General Movie Discussion

Rhedosaurus wrote:

Sony Pictures have lost $719 million dollars during the last financial year.

As a wise disco/funk band once sang...Burn baby, burn.

I'm no expert and I don't pretend to be. But when Reddit film was discussing this news today apparently the losses aren't exactly what they seem. Ther was a HUGE debate over this article and I can link if you guys want to read as it was rather fascinating. 

From someone who says they are a accounting grad student. 

Quote :

largely related to a $962M impairment charge of goodwill, which was included in Sony’s full year figures. It said it expected the division to return to profit after the write down.

So while I'm sure Sony is absolutely not doing well by any stretch of the imagination, I think there is always a bigger picture to articles with headlines like this.

I hate to ask. But what movie is this playing in the background at 10 seconds in?

https://youtu.be/K5C9uKDs4Pc

Troyal1 wrote:

I hate to ask. But what movie is this playing in the background at 10 seconds in?

https://youtu.be/K5C9uKDs4Pc

Edge of Tomorrow

It's pretty good actually, one of the only "dumb blockbusters" in the last 5 years that I found enjoyable. The final conformation is somewhat lame but first 3/4 of the film were very solid

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

I hate to ask. But what movie is this playing in the background at 10 seconds in?

https://youtu.be/K5C9uKDs4Pc

Edge of Tomorrow

It's pretty good actually, one of the only "dumb blockbusters" in the last 5 years that I found enjoyable. The final conformation is somewhat lame but first 3/4 of the film were very solid

Thank you! I keep meaning to try it out and i think it's finally time. Especially with the tragic passing of Bill Paxton.

Troyal1 wrote:

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

I hate to ask. But what movie is this playing in the background at 10 seconds in?

https://youtu.be/K5C9uKDs4Pc

Edge of Tomorrow

It's pretty good actually, one of the only "dumb blockbusters" in the last 5 years that I found enjoyable. The final conformation is somewhat lame but first 3/4 of the film were very solid

Thank you! I keep meaning to try it out and i think it's finally time. Especially with the tragic passing of Bill Paxton.

Yeah if you like Groundhog Day, you probably like this as well. Or even if not, it passes as popcorn alien invasion film. There are some surprisingly graphic sequences too, well for what CGI can do anyway

I know there are plenty of people who really dislike Tom Cruise, you know for ego and other reasons, but I think he's a natural actor. Maybe not the best fit looks wise for this particular character, which is basically a big coward at the start, but I nevertheless really like the performance. Emily Blunt was amazing as usual. And poor Bill, I thought this was his most interesting role in like 15 years or something.

It's the only film I ever saw in 3D in theaters btw. Hated it, bring nothing to the table

Francis Ford Coppola doesn't believe that The Godfather would get made today.

Hollywood is waiting if the writers will  go on strike for a 7th time.

It looks like Disney will have serious competition this summer.

Jeremy Renner will play Doc Hoilday in a Western movie.

As for Godfather being made today, I think it would be perfectly possible. There are still good mafia movies made even to today, which look like they were directed in the 70's almost. They are very much more underground, made with modest budget and production, not like the giant dumb blockbusters for masses, but the niche market still exists. Coppola thinks too big here.

Oh and screw Forbes. If I cannot access their articles without disabling adblock, I'm not going to waste time with them and their ads.

The writers strike has been averted.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

The writers strike has been averted.

Talk about a huge relief! The last thing the 2010s needs is a sequel to the summer of 2009 where every summer blockbuster was affected by the Writers' Strike and it really showed.

I'd like to imagine that if the 2007-08 strike had actually never occurred, season 4 of BSG might have been sort of good. Writers being preoccupied and not concentrating is their only possible excuse for that boring, crappy season, with only 2 good episodes.

This talks about why some movies are released internationally first instead of being released in the U.S.A. first.

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

I hate to ask. But what movie is this playing in the background at 10 seconds in?

https://youtu.be/K5C9uKDs4Pc

Edge of Tomorrow

It's pretty good actually, one of the only "dumb blockbusters" in the last 5 years that I found enjoyable. The final conformation is somewhat lame but first 3/4 of the film were very solid

Thank you! I keep meaning to try it out and i think it's finally time. Especially with the tragic passing of Bill Paxton.

Yeah if you like Groundhog Day, you probably like this as well. Or even if not, it passes as popcorn alien invasion film. There are some surprisingly graphic sequences too, well for what CGI can do anyway

I know there are plenty of people who really dislike Tom Cruise, you know for ego and other reasons, but I think he's a natural actor. Maybe not the best fit looks wise for this particular character, which is basically a big coward at the start, but I nevertheless really like the performance. Emily Blunt was amazing as usual. And poor Bill, I thought this was his most interesting role in like 15 years or something.

It's the only film I ever saw in 3D in theaters btw. Hated it, bring nothing to the table

I have never seen Groundhog Day actually lol.

But I LOVED Edge of Tomorrow. So much that I think I'm gonna to order the Blu-Ray. I'm actually a Tom cruise fan big time lol. Always have been.

Troyal1 wrote:

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

I hate to ask. But what movie is this playing in the background at 10 seconds in?

https://youtu.be/K5C9uKDs4Pc

Edge of Tomorrow

It's pretty good actually, one of the only "dumb blockbusters" in the last 5 years that I found enjoyable. The final conformation is somewhat lame but first 3/4 of the film were very solid

Thank you! I keep meaning to try it out and i think it's finally time. Especially with the tragic passing of Bill Paxton.

Yeah if you like Groundhog Day, you probably like this as well. Or even if not, it passes as popcorn alien invasion film. There are some surprisingly graphic sequences too, well for what CGI can do anyway

I know there are plenty of people who really dislike Tom Cruise, you know for ego and other reasons, but I think he's a natural actor. Maybe not the best fit looks wise for this particular character, which is basically a big coward at the start, but I nevertheless really like the performance. Emily Blunt was amazing as usual. And poor Bill, I thought this was his most interesting role in like 15 years or something.

It's the only film I ever saw in 3D in theaters btw. Hated it, bring nothing to the table

I have never seen Groundhog Day actually lol.

But I LOVED Edge of Tomorrow. So much that I think I'm gonna to order the Blu-Ray. I'm actually a Tom cruise fan big time lol. Always have been.

Yeah he's a good actor and been on many of my favorite films, including Eyes Wide Shut first and foremost. It's too bad people often get distracted by his looks and ego...

In terms of Emily Blunt films, I think I'd rate EoT third or fourth, behind Your Sister's Sister and Sicario. And possibly The Devil Wears Prada

Never seen Groundhog Day? What???

I

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

I hate to ask. But what movie is this playing in the background at 10 seconds in?

https://youtu.be/K5C9uKDs4Pc

Edge of Tomorrow

It's pretty good actually, one of the only "dumb blockbusters" in the last 5 years that I found enjoyable. The final conformation is somewhat lame but first 3/4 of the film were very solid

Thank you! I keep meaning to try it out and i think it's finally time. Especially with the tragic passing of Bill Paxton.

Yeah if you like Groundhog Day, you probably like this as well. Or even if not, it passes as popcorn alien invasion film. There are some surprisingly graphic sequences too, well for what CGI can do anyway

I know there are plenty of people who really dislike Tom Cruise, you know for ego and other reasons, but I think he's a natural actor. Maybe not the best fit looks wise for this particular character, which is basically a big coward at the start, but I nevertheless really like the performance. Emily Blunt was amazing as usual. And poor Bill, I thought this was his most interesting role in like 15 years or something.

It's the only film I ever saw in 3D in theaters btw. Hated it, bring nothing to the table

I have never seen Groundhog Day actually lol.

But I LOVED Edge of Tomorrow. So much that I think I'm gonna to order the Blu-Ray. I'm actually a Tom cruise fan big time lol. Always have been.

Yeah he's a good actor and been on many of my favorite films, including Eyes Wide Shut first and foremost. It's too bad people often get distracted by his looks and ego...

In terms of Emily Blunt films, I think I'd rate EoT third or fourth, behind Your Sister's Sister and Sicario. And possibly The Devil Wears Prada

Never seen Groundhog Day? What???

 Yep never seen it!    Also I find that Eyes wide shut is a very underrated film. Loved that too. I really haven't seen Emily Blunt in much of anything besides the Wolfman actually.... but I definitely liked her here.

Cruise has that certain energy and urgency to him when things are happening that I love. Like when he's trying to explain desperately to the team that he is going back in time. 

Unpopular opinions is more suited for this but my favorite role of his is 2005 War of the words. I adore that movie and his acting in it.

Troyal1 wrote:

I

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

Mistral wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

I hate to ask. But what movie is this playing in the background at 10 seconds in?

https://youtu.be/K5C9uKDs4Pc

Edge of Tomorrow

It's pretty good actually, one of the only "dumb blockbusters" in the last 5 years that I found enjoyable. The final conformation is somewhat lame but first 3/4 of the film were very solid

Thank you! I keep meaning to try it out and i think it's finally time. Especially with the tragic passing of Bill Paxton.

Yeah if you like Groundhog Day, you probably like this as well. Or even if not, it passes as popcorn alien invasion film. There are some surprisingly graphic sequences too, well for what CGI can do anyway

I know there are plenty of people who really dislike Tom Cruise, you know for ego and other reasons, but I think he's a natural actor. Maybe not the best fit looks wise for this particular character, which is basically a big coward at the start, but I nevertheless really like the performance. Emily Blunt was amazing as usual. And poor Bill, I thought this was his most interesting role in like 15 years or something.

It's the only film I ever saw in 3D in theaters btw. Hated it, bring nothing to the table

I have never seen Groundhog Day actually lol.

But I LOVED Edge of Tomorrow. So much that I think I'm gonna to order the Blu-Ray. I'm actually a Tom cruise fan big time lol. Always have been.

Yeah he's a good actor and been on many of my favorite films, including Eyes Wide Shut first and foremost. It's too bad people often get distracted by his looks and ego...

In terms of Emily Blunt films, I think I'd rate EoT third or fourth, behind Your Sister's Sister and Sicario. And possibly The Devil Wears Prada

Never seen Groundhog Day? What???

 Yep never seen it!    Also I find that Eyes wide shut is a very underrated film. Loved that too. I really haven't seen Emily Blunt in much of anything besides the Wolfman actually.... but I definitely liked her here.

Cruise has that certain energy and urgency to him when things are happening that I love. Like when he's trying to explain desperately to the team that he is going back in time. 

Unpopular opinions is more suited for this but my favorite role of his is 2005 War of the words. I adore that movie and his acting in it.

Emily Blunt has, within the last year, quickly become my second favorite actor, behind Winona of course it's too bad most of Emily's films aren't that great though, barring in the land of average. I think I've gone through all of them except 13 now? Hopefully couple of those remaining ones are in the quality range of the films I mentioned earlier, which I really liked

She'll be voice acting in the upcoming MLP movie, which is exciting.

That Spielberg War of the Worlds adaptation is something that has REALLY good parts in it, but at the same REALLY terrible IMO, for one specific reason: The kids are possibly the worst I've ever seen in a film. Not in terms of acting, I mean they were both 'fine', you know Dakota and that other brat, but god... their roles make me hate watching the film. The writing... oh my god. It's a shame.

Btw speaking of Edge of Tomorrow, Cruise said a while ago that there should be a sequel at some point? But I think also said it would be a prequel... which I'm not particularly happy about.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

This talks about why some movies are released internationally first instead of being released in the U.S.A. first.

This video actually addressed a recurring question I had for JW2; specifically why it was being released on the 7th of June in the UK versus 22nd June in the USA. I would have imagined Universal would try to pull off another half-billion hat-trick by releasing it globally on the day. But if the sequel proves to be better than its predecessor and generates the right levels of word of mouth, then interest will be sustained before it reaches the States. In other words, a lot of eggs in one relatively safe basket.

I keep forgetting about that damn it. People are complaining about spoilers now.... the whole film will be on a torrent before us in the states get it. That sucks. Global release please.

Back when I was a kid I got to see movies about 6 months after they had hit the theaters elsewhere, because of the lack of film reels circulating the country. Comparative waiting times now are absolutely nothing. (Not that I really go to actual theaters much anymore)

Mistral wrote:

Back when I was a kid I got to see movies about 6 months after they had hit the theaters elsewhere, because of the lack of film reels circulating the country. Comparative waiting times now are absolutely nothing. (Not that I really go to actual theaters much anymore)

But now it's not even about the waiting. It'll be me not having the self control to not want to go online and see a leaked version before I watch in theaters.

And then people everywhere are gonna be talking about the spoilers.

It's just the matter of avoiding the obvious places. Each year I never get to see Le Mans 24 Hours live, so until I get to watch all the recorded sessions and the race on my own time, I avoid the sources probably leaking the info like plague.

And with these movies, unless you go to social media or whatever, you probably aren't getting that spoiled.

I didn't watch Force Awakens for about 9 months after it came out, because I didn't particularly care, and didn't really get spoiled for it as I didn't look into it. If you don't try to get spoiled on purpose, there is a chance it you will avoid it. The only major thing I was aware of TFA before actually watching was the rehashing of New Hope, but that was pretty much expected anyway.

Mistral wrote:

It's just the matter of avoiding the obvious places. Each year I never get to see Le Mans 24 Hours live, so until I get to watch all the recorded sessions and the race on my own time, I avoid the sources probably leaking the info like plague.

And with these movies, unless you go to social media or whatever, you probably aren't getting that spoiled.

I didn't watch Force Awakens for about 9 months after it came out, because I didn't particularly care, and didn't really get spoiled for it as I didn't look into it. If you don't try to get spoiled on purpose, there is a chance it you will avoid it. The only major thing I was aware of TFA before actually watching was the rehashing of New Hope, but that was pretty much expected anyway.

Comparatively, I tried my best to avoid major details for TFA even though I did read a lot of spoilers, and saw it opening night, which was two days later than the UK premiere. While in two separate Twitch streams watching unrelated games, I had one idiot come in and spam the chat with "HAN SOLO DIES" over and over again until they got banned. In the second stream, two different people followed the streamer, and their names popped up. The names "KyloIsBenSolo" and "HanSoloDies". Freaking amazing.

Troyal1 wrote:

I keep forgetting about that damn it. People are complaining about spoilers now.... the whole film will be on a torrent before us in the states get it. That sucks. Global release please.

Guardians of the Galaxy got leaked a week before it's US release because of the international one and I guarantee it's not going to affect it's ticket sales whatsoever. If Jurassic World 2 is good, I mean really good, extremely crappy copies of the movie online isnt going to affect people going to the theaters, they were deadset on going to the theaters to begin with.

TheDreamMaster wrote:

Mistral wrote:

It's just the matter of avoiding the obvious places. Each year I never get to see Le Mans 24 Hours live, so until I get to watch all the recorded sessions and the race on my own time, I avoid the sources probably leaking the info like plague.

And with these movies, unless you go to social media or whatever, you probably aren't getting that spoiled.

I didn't watch Force Awakens for about 9 months after it came out, because I didn't particularly care, and didn't really get spoiled for it as I didn't look into it. If you don't try to get spoiled on purpose, there is a chance it you will avoid it. The only major thing I was aware of TFA before actually watching was the rehashing of New Hope, but that was pretty much expected anyway.

Comparatively, I tried my best to avoid major details for TFA even though I did read a lot of spoilers, and saw it opening night, which was two days later than the UK premiere. While in two separate Twitch streams watching unrelated games, I had one idiot come in and spam the chat with "HAN SOLO DIES" over and over again until they got banned. In the second stream, two different people followed the streamer, and their names popped up. The names "KyloIsBenSolo" and "HanSoloDies". Freaking amazing.

I would classify comments sections on Youtube/Twitch/wherever as social-media-danger-zones to be 100% avoided as well. Especially in the immediate approach + aftermath of premiere.

Dead2009 wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

I keep forgetting about that damn it. People are complaining about spoilers now.... the whole film will be on a torrent before us in the states get it. That sucks. Global release please.

Guardians of the Galaxy got leaked a week before it's US release because of the international one and I guarantee it's not going to affect it's ticket sales whatsoever. If Jurassic World 2 is good, I mean really good, extremely crappy copies of the movie online isnt going to affect people going to the theaters, they were deadset on going to the theaters to begin with.

Oh no I wasn't saying that. I was just saying that it's going to probably be impossible for me not to want to watch one of those. I couldn't even resist the urge to watch the Irex fight one day before I went. I'll still see it and support the movie with my money of course, but I'm bummed knowing I have no self control. And that I'll see a crappy version as my first time. 

JP is just probably my favorite franchise ever. That's why I want the global release. 

Even if I could avoid that temptation, there is no way I can resist staying off the forums and seeing what our British members say lol

Putlocker for the win lol.

Guys I don't mind the discussion of the potential of piracy but let's not talk about where to find them, ok?

At this stage I'd argue that to be well known pop culture reference already more than, you know necessarily actual hint towards anything, but okay

Decided to take this conversation about Universal not being as good of a company as it really is here.

BarrytheOnyx wrote:

Rhedosaurus wrote:

Basically, I see Universal as a company that since 2000, does not have many long term plans and basically throws things to the wall and run with what sticks. If anything else, the only great movie they've made since 2000 was the 2005 King Kong remake, but that was far more Peter Jackson then Universal. Everything else since then has been hit-or-miss. The F&F movie series is basically their Transformers movie franchise. The biggest difference is that at least the Transformers movie series has more interesting stuff-human alien interaction, AI, the old man vs. machine, high tech weapons, history, stuff like that. The F&F series doesn't have that and is far more dumber. And yet, I can't help but think that Universal cares more about that then with the JP franchise.

Which leads me to how they have made mistake after mistake with the franchise since TLW. With JP3, Universal made it for the sake of a JP trilogy and it clearly shows. Not only that, but we all know the faults with that movie. Add in the merry-go-round of scripts, directors, producers, actors/actresses, and release dates, and JW was ultimately a movie that was made for the sake of Universal getting that albatross of it's back. I still like the movie, but I can't deny that it should have been much better then what it was. And let's not forget how they really don't care much about the canon. Hopefully, the first 2 sequels get ensured as canon with JW2/JP5, but if they don't I wouldn't be surprised. Besides, if they do get the rights back, I don't think things will improve. The best thing for the franchise would be to make a trilogy that connects the two trilogies and properly explain a lot of things. I.E. Ret-con the JP3 Spino as a Spino/T. rex hybrid and show 'real' Spinosaurs instead of force feeding the JW Spino skeleton as the JP3 Spino which is what they tried to do. If anything else, I think that they would reboot the whole thing, which would be a wasted opportunity and besides, I would distrust them even more.

I don't think this current business method will last much longer. Besides, once the F&F franchise ends/gets overmilked and if they lose the JP rights, then what else do they have that's a blockbuster? Not much. The Bourne series is kind of a James Bond knockoff and the Monsterverse has had a bad start and was modified quite a bit.


That's my overall take on Universal as of now.

Thanks for the detailed and interesting post.

And yes, the more you look into it the more I feel like the ground beneath Universal feet is nowhere near as steady as most people think it is, even when compared to struggling film studios. Warner Bros had great management for much of the 2000s and it really showed in their high quality output. Disney pulled through their Michael Eisner years in the mid 2000s with competent/lucrative live action blockbusters such as Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure and Narnia after their main animation branch faltered. Now look where they are. What potential there is in a reboot of the Universal Monsters is not being well demonstrated in these marketing pieces for The Mummy, especially since the Brendan Fraser movies are still fresh in people's memory.

You say things won't improve for the JP franchise, even with Bayona directing. Did I miss something? Or would you chalk that up to the films needing better scripts in the future? If James Cromwell's recent interview was anything to go by, things behind the studio walls just might be going smoothly. We still need to see the next film before we can prognosticate the future of the franchise beyond that. Hopefully we'll be on the same page then.

With that said, a prediction I've fostered for a while regarding Universal and Jurassic Park is that once they lose the rights and finish the sequel trilogy, they will probably find another dinosaur/creature/monster property to replace JP. Hypothetically, it would be kinda like how Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer tried to find a replacement for Pirates of the Caribbean with Prince of Persia and The Lone Ranger in which you had similar fantasy/period piece action movies made by the same people. Unfortunately, the chances of said replacement series being well-made and good is a gamble of long odds

Ty mentioned about how Fox is finally trying to get a firm grip on the Alien franchise canon. While better scripts certainly do need to be made, we still need much more. The way I see it, the Jurassic Park franchise needs an specialized branch within Universal, or whoever else gets the rights, to sort everything out. I'll still wait until JW2/JP5 comes out, but if Universal were to get the rights back, I don't believe that they would do so. Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. I would trust far, far, far more. Right now, I see this movie as more Bayona then Universal, since he has shown that he has more power then what Treverrow did via getting more animatronics. Funny how you mention how Universal would try to make a new dinosaur franchise if the lose the rights to Jurassic Park. Other then making unmade dinosaur movies that were planned by Ray Harryhausen or making a movie series out of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel, 'The Lost World'. The problem with the second option is that other then the original 1925 movie and the late 1990's TV show, that movie does not have a good track record via Hollywood. And as for putting the unmade Ray Harryhausen movies on the big-screen, they'd have to find somebody really special like Guillermo del Toro or bring back Peter Jackson, I don't see how it would work. And given how Universal treated Dr. Suess like bullcrap via the movies....yeah....I have my doubts.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

Funny how you mention how Universal would try to make a new dinosaur franchise if the lose the rights to Jurassic Park. Other then making unmade dinosaur movies that were planned by Ray Harryhausen or making a movie series out of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel, 'The Lost World'. The problem with the second option is that other then the original 1925 movie and the late 1990's TV show, that movie does not have a good track record via Hollywood. And as for putting the unmade Ray Harryhausen movies on the big-screen, they'd have to find somebody really special like Guillermo del Toro or bring back Peter Jackson, I don't see how it would work. And given how Universal treated Dr. Suess like bullcrap via the movies....yeah....I have my doubts.

The unmade Ray Harryhausen movies would probably be taken up as passion projects by uber-Harryhausen fans like Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson. I hardly see an unlucky director-for-hire like Louis Leterrier on the Clash of the Titans remake delivering successfully on that count, since that strategy did not pay out well or Warner Bros at all. Hell, if Creation, the movie that King Kong was originally going to be, got made well then we'd have something since that was based on the Land That Time Forgot book series from Edgar Rice Burroughs. A thousand bonus points if it happened to feature stop-motion dinosaurs!

The Arthur Conan Doyle 'Lost World' is not something I would see as franchise material, so much as a standalone film that was made to properly represent/update the book and 1925 silent film.

Another, more recent possibility is a big budget adaptation of Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, which when you get down to it reads like an ideal franchise for Universal: it has the dinosaurs and the fast cars driven by good-looking meatheads! The post-apocalyptic setting could be seen as another appealing factor, and would allow for an interesting "what-if" setting. But whatever it turns out to be, it would need something that Jurassic Park and King Kong (2005) had: an established and visually distinct director to introduce it to the world, and to ensure that it doesn't become another half-arsed studio executive product.