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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   31214 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 9, 2023

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Can we talk about how good Puss in Boots: The last wish is? It is culture war topic because unlike big projects from Disney, Marvel, Amazon and generally speaking Hollywood that underperformed (or flopped if you are into schadenfreude) it came out of nowhere, the reviews are off the scale and the movie itself is unapologetically culture war free. Simple story, tight writing, tight movie - there is barely anything to cut. Relatable and sympathetic characters you care about. Surprising depth and darkness for the more mature audience. A villain that is for the ages. Brilliant voice acting.

The message is about friendship family and trust - shave the heads of every male in the movie and it could be part from the Fast and Furious franchise.

It was a pleasant surprise and a datapoint for the theory that much of the DEI in Hollywood is defensive - to deflect criticisms.

I felt the same about Top Gun Maverick. It was good because it lacked any DEI not despite it.

It's hardly rocket science, "making good movie" at the top of the priority list produces better movies than any list where it isn't at the top.

Can we talk about

Weasel phrase. Just talk about it. No need to ask for permission.

It was good

TG:M was decent at best.

Your opinion is in the minority across critics/audiences and different levels of "film enthusiasts." It's quite rare for that to happen.

Not that rare, I've found several films which score poorly with critics, excellently with audiences, and my own rating in the middle. Regardless, I stand by my opinion.

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