#I forgot she was in these movies and when she came onscreen I literally went ANGELA BASSETT??? out loud | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

smokeybrandreviews · 2 years

Text

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Sweet Child of Mine

I’m a massive Marvel shill. If you’ve been around these parts, you know. I literally start all of these reviews like this because i want to be absolutely transparent about that. I am bias as f*ck about The House of Ideas so, if i hate something Marvel made, it’s because it’s objectively terrible. With that on the record, i hate Thor. I hate Marvel’s take on Thor. Always have. I never understood how Thor would work in a world full of superheroes. Plus, what even is that costume? Sh*t is corny as f*ck. When he got his first film in the MCU, i went because of course i would. Unimpressed. Hemsworth sucked at acting but Hiddles was an absolute peach. That movie was bad but, at the very least, it gave us MCU Loki. Then The Dark World happened. The less said about that nonsense, the better. While Feige floundered with giving the MCU Asgardians an identity, the comics were going a long way to redeeming the characters.

Unworthy Thor came through and turned the entire character on it’s head. That arc went a long way to making Odinson properly compelling. This was followed swiftly by Mighty Thor, revealing that a cancer riddled Jane Foster was taking up the mantle. This was part of the All New All Different initiative which sucked ass but three was a ton of good stuff in there, Lady Thor being one of them. After that, we got the best Thor story ever written to date, the God Butcher arc. I actually read all of that arc and thoroughly impressed. Around the same time, Taika Waititi blessed us with Ragnarok and it finally clicked; Thor was good. Taika had solved the puzzle and gave us one of the best Phase Three films so when it was announced he was going to adapt that masterpiece Bog-Butcher arc, i was all in. Well, it released yesterday and i saw it. Does this cinematic take hold up to what’s on the page? Well, i got opinions

The Great

Christian Bale. Dude took a character that was already pretty compelling but entirely a plot device and made him feel whole. Bale's Gorr is the gem of this film and it’s a shame there was so little of him throughout. As far as performances in the MCU, this one was easily one of the best. As antagonists go, Taika is two for two. Bale’s Gorr is just as delicious as Blanchett’s Hela.

The Good

Chris Hemsworth continues to deliver as Thor Odinson and this character is all the better for it. You got see a little bit of this in the first Avengers film and he really got to do some heavy lifting in Ultron but Ragnarok is where this character truly came into being. That awesome continues into this, the fourth standalone Thor film. Hemsworth has said he will play the character as long as Disney keeps asking him back. I hope the Mouse House has this man’s number on speed dial because i need four more of these things. AS long as Taika is in charge.

Natalie Portman is absolutely brilliant as Mighty Thor. It’s weird seeing her back onscreen after so long and even weirder seeing her out on the battlefield like that. I’m not mad, mind you, she holds her own and even has a few really touching moments during the film. It feels a little bittersweet if I'm being honest because we won’t have anymore of her going forward. Or will we? Death means nothing in comics so we’ll see. Also, Variants.

Also-also, man, is Natalie smoking hot in this thing! As Mighty Thor or Jane, she is just so goddamn gorgeous. I forgot how beautiful this woman was. Sh*t was a little jarring at first, especially hen she got all Asgardian for them scraps. Didn’t know i needed Muscle Mommy Natalie but i am glad i got it!

It was a joy seeing the Guardians again, even if they just had a glorified cameo. I mean, i am in love with Karen Gillan so anytime i get some Nebula action, i am golden.

Speaking of cameos, there are a ton. There are some shots pulled straight from the comic and even characters we haven’t seen in years, making their grand return. Missing an arm. There’s even a Heimdall easter egg that properly gives closure to his arc. Again, bittersweet, but i thin that’s kind of the theme to this film.

This movie cooks, man. The pacing is akin to a full-on sprint. that makes for a decent viewing experience but, goddamn, did i want to linger in certain scenes a bit longer. A good example are the scenes with all three Asgardians together. Those shots with Brunhilde (Yes, that’s Valkyrie's actual name), Jane, and Thor were fantastic. They have great chemistry together. Also, Korg was there a little bit. I wanted more of that but, what we did get, was solid as f*ck.

The Meh

The story, overall, is kind of pedestrian. No, that’s not fair. i Liked the story but it feels... poorly stitched together? Yeah, that’s closer to what i want to say. I mentioned the above comic arcs, Gorr the God-Butcher, Unworthy, and Mighty, specifically because these are the narrative Waititi pulled from to create this story. And it feels that way. There is a lot here and you kind of feel like there wasn’t enough time to properly tell tale because it needed to cover so much ground.

This movie is funny. A little too funny. Like, sometimes distractedly so. The joke often takes precedence instead of the the plot and that can get kind of frustrating. Ragnarok walked that line very well and it did wonders for the Thor character but in this? It feels they crossed that line a step or two too much. Cats are saying it’s as f*cked up as Batman and Robin but no. Absolutely not. Nothing in the MCU is as bad as that, and i am including The Dark World in that brazen statement, but i will admit there was a hair too much levity in this entry. Just a smidge.

The Bad

There’s too much going on, man. I mentioned this before when i gave the pacing some lukewarm praise but there are just too many plot lines to cover. They never organically focus and you just feel like “Why?” As much as i enjoy Valkyrie, why was she here? Aside from the fact she was f*cking the director, i mean. Why didn’t we get a Thor and Mighty Thor adventure? Why the f*ck were the kids there at the end? Why the f*ck Zeus? Why a lot of things? If the plot was more focused, we’d have these answers but it wasn’t. It was kind of all over the lace, all of the time.

Definitely not enough Gorr. Bale is the best thing about this flick, one of the better MCU villains as a whole, and dude has, like, five minutes of screen time. I understand why they changed the design of the character from it’s rather plain comic appearance because Bale really delivers in his performance. Would have been a shame to hide that behind makeup or CG. It still is a shame because we got so little of it.

This sh*t is basically the origin to Singularity. Like, this is a Thor flick in name only. Love and Thunder is as much a Thor film as MoM was a Doctor Strange film. That’s not a terrible thing, mid you, but if your title character is more a supporting character, then you have a problem with your movie. Thor is much more present than the good doctor was in his, but you’d be forgiven if you thought this was a Mighty Thor film or if the whole thing was literally just to introduced Singularity as a character. That sh*t doesn’t bother me too much but it is indicative of Phase Four Marvel, which is a little disheartening. I’ll probably get into that in more detail later because i got opinions.

The Verdict

Thor: Love and Thunder is pretty good. It’s a solid watch and probably the second strongest cinematic entry in Phase Four of the MCU. Obviously, No Way Home is the best film so far but Thor 4 is easily the silver medal so far. While i enjoyed MoM, Love and Thunder is just a better film, overall. I loved seeing Portman finally doing more than Surprised Pikachu Face and getting damsel’d all the time. I always thought Jane deserved better than her two outings and this one really redeems her character. We get more fantastic Thor development as well as some solid Valkyrie work. Overall, i enjoyed L and T, even though this thing definitely feels like a filler arc. The narrative definitely could have been tighter and we absolutely should have had more of Bales Gorr, but, ultimately, this was a solid watch. If you’re a fan of the MCU, then this one is a must watch, especially with the introduction of Singularity. If you just want to have a surprisingly heartfelt good time in the theater, Thor: Love and Thunder truly delivers that, even if it’s a little flawed.

#Smokey brand Movie Reviews #Thor: Love and Thunder #Marvel #MCU

3 notes · View notes

smokeybrand · 2 years

Text

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Sweet Child of Mine

The Great

The Good

It was a joy seeing the Guardians again, even if they just had a glorified cameo. I mean, i am in love with Karen Gillan so anytime i get some Nebula action, i am golden.

The Meh

The Bad

The Verdict

0 notes

film-clown · 5 years

Text

IT Chapter 2

After endlessly mourning over IT Chapter 2, I’m ready to talk about it.

Obviously, spoiler alert. Major ones.

SO. I’m speechless. Like, I’m ready to talk about it but I can’t even form words because.. wow.

I’m gonna start off by saying that this wasn’t even a horror movie. 2-3 jump-scares, plus the woman with the hanging tits that tried to scare Beverly. That shit wasn’t even horror - it was COMEDY. And if they thought that making Ben see Beverly’s hair on fire while she yelled “YOUR HAIR IS WINTER FIRE”, wasn’t gonna make me laugh? They were wrong. They were extremely wrong, I was laughing way too hard in the theatre and I felt horrible considering what Pennywise/Beverly made Ben hear from her right before. Shit made me sad, but goddamn.

This was a coming-of-age film. That’s all I will categorise it as, because that’s what it deserves to be called. No way was this horror. The scenes where they transitioned from being adults to kids or vice versa, and the numerous flashbacks, all of it was emotional as hell. Nostalgic, intimate, the way I felt watching these scenes as a teenager, scared of what the future holds and not ready to let go of my childhood, it’s overwhelming, to say the least. They did such a perfect job on the nostalgia of it all and my tears are there as proof. I can let out more, if they need it.

Okay now, trigger warning: Abuse/Domestic violence. Just this part, though.

As a domestic violence survivor, since the first movie I’ve had such a affectionate connection to Beverly. Chapter 2 carried it on quite well, and graphically. It’s one of the things I’m glad they continued that from the book; although it was triggering and deeply upsetting. She had to deal with her father when she was a child, and then her husband? The scene at the beginning with her husband was an asset to the film, and displaying the bruises and marks on her body throughout the film, while she’s with the Losers Club (mostly) happy with them, it brings me more of a... progressive vibe? I’m not quite sure how to explain it, but to think that she has the men from the Losers Club in her life who treat her well and love her, it makes me happy. She deserved so much better though.

SPEAKING OF BEVERLY.. Y’all already know what I’m about to go off about.

Ben and Beverly. I don’t even think I cried as much in Avengers: Endgame as I did at just that scene with Ben and Beverly where they were both stuck in those visuals that Pennywise was giving them (Bev in that bathroom stall with blood, and Ben in the clubhouse). Ben finally yelling that it was him who wrote the postcard, and saying I love you - all of that leading up to them eventually ending up together like they were meant to be. The art of these lovers coming back to one another and still being just as in love with one another as they were as kids? An extraordinary love story.

Now I’m going to write a 37 page long essay about how much I love Richie and Eddie and how they deserved better. Okay?

Before I start, I’d like to take several moments of silence for the Hammock Scene. They were in LOVE.

Alright. If I wasn’t already crying enough over Eddie dying at the end, they made Richie re-scratch “R+E” into the bridge. It is heartbreaking, truly, back when they were kids it was so looked down on to be gay, and they show that with Henry Bowers and his gang constantly throwing homophobic slurs at the Losers Club. Now, after 27 years when Richie and Eddie are finally brought back together, they fall in love all over again just for Eddie to be taken away like that? And when they all had to get out of that cave, they had to literally drag Richie away from Eddie’s body. At that point, I had put my popcorn on the floor to fucking sob. I’m not over-exaggerating. There were so many small details that fuelled the arc of their love in this film. Everything about Reddie in this film cause so much emotional distress, but I still loved it. When I left the theatre, I felt like I couldn’t talk about, let alone watch the film again without sobbing, but now I just want to go watch it again. After everything the Losers Club went through together, from the bullying and homophobia, to Pennywise, to the PTSD of the events from Chapter 1, I wish they had all gotten a happy ending. But alas, Stephen King and his endings.

The Losers Club going to the quarry after killing Pennywise, everybody supporting Richie, it was sentimental as all hell and I just wanna say that I love them so much. I am so emotionally attached to the cast, the characters, everything.

Stanley’s death definitely put me in agony, and just goes to show how heavy the trauma was on the Losers Club. My baby Stanley has always been so afraid, rightfully, and to think about having to go back while in that process of trying to move on from those events - it had to have been painful. Watching it was painful too, the scene came so suddenly and it was super triggering for audiences. And unfortunately, my brain categorised this film as “trauma” and I forgot almost everything that was written in Stanley’s letter. But all I do know is that he deserved better, and the Losers Club certainly did NOT deserve to be taunted by his death like that. They won for him, though. Life or death, they stuck with each other and did each other justice. My favourites.

Bill Skarsgård’s performance in this film was AMAZING. Pennywise didn’t get as much character arc or plot in Chapter 1, so we didn’t get a chance to admire his talent as much. Every actor did such an amazing acting job this film and I truly admire James Ransone for accurately having the same chaotic energy as Jack Dylan Grazer onscreen. Spot on performance. The casting job was flawless, both the behaviour and looks of the older/younger cast match each other so precisely.

I’m not sure how this affected other people, but it did affect me; the idea that these friends went through SO much shit as kids, and still (mostly) managed to make it out alive. Bill became an author, Richie became a comedian - it’s hope, so per se. I hope everyone who sometimes loses hope, watches this movie and knows that if they made it out, you can too.

Honourable mention to the film score. Beautiful and haunting, all at once.

And one last thing,

“If you find someone worth holding onto, never ever let them go.”

380 notes · View notes

thedeaditeslayer · 5 years

Photo

Dead Doll's Eyes: Bruce Campbell Talks New Evil Dead and Calls Out Martin Scorsese’s Bulls—t.

You can choose to read the interview below or click the link above to listen to the ten minute recorded version.

Bruce Campbell burrowed his way into our hearts as a dashing B-movie icon with roles in a litany of cult classics, from Evil Dead to Bubba Ho-Tep.

After returning to his roots to play Ash Williams for three seasons of delightfully gratuitous gore in Ash vs Evil Dead, Campbell put away his chainsaw for good when Starz cancelled the series in 2018. However, much to fans’ delight, Evil Dead trilogy director and Ash vs Evil Dead producer Sam Raimi recently announced a forthcoming entry to the franchise with Campbell attached as a producer. Even better: although Ash won’t return to fight Deadites in live action, Campbell will lend his voice to an upcoming Evil Dead video game.

To accompany the rerelease of his memoir Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor — now with an added “Requiem for Ash” chapter — Campbell is dropping by the Alamo City next week for a screening of Army of Darkness and audience Q&A. He promises it’ll be a good time — “There’s lots of stories about the making of that ridiculous movie.”

We caught up with Campbell over the phone, and he shared his thoughts on retiring Ash, teased some upcoming projects and even offered a few choice words for Martin Scorsese.

After Ash vs Evil Dead was cancelled you decided to hang up the character and retire him.

I did, didn’t I?

Unlike other actors who retire their characters, it’s not so much that you’re sick of Ash Williams, but that the demands of filming such a special effects-heavy series led you to reach something you’ve called “The Latex Point.” Could you expand on the on-set demands of Ash vs Evil Dead and why they’re so taxing?

Well, my wife sort of put a finger on it — as she so often does. She came into the trailer one day the last season of shooting, and I’m sitting there miserable because I had to put down plastic sheeting everywhere I went. I’d stick to everything because I was always covered with blood.

She goes, “I know what your problem is — you got Poopy Diaper Syndrome.”

I’m like, “What’re you talking about?”

“You’re like a 3-year-old or a 2-year-old sitting in a poopy diaper, and you can’t get out of your poopy diaper. No one will help you change your poopy diaper.”

So really, it’s that. It’s a series of lying face down in cellars. And it occurred to me multiple times. I’d be lying there literally face down, waiting for a shot, covered in blood in a dark cellar on the dirt, and I’m like, “Is this where I belong?” And the answer was “yes” for a long time, but it’s not a permanent place where you wanna be. Not as a 60-year-old man.

I wanted to avoid that Star Wars crap, where they’re holding these actors up with baling wire and cotton balls, you know what I mean? Feeding them their lines of dialogue through earbuds. I couldn’t do that. I could still pull the character off, so I wanted to finish while I could still do it.

And not have it kind of become…

Uh, sad. We don’t want sadness.

But you’re not leaving Evil Dead. You’re attached as a producer to a new movie, and it’s going to bring new blood into the franchise, including a director hand-picked by Sam Raimi. How does it feel to be able to step back, but still help usher in this new era?

Well, fantastic. Because, look, we can work with these directors. We can support them in the ways that we’ve always wanted to be supported. We can punish them in the ways that we should have been punished. We can hire actors that are good and well behaved, because I know what to look for. And when we get an actor, we can tell them how to best use their time and not party. We’ve learned a lot over the years, so we can share and torment these directors into making a good movie. There’s definitely a place for us. We’ll be there behind the scenes pulling the strings on these little monkeys.

How does it compare so far to the development process for Fede Álvarez’s 2013 Evil Dead? Or is it too early to say?

It’s too early, and every director’s different. Fede was very specific. I’d never worked with Fede, so I wanted to make sure he could work with actors. I sat in for only one day during auditions, and I could see how he would see a take, work with the actors, and the second take was better. After I saw two or three of those, I was like, OK — I’m outta here. This guy knows how to get a better take out of an actor. Done. That’s a huge accomplishment. And he was already very astute with special effects.

What you have to do is find out what the director’s strength is and encourage that, and find out what their weaknesses are and either fix that or discourage that. Some directors are great with actors but they suck at special effects, some are great at special effects but they don’t know how to talk to actors. It’s a really delicate dance. The modern movie is very delicate, because the modern movie has way more special effects now.

In Captain Marvel, even the cat was CGI most of the time he was onscreen.

Lemme tell ya, I’m gonna make a bold statement here.

The Irishman has more digital effects than the most recent Marvel movie, but you just don’t notice. Which why I call B.S. on Marty Scorsese calling out the Marvel movies. It’s like, bullshit! You just used more digital effects than a Marvel movie, and you’re telling me that’s cinema but the other one isn’t?

But the point is, I don’t buy it. I mean, I can’t wait to watch that movie, because I’m gonna be driven insane by Robert DeNiro at 42, Robert DeNiro at 47, Robert DeNiro at 31. It’s just gonna drive me insane, because I’m gonna look at it and I’m gonna be looking at dead doll’s eyes and, you know, they’re gonna do a good job, but they’re all gonna look like sharks.

Now that you’re no longer beholden to the intense schedule of TV production, are there any projects that you’re able to look at that weren’t an option before?

Well, one of two things can happen. I finally told my agent, “OK,” because I had to pass on some things in the last couple years that were decent projects, because I had a bunch of other random stuff going. If you open up your schedule, you can allow for stuff like that. All of 2020 is currently completely open. I have zero bookings for the first time in probably 15 years. I like booking my year — I like knowing what’s going on — but, in this case I’m gonna leave work open to fall off the truck from my agency.

But I also have a TV project that I’m pushing and a feature film project. I will go back under the TV knife under the right conditions, and I have a project that I would do that for. “Under the knife” meaning to sign a contract.

The beauty of it is with these limited series now, no one has to commit to shit these days. One season, two seasons, three seasons, you know. So, we’ll see what happens. I just wrote a feature film — a political satire — and I wanna make that next, so I’m in the process of shopping it. I’m hat in hand right now.

You’ve been in the director’s chair, both for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess as well as your horror comedy My Name is Bruce. Would you be interested in directing again, possibly for the movie you just wrote?

All the projects that I’m currently gonna be involved with now, moving forward, I’ll be directing in some way. Raising money for low budget movies — I have as much experience as anybody now, so there’s no reason to look for anybody else. I’ll just direct myself.

It’s time for the new sheriff to come into town.

Another thing that makes Evil Dead so compelling is the long-running team behind it. Even if it’s not Evil Dead, would you be down to act in future projects with Sam and Ted Raimi, or your Ash vs Evil Dead costars?

Well, I would be happy to work with any of them again, but I just can’t say. Sam, who knows? Sam’s off making these 10-minute shorts. I forget the name of the company, but everyone’s making shorts now, so go figure.

Kind of like YouTube — getting on that train?

Yeah, I don’t know. It’s all new to me. I’m sticking with the true-blue formats for now.

If you had the opportunity to reprise any other characters that you’ve played previously, like fan favorite Brisco County, Jr., would you be interested? Or do you want to focus on all new material and characters?

New stuff is always my favorite, but I would definitely do Brisco Rides Again, and I would definitely do more Burn Notice. We’re sort of circling the building now with Burn Notice. Maybe it’s time to save the world again. The world needs us.

You recently updated your memoir Hail to the Chin with a new “Requiem for Ash,” and are making appearances tied to the book’s rerelease. How do you integrate tours and press appearances without blowing out your schedule, and how do they differ from press junkets you do for film and TV?

The beauty of working with a company is when it’s time to do press, they’ve really got it down. I saved a bunch of my itineraries from Ash vs Evil Dead just because of how ridiculous they were, so I can look back and show my grandchildren “this was a press day in New York City.” So, you really got the support. The only difference is when you do low budget stuff, or even books, you’re kind of on your own, and it’s way more down-home. It’s Twitter, it’s Facebook, it’s Facebook ads or whatever. It’s no national TV — nothin’. It’s a whole different ball game.

You know, I’m a one-man band. I’ll miss a few interviews because I forgot or didn’t put it in my schedule or whatever. Someone’ll call, I’ll go, “What do you want?” They’re like, “We have a phoner.” I go, “Really? Ok, great.” This one I happened to remember. We do what we can.

A Conversation with Bruce Campbell and Screening of Army of Darkness: $29.50-$125, 8 p.m. Friday, October 25, Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com.

#Bruce Campbell

31 notes · View notes

shadowlineswriting · 5 years

Text

Firefly/Serenity

*NOTE* A mild spoiler is contained in the following blog post.

Every once in a while, there are shows that are so out there that you can’t imagine they’re going to work. Firefly is one of those shows. Cowboys in space? That makes absolutely no sense and sounds cheesy. Who would want to watch that?

Firefly never stood a chance, but that’s not because of the show itself. Its lack of success was due to improper marketing and a failure on the part of the network to understand the show. They insisted on airing the episodes out of order because they felt there wasn’t enough action in the pilot episode. As a result, the show made no sense because there wasn’t an opportunity to explain the cast and setting prior to the action beginning. When you have a show that involves nine main characters, you HAVE to have exposition before beginning the thick of the plot. The show creators tried to make the network see that, but the network refused to listen and aired the episodes out of order anyway. As such, Firefly failed to gain a following and was cancelled after fourteen episodes.

Shortly after, when Firefly was available on DVD and the episodes were listed in the proper order, a cult began to develop. Firefly is, in my opinion, the second-best show ever created, which is apparent about twenty minutes into the REAL pilot episode. I wish the network had given it a chance. Joss Whedon is a genius, and everyone knows it, and they should have trusted him.

You might think that doesn’t matter--the show was cancelled, it wasn’t going to be picked up again, 14 episodes is all you get--but the fans were so, so outraged at its cancellation that the creators came together again three years later and made a film, titled “Serenity,” to give the fans closure. Even now, Firefly cancellation memes are rampant over the Internet and even spoofed in other shows.

There’s so much I love about Firefly, but my experience with it was a very rocky path. It first came out when I hit middle school, and since we didn’t watch much TV at home, it wasn’t on my radar until high school. In high school, all of my friends started watching it (because it was on DVD at that time and Serenity was coming out in theaters). This was before the age of Netflix, though, so I still didn’t have a way to watch it and promptly forgot about it again.

My older sister (Laura) went to college, saw Firefly, and told my younger sister (Bethany) and me that we should watch it, too. At that point Laura and I weren’t very good friends so her suggestion sort of went in one ear and out the other, but Bethany watched it, and Firefly became their thing.

Fast-forward to when I was in college. I’d forgotten all about Firefly until I brought a boyfriend home to visit my family over a holiday. He was a fan (which I didn’t know), so he and my sisters decided to watch Serenity one afternoon. Since I hadn’t seen Firefly, I was not encouraged to join (and frankly was happy to be left out, because I wanted them to get to know him without me around).

But I made one critical error. Partway through the movie I went downstairs to grab something, and saw an image onscreen of the character I now know is River. I’d seen her in the trailer for the movie, when she looks up and says, “Miranda.” So, walking through the room, I said, “Oh, isn’t her name Miranda?”

Next thing I know, all three of them are yelling at me to get out, and I was literally shoved out of the room. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I’d just given away a minor plot point. I had no idea, and obviously hadn’t done it on purpose, but the three of them were really ticked at me. I was ticked at them, too, because I thought they were overreacting--that scene was in the trailer, for Pete’s sake, which is how I knew about it in the first place!

For the longest time (four more years, in fact) I stayed clear away from Firefly and Serenity on principle. Laura and Bethany stopped talking to me about it, so it wasn’t difficult. Later on, Laura had some medical things to deal with. I flew back to CO to visit Laura and her husband in Parker one week and hang out with Laura while Ian was at work. She tentatively brought up Firefly again. I think she knew I had kind of a wall up about it, but both of us were old enough at that point to see how stupid that was. She didn’t push me, but she let me borrow the DVDs. It’s hard to deny your sister when she doesn’t feel good. I figured I’d wait and watch them when I got back home, but...well, she took a lot of naps, so...Firefly happened.

Naturally, I was hooked. The characters are all amazing (not perfect, none of them, but all lovable), they’re witty, the sarcasm is real, and there’s so much plot. Honestly, coming up with anything negative to say about this show is...um, impossible.

I am less a fan of the movie “Serenity.” In fact, I’d say I hate it. I understand why they made it and I do think it was nice of them to do so. It just has a completely different feel than the show. “Serenity” is downright disturbing and scary--in my mind, more of a horror movie than a SciFi film--and it has its moments, but I prefer to think of the show as it was, and not where it was going. Who knows how long that perfection could’ve lasted? Firefly is lighthearted and fun, and “Serenity” is not.

They both stay because they belong together, but when it comes down to it, my heart belongs to Firefly!

0 notes

smokeybrandreviews · 5 years

Text

Spider Sense, Tingling...

Sony has pulled the rights of Spider-Man from the MCU because Marvel makes a better movie than Sony. Far From Home is the highest grossing film Sony has ever made but it's only the 9th highest grossing for Marvel. The original deal was that Marvel would take 5 percent of the gross and Sony got the rest. 95 percent of 2 billion goddamn dollars for two movies! Marvel would effectively be making Spider-Man films at a loss but would be free of Sony input. Sony, for their part, would distribute the films. They would literally just put them in theaters and collect a check. Hell, they had final say in what characters Marvel could use onscreen, thus MJ instead of Mary-Jane! How do you walk away from this deal? Why would you effectively run away from the most ideal situation ever? What f*cking pettiness would force you to derail the most lucrative and labor-absent checks you’ll ever cash??

Come time to renegotiate after FFH, Disney asked for a 50/50 split considering how much of a load they were carrying. It’s not unreasonable. Marvel was pushing Pete, hard. He became an integral part of the MCU and the legacy for the brilliant Tony Stark. Marvel had positioned Pete to be a tent pole member of the New Avengers going forward. and then Sony was like, "F*ck all of that noise, son!" Sony actually believes they can make a Spider-Man movie as good or better than what Marvel put out. How? The last Spider-Man movie they made was easily the worst. When Amazing 2 tanked, so did Sony Pictures. That’s why they went to Disney in the first place. That original deal as to help bail out Sony Pictures and it worked brilliantly. Now that the Spider-Image has been repaired, Sony has forgot how bad they f*cked it up. They think because Tom Holland has one more solo film on his contract and the director of those to films still has 2 pictures on his, that they can just coattail that sh*t into another billion. Nah. Those are Marvel players. That is a Marvel Narrative and Sony don’t get to play in that playground. Feige was pretty clear about that. Sony on their own has proven to be incompetent. Venom sucked and that was with a last minute Hail Mary from Feige as a courtesy to Amy. She legit thought THAT was going to be a rival to what the MCU was doing with Pete! Nah. She couldn’t even pull it off without help FROM the MCU mastermind, himself, and the best they got was 800 mil! Nah. Spider-Verse came out so great because no one in the studio had any faith in it so it was left alone. Guess what happens now that it made money? MCU Spider-Man works because it’s a film made in the MCU machine. They follow a proven formula and cast like straight champions. Feige steers the f*ck out of that machine and it shows. In the past two years 5 out of 6 of their films grossed over a billion dollars, Endgame over 2 billion. Sony ain’t doing them numbers and i think that has a lot to do with this divorce. Somebody in a big chair somewhere got they feelings hurt and wants to take their ball and go home.

There are conflicting reports out there saying that the split is all over Feige refusing to give up his producer credit on the films that he f*cking produces! Someone, somewhere, in those upper Sony conference rooms, decided that they don’t want that Feige stamp of approval on these combos movies anymore. Even though they are MCU films. Feige makes the MCU go! That's his job and he's done it damn well for 11 years! This feels like a flex by Amy Pascal. Ms, Pascal plays the game a lot like Kathleen Kennedy, and hat i mean by that is she lays it wrong. I imagine she saw all the shine Feige was getting for his work on FFH and Homecoming then got butthurt because none of the films she’s produced are even close to the quality of those two. it was readily apparent Pascal had a whole lot of ideas that he thought were going to be a thing. I imagine it was a rude awakening when none of them were. She was always saying sh*t in the interviews right after the merger was announced, that i knew Feige wasn't going to go for. His entire body language read uncomfortable while she was rambling off a wishlist of nonsense. I think Sony thought that they were just going to invade the MCU with their ineptitude and Feige was like, "Naw. Full stop with that." And then he made the best live action Spider-Man film since Spider-Man 2. Cat are really debating if Homecoming is the best Spider-Flick ever. Personally, as a fan of the character for, like, 30 years, Homecoming nailed Pete. To me, it is the best Spider-Flick, ever. And that is a pretty strong opinion among the entire community which is an embarrassment. Amy Pascal was embarrassed. Sony was embarrassed. Homecoming was fast tracked into production and turned out better than anything Sony made for Spider-Man up to that point. Feige and his MCU empire literally saved the Spider-Brand and now that Marvel has done the footwork by making Spider-Man such an integral part of the MCU going forward, Sony is trying to return that embarrassment. How? They’re just embarrassing themselves all over again! Hollywood egos, man. This game of who's is bigger is just going to kill the character and his popularity.

F*cking play nice, Sony! Everyone wins! Fans win. Yall win. The MCU wins. No one loses. Yall being stingy with Spidey is f*cking it up for everyone.

#Spider-Man #Peter Parker #Disney #Marvel #MCU #Sony

0 notes

smokeybrand · 5 years

Text

Spider Sense, Tingling...

Come time to renegotiate after FFH, Disney asked for a 50/50 split considering how much of a load they were carrying. It’s not unreasonable. Marvel was pushing Pete, hard. He became an integral part of the MCU and the legacy for the brilliant Tony Stark. Marvel had positioned Pete to be a tent pole member of the New Avengers going forward. and then Sony was like, "F*ck all of that noise, son!" Sony actually believes they can make a Spider-Man movie as good or better than what Marvel put out. How? The last Spider-Man movie they made was easily the worst. When Amazing 2 tanked, so did Sony Pictures. That’s why they went to Disney in the first place. That original deal as to help bail out Sony Pictures and it worked brilliantly. Now that the Spider-Image has been repaired, Sony has forgot how bad they f*cked it up. They think because Tom Holland has one more solo film on his contract and the director of those to films still has 2 pictures on his, that they can just coattail that sh*t into another billion. Nah. Those are Marvel players. That is a Marvel Narrative and Sony don’t get to play in that playground. Feige was pretty clear about that. Sony on their own has proven to be incompetent. Venom sucked and that was with a last minute Hail Mary from Feige as a courtesy to Amy. She legit thought THAT was going to be a rival to what the MCU was doing with Pete! Nah. She couldn’t even pull it off without help FROM the MCU mastermind, himself, and the best they got was 800 mil! Spider-Verse came out so great because no one in the studio had any faith in it so it was left alone. Guess what happens now that it made money? MCU Spider-Man works because it’s a film made in the MCU machine. They follow a proven formula and cast like straight champions. Feige steers the f*ck out of that machine and it shows. In the past two years 5 out of 6 of their films grossed over a billion dollars, Endgame over 2 billion. Sony ain’t doing them numbers and i think that has a lot to do with this divorce. Somebody in a big chair somewhere got they feelings hurt and wants to take their ball and go home.

F*cking play nice, Sony! Everyone wins! Fans win. Yall win. The MCU wins. No one loses. Yall being stingy with Spidey is f*cking it up for everyone.

0 notes