All-purpose, running Geek thread (formerly Battlestar Galactica thread)

[TyWebb]

Thank you. That's the one thing I've wanted to know, but it was tough to find out while avoiding spoilers. It is always important to know going in how many of those end credits scenes they included. I really wish they would stop that crap.

I believe Ant Man & Wasp and Captain Marvel are the only two MCU movies between Infinity War and Avengers 4. If I remember correctly, the Spider-Man sequel is scheduled for after Avengers 4. I just wonder how that fits in the continuity. I know Captain Marvel is set in the past, but I wonder how they will handle it in Ant-Man & Wasp.

Drop what you are doing now and see it so we can actually talk about all this!

Seriously, I was the only nerd in my office or group of friends who saw it last night and it is killing me to have to keep my trap shut.

 

[Batman]

Thank you. That's the one thing I've wanted to know, but it was tough to find out while avoiding spoilers. It is always important to know going in how many of those end credits scenes they included. I really wish they would stop that crap.

I believe Ant Man & Wasp and Captain Marvel are the only two MCU movies between Infinity War and Avengers 4. If I remember correctly, the Spider-Man sequel is scheduled for after Avengers 4. I just wonder how that fits in the continuity. I know Captain Marvel is set in the past, but I wonder how they will handle it in Ant-Man & Wasp.

I think Ant-Man & Wasp is set before Infinity War as well. Not sure how far back, though. It can be days or weeks and still fit in with the present day. I can see them tying it in with a credits scene or a handful of throwaway lines.
I also don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying Ant-Man has a microscopic (no pun intended) role in Infinity War, which will certainly help.

 

[outofplace]

I think Ant-Man & Wasp is set before Infinity War as well. Not sure how far back, though. It can be days or weeks and still fit in with the present day. I can see them tying it in with a credits scene or a handful of throwaway lines.
I also don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying Ant-Man has a microscopic (no pun intended) role in Infinity War, which will certainly help.

Ant-Man & Wasp is after Civil War. We've seen that much in the trailers. It deals with the consequences of Lang fighting alongside Captain America.

 

[outofplace]

Drop what you are doing now and see it so we can actually talk about all this!

Seriously, I was the only nerd in my office or group of friends who saw it last night and it is killing me to have to keep my trap shut.

Hah! I've got tickets for Sunday, so I'll be catching up on the spoiler thread Sunday night.

I think a simple thumbs up or thumbs down would be fine for this thread. I just can't imagine it living up to the hype. I'm hoping for an entertaining movie, better than Age of Ultron, but not on the level with the very best MCU stuff like Iron Man, Winter Soldier and the first Avengers.

 

[Batman]

Deadpool, Celine.
Celine, Deadpool.
As one commenter asked, does this now put Deadpool 2 in the running for an Oscar for best original song?

 

[heyabbott]

Not going crazy, but Infinity Wars is worthy of an Academy Award nomination for best picture.
In its genre, it was a great movie. It may be the biggest grossing movie of all time.
If Gravity could get nominated, so should Infinity Wars.

 

[Batman]

Not going crazy, but Infinity Wars is worthy of an Academy Award nomination for best picture.
In its genre, it was a great movie. It may be the biggest grossing movie of all time.
If Gravity could get nominated, so should Infinity Wars.

Let's not get crazy here.
I've been hearing some critically-minded people pick it apart, and they have some valid points. One of Infinity War's greatest feats -- pulling together a couple dozen characters from various franchises into one movie, giving them all at least a couple of moments, and having it all make sense -- is also a detriment in a storytelling sense. It relies on the previous 18 movies for character development and motivations, rather than developing them on its own. It's very difficult to come into this movie and follow along without at least a familiarity with the MCU's previous installments. Everyone gets their moments, but few have enough of an arc that you would be invested in their fates if you didn't already know who they were. Captain America is a good example of that. It's great to see him, but I can't think of a whole lot that he actually does beyond a few cool fight scenes.
Even Thanos, who is largely introduced in this movie, is not immune to that. There's a lot of his back story we still don't know, and if you haven't seen the Guardians films you have no idea why his interactions with Gamora and Nebula are supposed to carry so much weight. Those interactions are crucial to the plot, as well, which makes it a huge plot hole if you're viewing this as a standalone movie.

I, and most people, will enjoy this movie very much and view it as a worthy payoff to 10 years of build up. Just saying that, in the eyes of critics and the people who vote on things like best picture, there's also a lot of nitpicky things that don't fit the traditional mold of what they're looking for in a best picture.

 

[outofplace]

www.didthanoskill.me

Learn your fate.

 

[heyabbott]

Let's not get crazy here.
I've been hearing some critically-minded people pick it apart, and they have some valid points. One of Infinity War's greatest feats -- pulling together a couple dozen characters from various franchises into one movie, giving them all at least a couple of moments, and having it all make sense -- is also a detriment in a storytelling sense. It relies on the previous 18 movies for character development and motivations, rather than developing them on its own. It's very difficult to come into this movie and follow along without at least a familiarity with the MCU's previous installments. Everyone gets their moments, but few have enough of an arc that you would be invested in their fates if you didn't already know who they were. Captain America is a good example of that. It's great to see him, but I can't think of a whole lot that he actually does beyond a few cool fight scenes.
Even Thanos, who is largely introduced in this movie, is not immune to that. There's a lot of his back story we still don't know, and if you haven't seen the Guardians films you have no idea why his interactions with Gamora and Nebula are supposed to carry so much weight. Those interactions are crucial to the plot, as well, which makes it a huge plot hole if you're viewing this as a standalone movie.

I, and most people, will enjoy this movie very much and view it as a worthy payoff to 10 years of build up. Just saying that, in the eyes of critics and the people who vote on things like best picture, there's also a lot of nitpicky things that don't fit the traditional mold of what they're looking for in a best picture.

Yes, as a stand alone movie with little to no background knowledge, it's makes very little sense. And as a movie under those circumstances, it's disjointed battle scenes with some narrative.
You don't come to this movie knowing nothing. As the culmination of 19 movies over 10 years and 40 hours of screen time, the MCU is a phenomenal achievement. And the movies, for the most part, have been rather exceptionally well made.
The box office for this movie by Memorial Day will exceed that of the aggregate box office for all 9 nominated movies in 2012. Which means if you loved The Tree of Life, this movie is not for you. But how about rewarding excellence in cinematic story telling that appeal to a huge mass audience without patronizing them with sex and cussing?

It might not be an Oscar winner, but how about some Oscar recognition for a body of work. Scorsese is an amazing director, but The Departed was barely his 10th best movie. It was the place holder for a lifetime achievement award in a competitive category.

If there are 10 better movies this year I'll say something nice about Donald trump.

 

[Batman]

Yes, as a stand alone movie with little to no background knowledge, it's makes very little sense. And as a movie under those circumstances, it's disjointed battle scenes with some narrative.
You don't come to this movie knowing nothing. As the culmination of 19 movies over 10 years and 40 hours of screen time, the MCU is a phenomenal achievement. And the movies, for the most part, have been rather exceptionally well made.
The box office for this movie by Memorial Day will exceed that of the aggregate box office for all 9 nominated movies in 2012. Which means if you loved The Tree of Life, this movie is not for you. But how about rewarding excellence in cinematic story telling that appeal to a huge mass audience without patronizing them with sex and cussing?

It might not be an Oscar winner, but how about some Oscar recognition for a body of work. Scorsese is an amazing director, but The Departed was barely his 10th best movie. It was the place holder for a lifetime achievement award in a competitive category.

If there are 10 better movies this year I'll say something nice about Donald trump.

I agree completely. But remember that the same pretentious douchenozzles who did like Tree of Life and look down their noses on movies with mass market appeal such as Infinity War are typically the ones pushing Oscar candidates and then voting on them.
Although, looking back over the past decade or so, it does seem like they've loosened up on that front since they expanded the number of nominees. If The Dark Knight and Fury Road can get nominations, maybe Infinity War can as well. It might depend on what comes down the pipe toward the end of the year.
What would be really fun is if Infinity War and Black Panther get nominated.

 

[TyWebb]

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was nominated and won because it was the culmination of the three movies, right? I definitely don't think it was that much better than the previous two.

I'd like to see Infinity War get at least consideration for exactly that, the 10-year achievement Marvel pulled off. While there where hits and misses along the way (coughThor 2cough), it was still a masterfully planned decade of movies that fans on the whole loved.

 

[outofplace]

They really did pull off something amazing with the MCU movies so far. Sure, not all of the movies are great. The Iron Man sequels are flawed. Thor: The Dark World is just bad. I know most people don't care for The Incredible Hulk, but I like it. I know Avengers: Age of Ultron has its detractors, but it's a decent movie.

That said, we really hadn't seen a movie universe like this before and they were largely successful even though they couldn't use many of the most popular characters from the comics. They did this mostly without Spider-Man and entirely without the X-Men and Fantastic Four. That's impressive stuff.

I can't see Infinity War winning best picture. I could see a nomination. I doubt there will be 10 better movies this year. But I do see how that would be an unconventional choice at best because the movie really doesn't stand on its own. I can't see it working if you hadn't seen at least some of the other Marvel movies.