Nick1Ø66

Well, sure. But so is everything that goes on here, from conspiracies on the spelling of Palpatine’s name to arguing the whether Superman wears underwear. And how many people outside the first world count their biggest problem to be missing cues from Mr. Mom? They're all first world problems. I mean, everything else has been banned!

Shatner's Kirk is probably one of the most unfairly maligned characters in pop culture history, and subject to some seriously distorted historical revisionism. He's hardly the sexist, "shoot first ask questions" later misogynistic dinosaur he's made out to be. Those traits, while there to a certain extent, have been vastly blown out of proportion. Kirk is actually an incredibly thoughtful leader who almost always sought out a diplomatic solution first. Your point about how well Kirk's ageing was handled is something I hadn't considered before, and it's a very good one. Well, that's true enough. And clearly they're trying to update the characters for "modern audiences". But when you're creating what's essentially an entirely new character and simply slapping the old name and rank on them, why not just create new characters altogether? For a show about the future, NuTrek does a lot of looking back. No, I'm pretty sure it's about erasing Shatner. You simply cannot rationalize minimizing James T. f*cking Kirk in Star Trek. Especially given that every other significant Trek captain is featured in that poster. I mean…you can have Archer and not Kirk? Do newer Trek fans even know who Archer is? Give me a break. Your point about Spock being iconic is well taken, but Kirk’s an icon as well, so why not have both? There are two TNG characters after all. How is Geordi more iconic than Kirk? They don’t like Shatner. He’s said so himself. And if the purpose of the poster is to “balance the demographics” rather than featuring Star Trek’s iconic characters and history…well then, you’ve summed up NuTreks priorities, and problems, nicely.

Peck is good in the role, not great. The only re-casting of iconic characters I think they mostly nailed were Pine as Kirk (Wesley is unwatchable) and Urban as McCoy. All of the others, whether Abrams or NuTrek, are unrecognizable as the characters they're meant to be playing. And I'm not talking about imitating mannerisms...they're just completely different characters who only share a name and rank with the original.

I actually prefer Peck to Quinto, the latter of whom played Spock like a thinly veiled psychotic who always seemed seconds away from a murderous rampage. It was like the producers handed him some Star Trek episodes to prepare for the role, he watched Amok Time and said “I’ll go with this”.

The clowns running what's called "Star Trek" now hate Shatner, to the point where they've completely left his Kirk out of promotional material...something that hasn't gone unnoticed by Bill.

The Night Manager is phenomenal, including the ending. IMO one of the best limited series ever.

Yeah, it looks like something from a video game to me. Or even worse, Rings of Power.

Well, perhaps. Theoretically, there are many legal remedies. But legislatures and courts move slowly, and in the past it's proven almost impossible for the legal system to keep up with emerging technologies. Most countries, in terms of legislation, still haven't fully figured out how to grapple with relatively simple things like how copyright, free speech and censorship works in the age of the internet, and it's been decades. I mean, it hasn't even advanced much since I was in law school. And that's nothing...advances in DNA, genetics and AI are going to be the real challenge. Part of the problem is that most judges and legislators just don’t understand the technology that they’re trying to regulate. And remember, it's not just the US, every country is going to deal with this differently, absent international agreement, and good luck with that. The genie is just out of the bottle on this stuff, and we're all just struggling to keep up.

Theoretically? There will be years of battles in courts and legislatures worldwide to come to terms with all this, which will be one of many, many battles trying to sort out how AI is going to change our world. Realistically? I don't think there will be much of anything that can be done about it, and this is a future composers and other artists are going to have to deal with. IP and copyright will be the least of our worries when it comes to AI.

Hush now, Bespin, Bespin, don't you cry Mama's gonna check out all of your books for you Mama won't let any Tolkien get through Mama's gonna keep you right under her wing She might let you read, but not Lord of the Rings Mamma's gonna keep Bespin, Middle-Earth Free

I hope it's better than the trailer. I'm a sucker for this genre, and loved the John Adams series. I recently read Walter Isaacson's bio of Franklin, so this should be aimed right at me. But..this modern trailer makes it look and feel like a modern action movie, complete with the quick cuts and typical action movie music. It's just incongruous with the subject matter. I really hope this doesn't represent the tone of the actual series. And while Michael Douglas is a fine actor, I fear he's been miscast as Franklin. Tom Wilkinson nailed that role (though we admittedly have little to go by).

For those watching this, how is it shaping up? I've been waiting to binge it, but I've heard mixed things.

THE MUMMY is a fantastic flick. Better, and certainly more fun, than the last two Indiana Jones movies.

Nothing wrong with Gladiator's CGI.

Oh, I agree. After Endgame the MCU lost its way. But like it or not, it is a genuine cinematic universe. Gladiator is...not. In fact, there's an argument to be made that the MCU is the only "shared" cinematic universe that's ever really worked.

One morning I came home after being out all night...a friend had opened up a new Italian restaurant in London near Covent Garden and we closed the place down, then helped ourselves to his wine cellar. When I got home I collapsed on the couch but didn't feel like sleeping (or so I thought) so I popped in the Gladiator DVD. Fell asleep like 5 minutes later, of course. Eventually, the film played through and the DVD switched back to the menu screen, which looped the main theme every 60 seconds as the menu reset. Over. And over. And over. For 12 hours. Having drank all night, I was constantly in that half awake/asleep dream state where time and space have no meaning and I couldn't figure out why I kept hearing the same piece of music again and again, and how long was this movie anyway? Didn't even have the energy or presence of mind to reach for the remote and turn it off. That thing turned into an earworm that stayed with me until it was mercifully replaced by Hedwig's Theme. Not that there's anything wrong w/the Gladiator score, but after that, I didn't want to hear anything from Zimmer and pretty much ignored everything he did until Interstellar. Some nights though, I wake up in a cold sweat and can still hear it...the screaming of the Hans.

This is actually (no pun intended) an excellent way of describing it. I get Thor's point about world-building...even if I do think that story, and especially character, are more important. And there are movies that lend themselves to continuing to explore the "world" they inhabit. The MCU, imperfect as it is, is a good example of that. But I just don't think Gladiator is that kind of beast, and I think trying to make it be so is a little ham-fisted.

All these worlds are yours to explore, Thor. Except Middle-Earth. Attempt no landing there.

It feels uninspired and unnecessary. Some films beg for a sequel, Gladiator is not one of them. Russel Crowe and Maximus is Gladiator. There's no Gladiator without Russel Crowe and Maximus.

I don't think it's "anger" At least in my case. For me the idea of Gladiator sequel is more... Exactly. If Scott were merely making another Roman epic history/swords and sandals film set in a different era, I'd be over the moon (though with expectations tempered after Napoleon). It's the fact that it's a Gladiator sequel that grates a bit. And if his comments on the project are anything to go by, his rationale for making the film is primarily commercial, not artistic.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"

Top 5 worst ideas in the history of the world: 5. New Coke 4. Themed Restaurants 3. Hooked on Classics 2. Filling the Hindenburg With Hydrogen 1. A Gladiator sequel.

And knowing Ridley Scott, it very well may.

To encourage recycling.