Comics and Movies

[Runwildboys]

You make a very good point but I would not diminish proper casting as an necessary element of any movie, regardless if it is leading actor or actress led film. Loved Tatiana Maslany from Orphan Black. She auditioned for Rey. I knew diddly squat about Daisy Ridley. In hindsight, I can picture Maslany as Jedi and not be as entertained as I was watching Ridley.

Yep. Honestly, vampires and werewolves made me buy tickets for Underworld. That is an easy confession but wait. What made me buy tickets for Underworld: Evolution, Underworld: Awakening, Underworld: Blood Wars but NOT Underworld: Rise of the Lycans? Answer: Kate Beckinsale.

I have not watched all of the Resident Evil movies. The ones I did watch were solely because of Milla Jovovich, who I became a fan of watching The Fifth Element. It should be noted, for those who have not read me say it before, that I am a horror movie fan. That is the one genre the RE movies, even though they are action and science fiction based also, that would be their only hook for enticing me to shell out cash to see them.

The horror genre and James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver made Aliens a must see for me. Seriously. The sequel for Ridley Scott's Alien? The classic before its subsequent classic? YES. The alien is one of horror's best conceived monsters of all-time but was the acting in the original film simply overlooked?

John Skeritt
Harry Dean Stanton
John "I got an alien popping out my chest!" Hurt
Yaphet Kotto
Veronica Cartwright
Ian Holm

All solid, extremely memorable performances. And Weaver's was the best of the bunch. I mean. C'mon. The sequence where Ridley abandons the Sulaco? That is all Weaver. The "eternity" of sheer terror and triumph over the alien in the escape pod? All Weaver.

Then factor in James "I'll be back" Cameron taking a shot at the franchise after The Terminator. TER-MI-NA-TOR. "Listen, and understand! That Terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with! It can't be reasoned with! It doesn't feel pity! Or remorse! Or fear! And it absolutely WILL NOT STOP, EVER, UNTIL YOU ARE DEAD!"

Yeah. That guy. There was a 100% certainty I would be planting my tuchus in a theater for Aliens on opening day. Not for the creatures but for Weaver acting and Cameron's freaking vision that I needed to see might be duplicated in a totally different film.

Perhaps what attracts me to movies is different from the majority. I am cool with it if true but I would be surprised if there is not a minority of likeminded moviegoers in the world. Wonder Woman? Yeah. I did not know much about Gal Gadot. And her appearance in Batman v Superman drove me wanting to see her solo film also.

Black Widow? Not nearly as strongly. I was extremely eager to see Black Widow for the exact same reason I made Lucy a must see. Reason: Scarlet Johansson.

Captain Marvel? That was a toss up. The MCU phases were definitely contributing factors for my interest but I was a fan of the character when he was both a male and an alien decades ago. I was more familiar with Brie Larson's career than Gadot's when casting was announced, so my interest was admittedly shaky before seeing my first trailer. My uneasiness disappeared afterwards for the most part. I have not been disappointed in Larson winning the role and must believe that she was an important consideration in bringing back REPEAT moviegoers because that is always the reason for mega box office revenue.

Then again, maybe that is not the reason folks kept coming back and spending more money. Perhaps enormous movie traffic is superficially about fantastical space ships and people wearing great alien races makeup and cats that look cute and fuzzy but will swallow you whole. I don't know...

ACTING!!!!

 

[Roadtrip635]

i'm hearing your point, while mine is how just a very few in very recent years, the Superhero mania trend in films have double the interest and emphasis in female stand alone lead role films
We're obviously are seeing points differently and maybe thinking opposites.

- Rey is a female lead role, but when you think of Star Wars, you're not thinking of a stand alone film, it's a collective. It's the CGI battle ships, creature features, ongoing Death Star plots
the whole galactic universe etc.

- Selene is a female lead role, but you think of Underworld, the first and primary thing that comes to mind is the vampires and werewolves, its' not a stand alone role.

- Ditto with Resident Evil, what comes to mind, when Resident Evil is thought of ? its the zombie and mutate (which i hated the addition) effects.

- People are going to see Aliens because of the brilliantly created menacing breeds that have corrosive acid for blood, Sigourney Weaver lead role (especially Aliens) just adds to it.

- Wonder Woman, Black Widow, Captain Marvel .. imo, those are stand alone lead female roles, with having record setting smash success,

I get what you're saying, but the same can be said about male leads in mixed genre movies, those that feature aliens, zombies, etc. but superhero movies aren't really "standalone" movies either. Kinda like Star Wars, a big draw is all the CGI and special effects, it's doubtful the superhero movie genre would be as successful without all the eye candy.

Like @DallasEast said he might have seen the first Underworld because of the vamps and werewolves, he saw the others because of Kate Beckinsale. Just like some male actors can carry the action genre, there are some female ones that have as well, Angelina, Scarlett, Charlize, Milla and hopefully Amber Midsummer will be the newest.

I think it just comes down to having a great story, characters, script and the right person for the role male or female.

 

[Roadtrip635]

I'm shocked Prey got such high marks. As bad*** as the Predator has proven to be, against much more worthy opponents, IMO, the movie just makes no sense to me...unless this particular Predator was an inferior representative of the species.

I tend to think this was a relatively inexperienced hunter. They come here to hunt, not necessarily to just kill, it is about the thrill of the hunt for them. Earth is basically like a hunting preserve for them and probably have some sort of rules, guidelines or customs they adhere to, otherwise they could just fly over in their spaceship and nuke everything, the same way a hunter doesn't just go out with a howitzer to kill some rabbits. They match their weaponry to their prey and skill level to the prey.

I think that this Predator was inexperienced because he came to an Earth that had relatively primitive weapons and technology. The more experienced Predators are probably hunting a more technological advanced race over on LocNar-7. They probably hunt on hundreds of different planets with different difficulties and skills needed.


In the original "Predator" all those big muscles, guns and grenades didn't do them much good, Dutch eventually has to resort to cunning and bushcraft. That's something Naru excels in, since that was basically everyday life for her time period.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Sources: Aeon Flux, Aliens, Colombiana, Hanna, Kill Bill Vol 1, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Mulan, Prey, Resident Evil, Underworld

Slightly off-topic but it makes me laugh a little how often I agree or disagree with paid critics AND my fellow moviegoers. For example, I disagree with audiences BUT agree with paid critics about Mulan. Conversely, I do not know what paid critics were thinking about Colombiana while agreeing with audience opinion. Critics makes me what to train dogs to eat on command for their rating lol.

I think both critics and moviegoers OVERrated Aeon Flux. That movie and Milla Jovovich's Ultraviolet still make my head shake. Charlize Theron was much better in Atomic Blonde. On the other hand, I believe critics and audiences UNDERrated Kill Bill Vol. 1 to this very day despite their high marks.

I have said it many times before that it is not often when I agree completely with both groups. Aliens is one of those rare moments. "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU" it is going be a great day today.

I know Metacritic and some other sites are getting popular but I’ve always enjoyed the rotten tomatoes system. If I see a movie is stomped by the critics, but it has great audience reviews, I always give it a chance. Those who can’t do… teach or review. Or in some cases, just overthink and are out of touch with the average audience.

 

[quickccc]

I get what you're saying, but the same can be said about male leads in mixed genre movies, those that feature aliens, zombies, etc. but superhero movies aren't really "standalone" movies either. Kinda like Star Wars, a big draw is all the CGI and special effects, it's doubtful the superhero movie genre would be as successful without all the eye candy.

Like @DallasEast said he might have seen the first Underworld because of the vamps and werewolves, he saw the others because of Kate Beckinsale. Just like some male actors can carry the action genre, there are some female ones that have as well, Angelina, Scarlett, Charlize, Milla and hopefully Amber Midsummer will be the newest.

I think it just comes down to having a great story, characters, script and the right person for the role male or female.

The Male genre (or lack there of) in stand alone roles isn't under controversy and scrutinity; ..

If you take the 3 biggest female superhero box office gems ... Capt Marvel ... Wonder Woman ....Black Window .... who were the other notable cast
members in tthose stand alones or not really Stand alones ? .... Nick Fury ? ... Taskmaster ? ...Steve Trevor ? .. .Aries ?

 

[quickccc]

I know Metacritic and some other sites are getting popular but I’ve always enjoyed the rotten tomatoes system. If I see a movie is stomped by the critics, but it has great audience reviews, I always give it a chance. Those who can’t do… teach or review. Or in some cases, just overthink and are out of touch with the average audience.

Ditto here as well.

in fact i always go by audience reviews ( good ole folks like us ) .... instead of movie critic reviews ...

 

[Roadtrip635]

The Male genre (or lack there of) in stand alone roles isn't under controversy and scrutinity; ..

If you take the 3 biggest female superhero box office gems ... Capt Marvel ... Wonder Woman ....Black Window .... who were the other notable cast
members in tthose stand alones or not really Stand alones ? .... Nick Fury ? ... Taskmaster ? ...Steve Trevor ? .. .Aries ?

The only reason there is any "controversy or scrutiny" is because it has taken them this long to try to feature female superhero leads. Like I said in an earlier post, blame DC and Marvel for not doing it sooner. A Black Widow movie should have been released around the time of the first Avengers movie. I don't know where this "stand alone" notion began, but it's not a stand alone, it's based on a long existing character with decades worth of history and fans. Did "The Hunger Games" become a big hit all because of some notable cast members?

Disney/Marvel is trying to make it seem like a big thing now, but they're late to the female action movie party. The only real issue is that they seem to be trying to do a bunch of them all at once, which does make it feel a little manufactured. Maybe Marvel shied away due to the poor reception of "Elektra", but don't pin that on the public not being ready for a female lead superhero movie, sometimes a bad movie is a just bad movie. The public just isn't ready for bad movies, regardless of the hero's gender.......(cough, cough) "Ghost Rider"

 

[DallasEast]

The Male genre (or lack there of) in stand alone roles isn't under controversy and scrutinity; ..

If you take the 3 biggest female superhero box office gems ... Capt Marvel ... Wonder Woman ....Black Window .... who were the other notable cast
members in tthose stand alones or not really Stand alones ? .... Nick Fury ? ... Taskmaster ? ...Steve Trevor ? .. .Aries ?

What will forever remain controversial and will be scrutinized by me is how male television and film entertainment executives have dragged their feet showcasing female superheroes, despite how long ago they were introduced in retrospect to the male superhero counterparts. Take DC's Trinity for example:

All three were created weil-within a five-year period of each other (1938-1942). Regardless, Princess Diana of Themyscira has always trailed the other two on television (live action or animated) and in film:

That kind of nonsense will never sit right with me. So, while others may find the entertainment value of female superheroes like Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Ms. America--or even super spies like Agent Carter and Quake--on the small and big screens less than desirable, I say I want to see more and what the hell is taking so long??? CHOP CHOP!

 

[quickccc]

What will forever remain controversial and will be scrutinized by me is how male television and film entertainment executives have dragged their feet showcasing female superheroes, despite how long ago they were introduced in retrospect to the male superhero counterparts. Take DC's Trinity for example:

All three were created weil-within a five-year period of each other (1938-1942). Regardless, Princess Diana of Themyscira has always trailed the other two on television (live action or animated) and in film:

That kind of nonsense will never sit right with me. So, while others may find the entertainment value of female superheroes Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Ms. America--or even super spies like Agent Carter and Quake--on the small and big screens less than desirable, I say I want to see more and what the hell is taking so long??? CHOP CHOP!

 

[quickccc]

Timing was certainly poor regarding the character’s death. And world events then finished off whatever chances for financial success the film may have had. A perfect storm of terrible.

Why couldn't they have killed off Hawkeye, .instead of Black Widow ?

Hawkeye is just so very boring anyway !

 

[quickccc]

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/colombiana

Still stuns me how this female vigilante led, action filled movie was crippled by critics - both movie and general audiences

 

[Stash]

Why couldn't they have killed off Hawkeye, .instead of Black Widow ?

Hawkeye is just so very boring anyway !

 

[quickccc]

I tend to think this was a relatively inexperienced hunter. They come here to hunt, not necessarily to just kill, it is about the thrill of the hunt for them. Earth is basically like a hunting preserve for them and probably have some sort of rules, guidelines or customs they adhere to, otherwise they could just fly over in their spaceship and nuke everything, the same way a hunter doesn't just go out with a howitzer to kill some rabbits. They match their weaponry to their prey and skill level to the prey.

I think that this Predator was inexperienced because he came to an Earth that had relatively primitive weapons and technology. The more experienced Predators are probably hunting a more technological advanced race over on LocNar-7. They probably hunt on hundreds of different planets with different difficulties and skills needed.

In the original "Predator" all those big muscles, guns and grenades didn't do them much good, Dutch eventually has to resort to cunning and bushcraft. That's something Naru excels in, since that was basically everyday life for her time period.

I'm shocked Prey got such high marks. As bad*** as the Predator has proven to be, against much more worthy opponents, IMO, the movie just makes no sense to me...unless this particular Predator was an inferior representative of the species.

I’m surprised that the general movie critic world did not slam Hulu’s “ Prey “ down as they are usually so entitled to do, because I guess they are so craving and insistent
on the character development or if the plot or story interest does not appeal to them.

I don’t think this version of the Predator saga really did not offer much in that area of character development. It didn’t spend time talking out the mystery suspense
that the previous Arnie Swarz and D-Glover’s Predator versions did,…

" Prey " wanted to getting into the Native hunting from the start of go, and why it was important to hunt down certain animal prey, and
display the discovery of the new Predator In native lands.

In fact it was so quick to the point, to the action sequences, delivering a staying pace throughout the film, from start to finish, that it offered little background
to the lead role “Naru” and culture life of her tribe. The film seemed like more of a short film clip, albeit a very loaded, fast paced short clip at that.

What made Prey stand out more so was it delivered a different look, different format, a different time era, culture per Western/Native Indians; so first thing I thought was what kind of
primitive western weaponry, and fighting strategics these natives would dare conjure up and try to return fight vs the Predator.

And it’s not loaded with the build up mystery -suspense and melo-drama, nor familiar actor-stamped charismatic roles as Arnie and Glover’s Predator version,
but it’s put together just right to where it’s far much better and easier look and appeal, than say Olivia Munn’s dreadful Predator version.

 

[DallasEast]

Why couldn't they have killed off Hawkeye, .instead of Black Widow ?

Romanoff's fate was shock value. She interacted more on a personal level with practically everyone, in-and-outside The Avengers.

Barton was a loner type from the moment he first appeared in Thor. Fast forward and he turned dark side Sith. Audiences were presented with a character who might have made Frank Castle blink twice.

So, the choices were:

1. The beautiful, charismatic yet deadly Nastasha or
2. The utterly vile, seemingly unredeemable Clint

Audiences always expect the bad guy to bite the bullet at some point. Disney/Marvel knew that too. I did not like it either but The Widow's fate was already sealed.

Hawkeye is just so very boring anyway !

You REALLY did not like Jeremy Renner's rendition, did you? I think a more jovial, wise cracking Clint Barton was a possibility if Tony Stark was not part of the equation. Stark was the wise butt. Steve Rogers was his straight man. It seems obvious to me Renner would never be allowed as a third wheel within that dynamic.

 

[Stash]

Romanoff's fate was shock value. She interacted more on a personal level with practically everyone, in-and-outside The Avengers.

Barton was a loner type from the moment he first appeared in Thor. Fast forward and he turned dark side Sith. Audiences were presented with a character who might have made Frank Castle blink twice.

So, the choices were:

1. The beautiful, charismatic yet deadly Nastasha or
2. The utterly vile, seemingly unredeemable Clint

Audiences always expect the bad guy to bite the bullet at some point. Disney/Marvel knew that too. I did not like it either but The Widow's fate was already sealed.

And I firmly believe that both availability and finances played a role as well (though no one would ever admit as much publicly).

At the end, Johannsen was making FAR more than Renner’s price tag. And it’s easy to see that Marvel got a TON of salary costs off the books when they said goodbye to Downey, Evans, and Johannsen.

 

[DallasEast]

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/colombiana

Still stuns me how this female vigilante led, action filled movie was crippled by critics - both movie and general audiences

Colombiana was a low-key niche film, much like a Desperado type venture. Niche movies like those never blow up UNLESS they get a ton of publicity before launch. And even then it is not a certainty.

I think those moviegoers, who actually saw the movie, consider it above average for the most part. The downside is that any word-of-mouth did not spark ticket sales.

Now, I DO agree that critics played a huge part in dousing interest in the film. They clubbed it collectively like a bunch of Tonya Hardings going after Nancy Kerrigan's knee. Just another reason why I do not often agree with paid critics' opinions

 

[quickccc]

Romanoff's fate was shock value. She interacted more on a personal level with practically everyone, in-and-outside The Avengers.

Barton was a loner type from the moment he first appeared in Thor. Fast forward and he turned dark side Sith. Audiences were presented with a character who might have made Frank Castle blink twice.

So, the choices were:

1. The beautiful, charismatic yet deadly Nastasha or
2. The utterly vile, seemingly unredeemable Clint

Audiences always expect the bad guy to bite the bullet at some point. Disney/Marvel knew that too. I did not like it either but The Widow's fate was already sealed.

You REALLY did not like Jeremy Renner's rendition, did you? I think a more jovial, wise cracking Clint Barton was a possibility if Tony Stark was not part of the equation. Stark was the wise butt. Steve Rogers was his straight man. It seems obvious to me Renner would never be allowed as a third wheel within that dynamic.

Well, look at Ant Man (Paul Rudd) ... he was a smart-alic wisecrack in this MCU, .. but yet was far from it with the " Dr. Henry Pym " that was displayed in the Marvel Comics.
Now why the heck didn't the studios let Rudd be Henry Pym (instead of Michael Douglas) in MCU, as opposed to "Scott Lang" , that's yet another tall tale to tell. ..

More so ? ... even Thor (Chris hemsworth) was a sorts of humor guy, albeit not the level of Stark or Lang, .but there's the streak of humor -super-especially once director Taika Waititi took over
per Ragnorak and Love and Thunder

Wanna get me further on a dice roll ..? we can also add Tom Holland/Spidey as yet another humor sport of that third ..or fourth.. or fifth wheel

The Russo bruthas dropped the ball on charisma development of Clint/Hawkeye in MCU, and then to try to make him (force him?) to be a stand out key figure in End Game ?
..Uggh !

Ant Man

Thor

Tony Stark/Iron Man

Peter Parker/Spidey

 

[quickccc]

Colombiana was a low-key niche film, much like a Desperado type venture. Niche movies like those never blow up UNLESS they get a ton of publicity before launch. And even then it is not a certainty.

I think those moviegoers, who actually saw the movie, consider it above average for the most part. The downside is that any word-of-mouth did not spark ticket sales.

Now, I DO agree that critics played a huge part in dousing interest in the film. They clubbed it collectively like a bunch of Tonya Hardings going after Nancy Kerrigan's knee. Just another reason why I do not often agree with paid critics' opinions

Reminiscence of another low key niche film and another female vigilante, revenge-action filled film, " Peppermint " ,..that received very little to zero pub or high acclaim

Maybe the only reason why another female vigilante action flick , " Kill Bill Vol. 1" was prominent was it's headlined and highlighted by the great Quinton Tarantino
Otherwise ...

 

[DallasEast]

Reminiscence of another low key niche film and another female vigilante, revenge-action filled film, " Peppermint " ,..that received very little to zero pub or high acclaim

Maybe the only reason why another female vigilante action flick , " Kill Bill Vol. 1" was prominent was it's headlined and highlighted by the great Quinton Tarantino
Otherwise ...

KIll Bill Vol 1 received a moderately good degree of publicity in the months leading up to its release and during the first couple of months afterwards. I do not remember Peppermint's pre-buildup but Colombiana did not get talked up nowhere near as much as KB.

 

[quickccc]

KIll Bill Vol 1 received a moderately good degree of publicity in the months leading up to its release and during the first couple of months afterwards. I do not remember Peppermint's pre-buildup but Colombiana did not get talked up nowhere near as much as KB.

Obviously Kill Bill being a Tarantino film was bound to get the spotlight and mass curiosity, even way before its' actual release, i would think.
yeh, that's understandable.

Ironically another very low budget female vigilante revenge from way back in the days, actually became a Cult Classic " I Spit on Your Grave " .. ended up having
several sequels, reboots that seems to still be going on to this day. and i believe it's actually among Rotten Tomatoes " Highly Rated " popular acclaimed classics.
Was it possible the " I spit" flick may have actually spearheaded the female vigilante films ? .. or just a coincidence ?