Do That, Hollywood! – Fixing The X-Men

Hey folks,

It’s me, RDT! I want to welcome you to our newest column, Do That, Hollywood! Every week or two(ish), I’ll take a look at something I think “Hollywood” fucked up and suggest how I would fix it. Consider it part op-ed, part casting exercise, and part Monday morning quarterbacking (that’s a thing, right? Sports!) for the entertainment industry. This week, we kick off with the cinematic X-universe.

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Episode #43 – There Can Be Only One

Until we have a main topic worth talking about, we’re sticking with (pop culture) news.

  • Rogue One and Han Solo updates
  • Kingsman and Alien movies swap places
  • Highlander reboot (will it be gritty?) scores a director
  • The gritty Wizard of Oz reboot no one asked for
  • ST:D casting
  • Snowpiercer: The Series
  • Dr.(not Thanksgiving) Smith has been cast
  • Chappelle’s (Netflix) Show
  • New Mutants get animatic-ed

So yeah, kind of a short one this week. You’re welcome!

All of that, plus the usual tangents!

As always, please check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget to rate/review on iTunes and Stitcher, too. We’d really appreciate it!

Weekend Watch: Holiday Edition – 11/23/16

Welcome to the Weekend Watch: Holiday Edition. Where we try to point you towards the best ways to spend your viewing time (or, at least, steer you clear of the garbage) over this, hopefully long, holiday weekend.

Movies

Allied

Loren: I have this feeling that this is going to be bad but the trailers/tv spots look really good. I’m super torn, which means I’ll probably skip it in the theater and might catch it streaming.

RDT: I like Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, but I literally have no desire to see this. Not one bit.

Rick: I’m iffy on this one. I would bet cash money that there’s a movie from the 1940s that has the exact same plot and did it better. Unless reviews are good I’m okay skipping this one.

Jen: Didn’t Cillian Murphy make this movie a few months ago? With a weird-o sci-fi name? Was that a different Nazi spy-hunter movie? Arachnothoid? Artropod? I skipped that one and probably won’t see this one either.


Moana

Loren: Disney has done a pretty incredible job making their computer animation division (or just regular animation division now I guess) on par with Pixar. Well, at least with some of Pixar’s weaker efforts.

RDT: I don’t know that I’ll run out and see this. But I do enjoy me some Dwayne TR Johnson. And the rest of the cast/filmmakers are pretty talented. So I’m sure I’ll see it eventually.

Rick: This may give Kubo and the Two Strings a run for its money as the best animated movie of 2016 (seriously, Kubo is uniformly excellent). I’m in for this.

Jen: Lin-Manuel Miranda? The Rock? Tiki? Disney? I think I dreamed this movie up myself. SO IN!

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Episode #42 – The Worst Terminator Movie

All news, all the time. This week the guys are talking:

  • That fancy new Logan Poster up there.
  • Linus returns for Ocean’s 8.
  • The Green Hornet is back but The Crow and Stargate probably aren’t.
  • Emilia Clarke might have joined the Empire.
  • Fox is developing a crazy scifi show that they totally won’t f*ck with.
  • CWs four show crossover gets detailed and they move Legends to Tuesdays in January.
  • Full Frontal and Westworld are getting season 2s. No Tomorrow and Frequency? Not so much.
  • Y The Last Man gets it’s shot at FX.
  • The Nintendo Switch is rumored to be super cheap.
  • Justice League Dark animated movie gets a hauntingly bad trailer.
  • Will we get a Green Lantern in Justice League. Probably. I guess. I don’t know.
  • The Inhumans are coming! The Inhumans are coming. To ABC? Oh and also IMAX, kinda.
  • Deadpool hires John Wick(‘s Director).

All of that, plus the usual tangents, including one that starts the show!

As always, please check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget to rate/review on iTunes and now Stitcher, too. We’d really appreciate it!

 

Weekend Watch – 11/18/2016

Welcome to the Weekend Watch. Where we try to point you towards the best ways to spend your viewing time (or, at least, steer you clear of the garbage).

Movies

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Loren: I honestly forgot this was coming out this weekend. I wonder if it’s a good thing that they didn’t have too aggressive of a marketing campaign. That said this looks pretty good. If I get a chance I’ll catch it in the theater but it’s not 100% necessary.

RDT: I once said that if I ever had twin boys I would name them Fred and George. So, yeah, I’m a bit of a Potter fan. Count me in, probably this weekend.

Rick: Word on the street is they’re going to make five of these. Call me skeptical, but we all got burned before by Warner Bros. stretching one tiny book into more movies than necessary. I’ll probably check this out eventually, but I’m not super gung ho for it.

Jen: Is a hippogriff easily offended? (Yes, yes they are, and, yes, yes I’m in)


Bleed for This

Loren: I said it earlier this year when Hands of Stone came out that boxing movies aren’t my thing. Couple that with Miles Teller not really being my thing and I think I’ll pass. Too bad, it looks interesting, just not enough to keep me in.

RDT: Like Rick below, I like a good boxing movie. Not sure this is a good one, as I don’t love Mr. Teller. But I’m sure I’ll check it out eventually.

Rick: I’m a mark for boxing movies, so this is a no-brainer. I’m hoping it fares better than this year’s other boxing flick, Hands of Stone, which was in theaters for about half a second before it vanished.

Jen: I wish this didn’t give me a chronic case of the “mehs” but here we are.

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Episode #41 – The Fault In Our Mars

This week, things get Strange (SPOILERS AT 1:25:35) on the podcast. But first, the (just pop culture) news.

  • Wonka Begins
  • Mission: Impossible and Now You See Me continue
  • Painkiller Jessica
  • Bumblebee goes solo
  • Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets teaser
  • Our first fall season cancellations (nearly) confirmed
  • Blue Crush: the series
  • Big Bang Begins
  • Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore come to Amazon
  • The Gilmore Girls come to LA
  • Young Justice returns!
  • So does Harley Quinn
  • Tom Holland sticking around for, at least, 6 movies
  • Cloak & Dagger pushed to 2018
  • A whole bunch of X-news (that I’m too lazy to type out)

All of that, plus the usual tangents. Oh, and this.

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As always, please check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget to rate/review on iTunes and Stitcher. We’d really appreciate it!

Let’s Talk About The New Beauty and the Beast Trailer

So in an effort to not only do breakdowns for action movies, comic book movies, and Star Wars movies I figured I’d give this a whirl. Don’t get me wrong it’s a great trailer and looks gorgeous it’s just not completely in my wheelhouse.

RDT and I have talked a lot about how Disney is remaking many of their classic animated movies as live action affairs. Beauty and the Beast follows Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Pete’s Dragon, and of course the cinematic masterpiece 101 Dalmatians (Glenn Close’s finest work). This is just the start as they have upwards of 18 more live action versions in the pipe, like Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid. Basically your childhood brought to life.

Alright there’s a good deal to get into in this trailer so let’s not waste any more time. Let’s talk about the new Beauty and the Beast trailer: Continue reading

Weekend Watch – 11/11/16

Welcome to the Weekend Watch. Where we try to point you towards the best ways to spend your viewing time (or, at least, steer you clear of the garbage).

Movies

Arrival

Loren: Well that looks intense and amazing. Nice, big budget, hard sci-fi, which we’ve been getting more of lately and I’m totally ok with that. I’m in.

RDT: I am so in for this. Definitely seeing it this weekend.

Rick: *tries to conceal sci-fi boner*

Jen: Now this is my kind of alien invasion (or is it?) flick! Also, nerdy Jeremy Renner is kinda hot. In!


Elle

Loren: A modern day revenge movie that doesn’t appear to be super over the top violent. I could definitely get into that. It’s also interesting that RDT and I were just talking about Verhoeven on the podcast last week. (Which of course you already knew).

RDT: This is not the “Hollywood” Verhoeven I’m familiar with. I’m intrigued enough to add it to the list, once it hits streaming.

Rick: Paul Verhoeven is known mostly for his Hollywood films (Robocop, Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers, etc.), but he had a strong career in his native country beforehand. This resembles his earlier work, particularly The 4th Man, and I’m stupid excited about it.

Jen: This is an interesting and morally ambiguous-looking trailer. Huppert is amazing and has the capacity to play incredibly strong, and often depraved, women. This may be the perfect role for her. I get the feeling that my feminist sensibilities will be thoroughly offended within the first 10 minutes of this film. Yet, in art, I’m not sure that’s necessarily a bad thing. Did I just equate Verhoeven with art? Hmmm, it’s been a long week…

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Episode #40 – Dr. Thanksgiving Smith

We got your pop culture news right here. Stories like: 

  • All the live action Disney you can shake a stick at.
  • But Universal wants in that game too. 
  • James Cameron thinks glassesless 3D is a thing he can do
  • Scifi reboots galore.
  • Dark Tower and a whole slew of others delayed.
  • The lowest rated Flash still beats Agents of SHIELD.
  • Timeless gets some extra hours.
  • Lots of info about the View Askewniverse, The True North trilogy, and Supergirl?
  • Is the DCEU in peril? (Kinda)
  • Everything is Batman!
  • Some Defenders confirmations.
  • Scoring news about different Marvel properties.
  • We saw Doctor Strange but aren’t talking about it until next week. 

All of that, plus the usual tangents.

As always, please check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget to rate/review on iTunes and now Stitcher, too. We’d really appreciate it!

 

Weekend Watch – 11/4/16

Welcome to the Weekend Watch. Where we try to point you towards the best ways to spend your viewing time (or, at least, steer you clear of the garbage).

Movies

Doctor Strange 

Loren: This is my actual Weekend Watch as I’m seeing it Saturday with a few HPN regulars. I’ve been excited for this movie since the casual name drop back in Winter Soldier, but the casting of Cumberbatch and the visual look have only added to that excitement. Ryan and I will give our first impressions on this week’s podcast and will have a full review for it the following week.

RDT: What Loren said.

Rick: I was hoping they were going to cast against type for this role with, say, Chiwetel Ejiofor. It wasn’t to be, but he’s still in this movie, so I’m not going to gripe. I’m walking into this knowing precious little about the title character, but I dig the wild Inception-style vibe. Also, I heart me some Mads Mikkelsen.

Jen: Tilda Swinton is da bomb, yo! I will see this in the theater and that is saying something since I so rarely make it out to the movies. This is sitter-worthy.


Trolls   

Loren: Even the talent in this movie couldn’t get me to see it.

RDT: Also what Loren said.

Rick: I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Jen: I saw this trailer with my 9 year-old nephew and 6 year-old niece over the summer.  I sighed and rolled my eyes. There was a silent pause that was suddenly broken by “that looks like the BEST movie ever” “Aunty Jen will you take us to that it looks SO funny” So… I guess I may have to see this? Sigh. Eyeroll.

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