Category: Mainstream Entertainment

All posts relating to general happenings in mainstream entertainment, where it’d be movies, television, music, or other things that fall within that bubble.

Section 31 Movie A Thing Now… Okay, Cool.

Source: https://trekmovie.com/2023/04/18/breaking-michelle-yeoh-to-return-to-star-trek-in-section-31-tv-movie/

So the long-rumored Section 31 television show is now going to be a television movie. And they’re bringing back Michelle Yeoh’s mirror universe Emperor turned captain dick character back into the fold so we can find out what happened after she stepped back in time.

You know what? I’m fine with this. I was weary of a Section 31 series because what would be the point, but a one-shot television movie sort of thing wouldn’t be such a bad idea. And if you’re really going to go forward with this whole Star Trek: Legacy thing that people are having boners over, a series of occasional television movies would probably be the best way to go about it and features a bunch of characters and such going off on their own adventures.

Shazam Underperforms At Box Office… What Did You Expect?

So the new Shazam movie came out this past weekend.

Raise your hand if this is a surprise to you because it sure was to me.

Unlike the first movie, which had a bunch of press behind it, this “Fury Of The Gods” film went under the radar. Nobody talks about it, nobody is promoting the thing, nobody is marketing the thing, and as such, nobody knows that it’s a thing that exists until it’s already out. I didn’t know the movie had been released until someone I subscribe to on Youtube did a review on it. At first, I thought they got an advanced screening or something, but nope. Turns out the movie has been out since Friday.

Well, color me (not) shocked, but apparently Shazam underperformed at the box office. I won’t speak to the quality of the film since I have not seen it – reactions have been mixed, with critics not caring for it, but the audiences enjoying it – but in regards to the film not being an instant money maker without any kind of marketing machine behind it, only one thing comes to mind…

What did you expect?

Listen, you assclowns. If you’re going to spend money on this big blockbuster motion picture, then you need marketing. Yes, that costs some money, but at the very least, people will know about your movie and any failure at the box office can at least be attributed to lack of interest as opposed to lack of marketing. I get that there’s a big reboot of this whole universe coming up and this is being thrown under the bus as a result despite the higher ups claiming that they’d like to retain the Shazam crew for future projects if this does well.

Look, I enjoyed the first Shazam film. I thought it was a fun little superhero movie released during a time when genuinely fun superhero movies from DC were an endangered species. This second film looks to be more of the same – for better or worse – but it’s not high on my list of must-see movies. I’ll wait until it hits DVD.

And no, the Rock refusing to cameo in the movie is NOT the reason for its underperformance. Last time I checked, Black Adam wasn’t exactly a box office winner, either.

Yeah, so… bye.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s “Final” Trailer

It looks like a Mario. It moves like a Mario. But does it talk like a Mario?

Does it really matter? I’ve heard Mario get voiced by a bunch of people? Here’s another to add to the list.

At least, the movie looks like it’ll be fun. A nightmare to point out all the references, but it’ll be fun.

We’ll see, I guess.

A Word On The Bond Edits

For those who haven’t heard, James Bond is celebrating his 70th Anniversary this year and rather than a new movie that’s going to feature 100 callbacks to prior films whether they make sense or not, we’re going to be getting reprints of all the original Ian Flemming books… except not really.

Apparently, there’s word that the new reprints are going to be edited for content – presumably to remove or perhaps rework certain wording that might not be “appropriate” for modern sensibilities. Naturally, this has caused some people cry foul and throw out accusations of censorship and changing the original works without the consent of the original author… although I’d imagine the Fleming estate or whoever was in charge of Mr. Fleming’s holdings would have approved such edits before any announcement was made in regards to said re-releases.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I can understand the desire to present a version of these novels that can be read by anyone without any possible fear of controversy. Those books were written during a time when certain attitudes and wordings were commonplace and more widely tolerated, if not outright accepted. I’m saying that to be the case; this is WAY before my time, but I would have to assume that’s the case. So I can understand the desire to present these classic stories in a way that can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone.

On the other hand, just the fact that these works are being edited at all does not sit well with me. Not just in the sense of censorship – which is also a grave concern – but it raises the question as to how much of the work you’re reading was written by the original author and how much of it was edited for content. I fear that it eventually gets to the point where we might be getting heavily edited editions of these books that may be nothing but edited for content text with nothing of the original author’s work remaining. It’s almost like taking a bunch of scenes from a movie, shot with a certain intention, and then somebody else reworks those scenes to be completely different.

I am not telling you to either condemn or condone this practice. I’m only offering my five cents on the matter. Am I concerned about this practice being the new standard for literary works in the future? Certainly. Do I think this is going to be a major issue going forward? Absolutely. Is there anything we can do about it? Not really. I could suggest if you don’t want to support these things, don’t give these people your money… but the reality is that if you don’t buy it, somebody else will. And a franchise like James Bond is no doubt going to sell some books on name value alone without a care as to whether the work is representative of the original author’s writings.

I guess we’ll have to see.

Elon Musk Buying Twitter Could Mean The End Of The Twitter And I'm All For It

So, for those who haven’t heard, some rich dude named Elon Musk bought Twitter and is in the process of implementing changes. One such change being a monthly subscription for a blue checkmark as opposed to the spotty approval process for said checkmark. People are already jumping off the platform as a result and some are even signaling the end of Twitter, either as they know it or as a whole.

Let me tell you something. I am all in on the fall of Twitter.
There is not a single cesspole of online garbage and depravity than Twitter. It is truly the nadir of human civilization where supposedly “grown adults” can go online and spew garbage or follow trends for the sake of likes and follows. It has the ability to turn causes – however noble or otherwise – into giant flame wars and insult bombing that turns said cause into a toxic subject. When the platform becomes the means to “support the current thing” and then act complete retards in the process – and that’s being kind – then it’s either time to clean it up or shut it down.
The day Twitter comes to an end and dies will be a day that most people will mourning.
The day Twitter ends is the day I will do a dance.
But only for my super duper followers.
Fortunately, I don’t have Twitter.
So thank you, Elon Musk, for buying Twitter. I’d buy you a round, but you can afford twenty, so I won’t bother. How about a slot on the list if Twitter dies, eh?

Ncuti Gatwa Is The 14th Doctor In Doctor Who

Source: https://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/official-ncuti-gatwa-is-the-14th-doctor-97203.htm

So they cast another Doctor for Doctor Who… and it’s the guy from Sex Education.
I’m sure that means something to someone out there somewhere.
I know nothing about this actor, which usually means no colored (no pun intended) expectations as to how well he’ll do as the Doctor.
I just hope he gets better scripts than Jodie did.
Also, how many folks are weeping that they’re not getting a second dose of David Tennant, as rumored? Or that the Doctor is still not ginger?
Anyway, best of luck to Ncuti Gatwa in his new role.

Sonic Movie Producers Jumping Gun To Produce A Sonic Universe

Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/03/sonic-movie-producer-talks-about-creating-a-sonic-cinematic-universe

So word has it that the people behind the Sonic movies are in the midsts of constructing their own little Sonic Cinematic Universe… because nothing in movies can be just a series; we have to have a whole UNIVERSE of movies. Can we not wait until this movie makes money before we start thinking about making spin-offs and shit like that?
Why is it that every brain fart idea people have when making a movie is that they’re going to follow it up with a whole UNIVERSE of movies? Can’t we just focus on making good movies? Because when you focus on making good movies, you get GOOD MOVIES THAT PEOPLE WILL PAY TO SEE. Make nothing but movies for the sake of making a universe and you get shit like The Mummy, which bombed so badly any and all plans that Universe had for a Dark Universe went down the shitter where they belong.
But you know what? Let’s forget all that. Let’s build a Sonic universe without knowing if the second film makes money first… fortunately, I don’t think we’d have to worry about that because I’ve heard good things about the sequel. The attitude that comes with is what irks me.

Does The World Really Need A Call Of Duty Movie?

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/call-of-duty-report-dwayne-johnson-the-rock-video-game-movie/

So, apparently, The Rock had teased his involvement in another video game cinematic adaptation that he claims is based on one of the most badass video games ever. According to the above article (and some others as well), the project in question is rumored to be Call Of Duty.
Someone help me out here because I’m a bit confused. Do you really need a Call Of Duty movie in your life? I get that we’re going to have these war movies glorifying the military forces and such, but do we really need to call it Call Of Duty? It’s not like Call Of Duty has a diverse universe waiting to be mined or anything; they’re a series of interchangeable video games with interchangeable characters (or caricatures, if you prefer) set in interchangeable settings. Hell, I asked the same thing when I heard there was a movie based on the Need For Speed games; what’s the point of using that name for your car movie?

My Space Jam Story

I may have told this story before, but I figured why not.

Space Jam was a thing that happened and I remembered going to the movie theater to see the film when I was a younger fellow. I don’t know why… well, actually I do remember. One of my cousins who happened to be my older brother’s godchild wanted to see the movie and so he offered to take and I tagged along.

So we arrive at the movie theater, we buy our tickets, grabbed some popcorn and refreshments, and then headed into the movie hall. The striking thing about this hall was that it was completely empty with nigh a soul in sight… well, save for the three chuckleheads who walked in. So we figured we showed up a bit early, took some good seats, and talked amongst ourselves.
Roughly a moment later, the lights dimmed and the screen began to flicker the usual preshow commercials and trailers. Turns out we were the only ones to be watching Space Jam in this empty movie theater. We got a good laugh out of it. It ended up being one of the more memorable movie going experiences I ever had.
Anyway, we saw the movie alone in that big hall. I think we enjoyed it at the time. I could barely remember the damn thing now.
So is the new one any good?