Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie

counterpoint: for the love of the game is the only one of those that doesn’t feel like a sam raimi movie to me

i don't really get the impression that barbie will be particularly compromised - the unusual thing is that mattel have (correctly) surmised that it was better to give gerwig creative freedom and get something potentially interesting out of it that would make a cultural splash instead of producing something bland and micromanaged (which is apparently part of why previous attempts at making a barbie film fell through)

but with narnia i feel like there'd only be so much room to work with (though certainly far more than anyone gets with the mcu these days) and even if gerwig makes a tltw&tw adaptation that's as good as it could possibly be it'd still be a bit of a waste. i don't know how she could possibly make prince caspian worthwhile

Xp Wasn’t that also right around the time Wes Craven made Music of the Heart?

his style is undeniable in his spider-man films, whereas non-raimi spider-man films i would struggle to say have a style

Wasn’t that also right around the time Wes Craven made Music of the Heart?

― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.),

I'm glad someone mentioned this. I'd argue pairing Estefan + N Sync was as terrifying as Freddy's first appearance in 1984.

mattel have said they aim to take the same approach as barbie to the 16+ other films they have in development but i really don't know how they'll manage a 'thoughtful' take on hot wheels, or rock em sock em robots, or uno (which inexplicably is supposedly going to be a comedy-heist starring lil yachty?)

my last post was p unclear:

I agree with Ivy and Alfred on the Batmans. I meant Burton's 21st c. filmography has been so very bad I don't think he belongs to the category we're talking about

I don't think Barbie is a studio-compromise film (I mean, we'll see, but it does look too strange for that so far). I only meant these hypothetical Narnia movies seem destined to be that, esp if they really are investing in two at once

16+ Mattel films is end times shit, jesus christ

has a good director ever truly elevated one of these franchise movies?

― rob, Saturday, 15 July 2023 14:38

Let's see how Ben Wheatley's 'Meg 2: The Trench' turns out.

i don't think we will get 16+ mattel films despite their ambitions, a bunch will get made but i doubt they'll all be hits. hopefully we at least get some confused adaptations of obscure mattel lines to completely flop before they scale back the ambitions though

Waiting for Wes Anderson’s He-Man

has a good director ever truly elevated one of these franchise movies?

i know few people agree with me about the second but: first two m:i movies are really successful examples of throwing established auteurs at existing IP

Fan or not, the LOTR trilogy is a good example of how to get a director to bring his or hers qualities to a blockbuster IP. Jackson coming from horror and genre filmmaking is key to the successes of those movies, the odd visual flourishes, camera movement, direction of actors, interesting visual storytelling in general. It spawned a whole lot of movies that don't have that quality and so it's easy to compare - MCU is an example of hiring distinct i (often smaller scale) talent and not giving them the framework or resources to apply their style to the movies. But the LOTR tv show is also probably a good example: Lots of writing talent, but a lack of individual character. Jackson managed to get his whole crew on those movies - from editors to writers to effects and camera people - and doing it in his backyard, which probably explains a lot of it. That's unthinkable for many studios and franchise owners. I don't know what Gerwig needs to imbue her own character on a project, but hopefully she's given it. Narnia doesn't sound like a great prospect to me, but there are ways to make franchises work better than they generally do.

has a good director ever truly elevated one of these franchise movies?

Cuaron Harry Potter?

counterpoint: Chloé Zhao and the Eternals

deathly hallows 1 > cuaron potter, and no i have no idea how this is possible but david yates made the most meditative and best harry potter film

cuaron’s entry is still pretty wonderful and idiosyncratic, and the time travel stuff at the end is beautifully rendered

sorry i feel like this is yet another ilx thread where i am unloading my franchise opinions lol

I agree with you about the second MI! Saw it last week for the first time in over two decades (ugh) and it’s a blast.

Mrs Gimbel larfed non-stop and so did I.

First preview I've ever been to where the assembled reviewers queued round the block in Leicester Square to get in, then applauded at the end.

So still no posted or published reviews? Only the usual weird vague Twitter hack comments floating out there.

Only saw this embargo-skirting almost blurb from a Letterboxd notable: https://letterboxd.com/dillamonster/film/barbie/

Is that true? If you take a shot every time they mention the word patriarchy you will die?

Ken will fart on your face until you asphyxiate.

(Screening in 90 minutes).

There is an A+ Stephen Malkmus joke.

screening what, the movie or Ken's anus?

I hope Barbie wears a "fuck the patriarchy" keychain

I haven't been this excited for a movie in years.

A mixed group of audience and what remains of critics. The response was overwhelming -- applause, daughters and moms crying as we exited. Think of it as a mix of The Truman Show and Gerwig's attitude in Lady Bird and Sirk. Not all of it worked, and I cringed at times at the performative liberalism of a company like Mattel positioning itself as a defender of women's rights; but the actors are so enthusiastic and the story fresh enough that I got caught up.

Of course, Mattel owes its existence to the genius of a woman.

xpost Intriguing! If there is indeed an element of Sirk to it that would be somewhat fitting, given the circuitous route back to Todd Haynes. When is the embargo lifting?

Tonight.

My Letterboxd follows somewhat predictably starting to toss some cold water on the fire this morning

I’ve decided that my new thing is going to be public denials of the existence of this movie while pushing the theory that it is nothing but a never ending marketing campaign that will inundate us with new material over the course of the next 60 years

Meanwhile, Oppenheimer actually came out 15 years ago

XP the Mattell-a Effect

While I’m not so far off Alfred’s level of enthusiasm, or at least engagement, this is also to a degree a victim of what happens when something needs to be everything to everyone, which makes it the perfect movie for our resolutely absolutist times I guess

Weirdly enough, this is the first of GG’s movies that made me question what I regarded previously as her unimpeachable pop instincts. Three consecutive satirical musical numbers?

Have adjusted my expectations to expect this to be a *** film that still exhibits a lot of creativity and intelligence but ultimately is constrained by its blockbuster status, and if that's the case do hope Gerwig opts for a "one for them, one for me" model.

You and PBrad on the same page, Daniel:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jul/19/barbie-review-greta-gerwig-delirious-bubblegum-fantasy

Probably means this is a 5-star movie in that case.

do you mean Bradshaw is particularly harsh? lots of 4 stars in his recent reviews.

if it's more "if he didn't like it it must be great" I'd say *** still translates to "he liked it".

Lol@

"In interviews about Barbie, Gerwig has referenced Milton and Powell and Pressburger: judging from this, I would say the influences are Toy Story, Pinocchio and Clueless."

Why does Bradshaw have a job for life?

It me.

certified haters seeing a monstrously hyped movie get a mediocre review pic.twitter.com/KacIupgJaF

— Aidan James (@mcandidate) July 19, 2023

"In interviews about Barbie, Gerwig has referenced Milton and Powell and Pressburger: judging from this, I would say the influences are Toy Story, Pinocchio and Clueless."

The influences are generally about as surface as the 2001 opening. Late in the movie, the Kens have a dance number that's on basically the same soundstage as Singin' in the Rain's chiffon ballet

“do you mean Bradshaw is particularly harsh?”

No, I mean BS gives it 5-stars, it’s almost certainly a medicore middlebrow wash, but a lukewarm review normally means he just hasn’t got it, in my experience.

Upon sleeping on it, I am more heartened by its laser-precise decimation of male-centric cinephilia. The joke at Zach Snyder fanboys' expense alone was worth the entire undertaking.

Caspar is hardly a film bro -- though he is mediocre -- and here he is asking the important question:

"does the phrase “selling out” have any meaning any more?"

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jul/19/barbie-indie-director-film-maker-greta-gerwig

IMO “selling out” never had any meaning beyond “I don’t need to support myself with my artistic endeavor”

To be fair, this is a movie kinda sorta engineered to generate every sort of bad take imaginable