More of the movie collection – this is going to go on for quite some time.  And no, I’m not going in super strict order.  I finished the numbers, and now I’m just meandering through the A’s.

300: Rise of an Empire . . . I like Sullivan Stapleton on Blindspot – and Eva Green since Casino Royale – but again with the slow motion!!  I briefly considered timing the amount of slow motion, but that would entail watching it again and I am not prepared to do that at this point in my life.  Thanks to google and the often hilarious Cinema Sins, I know there is at least 30 minutes of slow motion in the first film – and this one feels like more.Handy tip: slow motion does not automatically equal artistry.  But props to the film for working in the word “glabrous.”  (More on my word obsession in other posts.)

*Note – I do collect movies based on comics – one of my things, written some papers about adaptations, etc – and I will be keeping 300 – so since they’re on the same disc, I’ll be keeping 300: RoaE.  Otherwise, might be iffy.  And a personal thanks to the filmmakers since the last two days showcased more man-abs than I’ve seen in years.

Alien – basically summed up as “no one listens to the smart woman who wanted to follow correct quarantine procedure – and everything goes to hell as a result.”  Strangely appropriate for 2020.  I remember that a guy in my class brought the movie book to class one day (they used to put out books of the films with images from the movie as illustrations – I think I have my Star Wars one in a box still – it was a whole Scholastic book fair draw) and it grossed everyone out.  Didn’t see it until years later.

Aladdin – wow, was Robin Williams so funny.  I used to have a VHS tape which had the original version of the opening song (with the “bad” lyrics), but my dvd set does not.  The rug manages to be quaintly human – my favorite is right after “A Whole New World” when Jasmine confronts Aladdin about why he lied about being in the market – Aladdin looks at the rug, who gestures with a tassel in a very human-esque “go on” way and then collapses into a “good grief” posture when Al doesn’t fess up.

Avengers – Okay, I’m a comics junkie.  And a movie junkie.  Of course I dig the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  And this was well done – getting them all together.  I think my favorite bit was Steve handing Nick the $10.  No comment, just passing it over.  My ex said that Natasha’s line, “I don’t see how that’s a party” sounded like me.  I remember in the theatre laughing out loud when Hulk smashed Loki around.

Avengers: Age of Ultron:  “That’s not going away any time soon.”  Yeah, I love Cap.  Almost all the casting, in fact.  That’s part of what made the MCU so good – great casting.  (Not so hot on the Hawkeye casting, but eh.)  I can even go along with changing Ultron to a thing with Tony instead of Hank.  And James Spader is perfect.  But what they did to Quicksilver was practically a crime 

Aquaman – they must have used a real golden for the beginning, because my dog suddenly sat up and stared at the tv.  Aside from that, well, I always feel for Arthur because he often gets the short end of the stick (and I wish I could think of some “fishstick” joke to go here, but my brain is not cooperating at the moment).  It looks impressive.  And it’s better than many other DC movies.  I’m hoping they’ll develop him more with the next one – maybe even go Peter David on him – cheers for the harpoon hand!

Alien V. Predator (AVP):  I admit it, I like this movie.  It’s cheesy but fun.  Mad props for having Lance come in – I’m geek enough to love that blatant pandering.  And I like the franchise combo – makes me want to re-read the Stormwatch issues with Aliens that kicked off the Authority.  The “unrated” version is better in the sense that the story is more complete.  More scenes which tie everything together – it’s only 8 minutes, but it helps.  Though I wonder why they felt they had to cut those 8 minutes.  Maybe some for the gore and the rating?

Ant-Man: We can all agree that Luis is the best part, right?  Maybe tied with just having Paul Rudd as a superhero . . . That meme that was going around – saying Luis should do the “sum up” part for Endgame – I would have been so there for that.  Kind of wish that Micahel Peña had spent his time doing that during quarantine.