WORST. SUMMER. EVER. By now you’ve  heard that refrain applied to the 2016 blockbuster season. Normally, we’re highly skeptical of any claims that suggest that the times we’re living in right this second are somehow unprecedented. The idea that Nothing Like This Has Ever Happened Before almost always proves false in the longer term, because the wheel turns, old wounds heal and new much more painful ones are opened up. And it’s a phrase that has been, within our collective memory of just the last decade or so, widely applied to 2013, to 2010, 2009 and 2007.

Continue reading Worst Movie Summer Ever: An Investigation at The Playlist.

You know us —it’s all sunshine and buttercups round here. Almost every other day of the year, we can be found frolicking in the bee-loud glades of cinephilia, delighting in the wonders on display with the unjaded eyes of gurgling infants. But very rarely, we stray to the Dark Side, and today is such a day, one given over to calling out the most ignominious and faith-destroying films of the year so far.

If “best” is subjective, “worst” is just as much so, but with added vitriol. 

Continue reading The 15 Worst Films Of 2016 So Far at The Playlist.

Hollywood is obviously focused on franchises, sequels and leveraging any kind of brand-based intellectual property: ‘Lego,’ ‘Angry Birds,’ Pez, Emojis — you name it. But as we posited earlier in the week, brands and franchises aren’t always a sure bet, and summer 2016 could prove that with painful and expensive definitiveness. This weekend, we have more proof of this disturbing trend for Hollywood. Paramount’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” opened, and while it was number one at the box-office with $35.2 million, this is a significant drop — a 46% plummet — from the original film released in 2014 that opened to $65.5 million.

Continue reading ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2’ Underperforms, ‘Popstar’ Flops: Box Office at The Playlist.

In an era when we’re going to get a “22 Jump Street“/”Men In Black” crossover movie, it’s good to know that studio executives aren’t just mashing up everything they possibly can (and as we recently detailed, chasing IP entertainment may not be a sustainable model). And thus, while this weekend’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows” (our review) apparently contains a wink to “Transformers,” producer Brad Fuller assures everyone that the two Michael Bay produced franchises won’t be crossing over anytime soon.

Continue reading Thank Goodness, There Are No Plans To Crossover ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ And ‘Transformers’ at The Playlist.

The rebooted “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” franchise is custom-made for those who found producer Michael Bay’s other toy-centric series, “Transformers,” too mature, complex and understated. And in its second go-round (following 2014’s hit), it embraces juvenilia with a gusto that’s apt to further entice kids hooked on its cacophonous CG-ified spirit, immature humor and alienate just about everyone else. A brazenly childish assault on the senses and intellect that expands its roster to include even more popular characters from the series’ animated heyday, ‘Out of the Shadows’ is a weekday-afternoon cartoon brought to belligerently digitized life – one whose assaultive style is epitomized by the 3D sight of a tank shell being fired directly at the audience’s eyes.

Continue reading ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows’ Can’t Escape The Ooze Of Its Cheeseball Tone & Action [Review] at The Playlist.

These days, it’s not summer unless there’s a branded piece of entertainment to take your hard earned dollars, and producer Michael Bay and co. are preparing to unleash “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows” onto the world. And yet another trailer has arrived showing your fave pizza loving heroes throwing quips and doing flips.

READ MORE: Review: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Starring Megan Fox, Will Arnett And More

The sequel to the surprise hit, and generally well liked first movie, finds Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael returning to do battle, this time facing off some key figures from the franchises’s history.

Continue reading Watch: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows’ Go Into Battle In New Trailer at The Playlist.

The X-Men won’t be the only mutants rolling into cinemas this summer. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows” is coming, with the pizza-loving heroes hoping to cement their franchise viability with this second outing. And certainly, producer Michael Bay and co. don’t look to be messing too much with a formula that worked the first time out, while giving the proceedings a bit more juice for the followup.

Continue reading Watch: New Trailer For ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’ Has More Half Shell Action at The Playlist.

Watch: New Trailer For 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows'

Continue reading Watch: New Trailer For ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’ at The Playlist.

Watch: 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows' Drops Super Bowl Spot With Speed, Stealth, And Precision

Continue reading Watch: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows’ Drops Super Bowl Spot With Speed, Stealth, And Precision at The Playlist.

Watch: First Trailer For 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows' Introduces Bebop And Rocksteady

Continue reading Watch: First Trailer For ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows’ Introduces Bebop And Rocksteady at The Playlist.

Paramount Sets 2016 Release Date For 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Sequel After Massive Opening Weekend

Continue reading Paramount Sets 2016 Release Date For ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Sequel After Massive Opening Weekend at The Playlist.