Jared Leto’s Joker To Be A Boxer In ‘Suicide Squad’

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June 3, 2016

Funko’s Pop Vinyl Figures Reveal That The Joker Is Now A Boxer!

Just when people started being comfortable with the changes to The Joker, this latest news could change all of that.

The gossip for ‘Suicide Squad‘ had slowed down. After the polarizing ‘Batman v Superman‘ and the release of the rival brand’s big summer movie, it seemed like Warner Bros. & DC have taken a bit of a break. Now with the release of the newest Pop Vinyl figures for ‘Suicide Squad‘, we got information to hold us over.

Jared Leto’s Joker performance will show us something we’ve never seen before. The Joker will be a boxer in this film. As briefly speculated after the first trailer, it’s been confirmed that we get a scrappy Clown Prince of Crime.

This explains why The Joker has such a lean & muscular body. With the casting of Jared Leto bringing unneeded hate, his role in this film has become more clear. Unlike classic versions like Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson or the grungy Heath Ledger rendition, we’ll see this clown throw down.

I guess all those trips to Arkham can change a man.

Does this information change how you feel about ‘Suicide Squad‘?
Let me know in the comments below!

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REVIEW: OUTCAST – “A Darkness Surrounds Him”

By

Jon Barr - TV Editor

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June 3, 2016

Why is the show called Outcast? In the latest adaptation of a Robert Kirkman comic book series, Outcast gives a hearty amount of exposition and world-building without completely showing its hand. What we do get are good looks into our main cast, and at least a general understanding of what the evil forces in this show are capable of. The pilot episode, “A Darkness Surrounds Him,” gives the audience enough to keep them out of the dark by thrusting them right into the darkness, right along with our protagonists, as they get to exorcising.

We don’t get a clear answer to what makes Kyle Barnes an outcast, per se, but we definitely see how a “darkness surrounds him.” After being tormented for years by his possessed mother, and leaving his wife & child after a similar possession problem, Kyle has come back to his childhood home, staying as isolated as possible. While his adoptive sister is trying to care for him, she clearly doesn’t buy into the supernatural stories that Kyle’s old friend Reverend Anderson preaches. The contrast between Anderson’s faith and Megan’s more realistic views serve as powerful voices that shows the conflict in Kyle’s head. He knows his mother tormented him as a child, but can it be explained away by a mental illness? How could he begin to explain demonic possession to Megan? We also see the mindset of the townsfolk, who mostly seem to be religious folk. While Megan and her husband, Mark, clearly don’t believe in demons, all the townspeople are God-fearing folks – Josh’s mother calls Anderson in right away once the possession starts, Florence asks Kyle to pray for Joshua, and Chief Giles lets Kyle go once he hears about the possession from his good friend Anderson. Knowing that the town buys into the demon narrative helps the audience understand why Kyle belongs here – but how does it make him an Outcast, exactly?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBRe2ITyMxw

What seems to be the driving wedge between Kyle and the world around him is his connection to the demons. We don’t know why or how this is, but through flashbacks, we get glimpses into what happened before the present-day events of the pilot. We know that Kyle’s mother would lock him in the pantry, but that his blood can burn her. We know that Kyle can hurt the demons – they’re after his soul, but his blood will burn them. We see him beat the demon out of the finger-eating Joshua, but that his mother didn’t get off so easy, as she now lays unblinking in a nursing home bed. The biggest mystery, however, is what happened to Kyle’s wife and daughter. At the end, we see that his wife Allison appears to be possessed and attacking their daughter, Amber. But when Kyle is at Megan’s house, her daughter says HE was the one that hurt Amber, hence why he no longer lives with them. We see Kyle try to call Allison, but he can’t bring himself to speak to her. And Demon-Josh calls a fighting Kyle “stronger than Allison.” How does this all tie together? Who know how quickly into the season we’ll find out.

Overall, “A Darkness Surrounds Him” is a strong way to introduce us to the world of Outcast. The show provides enough exposition through natural dialogue to set up our characters, and the usage of flashbacks never felt like a narrative crutch. The introduction of Kyle and the Reverend were especially strong – Kyle, surrounded by his old childhood toys, and the Reverend playing poker with the boys before going on an exorcism trip. Not to mention the fact both have children they don’t get to see all that often (though that’s more assumed of the Reverend, through his avoidance of the picture in his car). Neither one are particularly righteous or pious, in the way you might expect demon-fighters to be. But both are human beings doing their best, in a world of the scared & the skeptical.

As far as what makes Kyle an outcast, there’s still a lot to be seen. He’s not accepted by his family, but what is it that drove them out? His mother was possessed, but does that relate in any way to what makes him painful to demons? Kirkman doesn’t give us the answers right away, but he gives us enough to understand the world, our character’s motivations, and what we can expect next.

Check out the five key moments from the pilot, and be sure to watch the pilot on Cinemax’s YouTube channel before episodes start regularly airing on June 3rd.

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5 Extremely Deranged Films For Horror Fans Part 1

By

Jamie DeCourley

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June 3, 2016

Hey, Hey, Horror Hounds. Your old blood buddy Jay has searched the zeitgeist of modern film to find the most horrific and disturbing images ever committed to celluloid. All for our new weekly series: 5 Extremely Deranged Films For Horror Fans. Remember fright fans, this is only the first of many installments. If one of your shock fest favorites isn’t mentioned, simply add it to the comment section and maybe we’ll stash it away for a future entry. Let’s get started.

5. Irreversible (2002)

Alright, so it’s not really a horror film, we’ll call it a thriller. A close cousin that we horror aficionados sometimes claim on our taxes. From Gasper Noe, Irreversible is a crime drama that will have you on the edge of your seat, at least through the first fifty minutes, ..or is that the last fifty minutes. let me explain. You see Irreversible is just that, a series of disastrous events that play out in reverse from the end to the beginning. We as the audience stumble through the film almost intimately spying on the main characters lives, the whole time knowing that nothing that happens now can or will change where they’re heading, or where they’ve been. As we watch each scene already knowing the fates of our main characters, we become incredibly entranced by the little moments and the bad decisions that push them down the path to tragedy. There are some very intense scenes in this film including: one scene of extreme violence, one of the longest, most grueling and truly hard to watch rape scenes ever filmed, and a lot of homophobic language. The story slows down as it moves on, however, it still manages to hold your attention fiercely as you walk backwards through the mayhem.

4. In A Glass Cage (1987)

In a Glass Cage is a 1986 Spanish horror shock film written and directed by Agustí Villaronga and starring Günter Meisner. An ex-nazi war criminal living in exile with his wife and daughter attempts suicide and is left helpless in an iron lung. Soon after a young male nurse comes to care for him. The young nurse discovers a journal describing the mans atrocities. The young man begins to go insane and starts to recreate several of the crimes documented in the journal. An often sickening film with only villains.

3. A Serbian Film (2010)

A Serbian Film is a 2010 horror movie produced and directed by Srdan Spasojevic. The story centers on Milos, an ex-porn star who reluctantly takes a new gig to earn some cash for his family. Little does he know that the people he’s working for are into some seriously deranged, hardcore porn. After being drugged for days, Milos escapes and finds the tapes he’s been starring in. Sick, Deranged, Disgusting and Awesome. If you can stomach this film through till the end, you’ll be extremely upset and shocked weather you like the film or not. Not many films can make you want to lie about having seen them.

2. Antichrist (2009)

Antichrist is a 2009 Danish arthouse horror film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. A very good film loaded with symbolism and a heavy dose of creepy atmosphere. After an accident causes them to lose their son, an ailing couple attempt to heal each other. After retreating to the woods they descend into total madness. After watching this film I remember thinking about it for days and ultimately realizing that it may be the greatest film that I’d probably never recommend to anyone. I Guess I was wrong.

1. Martyrs (2008)

Martyrs is a 2008 supernatural thriller written and directed by Pascal Laugier. Far less nice than it’s 2016 American remake , this French existential horror film is incredible. It is the most violent, horrifying and simultaneously brilliant and beautiful film I have seen in a decade or so. If you can make it through the first 40 mins of this film you’ll be hooked. Unfortunately for the weak stomached the ride only gets crazier from there. The movie changes in the third act and is in fact, hard to finish. That being said, finishing the film becomes a sort of sacrifice in itself. A sacrifice offered up from the viewer to an almost perfect modern example of what a horror film can artistically accomplish.

Well, that’s all for now my fiendish friends. I’m interested to see some of your top shock recommendations, drop a few in the comment section below and I’ll be back next week with the part two of the series. Until then make sure to follow me here for more great articles and come see me on Facebook at The Horror Hound Hotel.

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Rumor: Possible Titles For Zack Snyder’s Justice League Movies

By

Kaitlyn Booth

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June 3, 2016

This should be taken with a huge grain of salt but Heroic Hollywood (22:44 mark in the video) says that they have found the possible titles for Justice League: Part One and Justice League: Part Two.

The four possible titles are Justice League: United, Justice League: Angels and Demons, Justice League: Gods Among Us, and Justice League: Gods Among Men. For some of us that third title would be familiar from the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game and tie-in comic. That story line follows a Superman that goes crazy and takes over the world after the Joker kills Lois Lane and their unborn child. It splits the Justice League in half as people pick sides. There was a hint of this plot during the Nightmare sequence in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and a corrupt Superman.

The video also reveals some more release dates for DC films, again these are rumors, which are October 2nd, 2020, April 16th, 2021, July 2nd, 2021, and November 5th, 2021.

Justice League: Part One film is currently filming and is due out November 17, 2017.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx8RDFknMEg

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Episode 77: ‘Game of Thrones’ ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’

By

Matthew Sardo

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June 3, 2016

There is only one thing to do after a long fours days at MegaCon; lay on your couch Sunday night and watch ‘Game of Thrones.’ Then on Tuesday, turn your brain off and go to the press screening of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadow.’

Matt and EJ discuss all the above, plus how awesome it was to meet and talk with so many people at MegaCon.

Do you have a question that you would like answered during the show?
Email your questions to matt@popaxiom.com.

If you are looking to sponsor the podcast email matt@popaxiom.com as well.

Never heard of Matt Sardo?
For starters, he made the Kessel Run in less than 11 parsecs. Prior to that, he gave Doc Brown the idea for the flux capacitor and led the Resistance to victory over SkyNet – all while sipping a finely crafted IPA. As a radio host, he’s interviewed celebrities, athletes and everyone in between. He’s covered everything from the Super Bowl to Comic-Con.

Who is EJ Moreno?
Is he a trained physician? No. Is he a former Miss Universe contestant? Possibly. But what we know for sure is he’s a writer, filmmaker, and pop culture enthusiast. Since film school, EJ has written & directed several short films. He’s used his passion of filmmaking to become a movie critic for MonkeysFightingRobots.com.

Places you can find the show:
iTunes
Stitcher

Reviews are greatly appreciated – How to Rate and Review a Podcast in iTunes

Thank you for listening!

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Bill Hader is Going to Be a Hitman for HBO

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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June 3, 2016

HBO has picked up Bill Hader’s new half-hour hitman comedy series, Barry. Deadline has a description of the project and some of the impressive cast:

Co-written by Hader and Silicon Valley executive producer Alec Berg, Barry centers on an ex-Marine (Hader) who works as a low-rent hitman in the Midwest. Lonely and dissatisfied in his life, he begrudgingly travels to Los Angeles to kill someone and ends up finding an accepting community in a group of eager hopefuls within the LA theater scene.

Bill Hader as an ex-Marine is funny in and of itself. And he plays a hitman who falls in with the LA theater scene? Goodness! The cast includes Henry Winkler, Sarah Goldberg, and Stephen Root. It’s great seeing Hader land a quality role after leaving SNL. He’s been win things here and there, lending his voice to animated films from tie to time, teaming up with Fred Armisen, and wonderfully playing the straight man in Trainwreck last year. But his talents belong front and center in something like this.

Barry will begin filming later this year.

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Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Day-Lewis May Be Joining Forces Once Again

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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June 3, 2016

The team of Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis – responsible for what is, in my opinion, the pound-for-pound greatest film of the 2000s in There Will Be Blood – may be reuniting for another period drama. Everyone should will this to happen.

The plot of the film, produced by Annapurna, is mostly unknown at this point. But the report in Variety says “The film will be set in 1950s New York and revolve around the fashion industry, although the plot is under wraps.” This is still incredibly early as no studio is attached. This is usually the setback for PTA’s films for some strange reason; The Master took some time before a studio backed the project.

Daniel Day-Lewis, a notoriously private man who mostly stays away from Hollywood, hasn’t made a film since his last Best Actor turn, 2012’s Lincoln. Anderson, who recently directed a video for Radiohead, has been mulling this and other projects for a few years. His last film was the 70s PI comedy Inherent Vice.

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5 Key Moments From ‘Outcast’ Episode 1 “A Darkness Surrounds Him”

By

Jamie DeCourley

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June 3, 2016

The new Cinemax series Outcast premiered last Saturday (May 23rd) on the premium cable network. While I wouldn’t call the melancholy opening action packed, it was definitely interesting. The beautifully shot pilot of this dramatic thriller is superbly constructed by modern horror maestro Adam Wingard. Lets take a look at 5 key moments from episode 1, A Darkness Surrounds Him.

5. Squish!

The series opens on a slightly dysfunctional family unit. A mother and daughter argue over a busted curfew while were shown a little boy named Joshua in a bedroom down the hall. The child watches a cockroach crawl up his wall until suddenly, he slams his head against the wall obliterating the insect’s insides all over his face before biting off his own finger. This is our first sign of what’s to come.

4. Mommy Dearest.

We’re introduced to our main character Kyle Barnes (Patrick Fugit) around the eight minute mark. Through several chronologically oblivious flashbacks we quickly understand that Barnes is a man with a dark and haunted past. Soon after we’re given a shocking glimpse of Kyle’s possessed mother who ushers in a fierce onslaught of abuse towards her son.

3. The Good Father

Reverend Anderson (Phillip Glenister) is presented to us on as a card playing man of God with a warm sense of humor. The Reverend is called across town to see Joshua, the possessed child from the opening sequence. Once the good Father arrives he delves directly into a bruising physical battle with the entity inside Joshua. This scene leaves us with great concern about Reverend Anderson’s character and his brutal methods of ritual.

2. “You Hurt Your Little Girl”

Kyle is tricked by his sister in to attending an impromptu family dinner. It’s clear that both his brother-in-law and his niece want nothing to do with him. Kyle is sitting alone in the living room when his niece enters and states, “You hurt your little girl and now you’re not her daddy anymore”. The words destroy him completely and almost instantly. The scene leaves us with both questions of what has occurred and a subtle understanding that Kyle was likely not as responsible as we’re initially led to believe.

1. Exorcism Stories

This pilot episode is a long setup of mostly unanswered questions about Kyle’s supernatural past. When Barnes is eventually drawn to Joshua and Reverend Anderson we realize that he is something special, a living weapon forged to fight the demonic darkness of our world. As Kyle faces off with the possessed boy we’re given more information about his past and about his strange abilities. After this harrowing ordeal we finally understand Kyle’s true struggle and how it’s affected those close to him.

There you have it fright fans. Outcast is original and deceptively intelligent. It’s also slightly frustrating as it chooses to show us its story at its own pace instead of loading the viewer down with lazy exposition. I’ll be back next week to talk about the 5 key moments from episode 2, see you next time Horror Hounds.

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B-Movie Badassery: ‘Maniac Cop’ a Who’s Who of Shlock Superstardom

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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June 3, 2016

If there were a Mt. Rushmore for B-movie all time greats, Maniac Cop would certainly claim a spot. The 1988 thriller is an exercise in grisly violence and slapdash production design, not to mention the fact the flick is loaded with some of the most legendary B-movie greats. But beyond its credentials as a midnight drive-in legend, Maniac Cop still feels eerily relevant today given its subject matter. Of course out of control cops these days aren’t gigantic cut up monsters stalking innocent civilians at night, but the notion of policemen abusing power has sadly never faded.

A nutcase in a police uniform is murdering innocents on New York City streets, seemingly without rhyme or reason. We see him first pick up a woman and snap her neck like a breadstick, then knife a driver with his billy-club blade. The murders draw the attention of detective Frank McCrae (Tom Atkins, the first in a cavalcade of shlock legends), who figures out in short order – because we don’t have the budget to stretch this thing beyond 90 minutes – the murderer is a former cop.

News gets out that this stalking psycho is a cop and the general public – represented by scant few extras because, again, budget stuff – goes berserk with paranoia and fright. A policeman has his head blown off during a traffic stop; if you look closely you can see the murdered patrolman is Ron Eldard. The police chief, played by Richard Roundtree (midnight marquee legend #2), implores McCrae to look elsewhere, but he is undeterred.

Then there is the case of the falsely accused officer, played by Bruce Campbell (#3). And speaking of Bruce Campbell, look closely and you’ll spot Sam Raimi as a reporter. None other than Jake LaMotta plays a detective. This thing is loaded with a specific kind of talent! McCrae’s investigation leads us into the backstory of our killer cop, Matt Cordell, a trigger-happy flatfoot who was sent to prison and subsequently attacked, sliced up, and left for dead. Only he didn’t die, he lived, and was reborn with an insatiable rage. The late, great Robert Z’Dar plays Cordell, and the guy’s chin is the stuff of legend. Z’Dar, a towering beast of a man, is silent and absolutely perfect, a low-rent version of Jason Vorhees or Michael Myers.

Maniac Cop is thrown together without much regard for sets, costume design, or art direction of any kind. The police station looks like an abandoned office building from a construction site, the costumes look thrown together from Goodwill, and the lighting is all fluorescent and weird. But all these elements make it perfectly imperfect. The haphazard nature of the film is the key element of its indelible charm. And the climactic showdown takes place in the middle of the day, a strange twist for films like these which exist primarily in the shadows. Perhaps that speaks again to budget constraints, but seeing Cordell in the light is also quite unsettling.

In 1988, the corruption of large metropolitan police departments had been rightfully exposed, so distrust was the status quo. Sadly, in most large cities, police confidence remains shaky at best, with unwarranted shootings dominating news cycles from time to time. Maniac Cop played off the disdain society had with The Force, but did so with such unbridled energy and camp violence it was able to separate itself from the headlines while still tapping into the paranoia-fueled undercurrent.

Two sequels sprang from the success of Maniac Cop, and Robert Z’Dar returned for both. And both sequels welcomed the wonderfully slimy Robert Davi into the fold (There’s a fourth out there, at least I think there is. Good luck finding it). A remake is also allegedly on its way in 2017, though very little has been said or done with it. Not that a remake needs more than a few weeks to get done.

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WWE Money In The Bank Storylines – Reigns vs. Rollins

By

Gerardo Gonzalez

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June 3, 2016

With a little over two weeks to go before WWE Money In The Bank, it’s a great opportunity to examine the storylines heading into the June pay-per-view.

In this edition, we’ll take a look at the World Heavyweight Title match between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

When Seth Rollins made his shocking return last month at WWE Extreme Rules and delivered a pedigree to Roman Reigns, we knew there’d be a confrontation the next night on Raw. Despite the cheers and positive interaction from the crowd, Rollins quickly re-established himself as a heel. Shane McMahon booked the title match for Money In The Bank and we finally had the feud we were supposed to have before Rollins injured his knee in November.

Fast-forward to this past Monday on Raw, and Reigns and Rollins did very little to progress their storyline.

Seth Rollins’ new slogan is “Redesign. Rebuild. Reclaim.” He’ll get a chance to reclaim the title in a few weeks but to this point he hasn’t redesigned or rebuilt who he is. In fact, it’s more of the same act we got from him before his injury. Those “cowardly” tactics worked when he had The Authority backing him and it justified his unwillingness to confront his opponent before a PPV match without a surprise attack. But alone, and without the title he never lost, Rollins didn’t show the fire and intensity someone in his position should. WWE’s intention was to portray Rollins as someone playing mind games with Reigns but the segment fell flat. It was a missed opportunity on Monday to further elevate Rollins’ desire and obsession to reclaim the title at WWE Money In The Bank.

As for Roman Reigns, it was more of the same. What should be an angry and vengeful champion, is in turn a laid-back, nonchalant champion who continues to tell the WWE Universe what kind of “Guy” he is (Spoiler Alert: He’s THE Guy).

It’s not like Reigns isn’t capable of carrying a feud. When done right, Reigns can generate the type of reaction WWE is looking for.

With that said, Reigns and Rollins will get two more weeks to build their feud and the opportunity to confront one another in the ring. Seth Rollins is likely to have something up his sleeve and a surprise attack seems inevitable. Let’s hope it plays out better than it did this past Monday. And let’s hope it sparks a fire under Roman Reigns and it leads to a great culmination at WWE Money In The Bank.

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