Reviews are not good, so far. And, I'm not surprised. This always seemed like an odd idea. And, I still can't believe that anyone is still making YA adaptations.
"Mortal Engines" has an early premiere on Thursday, then goes into regular release on Friday.
"Day of the Dead" (1985) ★★1/2 Romero's Reagan-era installment features some of his most biting (get it?) social commentary, added to the grisly goings on. And, Romero again proves that he was the all-time master of the zombie genre. As with previous "Dead" films, Romero does bog himself down in heavy dialogue scenes that could have done with editing, and getting to the point faster. Plus, his human villains are way over the top and make the film overly cartoonish. You are to be forgiven if you sit there begging for the carnage to start. Romero's social commentary this time is with the military mindset taking over and, in the process, bringing things down. You get the point quickly. So, it's one hour of that, followed by the zombies finally running amok. This allows Special Make-Up Effects master Tom Savini to be unchained and work his magic. But, even in the final 40 minutes, half of it is still all dialogue and listening to the crazy militarists. And, that is by far the best aspect of this installment, which still can't hold a candle to the all-time masterpiece "Dawn of the Dead" from 1978.
Having yet another group of charisma-free actors in a Godzilla movie doesn't help. And, are all the monster scenes going to happen in the dark again? Is the budget too low to show the monster battles so we can see them?
I got to see the 70mm re-release of "2001: A Space Odyssey" in New York City last month. "Dunkirk" director Christopher Nolan, and his cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema worked for four months to get the prints ready for release.
I got to see the print at the Village East Cinema in the East Village in Manhattan. I have gotten the chance to experience "2001" in 70mm before. But, it was quite something to get to see it again. And, in this case, I got to see the direct print made from Stanley Kubrick's interpositive that he had worked on prior to his death.
I am hoping that more and more people get to see the film as it is hopefully sent out to more theaters across the country that are equipped with the same 70mm projectors that showed Nolan's "Dunkirk."
The first trailer for "First Man" is out. From "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle and starring Ryan Gosling, it chronicles the life of Neil Armstrong, who was the first human to set foot on the moon.
The new, full trailer for "Solo: A Star Wars Story" is just out! And, since the movie is coming up next month, this is also the final trailer. A new poster is out too!
"Solo: A Star Wars Story" debuts at the Cannes Film Festival, then in theaters worldwide May 25, which just "happens" to be the anniversary of the release of the original "Star Wars."
Anyway, to celebrate, Raspberry Pi has come out with their latest model: The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+. It features an upgraded processor for more power! Read all about it in the links above.
Today, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" has been released on video. So, today I wanted to state my case regarding these new movies:
These Disney "Star Wars" movies are Fan Fiction. They are not "canon." George Lucas was completely involved with every aspect of the previous six "Star Wars" movies. Here, he has zero involvement. So, I consider them no different than if someone was just posting blog entries with their story ideas.
Fans really need to just divorce themselves from the thought that these new movies are "official" in any way. They are products of a business transaction. It's the same as Hostess, which was bought out by other people. And, the snacks, even though they have the same name and packaging, don't taste anywhere near as good as they used to. Disney just bought the ability to put "Star Wars" on whatever they wanted, and they have.
We can now see what an incredibly terrible decision that George Lucas made by selling all of Lucasfilm to Disney with zero conditions. Since Michael Eisner, Disney has been purely focused on profit, not creativity. Their only focus is to take a property and squeeze every dime out of it. That is what they are doing with "Star Wars." It is deeply unfortunate what has happened.
But, "Star Wars" fans have to make it known that they don't accept what Disney has done as "canon," "official," or whatever.
Because it isn't. A deal was made, contracts were signed, product was produced. That isn't creativity, it's just business.
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