Vince Gilligan, the creator of the phenomenal Breaking Bad, and Michelle MacLaren, the director behind several episodes of AMC’s most acclaimed original series, haven’t slouched since the drama ended its five season run. Gilligan is one of two showrunners behind the spin-off series Better Call Saul with Peter Gould, while MacLaren flirted with directing DC’s Wonder Woman adaptation before leaving the superhero blockbuster and returning to TV with The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, just to name a few. And while they’ve never completely separated, they’re collaborations have certainly remained limited, with MacLaren directing only one episode of the aforementioned Better Call Saul thus far. But that’ll soon change.
They’ll work together on Raven, an HBO limited series that’ll tell the story of Jim Jones, the cult leader behind Peoples Temple which lead to mass suicide in Guyana in 1978, after killing Congressman Leo Ryan. Color me intrigued.
As reported by Deadline (via The Playlist), Gilligan will write and executive produce the mini-series while MacLaren directs. It’s unclear how many episodes will transpire, or when the show is set to hit the air. Gilligan and MacLaren also plan to executive produce alongside Octavia Spencer, although she has no plans to act at this time. It’s inspired by Tim Reiterman’s nonfiction book Raven: The Untold Story of Jim Jones and His People. It’ll not only focus on Jones but also his followers, who were — for the most part — goodhearted and ordinary people driven into impure temptation. You could say they were provoke to, ahem, break bad — which makes Gilligan and MacLaren a good fit for the material, I’d say.
Gilligan has proven several times that he can do no wrong (except Battle Creek, but he wasn’t really involved with that one anyway), and MacLaren’s episodes of Breaking Bad are among the strongest in an already-exceptional series. I can’t wait to see them in action again. This material is as dark as it is fascinating, which is their bread and butter. Here’s hoping it helps provide the upswing HBO desperately needs right about now.
As it turns out, Raven is one of two Jim Jones series currently in the works, as A&E announced an anthology series in January focused on American cults, with season one focused on Jones and his disciples. That one is produced by Jake Gyllenhaal. It’s unclear how they’ll affect one another, if they will affect each other at all.
Raven serves as Gilligan’s first time working with HBO. MacLaren, however, has directed under the station a few times at this point. In addition to the aforementioned Game of Thrones, she also helmed installments of The Leftovers and their upcoming Westworld, which is set to hit television screens next month.
At San Diego Comic-Con International 2016, Brie Larson was officially announced as Captain Marvel. Since then, she’s been very vocal regarding her thoughts on the role.
In a recent interview with Space Channel, Larson talked about the importance of the role.
“I’m realizing what a deficit we have that we don’t have more of those [female superheroes] ,” she said. “I think it’s really cool to see a girl in a Batman costume or Spiderman costume, but I’m really excited that there’s a symbol of women. I think that’s really important.”
She then talked about the part social media has played in the casting.
“You know, the thing that’s been most exciting is like on social media, I get sent a lot of pictures of young girls in the Captain Marvel costume. I’m excited to see more of that.”
Captain Marvel is set to hit theaters on March 8, 2019.
Some interesting details have emerged about the upcoming season of The Flash, via Entertainment Weekly.
First off, Showrunner Andrew Kreisberg talked about the stakes of the Flashpoint storyline.
“The stakes in the comic book in Flashpoint were global and the stakes in this episode are very much just about Barry, his existence, and the people that he loves.”
Kreisberg also mentioned that Barry is in a happy state of mind, which is rare.
“He’s actually in a happy place, which is somewhere you don’t always see Barry Allen in. He’s now living in a world where his mother is alive and he’s taking it as, ‘I’ve finally got my reward for all of the suffering that I’ve gone through. This is my prize.'”
He then went on to talk about Wally being a speedster.
“We wanted to do something bold and start the season off with a bang,” Kreisberg says. “So we decided to get Wally in the suit. The circumstances of how that happens, well, you’ll have to watch to see.”
Additionally, it should be noted that Reverse-Flash is back, and serves as “Barry’s conscience”.
“Barry has messed with the universe to find his happy ending and he’s put in the awkward and ironic position of having his greatest villain, the man who killed his mother, being the one to tell him, ‘This is wrong, you’re a hero and heroes don’t do this'”. It’s a great way to have him interact with his singular greatest foe by having the villain essentially be on the side of the angels and be right.”
Lastly, Kreisberg talked about Tom Felton’s impact on the show.
“We’ve all seen him grow up from an amazing child actor to an amazing adult actor. Season threes are typically when you add that character that comes in to shake things up, just in the same way we added Brandon Routh to Arrow in season 3. Having Tom join the show and adding his energy, his delivery, and his performance to our very tightly knit cast is definitely meant to help shake things up.”
Season 3 of The Flash returns to The CW on Tuesday, October 4. Are you excited?
Pop culture fans around the world are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Star Trek this week. All of the Star Trek shows are pop-culture royalty and the “Trekkers” provided the template for modern comic-cons and fan communities. Star Trek holds a unique place within popular narrative fiction because of its inspirational and forward-looking themes.
Ever since their first appearance on Star Trek – The Original Series, the Klingons have been a popular adversary and occasional friend to our Starfleet heroes. The Klingon characters are so compelling that throughout these past 50 years Star Trek writers developed a detailed cultural narrative to coincide with the various Star Trek stories.
Star Trek fans know that Klingons are a warrior race, with a high value on personal integrity and honor. Executive producer Harve Bennett even likened them to the Japanese samurai.
So in the 50 years of Star Trek, which characters best exemplify the Klingon culture and ideals? Who is the ultimate Klingon?
This is not to say who is the favorite Klingon of Star Trek fans. (We all know who that is.)
The question is who is the best Klingon as according to the ideal of the fictional Klingon culture? Do they fit those Klingon “ideals” so often mentioned in the various Star Trek series?
Our favorite Klingons may not be the best Klingons…
First, let’s address a couple of favorite Klingons.
Worf – you’re the best. Everyone’s favorite and the comic relief of Star Trek: TNG.
By the way, most think you are a merry man.
K’ehleyr – we loved you. Your untimely passing affected us all. Worf took care of bizness for you, though in one of Star Trek: TNG’s best moments.
Alexander – one of our favorite kids ever. You almost got daddy and Riker killed, but made up for it by taking out some Ferengi.
We love you all, but unfortunately neither Worf, K’ehleyr or Alexander make our list of best Klingons. K’ehleyr didn’t love Klingon culture, Alexander wasn’t overly interested in becoming a warrior and Worf was always a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. He wasn’t really the Klingon’s Klingon. Although these three may be some of our favorite Klingons they are not the ideal Klingon.
So who is the best Klingon? These characters fit the bill.
Klingons that are the most Klingon
Honorable Mention – Klaa (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) – OK, not the greatest Star Trek movie, but Klaa gets high scores for going all-out after Kirk and then ultimately doing the honorable thing. Also, Klaa had the look – that badass Klingon look. Such hair!
The Top 5
General Martok (Star Trek:DS9) – Our one-eyed Klingon General certainly fought well during the Dominion War, including surviving as a captive of the Jem’Hadar. Martok fought his way back, and outside of a minor crisis-of-confidence, he gave the viewer an example of a hardcore Klingon.
Commander Kruge (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) – Kruge was really the first Klingon we saw post-TOS. Played by Christopher Lloyd, the character of Kruge set the tone for the modern Klingon. Early in the movie, we saw him sacrifice his significant other for his mission, which gave viewers an early glimpse of the way Klingon culture would develop. Kruge pushed Kirk to the edge in glorious battle. As we all know, Captain Kirk had enough of Commander Kruge, but Kruge was a total Klingon through-and-through.
Kor, Koloth and Kang, the Klingon Dahar Masters (Star Trek: TOS) – Although these characters introduced Klingons to the world, the TOS episodes with Klingons were rather few. It was not until Star Trek Deep Space Nine that these characters gained any real depth. In DS9 we saw that these three characters exemplified the range of Klingon values being demonstrated within Star Trek. Koloth was the disciplined martial artist and soldier. Kang was the vengeful Klingon. Kor, the flawed soldier longing for a warrior’s death. Combined, these three characters’ act as one unit to demonstrate the Klingon ideals and culture. As such, this Klingon Trinity is deemed a “best” Klingon.
General Chang (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) – No question that Chang was one of the baddest Klingons ever introduced in the Star Trek Universe. Smart, tactical, and fighting for what he believed was the best interests of the Klingon Empire, General Chang had gravitas. This was most evidenced in his ability to quote Shakespeare while firing torpedoes at the Enterprise and Excelsior. He also had a singular look – a shaved head with a bolted on eye-patch. Sadly, we have to knock down Chang to #2. He was complicit in a scheme to overthrow his government by murdering the Chancellor, along with Romulan help. So while aspects of Chang agree with having the Klingon heart, not winning the day against the Enterprise crew bumps him down.
Our #1 Klingon of Klingons…
Kurn (Star Trek: TNG) – How do you not pick Kurn as the exemplar of Klingon culture? Played by the exceptional Tony Todd, Kurn is the Klingon’s Klingon. He’s Worf’s brother. Honorable, smart, tough and wise in the ways of Klingon tradition, Kurn always acted in the purest of Klingon ways. Tony Todd just kills in his portrayal of Kurn. His deep voice, tone and timing always cut through every scene. In what is one of Kurn’s finest moments he destroys two Klingon Birds-of-Prey, the spittle flicking from his lips. Yeah, Tony Todd as Kurn.
50 Years of Klingons
As the world reflects back on 50 years of Star Trek, we would be remiss in not acknowledging our love and hate for Klingons. They’ve become part of world culture and vernacular. They’ve given us a fictional example of an alien culture and how that culture might be worked with and understood. Some of the same messages that resonated 50 years ago, certainly resonate in society today. Perhaps some of the answers as well.
Title: Sully Director: Clint Eastwood Summary: The story of Chesley Sullenberger, who became a hero after gliding his plane along the water in the Hudson River, saving all of the airplane flights 155 crew and passengers.
There are typically two lulls in the movie season where not much comes out. The first is the very beginning of the year; the idea is that everyone is broke from the holidays and the first thing to go out the window are expensive forms of entertainment like movies. The second is the very end of the summer and into the very early fall; this is because the summer blockbuster season is over now that the kids are back in school but it’s too early for the award season because Oscar voters won’t remember anything that came out more than two months ago. Sully is proving to be a slightly different animal in that it has come out fairly early for the award season, which means the filmmakers are either very confident it will be remembered fondly or they are hoping that it won’t.
Sully is a movie that tries to force the audience to feel emotional about its scenes instead of letting them get there organically.
The miracle on the Hudson that happened back in 2009 was a fascinating incident. A plane loses both engines and has to make an emergency water landing where everyone on the plane survived. It is the sort of thing that is made for movies because these sort of situations rarely happen in the real world which makes it perfect for a movie. The events are fascinating which is probably why I would have preferred a documentary. There is a moment, during the credits, where the real Sully is making a speech to the survivors and it was the moment where the movie really came alive for me. The real Sully has enough charisma to carry a documentary about these events.
However, a documentary would mean that they likely wouldn’t have the budget to reenact the crash with top quality special effects. It would have prevented Sully for falling into the common tropes of the ‘based on a true story’ movie. The real world is rarely as narratively cohesive as the movies are. The various people that are looking into the crash are painted as the ‘bad guys’ which clashes with the message of the movie. Sully repeatedly says that he is not a hero and was just doing his job but the people investigating the crash are also just doing their jobs.
It makes for a movie with two great lead performances, Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart, but an odd tone. There were moments where the movie felt like it was trying to tell me how I was supposed to be feeling as an audience member. ‘This moment is sad so you should feel sad’ is what the movie was, at times, yelling at me to feel. This is a good story told by two very good actors; I didn’t need the movie telling me how I should be feeling. I could have gotten there organically and, instead, the movie telling me how I should be feeling made me feel the opposite.
Sully is a movie that most people are going to love but I cannot say that I enjoyed it entirely. The lead performances are very good and the recreations of the crash are tense, despite knowing that everyone survives. However, by the end, I wanted to know more without the fluff that comes from movies seeking awards. Hanks will probably score a nomination for Sully but I fully expect to have entirely forgotten it by the time end of the year voting rolls around.
A new, original series from celebrated creator Frank Cho (Totally Awesome Hulk, Savage Wolverine)! Full of fast-paced action, Skybourne is James Bond with fantasy elements thrown in and is unlike anything Frank Cho has ever done before. The legend of King Arthur is alive and well in modern day. Only one man, Skybourne, can stop the evil Merlin from destroying the world.
Writing
Frank Cho really brought his A game to the table with this book. The story truly has a spy story feel to it while at the same time tapping into a lot of mythology and intense action.
After the quick introduction about Lazarus and how he fathered the Skybourne children, the issue picks up with intense superhuman action. Actually, first it gives us a bit of a mystery by revealing a character who jumps out of a plane but seems to survive the landing without a parachute. Obviously this is one of the Skybourne children; the reason for his decision to jump hasn’t been revealed, but it’s definitely helping to add to the mystery behind the issue. If you love spy stories like Burn Notice this book is perfect for you.
Artwork
The art is the real outstanding aspect of this book. The violence employed in the first issue is intense and drawn with an insane level of detail behind it. Frank put all of his heart into the art and is proving just how much he wanted to tell this story.
Conclusion
The series is a great miniseries which fans need to check out. Way to go Frank – your new work is incredible and proves you are truly a creator who needs to be watched. Coming from the superhero series to this kind of book really shows his immense talents as both a writer and an artist.
Just when it was thought the episode which focused on Koichi and Yukako packed alot into its running time this episode comes along. This is another one which goes into the credits and again it’s in an effort to not only wrap up the story but give it a conclusion no one saw coming. As long as you don’t read the manga of course.
Picking up where the last one left off, Koichi finds himself coming face to face with Kira, who isn’t at all happy about the fact he has to come in person to settle things. Again, he talks about how everything is an inconvenience to him and he just wants to live his life without the hassles of those around him. Also he wants to kill people and keep a ladies hand like a wife. This guy was already demented but this episode as he gives the heroes a once over helps to prove just how troubled he is.
The battle between Kira and the rest of the team is the best part of the episode. The damage Kira is able to inflict on them and vice versa will leave people gasping in shock over what he does. We often forget with Josuke’s ability to heal people, many individuals can get injured in ways not previously thought possible. Unfortunately there are some things even he can’t fix.
This episode leaves you with a feeling of intensity, like riding a rollercoaster. It helps to remind us all why we love the Jojo series so much. Hopefully the rest of the episodes of the season will be at this caliber or at least have this level of intensity because its hard to go back to comedy after what just happened.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable is streaming on Crunchyroll.
Sully is a film that’s bogged down by a narrative rife with gratuitous “Hollywood” storytelling. This movie (starring Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, and directed by Clint Eastwood) attempts to retell the circumstances surrounding the “Miracle on the Hudson.” Had Eastwood executed a more patient approach to telling the story surrounding the most important 208 seconds in Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s career as a pilot, this film could have exceeded all expectations. However, this movie was doomed from the onset as the extraneous portions of the narrative choked the life out of a remarkable human drama and left us with a lifeless 93 minutes to trudge through.
What’s confounding about Sully is the actual events on that fateful day in January are so mindblowing that any rational person would guess that it was the product of a team of screenwriters. Who would have predicted that an American Airlines domestic flight would lose both of their engines and manage to land safely in the Hudson River with no fatalities? Why was it necessary to deviate from the part of the story that matters? Instead, screenwriter Todd Komarnicki pens a narrative that keeps our focus predominately on a fictitious antagonistic aviation board and how Sullenberger (Hanks) and Skiles (Eckhart) have to deal with the pressure that comes with this type of inquiry.
Now, it is entirely understandable why Komarnicki would create this type turmoil for these men. Eastwood has always thrived as a director when his main characters are enduring some sort of turbulence. In American Sniper, Chris Kyle was such a compelling subject to explore because of the psychological trauma he experienced fighting in the Middle East. Gran Torino grabbed audiences because of Eastwood’s hardened war veteran character who is coming to grips with an evolving world. Each of these characters was shaped by actual events that happened in their lives. Why then wouldn’t Komarnicki and Eastwood follow suit with Sully? What’s more dramatic than cheating death and landing an airliner in the most unbelievable manner possible? That sort of event would not only shape Sullenberger and Skiles for the rest of their lives but everyone associated with them as well. Instead, we are force-fed scene after scene of them dealing with this concocted aviation board that appears more interested in blaming Sully rather than praising him. This type of artificial drama would choke the life out of any film.
What would have improved the quality of this film is a full commitment toward telling the story of what happened before, during, and slightly after “The Miracle On The Hudson.” We did get glimpses of that during the film. Some of my favorite moments were the scenes shot in the air traffic control room. To see the looks of joy on their faces when they found that the flight had landed safely in the water was magnificent. Seeing Sullenberger (Hanks) dealing with PTSD after the crash was an authentic moment that was startling to witness. However, these moments were few and far between. In spite of everything, Hanks, Eckhart, and Linney still, deliver predictably good performances. One can’t help but wonder what their performances would have been had the source material been properly crafted.
A couple of unexpected highlights for me were the cinematography and the score. The shots inside the plane were impressive and framed in such a way that made the audience feel a tinge of claustrophobia as the throng of people tried to evacuate the aircraft. My favorite shot was the one of Sullenberger (Hanks) sloshing through the plane frantically looking for any other passengers just as the rescue boats begin loading people on board. We could see pieces of the seats floating by with the camera tilted just slightly; it gave that impression that the aircraft is sinking slightly into the icy river below.
The score complemented the tone of this film. Eastwood composed a number that is a mixture of somber notes with a slight homage to Charlie Parker. It’s perfectly paired with the narrative and will receive award consideration down the road.
Overall, while Sully certainly has its issues, the film isn’t horrible. I get that it’s far from a ringing endorsement, but this one is more of a rental down the road than must see. Remember, it’s only September, and we have plenty of great movies just around the corner.
Ever watch an episode of a series and ask yourself why you didn’t enjoy it more? This is the case with the latest episode of Berserk. Despite the fact it features Guts fighting against Mozgus and gives some pretty impressive bits of combat you don’t find yourself cheering the swordsman onto victory. Instead, you find yourself sympathizing more with the Skull Knight or the Egg of the World. One laments about how this outcome was inevitable and the other talks about how he just wants a good seat to watch the ending come to pass. It’s almost like the two of them are acting as the voice piece of the majority of the audience. The watchers have either already figured out how this arc will end and are wondering why it’s taking so long to wrap up or they just want a good seat to watch it all finish. Either way, no one is as happy as they really thought they would be with this series.
The episode isn’t without a few high moments. Mozgus’ demonic armored angel form really is impressive. Puck does the solar flare attack from Dragonball Z to save the group. Vice Commander Azan shows why he was one of the best characters who didn’t get nearly enough screentime this season. And in a very heartwarming moment, Guts is able to hug Casca. He really will go through anything to protect her.
This episode is lackluster at a moment it really shouldn’t be. Fans should be on top of the hill and ready to shake their fists with anger the next season of this show isn’t on the fall schedule. Instead everyone is just sitting around and waiting for the season to come to an end. This shouldn’t be how a series which was so anticipated like Berserk goes out. It should be on the level of the last fight of The Return of the King but it’s not even close.
There are so many remakes out lately, and most are worth complaining about. There is no rationale behind the remake of Point Break, or to remake Total Recall and remove Mars from the plot. The newest addition to the list is this summer’s Ben-Hur. However, there have been amazingly well-done remakes. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and Mad Max Fury Road are quality films, and were critically successful.
This calls to mind three films that could use an amazing remake. Not, that the originals are bad, but we have the technology, we can rebuild them.
The Creature From The Black Lagoon
The Creature From the Black Lagoon is one of the best sci-fi films and monster movies of the 1950s. It is, however, unmistakably a film from the 50s. It has bad special effects and a damsel-in-distress plotline. An update faithful to the scientifically minded mythos of the original, but with modern effects and writing, would attract plenty of people. With the popularity of shows like Animal Planet’s River Monsters and its knockoffs, as well as the Sharknado series, a good marine horror movie would be timely.
The Running Man
The Hunger Games novels did a wonderful job of indicting desensitization and glorification of violence in the media, but the films did not. That shortcoming leaves room for a movie to take up the issue. The obvious candidate for that film would be a remake of 1987’s The Running Man. Schwarzenegger is a singular commodity, and It would be impossible to recreate the feel of the original Schwarzenegger film. Chris Hemsworth is the only actor today that has the potential to pull-off 80’s Arnold. With that said, the right director and cast could create a successfully and compelling film.
The Birds
There is a resurgence of monster movies lately, but the focus has been on a single creature. The Birds remains original in its use of many smaller “monsters,” but, like The Creature From The Black Lagoon, it’s outdated and stylistically old-fashioned. A remake, particularly one more faithful to the original short story, would be fun to see. The concept is still scary.
Each of these, of course, could be remade poorly, but each also has the potential to be amazing if done well.
What films do you think need a remake? Leave your comments below.
