Thursday, December 8, 2016
So I saw Bad Santa 2...
Pretty unremarkable film. Had some chuckles here and there. Didn't hate
it, didn't love it. It was meh. The drink I had was pretty good, popcorn
was tasty, and the piss I took after the movie was nice too.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
The 2015 Reboot of Fantastic Four Left Me Very Confused.
I know absolutely nothing about the Fantastic Four, and after seeing this movie, I still don't think I do. I only vaguely remember the previous Tim Story directed films, and that's about it. I gotta say, for a property that prides itself as being "Marvel's First Family", the Fantastic Four doesn't seem to be as well regarded as, say, anything else Marvel cranks out. Heck, shortly before the release of this movie, Marvel canceled their current run of Fantastic Four comics, and the sales of that last issue only solidifies that decision. So what's the deal? Why is Fantastic Four so ill-regarded in the eyes of Marvel and it's fans? Is it because of the movies?
Maybe the comics are great, I don't know, but I certainly don't want to read them after not just one or two bad movies, but also a third one. And this version of the Fantastic Four is the most ill-received out of all of them, scoring a whooping 9% on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the low 20's and 30's percents the other two movies managed to get. (I'm purposely leaving the 1994 Roger Corman flick out of this because I haven't seen it, but if Fox really refuses to release it, then I think that says everything.)
This version of the Fantastic Four is by far the darkest in terms of tone and mood, but it is also the most lifeless and bland. At a scant 99 minutes, I was also expecting a tighter pace, but that was only wishful thinking. The first half of this movie is very slow; they don't even get their powers until about halfway through. Honestly, I actually kinda liked the first half for what it's worth. All the setup and introductions to our characters was very well done. We got to see what everyone does and how they contribute to the group, it just goes on for way too long, and the dialogue is simply atrocious. The second half is where the movie completely derails. The pacing is manic and relentless, as if the movie itself obtained the power of super speed and is making up for lost time spent on too much buildup. The final confrontation with Doctor Doom is over and done before I even knew it was happening. I still have no idea how they actually defeated him, he just kinda disappears. No doubt it's in the second half where Fox demanded most of the re-shoots take place.
Director Josh Trank blamed studio interference by Fox on the lackluster quality of the movie. Is that really true? Why did Fox demand re-shoots? I have a hard time believing the same studio that okays an R-rated Deadpool movie would have any problem with a decent Fantastic Four movie. But from what I've seen in the first half (albeit all it's problems), it looked like Trank had a good idea of what he wanted to do, but his behavior on set was reportedly awful. Was the pressure of a big studio project simply too much for him?
Whatever the case with this movie was, I think it's safe to assume that we will never see another Fantastic Four movie in theaters for a very very long time.
Maybe the comics are great, I don't know, but I certainly don't want to read them after not just one or two bad movies, but also a third one. And this version of the Fantastic Four is the most ill-received out of all of them, scoring a whooping 9% on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the low 20's and 30's percents the other two movies managed to get. (I'm purposely leaving the 1994 Roger Corman flick out of this because I haven't seen it, but if Fox really refuses to release it, then I think that says everything.)
This version of the Fantastic Four is by far the darkest in terms of tone and mood, but it is also the most lifeless and bland. At a scant 99 minutes, I was also expecting a tighter pace, but that was only wishful thinking. The first half of this movie is very slow; they don't even get their powers until about halfway through. Honestly, I actually kinda liked the first half for what it's worth. All the setup and introductions to our characters was very well done. We got to see what everyone does and how they contribute to the group, it just goes on for way too long, and the dialogue is simply atrocious. The second half is where the movie completely derails. The pacing is manic and relentless, as if the movie itself obtained the power of super speed and is making up for lost time spent on too much buildup. The final confrontation with Doctor Doom is over and done before I even knew it was happening. I still have no idea how they actually defeated him, he just kinda disappears. No doubt it's in the second half where Fox demanded most of the re-shoots take place.
Director Josh Trank blamed studio interference by Fox on the lackluster quality of the movie. Is that really true? Why did Fox demand re-shoots? I have a hard time believing the same studio that okays an R-rated Deadpool movie would have any problem with a decent Fantastic Four movie. But from what I've seen in the first half (albeit all it's problems), it looked like Trank had a good idea of what he wanted to do, but his behavior on set was reportedly awful. Was the pressure of a big studio project simply too much for him?
Whatever the case with this movie was, I think it's safe to assume that we will never see another Fantastic Four movie in theaters for a very very long time.
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