With TJ reportedly on his death bed (or something like that), Joe and Chad hold down the fort this week. Join them to find out their thoughts on the ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise and what Disney’s recent acquisition of that property means and whether future films would be a good thing. And since TJ is not in the game to spoil their fun they can freely talk about the rebooted ‘Spider-Man’ film franchise and the upcoming ‘Spider-Man’ films, and so they do. And you always wanted to know if ‘The Hobbit’ extended edition is better than the bloated and over-long theatrical version, right? But of course. And before diving into the primary review this week of ‘Frozen’, Chad and Joe discuss the Disney Animation short film that accompanies the feature film. In summary they found it delightful. And in summary they also found ‘Frozen’ quite delightful and a great film to be the subject of conversation!
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This news came this past weekend from Dominic Patten over at Deadline.com. Though Disney purchased Lucasfilm last year, giving them the rights to future Star Wars films, the company did not have the marketing or distribution rights to make more Indiana Jones films - that right still belonged to Paramount, who was in charge of the first four films in the franchise.
Walt Disney Studios and Paramount Pictures said today that they’ve reached a marketing and distribution deal for the Indiana Jones franchise. Among other things, this agreement removes the last hurdle for Disney in moving forward with future Indiana Jones movies, which the company acquired when it purchased Lucasfilm in a multibillion-dollar deal late last year. The new deal gives Disney marketing and distribution rights to future films as well as retaining Lucasfilm’s ownership rights — which basically means they’ve got the whole shebang now.
Well, the day is upon us, the day I once again rail on the rebooted Spider-Man franchise. Doggoneit! Why couldn’t they just let this one rest for a little bit? I hated the first installment in this reboot universe so much it’s impossible for me to put it into words. But, many people apparently liked it so a second one is coming to screens. I cannot tell you just how wrong Andrew Garfield seems for this part. I know Toby Maguire takes a lot of flack, but he seemed like the perfect Peter Parker to me. I don’t hate Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, but that doesn’t make up for anything.
I’m going to tell you something, and you’re not going to believe me: The Extended Edition of the first Hobbit film, An Expected Journey, is actually better than its theatrical release. I know this seems impossible given that the Extended Editions of Lord of the Rings were not—they were chock full of fun bits that we missed, but they didn’t play as better films. The pacing got all wonky, and they didn’t really move.
The Extended Edition of The Hobbit is different.
Frozen hit screens nationwide last week to a wow-ing opening weekend of $93 million! If you were one of the lucky ones that got to see it (where I live, practically every showing was sold out), then you may have been scratching your head over the latest Disney short that is shown just before Frozen. The short is called “Get A Horse” and it is a magical blend of 1928 meets 2013 with 2D and 3D animation. Wondering if that was really Walt’s voice or if it was a real short from 1928? Click through the slideshow below for 7 fun facts about Disney’s new short “Get A Horse.”
I’ll say this now: lots of this review is going to be negative, but be patient…I did enjoy this movie and will give it a not-terrible rating. I just have lots of things to say about it.
I don’t know whether to praise or criticize the people who were in charge of promoting Brave. For a year, we were shown various trailers and posters that were vague about the plot of the movie, and, for a while, the film looked very uninteresting. As in, I had absolutely no desire to see it. However, a couple of months before its release, we were finally treated to a trailer that made me a tad bit excited, resulting in me attending the midnight showing.
Bulda: What’s the issue, dear? Why are you holding back from such a man?
Trolls:
Is it the clumpy way he walks or the grumpy way he talks?
Or the pear-shaped, square-shaped weirdness of his feet?
And though we know he washes well-he always ends up sort of smelly
But you’ll never meet a fellow who’s as sensitive and sweet!
So he’s a bit of a fixer-upper, so he’s got a few flaws
Like his peculiar brain-dear, his thing with the reindeer
That’s a little outside of nature’s laws!…
It looks like fellow Disney royals, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, made an appearance at Elsa’s coronation in Arendelle.
Fearless optimist Anna teams up with Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.
Featuring the voices of Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel, "Frozen" is the coolest comedy-adventure ever to hit the big screen. When a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, Anna, a fearless optimist, teams up with extreme mountain man Kristoff and his sidekick reindeer Sven on an epic journey to find Anna's sister Elsa, the Snow Queen, and put an end to her icy spell. Encountering mystical trolls, a funny snowman named Olaf, Everest-like extremes and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.
Frozen (2013)
Domestic Total as of Dec. 10, 2013: $138,768,437
Distributor: Buena Vista Release Date: November 22, 2013
Genre: Animation Runtime: 1 hrs. 48 min.
MPAA Rating: PG Production Budget: $150 million