One-hundred-plus years of filmmaking provides a long, rich, and deep history to look back on. Retro reviews and analysis of old films are practically necessary full-time specialties. Month after month, films release, vying to make as much money as possible. Some rise, some fall, but regardless of financial success, it’s never a sign of a lasting effect. A great example is the little-mentioned 2012 film released just eight years ago. 2012 made nearly 800 million dollars and effectively vanished off the face of the earth.
So, where does that leave past box office champs? Let’s take a look back ten, twenty, and thirty years ago at the biggest movies released in June.
The Star
Believe it or not, at one point in time Nicolas Cage had a string of action hits. It started with Face/Off, then Con-Air (in the same month!) and maybe ended here, 10 years later, with a sequel to National Treasure. Book of Secrets was the second film in the watered-down Indiana Jones series. Cage is his typical off-kilter self. Cage was so Cage-y that earned himself a Worst Actor at the Razzies.
The Film
The original film wasn’t great, but it was fun. Director John Turtletaub returned for the sequel which isn’t great either — or much fun. Legendary critic Roger Ebert once said of the original “So silly that the Monty Python version could use the same screenplay, line for line.” So, you can only imagine how great Book of Secrets was.
As an action flick, it’s not bad. Produced by veteran action movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the film has moments where money is well spent. However, that script and the execution of it leave a lot on the table.
In June 2017 I predict …
When it comes to box office dominance in June of 2017, there are four contenders. Wonder Woman has super-hype going for it, and superhero movies tend to do really (REALLY) well at the box office these days, no matter the quality. Cars 3 will earn plenty too. The question is, how will The Mummy with Tom Cruise and the fifth Transformers movies do? I predict, in the end, Wonder Woman will be the biggest movie released this month.
This past weekend the much anticipated yet oddly not hyped DCEU film Wonder Woman opened. With it has come more praise than the DCEU has received in this Zack Snyder era of cinematic vision. While story points can be argued, the overarching feedback is positive. Where this film really wins is in an unfamiliar feminine aesthetic that feels like something that should’ve always existed in media narratives. In other words this movie understands that being a woman does not mean the journey is devoid of her committing justified violence and facing peril unflinchingly.
Ladies Issues
Male driven media usually has a difficult time defining women’s issues. The main aspect of that is in the idea that somehow women’s issues are so much more frivolous than men’s issues. Which could be why some of the film’s story elements felt as foreign as the shores of Themyscira. These women are self-possessed with purpose and drive that does not obsess over ideas of procreation. Instead the Amazons pursue flawless military form and execution. They govern by community and are led by a queen. The lack of overt tropey softness doesn’t take away from their femininity. Neither did the obvious musculature and warrior designations of the island of women. It merely confirmed what so many of us have desperately wanted to see portrayed on the big screen.
Common Trope Yet Refreshing
Diana is pure, bold, stubborn and relentless. This is a common discussion when penning strong male characters. Wonder Woman has undergone many character revamps over the years from her World War II beginnings. Her role of being able to make the tough decisions in the Trinity of Superman’s too forgiving ways and Batman’s machinations has only been recently established in the comic canon. This origin story for Diana Prince carries just enough of the original ideologies mixed with some of the more modern aspects of her comic journey to give her silver screen debut familiarity and new pop. She gets to convincingly become the hero this world needs her to be in more ways than one.
Wonder Woman and Visual Diversity
One of the more appealing aspects of Wonder Woman is some of the representation that the film prescribes to. While it’s not perfect it’s better than what a lot of super hero movies have openly participated in. From the variation of tones of women warriors in Themyscira to the diversity of her pack of game changers on the front lines of World War I. For such unbelievable scenarios the sight of people that are not normally filmed in such movies in prominent roles gave this film a gritty reality that helped to frame Diana. For the viewer the leaving of Themyscira is impactful from the difference in locale, dress and social norms. But mostly, what is obvious is the lack of diversity in the world she enters and how that lack of acceptance has impacted her diverse new allies.
Feminism as a Practice
Despite what many believe about the core tenets of feminism this film had not a single rude male bashing moment. Well not counting the places where Diana actually bashes men. As bad as it gets is just a statement that a woman could achieve happiness and pleasure without a man. If anything the character of Diana showed nearly blind devotion to the idea of the goodness inherent in humanity. Specifically she believes in men. She holds them to a high standard out of understanding what they can achieve. Her complaints are not nearly as naive as they are clutched to desperately to preserve her lack of hatred for men.
The Money Says
The record breaking opening of this movie is yelling at movie studios to produce more content like this. Very rarely does a movie of this nature get good critical review, feature a female superhero and is able to pass a Bechdel test. Wonder Woman is that film. It’s like a unicorn, riding the back of a dragon, as they chase a phoenix. For years the impetuous to not make films like this was lack of audience. At this point it’s a broken record because a few recent films have busted that theory. What else you got? The ball is in your court.
What standalone female super hero movies do you want to see?
American Made is one of two upcoming Tom Cruise movies with director Doug Liman, and it tells the (relatively) true story about a pilot and a hustler who takes on a job for the CIA.
Now we have the first trailer, and it’s full of snappy music and jokes and stunts and action and Tom Cruise getting covered in cocaine after crashing a plane.
Enjoy:
Barry Seal, a TWA pilot, is recruited by the CIA to provide reconnaissance on the burgeoning communist threat in Central America and soon finds himself in charge of one of the biggest covert CIA operations in the history of the United States. The operation spawns the birth of the Medellin cartel and almost brings down the Reagan White House.
I don’t know, seems a little goofy. The cocaine bit is funny at the beginning, but then the trailer just sort of trails off in a myriad of overly-familiar images and jokes. Maybe it’s just that Tom Cruise southern accent, which goes with him about as well as narrative goes with David Lynch. Nevertheless, Liman and Cruise have proved to be a good pairing, at least in the one film they’ve done together to this point, Edge of Tomorrow, so maybe this will work.
American Made also stars Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, the GREAT Jesse Plemons, and Caleb Landry Jones, and it opens September 29.
Do you agree with Wan’s sentiments? Sound off in the comments below.
“Wonder Woman hits movie theaters around the world next summer when Gal Gadot returns as the title character in the epic action adventure from director Patty Jenkins. Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny.”
Wonder Woman stars Gal Gadot as the title character, Chris Pine, Robin Wright as Antiope, David Thewlis, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya, Connie Nielsen, Ewen Bremner, and Lucy Davis.
Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot asked pitted two superheros against each other and asked Chris Hemsworth who would win between their two characters, Diana Prince or Thor?
If this exchange shows anything it’s that the DC/Marvel rivalry is nonexistant. Obviously they are competition as any two businesses in the same field are, but besides that, fans sensationalize the bad blood between the two.
Who do you think would win between Wonder Woman and Thor? Comment below, let us know.
Wonder Woman is in theaters now; Thor: Ragnarok flies into theaters on November 3.
Terry Gilliam has wanted to make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote for as long as I’ve been alive it seems. And he’s come close a few times, even filming most of it with Johnny Depp in the lead before it all fell apart.
Well now, to the amazement of just about anyone who’s been following this project from the outside, Terry Gilliam has done the unthinkable: he’s completed shooting The Man Who Killed Don Quixote! It’s definitely a sign of the apocalypse, or something.
This is great news for fans of Terry Gilliam, and fans who want to see his wacky version go the Don Quixote myth come to life.
And speaking of Gilliam’s previous attempt to get The Man Who Killed Don Quixote up and running, fans of filmmaking should definitely check out Lost in La Mancha, the terrific documentary that’s also a painful examination of what can go horribly wrong on an extensive project like this.
This version of Don Quixote doesn’t star Johnny Depp, thankfully. Instead it stars Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce in the lead roles. There’s no news as to its release date yet, so stay tuned for any updates.
This post will have Wonder Woman spoilers, read accordingly.
Wonder Woman might singlehandedly be able to save the DCEU from itself. The Warner Bros. cinematic universe has been struggling to find consistent footing to this point, to keep pace with Marvel’s own CU, and define itself as a coherent vision; but Patty Jenkins’ turn with the franchise, and her excellent film might be able to course correct the universe all by itself. It’s a solid entry into the genre, a great deal of fun, Gal Gadot is absolutely perfect and her and Chris Pine have wonderful chemistry. This is highly entertaining for two solid hours.
The only problem is, Wonder Woman‘s runtime is two hours and twenty minutes. Once again, another superhero film manages to make its way admirably through the bulk of its story before throwing up its hands and just tossing all the CGI they can at the finale to get us to the end credits; this time around it’s David Thewlis’s character being thrown in as the “real” bad guy, complete with awful Greek-myth armor (Greek, I guess?) and electrified fingertips (y’know, like Nuclear Man from Superman IV) once Danny Huston’s evil General Ludendorff is disposed of.
Marvel has their own issues with mind-numbing aerial battle climaxes that become indiscernible; DC’s version of this conundrum appears to be whiz-bang fireball destruction porn in the dark of night that is as weightless as it is ultimately meaningless to the story surrounding it. Not to mention hard to see and monotonous. Three of the four DCEU films to this point have suffered that same fate (even the outlier, Man of Steel, which had its climax set during the day, was so over-the-top with its complete and total city destruction and bleary-eyed kinetics that it turned into the whole reason for Batman v Superman to exist).
Wonder Woman isn’t the worst offender in this department, not by a long shot, and that’s because it’s easily the best film of the quartet. BvS had the forgettable Doomsday showdown amid a sea of fake fire, and Suicide Squad had… something. I don’t even remember how that one ended to be honest, but I am 100% certain it was at night, and it involved awful CGI. There’s a moment right before the “Final Battle” where Wonder Woman could have ended, when she kills Ludendorff. After this, Diana comes to realize her ideals of singular evil are no match for how terrible humans really are, and then we get the whole Thewlis diversion for a good fifteen to twenty minutes.
Why not have Diana and Steve simply end the threat at the airport and Diana could continue saving the day into perpetuity, etc. etc? They could even have Steve die still, if they really wanted. It would have been a slick, lean climax, it would have set up Wonder Woman for the future of the DCEU, and it wouldn’t be CGI for the sake of CGI. Instead we have to have this #epic showdown between Diana and a villain that feels conjured out of thin air from a character in the film we’d all but forgotten about by this point.
Nobody really knows how to end these superhero movies. There’s some sort of incessant need for the powers that be in these franchises to tie everything up with a nice, untidy, messy bow of mind-numbing explosions and fire and people floating and their actions having no real consequence. Diana saves the day, obviously, but she does it in a way that sure seems like she could have done it before we had to sit through all of this ugly noise.
The amazing thing here is how this final misstep doesn’t ruin Wonder Woman. Not at all, really, because everything leading up to that point had been terrifically entertaining and balanced. By the time the big noisy BvS showdown happened I was thinking about what to get for dinner, and by the time the Suicide Squad finale went down I was thinking about where I had gone wrong in my life to wind up in my current position. At least with Wonder Woman, the quality beforehand was enough to forgive what felt like obvious pandering to… I don’t know. Whoever likes these calamitous CGI climaxes.
Coop’s mind is still missing, as are clues to Hawk’s quest. But the world of Twin Peaks continues to grow in surprising ways. The mystery billionaire has (presumably) been revealed and Dr. Jacoby’s shovels now have a purpose. And, somewhere, BOB waits.
Spoilers, of course, follow …
The Case
Back in Buckhorn South Dakota, the coroner found Dougie’s wedding ring in the stomach of the beheaded man. His prints also set off a flag at the Pentagon relating to Major Briggs. Even as the local PD attempt to understand this new clue, the Department of Defense is on its way to check things out.
As for Cooper, he attempted to live a day in Dougie’s life by going to his office at Lucky 7 Insurance. Janey-E told him to call the person they owe money to, but of course, Coop has no idea who that might be. Instead, he called out one of Dougie’s coworkers as a liar and keyed into several words when Dougie’s boss handed him a number of case files. Sadly, Coop’s mind was still a blur and he stayed late to examine the shoes of a statue in the office park.
While Cooper’s winnings at the casino may inadvertently save the Jones family, it also attracted the attention of the casino boss (Robert Knepper). Blaming the casino manager for being in on a heist, he was more than happy to beat up the poor guy and fire him. Also, Jim Belushi is his bulldog, so we know he’s bad news. But is he the man looking to end Dougie’s life? He did not recognize Coop’s face on the casino video footage, so someone else must be behind that.
In fact, the hit men called their minder, herself terrified to find Dogie’s car was still in tact. She sent a message to her superior via Blackberry, which appeared to connect to a box in Buenos Aries. The car itself was finally destroyed thanks to some auto thieves. It also probably ignited a love of fire in the boy across the street who witnessed it all.
Meanwhile, Bad Cooper’s phone call created trouble for the Warden and left us with only one phrase: “The cow jumped over the moon.”
The Updates
Dr. Jacoby’s shovels now make sense. They’re part of his income stream as he is an Internet conspiracy vlogger called Dr. Amp. His show is clearly popular in Twin Peaks with the likes of Jerry Horne and Nadine Hurley (Wendy Robie) watching his broadcasts. He never really states what he believes except a general distrust of the government and an all encompassing poisoning of the Earth.
Oh, and for $29.99, you can buy one of his golden shovels to dig yourself out of the shit.
Shelly’s opinion of her daughter’s boyfriend was one hundred percent correct. Pale, strung out and driving a Firebird, he coaxed Becky into begging Shelly for money. Aspiring to be something like Hank Jennings or Leo Johnson, he comes off more hapless than a teenage Mike Nelson (Gary Hershberger); who throws him out of his office after receiving the boy’s terrible resume. In fact, it’s difficult to understand why Becky (Amanda Seyfried) is with him. Sadly, both Shelly and Norma (Peggy Lipton) recognized the behavior.
Based on the conversation Frank had with Harry, it seems the latter Truman’s illness is serious. Also, Hawk’s investigation continues fruitlessly.
The Questions
Did Preston find a difference in the prints between Cooper and Bad Cooper?
If BOB has been with Bad Cooper all this time, why is he a silent passenger?
Who was the bad news young man played by Eamon Farren at the Roadhouse?
Why does Janey-E ignore all the signs that something is seriously wrong with her “husband?” Did Dougie have similar episodes?
If the corpse in Buckhorn is Major Briggs, does that mean he faked his death and palled around with Bad Cooper all these years?
Will Nadine buy a shovel?
Not about Judy
While Phillip Jeffries was not mentioned this week, he haunts the episode. In fact, it is possible that he may have been the one to put the contract out on Dougie. The Blackberry message from the hit men’s handler relayed to that box in Buenos Aries, the city Jeffries vanished from in 1987. The box later turned into an artifact resembling the Phantasm ball from Part 3. Also, Jeffries’ vanishing acts are associated with the transmission of power and telecommunications. He could’ve been the source of the problems at the prison when Bad Cooper made his phone call.
Of course, that presumes they’re on the same side. If Jeffries tried to kill Bad Cooper and Dougie, is he on the side of the angels?
Damn Fine Joe
Though Twin Peaks continues to delay Cooper’s homecoming, it also continues to be laugh-out-loud funny. Cooper’s mindfog produces some amazing comedic moments. In the same vain, Candy Clark deserves recognition for her performances as well. Her scene as Frank’s wife Doris is stunning and funny. In fact, it also strengthen the notion that Frank really doesn’t belong in Twin Peaks. He’s too mild-mannered and grounded to handle the out-sized personalities.
Outside of town, the threads continue to be intriguing and the overall extension of pain and suffering to other cities makes a lot of sense.
At the same time, it’s also nice to finally see a story develop in town. The drug trade was referenced in Part 4, but players are starting to appear. And even though the Roadhouse is a more upscale venue these days, it still plays as the arena to the darker dealings in the county.
Hopefully, next week will see Cooper’s mind return and a payoff for Jade’s choice to mail his room key back to Twin Peaks.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is a delightful adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s source material.
Summary
This animated feature centers around George (Kevin Hart) and Harold (Thomas Middleditch). They are the best of friends who spend most of their time pulling pranks on their unsuspecting teachers and creating stories for their absurd comic book Captain Underpants. Principal Krupp (Ed Helms) has spent the better part of the last few years trying to catch George and Harold in the act but to no avail. Eventually, they do get caught in the act (on videotape) sabotaging the invention competition. Principal Krupp’s dreams have come true and he decides to separate the two in hopes of sabotaging their friendship. In an effort to derail his plans, the boys attempt to hypnotize the principal. What they didn’t realize is their plans worked too well and not only did they hypnotize Principal Krupp, they have him believing that he’s their comic creation, Captain Underpants. While this is unfolding, an evil is lurking amongst in the form of the diabolical Professor Poopypants (Yes, that is his name and he’s voiced by Nick Kroll). Will George and Harold be able to undo the hypnosis that they have their principal under? Will Captain Underpants have to face off against Professor Poopypants?
What Worked
What made this movie fun was seeing how director David Soren and writer Nick Stoller brought Pilkey’s universe to life. They didn’t just rely on the strength of the principle characters. Soren and Stoller wrote strong comedic dialogue for secondary characters such as Melvin (The class snitch played by Jordan Peele) and Lunch Lady Edith (Kristen Schaal). Their talents combined with Hart, Helms, and Middleditch resulted in a more well-rounded experience.
There is a nice balance between the absurdity of the narrative and the heart behind this tale. Remember, this story is about two boys who don’t want their friendship to end.
Helms was an excellent choice to voice the principal. He has the range to play the “stuffy” principal as well as the overtop pantsless crime fighter.
Loved the use of sock puppets to connect different parts of the narrative with the source material.
The animation popped on the screen and held the audience’s attention, including my four-year-old son’s.
What Didn’t Work
At times it appeared to try just a tad too hard to hit on those tropes associated with superhero films. That was completely unnecessary. If they had stuck to just what they had developed and worried less about making Captain Underpants look absurd, the film would have been even stronger.
Overall
Overall, my thoughts on this film are quite brief (pardon the pun). There is a section of the audience that under no circumstances would be caught at any showing of Captain Underpants. However, if you are a parent and your child is between the 2nd and 5th grade, then this is your movie. Don’t confuse this release as high art. Dreamworks signed on for this project knowing full well that Pilkey had a core audience of readers that would most certainly pay to see this film. This weekend it didn’t stand a chance against Wonder Woman but did just enough to most certainly justify a sequel and that’s not a bad thing at all.
Wonder Woman has finally made it to the big screen in her first live-action solo film this week. However, it is not the only time she has led a film, starring in the 2009 direct-to-DVD animated film.
Centuries ago the Amazon warrior women went to war with the forces of Ares (Alfred Molina), the ancient Greek god of war. After a hard fought battle the Gods intervene, allowing the Amazons to hold Ares hostage and were given their own island so they no longer have to live with men.
Diana (Keri Russell), the daughter of Queen Hippolyta (Virginia Madsen) has been trained to be a skilled warrior but she has never seen the outside world. Her opportunity comes when a USAF pilot, Steve Trevor (Nathan Fillion) crashes on Themyscira and she agrees to take him back to America. However, Ares escapes at the same time and becomes more powerful than ever. It’s up to Diana and Steve to save the world from the God of War.
The 2009 version of Wonder Woman is basically a modernization of the origins story, taking the character away from a historic conflict that’s ravaging the world. As an origins story, the animated film does a decent if unspectacular job. It follows the main origins plot points: Hippolyta makes a daughter out of clay and Diana being raised in isolation before Steve crashes on Themyscira – being the first man she ever sees. Wonder Woman (2009) had plenty of talent working on the film: it was directed by Lauren Montgomery who directed Superman/Doomsday, Green Lantern: First Flight and Batman: Year One, comic-book writer Gail Simone co-wrote the story with Michael Jelenic and the overseeing of all things animated for DC, Bruce Timm, produced the film. There was also an impressive voice cast, featuring stars like Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Alfred Molina, Rosario Dawson and Oliver Platt as well as veteran voice actors like Tara Strong (Bubbles from Powerpuff Girls) and John DiMaggio (Futurama’s Bender). And their talents weren’t wasted: Montgomery keeps to the Timm character designs that he used in his Superman and Justice League shows and there was a fluidity in the action scenes as Wonder Woman uses her fists and weapons to do battle.
Wonder Woman was originally created by William Moulton Marston with the aim of being a positive role-model for girls. But he was also keen on bondage scenes with the heroine which are not particularly politically correct today. By moving Wonder Woman’s origins to the modern day she got to act as a critic of attitudes towards women: she was a woman raised to be a strong, smart warrior and when she comes to America sees various forms of chauvinism and stereotypes: she makes a stand against these. Wonder Woman acted as the feminist icon she’s meant to be.
The Wonder Woman series is also heavily influenced by Greek mythology and the movie does a fine job at modernization the mythology. Ares grows more powerful when there is violence around him – which leads to the people around him becoming more violent: it’s a vicious circle. Oliver Platt’s Hades was a delight – being sly, cunning and self-serving. Although he was only in the film briefly, Hades plays the Gods against each other and it would have been great to see more of him.
Due to the fact that Wonder Woman (2009) was a direct-to-DVD movie, it was more violent than its TV series counterparts – a fair amount of blood is shed and characters get decapitated. One of the most effective is when Ares raises dead Amazonians to fight against their living sisters and if any Amazonians fall in the battle turned into a zombie.
Whilst Fillion is an actor with a fanbase he was made to quip like he was in a Joss Wheldon project but with dialogue that isn’t as well written. When he first met Diana and the Amazonians he was made out to be a bit sleazy.
Wonder Woman (2009) is excellent preparation for the live action film and it makes interesting reinterpretation of the character’s origins. It’s worth checking for people who enjoy superhero adaptations.
