This late in the year and no thread for the next one yet? Fixed.

Coming June 2019, Dark Phoenix



I want this to be good. The X-men reboot series has, for the most part, been rather good. I liked First Class. I loved Days of Future Past. 2013 Wolverine... was a thing, I guess, I saw it once and don't remember much of it. Apocalypse was strongly meh. Logan was fucking great. I see Deadpool as more its own thing than a part of this.

The problem is that the director for Dark Phoenix, Simon Kinberg, has been a writer for a bunch of good stuff and a bunch of meh stuff, so it's a mixed bag, and this is his directorial debut. Seeing that Bryan Singer isn't directing this has me skeptical. Kinberg himself was a writer on DoFP, but also 2015 Fantastic Four, so...

Oh, and I already know what movie I won't be paying to see in a theater next December. cough Star Wars cough

 

Another very mediocre trailer for me that could go any sort of way. I like that they are still trying to produce a really good mutant film. The conflicting timeline, mutant inconsistencies, character inconsistencies, comic book logic, and so forth have really put the damper on the series for me. Still, I watch them.

Unlike most, I suppose, I disliked the original (comics) Dark Phoenix plot more than any other. To me it was just became another way to retcon without actually retconning the mutant-verse. And they used a character I really liked to execute the premise. Eh, maybe that was the reason I didn't like it. I was a Jean Grey fan back in the day and they fucked my favorite character over and killed her.

In a way, I'm glad Singer isn't directing. I'd like to see what someone else can do with the reins, much like Logan.

I'm more hyped for New Mutants in August.

 

Looks okay. Evil Phoenix Force Jean has always been a shitty plotpoint of x-men though, so I'm not holding my breath.

Surprised Jennifer Lawrence agreed to come back. I was under the impression she'd officially signed off.

 

I was trying to find her salary for this film, but I'm sure it's going to be the biggest one compared to the rest of the cast. If I were to be in her position I wouldn't say no to basically being RDJ of X-Men franchise, at least in terms of money you get.

As for the film, like with Apocalypse, I will probably just check a new Quicksilver music scene, if there is one, when it's on YT. The trailer doesn't convince me to give the film more time than that.

 

Obviously the Infinity War Sequel is coming out. I'm interested in seeing what they have planned for Phase 4.

Really hope the MCU doesn't deteriorate from here.

 

Announcement trailer for Disney's Aladdin. Disney isn't cheap on the visual budget, at least.

 

Disney's live-action remakes are a perfect combination of everything that makes me give precisely zero fucks about a movie.

 

That's fair. Though I have to say that the Jungle Book at least was good.

 

They're still not going to successfully recast the damn genie.

 

Its Will Smith.

 

Gettin' Genie With It

 

As much as I like the new xmen movies, I just don't like Sophie Turner... I remember the RedLetterMedia guys saying something about JLaw that I think applies to Turner as well, something to the effect of 'She looks like a child playing dress-up in their mother's clothes.'

My biggest question regarding Aladdin is if Gilbert Gottfried is still voicing Iago.

Oh, and who's playing Jasmine?... asking for a friend...

 

That would be the "hot af" pink ranger, so sayeth a wise man with his priorities straight on.

Turner and Williams have horrendous styling. And what an accurate description of Turner. Her enunciation (gratingly) is precisely a child's enunciation playing grown up.

 

I've been very meh on the Disney live-action remakes so far. Jungle Book was okay, Beauty and the Beast was just a shot for shot reproduction of the animated film, and Cinderella was a cringefest.

That said, my inner child would beat the shit out of me if I didn't see both Aladdin and the upcoming Mulan remake in theaters.

 

The thing we gotta remember is that, by existing, they're in no way tarnishing what came before. I still, to this day, belt out tunes from Mulan and Aladdin et al, not even the least bit embarrassed when people look at me weirdly at stop lights.

And as much as I love those original animations, Agrabah and China could look fucking incredible live action, even if the movies are meh.

I saw that movie. Pink Ranger (Naomi Scott) was the best part about it. That wise man knoweth what he sayeth.

My... friend eagerly awaits seeing her in that outfit...

 

I'll go one further. The live action was better than the cartoon

 

We will see how this goes. I don't really like the overuse of CGI for the cities. No matter how expensive and detailed it is, its still obviously CGI. No one want another 'Great Wall' for Mulan or Prince of Persia for Aladdin, for example. Wish they used all these shiny new technologies on creating interesting new places and things, but I guess CGI is a much safer and cheaper bet (specially with then exploring the special effects studio so much).

Genie will have a lot more kid-friendly, Corporate approved Attitude than I remember then.

 

I can't see how Genie's personality could be at all the same. Robin Williams improvised a huge percentage of his dialogue if I'm not mistaken, which is why Genie is so off-the-wall. Will Smith is an excellent dramatic actor, but IMO the funniest he's ever been was in his Men In Black 1 and Independence Day phase, where it's more of a Lethal Weapon style action comedy. I can't think of any actual pure comedy I've seen him in that I liked, and that includes most episodes of Fresh Prince. His speech patterns and mannerisms are so different from Williams that there's no way he'd be able to convincingly play the Genie that way, and I can predict a writer trying to mimic Williams' stream-of-consciousness ranting will come off forced at best and physically painful at worst.

On the trailer itself: I like it. Not sure I'd go so far as to say it makes me want to see the movie, but it does all the right things to grab attention and nostalgia, and I like that it's pretty understated.

Also, I can't see most of the referential stuff happening in a 2018 remake. The target audience in 1993 barely knew who Rodney Dangerfield and Arsenio Hall were. I can't imagine 25 years improving that any lol.

 

The CGI would be for the kids, which is where the money is to be made. If they were re-making it for the 30-somethings, as we're all getting to be, I'd think actually filming somewhere with old ruins, ramshackle markets, and a severe, imposing palace without a lick of CGI would pay off for them.

It's a shame they won't go that way.

If they've any heart, they won't try and approach a moment of Robin Williams. A subtle nod, perhaps, but no more. Some actors instill their presence on a role. To try and copy any level of Williams' genie would be... plagiarism? I'm not sure that's the right word. Williams was one of a kind and trying to recapture that magic would be tacky at best, and outright pissing on his grave at worst.

I guess we'll see.