So, Kingsman was ridiculous fun, as I said in natter, and then Steph said this:

Wait, in the movies thread, weren't you all O_o about the ending when you were spoiled for it? Is it as batshit as it sounded? (More to the point, was Charlie Jane Anders' assessment of it as "psychotically violent" correct? Because *that*, rather than the ending, would keep me from seeing it.)

and we decided to bring the conversation here. I was indeed all O_o about the ending I was spoiled for, and I wouldn't have gone to see it, except my friend invited me and my new policy is not to turn down invitations to socialize.

It wasn't as bad as I feared. The violence is cartoonish and over-the-top; my friend went ugh a few times but I just laughed. I mean, heads explode, limbs are severed, and it's cartoonishly gross but not remotely realistic. I'd call it less disturbingly violent than Kill Bill. I wouldn't call it "psychotically" violent because to me that implies realism, and this had none. When heads explode into brightly colored mini mushroom clouds and fireworks I can't believe it enough to get worked up over it.

There were no rape scenes or threats of rape. The other Kingsman candidate of note is a girl and her only weakness is a fear of heights. It passes the Bechdel test, though barely. There is domestic violence, but it is portrayed as a disgusting and horrible thing to do, and the perpetrator gets his in the end. (Oh, yes, stay through the first credits to see that.)

As to Charlie Jane's other spoilers, hmm. Yes, Barak Obama's head get blown off along with every other person's in political power, but you only see him from the back and briefly, you could miss it. In other words, it wasn't a statement aimed at him specifically, but at everyone in power. (There are some strong political statements made in the movie, many of which I agreed with, you know, up to the point where the murdering started.) And the princess who offers Protagonist anal sex if he saves the world, yep, she did, and I wasn't even offended. Some might be. She wasn't bribing him, just offering extra incentive, and she was full of enthusiastic consent.

The best part of the movie was watching Colin Firth kicking all the ass.

What this movie was, was an adolescent male power fantasy. Total fantasy. I got no problem with that. But having seen Kingsman right after Jupiter Ascending, I will mention again, that in general male power fantasy movies become hits, and female power fantasies get mocked, even when they are equally ridiculous.

eta some stuff

The violence is cartoonish and over-the-top; my friend went ugh a few times but I just laughed. I mean, heads explode, limbs are severed, and it's cartoonishly gross but not remotely realistic. I'd call it less disturbingly violent than Kill Bill. I wouldn't call it "psychotically" violent because to me that implies realism, and this had none.

Hmmm. I think I can handle that.

Joss explains why he changed Ultron's origin: [link]

It'd be nice if the Avengers of the MCU started with Hank and Janet as founding members, but since it didn't, I can understand why Joss felt it was necessary to change it.

I do wonder, based on the trailers, and on the fact the next Captain America film is Civil War, if by the end of the movie we'll be left with Cap's Kooky Quartet as the whole of the Avengers.

but I'm still right: it's a fun and gorgeous movie, it's a great movie for girls, and it's no stupider than Star Wars or Superman.

This! THIS!

I just got back from seeing Jupiter Ascending, and I really liked it. Yes, it was astonishingly pretty. But it was also a better movie than I expected. It had some nice twists on traditional female narrative roles/tropes (she doesn't get married, and she flat-out says the line "I'm not your mother") , and it was kind of a Regency romance turned into a space opera.

And to repeat, no stupider than any other Big Shiny Genre Movie, including Star Wars, The Fifth Element, and Guardians of the Galaxy.

high fives Jilli

Teenage girls (and other girls, too, I must assume) on Tumblr are going mad for J.A., and it's great. There's definitely a lot of swooning over Jupiter/Caine, and a lot of Jupiter/Balem (WTF, really?), and a lot of girls discovering their obedience kink*, but there's also a lot of serious examination of capitalism and class/gender issues and backstory worldbuilding, and that's all pretty cool.

*Look, Caine's basically a dog, canonically. He's utterly loyal, and when J. says roll over, he sighs and rolls over. The girls dig it.

I lost it at the "I like dogs" line.

"I've always loved dogs! Oh god did I really say that."

If you squint, the Age of Ultron poster lists among its cast members: Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter) and Idris Elba (Heimdall) .

ooo that's interesting.

Nice!