Marvel’s Doctor Strange is proving to be an unstoppable force at the box office.
The movie has earned a total of $616 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. That makes it the highest grossing solo intro movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It tops The Incredible Hulk ($135 million), Captain America: The First Avenger ($177 million) and Thor ($181 million). The movie is also the 9th MCU title to cross the $600 million mark.
Domestically, Doctor Strange has already grossed more than $200 million.
The movie, directed by Scott Derrickson, stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, who journeys to find a cure after an accident injures his hands.
It also stars Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams and Mads Mikkelsen.
Lucasfilm has released another trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Titled “Trust,” the new trailer features a mix of already-released footage and extended scenes from the film.
Most notably, the trailer shines a spotlight on K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk) and its relationship with Jyn (Felicity Jones).
Early box office projections show Rogue One on track for a huge opening, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The film could rake in $130 million in North America in its first weekend.
Rogue One, directed by Gareth Edwards, follows a group of rebels who decide to steal plans to the Death Star.
It’s the first stand-alone film in the Star Wars franchise, taking place before the events of A New Hope.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set to be released in theaters December 16.
For comparison, the recent Star Wars: The Force Awakens clocked in at 2 hours and 16 minutes.
“From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,’ an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.”
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, “The Darkest Places” (Nov. 21)
I see the Cyborg, but where exactly is the Superman?
CW manages to cram two superhero movies into one Supergirl episode. “The Darkest Places” is like a combination of Civil War and Dawn of Justice (including the subtle Batman reference). It’s ambitious, and while it’s sometimes clunky, it mostly pays off. Kara facing off with Mrs. Luthor is great, and the reveal of both Jeremiah and Hank works well. The weakest element is Guardian (CW’s Batman/Cap combo) fighting a copycat Arrow’s Vigilante, in a smaller capacity. J’onn turning into a White Martian, as if he’s a vampire, doesn’t totally make sense. But it could make for an interesting Henshaw v Henshaw brawl. Mon-El kicks off the inevitable romance plot for the show – and maybe James will be back in the triangle? Regardless, Supergirl covers a lot of high stakes subject matter in a satisfactory way, which is incredible. What will be most interesting is where the show goes from here.
SCORE: 8.5/10 Nova Helmets
The Flash, “Killer Frost” (Nov. 22)
Frost-Girl, the Blue-Eyed Doctor/had a very shiny staaaaake
Kevin Smith makes his welcome return to the director’s chair. While the writing feels clunky at times, “Killer Frost” has the best acting I’ve seen from The Flash. Barry, Joe and Cisco shine the brightest of the cast for this episode. Caitlin’s slow transformation is compelling, but once she becomes Killer Frost, her character falls on villain tropes and cringe-worthy dialogue. HR has the stereotypical “his real power is hope” line, but his coffee obsession is a pleasant reminder of the Gilmore Girls reboot. Barry quitting his job as a CSI makes total sense, and lines up with Julian’s super-lawful personality. Savitar continues to feel like Zoom 2.0, which makes him less compelling. The reveal of Julian as Alchemy makes sense, but is certainly predictable. However, the notion that he’s fighting Savitar, in some small sense, is more interesting. We’ll see how all these speedsters come together going forward.
8/10 Algorithms
Arrow did not have an episode this week. It’s possible Oliver was busy trying to figure out if his secret HQ could count as a tax write-off, now that he’s mayor. Felicity & the sidekicks are likely mad at Oliver for not simultaneously dating and killing Susan. Quentin goes to rehab and talks to Barry about his time-travel addiction.
WEEKLY WIN TALLY:
Supergirl: 3 Weeks
Arrow: 2.5 Weeks
The Flash: 1.5 Week
Be on the lookout for next week’s post, where we review the entire “Heroes vs Aliens” crossover event – INCLUDING ‘Legends of Tomorrow’! Are you excited for the big week of superheroes to come? Or are you busy binging ‘Gilmore Girls’? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Oliver Queen is 50 percent ‘Arrow’ and 50 percent regret. What is his biggest? Stephen Amell weighs in.
Recently, fans got to encounter the ‘Arrow’ stars up close and personal. Heroes and Villains Fan Fest held a panel with all the heavy hitters of the CW hit show. Since fans were able to ask questions, they got answers from the actors themselves.
While tackling the hard questions, Amell got to answer what his biggest regret was.
“It probably is not Felicity, because he’s had literal family members murdered in front of him. Sorry,” An over zealous fan yelled out ‘Felicity’, and this was the perfect response from Amell.
Due to going through Hell and back, Oliver Queen has had his fair share of regrets, but ultimately one sticks out more than the others.
“I think his biggest regret is probably not being able to save his mom,” the actor said, more seriously. “For sure, that’s tough. We actually viewed that episode in Walla Walla. We did a random viewing party, and we set it up — ‘It’ll be really fun! There’s like 200 people there!’ And the episode ends, and everyone stared at me like I had just tricked them into something.”
Furthermore, This answers comes perfectly into play, with the 100th episode on the rise, and the alternate timeline that Oliver finds himself in.
Did Ronnie actually die? Will we be seeing him again on ‘The Flash’? Robbie Amell speaks!
We fell in love with Ronnie, fiancé to Caitlin, the other half of Firestorm. We were heartbroken when he came to his untimely death. Or did he?
Hence dying again as ‘Deathstorm’ in the Flashpoint timeline, he did infact reappear.
Who’s to say he won’t appear again?
Comicbook.com’s Brandon Davis actually got to sit down with Robbie Amell and talk about his thoughts on what happens with Ronnie, and if there will be a return.
“Well the nice thing is when you’re dead in that universe there is always another Earth, but I think that version [Earth-1] of Ronnie is dead because he sacrificed himself to save the city, but you know there is always Earth-3, Earth-4, Earth-5…”
With all that is happening in the alternate timelines, we can almost depend on another way to get characters back. When asked if we would see Ronnie again, Amell replied “I hope so!”
‘Firestorm’, played in part by Amell and Victor Garber, was a force that couldn’t be reckoned with. After the death of Ronnie, Dr. Martin Stein (played by Garber) had to find another half to make ‘Firestorm’ or he couldn’t survive. Big shoes to fill, but Jefferson Jackson (played by Franz Drameh) made the cut.
‘Firestorm’ is now a prime player in ‘DC’s Legends of Tomorrow’ but that doesn’t mean ‘The Flash’ isn’t in the future.
Starting Monday, November 28th marks the start of the 4 part crossover event ‘Invasion’ on the CW. ‘Supergirl’, ‘Arrow’, ‘DC’s Legends of Tomorrow’, and ‘The Flash’ all get together in one super-sized week.
Although, Ronnie does not show up in this event, the possibility is still there for the near future. Season three perhaps?
Get ready CW fans.
All begins Monday night with ‘Supergirl’ at 8/7c on the CW.
A new promo image for the upcoming third Wolverine movie, Logan, has been released on Instagram. You can see the post from the official Logan Instagram account below.
Like a lot of the previously released images, the picture is in black and white. With its ‘R’ rating and very moody and atmospheric promotion, it is clear the film will be much darker than anything seen in an X-Men movie thus far. The surgical tools make me think that perhaps everyone’s favorite X-Man might need to be patching himself up, as his famed healing factor is waning in his old age.
Logan takes place in 2024, where mutant births are much more scarce and the X-Men are no longer around. The only X-Men left alive are an old Charles Xavier and a weary Logan.
Logan stars Hugh Jackman (X-Men: Days of Future Past) as Logan/Wolverine and Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation) as Charles Xavier/Professor X, Boyd Holbrook (Gone Girl), Richard E. Grant (Game of Thrones), Stephen Merchant (Hello Ladies/Extras), Eriq La Salle (ER), Elise Neal (Scream 2), and Elizabeth Rodriguez (Orange is the New Black).
The film is being directed by James Mangold (The Wolverine/Walk the Line), based on a script by Michael Green (American Gods) and David James Kelly (Mind Mgmt).
It’s set for release on March 3, 2017, from 20th Century Fox.
Before we get started lets get something straight. Neither I, nor Monkeys Fighting Robots, wishes death or ill will on anyone. People are fallible and cruel, but they can also learn from mistakes and become better. However, there are a handful of individuals throughout history who don’t receive this sympathy. Germans will understand what I mean when it comes to Hitler. Pol Pot tormented and murdered Cambodians for decades. Kim Jong-un is working his maniacal magic right now on the North Korean people. Dictators like these, and Fidel Castro, have earned no sympathy.
My family, like many in South Florida and beyond, are Cuban exiles. For my mother, father, grandparents, and others, the passing of Fidel Castro is a day to rejoice. It’s the end of an era that cost hundreds of thousands of people their homes, businesses, friends, families, and communities.
Cynics will say, “Hey, the regime is still in power. The island is still oppressed.” Those people are right. There’s a lot of work ahead for Cuba and the world. But at this moment in time that’s not what matters. The architect of the oppression is gone. The symbol, the face of it all, is gone. That alone lifts the hearts and minds of people who have been abused for decades. The boogeyman is dead and while his nightmares linger, a shaft of light has torn through the shroud of tyranny. It’s a small step in the grander scheme. But you don’t get anywhere without each and every step no matter how much ground it covers.
Using the powerful language of pop culture, I’ll try to put into context a fraction of the joy Cubans are feeling right now.
Howard Payne – Speed
Cuba is the bus and Fidel Castro put a communist bomb on it then slammed on the accelerator. Since 1959, the bearded bastard kept the people on a wild, volatile ride. Dennis Hopper’s Howard Payne is a smug mad man who thinks himself invincible until his head and body part ways. The Cuban people would undoubtedly come up with a better catchy line than what Keannu spews forth.
Emperor Palpatine – Star Wars
Remember that moment, when Vader finally realizes that he’s human, a father, and an enabler. Fidel was the Emperor, oppressing people through his isolated island micro-verse and fighting off rebellions with brutality. Fidel Castro didn’t have a Death Star, but it didn’t stop him from decimating the lives of Cuban people. My parents and grandparents don’t get a redemption sorry quite like Vader, but Fidel is now tumbling toward the afterlife.
Lord Voldemort – Harry Potter
For my generation of Cuban-Americans, Fidel Castro is a lot like Voldemort. The name and the horrific deeds talked about year after year. Fidel, like Voldemort, was an ambiguous nightmare, lurking and haunting the previous generation.
Ramsay Bolton – Game of Thrones
There are a few to choose from here as villains make up about 90% of Game of Thrones characters. Joffrey is an easy pick here, and it was so sweet to see him go. But Ramsay Bolton, like Fidel Castro, led an army to seize power. Fidel and Ramsay, both are both cocky, vicious bastards and it’s a satisfying five minutes to watch Bolton get what he deserves.
Annie Wilkes – Misery
Oddly enough, Stephen King’s story about extreme fandom is eerily a great way of explaining Fidel Castro. The Cuban people were in a store of car crash led by Batista, the previous leader of the island. Fidel is Annie Wilkes, except instead of fiction, Fidel’s fanaticism focused on Communism. Fidel pulled the people out of the car crash only to torment them for decades with his tyrannical ideas.
This clip from MacGruber says it best for all my fellow Cubans out there …
Jessica Jones is the second entry into the Netflix faction of the Marvel cinematic universe, introducing us to characters such as Kilgrave and Luke Cage, as well as furthering set up for next year’s The Defenders. Haven’t seen it yet? Well, if you’re an iTunes user, now’s your chance. The entirety of season one has been made available on the iTunes store.
Each episode costs $2.99, with the entire season coming in at $29.99.
“Ever since her short-lived stint as a Super Hero ended in tragedy, Jessica Jones has been rebuilding her personal life and career as a hot-tempered, sardonic, badass private detective in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City. Plagued by self-loathing, and a wicked case of PTSD, Jessica battles demons from within and without, using her extraordinary abilities as an unlikely champion for those in need… especially if they’re willing to cut her a check.”
You can see Jessica Jones next in The Defenders, which premieres on Netflix sometime in 2017.
Recently, fans got to encounter the ‘Arrow’ stars up close and personal. Heroes and Villains Fan Fest held a panel with all the heavy hitters of the CW hit show. Since fans were able to ask questions, they got answers from the actors themselves.