Gatsby77

Yessir. But we cited the same source. Doesn't mean it's any more or less credible.

Not sure if this is credible, but hey - why not? Comic Book.com is claiming that the RT score so far has leaked: http://comicbook.com/dc/2017/11/15/justice-league-rotten-tomatoes-score-leaks/ Puts it at 48%. Even if this were the real thing it doesn't matter, as Forbes' Scott Mendelson has said the "critics screening" (where he will be watching it, among many others) isn't until tonight. So they'll likely be a lot of movement between now and Sunday, at which point we should the score should have settled in with 130+ reviews tallied.

Meanwhile, I can't tell whether the NYT review is positive or negative. It's headline is "Better Than the Last One" but the opening paragraph makes clear that doesn't mean much: "Justice League, the newest DC superhero jam directed by Zack Snyder is looser, goosier, and certainly more watchable than the last one. The bar could scarcely have been set lower given that the previous movie, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," was such an interminable slog. The superhero and villain dynamic is much the same (slayers going to slay, etc.), but there are a few fresh faces now and Wonder Woman has more to do than play backup. The story is a confusion of noise, visual clutter and murderous digital gnats, but every so often a glimmer of life flickers through."

Wasn't just me, though. There's a reason the critics came down on Man of Steel (and, even moreso, BvS). And it was the needlessly dark, brooding nature of Superman. I've read a few hundred Superman comics -- the closest I've ever seen to Snyder's version was in the initial Neal Adams/Denny O'Neil run in 233-245 or so. Superman is *supposed* to be America's boy scout, an idealistic adopted farmboy from Kansas who stands for truth, justice and the American Way, a la Captain America. Not a pissed off alien with the look of a constipation-induced scowl. Again - Supergirl gets this right.

The only TV reviewers I trust are from The Onion's AV Club. I've loved watching episodes of Orange Is the New Black, Homeland, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist and then comparing their individual episode reviews (like, 600-800 words each) with my own assessment of those episodes. Also, the AV Club's letter grade assessments generally correlated with my own (i.e., A or A- episodes tended to be the best of the season while B- or the rare C+ were usually the worst).

This. I liked Man of Steel a lot. Even the editing was tight, particularly in the Lois-Lane-does-her-investigative-reporting scene. Great film, Oh...up until Superman betrays everything he's ever stood for by turning into a homicidal maniac and straight murdering Zod, after he'd already been neutralized. Why does this matter? I don't think Joe Public wants to see a dark, brooding Superman -- particularly after the brilliant light-hearted versions of him shown in Superman, Superman II and even Lois & Clark. That tone is something that the Supergirl TV show has gotten perfectly right.

This is BS. Wonder Woman got great reviews because it was a great movie. BvS and Suicide Squad were not. Again, for me it comes down to the story. Can it pass the test of being a decent film if you took out the superheroes? Wonder Woman could remove the god elements, and it would still have worked as a decent war/espionage thriller. Ditto Winter Soldier -- what made it great it was that it was a post-9/11 Fear-the-Patriot-Act spy thriller, it *also* happened to be a great Captain America movie. See also The Dark Knight -- Nolan made a superb crime thriller that just also happened to feature Batman & the Joker. Not everyone has an agenda.

Yeah - It's the level of negativity that's concerning. Whereas with BvS, reviews seemed to be balanced but just this side of negative (say...rating it a 40-50%, but which still counted as negative for RT) here, some folks are just trashing it. The Chicago Tribune, for example, gave it 1.5 stars. Vanity Fair trashed it. Even Bleeding Cool News (who are our people) called it mediocre.

Forbes review is up from Mark Hughes. He predicts $120M domestic opening and a global box office tally of ~$900M. Seems about right to me. On the one hand, it's got pretty much clear sailing for four weeks until Star Wars opens; on the other, if the reviews really are that bad, we could be looking at BvS-level drop-offs after a strong opening weekend. https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2017/11/15/review-justice-league-successfully-delivers-fun-and-heroism-audiences-want/#34cc05eb1e27

Some of the reviews I've read are ok, but some (particularly by high-profile outlets) are downright brutal. I stand by my 40-55% prediction.

Early critics' reviews look good. 72% positive on Rotten Tomatoes so far! (Vs. 17% for Iron Fist).

Two movies I'll defend to the death: Top Gun (Rotten, 56%) Waiting (with Ryan Reynolds) (Rotten, 31%)

My two minute scan of Wikipedia determined that Rotten Tomatoes is currently owned 30% by Warner Bros. and 70% by NBC Universal/Comcast. Metacritic, meanwhile, is owned by CBS. Disney owns no part of either.

They do that already. The entire premise of the site is a binary see it (aka "Fresh" rating of 60% positive or better) or don't ("Rotten" score of <60% positive). I don't see this move as controversial. What was controversial? Netflix purportedly removing its five star user rating systems primarily because viewers tanked Amy Schumer's last stand-up special there.

Yeah - best fit among Disney-owned channels seems like ABC or Hulu if they plan to air it before say...June 2019.

Even the early screenings tonight smack of desperation -- get the eager fans out to spread positive word-of-mouth a full 48 hours before the critics' reviews begin weighing it down. Note: Not that I didn't try to see it tonight -- I'm on the wait list but doubt I'll get in. Also - basic theater economics are running against it. Fewer people are going to the movies this year as streaming options reach their apex. Proof? With just 7 weeks left in the year, the number of tickets sold in 2017 is running 30% (roughly 300,000) behind the total sold in 2016 and 2015. That's a lot of ground to be made up by Justice League, Star Wars, and every piece of Oscar bait that will be released between now & Jan.1.

Looks suspiciously like a haul from the Quinn's auction two weeks back. Pretty sure I was the guy sitting to your right, who kept getting blown out on the early Conans and Star Wars runs. Great meeting you & chatting!

Nah -- I give it maybe a 10% chance that this hits $1 bn. No comic book movie this year has come close -- not Guardians 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, or Wonder Woman. Thor:Ragnarok won't either, and that's rivaling Wonder Woman with 93% positive among the critics. Warner Bros. best be happy with their $300 million spend netting $875 million or so.

I thought the first film was decent, but it's hard to get excited for a "reboot" when there have already been four sequels. I don't see anyone clamoring for this any more than folks were clamoring for Mark Walhberg to do Max Payne.

My point. The embargo metrics don't lie. Even Interstellar -- which had one of the most interesting surprises of modern times, lifted its embargo more than 3.5 days in advance, and even then critics were under a very specific NDA regarding the surprise. I don't think Warner Bros. execs are dumb - this is damage control.

I understand the WSJ reporter's speculation but it's a greater risk for Disney to hold back on the shows (at least three new seasons) it's already licensed to Netflix for an additional year, during which they could lose momentum. Also, it's Netflix - not Disney, that's produced all of the Marvel shows so far. The TV deal with Disney is separate from the film one. Further, Disney has stated repeatedly that it will only pull its movies from Netflix beginning with ones released in 2019. So films including Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, The Last Jedi, and Han Solo will all still be available on Netflix.

Also, noting that "if you liked BvS and Suicide Squad you'll like this" is the very definition of "damning with faint praise"

Nah. The latest articles peg Disney's streaming launch for the "second half of 2019." Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil are all set to launch new seasons next year. Besides, Disney needs the time between now & then to finish buying Fox.

I think it will fall between 40-55% on RT. So "rotten," but only just. Why? Putting aside my biases (that BvS and Suicide Squad sucked and the early Snyder-driven trailers for this made it look like garbage) it's: Because of this mashable piece, which makes the short embargo argument, charting it against other recent would-be blockbusters: Lifting the embargo 1 day, 16 hours before the first public screenings is not a vote of confidence from the studio. That's a far cry from the 13+ days given Wonder Woman and Logan, and ranks it just above Valerian and The Mummy. Likewise, that the embargo lifts just before 3:00 am. If Warner Bros. were confident, they'd give it at least a few more days for early positive reviews to help sway public opinion. As it stands, this looks like the opposite -- relying on a huge opening weekend before public opinion settles in and it drops 70%+ the next weekend.

The Twilight Zone is one of my favorite TV shows of all time, made all the more impressive when you learn that Serling himself wrote the majority of them. But this could go either way. The 1985 series was also a classic -- with some iconic episodes including "Shatterday," "Examination Day," "To See the Invisible Man,"Cold Hard Numbers," and "Button, Button." But then the 2002 series (with Forrest Whitaker) was bunk.