Movie Articles – Page 19 – World’s Best Media

Star Wars Retrospective: Episode I The Phantom Menace

Published on October 25, 2017November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwright4 Comments

Hey Everybody,

It’s Paul

As you all know Star Wars is like a religion to me. It’s a sacred thing not just because of the magic of the films, but because of the incredible personal experiences I’ve had with friends and family while watching these movies. Obviously I’m counting down the days until Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi opens and I wanted to do something special in anticipation of that film. So today is the beginning of a really cool series of articles that we’ll be posting once a week, from now until Star Wars The Last Jedi opens on December 15th. Each week a different contributor from World’s Best Media (myself included) will be writing a piece on a Star Wars film starting with Episode 1 and ending with Episode VII, right before the new film opens. Some of the articles are already finished and it’s been wonderful reading each one as it comes in. We’ll all get to experience these incredible movies through someone else’s eye. That’s what each of these articles will be about: the personal and emotional experience each of our writers had with a Star Wars film. I won’t be writing a long introduction to each article, but for the first piece I felt like I needed to explain what we’re doing.

So, first up is Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace written by my co-host on The World’s Best Podcast with Paul & Tim, Tim Cuff. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “ Tim Cuff? TIM CUFF?!!! He is no Star Wars fan! Heresy! Heresy, I say!” Believe me guys, I know where you’re coming from. But as soon as I started thinking about this doing this series of articles, I immediately thought of Tim for The Phantom Menace. First of all, Tim’s a great writer and secondly Tim has always had weird love and respect for Episode I. Now, he doesn’t let the movie off easy. Nor should he, because even the most devote fans of The Saga will admit that movie is a bit of a mess. But there are pieces of brilliance sprinkled throughout the film. After reading this article, you may agree with me when I say… The Force may be with Tim after all…

EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE by Tim Cuff

Unlike most of the other writers carefully selected to write these Star Wars-related articles, I am not a Star Wars guy. Being “not a Star Wars guy,” why on earth would Paul choose me to kick this whole thing off and recap Episode I, a movie disliked by many fans and non-fans alike? Well to understand why Episode I is so special to me, let’s hop in the ole time machine and head back to 1999.

Back when the Red Sox were still cursed and Limp Bizkit was a respected musical act, a young Tim Cuff was 13. I don’t think any description from me can do justice to what a major movie event Episode I was. A Star Wars movie hadn’t come out since 1983 (yes, I understand the original trilogy was re-released in theatres in the 90s, doesn’t really count). This was going to be the first Star Wars movie with modern special effects (yes, I understand the original trilogy had some CGI added in when it was re-released in theatres in the 90s, doesn’t really count). This was going to kick off a new saga. This was going to explain where Darth Vader and Obi Wan came from. Young Tim went into this movie with the absolute highest of expectations, and unlike most fans, he was not disappointed.

Let’s start off with Qui-Gon Jinn. If you don’t like Liam Neeson, I don’t like you. Liam Neeson is a boss now, and he was a fucking boss in 1999. Obi Wan, comparatively, is pretty lame in this movie (in terms of his storyline). He spends 50% of this movie inside of a parked ship waiting for everyone to get back, he has a weird short ponytail, and an even weirder super long side-of-his-head rat tail. In fact, other than the fact that they build Qui-Gon up so you can be devastated when he (18 YEAR OLD SPOILER ALERT) dies, I don’t understand why Obi Wan didn’t just replace Qui-Gon’s part in this movie. Anyways, I digress. Qui Gon is a quiet badass, akin to John Wick or Christian Bale in Equilibrium. He is a rebel who doesn’t blindly follow orders, he often disagrees with the Jedi. Anyone who tries to push back against those pompous galactic dickheads is cool with me. Although, to be fair, he was VERY mistaken thinking Anakin was the chosen one who will bring balance to the force. I can’t really stress enough how very, very wrong he was in this thought process.

My favorite Qui-Gon moment, which epitomizes him as a character: During the final battle with Darth Maul, when the force field walls temporarily stop the action and the duelists are forced to take a short break, Qui-Gon sits on the ground and fucking mediates. How badass is that? Imagine you are in a to-the-death battle with a red and black horned demon with a laser bowstaff that can cut through metal walls, and you have a 30 second break. Could you calm yourself enough to mediate!? Well, sadly, it didn’t help much as he is shortly offed with a lightsaber to the stomach. I honestly find those force field walls brilliant, even watching it now, as it stopped Obi Wan from helping and also forced him to watch his best friend and mentor die. Young Tim was devastated by this. I truly did not see it coming, I thought Neeson was an actor I would get to see in the sequels to come (reading about this online wasn’t a thing for me at the time), and it really did hit home.

As much as I loved Qui-Gon, I think the most memorable character in this movie is his killer: Jar Jar Binks. Sorry that was a typo, I meant Darth Maul. In a universe where the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad with no grey area in-between, there is no cooler bad guy than Darth Maul. I actually think it was a huge mistake to kill him off as from a purely visual standpoint he was the best character of the new trilogy. The black and red face (from my understanding the black is tattoos), the horns around the top of his head, the awesome ninja moves, and of course the fucking DOUBLE LIGHTSABER. After seeing the movie and loving Qui-Gon Jinn, when Young Tim went to Toys R Us after this movie did he reach for a green lightsaber? Nope, he went straight for the double red one. Who wouldn’t? My young mind was completely blown. There was no explanation given as to why suddenly the Jedis were ninjas that could almost fly (I guess “the force was stronger then”), but Young Tim didn’t care. I still find this 3-way swordfight to be the best in the entire series, old or new.

The podracing scene was, in many people’s opinions, the highlight of the movie. It wasn’t for me, I always liked the lightsabering more, but nonetheless the race was a truly awesome scene that inspired several great video games. If I was Anakin’s mother, I probably wouldn’t let him enter the race to help out some random strangers. The race is, after all, so dangerous that only 2 racers even made it to the finish line and it seems several of the racers died. When I asked my mother as a boy, “Can I enter a death race so some people that broke down can buy a new part for their car?” she said no, which is why I am not currently living up to my potential.

This is by no means a perfect movie, I will admit. The two biggest issues are Jar Jar and Anakin, but I will briefly tackle why they shouldn’t ruin the movie for everyone. Jar Jar is truly an awful character. Young Tim didn’t hate Jar Jar, he instead accurately thought of him as nothing. He was a nothing character. Under careful recent re-watching I realized Jar Jar could almost be entirely edited out of the movie with it making no difference. The only time Jar Jar contributes to the plot in any way is when he brings Obi Wan and Qui-Gon to the Gungan city. The only other moments he has are when he clumsily falls or has some annoying throwaway line. He was obviously included as a desperate attempt to appeal to children that miserably failed. As a child, I don’t remember any other children actually liking Jar Jar. However since he is such a minor, unimportant part of the movie you can try to just black him out and pretend he’s not there.

Jake Lloyd as Anakin to me is worse than Jar Jar, because his dialogue with other characters (especially Natalie Portman) is so important to the movie. His acting is almost always painful, and I blame Lucas for this. Lucas could have casted another actor, and also Lucas is known for providing the cast almost no direction. Someone as inexperienced as Lloyd likely needed lots and lots of direction. I in no way blame Lloyd as he was a child. My only excuse for this (to help make this aspect of the series tolerable) is even in 1999 we all knew Anakin was going to be Vader by Episode 3. Due to this, it was forgone conclusion Episode I is the only time we would be forced to hang out with Jake Lloyd. I wanted to add quickly I truly do feel bad for Jake Lloyd as Episode I clearly ruined his life. If you google his name or watch any interviews with him, you will immediately understand what I am referring to.

Episode I was quite polarizing when it came out; it received mostly mixed to negative reviews. However Lucas always said Star Wars is meant for children. Well Young Tim fucking loved it, so I guess to Lucas that is a win. Due to my contractual obligation with World’s Best Media to never speak negatively about Star Wars, I will end the review with that. After this movie we all poured some out for Qui-Gon and Maul, gone too soon, and prepared for the budding romance of Anakin and Natalie Portman. I mean, the scenes between them in the next movie can’t be as bad, right?

Oh The Horror!: A non-Horror Fans’s Journey (writer by Mike Cole)

Published on October 22, 2017November 17, 2020 by Michael Christopher Cole2 Comments

Hey guys,

It’s Paul

Halloween and Horror have been the unofficial themes of the month at World’s Best Media. You can see that mainly reflected in our podcasts, but we’ve been trying to infuse the Halloween spirit everywhere. Tim and I (especially Tim) are big Horror Movie fans. So, Mike was kind enough to write up an article from his point of view as a non-Horror Movie fan. Halloween is coming soon, folks! Read below! Enjoy!

Written by Mike Cole

I’m a huge film buff, but I would also argue that I’m a bit of a film snob. I don’t think this is necessarily a great thing, arguably it is better to not have discerning taste, as then you can enjoy everything. Horror fans tend to be my role models in this way. Many horror fans, will go see ANY horror film that comes out. It’s why the genre is so successful, because every horror film seems to make money.
Now, I’m aware that I sounded like a pretty big douchebag in that first paragraph, but I truly don’t mean it that way. It’s a good thing. There isn’t really any other genre that can stay as true as horror. Perhaps it’s because comedy is subjective, and tragedy is personal and cathartic, but horror, the shit that really scares us? That’s fairly universal.
I imagine we can all understand the fear of someone or something lurking in a dark place, I read once that fear of the dark is an evolutionary characteristic developed to keep us safe. In fact, most of our fear probably stems from something deeper in our species’ history than comedy or drama would.
Personally, I haven’t seen many horror films. For me, there have been three routes that have lead me to watching a horror movie: all my friends are going (only can think of 2 horror movies that my friends went to), it’s a prestige pic and a horror movie (this one is also pretty rare), and lastly everyone’s talking about it.
Now, the two horror movies that I remember seeing with friends, are The Ring, which I thought was a pretty excellent film in its construction, and secondly The Human Centipede. The Human Centipede, came about from me seeing an article that this weird movie (which no one I knew had heard of yet) was going to be playing at The Coolidge Corner theater. I told my friend Slade about it, not because I wanted to see it, but because I thought the premise was so bizarre. Slade couldn’t get the idea of it out of his head, and made me go with him and a few friends to see it. This would end up being probably the most authentic ‘horror-going’ experience of my life. I don’t remember being scared, but I remember being grossed out, and cringing a lot. At one point, I remember thinking there was a good chance I was going to throw up in my popcorn bag. Seeing The Human Centipede, disturbed me enough, that I had at least a night or two of trouble sleeping. It was not an experience I wanted to replicate.
As I mentioned, prestige pics (basically movies that may be considered for awards) don’t tend to also be horror films, but there are a few slight exceptions. It may not be fair to consider them ‘horror’ but definitely scary/suspense/thrillers. For this list, as far as I’m aware it tends to be the works of Alfred Hitchcock, and The Silence of the Lambs. You’re probably aware of Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds, at least on some level. They’re well crafted, and perhaps in their time they were scary, but not really anymore, but they’re still enjoyable. The Silence of the Lambs is perhaps remembered for being scarier. People think of Hannibal Lecter as terrifying, although personally, I found the character of Buffalo Bill to be far scarier. The voice of actor Ted Levine (which nearly ruined the show Monk for me because of this film), who played Jame Gumb aka Buffalo Bill, is terrifying along with his erratic behavior makes him far more frightening than the caged and calculating Lecter.
Lastly, I mentioned that I have watched some horror films based on hype. For this category, I have watched the original Halloween, which I didn’t really find scary, but thought was a great film. I think part of the problem with this was just the age of the film. I saw it in the last five years, and Jamie Lee Curtis is so much more a part of my knowledge, that she doesn’t have some of the nameless/faceless quality that comes with many horror movie victims/survivors.
After hearing about all of the hype, I also saw the first three Saw films. I think the first movie, wasn’t really too scary, but ultimately was well made, and enjoyable, the following two, I found to be increasingly scary, while decreasing in quality. Again, the fear factor to me, could come down to the fact that Carey Elwes is one of the main victims in the first, and I know who he is. Also the second film has a pit of syringes, and needles are one of my worst fears.
From the little bit that I have indulged in the horror genre, I’ve been able to see that there is a lot to be enjoyed about it, but I am not sure that I have the patience to sit through the terrible to find the divine, but I think not enjoying the ‘b-movies’ of the genre is only to my detriment, and I’m not advocating for any of you to do the same.

What I’d Like To See: MCU Phase 4

Published on October 15, 2017November 17, 2020 by Michael Christopher Cole5 Comments

Thor: Ragnarok comes out in a couple weeks, and is being called ‘the most anticipated movie of the fall,’ and I must agree it, looks awesome. This puts us at about the half-way point of the MCU Phase 3 (I believe Avengers 4 is the final film slated for this phase). What is going to happen with this phase has largely happened, and so I want to turn to speculation for Phase 4.
The phase one movies were largely introductions. We got the Avenger anchor characters (Thor, Cap, Iron Man, and Hulk) setup, and it culminated in The Avengers. Phase two was about expansion, in phase two we had movies like Guardians of the Galaxy who were the Avengers in space, and Ant-Man who is a West-Coast Avenger, as well as filling out the world-building of 3 of the originals (no Hulk movie for so many reasons). And so far Phase 3 has been letting our toys play together. We’ve had Captain America: Civil War (which is really an Avenger’s movie in many ways except they’re split) and Tony Stark is almost a secondary protagonist in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok looks as if it could be called Thor and Hulk against the universe. These mash-ups have been great, and Thor and Hulk look like they’ll be the up there as well.
Here is the thing you need to understand about Marvel’s process (as best as I can understand it): they started us off with characters that may have been B-list to the masses, but they knew wouldn’t require much to make them appeal to people who don’t give a shit about comics (while staying true to the comics), then as time as progressed, as the audience has become more hooked, they’ve brought us into a cinematic comic-book world unlike anything else. They started introducing us to less traditional movie-going experiences, but more traditional comic book experiences. Things are weird, and overall the audience is loving it—can you imagine when Iron Man came out in 2008 if someone had told you Marvel would make a movie about a talking raccoon and a sentient tree that you would have been excited? Maybe if you’re reading on this site I guess, but overwhelmingly I think the answer would be no for those of us not delving into the weird world of comic books.
For Phase 4, we’ve had the cross-overs, we’ve had the mash-ups, we’ve had the weird, now it’s time to get to ‘the replacements.’ By the beginning of Phase 4, the franchise will be ten years old, many of the actors will have been in for 6 or more movies, and it will be time to start changing the line-up. It’s not necessarily what many want as a viewing audience, but it is what the business will begin to dictate, and honestly, I think there are some great potential options for it.
Comic books, unlike movies or TV, don’t have actors they need to replace, and yet they often do replace the characters. Right now in the movies Steve Rogers is Captain America, but both Bucky Barnes (aka The Winter Soldier) and Sam Wilson (aka The Falcon) have both ascended to the role of Cap. Most of the superheroes in comic books have been multiple characters, and it can rejuvenate them, it can change perspective, and I think it can do that for the MCU.
You might be thinking, “I don’t want anyone but Chris Evans playing Captain America,” but just because he doesn’t play Cap doesn’t mean he can’t return as Steve Rogers, or even later to return as Cap if the storyline allows it. This option frees up the actors a lot, because while the paychecks are nice, for the Chris’s (Evans and Hemsworth, and maybe even Pratt) it’s a lot of physical work to keep in their superhero conditions.
As it is, in Homecoming, we basically get Tony Stark having outsourced many of the Iron Man duties to autopilot, and so I think there is nothing that says they have to kill off the characters, or recast, just replace. We need an Iron Man, and a Cap on the team, but do we need Steve Rogers or Tony Stark?
With Ant-man, we’ve already seen the second iterations introduced, largely because Hank Pym (played by Michael Douglas) is too close of a character to Tony Stark, whereas Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is a much different character.
The richness of comic books in adaptation is that there is so much source material much of it conflicting, but all kind of co-existing, and it allows the filmmakers to do whatever they want. It solves a couple of problems that I think are going to occur, one is that inevitably if these films continue going, there will need to be recasting, but this could allow a buffer space, and a shifting of the world/tone to allow new actors in. The second issue it solves is it uses fatigue on the part of actors playing the same characters to further world-build. It also allows different kind of conflicts, the conflict between characters not trusting a new Cap, or a new Thor, or whomever needs to be replaced creates conflict, and this has been Marvel’s strength is the conflict between protagonists, not the conflict between protagonist and antagonist.
Clearly, Kevin Feige knows what he’s doing, he’s been slowly sucking us all into a far less generic cinematic franchise, one that does resemble comic books more than traditional films in a lot of ways. So perhaps this will be the eventual route he takes, and if it isn’t I’ll be along for the ride, because on the whole he’s been getting it right, but I suspect if the audience keeps going along as he pushes us further and further, we’re going to see these kinds things happening, and I personally look forward to an MCU in which characters are replaced and not actors (for as long as possible).

Some Thoughts on Wonder Woman…

Published on September 1, 2017November 16, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

With Wonder Woman being released digitally on iTunes and other places this week, I thought this was a good opportunity to take another look at the character of Diana. How she’s portrayed in the film, in other media, and the importance the character should play in our pop culture, especially now.

What made Wonder Woman DC’s most successful film thus far, at least creatively, is that the film understood what the Marvel films seemed to have understood from the beginning: character is everything. Marvel understands their heroes backwards and forwards and up until Wonder Woman, it wasn’t clear if DC really KNEW who their characters were and what makes them tick. Regardless of what else they have going on, they nailed Wonder Woman in that department. She was a beautifully realized character on screen.

Filmmaking is a collaboration, but I’m going to give credit to director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot for making this character work so well. Diana is many things, some of them are contradictions. She a warrior and ambassador for peace. She’s a friend, a lover, a mother figure. She’s strong, compassionate, loyal, and resolute. Oh, and she’s also a complete fucking bad ass. These are tough things to make work on screen. But by coming from a place of character first, Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot gave us the perfect Wonder Woman. Regardless of where the DC Extended Universe goes from here, we will always have this beautiful, stand alone Wonder Woman film.

(I mean, JESUS CHRIST! She even makes BATMAN her bitch)
I’m always fascinated how news and important events in the real world are reflected in our popular culture. I wish there were more characters like Wonder Woman on film and TV. Someone who embodies both strength and compassion, someone who espouses tolerance and love. I know I’d like to see more of that on my TV every day. Wonder Woman reminds us all that we can be BETTER.
It’s interesting that Diana is the DC character on screen right now that most embodies the concept of HOPE. Hope is usually the domain of the Last Son of Krypton, Superman. After all, that isn’t an S on his chest, its Kryptonian, the symbol of The House EL, it means hope.

I really hope they eventually nail the character of Superman like the nailed Wonder Woman. I think the problem is that most people agree who Diana is and what she’s all about. I don’t think that’s neccesarily the case for the Man of Steel. For a lot of writers out there, Christopher Reeve and everything his Superman was, is all that Superman should be. I not only vehemently disagree, I believe this thinking hurts the character. My Superman will always be the guy from Bruce Timm’s Superman: The Animated Series and the subsequent Justice League shows. The Superman of Man of Steel was a little closer to that guy, which is one of the reasons I like that film.
Anyway, I’ve got Wonder Woman on as I’m writing this piece and for now it’s nice to have one undeniably great stand alone DC film.

Diana’s message regardless of the medium is a powerful one: love, acceptance, equality, and compassion. When I watch the news, that’s not the world I see, I wish it was. Encourage your friends who haven’t seen Wonder Woman to give it a try. Because if even a little piece of Diana seeps into their subconscious, who knows? Maybe they’ll try a little harder to exhibit some of Diana’s wonderful attributes I was talking about earlier. Since the world can be a pretty scary place these days, that idea, that possibility, makes me feel just a little bit better. She came her to save “Man’s World”. Let’s ALL beat her to it…

COMIC-CON 2017: A look at BRIGHT & DEATH NOTE from NETFLIX

Published on July 21, 2017November 16, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

So, this week is the San Diego Comic-Con, which is always exciting because we get a look at all the cool new projects coming down the pipeline in film, television, comics, etc. We can usually look forward to new trailers for big movies and first looks at major projects in comics, TV, and film. There have already been a few cool panels that have shown some interesting trailers and other promotional material.
But the content Netflix has been promoting really caught my eye in particular. As we all know Netflix has become a powerhouse in television. They’ve basically become a new network with projects like Stranger Things, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and all the other Marvel series’s. Those examples are just the tip of the iceberg, they have a few very strong animated series as well, like Guillermo Del Toro’s Trollhunters. Now it looks like they’re making a serious play for producing their own original movies. Just like their television series, these movies will be made available streaming immediately at their premiere date. The two that I thought looked really intriguing and have the potential to be very cool were “Bright” starring Will Smith and “Death Note” based on the popular Manga. Here are the trailers for both:

These are two very different projects, but they have serious talent attached to both. The production values certainly look on par with what’s put out by the major film studios. Personally, both of these movies look right up my alley. I don’t want to get into a lengthy analysis of these trailers, but I really like the idea behind “Bright”. Telling a gritty, modern day cop story, in a world where orcs, elves, and magic exist sounds cool to me. But if it’s executed poorly it could be terrible. It’s directed by David Ayer who is very hit or miss, but Max Landis who wrote the script is a excellent writer despite his reputation.
I don’t know nearly as much about “Death Note”. I’m not familiar with the source material, but the trailer was very interesting. I’m not sure what his name is, but I’ve seen the lead actor in a number of films and I’ve always really liked him. And GOOD GOD Willem Dafoe looks creepy as FUCK as that fucking death god creature.
Anyway, I thought these were both interesting projects to keep an eye on. Hopefully Netflix will turn out to be as successful at making films as they are at making television shows. The more cool content the better as far as I’m concerned. “Death Note” premieres on Netflix on 8/25 and “Bright” premieres on 12/22. I’m sure there will be more stuff coming out of Comic-Con that I’ll want comment on either here or on the podcast so keep a lookout for that. As always, thanks for reading!

-Paul

Movie SPOILERS Are Getting Out Of Control…

Published on July 6, 2017November 15, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

I get it. I’m a big movie fan. I read all the articles, I listen to all the podcasts, I love film making. Especially genre film making. So I’m always interested in the next big thing coming down the road. If you’ve read this blog or listened to my podcast with any frequency, you know I love the age of geek friendly entertainment that we’re living in. What used to be confined to comic book stores and conventions has become main stream pop culture.
Since the birth of the internet there websites like Ain’t It Cool News led by people like Harry Knowles that, among others, created the modern template for movie websites, YouTube channels, and podcasts. Sadly, Harry Knowles has lost his way, but that’s another story.
In the late 90’s internet journalists were guys like you and me. Fans who wanted scoops, tidbits, and tastes about what was happening behind the scenes in Hollywood. Specifically genre filmmaking. Since these early days, we’ve lost respect for something important: Spoilers.
In the late 90’s and early 00’s, if an internet journalist somehow got access to the script for one of the new Star Wars films or a Superman movie in development, this was treated with reverence. The details weren’t immediately plastered all over the website. Spoiler warnings were EVERYWHERE. So if you didn’t want to know all the details of Tarantino’s new movie or a complete story breakdown for X-Men 2, you could opt out. You could still get the movie news of the day without getting entire films spoiled for you. You could choose how much you wanted to know about the big new movies coming out that you were looking forward to. (For the record, these are all real examples of info and scoops Ain’t It Cool News and it’s readers had access to back in the day)
In my opinion, Ain’t It Cool News isn’t what it once was. There are still great people who write for that site and there are often some great editorials and movie reviews. But they were pioneers once, they were the model on which the modern geek entertainment websites were built. But back in the day, right up to now, they always respected their readers’ choice to opt out of spoilers. Because, after all, why do they call them spoilers, because they fucking spoil things! Which is why I am so sick of getting unwittingly spoiled by lazy YouTubers and internet journalists.
I bring up the long history of internet journalism and their attempts to get behind the scene scoops because there used to be an etiquette in the industry. In the past year and a half, I’ve had at least a dozen major movie twists, surprises, or plot points ruined in the TITLES of YouTube or other Internet articles. In the FUCKING TITLES! How do you avoid that?
Just a few days ago I’m scrolling through Twitter and a major comic book movie website has tweeted a link to one of their new articles and right there, unmissable in the title, is a MAJOR spoiler for Spider-Man: Homecoming. What. The. FUCK?!!! I was pissed. This is unacceptable and like I said it isn’t the first time it’s happened.
Now, some of you may say by following these sites I’m opening myself up to the possibility of having something spoiled for me. But if I’m reading an article or browsing a spoiler-heavy website and there’s a spoiler, that’s on me. But I should not have to worry about YouTube videos, Tweets, and article titles dropping major spoilers on me without ANY chance to avoid them. Trailers give away so much of the goddamn movie already, I don’t need any other sources to spoil the surprises in my entertainment.
So, to all you YouTubers, Tweeters, and online journalists out there… LOCK YOUR FUCKING SHIT UP! Show some professionalism and have some respect for your audience.

As always thanks for reading… and be careful of those fucking spoilers out there!

-Paul

The Young Han Solo Movie (ugh) is shitting the bed

Published on June 23, 2017November 15, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwright2 Comments

Han Solo: A Star Wars story, the stand alone Han Solo origin movie that no one asked for has lost it’s directors, Christopher Lord & Phil Miller, the directing team that gave us The Lego Movie, 21 and 22 Jump Street, have left the film because of the classic bullshit Hollywood excuse “creative differences”. (Which in this case seems to mean they were fired).

When the term “creative differences” is used in Hollywood, it basically means some bad shit was going down. It’s blanket term used when things are going badly on a project, but they don’t want to make specific people look bad. So “creative differences” could mean anything from the directors constantly throwing their feces at crew members to the movie being a piece of hot garbage and the studio has to make a desperate attempt to salvage their massively expensive tent pole film. Kathleen Kennedy, the head of Lucasfilm was the one to make this call and this woman knows what she’s doing. She started her career working with Spielberg on Raiders of the Lost Ark and has since been part of many of the most successful films ever made.

But Lord and Miller did The Lego Movie with that stupid fucking song everyone loves!

(to the tune of “Everything Is Awesome”)
“EVERYTHING IS SHITTYYYYYYYY!
EVERYTHING BLOWS WHEN YOUR MOVIE SUCKS!”

However, on rare occasions, “creative differences” means “creative differences”. That means that there’s a creative aspect of the film, be it story, character, or something else that the film makers and studio disagree on, but won’t come to a middle ground about. Movie studios finance these projects and can get nervous when film makers do things creatively that they consider risky. At which point the film maker either quits or is fired by the studio. Then, with the world watching, studio tries to make gold out of diarrhea.
This case is especially bad because “Han Solo: A Star Wars Story” (or whatever the fuck they’re calling it) has been filming since February which mean a good chunk of this film has been shot. This type of thing usually happens before filming starts or at the very beginning. Even after a film is completed a movie studio may bring someone else in to the editing room to put the finishing touches on a movie they think needs work.

Now the studio needs to find a director that they think can right this metaphorical ship. Unfortunately, it’s pretty much a done deal that it’s gonna be Ron Howard.

I wrote a previous article for this site was basically praising Star Wars as my personal religion. I never thought I’d actively be rooting against a Star Wars film. But I fucking HATE Ron Howard as a film maker. I think he’s an overrated hack who has made some of my most loathed films. (I’d rather get one of my nuts torn off than have to sit through his fucking Grinch movie with Jim Carrey again)
Having said that, I’m torn by this news. On the one hand I love the Star Wars Universe with all my heart and I don’t want to see it take a step backward. On the other hand, I hated the whole idea of this movie. As soon as it was rumored to be one of the stand alone Star Wars movies.

I have strong feelings why I feel doing a Han Solo prequel movie in particular is a bad idea. But first I want to talk about some of the other parts of the Star Wars Universe that could have been better places to draw stories from than a …(sigh) Han Solo prequel movie.

When the stand alone Star Wars movies were announced I thought it was great storytelling opportunity. Star Wars has a massive mythology outside of the Skywalker family saga, even if they completely ignore the Expanded Universe content (Star Wars books, comics, video games , ect.).

But The Expanded Universe still has some excellent material to mine. The comics in particular are really special. They began to publish fantastic in continuity Star Wars comics, telling stories that took place between “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back”. Issue #6 of the flagship book “Star Wars”, written by Jason Aaron and drawn by John Cassaday, ends on a key scene that is incredibly important to the overall Saga (especially The Original Trilogy) that we never actually see in the films. It’s relatively simple scene that is a perfect mix of art and dialogue. Shortly after the destruction of the original Death Star, Vader hired Boba Fett to capture the pilot who destroyed the deadly space station. He couldn’t capture him, but he doesn’t come to Vader empty handed. Keep in mind, at this point Vader thinks his children died with his wife.Check it out:

That was an exceptionally well done sequence.

There’s so much more that this universe has to offer that most people haven’t seen. There’s the excellent Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels Animated series’. The Clone Wars chronicles the period between Episodes II & III. Currently Star Wars Rebels which is about to enter its final season in the fall, chronicles the rise of The Rebellion shortly before Episode IV. Both of these are phenomenal shows, don’t let the fact that they are animated turn you off. There are new characters that are just as compelling as some of the characters from the films and they also have the opportunity to further flesh out some of the relationships we see in the movies. Here’s an incredible scene from Rebels, we see the sad, beautiful, decades in the making final confrontation between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul:

Another great example of the larger Star Wars Universe is Grand Admiral Thrawn, a fan-favorite Imperial villain from Timothy Zahn’s series of novels. Now he’s been introduced as a major villain in Star Wars Rebels. There are plenty of in continuity books, TV shows, and comics that are cannon that could be used in films.

Which is my whole point! why the fuck would you limit yourself to a shitty Han Solo prequel (why the fuck do these Hollywood assholes think we love prequels?). As usual they make the most predictable, “safe” (on paper), bullshit decision possible and do a Han Solo prequel movie. It’s especially disappointing coming from somebody as intelligent as Kathleen Kennedy at head of Lucasfilm, who’s someone I’d normally have a lot of faith in. Now besides the shit show they currently dealing with behind the scenes, here’s why a Han Solo prequel film was a dog piss idea in the first place…
I’ve always felt one of the biggest reasons this project wouldn’t work in the same way other prequels do is the fact that we associate Han Solo with Harrison Ford so much. Batman, James Bond, these are characters that were adapted from other mediums. I think recasting Han Solo is more of a slap in the face to fans is because Harrison Ford created that character as we see him on screen. This wasn’t an interpretation of a property that already existed in another medium or had been played by a different actor in a different film. George Lucas is famous for not being an actor’s director; he doesn’t give actors a lot of nuanced notes on performance. It’s safe to say that in many ways Harrison Ford helped create the character of Han Solo. All of the little moments, ticks, and nuances that we love about Han Solo all come out of Harrison Ford. There’s no source material for whatever asshole they got to play young Han Solo to refer to. It’s all Harrison Ford. Which is why at best this would just be some kid doing a Harrison Ford impression. If that’s the case, what’s the fucking point of making the movie at all? This is why it shouldn’t be touched.

This is the kid playing Han Solo:

There’s another issues with doing a Han Solo prequel film that I haven’t heard anyone mention yet. Han Solo is an outlaw and a pirate (Like Jack Sparrow when he was still cool and not just creepy). Giving Han Solo a film that fills in all the blanks takes a bit of mystique away from the character. Some mystery for a roguish character like Han is part of his appeal.

There’s an old saying that audiences don’t really know what they want, even if they think they do. We may think we want to see Han meet Chewie and Lando and win the Millennium Falcon in a game of Sabbac, but sometimes things are better left to the imagination. (That’s right, I know the name of the fictional card game played in the Star Wars universe. Winner!)
Personally, I felt if they had to do a prequel movie starring a character that we already know it should be an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie. Ewan McGregor has said multiple times that he would love to play the character again. Tell a story that takes place between Episodes III and Episode IV. What was he up to on Tatooine for 20 years? Maybe he decided to break those pointless fucking celibacy vows the Jedi had for some reason? Maybe 50 years later he’s got a hot granddaughter running around the galaxy? Who knows? I swear I had this idea before the comics did, but in the main Star Wars comic written by Jason Aaron, every now and then Luke will read Obi-Wan’s Journal and we get a flashback to one on his adventures during his time on Tantooine. These issues are always fun and they show that Kenobi wasn’t just sweating his ass off in that fucking hut for 20 years.
They could tell a western style adventure with Obi-Wan trying to stay in hiding, but maybe he keeps seeing The Hutts or some other alien gangsters harassing simple moisture farmers around him. Finally, he’s reluctantly forced to do something about it. That’s just off the top of my head! I’d see the fuck out of that movie! Maybe he runs into another surviving Jedi, those guys are all running around the galaxy left and right. The Empire certainly didn’t get all of them. Also, we don’t have actor recasting issues like we have with Harrison Ford because Obi-Wan has already been played by multiple actors.
The positive side is that Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy know what they’re doing and I have more faith in them then the guys who did the fucking Lego Movie. I know I’m gonna get shit for this, but I absolutely fucking HATE the Lego movie trend. Fuck The Lego Movie. Fuck The Lego Batman Movie. Just…Fuck Off.
The Force Awakens was far from perfect but it was a great movie. I have a lot less love for Rogue One, but there is greatness in that film. The “Vader Scene” (you know what I’m talking about) was one of the best scenes in the saga. The new Expanded Universe is excellent. Star Wars Rebels is one of my favorite shows and occasionally manages to outdo the films in shear thrilling, emotional, spectacle.
At the end of the day, Star Wars, Lucasfilm, and Disney will be just fine. It does suck however to see a chink in their creative armor. Since Lucasfilm was acquired by Disney they just kept cranking out solid fucking content. They went about building their universe in a smart, fun, and well thought out way. They decided what would be cannon and what wouldn’t and went to work. Movies, TV shows, books, comic books. They haven’t made a misstep yet so this is their first major hiccup. But let’s be honest even if this is a total disaster in every way, shape, or form, this is not going to hurt the Star Wars brand in the long run.
Who knows? Maybe I’m wrong and the studio brought Ron Howard (UPDATE: They did. Ron Howard is officially directing Young Han Solo). I hope he crushes it. I hate most of his movies and think he’s a MASSIVELY overrated director, but I did love Cinderella Man. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see the color and consistency of the shit they spray all over the movie screen.

Also keep an eye out for the new episode of “The World’s Best Podcast with Paul & Tim” where Tim and I will be discussing the season 2 premiere of Preacher on AMC. It’s gonna be really fucking good…probably.

Thanks for reading!

– Paul

WHY DO PREQUELS ANSWER QUESTIONS NO ONE ASKED? ALIEN: COVENANT

Published on May 24, 2017November 13, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

SPOILER WARNING!!!! I DROP ONE HUGE ALIEN:COVENANT SPOILER IN THIS ARTICLE AND A FEW MINOR ONE, SO IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE, GO SEE IT AND THEN COME BACK AND READ THIS… OR IF YOU JUST DON’T GIVE A FUCK GO RIGHT AHEAD AND READ IT.

So I managed to go out and see Alien: Covenant over the weekend. Any of you who follow the site know that Alien: Covenant was one of my most anticipated films of the summer. I have a complex relationship with this franchise. Some of the films I love, some of them I loathe. But I think one of the greatest strengths of this universe, is it’s ability to spark debate among it’s fans. There are people who will defend Alien 3 to their dying breath despite its many controversial creative choices. Personally, I love Prometheus. I know that’s not a popular opinion, but I like sci-fi that tries to tackle the big questions in life. Even if the movie ultimately fails in the attempt. My point is that we all have our favorite Alien film or films and we love them regardless of what anyone else thinks.

I’ll warn you right off the bat; if you get frustrated watching people do really fucking stupid shit for the sake of moving the plot forward, this movie is going to drive you out of your goddamn mind. The crew of The Covenant could be some of the dumbest fucking people to ever grace the screen of a sci-fi film and I think that’s a pretty high bar. They make the crew of the Prometheus look like a bunch of Jack Reachers. “Hmm, we have a meticulously planned mission, years in the making, with thousands of lives on the line, you know what? Fuck it. Let’s forget about all that and investigate this creepy as fuck signal coming from a planet we’ve never heard of before, even though we’ve searched this sector for habitable planets many, many times and this is the first we’ve seen of this seemingly perfect world. That is awfully peculiar, but hell we’re explorers! Sure we’ve had a few casualties already, but if you’re gonna roll the dice anywhere, it should be in space.” I must have been shaking my head in sheer disbelief at the idiocy of these characters for the first 30 minutes of the movie.

I did ultimately enjoy Alien: Covenant. If you’re a fan of the franchise at all, I think it’s worth seeing. You may hate it, but you should eventually see it. Once again Michael Fassbender is incredible in dual roles as very different (or ARE they?) Synthetics, David and Walter (Not a spoiler at all if you saw Prometheus: David is a real prick.). Danny McBride is the Yaphet Kotto of the movie, which is fucking awesome. I’m a huge fan of McBride and you’d assume he’d be comic relief/cannon fodder here, which isn’t really the case. Even though I had my problems with it, I came out if the theater having had a good time.

Which brings me to the point of this article. My main gripe with the movie is one we see way too often in prequel films: explaining things that DON’T FUCKING NEED TO BE EXPLAINED! Perfect example, The Force from Star Wars. We don’t need a bunch of bullshit about fucking Midichlorians or whatever that allows people to commune with The Force. It’s The Force, that’s all the explanation we need. While we’re on this topic, you know what was on my mind while I was watching X-Men: Shitpocalypes? “Man, I just GOTTA know how Charles Xavier loses his hair.” Actually, that’s not true, I didn’t think that. NOBODY fucking thought that! Who. Fucking. Cares? (Ironically, I very, very much cared when they DIDN’T make Lex Luthor bald in Batman V Superman: Dawn of… WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T THEY JUST CALL IT World’s Finest? I don’t know why they’re different, but they are. Xavier with hair = OK, Lex Luthor with hair = Not OK)

Which brings me to the cardinal sin of Alien: Covenant: They definitively explain the origins of the Xenomorphs. When Prometheus was announced, one of the things I was most excited about was finding out more about The Space Jockey. I always felt like fans tended to forget that there was this whole other Alien species out there that the series never touched on enough. Of course, The Space Jockey ended up being one of The Engineers. For the most part the Engineers worked for me. If you hated them, I totally get it. Look at this fucking guy, ripping heads off. Not cool.

On the other hand, the one thing I absolutely did NOT want an answer to was the origin of the Xenomorphs. Ultimately the story that was set up in Prometheus led to Alien: Covenant and Alien: Covenant definitively gives that answer. I don’t hate the explaination in and of itself, I just hate that there’s an explanation at all. Nothing these writers come up with can compare to what we cook up in our own imaginations. The thing that kind of sucks is, when you give a definitive explanation to a pop cultural mystery, it ends the fan debate. Some of the most fun I’ve ever had hanging out with my friends was sitting around debating things like “Where did the Xenomorph come from?”

I understand why Hollywood does this shit, it’s marketing. But certain mysteries in pop culture should be sacrosanct. Like the origin of The Joker. You can tease, you can hint, but you can NEVER tell us who he really is (a rule Marvel should have stuck to with Wolverine). Unfortunately I have a feeling DC is being tempted to play this particular wild card and that would be a colossal mistake. I guess my point is, everyone loves a mystery and some of the great mysteries of pop culture should remain unanswered.
Thanks for reading everyone!
-Paul

Why I Love Star Wars & Some Thoughts & Theories On The Trailer…

Published on April 15, 2017November 13, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwright1 Comment

Star Wars is the closest thing I have to a religion. I know that might sound crazy to some people, but Star Wars is why I fell in love with movies. The Music, The Mythology, The Themes, The Characters. It makes me want to believe in something greater than myself. To aspire to be better. Star Wars speaks to the incredible power of storytelling and the very real effect it can have on our lives. I know I’m not alone. The Force is strong with many of you.

Today all the fuss is about the release of the first trailer for director Rian Johnson’s Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi. So, to myself and all the other Star Wars “believers” out there, the first trailer for a new Saga film is a big deal. For you casual fans out there, the Saga films are the movies that have “Episode” in the title. They’re part of the generations long story of the Skywalker family that chronologically started with Episode I The Phantom Menace up to 2015’s Episode VII The Force Awakens. Separate from the Saga films are the “A Star Wars Story” films. Stand Alone movies that don’t necessarily have an effect on the larger Saga story, but take place in the Star Wars Universe. Like last December’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

First, why don’t you take a look at the trailer for Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi and I can give you my thoughts:

https://youtu.be/uM9jPCvJ2HU

First of all, I don’t think ANYONE saw this coming! Holy Shit! WHAT A REVEAL!!!

OK, OK, Calm down. I’m only kidding… OR AM I???

All in all, this was a solid teaser and that’s what it was, a teaser. Anyone following this blog knows that I hate a trailer that gives the whole damn movie way (See: https://thebestdamnblogwithpaulwright.com/2017/04/06/spider-man-homecoming-the-lost-art-of-the-teaser-trailer/ ). I feel like this teaser’s mission was to intrigue and I think it did its job. This wasn’t one of the best first trailers a Star Wars movie has put out, as I pointed out in my aforementioned article, The Force Awakens had a masterful Ad campaign. But there was still a lot to like here. I really like how this looks like a Rian Johnson film. I noticed a few cinematography similarities to his previous films, which is good thing because he’s a phenomenal director. The music caught my attention as well. It seemed like a really cool blend of the classic musical ques and some of the better work John Williams did for The Force Awakens. I also liked seeing Rey putting some time in with her lightsaber training.( I could forgive it in Episode VII because it made sense story-wise, but I NEED me some EPIC lightsaber duels in The Last Jedi!)

So, there was lot of interesting imagery and dialogue in this trailer. And get ready because Paul has theory! (Probably not a very good theory but a theory nonetheless) Now, I haven’t gone back to The Force Awakens in the time since this trailer dropped, so there could be one line of dialogue that destroys my theories. But this is just for fun, so I’m just throwing some interesting potential ideas out there.

OK, here we go: The line everyone will be jumping on here, myself included, is Luke saying “I only know one truth, it’s time for The Jedi to end.” This line is interesting for a couple of reasons. Luke, more than any other Jedi, acknowledged the darkness within himself and made peace with it. Most of the Jedi from the Prequel Trilogy seemed to view emotion as something to be locked away, not to draw strength from as The Sith do. Burying ones emotions away doesn’t seem like a very healthy way for a group of warrior monks to live.

Much of the beliefs held by The Jedi Order before The Fall of the Republic and The Rise of The Empire seemed questionable at best. Like why the Hell did the Jedi have to be celibate? If I was a Force wielder and found out I couldn’t get laid for decades, I’d be all “Sign me up for the Dark Side please!” Some of the most successful and well-adjusted Jedi like Luke Skywalker and Kanan Jarrus from Star Wars: Rebels, seemed to view their relationship with The Force in more human and less black and white terms. One of the things about the Prequels that I think some people miss is that, it isn’t just the story of The Fall of Anakin Skywalker; it’s also the story of the Failure of the Jedi. They were judgmental and short sighted and their mistakes caught up with them.

It seemed like Luke understood this in the Original Trilogy and perhaps the knowledge he’s acquired in his time in exile has confirmed those ideas. We hear Luke ask Rey what she feels. She says “Light… Darkness… The Balance.” And Luke replies “It’s so much bigger.” What if Luke has learned that things aren’t as simple as The Light and The Dark Side? For the Universe to find balance in The Force perhaps the time of the Jedi must come to an end?

Now here’s my more “Out There” theory, what if Luke is being more specific when he says “It’s time for the Jedi to end.”? The Jedi have always been called The Jedi Knights, Kylo Ren is the leader of the order called The Knights of Ren. In The Force Awakens, we don’t learn much about them and we never hear them specifically identify as Sith. What if the Knights of Ren have become some perverted version of The Jedi Order? One which must be destroyed for there to be balance in The Force? It could certainly be a cool switch-a-roo, Luke and Rey acting as a noble version of The Sith battling a corrupt Jedi Order. I’m sure there are 100 holes in this theory that I’m missing and the next trailer will probably blow this theory to smithereens, but half of the fun of a new Star Wars flick is the crazy theories and speculation.

Regardless of how it turns out, I’m thrilled to have a new Star Wars film coming down the pipe! Please feel free to tell me I’m nuts in the comments below. (But go easy on me, I have a fragile ego)

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

-Paul

Summer Movie Season 2017!!! My 5 Most Anticipated Summer Blockbusters

Published on April 10, 2017November 13, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Summer is almost upon us and that can only mean one thing… SUMMER MOVIE SEASON BEGINS!!! Every year between the first weekend in May until Labor Day weekend we’re bombarded with every enormous sequel, threequel, prequel, remake, reboot, reimagining, adaptation, tent pole film that Hollywood can throw at us.

And like the suckers we all are, we watch the amazing trailers and see the cool movies posters and think “Man, Van Helsing is going to fucking RULE!” and “Spider-Man 2 was SOOOO good, 3 has to be even better, right? RIGHT?!”.

But I’m the biggest sucker if them all because I fucking LOVE the Summer Movie Season. Because for every “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, “Pixels” and “Transformers: Revenge of The Who Gives A Shit”, every now and again we sit down in that theatre and magic happens. Jaws. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Jurassic Park. The Dark Knight. The Avengers. I could go on and on. Now, I don’t know if the movies below will fall into the “Holy Shit, that was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen!” Or “WHAT THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING?! Please give me the last 2 1/2 hours of my life back.” categories. Let’s all cross our fingers and hope for the former. Without any further ado here are my picks for my 5 most anticipated movies of summer 2017 (plus an Honorable mention):

Honorable Mention: War for the Planet of the Apes
Opens 7/14
Director: Matt Reeves
These movies are way better than they have any right to be. When “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” came out in 2011, I don’t think anyone predicted it would launch one of the best sci-if franchises of the decade. Though the 2nd film, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, wasn’t quite as good as “Rise”, it was still a great entry in the series. “War” looks to be where the shit really hits the fan in the war between apes and humans. Plus, seeing Woody Harrelson go full Col. Kurtz is a real draw. This movie is also notable because “The Batman” starring Ben Affleck is “War” director Matt Reeves’ next film. Reeves has already proven himself a more than capable director, but Batman and DC fans will be breathing a little easier if Reeves knocks “War” out of the park.

Also, I can absolutely guarantee it’ll be better that this…

https://youtu.be/g9ZJ0F8Ik9E

Seriously, can someone please tell me what the fuck is happening there?

War for the Planet of the Apes trailer:

5. Alien: Covenant
Opens 5/19
Director: Ridley Scott
I know I may be in the minority here, but I actually really liked “Prometheus”. So I was definitely thrilled to hear that Ridley Scott would be continuing that story in some fashion. I’ve always been fascinated by sci-fi that plays with ideas like, where we came from, what’s our place in the universe, and who or what created us. There was an existential kind of Lovecraftian horror in “Prometheus”, which I felt set it apart from similar films. At one point, the original title of this movie was “Paradise”, meaning if The Engineers are God, their home planet must be Heaven. This is the planet the crew in “Alien: Covenant” makes the horrific mistake of trying to colonize. I don’t know how much of that made it into the final film, but I really like the idea. In the original “Alien” film, at first Ripley was not necessarily the clear hero of the story. Of course, as we all know Ripley is indeed the hero of the movie which was sort bucking tradition at the time. In the “Alien: Covenant” trailers, Danny McBride’s character seems to be a blue-collar pilot, member of the crew. Presumably in the film for comic relief, he seems to be a cannon fodder character. How cool would it be if he was unexpectedly the hero/sole survivor like Ripley in the original? I doubt it, but it would be cool.

Alien Covenant trailer

4. Spider-Man: Homecoming

Director: Jon Watts
Opens 7/7
Despite the fact that I had big problems with the most recent trailer (see my recent article: Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Lost Art of the Trailer) I’m extremely excited to see this movie and It looks like it’s going to be a blast. This flick has a lot going for it: a FINALLY age appropriate Peter Parker, Spider-Man officially part of the MCU, Michael Keaton as The Vulture. Reportedly these movies will follow something similar to the “Harry Potter” model. Each film taking place during Peter’s Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years in high school. Unfortunately, there have been some recent rumors regarding how Sony may not actually allow Marvel to use Spider-Man as part of their cinematic universe indefinitely. Which, if true, is a real shame. At the very least we know we’ll definitely see Spider-Man kicking ass alongside The Avengers in next years’ “Avengers: Infinity War”.

Check out the trailer:

3. Wonder Woman
Director: Patty Jenkins
Opens 6/2
All I can say, is it’s about damn time we got a Wonder Woman movie. She is arguably one of the top three most iconic superheroes of all time as well as being one of DC’s most interesting characters. Gal Gadot not only looks the part (I love that costume) but she was one of the best things in the last year’s “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice”. The trailers haven’t exactly blown my socks off, but as we all know a trailer is not necessarily a reflection of the quality of a movie, for better or for worse. All the DCEU* films have been met with mixed responses so far (personally I kind of loved Man of Steel and BvS, but Suicide Squad was pretty awful). Hopefully this is the movie fans and critics have been waiting for. A character like Wonder Woman deserves nothing short of greatness in her solo cinematic debut.

*DC Extended Universe

Wonder Woman Trailer:

2. Baby Driver
Director: Edgar Wright
Opens 6/28
Edgar Wright is one of the few filmmakers where, regardless of the subject matter, I’ll be eagerly awaiting one of his films, no questions asked. I could walk into the movie theater to see a new Edgar Wright film without even knowing the title of the movie and I would be excited. That’s a pretty small club that includes people like Guillermo Del Toro, Quentin Tarantino, Joss Whedon, and maybe a few others. Edgar Wright’s track record speaks for itself: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, The World’s End. All excellent films. The premise for this movie is just icing on the cake. It’s a heist/car chase movie about a young getaway driver trying to run away with his girlfriend and get out from under the thumb of his gangster boss. If this plot sounds derivative, watch the trailer I posted below and you’ll see why I think this looks so exciting. Add to that, some great casting which includes Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, and Kevin Spacey and it looks like Wright’s winning streak is safe.

Baby Driver trailer:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2
Director: James Gunn
Opens 5/5
There really was no contest for the number one spot on this list. The first Guardians of the Galaxy is a bona fide modern classic. Later this year, in November, DC’s Justice League opens. I’m a massive fan of those characters and for me seeing the Justice League on the big screen for the first time is an event on par with the first Avengers movie or The Force Awakens. But if you put a gun to my head and made me choose Guardians or Justice League, I may have to go with the Guardians. These were some of the most lovable and charismatic characters we’ve seen on film in a long time and I have complete confidence that director James Gunn is going to deliver a spectacular sequel. This film also sees the introduction of Kurt Russell as Peter Quill’s father which is brilliant casting and I’m happy to see Michael Rooker’s Yondu has been promoted to a full-time Guardians member. The first Guardians film may be the best film Marvel has made to date (depending on which day you asked me, I may have different best film). So I’ve been anxiously awaiting Vol.2. May 5th can’t get here soon enough!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 trailer:

So what summer movies are you most looking forward to? Do you agree with my list? Let me know in the comments below.

-Paul