In the interest of getting “hard” copies of my work under one roof, I plan to spend the next few weeks posting the entire archive of my film journalism here on ScullyVision. With due respect to the many publications I’ve written for, the internet remains quite temporary, and I’d hate to see any of my work disappear for digital reasons. As such, this gargantuan project must begin! I don’t want to do it. I hate doing it. But it needs to be done. Please note that my opinions, like everyone’s, have changed a LOT since I started, so many of these reviews will only represent a snapshot in time. Objectivity has absolutely no place in film criticism, at least not how I do it.
San Diego Comic Con is a movie nerd’s dream week, even from a distance. It feels like every time I hop online or click around Reddit I find some news that makes me squeal with joy. These are my five biggest highlights so far:
1. Mystery Science Theater 3000 is back!
After having the most successful film/television Kickstarter campaign in history, MST3K has been picked up for a 14 episode season at Netflix. Joel Hodgson is back in the saddle as head writer and producer. Jonah Ray is the new host, Joel McHale and Dan Harmon have joined the writing team, and both Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt will be new characters in the “between segments.”
Be right back, gotta go get some tissues.
2. Brie Larson is Captain Marvel!
Academy Award winning actress Brie Larson is officially leading Marvel Studio’s first female-led solo movie, Captain Marvel. It’s likely that she’ll appear in a post-credits sequence sometime soon before making her debut in Avengers 3, and I can not wait! Allegedly, Marvel is seeking a female director for her for solo outing, and both Jennifer Kent (The Babadook) and Niki Caro (Whale Rider) are in the running.
Be right back. Need to grab a new box of tissues.
3. Wonder Woman is going to be awesome!
The first Wonder Woman trailer dropped, and it’s filled with all of the goodness that the DC haters wish they didn’t have to love. Gadot looks to be a great choice for the world’s most famous Amazonian warrior, and the content suggests that DC’s first female-driven superhero film will definitely be including some ‘girl power’ thematic elements. This is always an exciting thing, and as someone who is tired of seeing DC pigeon-holed into a situation where, by nature of entering a shared universe after Marvel, they are always accused of being either too much or not enough like their forbears, it’s great to see that they beat Marvel to the feminist punch. Patty Jenkins (Monster) directs.
4. Justice League is going to be awesome!
Odd that suddenly Zack Snyder has been getting so much online praise when just a few months ago nerds had deemed him to be the lowest form of life on the planet. Fickle bunch we are. Well, if you read my review of BvS: Dawn of Justice, you’ll know that I have nothing but love for the guy, and this first look into the next piece of the Justice League saga has me feeling vindicated. Bruce Wayne, as set into motion by the events of BvS, seems to have rediscovered his joy in being a hero, and has taken it upon himself to gather some meta-humans to do some world protectin’. Folks who watch the BvS Ultimate cut know that this means Darkseid has become a potential threat to our world and it’s time for the Justice League to deliver a beatdown.
THE TRAILER USES THE WHITE STRIPES AND OH MY GOD I NEED TO CRACK OPEN ANOTHER BOX OF TISSUES.
5. The Woods is actually Blair Witch
If I’ve ever felt envy, it’s never matched the envy I feel toward to lucky few who went into the Comic Con screening of Adam Wingard’s The Woods only to discover, unannounced, that they were actually watching a new sequel to The Blair Witch Project, simply titled Blair Witch. Frequent collaborators Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett have put together a movie that, if initial reviews are to be believed, is one of the scariest movies EVER MADE. I don’t know what impresses me more, the fact that I can still be pumped for the Blair Witch brand, or the fact that the studio managed to keep the lid on this secret for so long. Guess it’s time to revisit the original (and the silly-but-underrated sequel).
But before I do that, can you pass me all of the tissues?
