The Superman Reboot Has A Trailer ... And It Stinks
Superman is not tortured like Batman. Superman's conflict is how much should he do, because he can do so much. Richard Donner nailed this in his first two Superman movies 30 years ago, but first Bryan Singer and now I fear Zack Snyder want to go darker, more real, with the man of steal. The problem is, if Superman is real then you are left with Watchmen, the world changed in horrible ways. Look, I hope I am wrong, I want Snyder's reboot to work and be great, but this teaser trailer is not giving me high hopes.
June 30, 2012
#2 On My Most Looking Forward To List... Total Recall
Check out the latest trailer. This looks like it has everything I would want from a sic-fi action flick and has just enough "wink to the audience" to make it work.
June 19, 2012
Seeking a Friend For The End Of The World Is Really Starting To Grow On Me
Great little featurette about what music you would take with you for the end of the world. For me? The Who, Zeplin, The Clash, Jane's Addiction, Stone Temple Pilots, Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra and a whole bunch of singles from every genre I could think of.
June 2, 2012
The End Of The Avengers Dominance
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| It Was Fun While It Lasted |
Not one to go out quietly The Avengers did achieve three impressive milestones yesterday as they put a bow on their run:
- The Avengers officially passed The Dark Knight as the #3 highest domestic grossing movie of all time with $538 million so far.
- The Avengers also passed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part II to become the third highest grossing world wide hit of all time with $1.33 billion to date. It looks like The Avengers will likely finish just shy of $600 million domestically and $1.5 billion world wide when all is said and done leaving it significantly behind James Cameron's twin towers of box office dominance but still far exceeding even the wildest dreams Disney had for their superhero movie.
- Maybe the most impressive thing The Avengers did, and it plays into the second storyline of the summer thus far, was that The Avengers accounted for more than 50% of the total domestic box office for the month of May. Put another way, The Avengers out grossed all of the other movies combined in a month that was theoretically loaded with sure fire hits.
We salute Joss Whedon and the rest of The Avengers team. It was a thrill to watch all that you accomplished (although, I must admit, I am kind of looking forward to writing about something else).
May 23, 2012
The Great Gatsby Will Be In 3D:
Sometimes I Hate Hollywood
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I could drone on and on about how much I love F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel and yet I am still not sure there is a movie hidden in its pages (much like the works of many of Fitzgerald's contemporaries like Sommerset Maugham). I ramble about the newly released trailer for Baz Luhrmann's new take on Gatsby and how while the trailer seems to capture some of the surreal nature of a story that was always meant to be a parable, the trailer also plays like the trailer for David Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, maybe not the best comparison for a movie based on one of the classic works of the 1920's. I could talk about how Baz Luhrmann's early work in Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge may or may not apply to this tale of jealousy and deceit and love set in the roaring 20's. And normally I would talk about all of those things, but then I saw the last few frames of the trailer and I looked more closely at the poster and all I now see is AVAILABLE IN 3D. What the... I mean it is one thing to make every action movie come out in 3D but now the dramas have to as well. This is ridiculous!
May 15, 2012
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| They don't need you to like it as long as you go see it |
Hasbro reminds me of Burt Reynolds from 30 years ago*, they remind me of Rodney Dangerfield's stand-up act, they get no respect. Since 2007 Hasbro has produced four movies based on their toys (three Transformers movies and GI Joe), with two more movies coming out this summer (Battleship and GI Joe 2). All of the movies they have released (with the exception of the first Transformers) have been killed by reviewers and become a punchline on podcasts and movie blogs. The other constant has been that all of their movies have been spectacularly profitable and my guess is that streak of profitability doesn't end this weekend when Battleship opens nationwide, in fact I am sure of it. How am I so sure? I am sure because Battleship has already broken even before it has been released in America (or very close to it).
You see, Hasbro smartly released Battleship internationally a month ago, wanting to be ahead of the freight train that is The Avengers, and by the ned of last weekend Battleship had already grossed over $200 million (the budget was reported somewhere in the $220 to $250 range). So before you read the first of many reviews that will undoubtedly kill Battleship and lambast Peter Berg for "selling out" and making this movie know that Hasbro has already won. They won because as much as we want to kill them for making movies that are big, loud and stupid they know that big, loud and stupid is exactly what boys want out of their movies (which makes sense since they have been watching boys do big, loud and stupid things with the toys they produce for 50 years). Maybe we should stop hating so hard on Hasbro's movies and start to look at them like most people my age looked at NSync or Britney Spears or Mariah Carrey or basically every pop music act that has come out since 1990 and remember, they were never made for you.
*20 or so years ago I saw an interview with Burt Reynolds where the interviewer asked him if he was ever jealous of Al Pacino or Robert DeNiro. Burt looked at the guy, more than a little offended, and said "the truth is I was something they never were, I was the biggest movie star in the world." And Burt Reynolds wasn't lying. For all of the press and praise heaped on movies like Taxi Driver or Dog Day Afternoon or Raging Bull the fact is Smokey and the Bandit out drew all three combined. Movie buffs will argue that box office doesn't matter and certainly doesn't equal quality, and I would agree with them to a point, but box office does speak to popularity, to the number of people who liked the movies, and that isn't nothing.
May 13, 2012
New Amazing Spider-Man Featurette
Check out Oscrpindustries.com for a new featurette on The Lizard. Its pretty cool. Not quite this cool:
May 12, 2012
The Avengers Just Keep Putting Up Numbers
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Do you doubt her?
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Last week I posted the question "Does The Dark Knight Rises have any chance to beat The Avengers without the benefit of 3D?" I heard a lot of Batman fans scoff at the idea that these Marvel guys could compete with the mighty Dark Knight, and the steady in week decline of The Avengers seemed to be adding fuel to their argument ... now that argument may be dead. The Avengers grossed $29 million yesterday and is on pace for between and $80 - $90 million dollar weekend. That would blow away the Avatar record $75 million for its second weekend. Through friday The Avengers has grossed an astounding $290 million and will sail well past the $300 million mark today. The question is no longer will the Avengers get to $400 million domestically it is whether they will joining the elite club of $500 million (only Avatar, Titanic and The Dark Knight have done it). Leaving aside the inflation and ticket price skewing that made this an all but impossible number for any film made before 1995, that is still a remarkable feat. And if all of that isn't enough The Avengers is set to pass $1 billion internationally today or tomorrow.
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Is Will Smith our best hope to stop
The Avengers? |
The Avengers freight train is reeking havoc on the other May releases. Polling as late as last week had Dark Shadows pegged for around a $50 million opening that now looks to be as little as half that total. Studios are already adjusting their expectations for Battleship and MIB3, hoping international grosses will atone for what they anticipate to be massive underperformance domestically (Battleship was actually released internationally 2 weeks ago and has done well, they may even recoup their entire investment before it hits theaters in the US next friday).
Who knows when the Avengers will slow down? Maybe MIB3 can take its legs out on Memorial Day weekend (I kind of doubt it, but its possible). Snow White and the Huntsman has been tracking much better than I would have expected and hits theaters June 1st and if none of that works the tag team of Madagascar 3 and Prometheus on June 8th provide a wall I don't think Joss Whedon and company can handle, but who knows. I never thought it would be this big.
May 11, 2012
Check out the trailer for Gangster Squad
I barely recognized Sean Penn as Mickey Cohen. This looks like a cross between The Untouchables and LA Confidential. I love both of those movies so maybe this one will be great too.
May 11, 2012
Another Prometheus featurette and my excitement continues to rise
This clip is obviously playing to the hardcore sci-fi crowd.
May 10, 2012
Is Kristen Stewart even in this movie?
Another Snow White and the Huntsman clip came out today on Yahoo! and I am starting to wonder if they have cut Kristen Stewart completely out of the film.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not complaining, I just don't ever remember a big time hollywood movie that is this overtly trying to minimize the star (and title character) of the film.
Also, what is that accent that Thor is doing. It sounds like a wee bit of Scottish and Irish mixed with pure Aussie.
April 30, 2012
New Prometheus Trailer Looks Even More Awesome
Com'on, this has to get you going a little bit, doesn't it?
April 30, 2012
Should Michael Bay Sue Somebody?
When Michael Bay was looking at his Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen did he see the future of Hollywood action movies? Clearly no critics did, because they attacked that movie mercilessly (it's not a great movie to be sure, but really, what did you expect from a movie about alien robots and produced by a toy company?). But watch the Battleship trailer and tell me that doesn't look EXACTLY like a Transformers movie. Cool looking machines flying in from on high, check. Everyone in the movie is tan and sweating, check. All the women are good looking and perpetually posing for unseen cameras, check. Weird machine sounds that lets us know Transformers were changing and I'm not sure what they are telling us in Battleship, check.
Before Marvel fans start loosing it let me just say I don't think this is a bad thing. For all the critical bashing that the Transformers and Michael Bay have taken over the last few years what can't be taken away is that he has made movies that look unbelievable. So, why not copy those monstrous robotic aliens? They look amazing. Just, let's give poor Michael Bay a little bit of love and admit we are stealing from him.
April 29, 2012
I liked Knocked Up, not as much as The 40 Year Old Virgin or Bridesmaids, but I liked it. Still, I am pretty sure in the intervening years I have never once said to myself "man, when are they going to make a sequel to Knocked Up?" And I am entirely certain I have never thought "when they make the necessary Knocked Up sequel it had better be about Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd's characters and not have Seth Rogen or Katherine Heigel anywhere in sight."
I present to you the trailer for Thi Is 40, the Knocked Up sequel focussing on Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann and with no Seth Rogen or Katherine Heigel anywhere in sight (no joke, it is really coming out this Christmas).
April 29, 2012
Was There Ever Any Doubt The Avengers Would Take Over The World?
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The Cast Of The Avengers
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If there was every any question that The Avengers was going to be HUGE news just came out that The Avengers grossed $71 million in its first 3 days of international release (made more impressive by not being out in Japan, Russia or China yet) and it pre-sales are greater than all of the previous Marvel movies combined here in the U.S. Crazy!
April 20, 2012
Does This Seem Fair To You?
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| Was He Really To Blame? |
Cut to March of 2012.
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| Can't Carry A Movie, But He Is Dreamy. |
Things only get worse for you there as John Carter is swallowed and forgotten like a Taco Bell burrito as The Hunger Games dominates the world. By the end of March, as your first quarter reports need to be released to stock holders, your studio reports $200 million dollars of losses for the quarter.
Cut to April 20th of 2012 (today).
The alabaster that is John Carter and its accompanying stench won't leave you. None of your past successes count for anything. What may be the biggest hit in your studios history is only 2 weeks away and you know you won't see that day. You resign, gracefully and with a lot of tact and you have to wonder, where would I be if I hadn't taken this job?
Farewell Rich Ross. You are the latest victim of hollywoods favorite game "Someone Must Be To Blame".
April 20, 2012
I Know, I'm The Last Mel Gibson Fan In The World
Mel Gibson certainly has more than a few personal problems, I get that, but I still think he is capable of making an entertaining movie. If you have Direct TV you may be able to see one on May 1st - Get The Gringo.
Originally called How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Mel wrote this movie (that looks and sounds an awful lot like a sequel to Payback) and produced it and has a former assistant directing it. I don't know, it looks pretty funny to me, but I don't have Direct TV or live in a country other than the United States and those seem to be the only ways I could see this thing.
Here's another clip to see if I can't re-convert you to the awesomeness of Gibson ...
April 20, 2012
Prometheus Is Rapidly Ascending On My List Of Summer Movies To Look Forward To
The news surrounding Ridley Scott's Prometheus always felt disjointed enough to keep my excitement at bay. First it was an Alien prequel (which sounds awesome), then it wasn't and now it is but we just can't say that it is because the studio doesn't want us to (and reportedly doesn't think Noomi Rapace is a big enough star). Its all confusing. Then I saw the trailer ...
and I started to get a wee bit excited. Then I saw the Guy Pearce "viral" video ...
and I started to get really excited because it looks like Scott is bringing in some of the underlying social commentary that made Blade Runner and the original Alien so awesome. Then I saw the Dave "viral" video ...
and now I think this is moving even with, and perhaps past The Dark Knight Rises on my "can't wait" meter.
April 18, 2012
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are coming back to Dumb and Dumber
Article on EW.com
I've got to say, I think this awesome! Check out my favorite scene:
Why Did We Ever Take This Seriously?
There has been some geek outrage over the incorporation of dance central into the new Star Wars Kinnect game on Xbox. Like the other outrage that flows out of every thing that comes out of Skywalker Ranch I would simply ask do you realize you are taking Star Wars WAY more seriously than the makers and most fans ever did?
Check this out if you don't believe me:
If Donny and Marie can do Star Wars what do any of us care what else happens.
April 18, 2012
The Avengers Opens May 4th - 3 Weeks Before School Is Out!
Look, I can't wait for The Avengers, it can't get here soon enough, but it shouldn't get here until May 25th. You can't wear white and you can't call a movie a "Summer" movie until Memorial Day. It is an unwritten law (well, its been written often, there is merely no authority behind the writing). The movie studios don't care about rules. They don't care that it is hard enough to keep kids focussed through May without adding their wanting to go see Iron Man fight Loki and the Skrulls (yes, I know Wedon has come out and said that they are not the Skrulls, I'm just not sure I believe him). Since 1983, when Return of the Jedi launched summer by dominating the box office, Memorial Day weekend's big movie was something to look forward to, like going to the pool or sleeping in on a Monday or having no homework.
So, who is to blame for this? Well, many point to The Mummy Returns in 2001, which was released on the first weekend of May, but I look at the next year. Sony Pictures released a little movie called Spider-Man on May 3, 2002 and forever more the summer movie season has started on the first weekend of May. I hope you can sleep at night Sam Raimi.
April 16, 2012
Is Nicholas Sparks The Man To Take Down The Hunger Games?
Another easy win at the box office this week for Katniss and company, but it looks like it will be their last at #1. A sappy Nicholas Sparks adaptation is coming to the big screen on Friday and that should be enough to take down The Hunger Games.
They aren't my cup of tea, but there is no denying the success:
- The Last Song
- Dear John
- Nights In Rodanthe
- The Notebook
- A Walk To Remember
- Message In A Bottle
As long as his books are about 20 something (or younger) love they are adapted into box office gold. When he rights about actual grown ups in love, not so much.
April 16, 2012
This is why I didn't write much last week:
I think that is a pretty good reason. Wouldn't you agree?
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