Today's Double News: Marco Polo Most Wanted

Another instance of me killing two birds with one stone (an act I can only condone in a figurative sense by the way):

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153071/netflix_produceert_marco_polo_serie

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153030/speciale_golden_globe_promo_voor_muppets_most_wanted

More historical series, epic or otherwise, are always welcome, especially if they involve 'political skullduggery, sexual intrige and spectacular battles'. I can't recall Marco Polo having been done before on the small screen, so this might be as good a time as any to start. There's enough hugely fascinating material to be covered, ranging from Polo's long voyages to the East and the clash of cultures between West and East (but also the mutual learning) the explorer personified, to the major political strife in ancient China. At least there's one Game of Thrones veteran to bring his expertise on television like this along, and the participation of the duo of writer/directors Sandberg and Ronning is also most welcome after their wonderful Kon-Tiki movie that already showed they have an affinity with exploration, even though I know they are quite busy working on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales simultaneously. In all honesty, I'm not acquainted with showrunner John Fusco's body of work, but judging from his resumé - which includes The Forbidden Kingdom and the upcoming Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon II (don't ask) - the Far East is something he enjoys, and if that's true, he might be properly motivated to make this project work to the best of his abilities, as would befit a showrunner. As for Netflix, I have as yet no need for it in my life, since I prefer to watch television of my choice the oldfashioned way, by slowly but surely - with emphasis on the former it must be admitted - working my merry way through huge piles of DVDs and such. So I guess I'll have to do some serious waiting on this show over the next two years, as I'm also not the downloading type. Oh well, that pile will keep me busy for many more months to come anyway.

And should I get bored regardless I can always go see a movie in theaters, like Muppets Most Wanted for example (not the strongest segue, I'll grant you). This new Golden Globe promo spot is pretty hilarious, though it could easily have been done with other movies too, or for other award shows for that matter. Wouldn't be surprised if the Muppets had something up their sleeve for the Oscars too. Until that time, this fun little teaser is enough to whet our appetite for this 'most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, muppetational' sequel. And it also adequately reminds us to avoid any online message boards that are running rampant with trolls, flame wars and assorted silly people, especially the sort that would entice unsuspecting visitors to make money simply sitting at home.

Today's News: Muppet man off to Wonderland

Here's a Muppet newsflash! Well, not really, but it's the next best thing:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/147579/the_muppets_regisseur_voor_alice_in_wonderland_2

One can question the sanity behind opting for an Alice in Wonderland sequel, but considering the first movie did very well a few years back (it's currently the 14th highest grossing film of all time), it's not surprising Disney feels confident it can squeeze a few more bucks out of us, the audience. Even though most people agreed it wasn't a great movie, desite being a Tim Burton flick. Bobin of course isn't a Burton, but at least he managed to make a really good Muppets film. If he can successfully pull off a film filled with the traditional Muppet zaniness, Wonderland shouldn't prove that much different. He'll just have to get used to trading in the puppets for the pixels. From a story perspective, we shouldn't expect too much. Alice in Wonderland by nature has always proved to lack a true story line, instead having the girl parade from one wacky situation to another. Burton and Woolverton did their best to make a coherent plot for the whole which ended in a fairly stereotypical battle between good and evil. It's likely this will be the formula used for the next installment too, though probably with another evil this time around. And possibly with another Alice as well, since Mia Wasikowska's stock has risen considerably since. The question naturally foremost on everybody's mind is whether Johhny Depp will once again be involved. I shouldn't think so. There's only so much you can do with a character like the Mad Hatter and the first film did it all. Re-introducing him would feel repetitive. Not to mention Burton isn't directing (for sure) so that's another deterrent for Depp's presence. It's most likely for the best, considering Depp's weirdo creations get more obnoxious the more often we seen them pulling off their silly stunts. After all, who isn't starting to get tired of Jack Sparrow's shenanigans by now?

In summation, in my mind there's little cause for Into the Looking Glass other than Hollywood making more money, so we should hope for little. In fact, I'm much more interested in The Muppets...Again! After all, their first movie (the reboot, that is) was much more fun than Burton's Alice in Wonderland, plus it at least has the benefit of the original director returning for more. It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights. There's enough wonder left in the Muppets to make us forget all about Alice.