Shmee.Me

February 26, 2016February 26, 2016

Who Can Catch James Bond?!

Something very interesting is happening to James Bond, and it is not who will play the character next, but who will get to distribute the next set of films. Sony distributed the last four films which have all raked in over $500 Million a piece with the last two each taking in well over $800 Million, so lets just say every major studio wants a crack at the franchise. I don’t think there has been an opportunity for a studio bidding war for distribution rights as big as this one in the history of film.

Disney has been smart snapping up all the low hanging franchise fruit, but this time I don’t think the other studios will stand by and let them have 007 as well. Universal has been on a tare recently with three films crossing the $1 Billion worldwide mark last year so they will have some extra cash to throw at lucrative franchises. Meanwhile Sony doesn’t have a lot going for it right now in the way of mega-IP, so I am not sure they can afford to loose James. Lionsgate and Legendary both recently received major Chinese financial backing, and Bond does very well in Asian markets, so they both could make a play. Not to mention I am sure Warner Brothers will put in some kind of offer, even if just to make the other studios write bigger checks.

I can’t wait to hear how this turns out, and how many Millions ($$$) it took to get the famous spy back on screen. My guess is that Sony bends over backwards to keep the British double-agent in their corner, but that Universal, Lionsgate, and Legendary really make them pay for it. Disney and Warner have a lot going on right now, so I am not sure they could guarantee the commitment to the franchise that MGM no doubt wants. Whatever happens 007 will have plenty of gadget and tuxedo money.

February 25, 2016

I Shouldn’t Have Waited So Long To Read Sandman Overture!

Sandman Overture is the six issue prequel to the main Sandman series published by Vertigo. It was written by Neil Gaiman with art by J. H. Williams III and colored by Dave Stewart. It is an amazing piece of work! I wasn’t sure about more Sandman. On one hand the Sandman series was spectacular so of course I wanted more, but on the other it told a complete story, and unfortunately we have learned through recent years that sometimes when they bring back the things we love they don’t come back the way we want them too. I shouldn’t have worried with Gaiman behind the pen. Sandman Overture is just as good if not better than the rest of Sandman.

Sandman Overture tells the story of how Morpheus became so weak that he was able to be captured in the first issue of Sandman. I am not sure how Gaiman does it. He is able to grow Sandman’s Universe in massive ways while still telling an intimate story about duty and pride. It blows me away how good he is.

While the story is always the most import part of a comic book, the art still needs to be able stand up to the story being told, and somehow Williams and Stewart bring everything to life in grand fashion. The art in the main Sandman series was very good, but Overture’s is much better. It is some of the best art I have ever seen in a comic book. Every page had something new and interesting to show me, and the vibrant colors continually drew me in.

While I think you would get the most out of Sandman Overture if you have read Sandman first, I think Overture can stand on its own, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t read it. Sandman Overture is one of the best books I have read, comic or otherwise. So in other words it is right up their with Sandman.

February 24, 2016February 24, 2016

Is Sony Going To Be The Savior Of VR?

Preorders for Valve and HTC’s Vive came out yesterday, and the news for proponents of VR was not good: The Vive with controllers and sensors will set you back $799. Plus you will need a $300 video card. I have a mid-range gaming machine, so for giggles I ran the Steam VR Test Tool, and it said I could run the Vive, but all my settings would have to be on low. However, at least Vive comes with the motion controllers, those will be extra with Facebook’s Oculus Rift. For now it just comes with an Xbox One controller. Though the Rift will ‘only’ set you back $599, but with the Rift not only will you need that $300 video card, but three dedicated USB3 ports, so I would have to buy an extra card making my total around $950 (still not including their controllers which I am sure will not be cheap).

I am sorry, but if a consumer needs to spend around $1000 to properly use your product, it is DOA. Especially considering I am a least starting with a decent gaming desktop, so for most people the price of entry may be as high as $2000. That is bonkers. People rightly mocked Microsoft for launching the Xbox One for $500, so double to quadruple that price is almost insane.

VR as I see it has one hope left, Sony’s Project Morpheus.

Why Morpheus you may ask? Because a lot of people already own the PS4, so they will not need to beef up their machine. The initial hardware cost is built in. If Sony can launch Morpheus under $500 they may have a hit on their hands. $500 is still a lot, but it is well within the price range of first adopters, and it is a price that the average consumer can save up for. Not to mention the best part, I am sure it will be much easier to setup and configure than either Rift or Vive.

I am not sure VR is something I want, but I know I that I don’t want it for $1000 or more. If Sony can launch Morpheus at a reasonable price it might be something to consider. Especially considering the initial hardware cost is whatever deal you can find on a PS4, and there are some good ones out there. Plus I am sure Sony will have a Morpheus bundle that shaves a few bucks of the base price of the console. If VR has any shot at mainstream appeal Morpheus might be its only hope.

February 23, 2016February 23, 2016

Deadpool Is On Its Way To Being The Biggest X-Men Movie Of All Time And That Scares Me!

Deadpool’s amazing success has been a surprise to just about everyone. As of right now it has made almost $500 worldwide in just its second weekend. It only needs about $250 million more to pass X-Men: Days of Future Past to become the largest grossing X-Men movie ever. Since the movie only cost $58 million to make it has already generated about $150 million in profit just two weeks in. That is almost unheard of for a movie. This is a scary situation.

I think studio executives are going to try and create more ‘Deadpool’ movies, and I don’t just mean sequels (though we are sure to get tons of them). I mean cheaply made ‘R’-rated ‘funny’ superhero flicks. I bet they are going to pull out all the weird dudes out of the closet. I am sure Lobo has been greenlit without a script. What they should be taking from Deadpool’s success isn’t that people want raunchy superheroes, but that they want original superheroes.

People love comic book heroes right now, but they don’t want to see the same movie over and over again, and Deadpool was a great relief to the never-ending Avengers storyline. With Deadpool we got to see a ‘hero’ unlike any other, so superhero movie houses should be looking for more original heroes, or at least be looking for ways to change up their storylines, not just to recreate Deadpool. I am worried because I am enjoying the superhero movie golden age, and I would hate for greedy executives to bring it to end with a glut of bad ‘R’-rated flicks.

February 22, 2016

Tour The War On Drugs With Sicario!

Would you like to watch an action movie staring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin? I would too, but Sicario is not that film. That is not to say it is bad, as matter of fact it is very good. It is just important to know what you are getting yourself in to with a movie, and Sicario is a slow burn tactical thriller about the War on Drugs during its height in the early 2010’s.

Emily Blunt plays Kate Macer an FBI SWAT team leader that has been assigned to a joint task force to take down a major Mexican drug cartel, but much like people watching Sicaio thinking it is an action film, the operation is not what she expected. The longer she sticks with the mission, the crazier things get.

Sicario is a drug-land version of Alice in Wonderland. Around every corner is something new and unexpectedly horrifying, but the viewer much like Kate needs to stick around to the end to see if any sense can be made of it all. While the movie has a clear political stance it is smart enough not to give any convenient or easy answers to the complex problems the film represents.

With a cast as talented as the one in Sicario it is no wonder that acting is fabulous. From Blunt’s wide eyed FBI agent to Brolin’s almost smarmy task force leader there is good work all around, but the clear best of show goes to del Toro as the mysterious and stoic ‘agent’. While he is always in control you can see his violent and troubled past bubbling beneath the surface.

I love the way the director Denis Villeneuve depicts the ‘action’ in this film. While it is no doubt violent it is shown in a matter of fact way. These violent acts are being carried out by professionals taking care of business. There are no Rambos here. It is shocking almost how mundane it all seems. These are their nine to five jobs.

Sicario was a crazy tour through Mexico’s drug war. It was thrilling and alarming if not terribly exciting. If you go in knowing you are going to watch, you are in for a very good film made a by a group of extremely talented filmmakers. Though here is hoping we get that Blunt, del Toro, and Brolin action film one of these days.