Sofia Coppola’s first film in four years, The Beguiled, is a psychosexual period thriller with one helluva cast. The film is a remake of an obscure 1971 thriller starring Clint Eastwood, and the subject matter is right in Coppola’s wheelhouse.
Check out this fantastic trailer:
The synopsis is the same as the original film:
While imprisoned in a Confederate girls’ boarding school, an injured Union soldier cons his way into each of the lonely women’s hearts, causing them to turn on each other, and eventually, on him.
What a cast! Colin Farrell, who continues to push the envelope and redefine what people initially thought of him back in the day, is the deceptive soldier, and Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, and Kirsten Dunst are members of the boarding school. Coppola wrote the screenplay, based on the novel by Thomas Cullinan.
Coppola’s last film, The Bling Ring, came and went without much fanfare, but it is worth a look for anyone interested in the toxic nature of fan culture. The Beguiled feels like a long lost cousin of her dark feminist revolt pictures, a la The Virgin Suicides.
The Beguiled has a prime release date, June 30, but let’s wait and see just how wide of a release we’re getting here.
CW has come out with its latest comic-based series, but it’s not another DC super-show. Riverdale is a new take on the Archie Comics characters, with scandal and intrigue surrounding the small town. It’s an interesting show, but there seems to be more potential. Specifically, there’s an ongoing comic that brings a new level of drama to the franchise. Afterlife with Archie is a great comic book series that’s worth a read. But on top of that, maybe it would’ve made for a better watch than Riverdale.
For those that don’t know, Afterlife with Archie is a comic that took the franchise in a VERY dark direction. Jughead becomes patient zero for the zombie virus, and a group of small-town survivors now hope to keep the human race alive. There are many familiar faces, including Betty, Veronica, Reggie, and Mr. Lodge. It’s a chilling story that takes the well-known characters down dark paths. Afterlife with Archie has one of the best zombie survival storylines one could find.
This article isn’t to say that Riverdale is a terrible show. It’s not my cup of tea, but plenty of people love it. However, with such a great property, one would hope CW would make something more unique. Riverdale boils down to a somewhat creepy soap opera. It’s another show that has pretty young white people dealing with drama. It’s the kind of material CW was mocked for in the past. On top of that, the show doesn’t even need to be about Archie. The series takes the names of characters, but not much of the original spirit. Afterlife with Archie may not be as light-hearted as the original comics, but it pulls from the comics well. The dark storylines are all twists on previously established lore.
The TV landscape is due for a new zombie project. Pulling from such a unique comic book could give the genre a much-needed resurrection. Comic books have long provided brain-hungry readers with great storytelling. While the movies and TV shows may feel tired, the comics have continuously innovated. The Marvel Zombies series played a lot with the various characters included in the universe. Everyone’s favorite zombie show, The Walking Dead, started as a comic book. The same is true of iZombie, the CW’s zombie procedural show.
It could also be fun to see teenagers take on zombies. A lot of the zombie shows tend to focus on the same type of story. A group of adult survivors struggle to hole up somewhere safe. Afterlife with Archie takes on not only the undead, but highlights how twisted teenage life can be. It also has a brilliant tie-in with black magic, through the Archie-verse’s resident witch Sabrina. The amount of dark material that Afterlife with Archie takes on could make for several seasons of heart-stopping action.
Imagine the group of moody young people, often seen in soap operas, taking on the undead. It would be a delightful twist – not only on the zombie genre, but on teenage-centric shows. You like Heathers? Think about these teenagers kicking ass in the same way. Riverdale could keep the same cast – just give them more to do than brood and look good. There’s no need to make Archie a jock who’s now juggling three women at once – maybe just give him a baseball bat and an abusive father.
That’s the biggest benefit Riverdale could’ve brought to the table. Currently, it’s using classic comics to follow a stereotypical show format. Riverdale is not bad, but it could be so much more. The CW could have made something wholly unique with Afterlife with Archie. Maybe they’ll even adapt a similar story for Season 2. Though I’ll watch Riverdale regardless, it’s hard to keep Afterlife off my brain.
Seriously, the Archie zombies are trying to eat my brain. I can’t get them off. Send help.
Although fans have to wait until December to finally see the next chapter in the Skywalker saga, Disney CEO Bob Iger was given a screening of the film recently. His response? Well, it’s nothing new…
Perk of being @WaltDisneyCo CEO: seeing The Last Jedi early. Bob Iger calls it "a great next chapter in the iconic Skywalker family saga."
Considering he’s the head of the company, there’s no way he’d ever call one of their movies anything other than good. That said, however, it’s nice to know that the footage is there, and we’ll be seeing Star Wars: The Last Jedi in under a year.
Next to nothing is known about The Last Jedi‘s plot. From the title we can make out that it will likely be a story revolving around Luke Sykwalker. Other than that, it’s all speculation.
Talk about a surprise in my life. I never thought I’d be looking at Red Hood and The Outlaws again. Yet here we are: I’m giving Red Hood and The Outlaws another chance. In the New 52 incarnation, I never could get into it. Then I heard friends of mine raving about it so I figured #7 would be a good jumping on point. Now the true test will be if this issue manages to hook me into the series. I’m open minded enough give this series a fair chance as I hope it turns out to be awesome. Enough delay, let’s get the review started. Without further ado, time to begin my adventure into Red Hood and The Outlaws #7.
Did I mention Red Hood and The Outlaws has Bizarro featured? I am a sucker for all things Bizarro.
Let’s start with this: Scott Lobdell is – to be polite – hit or miss for me. There are a good share of hits and misses here in this comic. At its core it’s about how Jason Todd a.k.a Red Hood is learning to work with Bizarro. I do like how Lobdell makes this a nice self contained book. Here’s the tough part: this is still part of an ongoing series. I wish I had more as to how this team works. We only get a little of Artemis, who’s part of the team. At least she plays some role in the issue. At least I get all the members of the team, even a hint of Alfred too, as the story moves forward. It’s a shame we didn’t get more Artemis but the issue was already crowded, so I understand that.
It is nice to see how Lobdell writes Bizarro and Red Hood despite my issues with the comic. You learn a lot about Bizarro here and how he operates now, in turn getting to learn more about Jason Todd. While Lobdell doesn’t do great at explaining the premise of the book, the Jason Todd and Bizarro moments work well. It is messy in explaining how the team works, but the Todd and Bizarro moments have so much heart to it. Scott Lobdell bleeds emotion with these two characters and it helps in making at least part of this work.
It’s uneven as a story but I’m surprised at how well the Jason Todd and Bizarro connection comes together.
Artistically, this book is strong overall. Honestly, this is where the book shines for me. Mirko Colak’s art works well with Tom Derenick’s breakdowns here. Add in some drop dead gorgeous coloring at points from Veronica Gandini and you have a strong art team. It’s not perfect, as some Colak’s faces don’t work as well for me as they should. The eyes, the lips, and general structure of the faces and even some of the bodies, don’t gel well for me storytelling wise. It’s mostly nitpicking, but it is stuff I notice.
Yet the coloring here is beautiful, especially with the ending and the Bizarro fight at the beginning, quality work from Gandini. Colak and Derenick’s strongest work of the issue is also the Bizarro fight and the final pages of the comic. If anything the final pages of this comic is what ultimately made me like the issue more as Lobdell and the team made them shine. It hits a few rough patches here and there in between, but the beginning and the ending of this book are spectacular to behold.
It’s a strange journey and a bit messy, yet surprisingly Red Hood and The Outlaws isn’t half bad.
It’s not a perfect comic by any means, but it has a lot of heart and I appreciate that. There’s enough here that I’m game to give the next issue a shot. Red Hood and The Outlaws works better for me now than it did in the New 52 incarnation that’s for sure. I guess as I said in the title, Bizarro as always is number one in my heart.
Megan is a typical popular teenage girl in a small American town. She leads her clique with an iron fist and threats of high school hierarchy banishment. But after a night of partying Megan falls into a deep coma. She awakens, but someone else is inside her head. That someone is Loma Shade, an Avian alien from the planet Meta. Using the hijacked Madness coat once worn by the mad poet (and original Shade the Changing Man) Rac Shade, Loma possesses Megan’s body in an effort to explore the planet Earth, a world she has been obsessed with since old TV shows began to stray into Meta’s airwaves. Soon she is forced to live the life Megan had left behind, and become a fugitive from her own world; a world where it seems the forces searching for Loma have a nefarious plan for the Madness coat as well.
Shade the Changing Girl #5 Written by Cecil Castellucci Art by Marley Zarcone
with Ryan Kelly Coloring by Kelly Fitzpatrick Shade created by Steve Ditko Published by Young Animal, an imprint of DC Comics.
Writing
This has to be the most solemn and introspective issue of Shade so far. Most of it is filled with an interior monologue that borders on being a poem; it brings out the loneliness that an alien observer would feel in a different world. Even surrounded by newfound “friends” in the shape of Megan’s clique, Loma can’t seem to feel much except a yearning to return home. And as much as she has tried to shape her environment around her, and has tried to learn about this new world, it hasn’t been enough. Her thoughts reveal her to be distant and depressed.
This comic was strange from the beginning, but this new hyper-melancholic tone is new. It actually adds a lot of weight to the character and story, and some of the writing is quite beautiful. It really takes an artful feel.
However, there is a story being told, as the issue ends with two cliffhangers. Not only do we learn why the authorities on Meta want the madness coat for themselves, but Megan’s consciousness also seems to return and desperately wants to reclaim her own body.
Cecil Castellucci continues to write one of the most original books out there (especially for a mainstream publisher). Kudos to DC/Young Animal for putting this out there.
Art
Marley Zarcone and Kelly Fitzpatrick (along with guest/aid on inks by Ryan Kelly) are a team to be reckoned with here. They are creating some of the most striking, eerie and beautiful images in modern comics. The sense of page layout and design is the stuff of pop-art perfection. And as bizarre and unique as everything is, there is a simplicity in the lines and shapes used that make it so deceptively easy to look at. It’s pop-surrealism at it’s best and you will be hard-pressed to find a better-looking comic book these days. I swear I want to frame some of these pages ad panels
I also want to add that the cover for this issue was done by the always fantastic Becky Cloonan, and it’s frame worthy in its own right. I’d love to see more artists do their take on this new Shade.
Conclusion
With what seems to be one installment left in this first arc, Shade The Changing Girl #5 is a pivotal chapter, yet still accessible due to it’s emotional, relatable writing and gorgeous and arresting art. Pick it up now.
‘A Cure For Wellness’ Is An Entertaining and Uncomfortable Thrill Ride!
Gore Verbinski returns to the horror genre with one of the most shocking studio films in years. ‘A Cure For Wellness‘ opens February 17th and I’m awaiting the pubic’s reaction to this shocking piece. Verbinski holds very little back but by the end, he doesn’t push the boundaries enough. When the story has seemingly delivered the final blow, there’s still about 20 minutes left. The film goes from an unnerving pieces and shifts into a more familiar Hollywood third act. Until that sudden shift, ‘A Cure For Wellness‘ reminds me of the masterful horror films of David Cronenberg.
The Cronenberg Connections:
To start off, I’ll give a little background on who David Cronenberg is. The Canadian filmmaker began his film career creating shocking films filled with vomit-inducing body horror. Cronenberg’s film then began taking a more cerebral twist, diving into social commentaries and personal strife. His body of work includes films like ‘Shivers‘, ‘The Brood‘, and ‘Scanners‘. Cronenberg has also directed more popular pieces like ‘Videodrome‘, ‘The Fly‘, ‘Naked Lunch‘, and ‘A History of Violence‘.
Almost every one of those films mentioned seem to have influenced ‘A Cure For Wellness‘. When I first saw the trailers, I felt the H.P. Lovecraft influence but actually seeing the film…it’s totally David Cronenberg meets ‘Cocoon‘.
First, it’s all the body horror that screams CRONENBERG! Hollywood horror usually has some gore or only gore if you’re ‘Saw’ but the way Verbinski uses it in this film is tremendous. One scene that sticks out in particular is the drilling of a tooth. It starts out with a tooth falling out of Dane Dehaan’s character Mr. Lockhart but it only gets grosser from there. He asks for help from one of the doctors at the wellness center and this leads to one of the most intense and brutal scenes I’ve seen a while.
There’s also a lot of social commentary in ‘A Cure For Wellness‘, something David Cronenberg is known. I admire Gore Verbinski for taking a brash but less preachy route to delivering his message. Like Cronenberg, Verbinski dives into deep thoughts about how society is being corrupt and we need to cleanse the filth of the world. It’s something I didn’t expect from the film but it’s an intriguing change from all the gross stuff!
Paving Its Own Way:
Yes, ‘A Cure For Wellness‘ is inspired but that doesn’t mean it’s not original.
The way this film breaks down age is wonderful. It’s deep and impactful. There’s something sad about how bad these people want to be cured from their horrible normal lives that they’d run to this place. That speaks deeply into the beauty culture as well as how society views aging in general.
Another thing that separates this from many other “body horror” movies is the Gothic/Victorian flair. From start to finish, it feels like a classic morose fairytale. This is when Gore Verbinski starts calling back to himself as the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean‘ franchise, as well as ‘The Ring‘, have a gothic feeling.
Final Thoughts:
‘A Cure For Wellness‘ isn’t perfect but close. It’s almost there with the terrifying body horror and unique screenplay but it starts to lose its originality near the end. Also, the film expect you to put aside any sort of realism from the get-go so this film isn’t for everyone.
I personally loved it and would recommend it to obscure horror fans!
Synopsis:An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company’s CEO from an idyllic but mysterious “wellness center” at a remote location in the Swiss Alps. He soon suspects that the spa’s miraculous treatments are not what they seem. When he begins to unravel its terrifying secrets, his sanity is tested, as he finds himself diagnosed with the same curious illness that keeps all the guests there longing for the cure.
– [FoxMovies.com]
Genre: Psychological Horror Country: USA/Germany Directed By: Gore Verbinski Starring: Dane Dehaan, Mia Goth, and Jason Isaacs
“We are excited to deliver an epic conclusion to the tale of Sarah and her clone sisters. The past four seasons have been a phenomenal adventure and we are eternally grateful to our loyal fans who have loved the twists and thrills of our weird little show. We are thankful to our partners at Temple Street, and to BBC America and Space for their support and giving us the opportunity to end on a high.”
Since its 2013 debut, the sci-fi thriller has gained critical praise and a massive fan following.
Last year, Maslany won her first Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
In addition to Maslany, the cast includes Jordan Gavaris, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Skyler Wexler, Kevin Hanchard, Evelyne Brochu, Kristian Bruun, Ari Millen and Josh Vokey.
Yet another superhero drama was recently given the green light by the CW–but Black Lightning has a few elements other shows lack. Most obviously, the show’s lead DC Tv’s first African-American superhero Jefferson Pierce. The shows writers are black husband-and-wife duo Mara Brock and Salim Akil, according to Deadline.
Black Lightning Will Not Be Just Another Berlanti Production
Mara Brock and Salim Akil
Producer Greg Berlanti has his fingers in many other television pies. Most recently, he produced Riverdale, the noir/mystery/teen drama barely based on Archie Comics. Berlanti also produces Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow. Black Lightning will likely be darker than any of the other DC shows on the air.
Deadline explains the show’s plot: “[Pierce] made his choice: He hung up the suit and his secret identity years ago, but with a daughter hellbent on justice and a star student being recruited by a local gang, he’ll be pulled back into the fight as the wanted vigilante and DC legend — Black Lightning.”
Black Lightning is based on the DC character created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden. The book premiered in 1977, making Pierce one of DC’s first African American heroes. No premiere date is set.
Image fans all know that February 1 marked the 25th anniversary of the much loved publishing house. Back in November, Image announced 25 cent comics to celebrity 25 years. However, Comixology is also including some new series to its sometimes-woeful collection of Unlimited subscriber content.
Comixology announced today that it would be adding the following titles for its unlimited subscribers.
Bitch Planet
Courtesy: Image
(Issue #1-8 & Vol. 1)
created by writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Valentine De Landro
When women are deemed to be “non-compliant” by earth’s male leaders, they are sent off world to Bitch Planet in a win or die trying prison. Complete with strongly feminist values, the book also incorporates essays by scholars and other media to enhance the reading experience.
God Hates Astronauts
Courtesy: Image
(Issues #1-10 & Vol. 1-3, adding issues 6 – 10, Vol. 2-3) complete series
created by Ryan Browne
Beginning with an immortal superhero deformed by boxer John Sullivan who is boxing a bear, this book never gets less weird. With colors reminiscent of Allred, Browne’s artwork adds an additional layer of surreal to an already strongly surreal story.
Wytches
Courtesy: Image
(Issues #1-6 & Vol. 1 new and available today) complete series
created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Jock
When rumors follow Sailor and her mother from one town to their new home of Litchfield, the mother and daughter learn that rumors are the least of the monsters out to get them. Jock’s art in the series harkens to The Blair Witch Project in the dark woods but also brings pops of pinks and greens that startle the viewer.
For those seeking out some new-old comics to read, Comixology’s additions allow for exploration of some more recently published works upon which maybe you’ve been unwilling to take a $3 chance.
In addition to announcing the arrival of these three major names, Comixology also announced that there will be continuous Image additions to its Unlimited service through May.
Aftermath, originally titled 478, stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a man seeking revenge on someone who killed his family.
That all sounds familiar and very much in the vein of classic Arnie. But Aftermath is based on a true story and has little more on its mind; and judging by this trailer we are getting even more of that somber, aging, Maggie-esque Schwarzenegger, and less a man tearing through baddies to exact his pound of flesh.
Check out the trailer:
Much more subdued that I expected. The synopsis on IMDb simply says the film is “Based on the airline accident that occurred in July of 2002 and the events that took place 478 days later.” However, there is so much more to the story.
Schwarzenegger is clearly after Scoot McNairy, who plays the air traffic controller whose mistake caused his wife and daughter’s plane to crash. The grieving father and husband in the real-life story was Vitaly Kaloyev, who eventually tracked down air traffic controller Peter Nielsen in his apartment and stabbed him to death. Yeah, heavy stuff…
This is definitely more of the complicated moral gymnastics Schwarzenegger tried in Maggie, the low-key zombie family drama he did back in 2015. Even though it may not be his strongest talents as an actor, it’s fascinating to see this former muscleman try his hand at something different late in life.
Aftermath is directed by Elliott Lester, and aside from Arnie and Scoot McNairy, stars Maggie Grace, Kevin Zegers, and Hannah Ware. Schwarzenegger returns to theaters and On-Demand on April 7.
Shade the Changing Girl #5
