The original Spidermanmovie, released in 2002 - directed by Sam Raimi is about a superhero who is a teen in high school. Peter Parker who was bitten by a spider receives spider like powers, who can now climb walls, have super strength, and make webs. This finally gives him the courage to get the girl next door Mary Jane Watson. His uncle is killed by a bank robber, that he indirectly let happen. He fights a deadly new foe named the Green Goblin; unbeknownst to him is the father of his best friend Harry Osborn. He eventually and inadvertently kills Norman Osborn aka the Green Goblin, making his alter ego the sworn enemy of his best friend.
Spiderman 2, directed by Sam Raimi and released in 2004; sees a teenage Peter Parker, who still in high school, meets Dr. Otto Octavious a brilliant scientist, who Peter admires. With the added invention of mechanical tentacles to aide in Otto's experiments, a horrific accident occurs resulting with his wife dying. The accident also causes Octavious to become mentally unstable as each tentacle was designed with their own A.I. conflicting with his own mind. Ultimately Spiderman and Dr. Octavious fight resulting in the doctor's own demise.
Spiderman 3,directed by Sam Raimi and released in 2007; discovers Uncle Ben's real killer - who becomes Spiderman's latest Foe known as Sandman. Harry; Peter's former best friend has become the new Green Goblin and is bent on revenge. These recent events are affecting our hero mentally which is affecting his relationship with Mary Jane. All this negativity allows him to bond with an alien symbiote as his personal life begins to erode away.
Soylent Green was released in 1973, Directed By Richard Fleisher - whose works include Doctor Dolittle (1967), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Conan the Destroyer (1984), Red Sonja (1985) .... featuring a solid cast lead by Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors and Joesph Cotton. The film takes place 49 years into the future - that is in relation of the theatrical release of this film.
The Premise- The world is overpopulated, our story takes place in New York City, a densely overpopulated and starving mecca. Charles Heston plays NYPD detective Robert Thorn who is investigating the murder of an executive at rations manufacturer Soylent Corporation, with the aid of an academic named Sol - played by Edward G. Robinson. The duo begin to make some real progress, when without warning has the Governor intervene and shuts down the entire investigation. Thorn now obsessed with this mystery decides to launches his own further investigation, without the knowledge of any law enforcement.
The film is a science fiction murder mystery - that got many things right, our planet was seeing itself projected into overpopulation, there are catastrophic climate change taking place, corporations do have some power over the government, and the 1 percent wealthy can afford a better and cleaner living as that divide of rich versus poor widens during these critical economic times.
Outstanding - This film is both a cult classic and is revered in the pantheon of movie history. Its contribution has it being one of cinema's most daring and surprising twist endings for its decade.
No Escapewas released in 1994, Directed by Martin Cambell - whose works include The Protege (2021) Casino Royale (2006), Vertical Limit (2000), GoldenEye (1995)..... features a very eclectic cast lead by Ray Liotta, Ernie Hudson, Lance Henriksen, Kevin Dillon, Stuart Wilson, and Kevin J. O'Connor. The film takes place 28 years into the future - that is in relation of the theatrical release of this film. The film was released overseas under a different name as either Escape from Absolom or Absolom 2022.
The Premise - Corporations run the prison system - like Alcatraz in concept - the worst criminals are exiled to this island for life. Liotta is an ex-marine named John Robbins who is sentenced for murdering his commanding officer. Upon arrival Robbins is captured by a group called the Outsiders whose leader is a sociopath named Walter Marek - played by Stuart Wilson, Eventually escaping, Robbins is taken in by the Insiders lead by a terminally ill doctor called The Father - Played by Lance Henriksen.
The film is purely fiction - the only thing the film got right are surprising human characteristics, that society has now shown, politically in the United States with the Republican Party, we had a dominant leader, whose members conform into a tribal mentality. Also when faced with a potential extinction level event like covid-19 which began near the start of 2020; It would make sense in the film world that people would set aside their differences and come together for a common threat, However, (with the exception of the medical community) the reality was people today decided to double down to either being the left or the right. No Escape talks about factions who live amongst themselves without outside authority, consequence or interference. Similar to the eco-system established in Lord of the Flies. No Escape was based on a 1987 novel called The Penal Colony, by Richard Herley. Historically in concept Australia, was conceived to be a Penal Colony of sorts, and a world without a governing body or judicial system in place that is a notion that has been explored in both film and in books for decades. Just it doesn't exist anywhere in today's world.
Outstanding - ITS NOT , this is widely a forgettable film, there is a 50/50 chance you may remember or recognize the film's 1994 poster. Unless current society disintegrates due to catastrophic climate change, which leads governments of countries to become decimated, or the economic crash becomes so tumultuous making 1st world countries impoverished -This film mirrors no semblance of the year in which it resides in, and has completely missed its mark
When you think of the movie Solo, automatically one would assume its the prequel Solo: a Star Wars Story, a movie that did not receive much critical praise. This is not that movie, however its a disaster that pre-dates that movie. Which would then lie the question of what was this original Solo movie? If the Hans Solo movie was cursed by making comparisons, what curses did this film inherited? More importantly if it was that bad why have we not heard of it? even at the release of Solo: a star wars story.
Well sit back and know it was a long long time ago, a science fiction story, about a secret military mission that gone awry, when the latest military's prototype, an A.I. Android concluded that self preservation means keeping it's own long term memories over the military's desire to erase and restart his initial programming was it's primary objective.
Based on Vietnam veteran Robert Mason's first novel called Weapon. Whereupon an android named Solo lives among Nicaraguan villagers after he deems them innocent while his government handlers targeted them for execution.
Weapon was published in 1989, making the original story pre-dating all the circa 1990's action troupes of that decade; stamping a precedent in original concept over movies of that decade (but not the 80's). This was screenwriter David L. Corley first commercial big budget theatrical movie adaptation, according to IMDB he continued to write three more adapted screenplays, all of which went straight to video. Executive Power and Angel's Dance where films in which he also directed; and nearly a decade after the release of Solo, David L. Corley wrote his final screenplay Jean Claude Van Damme's movie titled Second in Command, a direct to video which was abysmally received by both critics and audiences and thus concluded his career in Hollywood and the film industry in general.
Solo's debut in theatres was August of 1996 and is ranked 160th in highest grossing films of that year. Making just over 5 Million dollars at the box office, with a projected budget of 19 Million dollars, the film was a financial disaster. The movie was released one year after Van Damme's Universal Solider; a film about a slowly self aware cyborg who turns rogue from his military handlers.
Solo shares the 1991 story of Terminator 2's idea of a boy and a deadly robot bonding, and why the robot can't conceive of an emotion - in this case laughter as oppose to tears of sadness. The film shares an underlying comparison to the 1986 movie Short Circuit where a robot becomes self aware and runs away from its military benefactors for its own self preservation over the risk of losing its own long term memory, as it's battery source bleeds out; that until his creator and friend arrives to give him a new one. The film borrows visual cue's and the echoing sound ideas of laughter in a jungle which can be seen in the 1987 film Predator.
Popularizing itself with Michael Jordan's Nike commercial Ad and utilizing his most famous Gatorade slogan "Be like Mike"- Solo uses a rolodex of familiarity of established pop culture with the hopes that the zeitgeist will carry over into it's box office receipts.
Life after Solo, for a revered Mario Van Peeple's career was very much under the radar for the remainder of that decade, until the semi successful movie Judgment Night; but it would take the 2001 release of Will Smith's Ali to gain recognition and awarded accolades for his supporting role. That comeback bumped up his Hollywood status and saw Mario return to the Director's Chair since 1994's New Jack City; telling the story of his father's celebrated career in Badassssss! which garnered multiple Independent Spirt award & NAACP image award nominations.
On its own Solo fits the category of a 90's blockbuster film, with its' budgeted action, use of guns, explosions, chops, punches, and memorable one-liners. The success of this film rested on in its very own use of words when it decided to deal with the devil.
Initially titled "Tonight, He Comes", to which in context of the final movie, makes no connective sense , This film center's around John Hancock, the second conceived movie title, before settling to the single name ' Hancock'.
Featuring Will Smith in the lead role, The movie was slated for a 2007 release, but due to changing of directors, problems with film board advisory warning and conflicted test audiences reactions; the movie was trimmed and scenes re-shot. To the point of it barely resembles the original 1996 script of Vy Vincent Ngo.
Not much is publicly known of the original version as it was rumored to be gorier with a more sadder ending as Hancock suffered PTSD and had violent outbursts, The film script was initially sought out by director Michael Mann, Tony Scott and couple of other directors, as screenwriter Vince Gilligan took over and re-wrote the screenplay after creative differences with Vy Vincent Ngo had him walk away from the project. The film had to pass the film advisory board twice to avoid the initial R- rating. Test audiences did not like the movie and a particular scene of Will Smith.
In Ngo's version, Hancock was sexual frustrated, as he could not have sex with women, on the condition when he orgasmed it would kill them. Test audiences did not find it funny and the concept was one of the reasons for a R-rating. Peter Berg came on board as director and had that scene re-imagined with Hancock being a hero dealing with alcoholism. Berg sited the movie Leaving Las Vegas as an influence in which its leading star becomes a suicidal alcoholic,
It was in the re-write that critics notice the movie, and made their complaints; as the first two thirds of the film had Will Smith being charming and comedic with our hero causing millions in damages and become callous with consequences. To a tragic figure where the stakes in the movie had very real dramatic pull, the sudden shift in tone caught the ire of many film critics, but audiences still loved the movie as it became the 4th highest grossing movie of the summer of 2008. Which wasn't much when the final budget of the film was just over a 150 Million.
As for the initial title, I as a blog writer can only speculate as being a horror reference of the violence Hancock would inflict onto the character of Mary in the original draft, or its a double entendre for the character's short falls.
The film also ear marked the beginning of the end of physical media, as it posed as a litmus test in consumers viewing habits. Sony who is a divisional producer of the film, Offered an exclusive deal, if you owned a new Bravia television set and had an internet connection you could download the film and watch it at your leisure. One month before the release on DVD and Blue Ray. This was the film that ushered in the proven success of video-on-demand to be a viable platform. The 2009 CES convention saw technology and distribution shift that way.
Franz Kafka was a German novelist and short story writer, was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on July 2, 1883. He came from a wealthy family and was mostly home schooled before studying law in Prague. He suffered through a short lifetime from ill health, loneliness, and unhappy love affairs. This air of depression and despair permeates his introspective novels with the same minuteness of detail that is found in the works of Marcel Proust.
Kafka's major works were not published until after his death. His most famous novels included The Trial (1925). The Castle (1926), and America (1927). Kafka believed in numerous mystic cults and was convinced that he possessed clairvoyant powers. Among his other works were Metamorphosis (1916), The Country Doctor (1919), In the Penal Colony (1919), and The Great Wall of China (1931). He died June 3, 1924.
Director David Cronenberg earlier work drew great inspiration from Kafka's book Metamorphosis, in which the protagonist Gregor Samsa, wakes to find himself transformed into an insect. The book has been adapted into a stage play starring Tim Roth and has been reinterpreted in both television and film many times over. The 2006 animated movie Flushed Away has a scene where a stove falls through a floor of a house, to show a cockroach reading a French translation of Kafka's The Metamorphosis.
Another well received novel was "The Trial" where an near invisible authority has arrested and begins to prosecute a man Joesf K., but the nature of his crime in neither revealed to him or the reader. It is atmospheric state re-imagined in episodes of the twilight zone. It can be said that films like Cube, Vivarium, Escape room, and the Saw franchise took a little bit of inspiration from the work of Franz Kafka.
A question(s) that can be ask at the conclusion of the season can be, Was this meant to be a set up for a Captain America 4 film, or was it designed to set-up, some up coming characters for what is to be expected in phase 5. With an appearance of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who becomes the connection to the Black Widow movie, are we seeing the formation of the Thunderbolts? The series also shows us a former Captain America test subject whose next generation becomes a future Avenger according to the comics, We the audience at the final episode get a new Captain America and why he is worthy of the moniker over a highly decorated and cookie cutter American Soldier, We also get fallout from the Winter Soldier movie, with Baron Zemo out of prison, the people of Wakanda learning that the murderer of their beloved King escapes prison would have never of sat well, A resulting action is given but does it carry the cathartic weight it should promise? . Bucky Barnes who seeks atonement for his decades of past sins in order to find forgiveness for himself and from the father whose son he's slain. The series does spend time giving us a compelling set up, but leaves the audience without the emotional impact as is should have provided by cutting out the moment of truth discussion that could be messy and overwhelmingly hard hitting.
On many levels the series disappoints because not every problem or set up in story telling it chooses to introduce in the 1st half of the series will have a conclusion, epilogue, or resolution. Some characters mostly villains' will come to a tragic end, Then there are characters like the Power Broker, who on the identity reveal leaves more questions than answers. Why expose your chemist, it eventually causes the loss of you most coveted investment, Why not neutralize Karlie the leader of the flag-smashers earlier in the series when there was an opportunity to do so, had clearly presented itself .. Whatever happened to & where is Zemo now?, clearly the Butler did it! When it comes to the murder of the 6 flag-smashers. The Raft, does Valentina have some control there? John Walker, an official Captain America knock off to be given the name 'The U.S, Agent' sometime in the near future, Does he become a Thunderbolt or does Valentina have other designs for him?
Each episode has at least 1 spectacular stunt sequence from an aerial dogfight to a battle on two moving trucks on the freeway. The budget and time spent can clearly be seen on the small screen, the detail exceeds some of the best choregraphed battle sequences found on any CW show. Understandable the finale and some pick up shots for the series was delayed due to the Covid--19 outbreak, which could explain the quick ending and abrupt choices the show makes to conclude this season. Sharon Carter where does this show leave her? Her character feels like Dexter Morgan in the original series finale as he speeds away in a boat under the cover of a hurricane.
Howard the Duck paved the way on how late 20th century Hollywood gaged comic book adapted movies. Its not the first adapted film to hit the big screen, but from a creative stance it makes all the difference in the world.
During the early 1990's when Marvel Comics was in financial turmoil, they were willing to sell all there film distribution rights of all there characters to Sony Pictures for 25 Million dollars. At that time Sony believed the only character worth any film value to be shown theatrically was Spiderman and purchased the film rights for only 10 Million Dollars. In hindsight that deal was horrible for both sides, overtime to inject a cash flow, Marvel granted distribution rights to varied characters to different companies, like Fox owning the X-men and The Fantastic-4, Paramount owning the Hulk, Sony Pictures having Spiderman and all the Spider-verse characters. For it's deal Sony Pictures made back 10 times the purchase cost of the first Spiderman movie, which still saw a massive profit after the film's budget of $7 million dollars , and the cost for marketing and payment to the National Assoc. of Theatre Owners (NATO), Sony made $114 Million on its opening day weekend which at that time was the highest box office gross for any film in history. and gave an instant profit of $50+ million after expenses were paid out. Spiderman (2002) made just over $403 Million Domestically and more than double that worldwide. So of course the sequel would be in the works and possible a trilogy, if lightning in the bottle would catch twice the company would jump on that without a second thought.
Go back 16 years before the release of Spiderman, which was 3 years after the release of Return of the Jedi. George Lucas and his company Lucas films purchased the film rights to Howard the Duck, a Marvel Comic intellectual property and made it into a feature length theatrical motion picture . And Marvel's first film ever to hit the big screen. In short, the film was a commercial failure for a film with a budget of $30 Million ($76 million today with inflation) only made back $38 Million Worldwide, meaning after all expenses, the film never made a profit, it was in the red, George Lucas was was still the process of building Skywalker ranch and had to sell off parts of his company to payback the banks. The most notable sale was a small animation company he sold to Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple. that company would go on to becoming the multiple award winning animation company Pixar films.
For nearly 30 years Howard the Duck was remembered as disaster of a movie Critics and audiences did not connect with this film , on a revisit - Rotten tomatoes scored this film 15%. This in turn made investor uneasy to invest large sums of money into a comic book genre film, A decade later Blade received mixed critical reviews but connected with the audience and in the 2000's investors saw value in telling these character stories with the debut of X-men, Batman, Spiderman these films had a more modest/ limited budget in the beginning and saw great commercial success, Daredevil, Elektra, Ghost Rider, Sin City saw a split of public and critical opinion but proved this was a fertile ground to harvest.
Howard the Duck ridiculed notoriety did not taint it's cast. Tim Robbins, is all but forgotten that this was his breakthrough role, Jeffrey Jones later that year was distinctly remembered for his role playing principal Ed Rooney in Ferris Buller and would go onto be a character actor in about 70 film. The leading star Lea Thompson, was a household name with the release of Back to the Future, and continues with developing a list of films under her belt, as both an Actor and Television Director, but never reached that commanding leading lady role in Hollywood. As for the actor Ed Gale the man in the Howard the Duck suit, he continued to work as a stunt man for another decade, and would appear in over over 100 Television shows and commercials.
Howard the Duck would make his return to the big screen 28 years later in a small cameo appearance in the post credit scene of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) movie. The character and his movie has slowly built a cult following and Disney's Marvel Studios of today has future plans for this character who in his 1986 theatrical release gave us the first notion of a multi-verse.
