Eric is Quiet

Sing 2 Greater Philadelphia Area Seat Report T-11 and Counting Sellouts Showings Seats Sold Total Seats Perct Sold TOTALS 1 61 1684 10811 15.58% Total Seats Sold Today: 24 Total Seats WITHOUT EARLY ACCESS: 276 Comp (WITHOUT Early Access) 5.520x of Jungle Cruise T-11 (14.9M)

The Matrix: Resurrections Greater Philadelphia Area Seat Report T-11 and Counting Sellouts Showings Seats Sold Total Seats Perct Sold TOTALS 0 55 1,015 9574 10.60% Total Seats Sold Today: 53 Comp 0.913x of Godzilla vs. Kong T-11 (8.86M) 3.395x of The Suicide Squad T-11 (13.92M) 1.350x of Dune T-11 (6.88M)

Spider-Man: No Way Home Greater Philadelphia Area Seat Report T-5 and Counting Sellouts Showings Seats Sold Total Seats Perct Sold TOTALS 11 223 19,651 40,022 49.10% Total Seats Sold Today: 644 Comp 2.588x of Black Widow's Final Count (34.16M) 3.752x of Venom 2's Final Count (43.52M) Adjusted Comp 1.301x of Star Wars: TROS T-5 (52.06M)

Well no, I obviously want multiple sides when it comes to discussion of a movie, whether it be its quality, box office performance, etc. The people discussing here are all adults, so they can handle differing viewpoints, and the Wizarding World movies are in a "too big to fail" franchise created by people richer than we will ever be. I think it's fair to knock these movies down a few pegs. If anything, the general discussion of Fantastic Beasts 3 has been very, very, very negative. Even Potter fans are talking about their issues with these movies and the fiscal performance of this one. Which is totally, 100% fine. Healthy even. The issue comes when you just repeat yourself over and over again. And like sure that's not breaking any rules, and Marston's not in trouble, but it's still not something people like. Like Clockwork says, you just say the same thing with little variation, especially in a negative light, it can be tiresome and, frankly, very unproductive. And honestly, unless you really have something to say or want to let out, I think everybody would do better to post less in threads for movies they don't care about. If you don't like Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts, why go into those threads, post a "lol this is gonna bomb" remark, and then run out? You're just killing people's moods and you seem kind of jerkish. I'll admit I am far from perfect in this regard, and as somebody who really does not care for this series, I have expressed negative sentiment that others may not like. But I still at least try and bring something productive and engaging in my posts and I only really post when I feel it's truly necessary and brings value. Plus, I am trying to do better in curbing my tongue and not killing other people's good vibes.

Wanna talk about Timothee? 👀

Ariana DeBose the MVP. Her last few scenes at the end were simply chilling.

The difference is how much he says it. Marston frequently goes on and on about how a movie's gonna bomb and how a bad movie tarnished the franchise's reputation. If you're repeating the same thing over and over again, what exactly are you trying to gain here?

You hit the nail on the head right there. People love to complain about the studios and streamers for not marketing films or not putting their muscle behind it. I get why, since it's easy to point fingers at the corporate conglomerate for being everything wrong with the world (and they are in all other respects, let's be clear here. Never forget that capitalism will kill us faster than the virus will) But the fact of the matter is that audiences today are the least demanding they've ever been. They actively repel against artistically-minded pieces. Films that aren't designed to sell toys to children or tickle their nostalgia. The idea of something new and bold or from an exciting director is just too much for them. Even on Netflix the biggest films are stuff like Extraction and Red Notice. The idea of a movie being more than a commercial for toy lines or other movies, or anything more than a mildly amusing attraction is just too much for a good chunk of folks. People love to act like Film Twitter is just a bunch of stuffy hipster fuddy duddys who hate all movies, but the fact is they are far more overshadowed by people who do Ant-Man fancams and bring up Harley Quinn or whoever in every conversation. That's Film Twitter. And even when more original titles or non-franchise fare does well and gets a big ad campaign behind it from the studio, it's still not enough. Even movies that do hit and reach the cultural conversation still pale in comparison and gross way less than they would have even a few years ago. If Yesterday or Ford v Ferrari came out in 2006, they would have grossed significantly more than in 2019. Sure there's the occasional 1917, but those are merely exceptions to the rule than anything else. I know we all like to think that there's a clear appetite and that audiences don't want to stick to the same old franchise glut, but it's not the case, and all we can really do is hope that people wake up and realize there's more than just cheap thrills when it comes to film.

Dude we get it

The plan for the top 5 will be in a couple days, AKA when I finish getting the Spider-Man weekend thread up. I know it's another couple day's worth of delays, but I promise the wait will be worth it. And hey, you now get to take some time to predict what you think the top 5 will be. The winner gets my love and affection as a prize, which is truly the greatest gift of all. Hope you guys are having fun with this!

#6 The King of Comedy (1982) 133 pts, 20 lists "Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime." #1 placements: 1 #3 placements: 2 Top 5 placements: 6 Top 10 placements: 10 Box Office: $2.5 million Rotten Tomatoes: 89% Metacritic: 73 Awards: #87 on Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, Cannes Film Festival Opener Roger Ebert’s Review: "Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" is one of the most arid, painful, wounded movies I've ever seen. It's hard to believe Scorsese made it; instead of the big-city life, the violence and sexuality of his movies like "Taxi Driver" and "Mean Streets," what we have here is an agonizing portrait of lonely, angry people with their emotions all tightly bottled up. This is a movie that seems ready to explode -- but somehow it never does." BOT User Review: "My favorite of his films after Goodfellas. Fucking brilliant, eerily phophetic film with possibly De Niro's best performance ever." - @Jake Gittes Its Legacy: A spiritual sequel to Taxi Driver. Opened the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. Jerry Lewis' final film with 20th Century Fox. The spiritual predecessor to Todd Phillips' Joker. Was produced while Scorsese was dealing with pneumonia. Also a major influence for Steve Carell in Foxcatcher. A favorite of Akira Kurosawa. Gave Sandra Bernhard a paycheck. Commentary: I’ll be the first to admit that I thought King of Comedy was going to be in the midrange. I felt that while it was well-loved that the movie was too overlooked and obscure for it to go much higher. You know, similar to Alice or After Hours. But you guys really, really loved this one, just reaching outside the top 5. And I’ll admit, I am half-kidding with why this ranked so highly. With Todd Phillips ripping this movie off and getting away with it to the tune of a billion dollars, The King of Comedy has gained a massive resurgence. And that’s not a bad thing at all. Morbid, horrifying, satirical, and inexplicably hilarious, The King of Comedy is a film jam-packed with qualities and wit. Tackling the toxic ideals of celebrity worship and media culture, subject matters we as a culture are only now trying to take down, it’s anchored by an expert performance by Robert De Niro. Detailing a mentally deranged obsessive of a Johnny Carson type, what’s really incredible about his role as Rupert Pupkin is how his story is still prescient. In the Internet age, people are more fame hungry than ever and feel more attached to the celebrities they’ve never met before. It’s a strange parasitic relationship that only hurts people’s mental health and senses of empathy. In a way, it’s kind of sad how ahead of its time this movie truly is. And when you include a stunning climax that still puts chills down the viewer's spine, it’s pretty great to see this gem of Martin’s filmography get its deserved time in the sun.

#7 The Age of Innocence (1993) 128 pts, 18 lists "How can we be happy behind the backs of people who trust us?" #1 placements: 3 #3 placements: 2 Top 5 placements: 8 Top 10 placements: 6 Box Office: $32.3 million Rotten Tomatoes: 84% Metacritic: 90 Awards: 1 Academy Award and 4 nominations, 1 Venice Film Festival Award, 1 BAFTA win and 3 nominations, 1 Golden Globe Award and 3 nominations, 2 National Board of Review Awards, 1 Grammy Award nomination Roger Ebert’s Review: "I recently read The Age of Innocence again, impressed by how accurately the screenplay (by Jay Cocks and Scorsese) reflects the book. Scorsese has two great strengths in adapting it. The first is visual. Working with the masterful cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, he shows a society encrusted by its possessions...His second strength is a complete command of tone. Like her friend Henry James, Edith Wharton seldom allowed her characters to state bluntly what they were thinking. They talked around it, inhibited by society and perhaps afraid of their own thoughts. Wharton, however, allows herself a narrator who does state the plain truth." BOT User Review: N/A Its Legacy: A rare departure from Scorsese in tone, style, and subject matter. The final appearance of Luciano Charles Scorsese. The film was dedicated to him. Part of the Criterion Collection. One of the final works of Saul Bass. Gave Richard E. Grant a paycheck. Commentary: At the time, this romance story was overlooked during Scorsese’s early 1990s heyday of Goodfellas, Cape Fear, and Casino. But this look into high society is one that is intensely romantic yet also deeply sad. Daniel Day-Lewis and all the other characters are trapped in rigid social codes, one that sees marriage less as a love between others and more as something to follow so as wealth can continue for previous generations. It’s both a glamorous look at rich folks, yet also showcases the 1% as folks stuck in a prison, unable to truly enjoy themselves and the world around them, despite being rich enough to have anything and everything. It’s a stark contrast to the typical middle class, American Dream deconstruction found in other Scorsese films, yet also serves a purpose as a slight against the rich and powerful. That despite getting all you could ever want, you have no choices to make nor can you follow your own dreams. Wrapped up in a passionate love story with exemplary work from Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfieffer, and Winona Ryder, it’s sure to be a popular film among Scorsese fans for years to come.

#8 Silence (2016) 127 pts, 17 lists "I pray but I am lost. Am I just praying to silence?" #1 placements: 3 #2 placements: 3 #3 placements: 1 Top 5 placements: 8 Top 10 placements: 7 Box Office: $23.8 million Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Metacritic: 79 Awards: 1 Academy Award nomination, 1 National Board of Review Award, Top 10 from American Film Institute and National Board of Review Critic Review: "Building implacable dread and tension from scene to scene, the story is as simple as its underlying ideas are endlessly complex." - Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times BOT User Review: "Not only is Silence the best movie of the decade, and the most overlooked one (which is shocking given it's Scorsese's career long passion project), not only do I find it to be the best film of Scorsese's career, it has just about moved its way into one of my top 5 films of all time. One of the most powerful movies I have ever watched." - @The Panda Its Legacy: Final film in the "Scorsese Faith Trilogy". Detailing the Shimabara Rebellion for a new generation. A life-long passion project for Martin Scorsese now alive. One of two adaptations of the 1966 original novel. Serves as a modern homage to Ingmar Bergman. Gave Shinya Tsukamoto a paycheck. Commentary: Definitely one of the most passionate films on this list. It appeared on a lot of lists, but certainly not as much as many films before and after it in the rankings. This is not helped by the film’s box office failure, its massive runtime, and a depressing subject matter, so it’s not the easiest to get into. However, the people who voted for it really, really loved it. And it makes sense why. The final film in Scorsese’s unofficial Faith Trilogy, it’s another passion project that took decades to develop and came out to great results. A film that could have only been directed by a man who has struggled with his religion all his life, Silence looks into why people fall into religion in the first place in a world that isn’t kind to spiritual folk. How can you believe in God in a world that seems godless? How do you stay close to your beliefs while doing the right thing? Is it possible to even do both at the same time? There aren’t any clear answers, but that just allows deeper analysis and for viewers to create their own unique interpretations. And even if you aren’t religious, there’s still a grand story, beautiful production values, and a fantastic cast full of Hollywood talent everybody know and love, and a slew of incredible Japanese talents. And if you’re a Scorsese fan, this send-up to Ingmar Bergman is like The Irishman. A film that meditates on the director’s own life and the work he has done, as he nears the end of his own career/life. It’s genuinely fascinating, and while I’m obviously not against Scorsese continuing to make movies, this and Irishman really do feel like perfect endpoints. Scorsese’s faith-based releases have always been under the shadow of Scorsese’s more commercially viable gangster titles. And it’s unlikely that will change in the future. Yet Silence, and his other two films, will continue to endure for many and still leave a strong impression on viewers, whether they be Catholic or otherwise.

#9 The Irishman (2019) 125 pts, 21 lists "You always charge a guy with a gun! With a knife, you run away." #2 placements: 1 #3 placements: 1 Top 5 placements: 3 Top 10 placements: 11 Box Office: $8 million in theaters, 64 million viewers on Netflix in the first four weeks of release Rotten Tomatoes: 95% Metacritic: 94 Awards: 10 Academy Award nominations, 10 BAFTA nominations, 1 Critics Choice Award and 13 nominations, 5 Golden Globe nominations, 3 National Board of Review Awards, Critic Review: "The Irishman is a feast for the ages, a groaning board of exquisitely photographed scenes, iconic performances and tender nods toward old age that leave viewers in a mood more wistful than keyed-up." - Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post BOT User Review: "While it was epic in its approach it never lost sight of its characters. DeNiro, Pacino and Pesci haven’t been this good in awhile. And I was struck by just how profound it was. It was the right time for Scorsese to make this film. It’s a monumental achievement." - @DAR Its Legacy: One of Netflix's biggest hits upon its debut. Began Scorsese's current reign in streaming. The ninth collaboration between Scorsese and De Niro. The fourth collaboration between De Niro and Pacino. The first collaboration between Scorsese and Pacino. Boasts groundbreaking de-aging effects. The second of two major depictions of Jimmy Hoffa. One of Barack Obama's favorite movies of 2019. Gave Anna Paquin a paycheck. Commentary: The term “masterpiece” is one people love to throw around. But if you want to go into the real definition, or at least how I like to interpret things, it’s an artist’s greatest, most important work. Not their best work per se, nor your personal favorite work, nor even their most impactful work. All that stuff is subjective and based around your own personal feelings. But an artist’s masterpiece, at least in my eyes, is one that is often made around the end of an artist’s career and serves as a culmination of everything they’ve learned. All their skills, tools, crafts, and understanding of what makes a good work of art are used to great effect here to create something that summarizes their works and exemplifies why they’re so good in the first place. And for me, Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece, at least in this strange definition, goes to The Irishman. After years of development hell, this exemplifies more than 50 years of filmmaking. A massive, sprawling 3.5-hour epic detailing the life of Frank Sheeran through Robert De Niro’s finest performance, this film details an entire man’s story through groundbreaking visual effects technology and a somber, complex, meditative tale that is easy to get sucked into. In many ways, the film serves as a reflection on Martin and his own career. This doesn’t have the stylized insanity of Goodfellas or Wolf of Wall Street, yet still feels like a distinct look back on the films he made and how far he has come at his old age. It’s like what Frank Sheeran does in the movie itself. A man looking back on what he’s done and recontextualizing things as an old man. This is obviously not Scorsese’s last movie, and it’s likely he has one or two final productions after Killer Moon before he retires and/or passes quietly into the night. Yet this film has a certain sense of finality to it that it still shines as a true culmination of the man’s legacy.

#10 Casino (1995) 108 pts, 19 lists " There are three ways of doing things around here: the right way, the wrong way, and the way that *I* do it." #2 placements: 1 #3 placements: 1 Top 5 placements: 6 Top 10 placements: 3 Box Office: $116.1 million Rotten Tomatoes: 79% Metacritic: 73 Awards: 1 Academy Award nomination, 3rd place for Best Film from Cahiers du Cinema, 1 Golden Globe win and 1 nomination, 2 MTV Movie Award nominations Roger Ebert’s Review: "Unlike his other Mafia movies ("Mean Streets" and "GoodFellas"), Scorsese's "Casino" is as concerned with history as with plot and character. The city of Las Vegas is his subject, and he shows how it permitted people like Ace, Ginger and Nicky to flourish, and then spit them out, because the Vegas machine is too profitable and powerful to allow anyone to slow its operation." BOT User Review: "Epic crime film." - @Lordmandeep Its Legacy: An epic Goodfellas reunion. Dramatized the life story of Frank Rosenthal. Became one of Scorsese's biggest hits in the 1990s. Beginning to see reevaluation. Ranks as the 7th film to use "fuck" the most. Gave Don Rickles a paycheck. Commentary: Serving as the spiritual sequel to Goodfellas, right down to the cast and screenwriter Nick Pileggi, Casino is a fascinating look into the casino scene and how it can corrupt a man. This is not just shown through Scorsese’s layered depiction of Las Vegas, showcasing how the city is defined by its people, as crazy, greedy, and capitalistic as they may be, but also with the characters themselves. The trio of Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone were at the top of their game in 1995, and all three deliver exemplary performances that humanize these roles, giving dimension and tragedy to the piece. While critics and even Scorsese fans felt this was too derivative of Scorsese’s other works, there’s been solid reappraisal in the years since, and it managed to squeak into the top 10 ahead of many other films that have die-hard fans or hit by recency bias, which always hits these lists. That says quite a lot right there.

Sing 2 Greater Philadelphia Area Seat Report T-12 and Counting Sellouts Showings Seats Sold Total Seats Perct Sold TOTALS 1 61 1660 10811 15.35% Total Seats Sold Today: 34 Total Seats WITHOUT EARLY ACCESS: 252 Comp (WITHOUT Early Access) 5.143x of Jungle Cruise T-12 (13.88M)

The Matrix: Resurrections Greater Philadelphia Area Seat Report T-12 and Counting Sellouts Showings Seats Sold Total Seats Perct Sold TOTALS 0 55 962 9574 10.05% Total Seats Sold Today: 57 Comp 0.970x of Godzilla vs. Kong T-12 (9.41M) 3.228x of The Suicide Squad T-12 (13.23M) 1.344x of Dune T-12 (6.85M)

Spider-Man: No Way Home Greater Philadelphia Area Seat Report T-6 and Counting Sellouts Showings Seats Sold Total Seats Perct Sold TOTALS 11 221 19,007 39,892 47.65% Total Shows Added Today: 16 Total Seats Added Today: 2,191 Total Sellouts Added Today: 5 Total Seats Sold Today: 646 Comp 2.503x of Black Widow's Final Count (33.04M) 3.629x of Venom 2's Final Count (42.09M) Adjusted Comp 1.285x of Star Wars: TROS T-6 (51.39M)

Just letting you all know I'm getting 10-6 up tomorrow. My lips are sealed, but this is when we get to the really, really good stuff.

Morbius is a Marvel movie. When people see “Marvel” they turn into robots and automatically go to it. It’ll make bajillions and we all know it

I do honestly take pleasure in all this as a form of justice to the Feig movie. It was legit a cute, pleasant time and it’s a pity the reappraisal after all the discourse was “it’s meh I guess”. Deserves better than that honestly

Then maybe we should change the forum’s name to Artistic Quality Theory. Sounds way cooler to me