Category: Movies

The Snyder Cut is Finally Here and It Delivers

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I originally intended to watch Zack Snyder’s definitive edition of Justice League in multiple viewings due to its ungodly 242 minute runtime. But I have to admit, once I got going it sucked me in and I ended up banging out the entire #SnyderCut in one sitting because it delivers big time.

The difference between the Joss Whedon theatrical release (which some people that are more clever than I have dubbed Josstice League) and the Snyder Cut is night and day. Granted it’s twice as long, but it’s broken up into six parts (not including the prologue and epilogue) which lend some credence to the rumors that HBO Max considered releasing it in weekly installments rather than all at once. Now if you’ve never seen the theatrical release you may just think this is a four hour masturbatory act from Snyder and I wouldn’t necessarily fault you for that assumption, but this just may replace Blade Runner’s Final Cut as the definitive example of a Director’s Cut.

So we all know by now that DC was trying to replicate the massive success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which continues to run laps around DC with the also massive success of WandaVision on Disney+. However, this is 13 years in the making with the first Iron Man coming out all the way back in 2008 followed by The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America THEN the first Avengers movie.

The biggest misstep DC made was releasing a very strong Man of Steel movie, an OK Batman vs Superman movie (that I often forget Wonder Woman is actually in), and then immediately jumping into Justice League with the addition of Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg. With only two of the six characters fully developed it was kind of a tall task to jump straight into team movie, introduce a new villain, and then bang it all out in 2 hours. Now I’m not saying you need to painstakingly recreate every single character arc because we all know Bruce Wayne’s parents were gunned down in front of him as a kid, and Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben was killed because of Spider Man’s carelessness. We don’t need to see that explained all over again, but Batman, Superman, and Spider Man are the three biggest superheroes in the entire history of the comic book genre. Not everyone knows the back story of Aquaman (all my knowledge is from the Vinny Chase movie in Entourage), the Flash (unless you’re a big CW fan), or Cyborg (best known from the cartoon Teen Titans, IMO).

In the original theatrical version all three of those characters get put on the back burner so you never really have time to care about them. With the opportunity presented by a four hour movie, Snyder really dives into the back story of all three, particularly Cyborg, and gives you a reason to want to see these characters succeed. Plus it also does a much better job teasing the Aquaman and Flash standalone films.

It’s hard to get into too much detail as to why the Snyder Cut is so much better without spoiling a lot of what made the cut so enjoyable so I encourage you to watch it before Twitter spoils it. I can say that the quippy Joss Whedon dialogue got axed, the motivations of many characters have changed (for the better), Darkseid is actually, ya know, in this movie, and gone is the unsightly red sky plastering the final act in the original. The new cut is overall darker (both visually and thematically), more violent, more serious, and is even rated R (yay F bombs!). So it is much truer to Snyder’s original version. But to be fair even if he had finished the movie originally, Snyder would have never been allowed to release a four hour R-rated tentpole superhero flick. So while what he has accomplished here is huge, it’s important to keep in mind that he was able to move the goal posts a bit, a luxury which he or Whedon would not typically have had.

I cannot believe how different this movie is after Snyder allegedly filmed only four minutes of additional footage in his reshoots. Granted Snyder had a whole series of DC films planned for what was dubbed the Snyder Verse so there was a lot left on the cutting room floor that he was able to just pick back up. There are also tons of easter eggs and threads (like what actually happened to Robin) that are finally pulled on here just to tease viewers in the name of fan service. 

Now comes the inevitable question of “what if?” What if Joss Whedon never came on board and Snyder had been able to finish his original vision? Would the DCEU have never collapsed on itself and would we already be discussing Justice League 3, the Ben Affleck standalone Batman film, and a potential Jared Leto Joker spinoff? DC has to have known (hoped?) this would be the case and provide new life to an IP that was on ice after critical and commercial indifference. It is kind of a bummer because Snyder fully pulls back the curtain to show us what he was working on and we’re unlikely to ever see that vision realized. The new Knightmare dream scene that is towards the end of the movie (rather than earlier on in the original) is a perfect example of this. But hey, I never thought the internet would ever be able to bully a major studio into investing tens of millions of dollars into a reshot, recut version of a failed tentpole film, and here we are.

I really want to kick down the doors at DC right now and give them the Herb Brooks Miracle speech about great opportunity. That’s what you have here tonight, boys. I’m sick of hearing about what a great cinematic universe Marvel has.

Through their own failures DC has accidentally stumbled into an amazing opportunity here with the multiverse. They can finally stop trying to replicate the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It didn’t work, it happens. With the multiverse DC can simply make all of these random one off films and individual stories with different actors and just punt on a shared universe until they decide to bring everyone together again. It’s something DC has already test run on its various TV series with the Crisis on Infinite Earths event where they even brought back my dude Tom Welling for a brief Superman cameo. If rumors about the upcoming Flash standalone movie are to be believed then DC is really going to lean into that exact mindset with the multiverse as multiple Batmen are allegedly set to appear in the film.

Watching the Snyder Cut is a trippy experience because even the opening minutes are entirely different from the original version with previously unseen footage. I felt like I had Alzheimer’s because in my head I know I’ve seen Justice League multiple times but now it’s…different.

Admittedly, my viewing of the Snyder Cut may be seen through rose colored glasses after 3+ years of the internet lobbying for and then somehow actually getting a completely recut and reshot version of beloved IP. And it worked! Now do Game of Thrones.

Face/Off is Getting a Sequel for Some Reason and I am ALL IN

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Yahoo – Face/Off is officially getting a sequel! On Thursday, Deadline reported that a follow-up to the 1997 John Woo-directed thriller is in the works, with Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard set to helm the feature.

John Travolta and Nicolas Cage starred in the original action film, which follows the story of two enemies who take on each other’s identities — and faces.

Wingard will write the script with his scripting partner Simon Barrett, while Neal Moritz will produce the film for Paramount. David Permut will also serve as executive producer. It currently remains unclear if Travolta, 66, and Cage, 57, will reprise their roles of FBI agent Sean Archer and terrorist Castor Troy, respectively, or if the parts will be recast.

I read this story the other day, but this is most definitely a Friday type blog. One of the most critically personally acclaimed good-bad movies of all-time, Face/Off, is getting a sequel for some reason and I am ALL IN.

Face/Off is a 1997 John Woo directed completely over the top, preposterous, gloriously ridiculous action movie that does not get the respect it deserves. It is pure 90’s trash in the best possible way. It’s an unblinkingly serious guns blazing action movie that almost seems like a parody, but it has two of the biggest actors of our generation acting their asses off. Simply put, this movie is a RIDE.

The most underrated aspect of Face/Off though is John Travolta and Nicolas Cage both having to act like each other so you get a ton of Travolta going completely manic a la traditional Cage. And even better you then get Nic Cage pretending to be Travolta in Cage’s body, who in turn is pretending to be Cage so he’s not discovered as an imposter. It’s an absurd concept that falls apart pretty quickly when you think about it too hard.

So don’t think, just enjoy.

Thankfully the director clarified that this is in fact a direct sequel and not a remake of sorts like that abomination of a Point Break reboot from a few years back.

It would be a shame to not have Travolta and Cage both back for this, but it wouldn’t surprise me. However Cage has shown he has no qualms making ANYTHING if he’s getting paid and Travolta is coming off some bombs like the Gotti movie so maybe it’s the perfect storm.

On the other hand, this spin-off wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

This Reimagined Darth Vader Obi Wan CGI Fight Needs to Be Digitally Inserted Into Star Wars

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This YouTube video itself is a couple of years old so you may have already seen it, but as I watched Star Wars: A New Hope hungover on the couch on Saturday I remembered just how awesome this clip is. Star Wars was obviously a groundbreaking, archetype constructing film that movies after it forever mimicked. With that being said, some of the movie hasn’t aged as well, which is to be expected 40+ years later. One of the more dated aspects is the climactic lightsaber battle between Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi, mainly because Sir Alec Guinness was already 63-years-old when he played the legendary Jedi. And since CGI wouldn’t be invented for another generation the huge standoff between former master and padawan leaves a lot to be desired in terms of choreography.

Which is why I am campaigning for this CGI reimagining of the Vader Obi Wan fight created by FXitinPost to be digitally reinserted into all future airings of A New Hope. It takes what you already know is a genre defining battle and gives it the Hollywood treatment it truly deserves. Joey B and I were talking the other night about how the new Star Wars movies look great, but the stories have been kind of meh, which is the inverse of the originals. This gives us the best of both worlds, which is exactly what we got a glimpse of in one of the Star Wars standalone films. You never really understood the power and the violence and the rage of Darth Vader until that final scene in Rogue One where he makes it abundantly clear in just 90 seconds why he’s not to be fucked with.

On His 72nd Birthday, Ranking the Top 5 Samuel L. Jackson Roles of All Time

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I cannot believe Samuel L. Jackson is 72-years-old, the man doesn’t look a day over 55. Granted, Samuel L. has been around forever and has been in pretty much everything (IMDB calls him a “highly prolific actor”) having appeared in over 100 films in his career. With that being said what are his Top 5 roles ever? A couple of rules here, I’m obviously only including the movies I’ve personally seen, but I must admit I am not a completionist so I have not seen every single one of Jackson’s movies. Also, I left off any roles where he is barely in the movie, as much as I wanted to include the smooth piano player Rufus from Kill Bill 2 who gets 43 seconds of screen time… Jackson talked about his favorite roles a couple years back, but let’s break down what we think his Top 5 roles of all time are below.

No. 5 – Coach Carter
Ken Carter

Before these kinds of sad sack sports flicks turned into a genre of Made For TV movies, Jackson took a film that probably would have went straight to DVD if not for his performance. The biggest name in this movie besides him was Ashanti and a pre-“Step Up” Channing Tatum. So yea this movie was destined to be an MTV2 rerun, but Jackson turns it into a pretty legit movie about redemption, work ethic (or at the very least doing the bare minimum in school to pass), and triumph in the face of adversity.

No. 4 – Star Wars
Mace Windu

Mace Windu is on this list almost entirely because of the story that the only reason he randomly has a purple light saber is because Samuel L. Jackson told George Lucas to do it. But seriously, Jackson brought an aura of cool that Star Wars, specifically the Jedi, lacked before him. Star Wars created groundbreaking characters like Darth Vader that became literal film archetypes, but aside from Han Solo who could you say was actually cool? Samuel L. Jackson reminded people that oh yea not every Jedi is a goodie two shoes, some of them are badass warriors. It’s just a shame Lucas didn’t let him drop some MF-bombs on Emperor Palpatine.

No. 3 – Django Unchained
Stephen

Django Unchained is another excellent Tarantino movie in a long line of them, but it’s one that is absolutely gobbled up by the likes of Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, and Leonardo DiCaprio. I wouldn’t fault you for forgetting Samuel L. Jackson was even in this movie if you haven’t seen it in a while. But upon closer review, I found Jackson’s role of Stephen higher on my list than I would have originally thought and it’s because he plays, as Entertainment Weekly dubbed it, an “unrepentant monster.” Something you don’t see Jackson, or any actor really, do a lot of. Back when the movie came out EW asked him about potential Academy Award hype and Jackson’s answer is why this role is so high on my list.

“Well, the point of that award is that you were an actor in a film who made a dynamic impact on the story with a memorable character. And would anyone else playing the part have been as impactful? That should be the question — did you do your job? Yes. Did I make you hate me? Yes. Did I inhabit the character full enough to make you believe that, and make you uncomfortable enough to make you hate me? Yes. And you feel guilty because then you want to see me die. I did what I was supposed to do for that film, which should be the criteria for voting or not voting.“

No. 2 – The Avengers (and every other Marvel movie)
Nick Fury

You could argue that Nick Fury was basically just Samuel L. Jackson playing himself with an eye patch and a leather duster jacket, but that ignores the fact that he helped tie together the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe before the first movie was even off the ground. When he appears after the credits of Iron Man 1 it’s a complete shock that draws you in and gave you a sense that something very big was happening, even if you didn’t know what that was. Nick Fury has acted as the godfather of the whole Avengers team and the bonding agent in movies with lesser known characters and story lines like Captain Marvel. Nick Fury is the constant in the largest example of cinematic world building ever created.

No. 1 – Pulp Fiction
Jules Winnfield

Jules Winnfield is one of the most quotable characters in any movie ever. Period. Full stop. Jules’ is so memorable for his unique internal conflict of being a gangster’s muscle/hitman while also having recently found God and trying to walk the righteous path. Jackson’s work here provides some all time acting like the diner standoff where he legitimately spawned an entire generation of Etsy businesses creating Bad Ass Motherfucker leather wallets. Then of course there’s the Bonnie Situation scene with Quentin Tarantino dropping in for a cameo before they call The Wolf, but most notably the biblical speech Jackson gives quoting Ezekiel 25:17 right before blowing some poor guy’s head off with his hand cannon. That’s why Pulp Fiction is our No. 1.

Honorable Mentions:

  • Jurassic Park
  • Die Hard: With a Vengeance
  • Jackie Brown
  • Snakes on a Plane (iconic)
  • XXX (an all-time great bad movie)
  • The Incredibles
  • S.W.A.T.
  • Deep Blue Sea
  • Goodfellas (poor Stacks)

What do you think Samuel L. Jackson’s best role of all time is? Tweet us @The300sBoston

Tom Cruise Went Ballistic Over a Couple Guys Ignoring COVID Protocols and Not Wearing Masks On Set

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Ya know, I used to think Tom Cruise was kind of like a Streisand, but he’s really rocking the shit out of this one. Normally I’d feel bad for the poor schmuck working on the set of a movie facing the wrath of some out of touch, prima donna actor like the infamous Christian Bale flip out. But not this time. Wear the goddamn mask or we all lose our jobs seems like a pretty reasonable request. If people are flaunting Covid protocols I can understand the frustration, especially as we go through a borderline culture war in this country between people that take masks seriously and people that don’t. But on top of that, if you’re the boss, the star of the movie, the producer etc. and people are straight up ignoring what you’re telling them to do? You’re fired. Seriously, don’t even grab a bagel.

Just channeling his inner Les Grosman while absolutely undressing some unsuspecting crew member.

Now to be fair, Cruise is a certified lunatic and is a lieutenant in the very fake and very nefarious “religion” that is Scientology. It’s crazy how powerful that group has become without imploding from one of the thousands of scandals they’ve been involved in. I mean just take a look at the Nxivm self help sex cult that got pretty far on slick talking self help gurus, celebrity members, and straight up blackmail before falling apart. The Nxivm leader Keith Raniere just got popped and sentenced to 120 years in prison. So it’s crazy how Scientology has become this big (they legit have a church in the not exactly affordable Back Bay neighborhood) especially considering just how ridiculous the entire religion is, and thats coming from a Catholic. I’ve watched a couple of documentaries and read plenty of articles of all the weird and treacherous stuff this group has gotten up to over the years, but I don’t think anyone has skewered while actually explaining what Scientology actually is better than South Park.

Just had to include that in the interest of objectivity because I am a former Big J Journalist.

The 300s Best Christmas Movies to Binge During Quarantine

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With nothing to do, nowhere to go, the sun setting at what feels like noon, and temperatures dropping into the 20s, it’s time to pick your favorite pair of sweat pants athleisure and settle in for some Christmas movie binge watching.

Red

Looking back on this list after I wrote it I realize there is a trend that probably suggests Christmas fatigue if not outright disdain. I promise I actually do like Christmas, but if you can’t see the humor in all the undue pressure people put on themselves this time of year then you need to have a couple crafties and rewatch these movies.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Hands down my favorite Christmas movie because Chevy Chase transitions seamlessly back and forth from both the coolest guy in the room to completely unhinged as he loses his shit. Something I think we can all relate to when dealing with all the normal stresses of holidays with the family. Add in the fact that this is actually the third movie in the Vacation series and it’s all the more impressive since it’s the best of the franchise.

Four Christmases

Another movie that I feel like I can relate to all too much with all the traveling I usually do for the holidays driving to parents, in-laws, step parents, grandparents and experiencing a unique version of family chaos at each stop. Obviously the movie has a heart of gold, but if you can’t relate to concocting an elaborate alibi and learning how to say “Merry Christmas” in Burmese just to avoid your family during the holidays, well then I don’t want to know you.

Bad Santa

Have you ever wondered what Christmas would be like if you just indulged every one of your worst impulses? Well look no further than the womanizing, alcoholic, toxic mall Santa that Billy Bob knocks out of the park. A laugh out loud classic that oddly still gets me into the holiday spirit. Plus it’s a great comedy vehicle for the late great Bernie Mac and John Ritter.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Because there is never not a good time for Snoopy and Charlie Brown, especially in a year as depressing as 2020.

Jimmy Lips

My favorite Christmas movies are all nonsensical and completely unrealistic, and that’s a large part of the enjoyment for me.

Jingle All the Way

The cast is phenomenal: Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson, Jim Belushi and The Big Show. It almost reminds me of how frantic hot-ticket Christmas items were back in the day such as furbies, Nintendo 64 and beanie babies. A Also, “It’s Turbo Time!” is a phenomenal line.

Unrealistic reason: The final 20 minutes of the movie.

Krampus

Horror + Christmas = what a perfect combination for me. A movie based on an Eastern urban legend that is celebrated with an annual parade. How f’n cool is that! All I will tell you about the movie is it has rebel gingerbread men, which are worth the movie on their own.

Unrealistic reason: The entire movie is bonkers and yet utterly delightful and entertaining.

Home Alone 2

Kevin McCallister’s parents should have been sent to jail twice. How do you leave your youngest child at home not once, but twice and not realize it until you get to baggage claim? The hotel room scene reenacting Angels with Filthy Souls is a classic.

Unrealistic reason: Kevin could’ve called the cops on the sticky bandits at any point in time and every interaction with them begs the question of why didn’t he.

Big Z

Home Alone

I saw Home Alone in theaters when I was a kid, but it was probably about 20 years before I watched it start to finish again. Don’t make the same mistake I did. While Home Alone is nominally a kids movie, there’s plenty in there for grown ups too.

It’s written by John Hughes and is endlessly quotable.

It features an all-time Christmas soundtrack with superb original music from the legendary John Williams. And it’s got Gus Polinski, one the most underrated good guys in movie history.

It’s been on cable a lot this season but do yourself a favor and get it on Blu-ray or Disney+, order a large cheese pizza just for yourself, and enjoy.

Joey B

I decided to go a bit against the grain for my selections as I assumed my compatriots would do a better job with the mainstream Christmas movie canon than I would. Both “Happiest Season” and “The Night Before” are holiday movies that involve self-seflection and a huge fear of taking the next necessary big step in life.

Happiest Season

With “Happiest Season” I expect a kind of goofy Dan Levy vehicle and instead ran headlong into what can only be described as a guide on how to maybe not be homophobic. It’s actually a pretty depressing watch but possibly a recommend if you need something to help get over an emotional blow.

The Night Before

In “The Night Before” three friends (JGL, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie) in very different places in their life get together for their annual Christmas Eve tradition of finding an elusive party. Things go awry, etc. Etc. and lessons are learned. But it’s just a good bit of Christmas season, drug-addled fun.

Whats your go to Christmas movie? Let us know @the300sboston

Lifetime, KFC, and Mario Lopez Are Making What Seems Like a Prequel to Mel Gibson’s Colonel Sanders Biopic

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I mean, why wouldn’t you watch this? I can only hope this is an actual mini movie of sorts and not just some highly produced faux trailer because this looks awesome.

If there’s one job I would take in a heartbeat it would be marketing for a fast food company because they just pump out absolutely ridiculous ideas in the name of generating buzz. God knows how much money KFC spent creating a trailer (and hopefully a movie) starring Mario Lopez and then partnering with Lifetime to promote it. The ROI on this is going to be turrrrible if you count it by buckets of chicken sold, but thats not what this is about. This is about generating buzz, clout, hype, whatever you want to call it. And there’s few better at that then KFC and its rotating cast of Colonels.

Although, like I said this is definitely a prequel to Mel Gibson’s Colonel Sanders biopic so hopefully it doesn’t mess with KFC canon too much.

Warner Brothers Just Changed the Game. Will Release Every New Movie On HBO Max in 2021

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Holy smokes. Even with the film industry cratering due to the pandemic, I never thought I’d see the day a major movie studio would bite the bullet and start releasing blockbuster movies straight to streaming. It’s like the legal version everyone my age dreamed of after growing up pirating movies off Napster and Kazaa. Allegedly.

It all starts with Wonder Woman 1984 being released in theaters and on HBO Max at the same exact time on Christmas Day. I cannot overstate how MONUMENTAL of a shift that is in the movie industry. Who knows if this will last beyond 2021, but this is an awesome test because we’ve all seen media move towards streaming more and more the last few years. Sure, there are some movies that you really would prefer to see on the big screen, but with 50 inch 4K TVs selling for like $250 these days, it has become less important. And not to go completely dark on everyone, but with Covid and more and more mass shootings popping up, it’s completely understandable if you’d rather watch a movie from your couch. Especially with movie tickets going for like $20 a pop at this point.

How this all works financially I’m not exactly sure yet. I know the studios held out for as long as they realistically could as they pushed the premiere dates of movies like Wonder Woman, which would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in normal times. As Papa Giorgio pointed out, WB actually owns HBO Max so they’re essentially using this as an incentive to bring in new subscribers. I guarantee you they get more subscribers than they would have before when the biggest benefit to having HBO Max was being able to watch Fresh Prince re-runs and the upcoming Justice League Directors Cut. Both things I will watch, but not something the typical consumer is throwing their credit card at you for.

Now we’ll be able to watch Dune, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, The Matrix 4, Space Jam and all kinds of stuff right from home. Maybe it’s because I’m an introvert, but that sounds amazing to me.

It is a risky strategy because all of these movies will come “at no extra cost” (until they raise the price like Netflix does twice a year). So I don’t know if they just got past a point where it’s more economical to just stream it and try to recoup some money through subscriptions rather than hold out hope, push release dates even further, and possibly lose incredibly valuable buzz. I mean Papa Giorgio and I joke all the time how we would’ve paid like $75 bucks just to watch Tenet on streaming because we weren’t about to go to a theater. But for now this is an incredible shift in the typical way of doing business.

It remains to be seen if any other major studios follow suit, but I wouldn’t recommend investing in movie theater chains any time soon.

Mel Gibson Plays Santa Claus Being Hunted By An Assassin In His New Movie “Fatman”

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It’s too early to be in the Christmas spirt…or so I thought. Enter Mel Gibson, who has gifted us with his new movie “Fatman” in which the Oscar winner plays a grizzled, bitter, gun wielding Santa Claus who is being hunted by an assassin (Walton Goggins) hired by a kid that’s upset for receiving coal for Christmas.

I shit you not.

I am 1000% buying this straight to digital Christmas Miracle when it comes out on November 17th. It honestly looks like a fake trailer from the days of College Humor so I’m still waiting for Mel Gibson admit unfortunately this isn’t real. But it’s produced by Saban Films and it’s got a legit IMDB page so I’m pretty sure this isn’t some elaborate prank.

It does however remind me of another awesomely tongue in cheek B-movie: FDR American Badass.

If you haven’t seen that movie do yourself a favor, take the 90 minutes, and thank me later. Hell it’s even on YouTube.

Although if we’re being honest it will be hard for Mel Gibson to top his greatest role playing a beloved cultural icon.