Game of Thrones fans may have to wait a little longer for season seven.
According to showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, production on the hit HBO fantasy drama will start later than expected.
The series usually debuts each season in April, but Benioff and Weiss say the upcoming season will arrive a bit later due to weather. Winter has come to Westeros, but it hasn’t arrived at some of the show’s filming locations in Europe.
“We are starting a bit later because, you know, at the end of this season winter is here, and that means sunny weather doesn’t really serve our purposes anymore. So we pushed everything down the line to get some grim, grey weather, even in the sunnier places that we shoot.”
Game of Thrones films in Iceland, Croatia, and Northern Ireland.
Benioff and Weiss have said that there are only thirteen episodes remaining in the final two seasons of the show.
As Game of Thrones nears the end, its stars Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister) have each scored pay raises. Each will earn up to $500,000 per episode for season seven and eight, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Star Trek franchise continues to trailblaze against all stereotypes.
Helmsman of the USS Enterprise, Hikaru Sulu, played by John Cho, is shown in ‘Star Trek Beyond’ as the loving father of a daughter with a same-sex partner.
“I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thing out it, which is where I hope we are going as a species, to not politicise one’s personal orientations,” said Cho in an interview with the Herald Sun.
Cho add the decision by writer Simon Pegg and Lin to make Sulu gay was a nod to George Takei, who played the character in the original 1960s series, and was a sign of what he hoped were changing times.
‘Star Trek Beyond,’ the next instalment in Star Trek franchise, created by Gene Roddenberry, returns with director Justin Lin at the helm of this epic voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise and her intrepid crew. In ‘Beyond,’ the Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.
The film stars Idris Elba, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Anton Yelchin.
The Secret Life of Pets is a film audiences young and old who love their pets are sure to appreciate.
Yes, the level of entertainment certainly skews younger. Unlike many of the family-oriented animated films that come from Hollywood these days, Secret Life of Pets isn’t rife with grown-up targeted in-jokes.
Rather, the film stays focused on frantic action and silliness to keep audiences laughing and cooing at the cuteness. Does it work? Sure it does, or at least it should for the audience it’s out to entertain.
What’s it about?
The Secret Life of Pets brings audiences the story of Max (voiced by Louis C.K.), a terrier rescued as a puppy by his loving Manhattanite owner, Katie (Ellie Kemper). Max has a truly great life — his only real complaint in the world is that Katie leaves every day to do goodness knows what, leaving him sitting by the door waiting for her and missing her terribly.
That great life, however, takes a sharp left turn when Katie comes home one day with a “brother” for Max in the form of Duke (Eric Stonestreet, TV’s “Modern Family“), an huge, fluffy mess of a mutt who is all too happy to horn in on Max’s creature comforts.
It’s not long into their first day left alone together that things go awry, but not in the way either of the dogs expects. In very short order, they find themselves on Manhattan’s streets being chased by dog catchers and threatened by strays and militant “flushed pets” led by the furry but fierce ex-magic act bunny Snowball (Kevin Hart).
Help for the pair in getting home comes from other pets in their neighborhood led by Gidget (Jenny Slate, TV’s “Parks and Recreation“), a feisty pomeranian who secretly adores Max. High flying fights, car chases (yes, car chases with pets!), and general mayhem ensues as the day boils down to everyone just getting home safe and sound before the owners get home for dinner.
Stunning animation
What really stands out in The Secret Life of Pets is the quality of the animation. As the latest collaboration between Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment (the folks behind the Despicable Me and Minions movies), the film delivers all the madcap, frenetic cartoony action one might expect given the films that have come from the pairing before.
Where the film sets a whole new bar for Illumination productions is in its depictions of real life spaces, in particular the many different environs and landscapes of New York City. There’s a clear reverence for “The Big Apple” in every long shot featuring the city’s skyline, apartment buildings, and Central Park, one that should make any audience member that’s spent time in those places smile, and anyone’s who’s dreamed of visiting Manhattan keep dreaming.
Story keeps things simple
As for the characters running around on four legs and in some cases on wings in The Secret Life of Pets, their story is a pretty straightforward one. No doubt, the film’s plot and structure is reminiscent of earlier, more memorable animated features, in particular Disney’s Toy Story films. But the similarity is only superficial, as this film’s script does not aspire to the same sophistication and emotional range as the films it borrows from.
Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily — in fact, the difference will most likely be lost on the film’s true target audience. But for adults sitting in theaters with their kids to see The Secret Life of Pets, they’ll no doubt recognize that while it is entertaining and chuckle-worthy at times, it’s a far different breed than any Pixar film.
That’s not to say there’s nothing that’s particularly memorable here. Most of the funniest bits in The Secret Life of Pets are used in the film’s trailer, but there are still a few surprises in store. In particular, there are quite a few jokes at the expense of the film’s “fat cat” supporting character, Chloe (voiced by Lake Bell), and a truly bizarre doggy dream sequence involving talking, dancing sausages that has to been seen to be believed.
Worth seeing?
If you’re an animal lover or your kids are animal lovers, then yes, The Secret Life of Pets is 85 fun, silly minutes at the theater that you shouldn’t regret spending. Also, if you’re a fan of those loveably unintelligible Minions, there’s an all new Minions short film attached to the start of Secret Life of Pets that delivers quite a few laughs and should stand as further evidence that Minion stories are best when short.
The Secret Life of Pets
Starring the voices of Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Coogan and Albert Brooks. Directed by Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney.
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rated PG for action and some rude humor.
The reboot has been, um, controversial among fans, to say the least. So of course Oswalt was immediately subjected to the predictable ire of people who were deeply offended that he enjoyed a thing.
That’s to be expected, of course. But a Facebook friend of mine pointed out one reaction that was beyond the pale. This appeared on a DVD Talk forum, and, as of this writing anyway, is still there:
In case you can’t see the photo, that’s a commenter who felt the need to bring the recent death of Oswalt’s wife, Michelle McNamara, into a conversation about a movie. Not only that, the poster questioned the legitimacy of Oswalt’s grief, and even seemed to imply that there was something fishy about McNamara’s death. Over a movie.
I’ll say it again: Over a movie.
Can we all agree that’s going a bit far? Actually, as my Facebook friend put it: “If your defense of your hatred of the new Ghostbusters is so extreme that you need to attack Patton Oswalt about his wife’s death because he tweeted that he liked the film, you are objectively a terrible person.”
I couldn’t agree more. There’s a dark side within fandom that sucks a lot of the joy out of loving the things we love — a dark side that says, “If you don’t agree with me, not only will I take it personally, I’ll make it personal.”
From doxxing Felicia Day to belittling Patton Oswalt’s grief, this kind of thing is becoming all too common, and the fan community needs to stand up to it. We need to make it clear that it’s not okay. And no, I’m not sure how or where to begin. But we need to keep the conversation going.
If you are a fan of original writing, this trailer will bother you in so many ways. Since Warner Bros. and Legendary own the rights to ‘Pacific Rim,’ at least Warner Bros. Animation is ripping off its own property.
‘Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants’ could be some of the laziest writing I’ve ever witnessed. The writer or writers of this project could be just following orders. The real villain is whoever pitched the idea! What makes sense is this film is purely designed to sell toys.
OH LOOK, HERE’S THE TOY!
‘Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants’ plot: Mister Freeze’s latest invention super-sizes Killer Croc and Bane, turning them into giant mutant monsters that bash through the streets of Gotham. Batman and Green Arrow must save the day by piloting their giant robot mechs into combat.
There is no official release date for ‘Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants.’
Apparently, we are not canceling the apocalypse today.
If ‘The Secret Life Of Pets’ Wants To Borrow Everything From ‘Toy Story’…Take Its Originality As Well.
Illumination Entertainment is the studio that brought Minions into the world so there’s obviously a grudge with them. I’ve thankfully skipped every film they’ve released since 2012’s ‘The Lorax‘. Hoping that ‘Secret Life Of Pets’ would be the film to turn me onto the company, the only thing it did was confirm my disdain.
Max, a Jack Russell Terrier, lives with his owner Katie in a New York City apartment. He has quite the spoiled life and that leads to him being very possessive of his owner. As soon as she leaves each day, he just waits by the door for her to come home. His friends Chloe (tabby cat), Mel (pug), and Buddy (dachshund) all live around him. They each have unique lives and have their adorable distinct personas.
Suddenly, Katie brings home another dog. This giant Newfoundland named Duke invades Max’s territory causing massive friction between the two. Soon enough, their fights lead to getting lost and have to find their way back home. Without a doubt, they become best friends along the way and learn a lesson in the end.
Some others have mentioned the whole “Toy Story but with pets” thing but seeing the film, I didn’t know they’d even use similar plot patterns and beats as ‘Toy Story‘. Then they add in this whole “friends go out and rescue missing friends” plot; something Pixar also used as the plot for ‘Toy Story 2‘. Oh and lets add an evil pet who hates the way these pets are. You know, like Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear from ‘Toy Story 3‘. If ‘The Secret Life Of Pets‘ was already using the basic premise of a legendary predecessor, I believe avoiding other obvious similarities would have made the project a bit more memorable.
On the other hand, the animation style used in this film is utterly stunning. Using a cartoon style of animation and perfecting it like this is a refreshing opposition to the realism strived for in Disney/Pixar films. There was landscape shots of New York that were so wonderfully detailed. Each animal was created with unique features that made them stand out in this vibrant world. My favorite being this terrifying looking Sphinx cat named Ozone and a Pomeranian named Gidget.
Final Thoughts:
‘The Secret Life Of Pets‘ will make boat loads of cash. It’s the middle of summer and kids are needing this sort of mindless entertainment. That’s the target demographic and it works on that level. But when other films have mixed together the profitable with the artful, this one just feels a bit reductive.
‘The Secret Life Of Pets‘ pounces into theaters July 8th. The film stars Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Ellie Kemper, and Jenny Slate.
Starz released a new trailer for season two of ‘Ash vs Evil Dead.’
‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ follows Ash, the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons –personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its “Evil” grip.
‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ starring Bruce Campbell and Lucy Lawless returns in October.
Tampa was center stage Wednesday night as the world premiere of Bryan Cranston’s new movie, The Infiltrator took place at the gorgeous Tampa Theater. The Infiltrator is based on the true story of Tampa-based U.S. Customs Agent Robert Mazur (Cranston) and his involvement in busting a money laundering scheme involving Pablo Escobar. A significant portion of the film was shot in the Tampa Bay area and having this type of an event marked a major victory for the city’s film commission.Bryan Cranston, Benjamin Bratt, and the film’s director Brad Furman all walked the red carpet for the premiere.
We were lucky enough to have a chance to talk to the movie’s star, Bryan Cranston on a variety of topics ranging from Walter White to what he liked most about The Infiltrator script (special thanks to TM Powell for allowing us to use his one minute of footage on top of the minute we got as well).
The most striking thing about tonight’s premiere was just how much Director Brad Furman raved about shooting in the Tampa Bay area. He said multiple times (both on the red carpet and right before the movie started) just how wonderful it was to film in Tampa and how he would easily come back here again to film if the opportunity arose. It was a tremendous night for the city of Tampa and a big step towards revitalizing the city’s film industry.
Patton Oswalt, famous for his roles in Ratatouille, The King Of Queens, and most recently playing brothers on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., saw an early screening of the upcoming, controversial Ghostbusters reboot. His reaction? Well, just check his tweet down below.
Just saw an early screening of GHOSTBUSTERS. It's fun. It's scary. It's terrific. Stay 'til after the credits.
We were lucky enough to have a chance to talk to the movie’s star, Bryan Cranston on a variety of topics ranging from Walter White to what he liked most about The Infiltrator script (special thanks to TM Powell for allowing us to use his one minute of footage on top of the minute we got as well).