BafflingBeerMan

NBC indicates they will not pursue a TV movie to wrap up the show

That reminds me, what is McBeast up to nowadays?

And don't forget that Halle Berry won an Oscar between the first X-Men movie and the second and that truly launched her into A-list status.

So whether or not Berry could handle a bigger role/was suited to play Storm, the fact that the franchise now had an Academy Award winning actress dictated that she would be getting more focus/lines, whether it be because of interal studio pressure for marketing reasons or pressure from herself and publicist.

I have always heard that Singer really wanted Angela Basset to play Storm, but had to settle for Berry instead.

Isn't this how the Red Queen in the first Resident Evil movie got her start?

Which is what I am saying, you can't just look at the BO and say "Oh, this movie was a success!" Or even look at the production budget versus the final BO. You said it yourself, a movie can "underperform." And I am not talking about the impact of geek fans, I am talking about the decision to continue a movie franchise in one direction over another goes beyond the final gross. X3 got poor word of mouth, poor critical reception. It had a huge opening weekend, but then again, as I have said, that is indicative of the popularity of previous movies and hype, and says little of the impact the current movie has on the franchise's health.

X3 made lots of money, but are we getting an X4? The movie didn't exactly close the book, what with the ending showing that both Magneto and Prof. X are living to fight another day. Storywise, there are still many tales to be told with that line. Instead, we are getting a prequel of sorts. Just like you said is happening to Wolverine due to it underperforming, changes had to be made to keep the X-franchise commercially viable, despite X3's huge haul. Just like what happened with Batman and Robin and then Batman Begins. Or now with the Spider-Man franchise. Fox decided that forcing Singer to choose between the X-franchise and Superman was a dumb decision, so they went back to him (and he went back to them, seeing that he probably won't be returning to direct a sequel to Supes). It is clear that Fox didn't think a sequel to X3 would do so well, despite it being the highest grossing sequel. That particular facet of the franchise is a little worn out.

Also, rebooting a franchise isn't necessarily safer. In many ways it is a bit riskier if the franchise is still realitively new. You risk losing the fanbase you built up with the previous movies by inserting new actors and rehashing previous plot points, like their origins. It may be less expensive though, with fresh actors and directors not demanding as much salary.

Not that I think it is more interesting than the main plot, but I enjoy Willam's side quest to see the 3-D picture in Mallrats.

Funny, but usually Caine says something pithy and really unrelated to the crime at hand before The Who kicks in. Obi-Wan Caine is too on-topic!

The sustained note at the end (I think it is a violin, it is definitely a string instrument) never fails to remind me of Jack's closing eye, no matter how many times I listen to it.

Then again, I did rewatch the finale last night (before I found this).

Yeah, I can see a scene in the Avengers movie where the modern guys rib Cap for his look and he gets an update.

The GPA required to take that class has got to be pretty high.

I mean, I am sure they only want BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS

Poor January Jones, will she ever play a character that's not living in the 60s?

It actually looks very intering to me. Written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by David Fincher, and it is supposed to be Rashomon in its delivery, telling the story from three different perspectives.

And Pierce & Pierce!



Though I prefer my cards in an eggshell white.

TV and Movie News are still allowed. It is just Video Game stuff that is verboten.

It's a shame that J.J. Abrams, Carlton Cuse, and Damon Lindelof had to give up the rights to do the movies. Because who better to adapt a series of novels that some say ended poorly and frustratingly than the brains behind Lost?

Where are you getting the $90m spent on making the movie, before marketing? All I have heard is that it cost $60m, plus, apparently, $30m for marketing.

And I doubt very much that making the movie more "broad" (explaining why Scott Pilgrim fights like he is in a video game, etc.) would have made the movie a more significant amount of money. It was a niche project that the studio hoped would ignite the geeky fanbase and appeal to a wider audience through, I guess, sheer enthusiasm of that original geeky fanbase and good reviews. Like Serenity. It was a niche movie given X amount of money to be made to both fill that niche (so it can't deviate significantly from the source material) and to, somehow, get more mainstream appeal. And as we have seen with both this movie and Serenity and to a lesser extent Kick-*** and Watchmen, you can't have it both ways, no matter how hard you try.

ESPN does a mini-doc on some students' effort to elect Akbar as new mascot of Ole Miss

I think that video shows clearly how the line is drawn. Between the awesome kids and those losers, you know, the ones who have two X chromosomes

I meant shallow in the sense that I could see how the story/background was a bit shallow, not that I was shallow

Because I don't even know what the meaning of that word is ::flips hair::

InGen is the rival company to Hammond's company in Jurassic Park, I believe.

PrimaTech is the cover company for The Company that HRG used in Heroes

The soap is from Fight Club (hence the in-joke of "Name Withheld")

Bluth Company is indeed AD

I will also add that I like watching shows and movies where everything isn't spelled out and I can think about and ponder motivations for characters that make sense, if the movie leaves that door open or if they purposively want us to do down that avenue. That's why I loved Lost and that's why I love discussing it with people.

I do think some films have plot holes or vague motivations just because of poor writing. I did not get that feeling from SPvsTW.

Of course, I've also seen a number of reviews that make no mention of any confusion, and I went into the movie stone cold on what the story was about, past the general fighting of 7 evil exes, and found it easy to follow.

In fact, this conversation is entirely suprising to me because I thought the story and background was pretty clear. Maybe a bit shallow, but even thinking heavily about it, I am not left with the feeling of "Why?"

Which is what I think Captain Foamy is talking about. Different levels, different strokes, and different avenues for different folks.