Taika Waititi Talks About Thor Ragnarok’s Storyline, Tone And Cameos

February 2, 2017

Director Taika Waititi has spilled the beans on Thor: Ragnarok’s storyline and tone.

In an A.V Club interview, Waititi says Ragnarok will differ from his past films. “Sometimes I would stop and think, I’m doing a movie that’s got Thor and Doctor Strange and The Incredible Hulk and Loki and every character is so strange and different,” he says.

Previously, the filmmaker has said the film includes a “Taika-esque tone.” “What I want the audience to leave the cinema carrying with them is a sense of joy,” he says.

The plot concerns Thor and Loki looking for Odin, who has gone missing. At one point, Thor faces the Hulk in a gladiatorial match. Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will provide aid in the search for Odin, because of a deal he makes with Thor.

“With Civil War, it’s just humans, humans with human problems,” says Waititi. “Ours is creatures and beings and all these sorts of really different characters. Again displaying human problems, but in outer space or in other worlds.”

The director confirms he will have a cameo in the film, which is a staple of his work. ”It’s not like a thing that I’ve ever planned, but now I’m in all of my movies in a small role or a larger role,” he says. “I’ll probably just keep doing that. It’s like a dumb thing I do now.”

Sam Neil is also going to appear in a small role. As Waititi says, “I don’t want to say too much about it, because it’s a really cool little thing that he’s doing.”

Thor: Ragnarok will open on November 3, 2017.

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Review: ‘Steven Universe’: That Will Be All: Yes It Will!

Anthony Wendel

Steven makes a daring escape with the Gems.
A lot happened in this episode and there is a lot to unpack here. First Greg and Steven are reunited with Amethyst who has found companionship with her other gems. Then the pair bare witness to an interaction between Yellow and Blue Diamond and fans finally get to see a very interesting conversation take place.

One of the most significant moments in this episode comes as Greg and Steven discover all the Rose Quartz have been imprisoned in response to Steven’s mother’s rebellion. The entire Gem class is being punished for how one of them acted which means the audience will likely not see another Rose Quartz again anytime soon. They are only being spared from being smashed by Blue Diamond and her need to keep Pink Diamond’s legacy alive. The instant Yellow Diamond steps into the room the scene is filled with an ominous feeling like she might destroy all of the imprisoned Quartz on a whim. She is definitely not one to trifled with.

There is a possibility of more abductions on Earth to help Blue Diamond secure Pink’s legacy. If the Home World does pay more attention to Earth, they may soon realize something is wrong. They’ll quickly want to know why the Gem Cluster, their ultimate weapon hasn’t emerged yet. This would only result in more headaches for Steven and the rest of the Crystal Gems. Of course there also is a possibility the Gems of the station might have formed a fan club for Amethyst and could very well start an internal rebellion.

This episode is a perfect blend of comedy, action, drama, and plot development. The highlights include the home world’s response to Rose’s rebellion and the setup for what will come in the future. Sadly, if the schedule is correct then it will be a few more weeks before any new Steven Universe comes out. At least the parting shot before this hiatus is a fantastic episode which may be one of the best in the entire series.

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First Look: New Pixar short ‘Lou’ To Play In Front of ‘Cars 3’

Ashley Carter

February 2, 2017

Pixar has released a first look photo of its newest short, Lou.

The six-minute short features a hoodie-cloaked creature who lives in a school’s lost and found box. His eyes are baseballs. Forgotten, neglected toys surround him.

Here’s the plot:

When a toy stealing bully ruins recess for a playground full of kids, only one thing stands in his way: the “Lost and Found” box (aka Lou).

The project was personal for director Dave Mullins, who got the idea from his childhood experience of feeling out of place.

“You either feel invisible because you don’t know the other kids or you’re embarrassed and you want to be invisible,” Mullins said. “I thought it’d be really cool to have a character who could hide in plain sight.”

Mullins also worked as an animator on other Pixar projects, including Cars, Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc.

Lou plays ahead of Cars 3, which opens in theaters June 16.

Source: USA Today

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DC Comics Continues To Sign Top Comic Book Talent With Artists Javier Fernández And Jorge Jiménez

Manuel Gomez

February 2, 2017

BURBANK, Calif. (February 2, 2017) – DC Entertainment continues to expand its roster of top-name talent, announcing today that it has reached agreements with artists Javier Fernández (NIGHTWING) and Jorge Jiménez (SUPERMAN, SUPER SONS) to create comic book content solely for the publisher’s DC and Vertigo imprints.

Artist Javier Fernández had this to say:

Nightwing! How could I not be excited when I was asked to work on something like that. When DC asked me to redesign one of the most iconic costumes, I knew exactly what Nightwing would look like. Professionally, it’s hard to find something that I have been looking forward to more than the chance to create stories in Gotham with one of the most beloved characters at DC. I love my job.

DC’s Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras said:

Javier is an incredible artist whose portfolio continues to expand. With NIGHTWING, he brought Dick Grayson back to Gotham in his classic black and blue look and has seamlessly positioned him in DC Rebirth in a way that feels modern, yet true to the legacy of this character. We couldn’t have asked for a better pairing when we matched Javier to Dick Grayson’s solo series.

DC Publisher Jim Lee stated:

There’s also been a lot of interest in Superman after the events of DC Rebirth. Not a small part of that is the result of the return of a Superman married to Lois Lane, raising their son Jon. Jorge’s designs for Jon, now Superboy, perfectly capture the spirit of the new character. He has quickly positioned himself as an artist’s artist who can do great designs, fantastic action, and deliver lively, personal storytelling.

Jorge Jiménez added:

DC has made me feel at home over the years. I remember my first work on the FRINGE series. I was extremely nervous but also very excited; I wanted to prove that I wasn’t just passing through, that I had come to stay, and to eventually realize my dream to draw Superman. Now time has passed, my projects with DC have been increasingly important, and I’ve not only seen the day when I’m drawing Superman, but this year I had the opportunity to design Superman’s son. The fan reaction has been incredible. Thank you!

Fernández and Jiménez are the newest names to be added to DC’s roster of talent. DC has also recently signed artists Bruno Redondo (INJUSTICE 2), Liam Sharp (WONDER WOMAN), Andy Kubert (DARK KNIGHT III), and writers Amanda Conner (HARLEY QUINN), James Tynion IV (DETECTIVE COMICS), Dan Abnett (TITANS, AQUAMAN) and more. Stay tuned for more announcements as DC continues to expand its talent pool.

Check out the redesigns below and tell us what you think in the comments!

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2. Superboy by Jorge Jiménez

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ARRIVAL’s Eric Heisserer Leads Valiant’s SECRET WEAPONS With Visionary Artist Raul Allen

Manuel Gomez

February 2, 2017

For immediate release:
As revealed today at Vulture, Valiant is proud to announce that Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer, writer of the internationally acclaimed, smash-hit motion picture ARRIVAL, as well as the upcoming HARBINGER and BLOODSHOT feature films from Sony Pictures, will join Harvey Award-nominated artist Raul Allen (Wrath of the Eternal Warrior) with Patricia Martin (Bloodshot Reborn) for SECRET WEAPONS #1 (of 4) – an all-new, Valiant Prestige format limited series starring the much-demanded, super-charged hero Livewire, in June!

The government has dispatched Amanda McKee – the technopath codenamed Livewire – to investigate the ruins of a secret facility formerly run by Toyo Harada, the most powerful telepath on Earth and her former mentor. In his quest for world betterment at any cost, Harada sought out and activated many potential psiots like himself. Those who survived, but whose powers he deemed to have no value to his cause, were hidden away at this installation. But Livewire, having studied Harada’s greatest strengths and learned his deepest weaknesses, senses opportunity where he once saw failure. A young girl who can talk to birds… A boy who can make inanimate objects gently glow… To others, these are expensive failures. But, to Livewire, they are secret weapons…in need of a leader. Now, as a mechanized killer called Rexo seeks to draw them out, Livewire and her new team of cadets will be forced to put their powers into action…in ways they never could have imagined…

Valiant CEO & Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani had this to say:

Much like Faith before her, Livewire is a comics icon in the making. She is beloved by fans and adored by creators. Finding the right stage for her to shine has been a top priority at Valiant for some time now and, with SECRET WEAPONS, Eric and Raul have crafted something truly special. Not only is this a story quite unlike any Valiant has told to date, but Eric and Raul have created a host of new characters unlike any others in comics. This series is the first step in a long-term plan that will be more than worth the wait, and will have major ramifications for all quarters of the Valiant Universe as we build toward HARBINGER WARS 2 in 2018.

On artist Raul Allen, he added:

Without a doubt, Raul is one of the most talented artists in the industry, and every page he sends in leaves jaws on the floor,” he added. “Eric – one of the great storytellers anywhere in entertainment today and one of the sweetest people possible – is able to effortlessly jump between mediums with a passion and intensity that is virtually unrivaled. Together they make an amazing team, and we can’t wait to share their work with the world.

In addition to his 2017 Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for ARRIVAL, Heisserer has received a host of high-profile awards and nominations for some of the most prominent institutions in entertainment, including the BAFTA Awards, the Writers Guild Awards, the Humanitas Prize, the Critics’ Choice Awards, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Austin Film Critics Association, and more. His next projects will include a key role in shaping Valiant’s five-film slate of major motion pictures at Sony Pictures as the writer of the upcoming HARBINGER and BLOODSHOT feature films – currently scheduled for release in late 2018.

The writer had this to say:

My path to Secret Weapons is a bit wonky. I started writing for characters like Pete, Faith, Livewire, and Bloodshot in the film adaptations of their stories. When I am given the opportunity to translate a property to screen, it’s like adopting someone else’s child for a while. I put in my time, try to respect all the hard work of the original authors, and sooner or later I’m on my way. The Valiant characters were different, especially Livewire. I kept thinking about her, long after my official writing services were complete. I wanted back into that world. I had crazy ideas for her powers, and the hard choices ahead of her. So, I asked to build a new book for Valiant, with a new group of faces, all led by Amanda. To my relief, Dinesh and Warren said yes. Of all the writing I’ve done in the last year, my heart is most in SECRET WEAPONS and its collection of freaks, misfits, and outcasts. And I think a story of a woman who’s shouldered such great burdens, now trying to rescue some lost souls and form a surrogate family, may be one of the most emotional stories I’ve put to paper. And where this story goes? Oh man, buckle up.

On June 28th, 2017 Oscar® nominee Eric Heisserer and visionary artist Raul Allen follow in the footsteps of HARBINGER and FAITH to forge a new vision of 21st century superheroes as Livewire steps to the fore with an all-new team of heroes in the waiting, only in SECRET WEAPONS #1 (of 4) – coming soon to a comic shop near you!

For more information, visit Valiant on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and ValiantUniverse.com.

For Valiant merchandise and more, visit ValiantStore.com

Check out some preview pages and character designs below and tell us what you think in the comments!

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9. SECRET WEAPONS #1 – Character Designs by Raul Allen with Patricia Martin

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Image Comics Turns 25: Celebrating The Company’s 25 Best Titles (Part Four)

Nick Enquist

February 2, 2017

We’re celebrating Image Comics’ 25th anniversary all this week by breaking down the company’s all-time best 25 series! With so much diversity in its catalog, Image truly has comics for everyone. Check them out for yourself! Leave some of your own favorites in the comments, and come back tomorrow for our final part of this series and 5 more titles!

Catch up on the series:
Part One, Part Two, & Part Three.

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1. Chew

Chew is the epitome of darkly funny story telling. John Layman crafts an original concept that lends itself well to complex storytelling, but is also hilarious. Each page is filled with brilliant jokes and scenarios that can only work in a comic book like this. Artist Rob Guillory draws this vibrant world that is somehow both wonderful to look at, and yet kind of disgusting. It works well with the material given, and it’s hard to tear your eyes away from the artwork. However, the core of this story is a mystery, and Chew creates one of the most detailed, intriguing mysteries in any medium. One of the greatest comic books Image has ever put on the stands.

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5 Comic Books from Not-Marvel/DC You Should Read If You Aren’t

Karen Walsh

February 2, 2017

As cultural phenomena, Marvel and DC dominate popular culture with television shows and movies. Their multimedia empires have created well-known characters upon which several generations of children have been raised, often overshadowing other publishing houses like Image, Dark Horse, Boom!, and Valiant. This means that word of mouth (or internet) becomes one of the most important resources for determining what books to try.

Over the last few years, some of the most original, most interesting stories on the market have come from Image, Valiant, Skybound, and Dark Horse. If you’re looking for some new, slightly-off-the-beaten-path reads, here are five books to try.

1Faith

A: Jody Houser
I: Marguerite Sauvage (and others)
Valiant

Not to confuse you, but we’re not talking Faith the Slayer here. Faith Herbert, a.k.a. Zephyr, is the geek girl turned superhero. A favorite character in the book Harbinger, Faith got her own mini-series and now an ongoing in 2016. Trying to navigate her new solo life after having been part of a team, Faith struggles to put together a normal career while maintaining a superhero alter ego. Her secret identity self, Summer Smith, works at a gossip blog. However, the secret identity doesn’t last long and soon she has a small cadre of friends/allies helping her. Faith, like its namesake main character, deals with heavy issues while maintaining an optimistic light-hearted quality. The first trade from the original mini-series is available on Comixology and Kindle.

What others would you add to this list? Tell us in the comments!

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‘Ghost In The Shell’ Superbowl LI Teaser Released

Manuel Gomez

February 2, 2017

As has become standard in the age of the internet, Paramount has released their Ghost in the Shell Superbowl LI spot ahead of the game’s broadcast. Although the film has been plagued by controversy as far back as it’s announcement, fans are still excited and anticipation is high.

The thirty-second clip is just a teaser for the new film. Watch it below and tell us what you think in the comments!

Ghost in the Shell is a Japanese anime franchise originally published as a manga series written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga was first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle The Ghost in the Shell, and later published on its own in volumes. The property has been a massive hit worldwide. The series told the story of the fictional counter-cyberterrorist organization Public Security Section 9, led by protagonist Major Motoko Kusanagi, in the mid 21st century of Japan

The live action adaptation stars Scarlett Johansson, Michael Wincott, Michael Pitt, Juliet Binoche, Takashi Kitano, Rila Fukushima, Pilou Asbaek, Chin Han, Peter Ferdinando, and Joseph Naufahu. The movie is directed by Rubert Saunders from a script by Jonathan Herman and Jaime Moss.

Ghost In The Shell is due in theaters March 31, 2017.

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‘Santa Clarita Diet’ Review: A Delicious Amount of Gore with A Dash of Humor

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

Debuting this Friday on Netflix, Santa Clarita Diet is a well crafted and entertaining look at the repetitiveness of suburban life through an undead lens.

Summary:

Shelia (Drew Barrymore) and Joel (Timothy Olyphant) are high school sweethearts who marry at a young age, have a daughter, and are realtors living the American Dream in Los Angeles. Shelia longs to be more impulsive. Joel wishes that he could handle confrontation well. Their daughter, Abby (Liv Hewson) can’t stand how mundane her parents have become and just wants a car so she can be away from them.

During what appears to be a typical showing off yet another house, Sheila falls ill and proceeds to projectile vomit all over the place (think Exorcist level of vomit). Then if that wasn’t enough, she then continues to cough up what appears to be her heart. Joel immediately takes her to the hospital, but after a long wait, they leave. Shortly after returning home it becomes apparent that something is different about Sheila. Perhaps it’s her desire to eat human flesh? It’s at this point that the show quickly pivots from being your typical martial comedy to an atypical horror comedy with a marital twist.

What I liked:

I loved the way Victor Fresco crafted the narrative of Sheila and Joel. Rather than waste time building up to the moment of her transformation, we see her go through this change at about the ten-minute mark. This dramatic moment immediately takes the focus off their life before she was a zombie and puts the focus where it needs to be on, how the whole family adapts to her new eating habits.

Also, by having her undergo that change so rapidly it allowed the audience to accept this new reality for the couple immediately. Instead of being grossed out by her eating habits, you just nod and say “Of course she’s eating the man’s leg, I hope she gets enough to eat.” Creating an odd reality isn’t anything new for Fresco, he was one of the driving forces behind My Name is Earl and Better off Ted.

It was refreshing to watch how they were able to take the whole Zombie phenomenon and use it as a vehicle to tell this tale. On the surface, this show looks like any typical zombie themed program. In reality, it’s about how after years of marriage, Sheila and Joel’s marriage is evolving. Before this unfortunate turn of events, it seems that their marriage is stuck in a holding pattern, but now they’re discovering new ways in which they love one another. For example, what better way to say I love you than to help your wife stuff a dead guy in a meat freezer so she can gnaw on his fingers later.

Finally, Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant play the roles of Sheila and Joel to perfection. Seeing Barrymore play off of her syrupy sweet demeanor and proceed to drop F-bombs and devour people on screen was not off-putting, it was charming. Olyphant steps out of the comfort of playing the tough guy and pulls off loving husband and partner in crime wonderfully.

What I didn’t Like:

There is another narrative that’s ongoing throughout the series about the neighbor’s son having a crush on Abby, which at times tended to distract from what I felt worked in the series. It’s obvious that the writers were trying to create a reason for the neighbor’s son to eventually help out Abby’s parents, but rather than having him lust over her, maybe they could have just been friends at school.

I was at times wondering about how Sheila caught the virus that transformed her. They touch on it slightly, but it’s not the primary focus driving the narrative. I would like to see them make some progress towards finding out how she contracted it. My guess is the reason they left it alone is that they are saving some parts of the story for a potential second season.

Review:

Santa Clarita Diet is a thoroughly enjoyable show. The humor may be a bit dark for some, but the timing and execution of the jokes are done well. Netflix in recent years has branched out into original programming and has been behind such binge-worthy hits as Orange is the New Black and House of Cards. Santa Clarita Diet is set to join those ranks as a slew of audience members are going to want to sink their teeth into this one.

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Forgotten Films Archive: ‘Dead Calm’ (1989), and The Gleeful Psychosis of Billy Zane

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

February 2, 2017

Dead Calm introduced American audiences – at least the few who saw it back in 1989 – to blossoming superstar Nicole Kidman. The Aussie actress had been making her way in film and television Down Under for a few years, but Philip Noyce’s terrific, self-contained sea thriller brought her red locks and cold gaze stateside for the first time. The rest is history.

But, Dead Calm also showed us something we’ve unfortunately never quite seen enough of, and that is the animal magnetism and undeniable star power of Billy Zane. For whatever reason, though he’s had his fair share of good roles, Zane has never been the star he should have been after devouring the screen and stealing the show from Kidman and Sam Neill almost three decades ago. Always a little theatrical, impeccably handsome, most of the time barely masking a manic psychosis just under the surface, Billy Zane should have become a superstar. But he never did… not really.

At least we’ll always have Dead Calm.

Noyce’s film takes the most expansive thing our world has to offer, the ocean, and zeroes in on an intimate, claustrophobic thriller dripping with psychosexual energy. Tragedy underlines the story: Rae (Kidman) and her husband, John (Neill), lose their child in a car accident in the prologue, spurring them to set sail and gather themselves in isolation. In the expansive nothingness of the sea, this husband and wife try and find the pieces of their lives and put them back together. It is here where they see another ship, drifting lifelessly in the current.

After being surrounded by nothing but water, the functionality of modern society entirely out of reach, seeing another vessel drifting closer to Rae and John is all the film needs to kickstart the tension. They’re still on earth, but as the two ships drift closer to one another, they may as well be in outer space.

A man, Hughie (Zane), is rowing a lifeboat away from the ship. Frantically. He arrives on Rae and John’s boat and tells a story of food poisoning and death aboard his schooner, which is steadily sinking. He seems desperate and he sells his story, convincing enough to John at least, who rows over to the boat himself to check for any survivors. Not long after John leaves, however, it’s clear Hughie is not an innocent survivor, but the source of all the death aboard the doomed vessel. And now he has Rae.

And so the rest of the film is partly a chase as John tries frantically to get back to his captive wife, and partly a sexually-charged game of cat and mouse between Rae and Hughie. Is Rae playing the twitchy, unhinged madman, exploiting his hormones in order to get free of him? Or has she given in to her worst instincts? Has her grief redirected her to the arms of a psychopath? The plot of Terry Hayes’ screenplay, based on the novel from Charles Williams, is all anxiety and manic energy, a percolating bit of high seas pulp which pushes through its own shortcomings with such vigor that they’re easy to overlook.

There are some silly moments in Dead Calm – namely the fact John leaves his wife with Hughie to investigate a sinking ship – but this exists simply to move the story along. Had John never gone to the other vessel, well, we wouldn’t have a movie. And then there’s the ending (SPOILER: Hughie’s death scene, where he catches a flair right in the kisser), which some may scoff at. Personally, I think it works and it’s the perfect wacko ending to a film which grew increasingly unhinged as its characters grew more desperate.

And at the center of it all is the wonderfully next-level crazy turn from Billy Zane. His nervous energy owns the screen, and he keeps both Rae and the audience on their toes. Dead Calm could have collapsed under illogical choices and convention; it is the work of Billy Zane, forever underrated, that keeps the picture afloat.

___

Forgotten Films Archive:

Shoot to Kill (1988)

Judgment Night (1993)

Bringing Out the Dead (1998)

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2. Superboy by Jorge Jiménez

9. SECRET WEAPONS #1 – Character Designs by Raul Allen with Patricia Martin

1. Chew

1Faith

A: Jody Houser I: Marguerite Sauvage (and others) Valiant

Summary:

What I liked:

What I didn’t Like:

Review:

A: Jody Houser
I: Marguerite Sauvage (and others)
Valiant