Disney's Artemis Fowl 8/9/2019 0

[chezmtghut]

Seems to be about hollow earth, the occult, sacred knowledge. One of the more interesting trailers I've seen lately:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3089630/videoplayer/vi133085721?ref_=tt_ov_vi

Edited December 24, 2018 by chezmtghut

[AGGIEZ]

I've read the first 3 books. I'll have to check out the trailer because I certainly didn't get "the occult" from the books....more of a Harry Potter-type vibe. 

Edited January 7, 2019 by AGGIEZ

[Bosco685]

Disney+ candidate

 

[Bosco685]

Quote

If Artemis Fowl succeeds on Disney+, it could lead to bigger-budget (but less theatrically-safe) Disney features foregoing theaters in favor of their subscription-based streaming service.

 

During a Q2 earnings call yesterday, during which Disney noted an understandable $1.4 billion drop in profits due to coronavirus-related closures and quarantines (which meant no theme parks, no cruise ships, no live sports and no theatrical releases), new CEO Bob Chapek answered a question about theatrical window. That answer is diplomatic, generic and relatively indecisive, which is what you’d expect considering A) we’re in entirely uncharted territory, B) we don’t yet know how consumers will react when theaters re-open and C) Universal just got (temporarily?) blacklisted by AMC theaters for taking a victory lap for their mostly-straight-to-PVOD Trolls: World Tour release. Oh, and Disney’s total theatrical output in 2019 earned nearly $13 million in worldwide box office.

 

“We very much believe in the value of the theatrical experience overall to launch blockbuster movies, as you know we had seven billion-dollar films in calendar year ’19,” he said. “But we also realized that either because of changing and evolving consumer dynamics, or because of certain situations like COVID, we may have to make some changes to that overall strategy, just because theaters aren’t open or aren’t open to the extent that anybody needs to be financially viable.”

 

“We’re going to evaluate each one of our movies on a case-by-case situation,” he said.

 

[Bosco685]

Quote

Lacking in vivid characters, compelling stakes or memorable set pieces, Walt Disney DIS’s Artemis Fowl brings to mind the very worst of the post-Harry Potter attempts at young adult fantasy franchises.

 

So THAT’s why Artemis Fowl went to Disney+. The Kenneth Branagh-directed adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s novel was supposed to open in theaters, first on August 9, 2019 and then May 29, 2020. But that second theatrical release was canceled due to coronavirus-related theater closures, and the $125 million fantasy is now the first big-budget Disney flick to debut on the studio’s streaming platform. While the notion of Artemis Fowl becoming a theatrical hit was always a longshot, its sheer lack of quality almost qualifies as a mitzvah to movie theaters. The truncated (94 minutes, with lots of credit cookies) and indifferent fantasy flick brings to mind the very worst (the first Percy Jackson movie, The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, etc.) of the post-Harry Potter wave of failed YA franchises.

 

I’ve been critical of Walt Disney’s attempts to create new live-action franchises outside of the MCU and their animated library, as National Treasure was 15.5 years ago. Nonetheless, say what you will about Andrew Stanton’s John Carter, Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland and Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time, but they had distinct personalities, specific points-of-view and unique sensibilities. Warts and all, they justified themselves alongside the likes of Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean, Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther and Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi. I’m not huge on Thor (many of the best character beats ended up on the deleted scenes reel), but it’s unquestionably a Kenneth Branagh movie and it laid the blueprint for the MCU as much as Iron Man. Artemis Fowl is as impersonal and soulless as, yes, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

 

Even under the best circumstances, an IP like Artemis Fowl translating into a blockbuster release would be a long shot. That is why Disney has mostly stopped taking swings of this nature in favor of a steady diet of Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Walt Disney Animation and those live-action remakes. But even so, Artemis Fowl could have signaled that the films arriving on Disney+ could be as big and, relatively speaking, as good as their theatrical fare. But Artemis Fowl is instead the Disney equivalent of the various Paramount movies that ended up on Netflix NFLX both because they weren’t commercial and, Annihilation aside, because they were terrible. Timmy Failure belonged in theaters. Artemis Fowl is right where it belongs, the modern equivalent of “straight to video.” Help us, Jungle Cruise, you’re our only hope.

[paperheart]

https://www.metacritic.com/movie/artemis-fowl/critic-reviews

getting what you paid for on Disney + - not much

[Bosco685]

"Incredibly awful!"

[Rodey]

It's not good. There's a scene where Judy Dench looks into the camera as if saying, "God, why did I sign up for this."

[Bosco685]

1 minute ago, Rodey said:

It's not good. There's a scene where Judy Dench looks into the camera as if saying, "God, why did I sign up for this."

Or "Well, that's another paycheck out of the way!" 

[1Cool]

I fell asleep half way thru so i'm glad I didn't miss much

[Bosco685]

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Bosco685