#jon davis also had a cameo in the movie

[forgotn1]

The background on the soundtrack is really interesting too. Jonathon Davis (from Korn) and Richard Gibbs created the score for the entire movie and they wrote the songs Lestat would sing in the film. Jon provided vocals for them in the film, but his contract with Sony meant he couldn't appear on the soundtrack. So he went and asked his friends in the Nu Metal scene to come in and re-record the vocals for each of the songs. Which they ended up absolutely nailing.

There was meant to be a duet with Davis and Aaliyah on the soundtrack, but she passed away before it could be recorded.

not enough people talking about the queen of the damned soundtrack... Really really good stuff... should go down in history

[theprocrastinatingalien]

Things to consider for Spider-Man: Homecoming 2

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING is out there in the cinemas, and it's getting rave reviews.

I've seen it, and I enjoyed it - although I will say (sorry!) I do think it's a little over hyped.  For me, personally, I have to disagree that it's one of the best MCU films - I'd place it in the middle ground.  But each to their own - it's easily the funniest SPIDER-MAN film so far, there are some great character moments, Tom Holland is now my favourite Peter Parker, the connection to the MCU works well, and sets the film apart from the Raimi and Webb films, and it's same to say we're looking at the most comic-accurate Spider-flick to date.

Next year we'll see Holland don the red and blue in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, but in 2019 we'll get a double dose of the webslinger in the untitled AVENGERS 4, and (most importantly) in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 2, which will allegedly start up moments over AVENGERS 4, and will also kick off the MCU's Phase 4.  That's some heavy duty there.

So, here are some thoughts on the already-highly-anticipated sequel.

THE TITLE

Well, Holland's already told us it won't be SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 2, which makes sense, but whilst the actor refers to it as SPIDER-MAN 2, there's already a film out there with that (a good one too), so I think we can expect a new subtitle.  I'm going to hazard a guess now - SPIDER-MAN: THE NEW AVENGER.  I'm probably way off, but we know that's where he's heading, so I think it's possible.

THE AVENGERS

In HOMECOMING, we get Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark, the guy that started it all.  We also get IRON MAN supporting characters, such as a cameo from Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts, and a larger role for Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan.  We've already been told that the sequel will feature a different Avenger.  It's part of the deal between Sony and Marvel, keeping it all connected.  Everyone's already got their theories on who it might be - and I've already stated mine - The Hulk.  To me, it makes perfect sense.  Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner is unlikely to receive a solo film (thanks to legalities with Universal) so is doing his rounds in the other heroes flicks.  He cameoed in IRON MAN 3, and is next set to appear in THOR: RAGNAROK.  Banner is a scientist, so already that's a way in to connect him to Parker, and just from a marketing point of view, having the Hulk and Spider-Man - the two most popular Marvel characters - together won't hurt.

THE DIRECTOR

Okay, so might be a bit awkward... I'd like to see a change behind the camera.  HOMECOMING is making a load of money, and the positive reviews suggest that director Jon Watts will be back for the next adventure.  However - I'm going to say it - I thought the direction for the first film was one of the weakest in the MCU.  I thought some of the CG looked cartoonish and unrealistic (Spider-Man didn't seem to have the gravity in his swing that both Raimi and Webb perfected) and the night scenes were too dark to see all the action.  Some of it was just a bit messy tbh.    In an ideal world, I'd have Joss Whedon return to Marvel-land, but he's currently caught up over at "the opposition".  So, how about Matthew Vaughn?  I'd love him to get involved in Marvel.

As I say, Watts will probably return, hopefully he'll be warmed up for it.

THE KIDS

Jacob Batalon's Ned was a scene stealer, and I think it'd be a no-brainer to have him back. Also, I think we can expect more from Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson, and the other kids such as Betty (Angourie Rice) and Cindy (Tiffany Espensen) as all of them have future stories from the comics.

THE SCHOOL

Kevin Feige has made it quite clear that they cast the younger Holland to allow for more stories at school.  It's another way Marvel can separate their Spider-Man from previous movie efforts.  But how long can they keep that up for? Holland may be younger than either Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield were, but he's already in his twenties, and we're only one film down. Well my answer is thus - 3.   Marvel love their trilogies and I don't think Spider-Man will be any different... well, no, actually I do.  Let me explain...

Holland is signed for 6 films that we know of. That's three solo Spider-flicks (plus CIVIL WAR, INFINITY WAR and AVENGERS 4).  I'll bet my socks that those three solo films will all be School-bound.  I then believe both Sony and Marvel will renegotiate Holland's contract for another trilogy.  I believe those films will see Parker post-education.  He'll work for the Daily Bugle etc... It's a long time to wait for J Jonah Jameson, but it'll be worth the wait I'm sure.

THE OTHER SPIDER-MAN

The first film included a role for Donald Glover,  appearing as Aaron Davis, and he specifically states he has a nephew.   We all know that nephew is future-Spider-Man Miles Morales. 

There were a lot of campaigns to get Miles as the Spider-Man for the MCU, but - really - Marvel had to go with Parker.  The everyday movie goer know Parker and would be confused, if not disappointed, that it wasn't *their* Spider-Man.   Chronologically, you need to have Parker first - Morales comes later.   They've mentioned his existence, but he's a while off yet.  Should my predicted 'second trilogy' get greenlit, he may well get involved then, but he'll be their trump card for when it's time for Holland to go. Under his current contract, Holland will already be serving in more films as Parker than his predecessors, and a second trilogy (possibly with some more AVENGER films add in there for good measure) certainly take up Holland's 20s.  3 films at school.  3 films at the Daily Bugle.  Then hand over to the next Spider-Man.  That's what I'm predicting.  

THE LOVE INTEREST

Let's get this out of the way now - Zendaya does NOT play Mary-Jane Watson.  The 'MJ' comment at the end of the first film was more of a wink to the fans.

Peter's love interest in that film was Liz.  Laura Harrier made for a nice buffer, but she seems to be out of the way now, which means we're due another... and whilst a lot of fans expect MJ, if Marvel are going to do things properly, we need to go through the Gwen Stacy years... and death.   I reckon Gwen will come in with HOMECOMING 2, and die at the end of '3'. Finish the trilogy with the a big loss. Mary-Jane Watson may be introduced in '3' but I'll guess she'll wait for the second trilogy, ushering in the new era.

THE SUIT

Tony Stark offered Peter a new suit - a take on the 'Iron Spider'.  Peter turned it down though, and Holland has already said for fans to expect the same suit in INFINITY WAR as what they've seen.  I think that suit will continue on in to the next film.   There may be some upgrades, but I doubt they're tamper with the look too much.  I think we can expect for 'suit lady' voiceovers by Jennifer Connolly as Karen too.

THE VULTURE

There were some nice moments between Peter and Adrian Toomes, and I think some of what made it great was Michael Keaton's performance.  Is that him done now?  He's in prison, so that suggests it might be... for now.    Will Keaton appear again in HOMECOMING 2?  Yes and No.  I don't think he'll play an important part of the main story... but I think we might be treated a small post-credits cameo, along with Mac Gargan (Michael Mando)... hinting at things to come.

THE NEXT VILLAIN

Who will Spidey have to face next?  Well, I very much doubt it'll be the Sinister Six... but I think that's where we're heading. I believe the Vulture and the Scorpion will be the first two members, and the next film will gives us a few more.   Marvel didn't want to re-tread what Raimi and Webb had given us... and by giving us the Vulture, the two Shockers, the Tinkerer and (sort of) The Scorpion, they certainly didn't.  But I think that will change with the sequel.  In fact I'm going to predict we'll get three new members of the Sinister Six... Doc Ock is due a return, having not been touched since SPIDER-MAN 2.  I also think we might get something a bit different... with Mysterio due a live action appearance.   I believe those two have strong chances of being the two main villains.   With a back ground hint at the third...

THE TOWER

Throughout the first film, we see Happy Hogan prepping a move from Avengers tower to their new complex.  That tower now stands empty... but I'm sure we've all guessed who might be moving in, right?

Back in the 2012 THE AVENGERS, Marvel wanted permission to use Oscorp tower, but couldn't get it in time, and that's how come we ended up with an Avengers tower.

I believe the next Spider-Man adventure will see the Osborns move in.  I think we'll get Norman in the background.  Pulling some strings, connected somehow to Doctor Octavius, but I do think a bigger role in the film be Harry Osborn, joining Peter's school.   Will we see the Green Goblin?  I doubt it.  I reckon that will be held back for '3', where we'll meet the full Sinister Six.

I think that's enough thought on a film that's not due out for another two years, but it's fun to speculate.  I wonder how much I'm write on - or maybe I'm way off.  Time will tell!

What do you guys think?

[wbwest]

New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/07/21/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-72117/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 7/21/17

I haven’t been doing such a great job with my movie tally for 2017. We’re more than halfway through the year, and I’ve barely watched anything. Well, I kinda made up for that last weekend, as I caught Keeping Up With The Joneses on HBO. This is one of those movies that came and went, and might find a fan base on TV, but will probably just be forgotten. If it should be remembered for anything, it’s that it features both Gal Gadot and Isla Fisher in lingerie. That’s about all it’s got going for it. What’s it about? Well, Isla Fisher and Zack Galifianakis star as a milquetoast suburbanite couple who become suspicious of their new neighbors, Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot. So, they’re pushed out of their comfort zone when they find out Hamm and Gadot are spies, and they get wrapped up in their latest mission. This is the kind of movie I would’ve killed a chunk of a Saturday afternoon on had it aired on Fox 5, but I can understand why nobody went to see it in theaters. Folks loved Don Draper, but for whatever reason, they have no desire to help along Jon Hamm’s movie career. And this was pre-Wonder Woman Gadot, so there was no heat on her yet. It doesn’t suck, but it’s got no Wow Factor either. Once it hits FX, it might be a good way to waste away a rainy Sunday afternoon.

I finally got around to watching The Nice Guys, too. I’d tried a few months ago, but I only got as far as the Ryan Gosling fully clothed in the bathtub scene, where I went, “What the eff am I watching?” I wasn’t ready for the absurd that night, but I was ready now. Like everyone had told me, it was really good. I still have trouble with heist/mystery films because my brain doesn’t work as fast as the film, so sometimes I have to reflect back on the thing when it’s over just to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Ryan Gosling is a private investigator who teams up with local tough guy Russell Crowe to track down a missing girl. Sure, there’s some stuff about porn, and the Detroit auto lobby, but that’s the gist of the movie. It’s got a precocious kid, a cool 70s aesthetic, and titties. Can’t really hate on any of that. Anyway, I could see this as one of those movies I drop everything to watch whenever I see that it’s on. If you haven’t seen it, definitely check it out.

My new favorite reality show debuted this week on Bravo, called A Night With My Ex. It’s just what the title says: a former couple spends the night together to see if the spark is still there and/or to reopen old wounds. In the premiere, 28 year old virgin Rachel is reunited to smarmy douchebag ex-boyfriend Fabian. They dated for four years, but he cheated on her with a sexy Tinkerbell at a Halloween party because he had a major case of blue balls. When the show starts, you don’t think Fabian is really that bad of a guy. He knows he made a mistake, and he even plans to propose to Rachel because he wants her in his life forever. But things go south quickly. He chastises her for scraping her plate with her fork as she eats, and he tries to make her give him a handjob once they’re in bed. All the while, she’s trying to actually apologize for basically pushing him to cheat by withholding sex, but he never lets her get a word out before saying/doing something stupid. Finally she declares that she deserves better than him, and basically laughs in his face when he proposes. That was some damn good television! If anything, I’d say the show is too short at 30 minutes, but they only spend one night together, and not the whole weekend, so I guess that’s all they could edit together. It’s a lot like MTV’s old show, The X Effect, only the couple’s current partners aren’t spying on the date like they were in that show. Anyway, it’s only been one episode, but I count me in for the next nine!

In TV news, it was announced that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have lined up their post-GoT project, Confederate, which is an alternate history series set prior to the United States’ 3rd Civil War. Well, this rang some alarm bells for some folks, as you can’t really get into the Confederacy and Civil War without dealing with slavery. And folks weren’t really happy about these White showrunners making what some considered to be “slavery fanfic”. What hasn’t been covered extensively, though, is that the project is really just coasting on the fact that the GoT showrunners are attached, but they’re not the only ones involved. Husband-wife team of Malcolm Spellman and Nichelle Tramble Spellman , who are Black, will be partners on the show along with Benioff and Weiss. Plus, the show it’s so deep in its infancy that there aren’t even character names or an outline yet. It was originally developed as a two-hour movie, but they decided it could be fleshed out and taken to television. There’s basically nothing on paper for it yet, though, so there’s not much for folks to be upset about at this stage other than mere speculation. The Spellmans acknowledge the criticism, but say that they’d rather it had followed the premiere of the show instead of starting now, as it’s being announced. At this point, I think it’s safe to say that this criticism will go into shaping the show going forward, so we may never get what they originally intended to put out.

We got a new trailer for Marvel’s Inhumans. Still looks like garbage. I’ve loved Iwan Rheon since Misfits, but I can’t follow him here. This just looks so bad. Look, I’m gonna watch it, but I really don’t see how there’s any damn way I’m paying for an IMAX ticket to see it in theaters.

We also got a new teaser for The Defenders, which teases the Punisher series at the end. People are going nuts online about this thing because it’s narrated by Stan Lee, but I actually think he’s tonally wrong for this clip. When I think of Stan, I think of his marquee, larger than life characters – NOT the street-level vigilantes. I almost feel like it would’ve been better narrated by Bendis or Brubaker, but they don’t have the recognition factor that Stan has. I get that. Still, it just feels like a hollow waste of a cameo.

 Things You Might Have Missed This Week

The good Lord answered my prayers, as Chris Hardwick and Comedy Central have “mutually decided” to end @midnight. I won’t miss his smarmy face or those stupid hashtag games.

I guess the third time’s the charm, as Paige Davis will start her 3rd hosting stint on Trading Spaces when it returns to TLC later this year

Ed Sheeran was on Game of Thrones this week, and I guess some folks didn’t like that. I dunno. I kinda couldn’t care less about Sheeran or GoT, but folks were hatin’!

Meanwhile, it was reported that Lena Dunham will join American Horror Story for season 7, and folks lost their shit about that, too. Apparently she’ll only be in one episode, but that was enough for some folks to claim they weren’t gonna watch anymore.

Transformers: Titans Return will debut in November as an animated micro series on the Go90 app, featuring the voices of Green Ranger Jason David Frank and the original Rodimus Prime himself, Judd Nelson.

MTV is in talks to reboot Teen Wolf before this iteration’s final season has even concluded. Slow it down!

Sega broke up with Archie Comics over Twitter, thereby ending the Sonic The Hedgehog comic after 24 years of publication

Seacrest IN! Ryan Seacrest has officially signed on to host ABC’s revival of American Idol. I feel like I’ve written this sentence 3 times in the past already, but now it’s for real for real.

Coming as no real surprise since The Vampire Diaries ended, The CW announced that its spinoff, The Originals, will end after its upcoming season.

In an odd choice, the directors of the original Catfish documentary (the movie, not the show) are in talks talks to helm a Mega Man film that will be produced by Masi Oka of Heroes fame.

Words with Friends is being developed into a television game show. Ya know, so it’s basically the Scrabble game show being rebooted.

Meanwhile on Black Twitter, R. Kelly is allegedly running a sex cult, Usher paid a woman $1.1 million for her to keep quiet about the fact that he gave her herpes, and Kevin Hart allegedly got caught cheating on his pregnant wife. I’m just waiting for some crazy Steve Harvey news to round out the week.

At San Diego Comic Con, MGM announced Stargate Origins, which appears to be a prequel webseries that will run on the Stargate Command website this fall.

Shazam! will be the next DC film to go into production, following Justice League and Aquaman, but it’s unclear if Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will co-star as Black Adam.

There might soon be a new Cutco salesman on the block, as OJ Simpson has been granted parole from the armed robbery that landed him in prison nine years ago. The Juice is almost loose!

I love those weeks when the West Week Ever recipient presents itself early in the week, ’cause it’s pretty much smooth sailing after that. This was one of those weeks, as history was made across the pond. The Doctor Who franchise is over 50 years old, but every time the Doctor regenerates (a clever in-story mechanism for recasting the actor), he just turns into another White dude. That’s pretty much been the unending pattern since 1966, when the first regeneration occurred. Folks have been saying it’s time for a change, and they were hoping we’d either end up with a Doctor of color (with The IT Crowd‘s Richard Ayoade coming up in a lot of the discussions) or a woman Doctor. Well, half of them got their wish, as Attack the Block‘s Jodie Whittaker was announced as the 13th Doctor. And, as you’re probably not surprised, folks lost their shit.

We’re always taught the the Brits are so proper and upstanding, but the comments sections of several sites proved that they can troll with the best of them. At the end of the day, it’s a bunch of folks who are afraid of change. A friend of mine, however, did point out that the victors in these circumstances also tend to trigger the backlash against themselves. For example, it would be one thing if this was seen as a bold move forward for a progressive franchise. The problem, however, is that some people take it too far, and get on the “I’m savoring these fanboy tears” soapbox, making it about something that it really didn’t need to devolve into. Sometimes the winners can suck just as much as the losers in these scenarios. This can be seen as a “win” for some without it being a “loss” for someone else. How about framing it as a win for everyone? Nah, the internet doesn’t really work like that.

I have never gotten into the Doctor Who franchise because it just seems so daunting. Sure, folks claim you really only have to start with the Eccleston season, but when I get into something, I go ALL IN. To me, that’s like telling someone they can start Star Trek with The Next Generation (which I’d probably do, since I hate The Original Series, even though I’d still feel like I was cheating them out of an experience). I feel like I’d have to watch all 54 years of the show, which is impossible because those seasons ain’t streaming anywhere, and a good chunk of them have been lost to time. It’s a franchise that cannot be wholly consumed! I hate mysteries that can’t be solved. Still, I can respect a longstanding institution, and I understand when change is a big deal. It’ll be interesting to see how fans take to the new Doctor, but the one thing to remember is that she’ll probably do it for 2 years, and then regenerate into another old White guy (the Doctor role has the retention rate of a community college). So, everyone gets their wish! I am kinda curious about the next season, though, as rumor has it Kris Marshall (Colin: God of Sex from Love Actually) is going to be the Doctor’s next companion. I loved that dude!

Anyway, I know which side of history I want to be on, and it’ll be interesting to see this all play out. The way the franchise works, we won’t see her until the Christmas special, and then won’t see her again until late 2018 at the earliest. So, folks have got some time to get used to the idea. Still, I think it goes without saying that Jodie Whittaker had the West Week Ever.

[uacboo]

Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot breathe some fresh air into the DC film universe.

It may have taken four films to get there, but the DC Extended Universe has finally produced a good old-fashioned superhero. Sure, previous entries in the Warner Bros. assembly line have given us sporadically successful, demythified takes on Batman and Superman, but they’ve all seemed skeptical, if not downright hostile, toward the sort of unabashed do-gooderism that DC Comics’ golden-age heroes exemplified. Never prone to stewing in solitude, and taking more notes from Richard Donner than from Christopher Nolan, Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” provides a welcome respite from DC’s house style of grim darkness — boisterous, earnest, sometimes sloppy, yet consistently entertaining — with star Gal Gadot proving an inspired choice for this avatar of truth, justice and the Amazonian way.

Although Gadot’s Diana Prince had a decent chunk of screentime in last year’s “Batman v. Superman,” “Wonder Woman” assumes no foreknowledge of any previous franchise entry — or of the character herself, for that matter. With most of the film’s presumptive audience too young to remember TV Wonder Woman Lynda Carter, Gadot and Jenkins have an unusually broad license to introduce the character to filmgoers, and they remain largely faithful to her comics origins while also crafting a hero who is both thoroughly internationalist and refreshingly old-school. In her earliest iterations, Wonder Woman was an all-American figure with a mythical background; here, she’s an essentially mythical force who just happens to fight for America.

Like far too many films before it, “Wonder Woman” offers yet another origin story, but at least it’s one we haven’t already seen several times onscreen. And perhaps more importantly, it’s almost entirely free of the distracting cameos and seeding of future films’ plotlines that so often keep modern comic-book films from functioning as satisfying standalone stories.

After a brief prologue in modern-day Paris, the action whisks us away to the secluded island of Themyscira, home to the all-female society of Amazons. Drawn in lush, misty colors, the island is a sanctuary for the tribe, sheltered by Zeus, whom they helped in fighting off a coup from the war god Ares. On guard against Ares’ possible return, the Amazons have all dedicated themselves to the arts of combat.

All, that is, except young princess Diana (Lilly Aspell at age 8, Emily Carey at 12), who’s the only child on the island. Yearning to learn the ways of her fellow Amazons, Diana is shielded from combat training by her mother Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen). Fortunately, her aunt Antiope (Robin Wright, cutting an imposing figure and affecting a strange accent) is the tribe’s chief field general, and she agrees to train the girl in secret. By the time she’s reached adulthood, Diana (Gadot) is ready to take on all comers, her traditional battle skills augmented by supernatural abilities of which she’s only partially aware.

Themyscira seems a realm outside of time, but the film’s 1918 setting abruptly announces itself in the form of a crippled German warplane that crash-lands in the ocean just beyond the island’s shores. Diana swoops in to rescue the pilot, an American soldier named Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). Once under the influence of the Amazons’ lasso of truth — a potentially silly device from the comic’s lore that the film adapts admirably — Steve reveals he was undercover with the Germans as a double agent, dispatched to collect intel on their experimental new weapon: a powerful poison gas developed by sadistic general Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and his facially scarred star chemist, nicknamed Dr. Poison (Elena Anaya).

When Diana hears Steve describe the Great War raging outside their protected enclave, she immediately suspects Ares has returned, and resolves to head to the front lines to confront him. She and Steve sail to London, and the film takes an unexpected, largely successful detour into light comedy, evoking shades of “Encino Man” as Diana stumbles wide-eyed through the big city, her rapport with Steve growing closer all the while. (Steve is the first man Diana has ever seen, and the film acknowledges the elephant in the room with some choice volleys of double-entendre.) The plot snaps back into focus when Steve and Diana learn Dr. Poison’s gas will soon be ready to launch at soldiers and civilians alike, and finding little help from military brass, they take off to the Western front themselves to intervene.

It says quite a lot about the general tenor of the DC cinematic universe that a film set in the trenches of WWI, with a plot revolving around the development of chemical warfare, is nonetheless its most cheerful and kid-friendly entry. But while “Wonder Woman” may dabble in moments of horror, it never revels in the vicissitudes of human depravity quite like its predecessors. A huge factor in its ability to convey a note of inherent goodness lies in Gadot, whose visage radiates dewy-eyed empathy and determination — and whose response to the iniquity of human nature isn’t withdrawn cynicism but rather outrage.

“Wonder Woman” is the first major studio superhero film directed by a woman, and it shows in a number of subtle, yet important ways. As skimpy as Gadot’s outfits may get, for example, Jenkins’ camera never leers or lingers gratuitously — Diana is always framed as an agent of power, rather than its object. When she finally unleashes her full fighting potential in an extended battle sequence on the front lines, the movie comes alive in a genuinely exhilarating whirl of slow-motion mayhem, and Diana’s personality is never lost amid all the choreography.

From this high point, the film begins to falter a bit in its final act, with some credulity-straining staging — a thunderous mano-a-mano battle appears to take place in full view of dozens of German troops, all of whom continue to blithely load cargo — and a final assault that lapses into the type of deadening CGI overkill that the film admirably avoids in the earlygoing. Approaching 2½ hours in length, “Wonder Woman” does fall victim to a fair bit of blockbuster bloat, and a trio of comic-relief comrades (Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, Eugene Brave Rock) don’t add nearly enough to justify their long-windup introduction.

Pine plays second-banana with a great deal of good humor: making little attempt to de-modernize his diction, he nonetheless registers as a noble yet sometimes lunkish jarhead, and it’s clear why Diana might find him attractive while also failing to be particularly impressed by him. None of the film’s villains get much of a chance to distinguish themselves, though Lucy Davis makes a good impression as saucy sidekick Etta Candy.

It’s an open question how much of the tone and aesthetic of “Wonder Woman” will extend to the innumerable future films in which her character is set to appear; subject to an exhausting amount of both kneejerk second-guessing and kneejerk over-praise, the DC Extended Universe has been figuring out just what it wants to be in fits and starts. But for once, it’s easy to stop the armchair executive producing and simply enjoy the moment.

Production A Warner Bros. Pictures release and presentation in association with Ratpac-Dune Entertainment, Tencent Pictures, Wanda Pictures of an Atlas Entertainment/Cruel and Unusual production. Produced by Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Richard Suckle. Executive producers, Geoff Johns, Jon Berg, Wesley Coller, Rebecca Steel Roven, Stephen Jones.

Crew Directed by Patty Jenkins. Screenplay: Allan Heinberg, from a story by Heinberg, Zack Snyder, Jason Fuchs, based on DC’s Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. Camera (color): Matthew Jensen. Editor, Martin Walsh. Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams.

With Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, Eugene Brave Rock, Lucy Davis, Elena Anaya

[nathanneedsausername]

2018 Film Retrospective

This is my retrospective of all the movies I saw in 2018. This is based on UK release dates so films such as The Favourite, Vice or Eighth Grade will not appear on this list despite technically being 2018 movies as I have not yet been able to see these yet. There are also many movies that I have missed in 2018.

I will still be updating this list throughout 2019 here: https://letterboxd.com/nathan_r_l/list/2018-from-best-to-worst-3/

If you want to see where these movies fall on this list as I see them.

So, anyway here from the worst of the year to my personal favourite are all the films I saw in 2018:

 37. The Queen and I (Dan Zeff):

I only saw this film a few days ago as of writing so it may seem a little harsh to call it the worst of the year as it hasn’t had any time to grow on me yet. Although I don’t see this getting any better with age. Sky intended this new David Walliams’s TV movie as a sort of Christmas present, but this must be one of the very few films I have ever seen that has actually made me angry. Nothing more than royalist propaganda that manages to completely miss the potential of the concept as well as missing the point of the sequence from Les Miserable that it decides to “pay homage too”.

36. Death on the Tyne (Ed Bye):

Not much to say here. Really it isn’t a surprise that UKTV made a bad comedy.

35. Fahrenheit 451 (Ramin Bahrani):

I promise that I saw more than just TV movies this year, it just so happens that most of them were really bad. All of the changes that were added to the story were stupid and when they actually tell the story it is painfully boring.

34. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (J. A. Bayona):

Let’s be real, despite ranging in quality none of the Jurassic Park sequels have warranted their own existence. That being said Fallen Kingdom might be worth watching just to see how hilariously bad these films can get. Despite having the same director as The Orphanage and A Monster Calls no amount of good tracking shots can fix a script that is this ridiculous. The script comes across like two different ideas for new Jurassic Park movies were awkwardly stitched together when the best treatment for both would have been not to make either of them. Through in an incredibly stupid and unneeded twist and the most underwhelming Jeff Goldblum cameo in cinema history.

33. Grandpa’s Great Escape (Elliot Hegarty):

Oh, look another bad TV movie. Davis Walliams consistently finds himself attached to these boring BBC productions never quite capture the heart and care of his writing. Walliams is a good children’s author, but the small screen adaptations of his work always feel rushed and unfocused.

32. Venom (Ruben Fleischer):

The biggest disappointment of 2018. Venom is corny, bland and forgettable. According to IMDB, Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer is behind this mess but judging by Tom Hardy’s performance and the incomprehensible CGI finale no-one directed this.

31. Solo: A Star Wars Story (Ron Howard):

A soulless, lifeless film that stinks of studio interference. All of the cast feel as if they are just playing the type of character they are expected to (especially  Phoebe Waller-Bridge as L3-37). There are moments in this film where it feels like there is supposed to be a joke that has awkwardly been edited or written out after Lord and Miller left the project, these moments haunt the film and make me feel like this could have been great, but alas. 

30. Death Wish (Eli Roth):

At this point it might be time to consider that Eli Roth might be making bad movies on purpose. I went into Death Wish expecting something needlessly graphic and entertainingly violent and stupid but that’s not what this is. For the most part the gun violence in this film is pretty tame and the dialogue is far to generic and boring to be funny. There is one scene in a garage that showcases what usually makes Roth’s films memorable, but it comes too late to bring this movie into guilty pleasure territory. I do believe that Roth is a good filmmaker but the more he releases these mindless, generic thrillers the harder it is to defend him.

29. The Meg (Jon Turteltaub):

Half of this movie is a self-aware special effects movie that is genuinely entertaining. The other half is a boring and cliché. It should be good but never quite manages to keep up any momentum that it builds.

28. Tomb Raider (Roar Uthaug):

Technically better than the 2001 Lara Croft film although I know which one I would rather watch. Some interesting set pieces and homages to the newer tomb Raider games mixed with bland dialogue and an uninteresting plot.

27. Deadpool 2 (David Leitch):

Not as funny as the first movie but has better action. Deadpool 2 is mixed bag, the satire falls short when the movie insists on upping the stakes and having its audience feel emotionally connected to the story. David Leitch is a good action director and I look forward to seeing what he does next, but I can’t say that I’m all to exited about the next instalments in the Deadpool franchise.

26. Tag (Jeff Tomsic):

I don’t think that this film deserves the hate it seems to have gotten. Tag is a pretty funny movie with memorable characters and good camera work. It’s a little corny and the ending gets way to soppy but it’s a good film to watch with a group of friends if not just for some good Hannibal Buress quotes.

25. Click & Collect (Ben Palmer):

Hey, a TV movie that didn’t suck! Airing on BBC 1 on Christmas Eve this is an example of cringe comedy done well, the plot doesn’t always make sense but that doesn’t stop the comedy from really working.

24. Outlaw King (David Mackenzie):

A pretty good historical drama about Robert the Bruce. That’s all this is really a serviceable movie about an interesting topic. Not bad by any means all though a little forgettable, the performances and fight choreography are great but the writing lacks any real direction.

23. Aquaman (James Wan):

A list of other movies scenes from Aquaman made me think of:

Ratatouille

Splash

Raiders of the Lost Arc

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Black Panther

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Wonder Woman

Full review coming next

22. Ant-Man and the Wasp (Peyton Reed):

Not as funny or engaging as 2015’s Ant-Man. This is a decent blockbuster with some good special effects and funny moments. A lower tier Marvel film for sure that gets completely overshadowed by the other two movies that the studio brought out in 2018 but still a fun watch.

21. Ocean’s Eight (Gary Ross):

About as good as Ocean’s 13. All of the hallmarks of the Ocean’s trilogy are present. The last 15 minuets begin to over explain what we have already seen and the name of the movie spoils and reveal at the end of the movie. A well-directed heist movie none-the-less that should be enjoyable for any Ocean’s fan

20. Ready Player One (Steven Spielberg):

This movie is at its best when it is at its most Spielberg. There is a really great car chase and a plot that revolves around kids standing against authority. It goes on for way to long and some of the references are on the nose. It certainly needs to be cut down but it’s a movie worth seeing if you know your pop-culture.

19. Searching (Aneesh Chaganty):

By far the best example of found-footage to be released in years. Having the entire film appear from the perspective of computer screens and phone calls makes the experience feel far more real and personal as if you are right there figuring out the mystery with the character. The story itself separated from its gimmick has been seen before and the twist is a bit of a reach but with its unique style it feels completely fresh. If you hated Unfriended there is a high chance that you will love this.

18. My Dinner with Hervé (Sacha Gervasi):

A HBO movie featuring a fantastic performance from Peter Dinklage. The life story of French actor Hervé Villechaize is told through a crazy interview based on the one that the actor had with the director in the early 90’s. It’s a small film but one that has been made with a lot of passion from its director and star. Absolutely look this one out if you can.

17. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson):

Wes Anderson is responsible for some of my favourite films of all time. While his latest may not be his best work to date it is a beautiful and insanely well-crafted film full of life and wonder. Anderson has a particular style and this movie sums up exactly what makes that style work so well with every shot working perfectly.

16. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (David Slade):

It’s hard to tell at this point whether or not this will start a new craze for choose your own adventure movies the way that Avatar started a craze for 3D. Honestly I don’t think Charlie Brooker has left anywhere to really be explored with the this concept as he dives head first into a meta-narrative all about free-will. Certainly, an ambitious endeavour for the crew of Black Mirror that has taken over the cinematic discussion for a little while. I saw this with a group of friends trying to uncover as much of the story as we could in one sitting and I highly recommend that experience if you haven’t seen/played this yet.

15. Black Panther (Ryan Coogler): 

A Marvel movie that appears to have nudged its way into Oscar conversations, regardless of whether or not I think that it deserves that acclaim this is a great film. Black Panther has some of the smartest writing of any MCU movie and one of the best villains to ever appear in a superhero movie. This is a film that will be talked about for years because of what it means for representation, it also helps that it is a really good movie.

14. Game Night (John Francis, Jonathan M. Goldstein):

The biggest surprise of the year is that the two guys behind 2015’s awful Vacation reboot managed to make one of the funniest and well-made comedies of 2018. The camerawork in this film is brilliant, one long take in particular has to be one of my favourite scenes of the year. The plot takes some logical jumps but who cares when the film is this good.

13. A Quiet Place (John Kransinski):

Sure, it doesn’t all make sense when you analyse it but watching A Quiet Place on the big screen is one of the tensest experiences I have ever had. When the credits rolled after the first time I saw this film I noticed that for the past 90 minuets, that’s the sign of some effective tension.

12. First Man (Damien Chazelle):

Chazelle has proven himself to be one of the best directors working today. While I may not love his latest as much as his previous work on La La Land and Whiplash it has to be said that First Man is a solid base hit for a great filmmaker. The third act of this film features some of the best special effects of the year mixed with one of the most emotional sequences of the year. Gosling and Foy are both brilliant and both deserve nominations as does Chazelle.

11. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh):

Slightly twisted and very enjoyable Three Billboards is a strange film. McDonagh is able to find humour in the darkest of places but never undermines the serious nature of the subject matter.

10. Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird):

Going into the top 10 it feels important to restate that these rankings are based purely on my own personal opinions on each film. Incredibles 2 is objectively not as good as the 2004 original, but it doesn’t have to be, this is a very fun movie featuring some great animation, fantastically directed action sequences that only Brad Bird could pull off and do I even have to mention the Jack-Jack scenes? Brad Bird is one of the greatest filmmakers to ever work in animation and this feels like his victory lap, not his best film but absolutely one that showcases just how great he is.

9. The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro):

Best picture winner, The Shape of Water deserves all the acclaim that it has gotten. This “adult fairy-tale” features a wonderful score, fantastic performances, beautiful set-design and characteristically excellent direction from one of the world’s greatest directors! Everyone has already lumped praise on this film and so I am not left with too much else to say other than see this film.

8. The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (Judd Apatow):

I hear that 2018 was a great year for documentaries, I wouldn't know because I only saw this one but if Three Identical Strangers and Won’t you be my Neighbour are better than this then I need to see them. Judd Apatow looks into the life of his friend and fellow comedian Garry Shandling only 2 years after his tragic death. His approach leaves no stone unturned as he dives head first into the late comedian’s mind using his own diaries and interviews with his closest friends and collaborators. As a stand-up comedy fan it is absolutely fascinating to get a look the real life of an often misunderstood legend like Shandling for it to be as neatly put together and wonderfully entertaining as this is a welcome bonus.

7. Avengers: Infinity War (Joe Russo, Anthony Russo):

For the technical achievement alone Infinity War deserves a place in my top 10. The Russo brothers managed to pull off a stunt that just a year ago I was ready to call impossible, bringing together 10 years worth of character arcs and plot points while still making an enjoyable film. Even though it has been 9 months I still don’t know what to say about this film and my lack of words may be the best compliment I can give it.

6. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie):

If you asked me in June I would have said that the Mission: Impossible franchise had peaked with Brad Bird’s Ghost Protocol in 2014, I also would have been dead wrong. Fallout is not just the best film in the franchise but an absolute high point in action cinema. Seeing this on the big screen was one of the most visceral and intense movie going experiences I have ever had, every stunt is a nail-biter and the whole time I was on the edge of my seat.   

5. Thoroughbreds (Cory Finley):

This is the movie that I saw alone and have yet to properly have a conversation with someone about. This film slipped under almost everyone’s radar and then disappeared. I am telling you now find this movie it is a fantastic, quaint little film with the power to make you uncomfortable and make you laugh at the same time. Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor Joy are both brilliant and the ending has one of my best moments of the year with a single long shot and the power of suggestion. If you missed it, which you probably did, go look it out. 

4. BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee):

Loud, funny, unapologetic, stylish and controversial. Those are the five words that describe all of Spike Lee’s best movies and BlacKkKlansman is no exception. With multiple Oscar worthy performances, a great score and a screenplay that shows Spike at his angriest and smartest in a long time, this film will get under some peoples skin, as great cinema should. 

3. I, Toyna (Craig Gillespie):

Every now and then a movie comes along that perfectly sums up why I love this art form, I Tonya is one of those movies. Deeply impactfull on an emotional level while remaining hyper stylised, Gillespie manages to make the audience feel sympathy for characters that would be the villains in any other story by taking you on an emotional roller coaster through the life of Tonya Harding that leaves the viewer feeling just as broken as the titular character by the conclusion.

This film is so good I watched it twice in two days.

2. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig):

I fell hard for this film. Greta Gerwig’s painfully honest look at growing up feels like watching a selection of incredibly well shot home movies from a real person. The real achievement of Gerwig’s directorial debut is how it manages to feel relatable even if you aren’t in the same situation as the protagonist. When the credits role it’s hard to feel slightly disappointed that you can’t keep watching what is going to happen to this character next and when the only criticism you have is that you didn't want it to end, the film must have been pretty good.

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman):

I’m just as surprised as you are.

Somehow and for whatever reason this is the movie that resonated with me the most in 2018, this is the film I see myself going back to the most. Sometimes the best film is the most entertaining one, this film had me hooked instantly and kept me in a near trance-like state during its run-time. In don’t have anything to profound to say about this film it’s just really a great film that everyone can enjoy. If this is still playing near you and you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out you won’t be disappointed.

[thezachrogers]

The top 50 films of 2016 cont...

(added 9 more films, top 59) - revised 4/3/2017 *chuckle* *chuckle*

Okay, Okay, I see what’s happening yeah, you’re face to face with greatness…

Ladies and gentlemen, the TOP 25 FILMS OF 2016 (from what I saw)

32. Florence Foster Jenkins 4 Stars (86% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7/10 on IMDB)

31. Paterson 4 Stars (95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.6/10 on IMDB)

30. La La Land 4 Stars (93% on Rotten Tomatoes 8.9/10 on IMDB) Watch it on Redbox, not worth spending your hard earned money in the theater.

29. Kubo and the Two Strings 4.5 Stars (97% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB) This was one of the darkest animated theatrical films I have ever seen; more so than The Nightmare Before Christmas. The voice acting cast is definitely the most A List of the year with Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, and Ralph Fiennes. The kids need to be a little older to watch this one. 

28. Disney’s Queen of Katwe *family film* 4 Stars (92% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.3/10 on IMDB) 

27. Fences 4.75 Stars (94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB) 

I ranked this film so low because I did not necessarily like it. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis both gave outstanding performances and most likely one of them, if not both will win the Golden Globe and/or the Academy Award. The content of this film was super dark and there really wasn’t a story; just a whole lot of dialog. I imagine it would be a better Broadway play (as seen above) than a movie. It is rated PG-13 but families, if you want to see this film, it is not for the kids. There were two families in the theater I watched this in and the film has a constant use of the n word. Kids do not need to see this. Wait for rental for this one, not worth seeing in theaters.

26. Captain Fantastic 5 Stars (82% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.9/10 on IMDB)

Incredible movie about modern hippy living. I unfortunately know someone who lives like this with his family and it is so sad to watch these people’s lives unfold. The world is progressing, not regressing and this film reveals the harsh realities of what these families go through. These people are not happy, they are just running from what is in front of them, the kids get little glimpses of what REAL LIFE is like and they want more, and that is okay, yet the selfish parents don’t let these kids have the opportunity to have any sort of reality and attainable success. I hate knowing that people actually live like this. I love that this movie brings awareness to it. Keeping kids from medicine and starving them IS CHILD ABUSE. Period. There is no way around it. This movie is rated R for language.

25. Sing Street 4 Stars (95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB) now on Netflix

24. Loving 4 Stars (89% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.1/10 on IMDB)

23. Eddie the Eagle 4 Stars *family film* (80% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.4/10 on IMDB) now on HBOGO

22. Blood Father 4 Stars (89% on Rotten Tomatoes, 6.5/10 on IMDB)

21. Hunt for the Wilderpeople 5 Stars (97% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.9/10 on IMDB) 

Feel good movie of the year. Was definitely a sleeper. Beautiful Cinematography of New Zealand and Sam Neil’s best performance to date. Watched this film on New Year’s Eve and I am glad I did! Now available on hulu and redbox!

20. The Edge of Seventeen 4 Stars (95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.5/10 on IMDB)

19. Deadpool 4 Stars (84% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.1/10 on IMDB) From 15 to 1, these are all the movies you should have seen in theaters or missed out on. If you can catch ANY of the below films in theaters, DO IT. #rantover. Anyways, this is an R Rated Comedy. Fortunately, I watched a limited censored version on FXX. But I'm telling you, go read the parents guide on IMDB. Again, parents this is an R-Rated comedy for graphic violence, language, and full on nudity, DO NOT LET YOUR KIDS TO SEE THIS!

18. Sully 5 Stars (86% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.6/10 on IMDB) Watched this on Redbox last week, one of the five films I wish I saw in theaters in 2016. Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood definitely got snubbed of Golden Globe nominations. One of Hanks’s best performances. Shove it in there with Forrest Gump, Captain Phillips, Saving Private Ryan, Philadelphia, Bridge of Spies, Cast Away, Saving Mr. Banks, Catch Me If You Can, The Green Mile, Big, Apollo 13…never mind.

17. Deepwater Horizon 4 Stars (84% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.3/10 on IMDB) On DVD Jan. 10

16. Arrival 4.5 Stars (94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.3/10 on IMDB) Interstellar and Inception made love and conceived Arrival. What a freaking movie. Amy Adams is currently nominated for the Golden Globe, I don’t know why for a Sci-Fi film, but its probably because of Denis Villeneuve’s directing. This movie has me so amped up for Blade Runner 2049 and the second installment in the Sicaro franchise. See this movie while it is still in theaters and let your mind be blown!

15. Manchester by the Sea 5 Stars (96% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB)

Read review here.

14. Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory 5 Stars *family film* (94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.5 on IMDB) 

It’s the sequel to Finding Nemo, do I need to say anything else?

13. Marvel’s Doctor Strange *family film* 5 Stars (91% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.9/10 on IMDB) I have this filmed currently ranked #3 out of the 14 Marvel films. It is Benedict Cumberbatch at his best. Might be the most psychedelic movie I have ever watched. GO SEE IT IN THEATERS IN IMAX 3D NOW

12. Disney’s The Jungle Book *family film* 5 Stars (94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.6/10 on IMDB) Jon Favreau is a freaking genius. A-List Ensemble voice cast is superb. You will fall in love with Neel Sethi (Mowgli) and be in awe of the beautiful imagery in this movie. One of the best movies I saw in theaters in 2016. Now available to watch on Netflix.

11. Hell or High Water 5 Stars (98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.8/10 on IMDB) Hate that I missed this one in theaters. I like to call this one “The Finest Hours 2″ since Chris Pine and Ben Foster are a duo in this film as well. This is a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire movie. Rent on Redbox immediately!

10. Everybody Wants Some!! 5 Stars (96% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.1/10 on IMDB) 

Another movie I missed in theaters. 2016 was such a great year for sleeper comedies. So many underrated comedies and too many overrated comedies came out in 2016. This is Richard Linklater’s 80s College follow-up to the 70s High School cult classic Dazed and Confused. Definitely a lot of great up and coming stars in this film. In about 15 years we will look back at some of these actors’ careers and this is the film that will be their launching pad, I guarantee it.

9. Lion 5 Stars (86% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.1/10 on IMDB)

8. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 5 Stars *family film* (85% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.1/10 on IMDB)

My favorite movie of 2016, obviously. This film is also my #2 favorite of the nine Star Wars theatrical films falling to The Empire Strikes Back. I was never old enough to experience the original trilogy in theaters and I think this was the closest I will ever get to that. It took me back to that world of the 1977 original film. Rogue One takes place just moments before the original 1977 film. Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin (1977 original characters) play major roles in this film which is the biggest takeaway of this movie. Other cameos of older characters from both the original trilogy and the prequel trilogies will make all the fanboys go nuts. Go see this movie now before it leaves theaters. I know I will.

7. The Revenant 5 Stars (82% on Rotten Tomatoes and 8/10 on IMDB)

The most gruesome and realest film I have ever seen. This 3 time winning Oscar film is deserving for every award and nomination. The role of Leonardo DiCaprio’s career, he goes on a manhunt for the man who murdered his son, based on a true story during the post colonial times in America. This is a buyer for blu-ray.

6. Eye In the Sky 5 Stars (95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.3/10 on IMDB)

Alan Rickman’s final film of his career (rest in peace). This realistic modern warfare drama is all about the hardships of drone warfare. It’s not as simple as pulling a trigger and flying a ship from a cubicle. Go rent this one on redbox now.

5. Captain America: Civil War 5 Stars *family film* (90% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB)

Clearly Marvel does not have enough good villains to spread across their cinematic universe, so they had to do a third Avengers film and title it as “Captain America”. This is the film we all wish Age of Ultron was. More Vision plus we got Ant-Man and our new Spider-Man! Great buyer for bluray. Hands down the best MCU film so far in the franchise.

4. Disney’s Moana 5 Stars *family film* (95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB)

2016 was just Disney’s year. 16 films and they were all outstanding. Moana shines as one of Disney’s best animated films to date. Dwayne Johnson is now in the family as one of Disney’s best and most lovable characters. All brand new and original music from Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda. I cannot get this soundtrack off repeat since I saw it. Go see this film with the entire family now!

3. The Nice Guys 5 Stars (92% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.4/10 on IMDB)

One of my top three all time favorite comedies. It is now up there with Wedding Crashers and Dumb and Dumber. Ryan Gosling and Russel Crowe together in a comedy!? I know, I know, but it works. Filmed in Atlanta, this buddy comedy takes place in the 70s during the rise of the porn industry about a murder of young porn actress. Co starring Kim Basinger and Matt Bomer. Rated R for Mild Nudity and Violence. That’s really it though, no sex scenes and not much graphic language, just a bunch of laugh out loud hilarious dialog between the two costars. ANOTHER ONE I MISSED IN THEATERS! Go rent on Redbox now!

2. Hacksaw Ridge 5 Stars (87% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.2/10 on IMDB)

Read review here.

and the best film of 2016 is…

1. Disney’s Zootopia 5 Stars *family film* (98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.1/10 on IMDB) I have a new all time favorite animated movie. It’s called Zootopia. This really was just Disney’s year. This movie is filled with adult relatable humor with Breaking Bad and The Godfather references. Anybody will love this film. I bent over laughing, I cried, I sat on the edge of my seat, this was the movie Sing wishes it was, but it just wasn’t. Now available on Netflix, this movie will forever be on “My List” Well that’s it everybody, that’s my top 50 of 2016. Please don’t crucify me for not seeing Manchester by the Sea or Hacksaw Ridge, I know, I know, I will see them soon. Stay tuned for my 2016 worst 10 and the movies to keep away from that I know NOT TO WATCH from 2016. I hope y’all enjoyed!! Feel free to share!

[etalksalot]

Film Thoughts: Spider-Man: Homecoming

5/10

   I would like to start this off by saying, I am a huge Spider-Man fan, he is absolutely, without a doubt one of my favorite superheroes in Marvel. So when I heard Spider-Man was going to be filming in Georgia I was really excited, applied a million times to be background or a stand-in on the film and finally got on it. The day before I was actually on the set for the first time I saw Captain America: Civil War and left the theater with quite a Marvel high. Things could be better? Could this universe be good again after the crap show that was Age of Ultron? Oh, how naive of me. 

   Now, I don’t want to make this post about my time on set but I will mention it quite a bit because it did affect my viewing of the film. I already knew quite a few spoilers going into the movie that I normally wouldn’t have known about due to being an extra on it and nearly being in some pretty pivotal scenes. So let me break down what I knew going into the theater for this one:

I knew that Peter was on a decathlon team and was struggling to stay apart of it

He took Liz to the dance then left homecoming 

Complete scene in the hall where Ned asked Peter to build the Lego Deathstar with him and they talk about his internship with Stark

The decathlon trip becomes quite a mess and people nearly die

What actors were playing what characters (other than the Liz twist)

Peter likes Liz

Captin America had a cameo in a gym class video

Pepper appears at the end for 5 seconds basically

A bank gets robbed

There was a fight with busses 

A Manhattan ferry gets broken in half and Iron Man saves the day

   All of this kinda seems like a lot of disjointed information to prejudge a movie on but, it’s something when you see it all and hope it comes together better than you’re actually seeing it get filmed. I knew I was going to get spoiled working on the movie as an extra but I really didn’t care at the time. As I worked on it however I started to worry the movie would be all too campy. I once actually heard the director ask for something to be done again, more comical this time. Ug.

   Spider-Man: Homecoming was met with a wave of approval and that I, at first, thought was the correct reaction. Sadly that high of seeing a superhero movie faded off within ten minutes of me leaving the theater. 

   I wanted it to be good. I did. But it just wasn’t.

   There’s a trend in 2017 ‘blockbusters’ that I’ve seen, and it really started with Spider-Man: Homecoming. The trend is: Let’s take classic movies we know people love and have grossed a lot, that all those tropes and cliches and pound our audience in the face with them over and over and over because WHY NOT???

   These are the tropes and cliches aka things that make this movie unoriginal and predictable as hell:

nerd likes popular chick he will never have a chance with

80′s & 70′s music ( just because Stranger Things is popular so all things 80′s MUST sell right???? RIGHT??? )

Hero thinks he can do everything because of his powers then realizes his power is himself or something we’ve ALREADY SEEN

Dance scenes

Detention ( because you have to have detention scenes in high school set movies )

Crappy coming of age dialogue aka “I can do this.” “I’m not just a kid.” “Why don’t adults let me do what I want.”

Cheese best friend who is just a punchline and has no serious character aka Goofy Sidekick

  There are a lot more but you get the point. There was not much originality to this film at all. I’m trying not to compare it to any of the other 5 Spider-man films but, it’s kinda hard not to. And the fact is? I’d rather go watch Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2 or the good 2 Tobey Maguire movies ( we won’t talk about that 3rd one ). 

  All around I felt like this movie fitting into the MCU that Marvel has going on ( especially after watching Civil War and Doctor Strange ) just doesn’t fit the tone. They tried to give this movie some serious moments but it was just as serious as Troy Bolten’s moment in High School Musical 2. You know which one I’m talking about. Yeah. That one. I’m not totally hating on this, I know it’s a Spider-Man trope thingy, I’m just kinda tired of seeing it...and it made me think of High School Musical.

  In Spider-Man one of the biggest deals to Peter Parker is keeping the people around him safe, not only in the comics but the other movies as well. He keeps his identity a secret from everyone as long as he possibly can. So it really irritated me when he flippantly was talking about it in the back of a bus with the rest of his classmates all around at full freaking volume. Ned finding out by accident was excusable but how he reacted with it was just irritating. His character was just extra trouble for no real reason.

  If you didn’t like the bad dialogue just wait about 5 minutes and you’ll get an overstimulating, over-animated, all in focus action scene just because that’s what hero movies are all about right? The one scene, in particular, that was tough to watch, just because of a number of bright colors and everything is in focus was the fight on the plane with all the Avengers gear.

 Speaking of the Avengers, did you know that Spider-Man is in the same universe as them??? Because they act like you don’t. It’s in no way an easter egg, it’s overkill. They beat you over the head with the fact that the Avengers have been around. I’m honestly scared to see a count of how many freaking times the Avengers are mentioned in the movie. We get it. Move on. This was just a blatant overly happy directorial choice I strongly disagree with. Sony might have owned Spider-Man but now that it’s all in one universe doesn’t mean you have to tell us that every ten minutes of the movie.

  And I think it’s total BS to say that the little kid in Ironman 2 is Peter Parker. 

  Don’t get crazy. 

  There were some other good little ‘easter eggs’ that were cut short. Shocker being one of them. I would have loved for them to have left Logan Marshall-Green as Shocker for a later film instead of just killing him off and passing the mantel so fast. Shocker has not really been explored before in film, it would have actually been very original of them to do that. But no. I was wrong. 

   I did, however, enjoy the nod to Miles Morales. Donald Glover played Aaron Davis, who is Miles’ uncle in the comics. This clearly meant they were pulling more from the Ultimates comic series. It was a cool little tip of the hat to Donald himself, who everyone wanted to play Miles because the artist who first drew him even said that he used Donald as a sort of model for Miles. That being said, I still think I would have liked a whole movie with Miles over Peter just because of how Homecoming ended up as a whole.

   Though the movie itself was very predictable for me I will give it credit where it has earned it. The twist with Liz ( Laura Harrier ) being Adrian Toomes’ ( aka Vulture ) daughter actually got me. That was really good. I went in thinking that Liz was Liz Allen, which is what they hoped a lot of people would do, making for a really good twist that as a comic book fan I wasn’t even upset by.

   This leads me to the acting. The biggest hype about Civil War was that Tom Holland was going to be Spider-Man and how was he going to be received. I enjoyed Tom in Civil War as Peter Parker. I think that each actor who has played Peter has played him in a different way, each grabbing from a different comic series but still doing a great job. Everyone has their own opinions on each one and that being said, Tom, I thought did a very good job in Civil War, however, that movie had a different director, a very different tone overall than Homecoming. Tom himself is a very good actor but he’s young. I think he has a lot of potential to grow but that he didn’t really shine like he should have in this movie. That is partly the script’s fault and partly the director’s fault. You can really see in all the scenes with the high schooler’s Tom doesn’t push himself at all. He makes the same shocked/confused faces over and over, does the same groan/sigh and just kinda gets through the scene. 

    When he’s acting with Michael Keaton he’s very much in the scene and is truly behaving rather than reacting or reciting lines. Michael Keaton is a very seasoned actor, my guess is that he doesn’t require that much directing at all, hell he didn’t even do his research on the character and he nailed it. He’s just a great actor all around and Tom fed off of that. Being on set I will say that Jon Watts is a very active director, he would never yell from off set or anything like that. Jon was always close by and very involved. He’s a nice guy and I wish him the best in his future but I hope that’s not in MCU. Side note here, Zendeya was also the saving grace of this movie. 

   Does anything in this film actually apply to the rest of the MCU? No. Not at all. You can quite frankly skip this film and still be informed as to everything you need to know. Nothing really important actually ever happens in this film. 

   Rounding this review up as best I can, it really did get away from me quite a bit, not a bad movie to take little kids to but it’s really got very little substance. If you want to see something more powerful than a kinda remake of every 70′s - 80′s teen flick with a Spider-Man twist? Go watch Amazing Spider-Man or the 2001 Spider-Man films. If there’s something I didn’t cover and you want to know what I thought about it, just send me an ask.

[theprocrastinatingalien]

2017 Superhero Movies

We have four big superhero releases coming this year, one entry from 20th Century Fox, two from Warner Bros for the DC Cinematic Universe (or 'Extended Universe' as it's apparently being called) and 2017 marks the first time we get three entries for the MCU.

So, what have we got?

LOGAN

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that Hugh Jackman is finally hanging up his claws.  Jackman has played Wolverine in every film to from the first X-MEN back in 2000, to the most recent X-MEN: APOCALYPSE.  He's only missed an appearance in DEADPOOL, which was a bit of shame, but in his 17th year of playing the cigar-chomping Canadian mutant, Jackman has decided enough is enough.  Director James Mangold returns from the last solo outing for the character (THE WOLVERINE), but this film looks like a very different beast. 

The trailers and pictures popping up here and there online, show something more arty, perhaps?  There's an aged tension there, with a beared Logan looking after a weakened Charles Xavier (played once again by Patrick Stewart, possibly in his last appearance for the franchise too).

For a simple explanation I'll now attach a poster, that Jackman himself put up on his twitter.

Whilst I completely understand Jackman's decision to retire (he's an aging actor that plays a character that's essentially immortal (*essentially*), but 20th Century Fox but realise they're about to suffer a huge loss.  Sure they've now got Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, but we don't know how effectively they can sync the 'merc with a mouth' in with the rest of the X-Men team.  They seem to be putting a few eggs in the Channing Tatum starring GAMBIT film (that was originally slated to debut in 2016 btw), and those rumours of Jennifer Lawrence making some solo turns as Mystique seem to have dissolved.  Let's hope Jackman's last swan song is a fitting tribute to his previous appearances.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2

I'll be straight up with this one - THIS is the film I'm looking forward to the most in 2017 (at least when it comes to the big SH franchises).  GOTG was a massively entertaining film and will certainly be a hard one to top.  Director James Gunn certainly seems up to the task, with the first couple of trailers showing little, but entertaining a lot.  Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista reprise their roles has Star-Lord, Gamora and Drax respectively.  Bradley Cooper also returns as the voice of Rocket Raccon, but already the star of the show looks to be Baby Groot (again voiced by Vin Diesel)

Michael Rooker (Yondu) and Karen Gillan (Nebula), both villains in the first one are reportedly to join the gang this time around, and we have lots of new characters to look forward to - Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha and Kurt Russell as Ego the living planet. (although, apparently we won't be seeing him as a planet?).  There are also rumours that fanboy favourite Nathan Fillion will appear as Wonder Man, and Sly Stallone has a role!  I, for one, cannot wait - and let's not forget, this is only the first of this year's MCU offerings! (Also remember, next year we finally get the team up we've all been waiting for, as the guardians appear in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, so it'll be very interesting to see when Gunn leaves these characters at the end of this film.  Exciting!)

WONDER WOMAN

Okay, let's be honest, BATMAN V SUPERMAN was not the film anyone hoped it would be.  One positive to come from the film though was Gal Gadot's turn as Diana Prince. 

The DC Extended Universe has got off to a rocky start so far, but WONDER WOMAN may turn that around.  It's certainly been a long time coming, but Gal Gadot does have the honour of releasing the first proper female-lead superflick.  It's fitting that it should be WW.  The trailer's look like we might be getting a sort of Captain America/Thor cross, with some dark and dank war-torn scenery contrasting some beautiful Amazonian imagery. STAR TREK actor Chris Pine gets to play Diana's love interest, and we have major roles for Robin Wright (HOUSE OF CARDS), Danny Huston (X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE) with Connie Nielsen playing Diana's mother Queen Hippolyta. Comedy will be coming from Lucy Davis (THE OFFICE - the UK version).  With WONDER WOMAN the last entry before JUSTICE LEAGUE, it'll be interesting to see how direct a lead in it will be... and whether Ben Affleck has filmed any secret cameos?

Note: Director Patty Jenkins was originally meant to direct Marvel's THOR: THE DARK WORLD, but it didn't pan out for whatever reason. 

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

Well, it's been a rocky road for our friendly neighbourhood webslinger, hasn't it?  First Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN and SPIDER-MAN 2 were loved by all, but then SPIDER-MAN 3 didn't live up to expectations.  Rather that soldier on, and make the best SPIDER-MAN 4 they could, Sony cut and run... running straight into an ill-advised reboot, with Andrew Garfield replacing Tobey Maguire in a much darker toned take.  If there's one good thing from it, it was the very workable onscreen chemistry between Peter Paker and Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy, but the dismal THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 shattered the studio's hopes of a 'shared universe' and the two sequels and possible spin-offs very all scrapped.  It was sad, but also... lead to the most famous Marvel character being allowed to play in the same sandbox as the majority of all the other Marvel characters (minus X-Men and Fantastic Four, of course). 

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING will be the first co-adventure between Sony and Marvel Studios, with Tom Holland having had a little try out in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR.  To prove that's a two-way process, Robert Downey Jr will be appearing as Iron Man (joined by Happy Hogan - Jon Favreau returning to the role for the first time since IRON MAN 3).  Marisa Tomei will continue to play the hottest Aunt May we've seen on film, and whilst little is known about the story, we do know that Michael Keaton (BATMAN) will be playing the main villain, Vulture. 

Of course, the main USP of the MCU's take on Spidey, is that they've actually cast a teenager as Parker, allowing for more school-time adventures... so it should come as no surprise a lot of the announced cast are 'young adults'.  There are plenty of known actors in the mix too - notably Bokeem Woodbine, who will be playing Shocker, and Donald Glover, perhaps a nod to the fact he voiced Miles Morales, the next Spider-Man! (Don't expect him to play that character though).  No sign of J Jonah Jameson yet, surely a character Marvel would wish to bring in asap.  Or maybe have they already?  They've been known to take liberties with race and gender (RE: Tilda Swinton in DOCTOR STRANGE), and let's be honest... we don't know who Tyne Daly is playing yet?  Just saying...

THOR: RAGNAROK

I really liked THOR, it was a nice surprised.  THOR: THE DARK WORLD, though... lacked something.  So far though, everything points to RAGNAROK as being the best of the trilogy... and an all round solid entry for the MCU.

'Ragnarok' is, essentially, known as the Asgardian apocalypse, where pretty much all the Asgardians are likely die... all except Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and possibly Loki (Tom Hiddleston).  That's a pretty big promise.  Another promise is that we're not likely to spend as much time on Earth as we have in the previous films. This is good.  It also means though we can expect no appearances from Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard or Kat Dennings on this occasion.

But don't be too upset, because who we're getting instead is far more impressive.  Thor's fellow Avenger Dr Bruce Banner aka The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) will be featured heavily, in what very much sounds like a loose adaption of PLANET HULK, a popular story in the comics.  Yep, we're going to see Thor v Hulk in a gladiatorial style arena.  Brilliant.  Also brilliant, as hinted at in a previous film, Benedict Cumberbatch will be appearing as Doctor Strange!

Aside from returning actors Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins and Jaimie Alexander (Heimdall, Odin and Sif, respectively), we get new blood in Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Karl Urban as Skurge, Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster and Cate Blanchett as Hela!

Everything points to this film being epic, and a very important entry as we move closer to the epic AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR.  Rumours continue that Blanchett's Hela may stand in for Death... ie, Thanos' true love, the one he wants to get the Infinity stones for etc... interesting.  Very interesting.

But on to our last Superhero entry for 2017...

JUSTICE LEAGUE

As I've already mentioned, BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE was a bit of a disappointment.  Too dark for it's own good, little humour, and some silly plot devices.  Apparently director Zack Snyder and writer Chris Terrio have learnt their lessons and JUSTICE LEAGUE will be lighter in tone... but will still be BIG.  And so it should be!

For many, this is the big one.  This is the one Warner Bros and the DCEU need to get right.  Joss Whedon delivered one hell of a film when he turned in THE AVENGERS for MCU, and now Zack Snyder needs to do the same.  As you can see in the picture, we've got Ben Affleck returning as Batman, Gal Gadot back as Wonder Woman, and our first true looks at Ray Fisher's Cyborg, Ezra Miller's Flash and Jason Mamoa's Aquaman.

Let's not forget Henry Cavill's Superman will be back from the dead, and we've got a lot of other familiar faces returning too... Amy Adams' Lois Lane is likely to play a key role again, Jeremy Irons returns as Alfred, Diane Lane will be back as Martha Kent and Jesse Eisenberg is confirmed to return as Lex Luther (*grumble*, serious the worst casting it annoys me to even write it).  We have new characters too, such as Amber Heard's Mera, Ciaran Hinds' Steppenwolf and JK Simmons brings us Commissioner Gordon, amongst others. 

We don't really know the plot yet, but that's okay.  Fingers crossed they nail it.  Quite frankly, the rest of their film franchise may well be resting on it.