Chiwetel Ejiofor On ‘Doctor Strange’ Role, Equal Representation In Cinema

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October 15, 2016

In a recent interview, Doctor Strange star Chiwetel Ejiofor talked about what got him interested in the Marvel cinematic universe, as well as equal representation in cinema – via Financial Times.

Ejiofor on his interest in the MCU:

“Marvel has managed to make popular films really accessible and really good. I was very interested in what Joss Whedon did with The Avengers. He’s so skilled as a writer, and he started to really split those narratives and create characters that can intersect and then splinter off into all these individual stories. I think there’s an energy there because they want to make good movies that a lot of people will like, and they feel much more open to ideas.”

He then discussed the visuals of Doctor Strange:

“The first conversations that we had were about the visuals. They’d already created the visual language early on and I certainly hadn’t seen anything like it.”

And finally, Ejiofor discussed the controversy regarding Tilda Swinton playing the Ancient One, as well as equal representation in general:

“I think representation in cinema is a really important issue. There are a lot of films that don’t have any representation at all, are very monocultural, and have mono ideas on what race and gender mean, and who should be stars, and who shouldn’t. Doctor Strange is just not an example of that. It’s something we seem to like to do, turning perfect into the enemy of good. We let other things slide, the 85 percent of the films out there that don’t really attempt to address these issues at all. But because they have entirely white, male casts, we don’t bother to talk about them.”

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‘Wonder Woman’ International Trailer Released

By

Aric Sweeny

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October 15, 2016

A new international trailer for Wonder Woman has been released via Comicbook.com on Youtube. Check it out below.

This new trailer is a condensed version of the kickass Comic-Con trailer we got a few months back, but it does include some new footage sprinkled throughout.

Directed by Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman stars Gal Gadot as Diana Prince, Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Robin Wright as General Antiope, Connie Nelson as Queen Hippolyta, and Florence Kasumba as Senator Acantha. Click here to read the full cast list.

“Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers… and her true destiny.”

Wonder Woman hits theaters on June 2, 2017.

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REVIEW: ‘Borrowed Time’ – Masterclass in Emotive Storytelling

By

Kris Solberg

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October 15, 2016

Telling an effective story can be a challenge for even the most skilled writers. Deciding how to engage your audience in your narrative without giving them too much information, or too little, is an ability not every person has.

With short films, this challenge tends to increase in difficulty. You have a smaller canvas to fill, but it needs to be more evocative if you want your viewer to remember it. This means you need a story that not only captures your viewers attention, but it needs to be told in such a way that they’ll remember it years after watching it. A recent effort that was made available online this week is Borrowed Time, a six minute short directed and written by Pixar animators Andrew Coates and Lou Hamou-Lhadj.

The film tells the story of a weathered sheriff that returns to the scene of an accident he lived through a long time ago. His backstory is unfolded through flashbacks interchanged with small steps towards the site in question. The bleak colors and mellow score by Academy Award winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla (Babel; Brokeback Mountain) create a dreary world for the sheriff to live in. With slight emotive changes in certain parts of the present tense timeline, the film eloquently conveys the emotions of the sheriff without any dialogue. During the flashback, what little dialogue is used adds to the characters present tense emotional state.

With a runtime of six minutes, Coates and Hamou-Lhadj create a film with more emotional impact than most 2 hour Hollywood flicks. It is a powerful masterclass in how to tell evocative and emotional stories. Hopefully Pixar takes note and gives this duo a chance with a feature length movie.

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Slasher Saturday: Ranking All The ‘Friday The 13th’ Movies

By

EJ Moreno

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October 15, 2016

Slasher Saturday Is A Weekly Break Down Of A Horror Franchise. This Week: ‘Friday The 13th’!

There is no doubt that ‘Friday The 13th‘ is a massive part of pop culture. Most people can’t see a hockey mask without thinking of slasher Jason Voorhees. That’s why I wanted to kick of the Slasher Saturday series with this iconic franchise.

Below is a ranking of EVERY Friday The 13th movie from worst to first:

12. Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday

I really don’t want to say much about The Final Friday. It upsets me that they turned the Friday The 13th mythos into some worm slug that possess people and mystical daggers. At least Jason Voorhees looked cool before he was blown up…

11. Friday The 13th: A New Beginning

You want Jason when you are watching Friday The 13th. A New Beginning gives you a guy in a hockey mask. You can tell it isn’t Jason. Plot twist: it’s not. It is a grieving father seeking revenge. A wasted movie in the franchise.

10. Jason X

Where does a horror franchise go to die? Space. Jason X decided to really change up and show a Friday The 13th in 2455. At least this movie has the awesome Kane Hodder playing Jason and a David Cronenberg cameo.

9. Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

Sure, Jason really isn’t in New York that long but at least he punches a guy’s head off. Part VIII really marked the decline for the series. It never recovered after Friday The 13th attempted to go to Manhattan.

8. Friday The 13th VII: A New Blood

After the Tommy Jarvis saga wrapped, Friday The 13th needed a new direction. They needed some New Blood. Filmmakers found it by introducing a girl with telekinesis. Finally, someone who can could take on Jason!

7. Friday The 13th (2009)

I seemingly don’t hate this as much as others do. The 2009 remake of ‘Friday The 13th‘ came before the horrifying ‘Nightmare On Elm Street‘ remake but after the decent ‘Halloween‘ so horror fans were moderately less cynical.

6. Friday The 13th Part 2

Being the first film to fully feature Jason doesn’t mean this is anywhere near the best one. Still has that early 80’s cheese and Jason didn’t get his iconic mask yet. Part 2 is stuck in a weird franchise limvo but it’s still fun.

5. Friday The 13th Part III

Well, at least he had his hockey mask this time. This one ranks higher than Part 2 just because of the obvious shift in tone. ‘Friday The 13th Part III‘ knew what kind of movie it was making and really does the franchise justice.

4. Freddy vs Jason

Many hate that Jason is a puppet to Freddy but I think Freddy vs Jason is one of the best narratives within both franchises. Seeing Jason break free & take control easily makes him the one to cheer for. Their end fight is so brutal as well!

3. Friday The 13th (1980)

Before the hockey mask, there was Pamela Voorhees. The first Friday The 13th sets up the films to come beautifully by introducing you to Jason Voorhees through his mother, Pamela (Betsy Palmer). Also, young Kevin Bacon!

2. Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

After being killed in The Final Chapter and taking a break in Part 5, Jason Voorhees returns in ‘Friday The 13th Part VI‘! With the return of Tommy Jarvis & more humor added, the Friday The 13th franchise got a jolt to the heart.

1. Friday The 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter (1984)

Everyone should know that The Final Chapter is the best film featuring Jason Voorhees. This was supposed to the last Friday The 13th movie; Part IV was so amazing that it kept the franchise alive…for better or worse.

Thank you for reading for the first Slasher Saturday!

Next week will be ‘Nightmare On Elm Street‘!

Do you agree with my ranking of the ‘Friday The 13th‘ series?

Let me know in the comments below.

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Five Favorite Films From The Year I Was Born: 1985

By

David Joseph

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October 14, 2016

Sadly, if you were not born in 1985, that overplayed Bowling for Soup cover song from the early ’00s invariably is what you turned to in your head when the year 1985 is mentioned. However, you just shouldn’t do that. In any case, Great Scott! The year 1985 was a decent year for films, and thus it made it a little difficult to narrow things down. Though, with lists, there can be only some.

Whether you were born in 1985 or not, these films should not be much of a surprise, and this list was compiled based on opinion, and their place in cinema history.

Back to the Future

There are few greater films from 1985, and the ’80s in general, than the Delorean-based time-travel epic, Back to the Future. Iconic characters and vehicles abound, this holds a special place in many ’80s kid’s hearts. Subsequent sequels predicted a few interesting things that came after. Not to mention it being iconic in pop culture, and managing to revive John Delorean’s fledgling car company for a little while.

Fletch

Chevy Chase was not only an epic SNL cast member but one of many kings of comedy through the ’80s and ’90s. In 1985, he played Irwin Fletch, an undercover newspaper reporter. Fletch, and the National Lampoon Vacation films, was Chase at the top of his game. One thing that made Fletch stand taller and loftier above the rest was Chevy Chase’s allowance to ad lib and take the dialogue wherever he chose. There are few comedies better, especially, in 1985.

Silver Bullet

Okay. So, the werewolf looked mostly terrible, and apparently, it wasn’t a perfect Stephen King adaptation, but it was probably the first adaptation many fans saw and fell in love with. Silver Bullet is a Corey Haim led, ’80s cult classic, whether Stephen King wants it to be or not. At least, unlike The Shining, King has never had a bad thing to say about it.

Re-Animator

Re-Animator may only be a cult classic, and likely wasn’t a blockbuster, but it still stands the test of time as being one of most iconic horror/ gore-splatter films in history. H.P. Lovecraft might have taken some issues with the treatment of the source material (Keeping in mind that Lovecraft was a huge Edgar Allan Poe fan, and it showed in this particular story), but certainly, the core elements still existed. Re-Animator was over top with gore, and a certain potentially sexual scene involving a severed head, but all the rest of the ingredients combined make it an epic horror comedy.

Clue

Clue has indeed managed to do what so many board games and video games wish they could have done, succeed as a cult classic while bringing the game faithfully to life. Clue boasts quite a cast, and at no point does it slow down or gives up the pace that keeps the suspense and humor come hurtling toward its three optional conclusions.

Choosing my top five 1985 flicks was extraordinarily difficult, so I created a short runners-up list: Once Bitten, Summer Rental, Cat’s Eye, Day of the Dead, The Breakfast Club, Teen Wolf, and Return of the Living Dead. 1985 was a surprisingly good year for film depending on who you ask, and in this case, it happens to be this writer.

Did your 1985 films make the cut?

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Big Spoilers On Marvel’s Doctor Strange Post-Credits Scenes

By

Jonathan Bruce

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October 14, 2016

Marvel fans are awaiting the release of Doctor Strange. They are also looking forward to what the post-credit spoilers will be.

According to Screen Crush, the post-credit scenes set up two upcoming MCU movies. Not only that, there is also a surprise cameo appearance.

Mid-Credits Scene

During the mid-credits, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) meets up with Doctor Strange at the Sanctum Sanctorum. Strange wants to find Loki, but Thor needs his brother’s help to find Odin, who has gone missing.

Strange makes an offer to locate Odin if Thor and Loki will leave Earth for good. Thor agrees to the deal, which will lead into next year’s Thor: Ragnarok. Due to recent set photos, it is clear Thor and Loki will be spending time on Earth as part of their search.

Post-Credits Scene

After the credits, we see Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Eijofor) rip open Benjamin Bratt and absorb his powers for himself. “There are too many sorcerers,” he remarks.

This could set up a Doctor Strange sequel with Mordo as the main villain. Since he is an ally of Strange, it would make for a great story in the next films.

Doctor Strange opens on November 4, 2016.

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Review: ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable’: Episode 29

By

Anthony Wendel

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October 14, 2016

Highway Go Go, Part 2

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure has made it a point to introduce some fantastic elements, often resulting in fans having to throw logic to the wind and just go with the story they are presented with. There are some moments though where fans can’t help but ask what the original creator was thinking when he decided to use a specific scene or plot device. Case in point: Why are the feet trying to sniff for Josuke? It boggles the mind the more you think about it.

This questionable element aside, this is a great action filled episode. While being pursued by the multiple flying feet of Highway Go Go, Josuke is able to implement some very creative methods of deploying his powers. Using Shining Diamond, he is able to destroy and fixed things in several very imaginative ways throughout the course of trying to elude his pursuer. Back when this element was introduced in the first episode of this arc, it was more than apparent it would be a very entertaining power to behold. The fact it hasn’t lost its appeal after 29 episode just goes to show it was used in an appropriate way so fans wouldn’t become sick of watching it. It just goes to show sometimes less is more.

The next episode looks to pick back up with Kira’s story and what has been transpiring in his new identity. Episodes like this have been entertaining but it’s hard to take as much enjoyment out of it when the greatest enemy the team has faced is still running around able to make anything he touches into a bomb. Really makes the disembodied feet which are trying to suck the life out of a person and can track someone down by smell seem downright silly.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable is streaming on Crunchyroll.

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‘Doctor Strange’ Runtime Revealed

By

Aric Sweeny

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October 14, 2016

Comic Book movies have been consistently long films, but it looks like Doctor Strange won’t follow the trend. According to the British Board of Film Classification, Marvel’s Doctor Strange will be 1 hour and 54 minutes.

For comparison, the theatrical cut of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice clocked in at 2 hours and 31 minutes, Deadpool was 1 hour and 48 minutes, and Captain America: Civil War, being Marvel’s longest to date, was 2 hours and 27 minutes.

Do you like the runtime as it is, or should it be longer? Let us know in the comments section, or on one of our various social media profiles.

“From Marvel comes “Doctor Strange,” the story of world-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange whose life changes forever after a horrific car accident robs him of the use of his hands. When traditional medicine fails him, he is forced to look for healing, and hope, in an unlikely place—a mysterious enclave known as Kamar-Taj. He quickly learns that this is not just a center for healing but also the front line of a battle against unseen dark forces bent on destroying our reality. Before long Strange—armed with newly acquired magical powers—is forced to choose whether to return to his life of fortune and status or leave it all behind to defend the world as the most powerful sorcerer in existence. Join Strange on his dangerous, mystifying, and totally mind-bending journey when Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” opens in U.S. theaters on November 4, 2016.”

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Review ‘The Accountant’ An Incomplete Action Film With No Identity

By

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

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October 14, 2016

The Accountant is an action film lacking any discernable identity. Some moments we are treated to scenes out of a 90s Van Damme film and other scenes work to capture the slick James Bond aesthetic. To top it all off, screenwriter Bill Dubuque (The Judge) uses autism to help explain away the narrative. Sometimes less is more, and having all these plates in the air hinders any possible momentum. It’s a slog.

The film starts with a scene of Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) taking out seven members of the Gambino crime family. Yeah, the Gambinos. Original. We then abruptly jump back to 1989, and see a young Christian putting a puzzle together while his parents are talking to the doctor at the neuroscience center for children. Wolff is a math genius who is also dealing with a very severe case of autism that hinders his ability to function socially. His parents argue about how to handle this and it drives his mother away.

It was at this moment where, maybe, the narrative was going to be a social commentary on autism? Maybe how it shaped Wolff’s life? Wrong. Instead, we’re thrust into another scene where young Christian is being taught karate from a dude hired by his father to kick his son’s ass. So how do we go from a Gambino crime hit, to a family visiting with a doctor about autism, to a domestic disturbance, to a hamfisted scene from the cutting room floor of an 80s kick-and-punch thriller?

It’s as if The Accountant is a collection of missing pieces from other films that have been thrown into one huge box and writer Bill Dubuque was asked to stitch them together. The audience never gets a definitive answer on how this boy with autism and love for numbers ended up being a trained assassin? No one who sees this film can even definitively say why Wolff is driven to rid the world of these evil individuals.

We do find out the Department Treasury has a task force lead by Ray King (J.K Simmons), who’s driven to track down this “accountant” (for reasons we find out later in the film). He inexplicably blackmails an agency employee, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), to help track him down. Just when you think there couldn’t possibly be any more random narrative tidbits thrown in, we’re then introduced to Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick).

Cummings happens to be an accountant at Lamar Black’s (John Lithgow) robotics firm, who may have uncovered some missing money and Wolff is hired to verify these findings – because why not. Of course, Wolff finds the money trail, but now Dana is in danger (who didn’t see this coming?), and Christian’s talent for killing bad guys comes in handy. While this is going down, we stumble into yet another new plot point that seems to hint at Lithgow’s character being at the center of all these issues. It’s tiring. He promptly does the most rational thing a man in his position would do, he hires a hitman played by Jon Bernthal to “clean-up” his mess.

The amount of just random points to this story are enough to make your head spin. Yes, there is a certain novelty in seeing Affleck kick butt on screen, but at some point, the story has to make some sense. All of these plot points could work in a good film, but a good film this is not; they don’t connect, and it’s all a meandering mess. Had the director Gavin O’Connor and Dubuque took the time to develop this narrative, we could have had an intense adult thriller. Seeing how a young autistic boy is driven to want to rid the world of such sick people could have been a compelling story.

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DC On CW: Week In Review – ‘Supergirl’ Wins The Week

By

Jon Barr - TV Editor

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October 14, 2016

This series will be a brief, semi-comedic review of the CW superhero shows. 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 Adventures of Supergirl”

Supergirl CW — Super-CW smouldering looks

Supergirl’s come to the CW network, and at least for this episode, so has her cousin. While it seemed like Superman might totally overwhelm the series, thankfully his role was relegated to helpful alien-on-Earth life coach. He’s also far less mopey than Cavill’s Superman, which thank GOD. The episode follows her exploits to investigate, then protect Lena Luthor, who’s beset upon by vaguely European mercenaries. Not sure why Kara and James’ relationship didn’t work out, but at least that subplot won’t be too suffocating this season. Although that plot point is fizzling out, one can only hope Cat and Clark get together at least once. The show’s transition to CW seems to be working very well. Having a bigger superhero as a pal to see her through the switch is great as well. Supergirl brings a great new dynamic to the CW’s slate, and the series seems to be on a great path forward.

SCORE: 8/10 Gun Drones

The Flash, “Paradox”

Flash CW — Barry gets a talking to from Good Guy Garrick

Once again, the problems time travel plague Flash & Friends. At last, we’re seeing some more chaotic time-travel consequences. All the Team Flash members have some negative changes in their personal lives. Barry’s sister-wife Iris still loves him, but her relationship with Joe is as strained as Joe’s relationship with Wally was last season. Cisco’s less humorous since his brother died, and he blames Barry for not time-traveling to save his life. Which seems unreasonable, until you realize it’s the exact kind of thing Barry does ALL THE TIME. At least Caitlin has a new dark side that ISN’T related to a dead boyfriend (though that’s sure to come up sometime soon). Unfortunately, Alchemy (who may/may not have a Doctorate) is out to get him in the new timeline. He manages to bring ~~Lightning Gremlin~~ Rival into the regular timeline, and they duke it out a second time. Barry’s also got an antagonistic parter, Julian Alpert. Alpert’s played by Draco Malfoy from ‘Harry Potter,’ although he’s clearly a Severus Snape-type in this series. Hopefully this new timeline is the last reality-warp we have to deal with for a while.

SCORE: 7/10 Husks

Arrow, “The Recruits”

Arrow CW — “How can I reach these kids?”

Oliver’s attempts at finding new friends doesn’t work all that well. In an attempt to get a new team, he recruits Canary Jr, Tall Nathan, and Angsty Hockey Dog. Rather than use the Common Core to train them, he uses Russian mafia techniques to beat them up and make them mad. This episode’s flashbacks do prove how successful the techniques are – at least, for Oliver. Diggle also struggles with his army recruit, and somehow manages to do EVEN WORSE for himself than Oliver. Team Arrow has to contend with the evil half-rag, half-octopus angsty teen, and they quickly fail. Ragman does become an ally to fight Tobias Church, but didn’t do nearly as well as Mr. “Not Green Arrow” Prometheus. We’ll see how long it takes the kids to shape up, but it’ll be a lot of angsty hormones flying in the mayor’s HQ for half a season.

SCORE: 6/10 Bells

Which of these shows is your favorite? Have a good review of LEGENDS OF TOMORROW? Which Gremlin is your favorite? Post in the comments below!

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