We’re going to see the playful and deadly sides of Harley Quinn’s persona
Looks like we’re going to see more of the Joker’s favourite harlequin on the big screen.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, ‘Suicide Squad’ actress Margot Robbie has signed a deal to reprise her role as Harley Quinn in a new movie for Warner Brothers. During pre-production of ‘Suicide Squad’, the Australian actress conducted research with the source material and fell in love with the comics. From there, she became a driving force behind the project. It has been reported Robbie hired a writer to work on a script, which was approved by Warners and DC Entertainment.
Comic fans should note that this is not going to be a Harley spin-off. While the plot details haven’t been released, it is believed the film will focus on several female heroes and villains in the DC Extended Universe.
Look out theatregoers, the Birds of Prey might be on the silver screen
One cannot help but wonder if this project sounds similar to ‘Birds of Prey’. The comic series focused on a group of female vigilantes, including Barbara Gordon, Helena Bertinelli (Black Canary), and Dinah Lance (Black Canary). In 2003, there was a television series titled ‘Birds of Prey’ that lasted one season. The line-up consisted of Oracle, a new Huntress who was the daughter of Batman, and a reimagined Black Canary.
Kevin Smith has stated he is in the works to develop a television series based on the 1984 cult classic, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension. Now some of you are no doubt think, “What is Buckaroo Banzai?” Fair question.
Buckaroo Banzai follows the adventures of this intrepid scientist, rock star, samurai, and general badass, played by Frank Weller in the film. His entourage of wildcards include Jeff Goldblum (pre-alien invasions and dinosuars), Clancy Brown (pre-Mr. Krabs), and Ellen Barkin. John Lithgow plays one of antagonists plaguing Banzai throughout the film after Banzai discovers an alternate dimension. This unwillingly invites aliens to invade his own world. And given his ability to see through the creature’s human disguise, he and his cohorts fight against the invasion in a pure 80’s fashion.
Credit: MGM Studios
I’ve seen the film and I am stoked to see it coming to the small screen. It’s a pure adventure romp that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Something a lot of series and movies either shy away from, or botch terrifically. But seeing Smith’s name on the project does assuage many concerns when such news comes down the pipeline.
Especially since there is a strong possibility of the sequel, Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League, actually coming to fruition. Though that also implies the show makes it past the first season, which is becoming a miracle in and of itself given recent years.
Credit: MGM Studios
Smith, himself a fan of the original film, is eager to get the ball rolling on putting the series on the air. Smith has even noted his desire to bringing in cast of the original film to help convey the original spark that’s made it last over the decades. He has also wanted to contact the screenwriter, Earl Mac Rauch, to ensure the film’s spirit is translated properly during the adaptation process.
In the spring of 2012, at some event that Nickelodeon was holding, Michael Bay, talking about how realistic the Ninja Turtles were going to be in the reboot that he was producing, let it slip that they were going to be “from an alien race.” This caused probably one of the biggest blasts of nerd rage that I have ever seen on the Internet, because this was one of the biggest changes that Hollywood has ever attempted for such a beloved franchise. Making the Teenage MUTANT Ninja Turtles aliens was like making Superman a mutant instead of being from an alien race. Sure, Spider-Man had webs coming out of his actual wrists at one point, and the X-Men are supposed to have more colorful costumes, but never was an origin messed with so thoroughly and by the man who directed the worst genre film in 20 years with Revenge of the Fallen.
He thinks it’s an Oscar.
Two years later, the film actually came out. Ironically, the one word in the title that the movie ignored was not ‘mutant’, but ‘ninja’. The turtles themselves were hulking monstrosities, unable to hide anywhere (at least not believably). They knocked people into walls like four green (sorry to overuse the word) hulks. And when Splinter starts telling the origin story, he tells April that he doesn’t remember where he was before the lab that mutated him. No Hamato Yoshi. No “fifteen years ago, I lived in Japan”. The absurdity of this mutant rat learning ninjitsu from a book was only the icing on the cake after cutting out Splinter’s decade and a half long vendetta against Shredder. It was cool to see him kick Shredder’s butt, even using his tail, but the drama of their confrontation was severed by the poor use of the backstory.
And then there was Shredder himself. Asian character “whitewashing” has gotten a lot of press lately after the Doctor Strange trailer, but early in the production of the 2014 TMNT film, they cast William Fichtner as the traditionally Japanese Shredder. Great actor. Bank manager from The Dark Knight. Not Asian. When the film came out, a lot of people were wondering why William Fichtner played some new character, a scientist named Eric Sachs, instead of familiar TMNT scientist Baxter Stockman. True, Stockman was black in the comics, but he was white in the cartoon, which most of this movie borrowed from.
“I get to be Shredder now?”
Well, Eric Sachs sounds like Oroku Saki, Shredder’s real name, which was the original plan, having Fichtner/Eric Sachs be Shredder. Paying attention to the terrible editing of this film (its’ on Hulu now), one can see how sloppily shoehorned into the movie the scenes with the “real” (Asian) Shredder truly were. It was obvious that they intended Eric to be Shredder originally and did a bunch of reshoots to change it. This included a final fight scene for Eric while Shredder is fighting the turtles that they originally wouldn’t need if Eric was Shredder and fighting the turtles. It’s very anti-climactic. The main villain of this movie, who is not Shredder, gets knocked out, and we never see him again while the Turtles fight Shredder, a character that the story did not center around at all. They could have salvaged Eric’s role in the film by having Krang/an Utrom crawl out of his stomach after he was knocked out (or in a post-credits scene). But apparently, no one who worked on this film is as creative or knows TMNT as well as I do.
“Yes! Bring us ALL the William Fichtners!”
Now, we are a month away from the sequel, entitled Out of the Shadows. We have seen a few trailers. I grew up on the 80’s cartoon series, so I am looking forward to seeing Bebop, Rocksteady, Krang and the Technodrome on the big screen (alongside an Asian Shredder). I like the new Turtle van, as opposed to the turtle van in the last scene of the last movie, where the turtles were too big to fit in it, and it looked stupid. And I like the idea of purple ooze.
Old-school TMNT fans know that originally, the ooze mutated animals. Only when the 1987 cartoon wanted to omit Splinter’s murder-filled backstory (from the grittier indie comic book) did they explain that the ooze could turn humans like Hamato Yoshi into animals like rats. And that ooze was purple. I like that they are making that distinction between the green and purple ooze in this film with Bebop and Rocksteady. And the idea of the turtles wanting to become humans so that they don’t have to hide anymore is an interesting concept, especially the way they were scolded for dancing with Vanilla Ice at the end of Secret of the Ooze.
“Vanilla ice? Seriously?”
But I’ve always felt that the best versions of TMNT (rose-colored nostalgia glasses aside) were ones that combine the serious tone of the indie comic with the humor from the 1987 cartoon, balancing it the way Marvel does with their stuff. (Example: the 1990 movie, the 2003 cartoon series, the 2012 Nick cartoon, the new IDW comics). The trailer for this new film does seem to be catering to fans of the cartoon when combining elements (again, like Marvel) does create the richer world that Michael Bay erroneously promised us that the 2014 reboot would be. What do you think? Do you have high hopes for Out of the Shadows? Did you trade in your TMNT fan card by liking the last film? Is this the one franchise that you wish they would reboot? Comment below.
Transgender Actress Laverne Cox To Star In New CBS Legal Drama ‘Doubt’.
Amidst all the debate about trans folk that clouds the news or your Facebook feed, thankfully we have actress Laverne Cox making headlines in a positive way. It was announced this week by CBS that Laverne will be starring in a new legal drama coming this year titled ‘Doubt‘. This marks the first time a broadcast TV series will have a transgender person playing a recurring transgender character.
The show will now star Katherine Heigl & Steven Pasquale as they are replacing the actors who starred in the original pilot episode. The only person to star in this new pilot and the first pilot is Laverne Cox. Cox will play an Ivy League lawyer named Cameron Wirth. The main story focuses on Heigl’s character and the relationship between one of her potentially guilty clients (Pasquale). I’d imagine Laverne’s character will play one of lawyers in the boutique firm that Heigl’s character runs.
This is also the second time that Laverne Cox will be on a major network this year. She’s been preparing to take on the iconic role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in Fox’s ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show‘. With roles on Netflix, CBS, and Fox as well as major films, Cox is covering all sides of the entertainment industry.
With the addition of ‘Doubt‘, the 2016-2017 CBS season continues to grow. It joins other shows that include reboots of ‘MacGyver‘ and ‘Training Day‘; Matt LeBlanc’s ‘Man With a Plan‘; and Joel McHale’s ‘The Great Indoors‘.
The news is out, Supergirl will be getting a much-deserved season 2. The catch is she and her crew will be flying over to the CW. While the move to the smaller network might at first seem like a demotion, it’s actually good news. The maid of might was never a great fit for CBS. Here’s why she’ll fly higher in her new network home.
We get to see more Supergirl. Sure Supergirl season 1 wasn’t perfect, but the show has a lot of heart and good fun pure adventure moments. It will be great to see how they take the characters in season 2 and beyond. Hopefully, the CW will help the stress the fun and adventure.
The CW, which is becoming the DC channel, understands the superhero genre. Yeah sure CBS is the C part of the CW, and the head of CBS controls programming for the CW, but it’s still a better fit. The lesser powers that be at CW seem to relate to comics better than those CBS. As does their basic fan base. Hopefully, this will lead to a Supergirl that is more super. For instance, as stated in the dc.wiki.com Superman and Supergirl have no need to breathe and can travel faster than light when in space. She should not be threatened by quicksand or even flying in space. Plus, yeah while it was nice to be saved by “everyday people” Supergirl should never be saved by a hose and water.
Less pressure and more flexibility at the CW. The CW doesn’t demand “Big Bang” or “NCIS” numbers. This is the home (well with the WB) where Smallville ran for ten seasons, and Supernatural has run for a dozen seasons despite neither of them being a “Nielsen hit”. Supergirl was CBS’s second-highest rated new show with a 2.4 rating in that coveted 18-49 demographic. Still, that wasn’t good enough for them. If CBS had owned Supergirl, they probably would have kept the show. The $3 million licensing fee CBS had to pay made Supergirl a bit too expensive for their tastes. There will be none of that at the CW.
We will get to see more cross-overs. Now that Supergirl is shooting in Vancouver with ‘The Flash,’ ‘Arrow,’ and ‘DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,’ it should make cross-overs much easier to do. Ideally, they would still keep Supergirl in her own world. After what just went down in Arrow with Dark dropping a nuclear weapon, it’s hard to believe that could happen in a world that has Supergirl or Superman. Also hope they don’t go overboard with guest visit cross-overs. Still a couple a season could make for good television. For instance Vibe meeting Martian Manhunter has amusing written all over it. Gee, with Supergirl, Flash, Arrow, Atom, Martian Manhunter we have the making of an excellent Justice League. Can a Green Lantern be far behind?
We get a full season 22 episode order. The writers and crew know from the start they will have 22 episodes to explore and expand on the world they built-in season one. Thus allowing them to plan accordingly. Who knows they may even figure out how to deal with the Superman issue.
Since the Angry Birds game release in 2009 it has become a pop-culture phenomenon. The game being downloaded 12 million times within ten months. It has been licensed to be made into toys and theme park attractions, been turned into a Finnish TV series and now made into a Hollywood film. But can a simple game be made into a compelling movie?
Red (Jason Sudeikis) is a short-tempered bird who lives in a tropical paradise. But after one incident too many Red is sentenced to anger management, spending his free time with the other misfit birds – Chuck (Josh Gad), a super-fast, inpatient bird, Bomb (Danny McBride) who blows up if upset or startled and Terence (Sean Penn) a very menacing large bird that doesn’t say much. When the pigs lead by Leonard (Bill Hader) land on the bird island he offers the hand of friendship, Red is the only bird who does not trust the new visitors and along with Chuck and Bomb, Red sets out to find the legendary Mighty Eagle to figure out how to get rid of the green-skinned swine.
Video games have a notorious reputation for being poorly translated onto the big screen. Even the best adaptations like Prince of Persia, Mortal Kombat and Silent Hill are either bang-average or only obtain a cult audience. Angry Birds has a thin premise, some limbless birds being flung at poorly constructed buildings to kill some limbless pigs. This shows in the movie as it tries to pad itself to run over 90 minutes. The movie has to use a number of montages and fantasy cutaways to extend itself – which proves that this product was devoid of ideas. Once or twice is okay but the movie relies on these techniques too much.
The Angry Birds Movie was written by Jon Vitti who has an impressive TV resume working on shows like The Simpsons, The Critic and the American version of The Office. But his filmography is not something to shout about – the only movies he has worked on being two Alvin and the Chipmunks sequels. Vitti and directors Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly (making their directional debut) give the movie a Looney Toons, slapstick – characters can shake off explosions to the face and be thrown into buildings without much problem. But because of the thin story, the movie would have worked better as a series of shorts than a feature film. The movie also suffers the curse that inflicts a lot of family movies – a reliance on using pop-culture gags that will date the movie quickly – such as references to photobombing, Instagram and things like Fifty Shades of Grey. The movie references The Shining, something that younger members of the audience are not likely to know. These sort of things are just lazy attempts to appeal to the adults in the audiences.
Red’s story arch is a little like Shrek in his first movie – he is an outsider who lives away from the rest of society and loses his home because of some outside force. Like the green ogre Red has anger issues and The Angry Birds Movie shares the Shrek movies fondness for pop culture humor.
The Angry Birds Movie does have an impressive voice cast and despite the film being a blatant cash-grab, the actors actually put effort into their performances. The main trio were perfectly fine, Sudeikis being the put-upon Red but still being sardonic, Gad has form playing animated characters – this time being a maniac but annoying ball of energy and McBride was a loveable lug. Peter Dinklage was a fun presence as the egotistical Mighty Eagle – he was basically a Zapp Branagan like figure and Dinklage was a lot more committed to playing the bird than he was playing a robot in Destiny. Maya Rudolph was the other major actor, playing a good-natured hippie who finds it difficult to deal with Red’s cynicism. Rudolph has some decent comedic timing, but the character was unremarkable.
The animation is of a good standard – it was bright and colorful, and there is great detail on the birds with their feathers. It was fluid, working particularly well when the movie is like the game where the birds are slingshot at the pigs’ hometown. It’s not Pixar or Dreamworks level, but there was talent that worked on the movie. The animation on the pigs was the weak point because they looked too smooth and simple compared to the details on the birds.
The Angry Birds Movie is a cash-in that has come too late: Angry Birds has passed the peak of its popularity. The film adaptation could easily have been a lot worst considering the flimsy source material, but there was some effort put into the production. In the end, this is a movie that has little reason or merit for it to exist.
Actors and directors get the credit and awards when they produce a memorable depiction of a character or setting on screen, and the rising popularity of online casino such as casinoonline.co.nz is ensuring that gamblers and casinos are what they are choosing to depict these days. On the silver screen casinos mean high-wire risk-taking, danger, glamour, and drama, giving them a great chance of being memorable. These are three of the best characters from Hollywood casino films.
The whole of this classic 1965 Steve McQueen film revolves around gambling, but it is the conclusion and the final hand against Lancey ‘The Man’ Howard (Edward G Robinson) that people remember. The Kid’s ‘bad beat’ loss is one of the great downer endings in movie history, but few could argue that it doesn’t provide a memorable conclusion to the film.
James Bond – Casino Royale
This 2006 Bond film starring Daniel Craig reinvented the franchise, and the casino shows the changes. Firstly, Bond plays Texas Hold’em, not baccarat, and secondly, he drinks Heineken rather than Martini. However, it is the genuinely nail-biting gaming duel with Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre that really makes this scene a winner.
Ace – Casino
This 1995 Las Vegas-set epic was the last collaboration (so far) between Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, and it is full of memorable casino scenes. However, the one that seems to be remembered is when Ace (De Niro) spots a customer with his shoes off and feet up on the table in his casino – and has his heavies deal with him. Then the unfortunate customer receives a second going-over from Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci). It’s brutal, but unforgettable.
As you can see, whether it is poker, blackjack or roulette, there are memorable performances from Hollywood, but who out of these three would you put your money on in a battle of poker?
The mark of a truly great show comes not in the beginning when it’s ensnared your eyeballs but in the home stretch when it’s ridden those eyeballs far longer than they’ve ever meant to be ridden and yet you’re still yearning for another mile. I’m not quite comfortable calling this the ‘home stretch’ for Game of Thrones but, with a rumored 13-14 episodes left after this season, I’d say that’s a fair assumption. The genius of ‘Book of the Stranger’ is that it’s a connective tissue episode that is able to wrangle all sorts of emotional energy under the necessary plot mechanics. Like Breaking Bad or The Wire before it, Game of Thrones is able to treat every story beat like an ace up its sleeve.
Jon Snow insists that his turn as Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch is finished. He has given up Longclaw to Dolorous Edd and intends to walk south because it must be warmer than at The Wall. Jon understands that the consequence for his actions in bringing Wildings south of The Wall was his murder and he refuses to be in a position to make that same mistake again.
Until Sansa Stark trots through the front gates of Castle Black and sees her brother for the first time in years (since season one). I’m not sure that Sansa and Jon have actually shared a frame of screen time together but the combined histories of these characters and their family carry an immense weight and it was an honest-to-goodness series payoff to see these two finally come together. The weight of the world lies upon these characters’ experiences and we as an audience carry that with them so that the moment they finally embrace is one of catharsis and true emotion which stands as a highpoint for the series*
At Castle Black we also see what consequence personified looks like as Brienne of Tarth meets Melisandre. Melisandre, infamously known for birthing the “smoke monster” which assassinated Renly Baratheon and backing Stannis Baratheon until Brienne killed him in the battlefield. No character in this show goes without meeting their maker or undoer and Melisandre’s fall from grace still isn’t complete. Sure, she may have resurrected Jon Snow but her comeuppance for the horrors she forced via the hand of Stannis have yet to be answered for. Melisandre and Brienne have much more to discuss.
Elsewhere, Robert Arryn has been left to slowly, slowwwlllyyy mature into the Lord of the Eyrie. When our great trusted friend, Littlefinger, returns bearing a falcon as gift to Robert, we’re reminded just who is actually in control of this important section of the world. Armies under Littlefinger’s control are a force to be reckoned with and it’s to be sure that whoever Baelish sees fit to raise his name in Westeros, he’ll back with that force.
Across the Narrow Sea, Tyrion’s ruling in Daenerys’ place has seen great blowback from not only the Masters in Essos but from his own counsel; Messandei and Grey Worm, both former slaves, want Tyrion to be the logical continuation of Dany’s stance on slavery. Tyrion, always the diplomat, understands that compromise is the way to peace and offers the same Masters who once held him in chains a deal to abolish their practices within seven years. Messandei and Grey Worm couldn’t be more appalled, yet stand at Tyrion’s side when dissenters come to decry Tyrion’s diplomacy with the Masters.
Tyrion’s actions since taking lead in Meereen are inarguably brash and arrogant but that is the exact attitude that served Tyrion to his highest political advantage in Westeros. I’d wager that sort of luck wouldn’t continue but Tyrion’s the type of character to keep playing aces even when we’ve seen them all played in front of us.
Back at the Red Keep, the High Sparrow has his claws sunk into Margaery Tyrell and allows her to see her brother for the first time since their imprisonment. The Sparrow is so cunning and malicious under the pretense of fealty to the Seven that his presence lingers over every inch of footage we see at King’s Landing. Margaery believes she has the upper hand against the High Sparrow and tries to convince Loras to hold fast to his beliefs. But Loras is finished. He has never been an exceptionally strong character and is always tied directly to the happiness and power of those around him. He doesn’t understand the consequence of giving up his considerable skill and strength but Margaery does. She has always been the stronger sibling despite Loras’ record in battle.
Theon, finally arriving back home at the Iron Isles cedes to his sister that he doesn’t deserve to be King. She has always been the stronger, smarter Greyjoy and he will back her in this endeavor which she will have to take up against at least one of her uncles**. Seeing the look on Theon’s face as he learns his manhood (re: his penis and testicles) has previously been sent to Asha and their father long before his unceremonious return was one of pure agony and I once again was hoping for some Theon redemption.
Checking in quickly with Ramsay Snow*** we see that he likes to skin his apples like he enjoys flaying his people. In an unfortunate but ultimately predictable bit, Osha is killed by Ramsay as she tries to seduce him like she would a Theon or some other simple schmuck in Winterfell or north of The Wall. It’s a harsh loss but one the show hasn’t been lamenting for a couple of seasons now. Osha is now far out of her league when it comes to dealing with Ramsay and doesn’t understand how this sort of psychopath works. She puts up a valiant effort but comes very short of granting the viewers’ wishes…
…Which Jon Snow agrees to take upon himself. Please, cue the excitement bell for Jon Snow featuring the Night’s Watch and the Wildlings vs. Ramsay Snow and the Boltons of Winterfell.
Rounding out ‘Book of the Stranger’ is the biggest ace the show has played since Tyrion killed his father.
It would be wrong to simply call Dany a damsel in distress as Jorah and Daario come to her aid in Vaes Dothrak. Yes, she’s captive and yes, there are two men who love her coming to set her free. But this is so much more than that. Season five was incorrectly maligned for having Dany captured by the Dothraki and setting her two heroes on a mission to find and rescue her.
The true consequence of Dany’s capture isn’t the death of the Dothraki but actually the total and complete paradigm shift in Dothraki culture. Like the change in slave laws in Essos, this action won’t go quietly into the night but it’s a sincere and powerful start to something greater as Dany walks from a Khal-killing blaze completely unharmed and naked to her people. When Dany entered the tent in which she so greatly disrupted Dothraki culture previously, she knew she had the upper hand. The Khals met to determine Dany’s ultimate fate and decided, due to her insubordination, that she would be raped by each Khal and bloodrider and horse (if there was anything left of her). In the end, the Khals were mistaken to believe their actions against The Mother of Dragons, The Breaker of Chains and The Unburnt would go without consequence.
Daenerys walks from the holocaust Unburnt, looking upon her newest people and army with which she’ll use to retake hold over Essos and eventually Westeros.
If only it were that easy on Game of Thrones. I’ll sit and bask in the joys and peaks this show gives me any day, but I feel like the shoe is about to drop hard on someone we love very, very soon. The story, the writing and the direction of this season has been surprising and exciting thus far. I see no reason for that to end anytime soon as these characters with rich histories and experiences continue to intersect and shape the ending to the TV version of A Song of Ice and Fire.
Check out my reviews of previous episodes of ‘Game of Thrones’:
**In another book-related note, the Greyjoy Kingsmoot occurs before Theon ever becomes free of Ramsay Snow’s clutches and provides some of the more interesting, if not painfully drawn-out political conversations in George R.R. Martin’s novels. The fact that Theon is behind Asha before the Kingsmoot takes place, I think helps the audience understand the importance of her winning the position over any of her uncles.
A reboot of Dungeons and Dragons is one step closer to becoming a reality.
Variety is reporting that Rob Letterman is on board to direct the film for Warner Brothers. The studio has remained committed to this project for some time but faced delays due to a lawsuit between Sweetpea Entertainment and Hasbro over who controlled the sequel rights.
New Line Cinema released the first Dungeon and Dragons film in 2001, and it drew mixed reviews and underwhelming ticket sales.
Rob Letterman most recently directed Goosebumps, which exceeded expectations at the box-office and has already been asked to helm the sequel for Sony Pictures.
Letterman started his directorial career in animation and is responsible for such films as Shark Tale and Monsters Vs. Aliens. His first foray into live-action films was the 2010 reboot of Gulliver’s Travels. From Gulliver’s Travels, he moved on to Goosebumps, which was his most successful live-action film to date.
Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis along with Courtney Solomon and Allan Zeman of Sweetpea Entertainment will produce the movie. David Lee Johnson has already written a script. Warner Brothers hasn’t announced any casting decisions, or any release dates yet.
Who would you want to see cast in the Dungeons and Dragons reboot?
I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely the type of gal who needs a little blood and raunchiness in her horror movies. Don’t get me wrong, I can enjoy films with elaborate story lines, inspirational character development, and plots that just deliver an overall feel good feeling, but when I’m watching horror these are just the least of my concerns.
Hailing all the way from Turkey, spawns the 2015 gory foreign horror film Baskin. For those who are faint at heart, or cannot stomach the idea of being an adult and reading subtitles for an hour and a half, this is not the film for you. Although some critics have labeled it as another “torture porn” flick, it’s seriously not to that extent but sinister in its own special way.
Baskin depicts a chilling nightmare of tale about a group of regular run of the mill cops, who encounter one of the worst back up callings of their lives. Although the story is laced with heavy usage of unclear dream symbolism and hints of stereotypical evil inspired superstitions, the movie slowly unravels an unforgettable hellish pit of intense gore and things you would rather not see bump in night.
The environment was very reminiscent of the ominous Silent Hill video game atmosphere, in the manner of each corner turned becoming creepier at each step. The mysterious tones may be off putting to some viewers as some need clear cut to the point answers within the first 15 minutes of a film, but I truly adored the anticipation of trying to figure what exactly my eyes are watching. It was as if a survival horror game had a love child with Clive Barkers’ Hellraiser but had some foreign brutal flare tossed in the mix.
Along with just beautiful overall cinematography, the movie had killer ambient yet industrial soundtrack in which was perfectly placed in the corresponding scenes. I also really enjoyed the overwhelming sense of hopelessness throughout the journey as well as not having any serious emotional ties to these very humanistic characters. Director Can Evrenol does a fantastic job of portraying a sense of universal yet American “bro-ship” among the group of cops which seamlessly tie into their utter vulnerability and delivers a terrifying lucid representation of the absolute worst things to witness on your first night on the job.
One thing to reflect upon when watching this movie is definitely Turkish culture. Although the majority of the film appeared quite Americanized from my point of view, it definitely took the idea of evil into its own hands. According to Seçkin Sarpkaya who is a researcher in Turkish culture, the word “yek” translates into “demon” or “devil” in old Turkish. Even more interesting is that “yek” derives from the word “yemek” which means “to eat”, and putting those two connections together presents cannibalism.
“In this text the demons that called “yek” are demons/monsters that wait at the crossroad, eat human flesh and drink human blood, wrap the guts of humans to their bodies, horrible faced, shout with ugly voices, hold tridents and flags in their hands, in the shape of a black giant, with fire-colored and tressed and beautify their bodies with venomous snakes.”
However without bringing any other spoilers to the table, this is the type of film cult horror movie fans have been waiting for! Baskin is available on multiple streaming outlets such as YouTube, Amazon, Google Play and iTunes, but will not be available on DVD until later this year.
