It’s been a while guys, hasn’t it? Hopefully you’ve missed me as much I’ve missed you, and you spent a long time over break recuperating and ingesting excessive amounts of entertainment, like I did. This means that I have plenty to say and discuss regarding all the entertainment news we were bombarded with over the last month and half (somehow more than usual). So much so, in fact, that it will have to segmented in a manner similar to the beloved Real Talk with E$. It’s not my typical style, but there’s too much to discuss with only so much space. So without further ado:
-Let me just get the most recent news off my chest: Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? Really? Look, I really don’t want to bash this news too much and then have to eat crow if he ends up being great in the role, but I just don’t have confidence in this choice guys, and I was behind Batffleck from day one. We’ve heard all the justifying, “No one liked Heath Ledger as the Joker or Michael Keaton as Batman at first either!” This is why I don’t want to outright discredit his casting. I’m sure Eisenberg can pull off the swagger and arrogance of Lex, just look at Now You See Me andThe Social Network for examples. It’s the demanding presence and fearsome authority a role like Lex Luthor requires that I don’t think Eisenberg has the gravitas to pull off, unless he has something real special up his sleeve.
One last thing about Batman Vs. Superman: that full year delay from July 2015 to May 2016 is a fantastic idea. Warner Bros. needs to get themselves sorted out and by not rushing this film into production they are doing just that. Also hiring Chris Terrio, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Argo to work on the script? Bravo, sirs.
-While we’re on the topic of comic book films, that new Captain America: The Winter Soldier trailer looks great, doesn’t it? That new Amazing Spider-Man 2 trailer looks cluttered, doesn’t it? I’d call my anticipation for ASM2 morbid curiosity at this point. Electro is one of my favorite Spidey villains, so hopefully Jamie Foxx’s performance isn’t as one note as it looks so far. The implied transition of having Harry Osborn becoming the Green Goblin instead of his father likely won’t sit well with purists, but as long as they follow through with Gwen Stacy’s fate (no spoilers here) there shouldn’t be too many complaints.
-So Nintendo, ooooo boy. In case you haven’t been following, the house that Mario built reported back in January that they have seen record losses over the holiday season, and their recent console, the Wii U, hasn’t made even half the sales of the Xbox One and PS4, even though it has been on store shelves a full year before both systems. I don’t’ think claiming that the sky is falling on Nintendo is appropriate, at least not until they start liquidating their properties, like Midway and THQ (which will never happen, considering how much money they are still sitting on from the runaway successes of the Wii and Nintendo DS). Things aren’t exactly rosy for the company though, and if they want to survive they need to stop being so resistant to change. Their biggest issue is not taking advantage of the mobile market. Yes, Nintendo has been involved in the handheld market since before Apple was even in business, but to not cater to the millions of smartphone and tablet gamers is dangerous ignorance. A port of some original Nintendo games would be an easy extra million for the company, and hopefully they know this by now because no one wants to see Nintendo go down the same dire path Sega is now on.
-Wrapping things up on a somber note: Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Damn that stung. To lose one of the greatest actors of his generation is one thing, but to lose them so early and to drugs is an even harder kick to the gut. I didn’t know the man, so all I can do is look to his work, of which there is a lot to admire. There’s of course his Oscar-winning turn in Capote, and his equally impressive roles in Moneyball, and pretty much everything Paul Thomas Anderson has directed. What’s more impressive though, is level of quality he brought to mainstream films. Hoffman is very easily the best part of Along Came Polly, which I swear isn’t as backhanded of a compliment as it sounds. In Mission: Impossible III he gave one of the most menacing and underrated performances in an action movie to date. He can most recently be seen in the Hunger Games franchise, which according to the studio he was days away from finishing. As it stands, American Cinema has gaping hole in it the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Heath Ledger left us. Rest easy with the greats, Mr. Hoffman. You’ve earned it.