Movies - where we can talk about movies

[Jerjo]

Going to see Fantastic Four tonight...early word is not good, and there is a review embargo...not a good sign but I will reserve judgement.

Apparently "It's clobberin' time" was what Ben Grimm's older brother would tell him before he would beat the snot out of him. Oh, there's millions of comic fans that would see red with that. It's too bad. The FF had some of the most epic Lee/Kirby stories and it would be amazing to see a FF movie that would channel that stuff. But every FF movie just fails to even clear the lowest of bars.

[dropforge]

Apparently "It's clobberin' time" was what Ben Grimm's older brother would tell him before he would beat the snot out of him. Oh, there's millions of comic fans that would see red with that. It's too bad. The FF had some of the most epic Lee/Kirby stories and it would be amazing to see a FF movie that would channel that stuff. But every FF movie just fails to even clear the lowest of bars.

They can't even get Doctor Doom right, and he's arguably more important to the FF than the FF are to themselves.

[No Pride]

Going to see Fantastic Four tonight...early word is not good, and there is a review embargo...not a good sign but I will reserve judgement.

It's another "reboot," right? I don't understand this trend. I saw "The Amazing Spiderman," which was a reboot of the original franchise... and I don't get it; it was basically the same story as the first Spiderman movie, only with different actors and different details and subplots. And it wasn't as good, not even close. Another trend is making movies based on an old TV series; "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." is the latest one. Has Hollywood run out of ideas? Seems like it sometimes.

[Brad to the Bone]

Going to see Fantastic Four tonight...early word is not good, and there is a review embargo...not a good sign but I will reserve judgement.

Is the new reboot still done by Fox (or Sony?) or have the movie rights reverted to Marvel/Disney, as has apparently happened with Spider-man?

[nosebone]

Going to see Fantastic Four tonight...early word is not good, and there is a review embargo...not a good sign but I will reserve judgement.

Leave a review tomorrow.

[dropforge]

Is the new reboot still done by Fox (or Sony?) or have the movie rights reverted to Marvel/Disney, as has apparently happened with Spider-man?

Fox owns the movie rights to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men and all characters, villains and otherwise, peripherally connected to them. Spider-Man hasn't reverted to Marvel, they just worked something out.

[Scott Bails]

Fox owns the movie rights to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men and all characters, villains and otherwise, peripherally connected to them. Spider-Man hasn't reverted to Marvel, they just worked something out.

Right - didn't they do something that now has Spider-Man as part of the "Marvel Cinematic Universe?"

[dropforge]

Right - didn't they do something that now has Spider-Man as part of the "Marvel Cinematic Universe?"

Yeah, Spidey reportedly has a cameo in Captain America: Civil War and I think Tony Stark has one in the next Spider-Man movie.

[Just Eric]

I can't keep up with all the comic book movies, universes, cross-overs and studios anymore. It's a shame as 9 out of 10 movies released these days is based on a comic book! Slim pickings for the rest of us!

[Klonk]

I can't keep up with all the comic book movies, universes, cross-overs and studios anymore. It's a shame as 9 out of 10 movies released these days is based on a comic book! Slim pickings for the rest of us!

I can't stand it. Never was into comics anyway. Are there even anymore superheroes left to put in a movie? Please...make it go away.

HEY LOU! Check out Frankenstein's Army Trust me. 8 out of 10 beers/spliffs preferred. Pure late night horror/comedy fun.

[dropforge]

I can't keep up with all the comic book movies, universes, cross-overs and studios anymore. It's a shame as 9 out of 10 movies released these days is based on a comic book! Slim pickings for the rest of us!

Oh, don't worry. The new Star Borgs movie is almost here.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Agree...it left me cold too. Same old thing...agents on the run, IMF under threat of closure, rogue agents, shadowy figures, endless supply of rent a thugs, and even the action scenes did not impress, mainly because we have seen them all in the trailers. And its far too serious, despite Simon Peggs role.

Much preferred Ghost Protocol.

Watched Ant-Man again last night, much more enjoyable.

Going to see Fantastic Four tonight...early word is not good, and there is a review embargo...not a good sign but I will reserve judgement.

Saw Ant-Man on Tuesday and enjoyed it way more than I thought. Growing up as a DC comic guy, I was sort of out of comics when Marvel hit the floor. Every time a new movie comes out and I go knowing zero about the character and I walk out having thoroughly enjoyed myself. I enjoyed the previous Fantastic 4 with Jessica Alba, not sure if I'll be able to say the same about this edition.

[Scott Bails]

I love comic book movies. Shoot me.

[spellbound]

I am now convinced that no one involved with the MI movie franchise has ever seen an episode of the great TV show.

I have seen all the MI movies except the new one. You're right about the TV show. Sometimes I will catch an episode on late night retro TV and get sucked into the story right away. That was a good TV series. The movies are only good for the stunts.

Going to see Fantastic Four tonight...early word is not good, and there is a review embargo...not a good sign but I will reserve judgement.

WTF is a review embargo? Never heard of one. How is it enforced? Who decides? Who cares? If I wrote a review, would the embargo police come and steal my pen? How would a reviewer even know he isn't "allowed" to write a review?

It IS a time travel movie.

It WILL BE a time travel movie.

It's another "reboot," right? I don't understand this trend. I saw "The Amazing Spiderman," which was a reboot of the original franchise... and I don't get it; it was basically the same story as the first Spiderman movie, only with different actors and different details and subplots. And it wasn't as good, not even close.

That is because Sam Raimi is a master and whoever did the reboot is an unimaginative douche.

Another trend is making movies based on an old TV series; "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." is the latest one.

As a child in the '60s I loved watching the "Man From UNCLE" TV series. I associate it with Robert Vaughn, David McCallum and Leo G. Carroll. I even had a "Man From UNCLE" toy rifle (No one worried about toy guns then). Each time I see the ad for the new "Man From UNCLE" movie, I can't figure out what it is for, and can't remember seeing the ad before, even though I did. Instantly forgettable. There is nothing in the movie ad that I can associate with the Man From UNCLE story, and no actors that I can even recognize. Why bother, if it baffles fans of the original show?

I can't keep up with all the comic book movies, universes, cross-overs and studios anymore. It's a shame as 9 out of 10 movies released these days is based on a comic book! Slim pickings for the rest of us!

I agree. Aside from the occasional Mad Magazine, I seldom bought comic books back in the day. I knew they existed, but didn't feel like collecting them. Perhaps I was saving up for my eventual addiction to records and CDs. Now that the comic books are all movies, I am amazed at the abundance of superheroes. I kind of thought comic books were limited to Batman and Superman and Spiderman. There's so many more! Difficult to care about all of them. If a comic book movie is done well, it can be quite entertaining. Done poorly, there are few things worse.

[dropforge]

I kind of thought comic books were limited to Batman and Superman and Spiderman.

One quick glance at the spinner rack on the way to the Slurpee machine would've clued you in.

If a comic book movie is done well, it can be quite entertaining. Done poorly, there are few things worse.

Oh, the worst comic book movies like Howard the Duck are still more entertaining than Caddyshack 2 and Shoot 'Em Up. Now those movies suck!

[philsunset]

Watched a great one last night. The new Criterion Blu-ray of The Killers starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner. "Kitty is innocent! Kitty is innocent!"...What a whore..

[spellbound]

This guy didn't sell us our comic books:


This guy did:

[Lou]

HEY LOU! Check out Frankenstein's Army Trust me. 8 out of 10 beers/spliffs preferred. Pure late night horror/comedy fun.

Ha!!! I have this on dvd.

[-=RTFR666=-]

Ha!!! I have this on dvd.

I'll have to re-stream on Netflix to see if I can make it through without nodding off...

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

It IS a time travel movie.

it was boring the snot out of me for the first 40 minutes... no time travel at all
I guess you're tellin me it gets better?
I'll hafta try again

[bob_32_116]

Finally, for you people here discussing the Fantastic Four, it seems the penny has dropped. Movie studios are a BUSINESS. They exist to make MONEY. Creativity is an occasional by-product, not the rationale.

[bob_32_116]

it was boring the snot out of me for the first 40 minutes... no time travel at all
I guess you're tellin me it gets better?
I'll hafta try again

I will say the film takes a while to get moving, but when it does, there is LOTS of time travel and time loops/paradoxes to keep you interested.

I guess that's what happens when people watch something on DVD or Netflix or whatever instead of going to the cinema - it has to have "hooks" at the start, otherwise people won't persist. I wonder if Alfred Hitchcock would have stood a chance of success, had he lived in the 21st century?

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

Hitch is one of my fav filmmakers!

I guess I am such a time-travel nut that if it is supposed to be a time-travel movie and there's no time-travel in the first 15 minutes it loses me. My bad

[Brad to the Bone]

It's another "reboot," right? I don't understand this trend. I saw "The Amazing Spiderman," which was a reboot of the original franchise... and I don't get it; it was basically the same story as the first Spiderman movie, only with different actors and different details and subplots. And it wasn't as good, not even close.

Yep, and the next Spider-man movie is apparently going to be another reboot too. Ridiculous. Change the cast and director all you want but that doesn't necessitate another pointless origin story. Hell, the character is so well known they never really needed one in the first place; the movies could have just started with him as an already established superhero in "mid-career".

[dropforge]

Finally, for you people here discussing the Fantastic Four, it seems the penny has dropped. Movie studios are a BUSINESS. They exist to make MONEY. Creativity is an occasional by-product, not the rationale.

No money will be made from Fantastic Four. It was a maneuver by Fox to retain the film rights for another seven years. I read all the reviews and it quite literally sounds like a film with no third act. Don't bother.

Yep, and the next Spider-man movie is apparently going to be another reboot too. Ridiculous. Change the cast and director all you want but that doesn't necessitate another pointless origin story. Hell, the character is so well known they never really needed one in the first place; the movies could have just started with him as an already established superhero in "mid-career".

Amazingly, the next Spider-Man film won't be an origin story. I agree it's not necessary. The three most well-known origins belong to Superman, Batman and Spider-Man. That's why Batman is being reintroduced into the new DC Cinematic Universe without an overlong origin. They'll give the necessary data via flashback exposition but that's not the focus of the movie, and DC took all kinds of heat for it — until last month's trailer blew everyone away. Then even the Marvel trolls were crossing the bridge.