The victory lap continues with an all-time favorite and a musical better than A Star Is Born

Greetings, you faithful servants and beautiful ladies, and welcome back to The 300, my adventurous attempt to see more than 300 movies in theaters in 2018. I’ll be watching new releases, classics, hidden gems, and festival films to experience the wide world of cinema in all its form. With so much moviegoing va??riety, there’s probably something you’d be interested in as well. If not, that’s all on you.

As always, there are three rules for The 300:

• The movie must be at least 40 minutes long, meeting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ definition of a feature film.
• I must watch the movie at a movie theater, screening room, or outdoor screening venue.
• While I can watch movies I’ve seen before 2018, I cannot count repeated viewings of the same film in 2018 multiple times.

Another week of coasting as I’ve surpassed 300 movies. Activity will pick up with the next installment as I already have a fun week of movie-watching planned ahead of time. “Fun” being a relative term, I suppose. One of the things I realized since completing The 300 is how much time I’ve spent watching movies (more than 22 days worth of films if watched back to back), schleping to movies by subway (at least an hour per outing), and writing about what I’ve watched (I estimate about fou??r and a half days worth of keyboard hours). By the very end of 52 weeks of film writing, I’ll include a word count for these weekly features.

The numbers leave me a little aghast; my mind has started converting all the time I’ve spent watching and thinking about film into other worthwhile?? activities. I could have read at least 45 more books this ye??ar in that time, and completed my short story collection, and made lots of progress with my novella/short novel, and been a better friend, and been more engaged with the world. I love movies, but to immerse oneself in an obsessive activity like this to the semi-exclusion of other passions is odd to me. I feel aesthetically malnourished. Does it make sense to say I feel a deep nutritional deficiency given all of the other things in the world that my brain needs? I may have overeaten, but I am also somehow starving.

So yeah, I only saw three movies last week.

And so, onward.

305 of 300: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle
Country: UK/USA/Germany
Seen at Metrograph (New York, NY)
Saturday, December 1st

The last time I saw Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen on the big screen was when I was eight years old. I’ve seen it countless times since then, and it remains this exciting act of imaginative defiance every time I see it. In hindsight, the plot and production of Munchausen embodies the chaotic, quixotic, self-inflicted undoing that’s become associated with many of Gilliam’s subsequent works. Beyond the visual imagination on display—recreations of Botticelli, nods to Brazil, moments that feel like an illustrated fairy tale science textbook—Munchausen may be my favorite Gilliam movie because it is ?the sort of movie only Gilliam could make. It’s a movie about himself, a fiction about the facts of his inner life. Munchausen is the proto-Don Quixote as an on-screen Gilliam surrogate: an unreasonable man on a quest to do impossible things, and convincing other?s to trust him on this perilous endeavor against their better judgement.

The whole of Munchausen is a clash/synthesis of opposing forces. Our unreasonable hero combats the Age of Reason. The fabulist flimflam of the story merges with the facts of world. A childlike enthusiasm is the only hope for the elderly to sally forth. Old codes of masculinity are subverted (though somewhat restored rather than mucked-up and left complicated). There’s a very literal mind/body problem. The bloody combat feels like a carnival. Underlying all of these juxtapositions is the earnest imperative of Sally (Sarah Polley), a young girl who wants to save the day and, more importantly, find out how this story ends. Baron Munchausen reminds me that while the philosophical and kissy stuff of storyte??lling is great, sometimes what we really want is to see wha??t happens next. (Get on with it already, old man!)

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen would make an interesting double feature with Jacques Tati’s PlayTime, which I saw last week (The 300 Week 47). Both were expensive box office bombs, yet each film is an adult celebration of childlike wonderment. The carousel roundabout near the end of PlayTime finds its bloody cousin in Munchausen’s melee calliope—the mighty steed Bucephalus twirls in place, like some fixture in a hack-and-slash music box. Munchausen might also play a fascinating double feature with Polley’s masterful 2012 documentary Stories We Tell, which merges fact and fic?tion to explore the narratives we construct.

306 of 300: Anna and the Apocalypse (2018)

Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux
Country: UK
Seen at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 (New York, NY)
Saturday, December 1st

In 2016, I felt like John Carney’s Sing Street was a better musical and had better songs than Damien Chazelle’s La La Land. This year, there’s another scrappy UK teen musical that’s better than a high-profile American musical. That’s right. I think John McPhail’s Anna and the Apocalypse is a better musical and has better songs than Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born (The 300 Week 40). So much of the music in A Star Is Born belongs squarely in the “Guy at a party brings out his acoustic guitar when no one f**king asked him to” genre. Anna and the Apocalypse captures earnest teenage feelings while also being fun. And a zombie movie. And a Christmas m??ovie.

Anna is Shaun of the Dead by way of High School Musical. As our teenage heroes deal with the quotidian stresses of life and the holidays, there’s a zombie outbreak. Songlarity ensues. Some standout tunes from the soundtrack include the upbeat downer “Hollywood Ending,” the joyous blast of “Turn??ing My Life Around,&rdqu??o; and the kooky naughty-Xmas parody “It’s That Time of Year” (basically a better “Santa Baby”). Two surprisingly moving numbers (“A Human Voice” and “I Will Believe”) even address the underlying sadness and nihilism of zombie apocalypse films, but with an adolescent gloom. Is there a more teenage feeling than the idea that because X-thing happened, the world is over?

Maybe Anna doesn’t go far enough in its exploration of zombie movie tropes, but I don’t think the film suffers for its lack of genre deconstruction. It would be a different film. In its current form, Anna and the Apocalypse is a total b??op. And a romp. It’s a Christmas zombie musical bop romp.?? Happy holidays indeed.

307 of 300: Unstoppable (2018)
(aka 성난황소; Sungnan Hwangso)

Director: Kim Min-Ho
Starring: Dong-seok Ma (Don Lee), Ji-Hyo Song, Seong-oh Kim
Country: South Korea
Seen at AMC Empire 25 (New York, NY)
Sunday, December 2nd

Don Lee (real name Dong-seok Ma) is best known to international audiences as the burly zombie-killer in Train to Busan. There are few things more badass than wrapping duct tape around your arms so you can beat up zombies with your bare hands. Lee’s breakthrough performance in that film led to leading man status. I haven’t seen the many South Korean films this year, but I intend to remedy this through streaming. I’ll probably catch up with some post-Train Don Lee movies, notably Champion, in which Lee plays a professional arm wrestler. (Anyone up for a double-feature with Sylvester Stallone’s Over the Top?)

Unstoppable is a pretty solid throwback ass-kicker, the sort of action movie that might have been made in the 1980s, or served as a Liam Neeson vehicle today. When Lee’s wife is kidnapped by a rich human trafficker, he takes the law into his own hands. The blend of slapstick and brutal throwdowns is underscored with a righteous?? sense of class injustice. The mega-rich operate under different laws and values than the working class, and they reduce the meaning of human life to a bag full of money. Lee’s character and his wife Ji-Soo (Ji-Hyo Song) assert that there’s more to living than money even though their problems could be solved with just a little bit of cash.

Unstoppable functions as a kind of working class revenge-fantasy, where our heroes get to eat the rich and have it too. The fights aren’t that flashy, but they hit hard. Lee’s a bruiser, and brings people down with shoulder tackles, liver punches, and even a powerbomb through a table. In Korea, the film’s title translates to “Angry Bull.” Unstoppable is a slight pun, and gets at the underlying sense of the film’s old school action hero imper??ative.

Current runtime of The 300: 32,216 minutes (22 days, 8 hours, 56 minutes)

The post The 300 Week 48: What Will Become of the Baron, Anna, the Apocalypse, and the Unst??oppable Don Lee? appeared first on Destructoid.

Happy birthday!

The holiday season is upon us. Celebrate by entering this contest for your chance to win a Blu-ray copy of The Original Christmas Specials Collection: Deluxe Edition.

For anyone who says the Marvel movies boast the greatest all-time feat in creating a connected universe, you obviously haven't been following the work of CJ "Jingle Balls" Andriessen. Simply put, the Christmas Cinematic Universe is a force to be reckoned with.

Get your hands on the crossover event that started it all by winning your Blu-ray copy of The Original Christmas Specials Collection: Deluxe Edition!

This holiday gift set features five of the all-time greatest holiday movies, including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, The Little Drummer Boy, and Cricket on the Hearth. If?? you've seen these movies a billion times and w??ant some bonus features, we've got you covered! This ultimate set includes:

• The Animagic World of Rankin/Bass: An all-new documentary celebrating the legacy of the holiday specials created by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass including interviews with filmmakers and historians.
• Restoring the Puppets of Rudolph: Discover how the puppets from the beloved special were restored.
• Reimagining Rudolph in 4D: A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer attraction film.
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Attraction Film: A short stop-motion film originally created for a Rudolph 4D experience.
• T.E.A.M. Rudolph and the Reindeer Games: A video storybook including the untold story of the Reindeer Games
• Frosty the Snowman Original Pencil Test
• Commentaries on Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
• And much more!

We've got an open ??fire. Come roast your chestnuts.

To enter to win, comment below telling us your favorite holiday movie. I've always been a fan of Jingle All the Way. I know it's not very good, but it's so good at being not very good that I can't help but watch it every time it comes on. Phil Hartman lays on the smarm as always, and hearing Ah-nold belt out, "TeeoorboMahn!" in his barely-intelligible accent always gets me. And who doesn't like Sinbad?! Excep??t for everyone, of course.

We have one Blu-ray copy to give out. We'll dr?aw our winner on Saturday, December 8. You must have a United States shipping address to be eligible to win. Make sure you comment using a Dtoid account with your current email address on file. If I can't email you, you'll get some coal in your stocking, instead!

The Original Christmas Specials Collection: Deluxe Edition from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is available now wherever ?fine films are sold. Head over to Flixist for more chances to win.

The post Contest: Win a Blu-ray copy of The Original Chr?istmas Speci?als Collection: Deluxe Edition appeared first on Destructoid.

Space is warped and time is bendable

Let me ask you this; what's the difference between a kid's movie and a family movie? On the surface, both of those terms might seem interchangeable. A movie that's for kids is theoretically appropriate enough for a whole family to watch, but there's a lot more to it than that, at least in my opinion. Sure, a family could get together and watch The Angry Birds Movie, but unless your mom or dad loves watching green pigs shake their butts at a camera for 90 minutes, it's not going to be enjoyed by everyone equally. In my eyes, a good family movie is one that every member of a family could enjoy together but for co??mpletely different reasons. 

Case in point, I would argue that a lot of anime movies would qualify as great family films. Movies like Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Ponyo, and Mary & the Witch's Flower are all fantastic movies that can entertain kids with their pretty visuals and fun characters, while adults can enjoy them for all of that and the themes those mov??ies tackle. There's no inappropriate language if you're a stickler about that and the messages?? are always positive and healthy for a developing child. 

I feel fairly certain that I can call Mirai a gr?ea??t film for little kids that parents can watch with them for a family movie night.

Mirai
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Rated: PG
Release Date: November 30, 2018 (limited release)

Mirai is a very simple story about a young boy named Kun. He's four years old and lives with his mom and dad, who both love him very much. One day, his parents come home with his newborn baby sister, Mirai, and suddenly his word is thrown upside down. He has to be a good big brother, but he still wants his parents to pay attention to him. He wants to go back to the way?? things were before Mirai came, so he lashes out, and whenever he does lash out, he's visited by members of his family from both the past and the future, most notably Mirai, appearing to him as a teenager. And so Kun has to learn to be a good big brother to Mirai while also learning how to grow up himself. 

The best word I can use to describe Mirai is "pleasant." It's a very simple movie that takes place almost entirely in a small house, but the movie has such a cozy vibe to it that it almost feels like the movie is in your home. You really get to know how Kun's family acts and all of the little bits of info that don't do anything to inform the plot, but still paint a picture of what this family is like. Kun loves to play with trains, his dad's an architect who designed their house, Kun's mom believes in outdated superstitions, and the family buys cheap dog food for? their dog despite buying him premium food when he was a puppy. All of this serves to flesh out these characters into actual people since we spend so much time with them. 

But we spend the most time with Kun, for better or for worse. I'm not going to say that he's the most polarizing part of this movie, because he isn't, but yo?ur enjoyment is going to hinge on how much you can tolerate him. As a toddler, he yells, cries, and acts like a brat at his worst. At his best, he's a kind kid, but one that doesn't understand his emotions fully. He doesn't know why he can't be nice to his mom even though he knows he should be or why his parents are focusing all of their attention on? his baby sister. He still wants to be a good big brother to Mirai, but doesn't understand the responsibility that entails. In other words, he's a little kid. 

For?? me, Kun was a likable main chara??cter, but man he has his moments. I lost track of the amount of times he cries and throws a temper tantrum when he doesn't get his way. While it was funny and cute the first time, it became wincing by the end when he cries over the smallest complaint. Yes, it's true to life, but that doesn't make it any less grating to watch. 

The movie is structured with several vignettes all taking place over the course of a couple of months. Each vignette starts the same. Kun's mom and dad are taking care of Mirai or are going about their lives and Kun gets upset by them. He eventually throws a fit, goes outside, then encounters one of the members of his family from another time period. They then go on a mini adventure, he learns a lesson about how he acted was wrong, then the family all comes together in a positive way. If it seems like something out of an episode of Arthur, minus the time travel shenanigans, you wouldn't ?be too far off. 

What separates Mirai from your Saturday morning cartoon fare is both how the movie is presented and the characters involved. While Mirai isn't as gorgeous as Hosoda's previous works like Summer Wars and The Boy & the Beast, it's still a very charming movie to look at. It stays grounded in reality for about 80% of its runtime, but that 20% is real?ly something else. Flying fishes, magical dogs, and a demon train straight from hell with an unnerving attendant that creeped me the hell out are just a few of the visual highlights featured. 

I did notice that Mirai frequently used CG models of its characters for more complicated scenes and they never looked completely right. Sure, they were animated competently and had stellar voicework all around, but it's still jarring to transition from 2D animation to 3D models for about twenty seconds, only to switch back again. I'm not a fan of CG in most anime (unless it's Land of the Lustrous), and ??it was done okay here, but it couldn't help but notice it when I see a flat character suddenly gain a ??dimension.

All of the relatives that Kun meets throughout his story are all pretty enjoyable too, with each vignette offering a different genre. When he meets a human version of his pet dog, it turns into a pretty funny comedy sketch. Kun playing with a little girl in the rain is both eye-opening and also a little tragic once you realize who she is. His encounter with a motorcyclist who teaches him how to be confident and overcome his fears is a thrilling scen??e that made me just stare and appreciate the wonderful atmosphere. This may be a movie about Kun becoming a better brother, but it is an ensemble piece from beginning to end. 

As I watched this, I couldn't help but make connections to Kiki's Delivery Service, which is one of my favorite Ghibli movies. Both movies consist of small, slice-of-life vignettes that inform a larger story, but it never feels like you're just watching a movie. It feels like you're watching a fraction of these character's lives. Both leave me with a sense of wonder and both had me think about what they were trying to teach. Hosoda loves to talk about families in his movies, and Mirai is a movie not only about siblings but about how family members can influence one another and impact each other's lives through their own experiences. One of my favorite moments of the movie is watching Kun's dad attempt to teach him how to ride a bike, only to flashback to show how Kun's dad struggled and cried over how hard it was for him to ride a bike as a kid. It was poetic and resonated with me more than I ever thought it would.&nbs??p;

If I had to nitpick one last thing it would be that Mirai is barely in her own movie. She pops up for a big vignette early on, then reappears in the last five minutes to whisk Kun away from the creepy as hell final sequence that may disturb a few kids in ways that you don't see in m?ovies nowadays. She just a??ppears and disappears sporadically and blends in with the rest of the family members.

I think that was the point though. This isn't a movie about Mirai. This isn't even a movie about Kun, despite him being the protagonist. This is a movie about his family and how strong the bonds of blood really are. If you've seen a Mamoru Hosoda movie before, all of this is going to sound very similar to you and it wouldn't be the first of his movies I would recommend, but it's a great family movie that parents can watch with their kids that teaches them about responsibility and how strong the connections ??between family members really are. 

The post Review: Mirai appeared first on Destructoid.

And then there were two

Despite the efforts of Daredevil fans on social media, Netflix's first Marvel Television show is joining Iron Fist and Luke Cage in the cancellation graveyard. Despite positive reviews (including one from us) for season 3, THR reports that Netflix will not bring Daredevil back for a fourth season.

Per THR, Netflix shared the following statement:

"Marvel’s Daredevil will not return for a fourth season on Netflix. We are tremendously proud of the show’s last and final season and although it’s painful for the fans, we feel it best to close this chapter on a high note. We&??rsquo;re thankful to our partners at Marvel, showrunner Erik Oleson, the show’s writers, stellar crew and incredible cast including Charlie Cox as Daredevil himself, and we’re grateful to the fans who have supported the show over the years. While the series on Netflix has ended, the three existing seasons will remain on the service for years to come, while the Daredevil character will live on in future projects for Marvel."

With this cancellation, only The Punisher (which wrapped its second season of production) and Jessica Jones (which has a third season coming up) remain on Marvel Television's Netflix lineup. The TV ??Grim Reaper is nea??rby, it seems.

This appears to be the next chapter in an increasingly conte?mptuous saga between Marvel Television and Netflix. With the cancellation of Luke Cage stemming from creative disagreements between the two parties in pre-production, and the shroud of Disney's own Netflix rival, Disney+, it looks as if though Netflix is cleaning house. Marvel Studios is entering the streaming television game, with a miniseries about Loki confirmed, and rumored shows for Scarlet Witch, the Falcon, and the Winter Soldier. Marvel Television, on the other hand, has received very few wins, one recent one being an unexpected early renewal of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. by ABC.

It's a shame that Daredevil, a show that I think massively improved its third time around, was a casualty of this apparent corporate politicking. It might be fair to speculate that these canceled shows may find new life on Disney+, but it remains to be seen just how that could fit in with the Marvel Studios projects. The division between the MCU's films and television shows is becoming increasingly apparent, so there's nothing much to do rather than to wait and see. As for Daredevil, without getting too specific, season 3 ended in a ??way that could also work as a series finale, even ?with a small tease at the end.

Pour one out for Matt Murdock, buddies.

'Daredevil' Canceled at Netflix as Marvel Roster?? Shrinks to Two [THR]

The post Netflix cancels Daredevil, leaving Mar??vel-?Netflix close to a ghost town appeared first on Destructoid.

Because the first one is sure to work, I guess

The upcoming Call of Duty movie is apparently so amazing that the powers that be have greenlit a sequel. With the crew behind it not even beginning production yet, Variety reports that studio Activision Blizzard Studios, a thing that I am finding out about for the first time right now, already wants a screenplay for a sequel at the ready. The studio has hired Joe Robert Cole, the co-screenwriter of Black Panther.

Along with working with Ryan Coogler on the acclaimed Marvel Studios film, Cole also co-produced and wrote for The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story—he is currently working on the Netflix film All Day and a Night, which he wrote and directed. Meanwhile, Sicario: Day of the Soldado director Stefano Sollima is directing the first Call of Duty movie, based on a screenplay by Snowden screenwriter Kieran Fitzgerald.

It's a curious show of confidence, and as we reported before, the producers behind this project intend this to be a full cinematic universe. On one hand, it could make sense, with the different Call of Duty subseries (Modern Warfare, Black Ops, and so on) possibly working as their own film franchises. On the other hand... in the end, wouldn't a film adaptation of a Call of Duty game just be a generic war movie?

Modern Call of Duty games are pretty much based on Band of Brothers or dumb action flicks, so depend??ing on the time period we might end up with an infinite feedback loop here. But whatever, I can't wait to see movie billboards telling me to stay frosty and keep my boots on the ground.

‘Black Panther’?? Scribe J?oe Robert Cole to Write ‘Call of Duty’ Movie Sequel [Variety]

The post The Call of Duty movie is ??already getting a sequel, nabs Black Panther co-writer appeared first on Destructoid.

Expect Spider-Gwen to be pretty prominent

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hasn't even released yet and Sony is already planning sequels and spinoffs for the animated feature. According to THR, Sony is already in the planning stages of two new Spider-Verse movies. One movie is going to be a follow-up to Into the Spider-Verse, while the other is going to be a female-led spin-off starring various Spider-Women from across Marvel's shockingly large multiverse. Dollars to doughnuts though that it's going to star Spider-Gwen, who looks to have a pretty important role in the upcoming Spider-Verse.

No plot details have been announced for either title, but Sony did say who would be associated with the movies. For the direct sequel, Joaquim Dos Santos, who has worked on both Avatar: The Last Airbender and Netflix's Voltron, will direct with a script by David Callaham, who wrote both Wonder Woman 1984 and Zombieland 2. As for the lady led movie (I'm not saying Spider-Verse again!), Lauren Montgomery, who also worked on Voltron and a lot of mid-tier DC-Animated movies, is in talks to dire?ct?. Neither of these movies have a release date. 

Normally I would be pretty cautious about a company already planning spin-off projects and sequels before the movie that's supposed to launch it releases (Dark Universe says hi), I'm not concerned in the slightest with this though. Back in October when I saw the first half hour of the movie, it exceeded my expectations and was way better than I could have imagined. This is like the anti-Venom. It's funny, has a lot of heart to it, and made me excited to see the rest of this movie. Sony has a hit on its hands, so if we get more Spider-Verse movies that are as good as this one, I don't care that they're counting their chickens before they hatch. SPIDER-VERSE.

'Spider-Man: Into the ?Spider-V?erse' Sequel and All-Female Spinoff in the Works From Sony [THR]

The post Sony is already eyeing Spid??er?-Verse sequels and spinoffs appeared first on Destructoid.

In which we go above and beyond 300 movies in 2018

Wake up, Crono, it’s time for The 300, my radical dream t??o see more than 300 movies in theaters in 2018. I’ll be watching new releases, classics, hidden gems, and festival films to experience the wide world of cinema in all its form. With so much moviegoing variety, there’s probably something you’d be interested in as we?ll.

As always, there are three rules for The 300:

• The movie must be at least 40 minutes long, meeting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ definition of a feature film.
• I must watch the movie at a movie theater, screening room, or outdoor screening venue.
• While I can watch movies I’ve seen before 2018, I cannot count repeated viewings of the same film in 2018 multiple times.

I hit 30??0 movies? in last week’s installment of The 300, which means I’m starting this week north of the goal. Consider this a victory lap. I’m not sure how many movies I’ll s?ee beyond 300 given the holidays and travel plans, but I’ll continue to track my full year of filmgoing each week through 2018. This probably means I’ll write a top 50 movies of the year rather than a top 20. Also, if I hit a certain number of movies by December 31, I may even get the dinosaur ending.

A bit strapped for time this week, but I’ll have some additional thoughts on this extended movie-watching experience in the?? December installments this series. The end of the year is always a great excuse to look back before looking forward. For now, it’s back to the grind.

And so, onward.

301 of 300: Still Walking (2008)
(aka 歩いても 歩いても; Aruitemo aruitemo)

Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Starring: Hiroshi Abe, Yui Natsukawa, Kirin Kiki, Kazuya Takahashi
Country: Japan
Seen at The Film Society of Lincoln Center (New York, NY)
Wednesday, November 21st

It made sense to follow Hirokazu Kore-eda’s remarkable After Life (The 300 Week 46) with some kind of playful pun. Hence the first film after 300 is Still Walking, another deeply affecting Kore-eda movie. This movie is firmly in Kore-eda’s wheelhouse, focusing on the minutiae of family dynamics and what that has to say about our connections to people who are close to us. On a hot summer’s day, a family comes together to commemorate the death of the eldest son 15 years ago. In just a single afternoon and evening, we understand the contours of the different relationships on screen, and the interpersonal and generational frictions of these well-rendered, imperfect people. I found myself particularly drawn to Still Walking’s exploration of fam?ilial disappointments. Children often fail to live up to their parents’ ideals, and vice versa. What then? We keep going, obviously.

It’s fascinating to see this film after seeing Kore-eda’s Shoplifters at the New York Film Festival (The 300 Week 39). We’re told in Shoplifters that the families we choose are sometimes preferable to the ones we’re born into. What I see in Still Walking is the difficult, begrudging love we have with blood relatives, and how those bonds are maintained even if they’re so bothersome. I also see the idea of families we build ourselves treated with incredible warmth in the way Ryota (Hiroshi Abe) and Yukari (Yui Natsukawa) interact; he’s her second husband, and she has a child from the previous marriage. I’m tempted to rewatch Kore-eda’s Like Father, Like Son to heighten this exploration of familial conn?ection, and how this kinship can be about blood relation on its surface but is ultimately about s??o much more.

In this long year of filmgoing, Still Walking also reminded me of how a shot can be perfectly completed by the passing of a train. It’s a thought that I first had while watching Chantal Akerman’s hauntingly sad Les Rendez-vous d'Anna (The 300 Week 43), re?ified by Kore-eda a?? few weeks later. In my mind this notion is like a train ride started a month ago, completed only just now.

302 of 300: PlayTime (1967)

Director: Jacques Tati
Starring: Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek
Country: France/Italy
Seen at Metrograph (New York, NY)
Saturday, November 24th

PlayTime is a constant sensory delight from beginning to end. While a financial failure at the time of release, the movie is Jacques Tati’s comic masterpiece. This was my first chance to see the film on the big screen, and I was struck by how much I caught when the movie was projected large. PlayTime covers a day in the life of an ultra-modern Paris, traveling from airports to expos to apartments to chic ?restaurants. The thin plot is secondary to the dense, layered pleasures of just watching.

PlayTime makes a game out of the act of watching the film. The first game is in the airport. Can you spot certain quirky background extras as they reappear? The movie is populated with false Monsieur Hulots, Tati’s comic persona that’s a bit like a suaver Charlie Chaplin and a more agile Mr. Bean. The next game is finding these faux-Hulots. There’s another game about tracking a blue folder, the identifying mark of the man the real Hulot must talk to amid the confusion of a busy cubicle-filled workplace. Later PlayTime games are about identifying cause and effect, and us??ing y??our memory, and trying to notice something in a shot you’ve never noticed before.

PlayTime’s primary philosophical focus is on the world’s unavoidable homogeneity and dehumanization due to technology. Travel posters for different countries feature the same oppressive brick of a skyscraper dominating the local flavor. More genuine human interaction and cultural flair have been lost to the gray tastes of the modern world. Yet meaningful connection can still be found among people, even in the way the modern world refracts the beauties of the natural world. Consider how the bulbed stems of met?al street lamps bend like the bowed heads of bellflowers. Maybe one way to cure the malaise of modernity is to engage in a kind of active, empathetic form of daily play; and, when possible, to view some of the ?world as if it were a grand picture book we’ve happened to walk into.

303 of 300: The Sisters Brothers (2018)

Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed
Country: USA/France
Seen at Roxy Cinema Tribeca (New York, NY)
Sunday, November 25th

The Sisters Brothers is perfectly fine, though I was hoping for more. A little bit revisionist western and a little bit dark comedy, the film follows Eli and Charlie Sisters (John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix), two hired guns on the tail of someone who’s cheated their boss. Eli is a gentle soul who’s turned gunslinger to watch over his drunken screw-up brother. As the film unfolds, the movie explores a desire to leave the range life, and the cruelties out on the open trail. Some of the notes about the Wild West vs. pastoral domesticity reminded me of John Ford’s The Searchers, one of many genre touchstones allude to by director/co??-writer Jacques Audiard. And yet I felt like the story could have gone father even though it sustained my interest, or could have said? more.

Then again, maybe the movie simply is what it is, and it is a great showcase for Reilly’s acting range. Eli is a fascinating brother’s keeper sort, and seems obsessed with higher-minded and more romantic?? ideas about being a gunslinger. While stopping by the town of Mayfield, Eli’s awkward roleplay-foreplay with a prostitute feels chivalrous rather than kinky. It’s such a funny yet so human (and therefore sad) scene, and Reilly’s voice and childish frustration and body language communicate so much so well. Maybe I’d just like a movie about Eli given how much I like Reilly as an actor.

304 of 300: Creed II (2018)

Director: Steven Caple, Jr.
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Dolph Lundgren
Country: USA
Seen at AMC Village 7 (New York, NY)
Monday, November 26th

Creed II was an okay rehash of Rocky II-IV, but Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) was the weakest part of his own film. Think of it like this: Rocky Balboa is a lovable underdog who won’t give up, sort of like Joe Frazier; and Apollo Creed was the charismatic showman who jabs with words, sort of like Muhammad Ali. Adonis Creed, who lacks a real-world analog, is like an angry teenager with daddy issues. That isn’t all that compelling to me. Rocky is more compelling here, with Sylvester Stallone seeming to say goodbye to the franchise. The same goes for Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson), who’s juggling a career and other responsibilities while Adonis goes through his personal crisis. I even found the story of Ivan and Viktor Drago (Dolph Lundgren and Florian Munteanu) more compelling given how much they’ve lost, how strained that father-son relationship is, and maybe even how underwritten the??ir parts were.

I wonder if my disappointment stems from the screenplay, which Stallone co-wrote. I mentioned above that this feels like Rocky is leaving the franchise for good, and balancing the progression of Adonis’s character with the exit of Rocky Balboa is a difficult task, especially with how much plot is in the film. Without Ryan Coogler as director, Creed II doesn’t feel quite as large as it could be. The fights aren’t as well done, the drama not as high-stakes, and while there are some moving emotional highs, there are plenty of lulls. Creed II is a by-the-numbers sequel ??that goes the distance, never hitting quite as h??ard as I hoped despite some great ideas to work with.

Current runtime of The 300: 31,877 minutes (22 days, 3 hours, 17 minutes)

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Surprise Star Wars!

Lucasfilm just dropped a bit of a surprise for us all. This Friday a new series of Star Wars animated shorts will launch on the Star Wars Kids portal and the Star Wars Kids YouTube page. Not quite as exciting as The Mandalorian is shaping up to be, but it's something. Judging from the trailer above the shorts look to be like adaptations of classic scenes from the movies with maybe a little fresh content thrown in. New episodes are scheduled to release throughout December,? with even more com?ing in 2019.

Lucasfilm (aka Disney) is saying that these shorts will be accompanied by “fun and educational add-ons designed to help older fans, parents, and other mentors welcome the kids in their lives to explore the galaxy far, far away.” As a dad whose son loves the concept of Star Wars despite not having seen a single Star Wars movie or show as he's too young for most of it, I am all for that. Weaving in any educational aspect to the PEW PEW PEW gives it that extra leg up ??where I feel more comfortable hooking my child directly into a corporate behe??moth's billion-dollar, money-making franchise and involving him in an increasingly toxic fanbase. Parenting win! 

Evidently, this is just the first part of the Galaxy of Adventures brand, which is being used to build up hype up for upcoming Episode IX. 

Lucasfilm Unveils Animated 'Star Wars Gala??xy of Ad??ventures' [THR]

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It ain't as fun when they're in on it

If there's anything that we as a people can agree upon, it's that Venom was an absurd movie. The absurdity came to a point where many filmgoers viewed Sony's Spider-Man spinoff more like a romantic comedy, a notion that is taken both as a joke and somewhat seriously, dependi?ng on who you ask. In response, we got this.

With title cards and music that feel more like something from a Love, Actually sequel, this ad shows that Sony is pretty hip to the Venom memes that have circulated since then. At the same ti?me, cynical me thi?nks that this ad is a little too wink-wink-nudge-nudge.

Venom was not a good movie, but I enjoyed watching it immensely. Despite its various flaws, it was a fun conversation topic, and turning the movie into something else completely ?different in our own minds was a fun exercise. Now, the big ol' corporation is trying to get into the fun as well, and I'm not into that. It's like when you explain a running joke between your friends to your parents, and they try to get in on it too.

Now, if Sony were to recut the entire film as a romantic comedy, then things might be interesting. If you're going to acknowledge the joke, you have to fully commit. I think the film works as its own weird thing, but I'm sure fans would love such an effort. Venom is releasing on digital HD on D?ecember 11 and Blu-Ray December 18, which is ri??diculously soon, considering the film was just in theaters in October.

The post Sony releases Venom rom-com trailer, effectively? killing ?humor appeared first on Destructoid.

Never got up the nerve to say it in a mirror

Remember Candyman? He's back! In Pog form! No, actually, movie form, though some sweet Candyman Pogs would totally ro??und out my collection of super dated things.&n?bsp;

As previous rumors stated MGM has partnered with Monkeypaw Production's Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld to bring the 90s horror icon back to life. The deal will see up-and-coming director Nia DaCosta take the director's chair for the film, as she jumps straight into horror from her drama film debut of Little Woods.

With Peele and Rosenfeld writing the screenplay this "spiritual sequel" (I threw up a little in my mouth writing that) will return to the Cabrini-Green housing project where the first film took place. The difference being is that the neighborhood has now been gentrified. Considering that fact, Peele's horror movie history, and the racial underpinnings of the original film it's pretty cle??ar the studio is going for something a bit more challenging than your average slasher. 

I mean this is pretty exciting. Horror movies are having quite the moment to shine the past couple of years, with films challenging expectations and tackling actual fear. DaCosta just won some major props at Tribeca with her first film and Peele is Peele. Even with all that dramatic power behind it, though, I'm kind of hoping that the new Candyman takes i?t a little old school with more blood?? and guts.

No release date has been set.

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The work, which becomes a new genre itself, will be called...

Netflix has scored a pretty big name in Anime for its next live action series. Cowboy Bebop will be heading to the streaming juggernaut at some point in the future. Shinichiro Watanabe, director of the original anime series, will be involved as a consultant on this new adaptation with writer Chris Yost penning the script. According to a report from Variety, Netflix has ordered a?? 10 episode run, though there is no confirmation? on episode length.

Tom?orrow Studios will be co-producing the show with Netflix while original anime production company Sunrise Inc. will be acting as an executive producer. The description of the series basically mirrors that of the original run, so we're likely not to see any surprises when it does land. No cast has been announced, likely due to the series being recently nabbed.

What's interesting to think about is why Cowboy Bebop was selected for a live-action adaptation instead of an animated continuation. Many people consider it a perfect anime, so this could be why Netflix decided on changing the medium to tell the story in. It also falls in line with other live-action projects Netflix has recently released, such as Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist.

However the choice was made, we'll now have another version of Cowboy Bebop to look for?ward to. That is a sentence I never thought I'd be able to write.

NX [Twitter]

‘Cowboy Bebop’ Live-Action Series Lands at Netflix [Variety]

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A gory classic

Take a bite out of this contest: Win a Blu-ray copy of ZOMBIE: Limited Edition.

It's new release Tuesday, which means we're continuing ?our streak of giving away great Blu-rays from our friends at MVD Entertainment. Today's release is desi??gned to scare your pants off and gross you out -- all at once!

Step on down for your chance to win a Blu-ray copy of Lucio Fulci's classic horror film ZOMBIE.

When a boat owned by a renowned scientist reaches New York city with a zombie on board, the scientist's daughter, a journalist, and others set out to find the cause of the incident. When they arrive on a tropical island, they find the place overrun by the walking dead! This gory cinematic masterpiece has almost as many names as it does national bans, but you can just call it ZOMBIE.

This 40th Anniversary Limited Edition boasts a 4k restoration from the film's uncut and uncensored negative. All the better to see that splinter go into your eye! This set features a reversible cover, a second Blu-ray d??isc loaded with extra features, and a soundtrack CD of the mov??ie's original score.

We are going to eat you.

To enter to win your copy, comment below telling us your favorite zombie-related death in media. It can be in film, literature, vi?deo games -- wherever you get your kicks. I'm not going to?? name any other films, but a certain lawnmower scene from another classic zombie film has always been a favorite of mine. What can I say? I kick ass for the Lord.

We have two Blu-rays to give out. Winners will be drawn Monday, December 3. As this is a physical prize, you need a United States ship??ping address to be eligible to win. Make sure you comment using a Dtoid account that has your current email address on file. If I can't email you, I can't throw a zombie b??aby at you.

ZOMBIE: Limited Edition is available now from MVD Entertainment. Head over to Flixist for more chances to win!

The post Contest: Win a Blu-ray copy of Lucio Fulci’s ZOMBIE: Limited Edition appeared first on Destructoid.

Lion King remains to be seen

I once I had the honor of meeting Eoin Colfer - and he is such a cool guy. Regrettably, I didn’t own a smartphone at the time (he, losing out on the opportunity to connect with his fans, understandably looked sad - I’m sorry, 2006 Eoin). But trust me -  it was awesome. I was an avid fan of his Artemis Fowl books when I was younger, and so I am now with the release of the trailer ??for Disney’s adaptation, helmed by Kenneth Branagh.

While the teaser is still fairly nondescript in terms of plot, fans of the book series (eight in total) will happily fill you in. Artemis Fowl, child genius and all-around super crime-solving undercover aficionado, begins investigating the disappearance of his ??father, and in doing so is sucked into a secretive,? reclusive world of highly advanced faeries. These creatures are brutal - trading magic powers for machine guns - and will kill at a moment’s notice. Thus young Artemis is forced to fight for survival, keeping his wits about him and relying on a trusty menagerie of friends, while facing up to ruthless enemies.

Though I never pictured Artemis as an actual boy of 12 (in my head he was a really suave 20-something who excelled at life and was nigh untouchable), I have to say it makes sense and I’m actually glad he’s materialized like this on the screen. Played by newcomer Ferdia Shaw, he - surprisingly - seems to have exceeded my expectations about the quality of the adaptat?ion. There’s also an impressive cast lineup, including Lara McDonnell, Tamara Smart, Judi Dench, and Josh?? Gad, as the unforgettably-named cynic-dwarf Mulch Diggums, with Nonso Anozie as an (actually really fitting) incarnation of the loyal Butler.

With some fancy aerial framing and a side order of montage (not dissimilar to Koyaanisqatsi, amirite?), the sneak peek at the new production looks - well, brilliant. There's also a kind of edgy, Baz Luhrmann vibe with moodily-lit rooms and a melancholy score, which is something pretty unique for a fantasy movie aimed at kids. I feel somewhat relieved that it’s in Disney’s capable hands: with their epic production budgets and general ability to conjure up the most impressive, dramatic event cinema, I truly think that the source material will be done justice. Alright, I’m not entirely convinced by Josh Gad’s accent right now, but just wait till you find out what his power is.

Artemis Fowl will be released in theaters on August 9, 2019 - a li?ttle?? way off yet, but after years of anticipation, I think I can wait until then.

The post Rejoice! Artemis Fowl trailer shows tha??t Disney can do an adaptation right appeared first on Destructoid.

Time for the BFG and Willy Wonka to throw down?

Netflix wants to keep the kids watching even after all their Disney content scampers away, and nothing captures kids' imaginations quite like the charming and wonderful books of Roald Dahl, and so the studio has just announced that they're "extending the Roald Dahl universe of stories for global family audiences with an exclusive new slate of original animated event series." The series will be animated and Netflix is claiming that while they're adapting Dahl's stories and remaining true to Dahl's tone, they also are "building out an imaginative story universe t?hat expands far beyond the pages of the bo?oks themselves."

I'm not actually sure what the hell that means, and the press release this is from is basically just full of that jargon. Clearly, from the teaser above, we'll be getting adaptations of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, The Twits, and more. What those "more" are isn't clear, but the Netflix deal also includes the rights to Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Boy – Tales of Childhood, Going Solo, The Enormous Crocodile, The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, Henry Sugar, Billy and the Minpins, The Magic Finger, Esio Trot, Dirty Beasts, and Rhyme Stew. Basically everything but James and the Giant Peach and The Fantastic Mr. Fox, whi?ch are oddly the two?? books that have most recently been turned into animated fare.

It sounds like they'll be telling the stories we know and love, but tying threads together throughout them. That's cool, I gue??ss. I never reall?y thought of a Roald Dahl universe when I was a kid, but if they keep his unique spirit alive then I'm fine with it.

Netflix hasn't announced who is working on this yet, but they obviously have the Dahl estate's blessing, and they're promising to pull in top talent. Of course top talent doesn't always mean a hit. Let's not forget that The BFG had?? basically every check mark you need for an instant Roald Dahl adaptation classic and it didn't make?? a splash at all.

Netflix Creating Slate of Progra??mming Based on Roald Dah?l Books [Variety]

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Hellboy will just run around poorly lit hallways for two hours

Hellboy is coming back, but this time he's coming back hard. Horror director Neil Marshall is taking over the reins and he's basically been promising since day one to get real weird up in this thing. This first look of Hellboy himself from the film -- publicity shots aside -- confirms none of that, however. It's just a picture of Hellboy running in that hallway that every horror movie has to ??have in it at some point. 

I mean seriously, is there only one da??mn poorly-lit, underground hallway that every movie has to shoot in?

But I digress, we're all here to talk about how David Harbour looks as the big, red demon himself. I'm still liking it, though The Right Hand of Doom looks a little more like The Right Hand of Styrofoam in this shot. Considering Marshall's track record with making small budgets into great horror, I'm ??guessing that won't be an issue once the final movie rolls around.&n?bsp;

Hellboy will release on April 19, 2019.

He??llboy Reboot Is ‘More Violent And Bloody’, ?Says Director Neil Marshall – Exclusive Image [Empire]

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Time to start the new age for Disney

I've always had very conflicting feelings about Disney's former Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter. This was even before the frequent sexual harassment claims, which led him to take a six-month sabbatical last year before announcing that he would leave Disney at the end of 2018. In a year that has been full of Disney cracking the whip on any potential controversies, usually for moronic reasons, this resignation flew by under the radar, mostly due to how Lasseter will remain as a consultant at Disney until the end of the year. In other words, he was led out to pasture for his actions. While researching the accusations against Lasseter, I fo??und out that there were hired "minders" who reigned in Lasseter's more physical impulses with employees, like hugging them or kissing them on the?? mouth after having a few too many drinks. So... that's a thing I guess. 

But that's not why I'm happy that Lasseter is leaving Disney and Pixar, though I can't deny that isn't a part of it. My excitement comes from the fact that we no longer have to adhere to Lasseter's iron rule of storytelling. For the past decade, Lasseter has had an executive producer role in nearly all of Disney's animated projects, meaning that he usually had final say about what?? stories were told and how they were told. Because of this, one very particular type of story was told constantly at Disney. His removal allows for some variety to finally pop up in their animated movies again. 

Now let me get this point right off the bat; I don't hate the movies that Lasseter either directed or executive produced. The man's been with Pixar form the very beginning, directing Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Toy Story 2 and executive producing every Pixar movie in the company's history. You can look at my ungodly Pixar Retrospective from the summer an?d how I gush over his work to know that I like his movies. But when you watch a director's work one right after the other, you begin to notice all of their little quirks and ticks. With Lasseter, his quirks were always with his narratives, and ?that's where my issue with him lies and why I won't miss his creative presence at Disney. 

I never realized I was annoyed with Lasseter's storytelling approach until I saw Ralph Breaks the Internet on Black Friday. Yes, it was directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston (with Moore having been personally brought into Disney by Lasseter himself), but the stamps of Lasseter's approach permeated throughout the movie. Lasseter's movies are about the main characters, using a mismatched duo, discovering themselves while on a huge adventure/journey in order to accomplish a certain task, whether it's getting home, finding their families, or fulfilling a lifelong dream. The conflict comes from the characters dealing with an emotional problem from their past, uncertainty about their future, society itself, or in the case of Ralph Breaks the Internet, an existential crisis. 

And Ralph Breaks the Internet was fine. It was just fine. But as I was driving back from the movie with my friends, I had trouble vocalizing why I was so apathetic towards the film. It wasn't because of the internet humor, the Disney inside jokes, or even the character drama between Vanellope and Ralph. It wasn't until my friend said how the finale reminded him of Moana's ending that it clicked for me. I've seen Ralph Breaks the Internet before. Nearly a dozen times actually. Ralph Breaks the Internet is a stitched together Frankenstein's Monster of every Lasseter trope under the sun, which dilutes the impact the movie co??uld have had. 

Lasseter is more fascinated by mining characters for emotional depth than telling a compelling narrative. He's interested in stories that explore themes and ideas where characters have to confront them head-on but they succeed by finding a personal victory instead of a happy ending for all. There is no direct character v. character confrontation, but instead ideological battles. Sometimes it pays off beautifully like in Zootopia, which is one giant racism allegory, while in others times it doesn't like in Big Hero 6, where it tries to have the charm and themes of a Disney movie while also being a Marvel action movie and ends up doing both okay. His style is a radical departure from the classic style of Disney animation where there is a clearly defined protagonist and antagonist under a more traditional fairytale structure. In Lasseter's mind, internal conflict trumps external conflict because internal conflict can lead to?? stronger character development. 

Except, that's not always true. While I do believe that creating stories around characters developing and growing through their own self-doubt, identity issues, fears, and whatnot are important, they shouldn't be the only kind of stories told. If all of Disney's movies follow the same story structure then it becomes dull. When Hans is revealed to be the villain in Frozen what's there to separate him from the villains of Zootopia, Moana, Incredibles 2, Big Hero 6, and Coco, who all have surprise villain reveals that are more often than not handled poorly? It's a new trend that leaves me miffed the same way that Disney now lampoons itself for its princess tropes in Ralph Breaks the Internet. 

At the start of this article, I was planning on dovetailing this into a need to return to the classic approach from the Disney Rennaissance to get some fresh air in the studio, but as I kept writing this I don't think that approach would work as well as I thought it would. The Disney Rennaissance was a fantastic time for Disney and gave us some of their most beloved movies, but it had plenty of tropes too. Don't forget that Disney animation was in a rough place in the 2000's because audiences were sick of the tropes that they had seen for over a decade. If you want a more thorough look into the subject, check out Lindsey Ellis' video on the lack of modern Disney villains, whic??h kind of sums up the problems with the Disney Rennaissance and brings up the ide??a that audiences may grow tired of Disney's new model of storytelling under Lasseter. 

I've gotten bored with new Disney movies. Yes, they make millions upon millions of dollars at the box office, but I haven't seen much discussion about them online or with hardcore Disney fans. I don't see Disney fans talking about any of the modern Disney movies in the same way that classic films like Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, or even Hercules are brought up. I don't really think it's?? because modern Disney movies aren't?? popular, but because they've started to blend in with each other. If you're telling the same story again and again, but putting it through a different filter, it isn't facilitating growth. And what especially isn't healthy is the subtext that's implied through Lasseter's approach of the "surprise villain."

Coco and Frozen are the best examples of the potential toxicity of this trope, which ironically echoes with Lasseter's own fall from grace. In both movies, the villains start out as being incredibly likable and trustworthy. They can be a role model to our hero in Coco's case or a love interest to our protagonist in Frozen. For the majority of the movie, Ernesto de la C??ruz and Hans seem like genuinely nice people, only for the rug to be pulled out from under us at how insidious they are. Hans is a power hungry sociopath that is willing to murder Anna to attain his goal, while Ernesto is a greedy egomaniac that is willing to leave a kid and his best friend to die in order to keep his reputation. In both instances, we have characters that betray our heroes and only cause them emotional, psychological, and physical harm in the name of their own selfish goals. Moral of the story; never trust anyone because they will betray you. People will hurt you and you can never fully trust anyone because they can and will hurt you. 

Seems a little dark when you think about it, right? I admit that children probably won't be thinking about that as they watch Frozen or Coco, but it's still a theme that I'm ethically repulsed by. Once is a unique twist. Twice is a pattern. Three times is a general philosophy that Lasseter has dictated during his time as Cheif Creative Officer at Disney, and I'm frankly done with his take on Disney. I m?iss the Disney villains. I miss the simpler approach to storytelling that Disney was so well known for. I miss the dynamic side characters that have all but vanished in favor of more well developed main characters. I miss the tropes that Disney is now prone to mocking and making fun of for enjoying despite them being fun and creative back in the Disney Rennaissance.

It might seem like I'm calling for a regression of Disney animation, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I'm calling for a balance of the old and the new. Disney can still have stories about heroes overcoming internal conflicts as well as external conflicts. We can have classic Disney villains while also making them more complex like Frollo was in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. We can also have movies where the villains are barely present in favor of a character discovering their place in the world like in Inside Out. The key word is balance. 

The last movie that Lasseter is credited in at Disney is going to be Frozen 2, which will release next year. In that time, Jennifer Lee, the director of Frozen and Frozen 2, will take the helm as the Chief Creative Officer. I have no idea if this will facilitate a whole new era of Disney animation, a continuation of Lasseter's philosophy, or if it'll be a return to form of classic Disney storytelling, but change is coming. I want to be surprised by Disney movies again and not roll my eyes at how they're trying to subvert your expectations while paradoxically being pre??dictable as hell. 

The post I’m happy John Lasseter is leaving Disney appeared first on Destructoid.

Box office round up

The sequels had it over the five-day box office weekend, with both Ralph Breaks the Internet and Creed II bringing in massive numbers. There's barely anyone in show business upset after this weekend... well, except for anyone and everyone involved in the hard flop that is Robin Hood. 

Over the five-day span, Ralph netted nearly $84.5 million, which places it as the second highest grossing film for the holiday weekend, behind Frozen and ahead of Moana. Disney, by the way, owns the top six records for this weekend, and they'd own the top nine if it wasn't for the other Thanksgiving champion, Creed II. 

In almost any other situation the $55.8 million five-day cume of that film would have easily netted it a first-place finish so there's no w??ay MGM is upset with second place here. That box office makes it the seventh best Thanksgiving opening of all time, and the best live-action opening period. While the film wasn't quite its predecessor's artistic equal, it packed a punch and audiences gave it an A cinema score so expect it to carry on nicely throughout the holiday season. 

Meanwhile, films like Fantastic Beasts and The Grinch held incredibly strong, with people pouring out to theaters over the holiday span and landing them both $42 million box offices despite the fact that they didn't just open. On the flip side of that, there is the paltry $14.2 million of Robin Hood. Given the film's reported $100 million budget it is now one of the biggest flops ??of 2018. The film was panned by nearly everyone, i??ts B audience score is mediocre, and given the legs of the films around it, there's not really much of a chance for this to be anything but a disaster.

(Note: Numbers below are for the standard three-day weekend count.)

1. Ralph Breaks the Internet - $55,672,000
2. Creed II - $35,293,000
3. Dr. Seuss' The Grinch - $30,210,000
4. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - $29,650,000
5. Bohemian Rhapsody - $13,855,000
6. Instant Family - $12,500,000
7. Robin Hood - $9,125,000
8. Widows - $7,955,000
9. Green Book - $5,443,000
10. A Star is Born - $3,005,000

The post Hollywood stuffs itself with largest Thanksgiving box office ev??er appeared first on Destructoid.

I stan Stan

One exciting thing about being in the UK (apart from better chocolate - you know Hershey’s has nothing on Cadbury’s) is that I can walk the same hallowed ground as comic geniuses Laurel and Hardy. That’s right, I’m crazy about those beautiful performers (read as: every silent comedian) because every film ??of theirs is pure, unadulte??rated joy.

Suffice to say, then, that I’m really excited for the release of Stan & Ollie this December - after its premiere at London Film Festival in October, the trailer has just been revealed. For one thing, the casting looks fantastic. John C. Reilly (when not acting as parody sleuth Watson alongside Will Ferrell over the holiday season) is a brilliant screen presence, and I think this will play off well against Steve Coogan’s usually more deadpan persona. Reilly seems to pull off a convincing British accent and I can see that the two actors  - not always paired together - s??omehow fitting right into place as a duo.

It’s also a poignant move that director Jon S. Baird and writer Jeff Pope have opted for taking the actors’ first names, separating them from the immutable title Laurel and Hardy.?? It humanizes? them and allows us to take a look at their stories, remembering that they were men with real lives, too. I’m foreseeing a bit of a tearjerker, but it’ll no doubt be undercut by a heavy dose of slapstick comedy.

The trailer blends biopic with the conventions of silent films themselves, meaning that we’re in for the hallmark twist of comedy and pathos that have made silent movies so enduring. Rather like Chaplin’s Limelight, or even last year’s Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, the biopic shows the comic duo on their last legs: embarking on their final Variety tour of Britain, they head towards their swansong and must prepare for the inevitable end of their ??partnership.

It’s clear from the trailer that it’s going to be an affecting, even melancholy take on the great pair, playing their partnership out as a creative marriage more than a friendship - there's no doubt it's going to be something special. Stan & Ollie will be released in theaters across NY and LA on Dece?mber 28.

The post New trailer for John C. Reilly’s and Steve Coogan’s Stan & Ollie, an affectionate take on the comic duo appeared first on Destructoid.

Not the best first look

It's Thanksgiving, time for board games, booze, American football, and gluttony. While everyone in America is sitting on the couch processing their gigantic meal, the first trailer for Disney's CGI remake of The Lion King dropped during the Dallas Cowboys (bleh) and Washington Redskins (bleh) game. I gotta say, I'm a little disappointed in? it, but?? we can talk after the trailer.

Let's start with a positive, it looks amazing, at least for now. Full CGI movies a??re always worrying to me because CGI ages like Thanksgiving turkey left out all day, not well. When?? I heard the new movie was going to be live action, I thought it was going to be done a la the stage version not CGI, stupid move on my part.

The main disappointing takeaway from this brief trailer is that this remake looks to be a shot for shot remake of the original animated classic. This is like trying to do a remake of Psycho, or The Fly, or Amityville Horror. If you're going to bring nothing new to the dance, why even show up? Granted this grievance is? based on a short trailer that uses a lot of the iconic imagery from the 1994 film, but I really hope this does something to stand apart from the original be?cause they're only setting themselves up for disaster if they simply redo everything in CGI.

But this is just one Philadelphia Eagles fan that is bitter because he has to watch the Dallas Cowboy's opinion. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am in the comments. I do hope this turns out good as the original animated movie is one of my childhood favorites and ha?s the honor of being the first movie I saw in theaters twice.

The Lion King remake will be out on July 19th of next year and features an all-star ??cast including, Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chi??wetel Ejiofor, Billy Eichner, John Oliver, Keegan-Michael Key, Beyoncé, and of course James Earl Jones.

The post The Lion King remake just got its first trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

A winner is you

Hello, starmen and starwomen, and welcome back to The 300, my successful attempt to see 300 movies in theaters in 2018. I’ve watched new releases, classics, hidden gems, and f??estival films to experience the wide world of cinema in all its forms. With so much moviegoing variety, I think there’s probably something I’ve seen that you’d also like. If not, that’s on you, jabroni.

As always, there are three rules for The 300:

• The movie must be at least 40 minutes long, meeting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ definition of a feature film.
• I must watch the movie at a movie theater, screening room, or outdoor screening venue.
• While I can watch movies I’ve seen before 2018, I cannot count repeated viewings of the same film in 2018 multiple times.

The 300 started as a dumb joke. I f??igured I’d exploit the system and see as many movies as possible via MoviePass. The number 300 was nice and round, and it gave me wiggle room so I wouldn’t have to go to the movies every day. Thanks to the hyper masculine silliness of the Zack Snyder film, 300 also became?? a fun excuse to do the dumb photoshops that have accompanied these weekly recaps.

For example:

Without MoviePass, this wouldn’t have been possible. I have renewed my love of going to the movies thanks to a lot of misguided venture capital put in?to tech companies with terrible business models. Subscription services Like MoviePass and AMC A-List make regular moviegoing possible when it would otherwise be prohibitively expensive, but they are unsustainable. Smoke ‘em while you got ‘em. For instance, I think I’ve seen $3,600 worth of movies on MoviePass this year, and all I’ve paid is about $110. To Helios and Matheson shareholders, I’m sorry for playing by the rules as written.

Given MoviePass’ decline, the 300 also wouldn’t have been possible without my access to press screenings and my ability to attend and cover film festivals. In fact, a good chunk of The 300 is thanks to extensive viewing at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and the 2018 New York Film Festival. Part of me feels like ??this is a bit of a cheat, but I put in the time, and that’s something.

The total runtime of The 300 is 31,387 minutes. That’s 523.11 hours. That’s 21.79 days. Putting that all together, that’s 21 days, 19 hours, and 7 minutes worth of movies in theaters in 2018.

There’ll be a longer recap to come since I have lots of thoughts about a year of dedicated moviegoing, and ?ditto the intimate-yet-shared solitude of seeing good films w?ith others. The year isn’t over, gang.

And so, here we are.

296 of 300: An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012)

Director: Terence Nance
Starring: Terence Nance, Namik Minter
Country: USA
Seen at BAM Rose Cinemas (Brooklyn, NY)
Wednesday, November 14th

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty feels like a semi-documentary partially-animated rom-com collage?? about unrequited love written by Italo Calvino and Michel Gondry. Terence Nance playfully cuts back and forth between a short film about a romantic relationship with his friend Namik Minter that never materialized, and a rumination on that relationship a few years after the fact. Nance also hops between fiction and non-fiction, and different animation styles, and? different narrators for the voiceover.

It takes a moment to settle, but Nance captures the frustrated mindset of loving someone who just doesn’t love you back, and that unsavory thought process when you beat yourself up over it. We’ve all been on either side of that equation at some point ??of our lives, and it’s surprising (and mortifying) how well the movie recreates that recursive self-flagellation. What did I do wrong? Maybe something minor, or possibly nothing at all. People drawn to each other don’t always f??eel the same about the other person. Nance even mentions the obvious answer to his obsession: maybe she’s just not into you. Minter cares about him, likes him, is attracted to him, and yet. That unexpressed reservation may be inexpressible.

I mentioned the film as a mortifying experience, and that’s more true in the second half. At that point, An Oversimplification of Her Beauty feels like a public artistic spectacle of a tricky private relationship. While Nance is g?ame to explore his hang-ups in public and make a spectacle of his neuroses, I wondered how Minter felt about her life being explored by someone else. It’s awkward seeing Nance pine for Minter on screen given how obtrusive his cinematic obsession feels; maybe that’s part of the? inexpressible reservation. I’m not sure the whole comes together, but it’s a deeply felt art piece about one-sided romance and irresolvable feelings.

297 of 300: Widows (2018)

Director: Steve McQueen
Starring: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo
Country: UK/USA
Seen at AMC Loews 34th Street 14 (New York, NY)
Thursday, November 15th

It’s unfair to compare Widows to Ocean’s 8 (The 300 Week 23). There’s a heist in each film, sure, but they are so tonally different. Widows is less like Ocean’s and more like The Wire. Picture Steve McQueen’s version of a Michael Mann or Christopher Nolan thriller, with an edge sharpened by co-writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl). Widows is a high-minded crime drama that’s al??so an exploration of gender, race, class, political rhetoric, structural inequality, and violence. It’s one of the best-crafted movies of the yea??r, with a stellar ensemble cast, and it’s currently slotted in my top 10 of 2018.

We begin with a heist gone horribly wrong (but blowed up real good). The widows of the dead thieves are brough??t together to pull off a big job. They don’t really have a choice; if they don’t take the job, they’re in debt, dead, or without options in life. The ladies essentially have to clean up after the men in their lives. Viola Davis is great as the no-nonsense ringleader, and Michelle Rodriguez is ever the reliable supporting player. Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Erivo are the two breakout performers of the ensemble. Debicki plays a woman no longer ?content being abused and acted upon, and Erivo is a moral force and a physical presence every time she’s on screen. Daniel Kaluuya is also great in the film as a political candidate’s ruthless, sociopathic enforcer, pure menace every time he’s on screen.

McQueen has always been great with long takes in his films, and there’s a standout single-shot sequence in Widows. Colin Farrell’s character is up for re-election in a South Side Chicago precinct, part of a local political dynasty. He courts the black vote in hopes it’??ll give him an edge over his opponent. He leaves a photo opp in a depressed part of the South Side, gets into his car, and is driven a few minutes away to his home in an affluent neighborhood. All the while, he’s saying the sorts of two-faced t?hings we suspect politicians say in private. The driver of this car is black, and just does his job while this exchange goes on, his blank face sometimes visible through the reflective, tinted windshield. In just a few minutes, we get the layout of this part of Chicago, a sense of the economic disparities from block to block, and experience the whiplash of private and public personas donned by politicians. Here’s the formal power of a single shot well-considered, properly deployed, and well-executed; a shot like the perfect crime.

Widows is masterful entertainment.

298 of 300: Voyage of Time (2016)

Director: Terrence Malick
Country: USA
Seen at BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (Brooklyn, NY)
Friday, November 16th

Calling a film a “t?one poem” is like saying a short story is merely “interesting.” As George Saunders said, you want a story to be so much more, and for people to say your work is brilliant or moving or that they want to sleep with you. Bu??t “interesting”? “Interesting” is a polite admission of disinterest.

Terence Malick’s Voyage of Time is an interesting tone poem. We view the creation of Earth through its end with imagery that is gorgeous but too often familiar, and hokey, repetitive, pseudo-spiritual narration. Malick intercuts these pristine images of life evolving with grainy digital footage of the world we know today. While I understand the id?ea behind these present interruptions during an unfolding past, they seemed too jarring, though they take on a power by the end. I’ll also admit loving some of the more psychedelic imagery, whether of bacteria or prehistoric underwater life. The best single cut in the movie is so memorable: a single low-angle shot of wheat to signify the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to agrarian societies before transitioning to modern cityscapes. (Who needs the Industrial Revolution, right?)

The live musical accompaniment at the BAM opera house was phenomenal, though, and made the sort of tedious movie a fascinating experience. David OReilly’s game Everything is a much better realization of what Malick was trying to do with Voyage of Time.

299 of 300: Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Director: Don Chaffey
Starring: Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Honor Blackman, Gary Raymond
Country: USA
Seen at Film Forum (New York, NY)
Saturday, November 17th

My love for movies can be traced back to my Uncle Mike. He used to live in our house for a while. I was maybe five or six years old. Every now and then he’d bust out a videotape of an old movie he loved and give me a curated journey through his cinematic obsessions. That’s how I was first introduced to the work of Ray Harryhausen, and ditto the original Planet of the Apes movies, Sinbad movies, the original Star Trek show and films, and so on. It’s odd to think that an entire life of movie ?watching might be defined by one person. It’s the same way that an older sibling’s music collection helps mold the t??aste of a younger sibling. My Uncle Mike was the first older brother I never had.

Jason and the Argonauts was one of the films he showed me. I’ve always been fond of the film even though I haven’t seen it since I was a child. It’s a wonderful old-timey adventure in the Sinbad mold, featuring some of Harryhausen’s most iconic work. The battle against the skeleton warriors is still phenomenally choreographed, which is surprising for such an old film. There’s genuine cause?? and effect as our Greek heroes, outnumbered and terrified, slash at the air and leap over the blades of these undead? soldiers.

Watching it as an adult for ??the first time, I was struck by how unsubtly homoerotic the movie is. It was Ancient Greece, so it fits. Just watch that dynamic between Hercules and Hylas. They are totally into each other from the first second they meet. I wonder how this played in 1963.

W??hile MoviePass made The 300 possible from a practical standpoint, the seeds were planted years ago while sitting in front of a tiny television watching VHS copies of movies made decades before I was born.

300 of 300: After Life (1998)
(aka ワンダフルライフ; Wandafuru Raifu)

Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Starring: Arata, Erika Oda
Country: Japan
Seen at The Film Society of Lincoln Center (New York, NY)
Monday, November 19th

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s After Life is such a wonderfully humane ugly-cry of a movie, and a fitting 300th film. After dying, you are told that your happiest memory will be recreated on film. This recreated memory will be the only thing you recall for the rest of eternity. The set-up is fantastical, but its exploration and concerns are so grounded. Purgatory is a municipal building, and the people who handle and process these cases are a mix of therapist and HR rep. After Life is all about ?the moments that make life worthwhile, and many of them are tiny, private, so achingly human.

This is formally unlike the other Kore-eda movies I’ve seen, and often feels more like a documentary rather than a narrative feature. The people playing the recently departed were mostly non-actors interviewed about their own lives. The interviews with the people are carried out with simplicity, and their unscripted responses make it seem like conversations with an older relative. The essence of these treasured memories is the specificity of detail—the flavor or smell of the world, a turn of phrase, a fine distinct?ion in the quality of sensation. One perso??n remembers the sun on his skin as an infant, but its warmth was soft; not the summer sun, but the autumn sun. A WWII veteran recalls intense hunger and how delicious rice could be with just a little salt. The fact that some of these interview subjects have passed away in real life adds a greater poignancy to their memories. In real life, they got to live some version of the film’s fictional process.

Amid this human beauty, After Life is also an oddly affecting workplace drama. As we learn about the people who interview a??nd recreate these memories, we become attached to them. They question why they do their job, and why any of this matters, which seems like this larger commentary about the existential strife of social workers, counselors, and artists. What is their job but to listen and interpret. It’s a process of receptive empathy, coaxing out the hidden joys from a person’s life to remind them that life was worth living. Extended to the purpose of writers or filmmakers, maybe the point is to share and create joy for others, and part of that is revealing a fundamental interconnectedness between people, places, and things. Everything might matter, even just for a moment; what a joy to remember that wonderful instant of your own life, which is contingent on everything else going on in the world and the lives o??f others.

After Life invites the audience to ponder their own happiest memories, and consider the difficulties of picking ??just one, or if there is even one thing worth picking. There’s always at least one.

I cried a lot during this movie—I’m embarrassingly? crying in a cafe as I type this out—but there’s one shot that got me in particular. There’s?? a screening room where the deceased assemble to watch their recreated memories. These people that we have come to know in the film sit in the dark facing the screen. Kore-eda situates the camera at the front of the screening room, as if they are facing us, the audience watching them. The movie screen is the membrane between our world and the cinematic world, real life and the afterlife, the present and the past, the self and the other.

We are together in the dark, sharing a memory.

The post The 300 Week 46: I Have ??Watched 300 Movies in Theaters in 2018, Mission Accomplished appeared first on Destructoid.

When beards get serious, Kurt Russell gets seriouser

Every November a movement occurs in which people raise funds to help support those battling cancer by not shaving. There's No-Shave November where folks are encouraged to put down the razor and instead donate the month's shaving funds to cancer research or to those in need of financial assistance as they go through chemotherapy. Then there's Movember, where the focus is on letti??ng that beautiful upper lip hair grow to help raise awareness surrounding prostate and testicular cancer, as well as suicide. 

While none of the staff at Flixist are manly enough to grow any facial hair at all, in honor of this facially focused month, we are celebrating our favorite perfectly groomed beards, mustaches, and Fu Manchus as seen throughout cinema. To kick things off, I present to you the only true greatest face fluff: Kurt Russell in Hateful Eight. 

"Grizzled" is the best word to describe John "The Hangman" Ruth. His mustache only amplifies his demeanor as he rides to claim the bounty of the recalcitrant Daisy Domergue. Ruth's gloriously overflowing whiskers portend his internal attitude. He's over-confident and direct,?? not one to shy away from confrontation or be the one to instigate it. He commands attention and the free-flowing facial fur only bolsters the respect he feels he deserves. In a movie with gruff outlaws and death hiding around the corner, Ruth's mustache has a je ne sais quoi that just simply fits the bounty hunter's aura. 

The Amazing Mustache Gary (Final Space) - Sian Francis-Cox

Gary is a prisoner aboard the Galaxy One, a lonely spacecraft drifting through the void. Serving a 5-year sentence for destroying 92 star cruisers at a Mexican family restaurant (in an effort to impress the beautiful but aloof pilot Quinn) - well, life isn’t really going great for him. But when he meets Mooncake, a glorious lil’ gumball of love of an alien, who happens to be a planet-destroyer and hunted by an ev?il overlord, things start to heat up. And in order to face what lies ahead, Gary has to face what’s inside himself.

What’??s inside himself happens to be The Amazing Mustache Gary, an infinitely superior imaginary iteration of Gary with a rich, thick, luscious mustache. He knows it. He flaunts it. He even has a tiny little comb to keep it clean. A comb! The Amazing Must?ache Gary perfectly embodies everything Gary wants to be in life, everything he knows he must live up to, everything he’s not. It’s a moment of clarity, an identity epiphany for Gary: realizing he’s only human, and can only be the Gary he is right now, mustache or no mustache.

It’s profound. It’s inspiring. And it’s what gets Gary ready to face the ultimate evil. All I can say is that Ola?n Rogers will have my undying affection for bringing The Amazing Mustache Gary into existence.

All of The Dude's Hair (The Big Lebowski) - Drew Stuart

Long, flowing, dirty blonde hair. A goatee, quite unkempt. This is The Dude's hairstyle. And it's perfect. To The Dude, it says that he's a go with the flow kind of guy. He's down to see your band next Friday, and he doesn't even need to know what vices your lead singer has. On the other hand, he's a slacker. A loser. A halfwit. A numbskull. That's all well and good too. It's the kind of hair tha??t fits in with a T-shirt or a robe. With a desecrated rug. With anything, man....

The Dude's hair is so iconic because of how ubiquitous it is. Everyone knows The Dude. We've all met him, in his many different forms. And his goatee, his lon??g flowing locks, are a dead giveway for someone who'd prefer a??nything but The Eagles.

The Entire Cast of Tombstone's Upper Lips (Tombstone) - Rick Lash

The wild, wild west. Whiskey. Dust. Gunfights. Gold! Ranches. Cattle. Whiiiiiiiiiskey. And mustaches, the deadliest mustaches that e’er lived. Sure, Tombstone is about the boom and bust mining town of the 19^th century, made singularly famous by the Gun Fight at the O.K. Corral involving both Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. But more so, it’s about a civilization built around facial ornamentation backed up with cold steel and hot lead. In a world where tempers ran high, fueled by a ne’er ending pools of whiskey, a man could be judged not by his word?? or moral fiber, but by the machismo, pomp, and circumstance of his whiskers.

Think on it. Every desperado, miner, card shark, bartender and cowboy in this film is adorned with face fungus most prominent. These soup-strainers are wild, mild or organized rank and file. The face lace comes in all varieties, but their mannerisms mean, serious, deadly and don’t fuck with me. When a man cross??ing the street was as likely to have a gunfight as reach the other side, one’s nose bug was the first line of defense in deterring the riffraff. Sure, the pistol in your hand sent a m?essage, but your finely trimmed (or careless and unkempt) flavor saver backed it up. 

Henry Cavill's Million Dollar Mustache (Mission: Impossible—Fallout, Justice League) - Chris Compendio

Anyone who knows me well will likely not be surprised that I am still far too obsessed over this absurdity. Any cultured moviegoer will remember the predicament that ensued as a result of reshoots for Justice League and production of Mission: Impossible—Fallout, with Henry Cavill starring in both. Cavill sported facial hair for the latter film, and the Superman we know does not sport any as such. A compromise between Justice League studio Warner Bros. and Mission studio Paramount had Cavill, facial hair and all, perform as Superman, with said facial hair being removed in post-production. The results were d?elightfully eerie, with Cavill looking like he was suffering from severe allergies at points, and at some angles, appearing as an accidental John Travolta.

It's all funny on its own, but what makes the story more beautiful is the fact that Paramount reportedly declined Warner's offer of having Cavill's face shaven and covering the costs of having CGI facial hair, which theoretically was more practical and cheaper, not to mention it probably would have looked better. But no, the stache had to stay, because... the facial hair was important to Cavill's character? I can only imagine Paramount executives trying to stifle their snickers while on a conference call with Warner Bros., and I'd like to think that this was a deliberate act of sabotage against Justice League, not that it needed that one more thing to make that film even worse. Having seen, reviewed, and loved Fallout, I couldn't tell you why the facial hair was essential for Cavill's character of August Walker, but I guess it helped me to differentiate this character from Superman and his Man from U.N.C.L.E. secret agent character. Cavill is a monster in this film, a hulking? cannonball of testosterone, so in a way, perhaps it was essential.

Still, Warner Bros. c?ould have saved a lot of money if they just gave Superman a mustache.

Cesar Romero and The Original Superhero Mustache Coverup (Batman) - Matthew Razak

Chris is way off base with his pick and that's because of the simple fact that Henry Cavill's mustache controversy was simply a pale reflection of the original superhero mustache kerfuffle. You see, back when the Batman TV series was casting its Joker the producers wanted Cesar Romero, he of the debonair looks and iconic mustache. It's a bit of casting that on its face value seemed off as Romero was a Hollywood heartthrob (Sound familiar?). Romero agreed to play The Joker, but he refused to shave off that se?xy mustache. The solution? Paint over the thing. 

Here's the difference between captain digital-no-stache up there, and Romero's Joker: the unshaved mustache fit perfectly into the wonderfully odd and campy production that was both the Adam West Batman TV show and Batman movie. The white mustache is the perfect metaphor for the show's deadpan delivery of its unique brand of insanity. Not that we'd know it, but had the Joker not had a mustache he would have been less than, normal, run-of-the-mill. Romero's giggling and?? manic interpretation of the clown prince of crime was good, but it was the not-so-hidden mustache that pushed it into true camp. How was this their solution to this problem? The answer, it turns out, is because it was the right one. For that, it is clearly the single greatest piece of facial hair known to any screen.

Groucho Marx’s Greasepaint Mustache (Marx Brothers films) - Hubert Vigilla

The best cinematic facial hair doesn’t need to be real. Groucho Marx’s iconic mustache is as fake as a three-dollar bill, but that’s by design. It’s facial hair that plays to the cheap seats, which were all paid for with three-dollar bills (I’ll tell you, that millionaire theater owner is going to become a thousandaire in no time, and a hundredaire by the time I get through with him.). The thick greasepaint mustache was pure serendipity?. Groucho didn’t have time to put on a real fake-mustache before a vaudeville show. As a quick fix, he painted on a fake mustache, and a legendary look was born. Throughout the Marx Brothers’ classic films, the stache was all greasepaint, all the time. Later in life, Groucho Marx would grow a real mustache, which could be seen clearly from the cheap seats as long as those seats were near a TV.

The Groucho Marx look is so i?conic that it gave birth to Groucho Glasses. You know what they are: thick-rimmed glasses, fake eyebrows, fake schnozz, and a real fake-mustache. These ubiquitous tchotchkes allowed normal folks to become the snarky, quip-a-minute nogoodnik we all know and love. Groucho Glasses also gave bank robbers who don’t ha?ve time for greasepaint a handy disguise that could be purchased at the nearest Cracker Barrel for a crisp three-dollar bill.

Mr. Turtle and the Complete Lack of Hair (The Master of Disguise) - Bradley Sexton

This entire topic was a trick question if you ask me because clearly, no hair is the best kind of facial hair. Why waste valuable time maintaining an ugly, itchy tuft of facial hair when you could have a smooth, clean look and a strong jawli?ne to boot. No, facial hair gets in the way of the golden ratio faces we expect our stars and starlets to have.

This is why Dana Carvey as Mr. Turtle is the perfect type of facial hair. Not only does he not have a beard or mustache, but he doesn't have any hair at all! Sure, he may be the most unfunny, obnoxious character in a movie that perfected unfunny, obnoxious characters, but look at the shine on his head. You could fry an egg on top of that thing or rattle off a sick bongo solo. If he had hair, this scene would be stupid, u??gly and dumb instead of just stupid and dumb.

Pei Mei's Legendary Fu Manchu (Kill Bill) - Jesse Lab

It stuns me how we've gotten to the final entry on this list, yet no one decided to talk about Pei Mei and his legendary facial hair?! It may not have cost millions of dollars, but I would argue that there is no better facial hair in existence than Pei Mei's glorious stache. I'm tempted? to not even call it a stache since there's a nice long white tendril growing down from his chin. In my books, Pei Mei has the best mustache as well as the best beard. 

And then you have his glorious beard/stache flip. Let me set the scene for you. The Bride travels across the world to be trained by Pai Mei, creator of the Five Fingered Death Punch. When she meets him, he berates her and then promptly kicks her ass. Bu??t that's nothing compared to... the flip. Laughing at her face, Pai Mei gently strokes his Fu Manchu and gives it a solid flip up, giving it just a few seconds of hang time to really rub it in her face. His mustache and beard combo became the cinematic definition of badass facial hair. It's a look that can only exist on screen, never in real life. THAT'S a movie mustache.

The post The grea?test facial hair to ever grace a screen belongs to Kurt Russell appeared first on Destructoid.

It will be available as a 100-min ad to The LEGO Movie 2 trailer

As if the news of the second LEGO Movie couldn’t get any better, YouTube has teamed up with Warner Bros. for a Black Friday publicity move, streaming The LEGO Movie for free this week - for one day only! On the back of yesterday’s rel?ease of the full trailer, the team-up is a promotional stirring up hype for the sequel, which wil??l be released in February.

According to The Verge, The LEGO Movie in its entirety will be accessible via a trailer for the LEGO Movie 2: by clicking a secondary option once you've hit play, you'll be able to watch the&?nbsp;whole thing for free??. Because the movie will be playing as an ad, it won’t feature any additional ads. Awesome!

As well as encouraging users to sign up for music and video subscriptions, YouTube has already been offering a handful of Hollywood releases in a s??imilar fashion. Uploaded by YouTube Movies, a number of movies come under the ‘Free to Watch’ banner. These ‘Free ?With Ads’ movies are good to know about - however, as the name implies, all of these movies feature ads throughout.

This is what makes Friday’s streaming event stand out - since the movie itself will be playing as an ad, there'll be no annoying popups. You might argue that The LEGO Movie is a giant advertising stunt for the entire LEGO conglomerate, and you’d be correct. But I'm not complaining. I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's one of the most wholesome kids' franchises out there. As well as fantastic casting, the writing is near-perfect, and I genuinely still get caught out by that Star Wars cameo despite the fa?ct that the movie's nearly five years old and I've seen it a hundred times.

Besides, this new advertising model - angling movies as ads, so as to slide in a bit of pre-release publicity - could have the added benefit of catching up new viewers and getting them invested before the release of the sequel. Though why? anyone wouldn't have wanted to see it yet, I don't know.

The LEGO Movie ??;will be available on YouTube from midnight PST on November 23rd, until midnight PST on November 24th.

YouTube Will Stream The LEGO Movie Fre??e as an Ad for the Sequel [The Verge]

The post Watch The ?LEGO Movie on YouTube for free this Friday appeared first on Destructoid.

The deepest piece of media that also has the floss dance

There probably isn't a more recognizable movie formula than the one in Disney animated films. They take familiar stories, myths, and general concepts, create a light-hearted story with some basic virtues and life lessons, and probably throw in some musical numbers and dead parents. I've usually been lukewarm towards Disney's recent computer animated efforts, but I have to admit that Wreck-It Ralph won me over. I was definitely worried about the sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet, yet somehow, someway I ended up liking this film even mor?e.

My worry before I actually sat down to see it was that it might not actually be about anything. While we're on the subject of basic virtues, the first movie was about having a sense of belonging and breaking out of your roles and habits, while also being a familiar tale of what it means to be a hero. Disney doesn't usually make theatrical animated sequels (most of those straight-to-video sequels and prequels are garbage and don't count), and from the trailers, I was afraid that this film would be a shallow effort to double as a Disney rendition of Ready Player One.

However, Ralph Breaks the Internet affected me emotionally at a similar level that many classic Disney animated movies do. The movie houses a really great story that has the potential to teach young, developing children how to?? deal with toxicity in close friendships.

Ralph Breaks the Internet
Director: Rich Moore and Phil Johnston
Release Date: November 21, 2018
Rating: PG

The friendship between Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) drives every single aspect of the film's plot. Six years after the first film, the two have reached a fun daily routine, but Vanellope is beginning to feel the repetition. Wanting to live up to his title as Vanellope's best friend and hero, Ralph attempts to make things better by building a new track in Vanellope's Sugar Rush arcade racing game, and while it is fun in the short term, Ralph's actions inadvertently cause the arcade game's steering wheel to break off, leading to the unp?luggi?ng of the game and forcing all its inhabitants to abandon their home.

I was already surprised by how much I was able to chew on from the get-go. ??The well-written dialogue is able to convey a very real and relatable back-and-forth feeling about the monotony of daily life—Vanellope wants something new and fresh, but now ?without her game, she has no routine to depend anymore, leading to aimlessness and depression. Not to mention, the loss of the game is a very explicit metaphor for homelessness and unemployment.

And because Ralph sees himself as the best friend and hero, he takes Vanellope on a journey, via the arcade's newly installed wi-fi, and into the Internet in a quest to somehow retrieve a new steering wheel from eBay. Again, I held concerns—I was afraid that this would then turn into The Emoji Movie. Save for a few moments and some g?ripes, I was impressed.

As nice as they were in the first movie, I was happy that supporting characters Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer) and Calhoun (Jane Lynch) are sidelined for the most part. Nothing against those characters, but the fact that the film never cuts to their subplots and instead features ei??ther Ralph and/or Vanellope in nearly every single scene gives the film non-stop momentum. In their place are some new video game and internet-based supporting characters.

These new pals provide some fun personality quirks and vocal performances, with the cast of characters including Double Dan (Alfred Molina) as basically a spammer from the dark web, impulsive autocorrecting search engine KnowsMore (Alan Tudyk, a staple in modern Disney animated films), and BuzzTube (a fictional YouTube competitor) algorithm, Yesss (Taraji P. Henson). We also get a whole group from Slaughter Race, a grimdark, brown, fictional online racing game that felt like a cross between Twisted Metal, Mad Max, and the Fast & Furious films. Led by Shank (Gal Gadot), this game presents both a neat little car chase scene and an interesting story dilemma. Vanellope, wanting some variety in her life, is attracted to the freedom provided in Slaughter Race—not to mention th???at it's an online game that receives constant updates.

That aspect of comparing older arcade cabinets to evolving online video games is a clever tool in the film's depiction of the internet, but to be quite honest, the film isn't that creative with everything else. Interpreting the internet as a physical space sort of puts you in a corner, as everything will resort to the first, and probably only, idea. eBay is a space for auctions, Twitter is represented by bluebirds chirping out cat pictures on a large tree (and not by a giant cesspool of screaming people), Instagram is an art gallery, and so on. Product placement in films can be annoying, even if it does make sense in a movie like this. To nitpick, however, I was confused about why "BuzzTube" is used when YouTube is mentioned and seen in the film. But to give the film credit, Ralph Breaks the Internet gives t??he information superhighway (which along with "world wide web" was thankfully never said here) a nice, futuristic, clean, tactile feel—the ideas may not be original, but at least everything looks nice.

To summarize that part, it's more literal in an Osmosis Jones-sense and less abstract and wild like Inside Out.

I do wish, though, that the film spent more time dealing with internet toxicity and cyberbullying, as this film is an opportunity to impart life lessons about those issues to children. Of course, I didn't expect the film to depict Reddit, 4chan, or any civil discourse you would see on social media, and there definitely weren't any references to porn here (unless I missed something super subtle—Disney can do this sometimes). Besides a really, really, brief scene involving a BuzzTube comment section (the virtue taught here was "don't read the comments section" and "only care what your friends think"), Ralph Breaks the Internet totally dodges online negativity. In this bright metropolis of the internet, there are no dark alleys in between, ??and no skeletons in the closet from real-life problematic online institutions.

The film has an extremely optimistic and utopian view on the internet—seeing it through the eyes of Ralph and Vanellope makes it seem new and magical, where all your needs are met. While I wish that the film took some more responsibility in reminding kids that there are bad things online that aren't just in the "deep web," I also get that Disney probably wouldn't want scenes with Neo-Nazis yelling on Twitter or an Alex Jones parody on BuzzTube, or whatever. Instead, what we get are numerous references and jokes about online memes. Your mileage will vary with these—I found some gags to be quite funny, while I imagine that people will cringe at others. I heard some people groan when Yesss showed a BuzzTube clip that showed a split second of a Fortnite battle bus. And yes, Ralph flosses in one scene. With so many mentions of cat videos, the film feels like a collection of every joke from and about the internet from the ?past decade, now in a mainstream Disney fil??m.

Speaking of Disney films and references, there isn't too much to talk about the "Disney fansite" sequence in Ralph Breaks the Internet, since, despite being a focus in trailers, it takes up so little screen time in the film itself. It's relatively inoffensive, and fans of Star Wars, the MCU, and Pixar will perhaps get a small chuckle and smile from the handful of jokes these universes present. The musical score by Henry Jackman actually blends in musical themes and styles from these other properties quite well during key moments. The Disney Princesses scene is a fun watch, albeit one spoiled by trailers already, like the moment where these pri??ncesses (almost all of them voiced by their original voice actresses) basically deconstruct the gender roles, tropes, and story formula of classic Disney films. Way to stick it to yourself, Disney? While the scene felt out of place at first, they do give Vanellope some essential advice that drives her motivation for the rest of the story.

And that brings us back to the main theme of the film. Amidst all of the internet nonsense, the very core of the story, as mentioned, is the friendship between Ralph and Vanellope. They are of course already best buds after the end of the first film, but their relationship is challenged by a very real and relatable scenario. Ralph is comfortable with the routine of the old arcade while Vanellope wants to break out into something new. What happens when two friends have these conflicting feelings? Is ??Ralph, as the best friend and Vanellope's "hero" entitled to a??nything from her? 

Without giving too much away about the final act, the film cleverly tackles mental health in close, interpersonal relationships, namely the insecurity of individuals that hamper these relationships. This insecurity may cause one of the parties to force security, trapping the other into staying in the friendship—which as y'all should know, is unhealthy and bad. Conflicting desires eventually lead to sabotage, but thankfully, the film veers away from any of the characters straight-up gaslighting each other. The story also utilizes Vanellope's chronic "glitching" in an interesting thematic way—I always thought that it was a metaphor for disability in the first film, but when the theme of insecurity arrives in the second film, it turns more into a metaphor for anxiety. And? no, I'm not looking too much into a "kid's movie," because the characters literally talk about most of this stuff. I really appreciated how the film handled this, and without airing out my personal history for the sake of your sanity, I wish I had it when I was a kid.  

What results is a Disney film that slightly differs by having its virtues about the micro rather than the macro—Ralph Breaks the Internet doesn't have much to say about the internet, and by extension, society at large. It isn't about conformity, acceptance, or the like, but rather just about how two people can be respectful and friendly towards each other. While many references may not age well, the universal personal themes will remain timeless. Ralph Breaks the Internet won't mak?e everyone laugh out loud constantly (dare I say "lol" in a professional review), but audiences may be surprised by how deep it is by the end. Just ?prepare yourself for when the movie turns from "ha, the internet is so weird and quirky!" into a group therapy session.

The post Review: Ralph Breaks the Internet appeared first on Destructoid.

They are all fantabulous

Warner Bros. has just announced the full title for the upcoming Cathy Yan directed Birds of Prey film. Instead of keeping things simple, we now have a gigantic run-on sentence to contend with. When shopping for the Blu-ray in the future, make sure to ask for Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn),? otherwise, you might be leavi??ng with a nature documentary.

That last part won't be happening for a bit, as the film is scheduled to hit theaters in February of 2020. That should give Warner Bros. enough time to think of a better title because the current one is hot trash. Since no one figured to keep thing short and sweet, I decided to ?come up with a b?unch of alternate titles to show that naming a film doesn't need to be convoluted.

Here are my five best attempts.

Harley Quinn is the Star

Short, sweet and to the point, this title would even play into the fact that everyone wanted Harley to be the breakout character from Suicide Squad. It also makes perfect sense in that Harley is a little narcissistic, so she would clearly name a?? film about her like this.

Harley the Maverick

Instead of being too on the nose with something like Solo Harley, you could rip open that thesaurus of yours and pick a sexier sounding word. Since being a maverick is all about breaking out on your own, why not title the film after what is clearly happening here? Harley is going out on her own without the Squad and she's gonna cause some mayhem. It just plain works.

Harley Quinn

How was this not the first title anyone thought of? The film is a movie about Harley Quinn, starring Harley Quinn and being used as a vehicle to push Harley Quinn. I know the Birds of Prey comic is about more than her, but clearly, this movie is going to have Margot Robbie be the main star. How about just name the film after her and use it as a way to kickstart her own series.

Villainess

This one is easy to figure out. Harley Quinn is a woman and a villain: using the female version of that word sounds sexy, conveys the intention of the film and describes the main character. The only reason I wouldn't use this is that a Korean film with basi??cally the same name exists, but that hasn't stopped similarly named movies from coming out before.

We're Sorry for Suicide Squad

I know this one has basically no chance in hell of being official, but it would go a long way for making up for the disaster that is Suicide Squad. The film may have won an Oscar for costume design, but it had a lot of untapped potential and poorly utilized stars doing exceptionally boring stuff. Even ?Harley's role in the film was underused. Just get the apology out of the way.

Warner Bros. Pictures [Twitter]

The post Here are five better names for the so?lo Harley Quinn movie appeared first on Destructoid.

This lion ain't cowardly

Get your kicks with this contest: Win a Blu-ray copy of Lionheart.

It's new release Tues?day, which means we're continuing our streak of giving away great Blu-rays from our friends at MVD Entertainment. Today's release isn't exactly new; in fact, it's part of the?? MVD Rewind series. But still, who doesn't love 90s action flicks?

Break out your ultra-tight jeans and get ready to get a very high kick from a very small man -- win a copy of Lionheart starring the one and only Jean-Claude Van Damme!

When his brother gets set on fire by some street toughs (fucking really), Lyon Gaultier (fucking really) flees from his outpost in the French Foreign Legion (fucking really) to join the high-stakes world of illegal sportfighting (fucking really) to raise the funds to fix his brother's bur??ned and charred body (fucking really). Fun fact: Van Damme co-wrote this film. Take from that what you will. Either way there's a guitar solo blaring over JCVD doing high kicks on really big dudes, so just kick back and soak in all the 9??0s action movie goodness.

The 2-di??sc special edition comes with a ton of bonus features, including some interviews with Jean-Claude himself, who is allegedly notorious for being unwilling to do special features for his movies. If you were a man of his literary genius, you'd be unwilling to talk about your writing, too.

To enter to win, come up with ??your own batshit movie plot for JCVD to star in. For instance:

After finding out his diabetic uncle Mortimer has been given a large bowl of Fruity Pebbles as part of a sinister plot to take over the world, Reek Breakwind (Jean-Claude Van Damme) must infiltrate NASA to steal their top-secret research in order to find a cure for his family and stop the Russians from launching a nuclear missile headed for Mars. Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in: The Winds of War.

We have two Blu-ray copies of the film to give out. Winners will be drawn on Monday, November 26. Since th??ese are physical prizes, you must have a United States shipping address in order to win. Make sure to comment using a Dtoid account with your current email address o??n file. If I can't email you, I can't send you hilariously 90s action movies.

Lionheart is available from MVD Entertainment. Head over to Flixist for more chances to win!

The post Contest: Win a Blu-ray copy of Van Damme’s Lionheart appeared first on Destructoid.

Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil, with swords

If for whatever reason you've been following the production of the Monster Hunter movie, there is plenty to be worried about. The Resident Evil film husband-and-wife team of leading actress Milia Jovovich and writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson are adapting the video game franchise to the big screen, and set photos from Jovovich featuring militaristic uniforms and present-day weaponry have raised concerns that this will be Monster Hunter in name only.

Have no fear, Ong-Bak star Tony Jaa in full Monster Hunter re?galia is here!

Jaa is portraying "The Hunter," while Jovovich is Captain Natalie Artemis, one of several members of a United Nations military team who is transported into an alternate dimension through a portal. Artemis, as seen in the tweet embedded below, is wielding a slinger, while the Hunter carries a Giant Jawblade. The premise of the film will have this team, along with Jaa's character presumably, defend the portal to prevent monsters from invading our world. Ron Perlman and T.I. have also been cast in this film as "Admiral" and "Link" respecti??vely.

Your first look at #MonsterHunterMovie 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/x4B7fXYypH

— Sony (@Sony) November 20, 2018

I fully expect this movie to be a fucking mess, and I'm all for it. Too many video game films are mediocre to the point of being utterly boring, but with something that is pure cheese like Anderson's Resident Evil films or his Mortal Kombat fi?lm, at least some entertainment can be siphoned from the expe?rience.

The premise certainly seemed ridiculous enough—instead of being a direct adaptation of any particular game (unless I missed the Monster Hunter game where you use an assault rifle), this sounds more like a (possibly accidental) homage to Stargate. Here's hoping that Monster Hunter will emulate the first-person shooter sequence of the Doom film just to really go all out. Maybe Anderson will take a page from Monster Hunter: World and put menus all over the screen.

No release date is set for Monster Hunter yet, but as you might have likely gathered by now, I am compelled to share the same Resident Evil clip every time Paul W.S. Anderson is mentioned.

The post Monst?er Hunter movie first look actually has a monster hunter appeared first on Destructoid.

For the last time, arrows are not bullets

Thanks to being in the realm of public domain, the Robin Hood story has quite the storied history in movies. Robin Hood was the first WB film to use technicolour. It got the Disney treatment. Russell Crowe, doing as he always does, worked his magic and turned it into a boring snoozefest (Bradley has been fired for not mentioning Kevin Kostner - Ed.). There's a lot of wiggle room is what I'm saying; take a tried? ??and true story and outfit it with a sleek coat of paint.

This year's Robin Hood does not do that. Astoundingly, this movie does almost nothing new and definitely nothing interesting or unique. This movie fails spectacularly on almost every level. In fact, if this movie had a way to screw up the pretty face of Taron Egerton, there would be literally nothing redeeming about it. This slog was so boring to sit through I felt m??y inner apathetic teenager rise from the grave to give it a long groan.

Robin Hood (2018)
Director: Otto Bathurst
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: November 21, 2018

To the aliens posin?g as humans who have not yet learned our ways, the tale of Robin Hood is simple: he steals from the rich an??d gives to the poor. The evil, greedy Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn) is always trying to stop our fare Robin Hood, but his just cause galvanizes the peasants to revolt against the corrupt in power.

This version tries, tries, to spice things up by integrating the Crusades more fully into the story. We first witness Robin of Loxley (Egerton) fighting in Arabia, looking like a cheap, medieval recreation of Black Hawk Down. Here the movie takes the only slightly interesting curve in its entire runtime by introducing us to Little John (Jamie Foxx). Instead of b?eing Robin's well-mean?ing sidekick, John is a master bowman and trains Egerton to become Hood. Yes, Hood is the edgy name they decided upon.

Besides that little twist, literally nothing is different. If you've seen any Robin Hood before, the movie follows it beat for beat minus a throwaway plot about a corrupt cardinal. Everything in this movie is telegraphed miles away, including the dialogue. Most of the time even bad movies try to have subtext and symbolism if you read between the lines, but that's too complicated for Robin Hood. Every conversation is so o?n the nose, ??so dull and vapid, I cannot remember a single line.

Now to be fair, this is an action movie, so the script can be forgiven for its total lack of substance. Spectacularly, Robin Hood has the courage to screw up the fights too. Right out of a knockoff Bourne movie, the camera seems more preoccupied with shaking around than filming anything. It actually is a shame because the bow combat teased in the trailers could have been interesting, like a Hawkeye movie if everyone didn't inexplicably hate him. I beg you: take any and all hate you ha?ve towards Hawkeye and channel it into th??is movie.

Nothing is interesting. They take the immense talent of Jamie Foxx (Django, for goodness sake!), and have him sit on the sidelines. Framed to be such a cool badass in the first action scene, he does next to nothing else for the rest of the movie besides train Robin and hurl vague morals at the screen. Egerton as Robin fares even worse because he has so much more dialogue. More awful, awful dialogue. My man crush on Egerton has already been documented on this site, but even my most generous critique of ?his performance could be summed up as a 30-minute fart noise.

There's really, truly nothing in this movie. There's a very half-hearted love triangle with Egerton's ??love interest Marian having married while Robin was in Arabia, but the third guy quickly becomes a thing the movie can point at to show how Robin is right. Nothing has depth. The Sheriff of Nottingham has this bizarre rant against Arabia to rally up support for a tax bill that is pulled right from our modern day xenophobic handbook, and it only exists to prove his badness to the audience.

Badness is a good way to describe what Robin Hood excels at. A clunky sounding word, this movie doesn't deserve more complex adjectives to describe its failure on almost every level. I say almost because Egerton is still gorgeous and t?here were some neat landscape shots, but make no mistake, this is a very, very, very bad movie. At this point I'm looking forward to the next movie retelling the tale of Robin Hood just to see if it can somehow be worse than this one.

The post Review: Robin Hood appeared first on Destructoid.

Enjoy the dragons while you can

News surrounding the Game of Thrones prequel had been sparse since the pilot was ordered but as the final season of the megahit nears, revelations of the new endeavor have become almost quotidian. We know Naomi Watts is set to lead. We know it will take place thousands of years before the curre??nt timeline. We know there's not a lot to know.

One thing we can add to the list of knowns: there will be no Targaryens. And if there's no Targaryens, there very well may be no dragons. In an interview with EW, author George R.R. Martin delves into the prequel, tentatively titled by him as The Long Night. Per Martin's calculations, the show is set to take place 5,000 ye??ars prior to the current timeline, before the time of any true domineering kin?gdoms, and before the rise of the Targaryen family. 

Should you wish for more lore on the historic house, however, Martin has you covered. His Targaryen-centric book entitled Fire & Blood hits stores this week, and covers the lineage of the dragonriders some 300 years before Robert Baratheon took the Iron Throne from the Mad King. While The Long Night may not include fair skin, silver hair, and incestual blood, the op??tion for their story is open with one of the other ??potential prequels HBO is hoping to line up. 

Of all the houses in the realm, the Targaryens tend to draw the most interest. Nearly wiped out after Robert's Rebellion, fans have seen one killed, one rise to power and another yet to fully realize their lineage. Throw in the special connection with dragons and that just adds to the venerated legacy. Martin has ruled out some speculative stories, but a focus on Valyria and the Targaryen ways would make an obviously smart choice as added fodder for HBO and Martin to keep the GoT fire burning. 

George R.R. Martin gets candid a?bout new book: 'What excites me most ?is I finished it' [EW]

The post We’re gonna miss a major house in the Game of Thrones prequel appeared first on Destructoid.

Creed : Creed II :: Rocky : Rocky II

Rocky is not only one of the greatest sports movies ever, it is one of the greatest films ever. It was a dramatic, gritty, and surprisingly grounded film that redefined the genre, established now common tropes, and basically created the modern sports film. There's a reason it won best picture over Taxi Driver. 

Rocky II took the tropes of the first film, pulled out the guts, and refined them into what we now know as a boxing film, turning the franchise into an enjoyable spectacle instead of a character-centered meditation on fame, toughness, and family. Rocky II does sports movie really well. There's no one who gets to the end of Rocky II and isn't holding their breathe as Apollo Creed and Rocky both try to get up off the mat. There is nothing wrong with Rocky II other than the fact that it isn't Rocky.

There is nothing wrong with Creed II other than the fact that it isn't Creed. 

Creed II
Director: Stephen Caple Jr.
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: November 21, 2018

Creed II picks up sometime after the original film with Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) on top of the world after winning the heavyweight championship with Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) in his corner. However, this stardom has brought a new challenger in the form of Ivan Drago's (Dolph Lundgren) son, Viktor (Florian Munteanu), who has been raised with one goal in mind: revenge on the man who ruined his father's life way back in Rocky IV. Meanwhile, Adonis' now-fiance, Bianca, (Tess??a Thompson) is pregnant and his mother (Phylicia Rashad) is worried about him taking the fight. 

If you're thinking that this sounds a lot more like the latter Rocky films, you're absolutely right, because it is. Unlike Creed, which was a drama coated in a boxing movie this is a boxing movie through and through. The reason Creed succeeded as a reboot of t??he Rocky franchise is because it was less a Rocky film, and more a film on its own.

Director Ryan Coogler brought a raw grittiness to the movie that pulled out Stallone's best performance since the original film and turned Michael B. Jordan into a true superstar. The first film used boxing as a way to discuss grief, loss, race, ??and a myriad of other subtextual subjects, while still giving you the final release that all good sports movies deliver. It was about guy??s getting punched in the face, but what made it special was that between those punches there was more. 

Creed II is pretty much about guys getting punched in the face. There's the trappings of something between the punches, but it's not the point. There's actually some strong bones between those punches, but they're never really executed on. The film clearly wants to look at legacy and fatherhood, and has a great chance to by contrasting the Dragos' rel??ationship with the Rocky/Apollo/Adonis one, but it drops the ball hard on the Viktor Drago plotline. There's an a??ttempt to make both Ivan and Viktor something more than evil Russian punching bags, but it's so half-hearted that the true themes get lost in your desire to see Viktor fall to the mat. The first film would have subtly pulled these threads, turning everyone into well-rounded characters, this film just gets you pumped for the last boxing sequence, its dramatic themes strewn around in the cheering crowd.

The movie also dodges around the social issues that Creed so wonderfully handled. In fact it dodges around almost any issue at all. Considering the fact that Rocky IV was basically Cold War propaganda at its finest, it's stunning to see that Creed II doesn't even pretend to discuss the current relations between Russia and the U.S. The film completely ignores any and all modern day politics or social issues in favor of telling a boxing story in a social vacuum. The closest it gets to saying anything about anything is Adonis Creed wearing black American flag sho??rts in the final fight, which may or may not be a nod to current issues in America, but I'd lean towards them just thinking it looked cool.

And now that I've complained about Creed II's lack of ability to live up to its forefather and its complete and total lack of social awareness, I have to say this isn't technically a bad thing. Sometimes a sports movie is just a sports movie, and Creed II is a damn enjoyable movie, as most of the Rocky films are for various reasons. It's cram full of sports training montages, moments that make you sit on the edge of your seat, and performances that deliver the emotional and physical punch when you need them to. Not that it's a hard feat to get the audience excited when you've got the Rocky theme blaring and two boxers going toe-to-toe, but Creed II does it admirably. 

It does this mostly through cliche and tried and true practices. Director Steven Caple Jr. is far more interested in making the film look stunning than he is in taking risks as his predecessor did. This makes for a visually sumptuous film, full of training montages that are often breathtaking to behold, but lack the groundedness of the original. The final montage, an inverse homage to Rocky IV's mountain climbing epicness, is especially striking in its visual direction, while being nearly as ridiculous as the scene that influenced it. Caple isn't quite as adept as others as keeping the in-ring action fluid, but he does a quality job. He's turned Creed into a blockbuster, an??d there's nothing wrong with that.

Stal??lone, Jordan, and the rest of the cast seem to know this as well. Th??eir performances aren't bad, but the heart and soul they pulled out of themselves for the last film seems to have drifted away. Stallone delivers his emotional monologues this time around as, well, emotional monologues. Jordan's Adonis seems more like a character than the real person he was in the first film, and Lundgren isn't given enough to work with to know if he's there or not.

Muntenau is probably the most surprising performance as the boxer delivers sadly limit??ed turn that still shows surprising emotional range for?? having almost no lines. Still, everything is taken up to that "sports movie" level where every moment is larger than life. It doesn't help that the screenplay is set up more like a traditional sports film, with dialog that can be clunky and scenes simply building to the next boxing match.

But I've started complaining again when I really shouldn't be. Creed II is an entirely enjoyable, well-crafted, well-directed, well-acted sports film. If Creed did not exist you'd come out of it having enjoyed a new Rocky film, and thinking that it was on par with what the franchise had become since the original film released. Maybe then the film is actually wildly successful in confronting its themes of the expectations put upon us by our predecessors. Here we have Creed II be??ing criticized because it isn't its "??father."

On any level, you could call Creed II a success, but it was never going to live up to its heritage. Maybe Creed II's true message is that it sho?uldn't really have to.

The post Review: Creed II appeared first on Destructoid.

I knew he wasn't that wholesome

Dennis Quaid has made a career of acting like a wholesome dude that you'd gladly let be a surrogate father to your children. That was clearly all a lie as in the first trailer for The Intruder we see him go full on psychotic against a lovely young couple. Dennise Quaid is a scary human b??eing.

Honestly, if this movie didn't have Quaid in it I wouldn't even be writing this right now. It looks like pretty standard home invasion pap, which can be good, but usually needs something a bit more to make it special (see: You're Next). However, Quaid looks like he's bringing something extra creepy to this, and while my hopes of having some sort of Get Out social themes were dashed pretty quickly by the trailer, it does still ?look like it could be enjoyable just by the sheer weight of creepy Quaid. 

The Intruder releases April 26, 2019. 

The post First trailer for The Intruder co?nvinces me never to al??low Dennis Quaid anywhere near me appeared first on Destructoid.