ThaOGDreamWeaver

Krypto is best boy.💖 They’d better not kill him off. If I’m still a bit weirded out, it’s that there’s a lot of characters - heroes, villains and bit players - and I still can’t see how this meshes into a coherent story. Nonetheless, I’m gonna be there.

Mm. Not sure. Coogler’s only EP on this - though with Sinners still running strong, no wonder he gets a Big Damn Credit. The writer/showrunner (Chinaka Hodge) is verrry new at this and feeling a touch of the Mary Sues. As to our Big Bad… I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be Mephisto or Alastor… …wait, Alastor would be AMAZING. And Coogler does love his musicals. Can we get Alastor? PLEASE?

"Christmas is a time for family. It's also a time to party your asses off at the Lucky 38 Casino..." ...and for dropping major event streaming series. Naturally. For Amazon Upfronts, the ever-wonderful Walton getting increasingly frustrated with being a pitchman. (Given Amazon's taking ad revenue now and a large chunk of the audience were gonna be agency types, I'm sure they got the gag). And about 30 seconds of actual teaser... And for those interested, Walton, Ella and Aaron got the full-on Vegas intro, showghouls and all. EDIT: one other piece of related news... Season 2 wrapped last week and is now in edit and post (so that was a fast turnaround on that teaser - then again, that looks like an old-school glass shot rather than CGI. I like it.) That's not the only thing that went fast: based on what they saw in rushes, plus some storyboards, Amazon just greenlit Season 3. This doesn't of course guarantee that any of your favourite characters survive this season. Then again, Ghouls are quite hard to kill...

I think Mel the assistant kept hammering on that theme a bit...

Stevie Wonder 🎂- Higher Ground

Global total was down 55%. Not good. But that said, it was still US domestic #1 and international #1, ahead of Sinners. So not a great week at the flicks generally. Hollyweird accounting note: CA:BNW and Thunderbolts* both have a listed $180m budget. In theory, that means technical breakeven (2.5x) is $450m. CA:BNW tapped out at $415m. Thunderbolts should get there, maybe a little less, maybe a little more. However, the back talk says that this movie's budget is the real one, and CA:BNW's real budget is almost double that with the reshoots and extra CGI. As to where that budget went: it's a lot more evident in this flick that this crew like practical FX. Substantially cheaper - other than the insurance on Pugh doing a decelerator drop herself - and on an IMAX-size screen, they LOOK better.

...just most of it. And still not exactly someone you'd want to relate to, but he is more than capable - and there is still a spark of good left in him. Alexei's also a pain in the backside, but the relentless, dog-like enthusiasm is infectious. And out of the lot of them, probably the best-adjusted. For those who haven't seen it yet and aren't intending to, here are the tail stings:

Finally got round to seeing it today - and was a whole lot of fun, if not the top rank of movies - probably around the original Ant-Man, definitely a return to form. Decent laughs, some pretty solid action, and shot in a very grounded way (right up till the big dark twist.) Great performances from JL-D, Stan, and especially Harbour and The Pugh. And had something quite decent to say at its core.

Now up to Ep5 and the darkness grows. Some quick notes: Ep6:

Tracey Ullman - They Don't Know

Ray Charles 🎂 & The Blues Brothers - Shake A Tail Feather

Brittany Howard - Pale Pale Moon

Four episodes in and liking The Well most so far: it’s Aliens, but for kids. (Including the “nuke it from orbit” line.) Ruby’s solo episode had that nasty little twist but fell flat after that: Lux had great one-liners but otherwise way too gimmicky and self-referential for my taste.

It helps that they cast Keaton for that. Aside from the Bat-references, he's a vastly underestimated actor both for drama and comedy: and was MUCH better for both without the bird suit. Specifically, the scene in the car where he twigs Peter's identity, and the argument with his unfortunate henchman (I thought that was the Gravity Gun?) Oh, and if you've not seen Birdman yet...

I'm gonna say jury's out on this one until the movie comes out. On the one hand, James Gunn is coming off the back of a hit franchise, plus Suicide Squad which was a little uneven but fun, and of course Peacemaker and Super. He is a Super-Fan and True Believer. On the other hand, David Corenswet is untested at this level, and there's a lot going on that he'll need to hold attention against. Hilarious as Fillion's bowlcut is, does Guy need to be there given this particular storyline, or Mr. Terrific for that matter? Is the Engineer a strong enough antagonist - especially with Lex also kicking around in the movie - and also are they familiar enough to an audience member that's not an obsessive Super-Nerd? Does everything and everybody get enough time and love to make them make sense as part of a whole, and still deliver 2 hours 20 or so of punchy popcorn-munching fun? I worry that Gunn's gone kid-in-a-sweetshop on getting hold of his dream franchise, and trying to pack too much in. I didn't think Hackman's Lex was completely goofy. Looking back from an adult PoV, his Lex was very much like the OG comic book versions (even down to repeating his self-aggrandising catchphrases). He's genial, almost likeable, and yet entirely capable of wiping out the Western Seaboard in pursuit of real estate. Smiling Psycho's a classic trope, and I've met more than a few...

Early numbers: $11m Thursday previews, US weekend $70m-$75m, global open prediction $175m. Which given May 4th isn't a Federal holiday, is pretty solid. And if that $175m figure does appear, that's the entire budget banked on open: $525m for technical breakeven should be well within reach. Previews aren't necessarily good predictors: Shang-Chi opened low at $8.8m but got legs from word-of-mouth, whereas Cap:BNW had $12m and then died. Sinners and Minecraft are still also strong contenders. BTW: if you're not fancying seeing Bucky, Yelena and Bob at the flicks this weekend... go see Sinners. Really. GO. Try not to watch or read anything about it before you do. Not even one trailer.

Mo-cap and also face-cap/visual appearance (though they did him a tiny bit dirty compared to his 8x10s. If a camera adds ten pounds, how many mocap cameras were on him?)

JK's only 70, which is a spring chicken by some Hollywood standards. (In fact, by some Hollywood standards, they'd be pairing him off with Sydney.) Also enviably ripped, so I don't think he'd be forced off it on health grounds anytime soon. And dammit, I'd miss that voice. That said, one of the Brand New Day arc's subplots is JJJ getting forced out of the Bugle, so this could be a handover/character retirement movie for him too. And if we can't have any more after this one, at least give the guy a fitting exit. Pentangle if you count Miles. (Which would be fun relationship-wise if he hooked up with MJ). Not 100% confirmed. But... The casting call was for a leading Asian male, 30-50. (Thankfully ruling out BTS). Mr. Negative is the most interesting and relatable villain in that arc. The others are a paperthin goth girl, a jokey XZibit pastiche, and a Lizard spin-off (fun, but a lot of CGI and a lot of plot setup to do). Oh and... Spider-Mugger. You can see why a writer would settle on Martin. As mentioned above, Mr. Negative's plan to take over the NYC underworld plays well with bringing in Cox and D'Onofrio... ...but if Pete discovers Martin's Mr. Positive side and his genuine commitment to FEAST, that gives him plenty to chew over morally. So from a writing point of view, very much yes, this is the guy you want. And it's a bit of a lateral, but why not get in Stephen Oyoung - who's already played the role for the Playstation games? (Not to mention being one hell of a stuntman - could give Holland a proper workout.) He's got quite a lot of mid-level credits on TV and is stepping up to movies - it'd be a major step up, but if they took the chance on Holland...

Yup. My inner editor decided not to add this tidbit from Reuters, though it’s interesting. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/marvels-thunderbolts-test-chinese-appetite-hollywood-trade-war-rages-2025-04-30/

Small updates from the rumour mills: Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) is being strongly attached to the movie as either Gwen Stacy or maybe Jean Grey. Zendaya will also return as MJ... ...joined by Felicia Hardy/Black Cat (rumoured: Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney. That's gonna make things complicated.) Casting calls have been made for an Asian male principal who could - from the description - be Martin Li / Mr. Negative. Plot hints have been dropped around FEAST so that would make sense. Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio will also make an appearance, with the events of Daredevil: Born Again impacting on Spidey's ability to operate. That would match up with the Brand New Day comic's Registration Act theme, except more local to NYC. Also, Mr. Negative's play in the comics is taking over NYC's underworld - so if Fisk is still the MCU's Kingpin at that point, it makes sense to go after him. Harry Osborn will be in this as a neutral: Timothée Chalamet is rumoured, but that would be a step down from being a lead, so let's see if that pans out. Involvement of the Daily Bugle is key so JK Simmons is back. And the big surprise: this flick may introduce Miles Morales, so it might wind up being a handover movie.

Yup. Speaking of which, bit of writing advice - or maybe all kinds of creativity... ...don't necessarily worry about having everything planned out. Let it flow, then edit later if you need to.

It's not the worst-performing Disney flick this year: the Snow White remake did only Y9m total (or about $1.25m), and they're smacking down Minecraft, which has been on release for just over a month and has only clocked $26m. Besides, Chinese moviegoers have had a much better selection to choose from of homegrown movies of late. Ne Zha 2 - one of those movies you're gonna need to know a lot about Chinese legends to get set up on - is wiping the floor with every imported movie you can think of. (One exception being the Kung Fu Panda series, which... well.) I think Whollyodd studios generally - and genre movie producers specifically - are gonna have to get used to not having China as a guaranteed moneyspinner any more. If we're looking for some good news, the reviews are unexpectedly good, especially Flo Pugh holding it together. Let's see how things pan out over the May Day release weekend. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thunderbolts

I'm not sure we need every 80s movie remade, sequelled or equalled, but I've never refused a side order of Bacon. Val returns to Perfection 35 years later, and the worms are back, probably called by some damn kids who watched too much Dune or something. Get your popcorn, throw some jelly worms in halfway down to freak your partner out, switch your brain off and enjoy. Hopefully. Side note: this is the second time a series has been spawned, the first being... ...well, probably not something you want to spend too much time hunting down.

Spirit Of Canada - Home For A Rest🇨🇦

Rush - Freewill (Snakes & Arrows - Live) 🇨🇦