Commentary Archives - Page 3 of 29

August 7, 2015 By iluvcinema 2 Comments

What Are They Playing At? Fox and the Fantastic Four

First off, hope everyone is having a happy Friday. Maybe the weekend means you will be headed to the cinema, maybe not. If it is the former, chances are it will not be to see the latest “reboot” of the Fantastic Four cinematic franchise. Not only do you have these kind of tweets floating around ….

trank

(in case it is not clear, this is the director of the film)

… but early reports clearly show that the box office receipts are going to be anything but fantastic. Which begs me to ask, “Why is Fox continuing to do this?”

I guess I could go into detail about the dubious history of this Marvel-sourced property, but it’s been a long week so I will just point you in this direction.

So even if the constant reboots/re-imaginings are simply for the reason of keeping the Fantastic Four a 20th Century Fox property, what is the end game here? The results since Fox has owned the rights have been mediocre at best. Why not produce a quality product and really invest in the storytelling, much in the way they have gone all-in with the X-Men universe? Maybe I am showing my source material naïveté here, but I am simply flummoxed and left with more questions than answers, as is evident.

Then the thought comes to me, maybe Fox is thinking long term and pulling a Sony Pictures and what they did with Spider-Man – after what many considered a recent and unnecessary reboot, the execs did the math and realized it was not worthwhile to keep the property. What DID make sense in this case was to cut their loses, turn good ole Spidey back over to a now very solvent Marvel Studios, and cash the check.

If Fox is attempting to make a similar play in seeking a cost-justified reason to dump the Fantastic Four franchise, they are going about it in a very curious way. Because as the poor reviews keep coming in and the box office tanks, there is a great deal of damage done to the Fantastic Four brand, which I would guess devalues it and ultimately places Marvel in the catbird’s seat, allowing them to reacquire the rights at a cost that will not allow Fox to recoup their loses. And then there is this. A curious business indeed.

I have been talking about this situation in personal correspondence with friends, family and my friends over at Super Hero Movie Talk. It has made for a very lively discussion. Now I am turning it over to you all – what do you think?

August 4, 2015 By iluvcinema Leave a Comment

Summer of Darkness Recap.

I hope that everyone (well, at least some of you) had the opportunity to enjoy the special programming block shown on TCM during the months of June and July known as TCM’s Summer of Darkness. Every Friday during this period, the TCM schedule was jam-packed with key noir pieces (eg. Detour), as well as films that were great “influencers” – essential viewing that established the mood and essence of what would come to engender this film movement/genre (eg., Fritz Lang’s M). And not to be left out, there were a even a few contemporary pieces that had clearly had a noir DNA imprinted on them.

If, however, you did not have the privilege of catching any of these gems, here is a list of a few that whether I saw them for the 1st or 50th time, I feel are well worth seeing:

D.O.A.

Detour

(Image Credit: TCM)

As you read this you may be saying, “Well, it’s August so the moment is gone iluvcinema.” To that I say – you are in luck. You may have missed them on their initial TCM run, but have no fear, you can catch many of these (as well as other) titles using the Watch TCM application/website.

Gun Crazy (1949) aka Deadly is the Female Directed by Joseph H. Lewis Shown: Peggy Cummins (as Annie Laurie Starr), John Dall (as Bart Tare) — Gun Crazy (1949) aka Deadly is the Female
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
Shown: Peggy Cummins (as Annie Laurie Starr), John Dall (as Bart Tare)

Side Note: My initial vigor for participating in the FREE companion course (TCM Presents Into the Darkness: Investigating Film Noir) offered in conjunction with Ball State University, was unfortunately dampened by life’s happenstance. So while an abrupt change in schedule meant I unable to engage in real time with my community of fellow cineastes, thanks to early enrollment, I have an archive and invaluable resource to call upon when discussing and referencing film noir. Here’s hoping that in the future TCM forms similar partnerships.

TOO LATE FOR TEARS, Lizabeth Scott, Dan Duryea, 1949

July 15, 2015 By iluvcinema 1 Comment

The Force Will Be With Me …. Always

At this stage, my relationship status with the Star Wars franchise can best be described as ‘mixed.’

There have been bumps in the road, but overall, I have had a lifelong appreciation, some might say obsession, with Star Wars episodes 4-6 especially; so much so that as a youth:

I read the novelization of Star Wars an innumerable amount of times (don’t ask me to recall anything); as well taking multiple trips to the library to read articles and companion books about the Star Wars universe. Big deal you might say, but I will admit, even now, to not being the most voracious of readers – so this was in fact quite a feat of accomplishment for me.
Founded my own Star Wars fan club at my elementary school – granted there were probably only 5 members, and they were friends who probably just pitied me.
I took to playing with my brothers’ action figures and sets, once they aged out of them (don’t think they are aware of that fact — SURPRISE, guys).
I remember it like it was yesterday the moment my brothers came in from seeing Return of the Jedi in the theater and regaling us all with a blow by blow detail of what happened. It was so cool.
During a few bouts of illness, I passed my days of convalescence away by getting up early in the morning and timing it just so that I could watch every episode of the trilogy in succession before my dad and brothers got home from school. Please note younger readers – I was a youth in the time of the dinosaurs and when you would have one – maybe two televisions in the house and you had to do this interesting thing called SHARING. But I digress.

All of this to say Star Wars was a major part of my life. And in many ways, I can credit these three films being one part of what got me so passionate about movies. In fact, I give them a lot of credit.

Even as I got older and my cinematic tastes broadened and came to include multiple genres, there were still moments of fond recollection as I recalled these films. During my college years, I paid service to this mindset going to the re-release of at least one film (I think it was The Empire Strikes Back). If my roommate is reading this, I hope she will confirm which one(s) me might have seen in Charlottesville.

So, you can imagine my excitement at the very mention of prequels (Episodes 1-3) …

… but then I got to the end of The Phantom Menace (the only one I went to the theater to see of the set).

Needless to say, it did feel like a part of my childhood had been decimated by a world-weary, adult-level of cynicism. It followed that seeing these films felt more like an obligation than an event one meets great anticipation. I feared, maybe the magic was gone forever.

Years of dormancy followed, filled with the continued excitement of simply going to the movies, attending film festivals and just the business of getting on with one’s adult life.

So when (again) there was a major Star Wars announcement – that we would be moving forward with the story set in a galaxy far, far, away, I met it with a curious ambivalence.

Details trickled in and I made note of them and then, earlier this year, THIS happened:

Legit tears of I don’t know what – streamed down my face. I could not describe it. I watched that trailer I don’t know how many times, I texted family and friends describing my elation. I endured buffering on my YouTube feed, watching the live Star Wars trailer event, which included the seemingly odd experience of watching people watch the trailer breaking it down and reacting.

Yeah! Something to look forward to!

Fast forward to this past weekend’s events in San Diego (SDCC) – and this happened …

… followed by the pleasure of seeing old and new friends on stage talking about their experience.

SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 10: (L-R) Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac at the Hall H Panel for `Star Wars: The Force Awakens` during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney) *** Local Caption *** John Boyega; Daisy Ridley; Oscar Isaac — SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 10: (L-R) Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac at the Hall H Panel for `Star Wars: The Force Awakens` during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney) *** Local Caption *** John Boyega; Daisy Ridley; Oscar Isaac

SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 10: (L-R) Actors Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford at the Hall H Panel for `Star Wars: The Force Awakens` during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney) *** Local Caption *** Carrie Fisher; Mark Hamill; Harrison Ford — SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 10: (L-R) Actors Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford at the Hall H Panel for `Star Wars: The Force Awakens` during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney) *** Local Caption *** Carrie Fisher; Mark Hamill; Harrison Ford

All to be capped off by a wonderful, surprise celebration for the fans …

SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 10: Following the `Star Wars` Hall H presentation at Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif., the audience of more than 6000 fans enjoyed a surprise `Star Wars` Fan Concert performed by the San Diego Symphony, featuring the classic `Star Wars` music of composer John Williams, at the Embarcadero Marina Park South on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney) — SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 10: Following the `Star Wars` Hall H presentation at Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif., the audience of more than 6000 fans enjoyed a surprise `Star Wars` Fan Concert performed by the San Diego Symphony, featuring the classic `Star Wars` music of composer John Williams, at the Embarcadero Marina Park South on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

I don’t think anything more needs to be said about the level of elation I feel.

In the end, all of this was to say the force has indeed been re-awakened in me and I cannot wait until the holiday season to catch Star Wars: The Force Awakens on the big screen.

P.S. the downloadable app is pretty kick-ass too 🙂