It's okay. We're getting CoIE on CWTV.
I just hope we're at least getting a connected universe for Worlds of DC. And not just a series of individual films with no cameos and no crossovers whatsoever.
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DCEU Era |OT2| Joker's Wild
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I just hope we're at least getting a connected universe for Worlds of DC. And not just a series of individual films with no cameos and no crossovers whatsoever.
But that's the thing. The scenario has to be huge for Barry to choose not to save his mom. In original story, it was basically the end of the world. Anything smaller than that and no one is going to buy dude abandoning his mother.
Which is the other problem with a Flashpoint story: the scale. Remember, this would be the first Flash movie. Where do you go after you blow the Flash's biggest story? You certainly can't go back to him chasing the Rogues around Central City after that.
Yup. And WB gotta stop being so reactive and second guessing those talents.
Even Green Lantern 2011 could've been great. The original script was there. It has a strong director attached. But the script got butchered and production got messy with interference.
The upcoming movies I'm excited for all have talented directors with clout to see their visions through. Or with Bird of Prey, the production side has Robbie and Kroll leading it. Shazam and Flash, despite how great Game Night was, do give me pause on that end.
Aquaman means we might be getting another sort of crazy, and that the DCEU is course correcting itself properly. When WB flails about is how we got Sucide Squad, they seem to be coming out of this. Thankfully.
With Shazam, Sandberg's enthusiam gives me hope. I really feel like he got to make the movie he wanted to make, and we have yet to get any scenes that the studio isn't confident in it. We need a new trailer though. Comic Con was forever ago.
The Flash doesn't even register because it's so far away.
Oh there are definitely many reasons not to do it. That's why I called it a terrible idea. Catering to me is usually a great way for companies to lose money.
Let me do this whole Superhero movie ranking thing.
1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - It feels so good to be able to just....enjoy a Spider-Man movie again. I haven't flat out enjoyed a Spider-Man movie since I was 15 watching Spider-Man 2. Everything since has either been me hating it (fucking Amazing Spider-Man 2) or not liking it but being like "Well, this is all the Spider-Man I'm getting, so I guess this is fine." Nope. None of that compromising here. This is just a damn good movie with some gorgeous visuals, a soundtrack I'm still listening to, and a touching story about a young man learning to believe in himself.
2. Teen Titans Go to the Movies - It's everything that's great about the TV show turned up to 11 and condensed into a movie. It takes probably the most cynical mission statement in any supehero movie - Robin wants his own movie and doesn't care how he gets it - and uses it to make fun of the whole superhero movie craze, DC Comics, Marvel, its own main characters, other movies, and Stan Lee. Yet, it also delivers a nice little message about friendship. No joke: the moment toward the end when the Teen Titans sing their song again is one of the best damn hero moments of the year. Between this, Spider-Verse, and Lego Batman, I'm all for animated superhero movies that go big and crazy in a way their live action counterparts can't.
3. Aquaman - So I was born about 3 months before Tim Burton's Batman was released, meaning superhero movies have been a pretty constant thing for my entire life. More and more, I'm realizing that I love them most when they're just going as big as possible, aren't the least bit ashamed of what they're about, and you feel like everyone involved is just trying their damnedest to make their vision a reality. That was Aquaman for me. I could go over its flaws and blah blah, but honestly, I don't give a shit about any of that. I loved this fucking movie, even during the parts where I didn't love it so much.
4. Black Panther - Anyone who remembers superhero threads from Gaf knows I had been waiting for this movie for basically the entirety of the MCU's existence. I remember sitting through Comic Con after Comic Con waiting for an announcement and then being disappointed over and over and having to pretend I really gave a shit about Doctor Strange. So imagine my surprise when I finally saw the movie and I only just....liked it. Don't get me wrong, the movie has a lot going for it. Wakanda is fully realized as a setting, the cast is fantastic with Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, and Letitia Wright all being especially great, and the story tackles some heavy themes with grace. However, I also wasn't in love with the action scenes and for all the hype, Michael B Jordan as Killmonger just did nothing for me. I will admit that maybe my general fatigue with the MCU played a part here, but still. Liked, didn't love.
5. Infinity War - Thanos is a wonderful protagonist. That's the main take away from Infinity War, and it's a good thing too, because this movie flat out wouldn't work without Josh Brolin's Thanos to hard carry the whole affair. The movie jumps around way too much, there's too many characters, and it requires at least working background knowledge of/emotional attachment to the MCU to function. Even as someone who has those things, I found myself more overwhelmed than entertained at times. I will give a special shout out to Chris Hemsworth as Thor as well for being another highlight, the battle in Wakanda was fantastic, and the ending was a real gutpunch. I'm hoping Avengers Endgame will restore the feeling from the first Avengers.
6. Deadpool 2 - "Let's do everything the first movie did, but more and not as good." That was basically Deadpool 2. It's good - in fact, every movie on here is good; great year for cape flicks - but after the first Deadpool knocked it out of the park, it sucked that this just could not live up to it. Ryan Reynolds is still perfectly cast, Josh Brolin is 2 for 2 in superhero roles this year, everything with Colossus and NTW is still great (Hi Yukio!), and Zazie Beets as Domino was awesome and helped me know what love feels like (Lawd, she's so fine). All that said, the comedy was overwhleming at times and as a result, the emotional beats just didn't land like they should have. The first was so good at balancing the two and this one just...couldn't.
7. Incredibles 2 - Oh boy. So the original Incredibles is one of my favorite superhero movies. Bar none. This one though? It was fine. The main things holding it back were the weak villain, so-so plot, and a third act that feels so limp in comparison to the first movie and all the potential that was there in this one. The Parr Family, Frozone, and Edna are all still great characters, some of the action bits with Elasti-Girl are fantastic, and the new supers are cool for what little we get of them. Yet....man we waited 10 years for this? For "Man it was cool or whatever?" Come on, Brad Bird.
I haven't seen Venom, and the 35 minutes I saw of Ant-Man and the Wasp while at the barbershop was butt cheeks so I'm good there.
Edit: For added fun, my favorite moment from each.
1. Miles' leap of faith
2. Teen Titans vs Slade's Robot
3. Arthur's ending speech
4. T'Challa confronting his ancestors
5. "Bring me Thanos!"
6. Deadpool reuniting with Vanessa
7. Elasti-Girl rescuing the train.
1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - It feels so good to be able to just....enjoy a Spider-Man movie again. I haven't flat out enjoyed a Spider-Man movie since I was 15 watching Spider-Man 2. Everything since has either been me hating it (fucking Amazing Spider-Man 2) or not liking it but being like "Well, this is all the Spider-Man I'm getting, so I guess this is fine." Nope. None of that compromising here. This is just a damn good movie with some gorgeous visuals, a soundtrack I'm still listening to, and a touching story about a young man learning to believe in himself.
2. Teen Titans Go to the Movies - It's everything that's great about the TV show turned up to 11 and condensed into a movie. It takes probably the most cynical mission statement in any supehero movie - Robin wants his own movie and doesn't care how he gets it - and uses it to make fun of the whole superhero movie craze, DC Comics, Marvel, its own main characters, other movies, and Stan Lee. Yet, it also delivers a nice little message about friendship. No joke: the moment toward the end when the Teen Titans sing their song again is one of the best damn hero moments of the year. Between this, Spider-Verse, and Lego Batman, I'm all for animated superhero movies that go big and crazy in a way their live action counterparts can't.
3. Aquaman - So I was born about 3 months before Tim Burton's Batman was released, meaning superhero movies have been a pretty constant thing for my entire life. More and more, I'm realizing that I love them most when they're just going as big as possible, aren't the least bit ashamed of what they're about, and you feel like everyone involved is just trying their damnedest to make their vision a reality. That was Aquaman for me. I could go over its flaws and blah blah, but honestly, I don't give a shit about any of that. I loved this fucking movie, even during the parts where I didn't love it so much.
4. Black Panther - Anyone who remembers superhero threads from Gaf knows I had been waiting for this movie for basically the entirety of the MCU's existence. I remember sitting through Comic Con after Comic Con waiting for an announcement and then being disappointed over and over and having to pretend I really gave a shit about Doctor Strange. So imagine my surprise when I finally saw the movie and I only just....liked it. Don't get me wrong, the movie has a lot going for it. Wakanda is fully realized as a setting, the cast is fantastic with Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, and Letitia Wright all being especially great, and the story tackles some heavy themes with grace. However, I also wasn't in love with the action scenes and for all the hype, Michael B Jordan as Killmonger just did nothing for me. I will admit that maybe my general fatigue with the MCU played a part here, but still. Liked, didn't love.
5. Infinity War - Thanos is a wonderful protagonist. That's the main take away from Infinity War, and it's a good thing too, because this movie flat out wouldn't work without Josh Brolin's Thanos to hard carry the whole affair. The movie jumps around way too much, there's too many characters, and it requires at least working background knowledge of/emotional attachment to the MCU to function. Even as someone who has those things, I found myself more overwhelmed than entertained at times. I will give a special shout out to Chris Hemsworth as Thor as well for being another highlight, the battle in Wakanda was fantastic, and the ending was a real gutpunch. I'm hoping Avengers Endgame will restore the feeling from the first Avengers.
6. Deadpool 2 - "Let's do everything the first movie did, but more and not as good." That was basically Deadpool 2. It's good - in fact, every movie on here is good; great year for cape flicks - but after the first Deadpool knocked it out of the park, it sucked that this just could not live up to it. Ryan Reynolds is still perfectly cast, Josh Brolin is 2 for 2 in superhero roles this year, everything with Colossus and NTW is still great (Hi Yukio!), and Zazie Beets as Domino was awesome and helped me know what love feels like (Lawd, she's so fine). All that said, the comedy was overwhleming at times and as a result, the emotional beats just didn't land like they should have. The first was so good at balancing the two and this one just...couldn't.
7. Incredibles 2 - Oh boy. So the original Incredibles is one of my favorite superhero movies. Bar none. This one though? It was fine. The main things holding it back were the weak villain, so-so plot, and a third act that feels so limp in comparison to the first movie and all the potential that was there in this one. The Parr Family, Frozone, and Edna are all still great characters, some of the action bits with Elasti-Girl are fantastic, and the new supers are cool for what little we get of them. Yet....man we waited 10 years for this? For "Man it was cool or whatever?" Come on, Brad Bird.
I haven't seen Venom, and the 35 minutes I saw of Ant-Man and the Wasp while at the barbershop was butt cheeks so I'm good there.
Edit: For added fun, my favorite moment from each.
1. Miles' leap of faith
2. Teen Titans vs Slade's Robot
3. Arthur's ending speech
4. T'Challa confronting his ancestors
5. "Bring me Thanos!"
6. Deadpool reuniting with Vanessa
7. Elasti-Girl rescuing the train.
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I forget the list I posted before to know if it clashes with what I'm posting now:
1. Spiderverse
2. Black Panther
3. Aquaman / Infinity War
6. Deadpool 2 / Incredibles 2
6 1/2. Venom
9. Ant-Man and Wasp
Yet to see Teen Titans Go
1. Spiderverse
2. Black Panther
3. Aquaman / Infinity War
6. Deadpool 2 / Incredibles 2
6 1/2. Venom
9. Ant-Man and Wasp
Yet to see Teen Titans Go
Aquaman is visually impressive, but at the end of the day, it's like FernGully's Avatar. It borrows elements from King Arthur, Return of the King, Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones and make them into a big budget, effects heavy film. The plot is nothing special. There are no plot twists in the movie.
WB isn't interfering because Wan made a good movie and it tested well with audiences. Same with Patty Jenkins. If they hire new directors whose creative choices don't fit into their plans, they will intervene. Just like Marvel/Disney did with Ant-Man, Rogue One and Solo. Obviously you don't tell Nolan or Cameron what to do. The problem is that distinguished directors don't want to do capeflicks.
They still need to burn through origin films. Even Batman could be considered one at this point. Reeves has made critically acclaimed films, but he's still relatively a newbie when it comes to blockbusters. At some point WB will run out of patience and want results because money is on the line. It's that simple.
Alright ,I loved Aquaman , but its time to talk about 2 things that bothered me :
1) Its a rare case of a movie without subtext. everything is stated plainly : " hey Arthur, i know your conflict is this and that, but you must know that in truth you are so so " . It is ok to trust the audience a bit to figure out the movie themes for themselves .
2) The chemistry between the 2 leads weren't really there . In comparison, Morrison and Kidman - being the experienced veteran actors they are - managed to sell their romance with much less screen time .
Other then that, the movie is a joy . It managed to be goofy and a bit camp without being a self parody, hard line to walk on .It was a visual treat and Wan direction of the action scenes were super confident and dynamic with no annoying shaky cam or quick cutting - to me its always a plus .
Whatever the movie flaws are, its a super solid foundation for a hopefully better written sequel .
1) Its a rare case of a movie without subtext. everything is stated plainly : " hey Arthur, i know your conflict is this and that, but you must know that in truth you are so so " . It is ok to trust the audience a bit to figure out the movie themes for themselves .
2) The chemistry between the 2 leads weren't really there . In comparison, Morrison and Kidman - being the experienced veteran actors they are - managed to sell their romance with much less screen time .
Other then that, the movie is a joy . It managed to be goofy and a bit camp without being a self parody, hard line to walk on .It was a visual treat and Wan direction of the action scenes were super confident and dynamic with no annoying shaky cam or quick cutting - to me its always a plus .
Whatever the movie flaws are, its a super solid foundation for a hopefully better written sequel .
I can't believe it. Aquaman might be the first DCEU movie to break a billy. Wow.
Thanks for the response MHWilliams. I always appreciate your in-depth analysis. See that's why I don't like Hollywood because their so fickle about things. "Oh we didn't make as much money as we should've let's cancel everything going forward and reboot" like for ams 1 and 2 I understand because 2 showed a decline most likely because the movie was poorly received. For wb's case I'm glad their not scrapping everything and going the xmen route and soft rebooting it in a sense because lets be honest as much as I would've loved to see snyder's plan come to completion financially the movies would've made less and less especially if they weren't critical hits so the soft reboot is the best option and aquaman just showed make a decent film and that will lead to big box office total. I just wish wb aren't going to reboot cavill and affleck because I'm sure if you soft reboot their next solo film they would be very successful
Yeah, before I forget to respond to this. Thanks for the reply! :)
Some thought it would get dominated by Marry poppins 🤣And some were predicting the movie wouldn't even break 500 mil. WW.
But Aquaman is all like:
To be fair, most thought it would be dominated by Mary Poppins
In hindsight, it made little sense
But I will be honest and say never expected Aquaman to do this.
My best wishes for it were to cross 500 million, a safe amount to see life left in DCEU
Not only is there life, but I really do think helps destroy this narrative that general audiences apparently hold a grudge in connected universes
I never understood the hype for marry poppins, it was old when I was a kid and it was never replayed endlessly on Disney channel or anything.
People made it out to be some Star Wars level movie and it was never that.
People love DC characters, suicide squad as bad as that was did like $750 million with terrible word of mouth and no china box office, it also made Harley quinn a icon.
People made it out to be some Star Wars level movie and it was never that.
People love DC characters, suicide squad as bad as that was did like $750 million with terrible word of mouth and no china box office, it also made Harley quinn a icon.
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I'm generally a fan of Disney/Marvel/Star Wars but I didn't see what other people were seeing with Mary Poppins Returns either box-office wise
Moving on, I'm already in love with Black Canary 😍
She's going to be great! Hoping they show the costumes before principal photography begins, can't imagine this movie being filmed 99% in a soundstage like with Justice League. In fact I don't expect that much CGI with this film.
The Greatest Showman had an AMAZING run last year.
It's Disney.
It comes with a household brand (Which we learned I guess isn't true)
And it's major competition were sequels in two franchises that have less than stellar critical reception.
I kind of got it.
I've loved jurnee since FNL and coincidentally that's where I really knew MBJ would be a huge ass star. Yeah the wire was great but sometimes you don't know how kid actors are gonna go.
I'll say it, DC Has been killing it with the female characters, Wonder Woman, Harley, mera, I like Lois just because it's Amy Adams lol. Birds of prey really is gonna be huge, I hope they can get katana in there as I really liked her design and sword from squad.
I'll say it, DC Has been killing it with the female characters, Wonder Woman, Harley, mera, I like Lois just because it's Amy Adams lol. Birds of prey really is gonna be huge, I hope they can get katana in there as I really liked her design and sword from squad.
I understand that but I think it should've been a soft reboot and not have had returns in the title. How many people have seen the original? You gotta actively search it out as far as I know it's not up on netflix/amazon prime/ Hulu or whatever else. It's a nostalgia play for a 50 year old movie they haven't mad accessible.
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Has Karen Fukuhara given any indication that she will be in BoP? Would love to see her back for sure
Dude, what... the.. fuck??? How do these people come up with the tech and methods to make this stuff real?!?!? Good lord James, you are a mad man! Also, I can't believe that was a stunt woman that actually did that flip when Mera was blasted through the roof, fuck.
You know, when Ben affleck said doing these big CG block busters was really different than his usual film making people were so dismissive about it. Like that video is insane and that's just one small scene, some directors absolutely deserve to be hailed as visionaries.
That's why I don't believe in saying somebody like Michael bay is a hack, because he does these big grand scenes and not for nothing it can be a real spectacle.
I just want to see what Ava does with it. Most would attempt to tone things down a bit, but after A Wrinkle in Time and how that looked, I think Ava might actually try to go full-Kirby with it.
I mean, look at these fuckers:
Kirby was on some other shit when he made these guys, man.
Some of that stuff in the video is nuts. It really shows how much effort goes into something like that.
Michal Bay is not a hack, he got a very unique signature style , you know it when you watch a bay piece . He is an auteur .
The problem is thgat his signature style is pure headache and noise, which make him an auteur of crap , but his very own style of crap only he can crap out .
The problem is thgat his signature style is pure headache and noise, which make him an auteur of crap , but his very own style of crap only he can crap out .
Bad boys 2
The rock
Pain and gain
Dudes not a hack. You might not like him but his style is certainly a talent.
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Bad Boy 2 is premier action filmmaking. The attack scene in Pearl Harbor is amazingly shot. You make the same mistake that others make about Snyder; films will poor execution (the Transformers series) don't paper over the directorial talent. In fact, Bay and Snyder are similar directors.
Like, this is all practical filmmaking.
Pearl Harbor? A lot of that was practical.
In fact, he's close in working style to another controversial director... Zack Synder. Bay and Snyder both got their start at Propaganda Films, the production company founded in part by David Fincher. Both started in the medium of commercial and music video. Hell, they went to school together.
Tarsem Singh also went to school with the pair.
Bay's got problems, sure, but he's not a hack. Even this guy can acknowledge that:
Ava is a huge Jack Kirby fan. She even posted his work before any of the New Gods stuff started leaking.
I really hope the Disney execs were behind Wrinkle being a mess. The visuals were great in that film. I need her to bring Mr. Miracle, Big Barda, Granny Goodness and Darkseid to the big screen at LAST.
I really hope the Disney execs were behind Wrinkle being a mess. The visuals were great in that film. I need her to bring Mr. Miracle, Big Barda, Granny Goodness and Darkseid to the big screen at LAST.
Bay and Snyder aren't in any way similar, at least not anymore. It's pretty disingenuous to be making that comparison. That or you haven't been paying attention to Snyder's films. He's come a long way since 300 and Dawn of the Dead.
I haven't seen Pain and Gain yet, but Bay hasn't really pushed himself since The Island and even that wasn't much of a departure from he's been.
I haven't seen Pain and Gain yet, but Bay hasn't really pushed himself since The Island and even that wasn't much of a departure from he's been.
Nope. Made a very specific comparison of both as visual directors in working style. That they differ in stylistic ways, is immaterial to the point made. The specificity of words is key, not the emotional umbrage you may feel from the mere hint of the comparison.
Both men are very technical visual directors, leaning heavily on shot composition and extensive color correction to establish mood and tone. They also lean primarily on practical effects and physical shooting whenever possible. They sometimes miss the storytelling logic in order to get the best image to convey the intended mood. (Note, Bay is actually better at this, because the mood he is intending to convey is generally clearly read by his audiences. Snyder occasionally wants to convey one thing, and the audience reads another.)
Is Zack Snyder a Michael Bay clone? No, considering you can easily tell a Bay film is a Bay film, and a Snyder film is a Snyder film. Do they both have a driving ethos than tends to make for visually compelling movies whose narrative storytelling is somewhat muddled? Yes. That Snyder makes attempts at heady subtext doesn't change the overall technical aspects of their filmmaking.
Then you're probably not up to talk about Bay pushing himself, given a lack of context, having not seen Pain & Gain or 13 Hours. And the jump in craft from Bad Boys to The Island is a portfolio that laid the groundwork for action directors worldwide. Here, enjoy the essay that comes in the Criterion Collection release of Armageddon. It's worth a read.
The Transformers films are so bad that I only watched two of them, period. Michael Bay is still a worthwhile filmmaker, even if I feel his directorial style has problems, and his fingerprint on Hollywood cannot be denied. I defend Bay for the same reason I defend Snyder: yes, he's made bad films, but his craft is there.
If you want to dive more into Bay, Patrick Willems did a whole two videos on his oeuvre. (Video 1 and Video 2)
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Nah, I'm good on Bay. I've seen enough of his movies to arrive to an opinion without having it force fed upon me by other people. I haven't seen any of his recent flicks because I've soured on action movies as a whole. I've never denied Bay's technique, he just hasn't accomplished anything worthwhile in my mind while Snyder has. The look and feel of Snyder's movies are distinct. If all you want to do is compare technique, go ahead. Every single director making movies in Hollywood has probably fooled around with color correction and shot composition. You can say the same shit about Snyder as you can about Refn. I don't think there's anything to gleam from that.
I'm more concerned with the artistic ambitions and I don't see anything in Bay's filmography that tells me he has it in him to create something like Sucker Punch or BvS. That's vital. It's important and not something to just gloss over like it doesn't mean anything.
I'm more concerned with the artistic ambitions and I don't see anything in Bay's filmography that tells me he has it in him to create something like Sucker Punch or BvS. That's vital. It's important and not something to just gloss over like it doesn't mean anything.
Fair enough. I'd say the latter two films I mentioned are his more "personal" films in terms of composition; Pain & Gain was literally the leverage he offered in order to make TF4. Bay's artistic ambitions are generally lower than Snyder's, but I'd also say he actually reaches his aims, whereas Snyder takes a shot, but misses more. It's the difference between a basketball player who shoots twos with a 90 percent completion rate, or one that shoots threes with a 40 percent completion rate.
I absolutely understand why you prize Snyder's artistic aims, though.
And the difference in Refn, is he's mostly not an action director, while Bay and Snyder definitely are. It'll be interesting to see his next film, The Avenging Silence, as that's his shot at a bigger action film.
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