Trailer Talk

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

[RyanSz 3140]

I heard about this and it sounded interesting, and now having seen this trailer I'm excited to see this in theaters, as the adding in of trying to protect kids from the idea of being in a zombie outbreak is a nice twist on the genre.

 

[RyanSz 3140]

Well I can say that I am officially bummed with how The Kitchen turned out. I thought Melissa McCarthy and Elisabeth Moss gave incredibly performances, but Tiffany Haddish was pretty miscast, then you had great character actors in Common and Esteemed Character Actress Margo Martindale who are basically reduced to worthless blips in the movie. Yet the worst part of the movie was its ending as it doesn't follow the big rule of crime films in that

that the main character/boss ends up either dying or completely devoid or any family/workers whom have all abandoned them. This instead decides to have the remaining women instantly get over their differences with no real impetus and work together on expanding their empire, making it incredibly rushed and hokey, and clearly designed to have a sequel if this were a success. If it had followed the comic it was based on it would have been a perfect ending as Haddish's character would have attained the power she wanted, but at the cost of killing her best friend and betraying everyone who ever cared for her, only for her to end up murdered by Moss' character in revenge for the murders she committed. It was a proper and poetic ending for what was a great crime story, instead they gave a rush job ending.

. I really did want to enjoy the movie overall but it was so choppy and rushed at times that it just fell incredibly flat.

[grudlian. 4725]

9 hours ago, RyanSz said:

Well I can say that I am officially bummed with how The Kitchen turned out. I thought Melissa McCarthy and Elisabeth Moss gave incredibly performances, but Tiffany Haddish was pretty miscast, then you had great character actors in Common and Esteemed Character Actress Margo Martindale who are basically reduced to worthless blips in the movie. Yet the worst part of the movie was its ending as it doesn't follow the big rule of crime films in that

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that the main character/boss ends up either dying or completely devoid or any family/workers whom have all abandoned them. This instead decides to have the remaining women instantly get over their differences with no real impetus and work together on expanding their empire, making it incredibly rushed and hokey, and clearly designed to have a sequel if this were a success. If it had followed the comic it was based on it would have been a perfect ending as Haddish's character would have attained the power she wanted, but at the cost of killing her best friend and betraying everyone who ever cared for her, only for her to end up murdered by Moss' character in revenge for the murders she committed. It was a proper and poetic ending for what was a great crime story, instead they gave a rush job ending.

. I really did want to enjoy the movie overall but it was so choppy and rushed at times that it just fell incredibly flat.

I agree with all this except Tiffany Haddish being miscast. I thought she was fine. I didn't know this was based on a comic until the Vertigo logo showed up but it became pretty obvious throughout the movie. I don't know if they were just condensing a really long comic series into two hours or if the comic is just bad.

Everything felt rushed because they'd skip over any sort of obstacle in running a crime syndicate. It's like the writer said, "You've seen a mob movie before. So, you know what needs to be done," and they just hit the necessary plot points with no real deviation. That would be okay if this was a character piece but the characters never felt developed.

[RyanSz 3140]

10 hours ago, grudlian. said:

I agree with all this except Tiffany Haddish being miscast. I thought she was fine. I didn't know this was based on a comic until the Vertigo logo showed up but it became pretty obvious throughout the movie. I don't know if they were just condensing a really long comic series into two hours or if the comic is just bad.

Everything felt rushed because they'd skip over any sort of obstacle in running a crime syndicate. It's like the writer said, "You've seen a mob movie before. So, you know what needs to be done," and they just hit the necessary plot points with no real deviation. That would be okay if this was a character piece but the characters never felt developed.

It was a limited series of about 5-6 issues, and does A LOT better of showing their rise than the movie, which shows their setbacks like getting guns pulled on them by store owners or other gangsters, as much as their successes a bit more clearly. Gleeson's character is also introduced a lot better and his relationship with Moss develops more fluidly, and the relationship that Haddish's character has in the comic is actually with the second-in-command mobster from Brooklyn, which allows for them to get legitimacy in the underworld as he shows them the ropes of sorts and helps them build some bridges within that world.

I did like McCarthy's dad as the voice of reason/angel on her shoulder, but his sudden turn at the end when he was all for her new business venture was so out of left field I was thinking he forgot who is character was. As for the ending in the comic

McCarthy's character is a bit more soft when dealing with people, namely a couple hookers under their employ who have some drug issues, and doesn't want the trio going into drugs, while Haddish does as it means making a lot more money. Eventually it comes to a head where the two fight after it's basically revealed that the Haddish character had killed McCarthy's current sob story person and they argue in Haddish's kitchen where Haddish stabs McCarthy in the chest and kills her, before having a couple of her guys remove the body without anyone finding out. It cuts to a year or two later and Haddish has complete control over crime in the burrough and is expanding into Brooklyn after screwing over the mobster she was sleeping with, as she's alone in her penthouse thinking about every crime and murder she committed to get to where she is, she turns to see Moss and Gleeson's characters have snuck in and Moss shoots her dead in revenge for killing McCarthy, again how a crime/mob story should end in order to show that crime doesn't pay, and it was actually really well done with how the overall story played out.

 

[GrahamS. 803]

This film looks genuinely terrible. I am not posting it because it is a “Christian” film. I am not criticizing Christian films or their audiences. I am posting it because it looks terrible. My friends —who are Christian—laughed out loud at this preview, it got a one-star review on Roger Ebert’s Website that makes it SOUND terrible, and it got a shocked, reaction from an audience who burst into laughter after seeing it.

The film—in question—where I first saw this preview at was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Here it is. If you want to make a game of it, take a shot of something rewarding (could be Non-alcoholic) whenever you see someone cry in the next two minutes:

Here is the review. It makes for a VERY entertaining read. It is from Roger Ebert.com. I couldn’t copy the link so here’s the review. It got one star.

By:

  |  Mark Dujsik

August 23, 2019   |   28

There's about half a movie in "Overcomer." The other half or so is a pretty half-hearted sermon. Neither half is particularly worthwhile, and the whole is cheap, cheesy, and, to put it charitably, churchy.

That's the method of director Alex Kendrick, who has helmed and, with his brother Stephen, co-written several faith-based movies. (The brothers wrote this screenplay, too). To call this one merely "faith-based" seems like an understatement, and to call it a "movie" feels especially generous.

It doesn't start that way, though. In fact, the first act of Kendrick's newest seems like a legitimate narrative. Indeed, it opens with a prologue (featuring a nifty drone shot that flies over some trees, through the window of a Christian high school and into the gymnasium, where a basketball game is underway), establishing a community on the brink of economic disaster. A nearby manufacturing plant is closing its doors and laying off most of the employees. The school's fate is in jeopardy, because most of the families have someone who works at the plant.

That's one setup established. Then, we get another, as teacher and basketball coach John Harrison (played by the director, whose performance certainly sells the idea that the filmmakers pulled a random high school basketball coach, with no acting experience but a genial personality, out of nowhere and put him in the leading role) is in a tough spot. With parents leaving town and students leaving the school, the coach's team looks ready to collapse.

Plus, the school's principal (played by Priscilla C. Shirer) wants him to coach the cross country team. John doesn't even think running is a real sport, and the only student who tries out is Hannah (Aryn Wright-Thompson), a transfer student whose parents are dead, who lives with her grandmother Barbara (Denise Armstrong), and, who, more pertinent to long-distance running, has asthma.

That's three narrative threads, right there for the taking: the coach who has something to learn, the student who has something to prove, and the economic insecurity of the small town threatening all of it. None of these threads is revolutionary by any measure, but they at least form the foundation of an actual story.

At some point, though, the Kendricks simply decide to abandon just about all of that. Through a chance meeting at a hospital, where John is visiting a fellow parishioner with his church's pastor, the coach just happens to discover Thomas (Cameron Arnett). Through some painfully on-the-nose dialogue during a later visit, John learns that Thomas, blind and having more health issues on account of diabetes, is actually Hannah's long-believed dead father.

Now, of course, there's the conundrum: Does John tell Hannah, or does he respect the wishes of Barbara, who has kept the fact that Thomas is still alive hidden from Hannah? It doesn't matter, because, even before he learns that his daughter is so close, Thomas begins the preaching, insisting that maybe John isn't the best Christian he can be. After all, John dares to list several other things about him and his life before he even thinks about calling himself a Christian.

Then, the principal gets into the game, proselytizing Hannah to reject her terribly sinful ways and become a Christian. There are three scenes in a row that exclusively show or climax with different characters praying, and Hannah's big training montage—which is to be expected, even when the movie seems to have abandoned everything but the sermons from the story—is intercut with her doing a Bible study.

Eventually, the Kendricks' screenplay gets back to the racing plot thread. Mind you, it's just for the Big Race (which we only learn is the state championship after it's finished), so it's more of a requirement than an actual story point. Even then, Hannah wears an earbud with her father coaching and, obviously, preaching to her. In theory, this is a rather clever way to make a lengthy sequence of a long-distance race involving, but in practice, it's just more sermonizing.

Apparently, "Overcomer" isn't for an audience that cares about being told a story. It's aimed at an audience that doesn't mind too much if a story occasionally interrupts a homily.

[RyanSz 3140]

On 8/24/2019 at 9:08 PM, GrahamS. said:

This film looks genuinely terrible. I am not posting it because it is a “Christian” film. I am not criticizing Christian films or their audiences. I am posting it because it looks terrible. My friends —who are Christian—laughed out loud at this preview, it got a one-star review on Roger Ebert’s Website that makes it SOUND terrible, and it got a shocked, reaction from an audience who burst into laughter after seeing it.

The film—in question—where I first saw this preview at was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Here it is. If you want to make a game of it, take a shot of something rewarding (could be Non-alcoholic) whenever you see someone cry in the next two minutes:

Here is the review. It makes for a VERY entertaining read. It is from Roger Ebert.com. I couldn’t copy the link so here’s the review. It got one star.

By:

  |  Mark Dujsik

August 23, 2019   |   28

There's about half a movie in "Overcomer." The other half or so is a pretty half-hearted sermon. Neither half is particularly worthwhile, and the whole is cheap, cheesy, and, to put it charitably, churchy.

That's the method of director Alex Kendrick, who has helmed and, with his brother Stephen, co-written several faith-based movies. (The brothers wrote this screenplay, too). To call this one merely "faith-based" seems like an understatement, and to call it a "movie" feels especially generous.

It doesn't start that way, though. In fact, the first act of Kendrick's newest seems like a legitimate narrative. Indeed, it opens with a prologue (featuring a nifty drone shot that flies over some trees, through the window of a Christian high school and into the gymnasium, where a basketball game is underway), establishing a community on the brink of economic disaster. A nearby manufacturing plant is closing its doors and laying off most of the employees. The school's fate is in jeopardy, because most of the families have someone who works at the plant.

That's one setup established. Then, we get another, as teacher and basketball coach John Harrison (played by the director, whose performance certainly sells the idea that the filmmakers pulled a random high school basketball coach, with no acting experience but a genial personality, out of nowhere and put him in the leading role) is in a tough spot. With parents leaving town and students leaving the school, the coach's team looks ready to collapse.

Plus, the school's principal (played by Priscilla C. Shirer) wants him to coach the cross country team. John doesn't even think running is a real sport, and the only student who tries out is Hannah (Aryn Wright-Thompson), a transfer student whose parents are dead, who lives with her grandmother Barbara (Denise Armstrong), and, who, more pertinent to long-distance running, has asthma.

That's three narrative threads, right there for the taking: the coach who has something to learn, the student who has something to prove, and the economic insecurity of the small town threatening all of it. None of these threads is revolutionary by any measure, but they at least form the foundation of an actual story.

At some point, though, the Kendricks simply decide to abandon just about all of that. Through a chance meeting at a hospital, where John is visiting a fellow parishioner with his church's pastor, the coach just happens to discover Thomas (Cameron Arnett). Through some painfully on-the-nose dialogue during a later visit, John learns that Thomas, blind and having more health issues on account of diabetes, is actually Hannah's long-believed dead father.

Now, of course, there's the conundrum: Does John tell Hannah, or does he respect the wishes of Barbara, who has kept the fact that Thomas is still alive hidden from Hannah? It doesn't matter, because, even before he learns that his daughter is so close, Thomas begins the preaching, insisting that maybe John isn't the best Christian he can be. After all, John dares to list several other things about him and his life before he even thinks about calling himself a Christian.

Then, the principal gets into the game, proselytizing Hannah to reject her terribly sinful ways and become a Christian. There are three scenes in a row that exclusively show or climax with different characters praying, and Hannah's big training montage—which is to be expected, even when the movie seems to have abandoned everything but the sermons from the story—is intercut with her doing a Bible study.

Eventually, the Kendricks' screenplay gets back to the racing plot thread. Mind you, it's just for the Big Race (which we only learn is the state championship after it's finished), so it's more of a requirement than an actual story point. Even then, Hannah wears an earbud with her father coaching and, obviously, preaching to her. In theory, this is a rather clever way to make a lengthy sequence of a long-distance race involving, but in practice, it's just more sermonizing.

Apparently, "Overcomer" isn't for an audience that cares about being told a story. It's aimed at an audience that doesn't mind too much if a story occasionally interrupts a homily.

What's always weird about these movies is they either get stars past their prime/heyday or they get actors who look similar enough to current actors to trick people into thinking that's who in the film, like I could have swore from looking at that image on the clip you posted that Issa Rae was in the movie along with a chunky Scott Foley.

[GrahamS. 803]

. I don’t know who anyone else on the poster is, but the director is the chunky Scott Foley lookalike.

And apparently it doesn’t matter how poor the quality is, this film is currently #3 on the country, so the director knows his demographic, I guess.

[RyanSz 3140]

6 hours ago, GrahamS. said:

. I don’t know who anyone else on the poster is, but the director is the chunky Scott Foley lookalike.

And apparently it doesn’t matter how poor the quality is, this film is currently #3 on the country, so the director knows his demographic, I guess.

Oh yeah there is definitely a market for these films and they know when to put them out for maximum profit. There's a reason that these movies release around Easter, Christmas, or in times of the year when there is a lull for big releases. With It 2 coming out next week there wasn't anything big coming out outside of that Don't Let Go film, so this was a good time to release some generic preach film, and considering that these movies are like horror films in that they are cheap to make, the profit margin can be very high, meaning they get to keep making them.

[GrahamS. 803]

Genuinely curious to see what people think of this. As for myself...

I’m sick to death of comic book movies...but the Joker is my favorite comic book character.

I think Todd Phillips is at best a pretty mediocre director and War Dogs (his most “serious”  film) was not good. I truly wonder if he can pull this off.

it has gotten some good reviews...and some not so good ones.

I can’t argue with the casting—I think Joaquin Phoenix is great—so I’ll probably see it despite my misgivings.

[GrahamS. 803]

An 80s throwback. Streaming on Hulu.

i genuinely like this film. One joke that time has been very kind to involves a reference to the American presidency. It’s even funnier now than it was then.

[RyanSz 3140]

I'll preface this by saying I love the original Black Christmas and enjoy the first remake as a guilty pleasure, but this one just isn't clicking with me. I don't know if it's because it completely gives away who the bad guys are with it's frat vs. sorority angle, or that it seems to have some supernatural tilt to the whole thing when the prior films had none it's just coming off as a studio buying the rights for a quick buck.

 

[grudlian. 4725]

On 9/5/2019 at 11:42 PM, RyanSz said:

I'll preface this by saying I love the original Black Christmas and enjoy the first remake as a guilty pleasure, but this one just isn't clicking with me. I don't know if it's because it completely gives away who the bad guys are with it's frat vs. sorority angle, or that it seems to have some supernatural tilt to the whole thing when the prior films had none it's just coming off as a studio buying the rights for a quick buck.

 

The weird thing is that Black Christmas isn't even a huge name for a franchise to cash in on. I love the original but it's still a bit under the radar as far as slasher films go. I think a straight remake would get laughed at in 2019 because lol who even answers phone calls anymore let alone enough to get harassed on the phone. Taking it in this direction still seems like a boring idea though.

[RyanSz 3140]

On 9/7/2019 at 9:37 AM, grudlian. said:

The weird thing is that Black Christmas isn't even a huge name for a franchise to cash in on. I love the original but it's still a bit under the radar as far as slasher films go. I think a straight remake would get laughed at in 2019 because lol who even answers phone calls anymore let alone enough to get harassed on the phone. Taking it in this direction still seems like a boring idea though.

Yeah the original is considered the first real slasher, but even then it was more suspenseful as you had no idea who the killer was or why they were doing it, even at the end of the movie. The remake from a decade ago tried to do some backstory but also went the straight up slasher route with it, and while I enjoy it as a guilty please it is by no means a good movie. With it being Blumhouse it looks like they got the rights incredibly cheap and decided to try it again to get at least some profit, but when you look at this trailer it completely gives the viewer no real reason to watch the movie in theaters because it gives away everything from who the bad guys are to what appears to be the final battle. The remake still worked because they put the right circumstances in it where IIRC there was a snowstorm making it difficult for anyone to get in or out, and there weren't many people around due to Christmas break, and the killers were using the phones of their victims so the other girls in the house had a reason to pick up the phone thinking it was another sorority sister or a boyfriend.

[YuBeast 1]

Anyone else seen Redline? It's fucking bonkers a la Crank.

 

[GrahamS. 803]

I think I’m more nervous about this movie than any other movie in years. I was such a big fan of the show. I don’t know if this film is necessary. Please don’t fuck it up.

 

[RyanSz 3140]

Definitely interested to see how this is handled, as it does appear to be a nice mix between the humor/lightness of Shazam and the grittyness of the other DCEU films. I do like that they are using a rarely used villain as the big bad for this with Black Mask, as it appears The Batman is just sticking with the road most traveled with the villains being shown in that film.

 

[grudlian. 4725]

10 hours ago, RyanSz said:

Definitely interested to see how this is handled, as it does appear to be a nice mix between the humor/lightness of Shazam and the grittyness of the other DCEU films. I do like that they are using a rarely used villain as the big bad for this with Black Mask, as it appears The Batman is just sticking with the road most traveled with the villains being shown in that film.

 

My immediate reaction to this was a big groan. DC seems like it's maybe figuring itself out with Wonder Woman and Shazam. I did think Margot Robbie was good as Harley Quinn.

But I'm not huge on Harley Quinn in general and DC still has all the baggage of being centered around gritty bad movies, losing their cast and general management. So, until they get a few more solid movies under their belts, I'm still treating their work with mild disdain until proven wrong.

[Cameron H. 23786]

This looks, uh, pretty good...

 

[DrGuts1003 462]

Here’s the Fantasy Island trailer that Paul talked about in this week’s minisode.

 

[RyanSz 3140]

On 11/15/2019 at 7:56 AM, DrGuts1003 said:

Here’s the Fantasy Island trailer that Paul talked about in this week’s minisode.

 

I'm intrigued by the change of theme from fantasy/life discovery to horror/suspense, unfortunately this trailer follows other recent horror trailers in that it gives away some big info about the film that should be left to surprise audiences. I do love the versatility of Michael Pena in playing a serious villainous character, 30 Minutes or Less doesn't really count with how hammy the character was.

[GrahamS. 803]

On 9/7/2019 at 9:37 AM, grudlian. said:

The weird thing is that Black Christmas isn't even a huge name for a franchise to cash in on. I love the original but it's still a bit under the radar as far as slasher films go. I think a straight remake would get laughed at in 2019 because lol who even answers phone calls anymore let alone enough to get harassed on the phone. Taking it in this direction still seems like a boring idea though.

 

On 9/5/2019 at 8:42 PM, RyanSz said:

I'll preface this by saying I love the original Black Christmas and enjoy the first remake as a guilty pleasure, but this one just isn't clicking with me. I don't know if it's because it completely gives away who the bad guys are with it's frat vs. sorority angle, or that it seems to have some supernatural tilt to the whole thing when the prior films had none it's just coming off as a studio buying the rights for a quick buck.

 

Joe Bob Briggs JUST did a screening of the original Black Christmas for his Christmas marathon on Shudder. I’d never seen it before. It was awesome (although he did have a critique about the end that was very valid)!

[RyanSz 3140]

On 12/17/2019 at 2:44 PM, GrahamS. said:

 

Joe Bob Briggs JUST did a screening of the original Black Christmas for his Christmas marathon on Shudder. I’d never seen it before. It was awesome (although he did have a critique about the end that was very valid)!

One of the main reasons I subscribed to Shudder was they brought back his version of the old TNT Monstervision, though with Amazon that usually means the marathon will come up sometime this week. Having gotten the chance to meet Briggs at a horror convention near where I live, I can say he is one of the nicest people involved in the film industry that you can meet, although those bedazzled and tassled jackets that he wears are apparently unable to be dry cleaned regularly so they stink pretty badly.

I saw the original Black Christmas after I saw the first remake and was instantly enthralled by how much it set the tone for future slashers that many wouldn't think about, also seeing how much of a pain in the ass it was to try and trace a phone call back in the 70s is still a chuckleable moment for me.

[Gregory&Winona 10]

They just dropped the Fast 9 Trailer which personally kills most of  Jason’s Hobbs & Shaw theories. I didn’t see the Rock or Shaw in the trailer tho. I saw Helen Mirian tho. 

[RyanSz 3140]

16 hours ago, Gregory&Winona said:

They just dropped the Fast 9 Trailer which personally kills most of  Jason’s Hobbs & Shaw theories. I didn’t see the Rock or Shaw in the trailer tho. I saw Helen Mirian tho. 

Yeah it was confirmed during the film of Hobbs & Shaw that at least the Rock wouldn't be appearing in this film, Statham hasn't been confirmed or denied so far. I did get a nice chill at the reveal at the end of the trailer, but that along with the reveal that John Cena is apparently Dom's brother, this series has gone from over the top superhero film to soap opera. Also after revealing that somehow Han has been alive and just been hiding out for apparently years, I have to assume that they approached Gal Gadot into coming back as well but were unable to get her because she was filming Wonder Woman 1984, because if two of the three big "deaths" at the end of Fast 6 have now been proven to have not happened, then she should most definitely still be alive.