fantastic_four

This looked risky, but gating it behind a monthly subscription service makes it a trainwreck. It'll either suck and die or not suck and get moved somewhere where people can see it. Almost nobody's going to pay for this show. Does CBS have other exclusive compelling content planned for this subscription service, or is it just Star Trek that's supposed to be carrying it?

It would have been his first big-picture experience. Live By Night: - Budget: $65MM - WW Box Office: $19MM - Revenue Ratio: .29X (yikes) Argo: - Budget: $44.5MM - WW Box Office: $232.3MM - Revenue Ratio: 5.2X The Town: - Budget: $37MM - WW Box Office: $154MM - Revenue Ratio: 4.2X Gone Baby Gone: - Budget: $19MM - WW Box Office: $34.6MM - Revenue Ratio: 1.82X (his first directing effort) Maybe seeing the massive work involved in BvS while he shadowed Zack Snyder was eye-opening. Not to say he couldn't have learned further in the role. Three of those films have impeccable critical acclaim. That combined with the fact that Affleck has starred or co-starred in multiple blockbusters makes the idea of him directing one of his own a no-brainer. Writing, directing, and starring all in the same one is another matter. Not surprising he doesn't want to do it all particularly given that he's also committed to direct and star in an adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Witness for the Prosecution" next year. Directing is the work that takes the most time commitment for a film, so freeing himself up makes sense. He may also be gun shy about directing a superhero film. He didn't see Daredevil and BvS being critical disasters, and he probably didn't see that happening for his recent Live by Night film, either, so he probably prefers to keep directing dramas for now since that's where he's had success so far. If these DC movies keep bombing I predict he'll drop out of Batman entirely before this film gets made. If the Justice League movie ends up being the disaster half of Hollywood is predicting it's hard to see him continuing the role. He's a well-known superhero fan, but I'm sure he'd much rather be a part of a universe that's being critically accepted like Marvel has done. No way he wants to keep being the post-Nolan Batman whipping boy for critics.

When's this movie hitting Netflix?

I've never been terribly impressed by any of the Batmans over the years; the character is usually so laid back and morose that there isn't a lot to see and the villains hog the screen. Same can be said for Daredevil who is also a morose character in the comics. Affleck was as good or better than any of the other Batmans. Also had no issue with him as Daredevil.

Then why is Rolling Stone reporting that he's concerned with the screenplay? If he's writing it he would just edit the concerns out. Or are he and Johns disagreeing on the screenplay elements? Or is Rolling Stone just wrong? http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/ben-affleck-drops-out-as-the-batman-director-w464061

Who was writing the screenplay before he was?

It stretches the borders of belief to think they would re-do Dark Phoenix after they spent parts of two films doing it already. Must be something else.

I just started watching it about a month ago and am only about ten episodes into season 1. LOVE it. Doesn't seem geared towards kids, it seems like it's written with the same complexity and dark tone that any of the movies have been. Love seeing General Grievous getting developed beyond that simplistic character we saw in Episode III.

I was thinking it was going to be something like "The 1st Order Strikes Back". I guess I was wrong.

Abrams's exact comment was that "Kylo Ren is not a Sith. He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force." That doesn't explicitly say Snoke isn't a Sith. Either way he said this about a year after he told everyone that Benedict Cumberbatch wasn't Khan, so I can't tell anymore if he means what he says during the promotion of an upcoming film.

But the Sith such as Kylo or Snoke use the force, too, so huh? Neither Snoke or Kylo are Sith, tho both are force users so the thought still applies. I heard Abrams say that, but I never heard him explain it. The goals and usage of the force by Kylo seems identical to those of the Sith, so how is he not one? It's possible he only meant that he's not a Sith yet because he hasn't completed his training. Much in the same way that Yoda wasn't prepared to call Luke a Jedi as a way to urge him to complete his training before he faced Vader.

But the Sith such as Kylo or Snoke use the force, too, so huh?

After spending episodes IV through VI feeling like Luke was already the last Jedi since Obi Wan and Yoda were past their primes and Leia had little or no interest in the Force, this title feels worn out already.

That whole sequence was out of place in the movie. Dark, dark, light fluffy airport fight, dark, dark. It was like a second movie was thrown into the middle of this other movie. When did you two become allergic to fun?

Or, they may chalk it up to what they liked you didn't appreciate. So why would that be a 'suckerpunch' - because you don't think like they do? What is odd are folks that feel like it is crazy someone can appreciate the DCEU movies. That seems to be more the trend here, rather than people saying you can't dislike these movies. For some, these are going to work. For others, not. Umm... That doesn't work. My personal favorite funnybook movie is The Dark Knight, really closely followed by Superman: The Movie & II (Theatrical Cut) and Batman Begins. I liked The Dark Knight Rises better than The Avengers and Iron Man (which I liked.) Batman, Batman Returns, Supergirl, iZombie are good company efforts too. The only trend I can see is Warner/DC starting to produce middling movies during this current time frame like they used to (Steel, Batman & Robin, Catwoman.) I'm just driving at a certain bar has been set with the Nolan and Marvel movies. Heck, even Marvel went past it with Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm not going to settle with some over-stuffed blockbuster wannabe. ...I'm hoping Affleck's solo Batman movie is 'da bomb, like Phantoms or all is going to be lost to this moviegoer (and probably many more.) I'm not interested in any others anymore other than Gadot's WW and that one. I don't think they have the "talent" to pull off team movies yet. Same. I'm a Marvel guy, but my top three superhero films are Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2, and Batman Begins. DC just hasn't figured it out outside of Nolan. And I'm hoping for the exact opposite and for Geoff Johns to right the ship.

Superhero movies are for boys. Ultra-cool fight scenes are lost on girls. Where is greggy when I need him....? and you'd better not be teaching your daughter that, I hope that child has access to some nice non doll toys, . She's got a twin brother, so she'll be exposed to all the boy's stuff and fraternal bullying she can handle.

That was my feeling with this movie. Even though Brandon Routh seemed like a solid successor to Christopher Reeve, 'Superman Returns' ended up being a bar fight between Lex and his minions with Clark. No super-powered baddie where it would have made it so much more interesting. 'Man of Steel' made up for that. Between his fight with Faora, then the fight with Faora and Non, and finally with General Zod - this movie is packed with super-character fights. Superman: Returns wasn't as fun as Man of Steel, but it was a better film. Critic reviews agree. Why the studio and fans have been pooping so much on that film starting two years after it was released is beyond me. I personally like Man of Steel better and find it far more rewatchable due to the fantastic action sequences, but I enjoyed Returns when I saw it. I assume it's the whole idea of Superman being a deadbeat dad, which doesn't actually apply since he didn't know about the kid. I still love re-watching the entire crashing plane scene from Returns starting from when it first got into trouble all the way through the standing ovation in the baseball park. Extremely well done.

Superhero movies are for boys. Ultra-cool fight scenes are lost on girls. The second half of Man of Steel featured the kinds of Superman fights I dreamed of as a kid but never got to see until Man of Steel. Unless you count the Neo vs. Smith fights in Matrix: Revolutions...those were pretty much Superman fights. But the ones in Man of Steel were better.

Thanks! Gonna go set it to record now. And just to refresh my memory...he was pretty clearly dead the last time we saw him, right?

I haven't been watching season 3, but I'm interested in the return of Jerome because I thought he was by far the best villain character in the series and that the actor playing him was doing a great job of being Joker-like. If I want to start watching from the episode he returns, which episode is it?

Before seeing season 1 episode 10 of Clone Wars, I assumed General Grievous was a cyborg for the same reason Anakin is one--because he was maimed in battle and they re-built his body with cybernetic parts. But he reveals in that episode that he chose to have his body replaced with cybernetic parts to become a more effective fighter. That casts him as a completely different and more interesting character. I want to get through Clone Wars and then start watching Rebels. Has anyone seen Rebels available from any of the streaming services?

Not like they had a choice since Nolan didn't want the job. I'm sure the only reason he agreed to produce Man of Steel was to keep Warner Brother happy enough to keep funding his very expensive projects.

I'm enjoying it immensely, more than anything on television in a while. I'm ten episodes in...particularly loving General Grievous. Really cool character that didn't get enough screen time in Episode 3 to get a feel for who he is and why he's a cyborg.

Not going to place much credence in someone generically calling the Justice League movie a "mess" with no details. But I suppose I won't be surprised if it is since keeping Zack Snyder on it after BvS seemed most unwise. Justice League will be the first DC film with the Geoff Johns fingerprints all over it, which in Marvel's case with Kevin Feige resulted in the huge success that was the first Avengers film. If Justice League bombs with critics, DC's future will look dimmer than ever. And the odds of Affleck continuing on with the train wrecks that he doesn't seem capable of seeing coming until they're already off the rails seems slim to none.

For the casual fan, you are correct...luckily, there is some help coming... Second half of season 3 looks pretty awesome, and the show itself has a been on a steady trajectory toward attracting a more adult audience since it began. New episodes kick off tonight. I don't really get how Rebels or even Clone Wars is supposedly a children's show. Is it simply because it's animated? The stories just seem like straight-up Star Wars stories, so if these shows are for kids, I guess all of the Star Wars movies, too, are for kids? If they're intended for kids, why does it have so much violence and carry a PG rating? I never watched the CGI cartoon shows when they first started in 2008, but I watched the Clone Wars film and the first five episodes of the show this past weekend. Freaking good stuff. But I generally enjoyed the prequels, so perhaps my standards are too low.