Random Bits From The Week That Was...

So, here were are again... Friday! And, as always, there were a number of news stories that broke this week, that either I was too lazy to blog about, or they didn't require a full on rant, as is my usual...


Days Of Future Past Takes Off...

The folks over at Fox have to be pretty pleased with the numbers that the latest film in their X-Men franchise has been pulling in. Not only did it open with $110M domestically over the long, Memorial Day weekend, it also made a huge $171.08M internationally. This overseas number eclipsed the numbers put up by Avatar, making it Fox's biggest international opening weekend of all time. It's in tough this weekend, however, going against new releases Maleficent and A Million Ways To Die In The West. I expect that Maleficent will come out the clear winner, given it's family friendly vibe and that Million Ways will falter, as word is the film's not that good. It will be interesting to see the percentage drop for DOFP, given the strong word of mouth factor and the great reviews for the film.


Old and New Faces Will Appear In Apocalypse...

Since the release of DOFP and that post credits scene involving En Sabah Nur, speculation has been running rampant in regards to the next instalment, X-Men: Apocalypse, set for release in the summer of 2016. While nothing has been officially announced, as the project is still in the early stages of development, it has been speculated that the story will be more of a sequel to First Class, involving the main cast of that branch of the franchise. Set in the 1980's, it will be a study in the origins of the mutant species, which of course, means Apocalypse. Writer Simon Kinberg did announce this week that some of the original cast members would be back for the film, although how this is going to work, I'm not so sure. They may do another "alternate timeline/time travel" thing, which would be the only way for it to make sense, although I'm not sure that this is the right way to go, given that they just mucked with the timeline in DOFP. I had heard another rumour that Scott, Jean and Storm would be recast with younger actors, making the characters fit in with the First Class cast. I guess we'll see what happens with this one.


Fantastic Beasts Still Looking For A Director...

It appears that Alfonso Cuaron has dropped out of the next Harry Potter franchise film. Rumoured, last week, to be in deep discussion with Warner Brothers to direct Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, earlier this week Cuaron stated that he would not be directing the first film in the upcoming trilogy. It seems that immersing himself in another special effects laden project is not what he was looking for, which makes sense given the time and effort that went into his Academy Award winning film, Gravity. Of course, this leads to even greater speculation that he just may be the guy to bring the world of The Shining back to the big screen. Although he denies knowing anything about The Overlook Hotel project over at Warner Brothers, I wouldn't be surprised to eventually see his name attached. I think that this is a better project for his directing style than Fantastic Beasts (I am one of the very few people who did not like his take on The Prisoner of Azkaban) and am looking forward to hearing more about this project.


Plot Details For Pixar's "Inside Out" Released...

Sadly, there are no new Pixar films being released in 2014. However, there are a number of projects that are being geared up by the studio to be released in the next couple of years. Some that are very interesting. Set for release on June 19, 2015, "Inside Out" is one of them, and this week we got a peek at what the movie is about. Set inside the mind of 11 year-old Riley, as her world is turned upside down when her family moves to a new city. Guided by her emotions- Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness- we'll see the conflicts that arise in her head as her emotions try to help her navigate a new city, a new house and a new school. The voice cast for this project looks fantastic and I think that this is a perfect project for Pixar. Lately, some of their films, mostly their sequels, have been considered disappointments, so it's nice to see some new, interesting projects on the horizon. (Although the two sequels that they have planned next are on my must see list, Finding Dory and The Incredibles 2). Let's hope this marks a bit of a resurgence for the once, untouchable animation studio.


Del Toro's "Book of Life" Trailer Drops...

So, apparently, Guillermo Del Toro doesn't sleep. He has like 100,000 projects on the go at any one time (although one of them doesn't appear to be Hellboy 3!) and his fingers in a 100,000 others. Like this one. An animated movie, set for release on October 17, 2014, it tells the story of Manolo, a young man torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Visually, this project looks stunning. The vivid colours and imagery really pop, and the actors cast to voice the film are top notch. It has a very unique animated style, giving it an almost stop motion quality. Overall, it reminds me of Tim Burton's stop motion masterpiece, The Nightmare Before Christmas. This one was not on my radar before now, but has quickly become one of my most anticipated films of the year.


Fox Is Looking For A New Chairman of Entertainment It Seems...

Kevin Reilly will be stepping down as the Chairman of Entertainment over at the Fox Broadcasting Company. Holding the position since 2012, Reilly will depart the post by the end of June. With only three of the nine series that Fox debuted in the fall, earning renewals, it's no surprise that jobs will be on the chopping block. Returning programming at the network also took a hit this season, most of it's shows either flat or down in the ratings from previous years. Fox placed second overall in the demo this season, but fourth in total audience. Change, in the face of these numbers, was inevitable. While I enjoy programming over at Fox, it seems like the studio doesn't have any faith in their projects and they sharpen the axe quite quickly. It will be interesting to see how they handle the buzzy Gotham in the fall, if the numbers aren't what they hoped for. Of course, I'm still angry at the network and Murdoch for cancelling Firefly back in 2002. Apparently, I hold a grudge! :)


And finally...

New International Trailer For Apes on Horses Drops...

A new trailer for the upcoming Dawn of The Planet of The Apes dropped, and boy is it a doozy. Even though there is not a whole lot of new footage in the trailer, it is rearranged slightly, giving a different perspective on the film. I thought nothing of Rise of the Planet of the Apes when it was released, but was completely blown away when I eventually saw the film. It was an incredible story, told by an incredible cast and Andy Serkis as Caesar was amazing. I am greatly anticipating this one, and will be sure to review it once I finally see it on July 11th.

Review: Sometimes Your Future Lies In Your Past...

**********SPOILER ALERT!!!!!**********

The following is a review of X-Men: Day Of Future Past, and may contain spoilers. If you do not want to be spoiled, then I suggest you do not read any further. If, you are one of those weird people who don't mind being spoiled with things like plot details and such, then be all means, continue...

I have now seen this movie twice. It has been in theatres for a grand total of 3 days, and I have seen it twice. That is how much I loved it. This is a fantastic film... and I don't just mean genre film, or superhero film, I mean a great film, period. I honestly don't know that I am going to see another movie this year that I feel is better than Days Of Future Past. 

To me, this movie had everything that I am looking for in a great film. The screenplay was fantastic. The story is incredibly well written, and true to the feeling of the comic book characters, without coming off too campy. There have always been some continuity issues with the X-Men franchise (some bigger than others!), and Fox has always just kind of swept them under the rug and not looked back. There are a few here too, especially in the timing of certain pivotal moments that occurred in previous movies, but, personally I am willing to overlook them, as it's difficult when you are dealing with different film makers for each property, to get them to line up exactly. (Yes, I know that Marvel has managed to do it through 8 films and a television show, but give me this one, please?). And then of course, ultimately, by the end of the film, it doesn't really matter anyway, so we might as well just go with it. The way that the Simon Kinberg was able to seamlessly weave the future story arc to the past was spectacular. The pacing and cut of the film were perfect. I can't think of a point where I felt bored or that the story was dragging or I needed more action or something to shake things up. The two plus hours flew by, both times.

 A lot of people were upset when word came that Hugh Jackman, as Wolverine, would once again be the central character in the film. In the comics, it is Kitty Pryde, aka Shadowcat, who is the one who gets sent back in time to alter the events of the past. I understand Fox's decision to put Jackman front and centre. He is the face of the franchise. Everyone knows who Wolverine is, given the fact that he has been in all 7 of Fox's X-Men movies, if you include the brief cameo he did in First Class. And honestly, Jackman has never been better. I'm sure by now, the character fits him like a glove. And physically... holy hell! The man is perfection personified. He got into amazing shape for The Wolverine last year and just continued on through the filming of Days of Future Past. I'm all for gratuitous nudity if it looks like that!

With that being said, while Wolverine is a key character in this film, the movie actually belongs to James McAvoy, as the younger Charles Xavier. And boy does he deliver. Charles is a broken, defeated man and McAvoy oozes despair. His portrayal is heartbreaking. You feel his pain and grief through the screen. He is a fantastic actor and I am glad that he was able to show that here, bringing a new dimension and depth to a character that we thought we knew. (If you haven't seen McAvoy in Wanted, you really should. That is another excellent, under-rated movie). Michael Fassbender, as the younger Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto, is also spectacular. His portrayal of the character has always been something to marvel at, and he doesn't disappoint here. Although his character is a villain, he is also extremely sympathetic. He's doing what he thinks is right for the good of all mutants, and it's hard to fault him for that. The scene on the plane when he and Charles argue about their tumultuous past is breathtaking in it's heartbreak and intensity. (Of course, Michael Fassbender could read the phone book on screen for 2 hours and I would be mesmerized!) The rest of the cast, including Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique and Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy, are also at the top of their game. The performances that Bryan Singer was able to get from the entire cast is one of the things that make this such a great movie. Many of the characters, especially in the future scenes, like Bishop, Blink, Warpath, Colossus, Sunspot and Iceman, are not given a lot of screen time, but what they do with it is remarkable. It is seriously devastating to watch the Sentinel's tear through them at the end of the film. I am glad that Bryan Singer chose to come back to this universe and more or less make things right. He knows and understands this universe like no one else, which is evident by what he put on our movie screens.

The only issue that I have with this film, is the fact that, with the exception of X-Men: First Class, they managed to erase everything else that has happened in the universe. While I appreciate the "screw you" that Singer threw Ratner's way in regards to wiping X-Men: The Last Stand out of existence (while I didn't hate the film, and thought it had a few redeeming qualities, it is generally reviled by fans), I am disappointed that the events of X-Men, X2: X-Men United and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (again, I didn't hate this film either and do think that it also had some redeeming qualities and important character points, but again it is reviled by most, who I am sure are glad that the events depicted in it are now also wiped out of existence) are all moot, as well as the events of last summer's The Wolverine. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me for Fox to go through all of the trouble of making and marketing The Wolverine, only to have the entire thing be nothing but a memory to Logan, less than a year later. But, what can you do? What's done is done. The end scene of the movie was great though. It was fantastic to see a happy future, where everyone, including Scott Summers and Jean Grey, survived. The cameos by the original actors from all of the films was a great touch.

With the release of X-Men: Apocalypse set for exactly 2 years from now, I was slightly surprised to see that they didn't use the time travel angle to somehow get the cast from First Class in to the present timeline. It was my expectation that something along those lines would happen, as it was quite obvious, aside from Hugh Jackman, the majority of the original cast members would not be back to reprise their roles in any future projects. This movie was going to be a passing of the torch, so to speak. And I guess, in many ways, it was. Rumour has it that X-Men: Apocalypse will be more of a First Class sequel than anything else, with the surviving cast members of that movie moving forward to the 1980's. There are also plans for a third Wolverine movie, set for release in March of 2017. Many expect that this will be Hugh Jackman's final go around as the character. And while, I am hoping, that since they altered his history, and that Mystique is the "William Stryker" that takes him at the end of DOFP, they may revisit the Weapon X program storyline once more. Maybe get it right this time. Regardless, if Jackman is finally hanging up the claws for good, all I can say is, thank you, sir and bravo. While you will be missed, you will never be forgotten.  

Random Bits From The Week That Was...

So, here's my take on the random bits of news that I ran across this week, and was either too lazy to post about, or didn't require a full blog post to discuss....


Zack Snyder unveils the Batmobile...

Earlier this week, Zack Snyder hinted, via twitter, that it might be time for the tarp to be lifted. His tweet, accompanied by a photo of a tarp covered Batmobile, sent the internet into a tizzy. Not quite the tizzy, of course, that was caused the next day, when the picture he released was not only of the Batmobile, but a very buff and intense looking Ben Affleck as Batman. Now, I have not been a huge fan of this project from the outset, as I think that Superman deserves his own sequel... one that doesn't involve other Justice League characters and plots. As much as I didn't like the first Man of Steel, (it's not like I hated it or anything... I just think it had a lot of issues and they made it hard for me to love it). I still think that Supes is getting a bad wrap. That being said, Ben Affleck looks amazing! The black and white photo that was released is absolutely stunning! (I would frame and hang that guy on my wall!) The image invokes a tone and a feeling that I don't think all of us were expecting. While I wasn't a huge fan of the casting of Affleck at the time, upon further contemplation, I have come around to the idea. It's definitely going to be interesting, to say the least.


Channing Tatum is the new Gambit...

This news makes me less excited. While I like Channing Tatum and think that he's really grown as an actor over the last few year, I honestly don't see this as a good fit. I agree with Kristian Harloff over at The Schmoes Know, who thinks that the character is not well enough known by the general public to be played by such a popular actor. The audience is not going to see Remi LeBeau on the big screen, they are going to see Channing Tatum. And, if I'm being perfectly frank, I can't see him mastering Gambit's Cajun drawl, either. I personally believe that, while the movie wasn't well received (although I really liked it!), that the powers that be should have stuck with Taylor Kitsch, who played the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The issue with that incarnation of Gambit were not Kitsch's fault and I do think that he's a better actor than Tatum, overall. I think that the recast will be kind of confusing and I think it was completely unnecessary.


Neighbours kicks the crap out of TASM2 at the box office...

Okay, so it didn't exactly kick the crap out of it, but it did do some damage. In it's second week, TASM2 fell behind the Seth Rogan/Zac Efron comedy Neighbours, which debuted last weekend. Neighbours opened with a strong $49M domestically, surprising both the studio and forecasters alike. Dropping a whopping 61%, The Amazing Spiderman 2 brought in only $35.5M domestically in it's second weekend out. (Although, honestly, Sony can't be happy with the $92M it made in it's opening weekend, as that didn't even top the opening weekend numbers put up by the far superior Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Although it is being pulled along by the foreign markets, with stiff competition being released in the next few weeks, this movie might be hard pressed to top the box office results of the first Amazing Spiderman. Sony has got to be disappointed in these results. As of now, it is still trailing behind The Lego Movie and The Winter Soldier in regards to overall box office totals. It'll be interesting to see if it will surpass them or not, and what happens to Spiderman's numbers once both Godzilla and Days of Future Past are released in the next couple of weeks.


TV Trailers galore are dropped...

So, with the up-fronts done by all the major networks over the last few days, all kinds of juicy tidbits about the upcoming TV season have been dropped. The trailer for Gotham, debuting on Fox in the fall, looks amazing. The story of a young Detective Jim Gordon as he starts on the Gotham City police force, it's looks to be an origin story of sorts, of not only Batman, but all of his arch villains, as well. I was a little less enthused about the trailer for Constantine, debuting on NBC in the fall. Although the trailer looks interesting, this one I will have to watch a few episodes of first to fully get the tone and a feel for the series. The CW released a teaser and a full 5 minute trailer for their upcoming Flash series. The story of Barry Allen and his transformation into The Flash, this one is a spin-off of the CW's Arrow. The trailer looks fantastic, and I am optimistic, since the showrunners are virtually the same, that this will have the same kind of tone and feel as the aforementioned Arrow, which if you're not watching already, you really should be! Of course, there are many more bits and pieces out there on all the new shows that are coming, but these ones were the ones that caught my attention the most. I guess we'll see how everything looks in the fall. Usually, the ones you're looking forward to the most are disappointing and the shows that really catch your attention weren't even on your radar. Only time will tell on these ones.


Marvel's looking for a heart-throb...

So, apparently, Marvel is looking to shore up it's superhero properties, in the looks department, anyway, and has Zac Efron in mind to fill that position. I am actually a huge fan of Efron and think that he's a really solid actor. While I'm not adverse to this idea, I do think that it is almost the same issue as with Channing Tatum playing Gambit. I'm not sure if Zac Efron is too big to play a superhero or not. Rumour has it that Marvel is courting him to play one of it's heroes on their new Netflix Defenders adventure, so it will be interesting to see if there is any truth to it. I'm not sure that, at this point in his career and with the huge success of Neighbours, that Efron would be willing to take a part on TV, even if it is on Netflix. I guess we'll know soon enough, as the plan is for the first 13 episode run, rumoured to be Daredevil, to be released next summer. 


Roberto Orci confirmed as director of Star Trek 3...

So, looks like Paramount is willing to gamble with the future of their Star Trek franchise. It was finally confirmed that writer/producer extraordinaire, Roberto Orci, will be helming the next Star Trek movie. With JJ Abrams off to direct a little flick entitled Star Wars Episode VII, Orci lobbied hard to be given this project. Paramount finally made it's decision and decided to give the $200M project to a guy who has never directed anything before, in his whole entire life. Seriously, not even a commercial or a sitcom episode. Nothing. While I actually really like Orci's work (I have been a fan since he and Alex Kurtzman began writing for Hercules and Xena in the 90's), I'm not sure that this is the right move for either him or the studio. While he knows this world inside and out, having written the screenplays for the first two movies, it is a lot of pressure for a first time director. I really hope that it all works out, as I love the new Trek franchise. It'll be interesting to see what happens.


And finally, the first trailer of Interstellar drops...

So, today, the first official trailer for Christopher Nolan's hugely anticipated film, Interstellar, dropped. And boy is it amazing. There has been a lot of secrecy surrounding this project, building the anticipation to astronomical levels. And, given the fact that it's Nolan's follow-up to the spectacular Inception (the Dark Knight trilogy was not my favourite!), a lot is riding on it. From the looks of this trailer, I think it is going to live up to the hype. While it is easy to get excited for a trailer, only to be disappointed by the final product (Michael Bay, anyone?), I have a feeling that there is no reason to worry in this case. My goal now is to try and avoid any further promotional information in regards to this one, as I want to go in with no pre-conceived notions or preconceptions. We'll see how that works out! :)

So, these were the news items that caught my fancy this week... although there were many, many more exciting tid-bits that were dropped about all kinds of projects going on out there. Check out the sources that I use for my movie and television news... I promise, you won't regret it!

www.schmoesknow.com

www.youtube.com/AMCtheatres