14 Comments

Sonny, Ant-Man falling face first through a glass coffee table actually was visible a couple of years ago. The viewing public has had its fill of Marvel and its Cinematic Universe (I pray that Bob Iger kills it stone dead). The response to The Eternals was the warning--no one liked that film and no one watched that film. Black Widow was impaired because Marvel royally F'ed up by rolling the movie out FAR too late in the series--what is the point of an origin story for a character that died in the film that preceeded it? The release process of the film and the lawsuit just made it that much worse. The Marvel products on Disney+ have been "uneven"...and putting the kai-bosh on Kathryn Hahn in an Agatha Harkness series was a self-inflicted wound...the audience feedback during WandaVision showed there was an audience for an Agatha spin-off...and instead, they got "She-Hulk". Marvel is now starting to resemble a conveyor belt, and that is a turn-off for an audience...and that is why Marvel is doomed and Disney will be stuck trying to clean up that mess.

Expand full comment

"I wish more people had seen this sucky movie. I didn't like it, but I liked the IDEA of it."

Expand full comment

Yes.

Expand full comment

I went to GOTG3 last weekend, and it wasn't an audience of 14 year old kids. It was mostly adults.

So isn't the problem with mid-budget adult movies is that there aren't nearly as many adults anymore?

Expand full comment

Dear god, from what horrible universe is that bizarro image in this article? I'll be having nightmares about weird big-head villain guy now.

Expand full comment

Wish I lived near where the live show was being hosted. Maybe the crew can make a trip up to the northeast eventually.

Expand full comment

Or Texas!!!!

Expand full comment

I was looking for the interstellar comedy but only belatedly realized it must be the comedy set on Mars?

Interstellar I guess for viewers orbiting Alpha Centauri? Or the stars involved are actors?

Expand full comment

I knew the astronomy pedants were going to kill me for that one but I was too lazy to rephrase.

Expand full comment

Though I enjoyed this article very much , I'm really using this opportunity to declare how great the piece "Trafficking the News" was a couple days ago. I didn't see any method of giving feedback on it, but it was informative and insightful and well appreciated.

Expand full comment

Thank you, glad you got some use out of it!

Expand full comment

Hypothesis: modern audiences gravitate to the "shared universes" because we no longer really have any "movie stars" anymore, i.e. the mere presence of a single actor is what drives people to see a film. With the exception of, maybe, Tom Cruise, it's pretty hard to identify someone I'd go see in a theater based solely on the fact that he/she makes awesome films. "Shared universes" are the new signifier that something is likely entertaining and/or of quality.

Expand full comment

As JM said, I see ANY Tom Hanks movie.

I may not always LIKE the movie, but it is rarely bad.

But I rarely go to the movies (last one in a long while (since pre-pandemic) was John Wick 4). I stream or buy the DVD

Expand full comment

I would go see almost any Tom Hanks movie. I do Iike some franchises - and have enjoyed the special effects of the Jurassic movies, Avatars, etc. And those special effects are worth watching on the big screen.

Expand full comment