Vicarious Rant: "The Avengers" (movie)

[DBP]

Since I have few friends and fewer scruples . . . and because such friends as I do have are committed to keeping their expectations low anyway . . . I don’t hesitate to post any or all of their communications to me on this forum for your edification.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

David Preston

 ***********************************************************************************

May 5, 2012

Hey David,

I’m puzzled. In the course of several days, I’ve had to mute many TV and online adverts for a movie called, “The Avengers.” Upon recognition of what the movie was upon, I immediately placed it in the mental file drawer marked “DRECK” and tried to make the ad go away as fast as my fingers could serve me.

But that doesn’t appear to be the evaluation by many around me. When I returned the question of “any plans this weekend” posed by a 25-year-old co-worker of mine, he replied with enthusiasm, “I’m planning to see the ‘Avengers’ movie!”

And on the bus home yesterday, another young man (20-ish) was using his PDA to excitedly reel off to someone on the other end of his ear buds the various theaters the movie would be showing in.

Some thoughts on this before I get your input:

¶ I expected to see the characters of Emma Peel and Mr. Steed in the previews, but apparently this new film has bypassed any respect for THE Avengers.

¶ I find Robert Downey Jr. nigh on impossible to watch. His smart-alecky comments and über-smug persona repel me. Why do so many people drink him up?

¶ What is the benefit of watching a movie when it first comes out? Isn’t the movie identical when watched 14 months later, when demand has subsided and the crowds have thinned?

¶ What possible use could a special-effects-dependent movie have to the those watching it? It’s like cotton candy for the brain.

Your thoughts on this will be most welcomed.

— Mark

 

   

 

    “Ain’t nothing like the Peel thing, baby.”  

 

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[Smitty]

Saw the movie this morning in IMAX 3D. It was VERY good. Pure entertainment, obviously. Great story line, unreal special effects, many a great fight scenes(Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk on the same team? Yeah baby!) and lots of eye candy (for boys and girls alike). What else do you need (except popcorn and licorice!)?

Oh, and saw a trailer for a new summer flick starring Arnie, Stallone, Willis, Norris, Van Damm and a bunch of other 80’s and 90’s tough guy legends. It looks great too!

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[kootchman]

What’s the name of the new flick? The Dependebles ?

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[Sue]

I’m laughing because when I first heard of the Avengers movie, I also first thought of Mr. Steed and Emma Peel. In fact, I was very excited about a movie about them. Then I realized just a few days ago what it really was. Fortunately, I also enjoy those types of movies too, so I’ll look forward to it. Likely when it’s on DVD and I can get it for free from the library. :)

There are very few movies I’ll actually go to see in a theatre. Usually something that will look better on the big screen (like big action flicks) or a series that I’ve been following and can’t wait to see.

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[dhg]

Kootch: good one!

There is nothing like a full house of excited fans to make even a mediocre movie feel exciting. Best cinematic experience of my life: a midnight screening of Dead By Dawn with Bruce Campbell hosting. The Egyptian was packed to the rafters and we were told the volume was turned up so you could hear the dialog above the screaming. ( I still could not). So much alternate laughing and screaming i felt like I was on a roller coaster. I imagine subsequent screenings in front of a few dozen people was rather boring.

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[smokeycretin9]

aal the special effects make it easier to embed the subliminal messages into the footage.

(Must purchase a Toyota now)

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[datamuse]

There was an Avengers movie of the Steed/Peel stripe, some years ago. Unfortunately, it was godawful.

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[Bostonman]

The Avengers was a fantastic movie. I used to collect all those comic books when I was a kid. I went and saw it with my son Friday night. He liked it a lot too. I think this was the first time in 8 years that I have seen a movie on opening night.

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[Betty T]

It just goes to show that all don’t have the same opinion about anything. Life would be dull.

I’not a kid by many years and think I want to see “The Avengers”. I know about 8 seniors who will see it later when on Redbox. Remakes are never the same.

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[yarncore]

You guys, it was WRITTEN AND DIRECTED by Joss Whedon. And if you don’t know who that is, this is probably lost on you.

Also, it has 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. While I usually don’t buy into the hype, my little Buffy-loving heart believes this is probably a keeper.

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[justcuz]

I know I’m out of the target demo when the 18yos in my life buy advance tickets to first midnight showing and then promptly go back the next night to see it again…:P

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[datamuse]

Hey DBP, what does Mark have against cotton candy? Okay, you don’t want to eat it ALL the time, and too much will make you sick, but just like SPFX-laden blockbusters, it’s part of summer.

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[oddreality]

Why does Emma Peel have such a tiny gun? I remember it bigger….as with many things..

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[DBP]

datamause, I’ve urged Mark to join the West Seattle Blog. He lives in Shoreline, though, so he thought he should start his own blog instead: The East Shoreline Blog.

The ESB isn’t doing too well. Yesterday, it only got about 12 hits . . . mostly from Mark, checking the hit count.

The reason I posted Mark’s “rant” here is so I could get out of responding to it myself. See, I just don’t care about The Avengers past, present, or future. Mark does though. I’m sure he has an opinion about Emma Peel’s gun.

Speaking of tiny little guns . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTqxFIpc1j4

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[ESB]

Well DBP did it. He came up here to Shoreline this evening (in his Avengers costume) with an Army Surplus home water boarding kit and wore me down after only 18 minutes of “treatment”. I have to say though that the taste of West Seattle water is quite refreshing. After the third chest full of it, I relented and have washed upon the shores of your fair Duwamish, where the periphery of the WSB begins. Land ho!

datamuse, I’m not sure why I can’t get my starter motor going for this movie. It’s partly that gargantuan blockbusters like Spiderman, Ironman, Avengersman, et al just don’t turn my crank. I do like some action films though, so it’s not the genre, per se. When I wrote offline to DBP, I was just idly curious trying to understand where the groundswell interest in this movie rose from (maybe it was the political-ad volume advertising for it that ran for awhile), as I wasn’t feeling it? I don’t get it, but I’m not trying to say the movie is bad or good. This movie for me is somewhat like when I catch the smell of patchouli worn by someone on the sidewalk and my nose wrinkles up – it was an immediate visceral aversion. But I’m sure there are many who love the smell of patchouli.

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