Day 2 at SDCC: Marvel-ous TV & Fox-y Filmmakers

Anne Marie cowering before GodzillaHello again! Anne Marie here, beaming to your computer screens direct from San Diego Comic Con. Though I thought it wasn't possible, it seems as though the convention got bigger and more crowded. So I learned my lesson and stayed far from the exhibition hall today. Instead, I wandered the Gaslamp District, saw some panels, and did some interviews. (More on those later.) But most of all, I waited in line. In a fun way!

Here are 6 new things I that learned today.

1) Marvel TV won't tell us anything about its Netflix shows. This despite the fact that Daredevil is already filming. Either they're saving that for the Marvel panel tomorrow afternoon (which seems unlikely), or Netflix hasn't yet gotten SDCC-friendly. Netflix has been absent from Comic Con this year, which was suddenly more conspicuous when fully five of Marvel's new shows were absent from the discussion: Luke Cage, Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and The Defenders.

2) Marvel TV is throwing all of its weight behind Agent Carter. After Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s rocky first season (do any non-geeks still watch that show?), Marvel is determined to see its new ABC fledgling soar, so the first episode will be directed by Marvel president Louis d'Esposito, while the fourth will be helmed by Captain America director Joe Johnson. Agent Carter will start right where Captain America: The First Avenger left off, with Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) navigating super spydom (and eventually creating S.H.I.E.L.D.) in 1940s America. I have to say, it's pretty cool watching a major studio put so much faith in a female-led show with two lady showrunners, Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters. (Butters and Fazekas share the title with Steve McFeely & Christopher Marcus.) Speaking of female-led shows, Lucy Lawless is joining Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., although even Xena won't be enough to coax me back to it.

3) Comic Con lines are really, really long. People have been lining up for Hall H's Saturday panels since noon on Friday! It's insane. To wit, here's an exchange I overheard (while waiting in line):

Lady dressed like Wonder Woman: Comic Con is just like Disneyland! Big lines, lots of colorful costumes, crappy food!
Gent with a Top Hat: Then where are the rides?
Lady: I guess the line is the ride!

4) 20th Century Fox couldn't quite top last year. In 2013, Fox assembled the entire star-studded cast of Xmen: Days of Future Past to talk about Xmen past and present. This year, the films on the whole could not deliver the same mania. Let's Be Cops gave folks a quick chuckle but little more. Zachary Quinto admitted that he did not play videogames while attempting to promote Hitman: Agent 47, which is based on a videogame. The Kingsmen got more applause on the wait out than the way in, mostly because con favorite Samuel L. Jackson joined new-to-SDCC Colin Firth in an Odd Couple-like pairing. Even Book of Life, despite a beautiful trailer, generated the most applause when Channing Tatum walked in doing the robot. (As they left, executive producer Guillermo del Toro was once again greeted by a chant of "Hellboy 3! Hellboy 3!)"

5) The most buzz came for The Maze Runner. It's based on the YA novel by James Dashner. When star Dylan O'Brien (Teen Wolf) was asked who would win in a fight, Thomas (his character) or Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, O'Brien caused a gasp and a laugh when he admitted that Katniss would win. "He'd run away, but she'd shoot him with an arrow." Comic Con pro-tip: Always reference The Hunger Games or Harry Potter for immediate buzz.

5) Evangelists look a little different at SDCC.

 

Tomorrow I'll be in Hall H all day covering Legendary, Warner Bros, Marvel, and more! Follow me on Twitter for instant updates, and check back here for in-depth news as each panel ends!

Halfway Pt. 4: Top Ten Movies of 2014 (Thus Far)

For today's Tuesday Top Ten it's your last peek at Nathaniel's top ten list for 2014 until the official one at year's end. Only films that have already played theaters in regular release are eligible hence endearing indies like Happy Christmas (currently On Demand) or instant classics like Love is Strange or next weekend's highly raved openers (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Boyhood) cannot yet apply. Herewith my ten favorite pictures of 2014 thus far since we've already looked at favorite sights and favorite sounds. 

You should see all of these movies. How many will stick around for the official top ten of 2014? I haven't a clue. That's half the excitement of drawing these invisible lines in the sand and waiting with hot anticipation for the rest of the year's wonders

TOP TEN FILMS OF 2014'S FIRST HALF
(ALPHA ORDER)

BEGIN AGAIN (John Carney) 104 minutes
Weinstein Co | June 27th| Box Office Rank of 2014 (At This Moment) #85 with $1.7 million

Like a new favorite song you can't stop playing, it's hard to even suss out why it's so damn loveable. My hunch is that its ephemeral endearments are powered by the combo of writer/director John Carney's sincere musicality (he captured lightning in a bottle with Once) and Keira Knightley's wonderfully relaxed but emotionally astute work as an abandoned musician who genuinely doesn't care about fame and fortune but has lots of love for music and people... whether or not they deserve it.

CAPTAIN AMERICA 2 (Anthony & Joe Russo) 136 minutes
Marvel/Disney | April 4th | Box Office Rank of 2014 (At This Moment) #1 $257 million

The best superhero film since the genre's peak in 2004 with that Spider-Man 2 and The Incredibles double-whammy and the best yet from Marvel Studios. I've probably raved enough this year but practically everything works from performance to action to theme and especially the firm sense of identity and character work at its core (here's a fine piece on that). That sense of self saves this superhero film from the generic problems that plague its genre. [Review]

CHILD'S POSE (Calin Peter Netzer) 112 minutes 
Zeitgeist | February 19th |  Box Office Rank of 2014 (At This Moment) #170 with $97 thousand 

Romania's 2013 Oscar submission continues the super annoying but enormously familiar trend of gambling its entire US release strategy around an Oscar nomination that doesn't materialize. Which is a pity since gold statues aren't everything (Ida proves that memorable foreign films don't need any awards buzz at all to find their natural fanbases but more on that in a minute) and this arguably overripe melodrama about a rich bitch trying to cover-up her son's crime is gripping. [Review]

alien invasions, travelling nuns, and mouthy toys after the jump...

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Halfway Pt. 3: Sound, Songs, Score. What Did You Enjoy Listening To?

Having covered the most astounding visuals from the first half of 2014 let's move on to Sound. This is when I suddenly become shy, mutable, and tongue-tied as a critic. You may read this post at any decibel level but please know that I'm whispering it. A truth: sound is the aspect of filmmaking for which I feel least qualified to judge. I try to absorb what's happening in underscoring and with the mix and editing. I'm definitely more attuned that I once was. But the fact remains that my ears are neither as well trained nor as aggressive in consumption as my eyes. I love to hear other people talk sound and scoring (I recommend the book The Conversations by Walter Murch which is on film editing but it touches on sound as well) so please do share your favorites in the comments. I'll probably learn something if you do. At the very least I'll have more to consider. 

If I had to vote right now...

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Henry Jackman); Godzilla (Alexandre Desplat); The Grand Budapest Hotel (Alexandre Desplat); Noah (Clint Mansell); Snowpiercer (Marco Beltrami)... though I'd be hard-pressed to tell you why in all five cases other than that I responded to the music and thought it a fine match for the material tonally

BEST SOUND MIXING & EDITING: In these categories I'd undoubtedly go with some mix of the otherwordly bestial movies like Godzilla, Noah and How To Train Your Dragon 2 and I'd most definitely opt for Under the Skin and not just because my BFF and I leaned toward each other and whispered Yaz's "I Before E Except After C" lyrics during the enormously creepy vocalizations in the first minute of the film. But other than that I'm open to suggestions...

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: And now we can raise our voices again after the jump because I have five I LOVE already and we're only half finished with 2014. Guess what they are...

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Halfway Pt. 1: What if They Voted on the Oscars Right Now?

Oscar Chart Note: I'm experiencing some coding problems with the charts so I apologize for the update delays. Until it's fixed, please to enjoy this hypothetical discussion as we begin our Halfway Mark Review...

Happy July! We're now officially done with the first half of the year. There are MANY films to come including the bulk of Oscar contenders given Hollywood's preferred release patterns. But that doesn't mean the film year hasn't already delivered enormous pleasure. All conscientous Oscar voters, cinephiles, and critics ought to keep a list so they aren't tricked into believing that the thing they saw 5 minutes ago is the only thing worth voting for six months from now.

Which naturally begs the question: If the voting was sprung on everyone right now, which films would AMPAS go for? It's worth jotting them down because they have a head start and they'd be smart to capitalize on it somehow. They need to settle in the mind and hearts as viable options as it were so that the forthcoming biggies will have to unseat them rather than trample them on their way to Oscar thrones.

I'm thinking mostly of Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel and Ralph Fiennes as Best Actor. They'd both surely snag nominations if the voting were held today. But at this date, some 17 years into his career, Academy voters haven't yet fully embraced Wes Anderson. Comic performances are always trickier sells so Ralph Fiennes will need to capitalize on the fact that he's playing against type (in a way) and voters respect that. If Budapest hangs on for real Oscar play that should make the waters safe for all future Wes Anderson films (see also: David Fincher, David O. Russell, and Paul Thomas Anderson who all struggled to win attention until Oscar finally caught up with the critical passion and devout public fanbases and now they're automatically "in the conversation" before their films arrive.) 

Let's fantasize about what might be nominated if the voting were cut off right now when so few expected contenders have opened. My guesses as to the nominees go like so...

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Beauty Break: Bewitched Elizabeth Olsen

Flaunt magazine, which always has amazing photoshoots of gorgeousity, is featuring Elizabeth Olsen right about now with a profile article and a photoshoot. I've been smitten since that eery girl-without-a-center performance in Martha Marcy May Marlene but it didn't hurt that when I met her on the Oscar campaign trail that year she was even more beautiful (skin of creamy flawlessness) and we talked Michelle Pfeiffer since she's also a pfan. But I digress...

These days she doesn't have to wait for her phone to ring with movie roles though we've yet to see a role or performance from her as stellar as that quadruple named indie breakthrough. [More...]

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