Originally Posted By brotherdave If you want Marvel attractions in Florida, you have to go to that little known park down the road that nobody's ever heard of....although I hear there's something there that has to do with a boy wizard or something as well as dinosaurs, cartoon characters, and a silly feline with a white and red top hat in a silly looking themed area made of styrofoam...
Originally Posted By ecdc Saw The Avengers today. Better than Thor and Captain America. Not as good as real movies like The Descendants or Tree of Life. Forgive my snobbery, I'm just so tired of comic book movies. Another Spiderman reboot, already? This is so lazy next thing you know Hollywood will start making movies based on theme park rides and board games.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 I thought the Descendants was really good. But Tree of Life, my god that movie crawled so far up it's rear end.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 If superhero movies aren't your thing then why come to this thread? If you made a "Art movie" thread, I would not go in there and whine that they aren't my thing, I just wouldn't go to that thread... With that being said, biggest opening of any movie ever is likely on the horizon... Key is next weekend, if it's less than a 50% drop, 500 million is likely...from North America alone...
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Key is next weekend, if it's less than a 50% drop, 500 million is likely...from North America alone...>> It doesn't really have any competitors coming out next weekend. Dark Shadows doesn't have what it takes to really challenge it. I'd be very surprised if it was under 100 mill next weekend.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>If superhero movies aren't your thing then why come to this thread?<< Oh awesome, the "someone disagrees so why come to the thread" response. Let's cue the inevitable response so we can move along and have an actual conversation: It's a discussion board, people get to discuss what they think. Cool? We good, or do we get more silly comments about why someone might post? I saw the film because it got better reviews than I expected. Not all movies, even comic movies, are made the same. Batman is absolutely superb. The laziness is in attempts to replicate the success of movies like Batman with superficial mimicry.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper Except...not really. Absolutely no one has tried to mimic what Christopher Nolan has done with Batman.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance I'm going to see it today. I'm hoping it's way better than Captain America, I didn't like that movie at all. I'm also getting tired of the whole superhero thing, but X-Men always manage to make me believe again, maybe this will too.
Originally Posted By dagobert I'm really looking forward to see the movie. My friends enjoyed it so much that they want to see it again and they aren't superhere movie fans at all. So I guess I will also like it. The last superhero movie I've seen was X-Men First Class, which I really enjoyed. Except for the Nolan Batman movies, the first X-Men and Spider-Man 1, I haven't seen any superhero movie in the cinema.
Originally Posted By ecdc The ever-increasing reliance on existing properties certainly fits the bill. Perhaps mimicry is the wrong word for that portion of it--but it's the observation that known properties do well. This has always happened in Hollywood, but typically it's been limited to books. Now it's expanded into video games, comic books, theme park rides, TV series, even board games. And now we see art imitating life, imitating art with the announcement of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride movie. I get it, Hollywood's a business, and relying on these existing properties guarantees a built-in viewing audience. It also guarantees less interesting and original movies. As for the mimicry, there's an effort to duplicate the success of Batman by making superheroes or comic characters more "real," or "grounded," attempting to make their origin stories less fantastic, and infusing the films with a more serious tone. None of these really succeeds as well as the Dark Knight series, though some fare better than others. Even those that tend to be more well-liked, such as Spiderman or Ironman, really are just mediocre films that benefit from the low expectations set by the awful stuff: Watchmen, Thor, Daredevil, Catwoman, Fantastic Four, Green Lantern, Ghostrider, on and on it can go. Of course, that doesn't even get into movies that aren't based on comics, strictly speaking, but are essentially made in the same style: Transformers, G.I. Joe, Battleship, etc. The larger issue isn't that comic book movies get made - bad movies get made all the time. The issue is what is shoved aside in favor of comic book movies, especially since these movies tend to do very well overseas, while more serious films (for wont of a better phrase) get left out or relegated to the art house, since they don't translate as well to foreign audiences. I talk about it (even in comic book threads) because film matters. It's the most accessible art form, and when it's lazy, it impacts us all.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 The larger issue isn't that comic book movies get made - bad movies get made all the time. The issue is what is shoved aside in favor of comic book movies, especially since these movies tend to do very well overseas, while more serious films (for wont of a better phrase) get left out or relegated to the art house, since they don't translate as well to foreign audiences.<< It's not all about America anymore. Most films can gross 60 to 70% of their profits from overseas thus studios will focus on what will make them the most money... If artsy movies don't gross overseas they won't be made as often.. Additionally, t doesn't make business sense to release a bunch of art house crap that only 5% of the audience wants to see when they can release a movie that can gross 150 million + opening weekend... Are there too many comic book movies out? Sure, saw Ghost Rider 2 and thought it was garbage. Unfortunately the problem that studios make is they see "Avengers making a crapload" headlines and now they are going to rush and throw together any team of Superheroes to make money, regardless of whether it is quality or not. I wouldn't be surprised at the announcement of a Nolan produced Justice League movie within 6 months...
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <So if The Avengers becomes a giant mega-hit, then a theme park invasion certainly makes sense. Where do they belong in the Disney Theme Parks?> Avengers 4D as a replacement for Captain Eo.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Additionally, t doesn't make business sense to release a bunch of art house crap that only 5% of the audience wants to see when they can release a movie that can gross 150 million + opening weekend...<< And this is of course the fallacy, that it's all about art house "crap" or my favorite phrase (and a surefire sign that someone has no business being a movie critic) "artsy fartsy." Crap is crap, whether it's Michael Bay or Lars von Trier. I'm all for big blockbusters, just make them, you know, good. This isn't about Hollywood owing us art, it's about moviegoers having better taste so what gets made is actually good. Call me crazy, but if I go to an action movie, I want to actually care about the characters so there's a heightened sense of risk and danger when they go into action. If I watch a romantic comedy, I kinda expect to be romantic and funny. I know, I'm weird that way. This isn't about snobbery or "art house crap." That's like saying "I prefer Justin Beiber over those artsy fartsy Beatles." There's plenty of room for quality film that has a broad audience, as Pixar (minus Cars 2) and Nolan have demonstrated.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 This isn't about Hollywood owing us art, it's about moviegoers having better taste so what gets made is actually good. Call me crazy, but if I go to an action movie, I want to actually care about the characters so there's a heightened sense of risk and danger when they go into action. If I watch a romantic comedy, I kinda expect to be romantic and funny. I know, I'm weird that way.<< Problem is crap sells.... Not sure why anyone would pay to see a Michael Bay explosion fest, but they do, and because of that, Hollywood is copying it to the extreme. I do like how Avengers mixed plot with comedy and action sequences, as the last 30 minutes watched alone could have made someone think they were watching a Bay movie...
Originally Posted By jasmine7 I just got home from it, and I freaking loved it. Joss perfectly captured all of the characters (Hawkeye would be the one weak point, but semi-understandable, given his character arc), and the mix of action, comedy and true heart (yeah, I said it) made a winning film in my eyes. I would possibly add a caveat that if you aren't already a Joss Whedon fan, you may not like it as much as those who love his previous work. Some of the sequences and the interplay of the characters reminded me (fondly) of his other work (I might even say it felt the closest to Firefly). And, yes, stay through all of the credits. The first "post" credit scene had me geeking out completely (other comic fans will know who & why), and the second one was just adorable. I can't wait for the next Avengers film.
Originally Posted By magic0214 Loved the movie! I was very happy that each character had an equal representation throughout the film. I was thinking it might have been Iron Man heavy or someone else taking up a majority of the screen time...but it didn't do that at all. My favorite action movie ever. Some pretty high standards are already being set for this Summer's movie slate after this, so let us see if they live up to them.
