Katana:




I think they are assuming people watching the movie came because they were huge fans of the comics where her story played out (and would have taken up an extraordinary amount of time and at huge cost to add into the film)

If you Google Katana and/or Suicide Squad (or both) you will get the whole history; and it is a huge one size-wise (with just way too much intricacies) - To tell her background would usurp this movie and make it all about one character; which I'm sure is why they felt it okay to bypass it, since most people watching would have already known it all.

My point is that the film shouldn't make assumptions about audience comic book knowledge, but even someone who knows Katana would be disappointed by the sheer lack of screen time she gets. She just pops up in Suicide Squad, someone says "Oh she's coming too by the way" and then she disappears at the end without any explanation. If you cut all of her scenes out of the film and rewatched it, you'd never even notice that someone was missing.

The beauty of these characters is in their backstories and abilities, so the film comes off as really lazy and rushed when they don't bother exploring any of this. Before doing group films like this they'd be better served to do introductory films first. The Avengers had the same issue with characters like Black Widow and Hawkeye. It leaves you with the feeling that all of these films are just advertisements for the comics.

Yes, I thought they should have done a lead in movie too if they were going to bypass the character's histories. But at the time didn't realize how small a role they allowed her for the film. Too bad, because there is more advertising for her role in the movie than there is for the movie itself!

You may be right about these films acting as advertisement for their comics, but for that they are a good expense for the viewer; makes me wonder how much they bring in to the company, lol.

Apparently, as of August 18 the film has made $509 million worldwide, and is yet to be released in some countries (such as Germany and Japan). Comic Book sales always jump up after superhero films, especially when they introduce 'new' characters.

I also read that a lot of scenes were cut from the final version, especially stuff with The Joker and Harley. I hope they do an extended cut or something to give people the chance to see more of it.

I have not seen Suicide Squad. Like always, I am waiting for it to be on disc. Given that Batman vs Superman got an extra half hour of material when it went to disc, I am sure Suicide Squad will get the same. I understand that there was originally a lot more material with the Joker in it. But it was so dark and creepy that it was cut - probably because it would have gotten them an R rating. So that will all probably all end up on an R-Rated disc. The exact same thing happened with BvS.

Yeah, the extended cut features more of the abusive side of the relationship between Joker and Harley, apparently.

509 million world wide isn't that good unless their budget was ridiculously low. And wait - if it wasn't released in Japan yet, then how has Uleni seen it? It probably has been released there already; which makes that 509M abysmally low! It should go to disc really quickly then.

According to the IMDB the movie's budget was 175 million. So if it has hit 509 mil, it has been extremely successful.

3.3 mil gross profit; divide that in two when you add in the promotional and back end costs. I think they might break even when all the tallies are in after it is released on CD, but they anticipated 500 mil from US box office alone and didn't get it. Instead they are looking at 509 mil globally right now; so way lower numbers than they had anticipated when budgeting for it - and they won't get any revenue from China on this film, it has been banned there due to its dark content. That is a huge hit against its success.

Imho I think they are going to end up taking a beating on it at the box office; and still think it will be on disc very fast so the studio can recoup some of those expenses quicker.

But once it goes to CD, they will at least break even; maybe see some profit - nothing near what they hoped. Right now it is the dog of the year; and Sausage Party is kicking its butt at the Box Office.

The (novice) director made a lighter version and a darker version and ran them before test audiences. The one at the box office now is a merging of the two - taking away some of the dark from one, and maturing up the other, losing some of the comedy. It wasn't enough for China (or was too much darkening added) - so why doesn't the studio release the lighter version of it to areas where the darker version is unwelcome? They already made the (lighter version) film for a test audience; and would gain all that box office in China.

I know the amount of money spent on marketing is a lot. It can be up to the same or more than the cost as the film. Which in this case would put it up to about 350 million. But Suicide Squad has made 575 million now, so it has definitely done better than break even. None of this takes into account toy sales either, which believe it or not are a big part of these superhero movies. Toy money is so big that it literally dictates who the big villain will be. That money is all going to be pure profit, even without the China box office (which definitely is a big thing these days, it is why we are seeing more and more Chinese actors in movies these days, like Fan Bingbing in DOFP).

After only two and half weeks it is closing in on the amount that Batman v Superman made (872), and that cost more to make (and was a definite financial success). It also displaced Guardians as the Galaxy as the top opening movie in August, and has made more money than Guardians did in the same amount of time it has been out. Guardians cost 232 million to make as well. That gives some yardsticks to measure SS against.

So money wise, Suicide Squad is a success. That means we will definitely be seeing a sequel, and probably some solo movies as well. A Harley Quinn movie seems almost certain, as people were talking about it before SS even came out.

The critics obviously hate it. They hated Batman vs Superman too. Yet when I finally got around to seeing BvS I liked it a lot. So I am sure I will like SS as well. The way I figure, if critics hate a movie, it is bound to be good.

Obviously it is not doing as well as Warner Bros/The DCU had hoped. The same with BvS. I think you and Uleni were right in that they were getting ahead of themselves with these team movies. Because as you guys pointed out, when you have half a dozen stars, you don't get to see any one of them very much. I think Marvel did the smarter thing by putting out several solo movies before trying the first Avengers film. Warner/DCU is trying to play catch up with Marvel, and I think that is why they went for the big team movies right off the bat. They are trying to get to the same point that Marvel was three years ago, without taking the time. Now it is biting them in the rear.

I wonder if Warner/DCU might do a little regrouping now? They have Wonder Woman coming out next year, which is a solo film. But Justice League is following it at the end of 2017. The Flash and Aquaman are not set until 2018. Maybe they will rethink Justice League and push it back until after them? Probably not. They already filmed Justice League, so I bet they want the money back that they spent making it sooner than later, even if it hurts them overall. It will be interesting to see how that turns out.

BWAAHAA! Isn't that the truth!

Speaking of BvS, am I the only one who thinks that Henry Cavill looks like the buffed up older brother of Hayden Christensen??

God, what a beef cake.

He looks like a buffed up (insert whatever you want here!) That guy is an adonis.

Pics or it didn't happen!

No Henry Cavill pics, but I do have a Russian movie trailer. This looks completely insane. Yes, it is a wear-bear with a minigun. I hope it at least gets to the US on disc, it looks like a lot of fun.

oh, and Pics here, so it did happen!

So so, but I'm not big on the "widows peaks" look. I like him better in these pics:


http://healthyceleb.com/wp-content/uploads...enry-Cavill.jpg


http://static.tumblr.com/086a2ca9e90c16b8c...4gcsok00sc0.png

I don't believe the were-bear had a widow's peak..

That actually looked like it would be a good/interesting one too!

Oh that looks cool. The only Russian films I've ever watched are about WW2.

It's hard to find subtitles for most foreign films, and they rarely do foreign DVD releases.



I'm not a huge Henry Cavill fan. I mean he looks great in his Superman suit, but macho muscle men aren't quite my cup of tea. He seems really nice though, which is important.

Same here. I like a lot less olfl the "Arnoldy" bulges and a lot more hair on the head.

AKA:

I just watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

This is another of my all-time favourite films, and holds the distinction of being the only musical that I like.

Gene Wilder was perfect as Willy Wonka.

I like that version so much better than the Johnny Depp one - and actually know every single word of dialogue; every single lyric to all the songs in the Gene Wilder one; that is how much I liked his version!

"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams..."

Gene Wilder's death is unfortunate because his unique personality was a hallmark of many Mel Brooks films. I can't imagine the first Willy Wonka would have gotten the same respect/recognition with a different lead either.

I bought the first 4 Bourne movies on blu-ray a while ago. Now I am finally getting around to watching them. I did Bourne Identity yesterday, and Supremacy this afternoon. Tomorrow it will be Ultimatium's turn, and Legacy probably on Tuesday. I have not seen them for a while, so I am having a lot of fun. I especially like Moby's song Extreme Ways in the end credits of each film. He changes it a little for every movie though, so it is hard to keep track of which version is which.

I saw them a while ago, and own the set on DVD as well as via iTunes. Before I saw the first one, I thought Matt Damon was a strange choice for Jason Bourne. Now I can't picture anyone else as Jason Bourne - Matt Damon really owned the role.

I thought that the mention of a Robert Ludlum movie might flush you out haute! Where have you been? I have missed you.

I have also started watching the first season of Supergirl. I am not a fan of the whole distaff hero thing in general, but I am really liking this. The main character Kara does not come off as overly uber, which keeps her from becoming annoying. That goes for her social and work life as well as super life. The cast surrounding her is solid. Calista Flockheart really stands out as her self-centered, entitled boss.

Finally, between the coming of age story of a super girl finding her place in the world, painfully learning her limits, and pushing beyond those boundaries, there is a good overall story arc developing. It is nicely tied into her backstory as well. She was sent to Earth at the same time as Kal-El, but was late arriving because her spacecraft got caught in the Negative Zone. She doesn't know how she get out of there, but it turns out she was not the only one to do so. Her escape also coincided with the mass escape of the convicts from Krypton's max security prison. So now a bunch of Kryptonians and other aliens are roaming Earth. Their leader, none other than Kara's aunt, has grand plans for Earth's destiny, with her on top of the grandness of course.

So all in all, I am enjoying it a lot.

I didn't think anyone missed me here, so thanks for the sentiment!

Uh, yes, Robert Ludlum. One of my two favorite authors. Probably the single biggest influence on my writing . . .

Not watching much lately. Tried watching a K-Drama called Moorim School, but I'm having trouble getting into it. It's a weird mix of modern cloak-n-dagger mixed with metaphysics wrapped up in two coming-of-age stories tangled with a love triangle/rectangle (I haven't been able to figure that one out yet).

It feels like it's trying to be too many things at once. And it feels like there is a Deux Ex Machinima thing going on as well. Haven't gone back to it for a couple of weeks.

Not watching any of the new shows either. Don't have a TV subscription and honestly, I don't miss it at all.

I think Matt Damon is so versatile that he owns every role he ever takes on. I can't even rave about his acting because when he is in a role you kind of don't realize he is acting; it just comes across as "him" - naturally.

I finally got around to watching Captain America: Civil War. Or really Avengers: Civil War. Granted, most of the focus is on Cap, but just as much is on Tony, and everyone makes an appearance, even when they don't really serve the story.

I was pretty underwhelmed with the whole thing, disappointed really. There were too many times I was yelling at the screen. Like when General Ross is taking them to task over saving New York, or saving the world. Hello a-hole, you were the guys who launched a nuclear missile at New York. If not for the Avengers stopping you, the government would have killed millions. And of course everyone on the planet dying if they had not taken it on themselves to stop Ultron in Sokovia. I guess they should have just sat around doing nothing and let Ultron destroy the world. Apparently that would have been the right thing to do, according to William Hurt.

Now I will admit that Tony creating Ultron in the first place was incredibly bone-headed. So if they just wanted to put Stark in prison I would not be complaining. Seriously.

I don't mind that Ross tried to spin things that the Avengers are these reckless and out of control monsters who destroy everything in their path. Way back in the first Hulk movie they firmly established that he is an a-hole after all. I do mind that no one on the team called him on his b.s. though.

Then there is Tony Stark apparently being General Ross's butt-monkey for most of the movie. This is the same guy who literally told a Congressional sub-committee to go stick it where the sun does not shine in Iron Man 2? The same guy who hacked Shield to find out about their Hydra Weapons research, just because he doesn't trust the government? The guy who stopped making weapons because he won't be responsible for who they kill? The guy whose disrespect for authority is one of his defining character traits. Now he is suddenly willing to become the government's unquestioning thug? Sorry, that is just totally out of character.

And how come before the big super smackdown didn't Cap or someone else bother to tell the rest of the Avengers that they have proof Bucky is innocent, and that they were after the real culprit? It would have taken about 3 sentences. Maybe 10 seconds to say. But then there would have been no fight, and I guess that is more important than making any kind of sense. I guess there is no point wondering why no one else, like the CIA, bothered telling Tony the same thing. Or why Tony didn't just hack them himself to find out what the intelligence was on the bombing. I guess it just isn't as important as trying to figure out that Shield was trying to get 40 year old Hydra weapons to work.

And where was Vision in that first scene in Lagos? Was he watering the plants at Avengers HQ? I suppose he was absent because if he had been there he would have single-highhandedly taken out the entire Hydra team in about 5 seconds. But I guess we couldn't have that happen, because it would have ruined the big moment of the Scarlet Witch's diverted bomb blast killing less people than it originally would have. Yes, that too. Apparently she is a monster because she insured that less people died than would have if she had not intervened. Obviously no one is happy that people died, and it is a lot of guilt for her to doubtlessly carry around. But the blame is squarely on the person who blew himself up, not her. Just like the blame for the destruction in New York is on the aliens who attacked it (and the government who tried to nuke it), not the people who defended it.

Let's not forget the magical camera recording Mama and Papa Stark's death's too. How convenient it was for the plot to have that camera set up in the middle of nowhere so it could record their deaths, and who killed them. We know it wasn't something that Bucky set up to prove his mission success, because we see him shoot out the camera at the end of it. Also how convenient for the super rich Howard Stark who rubs shoulders with super spies to travel with absolutely no bodyguards or protection. Unlike RL executives who have drivers that are former Army Rangers (whom I have personally met and worked with IRL), and travel in multiple cars with security guards, because they are targets for kidnappings and espionage. And none of them have 5 Super-Soldier serums in the trunk!!!

Or how the bad guy's entire plan is just way too convoluted, to the point of literally requiring precognition to work - like knowing Bucky would be captured and not killed. Knowing who would be sent to interrogate the capture Bucky. There are plenty of sites that break it down into fine detail. Suffice to say, it is awfully convenient for the plot.

There are just too many of these glaring plot holes. I just kept wanting to throw things at the writers for the entire movie.

Captain America: Civil War....?
Oh, you mean The Love Triangle: Steve, Bucky and Tony Edition?

Wow.

I'd been planning to pick that up on DVD, but now I'm not so sure it's worth it...

I want to see your reviews before ever again plunking down money to see a movie again!!!! The problem is, after reading your review I am dying to see it just to roar laughing at your descriptions as I see them play out on film!!!! BWAAHAA !!! You had me at butt-monkey,

The Cap, Bucky, and Sharon triangle, at least according to the movie. I thought the whole "love story" part between Steve and Sharon was kind of creepy. I mean Sharon is Peggy Carter's niece. It's not as bad as banging Peggy's daughter, but it is awfully close. I honestly think the only reason for it is because without it - as you said - it starts to look like Cap and Bucky are more than just friends, if you know what I mean I would love to see that on screen, but most of America would not.



If all you want is to see super people bash one another the movie is just fine. There is lots of super-powered action. And many of the characters themselves are in fact interesting. Falcon 2.0 is a lot cooler than he was in Winter Soldier, with better wings and finally his sidekick Redwing (which I thought was both original, and yet kind of obvious at the same time. It left me thinking "why didn't I think of that?") The Black Panther was all kinds of awesome - except of course he has a severe case of Tonyitis in that he could not be bothered to put any effort into finding out who really killed his father. People rave about the new Spider Man, and I give massive props to Tom Holland. He absolutely nailed that role, in a way no one has done since Toby Maguire did back in the Sam Raimi movies. Unfortunately there is no real reason for him to even be there, except to introduce the character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is basically an advertisement for the upcoming MCU Spider Man movie. The same goes for Ant-Man. He has some of the coolest parts of the film. But why is he really there?




I was really annoyed with Tony Stark in this movie. Not because he acts like a douche-bag. He does that in all the Iron Man movies after all. It is part of what makes him accessible and believable as a character. He has more character flaws than the combined inhabitants of most cities. But he was a completely different character for almost the entire movie. Until the very end when he puts Ross on hold.

I get annoyed enough by the plotholes in The Winter Soldier and the way Age of Ultron tried to set up so much, and from what you've said this film combines the worst aspects of both of those films. So thanks for saving me some money

911 reflections.

I have been watching the marvel movies again. Yesterday I did the original Captain America, and I just started Thor a few minutes ago. I noticed a few things.

First, the hot blond soldier girl who kisses Cap in Cap 1 is Natalie Dormer. I knew she looked familiar!

Tonight I just noticed that the second scene in Thor is the war between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants - set in Tonsberg, Norway. The second scene in Cap 1 is of the Red Skull getting the Cosmic Cube, also in Tonsberg, Norway. Coincidence?

Watching all three Cap movies (in reverse order! ) really did help me appreciate the bromance between Steve Rogers and Bucky. Even if there was no hot Man2Man action involved, as many slash fics purport. Cap's defiance of the rest of the world for Bucky's sake in Civil War is no surprise. He couldn't do anything else. He would not have been Cap if he did.

Welp, time for me to rewatch Cap 1

I finished watching season one of Supergirl last night. I absolutely loved it! The cast is good, and the characters are excellent. Most of all they avoided the trap of making Supegirl too powerful. That is what I have always disliked about Superman. He bores me because he is just so F'ing uber. There was even a hilarious moment in one of the final episodes where Calista Flockhart is saying to someone on the phone that she will absolutely never data Harrison Ford again, so tell him to leave her alone. Especially since he's married! (For those not in the know, he is married to her IRL...)

I saw The Shallows yesterday. It was good, though not great. The main character is likeable, and for the most part smart. Aside from going to the beach to surf alone in a foreign country, her only stupid move was swimming out near a dead whale. But in her defense, she wasn't supposed to be alone. Her friend bailed on her at the last minute, and she had some good character-building reasons for wanting to go. As for the dead whale, I couldn't even tell what it was until she got closer. I thought it was a little outcropping of rock, and I imagine she thought the same. Once she got close enough to really see it, she went away. But of course by then the shark noticed her.

Other than that, she uses her cleverness to survive the shark, and in some more character-building, fights for her life even though she is clearly doomed. (If you watch the movie, you will understand what I mean). Aside from the pure survival aspect, there is a good story with a good character driving it all.

The movie does have one major flaw, the same one all movies that cast a wild animal as the antagonist do. In order to be good villains, they don't act like real animals do. There was really no believable reason for this shark to keep after her, continually, day and night, or everyone else who went into the water. It had plenty of food in the dead whale, far more than any single Great White could ever eat. So it wasn't simply hungry and hunting. We see a hook stuck in its mouth, which might tempt us to think it was driven mad with pain. But why would it connect the pain of that hook with humans? A shark is not smart enough to associate one with the other. But this shark is driven by an overwhelming passion to kill people.

If real sharks behaved this way, everyone who entered the ocean would die. But the reality is that people swim everyday with sharks all around them, and never even realize it, because sharks usually don't give a crap about us.

But if you can put the unrealism of the antagonist aside, it does make for a gripping survival movie, with a solid main character and beautiful eye-candy in the form of the beach.

Just watched Deadpool. To be honest I was hoping to be more impressed with it after all of the positive reviews I've heard.

Although not at the moment (I'm watching Survivor) I did watch the animated Batman Movie The Killing Joke, I liked the movie cause it had Kevin and Mark replaying their roles as Joker and Batman and the last part of the film with the Joker bit was really good; however, I believe the film would have been better if it left the whole Barbara/Batgirl ordeal out and replaced it with most of Joker's past. Overall not bad a movie but I understand where the critics had issues with it.

Every time I see/hear about one of these (giant fish on a vendetta path of destruction) films - can't help but have an image of Charlotte Rampling:





And this:





And this:

I've started watching Firefly again, because it's a fantastic series.

I love Firefly but all it does is depress me because it was cut far too short.

And then followed by a mediocre film that rewrote a chunk of Firefly history, seriously screwed with River, and then managed to get worse The only time I ever feel like watching that film is when I want a generic Sci-Fi film, but I never watch it following the series.

But tomorrow, I'm going to be playing the boardgame Firefly, which is every bit as awesome as the name implies

I just finished X-Men: Apocalypse. It was good, though I would not say great. All the new characters/actors it introduced were a little overwhelming. But the X-movies always had lots of characters, just like the comics. There were all likeable and fun though, which is most important. I thought it was especially cool for Storm to finally get her mohawk. Not to mention be portrayed by someone with more talent than a cardboard cutout. All in all I thought it was a fun superhero romp.

I also started watching Luke Cage. I have been looking forward to this since Jessica Jones. It is good, but so far not great. Some people complain about its slow pace. But that does not bother me. I don't need an explosion every five minutes to stay interested.

What does bother me is that the main character is too perfect. Jessica Jones is such a good character because she has all sorts of issues. As I said in post about that show, she is a real fixer-upper of a character. It helps keep her down to earth and accessible in spite of being super-strong. But Luke seems perfect in every way, with no character flaws at all. Except perhaps having trouble making ends meet financially. But I don't think being poor is a flaw. TBH, he seems too much a case of black male wish fulfillment. That is what kept me from finishing the first Insurgent movie. It was too much teen girl with fulfillment.

But I am only on episode 3. We might see more to his character as the show goes on. I hope so, because otherwise it is still a good show.

Khajiit just can not seem to get into all the Marvel stuff. Must be something wrong with him...

Same here. I guess it may be that I'm just not really a comic fan.

Now Watching: Project Runway! WOO HOO!