By George Robbins
Disney films have given people something to look forward to over the years as they grew up and they shaped how many people turned out. From the moment Walt Disney started making animated films, the film industry was just never the same again. It was after that period of time where we were then given countless Disney films that charmed people over the years and gave people childhood memories they would never forget. Unfortunately, there was a period of time where there was just nothing going on with their roster and we had no new films which could hold people’s attention like they used to.
The dark ages of Disney were followed by what should be known as the Disney Renaissance in the mid-90’s because that once again changed the way animation was viewed. The movie that helped push this envelope was the animated film, ‘The Lion King.’ This movie completely changed people’s childhoods and it introduced an entirely new generation to the animated film genre. This movie would go on to help revitalize the entire industry in a sense and Disney animation once again started coming out on top to make to world its oyster yet again. Ever since then, they have devoted almost their all to animation and it has paid off.
It can be said that without ‘The Lion King,’ Disney would have been in trouble as they were kind of struggling at the time trying to come up with movie ideas that could catch intrigue. The best way of getting that intrigue was to take the classic tale of ‘Hamlet’ and adapt it in a way that people could go and see it in droves; including children. The story in ‘The Lion King’ ends on a happier note than the play it is based upon, but it is still one that is filled with sadness, anger, and a sense of completion. It is no surprise that they decided to take the film and adapt it to a more live-action based format in 2019 like they have been doing with their other films. The movie didn’t do anywhere near as well as its original, but it still showed that there was interest in the film.
What some people may not be aware of is the fact that the original film had a straight-to-video sequel aptly named ‘The Lion king 2: Simba’s Pride.’ Although the movie did not do as well as the original, it was still loved by the general public. Therefore, it should be no surprise that Disney is now in the midst of making a sequel to the new live-action version of the original. Not much is known about when we may end up seeing the new sequel, but in all likelihood, it will be in 2023 which is when they have a few release dates already planned. Disney seems like they will be riding this cash cow as far as they can and it will probably make a fair bit of money despite how people felt about the first remake.
By George Robbins
The DC Extended Universe, or DCEU, has managed to claw its way into the film industry because of the fanbase that exists for DC in general. This fanbase is a dedicated one like all comic book fanbases due to the fact that people won’t invest in something they really have no interest in, at least most of the time. This is why Warner Bros. knew that they would have plenty of dedicated fans that would want to watch their films when they came out. Looking at the comic book fanbase, they managed to estimate jsut how many people they would be able to draw in once they started making films for the characters. While the universe may not be too expansive, it has still managed to attract plenty of attention.
The DCEU came into being back in 2013 with ‘Man of Steel,’ 5 years after Marvel started their Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU. The MCU has easily become the more popular of the two franchises because the movies are just done that well. There are still plenty of people who nitpick at MCU films for not being as good as they expected them to be, but nowhere near as many as their are for DCEU films. This is because the approach to both film series has been different and they have been shaped to be fundamentally different from one another. This has, more often than not, caused a lot of people to be disappointed in the DCEU films as a whole which gives future films a lot less wiggle room.
Basically, this just means that they have to let their directors do what they can to make films that people will enjoy, especially the fans. Although the movies thus far have not been very highly rated, they have still managed to make a fair bit of money. Even though I say they have not really been highly rated, they have actually been rated pretty decently, it’s just that fans are very picky about what they see. So although it is the fans that are bringing in the money for the film, it’s also the fans that are giving those films the reviews that we have seen thus far. Among the movies that has received some of the worst commentary has been the movie ‘Justice League.’
The ‘Justice League’ movie has received plenty of flak over the past couple of years since its release due to how the film plays out. A majority of the complaints people had with the film were focused primarily on how the film tried building up a huge ensemble plot with almost no build up whatsoever. What people were used to at that point were the Avengers movies which had prerequisite films that helped tie in the plot of the film. This was not done with ‘Justice League,’ where all we had was a couple of origin films and another half-ensemble film that people were somewhat disappointed in. This led to people wondering just how the film would play out and, in the end, it left a lot of people disappointed with the results.
The ‘Justice League’ movie as a whole ended up disappointing a lot of fans of DC due to the lack of content leading up to the film. It left a bad taste in the mouths of people going into the film because fans knew that the film was going to have to build itself up over its own runtime. Considering that there is a limit to the patience of people watching, they could not make the film too long and so it felt a bit more rushed than people were expecting. This ultimately led to many a fan wanting a different version of the film, which is how we are now ending up with a director’s cut of the film being made by Zack Snyder who was the original director on the film. This was not the only thing that disappointed fans though when the film released.
One thing that many people may remember from the promotional material for the ‘Justice League’ movie, Superman was not in any of it. That is, until the final trailer before the film’s release and up until that point Henry Cavill was told to lie about Superman’s role in the film. Cavill has said recently that having to lie about Superman being in the film was an awkward experience and it is not something surprising to hear because it was something everyone knew, but the studio just didn’t want to admit it. It just ended up being awkward for everyone at that point and, in the end result, he didn’t have a huge part in the film anyway. Hopefully this fact will be rectified when the Snyder Cut releases on HBO Max in early 2021.
By George Robbins
Hot Wheels are a brand that many of us all remember from when we were little and they have continued to be a major brand as the years have gone on. They were created by the Mattel toy company which has developed countless toys over the years that everyone knows and loves. Without those toys, many people would have had very little in the way of entertainment as children and, while toys are less important to kids these days than technology, they still play a vital role in the growths and imaginations of children. Much of what actually ends up being seen on the market for people to buy for their children stems from the Mattel company.
Mattel tries their best to expand beyond the limits people put on them by making TV shows and movies based upon the properties that they own. This has at least made it a little more possible for them to expand their influence a little bit given the modern day’s more technological focus. Therefore, it isn’t too much of a surprise that they are trying to get themselves into the movie market a bit more but, like most of their projects, they have to use their own toy properties to make this content. This isn’t exactly an easy task for them to accomplish, but they are going for it and eventually they want to see a ‘Hot Wheels’ movie come to fruition. This is why they have hired a set of writers that they feel will finally be able to give their movie life after so many years.
Apparently, Mattel has been trying to create a ‘Hot Wheels’ movie for over 20 years, but of course it is not an easy task because how do you even create a coherent movie out of toy cars. There is no telling how they plan on having this film play out just yet, but we now know that they have hired the ‘Now You See Me 3’ writers to work on the film. ‘Now You See Me’ and its sequel have both had unique storylines which have brought in crowds that were surprised at how well done the movies were. Hopefully, these writers will be able to do the same thing with a ‘Hot Wheels’ movie and we will see a storyline that does the brand justice. Unfortunately, it is a movie based on a toy brand, so most people should not expect the movie to be a good one, but maybe it will be passable.
By George Robbins
Henry Cavill is a well-known face in the film industry right now as he has managed to play some pretty major roles over the past few years. This has made it possible for him to be a part of many different series and it will most definitely be a continuing trend as time goes on. Cavill has mostly been known for playing the role of the iconic Man of Steel in DCEU films over the past few years. This is far from the only thing has he done over the years though as he has interests in playing many different roles in all types of genres. He found himself playing a spy in ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E‘ and he played the role well which earned him a lot of recognition in that respect.
This is what eventually led to Cavill being cast as a major character in the most recent Mission: Impossible film, ‘Mission: Impossible- Fallout.’ He played his role as well as he did with every other piece of media he has been in and it has definitely put him on a list of actors that studios look out for to fill a role. One of the most recent roles he has taken on has been the role of Geralt in the ‘Witcher‘ series and he has done just as well with that role as well. What some people may not know, is that he actually wants to be involved in a James Bond movie, and not just involved, but be the famous agent himself. In fact, he already tried to be the character once before.
One would think that given how well he can play the spy role in a film, he would seriously be considered for the role of Bond. Unfortunately, this did not come to fruition and he could not play the character which wasn’t too much of an issue at the time since Daniel Craig was still willing to be Bond. The issue is starting to crop up again though as this upcoming Bond film, ‘No Time to Die,’ will be Craig’s final appearance as the iconic character. This iteration of the character being done with means nothing for the over-arching intellectual property though as they will simply reboot the character again. After all, a character as iconic as James Bond is not just going to disappear, so they will be looking for someone to be a replacement.
This means that in the not too distant future, we will more than likely be looking a auditions taking place for someone to fill the role of the new Bond. Considering how things are going in the movie industry, there is still plenty of time for them to come up with plans for a new film. This is just a good time to start thinking about the future and, although he was turned down before, Henry Cavill has put his name out there to play the next iteration of the character. There is no telling if he will really be able to fit the role; that will only be decided when they start the casting process. Given what Cavill has been a part of over the recent years, I wouldn’t be too surprised to see him actually end up in the role.
By George Robbins
Marvel has, by far, been catapulted to the front of pop culture and has become the most recognized franchise we have seen outside of Star Wars. This has easily made it a franchise the likes of which very few other franchises can make it to. Therefore it is not that big of a surprise that they can take a number of liberties with how they choose to adapt the source content. Marvel Studios is responsible for these adaptations and they do all that they can to make sure some of it can stay true to source material. What ends up being the most important thing for them though is the fact that what they make has to be interesting.
Making their movies interesting has never really been much of an issue, but they still do what they can to give older fans something new. It is cool to take something that people like and turn it into another enjoyable form of media, but it is another thing to make it new. What I mean is that they took characters that people loved from the comics and gave them new and interesting stories to follow in the movies. This has given fans new and old something to enjoy whenever they go see a Marvel film. This trend will also not end any time in the near future and the ability to do things as they please gives them plenty of ways to proceed.
One of the more interesting ways we are seeing these creative actions take form is with the villains we see in each of the films. Also, the adaptation of each hero we see in the films changes what we would expect from any of the films as well. This is because not every character is the iteration of that character that we expected to see, which is the case in the Ant-Man movies. So far, every Marvel film has had the hero portrayed by their comic counterpart, and Ant-Man is no exception. The difference this time is that he is played by the second iteration of the character, Scott Lang, instead of the first iteration, Hank Pym. The villains for those films seem to make sense, but it still doesn’t change the fact that the upcoming film has a villain many perhaps weren’t expecting.
In the upcoming ‘Ant-Man 3,’ we have found out that the main villain we are supposed to be seeing in the film is the villain, Kang the Conqueror. He is a being that is more in-line for being an Avengers-class villain and we are supposed to be seeing him in a standalone film. This has many fans wondering what exactly will be happening in the future of the MCU and what plans are in place for the next over-arching storyline. We have no idea what we are even supposed to be looking forward to in the future of the MCU. This still hasn’t changed the fact that we already know what movies we will be seeing next though.
Even though details for ‘Ant-Man 3’ have been revealed already, the movie is not set to start production until June of 2021. This is still a little ways off and we don’t have anything close to a release date, so all we can go off of are upcoming movies. This is something that is much easier to keep track of as they are movies that we should be seeing in the near future. Unfortunately, this pandemic has made those plans sort of difficult for Marvel Studios and Disney as a whole because release dates keep having to be pushed back more and more. Soon enough, we were supposed to see the movie ‘The Eternals’ which was the first new character movie to premiere in Phase 4 of the MCU. This seems like it was not meant to be though and the new release date for the film is unknown.
The release date for ‘The Eternals’ was given to ‘Black Widow‘ when the movie’s release was postponed after the pandemic began. Given how poorly theaters are now performing despite being reopened to the public, Disney has decided to once again push back the release dates for many of their films including ‘Black Widow. There is no true release date as of yet because we don’t know how the following months will turn out. Therefore, the entire line-up they had planned for Phase 4 is now borked and we have nothing to go off. Luckily, the studio knows that we are getting bored waiting for the film to release and, in turn, they have released some details for the film to get us excited for it again.
Going back to the whole creative liberties thing, they are choosing how they want to play out the Cold War, and its aftereffects, in the MCU. In the comics, things turn out similarly, but those comics were made during the Cold War, so the new movie is showing us their adaptation and it definitely sounds interesting. According to details given from the movie, the Cold War in the MCU was actually an Arms Race to create better super-soldiers in the form of superheroes. These details have been given to us over a few different films at this point, but ‘Black Widow’ seems like it will expand upon this and show us a more in-depth look at the era. More specifically it will give us a look at the post-Cold War aftereffects, which makes us all the more excited for the film.
By George Robbins
Horror movies, like all movies, have to change over the years in order to keep up with the expectations of the public. It has been a difficult road because of all of the genres out there in the open-market, horror is one of the least appreciated. This is due to the fact that not everyone can handle horror movies and this was made clear during the age of the slasher film. This period of time was around the 70’s and 80’s and it saw people getting upset with the horror genre as a whole because of the violence on screen. Although this is the more talked about period of time, horror movies have always had issues finding a place among the public.
Even back in the earlier part of the 20th century, any kind of horror films that came out were looked down on and this was when they were a lot more tame by comparison. Back then, horror movies were actually monster movies and they were entirely different from what we know today. Horror back then was just deformities and not really any kind of true horror movies as we know them today. Eventually, they became more accepted, but they still have a hard time keeping up because people just grew disinterested over time. Blumhouse has made a strong effort to change that and we are now seeing a pretty strong era for horror films.
They are known for producing low-budget horror movies that have managed to draw in crowds of people that would most definitely want to watch those films. Even their movies that are R-rated have managed to garner plenty of attention over the years and it is starting to become apparent that, although a PG-13 rating makes their films more accessible, they can do more in R-rated films. I think most of the criticism for their PG-13 films comes from this fact and it has hurt them on a couple of the films they have done. Their upcoming horror-comedy ‘Freaky,’ which is a spin-off for ‘Happy Death Day,’ may help prove even more that an R-rating should probably be the standard for their future horror titles.
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