Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Jan 10, 2020 10:07:48 GMT -5
Ratner got semi-blacklisted for being a perv creep post Harvey Weinstein/MeToo. He had a huge production deal between his RatPac company and WB but it got cancelled. Now who knows what he's doing, but as far as I can tell nobody is hiring.
My one glimmer of hope in this is that the film is somewhat of a horror film, and horror directors usually know how to work efficiently. You just got to sort through the weeds and find a really good one.
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Post by Mod City on Jan 10, 2020 12:27:54 GMT -5
Between Ratner and Singer the X-series hasn't had the best of luck finding directors of sterling reputation. Singer clearly has his own issues but Ratner seemed like a creep, too. The only cast member I remember beinng enthusiastic about working with him was Halle Berry, for whatever that means.
I was never a huge horror fan, but I get what Derrickson wanted to do and was open to it, at least. It has to be frustrating for him. It seems he was kind of stuck doing an origin story to introduce an unusual character, did a great job and produced a highly enjoyable movie, and then saw him develop under different directors after his movie.
It can work. I loved Johnston's The First Avenger, and I really like him as a director, but the Russos came in and knocked it out of the park with Winter Soldier. I don't remember the timing being this bad, though.
I don't know. It sounds like a big mess. Again. And I doubt they'll come crawling back to Derrickson like they did with Gunn. Very different circumstances.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Feb 5, 2020 21:48:01 GMT -5
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 6, 2020 8:37:42 GMT -5
Great news, especially if they are going scary, and especially if Nightmare is in the mix. But will they leave him be? I remember studio interference being the thing that upset him on the 3rd Spidey, and then we lost him for the 4th. If differences of opinion pushed the original director off the project, are they really going to let Sam be Sam for this? If they do, yeah, I'm encouraged.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Feb 6, 2020 11:19:21 GMT -5
Great news, especially if they are going scary, and especially if Nightmare is in the mix. But will they leave him be? I remember studio interference being the thing that upset him on the 3rd Spidey, and then we lost him for the 4th. If differences of opinion pushed the original director off the project, are they really going to let Sam be Sam for this? If they do, yeah, I'm encouraged. I think most who sign up with Marvel these days know it's going to be a heavily collaborative process. Raimi has a unique flavor to most of his films, but he always struck me as a team player. I don't think he'll take the assignment if he isn't fully on board with what they want to do, especially after Sony overwhelmed him with Spider-Man 3 and the failed Spider-Man 4. A deal hasn't been struck yet, though. If he signs up, that means he likes what they have to say. And I hope he does. He hasn't made a movie since Oz, and I'm always eager for a new Raimi. But jeebus. A Doctor Strange movie with an Evil Dead/Drag Me to Hell flavor? Sign me up right now.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 6, 2020 20:26:12 GMT -5
I read a Yahoo interview with him last year and he says...
"he’s still haunted by the Spider-Man film that never was. “I think about it all the time,” he admits. “It’s hard not to, because each summer another Spider-Man film comes out! So when you have an unborn one, you can’t help but think what might have been. But I try to focus on what will be, and not look into the past.”
And I've read that he was not happy with some of the interference he received on Spidey 3 and Oz - so I have to imagine that the conditions have to be right to coax him back in the director's chair. You don't want more unfinished business or feel that what wound up on the screen isn't what you envisioned. But obviously I have no clue what's going on with negotiations. Just hope he's happy with the deal (if there is one) and we get a great Strange/Ditko flavored/Raimi style flick.
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Post by Mod City on Feb 6, 2020 21:14:33 GMT -5
I was hoping for official confirmation one way or another before commenting, but yeah, this seems about like about the best choice they could make. He has old school horror cred and has shown he can handle the big budget blockbuster. And he made a flat-out classic in Spider Man 2.
Honestly, I can take or leave the Evil Dead series, with the exception of Army of Darkness, which is a blast. If I had to pick a Raimi movie I really liked off the top of my head I would probably say The Quick and The Dead, but I'm one of the few on that one, I suspect.
I certainly don't know Raimi's motivations, but I have some guesses. First, they may have just handed him a blank check and said do it our way. It's possible, anyway. The other thing may be that they were messing with Derrickson's script (was Cargill writing the new DS as well?) and he wasn't down with it. I believe they have a new screenwriter now, and if Raimi only cares about how he'll incorporate his style of horror into the plot, not necessarily the overall plot itself, I could see him coming on board.
I was going to stick with this movie regardless, but this is really interesting.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Feb 8, 2020 21:52:46 GMT -5
Let's sidestep the mouth-watering potential of a Sam Raimi Doctor Strange movie, as I just watched Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). It looks like it's going to underperform this weekend, and given the positivity Margot Robbie received in Suicide Squad, a lot of analysts are scratching their heads.
Here's the thing...
I don't think this movie was marketed well. Advertisements were a non-stop onslaught of Robbie in funny costumes, acting silly, and just overwhelming every other actor in the room while cackling. There was no sense of the ensemble or fun that Suicide Squad had in its trailers (final product be damned). There isn't much of a concept being featured in them to sell the movie, like Suicide Squad's "The bad guys are the good guys" angle, other than the odd hard push on Harley's break up with the Joker. The trailers were an odd mishmash that made the movie like Robbie's vanity project, and as we see nothing but Harley in the trailers, and cut to the title of Birds of Prey, it's a sensation of "What's a Birds of Prey?"
And what's very apparent while watching the film is that it was never intended to be a Birds of Prey movie. The Birds of Prey element is super tacked on. Huntress is barely in the movie, and Black Canary only gives one canary cry in the movie, meanwhile the majority of the film seems like a presentation of Harley Quinn being DC's alternative to Deadpool. A lot of this movie reeks of WB learning the wrong lessons from other people's success again.
Luckily the movie is more fun than it looks. You know how much fun people said Suicide Squad was in spite of itself even though the final movie is pretty bland? That's how much fun this movie really is.
Let's be clear on one thing, this is a Harley Quinn movie and not a Birds of Prey movie. Let Birds of Prey go and you'll be a lot happier, because if you're here for the film's title sake you won't get much of anything. You might as well have just called it The Emancipation of Harley Quinn and left the Birds of Prey to be a spinoff proposition. And if they didn't try and shoe-horn the Birds of Prey origin into the movie, the movie would seem less at war with itself, because often watching Renee Montoya, Huntress, and Black Canary come into their own personas clashes with the Harley Quinn storyline.
But Margot Robbie is pretty fabulous in this movie, and she's either more confident with the Harley Quinn character here than she was in Suicide Squad or the character seems less out of place when the film is telling the story through her eyes. The use of Harley Quinn as a Deadpool clone mostly works, because her character has that same Looney Tunes aspect Marvel's Merc with the Mouth has. Though Harley isn't nearly as indestructible as Wade Wilson, so she acts more like Bugs Bunny dodging danger either casually or by accident. Harley being the narrator helps a lot here, because it keeps the film itself as animated as she is. It's even something of a non-linear story because our narrator is so scatterbrained that she forgets details and has to backtrack over and over again. It doesn't mess with the flow and it mostly works to the movie's benefit because it's perfectly in character.
As for the actual Birds, they're done pretty well. Black Canary has a decent enough role in the film, and I liked Jurnee Smollett-Bell in the role quite a bit. She has a few badass scenes, and a some good comedy bits that landed. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, on the other hand, isn't given much time to shine as Huntress. Throughout most of the movie she's a figure in the the shadows who appears and shoots a crossbow at people. When she finally does become a character in the film, she's treated more as a satire of the brooding hero full of vengeance, as the film treats her melodrama for laughs (there's a point where she is seen practicing her menacing catchphrases in a mirror, to see which poses look more badass) and her personal pain is just brushed off by the silly tone of the film.
But it's a superhero movie, how's the action? Spectacular. This has some of the most energetic and enjoyable action scenes a DC film has offered to date. Apparently re-shot with the aid of John Wick director Chad Stahelski, the choreography is creative, energetic, engaging, and even a little humorous. It adds a lot of playfulness to the picture with its gleeful violence, which really enhances the good vibes it puts forth. If WB wanted to advertise this film, they should have emphasized it's strongest aspect, which are the action scenes.
Birds of Prey Harley Quinn: The Movie is worth seeing, believe it or not. It's kind of a shame that it's underperforming, because it doesn't really deserve it and it kind of kills the chances of an actual Birds of Prey movie being made in the future. But if WB needs to learn the right lessions the hard way, so be it.
DC Cinematic Harley Quinn Universe Ranking: 1. Wonder Woman 2. Shazam! 3. Man of Steel 4. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) 5. Aquaman 6. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 7. Justice League 8. Suicide Squad
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 16, 2020 19:09:48 GMT -5
Birds of Prey Yikes, this bird was a turkey. Noisy, obnoxious (and not in a fun way), sloppy as hell. Too much exposition, and going back to fill viewers in on what's what grew tiresome. The comic book geek in me disliked the odd appropriations (Black Mask and the Dragons from Catwoman - why steal from kitty, when HQ has so many of her own tales?) And changes to character (Cassandra was turned from a silent assassin who went toe to toe with Lady Shiva (a major league bad-ass), to a chubby little pickpocket).
I think it's trying to be Deadpool 2... but DP2 was much funnier, had a more interesting story to tell. DP2s supporting team-up players had more personality (even the ones who were only there briefly), and it was not overly saddled with each individual backstory - it stayed on point. Harley is all over the map and far too talky.
I'd have rather have had this be a Joker breakup story, WITH the actual Joker as the antagonist. And that it included her usual comic book gal pals Catwoman and Poison Ivy in support -- there are plenty of DC comics to draw from for that. I didn't need Mask or the BOP (especially without Barbara and the cool costumes)
You know you're not into a movie when you start looking for the remote and realize, "Damnit, I can't FFW through this crap!"
You also know your not into a movie when you'd rather be watching Suicide Squad for your HQ fix.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Feb 17, 2020 17:05:58 GMT -5
That moment when you regret not going to see Sonic the Hedgehog instead.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Mar 13, 2020 5:06:41 GMT -5
New Mutants has been delayed again, in a big swoop of pushbacks that include Mulan and Antlers from Disney.
And in the distance someone sings "Hello darkness my old friend..."
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Apr 3, 2020 19:59:37 GMT -5
Coronavirus is the only thing that's been able to shove Marvel Studios around. All of their upcoming slate has been pushed back a release date.
Black Widow takes Eternals' date in November.
Eternals takes Shang Chi's date in February.
Shang Chi takes Doctor Strange's date in May 2021.
Doctor Strange takes Thor's date in November 2021 (would have probably been delayed anyway).
Thor moves to February 2022.
Black Panther stays put and Captain Marvel 2 was announced for July 2022.
No word on Spider-Man, but Sony is probably going to try like hell to make that come out next July, pandemic or not.
In other news, Morbius is bumped to next year (nobody cares), Venom 2 is standing its ground, and New Mutants continues to be ignored because people stopped giving a sh*t long ago.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Apr 17, 2020 17:43:20 GMT -5
Some possible insight was shared on the Weekly Planet podcast this week on the New Mutants. According to one of their sources, apparently before the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney, Fox put in a clause stating that all movies they currently had in the pipeline cannot forgo a theatrical release and must be released in theaters.
Which means Disney can't just dump this movie on Hulu or Disney+ like everyone is speculating. New Mutants gets a theatrical run or it doesn't get released at all.
Now, let's all keep waiting.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Apr 24, 2020 21:47:25 GMT -5
Sony finally threw its Spider-Man weight around. It stole Doctor Strange's spot in November next year, while Strange got bumped to March 2022, stealing tbe slot of the Into the Spider-Verse sequel, which got bumped to October.
2022 is going to be Marvel madness. February has Thor, March has Doctor Strange, May has Black Panther, and July has Captain Marvel. That is one hell of an MCU gauntlet. I imagine these release dates still might shift as they develop.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Apr 25, 2020 3:43:54 GMT -5
Also: Venom 2 has been subtitled Let There Be Carnage and has been pushed back to June of 2021.
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