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liamtoh007
Reviews
Fantastic Four (2015)
Some Free Advice (and worth every penny)
The few people who wasted 100 minutes and valuable popcorn dollars on this $120 million sleeping pill already know just how bad this anomaly is, it's my desire here to warn all the others before they suffer the same fate. Just where did that $120 million production budget go? The effects were extremely lackluster, the script was woefully amateurish, and the acting was I suppose, about the best you can expect when you are handed garbage like this. What you end up with is a terribly uninteresting and excruciatingly slow ride with zero payoff. At least the previous 2 films (flawed as they were) had a discernible plot, and a spirit of fun. Imagine this movie as a very very long walk down a dark hallway. You reach a room at the end, only to flip on the light switch and find it empty. Pathetic.
As a long-time fan of these characters I can say without hesitation that these four characters (five if you count Doom) resemble the comic book characters only on a superficial level. If Fox (or later Marvel, let's hope!) wants a profitable and entertaining franchise they need to go to the source material that made these characters great to begin with. Luckily I can help them right here. What you want is a trilogy of films. The first feature, running about 2.5 hours would adapt the actual back stories of Doom and the FF found in the following comics, Fantastic Four (1961) #1 and 11 (origin portions only), the Doom back-up origin story in FF Annual 2. Any competent screenwriter would be able to tweak or update what's lacking in these early books. The second half of this movie could then adapt FF 39-40, a critically acclaimed classic. As for the sequel you need look no further than the "Unthinkable" storyline from FF 496-502. Finally, the last film in the trilogy would give us a faithful adaptation of the Galactus / Silver Surfer trilogy found in FF 48-50. This last one would then also give the filmmakers an opportunity to spin-off a series of Surfer movies starting with adapting Steve Englehart's great take on the character from 1987's Silver Surfer #1. The comics referenced above are classics which have stood the test of time, and if adapted wisely would practically guarantee success.
The Jackie Gleason Show: The Honeymooners: In Twenty-Five Words or Less (1966)
Wow, much better than anticipated...!!!
I grew up watching the "classic 39" reruns and I actually remember watching Gleason's late 60's color variety show at original airing during the same period. I thought for sure that once I saw these color episodes again, it would be a disaster. I remember enjoying them, but I also know that in many cases you "can't go home again". Well, forget that cliché' since these episodes hold up extremely well! Yeah, I know Ralph and Ed are a bit older. Yeah, I know the real "Alice" is no longer around. But Gleason and Carney's portrayal of Ralph & Ed have lost VERY little, and in some scenes they seem even sharper than the 50's! Maybe I'll whistle a different tune if and when they issue the later seasons eventually, but as far as I'm concerned, you can't lose investing in this fine and funny first season of "newer" Honeymooners! A-
The Jackie Gleason Show (1966)
Wow, much better than anticipated...!!!
I grew up watching the "classic 39" reruns and I actually remember watching Gleason's late 60's color variety show at original airing during the same period. I thought for sure that once I saw these color episodes again, it would be a disaster. I remember enjoying them, but I also know that in many cases you "can't go home again". Well, forget that cliché' since these episodes hold up extremely well! Yeah, I know Ralph and Ed are a bit older. Yeah, I know the real "Alice" is no longer around. But Gleason and Carney's portrayal of Ralph & Ed have lost VERY little, and in some scenes they seem even sharper than the 50's! Maybe I'll whistle a different tune if and when they issue the later seasons eventually, but as far as I'm concerned, you can't lose investing in this fine and funny first season of "newer" Honeymooners! A-