I don't care if it's a holiday and a rare break from the lawyer-mines for me. I can't resist following up on some news I covered before, even if it means you get 5 entries this week. It's true that I'll post more if you comment here more, but since I'm GGG, I'll give you a freebie now and then.
Remember March, when I asked whether Netflix is treating the US worse than Canada? I waited a while to share this, but on June 9th, Netflix revealed that US customers would be able to stream Thor, with Captain America: The First Avenger becoming available to stream in mid-late July.
This same announcement also claimed that, during the June-July timeframe, more new additions were coming - Transformers: Dark of the Moon, that Conan the Barbarian reboot, and Immortals. 2 fantasy movies that are supposedly good-to-decent, paired with 3 other, atrociously-reviewed fantasy films.
Netflix revealed all this in a blog post entitled "Superhero Summer!" I don't need to be negative or persnickety about their upbeat tone, but I have to note: Conan, Theseus, and Optimus Prime are not Superheroes. Thor and Cap, I can't deny...
Anyway, it's harder now to be sure that Netflix treats Canada better than the US - I merely suspect it; hell, our Canuckian neighbors did get those movies first, right? By months, right? And we still don't have those Hulk films, do we?
Oh, damnit, fine - you guys get to enjoy rubgy, soccer, and hockey, and you have Henstridge, and Helfer, and Cronenberg, and Phil Hartman... Fine. Fine. I'm not jealous or angry. But for f's sake, can we at least get more of your TV shows?... Please?
I raised questions about the reboot movie, The Amazing Spiderman - in my own dickish way, I did it by mocking Peter Parker's new Twilight-type-hairstyle before noting how this franchise was about capturing that Potter/Twilight/Hunger Games crowd. And my concerns are being validated pretty thoroughly...
Most sources on Aint It Cool and AV Club have given it C-grades; the complaints fall in line with what I worried about - the film doesn't justify its existence with vivid characters and an interesting story, Pete is just too pretty to be a nerd/outcast. These complaints only confuse me because it has a 71% fresh rating on RT. Is Sony using fake reviewers?...
Over at Being Norma Jean, you can read a disappointed review by one of my friends.
Ok, let's forget Spidey - on to news I posted earlier: the Jimi Hendrix biopic that can't have any actual Hendrix music in it. AV Club, that majestic source of so much of my past news, has revealed that the Andre 3000-starring film version will not have any Hendrix tunes at all. Not a one. Apparently, they can use Jimi's covers of other artists' songs, but that's about it.
Which should make for a fairly s##tty cinematic tribute to one of the greatest musicians of all time. Maybe they just... shouldn't bother, and we should all just listen to more of Jimi's albums. I'd say start with the BBC One recording...
I also predicted un-positive things for Prometheus. I still haven't seen it, but I clearly told ya'll that I had low hopes, and the word from many reviewers - and DJ himself (soon to be posted) - is not very positive.
Or, rather, it is positive, but filled with questions about whether the plot and characters and dialogue make any g-d sense. The over-whelming answer seems to be "looks gorgeous, but why is it brainless, forced, and confusing?" It's a disappointing result for a seriously-expensive picture made by an old pro like Ridley Scott.
Digest all that. In the meantime, let me wish my fellow Americans a Happy Kicked Some English Ass Day! Too few nations ever managed to do that...
Thanks for the link Thaddeus. It really was disappointing :/
ReplyDeleteWell, of course, Nik! I remember how enthusiastic and excited you've been for it! I remember how many times you gushed at the photos of him, and how we both liked Emma Stone's personality and eyes.
DeleteYou were more than disappointed - you were crestfallen; your crest fell. I wanted to give you a hug.