The Mistry blog

Disney's animated classics gave us some truly amazing villains. You think of characters like Maleficent, Scar, Captain Hook, and more who have transcended pop culture, becoming as famous and revered by audiences as their hero counterparts.  So what happens when you make a film based purely on the bad guy? Well it runs the risk making them feel too "good" like Maleficent (2014) which received mixed reviews. Villains are great because they're evil, so I was always nervous when Disney announced they were developing a Cruella film (based on 101 Dalmatians). But t his week we got a poster and a full trailer and it's and understatement to say I've done a complete 180 on my opinions. With Emma Stone cast as Cruella, we always knew this film would be worth watching just for the sheer class of what we know she can bring to a role. But the poster (above) was just WOW. I immediately got St Trinian's vibes - gothic, psychotic and a whole lot of sass. Emma Stone was Cr...

Since its launch in November 2019, Disney+ has amassed over 80 million subscribers worldwide, a feat no one would have expected when the service launched.  But even with all its success, there were still many people (myself included) who were hesitant, or didn't see the worth in subscribing to Disney+. The main reason being was that there wasn't a wide enough variety of content on the platform, a sense that "its all the same" and "there's only so many Disney films I can watch".  BUT, this is where things are going to change! Disney are finally rolling out their STAR section on Disney+ in the UK (and many other markets) on 23rd February. In Disney's own words, its "OUR BIGGEST CONTENT DROP EVER"... There'd been lots of speculation as to how Disney were going to integrate all of the Fox content they had acquired , and it was announced last year they would be taking the "Star" brand they'd acquired, and putting all their matu...

A decade in review... When it comes to cinematic achievements, we often hear of the usual list: Citizen Kane (1940) for its innovative storytelling and narrative structure; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) for being the first ever feature length animated film; and Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) for its ground breaking use of visual effects. But throughout this past decade, we may have in fact witnessed the greatest one of all. I firmly believe we experienced one of the greatest achievements in the history of cinema, and that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The MCU is a franchise of films produced by Marvel Studios, consisting of 23 films to date which all take place along the same timeline and in the same universe (but most of you probably knew that). Starting in 2008 with Iron Man, the series went on to produce some of the greatest comic book films of all time, and some of the best cinema we have seen in the past decade. The MCU has been immensely successful both f...

Frozen was (and still is) a phenomenon that Disney weren't expecting to be as successful as it was. The film captured the imagination of a whole generation of kids and parents alike, yet we've had to wait a whole 6 years for a sequel. It's a long time to wait, but for someone who has seen the film, it was 100% worth it! Frozen 2 surpassed all of my expectations, full of charm, humour, love and most importantly a fantastic story (with characters of equal measure). I liked the first film, but was in the camp that it was overhyped (the songs were banging though), so I wasn't expecting a sequel with so much depth and finesse. The story is the highlight, darker and more mature, building a better picture of the Erenadale's place in the world, answering questions we never knew we wanted answering...all whilst doing some immense character building in the process. One of the films first songs is about "change", something Olaf isn't keen on, but it r...

It was a good weekend just gone for film fans – The Lion King released in cinemas, Avengers: Endgame became the highest grossing film of all time , and a little get together called San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) opened its doors…and Marvel’s Hall H panel was on fire! With Kevin Feige leading the presentation, Marvel announced at SDCC their official slate for Phase 4 of the MCU. In one word, it’s crazy. All in all, a total of 9 projects were announced and are set for release through 2020 and 2021. Announced were a mixture of films ( Eternals , Shang-Chi , etc) and Disney+ shows ( Loki , Hawkeye , etc), with Feige confirming the shows will tie in directly to the film universe, giving all the more weight to their stories. There’s a lot I could unpack, but to save you some stress, here are 3 picks of what really caught my eye: Thor: Love and Thunder We knew Thor 4 was happening, but didn’t know what to expect from it. Well Taika Waititi gave us a big plot twist... Jane F...

For a while it felt as though the film would fall just short, but now its official… Avengers: Endgame has become the highest grossing film of all time. The smash hit MCU finale finally passed Avatar ’s decade long total to reach $2.79bn this past weekend, capping off what has been an insane year for Marvel Studios. It’s a fitting testament to the amazing work everyone at Marvel Studios has done over the last 11 years, with Endgame being a worthy film for the top mantle. With such a massive opening weekend ($357m in North America and $1.2bn worldwide), a lot of us had assumed Endgame would stroll to the no.1 all-time spot, but instead it ended up being a close call, slowly chipping away each weekend. In Avengers: Endgame , we have witnessed box office history which we will not see matched for a very long time, and probably never to this scale and magnitude. The buzz for Endgame was monumental! In the first 2 weeks of its release, you couldn’t escape the Endgame …it was t...

Having dominated the theatrical market/box office in recent years (and many more to come), Disney are now shifting their attention to the biggest consumer trend seen this decade – streaming. Launching ESPN+ in 2018, and with Disney+ on the horizon, many believe the company is moving to dominate the market like they do traditional cinema. Now Disney have moved a step closer to securing their status by taking full operating control of Hulu. Announced on Tuesday, Disney and Comcast agreed a deal for Disney to take full operating control of Hulu effective immediately. Although Comcast still have a 33% stake in the streaming service, they have agreed a deal with Disney which looks to benefit both companies. Here is a breakdown of key aspects from the deal:  Either company can enforce the sale/purchase of Comcast’s remaining stake to Disney from January 2024. NBCUniversal will continue to licence content to Hulu for the next 5 years (although they can start to pull most of tha...

For some time now, we’ve seen the strength Disney holds in the film industry, from record breaking box office hauls to critically acclaimed franchises, there has been no stopping them on their path to success. As Disney and Fox slowly begin to integrate, Disney have released an updated film slate for the next few years, with many notable changes, new entrants, and omissions. New Star Wars Trilogy           The most notable announcement to come from the release schedule is that Disney have now confirmed dates for a new Star Wars trilogy releasing in December of 2022, 2024, and 2026. Lucasfilm had previously announced that they were developing separate Star Wars trilogies with The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, and Game of Thrones show-runners Benioff & Weiss, however there was no confirmation as to who will be directing, nor the story regarding this new trilogy. It will be interesting to see the direction Lucasfilm takes, h...

This weekend gone was a historic moment for cinema, and a financial utopia for Marvel/Disney. Avengers: Endgame released in all major markets worldwide over the past weekend. The box office numbers came in and OH MY GOD CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT? Avengers: Endgame opened to a staggering $1.2bn worldwide, shattering the previous record by a whopping $500m. Just let your mind comprehend this, over its first 5 days of release, Endgame made more money than films like Minions , Civil War , The Dark Night (and I could go on…) did in their ENTIRE theatrical run. The entire film industry (and myself as you can tell) are in shock at just how well Endgame has performed, obliterating box office records in so many major markets. As the box office numbers came in over the weekend, estimates just went up and up and up. There was no stopping the Avengers on their path to glory. The financial success the film has already had is a testament to the franchise which Kevin Feige and the wider creati...

One day everyone, we are now ONE DAY away from the release of Avengers: Endgame here in the UK. As the world premier took place on Monday, reactions and reviews from critics have arrived online and… the hype is well and truly real! Many critics have praised the film for giving a satisfying, emotional and immense conclusion to the MCU. One of my favourite online film critics (or “pundit” as he likes to say) John Campea, said in his non-spoiler review that the last hour of the film is greatest hour in comic book film history. If that’s not praise I don’t know what is. Many have praised the film and have said there are multiple frames, moments and scenes that rank among the best in the MCU. In honour of this, and the release of Endgame, I’ve decided to share my 15 best moments/scenes from the MCU thus far: #15 – Captain America is Born A great scene from Captain America: The First Avengers , we’d seen the heart and bravery Steve Rodgers has, so seeing him selected for the super so...

Can you even believe it? It feels like a lifetime of waiting but Avengers: Endgame is almost upon us. As the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far (which includes 21 films), Endgame will act as the finale for the “Infinity Saga”. We’ve been privileged to see so many characters bought to life on the big screen, with multiple plot points and emotional character arcs, it’s been a truly amazing journey. But as with all journey’s, they must come to an end, and like it or not…“we’re in the endgame now”. Going into Endgame , the films you 100% must have seen before is Avengers: Infinity War , and it’ll allow you to have a great experience watching Endgame . But if you want to have the most fulfilling experience possible, I highly recommend watching (or re-watching) a few of the key films in the MCU before going to watch the finale. Here are my 6 films you should watch before seeing Avengers: Endgame … Iron Man The one that started it all. The first film i...

In recent months, we’ve been hearing more and more of Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+ , with their acquisition of 21 st Century Fox’s entertainment assets seen as a move to bolster its chances of succeeding. Well on a recent investors call, and later confirmed through a press release , Disney have given us its first official look at their brand new streaming service, highlighting details on content, availability, and pricing! Here's a first look at the user interface (it looks super cool): Disney are banking a lot on this streaming service to be a success, and by the looks of it they’re in the best position possible. Through its presentations (which also included updates on ESPN+, Hot Star, and Hulu), they highlighted the content available on the platform, ranging from Disney and Marvel, all the way to National Geographic and more. Their content library is impressive even without Fox, so it’s no surprise how much confidence Disney is showing in the service. Here...