Episode 64: - Dark Phoenix & The Farewell

This week in Movie News, Warner Bros. skips their normal Comic-Con announcement hall in what many are speculating is a sign of the times. Is Comic-Con starting to lose it's luster? Also, the 'Shazam' spinoff film 'Black Adam' finds a director to helm the Dwayne-The-Rock-Johnson picture, and the new X-Men film 'Dark Phoenix' under performs at the box office. And speaking of Dark Phoenix, Andy digs into the plot and explains why the new film feels so convoluted before the guys review the issues in direction, writing, and editing that seem to plague a franchise that was once so beloved. Can X-Men come back from their last few disappointing releases, or does the series need a reboot? On The Death of Cinema, Hollywood Reporter put out an article about just that - the problems with Dark Phoenix - and Andy and Zach have some hot sports opinions about it. Fact is, studios never seem to acknowledge that a film may just be bad, but is that the case with Dark Phoenix, or is the real trouble with Franchise Fatigue? And how is Disney going to handle it going forward, now that they own the keys to the X-Men kingdom? Lastly, Zach reveals the plot for 'The Farewell' after the guys saw it at the Oak Cliff Film Festival. The two discuss the indie nature of the Chinese-American film, and how it's internal east-meets-west debate about family and death seems to be resonating with audiences everywhere. And though the film won't have a wide-release until July, it may just be a movie worth keeping your eye on.