Movies: Presumably 2024, maybe Beyond

I don’t know - getting a 10 Episodes-series instead of one or two feature films sounds much more reasonable to me. And Affleck - well, he does not seem to be on top of his game lately.

But I never liked ARGO that much either. Nor his other films.

Well that was a long time coming and I’m sure wasn’t a surprise to anyone.

However I’m not sure I can get excited about the prospect of a new Batman film anymore. In my lifetime we’ve gone from good (Burton) to bad (Schumacher) to great (Nolan) to appalling (Snyder) and I’m starting to feel a little burned out on the character, at least as a cinematic presence. I’d rather they let Batman sit for a while and let some other superheroes take the spotlight.
Or maybe try a different medium. It’s been a long time since anyone attempted a Batman TV series and there’s a lot more you can do with the character in a long form storytelling, especially in the modern TV landscape.

I give Matt Reeves a lot of credit - so I believe he will finally make the Batman film I am hoping for for a long time. I was never completely satisfied by all the previous movies, so the claim that this film will focus on him being the detective from the comics already fills me with confidence.

I’ve liked the ethos behind Batman’s solo movies - I loved Burtons two and The Dark Knight Trilogy as very much creations of their respective directors, in a genre that does not normally allow for that - but the fact that there’s never been a detective story for Batman on film in 30 years of films, is a baffling one.

I do like Reeves as a director, I loved Cloverfield and he did great work on Planet of the Apes. In fact he was the director I’d hoped would take on Man of Steel when the film was first announced. I even think that focusing on Batman as detective is the best direction to take the character. It’s just that we’ve had to lot of different takes on Batman lately and I simply can’t muster much enthusiasm this time. It’s the dreaded ‘fatigue’ setting in, for Batman and for reboots.

For me, superhero fatigue set in very early, during Marvel´s Phase One. But with CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER, IRON MAN 3, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 1&2, ANT-MAN, DOCTOR STRANGE and THOR: RAGNAROK I was won over again.

In the end, a good movie is a good movie, regardless of genre. And if Reeves´ take on Batman will resonate with my perspective on that character I will love it - while dreading the onslaught of bad superhero films that are yet to come.

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I’m not fatigued on the genre though, I’m fatigued on Batman (Bat-tigued if you will). I feel the same way about Superman. The moment the ‘next Superman’ speculation began following Cavil’s departure I realised I had no real interest in the character’s big screen future. I hate feeling this way but after seeing both characters handled so poorly in recent years it’s all I can do. Maybe things will change as the production cycle gets underway. Maybe the cast or trailers will reignite my excitement, I hope they do. But for now Batman and Superman of film are dead to me I will continue to approach DC films with hesitation and suspicion.

The characters are still great - they are just in need of a good film.

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That we can agree on. I just wish they’d let the dust settle a bit first before diving into the next reboot.

Well, In this instance it wasn’t a reboot for a long time, and I believe Affleck still carries an ep credit, as it started life as a piece he was going to write and direct - whilst I doubt any of that will be in the film that’s released, it is, on paper, telling a story of a young man who will age into Affleck.

Just how much the film will distance itself from those films I imagine grew when JL did so badly.

I think Affleck’s Batman never recovered from the fact he got the role ten years too late and didn’t get a whole film for himself to get comfortable with it. I just struggle to be interested in his character and that’s a problem when it’s not just a small part of the audience but a sizeable number having that feeling.

During that first vehicle with him it struck me that I’d be more interested if his Batman couldn’t don the costume and he’d be forced to make do with his Bruce Wayne persona. If Batman gets a reboot I’d prefer it it was closer in tone to the fantastical atmosphere of Tim Burton’s two efforts.

Actually, why not? Ask Burton if he’s up for it, maybe that would give the character the necessary kick.

Shaft Jr. comes off far more annoying than I expected him to. I plan on seeing this, as I loved Samuel L. Jackson’s take on this in 2000’s Shaft, but I was hoping for something a bit different than this. This really should have just focused on Jackson and Roundtree rather than their whiny younger relative.

More casting for DUNE. The cast is certainly shaping up nicely at this point!

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Not since Casino Royale and Blade Runner 2049 have I been so eager to see a movie.

The book is outstanding and becomes ever more relevant; spice representing oil and Paul the Mahdi by way of T.E. Lawrence - my reading of it.

Being an uber fan of Lynch I adore his version. Sure it falls apart a little in the end and it’s an Alan Smithee film. But it has a mise en scene to die for and an incredibly tangible meta physical aspect (being Lynch). I never get tired of watching it. Totos ‘Prophecy theme’ is one of my favourite pieces of music of all time.

I thought Blade Runner 2049 was far better than we could’ve ever hoped for in a sequel to the monumental original, so I’m dairing to hope and let myself get excited about this latest attempt at Herbet’s masterpiece.

So far the cast looks amazing - Paul is perhaps a little on the young side, but he is an Oscar winner, so in Villineuve I trust.

My only disappointment so far is that Deakins isn’t photographing, but Greig Fraser has a great resume, as does editor Joe Walker.

I’m in two minds. On the one hand ANY Deakins construction is a plus, on the other, I get Deakins fear of repetition going from one sci-fi epic to another under the same director.

Yes…I know how pretentious that sounds.

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I actually love Lynch´s DUNE as well - but I look forward to Villeneuve doing this version a lot.

I don´t think for a second that this will be a success, though. But it will be an interesting film.

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Hopefully it makes enough for the studio to pay for part 2 (he’s doing it in 2 movies - a wise move imo).

Or is he shooting back to back? That would be ideal.

It was reported as two films back to back, as I remember. But maybe those were just optimistic plans to gain attention. Villeneuve´s commercial instincts don’t seem to align with market demand, unfortunately. And since Lynch´s DUNE, despite being regularly maligned, is still kind of etched into audiences´ consciousness, it will be hard for this new film to prove it is different and a necessary re-imagining.

IMO, all the talk about Lynch not following the story closely enough is wrong any way. My take was that he really used very much of the plot. And Villeneuve, I believe, will just have to use those plot points, too, which will inevitably lead to a feeling of “been there, seen that”.

Lynch’s problem was runtime. It’s a mammoth novel; not in terms of page count - though it’s not slim by any means - but in it’s density. So much lore, character and story is crammed into it’s epic world building that it’s proven impossible to tell in a single sitting.

I’ve seen the long cut of Dune and tbh it doesn’t really fix this issue. Lynch would’ve felt these constraints from the outset and decisions made in scripting about what they could sacrifice for time. All those extended and deleted scenes can’t make up for what they couldn’t shoot at all.

Apparently a whole ton of scenes were dropped thanks to Lynch picking up an abridgement scene - the montage of Paul taking the spice, including the worms surrounding him in honour. Proves that necessity is the mother of invention, because it’s a great, pivotal moment only thought of afterwards.

Btw, my source for this is a great Youtube channel that does 10 minute reviews it calls ‘Renegade Cut’! E.g. 'Dune: Renegade Cut’. This was were i garnered that last nugget. Lots of Carpenter reviews too - the They Live one is pretty good.

Villeneuve’s choice to do it in 2 movies is the only realistic one and shows (if any proof were needed) that he intends to follow Herbert’s writing closely imo.

Though apparently Lynch had intended to follow Dune with a sequel, which explains the rather abrupt ending, which feels like a tease to more story. Obviously that never happened, which is why i hope Villeneuve is indeed doing it back to back.

Edit: Here ya go!

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Can this cast get any more impressive? It must be the most sought after movie in Hollywood right now.

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