Tag: film

I’m only surprised Isaac Kappy wasn’t found hanging from a red scarf:

‘Thor’ and ‘Terminator: Salvation’ actor Isaac Kappy has been confirmed as the man who jumped to his death from a bridge in Arizona on Monday, according to TMZ. Officials confirmed on Tuesday that Kappy, 42, was struck by a Ford pickup truck after hurling himself from the Transwestern Road bridge onto Interstate 40, where he died, according a statement from Bart Graves, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Public Safety….

Per his Twitter account, Kappy appeared to be on a crusade to take down people he believes are sexually abusing children. He wrote in his post on Sunday, ‘While it’s true I have spent many, many hours of research and disseminating information about bad actors, I have had SO LITTLE CARE for introspection about MY OWN actions.

‘And while it’s true I have outed many pedophiles that were former FRIENDS, I remained in their sphere for much longer than I should have, and attempted to gain from them AFTER I knew about their actions. And in my SHEER ARROGANCE I did not even reflect on this fact.’

His timeline is full of retweeted news stories about pedophiles and rants about high-profile people accused of sex crimes and some who aren’t. He accused Green of being a pedophile in a video posted in July.

It is reported that “several bystanders tried physically restraining Kappy from jumping but failed to hold him”. Perhaps they did. Or perhaps that is the Hollywood way to describe throwing someone off a bridge.

But regardless, it’s hard not to notice that individuals who are known to have traveled in and around pedophile circles have a statistically improbable suicide rate.

It wasn’t quite the relentless, multi-level stupidity of Avenger’s Endgame, but the penultimate episode of A Game of Thrones left me with much the same impression as reading A Dance with Dragons did. Namely, that I can do better. And I was very far from the only viewer left unimpressed.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead:

10 big flaws with the penultimate episode of Game Of Thrones:

1. Daenerys

Some viewers complained that the way Dany abandoned her principles (everything she’d ever stood for) and descended into butchery was irrational or rash. In fact if anything it was too predictable – to Varys and us anyway, if not Jon and Tyrion.

‘They say every time a Targaryen is born the Gods toss a coin and the world holds its breath,’ the Spider told the dwarf. ‘We both know what she’s about to do.’

In a fable about power, and the hunger for absolute power corrupting absolutely, it was inevitable – much like Varys’ execution.

But the way she spared Tyrion, Jaime Lannister, and even her lover Jon surely made less sense. If anything their betrayals were much greater than his. It was not Tyrion’s first mistake either and her warning ‘next time you fail me is the last time you fail me’ didn’t sit with her ruthlessness towards Varys – or King’s Landing.

‘Sansa trusted you to spread secrets that could destroy your own queen,’ she hissed. ‘And you did not let her down…Varys knows the truth because you told him. You learned from Sansa and she learned from Jon, though I begged him not to tell her…He betrayed me.’

2. Varys

Probably the most under-rated, under-used Game Of Thrones’ character, Varys had known ‘more kings and queens than any man living’, as he pointed out to Jon, and survived them all. In fact he’d turned survival, seamlessly switching sides, into an artform. So it was unlikely that he’d have allowed Daenerys to come for him without conceiving some sort of escape, especially as he knew Tyrion disagreed with his view Jon would make a better ruler. Finally the way her dragon simply torched Varys was a disappointingly, uncharacteristically, coarse form of execution.

Rash: Some viewers complained that the way Dany abandoned her principles (everything she’d ever stood for) and descended into butchery was irrational or rash +10
Rash: Some viewers complained that the way Dany abandoned her principles (everything she’d ever stood for) and descended into butchery was irrational or rash

3. Tyrion

Tyrion’s sustained faith in Daenerys being a benevolent, moral, candidate to rule the Seven Kingdoms was never very convincing. Tyrion wasn’t ever idealistic let alone naïve and, given his acute intelligence, ignoring Varys’ judgement/counsel just didn’t add up either. He had already been suckered by Cersei and Jaime so shouldn’t have swallowed Dany’s promise to hold back after a surrender. Obviously, family is everything in GoT. Tyrion releasing his brother (returning the favour) made sense but urging Jaime to save Cersei (telling him to escape and ‘start a new life’) ?? Nope, just don’t see Tyrion doing that – especially as it was before Dany went on the rampage.

The biggest problem with all this fake drama, which I addressed briefly in last night’s Darkstream, is that it was dependent upon highly intelligent characters to be something they were not. Both Varys and Tyrion saw Daenerys’s descent into ruthless butchery coming, but neither of them, despite their long personal histories of taking matters into their own lethal hands, bothers to do anything conclusive about it. Given how much both men care about the people of King’s Landing, their fecklessness in the situation is simply absurd, particularly in the case of Varys, since the treachery involved in his letting others know about Jon’s claim on the throne guaranteed his execution in the event of detection anyhow.

I see this trainwreck of an episode as a classic example of letting the visuals drive the story, which is almost always a mistake. The writers have a certain image in mind, so they move the pieces around to ensure they can present it to the viewers with no respect for either the characters involved or its effect on the story. Or, for that matter, the viewers’ intelligence.

It was even too stupid for The Verge:

Taken as a whole, all these idiot gestures look exactly the same. “The Bells” is full of characters being their dumbest, most ill-considered selves, solely in the pursuit of momentary conflicts and payoffs. Jaime’s death in Cersei’s arms seems like a fitting payoff for all his awful behavior with her in the early going of the series, but it completely ignores all his character development over eight seasons, including his most recent relationship. Euron’s attempt to murder the first person he sees after his ship is destroyed seems in character for an agent of chaos, but it still feels forced and random. Varys couldn’t go about his plan in a dumber way if he tried — it’s almost as though he’s anticipating and hoping for execution, to remind Jon that Dany is capable of killing even those closest to her.

Despite its best efforts to anticipate the SJW Narrative, Marvel’s Endgame falls well short of the expectations of the SJW thought police:

The Marvel blockbuster is predicted to surpass its predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War, by £200million, which would crown the new superhero film the largest debut in the history of cinema – and possibly the first film to break one billion dollars in less than a week.

Endgame’s roster includes at least 30 superheroes, but it seems the real battle is more one between the sexes than against gauntlet-wielding super villains – as major male characters enjoy a combined 381 minutes of screen-time, compared to only 116 for their female counterparts.

Chris Evans’ Captain America enjoys one hour and six minutes of screen time – the most of any of the film’s stars – followed by Robert Downey Jnr’s Iron Man with one hour and two minutes, and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor with 45 minutes.

British actress Karen Gillan, known for playing Amy Pond in Doctor Who, has the most screen time of all the female stars, and the fourth most of all, appearing for 41 minutes as the cyborg Nebula, but the franchise’s latest star Captain Marvel, played by Brie Larson, appears for only 15 minutes, despite her recent blockbuster.

I am shocked, appalled, and offended. I expect, and sincerely hope, that Marvel addresses this terrible sexual screen time imbalance in all its future movies. Do they not know it is 2019 and not 1950? Do better, Marvel. Do better!

Marvel Films is determined to create space for the inevitable competition:

A new rumor indicates that Thor 4 could feature a female led.

The rumor from Cosmic Book News points to an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Thor: Ragnarok actress Tessa Thompson noted she believes a pitch for a Thor 4 film has been made:

“I heard that a pitch has happened for [another “Thor” film]. I don’t know how real that intel is, but I hear that the pitch has happened. I think the idea is Taika [Waititi, who directed ‘Ragnarok’] would come back.”

She also discussed the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how it will be more female-oriented when discussing a recent fan tweet showing Captain Marvel and Valkyrie together:

“It didn’t even occur to me, legitimately, that it was necessarily a romantic thing. I don’t even know what happens in the canon in terms of those characters or if they ever intersect, but I just love the idea of more women Marvel characters getting to intersect. I just think it’s so cool and it’s time and why not? There’s so many compelling female characters inside of the MCU.”

She added:

“And just selfishly, when I get to see those women in passing, they’re all such cool women. So the idea of getting to spend time with them and hang out is so fun. I’m just excited that this new phase promises to have women and queer folks.”

Some people are under the mistaken impression that these developments are upsetting to us. Quite the contrary. We are 100 percent in favor of Marvel and DC completely embracing and celebrating the ever-mutating SJW Narrative, on the grounds that one should never interrupt one’s enemy when he is… doing exactly the right thing for Social Justice and the Post-American Way.

The SJW insanity at Disney isn’t likely to stop any time soon. In fact, it will probably accelerate. Wall Street LOVES what Bob Iger is doing at Disney:

Stars like to boast that they never read their reviews, but does Bob Iger? The Disney czar received a litany of raves for his three-hour performance last week aimed at demonstrating his company’s intention to conquer Netflix. The upshot: Disney shares hit record highs and famously skeptical analysts bubbled that Iger’s presentation was “impressive” and “compelling.” Analyst Todd Juenger even lauded Iger’s insistent repetition of the word “aggressive.”

The bottom line is that Wall Street believes Disney has the resources, momentum and, definitely, the aggression to achieve its objectives. Iger is thus “king of the world,” at least within the entertainment ecosystem; he even owns the James Cameron franchises to prove it (Cameron was the original self-anointed king).

What they are doing is working in the short term even as they stuff themselves on their seed corn. If Wall Street loves it, you can be confident that financial strip-mining and short time preferences are in play. This bodes very, very well for Arkhaven’s plans, the most important new aspect of which will be announced early next month, and in which you will be able to not only support, but participate directly.

Disney appears to be a lot more likely to shut down Marvel Comics than anyone likely believes. They’ve already shut down Fox 2000, which produced more revenue from a single movie release than comic sales ever could:

Disney still hasn’t disclosed an official number of jobs they plan to cut. Analysts estimate 4,000-10,000, though several employees say the number being floated among people in the know is closer to 3,000….

One employee on the TV side told THR how disheartened the television employees were at witnessing the carnage in film, but later the ax began to fall there, as well, with 20th Television president Greg Meidel let go.

Disney also laid off Fox Consumer Products boss Jim Fielding, and sources say that of about 50 U.S.-based staffers in that division, five have received pink slips. “I’ve never seen anything like this — from any company,” says a Fox employee who witnessed Thursday’s drama.

Disney has said all along that it intends, due to the merger, to save $2 billion annually by 2021, and such rhetoric usually means jobs will be lost. “This is what happens in mergers,” explains Northlake Capital Management founder Steven Birenberg. “It’s partially the point, as cost savings boost the financials.”

It’s possible that the cost savings will be limited to the Fox acquisition, but in light of the multi-year decline in Marvel revenues combined with the budget imperative, it wouldn’t exactly be shocking to see them shut down the production and pursue a licensing strategy.

You can’t make this stuff up. You really can’t. A “glowing review” of the forthcoming Captain Marvel movie:

Some initial #CaptainMarvel reactions:

1. Cat people will love this movie.
2. Several truly magnificent music moments for this 90s kid.
3. Carol’s hero moment was very cathartic/true to the female experience, imho.
4. The MCU feels more complete now that Carol is in it. ♥️

I suspect serious Marvel fans are going to hate this thing with a fury hotter than angry Star Wars fans contemplating the next entry in the Disney Wars movie franchise: Rose Tico: Poledancer: A STAR WARS Story.

When – not if, when – Arkhaven Studios begins making movies, I guarantee that they will not merely be better than this SJW nonsense, they will be vastly better despite having budgets that are two orders of magnitude lower.

Nothing like getting your story written three weeks early.

Though it won’t hit theaters for another three weeks, Captain Marvel is already being review bombed on Rotten Tomatoes. These reviews aren’t from critics or journalists, but from angry impotent men flooding the audience reviews with their anger. What are they angry about? So many things!

Men are shouting from basements all across the land about Brie Larson, her feminism and liberal politics, how Captain Marvel is an SJW film, and ARG WOMEN I HATE THEM WHY WON’T THEY LOVE ME!? Sidebar: I still don’t get how “social justice warrior” is an insult? Like, those are all good qualities and it’s basically a superhero name. If anyone needs someone to write a Social Justice Warrior origin story, call me.

The point of this kind of review bombing campaign is to drag down the average audience rating to discourage folks from seeing the film. In some instances it works, like with 2016’s Ghostbusters, which suffered from massive downvoting of the trailer on YouTube, as well as a rush of one star IMDb reviews. The film even added a scene featuring the Ghostbusters reading nasty internet comments about themselves in a moment of meta-awareness.

The viciousness of this review bombing campaign is particularly noteworthy given that the bomb-to-be isn’t even reviewable on Rotten Tomatoes yet.

CAPTAIN MARVEL 2019

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Now Disney is destroying the Marvel Comic Universe:

I previously wrote how Brie Larson is a huge gamble for Disney and Kevin Feige – especially following the failure of Star Wars: The Last Jedi – and now the Captain Marvel movie looks to be in big, big trouble, unfortunately.

Back in January, following the NCAA trailer, it was reported that Captain Marvel was projected to have a massive $160 million opening weekend with some estimates even offering $180 million.

However, the bad news for Kevin Feige and Captain Marvel is that those projections have now dropped upwards of $80 million (note: article has been updated to reflect million and not percent), as it is reported the flick may only open around $100 million.

The latest projections come from Deadline, with the site offering Captain Marvel will now open in line with other Marvel origin films, but won’t come anywhere near Black Panther’s $202 million. Interestingly enough, further evidence Captain Marvel is not as highly regarded among fans comes from the fact that Black Panther supporters have not supported the Captain Marvel gofundme to get girls to go see the movie.

There is also a huge problem with Brie Larson who has been spinning Captain Marvel as a feminist movie, essentially isolating the audience, and she even recently came out against white males for some reason. I’m actually surprised and disappointed in Kevin Feige that he is allowing Larson to destroy the MCU audience, and that Disney and CEO Bob Iger haven’t learned anything from Star Wars.

It’s mildly amusing to observe that the media simply can’t grasp that Disney WANTS to destroy Star Wars and Marvel and everything else that appeals to white men. That’s why they acquired it in the first place.

Owen Benjamin calls out Hollywood’s biggest monster. Arthur C. Clarke… so what are the odds. One 26-minute silent film and he’s handed a 7-year multi-million-dollar movie contract. Why? Because he demonstrated his ability to be subversive about his sickness in a subtle manner that did not alert the audience.

Krispin Glover, who refused to keep working for Spielberg, tried to warn everyone:

Does Steven Spielberg focus much of his fantasy life on young people? Did he portray children wallowing in sewers filled with fecal matter in Schindler’s List? Did he use children to finger paint an adult in Hook? Does he collect the illustrations of Norman Rockwell, such as the one showing a young boy in his underwear examined by a doctor? Are the inclinations of Steven Spielberg above suspicion by the media-fed culture? Was Steven Spielberg very friendly with Michael Jackson? Wasn’t Michael Jackson supposed to play Peter Pan in Steven Spielberg’s version of the story? Now that Michael Jackson is no longer held in favor by the mass media, does Spielberg associate with him? Do Michael Jackson and Steven Spielberg share similar opinions about the sexuality of young boys?