left this movie to die when they shut down Blue Sky, but they still let The Ice Age Adventures Of Buck Wild happen. And, gawd, I thought it was a slap in the face before, because it seemed like the only thing Disney wanted to do with Blue Sky was milk the dead cow that is the Ice Age franchise even further (I haven't even seen the Scratt shorts)... And, really, if Blue Sky hadn't been closed down, its biggest crime is that it would've been boring, and potentially pointless if the Buck Wild TV series that this movie was obviously a pilot for never happened.

But in the wake of Nimona's release, The Ice Age Adventures Of Buck Wild is even worse, because Nimona, no doubt, would've been Blue Sky's best movie. Maybe even better than The Peanuts Movie. And that just makes it all the more tragic that Blue Sky was closed before they could finally hit their creative stride.

Also, Nimona ended the same way that Spider-Man: Homecoming did, and part of me's grateful that it did, 'cuz I actually would've been bawling for the next hour or so if it didn't, and I had other shit to do, so...

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Date seen: 2023-07-03

At the start of July I was in the middle of watching all of the Mission: Impossible movies into the lead-up to Dead Reckoning Part One (more on that later!), and of course this is the last of the "original trilogy," as I like to think of it, before they went from spy thrillers to Jackie Chan stunt spectaculars.

And, honestly, of all of the films, this might be my least favorite?

Like, I'unno, in general, I prefer the more stunt-focused flicks to these, but even besides that... I just really didn't take to it? Like, the first one does the spy stuff the best, I think, and then the sequel is stupid, enjoyable John Woo nonsense. But this? It's the one I'd return to the least.

I mean, maybe I'm just pissed that they never told me what the hell the Rabbit's Foot was.

Independence Day (1996)

Date seen: 2023-07-04

I don't have much to say about this one, really. It's just stupid, popcorn fun. Like, yeah, it's overly jingoistic, but Will Smith punches out an alien and a whole shit-ton of miniatures blow up. Come on, that's entertainment.

I mean, at any rate, I enjoyed watching this movie more than Anonymous. At least this movie didn't put forward any Anti-Stratfordian conspiracy theories.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

Date watched: 2023-07-08

Surprisingly, this was the only one of the "latter trilogy" that I hadn't seen before this year. I'm not entirely sure why. I mean, I believe all three were available to me when I watched Ghost Protocol and Fallout, so I can't exactly figure out why it took me this long.

And big surprise, it's as much of a fun, thrilling spy action stunt spectacular as the other two. I wasn't expecting anything less.

Part of me kind of feels like these three are sort of interchangeable—like, if you wanna watch a spy movie where Tom Cruise risks his life being very high up in the air, you'd be fine with any of these. Of course, that's ignoring the actual stories, and I'm not saying they're bad in calling them interchangeable. Just that, in the future, if I were to try and figure out which one to watch, I'd have a hard time 'cuz they're all so equally good.

Maybe I'd just make it easy and put on Mission: Impossible 2, I'unno.

Spinout (1966)

Date watched: 2023-07-10

I've already talked about this movie in a previous post, so I'll just direct you there if you wanna hear my thoughts about it. Y'know, if you're really dying to find out what some random user on Tumblr thinks about Elvis's twentieth-some movie.

The Transformers: The Movie (1986)

Date watched: 2023-07-15

I plan to watch all of the Transformers movie this August, so I figured I may as well take the time to watch the original flick. Which, really, let's be honest, mostly served just to wipe most of the previous cast away so they could promote new toys.

I didn't not enjoy this movie, don't get me wrong, but obviously I didn't get as much out of it as I could have. Like, if I were a kid in the 80's, or if I were deeply invested in the cartoon, or if I didn't know that Optimus comes back, dies and comes back in the season of the show following this movie. Mostly, I just wanted to hear Eric Idle and Orson Welles, watch some robots beat up other robots, listen to one of the characters say "Aw, shit!" and devour the film's gloriously cheesy 80's soundtrack, which even includes Weird Al's "Dare To Be Stupid". And I got all that, so...

My friend Aylo didn't like it when I said that Hot Rod is partially responsible for Optimus Prime's death, but, hey, I just call 'em like I see 'em. Also, I mistook Hot Rod for Wheelie, and I wanted to perpetuate those allegations just to spite Wheelie.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Date watched: 2023-07-16

I mean this in the best way possible—this movie frustrated the shit out of me. I just wanted Ethan to keep a hold on that damn key, but it just kept on getting yoinked out of his hands by some damn pickpocket or whoever. And, like, I mean it in the best way because that does mean I was invested in what was going on enough to care, but gaaaawd, how is this the person Ethan's had the most trouble with?

This movie's portrayal of A.I. is exactly what both A.I. evangelists and doomsayers clam it will be.

The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension (1984)

Date watched: 2023-07-18

Is this what all superhero movies feel like to people who aren't deeply invested in them? 'Cuz I found it pretty dang enjoyable if it is.

Also, I accidentally learned why that watermelon was there, and it bums me out because I liked the mystery way more.

Ruthless People (1986)

Date watched: 2023-07-20

This is a fine black comedy, but certainly not the best Zucker/Abrams/Zucker. I mean, literally, the only times I remembered that they directed this was the opening credits and the closing credits. In-between? I'unno, maybe I was just too distracted by Danny DeVito to remember.

And, yes, I did watch this movie entirely because its title song was the subject of Weird Al's only miss in parodying a hit, "Toothless People". Indeed, it really isn't even the best parody on the album. Not even "Addicted To Spuds" is right there with the line "Some tater tots would blow your mind!"

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze (1991)

Date watched: 2023-07-20

The second part of my preparation for the upcoming Turtles movie this August, and... I don't think it's that much worse than the first, honestly? Clearly not as good, of course, but I'd give it a thumbs up.

This movie reminds me a lot of Ghostbusters II, where the tone was lightened up quite a bit from the first film because there was a franchise and a Saturday morning cartoon all the little kids were into. Now, true, the Turtles were already a franchise and cartoon beforehand, so it's not a 100% accurate comparison, but you get what I mean. After the first film, which was based more on the original comics, proved to be a success, the sequel was made to fit in better with how most people knew the TMNT.

But, again, I don't think it's a total downgrade. I can still take this mostly seriously, even with some of the dumber lines and moments. And at least we still have the Henson costumes. Can't argue with those.

Really, the only part that absolutely stunk was the anti-climax of Super Shredder. Like, even the appearance of Vanilla Ice got a laugh of me because... Come on, it's Vanilla Ice. What else was I supposed to do?

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)

Date watched: 2023-07-22

I watched this to celebrate the one-year anniversary of me watching all of the Superman movies I hadn't seen before (which meant "literally all of them except the DCEU two"), and in the intermediate time I've seen a lot of other movies, so I can't exactly tell you how this cut stacks up to the original, but... It's Superman II. It's the best of all of 'em. Can't argue with it.

I don't think you should watch this over the theatrical cut, but if you're curious to see how Donner would've cut it, I say go for it.

And, hey, 'know, this didn't cost Warner Bros. millions like that other time they let someone recut one of their DC movies (and, yes, thank you, I do refuse to watch it—or the original for that matter).

But so we don't go to the next film on that note, I wanna confess that the only thing I noticed different from the original cut was when I thought, "Hey, waitaminute—that shot where Superman blows a woman's skirt up wasn't there before."

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)

Date watched: 2023-07-23

Any enjoyment I got out of this you could credit way more to James Rolfe than you can the film itself. If it weren't for his old review, I wouldn't've laughed nearly as much at the bad lines, poor special effects, terrible costumes, stupid story, and just the utterly bone-headed decision to have the Turtles time travel to early 17th-century Japan.

Well, at least it's not the worst thing to feature that subway lair set—though it's not exactly a compliment to say that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III is only barely better than Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation.

The Flash (2023)

Date watched: 2023-07-24

I wanna state upfront that nobody made a dime off of me watching this. The only thing I wasted here was my time.

So. The Flash.

You ever watch something just to be able to call it the worst thing you've seen all year?

Seriously, if the film hadn't stopped dead in its tracks in the middle of the climax to shove poorly rendered CGi fanservice in our face, it would have been fine. Maybe slightly better than SHAZAM! Fury Of The Gods. But that one extended moment is so crassly cynical, I think it caused "multiverse fatigue" all by itself, and I can't imagine myself willingly seeing anything worse this year.

Literally the best part was just the opening logos, and the fact that the movie quotes "Barbie Girl" really pissed me off, because that meant it tied directly into the next movie I saw.

Barbie (2023)

Date watched: 2023-07-24

I remember when I first heard that there was going to be a live-action Barbie movie, I was really skeptical. Like this was Mattel looking at the success of The LEGO Movie years ago and decided to shit out something in the vein of, like, The Smurfs or whatever.

Never would I have imagined that, years later, I'd be one of many people sitting in the theater audience wearing pink.

Absolutely lived up to the hype and how insane the trailers made it look. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Gawd bless.

You go live your best life, Alan.

Hatching Pete (2009)

Date watched: 2023-07-25

This is another one of those DCOMs I've seen ahead of the podcast Escape From Vault Disney—which is the only kind of DCOM I see, for the record—and, well, on a scale of "Does this feature a man in a chicken suit committing grand theft auto?", it's so far the best one.

In another universe, "Hatching Pete" is the title of a trans coming out story.

Elvis: That's The Way It Is (1970)

Date watched: 2023-07-26

Now this is what I wanted from an Elvis film—Elvis on stage singing his ass off, doing flailing karate moves, messing around with his band, finding time to kiss every woman in the audience, and deepthroating his microphone. Fun times!

TMNT (2007)

Date watched: 2023-07-26

Maybe the best Turtles film since the first one? I'unno, maybe if it had a plot I could give a hoot about, because Winters and all of the everything he was doing was just not doing it for me.

But, hey, at least I got to look at good looking CGi Turtles one more time before... Urgh. The next two.

Inception (2007)

Date watched: 2023-07-27

Oh, so that's why everybody uses "-ception" as a suffix. Neat! And the rest of the movie's real good, too.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007)

Date watched: 2023-07-28

I wouldn't say this is as bad as Turtles III—I mean, it keeps the characters in New York, but that's the lowest possible bar for it to clear, and it certainly doesn't cross into being good.

It's such a strange decision to have the movie focus so centeredly on April, but I guess it's for the better we don't spend as much time as we could have being forced to focus on creeper Mikey.

Oppenheimer (2023)

Date watched: 2023-07-30

Lemme say up front that this is a good movie. A very good movie. Maybe one of Nolan's best—I haven't seen enough of his work to say for sure, but from what I've read, it's a very good candidate not only for Nolan's best, but maybe even best of the year. And certainly, this is absolutely a film that needs to be seen in theaters. There are moments in here I can't imagine just watching on a TV or phone.

And I bring all this preface just to say that if anyone sees this film rank towards the middle of my 2023 film ranking, it's because, honestly, if it weren't for the whole "Barbenheimer" phenomenon, I don't think I would've gone out of my way to see it, at least not in theaters. I'm sure I still would've had some interest in this film (largely because of the Epic Rap Battle where Oppenheimer battled Thanos), but not enough to go out of my way like this.

Also, lemme jus' say that, yeah, I agree with Issa Rae; I am a bit of psychopath for seeing this late. Didn't hit me until a few hours after I'd left the theater, but, yeah; shit could mess you up if you let it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows (2016)

Date watched: 2023-07-31

I guess it's better than the first—I mean, credit for addressing issues like how pointless splitting Shredder into two characters was and for actually giving the Turtles character focus, and for adding in elements that fans had no doubt waited forever to see, like Krang and Be-Bop and Rocksteady—but it's still not that great.

Seriously, could they not get Krang on set for more than two days? He's a big brain alien with a mustache for some reason; he can't be that busy!

#text #film #rambling #long post #mission impossible #transformers #superman #barbie #barbie 2023 #the flash #dceu #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #oppenheimer #barbenheimer

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