Sean’s movie thoughts

There is talk about Solo again. Apparently the new verdict on Solo is that classic characters from Star Wars cannot be played by new actors. I am not sure that is the correct verdict. I do not think Solo failed because of the actor. Star Wars needs to move forward.  New characters are needed.  New stories are needed. Otherwise Star Wars will become a relic.  No one wants that. (Maybe there are some people who want that.) Solo is not a terrible film. It came out too soon after the last film and it came out in a busy movie season. Maybe it seemed skipable. Also maybe if the movie was not reshot (thus increasing the budget), the movie would have lost less money. 

It might be time to rewatch some direct to video 90s action again. Maybe it is partly nostalgia but I like some of those films like Bloodfist, Ring of Fire, and Rage. Maybe I am forgetting some of the bad direct to video action movies from that era. (I know I saw a few.) Steven Seagal is apparently still making films. I guess someone is buying or renting them but I haven’t watched a new Seagal movie in least twenty-five years.  I don’t think I have rewatched any movie Seagal movie in that time. I wonder if some of his early films (Above the Law, and Under Siege) hold up. I think the last film I saw with Seagal was Executive Decision, and his character was killed off early in that film.  I still have not watched the Batman. I am not sure why I haven’t.

 I don’t talk a lot about the business side of movies on this blog. I am somewhat interested in the the business side of movies but not sure I have anything worth saying about the business.  However I saw that a theater in New York City is showing the new Dr. Strange movie 70 times a day. (Wow.) I had a few thoughts. I guess that is giving people what they want or at least what the theater thinks people want. I wonder if this is bad for the industry as a whole.  The business is changing. Romantic comedies seem to have gone to streaming services. I think at least one of To All the Boys films should have gone to theaters.  I am also surprised that none of those films are on physical media.

 Okay, I knew it was a long shot for Guy Gardner to be the star of the upcoming Green Lantern animated movie. (I wanted him as the star though.) John Stewart is more popular.  This goes back to his time as the Green Lantern in the Justice League cartoon. Green Lantern Beware My Power looks to be an origin story for John. The trailer looks nice. I don’t think Hal Jordan has to die for John to take over.  I enjoy most of these animated DC movies. Maybe I should give the Catwoman movie another chance. 

I wonder if I should rewatch Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It might be interesting to see it again. The book was a surprise hit and it launched a short lived trend of classic novels with horror elements added. One of these novels was Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.  I have seen the movie but not in at least six years. I might have the movie on Blu-ray. (Unless it is one of My Blu-Rays that I lent out but never got back, there are a few of those.)   Maybe next week I will come up with a list  of four movies to re-watch in June. 

This was good. I liked seeing the previous Spider-man actors return more than I expected. It could have come across as a gimmick.  Is this film perfect? No but it is good. There might be a few things/plot points that don't quite make sense.    Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is dealing with the results of his identity being exposed. He turns to Dr Strange for help but things go wrong and villains from other universes appear. Then other versions of Peter Parker arrive too. Would I like to see Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire come back in their own films? Maybe. I am open to the possibility.  I liked seeing Alfred Molina again as Doctor Octopus. He was really good in that part. Three films in  this series and finally the villains don't have beef with Iron Man. They have beef with Spider-man (well versions of him). 

 I liked Death on the Nile. This is the second Hercule Poirot movie with Kenneth Branagh. (Murder on the Orient Express was the first.) Branagh is also the director, so if this movie was terrible he’d be largely to blame. Maybe the character seems a bit less mannered this time around, in a good way. A rich woman is killed during her honeymoon while on a trip in Egypt. There are several suspects, family and friends. I thought The cast was good and there were a couple of actors who surprised me. I was not familiar with some actors and one was playing a bit against type. Armie Hammer has been accused of sexual assault, so his presence in the movie might be awkward. (Reshooting his scenes with another actor might have helped but I guess that was not an option.)  I think it might be nice to watch this and Murder on the Orient Express some weekend.