Yikes. Green Lantern is already getting hammered in the reviews. The majority of the reviews aren't in yet, but a less than 30% on Rotten Tomatoes? Looks like Warner Brothers might have another Jonah Hex on their hands.
This "report" sums up my general feelings about how misguided the whole endeavor is. Forgetting my own distaste for Green Lantern and the fact that the movie looks awful, Hal Jordan just doesn't have the popular appeal to justify a big summer blockbuster.
No. I will not be paying money to see this.
'Green Lantern' To Fulfill America's Wish To See Lantern-Based Characters On Big Screen
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Magneto: Mutant Secret Agent
So I saw this over the weekend. Overall I thought it was very good, if a bit uneven. Though its unlikely given how this one ended, I'd really like to see a whole movie of Magneto running around doing spy things.
The first three quarters of this are mostly awesome. The Magneto scenes especially are engaging, with Michael Fassbender more than making up for the acting black whole that is January Jones. There are a few clunky bits of dialogue, but overall I really enjoyed everything before the last sequence. The third act isn't bad per se, but doesn't really fit with the rest of the movie. I don't want to spoil anything, but all the character development that slowly develops for the first two acts is settled in about 30 seconds at the end of the movie. Its jarring, and it doesn't really work, but I guess it was really necessary to maintain continuity with X Men 3.
Criticisms aside, I actually really enjoyed this. The first two acts more than make up for the messy third. Its silly, its over the top, its exactly what you'd expect from an X-Men movie that takes place in the 1960's and stars Kevin Bacon. I wouldn't rush out immediately to the theater to see it, but it is certainly worth checking out.
The first three quarters of this are mostly awesome. The Magneto scenes especially are engaging, with Michael Fassbender more than making up for the acting black whole that is January Jones. There are a few clunky bits of dialogue, but overall I really enjoyed everything before the last sequence. The third act isn't bad per se, but doesn't really fit with the rest of the movie. I don't want to spoil anything, but all the character development that slowly develops for the first two acts is settled in about 30 seconds at the end of the movie. Its jarring, and it doesn't really work, but I guess it was really necessary to maintain continuity with X Men 3.
Criticisms aside, I actually really enjoyed this. The first two acts more than make up for the messy third. Its silly, its over the top, its exactly what you'd expect from an X-Men movie that takes place in the 1960's and stars Kevin Bacon. I wouldn't rush out immediately to the theater to see it, but it is certainly worth checking out.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Luke Cage Trailer
This is probably not a real trailer. Likely Isaiah Mustafa is just trying to land a role in a movie that hasn't even been announced yet.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The Feel Bad Movie of Christmas
So far, I'm more interested in the trailer for this than the actual movie.
A more explicit version of this trailer popped up over the weekend, supposedly filmed in a theatre in Europe. Now, I've seen my fair share of bootleg video, and this was either the best bootleg ever or something fishy is going on.
Though the camera did move obviously at the beginning of the video, there was none of the typical theatre sounds or signs of people moving around. Add to that the absurdly good sound quality, the presence of an MPAA label in front of a trailer ostensibly shown in Europe, and Sony's apparent tolerance for someone leaking their top-secret trailer a few days early, and it seems to me that the whole thing was a bit of clever viral marketing.
Though the camera did move obviously at the beginning of the video, there was none of the typical theatre sounds or signs of people moving around. Add to that the absurdly good sound quality, the presence of an MPAA label in front of a trailer ostensibly shown in Europe, and Sony's apparent tolerance for someone leaking their top-secret trailer a few days early, and it seems to me that the whole thing was a bit of clever viral marketing.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
The Wolverine Trailer
So it turns out Darren Aronofsky won't be directing The Wolverine after all. Marvel and Fox have just put out their short list of possible directors. Some interesting choices on there, with Mark Romanek being the standout choice. The rest of the list is made up of decent directors, though no one save Romanek has made anything I've been a particular fan of.
Gary Shore is probably the least known name on the list. He has, however, already directed a trailer for the film. I should note that no part of the movie has started production, so the trailer was probably made on spec as part of a campaign for the job. Its interesting and may just be a preview for what the movie will ultimately be like.
Gary Shore is probably the least known name on the list. He has, however, already directed a trailer for the film. I should note that no part of the movie has started production, so the trailer was probably made on spec as part of a campaign for the job. Its interesting and may just be a preview for what the movie will ultimately be like.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Star Wars- The Great Unknown
Arguments about the canonicity of various Star Wars stories are stupid. Who cares if the novels officially account for what happens to Luke Skywalker and buddies after Return of the Jedi. Most of the audience chooses not to believe that half the films don't count anyway, so I don't really understand the point over arguing about whether or not Han Solo and Princess Leia get married (spoiler?) or whatever.
With all that said, despite being published in a licensed Star Wars magazine, this story is probably not considered canon by anyone. This, of course, does not matter at all. The story is awesome and you should read it. Is it the official fate of Han Solo and Chewbacca? No, probably not. Is it awesome? Extremely. Its also sort of depressing, so be prepared for that.
With all that said, despite being published in a licensed Star Wars magazine, this story is probably not considered canon by anyone. This, of course, does not matter at all. The story is awesome and you should read it. Is it the official fate of Han Solo and Chewbacca? No, probably not. Is it awesome? Extremely. Its also sort of depressing, so be prepared for that.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Danny Trejo vs The Muppets
I'm curious to see what sort of Google searches bring people to this post...
Anyway, I think this is the last preview of this I'll post for awhile. I really like all of these pseudo-trailers and everything, but really I think anyone who is going to a Muppet movie doesn't really need to be convinced by a trailer. I do like the newfound ubiquity of Danny Trejo though.
Anyway, I think this is the last preview of this I'll post for awhile. I really like all of these pseudo-trailers and everything, but really I think anyone who is going to a Muppet movie doesn't really need to be convinced by a trailer. I do like the newfound ubiquity of Danny Trejo though.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thor!
Half of a good movie with a heck of a lot of overacting. See the 2-D print as I can't imagine the 3-D will add anything.
Half of this movie takes place in a little sleepy town in New Mexico. The other half takes place in a technicolor Jack Kirby
-esque version of Asgard. This makes for several jarring shifts in tone as the movie goes forward. One scene will feature Natalie Portman and friends complaining about the loss of their research equipment (something I can relate to) and the very next scene will feature Anthony Hopkins giving an insane speech about frost giants or rainbow bridges or whatever. It makes some sense in context, but its more than a little awkward when the two world collide. Especially since everyone in Asgard talks like Stan Lee writes. Norse god aliens like their exclamation marks apparently!
Half of this movie takes place in a little sleepy town in New Mexico. The other half takes place in a technicolor Jack Kirby
-esque version of Asgard. This makes for several jarring shifts in tone as the movie goes forward. One scene will feature Natalie Portman and friends complaining about the loss of their research equipment (something I can relate to) and the very next scene will feature Anthony Hopkins giving an insane speech about frost giants or rainbow bridges or whatever. It makes some sense in context, but its more than a little awkward when the two world collide. Especially since everyone in Asgard talks like Stan Lee writes. Norse god aliens like their exclamation marks apparently!Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The Muppets Trailer
I'm not quite sure what to make of this yet. I've heard some good things, but it looks like the focus might be on the human characters rather than the muppets themselves. I guess we'll have to wait for a more straightforward trailer to get a better idea.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino's western apparently has a new name... and Christoph Waltz is involved.
The purported cover of the script is below. I like that despite his supreme writing chops, Tarantino apparently has the handwriting of a third grader.
The purported cover of the script is below. I like that despite his supreme writing chops, Tarantino apparently has the handwriting of a third grader.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Dark Knight Harry Potter
Remember when these were children's books about taking classes and making friends at a school for magic?
Remember when it was 1997 and these books were new? I haven't always been a fan of the books or movies, but its going to be strange to not have any Harry Potter media coming out after 14 years of it being more or less ubiquitous.
Remember when it was 1997 and these books were new? I haven't always been a fan of the books or movies, but its going to be strange to not have any Harry Potter media coming out after 14 years of it being more or less ubiquitous.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I don't think this needs to be a thing at all. Even the title makes no sense.
The fact that this is being discussed as the start of a new franchise is hilarious. Did anyone involved see any of the previous Planet of the Apes movies... not good at all.
The fact that this is being discussed as the start of a new franchise is hilarious. Did anyone involved see any of the previous Planet of the Apes movies... not good at all.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Pirates
If the last 2.5 movies in this franchise were any indication, this is going to be significantly (p<0.05) less than great.
Ian McShane as a pirate though? That is something I can get behind.
Ian McShane as a pirate though? That is something I can get behind.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Victorian Inception
I obviously didn't make this. I'm not even sure where it came from. Its cool though.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Shrug
So... this looks absolutely terrible.
Once upon a time I was interested in reading Atlas Shrugged. Not because of the philosophy behind it but because of how highly regarded it is. Also. Pretentious people like it, and I happen to like pretentious things. Then I picked up a copy of The Fountainhead and realized that Ayn Rand's books are only fiction in the sense that they are a vehicle for made up characters to extoll her philosophy (for 20 pages at a time) in made up situations. More than that, the philosophy they are extolling so exuberantly (for 20 pages at a time!) is complete garbage.
I'm not saying you are a bad person is you are an adherent to objectivism. Your belief system is kind of immoral and probably contributed significantly to the current state of the economy, but you might not be a terrible human being. What I will say is that if you buy into all of Ayn Rand's crap, you probably deserve to have a movie this terrible looking inflicted on you.
...Also. Atlas Shrugged: Part 1?
Part 1 of 3?!
With the first part coming out on Tax Day?!!
I don't think I could like this any less.
Once upon a time I was interested in reading Atlas Shrugged. Not because of the philosophy behind it but because of how highly regarded it is. Also. Pretentious people like it, and I happen to like pretentious things. Then I picked up a copy of The Fountainhead and realized that Ayn Rand's books are only fiction in the sense that they are a vehicle for made up characters to extoll her philosophy (for 20 pages at a time) in made up situations. More than that, the philosophy they are extolling so exuberantly (for 20 pages at a time!) is complete garbage.
I'm not saying you are a bad person is you are an adherent to objectivism. Your belief system is kind of immoral and probably contributed significantly to the current state of the economy, but you might not be a terrible human being. What I will say is that if you buy into all of Ayn Rand's crap, you probably deserve to have a movie this terrible looking inflicted on you.
...Also. Atlas Shrugged: Part 1?
Part 1 of 3?!
With the first part coming out on Tax Day?!!
I don't think I could like this any less.
Friday, February 11, 2011
First Class
I guess this was inevitable.
I have mixed feelings about this. One one hand, the last two X-Men movies have been terrible and the trailers for Marvel's other upcoming movies, Captain America and Thor, look rather pedestrian. By that, of course, I mean more superheroics by the numbers. One the other hand, the concept of X-Men by way of The Avengers (The 60's Emma Peel version, not the comics version) is intriguing and might prove to be the fresh take this franchise needs.
I like most of the films Matthew Vaugn has directed (Kick Ass was fine for what it was, I just didn't like what it was) but the fact that there has been extensive reshoots gives me some pause. I'm guessing this will turn out to be nothing more or less than a serviceable superhero movie. Since Marvel (and to a lesser extent D.C.) have flooded movie theaters with superhero movies over the last decade, I'm not sure serviceable is really going to be enough to get people excited enough to forget about X-Men 3 and X Men Origins: Wolverine.
...though, to be fair, I'm almost as excited about The Wolverine as I am about The Dark Knight Rises.
I have mixed feelings about this. One one hand, the last two X-Men movies have been terrible and the trailers for Marvel's other upcoming movies, Captain America and Thor, look rather pedestrian. By that, of course, I mean more superheroics by the numbers. One the other hand, the concept of X-Men by way of The Avengers (The 60's Emma Peel version, not the comics version) is intriguing and might prove to be the fresh take this franchise needs.
I like most of the films Matthew Vaugn has directed (Kick Ass was fine for what it was, I just didn't like what it was) but the fact that there has been extensive reshoots gives me some pause. I'm guessing this will turn out to be nothing more or less than a serviceable superhero movie. Since Marvel (and to a lesser extent D.C.) have flooded movie theaters with superhero movies over the last decade, I'm not sure serviceable is really going to be enough to get people excited enough to forget about X-Men 3 and X Men Origins: Wolverine.
...though, to be fair, I'm almost as excited about The Wolverine as I am about The Dark Knight Rises.
Friday, February 4, 2011
True Grit
I was expecting a western, and I got a western.
For some reason I went into this expecting something more along the lines of Dead Man. But there was really nothing neo-western about this. Pretty much an old fashioned western by the numbers. Its good, like really really good. But it’s nothing exactly revelatory in terms of the genre. There are a few Coen brothers touches here and there, but it feels a lot like something Clint Eastwood would have starred in 40 years ago.
The cast is great (Jeff Bridges is awesome in this, even though you can hardly understand him), the writing is great, and the scenery is great. There is really no reason not to see this, just don’t spend too much time wondering about the guy in the bear suit.
For some reason I went into this expecting something more along the lines of Dead Man. But there was really nothing neo-western about this. Pretty much an old fashioned western by the numbers. Its good, like really really good. But it’s nothing exactly revelatory in terms of the genre. There are a few Coen brothers touches here and there, but it feels a lot like something Clint Eastwood would have starred in 40 years ago.
The cast is great (Jeff Bridges is awesome in this, even though you can hardly understand him), the writing is great, and the scenery is great. There is really no reason not to see this, just don’t spend too much time wondering about the guy in the bear suit.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Black Swan
I recently realized that Darren Aronofsky makes genre films. I guess this is sort of obvious, given that his films are about professional wrestlers and neuroscientist space knights, somehow I missed it until I saw Black Swan.
Though most of Aronofsky's previous non-Requiem for a Dream work can be loosely categorized as science fiction, Black Swan is essentially a horror film. The plot has a lot of standard horror movie tropes elevated by an intensely claustrophobic atmosphere and a great performance by Natalie Portman.
The story is an (even more) melodramatic take on Swan Lake with added psychodrama and body horror. The film isn't for the faint of heart with some incredibly disturbing visuals. Really, everything about Black Swan is unrelentingly dark. Even the ballet sequences, which except for some notable exceptions are the least fantastical parts of the film, are really hard to watch. Despite the darkness and melodrama, the film is tightly made and incredibly engaging. If you aren't bothered by disturbing images and a plot made up of unrelenting darkness, I highly recommend it.
Aronofsky's next film is The Wolverine. Given his distinct directorial vision and intense darkness of his previous films, I'm interested in how he is going to handle a mainstream superhero movie.
The story is an (even more) melodramatic take on Swan Lake with added psychodrama and body horror. The film isn't for the faint of heart with some incredibly disturbing visuals. Really, everything about Black Swan is unrelentingly dark. Even the ballet sequences, which except for some notable exceptions are the least fantastical parts of the film, are really hard to watch. Despite the darkness and melodrama, the film is tightly made and incredibly engaging. If you aren't bothered by disturbing images and a plot made up of unrelenting darkness, I highly recommend it.
Aronofsky's next film is The Wolverine. Given his distinct directorial vision and intense darkness of his previous films, I'm interested in how he is going to handle a mainstream superhero movie.
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