Today's News: a bit of everything

This week's crop of news, courtesy of yours truly and the Internet:

Nieuwe trailer Ted 2

Little is added to what we already knew of this film's plot, but a big can of raunchy jokes has been opened here. Makes you wonder how much more of this we're in for when the actual movie hits theaters, since all manner of bodily fluids and sexual positions have been adressed in this three minute red band trailer alone. One thing this preview makes amply clear is that we shouldn't expect too much from the plot; as if we did. Yes, it's pretty intriguing from a philosophical view point, basically being a retelling of that classic episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Measure of a Man. To what extent does artificial intelligence qualify as 'life'? And what are its rights under the law as dictated by man? All wildly fascinating stuff, make no mistake. But hey, we're talking about a live teddy bear in this case, so forget about any of it sticking for very long. It's not meant to be taken seriously by nobody. The only sticky stuff present in Ted 2, as overtly indicated by this trailer, will be sperm and alcohol.

Butterfield favoriet voor Spider-Man

Butterfield is as good a choice for a younger Peter Parker as any, to my mind. His name certainly sticks out from the others on the shortlist, him having had the most big screen production experience and critical accolades that come with it. That said, do we want a younger Peter Parker? This is Spider-Man after all, not Spider-Boy. True, but in most every incarnation of the character, he started out at high school. He also did in both the Raimi trilogy and the recent Amazing Spider-Man reboots, but in both cases, the actor that portrayed the wallcrawler definitely felt older than the character was supposed to be (since in both cases, he was). So maybe it's about time we let the younger generation try its had at webslinging. No kids on the current Avengers slate, so let's diversify a bit and add one. It's sticking close to the Ultimate Universe the Marvel Studios movies have a knack of imitating. It might make the impact of the upcoming events in Captain America: Civil War hit home harder. Restricting superhero activity is one thing for adult superhumans, but what about teenagers? Requiring them to register their powers to the government, thus limiting their life options from an early age, does feel rather harsh. Hopefully a teenage Spider-Man played by an actual teenager does add some such intriguing new layers of superhero logistics and laws, if played right. And I'm fairly confidant Butterfield can play it right.

Nieuwe posters Fantastic Four

I'm still not convinced these four are right for their respective parts, though. And from the buzz online, it appears I'm not alone in that hesitation. So far the responses to the trailers and other promotional material has predominantly been on the negative side. Maybe it has something to do with Marvel's apparent campaign of smearing the quartet's name because Marvel Studios doesn't own the rights to the franchise anymore. That would be quite cynical and detestable, considering the FF's illustrious history at Marvel since 1963. However, I haven't followed most of the recent FF stories, so I don't know if rumours are true. I just know what I see, and I see these trailers and I'm simply not feeling overly excited by them. Other than the lack of chemistry of the actors and the characters I'm fearful of (which hasn't been proven yet), I can't quite put my finger on it. The actors are fine in their own right, and I know from readint the comics there's plenty to like about the characters in general. Maybe it's the director? Rumours again are not kind. Josh Trank apparently isn't the most easy of directors to work with. Which forms a decent segue to...

Trank stopt met Star Wars

... this bit of news. No more Star Wars for Trank. Much like Gareth Edwards and Rian Johnson, he seemed like a fine choice. A talented young upstart, fresh from his first critical and commercial success. And therein no doubt lies the problem, as other than Chronicle, Trank has nothing to his name just yet. Sure, he directed a likable indie superhero flick, but handling a big blockbuster movie, especially one that comes with high expectations and related pressure, is another thing entirely. Word is things didn't go so smoothly on the set of Fantastic Four. So that might have made the right folks at Disney/Lucasfilm a tad nervous. You're not giving Star Wars to someone who can't even emotionally handle a small property like FF. Especially when there's ample time to find a successor. So the second entry in the Star Wars Anthology series is now in need of a new director. But what about Fantastic Four 2? Fox has already been planning that sequel for some time, with Trank slated to direct it. There's no word yet on whether Fox and Trank will part ways. Which again makes you wonder how much of these rumours are true. A grain of salt is a good thing to take with all this stuff for sure. The Internet may be playing Jedi mind tricks on us.

Eerste teaser Fifty Shades Darker

And here's a mind trick for the members of the female audience who're into this sort of thing. A thirty second tease of Jamie Dornan putting on a tux and a silly mask, followed by a moaning sound. Not very subtle but it will do the trick. Less than two years to go until the release! Make sure to note it in your agendas and plan your lives accordingly, ladies! Even though nobody will honestly accuse Fifty Shades of Grey of being a good film, I'm sure the womenfolk will gobble up the sequel vigorously. But hey, men do the same with "their" franchises like Fast and Furious and all those darn superhero movies, so let's not get overly sexist here. Just remember, guys: in about three years time this will all have blown over and we can resume the everyday course of life as it nothing happened. It's not like anybody is talking about the Twilight movies and books anymore these days. Thankfully.

Today's News: Fifty Shades of a Wonder Woman

Here's the second batch of last week's reported news:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157982/breaking_bad_regisseuse_beoogd_voor_wonder_woman

I find the whole notion of an apparent necessity to score a superheroine picture a female director more sexist in itself than the supposed lack of superheroines. As if male directors are totally incapable of understanding female sensibilities! However, I agree the lack of female directors as a whole begs an explanation, and I have none to give. Their numbers are surprisingly low, especially in but not limited to Hollywood. So it's not surprising there's only so many directrices to pick from for Wonder Woman. Warner's list of choices was basically a list of all women who directed an action flick in the last two decades, and it was still quite a short list at that. I think they made the right choice though (if the deal doesn't fall through, which it still might). These days, television directors making the switch to the big screen (and vice versa, too) is much more accepted than it once was. And of course in such a scenario you want a director who worked on the most acclaimed and popular shows. So finding someone who directed episodes of the current 'Big Three' - Breaking Bad (which is not so current anymore, I'll grant you that), The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones - is basically striking gold. With such a rich texture of compelling drama and genre aesthetics under her belt, Wonder Woman is likely to be a smooth ride for Michelle MacLaren. And hopefully she'll get a chance to direct a male supercharacter movie as well some day, just so we know female directors understand male sensitivities too.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157995/nieuwe_trailer_fifty_shades_of_grey

Speaking of sexist, this is a part of the female mindset the appeal of which I will never understand. Call it male narrowmindedness if you must. This seems like total melodrama, and not the least bit sexy. But of course, I'm not the target audience, and from what I gather so far the target audience itself has a hard time explaining why they remain so drawn to Fifty Shades of Grey itself. If you call it a subconscious female desire for male domination, you're a chauvinist pig, but I still can't see much in this other than that. But I'm not supposed to: this is female pornography, a deep felt sense of eroticism enticing to women but wholly unintelligible to men. Or so it's written off. Doesn't stop me from watching the film upon its release, needless to say while bringing along a healthy dose of male scepticism. But at least this is one ruthless hype I simply cannot be drawn into, thanks to my gender.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/158001/daniel_bruhl_nieuwe_schurk_in_captain_america_3

Oh, very sensitive! Casting a German to play a bad guy in a movie about WW II hero Captain America! The previous German villain at least was played by an Aussie actor. That's Australia, not Austria, mind you. But hey, at least he ll get the accent right. He might actually even talk German, which would make sense. That is, if he's indeed playing a German character, which is likely but by no means certain. There's still a large rogues' gallery for Cap to pick baddies from, and not all of them (but still many) are of the Germanic persuasion. My money is on Baron Helmut Zemo, in this case. Brühl has that air of aristocratic sophistication with a hint of megalomania to him, though maybe that's just me seeing more in him than there is; which only means he's a good actor, a fact we already were made aware of before on numerous occasions. Or maybe Marvel will surprise us and Brühl will play someone totally different. After all, rumours suggest his character is also a Doctor Strange nemesis, which narrows it down considerably (and effectively rules out Zemo, alas). No common foe that is of major significance to both good guys springs to mind, but then, I'm not all that acquainted with the good Doctor. Maybe Brühl's participation to Captain America: Civil War will be limited to a bit part, setting him up as a major antagonist for Doctor Strange to do battle with later on. After all, Iron Man is supposed to be the primary antagonist to Cap in Civil War. Marvel could just be throwing us off-track again. Wouldn't be the first time (nor likely the last) a terrific actor is cast for a small cameo in one character's motion picture only to appear guns blazing at a later date in another's. But hey, it's the guessing game that makes for half the fun.

Today's News: are we ready to see this now?

Today for a bit of more recent news:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153322/eerste_poster_fifty_shades_of_grey

No Nymphomaniac type of shenanigans here. No suggestive imagery, orgiastic mug shots or full fledged revealing sexual material as in the case of that erotic movie's (excessively titillating) marketing campaign. Just a simple, respectable teaser of Christian Grey's respectably dressed backside. The only thing causing arousal here is what spectators bring to it themselves based on their own expectations, or for those who have read the infamous novel, experiences. For those familiar with the original writings, the poster may exude the promise of financial wealth - not everyone can afford such a splendid Seattle cityscape view after all - in the service of a handsome (?) young billionaire who owns a major company. There's quite a lot of potential for steamy sex right there, considering men with money are generally huge turn-ons. But if you don't know about the novel's (and thus the movie's) premise, this poster simply looks bland and not particularly exciting. 'Mr. Grey will see you now', the tagline states. But are we willing to see Mr. Grey?

Isn't the whole hype surrounding Fifty Shades of Grey since its very cinematic inception (which already is quite a while ago by now, considering all the casting troubles) causing us to spawn expectations that this film simply won't be able to live up to? Considering the recent news that the movie will contain less sex scenes that the book, for fear of overdoing it and thus making the movie feel like its droning on, I don't think this movie is gonna be especially arousing. Those who have read the book will no doubt complain about the lack of steamy sexy material, while those that are new to the franchise will wonder what all the talk was about. Or maybe it's a fact this movie, like is often said about the book, has a target audience that is simply limited to 'housewives': mature women dreaming about sexual escapades with younger men and experiencing them by proxy via this novel, which most other audiences would consider a dull read. If that's true, the movie has found its perfect director in 46-year old Sam Taylor-Johnson, who stopped just thinking about having sex with younger men and fullfilled that fantasy by dating and eventually marrying young Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Nowhere Boy), less than half her age. Oh well, as long as they're happy who are we to judge... Whether Taylor-Johnson will satisfy viewers equally with her direction of Fifty Shades of Grey remains to be seen, and this poster is certainly not at all indicative of the film's eventual success or failure at the boxoffice. Fans will either get wet because of this piece of promotioanl imagery or consider it a boring start. The rest of us will wonder just who the hell this Mr. Grey is and why we should care in the first place.