Open Bar #77 - Aquaman 2, Rebel Moon, Jonathan Majors Guilty 

Can we just appreciate how nice a person Robert Meyer Burnett is? The man is an absolute well of pop culture knowledge and yet he never brags about it but instead shows genuine curiosity toward his fellow guests and asks them questions about their craft. A true gentleman if I ever saw one.

Thanks for mentioning us @Robert Meyer Burnett. We're from Kumawood Ghana 🙂We just finished shooting part 2, which is gonna be the best movie ever, I promise 😁 @Critical Drinker, if Part 2 (coming out in 2024) is not your favorite movie of all time, I'll fly from Tokyo to Scotland, buy you one drink and fly right back.

a character that gets beaten but doesnt give up is more endearing that a character who never faces a single hardship? the shock

Shad had to spend the first ten minutes fixing his ground harness. Otherwise he'd have fallen off the Earth. Such is life in Australia.

40:48 - 43:22 chris nails it. "hollywood used to depict heroic actions, now they depict heroic identities."

It took me 4 attempts to make it through Rebel Moon, I kept falling asleep, and I will say i was surprised at how many scenes from major hits ZS could steal and put into this movie. The opening scene is from Gladiator and so is the wheat field scene. The more i watched the more i noticed. It takes a hard try to be worse than Sucker Punch but he pulled it off…

Panel: endlessly praises Godzilla Godzilla: lol copyright strike

Brace yourselves boys, they're probably going to reboot the franchise as Aquama'am.

RMB is vastly underutilised within these circles

I love when Robert’s around. He’s the reason I started watching more of Drinkers Happy Hour series.

I love everyone who showed up for this video, for real! However, RMB is a master class of knowledge and insight into the current topics. Ma$$ive respect to you RMB!

I'm already working on my own version: Rebel Poon. 😉

Drinker has probably already passed out in a bog after drinking 12 gallons of concoction consisting of rum, scotch, egg nog, and Toilet Duck.

this is straight up my favorite podcast right now. so good

“You can tell he was directly over the target by the amount of flack he received”. Brilliant!

Always love seeing the great RMB, great combo with Chris Gore

Thank you, Robert, for all those good words about the old X-Men; I was there in 1977 when the "New" X-Men were just starting and I loved them. Still re-read those stories today. Hollywood is, as ever, half a century behind the times.

The segment where you, Shad and Eric talked about writing and were asked fantastic questions had to be the greatest highlight of this stream for me personally. Cheers.

Brilliant line up, RMB was particularly good. Goodwill to you all, gentlemen!

Get him to the Greek is truly a hidden gem. One of the best comedies since 2000.

As someone that's in the entertainment biz, I relish discussions like this. Thank the movie gods there are people like the Drinker and Chris Gore leading the charge! This was a great panel!

This is some incredible, high level, philosophical discussion on the essence and reason for storytelling as a bedrock for culture and civilization. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Hopefully, in 2024, we can get some great, original movies. Merry Christmas. 🎄🎉

Drinker, WOW! This panel is legendary. Classic live🔥🔥🔥

This is why I like Shad. He gets why the original Disney “Sleeping Beauty” is such an incredible film! (Plus the way they incorporated Tchaikovsky’s ballet music in the film was incredible!)

Top notch audio….Shad chewing into a live mic and giving takes while chewing: Love ya Shad but hit that MUTE! 😂

Can someone pull Shad aside and ask him not to eat during the livestream, or at the very least mute himself while he chews? Fucking hell.

I feel old because I knew all of the references to The Host, Ice Pirates, stop motion skeletons… and I still have the Age of Apocalypse comics somewhere in the basement.

Oh thank goodness, it survived copyright 😅

In a way, the effects of globalization that Robert Meyer Burnett is talking about on the movie industry could also apply to the videogame industry as well. It's faring better than the movie industry because of how easy it is to milk playerbases into mindlessly consuming the slop but it will eventually reach the breaking point too, especially when you consider how most new releases are trying so hard to be movies that they rack up insanely high budgets.

Robert's take on the subversion of JRR Tolkien's vision, and the spinoff effects therefrom that we see in the Star Trek universe, should be required listening for every junior high literature class. Mic drop.

Loved the part of the video about books and writing. Always like hearing Drinker's experiences.

Rob Meyer Burnett is the man!!

I can't speak for others, but one thing that makes me crazy is people talking while they're eating.

Outstanding guests this week. Merry Christmas everybody!

On the subject of Zack Snyder, I think his big problem is he doesn't understand how plot elements slot together. He can spot a good idea, but then he just shoehorns it in without any conception of how to make it fit. The best example is all the dialogue he ripped off from The Dark Knight Returns when he made Batman Vs Superman. It was all great dialogue, but it landed like a lead balloon because it had no context. He doesn't seem to grasp the basic concept of story structure.

Oooohhh yes. Just in time for a my 2.5hr round trip drive tonight. Merry Christmas to you and yours sir..

Robert, I had a doctorate professor who insisted that the human body had been marginalized by the bourgeois ideology, that's why people TALKED in theater, when "originally" theater was an expression of the BODY (à la Cirque du Soleil). Of course she ignored that ALL cultures throughout the world since prehistoric times TOLD stories not through dance and gymnastics, but through words, because that didn't suit her ideology, and if you brought it up, she would say it was a lie. Why? Well, because she made money off it, both with her circus troupe she called a theater company and the research scholarship she god from Rockefeller Foundation and other crap woke place4s like that. Also because she was a Chilean activist who literally hated Europe and the US, but gleefully accepted money from American foundations, if you get my meaning. These people are not just hypocrites, they're vile in the worst possible way.

Cool points for the Buffy reference 😊 Good point on Aliens too. I appreciated the movie even more after becoming a mother! Legit the feels I had rewatching it and then understanding.

Marvel went from major blockbusters 1998 - 2019 to a Case Study by 2023 ,,,DAMN

You guys joke about Christmas being snowy and white, but I’m sitting here on Christmas Eve in northern Minnesota with green grass and rain. Good news for all the crazy drivers. Bad news for anyone wanting a real Christmas.

Love seeing highly competent, intelligent men doing great things. 👍🏾 Congrats, gentlemen, this woman salutes you all. 🫡

Just wanted to put this out there: Candyman, as directed by Nia Decosta, was lukewarm dogshite. It rode the coattails of the original literally beat for beat while disrespecting the actual fucking Candyman. Imagine going to see Nightmare on Elm St and instead of Robert Englund, it was a crackhead version of the janitor from Scream. It was like Spiral being attached to the Saw franchise. If she was cast as a director, it'd make sense it was for The Marvels, the most contraversial and vapid projects in the MCU. Good job, ladies.

It's gotten to a point now where you just can't trust a movie to be good anymore.

Shad your statement about the Woke Minority burning down established characters to build theirs up had something pop into my head. See if you agree with this statement I had...destroying the things that I love will not make me love the things you want me to love. For example it had me thinking about Doctor Who, how they want me to desperately cash in all the wonderful moments from the episodes I love from the Classic Doctor Who Doctors, they are swimming around in my mind as I type this, and replace them with every bad idea they've forced into the show and call me a blankety blank for rejecting it. I will not accept their vision over visions from franchises I love that are warm and fuzzy memories.

thx for the re-upload. this is my favorite episode ever

It’s so awesome to see this group of people with varying opinions, politely talking, and most importantly LISTENING and HEARING each other. They take what is said with open arms and as a result synthesize even more complex and put together thoughts and ideas. This show is a model of how discourse among multiple people should occur.

I have no experience of dealing with management in the world of movie making but I have a lot of experience in the world of industry. The current philosophy can be summarized as follows: "Let's have a meeting to decide when we will have a meeting to put "THE ISSUE" on the table..... then we send an email to everybody in the company (I.E. when something goes wrong, it's not our fault, everybody knew about it).... and we can have another meeting to appoint a committee to have meetings to discuss "THE ISSUE" and..... sorry, I'm a bit lost, what was THE ISSUE?" If they behave like this it's easy to understand where the problem is and where the money is going. P.S. I forgot 2 points: 1) The bosses who preside over the various meetings have extreme difficulty deciding which pizza to order for the next meal. 2) Their knowledge of the "ISSUE" is equal to a zero split in two.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the script for Rebel Moon was written by AI. Such a shame we live in these times.

I cannot hear “the message” without the drinker voice and effect now! 🤣 I cannot either hear “weird” without the cringe voice of Ziegler 🤢🤢🤢 Great vids as usual guy, keep up the good work and merry Christmas to you all!

Merry Christmas Drinker. ...and as always never black out face down 🎄🎁

You know as someone who buys a lot of independent music on bandcamp and alike, I get what R.M.B. is saying...2024 I've got some releases coming out, it's taken me a lot of years to focus what my fans want...yeah I'm not gunna be a millionaire, but to be able to have fans come watch what I do and be genuinely happy means more!

Had to do this cuz you never have timestamps :) 06:39 📉 Hollywood faces the worst year in a generation with strikes, box office bombs, and leadership vacuum. 08:30 🔄 Warner and Paramount rumored merger raises questions about the financial state of major studios. 09:55 🎬 Quality of recent movies and media has been shocking, with a decline in creativity and originality. 11:28 💸 Massive budgets of blockbuster movies raise concerns about where the money is actually being spent. 19:57 🎥 Lack of directors with a background in visual effects contributes to the rising costs and declining quality of CGI-heavy films. 21:05 🎥 The discussion highlights concerns about the changing landscape of the entertainment industry, particularly in Hollywood, and the challenges faced by mega-corporations in adapting to these shifts. 23:10 🔄 Despite claims of depoliticizing, the video suggests that certain franchises, like X-Men, still exhibit a focus on specific themes, potentially limiting creative diversity. 24:20 🦸‍♀ The X-Men reboot is rumored to be female-focused, excluding prominent male characters. The discussion questions the industry's shift and its impact on storytelling and audience engagement. 30:51 🤖 The conversation delves into the role of AI in filmmaking and its potential disruption of traditional guild agreements, foreseeing AI-driven content creation, especially in children's programming. 37:22 🌐 The emergence of independent creators leveraging platforms like RU-vid and AI tools is seen as a potential future, emphasizing the authenticity of creators in contrast to the perceived inauthenticity of major studios. 45:17 🦸‍♂ Superheroes are no longer aspirational figures but are portrayed doing normal, mundane things, losing the essence of wish-fulfillment and escapism in modern comics. 46:53 📉 The comic book industry, especially Marvel and DC, is facing challenges, and the traditional direct market setup is criticized as illogical and unsustainable. 47:48 💰 Marvel and DC are seen as the "sugar daddies" of the comic book industry, sustaining losses that may not be sustainable, leading to potential fundamental changes in the next half-decade. 49:39 🔄 Many creators are reluctant to admit industry issues, and ideological differences have fueled conflicts, hindering potential solutions to industry challenges. 51:18 🎞 Embracing classic works and accepting the potential downfall of current franchises is seen as a consolation, preserving the legacy of well-loved characters despite the industry's challenges. 01:04:26 🌐 Foreign films succeeding, Hollywood should learn from them. They focus on classic heroism and relatable stories, avoiding identity-driven narratives. 01:05:33 🎥 Hollywood now prioritizes heroic identities over heroic actions, as opposed to earlier depictions in classics like Lord of the Rings. 01:06:44 💻 Netflix released viewership numbers for 18,000 shows, highlighting their vast content library and global reach. 01:07:53 🎬 Despite Netflix's varied content, from questionable shows like "Cuties" to great ones like "Arcane," they contribute to global entertainment diversity. 01:09:28 🦸‍♂ Aquaman 2 is described as a generic, inoffensive superhero film, lacking passion, with a self-contained story but likely to underperform due to changing audience perceptions. 01:24:41 🎬 The financial losses in the film industry, with movies like Aquaman 2, highlight the unsustainable spending vs. returns, leading to significant deficits. 01:25:10 💰 Movie studios, especially Disney, face challenges as they consistently release big-budget films without significant returns, impacting their overall profitability. 01:25:38 📉 Timing and audience reception play a crucial role in a movie's success, as evidenced by the discussion on how the release timing of Aquaman 2 could have affected its box office performance. 01:26:50 🦸‍♂ Different perspectives on superhero movies, with varying opinions on the enjoyment of films like Aquaman, reflecting the diverse tastes within the audience. 01:29:18 🌐 The shift in audience interest from mainstream superhero content, with a growing preference for standalone, non-connected stories, as seen in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. 01:45:28 🎭 Hollywood's tendency to prioritize ideology over storytelling in recent years is criticized, citing examples from Star Trek. 01:50:06 🔄 The discussion explores the idea of a "scorched Earth" policy for major entertainment companies facing controversies, suggesting a thorough cleanup and reboot. 01:53:02 🦸‍♂ Jonathan Majors being found guilty of assault raises questions about the future of his role as Kang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 01:54:14 🚫 The impact of cancel culture and controversies on Hollywood celebrities, contrasting examples of narcissism with more grounded figures like Henry Cavill. 02:00:16 🚀 Initial impressions of Zack Snyder's "Rebel Moon" are negative, with criticism directed at its lack of originality and messy execution, drawing parallels to other sci-fi films like "Battle Beyond the Stars." 02:07:01 📽 Zack Snyder's "Rebel Moon" is criticized for feeling like a compromised, generic sci-fi movie with AI-inspired shots and elements from '80s sci-fi, lacking cohesion and vision. 02:08:40 🎬 The panel considers Zack Snyder's "Army of the Dead" as a significant disappointment, with criticisms ranging from incompetent storytelling to missed opportunities in the plot. 02:13:36 📝 Zack Snyder is acknowledged for his ability to create visually appealing action sequences but is criticized for his shortcomings in writing, with suggestions that he should focus on his strengths and collaborate with proficient writers. 02:17:44 📚 The discussion extends to a broader critique of the lack of literary understanding in modern filmmaking, emphasizing the importance of reading and studying literature for effective storytelling. 02:24:36 🖋 The importance of understanding characters deeply before writing is highlighted by the guests, emphasizing the value of creating detailed character profiles and universe bibles to ensure consistency and authenticity in storytelling. 02:31:04 🚨 The Completionist controversy: The RU-vidr faced criticism for keeping charity funds for a decade, leading to a damaged reputation and potential legal issues. 02:32:39 🦸‍♂ Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) challenges: Discussion on the MCU's struggles, lack of clear direction, and potential issues with upcoming films like Deadpool 3. 02:42:00 🤔 Hanging threads in Marvel movies: Mention of unresolved storylines and the confusion surrounding the future of the MCU, especially with the absence of clear plans for Avengers films. 02:46:10 😬 Young Avengers speculation: Speculation on the potential formation of the Young Avengers with characters like Ironheart, Kate Bishop, and more, and the humorous take on Marvel's attempts to diversify and replace iconic heroes. 02:48:45 🌌 Star Wars struggles: Discussion on the decline of Star Wars, from the sequel trilogy's diminishing box office returns to the scraping of the bottom of the barrel for new content ideas. 02:49:26 🎥 Star Wars struggles: The speaker criticizes the lack of recent Star Wars films, questioning decisions like focusing on a Rey movie for the franchise's future. 02:51:06 🌌 Rise of Skywalker critique: The speaker expresses strong dissatisfaction with "The Rise of Skywalker," deeming it possibly the worst big-budget space film ever made. 02:54:06 🎄 Favorite Christmas songs: The panel shares their favorite Christmas songs, with diverse choices ranging from traditional classics to unconventional picks like "Die Hard Theme." 02:57:09 🧟 Cursed film: The panel discusses the belief that the film "Poltergeist" is cursed, mentioning the use of real human bones in the production. 03:01:44 🎭 Upcoming projects: One of the panelists announces an upcoming audio drama adaptation of Max Allan Collins' detective novels and encourages anticipation for its crowdfunding in 2024. Created with HARPA AI

Thanks for getting this out so close to the holidays

I don’t quite agree with RMB about Disney always having been a girls brand. I think Disney has always cornered the market on the princess branding and as such has always seen any reach outside of that lane as a risk. If you look at some of their middle era works, some of the more memorable films (fox and the hound, great mouse detective, Robin Hood, etc) are less of the traditional “Disney Princess” type films. I think with the financial failure of several of these types of films in the early 2000s, and with Disney becoming more risk averse generally, Disney decided to lean into their niche more and more, resulting in becoming the feminine brand you see today

Finally caught the reupload after Toho killed the livestream in my open window. Wonderful panel this time around. Merry Christmas, everyone!

The vast amount of movies I watch are martial arts movies. Shout has released Shaw Brothers boxed sets which are great. I have so many older movies to watch that I don't need anything new.

The modern super hero is like Syndrome from the Incredibles. If everyone is super, no one is. This is about deconstructing everything. You dont actually raise anyone up in the end, you just lower the standard until there is none.

Merry Christmas to the whole panel and thank you all for your insights on movies and tv. Here’s hoping for more great shows in the new year.

I didn't know Drinker was a true writer. Publishing books don't necessarily make you a writer. But hearing him talk about it was great, he is a true writer at heart. Happy Solstice 🐾

Damn you Chris Gore for getting this video flagged!! 😂😂

2:26:00 Thank you for RMB asking 3 published authors about their work process. It was very interesting to listen.

When RMB was asking Critical and Rippa all about their writing and process and leaving out Shad, I was rolling. Not because I don't like Shad, just because Shad has written a book and has talked about it a lot, and apparently, RMB had no idea....and you knew Shad was gonna jump in there and talk about it no matter if he was asked or not

Videogames may be the future, but more and more you can’t get a new videogame completely on a disc. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to buy a new game on physical media and play it without connecting to the internet in order to play it, whether to download day one patches or just having digital rights management checks.

I’m not saying anything about Zack Snyder here. But I’m noticing that anytime he’s brought up a stream, people mention what a great guy he is. People that have never met him. It’s just a curiosity that I’ve noticed. I know very little about the guy, but I do know a talking point when I see one.

I was in the toy aisle and I was like Aquaman BETTER have all this stuff in it. And it had ALL 3 things I wanted, and liked it because it was dumb fun. 1. Aquaman in orange and green. 2. Lobster people. 3. "Sharks with giant freakin' laser beams."

The Woke are ambitious and energetic and ruthless, but they lack several key elements of that creative fire that is a basic requirement for entertaining entertainment.

RU-vid is my go to place for Korean TV. I haven't seen an US show in years. ( I only read subtitles)

Yay, great work Drinker and friends!

Shad is right. Community has some of the best writing ive ever seen in a show.

A highly corporatized business model is not the primary reason for Hollywood’s continued downfall.

that was probably one of the best Open Bar, with the quality of the guests and the depth of the discussions where everyone participated almost equally

16:26 Chris sad butt light year and drinker started laughing and Chris shrugged and I started laughing because I was like yes its budd light year not butt light year and then I realised a minute later wait it was buzz lightyear and that was the joke😂😂

You (Greenwich England) ARE the prime time zone. The US east coast is officially Z-5 (or 6 depending on time of year). We're literally timed in reference to you.

1:45:40 there’s an active sect of some “folks” that think many bird names are racist and sexist, and are trying to get these names changed. As an amateur zoologist, I find this appalling. Also mouse tit is a great name for a bird.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I can see them not doing Magneto for a while. He has been in just about every X-men movie so far. There are a ton of different antagonists to focus on, which they are now doing.

We don't get upside down Christmas like you guys. We get normal Christmas LOL

Can we talk about the Harry Potter “Buckbeak” reference in Rebel moon???it’s literally stolen from the prisoner of Azkaban he rides a hipogriff

The money is going up the producers' noses.

Beer 🍺 & wine 🍷 and merry Xmas y’all.

until this point i thought robert meyer and chris gore were the same person, seeing them both at the same time destroyed my theory.

My sister tried to get me into Big Mouth and i was just creeped at my first sight of it. I told her N O

New to podcasts and have to say the best intro 😂😂

Best panel ever in my opinion, everyone has very well thought out points and interesting things to say. Nobody talks over eachother. Very good.

I think the movie industry forgets the real fans of comic books have to cosign the comic book movie being good to get the normies to watch it.

For now the black and white version of Godzilla minus one will only be released in Japan in the end of January. I choose the right time to move to Japan it seems.

Great content, guys. One tip for you, Shad: You made some great points my friend BUT finish eating whatever you are eating before you start speaking. Fuck it was so annoying listening to you talk whilst still chewing your food. I was literally shouting out loud saying finish your food Shad the 2nd time you did it. Other than that the pod cast was great

AWESOME POINT on motherhood and the true power of the feminine! We need to hear this point brought up more often because today our girls are shown the only way to be a hero is to become masculine; so sad. Kudos to Robert for bring this point up!!!

Fascinating discussion. I've never watched a Marvel or DC movie. Not one. I have, however, watched every review and analysis from each of you guys for over 5 yrs. It's considered analysis like this stream that people truly appreciate. Kudos to the Nerds for being the pointy end of the spear in the culture war. 🤓

just think about southpark, their animations are dirt cheap but the show is great because of the writing. It just goes to show how important good writing is to entertainment, more than any visuals. and progressives just don't get it - the story of the princess being rescued from the dragon, its the fantasy of both girls and boys, girls want to be pampered and treated like a princess, and boys WANT to rescue the princess AND fight the dragon, get the girl in the end, BOTH LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER, its not rocket science, its basic biology

Krull is such a great shoutout! One of my favorite movies ever. Simple good vs evil with their lightsaber being a glaive. Effing awesome!

I found Rebel moon sort of boring. Seems like they took the magnificence 7 and made it bland . It was ok but not in anyway a rewatch

The problem with Drinker thinking Perlmutter kept Fiege in check is that Perlmutter had been out of the movies of Marvel since 2016. He’s also the one responsible for the crap Disney+ shows and we wouldn’t have gotten RDJ as Tony Stark as he was heavily against his hiring and subsequent contract extensions. Perlmutter wasn’t someone keeping a leash on Fiege as he was just a penny -pinching businessman who doesn’t understand art. Which was Robert’s point.

RBM is the man! Wish CAMPEA would learn from him.

Regarding French movies, some of my favorites are Leon, Vidoc, Brotherhood of the wolf, The Pianist, The Big Blue, The fifth element, Nikita & Taxi Taxi.

If you can’t connect with someone unless they look like you, you’re broken, because truths expand to all and storytelling is powerful music, poetry, life, and death, and all the things that make us different bring us together

Mags was handy selected by ZS.😂

Since it weirdly came up: Jontron is of course not racist.

"No wonder he caught so much flack, dude was right over the target" -The Critical Drinker