You're Gonna Need a Bigger Link
Thursday, August 1, 2013 at 12:22PM Super Cafe Batman and Supes argue about the title of their upcoming duo movie (Batman's voice is perfect)
Pajiba 25 celebrities you didn't realize were related by marriage
Angry Nerd has Pixar's number with the brand debasing. NO PREQUELS
Empire Director Zhang Yimou may helm the umpteenth remake of The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Josh Brolin as Quasimodo. I'll only be satisified if Brolin sings "Out There"
Guardian looks at Nollywood (Nigerian cinema) and its depiction of LGBT people
Cinema Blend Sarah Michelle Gellar on a possible movie version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and, essentially, why there won't be one)
MNPP "we three films of disorient argh" wins my vote for best blogpost title of the month and it's only August 1st! JA pontificates on The Grandmaster, Blue Jasmine, and The Call
Tim Brayton thinks its been a rough summer at the movies and in this August preview it's not looking any better
i09 Frankenstein poster sets new record for movie poster at auction
TV Blend Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones are leaving Parks & Recreation. Time to wrap it up, Pawnee. The 6th season is usually when great television starts a downward slide to ungood anyway. (See: too many examples to mention)
Coming Soon Aaron Taylor Johnson talks Quicksilver. He wants the part in The Avengers: The Age of Ultron
Today's Watch
Our favorite couple of yesteryear filmmaker/genius Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master, Boogie Nights) and musician/genius Fiona Apple have reunited for this music video "Hot Knife". This is my favorite track on her latest "Idler Wheel" and I'm happy it brought them together again... at least for an afternoon to shoot this. Maya Rudolph is cool with it I'm sure.
Coda
Finally, as follow up to Michael's piece about the Broken Blockbuster culture in Hollywood, /Film is warning us that the enormous grosses for Despicable Me 2 have convinced Universal that their all franchise all the time credo is the right choice. But mostly I want to suggest that you read this piece in The New York Times Magazine about Jaws (1975).
...from that point forward, the tiniest splash of a minnow could set the audience shrieking.
This is really what “Jaws” was about: Not sharks, but fear. Not action, but suspense. That’s what made it possible for the story of a single shark to scare millions of people into avoiding 71 percent of the earth’s surface.
They're right, you know. We really should stop blaming that excellent character-driven film for the terribleness of today's disappointing character-free blockbusters... even if it did make Hollywood obsessed with gobbling big profits each summer.
Reader Comments (8)
You're right! I love Jaws. I mean if current blockbusters were just half as entertaining...
That August movie preview is a bit on the bleak side, though it does leave off all the excellent looking, acclaimed indie/foreign films coming out this month in limited release: The Spectacular Now, Prince Avalanche, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Grandmaster, Drinking Buddies, Short Term 12, Our Nixon and Passion, plus the nationwide expansion of Blue Jasmine (!). If you're within reasonable driving distance of a big city, or have access to a cable on demand menu, there will be plenty of enticing viewing options over the next month!!!!
MNPP's line about Sally Hawkins dancing backwards in high heels wins my vote for best blogpost metaphor/allusion of the month (and it's only August 1st).
Super Cafe: Can we just have these guys write the Superman/Batman team up? Even though it's a parody, it's affectionate and it still seems like they get both characters and how they'd ACTUALLY bounce off each other.
Angry Nerd: The no sequels/prequels thing is kind of true, but I get this weird "Pixar wants to release a film every year thing" wafting off some of their decisions. Still, can't believe The Incredibles ISN'T one of their franchises. (Finding Dory? Really? Look, Brad Bird's currently moved on. Get a newbie interested in growing that universe to at least try something out.)
Cinema Blend: I think the comics are enough if you need more of "a fix."
Tim Brayton: Compared to last summer...yeah. Last summer: The Avengers was the fairly clear standout blockbuster. This year...maybe Iron Man 3.
Coming Soon: Aaron Taylor Johnson as Quicksilver? Well, I'm one of those who actually LIKED the original Kick-Ass, but he's still easily the weak link and I think Quicksilver (unlike The Flash, where the speed is explicitly magic and he COULD well be played by someone who's built like Cera or Josh Hutcherson, depending on how you define it), IS unarguably supposed to be built like a runner. With the right training...maybe.
On PT Anderson: He's shooting his next movie (that was FAST) and, as the thing's a Thomas Pynchon adaptation? I think we have an insta-front runner in a lot of categories next year.
Volvagia -- THE INCREDIBLES' rights are owned by Brad Bird. Only him can make a second The Incredibles movie, I believe.
Jones and Lowe have always been the two egregious weak spots in the otherwise fabulous Parks and Rec cast. Their absence might actually serve to improve things.
Jules: Really? If that's true, I bet Pixar is just KICKING themselves for that decision.
jules -- i do believe that's right. it's up to Brad Bird.