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shadowkat1. You will most likely be pleased and somewhat relieved to learn - that I suffered no side-effects from the Pfizer vaccine shot. Outside of sore arm, and that went away by around 12-1pm today. Doesn't hurt at all now.
I have had a mild headache - but I've had a mild headache off and on, all week long. Also difficulty sleeping and feeling fatigued - but that's due to daylight savings time. And possibly eating chocolate?
What did I do - I drank a lot of water prior to getting the vaccine, had a vitamin water with electrolytes, took my Stress B Complex (which I take every morning) and Vitamin D3, my meds, eat healthy, and no problems - per doctor's orders. They told me if I had a fever to take a tynenol, and if my arm hurt to use cold compress. Only used the cold compress - and it was mild. No rash. No allergic reactions. No problems.
Stupid internet needs to stop scaring folks. I got the Pfizer. My company is handing out the Pfizer.
2. Mother is worrying about her broken femur bone - which mysteriously broke and is mysteriously not healing, and the fracture doesn't always appear on the x-rays. (This is the fracture that happened around January 4.) She doesn't know what to do, and is terrified she'll never be able to walk or drive again. It was supposed to heal within 6 weeks. I told her to talk to her primary care physcian and see about getting a second opinion. She's afraid she has put weight on it before she's supposed to. When they did the ball bearing test on her feet - her shoulders hurt like hell.
But she did see my Dad today - they were able to arrange a visitation for her, since she couldn't on Friday, and they've both been vaccinated. My father told her that he was fine, the place was nice, and they were doing a good job of taking care of him. And she needed to take care of herself for a bit.
She also told me that her friends had said that they could pick me up from the airport if I were to come down and she couldn't do so. Clearly she vented about it to them. I'm hoping to visit her in June or July for a few days. I want to wait a bit, give her more time to heal, and the US more time to vaccinate.
**
3. This weekend, I've been looking forward to since roughly Feb 14. Why? They were airing The Snyder Cut of Justice League on HBO Max. And I would get to examine it to my heart's content. (I'm a film geek. I studied film in school. I took courses in undergrad on film analysis.) So Director's cuts interest me. It's the sort of thing I've discussed at length with my brother at various points. Also, as you already know by now, I love superhero action films.
Me: I love action films. I loved those dark Westerns.
Mother: You and your grandmother.
Me: You liked them too.
Also, I wisely joined scans_daily - a geeky comic book group. So we're having a fine old time discussing the Snyder cut, and why in the hell did the WB reshoot that movie.
If you've been following this journal at all - you already know about the toxic nature of the Justice League reshoot and how this resulted in all the tweets accusing Joss Whedon of abusive behavior on the sets of Buffy, Angel, and Justice League in early Feb. You also probably already know that Zack Snyder after completing everything but post-production work on Justice League, left to deal with personal issues (his daughter, Autumn, had died by suicide). Per recent interviews - it's become clear that he left because he'd gotten tired of fighting WB regarding his film. He'd cut his film down to 2 hours and 20 minutes as requested, and they still didn't like it. So he gave up and left. They hired Whedon to "fix" the film. The Whedon cut only credits Whedon for scripting the film, Snyder is listed as the director. (Snyder has never seen Whedon's cut of his film and has been advised not to by his wife and best friend, Christopher Nolan, who were appalled. Both are listed as producers on Whedon's version.) This isn't abnormal by the way - they do this all the time - bring another director to fix a previous one's film, and don't credit the director who fixed it. (It rarely works. Most films I've seen that were handled in this manner were disasters.)
Anyhow, I just finished watching the Snyder cut, last night and today. You can watch it in segments - he has it broken up into parts - 1-6, with an epilogue. I watched parts 1 and 2 last night, and 3 -6 today, with a break in between for a re-watch of Batman vs. Superman Ultimate Edition. I decided to re-watch it after parts 1 &2, because Snyder's Justice League is really a sequel to Dawn of Justice, and has the last bit of Dawn of Justice in it. With Lex Luther sitting in Superman's ship in the genetic fluid - where he created Doomsday. (You probably don't need to do that. But I couldn't remember the film and felt like it. Batman vs. Superman was a lot better film than I remembered. The cinematography is fantastic, and the CGI is actually better than in Justice League (possibly because there's less of it) - also Snyder films on film stock, adding CGI later in post-production, which results in a cleaner and more theaterical style. Batman vs. Superman's CGI is all at the end, mostly.
Snyder is kind of operatic in style. And very visual - he gets things across by showing them, more than telling or via dialogue. And say what you will about Snyder - he is an excellent cinematographer.
Anyhow, after I watched it - I watched about the first fifteen minutes of the Whedon cut. And my god, the Snyder cut is so much better - just from a film perspective. It's less choppy, it's cinematography is cleaner and more majestic in scope, it delves deeper into all the characters, and centers the story more on a carry-over of theme from Batman vs. Superman. Batman vs. Superman had a heavy mother/son thematic, Justice League has a heavy father/child or father/son dynamic. Whedon's focuses too much on Superman, while Snyder focuses on all the characters equally, but in particular new arrivals such as Cyborg and Flash. After seeing this - I completely understand why Ray Fisher got so upset with the PTB at WB. What I don't understand is why they cut his role out of Whedon's film?
Actually that's what we've been debating on scans daily - it's baffling as to why the WB reshot this film with Whedon. It would been easy enough to edit this film down to a reasonable running time and happy ending. I mean the ending is there. All you have to do is cut 90% of the epilogue, and all the dream sequences or flash forwards. The film is bloated in places, but it is a lot tighter plotted than I originally thought, and it has some nice quiet character moments that show volumes. It wouldn't have been hard to edit down to about 3 hours if that. Why did they re-shoot the whole thing?
And so badly?
Granted it's not for everyone, and I'd say it is an adult film. Not something for teen boys or children, which may well have been the problem. A lot of folks see superhero films as kid's fare. (I don't and I don't see why we can't have both? I'm not believer in either/or, and I wish people who do would get over themselves but that's another discussion.) And that may well have been the reason? They wanted something the whole family could go to?
But dear god - it still makes no sense. Whedon's version feels more like a television superhero film - the action is cut almost too short, the long shots, shortened, the scope of the visuals - shortened. He jumps too fast from one scene to the next, as opposed to letting each moment hit its conclusion. The Wonder Woman action sequence at the beginning of both films is longer in the Snyder version, and more character driven, while in the Whedon version it's kind of abrupt. Whedon also focuses more Superman, and how great Superman is - while in the Snyder version, Superman is seen as necessary, but also a potential threat. The characters struggle over the decision to bring him back and what it might mean. Superman in the Snyder films is darker, somewhat self-righteous, and more self-involved, which is an interesting and controversial take on Superman. Snyder is a little more questioning of his heroes - he talks about them as Gods, but he undercuts it as well - asking the question, do we really want someone that powerful around? This isn't as clear in the Whedon version.
There are scenes in the Snyder cut that blew me away - there's a suspenseful moment where the Flash has to get enough of an electrical charge to help Cyborg stop the mother boxes from joining - and it is amazing piece of cinematography and F/X, my jaw dropped. Actually how he shoots the Fllash impressed me. Also the use of landscape, and space - wide vista shots. People say the color scheme is too dark - but it worked for me - there's a kind of operatic tragic feel to the story, and a sense of striving against the odds.
Aquaman also is much better in this version - I'm not surprised the actor was annoyed with Whedon. He is sexy, and strong, and a force to be reckoned with here.
The jokes aren't flippant, and the lines feel character driven. It's not great dialogue - but I don't think it matters - since the visuals make up for it.
While I'd by no means say it was a great film, it is a good film and far better than the previous version, which is just okay. So much better in fact - that I've no idea why they released the other one. Which unfortunately bears the wrong director's name.
Does it have flaws? Yes. The epilogue is kind of self-indulgent and superfluous. Snyder has a lot of foreshadowing for future films in here - that aren't necessary - and I think a little self-indulgent on his part. He feels the need to let the audience know exactly what his vision was going to be. Granted they do add weight to the fears at least two of the characters have in regards to Superman and his relationship with Lois. Also show the struggle within the character of Superman, and his own darkness. But I'm not certain it just distracts from the story. That said - it is a continuation from Batman vs. Superman, so there's that. Other quibbles? I don't like a lot of the CGI. It feels very much like a video game. And the aliens look kind of ...off. I honestly think Marvel does a better job with CGI, possibly because they shoot it digitally? Aquaman's under the sea scenes are haphazard - when using CGI they don't quite work, and William Dafo doesn't quite work. I'd have cut the William Dafo scenes - to be honest. Everything else is fine from a visual perspective.
The film is a love letter to Snyder's daughter - and a lot of the father/son theme - is in a sense a homage to that. It's why a father trying to save his child no matter what, and the fraught relationship regarding that - is at the center of the film, as opposed to the Superman resurrection which lies at the center of Whedon's. I think it's a wise choice on Snyder's part.
In Whedon's film - the film starts with a weird newsreel with Superman talking brightly with kids - which is kind of jarring if you watched Dawn of Justice and MoS.
Anyhow while writing this, I saw a cute, little brown mouse try to run across the floor. I saw it, it knew I did, and raced into hiding, and I put out mint bags while telling it I saw it. It probably went into the apartment next door - which is no doubt where it came from.
Back to Justice League? After seeing this movie and reading more about it, I am baffled as to why they chose to re-shoot it. And how they chose to re-shoot it. The cuts and re-shoots make no sense. I think the merger with AT&T and DOJ's attempts to halt it - may have been the reason the film was rushed, along with the Marvel line up of films coming. The Marvel film plot-lines are very similar to Snyder's, and comparisons would have been made for good or ill. (Even though there is no such thing as an original idea or plot no matter how much people like to think otherwise.)
Like the folks over at scans daily - I'd really like to see Snyders two hour and 20 minute edit - so I could compare Apples to Apples against Whedon's two hour cut. And better understand why the WB went the direction they did.
At any rate - if you like operatic superhero films, with diverse casts, and great cinematography - check this out. (Also if you like Zack Snyder films - if you don't skip.) I enjoyed it far more than I expected to and found myself rewinding various scenes. And I can see myself re-watching in the future. So I'd give it a solid B+.
I'm going to re-watch the rest of Whedon's version tomorrow to see how the two versions differ.
I have had a mild headache - but I've had a mild headache off and on, all week long. Also difficulty sleeping and feeling fatigued - but that's due to daylight savings time. And possibly eating chocolate?
What did I do - I drank a lot of water prior to getting the vaccine, had a vitamin water with electrolytes, took my Stress B Complex (which I take every morning) and Vitamin D3, my meds, eat healthy, and no problems - per doctor's orders. They told me if I had a fever to take a tynenol, and if my arm hurt to use cold compress. Only used the cold compress - and it was mild. No rash. No allergic reactions. No problems.
Stupid internet needs to stop scaring folks. I got the Pfizer. My company is handing out the Pfizer.
2. Mother is worrying about her broken femur bone - which mysteriously broke and is mysteriously not healing, and the fracture doesn't always appear on the x-rays. (This is the fracture that happened around January 4.) She doesn't know what to do, and is terrified she'll never be able to walk or drive again. It was supposed to heal within 6 weeks. I told her to talk to her primary care physcian and see about getting a second opinion. She's afraid she has put weight on it before she's supposed to. When they did the ball bearing test on her feet - her shoulders hurt like hell.
But she did see my Dad today - they were able to arrange a visitation for her, since she couldn't on Friday, and they've both been vaccinated. My father told her that he was fine, the place was nice, and they were doing a good job of taking care of him. And she needed to take care of herself for a bit.
She also told me that her friends had said that they could pick me up from the airport if I were to come down and she couldn't do so. Clearly she vented about it to them. I'm hoping to visit her in June or July for a few days. I want to wait a bit, give her more time to heal, and the US more time to vaccinate.
**
3. This weekend, I've been looking forward to since roughly Feb 14. Why? They were airing The Snyder Cut of Justice League on HBO Max. And I would get to examine it to my heart's content. (I'm a film geek. I studied film in school. I took courses in undergrad on film analysis.) So Director's cuts interest me. It's the sort of thing I've discussed at length with my brother at various points. Also, as you already know by now, I love superhero action films.
Me: I love action films. I loved those dark Westerns.
Mother: You and your grandmother.
Me: You liked them too.
Also, I wisely joined scans_daily - a geeky comic book group. So we're having a fine old time discussing the Snyder cut, and why in the hell did the WB reshoot that movie.
If you've been following this journal at all - you already know about the toxic nature of the Justice League reshoot and how this resulted in all the tweets accusing Joss Whedon of abusive behavior on the sets of Buffy, Angel, and Justice League in early Feb. You also probably already know that Zack Snyder after completing everything but post-production work on Justice League, left to deal with personal issues (his daughter, Autumn, had died by suicide). Per recent interviews - it's become clear that he left because he'd gotten tired of fighting WB regarding his film. He'd cut his film down to 2 hours and 20 minutes as requested, and they still didn't like it. So he gave up and left. They hired Whedon to "fix" the film. The Whedon cut only credits Whedon for scripting the film, Snyder is listed as the director. (Snyder has never seen Whedon's cut of his film and has been advised not to by his wife and best friend, Christopher Nolan, who were appalled. Both are listed as producers on Whedon's version.) This isn't abnormal by the way - they do this all the time - bring another director to fix a previous one's film, and don't credit the director who fixed it. (It rarely works. Most films I've seen that were handled in this manner were disasters.)
Anyhow, I just finished watching the Snyder cut, last night and today. You can watch it in segments - he has it broken up into parts - 1-6, with an epilogue. I watched parts 1 and 2 last night, and 3 -6 today, with a break in between for a re-watch of Batman vs. Superman Ultimate Edition. I decided to re-watch it after parts 1 &2, because Snyder's Justice League is really a sequel to Dawn of Justice, and has the last bit of Dawn of Justice in it. With Lex Luther sitting in Superman's ship in the genetic fluid - where he created Doomsday. (You probably don't need to do that. But I couldn't remember the film and felt like it. Batman vs. Superman was a lot better film than I remembered. The cinematography is fantastic, and the CGI is actually better than in Justice League (possibly because there's less of it) - also Snyder films on film stock, adding CGI later in post-production, which results in a cleaner and more theaterical style. Batman vs. Superman's CGI is all at the end, mostly.
Snyder is kind of operatic in style. And very visual - he gets things across by showing them, more than telling or via dialogue. And say what you will about Snyder - he is an excellent cinematographer.
Anyhow, after I watched it - I watched about the first fifteen minutes of the Whedon cut. And my god, the Snyder cut is so much better - just from a film perspective. It's less choppy, it's cinematography is cleaner and more majestic in scope, it delves deeper into all the characters, and centers the story more on a carry-over of theme from Batman vs. Superman. Batman vs. Superman had a heavy mother/son thematic, Justice League has a heavy father/child or father/son dynamic. Whedon's focuses too much on Superman, while Snyder focuses on all the characters equally, but in particular new arrivals such as Cyborg and Flash. After seeing this - I completely understand why Ray Fisher got so upset with the PTB at WB. What I don't understand is why they cut his role out of Whedon's film?
Actually that's what we've been debating on scans daily - it's baffling as to why the WB reshot this film with Whedon. It would been easy enough to edit this film down to a reasonable running time and happy ending. I mean the ending is there. All you have to do is cut 90% of the epilogue, and all the dream sequences or flash forwards. The film is bloated in places, but it is a lot tighter plotted than I originally thought, and it has some nice quiet character moments that show volumes. It wouldn't have been hard to edit down to about 3 hours if that. Why did they re-shoot the whole thing?
And so badly?
Granted it's not for everyone, and I'd say it is an adult film. Not something for teen boys or children, which may well have been the problem. A lot of folks see superhero films as kid's fare. (I don't and I don't see why we can't have both? I'm not believer in either/or, and I wish people who do would get over themselves but that's another discussion.) And that may well have been the reason? They wanted something the whole family could go to?
But dear god - it still makes no sense. Whedon's version feels more like a television superhero film - the action is cut almost too short, the long shots, shortened, the scope of the visuals - shortened. He jumps too fast from one scene to the next, as opposed to letting each moment hit its conclusion. The Wonder Woman action sequence at the beginning of both films is longer in the Snyder version, and more character driven, while in the Whedon version it's kind of abrupt. Whedon also focuses more Superman, and how great Superman is - while in the Snyder version, Superman is seen as necessary, but also a potential threat. The characters struggle over the decision to bring him back and what it might mean. Superman in the Snyder films is darker, somewhat self-righteous, and more self-involved, which is an interesting and controversial take on Superman. Snyder is a little more questioning of his heroes - he talks about them as Gods, but he undercuts it as well - asking the question, do we really want someone that powerful around? This isn't as clear in the Whedon version.
There are scenes in the Snyder cut that blew me away - there's a suspenseful moment where the Flash has to get enough of an electrical charge to help Cyborg stop the mother boxes from joining - and it is amazing piece of cinematography and F/X, my jaw dropped. Actually how he shoots the Fllash impressed me. Also the use of landscape, and space - wide vista shots. People say the color scheme is too dark - but it worked for me - there's a kind of operatic tragic feel to the story, and a sense of striving against the odds.
Aquaman also is much better in this version - I'm not surprised the actor was annoyed with Whedon. He is sexy, and strong, and a force to be reckoned with here.
The jokes aren't flippant, and the lines feel character driven. It's not great dialogue - but I don't think it matters - since the visuals make up for it.
While I'd by no means say it was a great film, it is a good film and far better than the previous version, which is just okay. So much better in fact - that I've no idea why they released the other one. Which unfortunately bears the wrong director's name.
Does it have flaws? Yes. The epilogue is kind of self-indulgent and superfluous. Snyder has a lot of foreshadowing for future films in here - that aren't necessary - and I think a little self-indulgent on his part. He feels the need to let the audience know exactly what his vision was going to be. Granted they do add weight to the fears at least two of the characters have in regards to Superman and his relationship with Lois. Also show the struggle within the character of Superman, and his own darkness. But I'm not certain it just distracts from the story. That said - it is a continuation from Batman vs. Superman, so there's that. Other quibbles? I don't like a lot of the CGI. It feels very much like a video game. And the aliens look kind of ...off. I honestly think Marvel does a better job with CGI, possibly because they shoot it digitally? Aquaman's under the sea scenes are haphazard - when using CGI they don't quite work, and William Dafo doesn't quite work. I'd have cut the William Dafo scenes - to be honest. Everything else is fine from a visual perspective.
The film is a love letter to Snyder's daughter - and a lot of the father/son theme - is in a sense a homage to that. It's why a father trying to save his child no matter what, and the fraught relationship regarding that - is at the center of the film, as opposed to the Superman resurrection which lies at the center of Whedon's. I think it's a wise choice on Snyder's part.
In Whedon's film - the film starts with a weird newsreel with Superman talking brightly with kids - which is kind of jarring if you watched Dawn of Justice and MoS.
Anyhow while writing this, I saw a cute, little brown mouse try to run across the floor. I saw it, it knew I did, and raced into hiding, and I put out mint bags while telling it I saw it. It probably went into the apartment next door - which is no doubt where it came from.
Back to Justice League? After seeing this movie and reading more about it, I am baffled as to why they chose to re-shoot it. And how they chose to re-shoot it. The cuts and re-shoots make no sense. I think the merger with AT&T and DOJ's attempts to halt it - may have been the reason the film was rushed, along with the Marvel line up of films coming. The Marvel film plot-lines are very similar to Snyder's, and comparisons would have been made for good or ill. (Even though there is no such thing as an original idea or plot no matter how much people like to think otherwise.)
Like the folks over at scans daily - I'd really like to see Snyders two hour and 20 minute edit - so I could compare Apples to Apples against Whedon's two hour cut. And better understand why the WB went the direction they did.
At any rate - if you like operatic superhero films, with diverse casts, and great cinematography - check this out. (Also if you like Zack Snyder films - if you don't skip.) I enjoyed it far more than I expected to and found myself rewinding various scenes. And I can see myself re-watching in the future. So I'd give it a solid B+.
I'm going to re-watch the rest of Whedon's version tomorrow to see how the two versions differ.
no subject
Date: 2021-03-21 12:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-21 03:36 pm (UTC)But I honestly think being well-hydrated helps. I had to go to the bathroom a lot though. Three times, before I left, when I got there, and after I got the shot. So you might want to do it a lot earlier than I did. LOL!
no subject
Date: 2021-03-21 02:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-21 03:41 pm (UTC)Watching the first fifteen minutes of Whedon's cut, and going back to watch first fifteen of Snyder's - dear god, Snyder's is so much better. Whedon's also is...kind of offensive in comparison. He takes away the focus from minority characters and female characters and thrusts it back solidly on white guys, Batman and Superman. Ray Fisher's racist and sexist allegations against Whedon, Berg and Johns make so much more sense now. Snyder's original film in comparison to theirs - is indictment enough.
Whedon won't get another directorial gig after this - not on that scale, at any rate. The differences are so obvious, and glaring. I blew me away how much better Snyder's film truly is, and some of the choices Whedon made are just baffling - making me think others were involved.
no subject
Date: 2021-03-21 06:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-21 11:26 pm (UTC)But...my god Whedon/WB's choices in regards to the Whedon cut are...appalling in places.
If you see it and then compare it against Whedon's version (which I didn't remember well) - you understand why Fisher was upset. I'm also convinced now that there were other people who came forward and complained, under the condition of anonymity. I would not be at all surprised if Diane Lane and Amy Adams, and Gail Gadot reported problems. There's a cringe inducing conversation between Diane Lane and Amy Adams in the Whedon version - that's not in the Snyder - and their interaction and scenes in the Snyder make more sense and are far better.
It's kind of appalling in a way - how sexist and racist Whedon's cut truly is - once you see what was in the original Snyder version, and what character moments Whedon was told to remove or chose to. And what he added. I do after seeing the first fifteen-thirty minutes of both films back to back - believe that Whedon was a racist sexist creep on set. I mean my god, the pattern is a bit too on the nose.