The first half of The Walking Dead Season 7 had issues in fans eyes, even a member of the cast disliked one part of it. From Comicbook.com and an interview with NME, Lennie James, who plays Morgan Jones, is with a lot of the fanbase of not being a fan of the cast being divided up in the series. If you were one of those on social media and beyond unhappy about the division, James is right with you on that one. As you had part of the cast in Alexandria, then another in The Kingdom, and more, it was a major complaint about the series. If you’re wondering why Lennie James was unhappy, I’ll put a quote from the interview below so you can see for yourself.
Lennie James illuminates that with one complaint of The Walking Dead this season, the fans definitely weren’t alone on disliking the division.
“And because we filmed The Kingdom in a completely different area to where they were filming Alexandria, the Hilltop, or the Saviors, it meant that no one was close to each other. When we starting filming the first episode, there was a moment where everybody sort of came together – and then everybody split up. I didn’t see Andy for six weeks because we weren’t filming in the same place. We live kind of close to each other [in Atlanta], but we weren’t either filming at the same places or at the same times, and in the end the only time I did see him was when we were both on a plane back to London to see our families. I hated it, it was horrible.
If you speak to anyone from The Walking Dead cast – and if you say this on another job, it’s a lie – then you know that everyone just gets on, and that you want to hang out and be around one other. But they were filming stupid hours, and because you have so much time off – there was one point where I had three episodes off – I just went off to see my kids. What could I do in Atlanta for that amount of time – and I love Atlanta – so I would leave town, as everyone else did [when they weren’t shooting]. I hated it. I said to Scott: “I see what you’re doing, I respect what you’re doing, but don’t ever do this to me again because I hate it.” I just didn’t see people.
And then there’s whole bunches of people that you meet at the wrap party who you’ve never met before! You’re like, “Who are you and what are you doing on my show?” There were just loads of people going: “Hi, I’m such and such and I play…” I don’t know you, go away! Where’s my mates? It was horrible, I hated it – meeting people at a wrap party and they don’t even look like themselves. It’s just stupid.”
Pretty interesting huh? Goes to show you that the people on The Walking Dead don’t like being separated for long.
Now despite his issues with the division, he does stand by the pacing of this show this season. I can see what he means about the pacing, especially with King Ezekiel. Note this quote from the interview.
This quote does illuminate a few more things about the pacing of the season.
“There’s certainly more action in the second half. But I’m sorry that people felt that the first eight episodes were a bit slow. I think we’ve earned the right, to be honest. I’m always going to defend the show because I think it in itself has earned the right to go: “Let’s just take a second, because we know where we’re going.” There were a lot of people who needed to be introduced [this season]. If they’d gone, “Oh, by the way, this is Ezekiel, he’s got a tiger, let’s go!” then people would be saying the opposite. There’s characters to introduce, there’s people to get to know, and we need to spread the worlds [of the story] – introducing us to Negan isn’t just about us meeting Negan and meeting the immediate Saviors around him. His influence is massive, and we are becoming aware of how far his influence has spread – even people that we haven’t met yet are already paying their dues to Negan. So we need to take time to do that.”
It’s interesting to hear his thoughts on the pacing of The Walking Dead, I can’t help but agree to a point.
What do you all think of Lennie James and his thoughts on this season of The Walking Dead? Feel free to let us know in the comment section below. It’s been a divisive season for the fanbase, but at least one of the cast agrees with one part of it at least.
Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments, we want to hear from you.
The Walking Dead comes back for the second half of the season on February 12 at 9 pm Eastern on AMC.
This series will be a brief, semi-comedic review of the CW superhero shows. You can check out last week’s review post here, or see the tally of winners below. The only shows discussed will be ‘Arrow’, ‘Flash’, and ‘Supergirl’. There WILL be some spoilers discussed, so only look at the reviews you’re up to date on!
Supergirl already had its midseason finale last week. This week, Kara likely took time off to get ice cream with her emerging bad boy boy friend. Kara also had to console her friends & co-workers who feel left out of the crossover event. She calls up Cisco and Felicity to train Wynn in being the most standard techie on-field-advice sidekick he can be.
The Flash, “The Present” (Dec. 6)
Flash & Dad-Flash discuss the Ghost of Girlfriend-Murder Yet To Be
Flash has an interesting midseason finale wrapped into an overly cheesy Christmas special. The mind control via the Philosopher’s (not Sorcerer’s) Stone explains how Julian’s the Big Bad Alchemy. They even rationalize how Savitar speaks through him, negating Julian’s British accent. Although I liked the beginning of Wally’s Kid Flash storyline, hearing the same arguments over and over are getting old. It’s the new “Barry shouldn’t time travel” debate. Speaking of, Barry going to the future is an ALMOST refreshing way for the show to tackle time travel. But, y’know, not really. The trope of prophesies feels silly, but there’s no DC CW show that isn’t improved by a colorful Mark Hamill cameo. There’s some okay mystery set up for the latter half of Season 3, but we’ll see if the show relies too heavily on well-trod territory.
(Also DEAR GOD IF THIS SHOW MATCHES CAITLIN WITH JULIAN I WILL GIVE UP ON THIS SHOW ENTIRELY)
SCORE: 7/10 Gods In A Box
Arrow, “What We Leave Behind” (Dec. 7)
The Three Musketeers Of Being Stubborn
While Flash has a fairly cheesy, Arrow has the CW Christmas special equivalent of Die Hard. It’s significantly less bogged down by the Christmas spirit than Flash, which makes it feel like a better episode. I had sort of expected Prometheus’ secret identity reveal to be… bigger? Then again, Flash always goes for the big character being the villain, and that’s gotten tired. Also, contrasting Arrow hunting Prometheus with the Hood assassination flashback was incredible. Prometheus setting up Billy to die was pretty brilliant, and Curtis shines with of the best relationship-related storylines the show’s had in years. Now will Prometheus kill the reporter girlfriend before she uses that blackmail on Oliver she got way back at the beginning of the season? Will the other sidekicks get killed, or turned to betray the team? Is Diggle getting sent back to jail? AND WAIT, IS LAUREL BACK FROM THE DEAD?!?
No. No she isn’t. Come on, she’s definitely going to be revealed as a shapeshifter, or magic demon, or something equally ridiculous. Even if it is really Laurel, she’ll likely be killed off within the next few episodes. Arrow’s killed off the Lance sisters too many times to keep bringing them back. If not, Quentin will need to head to a psych ward more than rehab.
Anyways, what’s great is that Arrow raises all these questions without the pretense of a spooky Speedforce-God prophecy. Arrow goes back to its action-packed roots, without letting the personal romance slow it down.
SCORE: 9/10 Christmas Stockings Full Of Betrayal
WEEKLY WIN TALLY:
Arrow: 4 Weeks
Supergirl: 3 Weeks
The Flash: 2 Week
What show did you think won the week? Does Legends of Tomorrow take your vote? Do you think A.o.S. or Gotham outshines all the CW shows? Let us know in the comments below!
Where You Are Now: A Conversation With Kaare Andrews
Kaare AndrewsRenato Jones #1 Copyright Kaare Andrews
Kaare Andrews is a comic book veteran. Not only did he create some classic Incredible Hulk covers for Marvel, but he also did a lengthy solo run on Iron First that many consider essential. Kaare was cool enough to take some time off from his busy schedule to give us a call here at Monkeys Fighting Robots, to talk about his new career, his filmmaking, and of course his creator-owned book, Renato Jones: The One%, which was just released in its first collected edition from Image Comics.
Monkeys Fighting Robots: Well first of all, just want to say I had actually read Renato Jones as it came out in individual issues. But my editor sent me a review copy of the trade, so I actually just re-read the whole thing in one sitting before you called. It’s so unlike anything I’ve read in a long time. What inspired this comic book? Kaare Andrews: Whenever I create something, man, I have files. Everything from ideas, to log lines, to one pager’s to plots, fully realized scripts. One of my favorite things is creating concepts. And one of my plans was always to jump between big, mainstream books and creator owned books. But what happened instead is I sorta developed this directing career. And so instead I jumped back and forth between a mainstream superhero book and directing a film or writing a screenplay or pitching TV. My creator-owned work kind of became my film work. I had just finished Iron Fist The Living Weapon where I wrote, penciled, inked and colored a 12 issue run.
Iron Fist Copyright Marvel Comics
No one had done that at Marvel, right? Yeah, never. No one had ever done it before for whatever reason. It WAS a lot of work.[laughs] It took me about a year and a half to do. I felt like I had really achieved something, climbed a mountain top. And then I realized I had just run out of excuses NOT to do a creator-owned book. So at the point, it was “Well, what do I want to do?” And as a comic book creator, it’s kind of hard. There’s a lot of pressure. Like “What’s YOUR Hellboy?” or, you know Ninja Turtles [laughs] or Walking Dead or whatever that thing that people get known for is.
Renato Jones Page Copyright Kaare Andrews
The one thing you might be associated with for the rest of your career. Right. You want to think what that would be but immediately you have to stop thinking about it. Because you can’t fabricate those circumstances. So then it became what do I WANT to now? What would be exciting now. So what happens is you have a backlog of concepts and ideas and they are all kind of tangent into one another. I’ve had versions of this character [Renato Jones] in screenplays and other comic book series. And then you just take where you are now. There’s this thing that Quentin Tarantino says that when he writes a script however he’s feeling when he writes that script is allowed to become part of that script. It’s the same with acting. If you show up to set in a horrible mood that day, well don’t try to fight it. Try to integrate it. Incorporate it. So looking around at the world today, what would I want to do. I live in Vancouver, one of the most expensive cities to live in. Housing is so crazy and so outrageous. The costs of living are so high. We have all this foreign investment. The “ghost corporations” which are these illegal money laundering from foreign nations buying up property and housing. It’s a crazy city and you really feel a divide happening quickly and rapidly between who can buy a house and who will never be able to buy a house. So I sat down with this idea and a sketch book. So I just write down ideas and draw and kind of free flow plots, ideas, quotes, concepts, dialog whatever and I fill the sketchbook. And usually at the end I have enough fuel and drive to just GO. And so what happened is I was like “Who would my villain be?” for this character I want to do and I realized very quickly that in today’s world we don’t really have a “bank robber.” They don’t really exist. Who is a REAL world villain that I would love to roll out some restitution to? It was going to be either corporations, dictators, nation-states, possibly terrorists or super rich people. [laughs] Those are our real world villains. So the terrorism thing, that’s been done a lot and done well. Corporations I think would be great but it’s just less satisfying to punch Coke in the face than a person. [laughs]
Renato Jones Page Copyright Kaare Andrews
I loved that you sort of took this vigilante trope but gave him this new target. Like you said, a true real life world villain. Not a super villain. But I guess in a sense they are supervillains. [laughs] Some of these people do have the ability to do anything they want. Yeah. I think one of our real world super powers is super wealth. It is a “superpower” that some people have. And you can use that for good or hide behind it and do horrible things. So when I knew that was going to be my antagonist, this evil that hides behind wealth, it informed the whole process. Everything then just kind of came together. Actually, I tell people I have a wealth trilogy. Because there was Iron Fist. I just came off Iron Fist and that was a story about a billionaire, super rich guy. Oh man, right. That’s totally true. Danny Rand IS rich. [laughs]
And then I also have a creator owned project coming out through Dark Horse Presents. It’s short and quick, something fun I did with friends. That’s also about a billionaire. He’s more of a sociopathic billionaire though. [laughs] And then I have Renato Jones. So I call all this my Super Wealth Trilogy. [laughs] I do want people to know it’s not a political book. It wasn’t intended to be. Wealth kind of became politicized because of the election. But for me, [the book] is just a reflection of the world around me and a way to create a new character that fits that world of today. I really worked hard to experiment with the medium. Comics are a medium, not a genre.
That’s perfect. That’s great. It’s funny how ideas gestate like that. I guess it can’t help but happen with the way things are in the real world today. And I love that you’re doing something throughDark Horse Presents. So glad they brought that book back. But with Renato Jones, was that something you wanted to do with Image specifically? I love Image. I think they are doing some of the best books on the market right now. Oh yeah. I knew I wanted to do something with Image. I decided I wanted to do a creator-owned book, so I got in contact with Eric [Stephenson] and then we were off to the races. And I do think Image is the best company out there for creator-owned material. I mean every company has things they do well. But yeah I didn’t take it to anyone else. And I think the first trade is like less than ten dollars. So why not pick it up? [laughs] Pick it up! [laughs]
Dark Horse Presents
How did Dark Horse Presents happen? They way the Dark Horse thing came about, just a good friend of mine, Troy Nixey also a comic book artist and film director, he has a strong relationship with Dark Horse and he wanted to do something with them so he said “Hey write something for me” and I said sure. And we brought in this other good friend of mine Dave McCaig who is a colorist. For a while, we all used to live in Vancouver together. We used to go out drinking together, hang out all the time. So it’s been a fun time doing that. I love Dark Horse Presents also. I think it’s a cool format. It’s on sale now. Episode 6, our last episode, our last chapter, comes out. And then they are going to collect it into a small trade. It’s about 50 pages of content altogether. With sketches, I think it’s like 60.
I notice that about you. You like to include sketches and supplements. You mentioned before keeping a lot of sketches and ideas. Have you always liked sharing that kind of stuff? I’ve always loved behind the scene stuff. I’m a bit of a process junkie. I think part of the reason I do different jobs is I love to learn how to do them. I love to learn how to color. I love to learn how to paint. I love to learn how to direct, edit, do visual effects. I just love learning how to do things. I’ve always also loved reading how people do their thing. Like I love the behind the scenes material on DVDs and Blu-Rays. I watch that stuff more than the movies themselves. [laughs] So with Renato Jones I tried to stuff as much of that kind of stuff with the pages I had left over because it was already a hefty trade.
I gotta say the first thing that jumped out at me when I saw Renato Jones in the stands was the art. It’s so distinct. In fact in a way you have like three different art styles going. And even in my second read through I noticed these great details like the “texture” to the panels in the flashbacks. They look worn. It’s a beautiful touch. Thanks. Well, I am a strange beast in comics. I always knew breaking into comics it would be important to develop a style. Develop an audience. It’s easier to sell a brand name to people. If you love Jim Lee you’re going to read everything he does, you’re going to recognize it immediately. It’s smart to develop a style. But unfortunately, KNOWING what’s smart and DOING what’s smart is different. [laughs] I like to draw in different styles all the time. Every project I do has a bit of a different look. Sometimes it’s extremely different, and sometimes just a bit. I like to jump around. It’s just what I do. I do try for each project, to keep it consistent.
Renato Jones “Perfume Ad” Copyright Kaare Andrews
The rules I gave myself for Renato Jones were to stick to a kind of old school classic line art look, even though I was drawing it on a computer. I wanted a specific look for the present day and a specific look for flashbacks, where I treated it with half-tone coloring, the creases, the faded pages. Just to use the language of old back issues; folded up, folded away paper. Telling people we’re in a memory. I don’t have to have “Fifteen years later” in a caption every time. I’ve done this a couple of times. I did it in my Iron Fist run. First time I ever tried it was in a Wolverine Origins Annual back in the day. And I just really enjoyed it. And then I wanted to give myself permission to lose the color, to accent dramatic moments. Just those kind of straight black and white and gray scenes. And of course those fake ads I created.
Those perfume ads were great. All that became the look of Renato Jones.
Are you planning anything else with this character? I’m actually working on season two right now. At this very moment, I’m penciling issue two. If season one was about raising questions, season two is about answering them.
I wanted to ask you about being a filmmaker. I know you directed Cabin Fever: Patient Zero, and a segment in The ABC’s Of Death. Yeah, my first feature film I directed was a Twilight Zone-esque thing called Altitude. Last year for the first time I started directing television. I found I really liked it.
Cabin Fever: Patient Zero
So I’m going to continue doing some TV this year. Also working towards getting my next feature into production. I try to balance it. I can juggle comics and film pretty well. I love to do both. It’s all fun!
The Founder is the story of Ray Kroc, the traveling salesman that franchised and eventually acquired the McDonald’s restaurant chain. The film shows Kroc going from one of his lowest points, failing to sell milkshake makers, to being the billionaire head of the world’s largest fast food corporation. It’s a fascinating, no holds barred peek inside the head of a man that – in a way – helped shaped modern America. In fact, modern America was built by businessmen like Kroc.
And therein lies the problem.
Early in the story, Kroc takes the McDonald brothers out to dinner to hear their story. They tell Ray about their poor beginnings. They tell him about how they got into the restaurant business after the Great Depression, and about how they created the “speedy system” that made the original McDonald’s burger stand a smash hit. It’s one of the best sequences in the movie, and for one clear reason: it has heart. It’s inspiring and uplifting how these brothers went from rags to riches (in a sense). They’re living the American Dream.
Then Ray talks them into franchising. Over the course of the film, he slowly steals everything out from under the McDonalds, right down to their name. He claims credit for the speedy system, and for the Golden Arches. The McDonalds are left with nothing, and Ray Kroc becomes a multimillionaire.
In short, Ray Kroc is pond scum.
Just look at the tagline on the teaser poster.
And yet, the film creates this gray area where Kroc is a sympathetic character. Early on, he’s made fun of by his friends for being a schemer and a dreamer. He’s a guy whose business ventures have failed time and time again. His wife is getting tired of his endless hustling. He just needs one big break to get back on track, and it’s compelling to root for him (if only for a moment). So when he gets his success in the end, his own rags to riches story, is it fair to be at all happy for him? Did he get the redemption he deserved? Did he live out his own American Dream in building an empire?
Personally, I say no. Ray Kroc didn’t live out the American Dream; he perverted it. The difference between Kroc’s success and the McDonalds brothers’ is that Kroc never actually wanted to work hard himself. He consistently piggybacked off of other people’s ideas. Think about the business moves that Ray makes throughout the film:
Ray starts the film as a traveling salesmen, trying to make money from other people’s inventions.
He claims credit for McDonald’s restaurant and the speedy system.
His true fortune ends up coming from real estate, an idea that he got from Harry Sonneborn.
And Kroc steals more than just business ideas. He actually steals the wife of one of his franchisees, leaving the wife he’s been mistreating and neglecting for years. On top of that, he steals a speech from an old motivational record he would listen to on his travels. This movie portrays Ray Kroc as the least original person in human history.
Then, before the closing credits roll, the audience is reminded about how much money the McDonald’s Corporation has donated to charities over the years, and that it feeds 1% of the world’s population each day. So from a utilitarian point of view, was Ray Kroc’s scheming worth it?
Ultimately, it’s entirely up to you as an audience member and a free thinking human being to decide if Ray Kroc was a monster or a genius, and that’s part of The Founder‘s beauty.
A brand new clip from Justice League Dark has been released, highlighting the character of Etrigan The Demon. Watch it below.
About the character:“Etrigan is a demon prince of Hell, son of the Archduke Belial and the Serpent Queen, Ra Va Daath. During the Age of King Arthur, the wizard Merlin – Etrigan’s half brother – used a binding ritual to permanently attach the demon to the soul of a mortal man, Jason Blood. They have walked the Earth (and the depths of Hell) together as both comrades and enemies for over a millennium.”
Justice League Dark – plot synopsis:“When innocent civilians begin committing unthinkable crimes across Metropolis, Gotham City and beyond, Batman must call upon mystical counterparts to eradicate this demonic threat to the planet. Enter Justice League Dark, reluctantly led by the Hellblazer himself, John Constantine. Like Batman, Constantine is a cunning, often cynical loner who is the best at his chosen profession – but quickly realizes the sinister forces plaguing the planet will require help from other supernatural alliances. Forming a new “league” with sorceress Zatanna, otherworldly Deadman, and Jason Blood and his powerful alter ego Etrigan the Demon, this team of Dark Arts specialists must unravel the mystery of Earth’s supernatural plague and contend with the rising, powerful villainous forces behind the siege – before it’s too late for all of mankind.”
This movie is the second DC animated flick to receive an R rating, following last year’s Batman: The Killing Joke. The cast includes Rosario Dawson as Wonder Woman, Matt Ryan as Constantine, Jeremy Davies as Ritchie Simpson, Jerry O’Connel as Superman, Jason O’Mara as Batman, Alfred Molina as Destiny, and others. For the full cast list, click here.
Will you be checking out Justice League Dark? It’s available on Digital HD starting January 24, and then comes to Blu-Ray and DVD on February 7.
In a recent interview with Short List Magazine, Peter Parker actor Tom Holland discussed Michael Keaton’s Vulture character in this summer’s highly anticipated Spider-Man: Homecoming.
“Pretty cool. He’s a badass. We have a fight in the movie and I punch him. He turns around and says [in a deep voice], ‘I’m Batman.’ He kept doing Batman quotes on set.”
Also included in the interview was Holland commenting on the dynamic of Flash Thompson and Parker. He talked about how the bullying dealt with in the film is more about class and wealth, rather than being about the physicality of it all.
“American high schools are so different to British ones.Bullying wasn’t really a thing, so when they cast Flash Thompson they knew they didn’t need a 6ft 5in jock to beat Peter Parker up. They needed a rich, smug kid commenting on how bad his trainers were. And I did it to practice my American accent.”
What are your thoughts on Holland’s comments? Did you enjoy the first trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming? Be sure to leave us your thoughts in the comments section down below.
Plot synopsis: “Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) returns home to live with his Aunt May. Under the watchful eye of mentor Tony Stark, Parker starts to embrace his newfound identity as Spider-Man. He also tries to return to his normal daily routine — distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just a friendly neighborhood superhero. Peter must soon put his powers to the test when the evil Vulture emerges to threaten everything that he holds dear.”
Joining Holland and Keaton in Spider-Man: Homecoming is Tony Revolori, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Donald Glover, Kenneth Choi, Bokheem Woodbine, Jacob Batalon, and Laura Harrier.
When you have a chance to see two knights star in a superbly written play, you take it. And, if those two knights are Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart, you hang on every word they say. As a fan of the two illustrious performers, and absurdist theatre to boot, I jumped at the chance to see Sir Ian and Sir Patrick two years ago in their Broadway run of Harold Pinter‘s No Man’s Land. At the time, No Man’s Land accompanied performances of Samuel Beckett‘s Waiting for Godot.Sean Mathias directed both plays superbly.
Having enjoyed these productions so much in the past, I was skeptical about whether or not I would enjoy seeing Sir Ian and Sir Patrick star in No Man’s Land again under slightly different circumstances, i.e. in National Theatre Live‘s broadcast of the play from Wyndham’s Theatre to select movie theatres around the world. That was foolish of me.
No Man’s Land – New Faces
When I saw No Man’s Land previously, Billy Crudup and Shuler Hensley joined Sir Ian and Sir Patrick onstage. Crudup played the role of Foster, and Hensley played Briggs. Though most audience members were probably in attendance to see the two knights, Crudup and Hensley performed admirably. But, for whatever reason (likely scheduling and geographical conflicts), the roles of Foster and Briggs were re-cast for this most recent production. Instead, Foster was played by Damien Molony, and Briggs by Owen Teale, who’s probably most recognizable as Alliser Thorne in Game of Thrones.
Like their predecessors, Teale and Molony performed admirably. I give a special nod to Teale who was able to reconcile the often contradictory ways that his character Briggs comports himself. Sometimes gruff and sometimes caring, Teale was able to portray Briggs as, basically, a mysterious brigand. Although other actors may concentrate on one part of Briggs’s character, Teale understood that Briggs is complex, not just a beefy housekeeper.
No Man’s Land – A New Perspective
Although the tightness of some shots during the National Theatre Live broadcast prevented the audience from seeing the entire stage, these tight shots also served to highlight the superb expressions Sir Ian and Sir Patrick make use of. In the first balcony of The Cort Theatre on Broadway, I was able to see some details of the show, but others were lost.
However, even though the tightness of some shots revealed more about the actors’ performances, they weren’t perfect. Instead of the audience having control over where to look during the performance, we were at the mercy of National Theatre Live’s cinematographers. And, though the cinematography was good, I often found myself wondering how the out-of-shot actors might be reacting during their fellow actors’ speeches.
No Man’s Land – The Demands of Live Theatre
There were no noticeable textual errors during either of the performances I saw of No Man’s Land. But, there was at least one noticeable slip up in this one. Specifically, Sir Patrick accidentally dumped coffee on himself during a scene he shared with Sir Ian. Although the two veteran actors continued the scene without much of a stop, the gaffe seemed to temporarily get the better of Sir Patrick who, during the post-show Q&A, admitted that after it happened he couldn’t help but smile at his longtime friend and scene partner.
Sir Patrick remarked that he was so happy that he and Sir Ian were able to continue the scene without stopping that he couldn’t help but smile. Sean Mathias, the director, provided a different take on the gaffe during the Q&A: “Patrick was corpsing.”
Either way because of the nervous tension and myriad pauses that No Man’s Land trades in, I don’t imagine that many audience members picked up on the mistake—I didn’t and I’ve seen the play twice now.
It’s been long-standing pop culture knowledge that studios use January as a “dump month.” The first 31 days of the year is a flood of all the movies studios greenlit and then thought “Eh, why’d we do that?” So, they roll these movies out quietly in January and hope that they make a little money back, before vanishing quietly into the cinematic night. But every once in a while, something magical happens, and a hit is born.
The prolific director released two great films in January!
Broadway Danny Rose • 1984
Woody Allen is Danny Rose, a hapless talent manager takes on a client and ends up in a love triangle that involves Mia Farrow and the mob. Broadway received two Oscar nominations, and while it’s not in the top ten Woody Allen movies, it’s a fun one if you like the director’s work.
Radio Days • 1987
Several stories commingle in another Woody Allen treasure about the golden age of radio. Like Broadway Danny Rose, the film starred Mia Farrow and earned two Oscar nominations. Radio Days is another brilliant piece of comedy and dramatic storytelling from one of the best to ever do it.
No one will argue that Netflix has been feeding us some of the best original programming in ANY format. House of Cards, Daredevil, Arrested Development, and the list goes on and on. We can now add Santa Clarita Diet to that list. The new series, starring Drew Barrymore and Tymothy Olyphant, seems to be a very inventive twist on zombies and the undead; with a touch of Weedsinspired suburban parody. The trailer also showcases a great supporting cast that includes Patton Oswalt and Nathan Fillion. Check out the trailer below and tell us what you think!
Justice League director Zack Snyder took to social media today and released a new look at Batman’s updated cowl. Released on the director’s Vero account the image shows the back of Batman’s head with the cowl and cape visible.
Fans have become accustomed to Batman’s costumes changing from film to film, but it seems like Ben Affleck’s interpretation of the character will have the biggest line of bat-suits yet. We’re only two movies in and we already have three costumes.
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Directed by Zack Snyder, Justice League stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Diane Lane, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Amber Heard, J.K. Simmons, Willem Dafoe, Connie Nielsen, and Jesse Eisenberg.
Justice League will land in theaters on November 16, 2017.
