ReelBlend #66: Our Avengers: Endgame Spoiler-Free Review

ReelBlend #66: Our Avengers: Endgame Spoiler-Free Review

We are down one man this week. And it’s Avengers: Endgame week, of all weeks. So let’s stand up and salute Sean O’Connell and Kevin McCarthy, as these true American heroes showed up to ReelBlend, and review quite possibly the most anticipated movie of our collective lifetimes… without spoiling anything!

That’s right. You guys can listen to ReelBlend episode #66 whether you have seen Avengers: Endgame or not. And by the time you read this, some of you likely have seen Endgame, as the movie is selling out at a record pace.

But Sean and Kevin review the movie without giving away a single detail, so listen away. Not only do you get their reaction to the blockbuster, you will get to hear Kevin’s stories about seeing Avengers: Endgame at the premiere, where he rubbed elbows with Kevin Smith, took a photo with Chris Evans, and got two bear hugs from Thanos himself, Josh Brolin.

Before the guys tackle Endgame this week, they get into the Academy’s decision not to penalize movies that are made by Netflix for Oscar consideration. They also read Steven Spielberg’s statement on the controversy, and give the legendary filmmaker a pass for his opinions.

The guys also play #ScarJoBlend, and avoid picking a Marvel movie when naming their favorite Scarlett Johansson movies!

And yes, Jake Hamilton gets to weigh in on Avengers: Endgame, even though he is on assignment this week. Dig into this week’s episode to hear what Jake thought of the new MCU movie.

ReelBlend is a weekly podcast that we do on CinemaBlend. You can download the latest episode (and all of our past episodes) for FREE on our iTunes page! Visit. Subscribe. Like and comment. Review! Apple loves when you have star ratings and reviews, so if you listened, and you liked it (or even if you didn't), let us know. We also are on Spotify. And Google Play. And basically everywhere that you download podcasts. So download us.

Meanwhile, follow the guys on Social Media! We have an official Twitter feed for the show, so follow @ReelBlend. In addition, follow the guys at @Sean_OConnell, @JakesTakesand @KevinMcCarthyTV.

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Brie Larson Got So In Shape For Captain Marvel She Forced Jude Law To Up His Game

Brie Larson Got So In Shape For Captain Marvel She Forced Jude Law To Up His Game

It’s not a secret that if an actor or actress signs on to play a superhero that actor or actress also signs on to get ripped. For Captain Marvel, Brie Larson trained for nine months before she ultimately began sparring with Jude Law on the set of the Marvel flick. Apparently, it got to the point where Jude Law mentioned to director Anna Boden that he had to up his “game.” According to co-director Boden:

She kept Jude on his toes, oh, my God. I remember the first day that Jude got to set and went to stunt training with her to learn that scene, and him being like, 'Oh, I better up my game.’

For a long period where Brie Larson was getting into shape for Captain Marvel, she shared images and videos of herself training online. She threw weight balls and did crazy lunges. She worked with exercise bands and kickboxed. She literally got to the point where she could push a jeep by herself. She got fit, yo.

It all plays off in the early moments of Captain Marvel where Brie Larson’s character Vers spars with Yon-Rogg, her mentor, played by Jude Law in the film. Per Anna Boden, the two were on set when the older actor confided in the director, per USA Today, that he definitely needed to get moving for his three action scenes with.

It’s not as if Jude Law didn’t prepare for the gig as Yon-Rogg. He’s been open about doing boxing and martial arts for a long time, but he hadn’t really worked out in the Kree gear Captain Marvel demanded, previously revealing they “hide quite a bit of movement.”

Still, Jude Law’s training for Captain Marvel seems to be small potatoes compared to the nine months that Brie Larson went through. She recently told Harper’s Bazaar she got good enough that the movie shot the intense action sequence on the train during her first few days on set. She noted:

I jumped in head-first. The first three days of shooting were all the stuff on the moving train, so it was mostly physical. I had been in pretty heavy training for nine months. [These scenes] bought me some time to get a feel for the suit before we actually got into dialogue… I think everyone on set was like, ‘This is insane. I can't believe she's doing a fight sequence on a moving train and it's day two.’

Whether or not Jude Law felt as if he needed to keep up with Brie Larson, the end result of the training scene is pretty impressive and you can catch it in more detail below.

Marvel's first female-led superhero movie is still currently doing big numbers in theaters. If you haven't given it a watch yet, you can check it our, or see what else Marvel has coming up with our full guide. Next up, you can catch Brie Larson in the Netflix flick Unicorn Store, also opposite her co-star Samuel L. Jackson. Jude Law can be seen in The New Pope.

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Why Going To Galaxy's Edge On Opening Day May Be The Best Idea After All

Why Going To Galaxy's Edge On Opening Day May Be The Best Idea After All

From nearly the first day that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was announced, it was clear that the demand for the new lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World was massive. Millions of Star Wars fans could not wait to see what the new attraction had to offer. We knew that the crowds trying to get into the land were going to be unlike anything the parks had ever seen, meaning that a lot of people were planning to hold off their trip to Disney until the crowds died down. But based on the new information we have about Galaxy’s Edge’s opening, going sooner rather than later might actually be the better option. Because the crowds may not be quite as crazy on opening day as we thought.

Last week during Disney’s annual shareholder meeting, Bob Iger officially announced that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will open at Disneyland May 31, and at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World August 29. There will be one major caveat, as Rise of the Resistance, one of the major E-ticket attractions, won’t be up and running on opening day, but don’t expect that to keep people away.

What will, however, is the tiny detail that came out in a Disneyland press release alongside Iger’s announcement. At Disneyland, getting into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will require a special reservation between May 31 and June 23. Without this reservation, you won’t get access to the land.

Based on the language used, it sounds like guests staying in one of the three Disneyland Resort hotels will automatically receive a reservation, one per guest staying in the hotel. Beyond that, things get hazy. It says reservations are "subject to availability." Does that mean that not everybody making a hotel reservation will get a Galaxy's Edge reservation? It sounds more like there might potentially be some reservations for non-hotel guests, but it's all less than clear right now.

What is clear is that while the reservation for Galaxy's Edge might not cost anything, if you want to be sure you'll get in opening day, you'll want to spring for a Disneyland Resort hotel.

According to Disney, there are 2,402 hotel rooms available between the Disneyland Hotel, the Paradise Pier hotel and the Grand Californian. If we assume there are four people per room (some may only be couples, but others, like the larger suites, could hold a lot more), we're looking at 9,608 people staying in the hotels at any given time. Most will be staying for more than one day and would likely only get a Galaxy's Edge reservation for one day of their stay, but there are likely more than enough people to fill the new land from the hotel guests alone if they sell out.

As of this writing, they haven't. You can make a reservation for opening weekend at any of the three Disneyland Resort hotels. However, many different room types have sold out, so people are certainly making their plans right now.

Without the specifics, there’s a lot we don’t know. Will these reservations give you access for the entire day? Will you be able to enter and leave and your leisure? It's hard to say.

While the details are important, the broader point is clear, there’s no reason for the mass of humanity that was expected to show up on opening day of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to bother, because they simply won’t be able to get in.

Even if Disney offers as many reservations at the same time as it possibly can. Even if it fills Batuu to maximum capacity, getting into the land itself will seemingly be a lot easier because only people with reservations will be trying.

What’s more likely, however, is that Disney will give out fewer reservations than it technically can, especially during the first few days of Galaxy's Edge. This will allow the first group of guests to test everything in the land. It’s going to be the theme park equivalent of a video game closed beta test. Let a few people try it first before we open things up to the public just in case somebody finds a way to break something in a way that wasn’t expected.

Keeping with the video game analogy, after the closed beta, you open things up and allow more people in. You try to intentionally put as many people in the game at once as possible to make sure the servers, or in this case, cast members, can handle it. That point will come when the reservation period ends and anybody can get in.

I’m not saying there will be so few people there that it will feel like the park is empty. I would still expect to wait a few hours for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run since it will be the only active attraction after all, but there's every reason to believe that the earlier you go, the smaller the crowds will actually be.

Early estimates were putting the opening day crowds at 150,000-200,000 people, which is far more than the park can actually hold, but most of those people will now be staying home on opening day because, without a reservation, they’re not getting in.

Instead, the day to look out for is June 24, the first day that reservations will not be required. That could end up being the day it everybody who could not get a reservation shows up. Everybody with an AP who couldn’t get in earlier, every local that wasn’t going to drop money on a hotel room just to get a reservation, they'll be swarming in. From that day, and for likely a long time to come, Galaxy’s Edge is going to be packed, likely far more than it will be during the earlier period.

The good news, or bad news depending on your perspective, is that all of this will only be true at Disneyland. There will be no reservation period at Walt Disney World's version of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. If you'll be seeing that version of the new land first, you're on your own, and showing up opening day may not the best idea.

One wonders if Disney will be more confident in that park on opening day because it's happening so much later, or if putting together a reservations system would have simply been too complicated because there are so many more Walt Disney World hotels, so comparatively few people would get access.

Once reservations are no longer required, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge will be a free-for-all. However, for three weeks before that, it looks like the new land will be under much tighter control, so if you want to avoid crowds as much as possible, going sooner, not later, may be the answer.

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Mark Hamill Had Pitched J.J. Abrams A Luke, Leia, And Han Scene For The Force Awakens

Mark Hamill Had Pitched J.J. Abrams A Luke, Leia, And Han Scene For The Force Awakens

Should Mark Hamill write the next Star Wars trilogy? He's excited for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and all the speculation it has already spawned, but he has been open with his frustrations with the sequel trilogy -- including that we never got a real Luke/Leia/Han reunion. Turns out, he had an idea that could've at least partially given fans (and himself) that gift before the end of the Skywalker Saga.

Mark Hamill said he pitched his idea to J.J. Abrams when they were making Episode VII, The Force Awakens, as an alternate way for Luke to make a surprise late-in-the-film appearance while still managing to get the OG gang together again.

Everyone talks about the shock of realizing that, on Force Awakens, I don't come in until the last page. A bigger shock to me was them killing Han Solo before Luke could ever see his best friend again. I mean, it might be selfishly motivated, but I said, 'Holy cow, that's a real missed opportunity!' Even having the three of us together, even briefly.

So Mark Hamill told THR what he had previously pitched to The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams:

I pitched [J.J.] Abrams on the idea of, 'You can still have me come in at the very end, but how about this? How about Leia's trying to contact me telepathically, she gets frustrated because there's no answers, so she rushes to the new Death Star. And she almost gets there but she gets stopped by two Stormtroopers and, just before she's abducted, one Stormtrooper turns to the other one, blows him away, pulls off his helmet and says "Hi, sis, I'm here to rescue you."' I said, 'It'll blow the roof off the joint!' I'm still in it at the very end. And I think it's more effective to have people who have more of a history with Han Solo witness his dead, and be unable to stop it -- his wife, the mother of his child, his best friend -- instead of two characters who have known him what, 20 minutes?

Well, you'll get no argument from me. J.J. Abrams has already taken heat for The Force Awakens showing Leia hug Rey after Han's death instead of Han's other BFF Chewbacca. 'Cause it's true, Rey barely knew Han Solo. It would've had more impact to see Luke, Leia, and Chewie's emotional reactions. Abrams has shared regrets about the blocking of that particular scene, since it did come across as "a slight" to Chewie, which was not intended.

So it sounds like Mark Hamill had issues with both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, since he has also been candid with his frustration on the direction of Luke's storyline in Star Wars: Episode VIII.

Even if Episode IX somehow cobbles a Skywalker reunion together, it's too late for it to have the same kind of impact it could've had in The Force Awakens. Han Solo was killed by his son Ben/Kylo in The Force Awakens, Luke died in The Last Jedi, and Leia actress Carrie Fisher died in real life. Luke is still returning somehow in The Rise of Skywalker -- perhaps the title is a hint there -- and Leia will be shown in previously unused footage. But Star Wars lost its chance to get the original trio back.

Mark Hamill recently posted a photo hugging Harrison Ford, showing his own version of a Luke/Han reunion. He's really laying it on thick, but the frustration is shared by fans. That said, unlike Hamill, we as fans don't know what The Rise of Skywalker has in store in terms of Skywalker family reunions. The teaser trailer already showed Carrie Fisher's Leia in another mid-hug moment, but maybe we can hope for even more from J.J. Abrams, who has learned from his experience on The Force Awakens.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters December 20, as one of the many films to look forward to watching on the big screen in 2019.

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Brad Pitt And Edward Norton Talk Fight Club Getting Booed In Early Screenings

Brad Pitt And Edward Norton Talk Fight Club Getting Booed In Early Screenings

Today, David Fincher’s Fight Club is considered a true cult classic, one of the director’s best movies and one of the most enduring titles of the banner year that was 1999. But 20 years ago, when the movie was first coming out, that level of adoration and appreciation was much more difficult to find. The film was a box office flop and was critically lambasted in some corners, for being irresponsible and deplorable. It was even booed.

Fight Club premiered in September of 1999 at the Venice Film Festival and in an excerpt from Brian Raftery’s book Best. Movie. Year. Ever. on The Ringer, Brad Pitt recalls the reaction to that early screening:

It gets to one of Helena’s scandalous lines—‘I haven’t been fucked like that since grade school!’—and literally the guy running the festival got up and left. Edward and I were still the only ones laughing. You could hear two idiots up in the balcony cackling through the whole thing.

What an amusing image that is, a crowd of aghast and offended festivalgoers watching Fight Club for the first time while Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are cracking up like teenagers, enjoying every second of the film and finding it hilarious.

The audience at Fight Club’s premiere clearly did not see the satire in Fight Club or find any humor in it, especially when it comes to Helena Bonham Carter’s most notorious line as Marla Singer. The line was so offensive that the person running the festival decided he had seen enough and decided to leave.

What’s particularly ironic about that is that her scandalous line was actually the result of the original line being considered too offensive and alienating by one of the film’s producers, Laura Ziskin. The original line in the script is the same as in Chuck Palahniuk’s book; after sex Marla turns to Tyler and says ‘I want to have your abortion.’ As retold by The Wrap, Ziskin begged David Fincher to take the abortion line out and the grade school line is what replaced it.

That line may or may not be more offensive, but either way, it didn’t play well, nor did the film overall, as Edward Norton recalled:

It got booed. It wasn’t playing well at all. Brad turns and looks at me says, ‘That’s the best movie I’m ever gonna be in.’ He was so happy.

You occasionally hear stories about films getting booed at festivals, and it ascribes a scarlet letter of sorts to the movie, branding it as something terrible, indecent or both. That a more prudish audience might boo Fight Club is one thing, but a festival attended by adherents of the art from is something wild to consider. Still, no amount of boos were going to rain on Brad Pitt’s parade.

As Edward Norton recalled, Brad Pitt was positively cheery, thrilled with the film itself, regardless of how it was received. Whether it wound up really being the best movie he’s ever been in is up for debate, but it is definitely a career highlight.

For Edward Norton, the hostile response Fight Club received at those early screenings from critics and audiences was something of a defensive response to the messages in the film itself. He said:

I think the establishment, the critical culture, felt a little bit indicted by it. So they responded to it with a little bit more seriousness, and I think they missed the satirical edge of it.

The subversive, anti-establishment message espoused by Tyler Durden in Fight Club was viewed as a dangerous and irresponsible thing to be in a Hollywood film. And rather than take a nuanced look at the satirical nature of the story, the response was to condemn it. It should also be noted that Fight Club came out the same year as the Columbine Shooting happened, so like The Matrix, it also arrived at an inopportune time and was an easy scapegoat and example of the things that caused society’s ills.

The people involved knew that Fight Club was going to have an uphill battle in the public eye, so two days before its opening, Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairman at the time Bill Mechanic let David Fincher know what to expect. He said:

I said there would be two judgments in the movie. One would be on Friday—which I wasn’t so sure about. But there was also the judgment of history. And I thought this would be one of the great films of the decade. So I was fine to take the pummeling.

Bill Mechanic proved prescient in his thoughts. Fight Club was judged a failure when it opened, managing just $11 million in its opening weekend. Yet as predicted, history judged David Fincher’s film far kinder. Fight Club is now a classic and indeed one of the great films of the decade. Sometimes faith in a film is rewarded, but those rewards don’t always come when you expect them. From booed and walked out on to cult classic; Jack’s smirking revenge indeed.

Check out our 2019 Release Schedule for all the films coming to theaters this year.

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Why The Wild Us Theory About The Son Is Probably Wrong

Why The Wild Us Theory About The Son Is Probably Wrong

Warning: spoilers for Us are in play. If you, or your tethered haven't seen the film yet, please bookmark this article, and come back once you've caught up.

You knew this was coming. Whenever a movie like Jordan Peele's Us storms theaters, there are going to be reactions, theories, hot takes, and think pieces dissecting the film's many meanings -- and that's not necessarily a bad thing. A movie such as Us is always going to generate a lot of thought, and tons of opinions as to what's been presented. For example, there's a theory involving the son of the family, played by Evan Alex, and it makes a pretty big implication about his character. Take this as your last warning for spoiler country, as we're about to jump into just what this theory entails, and why it's probably wrong.

The Theory About Jason

First, Young Jason, son to Adelaide and Gabe and brother to Zora, has been theorized to have switched places with his Tethered doppelganger, Pluto. Fans feel that during the events of Us, there was somehow a switch that allowed Pluto to become a secret part of the Wilson family, and the look of understanding with Adelaide, a known underground dweller who swapped places with her surface counterpart, was one of collusion.

Previously, we had already seen a switch between Lupita N'yongo's Adelaide and Red happen during their childhood years, and taking into account the fact that Jason is the only other family member to go into that underground bunker besides his own mother, there's definitely enough material to raise the question. Furthermore, there are a couple of instances where folks may believe that's exactly what the movie is trying to tell them. But does it make sense?

What Led To This Theory

There are two pieces of information that have people thinking Jason and Pluto somehow swapped places, and they're valid concerns. The first supposed clue is, obviously, the fact that Jason and Pluto spend an extended amount of time in the closet of the Wilson family beach house in Us. If you had two characters who look almost identical trapped in a room for a long period, with no one observing them, you wouldn't be wrong to think that maybe a swap had taken place.

But it's the second piece of information that's probably triggering audiences the most. Towards the end of Us, there's a moment where Jason looks at Adelaide with a face of fear and understanding. In that moment, it's presumed that he knows the entire truth about the swap with her surface doppelganger, and her assumption of her identity. Whatever the case, Jason knows something's off, and rather than freak out, he slips his mask back on and stays silent.

There's a case to be made regarding why this theory could be true. Us is the sort of movie that will  lay out the details it has to in order to tell the story, but also doesn' lock them in so tight they can't be interpreted another way. There's enough room for theories, but after really digging into what was shown in the film, as well as piecing together some key details, I believe the theory that Jason and Pluto switched places by the end of the movie is indeed false. While Jason best understands the Tethered, catching on quickly as to who they are and being able to interact with his doppelganger in a meaningful way, he's not one of them.

Why The Son Theory Is Probably Wrong

There are just too many pieces of supporting evidence scattered throughout Us that dictate Jason and Pluto have not switched places. Starting on the surface level, the fact that Jason still has normal speech is an important clue to his true identity. Pluto wouldn't have that sort of capability yet, because as we saw with Adelaide/Red, it takes time for a Tethered to learn how to speak like a normal person. Red couldn't have taught him in that short of a time, and even if she could, Pluto's English wouldn't be passable enough for him to seamlessly integrate into the family. Even with her ability to speak better than the rest of the tethered, Red's speech pattern was altered into a sort of hybrid between surface and Tethered.

While we're on the subject of Red, as we know in her recitation at the Wilson home, her children are monsters that even she has issues with. One of the main points of the narrative thrust in Us is that she wants what Adelaide has, and that includes her family. Red wouldn't have taken Jason if he were Pluto, and his kidnapping takes place right after Pluto incinerates himself in the car fire, with just one child left in play. This is another logistical hurdle the film just doesn't clear to support Pluto being the kid going home at the end.

Most importantly, Pluto has extensive facial scarring, undoubtedly a consequence of his pyromaniacal tendencies. Unless the Tethered have a really good plastic surgeon that can get the job done in an afternoon, or possess some sort of makeup that can erase that sort of scarring very easily, there's no way that Pluto and Jason have done a quick switcharoo. It's this last fact in particular that supports Jason just being himself, able to interact and understand the Tethered best in his family, but ultimately debunking theories that he himself has been swapped out.

Over time, there's always the possibility there are clues in Us that will surface to either reinforce or reexamine the theory that Jason was really swapped for Pluto. Based on the evidence currently observed, I do not think that is the case. That said, if more supporting arguments emerge to support that suggestion, and they pan out, I honestly wouldn't be mad. If Jason and Pluto somehow took a page out of the Prince and the Pauper playbook, it'd be the ultimate statement in Jordan Peele's examination of class warfare by means of infiltration. It'd also be extremely chilling, because then the question of whether we really know the ones we love would be raised with a rather effective exclamation point. For now though, let's consider that theory sent back underground, because it has no place here.

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I Watched The Original Pet Sematary For The First Time And Yes, It's In Need Of A Remake

I Watched The Original Pet Sematary For The First Time And Yes, It's In Need Of A Remake

Spoiler Warning: I ruin key plot points in the book, 1989 movie, and probably the new movie, so proceed with caution!

Before IT Chapter 2 arrives in theaters later this year, another highly anticipated Stephen King adaptation is hitting screens. Pet Sematary is set to retell the tale of the Creed family, a family which moves to a rural town in Maine and discovers a mystical (and cursed) pet cemetery on their property. It's one of King's most popular books, but I had never read it. Nor had I watched the original film. With the early word on the street that the new film from co-directors Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer absolutely rules, I figured now was a great time to read the book and watch the original 1989 movie.

After watching the film last weekend, I decided that, yes, this thing was due for a remake.

The original Pet Sematary movie was directed by Mary Lambert and written by Stephen King himself. I had always heard positive things about the movie, and I was excited to watch it in preparation for the new film. Why did I do this? Probably so I could say "that's not how they did it in the book," and annoy all the people around me. Regardless, I loved the book, and Hulu made it easy for watch the original movie; however, it was not what I was expecting.

A few things I should point out before diving in: While the movie was pretty faithful to the book, watching for the first time, it falls short in some key areas like acting and pacing. Maybe I've just been spoiled by too many good horror films these past couple of years, but I had a hard time getting onboard this movie.

However, it's totally true that I am coming from a different experience than those who grew up watching the movie and I can see this being pretty scary if you were a kid in 1989 when the movie originally hit theaters. There is legitimately one scary scene involving a character named Zelda that unnerved me deeply. What scares audiences changes over time as well, and that could be one of the reasons watching for the first time now made me happy Pet Sematary is being remade. For me, most of the film ended up having a strong cheesy vibe that makes it more fun to watch than scary, but I obviously don't think that was the intention of the filmmakers.

Regardless of how dear some might hold the film, I think we can agree that the acting is not so great in this movie. It stars Dale Midkiff as Louis Creed, Denise Crosby as Rachel Creed, and Fred Gwynne as Jud Crandall. Gwyne is the best of the bunch and although his Maine accent makes it difficult to decipher what he's saying, he's still the strongest actor in the film. Unfortunately, Midkiff really bogs the movie down.

He reads almost every line with this monotone that makes it impossible to decipher what his character is actually feeling. There's a point in this movie where Louis is supposed to go insane, but Midkoff delivers dialogue the same way as before. You'd think having brought your dead son back from the dead only for him to murder your best friend and wife would have some impact on you.

Another issue I personally had sort of relates to having read the book. The pace is obviously faster, because when adapting a book to a movie, changes have to be made to streamline the plot. The problem I had with how Pet Sematary does it is that it drains the film of character and it's harder to discern why anyone is doing anything.

The perfect example is how the movie handles Jud Crandall, the Creed's elderly next door neighbor. In the book, Jud becomes Louis' best friend. They hang out on a regular basis, just kicking back and drinking beer. Jud also has a wife named Norma, whose life Louis saves after she has a nasty spill on Halloween. Because Louis saved his wife, Jud decides to pay him back by showing him the Micmac burial ground when Louis' family cat Church dies.

In the movie, Jud and Louis have a small handful of scenes together before Church has his inevitable meeting with a speeding truck and Jud shows the burial ground... just because? He pays some lip service later that he didn't want Louis' daughter to be sad, but it rings hollow -- especially because the movie's burial ground produces more violent animals than the book's did.

Norma was understandably cut from the movie (likely to keep the runtime and budget down), but without that extra motivation Jud doesn't really have much of an excuse to teach someone how to make zombies. In the book, Jud's decision isn't entirely his own because he's being influenced by the burial ground, but you still need that motivation to further justify the moment.

As an adaptation goes, Pet Sematary is generally pretty loyal to the book. It cuts back on certain supernatural elements, but otherwise it follows the book to a tee. However, that's not always a great thing and one thing should have absolutely been changed: Gage.

In Pet Sematary, Gage is Louis' toddler son who is tragically run over by a truck. He is eventually brought back to life by a desperate and grieving Louis to disastrous results. The movie keeps all this, but here's the thing about a two year old killer: it's adorable.

The resurrected Gage is not scary AT ALL. They weren't able to tone down any of the cuteness. Gage has the exact same voice and is still only saying age appropriate dialogue, so even when he's saying stuff like "I'll kill you," it's super cute. They try to make him frown and look angry but that just makes him even cuter! I mean look at this picture. What's even happening!?

It's supposed to be the most intense scene in the movie, but even when he's slicing calfs and chomping on necks, it was just too silly for me to overcome. In the book, Gage has an entirely different voice and talks like an adult, so it makes him much more menacing. He says some vile things to people right before he kills them.

Thankfully, it sounds like the new Pet Sematary avoided some of these pitfalls. We already know the upcoming release has changed this major plotline to feature Louis's older daughter, someone who can act and change their face and body language to actually be scary (which she reportedly is). It also should help that VFX, ratings, and pacing in movies has changed over time to accommodate modern audiences.

To be clear, all of this has not been to say that Pet Sematary didn't have its charms or that it wasn't good in 1989, but in 2019, I'm ready for something new. Hopefully the new movie will find a balance between today's modern sensibilities and being faithful to Stephen King's original work. It would be even nicer if it could in some ways pay homage to the 1989 film that came before it, because there would be less nostalgia and excitement related to the new Pet Sematary if it hadn't been for the 1989 film. Still, I think it's fair to say this thing was ready for a really scary, modern remake, and we'll know for sure if that's what we got on April 5.

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