DRAGONLORD'S 2016 MOVIE GUIDE

[JadeOwl]

I saw Ben-Hur last night. Obviously not as epic as the 1959 version. I wouldn't call this one bad, but it's not great either.

I won't go into spoilers about the specific changes to this version, but since the book and the movie as so old I will refer to the general outline that everyone should know by now.

The chariot race is spectacularly well done, but the whole first third of the movie really until Judah ends in the galley is really, really slow paced. Some might even call it boring.

Also, I understand that they tried to make the story less black and white than the source material, (book and movie) but I think they went too far in the other direction for the sake of justifying the big change to the ending. You'll know what I mean when you see the movie.

Also, a bit of nitpick, but I was really, really distracted by the fact that Judah, Messala and Esther are the only 3 people in Roman Judea who wear pants all the time while everybody else is wearing robes and tunics. It kept taking me out of the movie.

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Critics' Reviews for BEN-HUR

Rotten Tomatoes: 30% approval rating (30 out of 101 critics like it)

Critics Consensus: How do you fight an idea? By filming a remake that has too few of its own, and tries to cover it up with choppy editing and CGI.

Entertainment Weekly - What has the passing of almost six decades given us? A fresh take on Ben-Hur that is more noble, dweeby, and neutered than a Sunday school in South Dakota. C

Newark Star-Ledger - Even the extended appearances of Jesus – supposedly the answer to this remake's "Why?" – feel strangely colorless. Not only does this new version not stand out from the others, it can't stand on its own. 2/4

Richard Roeper - Ben-Hur struggles to find an identity and never really gets there. The well-intentioned efforts to achieve moving, faith-based awakenings are undercut by the casually violent, PG-13 action sequences. 2/4

Rolling Stone - The last of the summer's movie epics is a digitalized eyesore hobbled in every department by staggering incompetence. 1/4

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Critics Reviews for WAR DOGS

Rotten Tomatoes: 59% approval rating (68 out of 115 critics like it)

Critics Consensus: War Dogs rises on the strength of Jonah Hill's compelling performance to take a lightly entertaining look at troubling real-world events.

Entertainment Weekly - Slickly, noisily entertaining in a cue-the-next-montage-and-bass-whomp way. A lot of what makes War Dogs work comes down to Hill, who is operating at maximum density here physically but whose unhinged charisma also anchors the movie. B-

New York Daily News - Phillips leans heavily into the absurdist humor of how the Pentagon could have been conned - especially by a pair of bros whose previous claim to fame was getting busted buying pot as Yeshiva middle schoolers. 3.5/5

Richard Roeper - This is a solid example of the Sobering Comedy, where we laugh consistently at the madness onscreen, all the while lamenting how it's rooted in real-world reality. 3.5/4

Rolling Stone - Jonah Hill and Miles Teller fire up big-time laughs, but don't ignore the crazy-ass political absurdity that burns through War Dogs. War Dogs is that rare contemporary comedy that knows how to make a laugh stick in your throat. 3/4

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Critics' Reviews for KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS

Rotten Tomatoes: 96% approval rating (116 out of 121 critics like it)

Critics Consensus: Kubo and the Two Strings matches its incredible animation with an absorbing -- and bravely melancholy -- story that has something to offer audiences of all ages.

Entertainment Weekly - First-time director Travis Knight -- he served as lead animator on Laika's previous three films -- has given Kubo a gorgeously tactile look full of lavish depth and detail, and an engaging cast of characters. A-

New York Daily News - Be prepared to cry: it's rare that animation can stir up such deep emotion, but it'll happen, sometimes more than once. And while there are some laughs there is lots to think about, too. 4/5

Toronto Star - A richly styled, emotive adventure that tempers thrilling fantasy scenes and mythic monsters with moments of quiet reflection and gentle humour. 3.5/4

Rolling Stone - Filmgoers who've suffered through a summer of superheroes, supervillains and sequels/snarky reboots, we now have something that genuinely casts a spell on viewers. 4/4

James Berardinelli - Kubo and the Two Strings is a magical motion picture in every sense of the word. This is the best animated feature (at least thus far) of 2016. 3.5/4

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Weekend Box Office:

BEN-HUR Crashes Chariot with Dismal $11.4 Million Opening Weekend

Timur Bekmambetov's Ben-Hur was shut out of the box-office chariot race this weekend, debuting to a mere $11.4 million from 3,804 theaters despite a hefty production of nearly $100 million and getting beat by a pair of smaller new films, War Dogs and Kubo and the Two Strings.

Overall, Warner Bros.' Suicide Squad stayed No. 1 in its third weekend, grossing $20.7 million from 3,924 theaters for a domestic cume of $262.3 million. Overseas, the anti-superhero film passed the $300 million mark after earning another $38 million from 64 markets for a global tally of $572.7 million.

Ben-Hur — which was slammed by critics but earned an A- CinemaScore — is the latest sword-and-sandal movie to underperform. It also hoped to wow faith-based moviegoers, but even that effort lagged.

MGM partnered with Paramount in making Ben-Hur and put up the majority of the financing, or 80 percent. Overseas, the epic rolled out in about a third of the marketplace, grossing $10.7 million for a global start of $22 million.

Todd Phillips' first film since the Hangover trilogy, War Dogs, opened in third place with $14.3 million from 3,258 theaters. The war dramedy, which earned a B CinemaScore, stars Miles Teller and Jonah Hill and is loosely based on the true story of two young Florida men who became international arms dealers during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The well-reviewed Kubo and the Two Strings, which grabbed an A CinemaScore, placed No. 4 with an $12.6 million debut from 3,260 theaters. It's the lowest opening for a Laika and Focus collaboration.

Weekend Box Office: 'Ben-Hur' Crashes Chariot With $11.4M Opening; 'Suicide Squad' Remains No. 1 for 3rd Straight Week[URL="http://"][/url]

 

[KenkaBancho]

The chariot race is spectacularly well done

I thought this was the only redeeming factor in an otherwise dull movie. Very intense and one of the better and more organic race scenes in recent history. I didn't like the plot changes to the original script which I thought were not only unnecessary but rather....strange and resulted in a less impactful movie than the original. Really did seem like they were changing things for the sake of doing so.

As far as bible-fiction goes, Risen was a far better movie than Ben Hur. The Jesus scenes were definetly not as powerful as the original's.

Jack Huston is quite a good actor and did well in the role. It's no Richard Harrow but he did quite well. The Messala actor was... meh. I thought his performances was odd and awkward at times. Everyone else was ok to bad. The Pontius Pilate actor seemed more like a caricature to me and gave the character no depth (though this could be a scripting issue). Morgan Freeman played Morgan Freeman, American accent and everything despite playing an African living in biblical times. His performance was the worst among the entire cast.

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

i wonder if they will play sound bites from the chariot crashes while the finance guy explains to the board members where the money went.

 

[odog]

Ben Hur? Lol, what? They remade Ben Hur? Ha ha.

 

[sloppypie]

lol i don't know wtf they were thinking. young people aren't gonna go watch ben hur, only people old enough or know about the original. and anyone that knows the original knows what an amazing movie it is and how prestigious a movie it is. and to see a movie like that remade with SEE IT IN 3D AND IN IMAX is just a laughable concept.

what's next, redo the 10 commandments with paul rudd in 3d and in imax? or how about we redo the godfather with jason bateman and chris hemsworth, but 3D AND IN IMAX OMGZZZ.

i mean really it's just ridiculous. old 80s popcorn movies like ghostbusters and the karate kid, ok that's fine (although they weren't good remakes, just trying to milk money out of people). but redoing classic movies for 3d and imax can literally go fuck themselves.

unless, of course, it's done just as superbly or even moreso. but there aren't too many remakes that go beyond the original, especially ones with the bar set as high as ben hur.

 

[Anung Un Rama]

Weekend Box Office:

BEN-HUR Crashes Chariot with Dismal $11.4 Million Opening Weekend

 

[KenkaBancho]

what's next, redo the 10 commandments with paul rudd in 3d and in imax? or how about we redo the godfather with jason bateman and chris hemsworth, but 3D AND IN IMAX OMGZZZ.

 

[Guestx]

As far as bible-fiction goes, Risen was a far better movie than Ben Hur.

Risen was great, and glad to hear that someone else here has seen it. When I first saw the trailer for that one I knew it looked like something special and it really was. I enjoyed it quite a bit and will eventually pick it up on Blu-Ray.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

Out of the movies posted I wanna see
Kubo
Impurium

On the fence with Ben Hur (probably won't)

War Dogs - Jonah and Miles are probably top 10 of most punchable faces in showbiz. Will not see.

 

[biscuitsbrah]

I'm 23, am I supposed to know what Ben hur is?

 

[Guestx]

I'm 23, am I supposed to know what Ben hur is?

Yes

 

[Rav1nHunter]

@Dragonlordxxxxx Thanks for the info mate will take the kids to see Kubo this weekend also cheers for the FB invite.

 

[neverwas]

I'm actually interested in the magnificent 7 remake. not sure you can touch the first one,but this could be real good.

 

[JadeOwl]

I'm 33 and I've seen the 1959 Ben-Hur more times than I can remember, but there was a very specific reason that doesn't apply in the US.

Peru is a Catholic country, so on Holy Week, Holy Thursday and Good Friday are national holidays where schools and workers get the day off. But up until cable became widespread, on those two days, all the local networks would show nothing but biblical movies, and documentaries about the Bible, the Holy Land, etc. It got to the point that they had to fill in time with anything they could find that was set in Roman times even if the subject matter wasn't in the least bit religious.

So up until I got cable in 1997, every year I would watch Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, Quo Vadis, Barabbas, etc. alongside Cleopatra, Spartacus, and similar stuff.

 

[HereticBD]

Epic tanking for Ben-Hur. Did anyone not see that coming? What the hell were they thinking? Nobody under 60 gives a shit about Ben-Hur.

 

[JadeOwl]

In their defense, the idea in principle is not bad. It's just that the execution was deeply flawed.

For the modern audience they needed to emphasize the sea battle and the chariot race. Also to spend as little time as possible in Judea.

Instead they spent less than 15 minutes on the galley and got bogged down explaining a geopolitical situation that modern audiences don't understand and couldn't care less about.