A Minecraft Movie (what to expect)
Scorecard, Video Game Movies, Going on a treasure hunt, New Pod
We might stay for Parker Posey, but we all know it’s the music that gets us seated for The White Lotus every week. So if the rumors are true and composer Cristóbal Tapia de Veer is out before next season, we have to ask—will we even bother with season four? Sound off in the comments!
Concession Stand Scorecard: A Minecraft Movie
Temp These Takes: What video games would the crew want to be made into movies
Watchlist Worthy: Guy Richie and the gang give us their best National Treasure
New Pod Drop: Talking The White Lotus & Other TV Shows—Episode 53!
This week’s movie - A Minecraft Movie
Letterboxd Description:
Be there and be square.
Four misfits find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they’ll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve.
Best Watched With
Friends who keep it metal and keep it heavy 🤘 And Minecrafters, of course.
End credit thoughts
Our expectations were low going into this reported $150 million movie. A blown budget and some big A-List names attach themselves to a video game IP that is marketed to the youth can go south quickly. None of us play, but a couple of us have young ones who do (obsessively). So we know this one will draw a crowd regardless.
For people who do not play, the story is easy to get into. There is a Minecraft world and there is the human real world, separated by portals. We learn how the Minecraft world operates alongside the characters so don’t worry about being left out and kept from the in-the-know crowd.
The acting is corny and goofy, but not in a bad way. It’s supposed to be. It’s a group of ragamuffin, has-been outliers who are all facing identity crises, struggling to belong and survive—the Minecraft world mirroring the real human world. In the midst of trying to get our tear ducts going, the movie provides a few good genuine laughs that might go over the kids heads but there is plenty of other humor for them to enjoy. And of course with Jack Black in the cast, you can expect his vocals to bring you back to early Tenacious D and School of Rock (2003).
Pop songs are interweaved in the movie, a decent amount of action, misfits coming together all facing life or death decisions. Everything required for a save-the-world story. Is this movie going to blow your mind? Probably not. Will it make your kids’/nieces’/nephews’/niblings’/cousins’/anyone-who-plays-Mincrafts’ day? Most likely. There was a handful of people in our theater and they clapped and cheered at the end. It’s worth finding out.
Otherwise, you can skip the theaters and wait till streaming.
P.S. if you do go see it in theaters, there are two end credit scenes. The first one is almost right away. The second is at the very very end after all the credits roll. It’s worth staying for Minecraft fanatics.
What video game do you want to be made or remade into a movie?
Eric
It's already HAPPENING! We are getting a Legend of Zelda movie. March 2027, baby. Let's be real, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of the greatest gaming experiences of ALL TIME. Debuting in 1998, this game was my childhood. Take a listen if you want to feel 5 again:
Link never says a word in any of the Zelda games, by the way—he just yells, grunts, yelps, growls, etc. And these noises are stuck in my brain forever. And the final boss battle? Trying to defeat Ganon with my brother is a top 10 life experience - for better or worse.
I know I'm rambling now, but let me live. I can't WAIT for this movie to hit theaters. Love me some Zelda, love me some Link. Lets party!
Kelly
I’m not sure how qualified I am to talk about this but isn’t that my theme song these days? If a Luigi’s Mansion movie were to be in the works I would simply be unwell in the best possible way. The video game itself is an interactive movie. Each floor is beautiful, and I love that it’s basically 12 different escape rooms. I fear (if done right) a movie could be life changinggggggg.
New Mexico Drew
The only game I played as much as Super Mario Bros on the NES was Contra. Just two Schwarzenegger-looking dudes, who thought they were fighting a secret underworld terrorist group, that turns out to be controlled by aliens. I’m a simple dude, that is enough plot to have me seated. If we can get Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to reimagine that 8-bit music? Game over 😎.
Josh
Super Smash Bros. A dystopian world where it’s like a virtual reality competition thing where people enter a tournament for money/sustenance/whatever makes their lives better. People from different socio-economic locations enter but this year, half way through the tournament, they double the price and change the rules: it’s a fight to the death. You die in the game, you die in real life. Kirby wins obviously, but it would be blood bath.
Fountain of Youth (2025) by Guy Ritchie
The desire and search for something that will make a person live forever is always a bad idea but can be a recipe for a good story. Will Guy Ritchie and company deliver one? I am not sure. But he’s working with some fresh and talented ingredients: Jim Halpert, Natalie Portman, Domhnall Gleeson, and Eiza González. Everyone of these actors have it them to cook up something worth watching. This heist movie is giving National Treasure vibes, which, for me, is a great thing.
I’m willing to find out what kind of story Guy will be slanging in time.
-Jp
Letterboxd Description:
The best secrets are the hardest to find.
A treasure-hunting mastermind assembles a team for a life-changing adventure. But to outwit and outrun threats at every turn, he’ll need someone even smarter than he is: his estranged sister.
Also Directed by Guy Ritchie:
Lock, Stock, and two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Snatch (2000)
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
The White Lotus & Other TV Shows #053
🎧 Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube
Eric, Kelly, and Josh dive into chaotic discussions about various TV shows, including 'Yellowjackets,' 'White Lotus,' 'The Studio,' and more. Key highlights include debates over the quality of 'Yellowjackets' seasons, detailed breakdowns of White Lotus plot intricacies, speculative theories about upcoming episodes, and humorous tangents about movie editing processes and character arcs.
The episode is filled with impassioned opinions, humorous disagreements, and light-hearted banter as they cover multiple storylines and predict dramatic conclusions.
Tune in next week for | The Amateur
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