I caved...sort of...

I bought Man of Steel on Blu-ray Tuesday, which is significant.

When DVD's started replacing VHS, I was extremely skeptical of that "newfangled technology". So when we finally caved and got a DVD player, I began my investigations into determining which films were worthy of the upgrade. The biggest factors were Bells-and-Whistles, the extra stuff not available on VHS, and the personal impact certain films had on my life. 

Then this "newfangled Blu-ray technology" came out, and once again I scrutinized over every purchase. Yeah, they look better than their DVD counterparts, but are the upgrades worth the $20-$40?

They are...to the point that I'll never buy a DVD again...but my magnifying glass has gotten a whole lot bigger.

That being said, I was thinking about this particular Blu-ray a lot. I don't even have Superman: The Movie on Blu-ray - yet. But I eventually caved for two reasons:

* It was cheaper to get it now, which makes no sense.

* It is (supposedly) the first movie of the DC Movie Universe (which I will forevermore call the DCMU).

When Iron Man came out, I only had the DVD player, so I got the DVD. I just bought the Blu-ray version this year. Way better. But I'm such a fan of the MMU that I'm hooked for life anyway.

DC, in general, has always been a mixed bag. Their animation has always been better, and they've been regularly successful on television for decades. Film not so much. Say what you want, but if they're gonna be introducing Batman to the screen for the third time, they've got problems. But more than that, their comics have been uneven for decades. Crisis on Infinite Earths I understood. But rebooting their books twice since then? 

Ridiculous.

So why buy the Blu-ray?

Mostly because I want to see where the DCMU goes. I've given up on their comics (except for the stuff of my youth and before) and liked the Nolan/Bat-verse, - why they couldn't bring Superman into that we'll never know - but this film was meant to be Film One. Intentionally and deliberately. 

And I'm curious...

Monday Movie Roundup...7/15/2013

I think one of the biggest stories from the weekend is that Pacific Rim did well, just not as well as Grown Ups 2...

...but only in this country, where GU2 made an estimated $42.5 million in the U.S. vs. PR's estimated $38.3.

Internationally, however, things turned out quite differently:

Grown Ups 2 only made roughly $1.7 million in the foreign market.
Pacific Rim made about $53 million.

So from a worldwide perspective PR made around $91.3 million, compared to GR2's $44.2.

I'm not sure what that means, but I'll tell you two things -
* Mrs. Adorkification wants to see Pacific Rim...in the theater.
* There's going to be a lot more PR cosplayers than GU2 cosplayers in the near future.

Man of Steel is still in the top 10 (at #10...but that's beside the point).

Iron Man 3 (which came out the first weekend in May) is still in the top 25.

As for The Lone Ranger...

...it remains in the top 5 after two weekends, but has yet to break even on its $215 million budget. Even internationally, which is at just over $119.1 million as of today. I have no idea what Hollywood (or Hollywood reporters for that matter) define as a flop or bomb, but if TLR doesn't make its money back soon it  could very well be one...if it isn't already.

And finally, it looks like FOX isn't going to give up the X-Franchise anytime soon, as they're in talks of making as X-Force spin-off of X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Now, I don't know if they're going with this...

...or this...

...or this...

...or this...

...or even this...

...but all I want is continuity. Which is basically all I ever wanted in my comics...and comic movies...

WTF did I just watch?

Wanna see the cleverest movie review ever?

I know I'm not the best movie reviewer out there...

...nor am I the best superhero movie reviewer...

...this guy, over at Belated Media, is.

Never before have I seen a more succinctly put commentary/review on a specific film...

...except here:

Man of Steel Weekend #4

Okay - so how'd MoS hold up?

Well it stayed in the top 10 through the weekend, landing at #7, putting an additional 11.4 million Domestic dollars in the bank.

Worldwide, MoS has made $586.6 million to date, and it's a whole new ballgame.

Because as of this past weekend MoS passed 1989's Batman and has become the third top grossing film of a DC character in history.

It's still $177 million away from TDKR, but Nolan's gotta be proud of himself...

Man of Steel Weekend #3...

All of the following data comes from Box Office Mojo:

As of this morning, MoS has made an estimated $20.8 million this past weekend.

Note: the numbers are estimates at this point because the foreign market is still open, but for now, the Domestic Gross for Man of Steel is over $248.6 million and the Foreign Gross is $271.7 million - making the grand (estimated) total through this weekend over $520.3 million.

It's interesting, though not uncommon, that the Foreign Gross is higher than the Domestic because so many other countries are watching American films.

(Iron Man 3 by the way has now crossed the $1 billion mark - though I'm not sure exactly when - thanks in no small part to China, South Korea, the U.K., Mexico, Brazil and France.)

But what surprises me is that of all the other countries going to see MoS, the highest profits haven't come from China ($25.9 million) as one might expect...but the U.K., with over $33.2 million.

I wonder if this has anything to do with Henry Cavill...

Makes you wonder if Australia will step up later this month.

Man of Steel...Weekend #2...

Okay, let's take a look at how MoS did over it's second weekend...

Compared to last (opening) weekend's total of $116.6, it made only $41.2 million as of June 23rd.

Yeah, that's a drop of over 64%, but get this - since it opened, MoS made over $210 million in the States and roughly $188.3 million in other countries, making the grand total just over $398 million.

Not the same numbers as Iron Man 3 to be sure, however...

...it's made more that Superman Returns as well as Superman 4, 3, 2, and 1.

That's right - MoS is the top grossing Superman film...of all time.

Not only that, it's the fourth top grossing film of a DC character.

Ever.

And yes, it is behind The Dark Knight ($533.3 million), and The Dark Knight Rises ($448.1 million), (and Michael Keaton's Batman at $251.1) but it's done better than Batman Begins, which made $205.3 million in it's run...

...and we're only in Week Number 2!

So it's no wonder that WB and DC are going ahead with a sequel.

Now do I think MoS will beat TDK?

Absolutely not.

But if it did beat 1989's Batman...

...it would be a whole new ballgame!

WTF? Fridays…The Man of Steel Review…6/21/2013

I’ve given you a week to see the movie and I can’t wait anymore

I’ll go into further detail after I get the Blu-ray but for now, it’s time for my SPOILER-FILLED review after the break.

You’ve been warned.

First Impressions: Man of Steel

Here's my Spoiler-free review...

Adorkette and I saw this yesterday in IMAX 3-D and while awesome, I can't say it was perfect.

This was a great Father's Day film, and I'm not alone in that way of thinking because the 3:45 showing was basically full...which is a good sign for the movie.

The special effects were great, but where it lost me a bit was with the 3-D aspect. This film was converted in post-production - like The Avengers - and along with that movie, there were some points where it was unnecessary...and some points where it could have been done more.

It's so hard for me not to go into detail, thus revealing spoilers, but I will say that this is a worthy successor to the classic Superman: The Movie.

Let's look at how it did financially:

To start with, it set a record for the highest (domestic) opening weekend for the month of June with $125.1 million (including Thursday's showings). This puts MoS right behind IM3 for top grossing films of 2013 so far.

When we add in the Foreign grosses, MoS made almost $196.7 worldwide.

Putting it in perspective, 2006's Superman Returns made just shy of $200.1 million in the States...in it's entire run.

MoS had a budget of $225 million, so it has a ways to go to break even...but we're only talking about $29 million give or take, which I can easily see it doing over the course of this week.

Hopefully, this will mark the beginning of a DC Movie Universe...which we sorely need.

WTF Fridays...The My Apologies Edition...6/7/2013

I totally missed posting yesterday...

I'd say things have been crazy lately, but in truth things are always crazy.

The ball was dropped, but it's picked up now.

So let's run with it...

There's a new trailer out for Man of Steel.

I like it, but it seems to be cramming both Superman and Superman II into one film.

I'll admit, I'm a little worried about that.

But at least we're getting that up front, unlike other films so far...

And finally...

                  There's word of a new Doctor in town...

...who could it be?

There's talk of Maurice from The IT Crowd, but I think Steven Moffat should consider the following...

* The incoming actor should look noticeably younger than Matt Smith did when he came onto the show.

One of the interesting things about this alien is that he started out as an old man. To my knowledge, this has never been discussed within the show. All I know is that originally, the character had only a certain number of "regenerations" in him...which has since been surpassed.

* The incoming actor should be male.

This has spurned some controversy lately. I've seen The Doctor wake up with a new body and ...umm...explore it somewhat before, but the character is male. Superman is male, Wolverine is male, Spider-Man is male. Yes there are female versions of those characters, but they're different characters.

* The skin color of the incoming actor shouldn't matter. 

One of the cool things about The Doctor is that he wonders what he looks like, and has preferences...like being ginger...so it stands to reason that his appearance can radically change from one body to the next.

So who's my pick?

Iron Man 3...Weekend #3...

...well, while Star Trek Into Darkness took the top spot, IM3 was in second place - taking in over $35 million in the U.S. over the weekend.

This puts the worldwide total over the $1 billion mark, and places IM3 in the top ten highest worldwide gross films of all time.

That's darn cool.

Now, will Thor: The Dark World or Man of Steel come even close to this? Probably not.

But that's not the point.

The point is that this film...along with The Avengers (also in the worldwide gross top ten)...prove(s) that "super-hero" films, when done well, make money.

And as long as the production companies make a profit, they'll keep making these films.

What I'm wondering is - where is the line?

At what point would Fox, WB, Sony, Lionsgate or even Disney say: "These types of films aren't making (enough) money anymore, so all current projects are going on 'hiatus'."?

And we all know what "hiatus" means...

So, about the Man of Steel...

I just saw the most recent trailer (officially #3) and the Zod viral video.

Here's what I've figured:
* The comment made about Kal-El having his powers "from birth" most likely means he develops his powers over time on Earth, rather than all hitting at once in adolescence. Don't laugh though, because throughout his years in comics they've developed both ways.

* I think Superman in handcuffs is a ruse made up by the American government (Checkmate maybe?) and Supes to throw Zod off his game as they "turn him over".

* Zod may come to Earth, but he's not coming alone. My guess is that while Nolan and Snyder try to meld both Superman and Superman II into one film, Braniac will show up.

* And is that Richard Schiff on the other side of the glass? Yes it is! As Emil Hamilton no less.

My lingering concerns:
* Clark seems to spend his life hiding amongst humanity. So how does The Daily Planet fit in?

* The infamous interview between Kal-El and Lois takes place in a jail cell?

* Is it me, or is there a total lack of chemistry between Superman and Lois?

What's new with DC movies...?

It's been reported that Christopher Nolan is "taking over" DC's movie franchise...like Joss Whedon did at Marvel Studios and Mark Millar is at Fox.

Is this news? I thought this happened before Christmas...

...but now there's talk of Christian Bale reconsidering his level of done-ness with Batman.

That's news.

But we all know there's a lot riding on Man of Steel...

DC knows it...

Warner Brothers knows it...

...but let's take a look at it:

First of all, MoS started production before DC comics came out with their "New 52" concept - which is why we were all scratching our heads at the first pics of the cinematic version of the costume.

Then Avengers came out, causing DC to scramble ideas to get a Justice League film going.

So in a little over a year, DC found themselves in quite the pickle - getting fans into their brand new revamp of the entire company while falling waaaaay behind Marvel in cinematic popularity and revenue.

Their answer was to put much more emphasis on MoS's success.

No pressure there.

Now let's look at Marvel...

They survived bankruptcy and got a loan to make a set number of films in a set amount of time.

They started with one film and yeah, they dealt with a lot of pressure to make it work, but it more a financial pressure than a "gotta beat the Distinguished Competition" mentality.

Make Iron Man the best film possible. If it didn't work, they had a few more tries to make things with sequels.

Iron Man ended up doing better than they expected, and that got the overall ball rolling.

My point is that DC's got so much riding on MoS, and believe me when I say I hope it does well, but I wish they either got the "New 52" started before production on the film began or got their s#!t together sooner and worked off of Nolan's Batman Begins concept...which was successful enough to go toe-to-toe with Marvel's films.

In other words DC has spent so much time re-inventing themselves that they may have missed their window of opportunity.

Again - I hope I'm wrong, and I would love to see Bale back...but how could they do it without messing with Nolan's continuity?

Two new looks for movie heroes...

Superman and Wolverine have new images out, and both have pluses and minuses.
Here's Logan:

The Good:
* This is a slick look. Granted, it'd be difficult to make Jackman look bad. This makes me think of The Transporter with Jason Statham. (Excuse me, Silver Samurai, while I take my jacket off - before I do the best there is at what I do on your a$$.)

The Bad:
* I know he's in Japan, not Madripoor, but all that's missing is the eye-"patch".
* The hype - articles saying this is Logan's new "suit" and everyone, including me, read Logan's new "costume".

Here's Kal-El:

The Good:
* Unlike the pic from the upcoming Riddick, this is what a male hero's chest is supposed to look like.
* Overall, I like the look - not as good as Christoper Reeve's but way better than Brandon Routh's.

The Bad:
* No hair curl. That's like giving Logan a smooth shave.
* The whole New 52 approach.
* Here's the biggy, despite being somewhat off-topic - where are the pics of Clark? Will he have glasses and be a reporter? Or is he going with just the "Gentle-Ben" look until the third act?

Two gripes about two upcoming films...

It's late for me to blog, and I'm sorry - it's the first time I've had the computer all day.

So let's get into it...

The first deals with the latest image from Man of Steel:

People think that the Army is coming for him...and they're probably right. But I'd like to think that they're there to back him up...during Kal-El's final confrontation with Zod.

The other has to do with The Lone Ranger:

I don't have a problem with Johnny Depp getting top billing, or that he's playing Tonto instead of...you know...The Lone Ranger.

My problem is - why doesn't anyone have a problem with this?

Remember Avatar: The Last Airbender on Nickelodeon?

It was a hugely popular show that had fans all over the world. It ran three full seasons of awesome.

It was so popular that there was a feature-length live-action film made...

...that tanked at the box office.

Sure, the acting was bad and the story was watered down and rushed. But other bad films like that have been made and got not just one sequel, but two...

So why Last Airbender?

Because very early on in the casting stages there was controversy over using - wait for it - Caucasian actors to play ethnic roles.

There was talk of boycotting the film for crying out loud.

Roles were re-cast, and changes were made to the script, but the damage was done. Instead of an awesome first film of a planned trilogy, fans (including me) got crap.

Never mind the fact that thanks to James Cameron they couldn't even use the f**kin' title to the thing...

So here we have Johnny Depp - a great actor with a tremendous career - in a role that really should be played by a Native American...and no one is making a stink about it.

I hope both films do well enough to warrant sequels...and universes come to think of it - wouldn't a reboot of Green Hornet be an awesome follow up?