News dropped today from THR that Ryan Gosling would be teaming up with director of La La Land, Damien Chazelle, again to star in a biopic film centered around Astronaut legend Neil Armstrong.
According to the article the film will center around the space race to the moon, and Armstrong's part in the Apollo space program from 1961 to 1969. My question is this: Is this the story that should be told for the legendary American hero?
Most people know the story about America's race to the moon, or at least part of it. I was hoping the film might focus on Armstrong's life after he landed on the moon and how he handled the fame. I think Chazelle would be the perfect director to tackle this type of story with what he has done with Whiplash and La La Land. Both of these films dealt with dreams and how to try and handle success or how to succeed.
This is not to say having him direct a film about the space race is something he can't do. The story will still be a great fit. I'm sure we will get a great look at how Armstrong dealt with the pressure of being shot into space and traveling over two hundred thousand miles from Earth. This however has been done before so I was hoping for a different look at the man and his legend.
I'm a history nut, and have the Bachelors to prove it, and this time period with NASA's history in particular is something I have always been fascinated with. I'm all for getting another movie about how we went to the moon with a focus on the man who lead the mission. Gosling will be fantastic in the role and Chazelle will bring a great eye to the project.
What do you think about the project? Would you have rather them focused on another part of Armstrong's life? Comment and let me know.
Maybe I watched a different movie than all of the critics
praising this film.
Moonlight: Starring Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders,
Trevante Rhodes and directed by Barry Jenkins. These actors are the three individuals
who play the main character of the film during three different time periods of
the character’s life. We see the character, Chiron who also goes by Little and
Black, at three different crucial times in his life and how those events shape
the person he is to eventually become. It is an ambitious film and one which
has been garnering major praise from critics. The film is well acted, well
shot, has a compelling story, but lacked an overall connected narrative.
The three actors who play the main character all do a good
to great job in portraying Chiron. It wasn’t hard to believe each actor was the
same person during the time hops. The child actor was good in the role. He
wasn’t Jake Tremblay in Room good, but good nonetheless. Big story elements for
the character however seemed forced into the narrative during this cross
section of his life rather than letting it naturally develop. If the story was
able to develop all in one-time period, the character traits revealed would
have seemed more natural to the story overall. Having the story told in small
cross section of the character’s life is an interesting way to construct the
film, but in the end each small story wasn’t enough to stand on its own and
weekend the film overall.
The child portion of the story wasn’t really needed for the
main narrative of the film. The movie could have started with the adolescent
character and established many of the same elements during the younger portion
of the character’s life. Barry Jenkins could have cut out the younger portion
or shortened it and focused on other character traits during the adolescent
portion of the story. There is one major reveal during the young portion of the
film which seemed out of left field and wasn’t needed during this portion of
the story. It could have been established during the teen years of the story to
be more effective. The story overall is interesting and the character
empathetic, but it just didn’t have the amount of impact if it had been told in
a different way.
I haven’t read many other reviews for the movie, but many
critics have the film as one of the best of the year and saying it will be in
contention for best picture. It is the main reason I decided to go see
Moonlight, but I was disappointed in how the story and film were executed
overall. I can see why the film is receiving high praise for the subject it
deals with. It’s a topic and subject which should be looked at and explored,
but the execution of the story in Moonlight was lacking. For me the story was
interesting, but the way it was implemented did not have me engaged. If each of
the narratives had told the stories in a slightly different way it could have
been excellent.
Saying that, many people felt the film was excellent. It
currently sits at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes with 177 fresh reviews and three
rotten. I wouldn’t give the film a Rotten rating if I were to give it a number
score, but it would just make the fresh meter instead of rotten. Maybe many of
the critics do feel this way, but from what I’m seeing many think the film has
a shot at best picture. For me there are numerous other worthy contenders this
year. I’m in the firm minority on this one, but the film didn’t tell the story
in a compelling way which made me invested in the character. If we got more
time with any one of the three stories told in part, I think it would have
helped the film immensely.
Those are my thoughts on Moonlight, comment and
let me know what you think if you have seen it. Like share subscribe and all
that fun stuff.
The world lost a legend in Carrie Fisher. Not just for her
acting talent, but for her incredible personality and light she brought to the
world. She was an incredible writer who polished numerous scripts and wrote
some truly inspirational novels about her own life and struggles. She seemed an
open book and lived life to fullest amount possible. I would stop and watch
anytime I saw an interview with her and she was one of the best follows on
social media. She was an entertainer and a truly inspirational one. It’s a
little silly to be affected by a loss of someone you have never met, but
I’ve
watched Carrie Fisher perform so many times as Princess Leia she became a small
part of my life. While that is a tad silly, it is the sentiment me and many
others around the world feel today with the loss of a truly remarkable women.
For many, including myself the films of Star Wars have
become something more than simply movies. A piece of this mythos was lost to time
today, and while we can always revisit her on screen it will now always be
tinged with a pang of sadness for the light which was snuffed out too quickly. In
today’s age, 60 is still too young to be lost. She should have had twenty more
years to shine her light on the world. She won’t get to know her eventual
Grandchildren nor spend time with her daughter, and this is the true tragedy. I
feel for their loss and while it is a simple platitude my thoughts are with
them, as are countless millions of others around the world. This probably is
not a comfort, but it’s the truth.
Carrie Fisher played a character which will be remembered
for as long as there are movies and people on this Earth. She should be
remembered for the person she actually was, which was more interesting and
inspiring than the bad ass snarky Princes she portrayed in Star Wars. I love
her for her performance in Star Wars, but I respect, admired, and loved everything
she did outside of it even more. She will be missed by me and millions of fans
everywhere. I hope she finds peace in death, and if there is any kind of
afterlife I’m sure she is making people laugh now that’s she there.
There have been many trailers to come out this year which used weird song choices. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage is the latest using a song completely unrelated to the tone. Star Trek Beyond did this with it's Rihanna trailer and Assassin's Creed never seemed to know what type of song choice to use to nail down the tone it was shooting for. Warcraft preceded the other video game based movie with a weird song choice.
Trailers for films are using big name artists to try and drive up awareness for their movies, but at the expense of telling the audience what type of story the film will tell. Song choice in trailers is important and can add to what type of tone the movie is going to set. Take Logan for example. There is no better song choice for a trailer this year than using Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt. It perfectly highlighted the dystopian future the movie is set in. It set the tone for the entire trailer and lets the audience know what type of film it's going to be.
Having random artists promote their new song on a trailer is a detriment to the film. If they want to use a new song it should fit the tone of the story the film is trying to tell. Warcraft and Assassin's Creed should both have used instrumental scores to promote their films, but instead used pop songs or weird dubstep. I hate to see marketing departments try and increase awareness by picking a random artist which they think will get views on a trailer instead of what makes the most sense for the film.
Maybe this is just the natural evolution in movie promotion, but I hope trailers like Logan and others continue to try and pick songs and music which highlight the films tone. Maybe it goes hand in hand with how good the film will be as well, but that wasn't the case for Star Trek.
Comment and let me know your thoughts on trailers and their song choice.
Sony's motion picture department hasn't had the best year with regards to trailers. First the Ghostbusters trailer became one of the most disliked videos on YouTube and now, in all their wisdom, they released the trailer for the Emoji movie.
The Emoji movie is probably in direct response to the success of The Lego Movie. An executive at Sony thought having the license to all of the different symbols on phones would make a terrific film. The movie could be good, but everything about it reeks of a money grab. Someone saw merchandises opportunities and greenlit the film.
One small glimmer of hope for me comes in how the above trailer was shot and released. It's in portrait mode instead of landscape, and I really hope it's a troll to everyone who can't stand people who release videos shot in Portrait. It drove me crazy. I hope this is the case and they just didn't do it because emoji's are on phones and releasing it this way resembles a phone. I really hope it was a clever troll and not the latter, but I have a sinking feeling it was. I can hope someone creating the movie has some semblance of humor and is actually is thinking about marketing the movie.
What would be great is if the film ends up being rated R in the vain of Sausage Party and the entire movie is a troll. I highly doubt this is the case, but the studio did release Sausage Party. The people at Sony have to realize how horrible the idea of this movie seems and that it looks like a giant money grab. This is the why I think it might just be a ploy, especially with someone like TJ Miller attached. Probably not, but I can hope.
How much did you hate the trailer? Do you think it is one of the worst ideas for a movie ever? Comment and let me know.
Trailers for Blade Runner 2049 and John Wick were released
today and they show two very different types of films to get excited for in
2017.
Blade Runner 2049 looks to bring the audience right back
into the world Ridley Scott brought to the big screen in 1982. The original
Blade Runner was adapted from the Phillip K Dick book, Do Androids Dream of
Electric Sleep, and is considered one the best Science Fiction films made. The trailer didn’t show much, but it did give
off a distinct noir tone the film will likely follow. I wasn’t overly impressed
with the trailer, because it didn’t really show anything other than Harrison
Ford’s character making an appearance and some pretty shots with Ryan Gosling.
I’m still extremely excited for the film due to the fact Dennis Villeneuve is
directing along with Roger Deakins as his cinematographer. After first hearing
about a Blade Runner sequel I was skeptical, but after Villeneuve became attached
the skepticism turned to immediate excitement. He has yet to direct a bad film
and I highly doubt he would have taken the job unless he believed it was a
story worth telling. Arrival is one of my favorite films of the year, and
Sicario was one of my favorite from the year before. Let’s hope the trend
continues with Blade Runner 2049 in 2017.
John Wick Chapter 2 is another sequel which I never would have
thought would happen after initially seeing trailers for the first film. The original
John Wick was not promoted, and looked to be a film the studio did not believe
in. When it hit theaters it met with critical success and found an audience on
home video. It was an amazing action movie and united audiences everywhere
after the bad guys killed John Wick’s dog gave to him by his dying wife. It
also established an interesting world of assassins and a sequel was easy to see
after the film became popular. The entire team from the first film is coming
back for the second installment and the trailer shows more of the insane action from the
first film. I do hope the movie isn’t going to fall prey to the usual folly of sequels
by just making things bigger at the expense of story. The trailer did highlight
many action sequences seemed to be over the top, but there were many of those
in the first as well. As long as the action serves the story then I’ll bank on
the directors who provided the first hit to do the same again.
Comment and let me know what you thought of each of the
trailers which dropped today.
Rogue One A Star Wars Story has blasted into the box office
and has become a critical and audience success. The film adds to the mythos of
Star Wars universe and does a great job of tying into the original trilogy by
leading directly into A New Hope. It is a well put together movie which I will
be able to watch multiple times because of the characters and story it tells.
It isn’t a perfect film and while I will sing it’s praises one big issue which
bothered me is the decision to let Galen Erso intentionally build in the design
“flaw” to the Death Star.
I very well may be in the minority on this, but I never
thought the thermal exhaust port on the Death Star was a flaw in the design or
a plot hole in Episode Four. I
did an entire other video on why I didn’t think this was the case. I said
in the video if Rogue One shows Galen putting in the flaw it would be a very
poorly designed design flaw. He does state in Rogue One that he has to be
careful with how he did it, but it still took a person who was exceptionally
strong in the force to be able to exploit the flaw. Since Galen intentionally
created this flaw he should have made it to wear the Rebellion had more of a
shot to succeed in destroying the Death Star.
Having Galen purposely create this flaw opens up more plot
holes than if he didn’t in my opinion. If he would have simply known about the
weakness in the Death Star and tried to get that information to the Rebels, it
would fit the story more. Having the flaw be intentional makes Galen appear incompetent
as a character. Since Luke is the only who is able to blow up the Death Star it
makes Galen’s flaw an extremely poor one for the Rebels to exploit. This is a
plot hole. Having Galen design something no regular person can possibly exploit
makes no sense. He would have to have known the Rebellion had Jedi’s on their
side which could guide torpedoes into the small opening for him to purposefully
implement this flaw.
If Galen would have simply known there was the small weakness
in the Death Star or just know where the plans where it would have made more
sense for the story. I understand Galen’s character motivations for wanting to
help the Rebellion and having him intentionally make the flaw builds on this
trait, but Galen’s specialty was harnessing the power of the Kyber crystals,
not on the propulsion system. Maybe the thermal exhaust port the Rebellion used
to exploit has to do with the weapon system, but I always thought it was tied
into the reactor system for the Death Star. Maybe the novelization of Rogue One
can clear this up, or Lucasfilm’s canon master Pablo Hidalgo. Galen wouldn’t
have had access to the propulsion systems to build in his flaw if this is the
case. It would almost have to tie into the weapons system for the story to now
make sense. Less questions story wise would have been raised for him to just
know there is a weakness and then try to get word to the Rebellion.
This all of course is predicated on if you think Star Wars A
New Hope had a plot hole tied to the exhaust port. I never did, and think it’s
a plot device used to highlight what Luke is able to achieve. Think about
firing a small exploding bomb into the tail pipe of a car. The tail pipe is tied
directly to the combustion engine, and this isn’t considered a design flaw for
cars. If someone driving fires a bullet packed with explosives into a running
parked car it would cause the car to be destroyed. Think about the impossibility
of that type of shot, and all it would entail. This is essentially what Luke
accomplished, and having the flaw now be purposeful just doesn’t fit for me. Maybe
it is all connected to the Force and the Force willed Galen to design the flaw
in such a way because it was Luke’s destiny to destroy the Death Star. Weak,
but I’ll go with it, because in the end Rogue One is a fantastic movie, even if
I had a problem with this part of the plot.
Rogue One is a great Star Wars film. I just
wished they would have found another way for Galen to help the Rebellion and it
to fit his character. I wouldn’t have minded him actually being distraught from
losing his wife and thinking he lost Jyn. He then would have helped the Empire
until he realized Jyn was still alive. Then he tells the Rebellion where the
plans to the Death Star or that there is a weakness. I’m still probably in the minority
on this, so if you think differently let me know why having a tail pipe on the
Death Star is a plot hole. Like share subscribe and all that fun stuff.
Rogue One A Star Wars Story, I still like anthology better,
starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn,
Wen Jiang, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen and directed by Gareth
Edwards. Rogue One is the first standalone film set in the Star Wars universe
and is about how a group of Rebels steals the plans for the Death Star, and ties
directly into the events of Star Wars A New Hope. Taking a small blurb from the
crawl text of Episode Four and turning it into a two-hour film may seem
unrealistic, but everyone involved made the movie a soaring success. It adds layers
and depth to Star Wars Episode Four, and it will be a welcome addition to most
Star Wars Fans.
Is Rogue One for the average Star Wars fan or people who
aren’t fans of the franchise at all? I loved the movie after the first viewing
and will be going back again to see it multiple times. I’m not sure I can
separate myself to say if this film is for everyone. I have read all the
comics, all the adult books and most of the young adult novelizations for the
new Star Wars Canon. This gives more insight into what has been happening since
the end of Episode three with characters like Tarkin, Darth Vader and others.
The book Catalyst was an excellent introduction and prequel to Rogue One. The
start of the movie is a really the next chapter in the book, and if you are a
fan of any of the books Catalyst is worth reading and then watching Rogue One.
It adds so much backstory and nuance to relationships in the movie, that I’m
not sure I can be objective about how much I liked the film because I have read
the book. I don’t think people have to read the book to enjoy Rogue One, but it
does greatly enhance the story. Due to this Rogue One is more of a fans Star
Wars film, but I still would recommend it to anyone who likes a good action
adventure film.
The story is excellent and takes the audience on a fantastic
ride. The third act of the movie will leave no one disappointed. It is the
first Star Wars movie to really look at the war between the Rebellion and the
Empire, and show the ground soldiers and their struggle. It also expands the
universe overall, adding to the structure of the Rebellion and how they went
about combating the Empire. The characters introduced are all great, and
everyone is raving about K2-SO, the droid voiced by Alan Tudyk, for good
reason. He provides the right amount of humor throughout a dark gritty story.
Felicity Jones performance as Jyn Erso ties the entire movie together. She does
a fantastic job as the main focus of the film. Diego Luna character’s, Cassian
Andor, is a more complex Rebel than has ever been shown, and I really enjoyed
his character in the movie. It added a deeper layer to the soldiers who fight
for the Rebellion. Donnie Yen and Wen Jiang characters are not delved into too
deeply, but the chemistry between them is fantastic. I don’t think much
backstory was needed for them during this film, but I would hope we get a book
or another form of medium diving into how they met. I also want to know more
about the Jedi Temple on Jedha and what they did there.
With any film there are also some drawbacks. I’ve got two,
one about the actual film, and then one a nerdy complaint about how it affects
the overall Star Wars universe. The only story complaint I had for the movie is
that the first ten minutes jumped around too much setting up the story. There
are a bunch of different worlds introduced and we move around to some of the
major characters extremely quickly and it is a bit jarring. Once Cassian and
Jyn meet up the pace flows well and the rest of the film isn’t an issue. I
won’t get into my nerdy complaint until a spoiler’s video, but I don’t like
something the movie tries to “fix” within the main Star Wars storyline. I don’t
think anything needed to be fixed, and this issue is the only time I was
disappointed with the film. This fix will make many people happy, but I think
it actually takes away from something else which comes in a later movie.
Overall though Rogue One is a fantastic amazing
addition to the Star Wars universe and I can’t wait to see it again. I will be
going multiple times to see it in theaters and I think the film’s success will
ensure many more Star Wars anthology films. This movie is well worth seeing for
any casual Star Wars fan and I think people who aren’t fans can still enjoy it
for the emotional war story the film provides. The film is geared more towards
the hard core fans, but I do think anyone can enjoy it. Let me know what you
think and what your favorite parts of the film were in the comments below. Like
share subscribe and all that fun stuff.
There are very few directors who can garner excitement just by attaching themselves to a project. Christopher Nolan has earned the right with all of the movies he has made over the past fifteen years. He hasn't had a miss, and adding a World War Two film to his filmography is exciting.
Dunkirk is a moment in history which should be explored, and Nolan is a perfect fit to create a movie around the event. The trailer is simply stunning. The shots and mood are immediately set from the brief moments seen in the short two minutes. The trailer itself is a small piece of art, and is well constructed to show off how emotional the film will be.
As a history nutt the historical event of Dunkirk is a moment during World War Two which has intrigued me. It can be seen as a major turning g point in the war, and is one of the first blunders made by Germans. They could have wiped out the Allied resistance, but instead allowed soldiers to escape and eventually be part of the invading force for D-Day four years later.
I can only imagine the emotional resonance the film is going to provide when every available ship from commercial and personal came to the soldiers aide. It's a story made for cinema and I'm surprised no one has tried before. I'm glad Nolan is getting the first shot, and this film is high on my most anticipated films to come out next year.
What did you think of the trailer? Comment and let me know.
The Hollywood Reporter had an article today with news that David Ayer would be stepping backing into the DC Universe to direct a new project with Margot Robbie who would be reprising her role as Harley Quinn. The new film is apparently going to focus on the comic series The Sirens which along with Quinn features Catwoman and Posion Ivy. With that news what better thing to do than speculate on which actresses should be cast in the roles.
Eva Green would be a perfect choice for Catwomen. She has played the villain in 300 Rise of an Empire and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For extremely well. While both of those films may not have been the greatest sequels she was excellent in both, and Rise of an Empire is a guilty pleasure of mine. She would be a natural fit to play the troubled anti-hero who has an on-again off-again relationship with the Dark Knight. The more I think about her in the role the more I want to see it. There are, of course, many other actresses which could work, but she is far and away my first choice.
For Poison Ivy I don't have a strong a feeling for who should be cast in the role, but Rose Leslie of Game of Thrones fame wouldn't be a bad place for the casting director to start. She could easily play the sexy seductress who can control plants. Emma Stone might be another popular choice, but she might have priced herself out of a assemble film such as this. Rose Leslie has already shown she can play a tough character in Game of Thrones and stepping into Poison Ivy's shoes wouldn't be difficult. Her natural Irish accent wouldn't hurt the role either. Maybe an unknown or a even a lesser known talent could be cast in the role, but she would be a good fit and garner excitement for the film.
It's probably (it is) too early to think about casting for a film which may never get off the ground. However, with the popularity of Margot's performance as Harley Quinn and the character's popularity overall the project has a good chance of being on the DC film slate. It's always fun to speculate on who could get the role and I think these too actress would bring great talent to the DCEU.
Comment and let me know who your choices would be for the two roles. Like share and all that fun stuff.
The last and final trailer for the upcoming Assassin's Creed movie was the best to come out for the video game adaptation film. There was no strange song choice and the film highlighted more of what the story will be about.
The most exciting thing about adapting Assassin's Creed into a film is how interesting the world the game created. Being able to access your ancestors history and experience/control them through a machine is, for lack of a better word, cool. As a history nut and a huge science fiction fan, combining both of these worlds is right up my ally.
I was a big fan of the first three Assassin's Creed games and while the last couple didn't interest me, the overall concept still does. The game naturally lends itself to a movie adaptation and it's exciting the movie is telling it's own story instead of trying to do a straight adaptation from the first few games. There does seem to be similarities between the first movie and game, but it takes place in a different time period and location.
I am still hesitant about the film. There hasn't been a good video game adaptation and I'll believe it when I actually see it. The biggest issue is how they are using the action. They shouldn't be beholden to the action from the game. The action should be a natural development from the story and what makes the most sense for the movie, not for a game being adapted to a film There is no need to try and incorporate every type of action the game provides. The film already has a built in fan base from the people who played the game, they aren't going to be disappointed if it doesn't include certain types of game mechanics. I'm worried they will put CG action into the film to try and make the action look and feel like the game when it isn't needed.
The movie has an all star cast and a good director. Hopefully the studio is behind whatever vision the team came up with and the end product will be a success. There are many video game stories which could lend itself to film, and hopefully Assassin's Creed starts a video game trend for movies.
What did you think of the final trailer for Assassin's Creed? Comment and let me know. Like, share, subscribe and all that fun stuff.
I predict we will hear James Arnold Taylor’s voice in the
show before the end of the season.
The tenth episode for Star Wars Rebels season three, Visions
and Voices, is a continuation of the story from second, The Holocrons of Fate.
Ezra starts to see and hear Maul and passes out during a briefing about an attack
on the Lothal Weapons plant. Ezra and Kanan go in search of Bendu where Maul appears.
He asks Ezra to come with him to finish the ceremony they started with the Holocrons.
Ezra agrees so he can gain the information to defeat the Sith. Kanan manages to
slip a tracker on Ezra so he can follow them. Visions and Voices was a solid
mid-season finale episode which continued a major story thread introduced early
in the season, and opened more questions needing to be answered.
The star of the episode is Darth Maul, and a tip of the hat
has to go to Sam Witwer performance. He did a phenomenal job in conveying Maul’s
different emotions through the episode. The character genially seemed to feel disappointed
in Ezra’s choice to stay behind and not join him. Maul is undoubtedly a villain,
but he is also a tragic figure. At every turn he comes close to succeeding in
his goal only to be thwarted. He witnessed his home planet destroyed, and all
his people wiped out. While Maul brought much of the tragedy on himself he was
also pressed into service by Sidious and the Witches of Dathomir. He is not
wholly unsympathetic figure, but still not someone who can be trusted. All of
these aspects are represented in Visions and Voices, and it’s understandable
that Maul’s one remaining goal is to seek revenge against Obi-Wan Kenobi.
While Maul is the
main highlight of the episode, he is also the problem. Why did he not go to the
Rebel base as soon as he knew where it was if he knew Ezra held the answer to
his question? He could have shown up in the next third episode to continue this
story line. Instead he waits and randomly shows up just before a big mission. The
show could have shown glimpses in the other episodes of Ezra having visions of
Maul. Ezra could have been struggling with this knowledge throughout the first
part of the season, and trying to hide it from the rest of the crew. Then when
the visions finally become so extreme he passes out, it wouldn’t have felt so
sudden for the story overall. This would have also provided some connective
tissue through the entire first half of the season building to this episode.
Not every episode would have had to include a vision of Maul, but just enough to
keep this story in the forefront. They could have also shown Maul deducing he
needed Ezra, and show Maul reaching out to him and trying to influence him.
This complaint aside the episode was stunning and adds to
the lore of Star War by showcasing the Witches of Dathomir and their different take
on the force. The ending with Ezra and how he was able to destroy the alter and
their power was well done. It was a good climax for the episode, and highlighted
how clever Ezra can be. While his character has taken a step back from the
first part of the season when he was dabbling with the dark side he took more
of a step forward in this episode. Ezra wasn’t tempted by Maul at all in this episode
and this makes me think he won’t end up turning to the dark side. It was good
see the story focus more on Ezra again, and the different aspects of the force.
The episode also opens up the possibility of Obi-Wan Kenobi
making an appearance in the show. My guess is part of the second half of the
season will build to a fight between Maul and Kenobi. Does this mean Maul will
travel to Tatooine or will Kenobi seek out Maul? It might be the latter if
Kenobi has felt Maul searching for him. He wouldn’t want Maul coming to Tatooine
and discovering Luke. This again brings up the question of continuity and
Ob-Wan not hearing his name in a long time, and not going by it in a long time.
It will be an interesting issue to get around, but one I’m willing to forgive
if we get more stories about the old hermit beyond the dune sea.
Visions and Voices was a strong ending for the mid-season. I
hope the second half of the season continues to build a more cohesive story and
there aren’t as many side missions which seem unrelated. The second half could
have more connected stories, just by the first half coming back around and
impacting stories in the second half of the season. Sabine and Mandalore could
still play a major role, especially with her picking up the dark saber at the
end of the episode.
Comment and let me know what you thought of tonight’s
episode. Like, share, subscribe and all that fun stuff.
A new DuckTales series is starting and there is a Baywatch
Movie. Did I go back late 80’s?
The Baywatch trailer dropped, and I was honestly looking
forward to watching it. I was never a massive fan of the television show,
because it was silly, but any boy who was 8-12 years old during the shows
heyday watched some episodes for obvious reasons. I was excited when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
signed on for a comedy remake of the series. The trailer today shows the movie
is trying for the 21 Jump Street model by remaking an old television show and
turning it into a farce. Baywatch, to begin with, was a ridiculous premise for
a show, and was mainly to watch pretty people run in slow motion on the beach.
Which the trailer happily makes fun of.
The trailer for Baywatch tried a little too hard to make
sure everyone knew it was a comedy. The first line spoken in the trailer to The
Rock is a little cheesy and over the top, but it’s the tone they are shooting
for. I’m sure the scene will play better in context with the film but probably
shouldn’t have been the opening line of the trailer. There are jokes which
didn’t work in the trailer, but again it could be because they are out of
context in the film. There are other jokes which had me laughing out loud. The
last joke with the African American cop had me laughing both times I watched
the trailer.
I don’t know if Baywatch is going to be a good comedy film,
but the trailer didn’t completely turn me off. It looks like they are shooting
for an over the top silly action comedy, which is exactly the type of tone the
movie should shoot for. Who knows if the jokes and action will play well, but
having The Rock attached to the project gives me hope the movie will turn out
great. This is a movie he really wanted to do, and I’m intrigued to see how if
he can pull it off. From all of the set photos and interviews from the cast it
looked like everyone was having fun on set. This doesn’t mean the movie is
going to be good, but if people are having fun and are passionate about a
project then it has more of a shot than when people are just going through
motions for a paycheck.
The movie has the cast to be a success. They put Zac Efron
in the perfect role to succeed, and Alexandra Daddario is both a very talented
actress and extremely stunning. the question is if the director from Horrible
Bosses can execute a funny film. I didn’t hate that film, but I didn’t love it
either. Regardless I’m going to be seeing this film in the theaters just for a
little bit of nostalgia and the hopes it makes me laugh. I’m excited for it,
and while the trailer wasn’t the best, it wasn’t a dumpster fire either.
Comment and let me know what you thought of the trailer. Like, Share, Subscribe
and all that fun stuff.
There are not many cartoons which I loved more when I was a kid than Ducktales. I would come home from school and it would be a show I couldn't miss. There were very few of those, and it is the only show I have sought out to own on DVD. If they came out with Blu-Ray's for the show I would upgrade to them.
Last year's announcement of a new Ducktales series left me a little giddy. I still pop in the originals and watch, and I'm excited to see the reimagined vision of the classic cartoon. It probably won't live up to my nostalgic love of the original, but it is something I can watch with my two boys. I just hope they include Gizmoduck.
The announcement trailer shows absolutely nothing, but it is still enough just to hear the theme song play and to see the title to come out. The teaser announcement trailers show more than this, but it still gets me excited for the new show, whenever it comes out.
Comment and let me know if you are excited for the new Ducktales show. Like, share, subscribe and all that fun stuff.
Nerdist
ran a story today showing an image of a ship which looks like the Ghost from
Star Wars Rebels in a new television spot for Rogue One: Star Wars Story. There
is little question the ship is the same type as the Ghost. The ship is the
exact same design and has the same engine lights. This is a fantastic Easter
Egg for fans of Star Wars Rebels, but the cameo for the crew should end here,
if the ship is even the Ghost to begin with. I imagine we will eventually find
out what happens to the crew of the Ghost on the show of Rebels and having them
survive past Rogue One presents too many continuity problems for canon.
Seeing Kanan, Ezra, Sabine, Hera
and Zeb make a physical appearance in Rogue One would be amazing, and would
make sense if the crew survives through the end of the show. It doesn’t make
sense for the main universal narrative if they do survive. Sabine, Hera or Zeb
could make it out of the show, but Ezra and Kanan will have to meet some sort
of end or Luke would have some knowledge of them. This would have to be the
case or the two would have leave the Rebellion and disappear before Luke burst
on the scene in A New Hope. If we still
get a small nod in Rogue One of Rebels, like the appearance of the ship, this is
the perfect amount of fan service to provide.
I think Lucasfilm knows it has a major
fan base for Rebels, and to have any small nod to the show is perfect for fans.
The story group however won’t take it too far, and will probably claim the ship
is just the same design. Either way it is always good to know how much
attention to detail Lucasfilm and the millions of Star Wars fans pay to the property.
It’s what makes being Star Wars fans great, and it continues to drive more excitement
for the upcoming release of Rogue One.
Do you think the crew of the Ghost
in in the ship during the fight we see in Rogue One? Comment and let me know.
Well it's here. The trailer for the highly anticipated(?) fifth film in the Transformers franchise titled Transformers: The Last Knight. Why not throw in some Arthur lore and Nazi's into an already highly packed and stylized franchise?
Transformers isn't for me. I was never a huge fan of the toys or cartoon in the 80's, didn't like the first film, and haven't seen any of the others. They just don't interest me, and I'm surprised anyone who speaks English is excited.
I saw nothing in this trailer which would give me hope this film is going to be anything different than another Michael Bay action spectacular with little to no story. The voiceover by Anthony Hopkins does nothing for me. He didn't deliver it with any purpose or meaning, and just sounded like he was reading words. It had shades of Orson Welles performing for the animated movie. If this did get people excited to go see the movie I'm glad, I just know it isn't for me.
Nothing in this trailer got me excited. It looks like the same extremely glossy fake CG Michael Bay has been delivering for the past nine years since the first film came out. I know there are millions of people who love the Transformers and have enjoyed the movies, but this isn't my type of fun silly action film. Maybe that's because they always seem to take themselves seriously and don't play to the campy nature of the property.
If you like the trailer and love the property more power to you and I hope you enjoy the film. I hope it is a fantastic movie and everyone thinks The Last Knight is leaps and bounds the best in the franchise.
Comment and let me know what you thought of the trailer.
The ninth episode for the third season of Star Wars Rebels,
An Inside Man, featured the crew of the Ghost going back to Ezra’s home planet
of Lothal to infiltrate an Imperial construction factory. The crew gets word from
their informant, Fulcrum, the Empire has a secret project at the factory. While
in disguise at the facility Grand Admiral Thrawn makes a surprise inspection
visit to question the quality of the work which has been malfunctioning in use.
Thrawn locks down the factory to ensure worker productivity, and forces Ezra
and Kannan to try and escape with information about the secret project in
development.
The biggest takeaway from the episode is it advanced a
bigger narrative for the story overall. Agent Kallus was revealed to be Fulcrum.
His time with Zeb on the moon of Geonosis made changed his perspective towards
the Empire. This was a fairly obvious story thread to follow, but the show
could have thrown the viewers for a loop and had Thrawn be Fulcrum. If Thrawn
would have been the agent the information provided would have been designed to
draw the Rebels into more traps. This may have been too advanced for the target
demographic of the show to follow, so having Kallus be the spy makes sense.
Having Kallus be Fulcrum is a great callback to one of the better episodes of
last season. The Honorable Ones episode from season two setup this storyline
and also dropped hints the Empire was doing something sinister around the
planet of Geonosis. What has been so frustrating this season is most of the
episodes so far have not been advancing major story threads. There is no
interconnected story to help drive a main narrative forward.
An Inside Man provided much needed character development for
Grand Admiral Thrawn. Fans of old Legend books knew how ruthless and cunning he
could be in the Zahn novels, but the show hasn’t shown anything yet. The
episode changed this in a major way. We see Thrawn terrorize and kill workers
in the facility. He knew the workers were sabotaging Imperial products, and he
ruthlessly illustrated what would happen if machines continued to fail by
killing a worker. It was a dark scene, and highlights how the show can
sometimes straddle the line between a kids show and one with more adult themes.
We also see Thrawn studying the art of the Rebels and trying to gage why they keep
coming back to the planet of Lothal. This was the weakest analysis Thrawn had,
but it still worked for the show. Thrawn was also able to devise the Rebels had
inside help escaping the facility, and a spy must be in his ranks. The ending
seen with Kallus and Thrawn makes me think he suspects Kallus, and he will have
to be very careful in order to survive moving forward.
The overall story and action for this episode was fantastic.
Every moment was filled with something meaningful. The humor in the episode was
also on point and felt natural to each situation. Having Ezra throw Kallus around
was hilarious and the follow-up punchline with Kanan was perfect. Chopper was even used well, and having him
get along with Kallus flowed within the story and provided more humor. The
reveal of the advanced Tie Fighter with shields is important, and should help
drive the story forward during the second half of the season. I would have
preferred the facility been developing something for the Death Star. Then the show
would tie into the release of Rogue One, but the new Tie Fighter discovery
helps build a story for the second half of the season. Now there is an overall
purpose for the show and season moving forward. The Rebels need to find out
more about the Advanced Tie Fighter (or Tie Defender for fans of Legends or old
Computer Games) and stop it from becoming mass produced.
There isn’t a major glaring weakness in the episode. It
delivered a fun enjoyable half hour and advanced an overall story narrative.
This has been the major weakness for the show so far this season. It has provided fun enjoyable television, but
has been lacking in telling one cohesive story. With this episode, and the
following two before the mid-season break, the show can finish on a high note
and advance some of the major narratives which have been on the back burner for
the first part of the season. I don’t understand why they took three or four
episodes to tell unrelated stories, but hopefully the show finishes strong and
has a more connected story for the second half of the season.
What did you think of the episode? Did it reinvigorate your
passion of the show or did you still want something more? Comment and let me
know.
Trailers for Trailers have become more and more frequent over the past few years. The latest in the trend is for the first Universal Pictures Monster Universe - The Mummy starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wells, and Russel Crowe.
I'm not a big fan of these little short announcement trailer trailers, but this one has me intrigued and it got me excited to see the trailer on Sunday. However, I would have been just as excited for the actual movie if they would have dropped the full teaser trailer today.
This little short fifteen second clip looks fantastic. It still doesn't make me understand why they wouldn't drop a two minute complete teaser which can be shown in theaters for all of the movies playing this weekend. Maybe since there isn't a big film coming out this weekend the marketing department decided this was the best way to promote the film. If this was the case I'm still not sure why they wouldn't just wait until another movie came out to launch the full trailer.
Marketing departments for big budget films must see some data which tells them these announcement trailers work for promoting the film. I guess it does let people know when a trailer is going to be released, but a trailer is used to get people hyped for a film. Why do we need something to hype the trailer which is supposed to get us hyped for the actual film?Whenever a trailer is released it's going to to do this, so having the announcement trailer in the end is pointless.
This was a fun fifteen second bit, but in the end I'm going to forget about it when the full trailer comes out and I get to see more. I don't see the point of these and what the ultimately accomplish for the film.
What did you think of the teaser for the trailer? Do you like them or think they are pointless comment and let me know.
