Mike issues his 2023 State of the Cinema address. On the agenda, Disney announces sequels Toy Story 5, Froze 3 and Zootopia 2. Mike gives his thoughts on what needs to change for Disney animation and Disney+ releases. Mike breaks down the new DC Universe and the 5 films we will see in their first new chapter titled “Gods and Monsters” and where “The Batman” and “Joker” sequels fall into the new universe. Plus, how AMC made everyone mad after the announcement that they will be charging for ‘the good seats. In the movie review, Mike talks about why people are saying the love story wasn’t believable in You People, why the chemistry and comedy lacked, and did they really CGI the final kiss? And in the Trailer Park, it’s the beginning for the head of the road of another historic franchise now that we have our first look at Fast X, the 10th Fast and the Furious movie.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, and welcome back to movie mis Movie Podcast. I
am your host movie Mike, and today I will be
delivering my State of the Cinema Address. We'll talk about
the entire movie industry and where it stands as a
whole with all these big announcements coming from Disney and
d C and AMC making a bunch of people mad.
And then in the movie review we'll talk about one
of my most anticipated movies of the year, you people,
(00:21):
which came out on Netflix. That's all I'll say for now.
And then in the trailer Park we'll talk about the
beginning of the end of the road with a new
fast X trailer. But thank you for listening and being subscribed.
Shout out to the movie crew. And now let's talk movies.
In a world where everyone and their mother has a podcast,
(00:41):
one man stands to infiltrate the ears of listeners like
never before in a movie podcast. A man with so
much movie knowledge, he's basically like a walking Audi MDV
who's classes from the Nastril Podcast Network. Movie Mic, thank
you all for joining me on the State of the
(01:04):
Cinema Address. We have a lot to get to on
the agenda. Disney has announced some sequels to Toy Story
and Frozen. D C has laid out their plans for
what they are doing in the DC universe, and a
MC is making a bunch of people mad by charging
more for the best seats in the movie theater. But
I'd like to start first with my opening statement movie crew.
(01:27):
I am happy to say, and I know I'm a
little bit biased here, but I think movies are coming
back slowly, but they are coming back. In two the
box office revenue across the globe was up at twenty
six billion dollars, which is about a twenty seven percent
increase from one but it's still pretty far away from
(01:49):
reaching those pre pandemic levels. Even at that twenty six
billion dollars, it's still about thirty five pc lower than
it was from seventeen to twenty nineteen. But I don't
want to think the movie industry is dying. I don't
think it will die even anytime soon. But I do
believe that some things need to change, because at the
core of it, I still believe that the best movies
(02:12):
I go and see are in theaters. And I don't
want to get into this old school mentality way. If
you need to go to the movies to experience it.
I don't believe that, but I am just a movie
fan and I enjoyed that experience, and I feel like
all of my movie memories still come from sitting my
butt into a movie theater seat and watching a movie
(02:32):
with other people. I can recall a bunch of memories
just within the last five years, and all of my
favorite movie moments have come from a movie theater. I
haven't been able to replicate that same experience at home
with my butt on the couch. So the way I
enjoy a movie just happens to rely on where my
butt is. I don't see enough people talking about that,
(02:53):
but that doesn't mean that is the same for everybody.
And we saw that in we all became more comfortable
watching things at home. Our TV screens got better, we
subscribe to more streaming services, and overall we just saw
how a lot cheaper it was to watch them at home.
And even now doing this podcast, I still see that
(03:14):
because I always tried to review the newest movie that
comes out in theater on the podcast, and I think
when it comes to big movies like ant Man coming
out next week, or even with Not at the Cabin
or any big action movie. A lot of you are
kind of like me and like to experience that opening weekend.
We like to avoid the spoilers. But with some other movies,
(03:36):
say one like last year Emily the Criminal, I saw
that when in theaters, but more and more people really
didn't watch that movie until it came out on Netflix
months later. So I think that really kind of leads
us to where this discussion even begins. And what are
we arguing about. Is it the size of the screen
or the size of the ideas, And I think that
(03:57):
is really what factors into what motivates us to go
watch a movie in theaters. I think when the idea
size is really big and the fandom is there, that
is going to get us to go and watch those
movies in theaters. But when it seems like something is
a little bit more small scale, maybe it's an indie movie,
we tend to just wait for those to watch him
(04:18):
at home. So that's why I don't think the movie
industry is dying. We've just really changed how we watch things.
And I feel like everybody I talked to is always
behind on something. You're trying to catch up on a
TV show, You're still trying to watch this movie that
came out that you really wanted to see. There is
just so much now And you don't really have the
same argument when it comes to TV shows. Even though
(04:40):
your top three TV shows that you've probably watched in
the last four years are a lot different than somebody else's.
There really isn't that one universal anything anymore. We are
out of the days of everybody watching the same thing
at the same time in movies and in TV. And
the only reason people say that the movie industry is
dying is because of the model where you actually have
(05:02):
to go buy a ticket to watch a movie. And
even to me, that idea still starts to feel a
little bit more forward and so outdated that you are
paying for something that you could get at home. And
I started to get into that mentality myself, But then
I realized, in order to have all those big moments
that I want, you gotta pay for them, and that's
just how that industry is built. I think later down
(05:24):
the line it will change, but I still think that
that model will stick around at least for another ten years.
What do I think the film industry needs to make
it through those other ten years? I think we need
more cultural moments when it comes to movies. Top Gun
Maverick was a great example last year. It got a
lot of people back into the theater who had been
(05:44):
in a very long time, so was in canto with
the soundtrack going viral. Spider Man No Way Home did
that as well. It was the first big pre pandemic hit,
and even the minions got in the action with the
gentle Minions. And also in the last year, I think
Horror has own a really good job at that. With
movies like Smile and Meghan also having cultural impacts, I
(06:05):
think we need to focus less on all these legacy franchises.
And when all the big slated movies come out and
it's all like reboots and Parts four and five, that's
where you begin the argument of all they're just remaking everything.
So movie crew, I hope you are like me and
are optimistic about the future of movies. I think we
have some great movies coming to us this month, and
(06:27):
I was just looking at the movies coming out in
March and marches pretty stacked. On March three, we get
Create three. On March tenth, we get Scream six. On
March seventeen, we get Sasam two. On March twenty three,
we get John Wick four, and on March thirty one
we get Dungeons and Dragons. I know, I was just saying,
we need to get away from all these reboots and revisits,
(06:47):
and then we have a bunch of sequels coming in
March that I'm excited about. I think there's a place
for those two. But now let's get into what Disney
announced last week. Recently returned Disney Cego of Bob Iker
made a major announcement talking about out their lineup, and
it looks like we are getting Frozen three, Zootopia two,
Toy Story five, and this is an addition to last
(07:07):
year them announcing Inside Out too, which is coming out
on June four. Disney also announced that they are cutting
seven thousand jobs after Disney Plus subscribers were down two
point four million for the first time ever, which is
surprising to me, especially when it comes to their model
and the decisions they've made recently with their movies, some
(07:29):
going to streaming, some going to theaters and then later
to Disney Plus. The fact that they lost subscribers for
the first time makes me wonder if they are revisiting
and re kind of structuring how they do that, especially
after Strange World, which came out last year was one
of their biggest flops ever. And I didn't completely hate
(07:52):
Strange World, but I think it is an example of
what is going on with Disney animation right now, which
as a whole, Disney is not hurting. They have Marvel,
they have Star Wars. Those continue to bring in a
lot of money at the box office and for Disney plus,
so as a whole, I think Disney is all right,
but I think they are lacking a little bit when
(08:12):
it comes to their animation, and I think Strange World
is a bit of that example. The problem is the
stories and the ideas have a little bit less imagination.
Even when it comes to the animation, they aren't doing
anything drastically different. I feel like they're almost stuck in
this twenty ten style that they really haven't to find
(08:33):
what Disney is going to look like moving forward. I
feel like their stories and their concepts and their characters
as a whole just feel a little bit less inventive
to me. And maybe that was their decision to green
light some sequels to their well known hits and their
biggest properties, even though I still believe that Toy Story
should have been a trilogy. It was a perfect trilogy
(08:56):
until they decided to make Toy Story for which was
kind of us the falling action of Toy Story three.
I think, why not go out on a high note
with Toy Story three and then do more spinoffs. I
still enjoy and will defend light Year. I still think
that was a really great movie, and I think they
could do a lot more movies like that. Of breaking
(09:18):
the Toy Story franchise into different genres. Light Year would
be a great sci fi you could do Western movies
with Would he even give him a full origin story
that we've never really got. There are so many characters
in Toy Story you could get all these different genres,
kind of like the Marvel model, where you get the
romantic comedies with Thor, you get the space and sci
(09:39):
fi with Guardians of the Galaxy, you get more of
the action with the Captain America movies. Why not do
that with some Disney animation properties as well. For a
long period of time, Disney just didn't really make sequels.
They were such a dominant force that they didn't really
need to do that. So to me, it kind of
feels like they're itching for another hit with these announced,
(10:00):
especially with Frozen three, which is kind of alright, easy money,
you put up soundtrack, you crank out another movie. That's
kind of what that announcement feels like to me. I
also don't think you could top the soundtrack and Frozen two,
so I'm leaving that up to them to approve me wrong.
Zutopia two I have no real problems with. I think
that First Woman was a great movie, had a really
(10:21):
great message, But of all the sequels they could make,
I don't know why that one needs one. I wouldn't
be completely surprised if they just stopped putting out animated
movies in theaters altogether within the next five years, although
I worry about that because it feels like some of
these movies go a little bit under the radar when
they get put out on Disney. Plus, just look at
(10:42):
the movies in the last two years. Soul, which came
out in Riya and The Last Dragon came out in
twenty one, Luca came out in twenty one, Ron's Gone
Wrong also came out in twenty one, and in Ganto
was really their first kind of big hit post pandemic.
Turning Red kind of came and went on. Disney Plus
went very under the radar. Light Year came out in
(11:04):
theaters and didn't do as well as they thought, and
then Strange World came out in theaters and also didn't
do as well as it thought, lost them a bunch
of money. And the reason I think that this is
the only genre that the only streaming model could work
is because primarily it's family is going to watch these movies.
It's less expensive to watch them at home. The price
(11:25):
of taking a family to the theater, wrangling up all
your kids, getting them there, getting them in the seat,
that takes a lot of time and effort, more than
it does just to pop on Disney Plus, pay your
subscription every month and watch a movie at home. So
I could see that working of them just switching to
a streaming only model for Disney animated movies, for Pixar movies,
(11:47):
all that could just straight up go to the home experience.
But I think if they do that, it will start
to affect the Disney culture a little bit and their
impact on popular culture, and could even affect their impact
on Disney World and Disneyland. If it feels like these
movies are resonating a little less and less of kind
(12:10):
of losing that effect of watching it at home versus
in the theater, and more of that buzz of people
talking about these movies. It could end up that you
end up going to Disney World and you see all
these attractions and all these characters that you're not completely
familiar with. So I don't think that's the best decision
for them overall, but they may try that out for now.
(12:30):
So now let's continue on the state of the cinema
and talk about what d C is doing. There is
this newly created DC universe that James Gunn is putting together.
James Gunn has been behind movies like Guardians of the Galaxy,
the Suicide Squad, and he is now kind of seen
as a d C savior and the person who is
(12:51):
going to bring back and revive the studio that has
so many great characters and so many great stories to tell,
but just hasn't had that same success as Marvel. And
what they are doing now is kind of modeling what
Marvel has done and has proven successful, but doing it
their own way. So instead of phases which we know
(13:14):
about as being Marvel fans, they are doing chapters, and
this first chapter, chapter one, is called Gods and Monsters.
And I've read about this for a couple of weeks
that the stories have been out now, and even for me,
who is completely dialed into this stuff I know and
go and watch all these movies whether I want to
or not, it still feels a little bit confusing to
(13:36):
me how it's going to work. So I'm going to
try and explain it as easily as I can. Even
though I feel like they had all these thoughts out
on paper and it looked good and they're ready to
do this announcement, but there's still all these little plot
holes and questions. So what they are trying to do
is make everything a lot more cohesive, make all the
(13:56):
stories and characters go together and are going as far
as Any actor booked to play a role will play
them in every capacity, whether it be in a movie,
TV show, on the animated show, or on video games.
If somebody gets cast as Superman, they will be Superman
and all of those titles. So what they have done
(14:17):
is they have asked all the actors they are hiring
to sign a ten year contract to make sure it
all plays out in this eight to ten year plan, which,
again that looks good on paper, but what we've seen
in DC in the past is actors get unhappy, some
actors go off the rails. So I feel like it's
always open to a little bit of nuance of at
(14:37):
some point some actor deciding, Hey, I'm out. But let's
talk about the five movies they announced in the d
C Chapter one and the ones. I'm most excited about
Superman Legacy, which is coming out on July one, and
this will be the start of this entire plan. So
this is where it gets a little bit confusing, because
there are DC movies coming out this year, but the
(15:00):
plan won't start playing out for another two years, obviously,
because they have to get all these titles out. So
the question kind of just comes out right at the
beginning of wait does this get to connect? Is this
going to happen? And we'll get into a little bit
more of that later, but this is supposed to be
the start of this entirely new chapter and it won't
be another origin story, so we won't have to sit
(15:22):
through that again. The sad part here is that we
were supposed to get Henry cavill back as Superman. He
came out and did the announcement. He showed up in
Black Adam and then at the time that they were
gearing up to make this announcement of the entire new plans,
they said he was out. So I just feel bad
for him as a as an actor. So instead of
(15:43):
Henry Cavill, they are looking for a younger actor to
play Superman. No one has been cast yet, but the
story looks like it'll focus on him balancing his human
upbringing while also being Superman. It kind of feels like
to me they're going to do Marvel did with Spider
Man back when they cast Tom holland make them younger,
(16:06):
make them more relatable, and get rid of the origin
story that we've all seen done so many times. So
I hope it has that same kind of fresh energy
and does a really good reset on Superman, just like
Marvel did with Spider Man. I think that's what DC
needs to do in this new phase, make it a
little bit more fun and lighthearted, and make all the
movies not look like two thousands metal music videos anymore.
(16:29):
I think that is why I really never fully got
into all the d C movies, and I'm not the
biggest Man of Steel fan even though I didn want
to see Henry Cavill come back, but those movies feel
just so kind of tens to me. I think they
need to get out of that entire genre altogether, and
if there's one character that can do that, it is Superman.
They also announced a movie called The Authority and what
(16:51):
the Authority is. It's kind of like The Boys on Amazon.
It's a group of superhumans doing good things in general role,
but not having the most idealistic approach to doing those
good things, so a little rough around the edges, kind
of in a suicide squad vein, kind of been a
Guardians of the Galaxy vein. So this one isn't necessarily
(17:13):
good guys versus bad guys, heroes versus villains. Maybe it's
a little bit more of an anti hero story. I
think this is kind of what I was looking for
in Black Adam. Black Adam was supposed to be a
superman without a moral compass, and we didn't get that
at all. So that's what I'm hoping for. I'm hoping
for superheroes without a moral compass, a little bit grittier,
a little bit edgier. They haven't announced what kind of
(17:36):
rating this movie is going to get but for the
sake of the integrity of the story, I hope it
is rated. Are also announced. The one I'm the third
most excited about two is The Brave and the Bold,
which is an introduction to this version of Batman. This
is where it gets a little bit confusing, because this
Batman will exist entirely different from Robert Pattinson's Batman in
(17:58):
The Batman, So this will be all about the bat family.
We're going to get a version of Robin, which is
Damian Wayne, who is kind of a hot head. In
this story, he's an assassin, he's a murderer. And in
this story, Damien is Bruce Wayne's biological son that Bruce
Wayne had no idea about until he was ten years old.
So it's this really strange kind of father son's story,
(18:19):
which sounds pretty good to me. The only thing that
will make it a little bit weird is the fact
they'll have two Batman's going on at the same time.
I'm hoping for a little bit more of a straight
on action style of movie with this one, especially with
that Robin character, and since it doesn't have to be
dark and gritty, because that's what we have in the Batman.
I really hope that they go for a classic comic
(18:42):
book look when it comes to designing the characters in
this movie. I think that would be a good kind
of way to appea some of these DC fans that
you've had so annoyed and angry for so long by
giving them things and taking things away from them. Give
him that classic Batman and Robin look. It doesn't have
to be as completely cheesy as we've seen previously in
(19:05):
TV and movies, but some kind of homage to a
classic Batman uniform. I'm thinking more of the blues and
grays and highlights on the yellow. Yeah, Batman and Robin
and Tits probably isn't going to be the thing to do,
you know, post this one doesn't have a release date yet,
but it will probably be maybe. I don't think that
(19:27):
is what we need then, but something to bring back
those classic comic book characters. I think it's important for
d C that is really where a lot of their
brand identity lives and it hasn't translated onto the big stream.
I think that's what they need to really set themselves
apart and have any kind of edge over Marvel. They
(19:47):
also announced Supergirl, Woman of Tomorrow, which in this story,
Supergirl is kind of the opposite of Superman as far
as her upbringing in this story is being described as
Supergirl role was raised on a rock chip off of
Krypton and watched everyone around her die and be killed
in terrible ways for the first fourteen years of her life.
(20:08):
So Supergirl is going to be pretty hardcore in this movie,
That's what I'm talking about. The only sad part here
is it reminds me that they can the Bad Girl
movie will never see the light of day, and if
this is the reason why I don't fully see it,
I don't see why both of these movies couldn't have
existed in this d SEU. Nothing in the plans that
(20:30):
I've seen announced really feel to me like they would
be hindered by the fact that a Bad Girl movie existed,
especially when it was already done. Maybe they were just
really going for that tax break and needed that money back.
But nonetheless, I am into this Supergirl movie, and the
one I'm oddly the least excited about, even though I
love horror movies, is Swamp Thing. It sounds so old
(20:52):
school to me, and I'm sure they'll prove me wrong.
By the time more details come out, by the time
we get a look to a trailer for this movie.
The only thing I respect here is their decision to
make something completely different, and I think that's what you
have to do to keep superhero movies interesting is get
out of that formula altogether by just bringing a movie
(21:14):
in a different kind of genre. And that's what Swamp
Thing is supposed to be. The movie is going to
investigate the dark origins of the character and supposed to
be d c's horror movie. And not only that, since
it is a part of this entire d C universe. Now,
Swamp Thing will interact with the other characters. So it'll
(21:35):
be interesting to see how they are able to blend
genres throughout all of these movies. And it doesn't seem
to me like DC is trying to build up to
any Avenger style of movie. I think they were burned
by that with Justice League and they kind of rushed
together to get that thing together to compete with Marvel.
It doesn't seem like they are doing that now. So
(21:56):
they are in a way modeling what Marvel has done
and has been proven successful, bringing all these characters together
and creating this world where everything connects, but don't really
have to take it a step further, and all these
movies be building towards a grand finale of them all
coming together to fight this unified villain. And then finally
(22:18):
they announced that there will be else Worlds, which is
where all the other DC movies will exist that are
not a part of this universe. So The Batman with
Robert Pattinson, the Joker sequel will all exist in else Worlds.
It is a sub brand of DC films, and all
the stories and characters will be completely unconnected. And I
(22:39):
think that's where the good stuff is. These are the
movies that I feel are really noteworthy and also making
DC a lot of money. So I'm glad they are
not messing with them and trying to connect these movies
into it. Just let these movies stand on their own.
I think the only part getting a little bit confusing
is when it comes to all the d C movies
(23:01):
that are still left to come out. You have Shazam
Fury of the Gods coming out on March sevent the
Flash coming out on June sixteenth of this year, Blue
Beetle coming out on August, and Aquaman in The Lost
Kingdom coming out on Christmas Day. Shazam was supposed to
at some point connect with Black Adam, but now we
don't have any Black Adam announced in this next chapter,
(23:23):
so it kind of feels like Shazam is in a
way an ending of that era. And they said that
The Flash is supposed to kind of be the reset
of the d C timeline and that will be the
start of this chapter one, but it doesn't really have
its true start into So the way I take that
as a viewer of DC movies is I feel like
(23:45):
this is kind of the falling action. This is stuff
they have to get out. This is kind of the
bullet they have to bite because they've already made these movies.
They've already spent that bag. And as much as they
are saying that no, this is the start of the
new d C, I feel like they are only saying
that now because if they didn't, we would be less
interested in going to watch these movies, because it feels like,
why are we even watching these They aren't going to
(24:07):
connect to all these cool things you just announced. And finally,
to close out the State of the Cinema, let's talk
about what AMC theaters announced last week and their new
very controversial ticket pricing structured for somebody wanting to go
watch a movie at AMC. If you miss this announcement,
what they are doing is they are essentially charging more
(24:30):
money for the good seats in their theaters. They announced
what is called siteline. So you have standard site line,
which are all of the most common seats in a
movie theater available at the normal cost of a movie ticket,
which the movie ticket the average now is about eleven dollars.
That has a whole someplace it's as low as nine dollars,
(24:52):
and in some places like New York it's as much
as sixteen seventeen eighteen dollars, So it kind of varies
where you are in the count street, where you are
in the world how much you pay for a standard
movie ticket. But you go and you buy these seats
and it gives you your standard view of the screen.
So in addition to standard siteline, you will also get
value Siteline, which sounds awful to me. They couldn't come
(25:14):
up with a better name for this. And these are
all the seats in the front row of the movie theater,
and these will come at a lower price, but will
only be available to AMC stub members, which is their
subscription service where you pay twenty bucks a month and
you get to go to three movies a week, and
also to their AMC Insiders, which that membership is free.
But the one people are the most upset about is
(25:37):
the preferred siteline, which these are typically the seats in
the middle of the movie theater, which will now cost
one to two dollars more. And they're really trying to
sell these seats to their most loyal customers, So everybody
who has AMC stubs A list members won't pay any
additional money to get these seats and to reserve them,
(25:57):
and I feel in the grand scheme of things, that
is what they are trying to sell more so than
make people upset in this tier system. They are trying
to say like, oh, well, we have this subscription service
where you pay twenty bucks a month and we don't
charge you anything additional. So I feel like in their
business plan, they're trying to get more people to subscribe
to their service that makes them more money in the
(26:20):
long run. They get those twenty bucks every month no
matter how many movies you end up going to see,
and really, when it comes down to it. Movie theaters
are not making the majority of their money on ticket
sales alone. A movie chain like a MC is making
it more off of concessions, so they are really just
trying to get more and more people to come to
their theaters. And it just feels like an added on
(26:40):
tax to now have to pay different levels of money
to sit in the same seat. And that is the
problem I have with it. It's giving somebody the same
exact experience for more. It's not like they're adding more
to these seats that are now one to two dollars more.
The seats not gonna rumble. It's not gonna have this
little miss. It's not going to provide you with some
kind of extra experience. They're just charging more for what
(27:03):
we already had. It also just has come at a
really bad time where we all have this bad taste
in our mouth with Ticketmaster and how much they charge
for seat depending on demand. That is kind of what
this feels like to me. And when it comes to Ticketmaster,
that really makes my decision to go watch a concert.
I don't want to see that come into the movie theaters.
(27:25):
And AMC has done this before already last year with
The Batman they tried to charge more if you wanted
to go see it on opening night. I don't think
this is what they need to do, but I think
overall you're just kind of making people mad, and I'm
glad it's only AMC doing this. I don't really have
a whole lot of AMC theaters around where I live.
That is why I have Regal Unlimited. They didn't pay
(27:45):
me to say that, but I've had that now for
over a year. I've saved some money on it because
I go to see a lot of movies and have
had no issues with that, and I don't see Regal
implementing a plane like this. They also have a lot
of problems of their own, to be honest, with closing
a lot of Regal theater in just the last couple
of months. So my hopes is that they try this
out but end up having it just go away, because
(28:08):
I don't think you need to create this divide in
a movie theater. It's supposed to be a shared experience.
It's supposed to be where anybody can go and feel
like an equal. You don't need to penalize somebody and
make them pay a dollar or two just to have
a better seat. You're also kind of saying that there
are some good seats in your movie theater and some
bad seats. You shouldn't be saying that. You should be
(28:29):
saying that every seat in that theater provides you with
a quality experience. The minute you start to put this
kind of value on different seats, that leads to investigation
of the theater as a whole. You're telling me I
can get a bad experience at your movie theater. Why
was that paying that money to begin with? So thank
you all for your time that has been movie mis
(28:50):
state at the cinema address. Will comeback and talk about
my thoughts on you people, and then get into the
fast X trailer. Let's get into a spoiler free movie
review now. I want to talk about you people on
Netflix and it was one of my most anticipated movies
(29:10):
of the year, And maybe I was a little bit
too ambitious to think that Netflix could get this genre right.
I thought it was going to be a revival of
the two thousands comedy genre. You have Julia Louis Drive,
as you have Eddie Murphy, David d Kovany, Jonah Hill,
who I am a big fan of. I thought you
have all the tools you needed to make a great comedy,
(29:30):
and they kind of fumbled. So I'll get into why
I think this movie didn't completely work. Although some people
were just saying that the entire love story wasn't believable.
I don't completely agree with that. But we'll get into
all those things about you people. But before I get
into my full spoiler free review, here's just a little
bit of the trailer if you haven't heard or seen
it yet. The Black Girl, I've never felt so understood
(29:54):
by somebody in my entire life. Whether you like it
or not, we kind of go together. Now, come on,
then ask her to marry me. He plan to lots
a family, Yeah, I just haven't had the chance to
meet them. What's going on? Tell me about life? How
are you so you want to marry my daugh? Yes
(30:16):
you could try so what this movie is about? You
have Jonah Hills character. He is working at this big
financial firm where he goes in every day and hates
his job but is a real passion. Is doing a
podcast much like this one where he just talks about
the culture, music, hip hop, sports, and then he meets
this girl he is trying to catch an uber. He
(30:37):
gets into the wrong car. They have this awkward little exchange,
and then he decides to take her out on a date.
They go on this state where they shut the entire
restaurant down with their conversation. But that's a little bit
where we begin to see the problem is this movie
just didn't really have enough time to develop their relationship.
I didn't fully think while watching it that they lacked
(30:59):
chemistry or it was unbelievable. I just thought that you
only really had one day to base their entire love on.
So then it goes from that first day to him
kind of really quickly deciding that he wants to marry her,
but he has to go to her parents a k a.
Eddie Murphy and ask for the approval to marry his daughter,
(31:19):
and Eddie Murphy just completely shuts him down, as you
heard in that trailer. So he spends the entire movie
trying to convince him that he is right for her daughter,
that he is enough despite the cultural differences, and really
just Eddie Murphy hates him for no reason whatsoever, aside
from the fact that he's white. On the other end,
you have Jonah Hill bringing her back to meet his family.
(31:41):
Julia Louis Dreyfus. His character is pretty obnoxious. She is
pretty cringe and going way overboard showing that he knows
so much about black culture, and there's a really bad
job at welcoming her to the family. And then you
have David Ducompany who plays his dad, who is really
just the dim wood in this movie and at no
comedic value or really anything to the story. So really,
(32:04):
what I think the problem was here, It wasn't so
much that their low story wasn't believable, It just didn't
have enough time to develop. It spent so much time
focusing on their parents, trying to get them to like
each other, and then just Eddie Murphy just being a
jerk the whole time without lighting up at all or
showing any kind of a different side to him, which
I think is what this movie needed. It came maybe
(32:26):
very too late in the movie, and by the end
of it, you don't really care, and I think what
everybody is saying. Lauren London included that would they even
be together in real life, or would they even be
friends for that matter. She said when she got the script,
she found it very unbelievable that the two would be together,
so it almost felt with what she said before going
(32:47):
into this movie that maybe her heart wasn't fully in it.
But aside from that, I just think there wasn't enough
emphasis on their love story. There was nothing that made
me want to root for them or really feel like
they were fighting for something. And I think in a
romantic comedy like this, you really need to build that
in that first act. You have to build that love,
build that love story, get us all interested so that
(33:10):
by the time we get to that following action in
the second act, and you know, there's always something that
goes wrong. Will they won't they? That's really the formula
for any romantic comedy like this. You are rooting for
them to stay together. But there was just no foundation
of love in this movie. So so I don't think
so much that it wasn't that I couldn't believe that
these two were together. I just think there weren't enough
(33:32):
scenes in the script that allowed them to show that,
or gave them enough time to even make an attempt
at chemistry. So when people say that it was unbelievable
that they would even be together, and I relate on
that personally. I don't know if other people have this experience,
but I'm Mexican. My wife is white, and I would
say nine at a ten times that we go out
to dinner, they don't believe that we're together. They always
(33:55):
ask if we want separate checks. So even I feel
that a little bit, even though we're sitting there with
dding greens, why does it not look like we're a
married couple. But if you were to go over to
my Instagram and see all of our pictures and know
a little bit about our story, you would totally get it.
So I think you just need that foundation to know
that two people actually care about each other, to know
a little bit more about them. That is what this
(34:16):
movie needed. We needed an Instagram feed of all their highlights.
That's what we need in the rom com So what
you have in this entire movie is Jonah Hill really
trying to carry the comedy. And I'm a big Jonah
Hill fan, but he just couldn't quite do it. And
I would argue he is one of the best at
uncomfortable comedy, but the guy he was playing, I felt
like his characteristics were off because he does this podcast
(34:39):
where he's so in the know and so knowledgeable about
rap and hip hop, and he is supposed to be
an expert, but then when he talks to her dad,
he seems more like a dim wit. He doesn't really
have that same level of intellect, so it's like, is
he a dummy, is he smart? Or maybe a Murphy's right.
(35:00):
So they didn't really hone in on his character. He
was just kind of grasping at all of these little
comedic things to really bring the movie back. There were
something stylistically that I did enjoy, as far as there's
this kind of look that Netflix movies are going for now.
It's very bright and colorful, lots of emphasis on the orange,
(35:21):
and the movies just look very sleek right now. I
feel like they're trying to build this unified look for
all Netflix movies. Also, the little transitions and effects on
the fonts. I tend to look for those kinds of
things in movies, so at least visually, it made me
want to continue watching this movie. There's also the actual
style in this movie. I'm a big fan of Jonah
(35:42):
Hills fashion. Back when he was posting on Instagram, I
would take a lot of fit inspiration by what he
would wear, and I like that. It kind of felt
like he got to bring that to this movie. So
that was probably my favorite thing in the entire movie.
So because I had such high expectations for this movie
and it didn't leave me laughing at any point. I
like the message it was trying to convey, but the
(36:05):
performances just did not make it happen. I don't know
what Eddie Murphy was doing in this movie, and it
makes me a little bit more hesitant to watch a
Netflix movie just because it has an A list actor
in it. I know they are really good at doing
that and bringing us familiar faces, bringing us the star power.
But look at what Hulu is doing with much more
(36:25):
original movies. Look at even what Amazon is doing with
their original movies. They don't always have all those big
stars at the forefront, but I think they are bringing
better stories and delivering better on that aspect, way above Netflix,
where it kind of seems like sometimes they just really
dumbed down their concepts to reach a wider audience. But
I feel like we are a lot more knowledgeable as viewers.
(36:49):
You don't have to dump things down for us anymore.
We get it. I think we all wanted a movie
that was going to make us laugh, and this movie
didn't do it. So if I had to rate you people.
This hurts me to say because I love of Jonah Hill,
but I would give it two out of five. Tide
Ie Sweatsuits. It's time to head down to movie. Mike Tit,
(37:11):
Laura Paul. There isn't a film series I can think
of that has changed so much from the first movie
to the tent movie. It's just really rare for any
franchise to get ten movies. But that is exactly what
we're getting with Fast and the Furious. The trailer is
out now for Fast X, and it looks completely ridiculous,
(37:31):
but that is what I look for in a Fast
and the Furious movie. And this is the tenth film
in the saga and the start of the final chapters,
and they're kind of doing a Infinity War endgame situation
here where Fast X will set up the finale with
the eleventh movie ending this series forever. So you have
(37:53):
part soap opera, part action, part superhero, and a little
bit of a racing movie and Fast X. So let's
dive into this. Here is just a little bit now
of the Fast X trailer. You build such a beautiful
life with love and family. I never got that chance.
You stole that from me, my future, my family, and
(38:24):
now I'm gonna break yours peace by piece. This looks
like it could be the most dramatic entry into the
Fast and the Furious franchise yet, So that being the case,
I'm going to read the description of this movie in
the most dramatic way possible. Here we go over many
(38:46):
missions and against impossible odds, Don Torretto and his family
have outsmarted, out nerved, and out driven every foe in
their path. Now they confront the most lethal opponent they
have ever faced, a terrifying threat emerging from the shadows
of the past, who is fueled by blood revenge, and
who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything
(39:10):
and everyone that Dom loves wherever. And that is the
description of Fast X. And we see that here in
this trailer. And just when I thought it couldn't get
more ridiculous than some of the things we saw in
Fast nine, like them slingshotting over a canyon and all
the other things that completely defined physics, it looks like
(39:32):
they are taking it up a notch. I think my
favorite part is when towards the end of this trailer,
when Dom is driving and these two helicopters. Attached himself
to his car, they lift him from the highway. His
muscle car is levitating at an incredible speed, and somehow
he is able to bring both of those helicopters down,
(39:53):
crashed them into each other, and continue driving on the highway. That,
my friends, is cinematic art, and that is what I
look forward to in these movies. I think that is
what gets people back into the movie theater. So we've
been talking about this entire episode. It's seeing ridiculous things
like this that exists for no other reason than to
bring us thrills and to bring us fun. And that
(40:14):
is exactly what I look forward to in a summer blockbuster.
Fast X is coming out on May nine three. I
think this will be a big moment in the summer
block buster season. I kind of see this in the
same vein for Universal as Jurassic World was last year.
But unlike that movie, I don't really have high expectations
(40:35):
for this one. You heard the level of acting in
that trailer. We don't go to watch a Fast and
the Furious movie because of the acting, because of the story,
because of the plot. Why do we go to these
movies for family. Now, really it's because of the action
and all the ridiculous things and explosions, and there are
so many crazy explosions in this trailer that make me
(40:56):
think they are really kind of leading up to a
grand finale here. This is going to be part one
of two that will close out this entire franchise. So
you have all the cast of characters coming back. Vin Diesel,
Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludicrous, Jason Stadium, John Cena, Scott Eastwood,
Charlie their own is also in this movie. So there
(41:17):
are no rules in the Fast and the Furious movies.
People die, people come back, people die, people come back,
and people are just all out superheroes. Jason Momoa plays
the villain in this movie. I love the part in
the trailer where he gets run off the road, falls
into the water and opens his eyes in a very
cheesy action movie way. In this trailer you also see
(41:38):
a little glimpse of Paul Walker. They flash back to
another Fast and the Furious movie, so it's always cool
to see them pay tribute to him. So I think
this movie will be much of the same that we've
seen in the last few Fasten the Furious movies. It's
basically the same formula over and over again. It did
seem like they went a little bit more dramatic in
(41:59):
the trailer with the Slowdown Biggie song. They're really trying
to build up the finale of this franchise. I'm not
expecting anything different. I want big action stars. I want
crazy cars going crazy fast. Although it does look like
they are getting back to their quote unquote roots in
this movie. And there will actually be a drag race
again in the Fast and the Furious franchise. So how
(42:19):
about that. This makes a movie bar and that's gonna
do it for another episode here of the podcast again.
If you want to see individual and movie reviews, I
have a YouTube channel YouTube dot com slash Mike Distro.
If you want to go over, subscribe, leave a comment
on a review over there. I'll shout you out on
(42:42):
next week's episode, because that's what we're getting to here now,
the listeners shout out of the week. This week, I
got an email from C and J that says, movie Mike,
we just finished watching Knock at the Cabin in the theaters. Wow,
can't wait to hear your spoiler review. Best regards, see
and Jay, thank you. Seeing Jay the email, I've seen
a lot of people enjoying Not at the Cabin, so
(43:04):
I feel pretty good still about my review. But later
this week on the feed, I will put up a
spoiler version of that review and get into the entire
plot and more of my thoughts on that movie that
benefit from being able to speak really about spoilers, So
look for that dropping later this week on the feed.
Thank you for subscribing, thank you for telling a friend
about the podcast, And until next time, go out and
(43:26):
watch good movies and I will talk to you later.
Hello, and welcome back to movie mis Movie Podcast. I
am your host movie Mike, and today I will be
delivering my State of the Cinema Address. We'll talk about
the entire movie industry and where it stands as a
whole with all these big announcements coming from Disney and
d C and AMC making a bunch of people mad.
And then in the movie review we'll talk about one
of my most anticipated movies of the year, you people,
(00:21):
which came out on Netflix. That's all I'll say for now.
And then in the trailer Park we'll talk about the
beginning of the end of the road with a new
fast X trailer. But thank you for listening and being subscribed.
Shout out to the movie crew. And now let's talk movies.
In a world where everyone and their mother has a podcast,
(00:41):
one man stands to infiltrate the ears of listeners like
never before in a movie podcast. A man with so
much movie knowledge, he's basically like a walking Audi MDV
who's classes from the Nastril Podcast Network. Movie Mic, thank
you all for joining me on the State of the
(01:04):
Cinema Address. We have a lot to get to on
the agenda. Disney has announced some sequels to Toy Story
and Frozen. D C has laid out their plans for
what they are doing in the DC universe, and a
MC is making a bunch of people mad by charging
more for the best seats in the movie theater. But
I'd like to start first with my opening statement movie crew.
(01:27):
I am happy to say, and I know I'm a
little bit biased here, but I think movies are coming
back slowly, but they are coming back. In two the
box office revenue across the globe was up at twenty
six billion dollars, which is about a twenty seven percent
increase from one but it's still pretty far away from
(01:49):
reaching those pre pandemic levels. Even at that twenty six
billion dollars, it's still about thirty five pc lower than
it was from seventeen to twenty nineteen. But I don't
want to think the movie industry is dying. I don't
think it will die even anytime soon. But I do
believe that some things need to change, because at the
core of it, I still believe that the best movies
(02:12):
I go and see are in theaters. And I don't
want to get into this old school mentality way. If
you need to go to the movies to experience it.
I don't believe that, but I am just a movie
fan and I enjoyed that experience, and I feel like
all of my movie memories still come from sitting my
butt into a movie theater seat and watching a movie
(02:32):
with other people. I can recall a bunch of memories
just within the last five years, and all of my
favorite movie moments have come from a movie theater. I
haven't been able to replicate that same experience at home
with my butt on the couch. So the way I
enjoy a movie just happens to rely on where my
butt is. I don't see enough people talking about that,
(02:53):
but that doesn't mean that is the same for everybody.
And we saw that in we all became more comfortable
watching things at home. Our TV screens got better, we
subscribe to more streaming services, and overall we just saw
how a lot cheaper it was to watch them at home.
And even now doing this podcast, I still see that
(03:14):
because I always tried to review the newest movie that
comes out in theater on the podcast, and I think
when it comes to big movies like ant Man coming
out next week, or even with Not at the Cabin
or any big action movie. A lot of you are
kind of like me and like to experience that opening weekend.
We like to avoid the spoilers. But with some other movies,
(03:36):
say one like last year Emily the Criminal, I saw
that when in theaters, but more and more people really
didn't watch that movie until it came out on Netflix
months later. So I think that really kind of leads
us to where this discussion even begins. And what are
we arguing about. Is it the size of the screen
or the size of the ideas, And I think that
(03:57):
is really what factors into what motivates us to go
watch a movie in theaters. I think when the idea
size is really big and the fandom is there, that
is going to get us to go and watch those
movies in theaters. But when it seems like something is
a little bit more small scale, maybe it's an indie movie,
we tend to just wait for those to watch him
(04:18):
at home. So that's why I don't think the movie
industry is dying. We've just really changed how we watch things.
And I feel like everybody I talked to is always
behind on something. You're trying to catch up on a
TV show, You're still trying to watch this movie that
came out that you really wanted to see. There is
just so much now And you don't really have the
same argument when it comes to TV shows. Even though
(04:40):
your top three TV shows that you've probably watched in
the last four years are a lot different than somebody else's.
There really isn't that one universal anything anymore. We are
out of the days of everybody watching the same thing
at the same time in movies and in TV. And
the only reason people say that the movie industry is
dying is because of the model where you actually have
(05:02):
to go buy a ticket to watch a movie. And
even to me, that idea still starts to feel a
little bit more forward and so outdated that you are
paying for something that you could get at home. And
I started to get into that mentality myself, But then
I realized, in order to have all those big moments
that I want, you gotta pay for them, and that's
just how that industry is built. I think later down
(05:24):
the line it will change, but I still think that
that model will stick around at least for another ten years.
What do I think the film industry needs to make
it through those other ten years? I think we need
more cultural moments when it comes to movies. Top Gun
Maverick was a great example last year. It got a
lot of people back into the theater who had been
(05:44):
in a very long time, so was in canto with
the soundtrack going viral. Spider Man No Way Home did
that as well. It was the first big pre pandemic hit,
and even the minions got in the action with the
gentle Minions. And also in the last year, I think
Horror has own a really good job at that. With
movies like Smile and Meghan also having cultural impacts, I
(06:05):
think we need to focus less on all these legacy franchises.
And when all the big slated movies come out and
it's all like reboots and Parts four and five, that's
where you begin the argument of all they're just remaking everything.
So movie crew, I hope you are like me and
are optimistic about the future of movies. I think we
have some great movies coming to us this month, and
(06:27):
I was just looking at the movies coming out in
March and marches pretty stacked. On March three, we get
Create three. On March tenth, we get Scream six. On
March seventeen, we get Sasam two. On March twenty three,
we get John Wick four, and on March thirty one
we get Dungeons and Dragons. I know, I was just saying,
we need to get away from all these reboots and revisits,
(06:47):
and then we have a bunch of sequels coming in
March that I'm excited about. I think there's a place
for those two. But now let's get into what Disney
announced last week. Recently returned Disney Cego of Bob Iker
made a major announcement talking about out their lineup, and
it looks like we are getting Frozen three, Zootopia two,
Toy Story five, and this is an addition to last
(07:07):
year them announcing Inside Out too, which is coming out
on June four. Disney also announced that they are cutting
seven thousand jobs after Disney Plus subscribers were down two
point four million for the first time ever, which is
surprising to me, especially when it comes to their model
and the decisions they've made recently with their movies, some
(07:29):
going to streaming, some going to theaters and then later
to Disney Plus. The fact that they lost subscribers for
the first time makes me wonder if they are revisiting
and re kind of structuring how they do that, especially
after Strange World, which came out last year was one
of their biggest flops ever. And I didn't completely hate
(07:52):
Strange World, but I think it is an example of
what is going on with Disney animation right now, which
as a whole, Disney is not hurting. They have Marvel,
they have Star Wars. Those continue to bring in a
lot of money at the box office and for Disney plus,
so as a whole, I think Disney is all right,
but I think they are lacking a little bit when
(08:12):
it comes to their animation, and I think Strange World
is a bit of that example. The problem is the
stories and the ideas have a little bit less imagination.
Even when it comes to the animation, they aren't doing
anything drastically different. I feel like they're almost stuck in
this twenty ten style that they really haven't to find
(08:33):
what Disney is going to look like moving forward. I
feel like their stories and their concepts and their characters
as a whole just feel a little bit less inventive
to me. And maybe that was their decision to green
light some sequels to their well known hits and their
biggest properties, even though I still believe that Toy Story
should have been a trilogy. It was a perfect trilogy
(08:56):
until they decided to make Toy Story for which was
kind of us the falling action of Toy Story three.
I think, why not go out on a high note
with Toy Story three and then do more spinoffs. I
still enjoy and will defend light Year. I still think
that was a really great movie, and I think they
could do a lot more movies like that. Of breaking
(09:18):
the Toy Story franchise into different genres. Light Year would
be a great sci fi you could do Western movies
with Would he even give him a full origin story
that we've never really got. There are so many characters
in Toy Story you could get all these different genres,
kind of like the Marvel model, where you get the
romantic comedies with Thor, you get the space and sci
(09:39):
fi with Guardians of the Galaxy, you get more of
the action with the Captain America movies. Why not do
that with some Disney animation properties as well. For a
long period of time, Disney just didn't really make sequels.
They were such a dominant force that they didn't really
need to do that. So to me, it kind of
feels like they're itching for another hit with these announced,
(10:00):
especially with Frozen three, which is kind of alright, easy money,
you put up soundtrack, you crank out another movie. That's
kind of what that announcement feels like to me. I
also don't think you could top the soundtrack and Frozen two,
so I'm leaving that up to them to approve me wrong.
Zutopia two I have no real problems with. I think
that First Woman was a great movie, had a really
(10:21):
great message, But of all the sequels they could make,
I don't know why that one needs one. I wouldn't
be completely surprised if they just stopped putting out animated
movies in theaters altogether within the next five years, although
I worry about that because it feels like some of
these movies go a little bit under the radar when
they get put out on Disney. Plus, just look at
(10:42):
the movies in the last two years. Soul, which came
out in Riya and The Last Dragon came out in
twenty one, Luca came out in twenty one, Ron's Gone
Wrong also came out in twenty one, and in Ganto
was really their first kind of big hit post pandemic.
Turning Red kind of came and went on. Disney Plus
went very under the radar. Light Year came out in
(11:04):
theaters and didn't do as well as they thought, and
then Strange World came out in theaters and also didn't
do as well as it thought, lost them a bunch
of money. And the reason I think that this is
the only genre that the only streaming model could work
is because primarily it's family is going to watch these movies.
It's less expensive to watch them at home. The price
(11:25):
of taking a family to the theater, wrangling up all
your kids, getting them there, getting them in the seat,
that takes a lot of time and effort, more than
it does just to pop on Disney Plus, pay your
subscription every month and watch a movie at home. So
I could see that working of them just switching to
a streaming only model for Disney animated movies, for Pixar movies,
(11:47):
all that could just straight up go to the home experience.
But I think if they do that, it will start
to affect the Disney culture a little bit and their
impact on popular culture, and could even affect their impact
on Disney World and Disneyland. If it feels like these
movies are resonating a little less and less of kind
(12:10):
of losing that effect of watching it at home versus
in the theater, and more of that buzz of people
talking about these movies. It could end up that you
end up going to Disney World and you see all
these attractions and all these characters that you're not completely
familiar with. So I don't think that's the best decision
for them overall, but they may try that out for now.
(12:30):
So now let's continue on the state of the cinema
and talk about what d C is doing. There is
this newly created DC universe that James Gunn is putting together.
James Gunn has been behind movies like Guardians of the Galaxy,
the Suicide Squad, and he is now kind of seen
as a d C savior and the person who is
(12:51):
going to bring back and revive the studio that has
so many great characters and so many great stories to tell,
but just hasn't had that same success as Marvel. And
what they are doing now is kind of modeling what
Marvel has done and has proven successful, but doing it
their own way. So instead of phases which we know
(13:14):
about as being Marvel fans, they are doing chapters, and
this first chapter, chapter one, is called Gods and Monsters.
And I've read about this for a couple of weeks
that the stories have been out now, and even for me,
who is completely dialed into this stuff I know and
go and watch all these movies whether I want to
or not, it still feels a little bit confusing to
(13:36):
me how it's going to work. So I'm going to
try and explain it as easily as I can. Even
though I feel like they had all these thoughts out
on paper and it looked good and they're ready to
do this announcement, but there's still all these little plot
holes and questions. So what they are trying to do
is make everything a lot more cohesive, make all the
(13:56):
stories and characters go together and are going as far
as Any actor booked to play a role will play
them in every capacity, whether it be in a movie,
TV show, on the animated show, or on video games.
If somebody gets cast as Superman, they will be Superman
and all of those titles. So what they have done
(14:17):
is they have asked all the actors they are hiring
to sign a ten year contract to make sure it
all plays out in this eight to ten year plan, which,
again that looks good on paper, but what we've seen
in DC in the past is actors get unhappy, some
actors go off the rails. So I feel like it's
always open to a little bit of nuance of at
(14:37):
some point some actor deciding, Hey, I'm out. But let's
talk about the five movies they announced in the d
C Chapter one and the ones. I'm most excited about
Superman Legacy, which is coming out on July one, and
this will be the start of this entire plan. So
this is where it gets a little bit confusing, because
there are DC movies coming out this year, but the
(15:00):
plan won't start playing out for another two years, obviously,
because they have to get all these titles out. So
the question kind of just comes out right at the
beginning of wait does this get to connect? Is this
going to happen? And we'll get into a little bit
more of that later, but this is supposed to be
the start of this entirely new chapter and it won't
be another origin story, so we won't have to sit
(15:22):
through that again. The sad part here is that we
were supposed to get Henry cavill back as Superman. He
came out and did the announcement. He showed up in
Black Adam and then at the time that they were
gearing up to make this announcement of the entire new plans,
they said he was out. So I just feel bad
for him as a as an actor. So instead of
(15:43):
Henry Cavill, they are looking for a younger actor to
play Superman. No one has been cast yet, but the
story looks like it'll focus on him balancing his human
upbringing while also being Superman. It kind of feels like
to me they're going to do Marvel did with Spider
Man back when they cast Tom holland make them younger,
(16:06):
make them more relatable, and get rid of the origin
story that we've all seen done so many times. So
I hope it has that same kind of fresh energy
and does a really good reset on Superman, just like
Marvel did with Spider Man. I think that's what DC
needs to do in this new phase, make it a
little bit more fun and lighthearted, and make all the
movies not look like two thousands metal music videos anymore.
(16:29):
I think that is why I really never fully got
into all the d C movies, and I'm not the
biggest Man of Steel fan even though I didn want
to see Henry Cavill come back, but those movies feel
just so kind of tens to me. I think they
need to get out of that entire genre altogether, and
if there's one character that can do that, it is Superman.
They also announced a movie called The Authority and what
(16:51):
the Authority is. It's kind of like The Boys on Amazon.
It's a group of superhumans doing good things in general role,
but not having the most idealistic approach to doing those
good things, so a little rough around the edges, kind
of in a suicide squad vein, kind of been a
Guardians of the Galaxy vein. So this one isn't necessarily
(17:13):
good guys versus bad guys, heroes versus villains. Maybe it's
a little bit more of an anti hero story. I
think this is kind of what I was looking for
in Black Adam. Black Adam was supposed to be a
superman without a moral compass, and we didn't get that
at all. So that's what I'm hoping for. I'm hoping
for superheroes without a moral compass, a little bit grittier,
a little bit edgier. They haven't announced what kind of
(17:36):
rating this movie is going to get but for the
sake of the integrity of the story, I hope it
is rated. Are also announced. The one I'm the third
most excited about two is The Brave and the Bold,
which is an introduction to this version of Batman. This
is where it gets a little bit confusing, because this
Batman will exist entirely different from Robert Pattinson's Batman in
(17:58):
The Batman, So this will be all about the bat family.
We're going to get a version of Robin, which is
Damian Wayne, who is kind of a hot head. In
this story, he's an assassin, he's a murderer. And in
this story, Damien is Bruce Wayne's biological son that Bruce
Wayne had no idea about until he was ten years old.
So it's this really strange kind of father son's story,
(18:19):
which sounds pretty good to me. The only thing that
will make it a little bit weird is the fact
they'll have two Batman's going on at the same time.
I'm hoping for a little bit more of a straight
on action style of movie with this one, especially with
that Robin character, and since it doesn't have to be
dark and gritty, because that's what we have in the Batman.
I really hope that they go for a classic comic
(18:42):
book look when it comes to designing the characters in
this movie. I think that would be a good kind
of way to appea some of these DC fans that
you've had so annoyed and angry for so long by
giving them things and taking things away from them. Give
him that classic Batman and Robin look. It doesn't have
to be as completely cheesy as we've seen previously in
(19:05):
TV and movies, but some kind of homage to a
classic Batman uniform. I'm thinking more of the blues and
grays and highlights on the yellow. Yeah, Batman and Robin
and Tits probably isn't going to be the thing to do,
you know, post this one doesn't have a release date yet,
but it will probably be maybe. I don't think that
(19:27):
is what we need then, but something to bring back
those classic comic book characters. I think it's important for
d C that is really where a lot of their
brand identity lives and it hasn't translated onto the big stream.
I think that's what they need to really set themselves
apart and have any kind of edge over Marvel. They
(19:47):
also announced Supergirl, Woman of Tomorrow, which in this story,
Supergirl is kind of the opposite of Superman as far
as her upbringing in this story is being described as
Supergirl role was raised on a rock chip off of
Krypton and watched everyone around her die and be killed
in terrible ways for the first fourteen years of her life.
(20:08):
So Supergirl is going to be pretty hardcore in this movie,
That's what I'm talking about. The only sad part here
is it reminds me that they can the Bad Girl
movie will never see the light of day, and if
this is the reason why I don't fully see it,
I don't see why both of these movies couldn't have
existed in this d SEU. Nothing in the plans that
(20:30):
I've seen announced really feel to me like they would
be hindered by the fact that a Bad Girl movie existed,
especially when it was already done. Maybe they were just
really going for that tax break and needed that money back.
But nonetheless, I am into this Supergirl movie, and the
one I'm oddly the least excited about, even though I
love horror movies, is Swamp Thing. It sounds so old
(20:52):
school to me, and I'm sure they'll prove me wrong.
By the time more details come out, by the time
we get a look to a trailer for this movie.
The only thing I respect here is their decision to
make something completely different, and I think that's what you
have to do to keep superhero movies interesting is get
out of that formula altogether by just bringing a movie
(21:14):
in a different kind of genre. And that's what Swamp
Thing is supposed to be. The movie is going to
investigate the dark origins of the character and supposed to
be d c's horror movie. And not only that, since
it is a part of this entire d C universe. Now,
Swamp Thing will interact with the other characters. So it'll
(21:35):
be interesting to see how they are able to blend
genres throughout all of these movies. And it doesn't seem
to me like DC is trying to build up to
any Avenger style of movie. I think they were burned
by that with Justice League and they kind of rushed
together to get that thing together to compete with Marvel.
It doesn't seem like they are doing that now. So
(21:56):
they are in a way modeling what Marvel has done
and has been proven successful, bringing all these characters together
and creating this world where everything connects, but don't really
have to take it a step further, and all these
movies be building towards a grand finale of them all
coming together to fight this unified villain. And then finally
(22:18):
they announced that there will be else Worlds, which is
where all the other DC movies will exist that are
not a part of this universe. So The Batman with
Robert Pattinson, the Joker sequel will all exist in else Worlds.
It is a sub brand of DC films, and all
the stories and characters will be completely unconnected. And I
(22:39):
think that's where the good stuff is. These are the
movies that I feel are really noteworthy and also making
DC a lot of money. So I'm glad they are
not messing with them and trying to connect these movies
into it. Just let these movies stand on their own.
I think the only part getting a little bit confusing
is when it comes to all the d C movies
(23:01):
that are still left to come out. You have Shazam
Fury of the Gods coming out on March sevent the
Flash coming out on June sixteenth of this year, Blue
Beetle coming out on August, and Aquaman in The Lost
Kingdom coming out on Christmas Day. Shazam was supposed to
at some point connect with Black Adam, but now we
don't have any Black Adam announced in this next chapter,
(23:23):
so it kind of feels like Shazam is in a
way an ending of that era. And they said that
The Flash is supposed to kind of be the reset
of the d C timeline and that will be the
start of this chapter one, but it doesn't really have
its true start into So the way I take that
as a viewer of DC movies is I feel like
(23:45):
this is kind of the falling action. This is stuff
they have to get out. This is kind of the
bullet they have to bite because they've already made these movies.
They've already spent that bag. And as much as they
are saying that no, this is the start of the
new d C, I feel like they are only saying
that now because if they didn't, we would be less
interested in going to watch these movies, because it feels like,
why are we even watching these They aren't going to
(24:07):
connect to all these cool things you just announced. And finally,
to close out the State of the Cinema, let's talk
about what AMC theaters announced last week and their new
very controversial ticket pricing structured for somebody wanting to go
watch a movie at AMC. If you miss this announcement,
what they are doing is they are essentially charging more
(24:30):
money for the good seats in their theaters. They announced
what is called siteline. So you have standard site line,
which are all of the most common seats in a
movie theater available at the normal cost of a movie ticket,
which the movie ticket the average now is about eleven dollars.
That has a whole someplace it's as low as nine dollars,
(24:52):
and in some places like New York it's as much
as sixteen seventeen eighteen dollars, So it kind of varies
where you are in the count street, where you are
in the world how much you pay for a standard
movie ticket. But you go and you buy these seats
and it gives you your standard view of the screen.
So in addition to standard siteline, you will also get
value Siteline, which sounds awful to me. They couldn't come
(25:14):
up with a better name for this. And these are
all the seats in the front row of the movie theater,
and these will come at a lower price, but will
only be available to AMC stub members, which is their
subscription service where you pay twenty bucks a month and
you get to go to three movies a week, and
also to their AMC Insiders, which that membership is free.
But the one people are the most upset about is
(25:37):
the preferred siteline, which these are typically the seats in
the middle of the movie theater, which will now cost
one to two dollars more. And they're really trying to
sell these seats to their most loyal customers, So everybody
who has AMC stubs A list members won't pay any
additional money to get these seats and to reserve them,
(25:57):
and I feel in the grand scheme of things, that
is what they are trying to sell more so than
make people upset in this tier system. They are trying
to say like, oh, well, we have this subscription service
where you pay twenty bucks a month and we don't
charge you anything additional. So I feel like in their
business plan, they're trying to get more people to subscribe
to their service that makes them more money in the
(26:20):
long run. They get those twenty bucks every month no
matter how many movies you end up going to see,
and really, when it comes down to it. Movie theaters
are not making the majority of their money on ticket
sales alone. A movie chain like a MC is making
it more off of concessions, so they are really just
trying to get more and more people to come to
their theaters. And it just feels like an added on
(26:40):
tax to now have to pay different levels of money
to sit in the same seat. And that is the
problem I have with it. It's giving somebody the same
exact experience for more. It's not like they're adding more
to these seats that are now one to two dollars more.
The seats not gonna rumble. It's not gonna have this
little miss. It's not going to provide you with some
kind of extra experience. They're just charging more for what
(27:03):
we already had. It also just has come at a
really bad time where we all have this bad taste
in our mouth with Ticketmaster and how much they charge
for seat depending on demand. That is kind of what
this feels like to me. And when it comes to Ticketmaster,
that really makes my decision to go watch a concert.
I don't want to see that come into the movie theaters.
(27:25):
And AMC has done this before already last year with
The Batman they tried to charge more if you wanted
to go see it on opening night. I don't think
this is what they need to do, but I think
overall you're just kind of making people mad, and I'm
glad it's only AMC doing this. I don't really have
a whole lot of AMC theaters around where I live.
That is why I have Regal Unlimited. They didn't pay
(27:45):
me to say that, but I've had that now for
over a year. I've saved some money on it because
I go to see a lot of movies and have
had no issues with that, and I don't see Regal
implementing a plane like this. They also have a lot
of problems of their own, to be honest, with closing
a lot of Regal theater in just the last couple
of months. So my hopes is that they try this
out but end up having it just go away, because
(28:08):
I don't think you need to create this divide in
a movie theater. It's supposed to be a shared experience.
It's supposed to be where anybody can go and feel
like an equal. You don't need to penalize somebody and
make them pay a dollar or two just to have
a better seat. You're also kind of saying that there
are some good seats in your movie theater and some
bad seats. You shouldn't be saying that. You should be
(28:29):
saying that every seat in that theater provides you with
a quality experience. The minute you start to put this
kind of value on different seats, that leads to investigation
of the theater as a whole. You're telling me I
can get a bad experience at your movie theater. Why
was that paying that money to begin with? So thank
you all for your time that has been movie mis
(28:50):
state at the cinema address. Will comeback and talk about
my thoughts on you people, and then get into the
fast X trailer. Let's get into a spoiler free movie
review now. I want to talk about you people on
Netflix and it was one of my most anticipated movies
(29:10):
of the year, And maybe I was a little bit
too ambitious to think that Netflix could get this genre right.
I thought it was going to be a revival of
the two thousands comedy genre. You have Julia Louis Drive,
as you have Eddie Murphy, David d Kovany, Jonah Hill,
who I am a big fan of. I thought you
have all the tools you needed to make a great comedy,
(29:30):
and they kind of fumbled. So I'll get into why
I think this movie didn't completely work. Although some people
were just saying that the entire love story wasn't believable.
I don't completely agree with that. But we'll get into
all those things about you people. But before I get
into my full spoiler free review, here's just a little
bit of the trailer if you haven't heard or seen
it yet. The Black Girl, I've never felt so understood
(29:54):
by somebody in my entire life. Whether you like it
or not, we kind of go together. Now, come on,
then ask her to marry me. He plan to lots
a family, Yeah, I just haven't had the chance to
meet them. What's going on? Tell me about life? How
are you so you want to marry my daugh? Yes
(30:16):
you could try so what this movie is about? You
have Jonah Hills character. He is working at this big
financial firm where he goes in every day and hates
his job but is a real passion. Is doing a
podcast much like this one where he just talks about
the culture, music, hip hop, sports, and then he meets
this girl he is trying to catch an uber. He
(30:37):
gets into the wrong car. They have this awkward little exchange,
and then he decides to take her out on a date.
They go on this state where they shut the entire
restaurant down with their conversation. But that's a little bit
where we begin to see the problem is this movie
just didn't really have enough time to develop their relationship.
I didn't fully think while watching it that they lacked
(30:59):
chemistry or it was unbelievable. I just thought that you
only really had one day to base their entire love on.
So then it goes from that first day to him
kind of really quickly deciding that he wants to marry her,
but he has to go to her parents a k a.
Eddie Murphy and ask for the approval to marry his daughter,
(31:19):
and Eddie Murphy just completely shuts him down, as you
heard in that trailer. So he spends the entire movie
trying to convince him that he is right for her daughter,
that he is enough despite the cultural differences, and really
just Eddie Murphy hates him for no reason whatsoever, aside
from the fact that he's white. On the other end,
you have Jonah Hill bringing her back to meet his family.
(31:41):
Julia Louis Dreyfus. His character is pretty obnoxious. She is
pretty cringe and going way overboard showing that he knows
so much about black culture, and there's a really bad
job at welcoming her to the family. And then you
have David Ducompany who plays his dad, who is really
just the dim wood in this movie and at no
comedic value or really anything to the story. So really,
(32:04):
what I think the problem was here, It wasn't so
much that their low story wasn't believable, It just didn't
have enough time to develop. It spent so much time
focusing on their parents, trying to get them to like
each other, and then just Eddie Murphy just being a
jerk the whole time without lighting up at all or
showing any kind of a different side to him, which
I think is what this movie needed. It came maybe
(32:26):
very too late in the movie, and by the end
of it, you don't really care, and I think what
everybody is saying. Lauren London included that would they even
be together in real life, or would they even be
friends for that matter. She said when she got the script,
she found it very unbelievable that the two would be together,
so it almost felt with what she said before going
(32:47):
into this movie that maybe her heart wasn't fully in it.
But aside from that, I just think there wasn't enough
emphasis on their love story. There was nothing that made
me want to root for them or really feel like
they were fighting for something. And I think in a
romantic comedy like this, you really need to build that
in that first act. You have to build that love,
build that love story, get us all interested so that
(33:10):
by the time we get to that following action in
the second act, and you know, there's always something that
goes wrong. Will they won't they? That's really the formula
for any romantic comedy like this. You are rooting for
them to stay together. But there was just no foundation
of love in this movie. So so I don't think
so much that it wasn't that I couldn't believe that
these two were together. I just think there weren't enough
(33:32):
scenes in the script that allowed them to show that,
or gave them enough time to even make an attempt
at chemistry. So when people say that it was unbelievable
that they would even be together, and I relate on
that personally. I don't know if other people have this experience,
but I'm Mexican. My wife is white, and I would
say nine at a ten times that we go out
to dinner, they don't believe that we're together. They always
(33:55):
ask if we want separate checks. So even I feel
that a little bit, even though we're sitting there with
dding greens, why does it not look like we're a
married couple. But if you were to go over to
my Instagram and see all of our pictures and know
a little bit about our story, you would totally get it.
So I think you just need that foundation to know
that two people actually care about each other, to know
a little bit more about them. That is what this
(34:16):
movie needed. We needed an Instagram feed of all their highlights.
That's what we need in the rom com So what
you have in this entire movie is Jonah Hill really
trying to carry the comedy. And I'm a big Jonah
Hill fan, but he just couldn't quite do it. And
I would argue he is one of the best at
uncomfortable comedy, but the guy he was playing, I felt
like his characteristics were off because he does this podcast
(34:39):
where he's so in the know and so knowledgeable about
rap and hip hop, and he is supposed to be
an expert, but then when he talks to her dad,
he seems more like a dim wit. He doesn't really
have that same level of intellect, so it's like, is
he a dummy, is he smart? Or maybe a Murphy's right.
(35:00):
So they didn't really hone in on his character. He
was just kind of grasping at all of these little
comedic things to really bring the movie back. There were
something stylistically that I did enjoy, as far as there's
this kind of look that Netflix movies are going for now.
It's very bright and colorful, lots of emphasis on the orange,
(35:21):
and the movies just look very sleek right now. I
feel like they're trying to build this unified look for
all Netflix movies. Also, the little transitions and effects on
the fonts. I tend to look for those kinds of
things in movies, so at least visually, it made me
want to continue watching this movie. There's also the actual
style in this movie. I'm a big fan of Jonah
(35:42):
Hills fashion. Back when he was posting on Instagram, I
would take a lot of fit inspiration by what he
would wear, and I like that. It kind of felt
like he got to bring that to this movie. So
that was probably my favorite thing in the entire movie.
So because I had such high expectations for this movie
and it didn't leave me laughing at any point. I
like the message it was trying to convey, but the
(36:05):
performances just did not make it happen. I don't know
what Eddie Murphy was doing in this movie, and it
makes me a little bit more hesitant to watch a
Netflix movie just because it has an A list actor
in it. I know they are really good at doing
that and bringing us familiar faces, bringing us the star power.
But look at what Hulu is doing with much more
(36:25):
original movies. Look at even what Amazon is doing with
their original movies. They don't always have all those big
stars at the forefront, but I think they are bringing
better stories and delivering better on that aspect, way above Netflix,
where it kind of seems like sometimes they just really
dumbed down their concepts to reach a wider audience. But
I feel like we are a lot more knowledgeable as viewers.
(36:49):
You don't have to dump things down for us anymore.
We get it. I think we all wanted a movie
that was going to make us laugh, and this movie
didn't do it. So if I had to rate you people.
This hurts me to say because I love of Jonah Hill,
but I would give it two out of five. Tide
Ie Sweatsuits. It's time to head down to movie. Mike Tit,
(37:11):
Laura Paul. There isn't a film series I can think
of that has changed so much from the first movie
to the tent movie. It's just really rare for any
franchise to get ten movies. But that is exactly what
we're getting with Fast and the Furious. The trailer is
out now for Fast X, and it looks completely ridiculous,
(37:31):
but that is what I look for in a Fast
and the Furious movie. And this is the tenth film
in the saga and the start of the final chapters,
and they're kind of doing a Infinity War endgame situation
here where Fast X will set up the finale with
the eleventh movie ending this series forever. So you have
(37:53):
part soap opera, part action, part superhero, and a little
bit of a racing movie and Fast X. So let's
dive into this. Here is just a little bit now
of the Fast X trailer. You build such a beautiful
life with love and family. I never got that chance.
You stole that from me, my future, my family, and
(38:24):
now I'm gonna break yours peace by piece. This looks
like it could be the most dramatic entry into the
Fast and the Furious franchise yet, So that being the case,
I'm going to read the description of this movie in
the most dramatic way possible. Here we go over many
(38:46):
missions and against impossible odds, Don Torretto and his family
have outsmarted, out nerved, and out driven every foe in
their path. Now they confront the most lethal opponent they
have ever faced, a terrifying threat emerging from the shadows
of the past, who is fueled by blood revenge, and
who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything
(39:10):
and everyone that Dom loves wherever. And that is the
description of Fast X. And we see that here in
this trailer. And just when I thought it couldn't get
more ridiculous than some of the things we saw in
Fast nine, like them slingshotting over a canyon and all
the other things that completely defined physics, it looks like
(39:32):
they are taking it up a notch. I think my
favorite part is when towards the end of this trailer,
when Dom is driving and these two helicopters. Attached himself
to his car, they lift him from the highway. His
muscle car is levitating at an incredible speed, and somehow
he is able to bring both of those helicopters down,
(39:53):
crashed them into each other, and continue driving on the highway. That,
my friends, is cinematic art, and that is what I
look forward to in these movies. I think that is
what gets people back into the movie theater. So we've
been talking about this entire episode. It's seeing ridiculous things
like this that exists for no other reason than to
bring us thrills and to bring us fun. And that
(40:14):
is exactly what I look forward to in a summer blockbuster.
Fast X is coming out on May nine three. I
think this will be a big moment in the summer
block buster season. I kind of see this in the
same vein for Universal as Jurassic World was last year.
But unlike that movie, I don't really have high expectations
(40:35):
for this one. You heard the level of acting in
that trailer. We don't go to watch a Fast and
the Furious movie because of the acting, because of the story,
because of the plot. Why do we go to these
movies for family. Now, really it's because of the action
and all the ridiculous things and explosions, and there are
so many crazy explosions in this trailer that make me
(40:56):
think they are really kind of leading up to a
grand finale here. This is going to be part one
of two that will close out this entire franchise. So
you have all the cast of characters coming back. Vin Diesel,
Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludicrous, Jason Stadium, John Cena, Scott Eastwood,
Charlie their own is also in this movie. So there
(41:17):
are no rules in the Fast and the Furious movies.
People die, people come back, people die, people come back,
and people are just all out superheroes. Jason Momoa plays
the villain in this movie. I love the part in
the trailer where he gets run off the road, falls
into the water and opens his eyes in a very
cheesy action movie way. In this trailer you also see
(41:38):
a little glimpse of Paul Walker. They flash back to
another Fast and the Furious movie, so it's always cool
to see them pay tribute to him. So I think
this movie will be much of the same that we've
seen in the last few Fasten the Furious movies. It's
basically the same formula over and over again. It did
seem like they went a little bit more dramatic in
(41:59):
the trailer with the Slowdown Biggie song. They're really trying
to build up the finale of this franchise. I'm not
expecting anything different. I want big action stars. I want
crazy cars going crazy fast. Although it does look like
they are getting back to their quote unquote roots in
this movie. And there will actually be a drag race
again in the Fast and the Furious franchise. So how
(42:19):
about that. This makes a movie bar and that's gonna
do it for another episode here of the podcast again.
If you want to see individual and movie reviews, I
have a YouTube channel YouTube dot com slash Mike Distro.
If you want to go over, subscribe, leave a comment
on a review over there. I'll shout you out on
(42:42):
next week's episode, because that's what we're getting to here now,
the listeners shout out of the week. This week, I
got an email from C and J that says, movie Mike,
we just finished watching Knock at the Cabin in the theaters. Wow,
can't wait to hear your spoiler review. Best regards, see
and Jay, thank you. Seeing Jay the email, I've seen
a lot of people enjoying Not at the Cabin, so
(43:04):
I feel pretty good still about my review. But later
this week on the feed, I will put up a
spoiler version of that review and get into the entire
plot and more of my thoughts on that movie that
benefit from being able to speak really about spoilers, So
look for that dropping later this week on the feed.
Thank you for subscribing, thank you for telling a friend
about the podcast, And until next time, go out and
(43:26):
watch good movies and I will talk to you later.
Host
Mike D
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