All posts in category Movie Talk

San Diego Comic Con 2014: Just the Good Stuff

Luke Miksa's: The Negative Space Bar

San Diego Comic Con is the biggest of its kind. So big that it really needs to change its name, as it is less about the comics and more of a mass marketing tool for movies and TV programs. Comics are not a priority at this gigantic pop-culture convention. But movie scoops are fun! Here are some of the major announcements from the Mecca of all things terrific and nerdy this year, filtered and truncated for your pleasure!

Thanks to /Film and Badass Digest for the comprehensive Comic Con coverage this year.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

The winner of Comic Con this year goes to Warner Bros. and their upcoming DC Comics blockbuster Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. The first massive news was the reveal of Gal Gadot in full costume as Wonder Woman. Feast your eyes!

It’s Wonder Waitaminute…

Oh, shit! I got confused. Here you go:

Wonder Woman

Truth be told, that is a badass costume and a badass picture. My only complaint — a large complaint; one I shared with Superman’s Man of Steel costume — is the desaturation and lack of colour. Someone needs to tell Zack Snyder that a little colour will not affect his ‘much gritty, such serious’ approach to these movies. An iconic outfit has been homogenised into something generically cool. Oh well.

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May the 4th: Star Wars Episode VII Casting Thoughts

Last week saw the long-awaited — and much delayed — first casting announcement for the next generation in the Star Wars saga. It is the as-yet untitled Star Wars Episode VII, to be directed by JJ Abrams and released December 2015. Here are some key omissions and additions:

Missing Names

A large portion of returning names have been announced: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew; but there are some overlooked names that I would still like to see. The following may be announced later on, or they may appear in surprise cameos, but any continuation of Return of the Jedi would not be complete without…

Billy Dee Williams

This is a major name to not have in the first official announcement. By the conclusion of the original saga, Lando Calrissian became one of the major protagonists: he helped orchestrate the rescue of Han Solo from Jabba’s palace, and he led the Rebellion in its attack against the second Death Star. He was actually the man to destroy the second Death Star, piloting the Millennium Falcon (which is sure to make an appearance). Lando Calrissian not being a part of this new incarnation is a terrible miss.

Bring back his co-pilot Nien Nunb while you’re at it. And Lobot. Bring back Lobot.

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1 Comment

by Luke Miksa on May 4, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Movie Talk

Tagged Episode VII, Star Wars

Posted by Luke Miksa on May 4, 2014

https://sorryimlate.com/2014/05/04/may-the-4th-star-wars-episode-vii-casting-thoughts/

The Best Films of 2013

Luke Miksa's: The Negative Space Bar

2013 was a pretty fantastic year for cinema — as long as you look past onset of blockbuster/superhero fatigue, often ridiculous Australian release schedules for smaller films (aka Stupid Australian Release Schedules), and a strange fascination with the apocalypse arriving a year too late. But I kid; for every annoyance, the medium produces many things to be excited about. I’m keeping this positive!

Let’s get down to it:

Missing the cut: The Wolverine, The Way Way Back, Side Effects, The Kings of Summer

I havn’t seen these (mainly due to Stupid Australian Release Schedules) but I’d probably dig them: The Wolf of Wall Street, Her, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, Dallas Buyers Club, 12 Years a Slave, Short Term 12

Cloud Atlas was released in Australia in 2013 (Stupid Australian Release Schedules), but for the sake of this list it will be treated as a 2012 film.

10. Captain Phillips

The second-most intense film of the year (number one is below), which is made more so due to the fact that the incredible events depicted in Captain Phillips actually happened (sans the Hollywood artistic license). Tom Hanks knocks this role out of the water with an incredibly strong showing, and his performance in the final scenes left me in shocked silence for a while. Director Paul Greengrass knocked this one up a notch, even with his visceral, shaky-shaky handheld style (which I’m generally not a fan of).

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1 Comment

by Luke Miksa on January 14, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Film Reviews, Lists

Tagged American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Drinking Buddies, Gravity, Movies, Pacific Rim, Rush, The Spectacular Now, The World's End, This is the End, You're Next

Posted by Luke Miksa on January 14, 2014

https://sorryimlate.com/2014/01/14/the-best-films-of-2013/

In Celebration of the Release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug…

Thorin-Oakenshield-Meme

The Best Part of 2013 was…

…when this tweet about The Spectacular Now (also about cats) was favourited by the film’s co-screenwriter and executive producer Michael H. Weber:

So I’m sitting down before The Spectacular Meow when someone tells me it’s actually called Spectacular NOW and there’s no cats in it!! #Dang

— Luke Miksa (@SorryImLateLM) August 10, 2013

The man that was responsible for one of my favourite films of the year happened to like one of the dumbest things I’ve ever written. Things that make you go…

Boom

The Biggest Problem with ‘Man of Steel’

Luke Miksa's: The Negative Space Bar

As Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel hit Australian home video this week, I got to reminiscing on how disappointed I was when I viewed it on its theatrical release.

I will gladly admit to being a tremendous Superman fan — possessive even — but I am generally not the kind of person to kick up a fuss when someone comes along and changes aspects to a long-standing character (especially a character with the 75-year legacy of Superman). Changes keep things fresh, and different artists are always going to have different perspectives and visions. I’m hip to this, and I enjoy seeing various interpretations.

I don’t need to warn you about MASSIVE SPOILERS from now on, do I?

The makers of Man of Steel made many changes: Perry White is black. Jimmy Olson is female. Lois Lane deciphers Clark Kent’s secret identity almost immediately. Superman is actually forced to kill as a last resort (which is kind of a big deal). All of these are fairly drastic changes, but I applaud them because they are either intriguing or they positively add to the narrative.

But there is still something that bugs me, and I’ve narrowed it down to this guy: