April 26, 2024
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
The Captain Marvel reviews are just… this shouldn’t be a thing, but it’s going to play to female audiences in ways, that will make the reviews by the males seem really detached, but those are the ways of being woke in 2019. Some are down, some aren’t down, and the ones who aren’t down? They trash :D!
What about the female critics who don’t like it? Four as of right now (I only checked RT). Are they detached and not woke? Are women required to like it? That said the reviews are overwhelmingly positive at this point, which doesn’t seem all that surprising. I hope to take my son to it. Even if I don’t like it, I want to support it and want him to see it.
I was really disappointed by I Am The Night. I was extremely excited about it. Patty Jenkins, Chris Pine, period LA setting, and a true story I knew nothing about. But it’s incredibly dull and one of the worst event series I’ve seen. Goes absolutely nowhere. Finale is easily the worst episode of all, too. Bummer.
Watched four episodes of Yellowstone. I like Taylor Sheridan. Costner and the cast are good (supporting cast is stacked) and the production values are excellent. But it’s straining so hard to be IMPORTANT and the body count is comically high. Like a slasher movie. One character alone kills five people in the first two episodes. The harder it tries to be taken seriously the harder it is to take it seriously.
I liked True Detective 3. Ali and Dorff are outstanding and it goes out strongly. Loved the finale. It’s not perfect and in many ways the complaints about it just being a remake of season one are fair. Has some rough patches. But in the I was satisfied with it and glad I watched it. Mainly because of the performances.
OK sorry that’s a lot of TV. More movies soon.
SB, this isn’t a glib answer, but a lot of women voted for trump. Women aren’t a homogenous group, like men can be. I will just point to the VOX review, that you can find echoes of in other reviews, that minimizes a woman finding herself. A female driven movie, that’s about a woman finding herself, and the VOX dude treats it like that sort of self-discovery by women on screen, is something we see all the time, let alone in a fucking huge budget film.
Again, I find it weird, because it’s so consistent. It’s like a lot of male reviewers, didn’t even once try to view it with an outside perspective, and have all come to the same conclusion. Groupthink happens, and thanks to David pointing it out. We know that it does, but it’s just weird, it weirds me out, and I am just going to ignore the noise of it.
Finally, dude, we’ve been chatting online with one another, for FIFTEEN YEARS! Please, feel free to share what you think about other pop culture stuff. This should go for all of us regulars. I’ve just been watching a lot of anime, because American TV is way too fucking formulaic. There needs to be a mixing up of the genre, because while I have enjoyed watching Umbrella Academy. None of it’s eccentric flourish, have made it feel any less than a standard American TV show.
It’s like, there’s this show from Spain called, “The Ministry of Time.” It’s so much fun to watch it, because it didn’t handle shit the way an American show would do, and actually had the characters talking when they didn’t need to push the plot. That’s so fucking refreshing, to just see those little moments, that American TV want to gloss over so much of the time.
I just finished watching Rectify. I’d say that show definitely qualifies as something different from the norm. What an amazing show. Quite refreshing.
I’m sure there are plenty of problematic takes from dudes. I’ve certainly seen a few already and there will be more. But I’m not sure the female critics who panned it are Trump supporters. I don’t think it’s fair to say that a woman not liking it makes them a Trump voter. Stephanie Zacharek for sure is not a Trump fan. Some people, male and female, genuinely and sincerely won’t like Captain Marvel. And that’s OK! Have you seen it already? You seem like you already have an opinion about it.
SB, I meant, that women voted for trump, so it’s not like women are a homogenous group. It’s not like they all are on the same page or woke. My problem, from the reviews I’ve watched and read is that there is a genuine disconnect between what this movie is giving, and what male critics seem to be taking from it. They movie seems to make self-discovery, a really important thing, and these dudes are just dismissing it, like getting to know one’s self isn’t a HEROIC FEAT SOMETIMES!
People can like or dislike the movie. I don’t care. It’s going to make its money, but I’m just not down with people shitting on self-discovery. If people took that shit more seriously, then the world would be a better place. It’s just a personal thing with me.
Also, it’s not okay to dislike SOME MOVIES! IF YOU DO NOT APPRECIATE TO THE COHERENT BRILLIANCE OF PURPLE RAIN, THEN THE HELL WITH YOU! THE HELL! WITH! YOU :D! Seriously. Let’s riff this out. Three movies, that you have to like, and if you don’t like them… that person can bugger off!
Mine are: 1) Working Girl, Gung Ho, and Michael Clayton.
I hear that. I’m betting there are some male critics who couldn’t wait to pan it. Or who have no problem whatsoever with self-discovery if it’s a male character experiencing it. And that’s too bad.
All the reviews I have read so far (guardian, slate) are the same type of its perfectly fine that we have been getting regarding the majority of the MCU since the whole thing started. If anything they felt the character was underserved and not as powerful as in the comics. I can see the argument that it will build to that, but I don’t see how wanting Marvel to kick more ass than she does qualifies it as non-woke.
And I like Gung Ho, but I REALLY like that you have chosen that as a line in the sand, your hill to die on.
Its sort of like saying “I had to break up with her, she just didn’t appreciate They Might Be Giants enough.”
Speaking of TV, is anyone else watching “The Other Two”?
It’s easily my favorite Comedy Central original since the early years of “South Park.”
I could easily picture it sandwiched in between “Veep” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on HBO.
(Very) high praise indeed from me.
Stick w/ “Yellowstone,” SB.
I thought the first season was terrific w/ juicy performances all around. (Costner has reached “National Treasure” status, and Kelly Reilly is tremendous.)
Agree that “I Am the Night” had a fairly weak ending, SB. But if they’d veered from the historical record by giving audiences a more visceral, cathartic ending, they would have been slammed for inaccuracy.
Overall I liked the series a lot more than you–thought the mid-’60s LA ambiance was superbly recreated on a medium-range cable network budget–without ever having my socks knocked off. Not unhappy that I devoted 6 hours of my (ever dwindling) life to it, though.
Most of my TV watching lately is catching up on stuff that’s been out a while — Bodyguard, GLOW season 2. I’m pretty current on Speechless (best show no one seems to watch, though it’s been on for three seasons), You’re the Worst and Suits. Will get to the season premiere of Better Things shortly.
Stella, I somehow missed the complaints about True Detective Season 3 being a rehash of Season 1. I didn’t feel that way at all because where was the supernatural aspect? I was hoping for a Elder God straight out of Lovecraft to show up in the finale of One. (My one major disappointment actually.)
If Ali doesn’t get nominated for any awards for playing his character convincingly in three different time periods, he was robbed.
At least we didn’t have any “blue balls in the heart” this go round.
I don’t think I ever read anything about True Detective season three that didn’t claim it’s covering season one territory. Ali is indeed remarkable and I was really impressed by Dorff. By the end I found their relationship quite moving.
I am going to stick with Yellowstone movieman. I am a big Costner fan and I like enough about it to want to keep watching. It’s one of those shows though that’s trying oh so hard to be Prestige TV. And I don’t buy Reilly’s character at all. “Hey wouldn’t it be cool if in this testosterone-fueled show with a 98% male cast I made the sister the filthiest character of all?”
I Am the Night is already getting accused of being hugely inaccurate. Apparently it strays quite far from the truth on a regular basis, which isn’t surprising. I agree that aesthetically it’s very good. The story is mostly a snooze though. Never grabs you. I enjoyed some episodes but the finale is a bore and overall the show was disappointing.
Better Things is wonderful.
And I saw a movie, though it’s a bad one. HDD2U. Someone watched the Back to the Future trilogy one too many times. Points for not just repeating the first and attempting something different in a sequel, but it just doesn’t work. Still not exactly sure what the hell I saw. Part comedy, part slasher, part time travel, part family melodrama. None of it works. I’ve seen so many positive notices from the horror community and I don’t understand how that can be.
Watched Widows and Little Stranger this week, both great slow burns, with Little Stranger not being much more than an exercise in atmosphere, though it still set the hairs on my neck up for most of its second half. It makes an interesting contrast to Crimson Peak which showed a lot more than it suggested and DeBont’s Haunting which just went for the roller coaster ride.
Widows was fantastic, Flynn knows how to tighten a noose, and throw out fantastic pulpy plot twists that still seem somewhat plausible. It certainly deserves to be mentioned in the company of House of Bamboo or Where the Sidewalk Ends. I just hope that Fox has the autonomy to make movies like this after the merger.
SB- Also enjoyed Season 3 of “True Detective:” all those “woke” critics who complained that it’s just another paean to taciturn male angst/grief were just stirring up s**t.
It’s really the curse of semiology: all those breathlessly earnest post-grad types seemingly incapable of looking beneath the surface (of “symbols” and “signs”) for what lurks beneath.
Yeah, I love “Better Things,” too.
But last week’s season premiere freaked me out.
Did they switch the actors who play the eldest (and youngest) daughters?
Because I hadn’t read about any casting changes, I’m worried that I might be losing my mind.
Agree about “Widows,” Hcat.
It’s definitely one of 2018’s most egregiously underrated films.
I’m not around here much anymore but just popping in to acknowledge Hcat’s comparison of Widows to those lesser-known (or second-tier, if you will) Fuller and Preminger films. I enjoyed McQueen’s latest on its own merits, but I’d love to see it again with those references in mind.
It will be interesting to see where McQueen goes after this relative commercial failure (and awards season bust), because part of me would prefer seeing him continue down the genre path, bringing his own artistic sensibility to oft-cliched material than another “prestige” drama, although I also loved 12 Years a Slave.
Looking at his IMDB page, he appears to be doing a WWII documentary next, so it looks like we’re getting neither.
Props to Hcat for the “Little Stranger” shoutout. Such a compelling film. Horribly marketed – dumped, basically. I hope it finds its audience eventually.
Stella, Rectify is my favorite show since The Wire ended and I’m so glad you discovered it. It’s my go-to answer for anyone posting on social media (or asking in real life) what new show they should watch. One of the truest and loveliest meditations on grace I’ve ever seen in any medium, and also one of the most realistic depictions of life in the American south. I loved the characters so much I never wanted to let them go. An absolute treasure of a show.
I could not possibly agree more with everything you said Mark. It is an absolute masterpiece and easily one of the best television shows I’ve ever seen. It will stick with me for a long time and I’m grateful for four almost perfect seasons but also so sad my time with those characters is over. I have never really seen anything like Rectify. It’s so special.
It’s honestly a miracle that it got produced, aired and was allowed to end on its own terms. It’s got flaws here and there but I think the flaws almost make me love it more.
That and what works is so good. Next level good. League of its own good. Friday Night Lights is probably the last show that gave me the feels like Rectify did, but Rectify is the better show. The portrayal of masculinity is so unique, as is its overall sensitivity. Could talk about it all day.
Me too! It creates such incredible empathy for every single character, even (and especially) those who are drawn broadly in the early episodes. The way it slowly, carefully, methodically shades in the backstory for characters like Ted Jr. so you come to understand why they are how they are and then allows them to grow as people is just flat-out masterful. I’ve never seen a show that allows people to mess up in real, human ways the way it does but then turns around and makes you love them, warts and all. “Truly Christian art” is how Matt Zoller Seitz described it and I think that’s pretty spot-on.
Leah, Shame didn’t really set the world on fire or translate into award consideration (though Mulligan was fantastic), and it didn’t slow his ascent at all. So hopefully Regency or SeeSaw decides the relationship is worth the financial risk (Widows should break even before hitting basic cable) and keep funding his projects.
How have you guys been watching Rectify? I stay away from the commitment to a whole series but this praise…
Rectify is on Netflix. Watch it. Immediately. Shorter seasons, too. 6, 10, 6, and 8 episodes.
Well-said Mark. Teddy is fascinating. His gradual transformation is so well-done and so believable. I cried a whole lot watching this show. Good, cathartic crying.
HC, it’s just what I want from a comedy, and it’s general awesome Ron Howard directorial goodness. If a person doesn’t get Gung Ho, then comically? We aren’t on the same page.
Hcat, I really hate to overpraise something because I feel inevitably nothing will live up to the expectations I’ve set with my gushing. I have a friend I recommended Rectify to recently who went through the whole thing and ended up coming away “meh.” Which is fine. It’s probably not for everybody. All I can say is that it landed right in my sweet spot and impacted me in a really profound way, which I don’t say about a lot of TV (I find a lot of “peak TV” pretty pedestrian). So your mileage may vary, but I’d definitely urge you – and anyone – who loves solid, character-driven storytelling to give it a shot.
JS, Oh I am on board, that wasn’t a dig against Gung Ho (or they might be giants, I love those guys). I remember seeing the trailer in the theaters and being more excited than I had ever been about a movie before (I was a huge Keaton fan).
Personally I think Captain Marvel will fail at the box office. Apparently James Woods and his legion of Twitter fans are going to “sit this one out,” because Marvel hates white males. I mean the evidence is overwhelming. All but two of their films, and that includes the latest, starred white males.
What an asshole!
pity people didn’t listen to sean young about the shitshow that is j woods, not that it would’ve mattered.
“Leah, Shame didn’t really set the world on fire or translate into award consideration”
er lazarus and i do look a bit alike… (‘shame’ DID ignite one thing, being fassy’s career, which is currently on a weird fizzler. re ‘widows’, i’ve been meaning to watch it again because the person i saw it with the first time spent most of the run time moaning and whining about every single little thing, it drove me nuts and actually ruined the movie for me)
i’ve never even heard of ‘rectify’ so my curiosity is also piqued, i’m pretty sure it’s not on our cut-rate netflix here though.
ETA i meant to say re ‘little stranger”, i am genuinely put off by father gleeson’s ginger son these days, i’m not sure when i soured on him but it put me off watching ‘little stranger’ for ages. i’m glad i did though because it’s a bit of a little gem (and actually benefits from a re-watch if you know what i mean).
Agree with all the praise for Rectify. It’s a shame it didn’t air on a more prominent network than Sundance TV and get more notice, but I’m glad for the fans it did hav to get it to four seasons. I’m guilty of only knowing it had existed, but didn’t watch it until almost a year and a half ago on Netflix. Easily one of the best TV shows I’ve ever seen. It’s such a character driven show in all the best ways that you wish all shows could be.
Love the Gung Ho love. Seriously, everyone in it is just perfect.
Damn, all the love for Rectify is starting to persuade me. At this point of TV saturation, I won’t commit to anything unless I know it’s awesome first.
As Stella mentioned, the nice thing about Rectify is that the seasons are short so you can always watch the first one (6 episodes) and bail if it’s not for you. I’d recommend sticking through at least that far as the 5th episode is probably the best of that first group. Couple of other points about it:
1) It’s really funny! Like the best dramas it gets heavy, but punctuates the heavy stuff with moments of organic, beautifully measured humor.
2) The final season has its flaws (which didn’t stop me from openly weeping during most of it) but the finale is note-perfect, probably my favorite series finale since Angel. Absolutely sticks the landing.
3) The episode some folks (myself included) consider the best of the series (“Donald the Normal,” season 2) was directed by David Lowery (A Ghost Story, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, etc.). If you’re a fan his work it might give you some idea of the overall tone of the show. Or not. Either way, thought it was worth mentioning.
BD, fuck these white male motherfuckers. Seriously. I am watching Kenneth Turan’s review of Captain Marvel, and he gets it. Freaking Kenneth Turan gets it, then down in the comments is nothing but hurt ass men. Men, who are whining and complaining about a female led comic book movie, because the lead dares to not have her head up her own ass, about how things are in this world.
It’s just so fucking annoying, and it gets the dad part of me fucking enraged. Why? These dumb motherfuckers, obviously, do not have daughters, because if they did have daughters. They would get how representation matters. They would fucking get it, but they are so in their own asses about their incel bullshit, that all they see is their hill of white male beans slipping away, and are being pissy about it. The fuckers.
And you get the IMDB reviews being foreigned influenced, and I am like, “I FUCKING HOPE THIS MOVIE MAKES A BILLION FUCKING DOLLARS!,” so all of these assholes have to stick it. Seriously. Enough of this petulant sexism all fucking ready. It’s 20fucking19. Isn’t this supposed to be the fucking future already?
The real problem Disney/MCU faces here has nothing to do with politics—nobody knows the character. To most of us, Captain Marvel is the guy in Shazam in a few weeks. CM will be lucky to do Solo numbers.
It will pass Solo by day 17. This is often brought up with each new release, but Ant-man, Dr. Strange and Black Panther were not exactly household names, hell neither was Thor, and they managed to ride the Marvel name to success.
And honestly does anyone under 40 even know who Shazam is? I mean outside of the comic crowd.
movieman: You’re losing your mind. All three Better Things daughters are the same actresses as before. They all even look the same, only a year older, so I’m not sure what’s going on with you there. 🙂
Another big Rectify fan here. And binge-watching should, um, rectify the one problem with it — the central question of the show is teased and dragged out over the course of the seasons in ways that can try one’s patience.
Captain Marvel is going to do very well. It’s the precursor to Endgame, and so many people have been waiting for a legit follow-up to Wonder Woman. I don’t know about a billion, but I’d be surprised if it only did Solo numbers.
Captain Marvel is going to open with $125 million-plus (Variety says some are saying closer to $145 million). That seems awfully good for a character no one knows. That will easily surpass Wonder Woman. It’s going to do just fine.
Good point Yancy. I watched the entire series in about a week. I imagine it plays differently if you watched it over four years, ten or so months between seasons. I think binge-watching does indeed rectify that problem.
I watched Rectify over about a month, one episode per day. That felt about right.
Sock Puppet, I think you’re trolling for an argument. Captain Marvel is coming at just the right time when box office numbers have been at its lowest in years. LEGO wasn’t a hit, Dragons is playing as expected but not much more, and everyone who’s even minutely interested in Endgame either knows or will be told that Cpt Marvel will be a part of it. Plus the reviews are good. People don’t have to know the character. It’s Marvel. These days that’s enough. If DC can get Aquaman to $333m and WW to $412, and Marvel can get BP to $700m in freakin February, then with the pent up demand for a family movie night, and nothing for three weeks until Dumbo, Captain Marvel is poised for a basement $250m, and if hits tracking, then that basement gets raised to $300m.
After seeing Captain Marvel, I am even more friggin’ confused with the reviews. It’s just. I don’t get it. There’s this movie, that introduces this character to the world, in this revelatory way, and is as subversive as Black Panther. It’s really, “FUCK YOU, WHITE MALE PATRIARCHY!”, the movie. It’s also a movie, that is about not quitting. You can laugh all you want, but Carol Danvers is motherfucking resolute, and she’s not going to let the patriarchy get in her way.
I can go on and on and… here’s the best point though. Marvel Studios has made four better Star Wars movies: Captain Marvel, Ragnarok, and the Guardians movies, than actual LFL! I love Solo, and it’s the only one of those films, that’s worthy of standing next to the Saga, but still! I have no idea why Disney doesn’t let Feige run Star Wars, because he would give fans like me, the fans who kept it chugging along, a movie they’d want to see.
Finally, SI can SMDFTB!
I am reluctant to bring this up JS, but Captain Marvel aside, you are not really accepting of ANY less than enthusiastic reviews of MCU films. And Star Wars has been so diminished since the original trilogy, why not let the Marvel guys take a shot.
Not trolling. It’s the way I really feel/felt. But now that Captain Marvel has a strong Thursday night under its belt, I am more willing to admit the possibility of being wrong. Still, I stand by the idea that few people in the general population know or care about this character, and as such, the final number will be solid but not spectacular—ie, more like Dr. Strange than BP. And if I’m wrong then, I’ll come back and own up to it.
Isn’t Black Panther an unreasonable BO yardstick to measure any movie? Forget Captain Marvel , Endgame will likely not make Panther money. And no one in the general population knew what Panther was before the films either. Since the introduction of the character, they struggled to maintain a monthly title for it.
What Hcat said. And it’s easily going to make more than Doctor Strange. Domestically and worldwide. Latest prediction based on Thursday night is $140 million domestic opening weekend. Opening weekend in China is going to be $90 million. It’s going to make more than $700 million worldwide. Possibly a lot more. And how much does audience knowledge of a character really matter these days?
HC, that’s bullshit. I love the Ant-Man movies, but don’t care if they review poorly. Same goes with Thor the fucking Dark World, that actually works better in a long watch though, then on it’s own. Captain Marvel is something special, and it’s befuddling to me, that so many male critics are oblivious to it. Not really. I get why, but don’t come at me with that poppycock. It’s in no way indicative of how I feel.
And BO, the fucking tv show in the seventies, was called SHAZAM! He hasn’t been Captain Marvel in decades. It’s either been Mar-Vell or Carol, but please continue to ignore how DOCTOR STRANGE IS A WELL KNOWN MEDIA PROPRETY NOW. DOCTOR. STRANGE.
I’ve always felt, that 800m felt right for Captain Marvel, but if the word gets out to women what this film is about? A billilion should be doable.
Ummm, the name of the 70s show may have been “SHAZAM!”, but the character was still called Captain Marvel…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgXeXTuKGhM
But he’s been Shazam. When DC doesn’t feel like being sued by Marvel.
I can see Captain Marvel doing Wonder Woman numbers (400 range), especially if as JS says Captain Marvel can bring in more women.
And it’s weird that so many people don’t realize Captain Marvel doesn’t have to be a popular character. The MCU is what’s popular right now, even among girls, and Captain Marvel will no doubt capitalize on this beyond Doctor Strange numbers.
JS? The entire marketing campaign has been built around empowerment. The word is out.
First Half of the film was meh. Second half might have been the most fun/cool Marvel movie to date. It’s nice to be in awe of a superhero for a change. Captain Marvel , who got hot after i stopped reading (my Captain Marvel was Monica Rambeau…and I suspect only JS will get the reference), is so fucking cool. Fuck little girls: *I* want to be Captain Marvel when I grow up. She is The Awesome.
Oh, JS: didn’t see the face turn coming. They got me. 🙂
Yeah. The dude should be a knighted by the Queen. He’s that fucking amazing.
pointing out the obvious, but re the ‘lack of name recognition will hamstring captain marvel’ argument: the word MARVEL is literally in the title, so
SO, as someone already said, if BP is the yardstick you’re using, then that’s very unfair. Only two other movies in domestic box office history has measured up to BP, so c’mon man, don’t be such a hater.
And by now, given Marvel’s track record, you should know better. Who the fuck were the Guardians of the Galaxy in the non comic reader world? A bunch of nobodies. (No offense JS) Now they’re beloved. Hell DC got away with Suicide Squad too. The Marvel Brand on it’s own is golden right now, hell even Venom scored without being in the MCU. It’s way past time people stop denying the box office prowess of these movies, while also not thinking that everything has to score $700m to be deemed a success. Sure there will come a time when these movies begin to lose their punch, and it will be very interesting post Endgame, to see what that will be, but for now they have yet to deteriorate into Transformer type groanfests and still provide entertainment value worth the price of the popcorn.
Captain Marvel makes $20m from Thursday night showings. Yeah, it’s going to make bucko bucks.
$160 million weekend. The #AlitaChallenge failed. Never saw that coming.
leah wins.
This thing is clearly gonna struggle to get by $100m… later today.
It takes a big Sock Puppet to come crawling back and admit when he’s wrong. Just sayin’.
Interesting fight between Bohemian and Star. Just when you thought Star was down, it roars back to have a fighting chance to claim musical superiority.
^ Well it helps that they re-released it in theaters with extra footage while Bohemian is already out on video.
I wasn’t aware of any extra footage, I thought it was just the bump from Oscar night, and Star is on video as well.
BO, you’re officially not a troll. Well done.
Hcat, the “Encore” version is 12 minutes longer.
This is exactly why Disney’s Star Wars is forever fucked.
Oh fuck Star Wars already. There are other movies.
Captain Marvel worldwide opening weekend is $455 million. Based on previous MCU entries, what’s a reasonable estimate for a final number?
Bare minimum? Eight. If it ticks up? A billion. It just depends on how consistent things are, and what the release slates are in other parts of the world.
That’s all geez what a flop the incel campaign was a huge success.
I can go see a hot chick who shoots lasers out of her hands and flies fighter jets.
Or I can be an incel.
The choice was never really a choice.
They should really rethink the whole involuntary aspect of their definition. No one forces them to be this repellent.
Though I guess self realization not a big thing with this crowd.
That is accurate. I had a run in online with incels once. They are deranged.
gamergate v2.0
I did not realize that The Sisters Brothers is a Nightcrawler reunion. I had forgotten that Gyllenhaal is even in it. I really liked it a lot. O’Reilly and Phoenix are unsurprisingly just mesmerizing and wonderful. I could watch those two all day. Totally bought them as brothers and thoroughly enjoyed all their squabbling and adventures. Not sure I like the second half as much as the first, but overall it’s definitely worth watching. Good stuff.
Anyone else watch Triple Frontier? It’s handsomely mounted but in the end I was disappointed. It’s fun when it’s just trying to be a heist movie. Whenever it pauses so these macho dudes can opine on life and death and war and morality, it comes to a screeching halt. Has nothing all that original or interesting to say about those things. I also found it annoying that every ten minutes the movie tells you that their mission is insanely dangerous and there will be countless heavily armed men all over the place gunning for them and ultimately with one exception it isn’t all that dangerous. Geography was also a bit confusing but maybe that’s just because my geography skills are lacking. I like the cast and there are some good set pieces. Premise is cool. It looks great. But movie is so-so.
i struggled to stay awake tbh. mediocre
i was briefly roused from my emotionless torpor when *** SPOILERS *** the donkey fell from that horrifying 1cm-wide mountainside trail to its death because i have a fear of cliffs and that exact thing — the donkeys were the only thing i cared about. (plus the trial in that section had fallen away and appeared impassible, so how were the donkeys supposed to get back down out of the snow to where they could survive? poor beasts of burden)
SB- I enjoyed “Triple Frontier” a lot more than “Captive State.”
Thought it was ironic that Chandor’s most commercial movie to date would be on Netflix instead of in multiplexes.
The best part of the latter was when an usher–10 minutes before the ending–cleared the auditorium because of a tornado warning.
I didn’t think it was possible for a movie to be (a) totally incoherent and (b)
utterly predictable at the same time. But voila.
The whole thing smelled of a late ’70s Canadian tax shelter debacle.
Y’know, something that might have featured Elliott Gould, Margaux Hemingway, Glenn Ford and Shelley Winters.
It’s quite possibly the worst Focus movie to date.
Yeah figured Captive State is pretty bad. Surprised it’s opening in 2,200 theaters. Probably going to be one of Focus’s biggest bombs, too.
“It’s quite possibly the worst Focus movie to date.”
Just for comparisons sake, have you seen Book of Henry?
I keep meaning to get around to it since I hear it is just bonkers bad, but just from what I can tell that seems to be the current reigning champion of worst Focus film title.
On the plus side I have read some good things about The Mustang.
I really want to see The Mustang. Looks excellent.
Um, can someone get a mop, I believe JS’s head just exploded with joy.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/james-gunn-back-as-guardians-galaxy-3-director-1195066
Hcat- Yep, “Book of Henry” and “Closed Circuit” were the two worst Focus movies I’d seen previously.
Both made my 10-worst list in their respective years; no doubt “Captive State” will be joining their illustrious company this December.
it’s weird looking back at that post about donkeys, life is strange
Somebody on here–don’t remember who–mentioned how much they were looking forward to “Limited Partners” this June.
Just read that it was pushed back to January 2020.
Which, I suppose, makes its original summer date a little less crowded than it was originally.
That was me, and Fix had already moved their car movie off, so now it looks like Yesterday has plenty of elbow room, Shame we have to wait for Limited, Haddish and Byrne seem like a home run. Paramount must be pleased by the What Men Want performance and hope they can repeat it.
Funny you mentioned closed circuit, that was the first Focus film I ever skipped. Saw them religiously up until then either in the theater or bought them sight unseen on dvd, but the quality started shifting and I lost my zeal. And closed circuit was when I decided I didn’t need to be a completist.
I remember seeing “Closed Circuit” at a Focus press screening “double bill” w/ Edgar Wright’s “The World’s End.”
They did something similar last month w/ “Greta” and “Captive State.”
Wasn’t able to attend, but (incorrectly) assumed that “State” must be decent if they were showing it a month before the release date.
The dearth of opening day reviews was odd: surely Cleveland wasn’t the only market to have advance screenings.
At least John Crowley followed “Closed Circuit” w/ the wonderful “Brooklyn.”
March 15-17, 2019
Weekend
1 1 Captain Marvel BV $69,318,000 -54.8% 4,310 – $16,083 $266,213,933 – 2
2 N Wonder Park Par. $16,000,000 – 3,838 – $4,169 $16,000,000 – 1
3 N Five Feet Apart LGF $13,150,000 – 2,803 – $4,691 $13,150,000 – 1
4 2 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Uni. $9,345,000 -36.4% 3,727 -315 $2,507 $135,643,095 $129 4
5 3 Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral LGF $8,085,000 -35.1% 2,350 -92 $3,440 $59,068,015 – 3
MORE AT BOXOFFICE M0J0
I’m not surprised Lego has beaten Alita, and am not surprised by the margin, I just thought they might both be double their amounts by this point.
Finally managed to get around to seeing Slaughterhouse 5, thank god I had read the book so many times or I think I would have been lost. Perrine was luminous. Mother Night still stands as the best film adaptation though. Probably because it is the most straightforward of his narratives.
Glad you liked “S-5,” Hcat.
Perrine is wonderful, but I remember really liking Michael Sacks, too.
The only other movie I remember Sacks from was Spielberg’s “Sugarland Express.”
Weird how he just disappeared.
Maybe his heart wasn’t in it (i.e., a film career).
A Vonnegut movie I’ve always wanted to see–although the reviews were pretty meh at the time–is 1971’s “Happy Birthday, Wanda June.”
It’s never been released on DVD.
TCM refuses to air it.
I’m not even sure whether it got a VHS release in the “let’s-throw-anything-at-the-wall” ’80s.
Speaking of older movies you guys ever see Ulzana’s Raid? I read about it in the book below, which is great, and I really want to see it but it’s not streaming anywhere.
https://aux.avclub.com/a-sharp-new-book-lets-70s-b-movies-tell-the-story-of-a-1798191503
I haven’t but am putting it on my list. I am a little cold on Lancaster, he always seems to go big and play to the cheap seats, but I have always liked Aldrich and the movie he immediately made after Ulzana was Emperor of the North which is just bonkers good and he turns sweet lumpy Marty into one of the most pure evil movie villains of all time.
This caused me to look up the other Aldrich films I have missed. I had never heard of the Grissom Gang before but it sounds like flop sweat/chewing shoe leather heaven.
“Ulzana’s Raid” is prime Aldrich (and very good Lancaster), SB.
Very much worth seeking out.
Pretty brutal as I recall.
I enjoyed “The Grissom Gang” at the time (1970?) of its original release, but haven’t seen it since.
It’s one of Kim Darby’s few post-“True Grit” movies and features Scott Wilson.
I don’t often see a movie and wish I was related to one of the characters, but Scott Wilson in Junebug, I would love to have him as an uncle.
So would like some guidance on Lancaster, I have skipped some heavy hitter oldies (Elmer Gantry, Birdman, Atlantic City) because his mannered theatrical way rubs me the wrong way. Its like he’s Far and Away Tom Cruise in every role. He seemed to reign it in for OK Corral, perhaps knowing it was futile to try to outgrin Douglas, and that remains my favorite of his. The Train was hyper pitched enough that his frenzy behind the eyes was appropriate. His supporting role in Local Hero was the perfect dose of his acting and I did like Sweet Smell of Success (and I also have the occasional problem with the often wooden Curtis). Just wondering if I am missing out on a lot by avoidance. Can’t really explain my aversion, I am fine with Heston but Lancaster always seems to be 10 percent too much, even in his quieter roles.
And there has been a Michael Caine post up for days and no Leydon response. I hope the old boy is ok.
Leydon gave a RAVE review of “Captive State” on the Variety website last week.
He’s just not guest-blogging here any longer.
Off the top of my head:
“Atlantic City,” “Birdman of Alcatraz,” “The Leopard,” “Vera Cruz” (more Aldrich), “From Here to Eternity,” “Criss Cross,” “The Killers” (’46), “Brute Force,” “The Scalphunters,” “Seven Days in May,” “Conversation Piece,” “Buffalo Bill and the Indians,” “1900,” “Twilight’s Last Gleaming” (add’l prime Aldrich), “The Swimmer,” all worth checking out even if you’re a Burt naysayer, Hcat.
And “Field of Dreams,” but you’ve probably seen that.
I actually have similar issues w/ Kirk Douglas and Heston, so I can relate.
Fox is dead. Long live Fox. RKO and Disney are together again. Thanks to this and warnersmedia layoffs. There are a ton of fucking people looking for jobs. You’d think, that someone would start a new studio with them. Just a thought.
“Leydon gave a RAVE review of “Captive State”
Then my concern doubles!!!:)
Douglas, Heston, and you can certainly add Anthony Quinn to the list of those who seem to forget they are not on the stage. Its funny that those three are not a problem for me (even down to Brynner) but something about Lancaster’s frequency scrambles for me. Though honestly I appreciate their leave it all on the field attitude more than say Rock Hudson who I avoid at nearly all costs.
I thought MGM was the RKO holding company.
While it is a rarity for a studio to have only gone through two accusations in the modern era, Fox survived the first one, will hopefully survive this one intact. Pound for Pound they are the best studio that has ever been, mostly by outliving the other contenders but still…. Hope someone in the Mouse can recognize that and wants to continue to squeeze that extra bit of gasps, laughs and tears out of the audience that the best of Fox films did. If not, it was a hell of a run, from Ford and King to the Favorite.
That’s the one thing I appreciate most about Disney, they have never allowed themselves to be swallowed up (they went from poisonous to too big a target in such a short time). They were never part of an insurance company or Coca-Cola, they have always been Disney first, from top to bottom.
I forgot Tony Quinn, Hcat! Practically every performance Quinn gave after “Zorba” was Zorba 2.0: intensely grating and damn near insufferable. (And “Zorba” is actually a pretty decent movie.)
I think the only latter Quinn perf I like is in “Across 110th Street,” a lean, mean urban melodrama by Barry (“Wild in the Streets” ) Shear that’s overdue for rediscovery.
Hudson did a lot of near-great work in the ’50s w/ Douglas Sirk, and he’s really, really good in “Giant.” Plus, he’s immensely charming in all of his pairings with Doris Day.
I haven’t seen Captive State, so really disappointed with what seems to be credible criticism of the movie. As far as trailers go however, I thought it was one of the best. But I guess it didn’t sell the movie to enough folks to care, and certainly opening between an Avengers movie and Hollywood’s newest auteur, Jordan Peele, was horrible scheduling.
Is it really that bad? Sigh.
Yes, it’s “that bad,” Bulldog: simultaneously maddeningly incoherent and yawningly predictable.
I will, however, catch the last 10 minutes when it hits HBO later this year, strictly for completion purposes.
Did anyone else find it odd that WB didn’t report grosses for their stealth opening of “Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase” last weekend?
I assumed that it must have done so atrociously they didn’t want to confirm its mere existence. But it’s actually holding in some Cleveland multiplexes, so it must not have done THAT bad.
Right?
Of course, I was a little stunned to see that “Drew” is scheduled for home release in early April. (Early April? Yikes. It just opened March 15th. Talk about your ever-dwindling “windows.”)
I was also gobsmacked to discover that “Nancy”–the red-haired girl from “It”–is 27 YEARS OLD!!!!!!
Movieman, and he was hardly a shrinking violet before Zorba as well (I quite love Zorba, and Viva Zapata!)
Saw a poster for Drew two weekends ago and it surprised me because I didn’t recall it on any schedules, is it really a WB? maybe its a fourwall promotional release prior to video?
Hudson I know less than nothing about. I know about the Ross Hunter esque comedies though I have never gotten around to seeing them. I know about the Sirks but have avoided those as well. I think the only thing I can firmly recall is his two hander Undefeated with Wayne. And that was certainly not a great impression. I will open my mind more somewhere down the line (Hell might even get over my Hawke and Mccoughney aversions someday).
“Undefeated” was crap: remember seeing it as a sneak preview
with “Butch Cassidy” in the fall of 1969. Jan Michael Vincent was quite lovely, though.
I’ve often wondered if Rock made a pass at him during production.
The Sirk-Hudson movies are essential; so are the Day-Hudson movies for that matter.
Hudson made so much trifling garbage post Doris Day (“Avalanche,” “A Fine Pair,” “The Ambassador,” “Dynasty” FGS, ad nauseam) that it’s hard to remember how good he was capable of being at a certain point in his career.
I do have a soft spot for Vadim’s “Pretty Maids All in a Row” (the Osmond Bros. theme song, “Chilly Winds,” is primo ear candy!) and one of Cinerama’s last gaps, “Ice Station Zebra,” though.
You’re right about Quinn pre-“Zorba,” Hcat. But it seemed like his absolute worst instincts as an actor/exhibitionist came full-throttle after the Cacoyannis movie. I just watched 1968’s “The Magus” a few weekends back.
Shudder.
P.S.= Is that “Hawke” as in Ethan Hawke? I can totally understand a McConaughey aversion (although I don’t really share it), but Ethan Hawke??
Yep, I was as shocked as anyone to discover a WB imprimatur on “Nancy Drew.” Assumed it was being–sort of–released by some cheapjack indie trying to cash in on the name value (do the Drew books still have any “name value” in 2019?) of the kid-lit series.
Maybe WB has a new sub-division (a la “Lionsgate Premiere”) that I’m unfamiliar with.
Yes, that Hawke, I know I am in the minority and if I am being honest its more a context thing that what he puts on the screen. Its tough to explain and it probably has to do more with his fans than him, but I have always found him pretentious, I was in high school when Dead Poets hit and Hawke was immediately seen as the next big thing and his character was a bit of a touchstone for some of the soppier theater kids. He got to continue his march of earnestness through Midnight Clear and Alive and then back into the mainstream with Reality Bites and Sunrise. And to be honest he was probably good in all of them, it wss more his “I am so not Hollywood” attitude that he couldn’t pull off as well as Depp or Cusack and while he tried to position himself as an artist and not a movie star his craft wasn’t nearly as deep as Phoenix.
I know this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but it is sort of like recognizing a band as being talented but find it strange when people claim they are the best thing going. And again this is all based on his early work and career which was twenty years ago when I was at an impressionable age. But I still remember thinking ‘where does he get off thinking he can write a book’.
So I am not claiming my aversion is rational in any way, Hawke should actually be applauded for seeking out roles with recognizable flaws and he excels in playing real and often frustrating people. And I certainly would no longer find a person flawed if they cited him as their favorite actor. But there is still something from those early years I still carry in the back of my mind that wont let me accept him.
Or this can simply be that the bastard married Uma who I have always had a Roy Bean to Lilly Langtree type affection for.
“I was also gobsmacked to discover that “Nancy”–the red-haired girl from “It”–is 27 YEARS OLD!!!!!!”
movieman, Sophia Lillis is 17, not 27.
Another good Rock Hudson film is Hornet’s Nest. But yes, the Sirk films are essential. Don’t let an aversion to Hudson deprive you. Ditto for all the great films Burt Lancaster made.
Aha, Yancy!
Variety–whose reviewer incorrectly identified Lillis as 27–just added this correction to their online review:
“Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly identified Sophia Lillis’ age. She is 17 years old.”
P.S. to Hcat=If it’s Hawke’s marriage to Uma Thurman that contributed to your dislike of him, what’s your feelings on Gary Oldman (another Turman ex), lol?
I had no idea that Oldman was involved with Thurman, but I still love the guy. I would have seen him as worthy of her affection. Oldman would have been what I saw as the antithesis of Hawke, and the people I knew who loved Hawke (and they were somehow always Kiefer Sutherland fans as well) when he broke out wouldn’t even have Oldman on their radar until Dracula. I think that factors in, after being mesmerized by Oldman in Sid and Rosencrantz and State of Grace to have to hear from someone that they thought Hawke was the future of cinema was slightly unbearable.
But back to Thurman, I do remember being excited for Mad Dog and Glory, De Niro/Murray/Thurman and even Caruso before he became a parody of himself. But then when the love scene between De Niro and Thurman started I got quite angry that she was being pawed by this old man. Valmont I could understand, but I found Mad Dog icky. I don’t think I still have the same reaction but at the time it really took me out of the movie.
But I certainly can’t fault her at all for marrying Oldman, hell at the time I would have said yes myself.
People are so weird about actors.
agreed, I’m probably a little weird about everything.
I will add my two bits about Hawke. I now like him and his work but I remember going on a date to see Before Sunrise and after walking out my date said ” you remind me of him” silence, and then a minute later “he does nothing for me”.
Held a grudge against him for 20 years I am sure.
Pete, that made me fucking cackle. FUCKING. CACKLE. Man.