Reel Entropy

Spectre an odd, somber Bond film

Posted on November 6, 2015 by reelentropy

Spectre also features Monica Bellucci in a limited role as the oldest Bond Girl ever, aged 50 during production. While there were some consent concerns about a scene in Skyfall, there is definitely a weird vibe in this scene, though the lady again does not protest. Photos courtesy Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Pictures.

Spectre may be one of the most self-hating movies ever made. It’s still an action adventure, it’s still 007, but it doesn’t really enjoy being that way — and somehow, it’s not a bad thing.

The 24th 007 movie sees James Bond (Daniel Craig) again on the run from MI6 after an unauthorized skirmish in Mexico City. With under-the-table help from Miss Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw), Bond sets off after Spectre, the mysterious organization that seems to be behind Quantum from Craig’s first two movies, and also Skyfall because of retconning.

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Posted in Entropy | Tagged #007, #christoph waltz, #daniel craig, #james bond, #MGM, #sony, #spectre | Leave a comment

Applying chaos theory: Kung Fu Panda, I am your father

Posted on November 4, 2015 by reelentropy

So everybody was pretty tired of the Kung Fu Panda series two thirds of the way through the first movie, but it’s a kid’s movie, so that doesn’t matter. It still got its own TV series, three shorts and counting, a sequel and, somehow, its own World of Warcraft expansion, and now it’s getting a second sequel because that’s just what kid’s movies do.

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Posted in Applying Chaos Theory | Tagged #Breaking Bad, #bryan cranston, #dreamworks, #i am your father and/or the one who knocks, #jack black, #kung fu panda, #kung fu panda 3 | 1 Comment

Beasts of no theater

Posted on November 2, 2015 by reelentropy

Beasts of No Nation features another ho-hum, lights-the-screen-up-every-time-he’s-on-it performance from Idris Elba. If he isn’t the next Bond, I’m going to riot. Photos courtesy Bleeker Street.

It’s Halloween weekend. There’s nothing new releasing, as studios are afraid of competition during their highest-leverage time slots — and no, Bradley Cooper and Sandra Bullock Oscarbating don’t count. With no reason to go to a theater, you sit at home with your bag of candy and… what’s this? A Netflix original movie?

Maybe they could have cut their teeth with something a little less grim. Like, a documentary on how to make your own coffin lining, for instance.

Beasts of No Nation follows Agu (Abraham Attah), a 10-year old living in an unnamed West African country mired in a brutal, three-way civil war. Agu lives in a safe zone at the start of the film, but the army soon rolls through. His mother is shipped further behind the lines, but his father and brother are killed and he only survives by escaping into the wilderness. There, he is found by a Native Defense Force battalion that uses child soldiers. The battalion commandant (Idris Elba) singles Agu out as a potential leader and takes him under his wing, walking him through the horrors of war.

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Posted in Entropy | Tagged #adam sandler, #amc, #beasts of no nation, #boycott, #carmike, #cinemark, #idris elba, #Netflix, #paramount, #regal, #scouts guide to the zombie apocalypse, #venice film festival, Paranormal activity | Leave a comment

The Möbius strip: The Martian takes another crown as another weekend flops

Posted on November 2, 2015 by reelentropy

The Martian won the weekend again as all three new releases laid eggs. The weekend’s total, $70.1 million, is the year’s lowest, though this is predictable for a Halloween weekend- Box Office Mojo

Bradley Cooper and Sandra Bullock vehicles Burnt and Our Brand is Crisis finished at no. 5 with $5 million and no. 8 with $3.4 million, respectively. For Cooper, this is the second major failure of the year after May’s Aloha. For Bullock, this represents the worst wide release opening of her career- Deadline

Worse, both films were passion projects for the stars. Cooper was involved in editing and pushing for the film’s release, and Bullock loved the script so much that she pushed for producer George Clooney to make the lead character female so she could play it and waived her fee. These kinds of projects may be limited to direct-to-VOD releases in the future- Variety

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Posted in The Möbius strip | Tagged #20th Century Fox, #aloha, #ant-man, #aziz ansari, #Batfleck, #batman vs superman, #Ben Affleck, #black lives matter, #burnt, #china, #daniel craig, #dirty grandpa, #django unchained, #don bluth, #dragon's lair, #george clooney, #harrison ford, #hillary clinton, #hurricane sandy, #imax, #indiana jones, #jamie foxx, #jar jar binks is an abomination, #jem and the holograms, #jurrassic world, #lisa kudrow, #martin scorsese, #noriyoshi ohrai, #our brand is crisis, #paramount, #parks and recreation, #quinten tarantino, #robert de niro, #roman polanski, #sandra bullock, #sicario, #spectre, #star wars, #steve jobs, #suffragette, #suicide squad, #the empire strikes back, #the exorcist, #the force awakens, #the graduate, #the hateful 8, #the martian, #until dawn, #william friedkin, #zac efron, bradley cooper, Jason Blum, Transformers | Leave a comment

The Möbius strip: All new releases bomb, Batman vs. Superman getting expensive, Star Wars apparently just for boys

Posted on October 26, 2015 by reelentropy

Four new wide releases bombed this weekend, putting The Martian back on top for the third time in four weeks. Two of them, Rock the Kasbah and Jem and the Holograms, rank among the worst opening weekends of all time- Box Office Mojo

Presumed no. 1 was The Last Witch Hunter, which tumbled all the way to no. 4 after the week-old Goosebumps and Bridge of Spies. This disappointment could further hamper the career of star Vin Diesel- The Wrap

The next new release, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, fell all the way to no. 7 after an experimental release strategy caused most theaters to boycott it. It only released in 1,656 theaters- Variety

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Posted in The Möbius strip | Tagged #al queda, #amy schumer, #aurora theater, #Batfleck, #Batman, #batman vs superman, #bill cosby, #braveheart, #DC comics, #fandango, #french blood, #green lantern, #indiana jones, #james bond, #jar jar binks is an abomination, #jem and the holograms, #justice league, #paranormal activity: the ghost dimension, #rock the kasbah, #spectre, #star wars, #star wars: the force awakens, #steve jobs, #suffragette, #superman, #the last witch hunter, #the martian, #the revenant, #the witch, #trainwreck, Paranormal activity | Leave a comment

Reel Entropy

Spectre an odd, somber Bond film

Applying chaos theory: Kung Fu Panda, I am your father

Beasts of no theater

The Möbius strip: The Martian takes another crown as another weekend flops

The Möbius strip: All new releases bomb, Batman vs. Superman getting expensive, Star Wars apparently just for boys

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