Disqus - Latest Comments for genevievelopez

Re: Thank You for Voting - WE WON! – Death Wish Coffee Company

genevievelopez — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 00:31:41 -0000

Congratulations!! A deserving triumph. Brace yourselves for all the web traffic & sales!

Re: pen-perks-pinterest-back-to-school-giveaway-2

genevievelopez — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 07:41:43 -0000

I'm over here! https://www.pinterest.com/n...

Re: Trailer Watch: Mad Max: Fury Road Comic-Con First Look trailer

genevievelopez — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 14:30:26 -0000

Does it not look fantastic?! Already a killer cast, and George Miller's still holding the reins. I'm excited. (The trailer feels a little gimmicky, sure, but 1. it's a trailer, 2. it's a COMIC-CON trailer, and 3. it's a 21st-c. exploitation-style dystopic/apocalyptic film from a 35yo franchise. Naysayers should give the movie some breathing room, imo, and once you've accepted the basic premise of its predecessors-- which is already outlandish-- I'm not sure what there is to quibble about. Then again, I liked Prometheus, and I know lots of folks hated it, so maybe that's just me.)

Re: Multiplex #933: What a Girl Wants

genevievelopez — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 22:34:28 -0000

Ahaha, now I'm gonna have Christina Aguilera in my head all night.

(No lie, though, for a second I got confused and thought, since the strip titles tend to be film-related, this was a reference to that godawful "What Women Want" movie with Mel Gibson. This is because I managed to forget the, admittedly, bland and forgettable Amanda Bynes vehicle "What A Girl Wants" even existed, despite the fact that I have seen it. In all likelihood, more than once. Both films feature saccharine estranged-father-daughter-relationship plots, anyway. Xtina's single's had more staying power than both movies. //trivia)

Re: Multiplex #908: I Take It All Back

genevievelopez — Fri, 02 May 2014 10:46:07 -0000

Coming at it as if I was unfamiliar with these characters, team movies can be tricky bc you need to have very strong personality "types" to bounce off of each other and make an interesting dynamic-- action movies tend to do stuff like this pretty effectively, Snyder's Dawn of the Dead did a pretty good job of this, the Alien films and imo the Riddick films did a pretty great job with that. The problem is in a lot of those movies, you 1. don't flesh out the characters enough to warrant/generate interest in a solo film for ALL of them, and 2. you can justify that 2-dimensionality bc they're MEANT to be background plotting devices and/or die. (Though, again, the Alien franchise and the Riddick franchise have more three-dimensional worldbuilding than most films, plus there's the element of not knowing at first glance who the protagonists are vs. who is ultimately cannon fodder if you haven't been exposed to the movies before.) It really depends on the framework pulling all of them together, and out of what circumstances, I think. A really strong story and a really strong villain could make or break the whole thing, as can the set pieces, I think.

The other issue is while that whole first concept is fine and dandy, people ARE familiar with the characters, so you have to toe the line between refreshing them and keeping them interesting while satisfying sticklers who WANT the traditional route. I think Man of Steel did an alright job of being a breath of fresh air into the Superman character, but we also only had to be interested in one character/one character's family/backstory/motivations.

Visually I think he can definitely pull it off, and if Snyder doesn't get too bogged down in rambling character narratives, and streamlines without holding back (esp. for WW, bc it's easier to justify pulling punches w. female characters to keep them "pretty" and/or "wholesome" in some way) and without leaning on flimsy character skeletons, it has potential as a jumping-off point for a compelling story. I mean, I think it's way too soon to bust out Darkseid or anything, but a JL/JLU/Batman Beyond feel, even with the sort of New Team Has Friction thing that Whedon (attempted to do/)did with The Avengers would be my ideal.

(Sorry for the length. I haven't slept in like a day and a half, so I'm rambling.)

Re: Multiplex #908: I Take It All Back

genevievelopez — Fri, 02 May 2014 10:31:48 -0000

I actually ADORED the director's cut of Sucker Punch (I thought it had a
lot of heart, some weak performances aside) and didn't like Watchmen
very much (it played like what it was, a photocopy of another story
rather than the act of TELLING a story true to its roots, and Alan Moore
is VERY good at making very format-specific media, so you can't get
away with that lack of attention to detail in adapting his work). Aside
from 300 (which isn't actually Snyder's fault, I'm just not a big fan of
Frank Miller), I'm a fan of the rest of Snyder's stuff that I've seen
so far, but none of it vibes like the kind of Justice League movie I'd
be hoping for. Though that may just be me, idk.

(I liked Cap 2 after I sat and thought about it for a while; I got confused by the
mixing of real history and fake history and then shying away from
certain political ideas that got brushed up against, but I think that's
more Disney trying not to piss the DOD off even though they didn't get
the Pentagon stamp/funds than anything else. Thor 2 was utterly
forgettable and I do not care for Nolan's Batman films at all, though
the Joker had a lot of promise in TDK before the movie was really
obviously edited around Heath Ledger's passing.)

Re: Win a copy of The Art of How to Train Your Dragon 2!

genevievelopez — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 19:04:01 -0000

HTTYD is the second Dreamworks movie I fell in love with-- both as an adult. Kung Fu Panda's heart and honesty surprised me in 2008, when I expected it to be gimmicky; HTTYD for me sealed that Dreamworks really is the studio telling stories not only for this generation, but that I would be PROUD as an adult and an at times harshly critical consumer of media to show to children for generations to come.

It was the first animated movie I've cried at since I watched Lilo and Stitch (for different reasons!!) and Grave of the Fireflies (also for different reasons!!), and the story's emotional climax plus the ending and high-spirited wrap showed a kind of thoughtfulness and grace rarely seen in American cinema, let alone SF/F and action movies, full stop. Other titles Dreamworks has picked up have done the same, but I went to look KNOWING they'd be strong BECAUSE of having seen HTTYD. (Mostly, I did not cry at them. Mostly.)

After seeing HTTYD, I'm only kind of sad it didn't exist when I was younger! As a little nerdlette, it would've meant a lot-- but Dreamworks has been doing a great job bringing people's inner nerdlets/ettes out with their work, with all the same wonder and captivation that would've been there for 6yos and 8yos and 12yos, and I can't wait for the next installment in this franchise (and their others!).

Re: Multiplex #906: Easy Target

genevievelopez — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 14:52:08 -0000

There was an iOS game based on the Tycoon series' model called Hello Kitty Café that, naturally, I found out about while working as a barista. You had to clean, cook, stock, direct people to the restroom, etc., all timed, and "customers" could leave without paying if you took too long. I thought it was hell. One of my coworkers thought it was adorable. (She was wrong. It was hell.)

Re: Multiplex #899: Cinefilles

genevievelopez — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 16:42:25 -0000

Ehh. I tend to put my hair up before going to sleep just because it is long and will tangle in EVERYTHING, whereas a braid, or a bun done up with a scrunchie vs. bobby pins, is pretty comfortable AND stops you from waking up with a sweaty neck/blanket lint everywhere.

Re: Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily and Hollywood's fraught history of casting Native American roles

genevievelopez — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 23:23:35 -0000

In that case, why not minority performers? Pacific Rim underperformed domestically, but OVERperformed in the world market, beating out Transformers AND The Avengers in its opening weekend in Hong Kong, despite there being only ONE Asian character with more than 30 seconds of screen time in over 2 hours of film.

This isn't a limited run at your local theater. When millions of dollars are being fronted for sfx-heavy filmmaking, your movies are being made for a world audience in either their first or second theatrical runs.

America is a country w. a White-majority audience in terms of numbers, money, and social power, but 1. that doesn't negate minority audiences here, AND 2. there's a lot of the world where the people buying tickets and putting behinds into seats AREN'T White, who make up a LOT of the funds that replenish the wallets that were emptied to make the movies in the first place. Something to keep in mind when you wonder what folks' motivations are.

Re: Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily and Hollywood's fraught history of casting Native American roles

genevievelopez — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 23:17:30 -0000

...the musical's writers just had a special in the last 6mos on PBS talking about how their interpretation of the character was more about poverty than anything else, and specifically cited Jay-Z's sampling of "Hard Knock Life" as one of the first people to get their story right off the stage. And the Clovid theory of Bering Strait migration bringing the first peoples to the western hemisphere was debunked over a decade ago with pre-Clovid artifacts in both North and South America.

Re: Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily and Hollywood's fraught history of casting Native American roles

genevievelopez — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 23:15:15 -0000

Considering the lengths Barrie went to to prop up a buckshot array of Native stereotypes in his writing of her (and the bizarrely two-for-one offensive move of placing her into the "Pickaninny Tribe"), yeah, I'd say so.

Re: Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily and Hollywood's fraught history of casting Native American roles

genevievelopez — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 23:13:08 -0000

...Q'orianka Kilcher was nominated for an Oscar holding her own as a lead in a Terrence Malick movie against Colin Farrell and Christian Bale when she was 15 years old and has basically been ignored by mainstream Hollywood since then-- incidentally, the same year Mara STARTED her career doing extra work in crappy horror films. But hey, bankability over social responsibility, right?

Re: Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily and Hollywood's fraught history of casting Native American roles

genevievelopez — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 23:03:10 -0000

AMEN. For every person out here saying how this is a racist casting move (and a racist character in a 100+yo story being retreaded AGAIN, natch) BUT it's not White folks' fault, it's the ~Hollywood machine~, I want them to take a good hard look at who pulls the strings (and purse-strings) of this faceless entity apparently devoted to this now blameless crime that just so happens to benefit White performers. Nah.

Re: Multiplex #896: Over My Head

genevievelopez — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 14:57:04 -0000

Ehh, I really loved Aviator the first time around, and it's great, but it's neither Scorcese's nor DiCaprio's strongest work, imo. Which is still LEAGUES ahead of most other people's movies, but it's kind of bloated compared to some of their tighter stories/roles.

Re: Multiplex #891: People Die of Exposure

genevievelopez — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 22:17:30 -0000

Seriously. Solid advice. ...Or at least if you're GOING to work for "exposure," let it be something you can write off as a "donation" for its full market value on your taxes later.

Re: Multiplex #879: Think About the Future

genevievelopez — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 00:50:28 -0000

His entire "halo" shifted from white to red, lol.

Re: Multiplex #879: Think About the Future

genevievelopez — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 00:48:58 -0000

Tbh, that's more the employers than the ACA. If you're working, "even" as a part-timer or a minimum wage usher or a security guard, you shouldn't be unable to afford medical care. (And that's as a cashier who got dropped to 6-10hr weeks during the holiday season between my big-box store's stance on ACA and the influx of seasonal employees, who HAS medical coverage from elsewhere; the option should be there, but CEOs need to stop being JERKS about it.)

Re: Multiplex #875: Cold as Ice

genevievelopez — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 00:39:19 -0000

My high school freshman history teacher showed it to us on DVD in class across several days (I was 13), but she was cool like that. (She also showed us LotR and, using the vagueness of the Gandhi permission slips, bootlegs she had of Clone High.) Fwiw, most of my classmates weren't very into it (except for CH), but I was enough of a nerd to be all about that.

Re: Multiplex #875: Cold as Ice

genevievelopez — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 00:17:01 -0000

(Considering it was Green Lantern, it would've been too much, anyway.)

Re: Multiplex #856: The Cinema of Attractions, Part Three

genevievelopez — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 04:09:13 -0000

"Large Cups"
"The Other Boleyn Girl"
"Clerks 2"

*coughs*

(Anyway, I've never worked in a movie theater-- a projection booth seems like a random place for cup storage?! But then, what do I know.)

Re: Spoiler Zone: Pacific Rim talkback

genevievelopez — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 08:52:33 -0000

There's a mini-prequel, sort of, in the tie-in comic Pacific Rim: Year Zero.

But I agree that between del Toro's steering away from overt militarism, a SLEW of characters dying, the resolved (but still probably off-putting) alien colonizers plot, and, being real, Charlie Hunnam's one-note performance-- plus that it's not a movie that screams "DEL TORO" at you, and is more serious (and more expensive) than most summer children's movies, and alternately less serious and more of a downer than most adult action blockbusters-- it's not going to do awesomely at the box office. Which is a bummer! Because it was so much fun. :(

Re: Multiplex #825: Chasing the Rabbit

genevievelopez — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 08:42:53 -0000

I thought it was great, extremely genre-aware (even/especially in its lighthearted cheesiness without drifting [if you'll excuse the pun] into tongue-in-cheek self-referential indulgence), and didn't beat around the bush explaining all the shorthand imagery in the Emotional Stuff kind of scenes, even though that could have skewed otherwise unchanged content darker. And it didn't feel long, which I've heard about Man of Steel (I didn't feel like that one was long, either, but I love Snyder, so). I was hoping for something weightier from del Toro, as an adult used to his less family-friendly fare, but I still loved it and what it was.

Re: Multiplex #822: You'll Find I'm Full of Surprises

genevievelopez — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 04:20:55 -0000

Or it could have been countertrolling. (Multiple generations of nerds tend to do this to each other. From experience.) Or she might just not have ever told her daughter about some secret fangirling tendencies she'd had in the past. Or she might have had those tendencies, and instead of carrying a torch for them all along, only been reminded by her daughter's one-liner (and then rewatched the movies). Or all of the above!

...Or maybe she's the Accidental Star Wars Lady. xD

Re: Multiplex #820: Moving On

genevievelopez — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 16:44:31 -0000

No, I think it's more realistic-- epiphanies suck, even when you reach them on your own, and there's multiple stages of acceptance that go along with that. It's only been, like, a day, maybe a few days in-comic, and "I'm sorry" =/= "You were right" (or even "I was/am wrong") for a LOT of reasons-- including that Melissa may be sorry for lashing out, and for acting out on her unhappiness, but that doesn't mean she thinks she is or was wrong in the SENTIMENTS behind those actions. Being bitchy doesn't invalidate Melissa's opinions any more than being nice puts you automagically in the right. Just sayin'.