This was probably the only way The New Mutants was going to be a #1 movie. It opened this weekend in theaters, in spite of the need to maintain social distancing, and it took in $7 million. In over 2400 theaters, that’s a per-screen average of less than $3000. A news story about the local theater in my area said that, in a 300-seat auditorium, they were allowed to sell 10 tickets, so it probably wasn’t ever going to make […]

LEGO DC Shazam! Magic & Monsters is the latest original animated film blending two major brands, following in the path of Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman: Rage of Atlantis, and of course, Lego Batman. (And boy, I’m glad they’ve streamlined the titles.) This is great family viewing for a lazy afternoon (and aren’t most of them these days?), even if I did drift off a bit during the final big fight. It’s […]

The pandemic situation, and the resulting closure of most public spaces, means usual rules are out the window. Traditionally, a movie wouldn’t be available for home viewing until three months after its theatrical release, in order for the various movie theaters (first-run, discount, etc.) to make money. Annoying one’s distribution partners doesn’t allow for good ongoing business relationships. However, now that movie theaters have been closed, that no longer applies. Bloodshot came out in theaters on March 13, right before […]

This past Friday was the opening of the Valiant movie Bloodshot, starring Vin Diesel. Kyle Pinion at the Beat called it “a largely sluggish, CGI overrun mess… so much of it is just a bland nothing.” It came in third this opening weekend, behind the latest Pixar cartoon and a faith-based film, with under $10 million. That’s not very good, but circumstances are incredibly unusual. The bigger headline is that, due to quarantine concerns, the weekend box office hit a […]

Like any corporate comic publisher, Valiant really wants to be making movies. Their first film, Bloodshot, opens in February 2020, and the trailer is now available. (Update: The release date for the movie is now March 13, 2020.) I previously didn’t know anything about the character, but (and given the name, this shouldn’t surprise me) he looks like a memory-wiped super-soldier type, a magically healing violent weapon who wants to discover the truth about his past. So casting Vin Diesel […]

Turns out a lot of people disagreed with me about the Captain Marvel movie — it was a blockbuster success! It made over a billion dollars in ticket sales! And it’s now available for home viewing. Captain Marvel launches today on your favorite digital platform, with the disc version coming on June 11 in either the 4K Cinematic Universe Edition (4K UHD, Blu-ray, and Digital Copy) or a Multi-Screen Edition (Blu-ray and Digital Copy). I’m looking forward to giving the […]

Thanks to a special Fandango offer, KC and I got to see Shazam! last night. It’s a fun movie, thanks largely to the outstanding performance of Zachary Levi as the 15-year-old pretending to be an adult superhero. He does an amazing job capturing the combination of adolescent swagger and uncertainty. (Asher Angel plays Billy Batson as the teen version.) But it’s also a very boy-focused film, with the characters of the various mothers and sisters inconsistent or not well-developed. I […]

The Lego DC Comics movies are always fun and funny to watch. I was looking forward to Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman: Rage of Atlantis not just for Aquaman (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker), but for the introduction of the newest Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz (Cristina Milizia). She’s both a new character in the movie and the bonus minifigure, available with the movie for a limited time. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a review copy.) As shouldn’t […]