The first Alien Covenant teaser trailer seemed to show a movie very reminiscent of the original Alien. It looked to take place on a ship and have the crew being hunted by an Alien. It was tense and well done. The first full length trailer looked to show a movie similar to Prometheus. The crew of the Covenant lands on a new world and have to fight off the Xenomorph on the planet.
Tying this trailer to the short prelude which was released last week gets me excited for Alien Covenant. It gives just the right amount of story about the crew and why they traveling to another world. It also showcased some amazing action and terror with the Alien. This is probably what Ridley Scott should have tried when making Prometheus. I liked Prometheus and the universe building it accomplished, but the second half of the film was a bit of a mess.
The visuals of the movie look stunning, as most Ridley Scott films do. The world looks amazing, and creepy. I want more world building found in Prometheus. More information about the Engineers and why they created us, and why they created the Aliens would be welcome. Scott might shy away from this since Prometheus wasn't a hit, but if he finds the right balance in this film it should be successful. The world building wasn't the issue in Prometheus, it was the way the horror elements came about which seemed strange.
New colonies are always dangerous. The story of Alien Covenant could easily follow the same type of story of the lost colony of Roanoke. I don't think anyone from this film can survive, except maybe David the Robot. He could survive and have the corporation cover the deaths up so other colonies still move forward. Whatever the story the trailer looked fantastic, and might be the first Alien film to be a financial and critical success in years.
This is the best Kong Skull Island trailer to date. It didn't give anything more from the story that hadn't been shown, except for a little bit on Tom Hiddleston's character. There was some more action with Kong, which has ultimately sold me on the film.
Kong Skull Island still may not be a good movie. It looks like a fun popcorn type summer blockbuster being released in the beginning of March. If the movie nails it's fun tone, it should be a good time at the cinema. What I worry about is if the movie is going to take itself too serious at some points, and try and balance this with a weird John C. Reilly character.
Reilly's appearance in the first full trailer gave me pause on the film. He seemed completely out of place for everything else displayed in the trailer. It was a weird shift in tone from the breif clips shown before. This is still the case in this trailer. Reilly seems to be in a totally different movie than everyone else. His character may make total sense in the film, and not be out of place, but going on the trailer it still has me worried.
What sold me on this trailer was the action with Kong. The scenes with him fighting the skull creatures looked amazing. In the end this is what you want out of a King Kong movie, Kong destroying things. It also seems Kong will have a relationship with Brie Larson's character, which makes sense in the lore.
If Kong Skull Island can strike the perfect balance of fun action with a good story and not get too campy with Reilly's character this could be a fantastic movie. Either way I'll be seeing it on opening weekend.
I think there are more Windows Phones in this film than have
been sold in the last two years.
Get Out starring Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine
Keener, Bradley Whitford, LilRel Howery and written and directed by Jordan
Peele. Get Out has a simple premise. A girlfriend brings her boyfriend home to
meet her parents for the first time. The catch is Chris, the main character, is
black and is meeting his girlfriend’s white parents for the first time. From
here the story starts to get weird, and frankly terrifying. The interactions
Chris has with everyone at the parent’s house increasingly get stranger and
stranger. For a freshman effort at directing Jordan Peele knocked it out of the
park by telling a compelling story through film.
Pacing. Get Out has nearly perfect pacing. A good
thriller/horror film needs to draw tension and suspense and add it throughout
the story to reach a satisfying conclusion. Jordan Peele does a masterful job
in telling this for this particular story. The cold open sets the stage for where the
movie will eventually conclude, but then transition to the normal relationship
between Rose and Chris is done well. The music Peele selects for the first
opening scenes sets the perfect tone. Each subsequent interaction and scene
builds the tension for the story. The story is also sporadically interrupted with
scenes with LilRel Howery’s TSA agent character who is friends with Chris.
These scenes where well placed in the film and added just the right amount of
levity to the movie. There is one scene in particular which seemingly poked fun
at the overall premise of the film. It was the funniest scene in the film and
was at the perfect place in the story. The movie is simply well made and it is
a truly effective suspenseful horror film.
Along with the story all of the actors do a great job in the
movie. Daniel Kaluuya in particular is fantastic as the star. He holds the
entire movie together with his performance. The emotion he conveys with his
eyes is extremely well done. Allison Williams as the girlfriend has an
understated performance for most of the film, but delivers overall. Catherine
Keener and Bradley Whitford are great as the creepy parents. Catherine Keener
in particular has some great spooky scenes as the therapist mom. The entire
cast adds to the movie and each performance enhances the film. Marcus Henderson
and Betty Gabriel have relatively minor roles, but their characters have a
presence in the story. All of the characters, however minor, have depth and
feel realized for their place in the film.
There is a deeper social aspect to Get Out as well. Just
watching the film on a surface level works, but the social commentary is hard
to miss. The message doesn’t hit the audience over the head, but it is there.
Peele did a good job of leaving the message he was trying to convey open to interpretation.
He had an idea of what he wanted to get across, but I think all people can
relate to and find different meanings in the story told. There is some backlash
for the film, either from the universal praise from critics, or because of its
subject matter. For me the hype was real and I enjoyed every aspect of the
movie, and the subtle social commentary.
The only negative I saw in the film was the ending scene. It
was the only moment of levity that didn’t really match the overall tone for the
film. I did chuckle at one of the jokes during the last part, but the end just
was a little out of place. It was a slight wobble on the landing in an
otherwise perfect routine. This is just a small nitpick in a movie I enjoyed
and could see watching again, which isn’t something I say about a horror film. It
is very much worth seeing, and if you can get out to the theater to watch I
would recommend it in this setting. Horror isn’t a genre I usually go out and
watch, but I would probably also buy this film. The overall storytelling and
characters are good enough to enjoy on multiple viewings. It is a little early
in the year to be talking Oscars for 2017, but hopefully Peele gets a small
amount of buzz for best screenplay this year. Get Out at the very least
deserves to be in the running.
What did you think of Get Out if you saw it? Is the nearly
universal praise the film is receiving getting you interested if you haven’t
seen it? Comment and let me know.
If we count Lego Batman 2017 will have eight superhero films
based on characters from DC and Marvel comics. 2016 had six. Are people getting
tired of these yet?
Over the past couple of years, the idea of superhero film
fatigue has started to pop up. The prevailing sentiment is there are too many
superhero films in cinema today and eventually the movie going public will
reject the films being put out by major studios. There are two different camps
to break this into. Those who are film fans, cinephiles, or movie snobs and the
general movie public. The cinephiles are getting tired of numerous superhero
movies which come out every year. The general movie going public, as of yet, has
not.
Personally I consider myself both. I love superhero films,
and movies in general. For me I haven’t become fatigued by the numbers of
superhero films coming out, and think Marvel films in particular continue to
put out better and better films. One can argue Marvel has a formula and they
don’t take enough chances, but what they do is introduce new genre stories to
new superheroes which keeps the films fresh and entertaining. The general movie
going audience seems to think the same thing, because each movie they release
continues to make money.
The almighty dollar is what is going to determine how long
the superhero movie craze continues. If people continue to support the movies
the major studios are going to continue to produce them. Last year had the most
superhero films released to date and each one, even the ones panned critically,
made money. Four out of the six released made over seven hundred million
dollars. From the general movie going audience there is not fatigue. In 2015
there were only three releases and two did well. Fantastic Four bombed, but it
is the only outlier from the last four years. If you look at 2014 totals every
single release made over seven hundred million dollars. While 2016 had a couple
which only grossed over five hundred million worldwide those films either had a
poorer reception critically in the case of X-Men or had a lesser known
superhero like Doctor Strange. All the
films for the past four years, except one, have made money. There will many more
superhero films in near future due to this.
There could be a tipping point where the public does become fatigued
by the sheer number of superhero films. This also ties into the quality of the
films. Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad both made Warner Brothers money, but
if Wonder Women and Justice League are not received well critically the general
public may not be sucked in. Wonder
Woman is also a period piece, which may turn some off if it doesn’t do well out
of gate critically. Justice League will make money, but how much will also be
based on the initial reception. If these films don’t do well and have some of
the same issues as Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad they will make less than
either of those films did. Marvel however with the quality of their films will
continue to make money until they fail. Each new film they have coming out this
year looks fantastic. Guardians, Thor, and throw in Spiderman, even though it’s
a Sony release, all look great. If for
some of these aren’t spectacular and Justice League and Wonder Woman are bad,
then audiences may start to shy away in 2018. However, with The Lego Batman
movie already making over 170 million worldwide in two weeks and Logan’s early positive
critic reception, the superhero craze is likely to continue in full force for the
next few years.
As a person who loves all types of movies I can understand
those who think independent and mid-level films are getting pushed aside for
the blockbuster releases. I don’t think it’s the case, because there are still
hundreds of films coming out each year which are not based on comic book
superheroes. As someone who likes both I’m perfectly happy with the current
state of cinema. There will eventually be a tipping point and the amount of
superhero films will diminish, but the genre is never going to go away. Comic
books have been around nearly as long as cinema itself, and these types of
stories with advancing technology is here to stay.
How many superhero films per year is too much?
Do you think there will be an eventual decline in the money these films make?
Comment and let me know.
I really don't know what to think about Guy Ritchie's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. On the one hand I love Guy Ritchie as a filmmaker. His unique style always has fascinated and entertained me. The Sherlock Holmes films, especially the first, where a fun twist on the character, and Man from UNCLE was underappreciated. This King Arthur film though just doesn't look good from this trailer.
The first trailer to come out at last year's comic con was good, and gave me hope for a film which went through massive reshoots. The movie was supposed to come out last year and was delayed because of some bad test screenings. With this in mind I've been somewhat skeptical of the film.
Arthurian stories have been told thousands of times and Ritchie's style doesn't necessarily mesh well with the time period. A new interesting take on old stories is always intriguing. With the films struggles and this trailer not hitting the right note I'm not sure this film will be good. A different look on an old legend is welcome, it just has to thread a thin needle to be impressive.
It could also be the strange song choice found in the trailer. I love Led Zeppelin, but it doesn't make much sense to put their song in a movie about King Arthur, even if it is just for the trailer. The song doesn't seem to match the tone for the movie. Maybe it will, but it could also be one reason I wasn't impressed with this trailer.
Let's hope the reshoots and this trailer aren't an indication for the quality of this King Arthur retelling, but to quote another franchise, I've got a bad feeling about this.
The possibilities episode fifteen of season three of Star Wars
Rebels, Legacy of Mandalore, open up are extremely exciting and intriguing. Legacy
of Mandalore is a continuation of the last episode, Trials of the Darksaber. It has Sabine Wren traveling back to her ancestral
home to try and convince the Mandalorians to join the Rebellion. Since Sabine
betrayed the Empire and ran away from Mandalore going back has consequences. Her
return forces her Mother to alert Gar Saxon of her arrival with Kanan and Ezra.
The episode ends on an interesting note, with Sabine not returning with Kanan
and Ezra. She decides to stay and help take control of Mandalore. This could
either signify Sabine is done as a main character in this show or Mandalore
might play a bigger role next season.
Overall the episode was good. It wasn’t as emotionally
impactful as the previous, but it did provide interesting backstory between Sabine,
her mother, and brother. The episode provided information on Sabine’s Father
who is being held as a political prisoner on Mandalore. His presence on the
main planet was another reason Sabine’s mother was forced to call Gar Saxon
when Sabine showed up. It was good to see Sabine stand up to her Mother and
Brother. She wanted them to understand why she ran away, and it seemed her
mother understood the reasoning. The
story was a good continuation from the previous episode and showed the
potential of a new Mandalorian storyline independent of the Rebels show.
Legacy
of Mandalore opened up possibilities. Dave Filoni is a big fan of the Mandalore
and has done the most to expand their lore and purpose. Having Sabine stay
behind to try and unite Mandalore could be the start of a new show. Sabine is
one of the most popular characters, so having her exit the crew doesn’t make
much sense unless there is going to be a spinoff. Filoni has left being the
overall showrunner for Star Wars Rebels to work on other projects, and a new
show focused on Sabine and Mandalore would make sense. To hedge my bet next
season could also focus more on Sabine and Mandalore and if they get involved
with the Rebellion. There may not be enough material for a show to just focus
on Mandalore. A new show could focus on the reunification of Mandalore, and on
Mandalore after the fall of the Empire. It could focus on Sabine’s role in
forming of the New Republic. If Sabine doesn’t come back into the main show it
might alienate some fans if another show announcement isn’t upcoming with her
as the start.
Many
fans could be upset from the implications that Sabine is leaving the show. For
me it opens up many possibilities for the character to move forward. My biggest
issue with the episode was some of the action. This is surprising since the
show usually has fantastic action scenes. The fight in the main room between
all the Mandalorians, Ezra, and Kanan was laughable with the amount of close
quarters shots not hitting their marks. I’m all for the joke about
Stormtroopers not hitting their targets, but Mandalorians too? It’s not a big
deal, and is just a small nitpick overall, but it is a bit of a head scratcher.
The only other small nitpick was the use of Ezra. When he isn’t the focus in
the episode the character falls back on annoying traits and unfunny jokes. If
fans are behind Sabine leaving the team, then overall it was a very successful episode.
The
big revelation of Sabine not being a part of the main team is the crux of the
episode. There might be arc’s in the show just focusing on her, or a new show,
but it is a departure. Sabine and Hera might be the two crew members who
survive close to the Battle of Yavin. Hopefully we soon see the results of
Sabine’s departure from the team. Maybe the Mandalorians will come to the
Rebellions aide and help them escape the attack on Lothal, or save them from
Thrawn when he attacks Chopper base. Whatever the case the show is entreating a
different phase with Sabine leaving the team.
I missed watching the West Wing when it first aired. Watching
Television on Thursday nights in college wasn’t high on my priority list. Current
events and its availability on Netflix have caused me to go back and watch the political
series. The long campaign last year and
the start of this year have made me a little demoralized in the idea of our government
and politics in general. The idea of holding political office for the purpose
of trying to work for the good of people is the ultimate noble ideal. The show
highlights this aspect of governmental service. It shows the honor it is to
serve in the White House and for an honorable man who is trying to do what he
thinks is best for the United State of America.
I’m not saying anything new to anyone who watched the show
when it was on television. The show, written and created by Aaron Sorkin, has
his patented quick witted style and dialogue. I’m currently watching the fourth
season which was his last on the show and I’m interested to see if I can notice
a change for the fifth. There is very little in the show that I’m not enjoying.
The only small parts which don’t interest me are the relationships between the
staffers. The dating relationships don’t interest me. I’m watching the show for
the politics and how the White House might potentially work. When the show is at its best is when it is
solving a crisis or working on trying to get a policy passed. Showing how hard
it is to pass a law and the compromises they must make is true to politics. The
same can be said of the foreign issues the President must face during his time
in office. Each crisis or issue the team faces are hard and no easy decision
usually presents itself, but the conviction of trying to do the right thing
drives the compass of the show.
The idealized premise of the show is based in the nobility
of those who work for President Bartlet. Right now with everything going on in
the current White House, it’s nice to watch a show about the nobility of
service. I don’t want to get into a political debate about what is happening
currently, or about how things have been broken in Washington. This show while
fictionalized gives me hope people who do work for the government can do it for
a noble cause for helping. This may be naïve, but trying to make a difference
to make the country a better place to live is the ultimate goal for politics.
This gets lost in the mix much of the time, but I’m glad I can escape to a show
to make me feel just a bit better about the country I live in. If I want to
feel bad I can just turn on the news or watch House of Cards. I look forward to
going through the rest of the show and probably will go back and watch it
again, just to get the high of watching an idealized noble person serving in
the White House.
There is a current gap in Star Wars new canon. There have
been no new stories taking place between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the
Jedi. This time period provided some of the best stories from Legends, like
Shadows of the Empire. To date the comics and books have focused on either the
time between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back or after Return of the Jedi.
There are numerous stories which can be told between Empire and Return of the Jedi
focusing on how Luke and Leia planned on getting Han back, and how Luke grew in
power. This is a time period which should be explored more in canon, and its absence
might mean Lucasfilm has something big planned for the time period.
The biggest announcement or plan could be a standalone Star
Wars Story film set between the two episodes. Another war story focusing on
other Rebellion battles could be exciting. I don’t think Lucasfilm would do another
film centered around the Death Star. However, a film about the Bothan’s getting
information back to the Rebellion about the second Death Star would interest
me. This could be an idea greenlit after some time has passed for Rogue One They
could do a movie on how Lando infiltrated Jabba’s palace and learned about the
organization. If Donald Glover is cast in the universe, they may as well use
him. I don’t know if this could be a
full film, but a movie focusing more on the underworld of the Star Wars
universe would be welcome. There is little reason for their not to be more
canon material in this time period, so them holding off for a film announcement
might be one reason why there is a lack of content.
Books and comics should be coming for this time period if
they aren’t going to announce a film. The comics have been running for almost three
years in the main line, and eventually the amount of stories set between A New
Hope and Empire Strikes Back are going to reach a tipping point in
believability. There is only so many adventures they could have had between the
first two movies to be believable. The comics should make a jump, and hopefully
it happens in the next year or so. Books should also start to explore the story
about how Luke grows in power during this time. A reason the story group is
reluctant to tackle this time period might be because of how well regarded
Shadows of the Empire is held by fans. The story group may have ideas about
adding a story similar to this to canon, but are reluctant because of backlash.
They could just reintroduce Shadows back into canon, but I doubt they will do
this either. It would cause too much confusion where there is already confusion
to begin with. I doubt they are afraid to tackle this time period canonically,
but it could be another reason why there hasn’t been books or other media.
The time period between Empire and Return of the Jedi is
also lacking Han Solo, which is a selling point to many fans of the universe. The
lack of Han during this time period is probably why they didn’t start new
stories set between Empire and Return of the Jedi, but with his death in Force
Awakens and him getting his own standalone film they could start adding stories.
The most interesting would center around how Luke gained power and created a
new lightsaber. The creation of his green saber should be the focus on one
entire novel. I would personally love a film about this time focusing on Luke,
but I doubt this would happen with so many adventures and films already
centered on the last Jedi.
This is a time period which should be explored, because it
is set during some of the heaviest fighting between the Empire and Rebellion.
The Rebellion were at their strongest, and so were the Empire. Maybe a new
animated show is in the works and will start during this time period and go
through the events of Return of Jedi. If Star Wars Rebels is only going to be
on for a few more seasons this would make sense. Dave Filoni is working on a
new project, and maybe this would be it. Regardless of what new canon is
created for this time frame, it is a gap which should be addressed. There is
too much story between the two episodes not to be told.
Comment and let me know what stories you would like to see
set between Episode Four and Five.
An animation spoof superhero kid’s movie using Legos. Yep, we now live in a world where that
exists.
The Lego Batman Movie, starring the voices of Will Arnett,
Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifianakis, and directed by
Chris McKay. The Lego Batman Movie tells the story of origins of the Bat-team
and how Batman goes from a loner superhero into accepting help from others,
done in hilarious fashion. The animation is top notch and continues the great
work from Warner Brothers animation featured in The Lego Movie. Lego Batman is a fun enjoyable movie which
can be enjoyed by everyone.
One of the highlights from The Lego Movie was Batman and the
spoofy take the film delivered on his character. The Lego Batman movie takes the
same premise and spreads it over 90 minutes, and surprisingly gives the
character an arc and growth. The Batman in the film has to learn to accept to
accept help from others, and face the fear of letting people get close to him. It’s
a fairly standard story, but when adding in all of the Batman mythology it
takes the spoofing of the character to another level. The interactions between
Alfred and Batman are some of the best in the film and they have a few of the
best jokes. The way the film plays up the ridiculous premise of a rich orphan boy
who fights crime for attention, but at the same time keeps everyone away was
executed perfectly.
The team building and the character interactions are the
best parts of the movie. Barbara Gordon voiced by Rosario Dawson stole the
movie for me. She had some of the best spoof jokes about the character of
Batman and his overall job performance. The montage with her introduction was
great, and it was the perfect way to integrate her into the movie. The entire
setup for the film was well done and very well paced. Dick Grayson voiced by Michael Cera was also
perfectly cast. Cera did a great job in Sausage Party last year and followed it
up well in Lego Batman. I would like for him to get some more live action roles
again. Hollywood needs more Michael Cera. They nailed all of the heroes with
their ludicrous traits from shows and comics and highlighted the silliness in a
reverential way.
The way the story was told and the team assembled was funny,
but the best relationship in the film is between Batman and The Joker. It was
the perfect spoof for every iteration of Batman which has been shown on screen
to date. The way Joker pines for Batman was pitch perfect for a silly animation
comedy about Batman and The Joker. It hit the right amount of truth like any
spoof should to be funny. Again the comedy about Batman is never mean spirited,
it is a light hearted roast of a character which is beloved by almost everyone.
Chris McKay and the people who made Lego Batman know the characters involved
and paid the right amount of respect in making fun of them.
There isn’t much to complain about in Lego Batman. The
pacing after the first fight might have been a tad bit slow, but this is the
only issue. It is an extremely well made fun family film. My wife who doesn’t
like superhero films enjoyed seeing Lego Batman. The small pacing issues are
the only nitpicks I have for the film. The inside jokes and references might
have gone over many people’s head, and I’m sure I didn’t understand many of the
actual comic references, but understanding isn’t needed to enjoy the actual
story the film is telling. The main point of the story is easy to follow and
understand. The easter eggs and jokes are just extra icing for those who are in
the know.
The Lego Batman movie is a fun film which can be enjoyed by
everyone. It’s well worth seeing and worth owning when it is available. It is a
film I will be able to watch countless times with my family because of the
execution in story. There aren’t many good spoof movies made anymore, but Lego
Batman was able to inject some much needed life into the genre. If they
announced a Lego Star Wars film spoofing the saga it would be welcome, instead
of the one which was recently announced. A Lego version of the films in this
vain would be perfect. Hopefully Lego and Warner Brothers continue to make
great animated films and push Pixar as the top animation studio. The second
effort was every bit as strong as the first, and I’m looking forward to Lego Ninjago
later this year.
What did you think of Lego Batman? Is it one of
the best Batman films made? Comment and let me know. Like Share subscribe and
all that fun stuff.
Amazing and Fantastic action, but was there too much?
John Wick Chapter 2 starring Keanu Reeves, Riccardo
Scamarcio, Ian McShane, Common, Ruby Rose, Laurence Fishburne and directed by
Chad Stahelski. John Wick Chapter 2 picks up a short time after the first film
ended with John looking for his stolen car. The movie hits the ground running with
a stunning action scene, then gets into the plot for the second film. John Wick
going back to his assassin roots caused a crime boss to call in a favor John
must comply with. His compliance and subsequent actions force John into
increasingly dangerous situations throughout the course of the movie.
The story for John Wick Chapter 2 is not as compelling as
the first, but that doesn’t mean the film isn’t fantastic. The first John Wick
hooked you with emotion, and the second Chapter doesn’t have the same emotional
hold which set the first story in motion. The second installment is more of a
traditional action movie and in a few places the story does tend to drag. This
is the one of only downsides to the movie, and this small negative is
outweighed by everything else found in the film. The only other slight negative
the second chapter offers is the villain. He isn’t as compelling as the first,
and is tad silly, but I think the directors were shooting for this. The first
film had some absurd and silly moments with the villains as well, and the second
chapter keeps some of these same aspects. There is very little else however to complain
about in the sequel
The action scenes alone in John Wick are worth the price of
admission, along with how the movie builds on the already fantastic universe from
the first film. One of the biggest additions in Chapter two is the character Laurence
Fishburne plays. He is a leader of another underground organization which
blends in perfectly to the world of John Wick. The character he plays is
fantastic and you can tell he was having fun playing off of Keanu in a movie
again. The sheer jubilance he has in delivering his lines was great and he
stole the scenes he was in. The Continental, the secret assassin hotel, was a
great addition in the first movie, and Fishburne being king of another secret
group is equally fantastic. The Continental hotel is highlighted again and Ian McShane’s
manager role is featured more in this film than the first. He is great, along with everyone else who
works in the hotel. The entire world the film is set in feels nuanced, and
without truly explaining anything the movie is easy to follow. The audience is
dropped into the world and nothing is spoon fed in exposition. This is refreshing for a film. The mystery of
the world is part of what make John Wick fascinating.
Adding to the world are the pre-existing relationships which
are also never fully explained. One which stood out the most besides Fishburne
is Common who plays another assassin, Cassian. He has some truly great fight
scenes with Keanu, and does a great job of being the equal to John Wick. Having
John Wick getting injuries and struggling throughout the course of both movies
is another strength for the franchise. John Wick is an exceptional bad ass, but
he isn’t invulnerable and it’s great to see how the character struggles to
accomplish his tasks. This is the
displayed well with his fights with Cassian. I could watch their fight scenes on
repeat, they are brutal, and extremely realistic. There isn’t a bad fight in
the film and Ruby Rose holds her own as well, though you could tell her fight
had a stunt double. She plays the lead henchmen to the main villain, and her
character was interesting because she was mute. She signed through the film,
which allowed the filmmakers drop in more of the great subtitles they use in
both of the movies. I could understand those who may not like her character,
but I thought it was another interesting take and addition to the overall world
created.
John Wick Chapter 2 simply put is a fantastic action film.
There are outstanding action sequences throughout the course of the entire
movie, with so many fantastic headshots. They may have even pushed passed a
line with the amount shown, but I loved every minute. The action feels real,
and is shot flawlessly to where the audience never is lost with what is going
on. The environments they choose for each action sequence also add another
element to each scene and they become another character in the shots. If anyone
was a fan of the first film this is a must watch and must own. If you are a fan
of action films and didn’t see the first, watch it, and then go see John Wick
Chapter 2. There is little doubt to me that the film will get a third chapter,
and I’ll be there on opening night to watch. Go out and see John Wick Chapter
2.
Comment and let me know what you thought of John
Wick Chapter 2 if you have seen it. If not are you planning on seeing it? Will
you be excited when they announce the inevitable Chapter 3
Netflix has around sixty shows and movies which have been
produced by the streaming service to date. Today Netflix announced a litany of
more shows and movies coming to the online service. Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu,
just to name a few, are the new normal in producing online viewing material. Netflix
kicked things off with the truly masterful series, House of Cards and hasn’t
looked backed. Not everything has been a hit, but enough has been stellar to
keep people watching. With the streaming services adding more and more content
it gives the viewers more and more options, but it also increases the chances
of things being bad, and then devaluing the brand of the services overall.
When House of Cards came out and became a major hit it
announced Netflix as a player in the television market. It changed the game.
With Orange as the New Black and numerous other series and films they have
proven they produce high quality entertainment. The same can be said of Amazon
and the shows they have produced. Hulu is newer to the game and has adopted a
different more traditional model in how they release their content. All television
and movie studios have hits or misses and consumers base on what they watch by
trailers and buzz around the shows. With so much content coming out it will be
hard to pick the good from the bad, or even get to everything coming out. Then
you have to add all the regular content on television. This means with so many
choices consumers are going to go to services with the best track record for providing
the best content.
Is more necessarily better? If Netflix and other services
put out more and more content, but the quality goes down it could eventually
hurt their business. There are so many options having fewer shows, but the
highest quality might be a safer bet. HBO doesn’t produce a vast amount of
shows, but the ones they do are usually of high quality. They have had their
misses, but HBO usually adopts a practice of producing a few shows which are
viewed in the highest regard. If HBO says they are coming out with a new show,
it is usually something you want to tune in for.
The major streaming services coming out with more and more
content is great for content creators, but it also means their content is
harder to find. If a show is truly exceptional word of mouth will spread for
it. Stranger Things is an excellent example of this. Netflix didn’t promote the
show heavily, but it took off because everyone was talking about it. Great
shows will rise to the top, but people are more willing to keep coming back to
the service or network if the quality of the content is always high. Giving
Adam Sandler a three picture movie deal to have him produce crappy films with
his friends doesn’t promote quality. If there isn’t a high standard adhered to
about what is produced, then people will be less likely to seek out the shows
on the services, and the good shows on the service might get missed. This will
force good content creators to seek out the networks or services with good
shows, because they know consumers watch.
The amount of content on the streaming services will likely
continue to increase over the next few years until there is an overload
reached. Once this happens the services will start to cut back and a balance
will be reached eventually. The streaming content still has to contend with the
shows coming out on network and cable television, and there is still great
content from traditional sources. With the advent of the streaming services and
the way people are cutting cords networks have to step up their game as well
and look to produce more and more quality content. This of course is always
good for the consumers, I just worry Netflix and other services are starting to
overreach on what they are starting to produce.
Thirty seconds is a short, but it's enough time to get excited for the second season of Stranger Things. This ad stole the show for trailers during the Super Bowl. The movies trailers were good, but this got me more excited than anything else on Super Bowl Sunday.
There isn't much shown in the short trailer, but we get some great shots of the guys in Ghostbusters costumes, and why wouldn't they be? They are real life Ghostbusters in their world. Ghostbusters would greatly affect them because they would be apt to believe in it more than anyone else. They would probably try to start their own version since they know things that go bump in the night do exist in the world of Stranger Things.
The show does look like it is going bigger, and expand on the upside down. It looks to be spilling over into the real world more than it did in the first season. I'm excited to see where the story is going, and the perfect synth music and 80's graphic at the end was the perfect touch, as always, for the show. It made me want to go back and start the first season over as soon as I saw it. Can't wait to watch.
The planet Ach-To is where Rey finds Luke at the end of
Episode 7 The Force Awakens. The planet is remote and apparently far away from
the main hub of the galaxy in the Star Wars Universe. It might be the location
of the first Jedi Temple and it is apparently where Luke has been hiding since
Ben Solo fell to the dark side and became Kylo Ren. The major question and
mystery is why Luke decided to go into seclusion. Having your nephew fall to
the dark side and more than likely murder all of the current trainees would be
devastating, but would it be enough to drive him away indefinitely? Is Luke on
the island because he feels he failed the galaxy and can’t help anymore? Was he
looking for a way to fight Snoke and Kylo? Episode Eight The Last Jedi will
answer these questions, but why not speculate, because that’s fun too.
Let’s first discuss if Luke knows what is going on in the
rest of the galaxy. If Snoke felt an awakening in the force with Rey, I am
assuming Luke felt the same thing. I know J.J Abrams gave an excuse about how
BB-8 coxed R2-D2 out of dormant status, but I still think Luke had something to
do with it. It just makes sense in the story for Luke to have felt the
awakening of a powerful Jedi and know he would need to be found. He wanted to
ensure he could be found, and left a portion with Lor San Tekka and the other
with R2. The other question would be as to why Lor San Tekka was on Jakku. It
could either be because he knew Jakku was important and discovered Rey or knew
she was there and wanted to protect her. Luke could also have been in contact
with Lor San Tekka since he had the map. Luke may have wanted to keep up to
date on some of the issues which were happening in the galaxy.
The question if Luke was going to leave the planet is in
regards to the destruction of Hosnian Prime. He would have felt the massive
loss of life on the planet, and this might have forced his hand. This is one
reason I was expecting Luke to show up on Starkiller Base during the final
confrontation. He felt the loss of life and might have wanted to come back to
the galaxy to protect it. This only makes sense for the type of character Luke
is, unless the loss of all of his trainees affected him to an extreme. The
other reason why he may have not left is he felt the Awakening of Rey. While he
felt the destruction of Hosnian Prime he also felt her awaken within the force
and knew she would be coming to him. Luke with the force can also see into the
future and may have foreseen much of what happened. Luke could have learned from
his past mistakes from rushing off to help, and instead practiced patience
because he knew his interference would in the end not help. If this were not
the case I think we will find Luke would have been on his way back to protect
the galaxy.
The Last Jedi will show Luke knew Rey would awaken at some
point and have to seek him out. I still think Luke is related to her in some
fashion, but it doesn’t have to be the case for the story to work. The tweet from
the official Star War account revealing the name of the film was phrased in a
telling way. The tweet has the phrase: The next chapter in the Skywalker saga,
which makes me think Rey is in some fashion a Skywalker. True the film is going
to focus more on Luke, and Kylo is a Skywalker, but I still expect Rey to be
related as well. Again for the story to work she doesn’t have to be, but I
think they are setting it up for her to be related. If this is the case it
opens up many questions as to why Luke abandoned Rey on Jakku, but I have faith
enough in the story group for this to be addressed. Luke knew Rey was powerful,
and did something to her to suppress her powers. Then when she was old enough the Force would
awaken in her and she would be forced to seek him out.
The big question the The Last Jedi should answer is if Luke is
hiding on Ahch-To because he feels he has let down the Galaxy, or because he
knew he couldn’t fight Snoke when Kylo went to the dark side. This forced him
to go into into hiding to bide his time. The conflict Luke should feel in the
movie should be a focus point. He should question his actions and decisions and
if they were right for the galaxy at large. This is one reason I still loved
The Force Awakens, it opened up so many questions for the story going forward.
It can be argued to many things were left unanswered in episode seven, but we
knew there were going to be three movies to tell this particular story. Luke should
have felt the pull to leave Ahch-To when the Hosnian system was blown up, the
question is why didn’t he? There must be a reason and probably multiple ones as
to why the Jedi Master went into hiding, and getting the answers to these
questions is one of many reasons why I’m extremely excited for The Last Jedi.
Comment and let me know why you think Luke is hiding out on
a remote planet and if you think he should have been planning to go back to the
galaxy at large.
News dropped from Brian Herbert, son of original author
Frank Herbert of Dune, that Legendary pictures had signed Denis Villeneuve to
direct a new film adaptation for the book. I personally have never gotten the
appeal of Dune. I read the first book a few years ago, and didn’t get into it.
It was a perfectly fine novel and story, but not as epic or far reaching as I
was looking forward too. My expectations for the book may have been too high
since it had been built up by so many before I read it. Getting Denis
Villeneuve to direct a film which he loves the content, gets me excited.
Denis Villeneuve has directed two of my favorite films from
the past two years. Sicario was fantastic, and so is Arrival. He is an amazing
director and hasn’t had a miss yet. His upcoming Blade Runner sequel is one of my most
anticipated films of the year of this year. He obviously has a passion for
trying to bring meaningful Science Fiction stories to the big screen. Arrival
was the first, Blade Runner will be the second, and he will follow it up with
Dune. Then the question becomes how many Dune films will he direct or will he
step aside and let other directors continue on the story of the universe? I
would think he would move onto another project.
These projects because of Denis Villeneuve have a chance to
make the Oscar and other awards ceremonies take notice of genre films. With
Arrival being nominated this year he could easily follow it up with Blade
Runner with its subject matter. Dune
also has a deep subject matter, and while I didn’t necessarily love the book,
Villeneuve could transform the story to film and make me take notice. It doesn’t
happen often that a film is better than book, but for me this one could be the
case. It doesn’t happen often, but with a good
director it is a possible.
Overall the news of a Dune adaptation doesn’t get me excited,
but having Denis Villeneuve direct it does. I can’t wait to see what he comes
up with.
