Posts by Eric Jackson43

redowl90 said:Just a heads up, this poll is strictly about those overly patriotic, flag-waving blockbusters we see in America all the time. 🙂

Man, you totally forgot to include PATRIOT 😲 😲 😲

northerncrane4 said:In my view, the characterization is just pure cliché—the way they develop relationships, how they react to one another and the chaos around them feels totally recycled, yet they try to pass it off as some profound insight into the human psyche and social dynamics.

I’m going to have to disagree there. Personally, when I sat down for WotW, I wasn't looking for deep character studies; I wanted to see what happens when Martians decide to take over Earth. As far as clichés go, I actually found the characters pretty believable, which suggests that even if they are tropes, they’re tropes done right. It's not like Spielberg was trying to reinvent the wheel here. You mentioned earlier, if I recall correctly, that WotW is just pure craftsmanship without that extra "soul," and honestly, I'm with you on that—it doesn't touch something like Arrival, where N. S. manages to turn a quirky scene about an alien in a backyard into something genuinely haunting. But look, Spielberg isn't N. S., and it's a bit much to expect every single one of his movies to be "something more." WotW isn't that kind of movie, but IMHO, it's a solid piece of work—sure, it has its flaws, but it's the kind of film you rarely see being made these days.

northerncrane4 said:Fair enough. I can't stand them either, mostly because the way they try to manipulate me into watching is just insulting.

In what sense, though? Like, personally, I feel more insulted when I'm stuck watching Will Smith's overacting in ID, you know, like when they spend five straight minutes zooming in on his face just to show his ridiculous expressions the first time he spots a flying saucer.

northerncrane4 said:Luckily, thanks to Spielberg, they aren't at all.

😂
They probably are, but definitely not to that extent.
Look, I honestly have no clue if Spielberg's movies actually hold up from a technical or critical standpoint, but I do know that, unlike most other Hollywood junk, his films actually stick with me as something that genuinely moved me.

redowl90 said:That’s spot on... You can't even put Independence Day in the same league as War of the Worlds because the first one is actually a "fun" flick, you know? It's basically an action comedy made for the masses—just two hours of mindless popcorn entertainment that flies by...

Clearly, you haven't sat down with Independence Day in a long time. If that movie was trying to be some lighthearted action comedy, they wouldn't have included those heavy, gut-wrenching scenes where a farmer sacrifices himself for the greater good or when Jeff Goldblum is mourning the fallout from those nukes. No, Independence Day was aiming to be a serious drama, nothing less than War of the Worlds, but it just ended up being pretentious garbage. By the end, it isn't even an action comedy anymore; it’s just a straight-up insult to the audience's intelligence.

Even back in the early South Park days, they were tearing Independence Day apart wherever they went. Honestly, just grab the movie and watch it again.

mirrorball said:..and how does it differ from War of the Worlds😕

Well, it’s pretty simple: Independence Day is trash and War of the Worlds actually has substance. I already laid out all the reasons why Independence Day is garbage, whereas I can't even think of a single major flaw in War of the Worlds that holds up. Sure, we can pick apart War of the Worlds—it isn't some perfect masterpiece—but trying to compare it to Independence Day, which basically treats its audience like idiots even if you try to frame it as a comedy, just isn't happening.

BTW, do you honestly believe kids would stay that composed in a real-life situation like that? To me, the kid is actually a decent character; you see it during that ferry scene where Jack Cruise is busy hiding inside the ship thinking only about himself and his own skin, while the boy is out there sprinting to help the crew hanging off the railing. It doesn't sit right with me that the kid actually makes it out alive, because by any realistic standard, he should've been toast, and it feels cheap that Steven Spielberg forced such a 100% happy ending on us.

Are you guys actually joking right now, or do you seriously believe this? Look, I get it—if you watched Independence Day as a kid, it probably left a lasting impression, but please, watch it through a modern lens. I honestly don't understand how anyone can sit through that movie today and claim it’s good unless we're strictly talking about it in the context of being total trash. Every single "expert" scientist in the movie is portrayed as a complete moron, and then, naturally, Jeff Goldblum has to step in and teach them how to actually do their jobs. Then you've got Will Smith, who acts like some incredibly naive amateur, somehow taking down a much more advanced enemy by driving them into rocks before deciding to just personally knock them out. You don't even know which characters are worse or more unbelievable. And then, as if that wasn't enough, we get the grand finale involving a computer virus. Sure, War of the Worlds has its own flaws and we could argue about those all day, but putting Independence Day in the same category is just a total lack of common sense. Seriously, go rewatch it if you've forgotten how bad it is.

The issue isn't even that the movie is overly pro-American; the real problem is that the movie is just plain stupid.

So I just realized, there isn't a single Black or Jewish lead character in the whole damn War of the Worlds story 😲 😲 😲

I mean, seriously. How did they not think to just upload a virus into the alien computers during War of the Worlds? They were pretty damn stupid.

Man, I’m looking at her in those high heels and just thinking... what a joke. It feels like such a cheap, forced way to try and manufacture some kind of fake sex appeal for female leads who are supposed to be out there sprinting and jumping through obstacles. Honestly, true sex appeal comes when a protagonist absolutely terrifies her enemies just by being cold, ruthless, and completely dominant (😳 oops, getting a bit carried away here 😛), not because she's rocking some stilettos. She's meant to be a badass, not some low-rent stripper. That's why, if nothing else, I'd say Tomb Raider actually works.

Honestly, after scrolling through those Google images, I’m starting to get a bad feeling that this whole thing is just going to end up looking like Resident Evil.

I've been hunting for that cartoon everywhere, but honestly, I'm coming up empty. Even on the usual P2P sites, it’s basically impossible to track down. As for the movie, I just really hope it doesn't turn into another Tomb Raider situation—though, if I'm being real, I actually didn't hate that one. 😬 Look, having two decent ones is more than enough to get by, unless you're stuck watching something like Resident Evil, which would be a total disaster.

It’s pretty tough here in the States because, honestly, with how scarce decent courses are, golf just feels like such a snobby pursuit. Still, I guess if you're looking for a real workout, you're probably better off picking a sport that actually engages every muscle in your body.

Man, I finally managed to hit 28, but only by cranking the height down to like half an inch and maxing out the weight at 2,200 pounds. Basically, I had to go totally overboard with the settings just to make it work, because anything under 28 was a total non-starter back in 2015.

I basically picked my answers so I could check out as early as possible, and I managed to score a death at 30 from cancer. Maybe someone out there can actually beat my record.

Black555 said:It’s not even on the list, but if you ask me, the absolute peak of pure, soul-chilling terror is 😱 - Satan, Beelzebub, the Devil, and all those other nasty little alter egos.
Forget about zombies, doctors, or some random killer... 🙂

Give me a break, Satan is basically just another mid-level bureaucrat who won't stop obsessing over contracts and fine print; he actually has to go through the hassle of buying your soul while some hacker just swipes your identity without even blinking.😲

Or maybe I should just let THIS one hit me 😱 😱 😱

Honestly, nothing creeps me out quite like those cyber ninjas 😲 😲 😲
Though I’ll admit, having a creepy clown show up at my door—or even worse, some sinister mime—is pretty terrifying too.

Or maybe just the Evil KUNG FU Uncle 😲 😲 😲

Adam Wright56 said:... That third one just mashed together into one long series. 😁

Maybe it was 😉 Genesis Climber Mospeada. But nah, you weren't supposed to spoil it; I was kind of enjoying watching you play the wise guy.

Rion said:.... or maybe even "Robotech"...

Are you actually positive we're talking about a Robotech anime? Because around here I'm having a hell of a time spotting a single Japanese person, unless you're suggesting Gregory Snegoff and Robert V. Barron are somehow Japanese. 🙂