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

For so many years, DC had been trying to play catch up to Marvel. A Cinematic universe, crossovers, interconnected stories and all in a shorter space of time. As we know their efforts on the most part did not work, meaning a rethink was in order. After multiple leadership and structural changes, it finally seems as though DC/Warner Bros are starting to get their act together, and Head of DC Films Walter Hamada has been instrumental ins steadying the ship. Under his leadership, DC has taken a step back on their shared cinematic universe ambitions, instead focusing on individual heroes and stories. Aquaman, Shazam, Joker, Birds of Prey, and Wonder Woman 1984 are all positive steps in the right direction, and its clear DC is starting to finds its groove. And I don't care what anyone says - I thought Birds of Prey was great (a real shame it didn't perform at the box office). But looking to the future, there's a lot more to come from the comic book giant, Walter Hamada revealed

It’s an understatement to say tensions have been running high these past few months, and that’s racial tension to be precise. The death of George Floyd sparked numerous protests and debate worldwide around (initially) police brutality, and then wider issues around racial prejudice and injustice. Numerous other critical issues around systematic racism, privilege, and more have been bought to our attention, with even the Coronavirus Pandemic highlighting major flaws. So much debate has been created that now the film and wider entertainment industries are having to self-reflect and pave ways forward in making tomorrow’s world more inclusive for all. However the ways in which the industry is tackling these important issues are being called into question, and that’s what I want to discuss. One way in which companies are reacting is by removing “controversial” content from streaming platforms. HBO Max removed the classic film “Gone with the Wind” (albeit they put it back on), whilst Netf

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

There’s been much speculation as to what the future holds for the MCU, and one of the biggest questions going around is what exactly is going to happen with Thor. The character went through a big (no pun intended) transformation during Avengers Infinity War and Endgame, fans have been clamouring for another Thor film. Well, according The Hollywood Reporter, Thor 4 is happening…and Taika Waititi is coming back to direct! As huge fan of Thor, this news is super exciting given how well Taika directed Thor: Ragnarök. The film was a revelation for the Thor character and franchise, and a lot of the plaudits went to Taika Waititi for making great use of Chris Hemsworth’s comedic talent. Ragnarök was immensely funny yet had great heart and some of the MCU’s best action.   Although not confirmed, I fully expect to see Valkyrie, Korg, and Meek to reprise their roles in the sequel. The characters chemistry with Thor in Ragnarök was great and have become much loved characters in their

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 that co

With the X-Men films as we know them coming to an end (thanks Disney), Dark Phoenix marks the end of an era for the Fox/Marvel films. As the film nears its June release, Fox have begun to ramp up their marketing efforts, with nostalgia being a key factor in their new promotional materials. Fox had declared today, May 13 th , X-Men Day. So happy X-Men Day!? I’m not celebrating personally, although Fox used the fictional day to release some marketing materials for Dark Phoenix , focusing on the previous instalments of the franchise, and journey viewers have gone one with the franchise. The first clip released by Fox titled “Dark Phoenix: The X-Men Legacy” looks back at the history of the X-Men films and the legacy they leave behind, with input from the films actors, directors, and producers. The first X-Men (2000) film is lauded by many as transforming the comic-book movie genre, showing film makers and audiences that comic-book films can be fun yet serious too. Ano

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, however I’m sad we won’t be getting one Star

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

Every year, film studios, exhibitors (cinemas), press and more converge on Las Vegas for the film industry’s biggest trade exhibition - CinemaCon! The exhibition largely focuses on the current climate for cinema chains, with key notes on new innovations and challenges facing the industry, whilst studios use this platform to showcase to exhibitors and press their film slates for the year, reassuring cinema owners the industry is in good health. As always, the big news coming out of CinemaCon 2019 was from the studio presentations, with Disney being the standout. Trailers, full movie scenes and more were shown, whilst some interesting revelations grabbed the headlines. There’s a lot to unpack so enough of this pretext…let’s get stuck in! Don’t Mention Netflix! Cinema owners the world over are worried about the lasting damage streaming services are having on their businesses. Alan Horn pledged that theatrical releases remain the corner stone of Disney’s film business, which was

Rotten Tomatoes, like many websites and YouTube channels, has been facing a growing problem for a number of years now – TROLLS! Trolls and trolling culture has grown exponentially in recent times, and unfortunately, they can negatively influence public perceptions, particularly that of the general “movie going” audience. Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregation website for film and television, know this better than most and have recently stated they are trying to tackle the issue. Before I get into it, let me just say on behalf of everyone – TROLLS ARE DICKS!! **Regains Composure** Rotten Tomatoes is mainly known for aggregating the reviews of a film, and giving it a percentage score. Critics leave reviews, whilst fans have been allowed to leave there audience scores and reviews on the website too. Unfortunately for most, trolls have abused this system for far too long and its led to bad publicity and fake news around certain films. The tipping point was all the “crap” Capta