I thought it would be Universal in the U.S. since MGM has their new distribution deal with them, but at this point, it's anyone's guess.
Universal does not have an MGM distribution deal, they have a deal for No Time To Die where MGM gets US/Canadian theatrical rights while Uni gets remaining international distribution and home video distribution worldwide.
Expectations are pretty high given so many of us grew up with these movies, especially the first film. Long gaps traditionally don't seem to produce "classics," but hopefully it'll still be enjoyable. The problem with a lot of these types of long awaited sequels and reboots is an overuse of callbacks and self-awareness and so they kind of come across as character karaoke. That was at least how the recent Jay and Silent Bob reboot came off. But I still want to have fun with this one. It's been a while since I've seen either one star in a live action comedy.
That's my worry. Too many callbacks and self-parody instead of just telling a new story. Even if manage to avoid that, you still have the sadness of seeing them older. While Dumb & Dumber To is not a classic, I think it's about the best you can hope for with a sequel. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad. I hope Bill & Ted will fall in line with that.
I am also curious as to who is distributing this in USA because if they aren't doing a UHD I will have to import this. Though there is a good chance if VVS films in Canada is doing a UHD this will likely receive a UHD as well in USA. I wouldn't be surprised if Best Buy did a 4K steelbook.
Anyone know the release date for the Canadian UHD? That says order date not sure if it also means the release date.
Supposedly next year will see the Bill and Ted 1 in UHD at USA....
I always hesitate when actors play a character 20+ years later. I first had this feeling watching ST:TNG when there were stories with the original cast members. Spock was done exceptionally well. Too often, the character is isolated or turned into a sad sack who quit so the creators don't have to try as hard to fill in what happened. With Spock he became a diplomat and DID things with his life.
Bill & Ted is a comedy so I don't expect the kind of fidelity I would from a drama but there's a line between sadly living in the past (both for the movie and its characters) and playfully referencing the past.
That's my worry. Too many callbacks and self-parody instead of just telling a new story. Even if manage to avoid that, you still have the sadness of seeing them older. While Dumb & Dumber To is not a classic, I think it's about the best you can hope for with a sequel. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad. I hope Bill & Ted will fall in line with that.
I agree, Dumb and Dumber To itself is pretty entertaining and a good sequel (pretty sure someone will post in here it's not). Just to have those characters back at it again made it worth seeing and it was enjoyable.
[Show spoiler]I didn't like the shaggin' wagon tease but I thought it was hilarious they drove to Ken Conference using a Zamboni from a strip club.
I think Face The Music will be about as enjoyable as the first two films in the series, at least I hope it will.
I don’t see how this can be anything other than a steaming pile of white dog s@#t.
...I really don’t.
I don't know what part of it worries you, but one thing that certainly encourages me is the fact that the script was written so long ago, and they've had almost, if not more than 10 years to polish and refine it while they were waiting for financing to come through.
I don't know what part of it worries you, but one thing that certainly encourages me is the fact that the script was written so long ago, and they've had almost, if not more than 10 years to polish and refine it while they were waiting for financing to come through.
The problem is that there are just so many bad things going on in the world, that people have become pessimistic. They've forgotten how to be excited.
Last edited by Hardback247; 08-19-2020 at 05:32 AM.
The stream is 4k SDR (on all outlets). Any chance the disc will include HDR? I wasn't planning on buying both, but I'll double dip for the disc if it adds HDR.
The stream is 4k SDR (on all outlets). Any chance the disc will include HDR? I wasn't planning on buying both, but I'll double dip for the disc if it adds HDR.
Expectations are pretty high given so many of us grew up with these movies, especially the first film. Long gaps traditionally don't seem to produce "classics," but hopefully it'll still be enjoyable. The problem with a lot of these types of long awaited sequels and reboots is an overuse of callbacks and self-awareness and so they kind of come across as character karaoke. That was at least how the recent Jay and Silent Bob reboot came off. But I still want to have fun with this one. It's been a while since I've seen either one star in a live action comedy.
The good thing is that they didn't really use nor overuse callbacks at all. It was an honest continuation without all that. If it did any callbacks it was in the same manner of the second to the first. Reminders the princesses were from the 15th century England, that they have to write the song to unite the work, and stuff like that. It was very well written.
Watched this last night using a friend's Vudu account. Not that I paid nothing to watch the movie: since, prior to last night, I had no way to stream the film in 4K to our projector, I ran out last minute and bought an Apple TV 4K before Target closed. So: I got to see Bill & Ted Face the Music on a 135" screen on a comfortable summer night in our backyard, and as a bonus, I can finally subscribe to the Criterion Channel.
I enjoyed the film, but it's definitely a bumpy ride and you just kind of have to accept that if you're going to get anything out of it. I'm looking forward to revisiting the first two (I watched Excellent Adventure about two years ago, and have that film's 4K disc on the way, as well as the Shout three-disc collection.) The second was always my fave as a kid (I was born in 1983; "evil clones" were some of the most thrilling words in my vocabulary by the time the movie was out on VHS.) Then again, I also preferred TMNT II: Secret of the Ooze over TMNT back then, and we all know that some opinions are just wrong. Anyway. This has been the most rambling post I've ever written here.
Further thoughts on Face the Music (spoiler free except for non-plot discussion of some characters who are seen in the trailers), broken down into bullets because I'm supposed to be working:
*Reeves and Winters do a great job channeling Ted and Bill, respectively, but it was a little difficult for me to suspend my disbelief and see their teenage selves reflected in their fifty-year-old bodies. They sell the goofy earnestness and have the mannerisms and comic timing down, 100%... but, you know, people grow up and change a little, and these characters haven't at all. I suppose that's the point, and I did have a conversation with my dad a few days ago about how adulthood is an illusion, so maybe I'm being too critical. Anyway, watch any of the trailers: what you see is what you get. If you're into what they're doing, you'll enjoy it. They do play well to the major themes of the script, but more on that a bit further down.
*The daughters are hands down my favorite parts of the film. The actresses jumped into characters that were obviously written as riffs (gettit) on Reeves' and Winters' own portrayals, and made them their own. I don't necessarily need to see a fourth film with these two as the stars, but I wouldn't be angry about it if it happened. Without giving anything away that you can't find out on an IMDB cast list, I also love that Ted's daughter is Billie and Bill's daughter is Thea.
*The robot looks like a Power Rangers villain in a costume someone forgot to paint. Seriously, his costume looks like it came out of the dumpster behind the laser tag place that used to exist not far from my childhood home. I'm not sure if this is intentional. But that said, by the end of the film, he was one of my favorite characters. If this movie came out when I was in high school, I would probably be quoting his lines every day at school for months on end. Since I'm not in high school anymore, I'll just sit here at my desk and laugh quietly to myself about how much I enjoyed the character and his line deliveries. He reminds me a little bit of Todd Louiso, if anyone remembers him.
*William Satler's return as Death is most triumphant. We know this dude has aged, but damn if he didn't just jump right back into the part like no time has passed at all.
*Jeremiah Craft's Louis Armstrong feels like a bad caricature to me, but it doesn't play as a joke. I'm not sure if I'm even comfortable with the performance, although he seems to be giving it his college best. Actually... yeah, that's the thing. It feels like the performance came right out of a college drama club production. Hmm.
*The small budget really works against the movie. There are short scenes (and even shorter glimpses) here and there of the past, and these look pretty great--I actually believed the characters had gone to those places and times. I wish there was more of that, and fewer scenes shot in dive bars/houses/etc. The all-CG sets are bad (with one major exception that is in the latest trailer but I don't want to give it away for anyone who hasn't watched it... this set is also bad, but still kind of cool, in a 1993-failed-Peter-Billingsley-career-revival-vehicle-Arcade kind of way) and make the budget limitations incredibly obvious. Maybe it would play better on a smaller screen. I'm having trouble sitting inside for a movie right now (the 4K projector and large screen are recent acquisitions), but when the disc comes out near the end of the year, I'm sure I'll revisit it on the 65" OLED in our living room.
*The script is great. The plot speaks to me as an adult who has gone through his fair share of "is this what my life was supposed to be like?" moments. The thing that rings truest for me: these guys were promised the keys to the kingdom as kids, but those gates were locked long before they ever had the opportunity to reach them. Now they're trapped in the overflow lot of life with the millions of other schleps, waiting for someone who isn't their long-dead future friend (RIP George) to tell them they're anything more than average. No, I'm not bitter. Lol. But this disappointment feels real, and what makes these characters endearing is that they don't seem to have been beaten down by life's long slow slide to the middle.
This "review" has been a little uneven, but it's time to get back to work. To wrap up: yeah, the movie straddles the line between good and bad, but there's something to be said for tenacity. This script has been kicking around for, what, a decade? They made the film they wanted, against the odds. We even got the Orion Pictures logo, which was all kinds of neat. And most importantly, it felt good to spend an hour and a half (remember when movies were only that long?) with a couple of lovable goofs who just want to do right by the world and their loved ones. To quote Gandalf in a line not written by Tolkien in a movie that nobody loves but me: "I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… small acts of kindness and love." This movie won't please everyone, but it's the kind of movie we need in the world right now. It has a big heart, and I'm so glad it exists.
Now to hit Post Quick Reply before I get the urge to go back and edit this.
(Edit: I edited it pretty extensively. Guess I'll be working late tonight.)
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