Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[Longhairbear]

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FWIW, I've been told by multiple people the same thing that ''Barry is the nastiest gay man in the business'' ... I dunno, personally,
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We have heard first hand here in town how he treats his fans...badly. He was there, but I didn't see him, I was there though to see KC, and The Village People were standing behind him during the ceremony. KC ,a VP are doing a show together at the casino.

 

[NoChesterHester]

Unfortunately because efforts to reduce real violence are usually undermined by lobbying groups.

It's a societal problem way more than a lobbying problem.

 

[NoChesterHester]

well Lone Ranger is on track to be a total failure so I guess we won't be seeing any rides, shows, or attractions based on it. That leaves Oz as the only possibility for a Frontierland expansion at either Disneyland or WDW. Any word on possible attractions to come of that? I remember Al Lutz mentioned it was being considered.

Very sad to me. LR was a better movie than OZ.

 

[NoChesterHester]

I had the pleasure of seeing the Lone Ranger tonight. I concur with those that said it was very good. It was a far better movie than some big hits this year. I find it a total shame that it will be considered a bomb.

My only complaint was the canibalistic bunnies (unnecessary and wierd) and the run time. Trimming another 30 minutes from the movie would have done it some good.

I really don't understand the hatred spewed toward this movie. We all really enjoyed it. Please go see it!

 

[articos]

Doubtful. What properties does Legendary Pictures own full and clear?

Tull has been itching to move into full original material for ages and has a bunch of properties he's sitting on for comics, feature, tv and new media. That can also include themed entertainment now too. He built Legendary using rights he optioned. That's only part of the future of Legendary, with the rest focused on original content developed in-house. There's a grand plan in motion to make Legendary similar to a Relativity or Lionsgate.

 

[HMF]

It's a societal problem way more than a lobbying problem.

I agree.

 

[michmousefan]

I saw The Lone Ranger and really enjoyed it (and I'm neither easy to please nor a Disney apologist, as some people here know). Some spoiler-free thoughts:

As an aside, the problem with critic-aggregator sites like Rotten Tomatoes is the fact that all "negative" reviews essentially count the same, whether the reviewer thinks the movie is an irredeemable piece of trash, or just flawed in some areas. The same is true with "positive" reviews -- they are all counted the same, whether the reviewer thinks the movie is the most sublime piece of art ever created, or just a solid but unremarkable effort. As such, a movie where the overwhelming majority of critics think the movie is just shy of being characterizable as "good" (say, a 59 out of 100) might end up with something like a 20% aggregate score, whereas a movie that's perceived as only slightly better by the overwhelming majority of critics (one that just barely passes muster, say a 61 out of 100) can end up with something like a 95% aggregate score.

That's a key reason why I use and like Metacritic much more than RT. A more realistic portrayal of the review summary, with a "red, yellow or green" orientation to the reviews. While TLR is still at 37 (out of 100), it's worth noting that the user reviews are at 7.1 out of 10:

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/lone-ranger

 

[jensenrick]

The hipster high-end burgers are going big in SoCal, too. My favorite is just a few blocks north of Disneyland, in downtown Anaheim.

Umami Burger. It has all the bases covered. Fabulously good burgers using kobe beef and artisanal condiments. A full bar offering hipster cocktails, mostly made with bourbon or rye. Right next door to Anaheim Brewery micro-brewery. All in a converted loft-like space that used to be Anaheim's Packard dealership in the 1920's and 30's. They even found a few hundred old 1920's California license plates under the floorboards during construction and turned them into chandeliers and wall art above the bar. After an afternoon at Disneyland, it's an excellent place to hang out! http://www.umami.com/umami-burger/eats/umami-burger-anaheim/

It's this sort of fast-moving cultural target that corporate Disney can't seem to hit; their restaurants are staid and predictable and several years behind the trends. Can you imagine if they turned Tomorrowland Terrace in either WDW or Disneyland into a trendy 2010's burger bar like Umami? With fresh ingredients (instead of bulk frozen), artisanal condiments (instead of packets), and top-shelf accessories (instead of boxes of Coca-Cola syrup)?

Obviously you'd do a retro-future theme of some sort for Tomorrowland Terrace, instead of this old 1920's Packard dealership in an urban loft vibe. But...

Disney theme parks in their current bloated corporate form could never pull this off. Ever.

Now that looks cool. Thank you for posting this, it's the type of thing I'm looking for- as I will be going on my FIRSt trip to So Cal and Disneyland this November.

 

[stevehousse]

I don't understand why rotten tomatoes has become the go to for movie reviews, it seems like every movie on there has terrible ratings no matter how good or bad a film is???

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

I'm dumbfounded reading the Long Ranger apologias in this thread. Like I actually can't understand it at all.

Is it the worst move I've seen in a theater? No, that was probably one of the Star Wars prequels. Is it the worst movie I've seen this year? No, that was the Great Gatsby. But come on y'all, that movie was a failure on pretty much every level. I can only hope it won't doom Armie Hammer's promising career, because he was pretty much the one thing that wasn't wrong with it

 

[RSoxNo1]

Seriously?
The first three are hyperbole to the point of being laughable.

Who wrote that crap? Someone with a BS agenda that is contributing to pointless attack on a very entertaining movie.

Nonsense. It actually kinda es me off a bit...

All Disney content has to be pixie dust and magic, don't you know that?

 

[Lee]

I'm dumbfounded reading the Long Ranger apologias in this thread. Like I actually can't understand it at all.

Isn't it great we can all have opinions? If nothing else, this discussion sort of proves that posters on a Disney forum are in fact capable of having differing opinions without it dissolving into insults and ridicule. Refreshing, I think.

That said, now several days after the fact, I still enjoyed the hell out of that movie. More than Man of Steel, slightly more than Iron Man 3...in fact, looking at a list of this years box office...I can't spot a film (other than Star Trek) that I liked better.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I've not seen Lone Ranger, but topping Man of Steel is definitely not an accomplishment in my book. To a lesser extent, the same could be argued for Iron Man 3. But Man of Steel was a huge disappointment overall. Oz let me down too. And while superior to Brave by far, Monsters U was still well below par for Pixar standards. With the exception of Star Trek, i've been disappointed by this year's movie roster so far. And while I still haven't seen it myself, Lone Ranger's 24% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes doesn't inspire any confidence (I didn't really like the 4th Pirates movie either, so I dunno). Although maybe with such low expectations now, i'll end up liking it more than I would have (doubtful, I went into Man of Steel knowing critics didn't like it and still was let down).

I'm looking forward to the second part of the Hobbit to wash away the disappointment from Man of Steel (I enjoyed the first Hobbit and loved the book so I expect it to be at least good). I don't know what to think about Frozen, I can only hope the movie itself is better than the lame teaser released for US audiences (the Japanese trailer at least made me want to see it more).

I don't understand why rotten tomatoes has become the go to for movie reviews, it seems like every movie on there has terrible ratings no matter how good or bad a film is???

Rotten Tomatoes has tons of really high approval ratings for plenty of movies. I find myself in agreement with a lot of them. They're a far better site for review averages than IMDB for sure. I've disagreed with them a few times, but that's inevitable. Both new Star Trek movies have great ratings on the site. And most of the Pixar movies have incredibly high ratings with the exception of the ones from the past three years (which are generally agreed to be underpar, so it makes sense they'd be lower).

I'll give Lone Ranger a chance, but at large most people are saying it's bad or meh. There's inevitably going to be a few people who enjoy a movie everyone else hates. But that's how things are. If the trailers are any indication of the movie itself, it doesn't look like anything special and I could see why people would dislike it.

 

[71jason]

My only complaint was the canibalistic bunnies (unnecessary and wierd) and the run time. Trimming another 30 minutes from the movie would have done it some good.

Agreed, I enjoyed it although cutting 30 minutes would be a minimum, 45 would probably have helped even more. (The whole prostitute subplot didn't offend me--it's a trope of the Wild West--but it also did nothing for the plot, and Helena Bonham-Carter just sounds weird with a Southern drawl.)

[Getting into spoilery territory here ...]

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Much like Captain America, I appreciated the dedication to keeping as much of the various source materials as possible--"thrilling tales of yesteryear," kemosabe, the silver bullet, Silver, Butch Cavandish, the William Tell overture--they're are all in there in one form or another. Even the nephew who's grandson will go on to become The Green Hornet in the 50s.

As for the rabbits--truly the only moments from the movie for me. Are they supposed to be the true windingos? Like the bird at the end, another hint that magic really does exist? Are they some obscure LR in-joke? Has anyone asked Gore yet?

 

[71jason]

So, I think I'll be attempting a Lone Ranger viewing tomorrow. I've had another close friend weigh in (that makes nine) and every one has either called the film good or very good with lots of comparisons to the Curse of the Black Pearl. No one saying it was great, but all agreeing the criticism has been way over the top. ...

It's almost a beat-for-beat remake of Black Pearl, replacing pirate tropes with Western tropes and replacing a riff on Keith Richards with a riff on the TV version of Tonto (still playing essentially the same character, tho). I could almost hear the director's commentary from PotC over a couple of the scenes.

In that sense, I can see why critics have it out for TLR. None of them seemed particularly crazy about any of the PotC movies, and critics always hate formulaic movies because they have to sit through so many of them.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Like I actually can't understand it at all.

Now you know how I felt when people were calling MoS one of the best comic book movies ever.

 

[|Q|]

rough goings for non-animated films for disney lately
prince of persia
tron (which i liked)
john carter
lone ranger

Don't forget The Sorcerer's Apprentice with Nicholas Cage

 

[the.dreamfinder]

http://mayersononanimation.blogspot.com/2013/07/stunted-growth.html
Stunted Growth

“Because there’s bad guys, and Mater, and Lightning McQueen, and SPIES!”​

- Max (age 5)​

Slate recently published an article comparing how children and adults rated Pixar features. The children focused on different things than the adults did. The above quote refers to Cars 2, not any adult's favourite Pixar film.

The article exposes the paradox that is the family film. It must be acceptable for small children and still keep the attention of parents. It's a compromised enterprise from the start and I think it's the major obstacle preventing animated features from maturing.

I have nothing against children's entertainment, but imagine if every medium other than animation had to conform to the same standard. What if every book written had to be acceptable for a five year old? What would be the attraction for adults?

While animation fans and professionals insist that animation is a medium and not a genre, Hollywood treats it exactly like a genre. Animated features made for the North American market are the equivalent of books read to children at bedtime. They're all cut from the same cloth: comical fantasies suitable for young children. They differ in terms of their characters and settings, but the content is sharply proscribed. The majority of adults would never choose these films as entertainment for themselves; they tolerate them only because of their children. When alone, adults are far more likely to tune in HBO than pull a Pixar film off the shelf.

For all the advances on the technical side, the computer animated features in theatres this summer would fit comfortably into the 1990s in terms of their stories. Computer animation may have displaced drawn animation as the technique of choice, but it has fully embraced the content of animated features dating back to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Economics, as usual, control the situation. Contemporary animated features cost anywhere from $75-200 million. With budgets that high, nobody is willing to take a chance and so long as most of the films are profitable (and let's not forget the additional revenue from merchandise), there's no incentive to change.

Japan and Europe haven't fallen into the same trap as North America. Their animation budgets are lower and the range of content is far wider than North America will accept. When these films are imported, they receive critical praise but barely register at the box office. Hollywood has trained the audience well.

Steven Spielberg is negotiating with John Steinbeck's estate for the right to remake The Grapes of Wrath. I'll bet that Spielberg would think it a ridiculous idea to do the remake in animation. Most people would. And that's the point. If animation is a medium, it should be able to tackle any subject matter. Animation will never develop or attract or keep great directors unless they are free to express whatever they want to, whether it's suitable for a five year old or not.

The family film will bring a lot of joy to audiences and make a lot of money for studios, but it will also keep animation a second class medium. Pixar let Andy grow up. Too bad the studios won't grow up themselves.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Judging from most of the big budget blockbusters of today, it looks to me like the Directors have fully embraced computer generated animation and are using it to the fullest in a non kid story kind of way.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Judging from most of the big budget blockbusters of today, it looks to me like the Directors have fully embraced computer generated animation and are using it to the fullest in a non kid story kind of way.

Yet they are still live action films first.