Ep 172: The Best Comic Book Summer Blockbusters of All Time, Ben Folds Interview

Segment 1: Look Ahead: Godzilla

https://apnews.com/198304d2070741b5ab26a8b1abb2d00b?utm_source=Twitter&ut m_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=APEntertainment

Review: ‘Godzilla’ is back and doing just fine By LINDSEY BAHR

It’s been a bit since moviegoers had the chance to catch up with Godzilla, five years in fact, which in cinematic franchise time feels like at least a few decades. In other words, it’s understandable if you go into “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” a little rusty on just what went down in Tokyo and San Francisco back in 2014.

But ”Godzilla: King of the Monsters ” is a sequel in the loosest possible sense that requires minimal recall from the audience, which is likely a good thing for those whose brains have been overloaded with “Game of Thrones,” ′′Avengers” and “Star Wars” minutiae and mythology. Worry not, Godzilla is here to provide some old-fashioned summer spectacle, no CliffsNotes required.

It’s a low bar, sure, but at least Godzilla is comfortable with its place in the blockbuster ecosystem.

The filmmakers have even helpfully shifted the focus to another family entirely for this installment, from the inert Brodys (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen) to the Russells, a now-broken family of scientists who lived in San Francisco during the 2014 attack. There are a few holdovers though, mostly employees of Monarch, the secret multinational organization that studies the titans, like Dr. Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Dr. Graham (Sally Hawkins), who are being accused of hiding Godzilla from world governments who’d rather just destroy them all.

As far as the newcomers go, Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) also works for Monarch and has developed a machine called the Orca, which simulates the sounds of the various titans. She believes this can be used to help manage them. Emma lives with her 14-year- old daughter, Madison (“Stranger Things’” Millie Bobby Brown in her first major film role), who is precociously enchanted by her mother’s work and admires the primordial creatures.

Madison’s father Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler, whose intensity is at level 10 for most of the movie) is not really in the picture, having left after the San Francisco incident, but is drawn back in when Emma and Madison (and the Orca) are kidnapped by some militant eco-terrorists led by Jonah Alan (Charles Dance).

This group wants to use the titans, of which there are now “17 and counting” including a pretty dazzling Mothra and a less-enchanting three-headed “Monster Zero,” to help reset the planet and reverse climate change and overpopulation. There’s some convenient explanation of why the radiation from the titans actually helps revitalize vegetation, which, like many of the silly plot devices in this movie, you kind of just let slide. That said, anyone currently watching “Chernobyl” on HBO will likely be very stressed out about the amount of radiation all the humans are likely absorbing just by being in proximity to all these creatures.

Michael Dougherty has taken the directing reins this time, from Gareth Edwards, and has done a fine job capturing the grandness of the titans, keeping the action coherent and balancing the human element thanks to a terrific cast that also includes O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Thomas Middleditch. His script is also pleasingly light and often funny, although Bradley Whitford’s Dr. Stanton goes a little overboard trying to be the comic relief.

But even that is easy to give a pass to. “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is turn-your- brain-off summer fun, and doesn’t need to be anything more than that.

“Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” a Warner Bros. release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for “sequences of monster action violence and destruction, and for some language.” Running time: 131 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Segment 2: Best Summer Blockbusters of All time

Memorial Day – Labor Day

https://www.metacritic.com/pictures/2017-summer-blockbusters- ranked/7

1989 – Present
2018
Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25)

Hopefully we finally get to see our boy Han make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs (especially since a parsec is a unit of astronomical distance, not time).

Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6)

Look, I doubt you’ll find many people who say Ant-Man is their favorite Marvel hero, but Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly combined will make this one fun as hell.

2017

Wonder Woman June 2, 2017

An Amazonian princess and fierce warrior (Gal Gadot) uses her superpowers to help fight a war. Wonder Woman has the highest Metascore of the superhero flicks released this summer.

Atomic Blonde July 27, 2017

Berlin. The Cold War. Undercover agents. Charlize Theron kicks butt in this action-thriller that’s packed with impressive stunts and a less-impressive script.

Spider-Man: Homecoming July 7, 2017

Following his Captain America: Civil War debut, Tom Holland embodies Peter Parker, and his Spidey superhero, in his first standalone film. Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. co-stars, as does Michael Keaton (as Vulture).

2016

https://www.businessinsider.com/summer-movie-power-rankings-2016- 5#8-x-men-apocalypse-may-27-3

Suicide Squad” (August 5)
As the weeks go by, and more superhero movies not under Disney’s Marvel

Studios continue to lose interest with audiences, the pressure builds for “Suicide Squad.” It’s important for the DC Comics universe Warner Bros. is creating, but it’s also a chance to prove another studio can produce a good comic-book film.

X-Men: Apocalypse” (May 27)

20th Century Fox’s plan to take some of the wind out of the sails of “Civil War” by lifting the review embargo on “Apocalypse” right after the Marvel hit opened might have backfired. With only a 47% on Rotten Tomatoes, “Apocalypse” looks like another superhero movie that can’t live up to the supremacy of Disney’s releases in the genre.

2015

https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/summer- blockbusters/248684/the-top-10-blockbusters-of-summer-2015

June 29, 2015 Antman

2014

May 23, 2014 – Days of Future past

Guardans of the Galaxy August 1, 2014

2012
Dark Knight Rises – July 20, 2012

2011
May 25, 2011 – First Class

July 19, 2011 – Cap America First Avenger

2008
The Incredible Hulk – June 13, 2008 (USA) July 18, 2008 Dark Knight
2006
Xmen Last Stand May 26, 2006

2005
June 15, 2005 – Batman Begins

2004

Spider-Man 2: June 30, 2004

2003
Ang lee hulk

2000

Xmen July 14, 2000

1995
June 16, 1995 – Batman Forever

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/batman-forever-story- behind-surprise-802804

Schumacher: After Forever’s success, I wanted to do The Dark Knight. It was going to be very dark. I remember going to the set of Face/Off and asking Nic Cage to play the Scarecrow. The studio, and I’m not sure the audience, was in a frame of mind to go too dark with Batman at that time. It’s interesting how our culture has changed. How the socioeconomic, political culture makes it absolutely palatable to see Chris [Nolan]’s Batman — for instance, The Dark Knight Rises, which is such a comment on exactly what’s happening. You might be able to track that on all the movies. Maybe Batman is one of those things like pi. It’s the center of the universe.

1992
June 16, 1992 Batman Returns
1989
June 19, 1989 Batman
1977
Star Wars: Episode IV ‐ A New… May 25, 1977 (USA)

1983
Return of the Jedi – May 25, 1983 (USA) June 19, 1989 Batman
Spider-Man 2: June 30, 2004 1, 1
July 18, 2008 Dark Knight
Guardans of the Galaxy August 1, 2014 Spider-Man: Homecoming July 7, 2017

Wonder Woman June 2, 2017

Solo: 5, X

Spotlight: Ben Folds

image © Ben Folds

Spin The Racks

‘Game of Thrones’ critics petition Benioff and Weiss not to ruin Star Wars

Thousands of critics of the just-ended final season of “Game of Thrones” have signed petitions to keep its two showrunners from making the next Star Wars film, as planned.

Petitioners are urging Disney to kick the pair off the upcoming project so that they won’t ruin that one, too.

“Putting the Game of Thrones writers (David Benioff and D.B. Weiss) in charge of Star Wars is not only a controversial decision but a mistake, plain and simple,” reads one petition, on Change.org, which had been signed by nearly 12,000 people by Saturday night.

Meanwhile, a similar petition, this one on thepetitionsite.com, was nearing its goal of 6,000 signatures.

“Like many Game Of Thrones fans, I was dismayed at how the last season was written – it felt rushed and sloppy,” that petition reads.

https://nypost.com/2019/05/25/game-of-thrones-critics-petition-benioff-and-weiss- not-to-ruin-star-wars/

“But now I’m really worried because I just learned that the next Star Wars movie will be made by the same people.“

Disney announced earlier this month that it will produce three more Star Wars films, which will reach theaters starting in 2022 — with Benioff and Weiss writing and producing.