Page 32 of 44 FirstFirst ... 2228293031323334353642 ... LastLast
Results 466 to 480 of 654

Thread: MZ's Movie Review Thread

  1. #466
    Team Rick MinionZombie's Avatar
    Super Moderator

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    The Mandatorium
    Posts
    24,165
    UK
    Quote Originally Posted by shootemindehead View Post
    Ya know, the movie business kind of reminds me of the banking sector and its collapse in 2008. Rampant money/profit oriented boom/bust merchants engaging in increasingly reckless deals, abandoning common sense and reason, furthering their risks (in money terms), creating their own demise and completely ignoring all the warnings til it goes pop and blows up in their face. The film biz is pretty much the same. It's going to have to face the bullets if it's to realise the ridiculous edges it walks on.

    As for a 'Serpico' or a 'Dog Day afternoon', those days are well gone, unfortunately. They just wouldn't make the money that Hollywood is interested in. Maybe indie film makers can pull those likes out of the bag, like a 'Blue Ruin' or 'Room', but Hollywood? No.
    1) That's a good comparison to draw - it's all getting more perilous. The risk part of the risk/reward ratio is becoming too large. In the movie biz hundreds of millions used to be astonishing as profit. Now these tentpoles must make over a billion or, as you say, they're considered kinda duff. What absolute rot. There's all these wild figures swirling around for "Suicide Squad" - it was $500m then it was $700m and now it's feckin' $800m in order for it to break even - what absolute guff from the mainstream clickbait media and their perpetual cycle of horseshit. With a budget of $175m, and then add another $175m for marketing (these costs are ridiculous - but it's that 'the film budget over again' theory for marketing costs), and even considering that they don't get back all of the Box Office (as a cut goes to the cinemas), with a total gross of about $466m thus far they've probably broken even by now, or are very close to doing so ... but that doesn't gain clicks, does it? I don't know whether 'nu-GB' will lose as much as $100m, but it'll certainly lose money.

    2) Yeah, the 'indie' films of today are the realm of interesting stories ... although sometimes they can just be terribly forgettable and only out to seek Oscars for the studios ... but there's some really interesting ones out there. I just saw "Sicario" (budget of $30m - three big name actors attached, well-respected new director in the chair, great script) and that was a really good flick - picked up by Lionsgate for distribution. What Benicio Del Toro's character does near the end would never make it into a Hollywood flick - but it stands out and is true to the character and story world. Interestingly they're working on a sequel with BDT and Josh Brolin (no Blunt, though - scheduling conflicts).

    It's funny, though, isn't it? All these Oscar winning films and how much are Hollywood really involved in making them? Studios distribute them, but how many are actually made within the Hollywood system? And yet they're the darlings on Oscar night. Not particularly profitable many of them, perhaps, but many will live on far longer than a box office clunker (who gives a shit about Battleship, or John Carter, for example?) ... there's room for all kinds - micro budget, mid-budget, and big budget - but these execs, who only see things (as you say) on charts and graphs rather than caring about staying true to the source material (WWZ!!!, the obsession with PG-13 - the MPAA needs to adopt the 12/15/18 mix that the BBFC has) or taking a few risks. The New Hollywood era is revered, yet all too often the lessons of that time are ignored completely.

    ...

    Anyway - the main thing is: BvS and Suicide Squad may be flawed, but they don't deserve the sheer kicking they've received from critics in the slightest.

  2. #467
    Feeding shootemindehead's Avatar
    Member

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Dublin
    Posts
    4,062
    Ireland
    Quote Originally Posted by MinionZombie View Post
    1) That's a good comparison to draw - it's all getting more perilous. The risk part of the risk/reward ratio is becoming too large. In the movie biz hundreds of millions used to be astonishing as profit. Now these tentpoles must make over a billion or, as you say, they're considered kinda duff. What absolute rot. There's all these wild figures swirling around for "Suicide Squad" - it was $500m then it was $700m and now it's feckin' $800m in order for it to break even - what absolute guff from the mainstream clickbait media and their perpetual cycle of horseshit. With a budget of $175m, and then add another $175m for marketing (these costs are ridiculous - but it's that 'the film budget over again' theory for marketing costs), and even considering that they don't get back all of the Box Office (as a cut goes to the cinemas), with a total gross of about $466m thus far they've probably broken even by now, or are very close to doing so ... but that doesn't gain clicks, does it? I don't know whether 'nu-GB' will lose as much as $100m, but it'll certainly lose money.
    Regarding marketing, I have to ask where does that money go? Because, from mere observation I don't really see that much different marketing techniques than I did years ago. There's trailers, TV spots, posters around town, etc. Coupled with that you also have a huge online situation that does a large amount of that work for you without you having to lift a finger. $175 mil is WTF territory simply to sell a film. Think of all the films that could be made with that money? There are directors out there that could turn in, at least, three gems for that. It's, frankly, sickening.

    Quote Originally Posted by MinionZombie View Post
    2) Yeah, the 'indie' films of today are the realm of interesting stories ... although sometimes they can just be terribly forgettable and only out to seek Oscars for the studios ... but there's some really interesting ones out there. I just saw "Sicario" (budget of $30m - three big name actors attached, well-respected new director in the chair, great script) and that was a really good flick - picked up by Lionsgate for distribution. What Benicio Del Toro's character does near the end would never make it into a Hollywood flick - but it stands out and is true to the character and story world. Interestingly they're working on a sequel with BDT and Josh Brolin (no Blunt, though - scheduling conflicts).
    Haven't seen that yet, but it's on the "to do" list. But yes, like any film, some indie stuff can be completely meh. Most entertainment is largely made up of meh, with the class shining through every so often. However, there's SO much content out there these days, the amount of meh seems overwhelming at times.

    Quote Originally Posted by MinionZombie View Post
    It's funny, though, isn't it? All these Oscar winning films and how much are Hollywood really involved in making them? Studios distribute them, but how many are actually made within the Hollywood system? And yet they're the darlings on Oscar night. Not particularly profitable many of them, perhaps, but many will live on far longer than a box office clunker (who gives a shit about Battleship, or John Carter, for example?) ... there's room for all kinds - micro budget, mid-budget, and big budget - but these execs, who only see things (as you say) on charts and graphs rather than caring about staying true to the source material (WWZ!!!, the obsession with PG-13 - the MPAA needs to adopt the 12/15/18 mix that the BBFC has) or taking a few risks. The New Hollywood era is revered, yet all too often the lessons of that time are ignored completely.
    I actually liked 'John carter...ahem...of Mars' LOL It's another film that I think will find its audience eventually. It's also another film that is consigned to the "flop" bin, without it actually having been a flop. 'John Carter' made a profit. 'Ishtar' or 'Hudson Hawk', now theywere flops.

    But yes, the Hollywood system is like the games industry. You have the likes of EA making stupid money and the software houses that build the bloody games going under. Where's the logic there? We need a system that eliminates "producers" (or turns them into patrons of a sort), because they are largely leeches, TBH. They do a lot to constrain talent and hold artistry to ransom, because they have their hands on the purse strings.

    The lessons of the "New Hollywood" era are ignored because the "Newer Hollywood" only remembers the money made by 'Star Wars' and 'Jaws'.

    Quote Originally Posted by MinionZombie View Post
    Anyway - the main thing is: BvS and Suicide Squad may be flawed, but they don't deserve the sheer kicking they've received from critics in the slightest.
    I've yet to see a film without some flaws, but it brings me back to what I said earlier. I really am at a loss as to what people are expecting from these films.
    I'm runnin' this monkey farm now Frankenstein.....

  3. #468
    Zombie Flesh Eater EvilNed's Avatar
    Zombie Flesh Eater

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    6,302
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by MinionZombie View Post
    Anyway - the main thing is: BvS and Suicide Squad may be flawed, but they don't deserve the sheer kicking they've received from critics in the slightest.
    Can't speak for SS. Maybe it's awesome.

    But BvS deserves every shit thrown at it. It's inept filmmaking at it's worst.

  4. #469
    Feeding shootemindehead's Avatar
    Member

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Dublin
    Posts
    4,062
    Ireland
    Oh come on Neddy. There's far, far worse.
    I'm runnin' this monkey farm now Frankenstein.....

  5. #470
    Zombie Flesh Eater EvilNed's Avatar
    Zombie Flesh Eater

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    6,302
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by shootemindehead View Post
    Oh come on Neddy. There's far, far worse.
    While I agree that there's far worse from Production companies like... Well... Ehm... Hmm.

    As a matter of fact, no I don't agree. BvS is Asylum levels of bad.

  6. #471
    Team Rick MinionZombie's Avatar
    Super Moderator

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    The Mandatorium
    Posts
    24,165
    UK
    Quote Originally Posted by EvilNed View Post
    BvS is Asylum levels of bad.
    Now you're just being silly.

  7. #472
    Zombie Flesh Eater EvilNed's Avatar
    Zombie Flesh Eater

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    6,302
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by MinionZombie View Post
    Now you're just being silly.
    I wish, oh I wish...

  8. #473
    Team Rick MinionZombie's Avatar
    Super Moderator

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    The Mandatorium
    Posts
    24,165
    UK
    Captain America: Civil War...
    http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...l-goes-dc.html

    Finally got to see it, so I put some thoughts down about it...

  9. #474
    Team Rick MinionZombie's Avatar
    Super Moderator

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    The Mandatorium
    Posts
    24,165
    UK
    The Bloodstained Butterfly (Duccio Tessari, 1971):
    http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...ly-duccio.html

    Side-stepping many of gialli's visual clichés, nestling into a pace akin to the more thoughtful examples of the genre, Tessari's film paints a bleak and savage picture of inter-generational betrayal, lust, abuse, and shattered illusions...

  10. #475
    Team Rick MinionZombie's Avatar
    Super Moderator

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    The Mandatorium
    Posts
    24,165
    UK
    The Nice Guys:
    http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...ni-review.html

    Shane Black's latest outing...

  11. #476
    through another dimension bassman's Avatar
    Zombie Flesh Eater

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Atlanta
    Posts
    15,229
    United States
    Quote Originally Posted by MinionZombie View Post
    The Nice Guys:
    http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...ni-review.html

    Shane Black's latest outing...
    Told ya you'd love it!

    I need to purchase the Blu Ray and listen to Black's commentary track. Let me know how you like it if you give it a listen. I'm a sucker for good commentary tracks and the one for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was great.

  12. #477
    Team Rick MinionZombie's Avatar
    Super Moderator

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    The Mandatorium
    Posts
    24,165
    UK
    Quote Originally Posted by bassman View Post
    Told ya you'd love it!

    I need to purchase the Blu Ray and listen to Black's commentary track. Let me know how you like it if you give it a listen. I'm a sucker for good commentary tracks and the one for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was great.
    Erm ... I don't think there is one. There wasn't one on my Blu-Ray, and from what I've read online neither does the North American release.

    Pretty naff on the extras front. It was just some cast interview snippets (EPK style raw footage) and a couple of EPKs and a photo gallery. Still though, the movie itself was very groovy.

  13. #478
    Team Rick MinionZombie's Avatar
    Super Moderator

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    The Mandatorium
    Posts
    24,165
    UK
    Matinee (Joe Dante, 1993):
    http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...vd-review.html

    Picture the scene: the year is 1962, the location – Key West, Florida – and the Cuban Missile Crisis has struck fear into a nation. Paranoia is rife, if it's not reds under the bed then it's the shared nightmare of an invading bomber dropping Atomic destruction from the skies. This could be the last weekend of their lives – so there's nothing left to do other than hit the Saturday matinee showing of a brand new monster movie, in which atomic radiation and a bite from an ant turn a shoe salesman into a giant, rampaging … Mant!

  14. #479
    Team Rick MinionZombie's Avatar
    Super Moderator

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    The Mandatorium
    Posts
    24,165
    UK
    The Editor (Astron-6, 2014):
    http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...vd-review.html

    Canadian film-making collective Astron-6 (Father's Day) return with their own curious take on the Italian genre films of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly the giallo film, with The Editor. Harnessing the bold colour splashes of Mario Bava, the shock gore geysers of Lucio Fulci, and the twisted narrative mystery of gialli icons Dario Argento and Ernesto Gastaldi, Astron-6 have donned black leather gloves and some impressively luxuriant moustaches for their own eroticised killer thriller...

  15. #480
    Team Rick MinionZombie's Avatar
    Super Moderator

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    The Mandatorium
    Posts
    24,165
    UK
    The Neon Demon:
    http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...ck-review.html

    Have you ever wanted to see a film that's as soul-less and cold-eyed as its subject matter? Then you're in for a treat!

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •