Yes No Maybe So: "Avengers: Endgame"

by Ben Miller

Few things in the world are as steady as Marvel movies.  Once every few months, one comes in and it is an EVENT. Avengers: Endgame is probably the most anticipated film sequel since The Matrix Reloaded in 2003, and though that didn't go well, it's safe to say that legions are excited again.  Marvel still being Marvel, they don’t want to give too much away so the trailers have been teaser-like.  The new one dropped today, so let’s do our patented Yes, No, Maybe So after the jump...

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Interview: The Emotionally Resonant Visual Effects Work in "Avengers: Infinity War"

It's our final Oscar nominee interview of the season! 

On a break from their post-production madness for Avengers: Endgame (opening in 66 days!) we spoke with co-directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo and the visual effects team of MCU's colossal two-parter. Part one, better known as Avengers: Infinity War, is culmination of ten years of serial storytelling within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is Oscar-nominated for Best Visual Effects. Given how strangely difficult it's proven for superhero films to win the Best Visual Effects Oscar --- only one has managed that competitively: Spider-Man 2 (2004) with Superman (1978) also getting a special achievement Oscar -- the odds are probably against Avengers: Infinity War, But, consider this: If Infinity War does win this Oscar no one will gripe that this team didn't deserve it. 

Hell, the 'snapture' alone warrants it! Now excuse the dust as this team tries to top themselves once more in Endgame. Since our interview was with multiple people we're presenting it in a series of quotes rather than a conversation. Hope you enjoy...

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Diminishing Legos

Did you see The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part this weekend? It's actually the fourth animated LEGO feature, the first becoming an unexpected blockbuster five years ago... But returns have been diminishing so perhaps they've overestimated the demand with their intense supply?

Weekend Box Office Estimates February 8th-10th (ESTIMATES) 🔺 = New or Expanded Theater Count /  ★= Recommended
W I D E 800+ screens	PLATFORM / LIMITED excluding prev. wide
Lego Movie Part 2	Oscar Shorts Program
1 🔺 The LEGO Movie Part 2 $34.4 *NEW*	1🔺  Oscar Nominated Short Films $912k *NEW* Oscar Chart ★

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Queen Ingrith Tease

Since it's only (haha) 477 days until Maleficent 2 hits theaters, Michelle Pfeiffer gave us a sneak peek of her character Queen Ingrith on Instagram. We don't know if she's a fairy queen or just a regular queen yet but we hope a fairy queen because how many actresses can say they've played fairy royalty twice? (see also: Titania, Queen of the Fairies, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1999)

Mary Poppins vs. Mary Poppins Returns: Supporting Characters

by Lynn Lee

Among the sharper observations I’ve seen regarding Mary Poppins Returns is that it is to Mary Poppins what The Force Awakens was to Star Wars: A New Hope.  In each case, the sequel feeds shamelessly off fans’ nostalgia by recreating every beat of the original film – the plot arc, the character dynamics, even the distinctive look of the original, tweaked to reflect the changing mores of the past several decades.  In short, it’s the same movie, just repackaged.

Setting aside whether it needed to be made at all, does Mary Poppins 2.0 improve at all on the original formula?  In The Force Awakens, the one real added value was the new characters.  In many ways they felt like rebooted archetypes from A New Hope, yet for the most part they also felt fresh and intriguing.  Is the same true for Mary Poppins Returns?  Let's do a side-by-side comparison...

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