Sequels
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"League of X-Men" Mash-Up Recalls a Major Disappointment, Begs for a Reboot
Remember how disappointing the film adaptation of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" was? In addition to not doing justice to the brilliant concept of the comic books series by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill, it is also the movie that made Sean Connery quit the business, having realized he had no radar for crap anymore. He had taken on the role of Alan Quatermain in this tale of an early super-group comprised of 19th century literary characters (including Captain Nemo, Mina Harker and Dorian Gray) after admittedly declining the part of Gandalf for the "Lord of the Rings" movies because he didn't understand them. That role of course went to...
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"The Hangover Part II" is an Embarrassing Descent into Racial Stereotypes and Tired Homophobia
By this point it’s been pretty well established that “The Hangover Part II” is a dud. It’s actually kind of embarrassingly bad, given the incredible similarity between the sequel and the original. It’s as if someone took the entire plot of “The Hangover” and grafted it onto the unsuspecting city of ...
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"Kung Fu Panda 2" Promotes Fireworks Not Bombs in a Sequel That's as Good as the Original
I find a lot of kids' movies set in the past to be oddly encouraging considering their historical contexts. For example, the villain in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" has that "Chinatown"-esque plot to shut down the trolley system and build freeways in Los Angeles. He is defeated in the film by the 'toon hero, yet even as a young moviegoer I knew the reality, and I left the theater feeling the bleak irony in the fact that eventually L.A. was indeed overrun by these apparently evil roadways. Now "Kung Fu Panda 2" is here with a similarly optimistic tale in which the invention of gunpowder in Ancient China is (only temporarily, of course) thwarted ...
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Spout About: Mermaids Are the Latest Rage; "Daredevil" Ahead of Its Time; Battle of the James Bonds
Spout About is a daily look at what people are discussing related to the films currently in theaters and the classics we're still talking about. Have another topic worth addressing? Let us know.
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Spout About: Favorite Palme d'Or Winners; "Pirates of the Caribbean" Sunk?; Is "Thor" About GW Bush?
Spout About returns for a daily look at what people are discussing related to the films currently in theaters and the classics we're still talking about. Have another topic worth addressing? Let us know.
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Short Starts: "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" Inspires a Look Back to Donald Duck
As I’m sure everyone is almost excessively aware, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” (aka "POTC4") is opening this weekend. This time around Johnny Depp will be sailing around with Penélope Cruz and Ian McShane looking for the Fountain of Youth, perhaps in an attempt to restore the vitali...
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TrendSpouting: Suggestions for Scorsese and Lars von Trier's "Five Obstructions" Redo
At Cannes late last night (or early this morning? the time difference confuses me) an official announcement was made that Lars von Trier would make another "The Five Obstructions" documentary, this time with Martin Scorsese. We all heard something like this before, little more than a year ago, when it was rumored-then-denied that the two filmmakers would unite for a "Taxi Driver" redo. I responded at the time (elsewhere) with a list of other suggested -- yet unlikely -- directorial collaborations (also see Film School Rejects' excellent year-old list of 10 Films (and Directors) That Lars Von Trier Should Obstruct). I named the original "Five ...
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5 Silly Moments in the History of Dinosaurs and Aliens United on Screen
Barry Sonnenfeld's newly announced project "Dominion: Dinosaurs Versus Aliens" sounds like a Topps trading card mash-up, or the ultimate Steven Spielberg movie. Or, it's just the latest in a title-as-pitch kind of production mentality that's so far given us "Snakes on a Plane," "Dragon Wars," "Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus," and numerous silly SyFy Films and The Asylum knock-off releases. But this time it's not technically a B-movie. And though the trend is already reaching the majors big time this summer with "Cowboys & Aliens" and somewhat "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," people seem stunned by this news. Not surprised, I guess, but stil...
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Does the "Thor" Ending Hurt or Help Your Anticipation of "The Avengers"?
The "Avengers" film franchise may not really be the equivalent of a Ponzi scheme, as A.O. Scott considers it, because the primary audience for "Thor" is also the primary audience for "Captain America" and "The Avengers" and so on anyway. They don't need the chain-linking of plot through each install...
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