ROTTEN TOMATOES: Weekly Ketchup: Paramount Toying Around with Max Steel Comments

Weekly Ketchup: Paramount Toying Around with Max Steel

by Greg Dean Schmitz | July 17, 2009

Summary

This Week's Ketchup includes the requisite toy movie, but thankfully there are no remakes (although there is one movie based on an old TV show and two different movies based on young adult book series). Included in the original concepts are two comedies about today's economic hard times, a biopic about a classic children's book author, a historical epic about King Henry V and a time travel sci-fi action movie called Arena. Back to Article

(1-34 of 34 posts) | Reply

ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 17 2009 04:15 PM

How is the Miley Cyrus film NOT the rotten idea?

All bad news, except "Thor"'s.

(Reply to this)

Paints Hz Shirt Red writes:
on Jul 17 2009 04:30 PM

wait wait wait, they already started filming the final harry potter!?

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fvzappa writes:
on Jul 17 2009 04:50 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528221)
They sure did. And din't they report it'll be a two-parter as well?

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chille writes:
on Jul 17 2009 05:27 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528238)
Yes the final Harry Potter will be split up into two films.

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D Effin W writes:
on Jul 17 2009 06:01 PM

Did anyone like the latest HP movie??? I don't feel like reading comments all night to figure it out but I really didn't enjoy it that much. Only thing that I liked was that the story continued and it wasn't repetitive. It was all new. But other than that, it lacked a lot for me. There was no suspense until the last half hour, which of course left the audience hanging on for the next two films. I know what happens but seeing it on the big screen is always much more enjoying for me than reading a book.

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vashfanatic writes:
on Jul 17 2009 06:20 PM

I have family in Cedar Rapids... I wonder if they'll do any filming on location...

Oh, and Septimus Heap = giant Harry Potter ripoff. Why is this getting a movie version? More importantly, why not Artemis Fowl? Who wants another destined boy-wizard when you can have a wannabe-supervillain committing fraud on the fairy world?

(Reply to this)

tomwaitsjr writes:
on Jul 17 2009 06:20 PM

They can't do anothe Bridget Jones' movie unless they do something drastic with Renee Zellwegger's looks. Just saw some Western with her, GOD that was creepy. Something awful happened to her, just not natural age.

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Splitter writes:
on Jul 17 2009 07:43 PM

Oh please let them do filming on location for the Cedar Rapids movie. Maybe that'll get the local government working on repairing the flood damage then!

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Chris B. writes:
on Jul 17 2009 07:59 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528263)
I read a couple of the Artemis Fowl books. They were awesome and probably could make a decent movie.

I also couldn't agree more with the Miley Cyrus news. It should definitely be the rotten idea of the week.

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on Jul 17 2009 08:25 PM

The way news and Hollywood has been lately, maybe we need to reverse things.

Maybe have top 10 rotten news, then the one single bit of good news.

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greg_dean_schmitz writes:
on Jul 17 2009 08:38 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528295)
You guys get kudos for picking up on the fact that it was indeed very difficult this week to pick the Rotten Idea. Ultimately, I chose Avon Man because it just seemed like the movie most likely to not only be awful, but to not have any fans... ever. "Wings", on the other hand, well there's that whole Miley crowd and if the book series is like "Twilight," then there's that crowd as well. Also, if I chose "Wings," then the argument could be made why didn't I choose "Septimus Heap" as well.

Like @tomwaitsjr says, some weeks, it might almost be easier to just have the top ten rotten ideas, and then end with the one good movie, but luckily even in a bad week like this, we do have at least a few that could be great: Cedar Rapids, Agincourt, Banking on Mr. Toad and hey, who knows... maybe even (though probably not)... Arena ?

(Reply to this)

Sean H. writes:
on Jul 17 2009 08:51 PM

You can sum up the entire history/future of everything Mexican with the phrase "Max Steel is Mexico's #1 action figure property."

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Paints Hz Shirt Red writes:
on Jul 17 2009 09:46 PM

septimus heap? is he like a cousin to optimus prime? haha ya i know im a idiot, but when did they start filming deathly hallows? i knew it was going to be split into two films but didnt know they already started.

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Dezy T. writes:
on Jul 17 2009 10:05 PM

Save Thor, its all boring.

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movieteen91 writes:
on Jul 17 2009 10:20 PM

Geez, even the original ideas are dull this week. Agincourt will probably end up taking in approximately 2 dollars at the box office. Ditto with Banking on Mr. Toad. Also just realized that I Hop is essentially a rip-off of The Santa Clause.

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The_Duckling writes:
on Jul 18 2009 12:23 AM

I'm with basically everything thats been said: Septimus Heap sounds like a blood disease, bring on Artemis Fowl, it'll be much more interesting to watch and not wretch. Plus I Hop is just The Santa Clause sans snow

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Moonpig123 writes:
on Jul 18 2009 03:13 AM

Hahaha! Max Payne! I used to watch that as a kid. It wasn't that great even then.

I don't understand the remaking of Straw Dogs, or why Thor is even getting a film (I personally hate the character and I have never met anyone who doesn't).

Agincourt sounds sort-of OK.

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Moonpig123 writes:
on Jul 18 2009 03:14 AM

*Max Steel

Wrong character... :P

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greg_dean_schmitz writes:
on Jul 18 2009 06:50 AM

@Paints: Filming of HP7/HP8 started in February, 2009. It made the news earlier this year when Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double suffered a serious spinal injury when he fell during filming of an aerial sequence.

Also, it's funny that you mention Optimus Prime, because as I was writing the article, I actually DID flub in "Septimus Prime," at one point.

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lestatthevampire writes:
on Jul 18 2009 08:21 AM

Was Ryan Reynolds news last week????

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greg_dean_schmitz writes:
on Jul 18 2009 08:37 AM

In reply to this comment (#2528410)
Yes, the Ryan Reynolds as GL hit the web Friday evening, and I stuck it in the comments section (the news that I had when I wrote last week's article was that they had narrowed the list down to three, including Reynolds).

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Max the Movie Kid writes:
on Jul 18 2009 10:04 AM

What the hell is up with Disney and their pop stars, including Miley? They're becoming a bit too famous.

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ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 18 2009 10:18 AM

In reply to this comment (#2528298)
I suppose her fans would like that kinda...thing.

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Fantasyfan23 writes:
on Jul 18 2009 11:33 AM

Wings sounds absolutely horrendous. Way for Miley to get people to start taking her seriously

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Logan A. writes:
on Jul 18 2009 01:43 PM

Agincourt sounds like the only interesting tidbit.

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john h. writes:
on Jul 18 2009 02:16 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528258)
It was good.

(Reply to this)

Nathaniel J. writes:
on Jul 18 2009 04:49 PM

russel brand running over the easter bunny sounds the most rotten this week

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gm1200 writes:
on Jul 18 2009 06:20 PM

I love comments like "Septimus Heap = giant Harry Potter ripoff"

Ummm...since when was the boy wizard concept originated by Harry Potter? Especially when the entire concept was a rip off from Books of Magic in the first place (the courts ridiculous ruling to the contrary notwithstanding).

Septimus Heap isn't by any means a fantastic book, but the first one (only one I read) was significantly better than Harry Potter, so a cartoon of it couldn't be any worse.

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BladeofTheImmortal writes:
on Jul 18 2009 08:46 PM

I'm waiting for something else to bounce around of Miley's.

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Bob S. writes:
on Jul 19 2009 11:01 AM

Hrm, not much to get excited about I guess. I do like Ed Helms, so maybe CEDAR RAPIDS will be worth a watch. Miley Cyrus in WINGS sounds atrocious to me, but I'm sure it'll have a following. AVON MAN sounds patently awful, and I agree that it was the Rotten Idea of the Week, even amongst a week populated by several likely candidates.

As for the Books of Magic/Harry Potter/Septimus Heap rip-off, Neil Gaiman said he wasn't bothered by the similarities bewteen the former two. I think the important point is that Harry Potter took a lot of ideas from a lot of sources (anyone accusing Rowling of ripping off Greek mythology?) and created something unique, compelling, and new. The latter two I can't say much about, particularly since I haven't read any of the Septimus Heap books.

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Bob S. writes:
on Jul 19 2009 02:54 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528298)
@greg_dean_schmitz:
How about rating every idea as fresh or rotten? I like the Rotten Idea of the Week, but as has been mentioned here several times, there are a lot of worthy candidates. Also, it'd be a good way to stimulate discussion on whether or not the ideas have some promise, or if they are indeed rotten from the get-go.

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Dark Knight jr. writes:
on Jul 19 2009 03:40 PM

Max Steel? I'm down.

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Dave J. writes:
on Jul 19 2009 09:05 PM

As an adult , the Miley movie should be the most rotten idea of the week, the Hugh Jackson movie upon reading seems like another Ben Stiller like movie or a Adam Sandler film.

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John Mclane writes:
on Jul 20 2009 12:31 AM

In reply to this comment (#2528258)
Gotta agree with D effin about latest harry potter film, almost 3 hours is a long time in the cinema when your only getting little 5 minute burst of action every 40 minutes or so. "A rollercoaster of action and hormones" or... 3 hours of harry trying and missing to stun anything that moves and a couple of teenagers snogging twice.

(Reply to this)

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