Movies

Where's the fun? Where's the 'hope'? Where are the superheroes that bring light and joy to the big screen?

The criticisms of the DCEU have been broadcast far and wide across the internet. From social media, to every Rotten Tomatoes score ever given out, Geoff Johns and Warner Bros. have heard the call for more fun.

Justice League delivered.

But it wasn't about to make you feel numb to emotion either. There's an overarching theme to JUSTICE LEAGUE about the absence of Superman. He's missed by those who admired him, those who loved him, those who fought by his side, and those who only heard of his legend.

From Entertainment Weekly:

James Franco likes to multiply himself. Back in March 2015, he interviewed himself for Four Two Nine magazine, splitting himself into a “Straight James” and a “Gay James.” More recently, in HBO’s The Deuce, he played two different characters, the identical twin brothers Vincent and Frankie Martino. But now the Franco clones are about to increase exponentially. EW has confirmed that the star of The Disaster Artist is in negotiations to play Multiple Man, a Marvel mutant from the X-Men universe with the ability to clone himself, in a new solo film of the same name. Deadline first reported the news.

Warner Bros. Pictures announces “FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD” as the title of the second of five all new adventures in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World™.  Opening exactly one year from today, November 16, 2018, the film features an ensemble cast led by Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, with Jude Law and Johnny Depp. 

At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Redmayne).  But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings. 

Okay, deep breath…I can do this…in through the nose, out through the mouth…okay, I’m ready…

Justice League didn’t suck. There, I said it. Happy now? Oh, don’t get too excited, it’s far from perfect. It’s also got lots of Gal Gadot reprising her role as Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck returning as Batman, virtually no Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, and a pretty breezy pace, so that’s all good.  If the last Fantastic Four had not been released, Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice would be the Ishtar of superhero movies, and this effort is nowhere near that bad. However it’s also rather derivative, at times, of Marvel’s The Avengers films, has a tacked on villain few outside of DC Comics’ most loyal fans will have even heard of, way too much of Zack Snyder’s signature visual overkill, and poorly integrated Joss Whedon humor.

From MSNBC:

21st Century Fox has been holding talks to sell most of the company to Walt Disney Co., leaving behind a media company tightly focused on news and sports, according to people familiar with the situation.

The talks have taken place over the last few weeks and there is no certainty they will lead to a deal. The two sides are not currently talking at this very moment, but given the on again, off again nature of the talks, they could be revisited.

Disney has been doing quite a few of their animated movies as live-action films the last few years.  Honestly, I tend to like the animated originals better, but the live-action versions have all been pretty good.   They will be releasing THE LION KING in Summer 2019.  Which is a bit strange, since it obviously have have to basically be entirely computer-generated (similar to THE JUNGLE BOOK). 

Disney announced the cast, and it is a hell of a line-up!

I saw this piece in the Wall Street Journal today (not my usual source for entertainment news):

Before exhibitors can begin screening "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" this December, they must first commit to a set of top-secret terms that numerous theater owners say are the most onerous they've ever seen. Disney will receive about 65% of ticket-sales revenue from the film, a new benchmark for a Hollywood studio. Disney is also requiring theaters to show the movie in their largest auditorium for at least four weeks.

Before I tell you about Marvel’s latest superhero epic, Thor: Ragnarok, let us all get on the same four-color page. There are four parties most interested in this epic culmination of what is at least a trilogy at this point for the God of Thunder:       

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Zachary Levi is going to be Earth's mightiest mortal.

The actor will star in the DC comic book adaptation Shazam!, which follows a boy named Billy Batson, who can transform into an adult superhero by uttering the magic word "Shazam!" 

...

According to NJ.com:

Regal Entertainment Group, the second largest chain in the U.S...is partnering with mobile ticketing app maker, Atom Tickets, to test out a "demand-based pricing for film tickets in several markets early next year," according to Variety.

The higher demand in a movie -- say "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" or "Justice League," to cite two upcoming titles expected to be hugely successful -- the higher the ticket price.

This morning we got a new trailer for BLACK PANTHER from Marvel Studios

You only need to get a hit 1 out of every 3 at bats to be considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame. So it is with Stephen King, who holds what has to be the record for having the coolest story ideas turned into the worst movies ever -- or sometimes turned into really great movies that were nothing at all like the story from which they got their title. (THE RUNNING MAN, I'm looking at you!)

The folks over at Moneypod have actually given this more than some passing thought, as IT continues its theatrical run into Halloween, and have crunched the numbers into this handy-dandy not-so-little infographic, provided here for our readers. Thanks, Moneypod!

Woke up this morning to find that Fox posted a NEW MUTANTS trailer in the wee hours of the night.

During Monday Night Football, Disney posted up a brand new trailer for STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI along with this poster.  I think it's a wonderful tribute to Carrie FIsher to feature General Leia front and center on the poster.  The poster doesn't give us a lot of new info on the movie, but it does look damn cool.

The trailer itself is pretty cool. Not a lot of spoilers, thankfully, but definitely enough teases to get people hyped up for the movie.  Poor Luke seems to have lost his fricking mind since we last saw him...wonder if we will ever get the full back story there.

The Jerry Bruckheimer franchise seems to have finally capsized. The motion picture, budgeted at $230 million ($20 million less than it's predecessor, ON STRANGER TIDES), grossed $172 million at the box office, compared to the $241 million grossed by the previous film. Those are numbers that don't bode well for there being a fifth film in the franchise--unless it's a rebooting, and honestly who could see Captain Jack Sparrow as anybody but JOHNNY DEPP?

The first thing that's a bit off about the film is the title: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES. Given that the entire run has been filled with ghosts who relate stories of curses, and that the plot of this movie hinges on one Captain Salazar (JAVIER BARDEM) who perished in the Devil's Triangle pursuing a young Jack Sparrow, it would seem that dead men tell quite a few tales at sea.

Superman has been the topic of controversy ever since Warner Bros hired Zack Snyder to direct 2013's Man of Steel.

So it's no surprise that his perception as a hero is once again the topic of conversation. Portraying a brooding Kryptonian, living on Earth, many feel that this iteration of Superman is too dark. His story, which takes him from being a relatively unknown mystery hero to a highly controversial figure of immense power, is a journey that nobody else had dared to explore.

JUSTICE LEAGUE, is considered by some to be the third act in a trilogy of movies which brings Superman's heroism to light.

Or will it?

Was flipping through Twitter and came across this:

Thanks to my awesome mother, I was raised on horror movies and Stephen King books!  Of all the amazing 80's horror movies, HALLOWEEN was always my favorite.  Just something about that mask, that slow lumber, that memorable music...  HALLOWEEN has always been a big part of my life in the strangest ways. 

J.D. Salinger is a name that almost instantly brings out strong reactions in people. Some boo and hiss, proclaiming his most famous work, “The Catcher in the Rye,” to be dangerous in some way and demand that it be banned from their children’s schools.  Others smile and wax as poetic as they can muster, recalling their own first encounter with Holden Caulfield and how revelatory the story was in their youth. I belong to an unfortunate though fortunately very tiny segment of the population who has never read the book because I found out the term “catcher” in the title had nothing wto with baseball. No references to Mickey Cochrane, Gabby Hartnett, Ray Schalk, not even Campy or Yogi? Who needs it?

I’m an idiot, of course. It’s an American masterpiece. If you watch the new biographical film, REBEL IN THE RYE, you’ll hear it time and time again, just in case you don’t believe it already.

Sony continues to reel in top talent for it's adaption of 1985's cult anime, ROBOTECH. Originally conceptualized back in 2007, the project continues to defy all odds as the studio is committed to bringing protoculture to life.

Jason Fuchs, who co-wrote WONDER WOMAN along with Zack Snyder and Allan Heinberg, is being brought in to write the screenplay for ROBOTECH. This is a huge move for the studio, as getting the story right can separate ROBOTECh from other, recent movies that feature fighting robots on a grand scale.

From StarWars.com: