screwshaun

So, I think we're all pretty big Christopher Nolan fans here around Screwvies, and although Interstellar wasn't perfect by any means, it certainly had a level of ambition and scale that truly makes it a rare epic cinematic voyage in this day and age. After that project, everyone's been eagerly waiting to hear what he's going to give us next...a sequel to Inception? Another original property? The next Muppets movie? WELL, WONDER NO MORE...BECAUSE HERE IT IS, CHRISTOPHER NOLAN IS WOOORKING OOOONNN....a documentary. About arthouse stop motion animation duo, the Brothers Quay. Yes. I know, you're excited, right? So, to clarify the exact situation regarding this, Nolan isn't making the film as his neck big blockbuster, instead he's contributing to a touring retrospective celebrating the...urrmm...unusual animation talents of the Brothers Quay, who's filmography includes 'In Absentia', 'The Comb', 'Crocodiles' and some other films you haven't heard of. Hell, I haven't even heard of them, and I get a stiffy just looking at anything stop motion. If this seems like an odd choice for such a big director, it's obviously very much a passion project for Nolan, who's said to have been greatly inspired by the work of these guys, and in that respect we have them to thank for his own tremendous work, and I suppose he has them to thank partly for inspiring him to become such a popular director. If you can't make it to one of the venues on the tour, the documentary will be available to view on a follow-up Blu Ray release, along with the Brothers Quay's weird ass shorts, probably late this year, or in early 2016. So, Flash...excited for a documentary about obscure arthouse stop motion animation?
[22:39:37] The Stickman: *next
[22:40:32] Flash Penny: Considering how his last 4 films have all been groundbreaking blockbuster supernovas of epicnss, I can certainly see why he would go do something smaller-scale, especially after Interstellar.
[22:40:36] Flash Penny: *epicness
[22:41:12] The Stickman: Agreed, in fact I believe he'd planned to do a smaller project prior to Interstellar, but I think he's pretty much stuck making grand amibitious projects for mainstream cinema now, given that's what people pay money to see.
[22:41:34] Flash Penny: The guy can pretty much make anything he wants after the box office records he broke.
[22:41:49] Flash Penny: He demonstrates this by making a documentary about a studio that nobody but him has ever heard of.
[22:42:06] The Stickman: But I mean, I doubt this is going to get a wide release by Warner Bros or anything.
[22:42:17] The Stickman: This is like a little side passion project, I'd imagine.
[22:42:20] Flash Penny: You ain’t never know, man, you ain’t never know.
[22:42:46] The Stickman: I probably do know, ALTHOUGH I'd be thrilled if a stop motion animation-centric documentary got wide attention, because that'd be sweet.
[22:43:16] Flash Penny: Silly Stickman, thinking that a documentary about a stop motion animation studio would get a wide release. What on Earth would ever give you such a foolish idea?
[22:43:27] The Stickman: Especially one made by a guy I admire a lot for always making such interesting films, talking about someone he admires a lot.
[22:43:39] The Stickman: I did not have this idea, you had this idea Flash.
[22:43:45] The Stickman: YOU CHUMP.
[22:43:51] Flash Penny: Whatchu talkin ‘bout Willis?
[22:44:01] The Stickman: MOVING ON>
[22:44:04] The Stickman: *.
[22:44:10] The Stickman: (Off you go with Jums Bund)
[22:50:03] Flash Penny: So, moving onto my personal favorite movie franchise, we’re talking about the newest trailer released for the upcoming Bond film, Spectre. If you remember the last time we talked about this move on At the Screwvies, I said that while I’ll go see it, the teaser was pretty meh and I wasn’t on board with the idea. Now that I have seen the trailer though, OH MY GOD IT LOOKS FREAKING AWESOME! The action scenes look amazing, Bond’s exchanges with the new MI6 crew looks like a ton of fun and Christoph Waltz as the villain seems downright delightful. I’m still not totally on board with the idea of bringing SPECTRE back but, considering how this is the same group of people who made Skyfall AND given this trailer, I am definitely checking this out when it releases in November.

Of course, whenever a Bond movie comes out, the biggest question on people’s minds is who is doing the opening credits song. No, we don’t have confirmation yet but rumors are milling about on who might do it and a popular consensus has been the English alternative rock band, Radiohead. Again, this is just speculation so no one knows for sure but Radiohead does fit the general “big enough name that some people might know who they are but not exactly an A-list or B-list musician” trope that the Bond movies hire when they choose who to do their theme songs so the possibility is definitely there. Since the movie is only a few months away, I suspect we’ll know for sure before long.
[22:50:12] Flash Penny: expect not suspect
[22:50:22] Flash Penny: *expect not suspect
[22:50:45] The Stickman: (Do you not want to mention why they're tipped at the moment? )
[22:50:49] The Stickman: (That was kinda the point brah)
[22:51:04] Flash Penny: (The story’s long enough, you can do it as a follow-up comment)
[22:51:09] Flash Penny: (Like MadHero usually does whenever we report our stories)
[22:51:10] The Stickman: (But it issss the story)
[22:51:34] The Stickman: (If anything it should be the other way around, you mention the rumour/thing about the bet, and then we talk about why they do/don't fit)
[22:52:13] Flash Penny: (Give me the really condensed version and I’ll repost it; I’d go double-check myself but, as I said, my Internet is refusing to work)
[22:54:56] The Stickman: (Basically, Bookmakers in the UK were letting people wager bets on who they think is going to sing the Spectre theme, and they give them odds and stuff, and Radiohead was on there with a 6/4 chance of being chosen. Then some guy bet £15,000 on Radiohead being the chosen artists, and they, along with the 3 other main Bookmakers in the country suspended bets on the Bond Theme entirely, saying "Nobody risks £15,000 on a hunch". So basically they suspect that this guy knew something we all don't, and that Radiohead have in fact been chosen for Spectre)
[22:55:12] The Stickman: (William Hill was the betting agency)
[22:57:14] The Stickman: (You there)
[22:57:29] Flash Penny: (Still typing)
[22:57:39] The Stickman: (Alright, didn't tell me you were)
[22:57:40] Flash Penny: (Trying to find out how much 15,000 pounds is in American money)
[22:57:55] The Stickman: (Doesn't matter surely, it wasn't bet in dollars BRO)
[23:01:26] Flash Penny: So, moving onto my personal favorite movie franchise, we’re talking about the newest trailer released for the upcoming Bond film, Spectre. If you remember the last time we talked about this move on At the Screwvies, I said that while I’ll go see it, the teaser was pretty meh and I wasn’t on board with the idea. Now that I have seen the trailer though, OH MY GOD IT LOOKS FREAKING AWESOME! The action scenes look amazing, Bond’s exchanges with the new MI6 crew looks like a ton of fun and Christoph Waltz as the villain seems downright delightful. I’m still not totally on board with the idea of bringing SPECTRE back but, considering how this is the same group of people who made Skyfall AND given this trailer, I am definitely checking this out when it releases in November.

Of course, whenever a Bond movie comes out, the biggest question on people’s minds is who is doing the opening credits song. No, we don’t have confirmation yet but rumors are milling about on who might do it and a popular consensus has been the English alternative rock band, Radiohead. And by popular consensus, I mean rigged gambling. Long-story short, bookies in the UK let people make bets on who will sing the Spectre theme song and one guy bet around 15,000 pounds (that’s about $23,398.26 in real money). As a result the bet was suspended across the country on the basis that no one bet’s that kind of money on an assumption. So… yeah, Radiohead is more than likely doing the song.

Again, technically speaking, this is just speculation as the guy who made the bet could have just been really, ridiculously stupid but it’s more than likely that Radiohead will be doing the song. That having been said, it does make sense Radiohead does fit the general “big enough name that some people might know who they are but not exactly an A-list or B-list musician” trope that the Bond movies hire when they choose who to do their theme songs. Since the movie is only a few months away, I suspect we’ll know for sure before long.
[23:01:44] Flash Penny: *a hunch, not an assumption
[23:03:32] The Stickman: Real money, huh? That's interesting, Mr Not Editing this Blog. Mm, but yeah, I wasn't super impressed by the Spectre teaser, although it was beautifully filmed, this one was a lot more interesting, and crucially, showed the action that was missing from the prior one. Still seems a little dark though, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing, as such.
[23:04:49] Flash Penny: Most of the past 3 Bond films with Craig have had that dark style to them and two of them turned out awesomely so, no it’s not strictly a bad thing.
[23:05:07] Flash Penny: BUT ERMAGERD DID YOU SEE THAT DESTROYED CAR GOING DOWN THE SNOWY MOUNTAIN AND SHIT!?!?
[23:06:20] The Stickman: I meant more like, the tone seems super down, Casino Royale/Quantum/Skyfall were more gritty and had some serious moments, but they still had the Bond charms to them, this is just the trailer though so who knows. Also, I don't actually rememebr the car going down the mountain, but I remembe the POINTLESS HELICOPTER RAMP FLIP THING.
[23:06:27] The Stickman: WEEE.....WHHHY? WEEE....
[23:07:40] Flash Penny: Of the aforementioned 3 movies, Skyfall was the only one that had the Bond charm to them.
[23:07:45] Flash Penny: Though I do share your worry to an extent.
[23:08:10] Flash Penny: What do you think about Radiohead causing your country’s gambling ring to shut down?
[23:09:34] The Stickman: I think that's A) Pretty fucking hillarious, and B) An odd/interesting choice for a Bond theme, if it is true, which it may not be, we have to stress that. It just seems a tad...suspicious! Like, this guy knew some guy who cleaned the windows at Abbey Road Studios and saw Radiohead doing the Bond theme and then told his friend, and he was like "OH SHIT, TIME TO MAKE SOME SCRATCH YO", but he was an idiot and bet a bajillion pounds and now he won't get any money.
[23:09:47] The Stickman: I'm still waiting for the day Muse get to do it though...some day....SOME DAY.
[23:10:29] Flash Penny: I’m imagining it like the heist pitch scene in Ant-Man being told to Tobias Funke from Arrested Development.
[23:10:55] The Stickman: Oh man.
[23:11:27] The Stickman: So, the other favourite for the Bond theme is a pop artist called Ellie Gouldling..whihc...no thanks. And obviously, there's Adele again, which would be fine, but kinda boring.
[23:11:38] The Stickman: Out of the new favourites, I'd be most interested in seeing Radiohead.
[23:11:42] The Stickman: *which
[23:11:52] Flash Penny: They’ve never gone back to a person more than once so I doubt it being Adele.
[23:12:05] The Stickman: Adele has only done one song.
[23:12:07] The Stickman: So...
[23:12:16] The Stickman: And it was rather popular.
[23:12:24] Flash Penny: (I mean that no artist has ever done more than one Bond song.)
[23:12:33] The Stickman: I remember when the song came out, and the person in the Uni flat above me was playing it super loud on repeat forever.
[23:12:44] The Stickman: It was...just the...MMMM...lovely.
[23:13:11] Flash Penny: Keep in mind that they didn’t re-recruit Tom Jones and one of the Sinatras when they were in their prime. That casts a lot of doubt on anyone ever doing more than one.
[23:13:46] Flash Penny: I have zero familiarity with Radiohead so I’m just going to hope for the best and assume that the song will be awesome simply because I’m a die-hard Bond fanatic and I love just about every Bond song (except for Moonraker’s, because that song is horrible).
[23:14:37] The Stickman: Radiohead are like Muse, but off their medication. Super downbeat and grungy for the most part, lately more experimental, they're hit and miss, but their take on a Bond theme would be cool to see.
So yeah, film looks good, Radiohead would be a fun choice for the theme, we're getting closer to release (Which was announced in the UK for the 26th of October, several weeks before the US, so...ehehuehuueh) so expect the theme to be announced within a month or so, unless they just do it now since the cover may have been blown.
[23:15:12] Flash Penny: Watch, the song’s going to be sung by Jedward.
[23:15:31] The Stickman: I PUT £500,000 ON THE GORILLAZ DOING IT.
[23:15:39] The Stickman: OOHHH, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST FOLKS.
[23:15:51] Flash Penny: bookies all across Wales shut down
[23:15:57] The Stickman: MOoooOOOOOOOOOvING ON.
[23:16:00] The Stickman: (Dinotime)
[23:22:28] The Stickman: FIRST FULL TRAILER FOR THE GOOD DINOSAUR LANDS.

So, InsideOut has been and gone in the US, and to say it was a success would be a complete understatement, frankly. Rave reviews and a huge box office gross, Pixar are very much back in business after a few years of stumbling releases (Although I loved Monsters University), but this is 2015...the year we get not one, but TWO releases from the adored Disney studio, and the second one? That could either be truly spectacular, or a massive letdown, either way we got our first proper look at the film in action via a new trailer last week and...well, I mean...I don't know what to think, honestly! We already knew that the premise was an alternate history where the dinosaurs were never wiped out, and as such remained the dominant species on the planet...what we didn't know, apparently, was that the world is still very primitive, dinosaurs are still animals rather than having evolved in any way, and...despite the fact we KNOW there's a voice cast for this film, we've yet to hear a single utterance of speech from any characters whatsoever. It also seems that the key narrative for the film is based around a young, lost dinosaur being protected by a feral, primitive human being, which which interesting...doesn't really lead itself to a 90 minute+ feature film, moreso an animated short of maybe 10-15 minutes. It looks absoloutely stunning visually, and I love the character design for the main dinosaur dude, but I dunno, I'm still a bit concerned by how little we know/have seen from this film! Also, why do I get the feeling this is another deeply sad movie from a studio who's making tearjerkers a cliche by this point, what's wrong with a fun dinosaur adventure movie with a little heart guys? Don't gotta make me cry all the time, yo.
[23:23:51] Flash Penny: Inside Out actually wasn’t THAT sad.
[23:24:10] The Stickman: All I hear about that film is how sad it is.
[23:24:14] Flash Penny: It’s still a fantastic movie but I didn’t really get people saying that it made them super-emotional.
[23:24:14] The Stickman: And how good it is as well.
[23:24:29] The Stickman: I haven't gotten around to seeing it yet, sadly...SADNESS...EMOTIONS. Dinosaurs.
[23:24:37] Flash Penny: It’s not Up or Toy Story 3 levels of intensity, let me put it that way.
[23:24:51] The Stickman: Oh god, Up...jesus.
[23:25:05] The Stickman: Pixar make great films, but god damn do they make sad ones as well.
[23:25:12] The Stickman: What're your thoughts on their next one, then?
[23:25:21] Flash Penny: Meh.
[23:25:25] The Stickman: Oh?
[23:25:46] Flash Penny: The trailer looked decent. Amazing from a visual point of view but nothing about it screamed “MUST SEE THIS!”
[23:25:54] Flash Penny: Though, to be fair, Pixar does not have a good track record with their trailers.
[23:25:55] The Stickman: Right.
[23:26:16] Flash Penny: I’ve trained myself to never take those as an indication of what their films will be like.
[23:26:38] The Stickman: But this film has taken a long time to happen, and has changed directors/writers/concepts a ton over the years, it's had a super troubled development, and now they seem to be keeping super quiet about the grand details for it.
[23:26:56] The Stickman: Like, the dinosaurs in this film talk, did you know that?
[23:27:00] The Stickman: The trailers sure don't tell you that.
[23:27:48] Flash Penny: I’m just going to hope that they have something really special planned for the movie itself and they’re trying to minimize as many details about it possible.
[23:28:02] The Stickman: That'd be great, but that's now really how Disney work, so...I dunno.
[23:28:02] Flash Penny: Option B is that the trouble development cycle will show in the final product and it plain sucks.
[23:28:10] Flash Penny: *troubled
[23:28:22] The Stickman: I want this to be great, I really do...I mean, I love dinosaurs, and I love Pixar, and it looks beautifull.
[23:28:43] The Stickman: But honestly, from what I can gather this is just Pixar's take on Ice Age right now.
[23:28:49] Flash Penny: I’m just gonna cross my fingers and assume that it’ll at the very least be better than Dinosaur.
[23:29:19] The Stickman: I doubt it'll be awful, but the silence regarding it is troubling. Maybe we'll get more from Disney's expo in a month or so.
[23:30:06] The Stickman: It's releasing in November, which is kinda Oscar Season (Your favourite, Flash), but I think it's also too late for an Animated Feature to be nominated. I DON'T KNOW, PLEASE BE THE GOOD DINOSAUR...FILMFOR2015.
[23:30:26] Flash Penny: I prefer to call it Bond season.
[23:30:32] Flash Penny: Because the new Bond movie is coming out in November.
[23:30:36] Flash Penny: And I’ll be seeing that instead of this.
[23:30:39] Flash Penny: Or the Oscar bait.
[23:30:44] The Stickman: October, man. Spectre's out in October.
[23:30:50] The Stickman: Least...I'LL be seeing it in October.
[23:30:51] Flash Penny: Not in America, it ain't!
[23:30:52] The Stickman: AAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
[23:30:55] The Stickman: Moving on.
[23:31:10] The Stickman: (Time for Emojis 8) )
[23:38:48] Flash Penny: Remember our first episode of At the Screwvies when we reported on how retarded Hollywood’s bidding wars can be when they shelled out more money than you will ever see in your life to make a movie about viking Santa Claus? Well, some things never change as Sony Animation spent an unspecified amount of money (though it’s been confirmed to be a lot) to win a bidding war for… wait for it… a movie based on…. wait for it… EMOJIS!

That’s right, at some time in the future, you will be seeing a film based on the Emojis. Because that’s what we all want to see, right? Joking aside, the film will be written by the team of Eric Siegel (who has a history of producing but has a writing history consisting of 5 TV shows… each of them consisting of a single episode per show) and Anthony Leondis which I initially read as Leonidas and then became disappointed that the King of Sparta doesn’t work at Sony Animations. Leondis will also be the film’s director and his resume consists of such classics as Igor and… the straight-to-video sequels to The Emperor’s New Groove and Kung Fu Panda.

Okay, mocking aside, the reason why this was bid so high was because emojis is one of the few properties that Hollywood can buy that has no strings attached which basically means they can do whatever they damn well please. So, I guess there’s no reason to be pissy about it just yet but I think the million dollar question is… um… just… why?
[23:39:30] The Stickman: :lol: ;3 xD
[23:39:51] Flash Penny: Also, the article that talks about this mentioned Pixels as Sony’s newest release as if that’s supposed to get us pumped for the next thing that Sony does.
[23:40:07] The Stickman: :O XD xDxxXXXxD
[23:40:23] Flash Penny: You’re not going to speak in English throughout this entire section, are you?
[23:40:31] The Stickman: Non.
[23:41:00] The Stickman: But yeah, this is dumb.
[23:41:07] The Stickman: But it's Sony, so what do we expect.
[23:41:27] The Stickman: It was either going to be Sony or Dreamworks Animation, to compliment their TROLLS film that'll clearly save their collapsing, shitty company.
[23:43:28] The Stickman: BUT I DIGRESS.
[23:43:43] Flash Penny: The other two studios that bid were Paramount and Warner Bros. Which one owns Dreamworks?
[23:43:56] The Stickman: You're right, I was wrong.
[23:44:03] The Stickman: Dreamworks can't afford to bid for this.
[23:44:13] Flash Penny: I’m imagining this epic bidding war going on and then at the end, Leondis gives his final hurrah by chucking a spear at the CEO of Paramount, leaving a single cut on his cheek.
[23:44:19] The Stickman: *Throws mic across the room*
[23:44:26] Flash Penny: And then he kicks the CEO of Warner Bros. down a well.
[23:44:57] The Stickman: Why WB of all people need a weird animated franchise property when they already tempted fate with LEGO and won is beyond me.
[23:45:03] The Stickman: Quit whilst you're ahead, guys.
[23:45:45] Flash Penny: Stickman, this is Hollywood. There are two things they’re good at: taking a terrible idea for a movie and milking it to Hell and back and taking a good idea for a movie and milking it to Hell and back.
[23:46:04] The Stickman: You are such a cynical manchild, Flash. This is clearly going to be a smash hit.
[23:46:17] The Stickman: I mean...it's practically guaranteed now Sony is involved! Right? RIGHT?
[23:46:22] Flash Penny: Hey, Lego Movie turned out to be awesome, you never know.
[23:47:03] The Stickman: LEGO has a long history with generations of people...and a unique look...and lots of brands to incorporate...and, well...limbs and stuff.
[23:47:15] The Stickman: Emoji's is literally just The LEGO Heads Movie.
[23:47:22] The Stickman: Yellow and all.
[23:48:04] Flash Penny: Next story
[23:48:08] The Stickman: THAT'S MY LINE.
[23:48:11] The Stickman: Next story
[23:48:15] Flash Penny: Not anymore it ain’t!
[23:48:19] Flash Penny: Next story
[23:48:36] The Stickman: CUT THAT LAST PART OUT, ME. NYAHAHAHAH.
[23:48:40] The Stickman: Text Nory.
[23:48:46] The Stickman: (Jurrassic World 2 time, oh boy oh boy)
[23:53:38] The Stickman: Aaaaaand, last but not least...well, not least in terms of financial possibilities at least, is the news we've all been expecting for well over a month now, the confirmation that, yes...that little cult indie hit Jurassic World is getting a sequel, and it's coming in June 2018, sooo....mark those calenders folks! I...guess? Am I the only one who felt this didn't need a sequel? I mean, you can say that about every film for the most part, but I mean, we had them try to build the park, and fail...then the aftermath from that one...World gave us the park, it showed us the park in action, and then it went wrong. Opening the park is really, to me, the point at which all wanted potential from the franchise has been used up. I mean, I KNEW this was coming, how could anyone not after the insanely unexpected success of Jurassic World this summer, $1 and a half BILLION for the fourth entry in a franchise pretty much makes it impossible to not get a sequel, even if everything was concluded perfectly and a sequel would just be dirt in the face of an incredible trilogy of films...*Cough*ToyStory*Cough*. So yeah, we're heaaddiing back to the park in 2018...and all those bland characters you loved so much are coming back as well! Except, y'know...the dinosaurs...the ones you actually watched the film for. I'd imagine.
[23:54:43] Flash Penny: I still haven’t seen this movie and have no strong opinion of it having a sequel.
[23:54:49] Flash Penny: Probably seeing it this Friday because I’m bored though.
[23:55:00] Flash Penny: Either way, yes, it certainly has made a lot of money and is getting a sequel, that it is.
[23:55:01] Flash Penny: Mm-hm
[23:56:46] The Stickman: I enjoyed World, but I mean...it wasn't exactly a masterpiece either. There have been numerous better films released this summer, but this is the one walking home with all the moolah. I mean, this film did SO well, it, along with Inside Out practically destroyed the Box Office for new films until Ant-Man came out a MONTH later.  It getting a sequel is the most obvious thing to ever happen in history, even if I don't really care about it.
[23:57:59] Flash Penny: But dare we forget the most unbelievable success of all, Pixels?
[23:58:10] The Stickman: We do not speak of that film.
[23:58:38] Flash Penny: It has Tyrion Lannister and Happy Gilmore in a movie together, how bad can it be?
[23:58:58] Flash Penny: brb writing crossover film pitch for Hollywood
[23:59:05] The Stickman: Y'know what my fear about Jurassic World 2 is? They're going to end up doing that 'HUMAN/DINOSAUR DNA HYBRID SOLIDERS' concept that was originally going to be used for Jurassic Park back before World was a thing...I mean, it was kinda teased at one point in this film...and now I'm SCARED, FLASH.
[23:59:10] The Stickman: WHAT IF THEY'RE DUMB ENOUGH TO DO THAT.
[23:59:21] The Stickman: *Jurassic Park 4
[23:59:25] Flash Penny: Wasn’t that the plot of The Amazing Spider-Man?
[23:59:32] The Stickman: I'M SCARED FLASH.
[23:59:37] The Stickman: HOLD ME.
[23:59:40] Flash Penny: No.
[23:59:50] Flash Penny: You hold yourself
[23:59:55] The Stickman: That's not what you said last night.
[23:59:57] The Stickman: HEYOOOOOO
 Thursday, 30 July 2015
[00:00:00] The Stickman: But seriously.
[00:00:04] The Stickman: Don't do that, Universal.
[00:00:50] Flash Penny: (Movie of the Week time?)
[00:00:52] The Stickman: The perk of having big budget sexy lizard men on the big screen would only do a little to sour the pain of seeing a franchise about a Dinosaur Theme Park turn into Full Metal Jacket with a T-Rex.
[00:01:03] The Stickman: Actually.
[00:01:13] The Stickman: *Pitches that idea to Hollywood*
[00:01:30] Flash Penny: I know that you said “Full Metal Jacket with a T-Rex” in a mocking manner but I cannot possibly fathom that sucking.
[00:01:37] The Stickman: I know right?
[00:01:54] The Stickman: This would be a man with a dinosaur head though, or something.
[00:01:58] The Stickman: So let's not.
[00:02:43] The Stickman: ANYWAY, time to move onto our Movies of the Week! How excitiiiiing! And with MadHero suddenly gone again, this week we've only got the two of us here to choose our best picks for recent releases we've seen and enjoyed, so...why not start us off Flash?
[00:02:58] The Stickman: ____________________________________ (Line for me to find this bit in the edit time)
[00:05:51] Flash Penny: Well, my Movie of the Week is Pixar’s newest release, Inside Out a film that is their best work they’ve put out since Toy Story 3. A lot of people have been clamoring this as one of Pixar’s best, if not their best work ever as well as movie of the year (so far). Is it truly that good? Er… I still think it’s too early to say any of that for certainty but, it was still a really good, fun, imaginative movie with likable characters and Lewis Black being downright hilarious. Above all, they really went through the effort of explaining how the inside of someone’s mind worked which really added to the fun of the film. Which further contrasts it with the really, unapologetic harshnesss of the real world though that’s needed. So, yeah, go see Inside Out, probably the only big release this summer that isn’t a sequel to a long-dead franchise that (depending on which sequel we’re talking about) should have stayed dead.
[00:06:33] The Stickman: *Cough*ShauntheSheep*Cough*
[00:06:39] The Stickman: I meaaan OHH HEYYY, yeah this looks good.
[00:07:07] The Stickman: I haven't seen this yet, as I said earlier, it only just came out in the UK and I'm behind on my viewings, but this is on my list!
[00:07:08] Flash Penny: THAT FILM HASN’T BEEN RELEASED YET SO WE DON’T KNOW HOW GOOD IT’S BOX OFFICE WILL BE!
[00:07:18] Flash Penny: *ITS
[00:07:30] The Stickman: BIG RELEASE, ISN'T A SEQUEL. BISH BASH BOSH. LOVE THAT SHEEP.
[00:07:44] The Stickman: What are your thoughts on the whole 'It's too saaad' thing?
[00:08:45] Flash Penny: Maybe I’m dead inside but I don’t find it that sad compared to some of PIxar’s other films (e.g. Up, Finding Nemo, the furnace scene in Toy Story 3). It definitely has its moments though.
[00:09:07] Flash Penny: I will give it credit in that I genuinely had no idea how the movie was going to be resolved into a happy ending which is definitely a good thing for a movie to do.
[00:09:19] The Stickman: What's the balance of sad/funny like? Because all I've heard is OH GOD THE TEARS KEEP FALLING.
[00:09:38] Flash Penny: It’s not until the last third/climax of the film that it gets intense.
[00:10:02] Flash Penny: Without spoiling it, the climax of the film involves something pretty intense and hardcore in the real world which adds to the franticness of the mind world if you will.
[00:10:11] The Stickman: I bet it's cancer or something.
[00:10:16] The Stickman: It's always cancer or something.
[00:10:17] Flash Penny: Yes, it’s cancer.
[00:10:23] Flash Penny: Mixed with super-AIDS
[00:10:26] The Stickman: OHNOOOOOOOOOO
[00:10:27] Flash Penny: And rape.
[00:10:28] The Stickman: MY TEARS
[00:10:36] The Stickman: Disney really have gone off the rails, huh?
[00:11:25] Flash Penny: Well, the scene with the genocide and human trafficking were pretty hardcore, I still see it working within the Kingdom of the Mouse.
[00:11:48] The Stickman: I can't wait to see the riiide!
[00:12:02] The Stickman: You done now, Mr "I'm playing 'Edit this joke out' chicken with you'?
[00:12:26] Flash Penny: There is no editing, only Zuul.
[00:12:42] The Stickman: I'll take that as a yes.
[00:17:48] The Stickman: SOOOO, my film is our 'Banner' flick for the LAST episode, and that was a certain Marvel movie called Ant-Man. And you know what? It's been getting a positive but lukewarm reception, and the box office lacks the magic of the last few years of MCU films (Whilst still not being bad by anymeans) but I rather liked it a lot, actually! For starters, it's super funny and entertaining from start to finish, but with sprinklings of seriousness/emotion that ground the film from becoming too cartoonish for the MCU (Although there are a few goofy moments, I must admit...although to me that ain't a bad thing). It's well cast, Paul Rudd brings a unique personaltiy to the Earth unit of Marvel's growing collection of supes, not to mention a totally rad costume...DAMN I love Ant-Man's duds, I really do. The real highlight for me though, beyond the fun times was the main event, as you'd hope, the crazy shrinking/growing sequences that you'd expect from a superhero well known for both of those things. The special effects for these things were amazing, and I saw this in IMAX 3D, so it was just...WOAAAHH, CRAZY SHIT BRAAAAH. All in all, not a gamechanger of a film, and certainly not on the same level as last year's second MCU film, Guardians of the Galaxy, but a ton of fun, great cast, great costumes, fun action...a swell old film, I really enjoyed it.
[00:18:34] Flash Penny: Ant-Man was a better movie than it had any right to be, especially given its troubled development cycle.
[00:18:54] The Stickman: There is hope for The Good Dinosaur yet.
[00:19:23] Flash Penny: Though considering how Edgar Wright’s departure was supposedly from Marvel interfering too much, that is definitely something that shows in the movie to an extent. I won’t say anything but the ending was a bit too much.
[00:19:40] The Stickman: Which part of the ending?
[00:20:33] Flash Penny: SPOILERS















Where they practically whack you over the head with the fact that they’ll be tying this into the MCU.







END SPOILERS
[00:20:52] The Stickman: Oh, that part.
[00:21:11] The Stickman: Ah yeah, I mean..wasn't as bad as Age of Ultron in that respect.
[00:21:19] Flash Penny: It was pretty bad.
[00:21:36] The Stickman: (brb)
[00:21:47] Flash Penny: The rest of the movie was solid though with an actually fun villain which is a nice change for the MCU (though pretty much all of it comes from the acting, the character himself isn’t anything special).
[00:22:36] The Stickman: Oh yeah, the guy in the role is a great actor, but the actual villain was a tad underwhelming, as always, despite some promise, which is more than most MCU villains have.
[00:22:40] The Stickman: He had a SWEEET suit though.
[00:23:14] Flash Penny: The climax was definitely the highlight of the film, badass suit and all.
[00:23:23] The Stickman: Awwwww yeah baby.
[00:23:36] The Stickman: Better than Age of Ultron overall, I'd say.
[00:23:49] Flash Penny: I’d disagree.
[00:23:56] The Stickman: I had fewer problems with Ant-Man than I did Ultron, even if Ultron was on a much larger scale.
[00:24:21] The Stickman: They were both a lot of fun to watch, I like them both, even if they don't match up to 2014's exceptional MCU offerings.
[00:24:28] Flash Penny: My take: Ant-Man is no masterpiece or even that great but if you want a fun way to spend 2 hours and leave  the cinema happy, you can do much worse.
[00:24:33] Flash Penny: Which is far better than this movie ever had any right to be.
[00:25:06] The Stickman: I'd say it was pretty gewwwd, but again, nothing remarkable as such. Apart from DEM SUITS AND MACRO EFFECTS, YOOO.
[00:25:34] Flash Penny: And Michael Pena not being in a Godawful movie for once. (Note: I have not seen Fury so disregard this comment if that movie wasn’t Godawful.)
[00:25:42] Flash Penny: Also the Michael Douglas age joke killed me.
[00:25:45] The Stickman: Alright, I think we're done here...we did it, Flash, we reviewed Shaun the Sheep Movie. Finally. Bet that was as good for you as it was for me, huh? *Lights cigarette*
[00:26:14] Flash Penny: Oh my God, I am so excited for the Shaun the Sheep Movie and am so glad that it was the focal point of this episode.
[00:26:30] The Stickman: Definetely. You should see the banner man, it's...so much Shaun the Sheep.
[00:26:50] The Stickman: Really, the moral of this week's episode is...having me in charge of the Shaun the Sheep Movie episode? Best idea.
[00:26:51] Flash Penny: douses cigarette in Stickman’s eye
[00:27:04] The Stickman: MadHero's going to be really pleased when he sees this posted.
[00:27:20] The Stickman: Also, ow.