So, the Oscars happened last night and for once my favorite movie of the year (Moonlight) won, despite the kerfuffle at the end. I don’t think that’s ever
happened. My preferred movies tend to have more explosions than Academy voters
seem to appreciate. But I’m getting off topic, I don’t care about the Oscars.
None of that matters because this morning we have a brand new Kong: Skull Island trailer and good lord I can’t wait for this movie.
Sweeping biblical Epics have been Hollywood staples since
day one. Having fallen out of favor in recent years, the latest attempts haven’t
been great (the less said about Exodus: Gods and Kings the
better, yeesh), or tumble into heavy-handed religious fare (this year’s
Risen was much more watchable than most of it’s
Bible-thumping brethren, but it’s still only okay). But worry not, Timur
Bekmambetov, the guy who directed Abraham Lincoln: Vampire
Hunter, is here to attempt to revive the genre with yet another Ben-Hur
adaptation. And he’s bringing along the half-faced guy from Boardwalk
Empire and an actor best known for being really good at playing a
motion capture bonobo in the new Planet of the Apes
franchise.
My understanding is that Duncan Jones’
Warcraft is based not directly on Blizzard’s massive online
role playing game World of Warcraft, but on the lore from
that world that precedes the playable action. The fact that it’s a prelude
makes a great deal of sense, as this may be the most blatant attempt by
Legendary and Universal to launch a franchise that I’ve ever encountered. I’m
all for an epic, ambitious, weird new fantasy saga, but from what we get here,
not this one.
