Keanu Reeves' '47 Ronin' Bombing: Universal Prepares for Major Loss

[Dino Velvet]

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/keanu-reeves-47-ronin-bombing-universal-prepares-big-002627942.html

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[GroobySteven]

Why are it's reviews (IMDB) not that bad? Average 6.9 ?

[lifeisfiction]

The critics hated Taken, but the movie was a major hit. People pay the bills not critics so we will see how it fairs.

[fred41]

I tend to go by this site: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/47_ronin/

It kind of mirrors the IMD on this...for me , these ratings make it worthwhile to watch on a stoned night of Netflix...but not to shell out money at a movie theater...also because these Samurai films tend to run way too long.

For the aficionados, it might be worth watching the original. I haven't seen it, so I can't comment on it.

[king sun]

While the story of the 47 Ronin is a true story and legendary in Japan, when I saw the trailer for the movie and there was all the unnecessary effects I already knew that this movie was going to be garbage......

[tsmirandameadows]

Why are it's reviews (IMDB) not that bad? Average 6.9 ?

IMDB heavily curves its average ratings. For example, there is only about a four point difference between The Godfather and your average Rob Schneider film. Rotten Tomatoes is a bit better in this regard but still not perfect, because reviews are tabulated as either positive or negative, with nothing in between. Therefore, a film with consistently lukewarm reviews will tend to be overrated in the rankings, where as a film whose critics either loved it or marginally disliked it, will tend to be underrated. Still, Rottentomatoes has the advantage of links to the actual reviews, so that you can draw your own conclusion.

[bluesoul]

Why are it's reviews (IMDB) not that bad? Average 6.9 ?

because anyone can vote. i can technically vote 10 and i haven't watched it. also- there are A LOT of kids on imdb

[RadiusDark]

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/keanu-reeves-47-ronin-bombing-universal-prepares-big-002627942.html

http://replygif.net/i/537.gif

Thanks for posting this. I learned a lot by studying the story surrounding this film.

[Dino Velvet]

Thanks for posting this. I learned a lot by studying the story surrounding this film.

You're welcome. Keanu Reeves makes every film worse like Powers Boothe makes everything better.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01761/xfactor-dracula_1761670b.jpg

Cruising with Al Pacino- Scarf Choice - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ok_SM-aSb4)

[RadiusDark]

He's trying to get a scene with Miranda Meadows. I'm going to hire Smith instead.

[youngblood61]

Be your own critic, see it yourself.

[Dino Velvet]

He's trying to get a scene with Miranda Meadows. I'm going to hire Smith instead.

He might be wooden but that's just his acting. A real stiff don't do 'ya no good unless he's rigid in the right places and can last the test of time while taking direction.

[supermancsm]

47 Ronin is a great movie.

[Dino Velvet]

47 Ronin is a great movie.

Welcome to the board, Keanu. We always knew you'd make it.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lms9zgHzqA1qg4blro1_500.gifhttp://media.giphy.com/media/I66n5KljVjNmg/giphy.gif

[goatman]

Look at the field "47 Ronin" is up against(just "The Hobbit: TDoS" & "Mandela" alone, plus "American Hustle')....
Probably would've fared better as "dry-period" feature as opposed to Christmas or Summer premiere...

[Rockit_]

Why would a movie studio give someone who has never directed a movie $175 million? Then expand that number by another $50 million?!

[bluesoul]

Why would a movie studio give someone who has never directed a movie $175 million? Then expand that number by another $50 million?!

i doubt he has never directed a feature before. he may have directed a feature film when he was in school or worked as a second unit director or assistant director to a feature. it's virtually impossible for a studio to even green light a director who has literally zero experience directing a feature.

if this is his first studio film, i can also tell you he wasn't really the director. :whistle:

[RallyCola]

i see a crap ton of movies...some i see because i want to and others i see because i am dragged to by friends.

recently, i've seen the hobbit 2, american hustle, the wolf of wall street, anchorman 2 and will likely see grudge match on sunday. my point is that i, nor no one i know wants to see 47 ronin because it just looks terrible. most people i know poke fun at anything keanu does simply because he is a bore to watch.

i find it hard to believe that this is a tentpole movie unless we've altered the definition of tentpole to be anything with a large budget. studio execs had to test this film and see that it wasn't going to appeal to anything more than anime happy fan boys under the age of 18 who haven't nutted on a real girl yet.

[Jericho]

Never understood the hate for Keanu Reeves, he's entertaining! :shrug

[Stavros]

According to IMDB this is the Seventh version of the film!!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1335975/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv


This is the seventh cinematic adaptation of the Japanese folktale of the 47 Ronin, after Genroku Chûshingura (1941) - IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033654/) (1941), Chûshingura (1958) - IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0198371/) (1958), Chûshingura (1962) - IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055850/) (1962), Akô-jô danzetsu (1978) - IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077135/) (1978), Shijûshichinin no shikaku (1994) - IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111170/) (1994) and Saigo no Chûshingura (2010) - IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1554522/) (2010). This is however the first Hollywood cinematic adaptation.

[pantybulge69]

i saw it last night and thought it was just ok...a couple of nice action/CGI scenes but nothing extraordinary about 47 Ronin.
it just didn't wow or impress me at all....the biggest knock was that we are forced to see it in 3-D (very limited theaters in regular viewing) and it's not nowhere near worth the 3-D viewing/price. catch it on blu-ray DVD rental and save.

secondly, keanu reeves acting was just horrible! what a stiff,lackluster role play!i never got into his disinteresting character at all. i felt the studio just rented a famous face to play a role another less heralded could have easily done.
i'd rate it a 5.5 at best.

[pantybulge69]

Look at the field "47 Ronin" is up against(just "The Hobbit: TDoS" & "Mandela" alone, plus "American Hustle')....
Probably would've fared better as "dry-period" feature as opposed to Christmas or Summer premiere...

add Wolf of Wall Street to that mix as well. i thought it was a great, hilarious,engaging film.

[KorbinDallas]

More on the history of the story of 47 Ronin

The play has been made into a movie at least six times in Japan,[34] the earliest starring Onoe Matsunosuke. The film's release date is questioned, but placed between 1910 and 1917. It has been aired on the Jidaigeki Senmon Channel (Japan) with accompanying benshi narration. In 1941, the Japanese military commissioned director Kenji Mizoguchi, who would later direct Ugetsu, to make Genroku Chūshingura. They wanted a ferocious morale booster based upon the familiar rekishi geki ("historical drama") of The Loyal 47 Ronin. Instead, Mizoguchi chose for his source Mayama Chūshingura, a cerebral play dealing with the story. The film was a commercial failure, having been released in Japan one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese military and most audiences found the first part to be too serious, but the studio and Mizoguchi both regarded it as so important that Part Two was put into production, despite Part One's lukewarm reception. Renowned by postwar scholars lucky to have seen it in Japan, the film wasn't shown in America until the 1970s.[35]

The 1962 film version directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, Chūsingura, is most familiar to Western audiences.[34] In it, Toshiro Mifune appears in a supporting role as spearman Tawaraboshi Genba. Mifune was to revisit the story several times in his career. In 1971 he appeared in the 52-part television series Daichūshingura as Ōishi, while in 1978 he appeared as Lord Tsuchiya in the epic Swords of Vengeance (Ako-Jo danzetsu).

Many Japanese television shows, including single programs, short series, single seasons, and even year-long series such as Daichūshingura and the more recent NHK Taiga drama Genroku Ryōran, recount the events of the Forty-seven Ronin. Among both films and television programs, some are quite faithful to the Chūshingura, while others incorporate unrelated material or alter details. In addition, gaiden dramatize events and characters not in the Chūshingura. Kon Ichikawa directed another version in 1994. In 2004, Saito Mitsumasa directed a 9-episode mini-series starring Matsudaira Ken, who also starred in a 1999 49-episode TV series of the Chūshingura entitled Genroku Ryoran. In Hirokazu Koreeda's 2006 film Hana yori mo naho, the events of the Forty-seven Ronin story was used as a backdrop, one of the ronin being a neighbour of the protagonists.

[Stavros]

John Frankenheimer tried to make the story the moral centre of his film Ronin (1998) and failed, largely because the film was too ambitious, though it is good in parts. It comes in the dialogue between DeNiroBob and the great French actor 'Michael Lonsdale'.

Ronin (1998) - Japanese Legend - Robert De Niro - Michael Lonsdale - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSpo9HtgxpQ)

[broncofan]

Still, Rottentomatoes has the advantage of links to the actual reviews, so that you can draw your own conclusion.
I agree with your analysis, except for one thing. The sensitivity of imdb ratings may be part of its strength if you are very familiar with it. Even though the votes are by laymen, these votes are the average of thousands of votes on a numbered basis. I have seen rotten tomatoes movies with 80% rating that are bad but I don't think I've seen anything with an imdb over 8 that is bad. About 7.4 and up is usually a pretty strong movie.

As you rightly pointed out, the all or nothing rotten tomatoes system seems to reward something that is above average but does not take too many risks.

[fuzzunoisedk]

Stupid time to put it in theatres someone had the wrong head up there when they desided to release it up against small dwarfes and a certain Hobbit.....you get rhe point. Should have been released mid february 2014 where people had Money Again. We should have the Asians make their own Samurai movies way better and cooler.

I recommand Jet Li Warlords. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0913968/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_11

[christianxxx]

i went to see this piece of shit movie with my parents and it was so brutally bad. the previews are all action and then the movie is a fucking love story. and did i mention that it moves forward at the slowest pace imaginable. summing up this movie in one word - interminable. The previews promise a plethora of mythical beasts.....no sir. OMG it was so so so so bad. ugh Keanu you got me again, you fuck.

[Deimos]

i doubt he has never directed a feature before. he may have directed a feature film when he was in school or worked as a second unit director or assistant director to a feature. it's virtually impossible for a studio to even green light a director who has literally zero experience directing a feature.

if this is his first studio film, i can also tell you he wasn't really the director. :whistle:
man of tai chi was his first studio film as director

[rockabilly]

Guess he should have done " Bill & Teds Epic Quest " instead

[Females+Shemales]

Is anybody really surprised? I got nothing against him personally, but Keanu is one of the worst actors there is. He's as one dimensional as you can get.

[Dino Velvet]

Keanu you got me again, you fuck.

New year. No more Keanu. Make him go the way of Christian Slater. And Stavros, the same with you and the Tom Cruise crapola. If I wanna see Tom Cruise's most recent fiasco I do it for free on the TMZ.

[algebra1900]

IMDB heavily curves its average ratings. For example, there is only about a four point difference between The Godfather and your average Rob Schneider film. Rotten Tomatoes is a bit better in this regard but still not perfect, because reviews are tabulated as either positive or negative, with nothing in between. Therefore, a film with consistently lukewarm reviews will tend to be overrated in the rankings, where as a film whose critics either loved it or marginally disliked it, will tend to be underrated. Still, Rottentomatoes has the advantage of links to the actual reviews, so that you can draw your own conclusion.

I am so glad you said this, I never realized IMDB did this until just now. I always wondered why I felt movies that were below par kept solidly between 6 - 7. I just never understood the mechanism going on until now, thank you so much!

[Ben]

Moviemaking is risky. And, too, when the budget states, say, $100 million. Well, one has to double that for advertising expenditures:

List of box office bombs:
List of box office bombs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_box_office_bombs)

[algebra1900]

That is so sad because I actually enjoyed John Carter, The 13th Warrior especially, and Mars needs Moms.

[Stavros]

Is anybody really surprised? I got nothing against him personally, but Keanu is one of the worst actors there is. He's as one dimensional as you can get.

I would rate him slightly above Ryan Gosling and Nicholas Cage, two actors whose appearance in a film means there is a forest somewhere lacking bark, boughs and leaves. If you can bear to watch a film called Fracture (2007) you will see how Gosling tries to compensate for his inability to act by waving his hands around all the time; a hopeless case.

[Stavros]

New year. No more Keanu. Make him go the way of Christian Slater. And Stavros, the same with you and the Tom Cruise crapola. If I wanna see Tom Cruise's most recent fiasco I do it for free on the TMZ.

Ouch! Whatever TMZ is, I can't say I think highly of Mr Mapother, but I do find the MI films entertaining in a light-hearted way, he is never going to use the action genre to do anything as deep as, say, Clint Eastwood, but few people do. For what it's worth, I even watch Jason Statham films. Who is Christian Slater?

[Dino Velvet]

Ouch! Whatever TMZ is, I can't say I think highly of Mr Mapother, but I do find the MI films entertaining in a light-hearted way, he is never going to use the action genre to do anything as deep as, say, Clint Eastwood, but few people do. For what it's worth, I even watch Jason Statham films. Who is Christian Slater?

Christian Slater used to be a movie star but recently quickly tanked on 2 TV Shows. He's in Val Kilmer land now.

Don't know if this interests you but I just got The Big Gundown on Blu-ray. Four discs from Grindhouse Releasing. Spaghetti Western nerd-out for me. I had the Franco Van Cleef version before.

Amazon.com: The Big Gundown (Blu-ray + DVD + CD) Combo: Lee Van Cleef, Tomas Milian, Fernando Sancho, Nieves Navarro, Sergio Sollima: Movies & TV@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xnG6V-2BL.@@AMEPARAM@@51xnG6V-2BL (http://www.amazon.com/Big-Gundown-Blu-ray-DVD-Combo/dp/B00FMDL4UK/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1388683575&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Big+Gundown)

[Stavros]

Not available in the UK, like some other films I would like to see (Gun Hill Road, for example). But when looking for clips on youtube came on a whole crop of full length spaghetti westerns which might be on this page -not sure if it loads the same way in the US -when abroad I have noticed some things get deleted for copyright reasons.

LEE VAN CLEEF The Grand Duel Full Movie - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4aEOUDEeu8)

[Dino Velvet]

Not available in the UK, like some other films I would like to see (Gun Hill Road, for example). But when looking for clips on youtube came on a whole crop of full length spaghetti westerns which might be on this page -not sure if it loads the same way in the US -when abroad I have noticed some things get deleted for copyright reasons.

LEE VAN CLEEF The Grand Duel Full Movie - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4aEOUDEeu8)

The link works. There are a lot of complete films on YouTube. A little while ago I found a ton of Hammer Films and Amicus Horror.

Blue Underground and Anchor Bay have some great Spaghetti Western Box Sets. Corbucci, Sollima, Castellari, Martino films.

Sorry but I keep forgetting if I've asked you this but have you seen The Great Silence? I mention that one all the time.

Amazon.com: The Spaghetti Western Collection (Run Man Run / Mannaja / Django Kill / Django): Franco Nero, José Canalejas, José Bódalo, Loredana Nusciak, Ángel Álvarez, Gino Pernice, Simón Arriaga, Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia, Remo De Angelis, Rafael Albaicín, Tomas Milian, Ray Lovelock, Giulio Questi, Sergio Corbucci, Sergio Martino, Sergio Sollima, Benedetto Benedetti, Bruno Corbucci, Franco Arcalli, Franco Rossetti: Movies & TV@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ET8Y5YC9L.@@AMEPARAM@@51ET8Y5YC9L (http://www.amazon.com/Spaghetti-Western-Collection-Mannaja-Django/dp/B00007ELDL/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1388718435&sr=1-2&keywords=Spaghetti+Western+Box+Set)

Amazon.com: Once Upon a Time in Italy - The Spaghetti Western Collection (A Bullet for the General / Companeros / Four of the Apocalypse / Keoma / Texas Adios): Gian Maria Volonté, Klaus Kinski, Franco Nero, Tomas Milian, Jack Palance, Fernando Rey, Iris Berben, José Bódalo, Eduardo Fajardo, Karin Schubert, Gino Pernice, Álvaro de Luna, Damiano Damiani, Enzo G. Castellari, Ferdinando Baldi, Lucio Fulci, Sergio Corbucci, Arduino Maiuri, Bret Harte, Ennio De Concini: Movies & TV@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ERD02WHKL.@@AMEPARAM@@51ERD02WHKL (http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Time-Italy-Collection/dp/B0000YTPF2/ref=sr_1_4?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1388718757&sr=1-4&keywords=sergio+corbucci)

[maxpower]

Not available in the UK, like some other films I would like to see (Gun Hill Road, for example). But when looking for clips on youtube came on a whole crop of full length spaghetti westerns which might be on this page -not sure if it loads the same way in the US -when abroad I have noticed some things get deleted for copyright reasons.


Stavros, is Netflix streaming available in the UK? That's where I caught Gun Hill Road.

[Stavros]

Maxpower -yes Netflix does but I don't know much about it. I will investigate, but iTunes claimed it was not available in the UK for copyright reasons, but iTunes is not much of a source. Also have read Netflix regularly 'retires' films in January, several hundred this week have gone. I am allergic to subscription web sites at the moment.

[Stavros]

The link works. There are a lot of complete films on YouTube. A little while ago I found a ton of Hammer Films and Amicus Horror.

Blue Underground and Anchor Bay have some great Spaghetti Western Box Sets. Corbucci, Sollima, Castellari, Martino films.

Sorry but I keep forgetting if I've asked you this but have you seen The Great Silence? I mention that one all the time.


Yes in the What Movies thread earlier this year; it is a powerful film of that genre which subverts the moral righteousness of classic Hollywood westerns and takes us to the dark side of issues such as greed and power.

[GroobyKrissy]

I saw 47 Ronin last night... I didn't think it was really THAT bad. Certainly no CTHD but it was entertaining, if a bit slow at times, as already mentioned.

[Dino Velvet]

Yes in the What Movies thread earlier this year; it is a powerful film of that genre which subverts the moral righteousness of classic Hollywood westerns and takes us to the dark side of issues such as greed and power.

Great. I was pretty sure you saw it but was making sure. The build-up and the ending was powerful. Definitely not a formula movie. Italians can be full of surprises and don't play by the rules. Their Horror is blasphemic and anti-Catholic as all heck. Their Slasher Films/Giallos have ladies that have the look of love in their eyes consenting to their own butchery.

[Stavros]

Great. I was pretty sure you saw it but was making sure. The build-up and the ending was powerful. Definitely not a formula movie. Italians can be full of surprises and don't play by the rules. Their Horror is blasphemic and anti-Catholic as all heck. Their Slasher Films/Giallos have ladies that have the look of love in their eyes consenting to their own butchery.

-This being a key weakness in those films.

[Dino Velvet]

-This being a key weakness in those films.

Or the charm and allure depending who you ask. I like the Delirium with Mariska Hargitay's pops. Mickey was the original Arnold. Bit of a conflicted head shrinker here. So seduced he had to kill. Ladies hate rejection so the gentleman killer makes a call.

Delirium aka Delirio Caldo - Trailer (1972) Rita Calderoni - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mreZ8T0RzAc)

Guns N' Roses-Used to Love Her - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXIuAz7aryo)

[Stavros]

Or the charm and allure depending who you ask. I like the Delirium with Mariska Hargitay's pops. Mickey was the original Arnold. Bit of a conflicted head shrinker here. So seduced he had to kill. Ladies hate rejection so the gentleman killer makes a call.


This is one genre that has no charm, no depth or appeal -it is just men slashing women for entertainment. Sort of like a bargain basement Psycho which to me is not just a horrible film (rather than a 'horror' film) but one which doesn't work because it is clear from the moment he appears in the shower the killer is Norman Bates in drag. I can take a lot of violence in film if it fits the story, even in those absurd Jason Statham films which don't pretend to any realism, but the amount of women-hating violence on tv and in film has undermined any claim to storytelling there might have been. This is one genre we are never going to agree on.

[Dino Velvet]

This is one genre we are never going to agree on.

I agree. How about Italian Crime Films/Poliziotteschi? I like Enzo Castellari, Fernando Di Leo, and Umberto Lenzi.

Henry Silva always plays a great baddie. Serious coked-up freak vs Burt Reynolds in Sharky's Machine too.

Henry Silva & Motorhead - Mother Fucker - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZFlmObCrLw)

Trailer Milano calibro 9 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bMavpcqlas)

[Dino Velvet]

Poliziotteschi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poliziotteschi)

[Stavros]

I agree. How about Italian Crime Films/Poliziotteschi? I like Enzo Castellari, Fernando Di Leo, and Umberto Lenzi.

Henry Silva always plays a great baddie. Serious coked-up freak vs Burt Reynolds in Sharky's Machine too.


Nope. Sorry. Too superficial, too determined to be aggressive for the sake of it. You enjoy loud music, apparently loud films too...

[Dino Velvet]

Nope. Sorry. Too superficial, too determined to be aggressive for the sake of it. You enjoy loud music, apparently loud films too...

OK. Many of those crime films are like more modern-day Spaghetti Westerns. Thought it was worth a suggestion. If you haven't seen Fernando Di Leo's Milano Calibro 9 you might find it has more substance than some of Castellari and Lenzi films which are more like you described.

I do admit to liking loud films and music as long as they are good loud films and music. We know each other a bit.

[LilyRox]

Obviously they should have got Nicholas Cage

http://littlefun.org/uploads/5233b91de691b24c807d6b6c_736.jpg

[Dino Velvet]

Obviously they should have got Nicholas Cage

http://littlefun.org/uploads/5233b91de691b24c807d6b6c_736.jpg

Still remember Nic Cage hard-selling The Wicker Man sitting on Leno's couch.

Nicolas Cage watches The Wicker Man - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QqgIzlmdBc)

[LilyRox]

xD. Did they even spend money for advertising this movie? I don't normally keep up with the newest movies, but I usually know what the biggest movies are just from seeing tv commercials. I never even heard of this movie before. I would think if they spent that much on a movie they would advertise it EVERYWHERE.

[dderek123]

Obviously they should have got Nicholas Cage

http://littlefun.org/uploads/5233b91de691b24c807d6b6c_736.jpg

Lol I love that doge meme.

[Dino Velvet]

Andy Samberg doing Nic Cage(apologies for the quality)

SNL Get in the Cage Liam Neeson - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV2SMKGNVUc)

49th Happy Birthday of Nicolas Cage and Nicolas Cage - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okyX4JJvlZU)