Category Archives: Movies

Movies

A little late…

…but I just found it.  From observer.com:

Rex Reed’s 10 Best and Worst Films of 2017

Last year I had fun with the 10 “Worst” films on Mr. Reed’s list (you can read that here) and, while he doesn’t offer many comments for why he feels these particular films are worthy of falling on the worst of list (though several of them have links to his reviews of the films), I’ll nonetheless present his list here (if you’re interested in what he considers the best movies of the year, click on the link!):

  1. Mother!
  2. The Disaster Artist
  3. Get Out
  4. The Layover
  5. The Cure for Wellness
  6. It
  7. Downsizing
  8. Suburbicon
  9. Colossal
  10. Fallen

Mother! certainly had its share of detractors and, of the list presented, is the one I’m most curious to see, if I should have the time.  I know perhaps a little too much about it at this point, so it doesn’t seem terribly likely I will get that opportunity, despite whatever curiosity I may have.

Intriguingly, he really didn’t like Get Out, which was one of the more successful films that came out in the last year.

I was familiar with all the other films save for the last on the list, Fallen.  I had to look that one up and, having read its plot, doubt I want to see it.  The IMDB listing is here, if you’re at all curious.

Aaaaanddddd…

Here’s where the rubber hits the proverbial road.

Once again, I’ve got a list of intriguing titles of which I’ve seen not a single one of the films on it.  As I mentioned, I won’t list Mr. Reed’s 10 Best films of 2017, but of those, I’ve also not seen a single one on that list.

Intriguingly, though not falling on either list, Mr. Reed was not as impressed by many critics regarding both Dunkirk and The Shape of Water, the film that currently has the most Oscar nominations for any film released last year.

Movies

Heath Ledger…

Over at slashfilm.com and in an article written by Hoai-Tran Bui concerning…

Heath Ledger had planned to return as the Joker after The Dark Knight

While I don’t want to spoil the article, which itself is lifted from a news.com.au article, features an interview with Kate Ledger, Heath Ledger’s sister, who states that indeed it was Mr. Ledger’s intention to return as the Joker in the next Christopher Nolan directed Batman film.

A true shame.

I know there are those who don’t like the third Nolan Batman film, but I’m not one of them.  I don’t feel the film was superb (I’d tend to agree with most fans and critics that The Dark Knight, the second film in the trilogy and the one featuring Mr. Ledger as the Joker, was the overall best of the lot), mind you, but I think people were being overly harsh when they beat it down.

Regardless, hearing about this makes one all the sadder regarding Mr. Ledger’s passing.

Would the third film have been considerably different with Ledger back in the role of the Joker?

I suspect so.

Would we have still seen Bane and Catwoman and Talia?

Perhaps, though I suspect Bane’s role would have been much smaller.

Still, a sad shame we never got to see more of Mr. Ledger, not only in this role, but likely in the possibility of having a robust career with many other interesting roles.

General, Movies

Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood…

This is, frankly, shocking.

Ellie Shechet on Jezebel.com has the following article:

Robert Wagner has been named a “Person of Interest” in death of Natalie Wood

Back in 1981 there came the shocking news that actress Natalie Wood, known for roles in Rebel Without a Cause and West Side Story (among others) and then wife of Robert Wagner, disappeared from the family’s yacht and was later found drowned.

Aboard the yacht at the time was Robert Wagner, Christopher Walken, and Captain Dennis Davern.

Of course, there were plenty of rumors spread at that time regarding her death.  Christopher Walken, who as mentioned was on board the yacht, was starring with Mrs. Wood in the movie Brainstorm.  Were they involved in some other way?  Did this lead to some kind of confrontation between Wagner and Wood?  Were they simply partying too hard and she accidentally fell of the yacht?  More darkly: Was she pushed?

There were many questions but the case was essentially concluded as an accidental drowning and not much was made of it.

Yet the questions lingered.  It was reported that Wagner and Wood had an argument shortly before she disappeared.  People in a boat nearby stated they heard someone saying she was drowning.  True?  False?

Regardless, the case is being given another look and, as mentioned, Robert Wagner is now being listed as a “person of interest”.

Mr. Wagner will be 88 this month so even if something were to come of this new scrutiny it is doubtful he will face many/any consequences -if indeed any are merited!

If nothing else, the curious case of Mrs. Wood’s death seems like it’ll be back in the news again, a reminder of the sad ending of an extraordinary actress’ life.

Movies

A few more thoughts on Superhero films…

Yesterday I wrote about the initial reactions to a sneak preview of the upcoming Black Panther film.

The reaction by those who were allowed to see it, as I noted, has been for the most part positive and many have been outright ecstatic.

And, as I further noted, I’m rather cool to the whole thing.

If you’ve read my writings around these parts you should know by now I’m a rather HUGE comic book fan.  Indeed, I’ve working in comic books and even have, along with my novels, a trade paperback out there, The Dark Fringe, available on Amazon.

For years I’ve been excited with the many waves of comic book movies -which for me truly began in 1978 with the release of Richard Donner’s Superman– but of late I’m finding myself kinda exhausted with the whole thing.

It’s part and parcel, I suppose, of getting older.

When I was younger, I had plenty of free time and would see a great amount of movies in theaters.  Nowadays, I’m lucky to find the time to sneak in one theatrical movie in three months’ time.

So one gets picky, I suppose, with what one will invest their time on.

I loved the original Superman when it came out.  I felt the first half of the first Tim Burton Batman film was the very best the character has looked on screen.  Batman Returns, its sequel, I didn’t like as much but over time I have to admit its grown on me.  I see little difference between Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.  Neither I like very much.

The Superman films, sadly, ended terribly.  The first attempt to revisit them, the Bryan Singer directed Superman Returns, was given three and a half stars by my local paper’s critic but I found it a crushing bore.

I liked the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films to an extent though there were things about it I felt were wrong (organic spider web fluids being one of the biggies).  Curiously, as much as I love Spider-Man comics, especially the original Lee/Ditko run, once I saw the first two Raimi Spider-Man films I felt I’d had my fill of the character on the big screen.  To date I haven’t seen the more recent Spider-Man films, my last experience being Sam Raimi’s third directed film.  The one pretty much everyone doesn’t like.  Spoiler: I tend to agree.  It was weak tea.

When the Marvel movies started in earnest following the success of the original Iron Man, I was intrigued.  I felt people were too harsh with Iron Man 2 though it wasn’t as well made as the first.  I felt the first Thor wasn’t bad.  By the time the first Avengers was released,  despite its wild box office success, I felt the film was overrated.

In retrospect, this might be where my superhero fatigue started.

That’s not to say there weren’t exceptions.

I loved Captain America: Winter Soldier.  Going totally against the grain, I also loved Batman v. Superman, though I would grant anyone reading this the “Ultimate Cut” is the version one should see.

I didn’t like Guardians of the Galaxy.  At all.

I thought Doctor Strange was curiously flat.  Wonder Woman was decent enough but not quite the classic it seems many felt it was.  Justice League, given all the behind the scenes intrigue, fared far better than it probably had any right to, but I’d be the first to say it too fell in the “decent” category.

Which brings us to today.

Coming soon to a theater near you is, as I’ve stated, Black Panther.  Soon after we’ll get Ant Man & The Wasp.  Soon after that, the Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet two-fer.  Somewhere along the line we’ll get a Captain Marvel movie.  Over at DC, work progresses on the Aquaman film, the Shazam! (their, and the original, Captain Marvel) film, and the sequel to Wonder Woman.  In the mix is a new Suicide Squad film, a new Batman film, a Flash film, and perhaps a new Superman.  The Tom Hardy starring Venom has finished filming.

And I haven’t even mentioned the TV shows featuring superheroes!

Have I forgotten anything?

Probably.

Clearly the future holds many live action superhero works to follow, which I have little doubt will run the gamut from good to decent to perhaps not very good at all.  It’s the way things go, alas.

I won’t lie: Though I’m finding myself fatigued with the superhero genre, there nonetheless are some films on the list I’m curious about.  Others, not so much.

We’re clearly still in a golden age of Superhero films and, for those who like that sort of product, you’ve got plenty of stuff to choose from.

I hope those who seek these works out enjoy them.  I really do.

Just don’t take it too personally if I’m not cheering ’em on like I used to.

Oh, and get the @#!% off my lawn! 😉

Movies

First reactions to Black Panther

Returning to i09.com/gizmodo.com, Germain Lussier notes that a preview of the upcoming Marvel movie Black Panther was screened and audience reaction was for the most part positive/ecstatic:

The first reaction to Black Panther sound like Marvel has crowned a new King

Now, having pointed this out and at the risk of getting bombarded with negatives… I’m not all that interested in seeing this film.

In fact, now that we’re some… what?…  two hundred fifty six films into the Marvel “Universe” (I kid, I kid) I find myself less and less interested in the latest release.

I still haven’t seen the latest Spider-Man film.  I haven’t seen Thor: Ragnarok.  I refuse to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (to this day I’m bewildered so many people liked the first one, as you can read here).

Let’s face it: I’ve had enough of Marvel’s cinematic universe, even though I consider Captain America: Winter Soldier one of the all time best comic book movies ever made.

I’m tired of ’em.

And as a comic book fan, this is indeed a painful thing to admit.

The problem, in my mind, with Marvel movies is that there is a growing sameness to them.  They hit upon a winning box office formula and of late it feels like all their movies are following that formula.  This became most apparent to me with the Doctor Strange film, which was essentially a remake of the original Iron Man film but with sorcery.

But that’s just my opinion and if anyone out there reading this feels the complete opposite and is super excited to see Black Panther… then more power to you!  I’m glad you’ve found something that makes you excited to go to the theaters and I genuinely hope you have a blast seeing the film.

One final note: If you do follow the above link, check out some of the comments made by readers.  At least one of them apparently did see the film and his/her reaction is diametrically opposite to what the twitter reactions were.

I suppose we’ll see later in February, when the film is officially released.

Movies

Bill & Ted’s third movie coming…?

Found this intriguing article written by Morgan Jeffrey and found on digitalspy.com concerning the possibility of a third Bill & Ted film ever seeing the light of day:

Bill & Ted writer reveals how the planned third film will pay tribute to George Carlin’s Rufus

Not familiar with Bill & Ted?  Here’s the trailer for the first film, followed by the trailer for the second:

For me, the two films were very funny and the standout joke of the second film, given away in the trailer, is that Bill & Ted play against “Death”, a la Seventh Seal, but of course, the games they play are silly.

I’m curious to see a third film but, on the other hand, one worries whether a film featuring 50 year olds would work in as goofy a fashion as the original two did with youths.

Movies

Well it was… sorta… fun while it lasted…

It’s been revealed that the Danny McBride Crocodile Dundee “film” is, in actuality… not really a film but rather a promo intended to shine a light on Australian tourism, at least according to this article by Britt Hayes and found on screencrush.com:

Here’s the truth behind the fake Danny McBride Dundee film

For those unfamiliar with the whole thing, a week or so ago appeared the following “teaser” trailer (after the teaser featured below, you got some trailers for the other “real” Crocodile Dundee films):

Then, a few days ago, appeared a second, IMHO far more amusing trailer which featured Mr. McBride alongside Chris Hemsworth (this teaser trailer, annoying, concludes with the first teaser trailer):

Gotta give Mr. Hemsworth plenty of credit.  To make one word, “really” so funny takes considerable skill! 😉

Frankly, and if the story is indeed to be believed, if this supposed film was a fake, it was a clever bit of misdirection… and perhaps its for the best such a film isn’t made.  I mean, it could work, I suppose, but I’d be skeptical.

Movies

2018 Oscar Nominations…

2 Comments

Here ya go, from Huffingtonpost.com:

The 2018 Oscar Nominations

To me the most interesting category is that of Best Picture.  I’ll spoil the article above -at least a little bit- by listing the movies nominated for this year’s Oscar:

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Post, Call Me by Your Name, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Get Out, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread, The Shape of Water.

So, I’m familiar with all the films listed above and a couple of them, especially Three Billboards, have intrigued me to the point where I want to see them.

But, once again, I’m batting .000 in terms of having seen any of the films considered for the Oscar.

Yup, I’ve not seen any of them.

I was intrigued with Get Out but as word …er… got out (ouch) about the story presented, I unfortunately had too much information on what the story presented was and, therefore, felt little need to go see the film.

Dunkirk, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, is a film that intrigues me, especially given that its a Christopher Nolan directed film, BUT I’m so tired of “war” films at this point.  Understand, I have little doubt its a good, perhaps even great film, but there you go.

Very curious to see which of the films win, though I can’t help but wonder if I’ll ever see any of ’em!

Movies

The story that just keeps giving…

There’s so much in the news today -so much of it political!- but there was one story that broke yesterday that just has you shaking your head.

Matthew Dessem over at Slate.com writes about how…

Mark Wahlberg Was Paid $1.5 Million for All the Money in the World Reshoots; Michelle Williams Got Less Than $1,000

You remember the film All The Money In The World, right?  The Ridley Scott directed film that featured Kevin Spacey but, because of the controversy surrounding Mr. Spacey’s sexual harassment allegations, was clipped out of the film and Christopher Plumber was brought in at the very last minute to replace and re-film his scenes?

Well, co-stars Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams were also brought in to re-film scenes that once featured Spacey.

Here’s the thing: Ridley Scott stated that while the film crew and Mr. Plummer were paid, he, Wahlberg, and Michelle Williams came back for free… allegedly to keep the film’s budget reasonable.

Only as it now turns out, Mr. Wahlberg was paid quite handsomely for what amounted to 9 days of re-shoots… while his female co-star -and there’s no pleasant way to say this- got royally screwed.

Hell, it would have been better they gave her nothing and left her thinking she was doing this for “art” rather than reveal at this point her co-star received such a princely sum while she got next to nothing.

Truly a horrendous story and, I should hope, Mr. Wahlberg does something on his own to correct the situation.

Wouldn’t it be incredibly gracious of Mr. Wahlberg if he were to issue a statement that he didn’t realize his co-star was receiving so little compared to him for the re-shoots and went ahead and offered her half his re-shoot salary?

Having said that, what are the odds something like this actually happening?

One can dream, I suppose!

Movies

On critics…

I’ve long, very long, been fascinated with critical opinion.  My first strong experience with critical reaction must have happened in the early 80’s with the Siskel and Ebert movie review shows (they went through various names but originally were called Sneak Previews and then At The Movies).

Being a HUGE movie fan (still am!) and in those pre-internet days, it was a thrill to see someone talk about a film that wasn’t in theaters yet and offer not only clips from said film but also an opinion on whether it was worth seeing or not.

I didn’t have a favorite between Mr. Siskel and Ebert, often finding myself agreeing with either of them regarding any particular film.  It was all too clear from watching the show they loved movies yet they were not shy to tear a feature down if they felt it wasn’t worthy of being seen.  They didn’t always agree, and sometimes their disagreements were incredibly entertaining on their own, regardless of what I would think of said film.

One of my favorite disagreements involved an episode from 1987 wherein Mr. Siskel and Ebert reviewed both Benji: The Hunted and Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket.  To Mr. Siskel’s shock, Roger Ebert would give a “thumbs up” to Benji: The Hunted and a “thumbs down” to Full Metal Jacket.

Mr. Siskel couldn’t understand how Ebert could give such a review and their snipping about that issue extended through the episode and went into their video recommendations…

Anyway, the reason I point all this out is because in this day and age and with the internet, everyone can present their opinion on any particular subject, quite literally, to the world.

Today there are hundreds of “professional” movies (and book, etc.) reviewers out there.  In the movie business, rottentomatoes.com allows the public at large to see a snapshot of what the reviewers out there, along with audiences, think of a film on average.

But it does lead to certain questions, questions that Ben Yagoda at Slate.com checks out…

The Reviewer’s Fallacy: When Critics Aren’t Critical Enough

I have to say, the headline itself strikes a nerve in me.

If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, I’ve noted that when I was younger (and perhaps taking a cue from the likes of Mr. Siskel and Ebert!), I was a fierce critic of films or TV shows or books.  I loved them, mind you, but I was very keen to spot what to me were the flaws in these works and arrogant enough to think that if I could spot them, the people who made said film/TV show/book/song etc. should see them too and should have fixed them before releasing them to the general public.

When you think like that, there are very few works of film that one thought of as masterpieces and, even those I felt that way, I further felt had some kind of flaw but the overall work was so good that the flaws didn’t bother me.

As the years passed and I started to work in comic books, I realized something that the younger me didn’t: There are myriad roads taken before a product is released to the general public and sometimes what is released is the best thing possible given time or budget or any other constraints.

To put it bluntly, I mellowed out.  Suddenly, the flaws that were so glaring in works seemed far more trivial.

Yesterday, I reviewed the film Atomic Blonde.  I liked the film well enough, it held my interest through its run time, and featured several explosive and inventive action sequences.

It also featured a plot that was mess, an attempt to be clever and show various characters being duplicitous but ultimately wound up being either too confusing or just plain silly (a mild example SPOILER: Why does Charlize Theron’s character still bother with James McAvoy’s character when she knows he called the police on her when she went to a certain subject’s apartment to investigate?).

In the past, I probably would have been absolutely vicious with such a film and yet, as I said in my review, I ultimately liked it well enough despite its problems to offer a recommendation.

While I’m not a “professional” film critic, Mr. Yagoda ponders why certain critics offer high praise for movies which ultimately land with a thud to audiences.  He offers some examples of films that met with plenty of praise but ultimately didn’t thrill audiences.

Though he doesn’t do so, I suspect a prime film for consideration on the schism between critical “pro” and audience would be Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

While The Last Jedi is clearly a box office smash, the disconnect between critics and audiences is sharply pronounced, with critics in general loving the film while audiences were sharply divided.

Still, that’s the nature of art, isn’t it?  There will be those who love things that others don’t.  Perhaps at times we’ll let our own likes and dislikes cloud our reviews but in the end, whether we choose to see something or not, we do so nowadays knowing more about the work than we have before, for better or worse.