Warner Bros. is planning to make big changes to their DC Comics movies. After the negative critical reception to both Batman v Superman and Suicide Squadthe studio has been adapting to make more universally loved films.
Today Warner Bros. CEO Jeff Bewkes confirmed that the studio is working to change the DC Extended Universe, and is making future movies lighter, to match the tone of the comics.
“The strategy worked, the execution did deliver what we wanted to do. We can do a little better on the creative. … We’re right on course or better. The DC Comics characters … have a little more lightness in them than maybe what you saw in those movies, so we’re thinking about that.”
Bewkes went on to discuss the success Warner Bros. found with Ben Affleck as Batman.
“The main thing was to launch DC and reinvigorate it with the fan base, the reboot of Batman with Ben Affleck was a big success.”
According to Variety Bewkes also spoke positively about Gal Gadot’s portrayal of Wonder Woman.
Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh the buddy cop War on Everyone is essentially an American-style movie made with British and Irish money and production companies – usually, it is the other way round. War on Everyone is a more mainstream effort from the director of The Guard and Calvary and a gateway into McDonagh’s style of humor.
Terry Monroe (Alexander Skarsgård) and Bob Bolaño (Michael Peña) are corrupt police detectives in Albuquerque, New Mexico and keep getting suspended. The situation is so bad that their superior officer (Paul Reiser) threatens their jobs if he receives one more complaint about them. Despite this Terry and Bob continue to stake down every criminal in the city in the hope of making a big score, but end up crossing someone they cannot threaten.
War of Everyone is similar to a buddy comedy released earlier this year The Nice Guys: both movies have a duo where one is a family man and the other is a single man who lets his fist do the talking. Both movies also have a 70s motif – although The Nice Guys is more overt with this – it was set in the 70s and had a story involving pornography and the automotive industry. The War of Everyone’s 70s references are in its visuals, like the cars, clothing, hairstyles and editing tricks like the side swipes as well as a quick mention of Starkey and Hutch. War on Everyone has a contemporary setting and jokes have a modern reference, ranging from gaming to ISIS.
The main duo also have shades of Riggs and Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon series. Bob is a family man, and his home life is what Murtaugh’s would be like if he were an asshole to his kids. Terry is the Riggs’ character and like Riggs Terry lives alone, has huge personal demons and drinks to cover it. Also like Riggs in Lethal Weapon 3, Terry develops a love interest in the form of Jackie (Creed‘s Tessa Thompson), one of the pairs’ victims and he is able to open up to young woman. Terry is made out to be the more sympathetic of the two – having a certain level of morality – while Bob is a hypocrite: complaining if anyone makes racial slurs against him, but has no problem making jokes at the expense of people from African-American and Irish heritage.
Skarsgård and Peña are A great team-up, and they are characters who match some of the best in the genre. Peña has solid comedy pedigree in movies like Ant-Man and Tower Heist and he is suitable as the jerk to everyone but his wife. Skarsgård is an imposing figure – he already showed his action abilities in the underrated The Legend of Tarzanand in War of Everyone is certainly believable as a man capable of being able to knock someone out with one punch. They have a strong rapport with each other, and some of their exchanges have echoes of Jules and Vincent in Pulp Fiction – their interactions are some of the funniest moments in the movie.
There is also a strong supporting cast like Thompson, Stephanie Sigman and Paul Reiser as the police lieutenant who constantly has to chew Terry and Bob out. Theo James is decent enough in his role as the villain, a posh Englishman who uses his legitimate businesses to cover his illegal activities. However, the character was underdeveloped – he is shown to be taking crack and heroin and has no problem functioning as a high ranking criminal; he is even able to box in this condition. The character also seemed to be written as a young man who is playing a gangster, but the movie later shows his family – which leads to thoughts that the character was originally intended for an older actor.
Caleb Landy Jones, best known for playing Banshee in X-Men: First Class was the stand out character from the villains – he was a creepy presence when he first appears with his long hair and made worst when he makes statements that show he’s a pervert. Malcolm Barrett and David Wilmot (a McDonagh regular) were also note worthy as a couple of local crooks – even though one of them is an Irishman – that have to act as Terry and Bob’s informants.
As a writer/director McDonagh is known for having a no holds barred approach and willing to take on everything and anything. His targets include all races and creeds – takes aim against Islam and ISIS – which is just asking for trouble in this day and age with jokes that could be considered inappropriate. This type of humor could offend in the wrong hands, but McDonagh ensures War on Everything is on the right side of the funny/offensive line. The dialogue is similar to his first movie The Guard which was praised by critics but was really overrated – War on Everything is, fortunately, a more consistently funny movie. McDonagh also includes some visual gags like some women in burkas playing tennis and his interest in religion shines through by having a minor criminal also being a Quaker.
While McDonagh makes a funny movie the jokes take precedence over the plot. There is not much direction as Terry and Bob bumble they way through crossing a dangerous criminal his enterprise. It is arguably the point of the movie as the cops are just looking to make money but the plotting is at times confusing regarding what characters are actually doing as they find people and see how they connect. Great buddy cop movies like Hot Fuzz, the Lethal Weapon series, Beverly Hills Cop, 21 and 22 Jump Street etc… still have engaging plots to go with their action and comedy. The premise of corrupt cops shaking down local criminals could easily have worked as a Coen Brothers or Tarantino crime caper, but McDonagh should have developed his story more before filming.
McDonagh’s love for philosophy also makes a presence in War on Everything as characters discuss ideas, facts, and books. We get it, you’re a smart, well-read man Mr. McDonagh; you don’t also need to show off. McDonagh takes the movie down a really dark Avenue with one of its subplots – there is nothing wrong with a comedy having a serious moment or some levity but War on Everything took on a subject that is too dark even for a black comedy.
War on Everything starts out as an energetic buddy comedy that is both classic 70s and modern at the same time. There is a great central partnership with Skarsgård and Peña in the main roles and consistently funny lines throughout, but the thin plotting makes the movie a little tiresome.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will display a whole new side of the galaxy far, far away. The prequel is set to be a darker chapter in the Star Wars story, and will have larger elements of a galactic war.
In an interview with Variety, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that he is not expecting Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to be as successful as last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a movie which grossed a worldwide total of $2.1 billion.
“We never felt it would do the level that Force Awakens did, but based on the response to the trailers and posters, the level of interest is as high as it was for Force Awakens.”
Disney feeling this way is not a major surprise. Rogue One looks and feels like a much darker movie than The Force Awakens, and doesn’t have legacy characters such as Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Leia, but will feature Darth Vader which might draw more attention. It is also worth noting that The Force Awakens had a lot more mystery and attention because fans went years without a Star Wars movie, Rogue One is the first example of a yearly trip to the Star Wars universe.
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.
Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 debuted last night, and the biggest item on the agenda was the first appearance of Ghost Rider on any television show. Ghost Rider has a history in cinema, though, and it is not pretty one. Depending on who you ask, prior to Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. picked him up for its fourth season, Ghost Rider was not much of a marketable commodity.
As this writer has pointed out in a prior Monkey’s Fighting Robots article, Ghost Rider’s two big screen debuts were mostly consider cinematic flops, before the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D pickup.
However, fan love and demand was still strong, as rumors of a Netflix show loomed, enter Marvel’s All-New Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes.
The irony of it all is that Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and All-New Ghost Rider both did not seem to have as much success as other show or characters. So, it is interesting to see them together, but how did Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4’s Ghost Rider turn out? Were the effects top-notch? Accurate portrayal? Was he merely used as menial plot device? Lets discuss.
The Ghost Riders Are-A-Changin’
Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4’s first episode held more hints of Ghost Rider than the actual character(Granted, the show isn’t called Ghost Rider, but still). Ghost Rider was not fully seen until a little over halfway through the episode. He was portrayed as a serial killer by the A.O.S. character Quake, who was the only one who actually met the rider the whole time.
Robbie Reyes’ was conflicted like any rider before him, but he was not completely psychotic, and there was positive reverence of the Ghost Rider in Robbie’s neighborhood. Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. may be over playing the horror factor.
Robbie Reyes is obviously about ten or more years older, and Gabe is a little older too. These were not, it seems so far, to be the only changes from the titular comic book the All-New Ghost Rider hails from.
Robbie Reyes was unique in that his rider was not based on the “Spirit of Vengeance.” A Russian mobster that had a deeper web within the story, and connection to Reyes, was the possessing spirit. Though it wasn’t specifically spoken in the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode, the previews are name-dropping the “Spirit of Vengeance.”
Gone is Dr. Zabo and his super pills, and now there is some darker, ghost story that is the subplot of the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ghost Riderarc.
With not much more to go on, those are the differences, but has anything been brought over from the Marvel comic book he came from?
All-New Ghost Rider Plucked From The Old Comic book
His name is Robbie Reyes, he has a brother named Gabe, and he appears to also have some special needs. The car, the skull, and even the jacket look super cool, and are spot on from the All-New Ghost Rider‘s comic book. Anything more is yet to be seen in one of the next 21 episodes of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Conclusion
The cool factor carried over into Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., and this Ghost Rider incarnation is certainly darker than the previous on-screen portrayals, but will it be enough to keep the Ghost Rider in the Marvel cinematic and TV universe? Only time and fan reaction will tell, but it is a serious take on the character with what seems to be a good actor.
The “All-New” comic book had a smaller following, so Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. might get away with some changes, but hopefully they won’t take too much license with an already shaky, troubled character. Though, it is only the first episode to contain the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D Ghost Rider after all.
Also, the effects could use a little work on the skull, but it is still, over all…cool.
Let’s say you really liked Training Day. As you should. Antoine Fuqua’s crooked cop thriller is one of the very best entires in the subgenre, a masterclass in mounting tension and performances from both Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke that transcend their genre trappings. It’s a great film. So if you like it, congratulations, you have terrific taste.
Now let’s say you thought Training Day was fine, but you thought it might be better served if it were run through the CBS homogenizing process and dumped on society in a more generic and uninspired, serialized TV show. The film just wasn’t obvious enough for you, and you want more tone-deaf dialogue, more meaningless action, more preposterous developments at every turn.
If that’s your bag, have I got the show for you.
CBS has adapted Training Day for their Fall network slate, much like FOX has done with Lethal Weapon. Only this time, ya know, to mix things up, the crooked cop is a white guy and the trainee is African American. And that crooked white cop, in case you had fears of subtlety or the lack of scenery chewing, is none other than overacting savant Bill Paxton, who plays openly corrupt Frank Rourke. Paxton is doing his typical “hey, man, whatevs” work here. The fresh meat is Justin Cornwell, played by Kyle Craig. He’s fine I guess. He’s breathing.
But there’s a twist! You see, Kyle Craig is fresh off a preposterous baby-saving incident that kicks off the show, one of the most absurd sequences I have ever witnessed. It has to be seen to be believed – but you can turn it off after that. And in his newfound fame, Craig is recruited by his captain to go undercover. You see, in this new Training Day universe, the events of the film have happened. Alonzo Harris’s antics are yet another blemish on the LAPD and all of the cases he was involved with were thrown out, leaving the streets overrun with ethnic criminals of all shapes and sizes. Craig is tasked with making sure this sort of corruption nonsense doesn’t happen with Rourke, and we’re off and running.
There’s really no need to break down plot details and developments in this pilot. You can probably guess everything here since this is a CBS show, and CBS works really hard to make every one of their “crime” shows look and feel the exact same. Your grandpa will love it. There’s plenty of arbitrary violence and action on display, but it’s not too violent. There’s no blood, don’t be ridiculous. And there is plenty of bland dialogue to condescend viewers.
Kyle Craig’s wife, for example, lays everything out in the first three minutes of the show. He’s the love of her life, hopefully the mother of his children, he needs to be careful in all his endeavors. Oh, and Craig has a partial license plate on his wrist from the car responsible for his cop dad’s death. Not a tattoo, mind you, but apparently just a sharpie number that he has to keep retouching at times during the show. First of all, you couldn’t get a tattoo, dude? It’s not important enough for that? Also, it sure seems like after a few DAYS – let alone YEARS – since your father’s death, those digits would be seared into your head. But maybe he has short-term memory loss… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If you have that uncle who celebrates all the CBS shows… if he’s a fan of Blue Bloods or he can’t wait for the new season of CSI or NCIS: Milwaukee or whatever they have running these days, then absolutely point him in the direction of Training Day. It’s right in his wheelhouse. But if you (or your other, cooler uncle) has respect for the medium of crime drama storytelling, avoid this ridiculous show. Just go back and watch the movie. Hell, watch the movie every time the show comes on TV and you’ll be better off for it.
Supergirl Season 2 is on its way with a new network, a more official tie to the DCTV Universe, and a new TV Superman, which is sported in this new trailer, according to Comicbook.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvzqZKYqQX0
Supergirl showrunners, and fans alike, seemed apprehensive about bringing her famous cousin Superman to the CBS/CW show. However, reports indicated over the summer that another Superman on-screen representation was heading to CW’s Supergirl Season 2.
The new Supergirl Season 2 teaser trailer does not reveal much, but it is one of the more significant looks at the newest Superman in action. Superman was never directly in the show so far, as producer Andrew Kreisberg explains just what has taken so long to bring him to CW’s DCTV Universe.
“There really isn’t anything we’ve asked for that was not given to us, you know? The show’s called Supergirl and it’s about Supergirl. It’s not like we’ve been jonesing to have Superman on it.We also didn’t want to…you know, if you’re going to cast Superman, you’ve got cast Superman right! Just like when you think about all the time and effort and energy that’s gone into finding the cinematic Superman over the last thirty years.”
In fact, Kreisberg and company did not really seem like they would or wanted to bring Superman into their Supergirl show, as evidenced by the remainder and conclusion of his statement.
“For us, Superman is more of an idea than it is a personification of the character, so we’re more than happy to have him backlit. We’re perfectly happy to have him swoop in, save Kara in Episode Three, because the real heart of the story is that she then kicks Reactron’s butt. She’s the one that takes him down, and that’s what much more important for us.”
Now that the idea is has stepped out from his backlit persona, it will be interesting for fans to see how the newest Superman is portrayed, and what his overall roll will be in the show.
Right to the point. John Wick is a beast, made clear by the gun in his right hand. But he’s also impeccably dressed as the tailor measuring his suit would point out. That black three-piece is impressive.
Very little is known about the direction of John Wick: Chapter Two. No synopsis, but we do know Chad Stahelski is back as director, and the supporting cast includes Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane (!), Laurence Fishburne, Common, and John Leguizamo back in the fold.
Do you remember the days when the Christmas season started on Black Friday, me neither? Now BROAD GREEN PICTURES and MIRAMAX want to make Thanksgiving even darker with ‘Bad Santa 2’ hitting theaters on November 23.
Bill Bob Thorton returns as the worst Santa ever in the latest RED BAND trailer for the sequel.
‘Bad Santa 2’ returns Billy Bob Thornton to the screen as America’s favorite anti-hero, Willie Soke. Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus (Tony Cox), to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. Along for the ride is ‘the kid’ – chubby and cheery Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly), a 250-pound ray of sunshine who brings out Willie’s sliver of humanity.
Mommy issues arise when the pair are joined by Kathy Bates, as Willie’s horror story of a mother, Sunny Soke. A super butch super bitch, Sunny raises the bar for the gang’s ambitions, while somehow lowering the standards of criminal behavior. Willie is further burdened by lusting after the curvaceous and prim Diane, played by Christina Hendricks, the charity director with a heart of gold and libido of steel.
Mark Waters directs ‘Bad Santa 2’ from a screenplay by Johnny Rosenthal and Shauna Cross, based on characters by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa.
MRC and Sony Pictures, which is releasing The Dark Tower Live Action film starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, have committed not just to financing a pilot but a full run of between 10 and 13 episodes, of a companion TV Show depending on how the scripts and story arcs develop, Entertainment Weekly reports. The Dark Tower show will begin shooting in 2017 with plans to premiere it in 2018, ideally, around the time the film becomes available on cable or streaming services. The Dark Tower movie (Starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey) will serve as a sequel of sorts to Stephen King’s novels as it tells the tale of Roland Deschain’s (Idris Elba) final journey to the the series’ titular structure.
While MRC has committed to making a full run of 10 – 13 episodes which will begin shooting in 2017. There’s no word on a distributor yet, although fans speculate it would end up on either a cable network like HBO or a streaming service like Netflix due to the adult nature of the material. On the other hand, shows like ABC’s Hannibal are proof that mature material could still be distributed by some of the larger network companies. Elba has signed on to appear alongside Tom Taylor (who will play Jake Chambers in the movie) as a framing device of sorts due to this show adapting Wizard and Glass, the book exploring Roland’s early years. As a result, a younger actor likely in his teens will be cast to play the younger Roland Deschain.
At the time of this report, no information has been release on whether Matthew McConaughey will be involved in the series, but given the Man in Black’s shapeshifting abilities, that may not be an issue and the character can be recast with a built in reason if McConaughey does not return in the series.
A gunslinger (Idris Elba) and an evil sorcerer (Matthew McConaughey) embark on a journey to reach a mystical tower that can save their decaying world. Produced by Ron Howard and Directed by Nikolaj Arcel, with a script co-written by Arcel and Akiva Goldsman set to be released by Sony Pictures on February 17th, 2017.
The Magnificent Seven does a lot of things right in terms of delivering wild west-style fun. It’s beautifully shot, has a charismatic cast, and sprinkles just enough humor in and around the gunfights to keep things balanced.
That said, it could have been even better. Casting issues keep it from approaching the immortal heights reached by its namesake film.
Is it entertaining? Absolutely. Does it earn a place among the genre’s greats, or even among the best of some more recent western yarns? Not quite.
What’s it about
In the broadest of strokes, The Magnificent Seven‘s film story resembles the story from the classic 1960 Yul Brenner-Eli Wallach tale, and Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai before it. A frontier town terrorized by a robber baron and his army seek the help of hired fighters for their salvation.
This time, it’s a mining town that needs saving, and its strong-willed Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett, Hardcore Henry) who leaves town in search of men brave enough to help them.
Emma first finds bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), who for reasons of his own joins the cause. Chisolm then recruits gambler Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), sharpshooter Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), tracker Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), knife man Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee), outlaw Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Commanche warrior Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier), offering them the town’s reward for their help in facing what in effect is a suicide mission.
Chisolm’s band then undertakes preparing the town’s inhabitants to fight for what’s theirs. They have just days to get them ready, as their tormentor, the ruthless Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), learns of the town’s defiance and marshals all the gunfighters his wealth can buy in order to put down their rebellion.
Seven men against an army. Brave souls standing up for the weak in the face of tyranny. Warriors looking death in the eye with steely, squinty-eyed calm as it thunders down upon them.
Is there a more classic recipe for cinematic glory?
Fuqua knows badass
The Magnificent Seven is both director Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington’s first foray into westerns. But it’s certainly not Fuqua’s first time around when it comes to delivering big-screen badassery.
The man knows how to sell characters who are people you just don’t mess with. That vision, that understanding of what makes a hero or a villain a ‘cool customer’ informs Fuqua’s vision of this film more than anything else. If you buy into what makes each of Chisolm’s men the right men for this job in this time and place, then the film works.
Not all of them, however, are the easiest sell. For as good as Washington, Hawke, and Sarsgaard are in their respective roles, Chris Pratt never really looks or sounds like he’s doing anything more than playing “Cowboys and Indians.” Tasked with being the silver-tongued, irreverent rogue of the group, Pratt’s line reads come off as leaden and off-key, like he’s trying too hard.
It’s not his fault, entirely. Contemporary “cool”, which Pratt has a sure handle on, doesn’t always translate to the Old West. Just ask Will Smith and Sharon Stone, whose own forays into the genre were hampered in part by the fact that they simply could not sound like they were products of that time and place.
Great stunts, cinematography, music
Of course, the great westerns of old also were memorable for their location photography and action scenes. In those areas, Fuqua demonstrates his love and knowledge of the genre with what he packs into The Magnificent Seven.
Cinematographer Mauro Fiore (The Equalizer) and production designer Derek Hill (Olympus Has Fallen) help Fuqua deliver a western worthy of comparison to the great “spaghetti westerns” of the past in terms of visuals. The effort at authenticity is everywhere in the production, and it pays off in terms of entertainment value.
Similarly, the thrilling action and special effects are of the “old school” variety, as well they should be. A Magnificent Seven remake filled with green screen and computer effects would be an insult — thankfully, Fuqua chose to go the more traditional route.
And what great western doesn’t have an iconic score? This Magnificent Seven benefits from the last work of the late, great composer James Horner, who died in 2015. Listen closely, and you’ll hear instrumentation and motifs Horner made distinctive in his scores for Legends of the Fall, The Mask of Zorro, and even Avatar. If you know Horner’s style, its unmistakable here, and it’s fun to enjoy it one last time.
Worth seeing?
Fans of the genre and of the cast should flock to theaters this weekend to see The Magnificent Seven. While it has its flaws, certainly, it’s still tremendously entertaining.
Will it make you forget Brenner, McQueen, Wallach, Coburn, and Bronson? Not a chance, but that’s never Fuqua’s intent.
Consider this instead the director’s ode to the genre and the themes that made the original unforgettable. That way, you most likely won’t be disappointed.
The Magnificent Seven
Starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-Hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, Matt Bomer and Peter Sarsgaard. Directed by Antoine Fuqua.
Running Time: 132 minutes
Rated PG-13 for extended and intense sequences of Western violence, and for historical smoking, some language and suggestive material.
