“To save one of their own, Rick’s group must venture outside the walls; their experience changes their lives forever.”
The finale to season six airs April 3 and will be 90-minutes instead of the traditional 60. ‘Last Day on Earth’ will introduce the new villain Negan, and if the series follows the comic book a fan favorite will be killed off in a brutal way.
What we know at this time is Carol has left Alexandria and Daryl has gone out to look for her. Either one or both could be Negan’s victim. The wildcard is Michonne, you can read that article here: Why Negan Has To Kill Michonne.
Ross Marquand talked about the season finale when they were filming the episode, and how emotionally charge the episode will be.
“This is the craziest thing ever. It’s the probably the most emotionally wrought and dark episode I’ve ever read. I’ve never read an episode that is so dark and compelling in my life (…) I had to stop reading this at three different times. It was just messing me up. It is so emotionally dark and twisted,” Marquand.
Get your first look at Negan with his trusty side-kick Lucille in the trailer below.
Muskoka Brewery Unfiltered Cream Ale – The Brewery
I’m generally not much of a cream ale drinker but with the multitude of IPA’s I’ve reviewed in the past I figured it was time for a change. Because of my love for IPA’s, Muskoka Brewery’s Unfiltered Cream Ale was a great choice for me. Although not by any means a hop forward beer, this cream ale’s strong hops flavour makes it unique among the cream ales I’ve had. Muskoka Brewery Unfiltered Cream Ale is an award-winning beer, having won Gold in the 2014 Ontario Craft Brewing Awards in the British Pale/Bitter category. Here’s what I thought of it …
Muskoka Brewery Unfiltered Cream Ale – First Sip
I’m surprised by the hoppy flavour of this cream ale as I take my first sip. Having only had pale cream ales in the past, I was surprised by its amber colour as I poured it into my glass. This cream ale’s colour accurately represents its strong flavour. Although its predominant quality is its surprising hoppiness, Muskoka Brewery Unfiltered Cream Ale manages to retain a strong undercurrent of malt. Its low carbonation level, described on the Muskoka Brewery website as English pub-style, allows the earthy flavour of this beer to present itself subtly. Its aftertaste is noticeable but it doesn’t stick around too long.
Muskoka Brewery Unfiltered Cream Ale – Last Sip
I usually warn against letting beer go warm but Muskoka Brewery Unfiltered Cream Ale is rightly described as an English pub-style ale, and as such enjoys the privilege of being consumed at room temperature should the drinker prefer it so. Its low level of carbonation and distinct flavour accentuate this beer’s creamy mouthfeel. Its honey-amber colour make it a brew that necessitates a pint glass. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to fully appreciate Muskoka Brewery Unfiltered Cream Ale’s complex flavour straight out of the can or bottle.
Questionable character choices are abound in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The movie wastes no time changing basic history that it does so right in the opening credits. In an otherwise gorgeous series of shots, we are regaled again with the story of the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne. This does a couple of things: First, it tells us that this is definitively Batman’s movie. Second and most importantly, it shows that Thomas Wayne was about to fight back as he was staring down the barrel of that gun.
Small detail right? Thomas Wayne, facing his attacker (Is it Joe Chill? Does the movie ever tell us? Either way, he’ll just be “attacker” here.) and nobly standing between him and his family, clenches his fist which is holding back his young son, Bruce. We see Thomas begin to swing his arm up, presumably to connect with his attacker just before he is shot and falls to the ground. The rest of the sequence takes place as history dictates but that small gesture, a clenched fist about to be thrown from a disadvantageous position completely reframes Bruce’s loss and descent in becoming The Bat.
The problem with this small detail is that changing the way Bruce sees the murders to become an act of aggression completely entrenches the idea that Batman must force the world to bend in his direction at all costs. Bruce makes this an explicit statement later in the film as he literally says his parents taught him that to have the world the way he wants, he needs to force it to be so (bad paraphrasing, but those are the essentials). Batman also tells Superman during their battle that Superman “…isn’t brave. Men are brave.” The movie is directly telling us that this feeling comes from that moment just before Bruce’s parents were gunned-down. Thomas’s lasting impression on his son is a last ditch effort to stop the cruelty of the world. Is that a bad thing taken on its own? I don’t think it is but Bruce isn’t an average kid who learns average lessons. Bruce becomes a borderline fascist vigilante who does everything he can to not tip the scales and become a criminal himself.
It is a supremely concerning detail because Bruce Wayne’s history has taught us that he leans on the kindness and generous legacy of his father to help balance his anger. There are runs of the character (written by Frank Miller, which would be apt considering his influence on this film) that paint Thomas as a more gruff father who cared more about his patients than Bruce. Still, Thomas’s care for humanity around him constantly informs Bruce’s decisions as he lives his life behind a mask.
From an even more concerning angle, this almost-punch could have very well triggered the gunman to kill the Waynes in the first place! Would he have killed Thomas and Martha if not provoked by an act of violence? Yes, probably because this is Batman but it leaves the question completely open for interpretation.
The death of Bruce Wayne’s parents could have been provoked by Thomas Wayne almost punching a guy with a gun.
These details will be picked out by defenders of the movie as looking too deeply into a “fun movie” or hating on DC characters. By looking deeply into the choices of a filmmaker, we give them the respect they deserve as artists to believe that everything is on the screen for a reason. To just pass off a detail as something unimportant, you’re doing the movie and the artists behind it more discredit than by addressing the matter. These choices are purposefully made and, in good films, they uphold the characters and plot and reasoning behind it all. In bad films and in films detailing already established and beloved characters, choices like this contradict our understanding of a character’s journey and do a disservice to the story.
Characters deserve reexamining and even changing now and then. In this case, Thomas Wayne’s aggression is the film’s first transgression against a list of characters that mold Batman v Superman into something fans shouldn’t even recognize.
Today, at WonderCon, during the Rebirth panel, Justice League writer Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok dropped a bombshell announcement.
During the discussion, the topic of Justice League #42 came up. For those who don’t recall, this was the issue where Batman sat atop Metron’s Mobius Chair and asked it the true name of the Joker. The answer was so shocking to the Dark Knight that fans knew that if the story every got told, it would be epic.
Well, In Justice League #50, due out next month, that epic story is about to be told. As part of this discussion, a piece of teaser art was shown, featuring art from some different joker artists over the years.
What do you guys think about this? Do you think is a good for DC Comics or a terrible idea?
“I Don’t Think You’ve Ever Known A (Wonder) Woman Like Me.”
There was a wonderful moment during the press screening of “Batman v Superman” when the entire theatere clapped for Wonder Woman as she appears in full costume. The reaction to her character introduction was unlike anything I’ve seen before. Audiences have seen female superheroes but there has never been anyone like this. There was an aura around the character before the premiere and the hype slowly rose throughout the film.
But how did the warrior walk away from the film as one of its biggest stars?
Simple; the creators handled her character correctly. One of the biggest observations I’ve taken away from the first two movies in the DC Extended Universe are women will be playing a front and center role in all of the action. Lois Lane played a massive part in both “Man Of Steel” and “Batman v Superman“, Clark Kent’s mother Martha is a powerful role in his life, and now Wonder Woman joins them as another strong female & the most powerful hero.
Maybe it was her theme song produced by Hans Zimmer & Junkie XL or maybe it was how she one upped Bruce Wayne in her first scene but Gal Gadot’sWonder Woman stole the entire show. Even after the “Dawn Of Justice” screenings, the first promotional image of the women of Themyscira was met with more praise than the movie. I also gushed about her performance in the Monkey Fighting Robotspodcastfollowing the release.
Diana Prince, also known as Wonder Woman, found herself playing a big part throughout the film. When she wasn’t joining the other heroes in a fight against Doomsday, she was appearing at fundraisers or at an auction. Those two events led to her having some interesting interactions with Bruce Wayne. While Batman tries to compare her to other women he has met before, she informs him that he has NEVER met anyone quite like her. Moments like that had the fans foaming out the mouth as Gadot effortlessly brings sass & grace to Wonder Woman.
The future looks bright for the Themysciran. Next year will bring possibly the biggest female superhero movie to the big screen and if “Dawn Of Justice” was anything to go by, Wonder Woman will be playing an important role in the creation of The Justice League for their 2017 film.
I believe that “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” helped solidify the public’s interest in the solo Wonder Woman project. Will the 2017’s “Wonder Woman” be the first watchable female superhero film? After upsetting blunders like DC’s “Supergirl” from 1984 & Marvel’s “Elektra” in 2005, we need our favorite Amazonian demigoddess to show us who runs the world!
DC Comics & Warner Brother’s “Wonder Woman” is currently filming, directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, and Connie Nielsen. They are aiming for a June 23, 2017 release date.
DC Entertainment debuted its plans for the DC Universe: Rebirth relaunch at WonderCon in Petree Hall in the Los Angeles Convention Center. More than 500 people attended the event.
Hosted by DC All Access co-host Tiffany Smith, a mix of DCE executives were on hand to give fans the lowdown on this brand new universe, along with a stellar lineup of writers and artists for the first wave of titles launching in June. DCE Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee greeted the audience with an overview of the major motivation and themes behind the Rebirth initiative; building on the accomplishments and fan appeal of The New 52 relaunch of 2011 and returning to the essence of the stories and characters that have made the DC Comics imprint a favorite of fans for the last 80 years.
DC Universe: Rebirth one-shot will be released on May 25.
Though Netflix offers a lot of incredible programming on their platform at the moment, you’ll want to keep a close eye on their latest. The dark comedy Maniac just received a 10-episode straight-to-series order, with Emma Stone and Jonah Hill set to star and Cary Fukunaga (True Detective season one) attached to direct every episode. I think we may have found your next favorite show right here.
As reported by Variety, the upcoming series, inspired by a popular Norwegian show from last year, centers on a guy (Hill) who lives a fantasy life in his dreams while locked away in a mental-institution with a fellow inmate (Stone). Expect a more fantasy-based One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest than Sucker Punch, though. With these many high-profile people already attached, this looks like it could get House of Cards-level popularity. And while no writer is attached at the moment, expect that to change very, very soon.
In addition to Netflix producing, Maniac also comes from Paramount TV and Anonymous Content. This is the second straight-to-series project Paramount and Netflix have co-authored together, having already put paper-to-pen on the upcoming Selena Gomez-produced 13 Reasons Why, which has Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) on-board to direct some episodes. Hill, Stone and Fukunaga are all attached as executive producers at the moment as well. Fukunaga and Netflix are already familiar with one another, having distributed Fukunaga’s last film, Beasts of No Nation, in the fall. However, this marks the first Netflix project for both Hill and Stone, and their first regular TV debuts. Well, I guess if you’re not counting Allen Gregory. This is not the first time they’ve worked together, however, as they both starred in 2007’s Superbad.
And, of course, this is just one of many, many, many, many, many mouth-watering projects coming from Netflix in the next year-or-so. To list them all would be futile. You’ll know about them when they start popping up as recommendations on the site. You know, after you’re done trying to catch up on all the other original shows they have on their site right now. Have I mentioned how much good TV there is out there? Because there’s a lot of good TV out there, especially from Netflix. It’s insane. It’s truly insane. It’s enough to drive someone into a madhouse.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows co-stars Stephen Amell and Megan Fox were out promoting the film at WonderCon in Los Angeles. Those two participated in a panel along with the movie’s producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form. During the course of the panel, it was revealed that Fred Armisen will be lending his voice to play the role of super villain Krang. Fuller went on to talk about how excited he was to bring Bepop and Rocksteady as well as Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) into the sequel. Fuller credited actors Stephen Farrelly and Gary Anthony Williams with going all out as Bepop and Rocksteady stating
“They really bring a lot of fun into this”
The panel ended with the debut of a brand new trailer check it out
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is directed by David Green, from Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec’s script, and stars Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Pete Ploszek, Jeremy Howard, Stephen Amell, Tyler Perry, Brian Tee, Laura Linney, Sheamus, and Gary Anthony Williams.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows will be in theaters on June 3.
Lost in the hysteria surrounding Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a new international trailer was just released for Suicide Squad. Check it out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UPK25LA9Ro
Suicide Squad is directed by Ayer and stars Will Smith as Deadshot, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Oscar winner Jared Leto as the Joker, Jai Courtney as Boomerang, and Cara Delevingne as Enchantress.
The band of anti-heroes will be in theaters on August 5, 2016.
Among all of the less-than-stellar reviews for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice were a few common, positive threads about the future of the DC Justice League movie universe. And one of those positive threads was the portrayal of Batman by Ben Affleck. I liked the movie a lot more than the negative reviews you will read out there. I didn’t find it boring at all and liked the fact that it was not just wall-to-wall action. It was about the differing philosophies in crime-fighting between Batman and Superman and how Luthor manipulated that, so the subtitle Dawn of Justice was about more than just setting up the future Justice League movies. That was a theme in the story. Jesse Eisenberg played a great villain that in no way resembled Lex Luthor or the red-haired Lex Luthor II from the 1993 Death of Superman comic storyline. Most of the criticisms of his performance come from the big change they did with the character, and I completely agree with that one.
But this article is about Batman. These are the things that I would put in the next few Batman solo movies if I were the one writing them. I don’t know if they are going to take the gray out of Ben Affleck’s hair and do a solo Batman movie that is a prequel to BvS or just move forward, but most of these suggestions work either way.
SCI-FI ELEMENTS
Now that we have seen Batman fight two Kryptonians (technically one and a half), gone are the days when Christopher Nolan thought that he needed to ground some of Batman’s more fantastic elements in reality. I love me some Batman Begins and Dark Knight, but, think about it, if the information had leaked online that Heath Ledger’s version of The Joker was wearing makeup and didn’t fall in the acid, would fans have been outraged? Yes, but we only found that out halfway through the best superhero movie of that time and just bought what Nolan was doing. And we were cool with it because the character (and writing and story) was spot-on. Bane, on the other hand, was all wrong, and it had nothing to do with the fact that there were no tubes in his head. So, getting the character right is more important.
That being said, I would love to see some of the light sci-fi elements from the comics and animated series that the Dark Knight Trilogy sidelined in favor of realism. Yes, I would like to see them do Mister Freeze justice, the way they did in the Emmy-winning Heart of Ice episode of Batman: The Animated Series. But I would add a little plot twist that they used in the first Batman annual from the New 52 (written by Scott Snyder).
In that issue, Bruce Wayne is the one who shuts down Victor Freeze’s cryogenics project, initially making you think that Bruce is a jerk. But at the end, Batman reveals that the woman in the glass container is (bum bum bum) NOT his wife Nora, but rather the first woman that was ever cryogenically frozen, a woman old enough to be Victor’s grandmother. Victor is so obsessed with cryogenics that he fixated on her. He is far creepier than the sympathetic villain who wanted to cure his wife that we met in TAS. That is how I would handle Freeze, making him a sympathetic villain until the very end. And then he flips out like Spock did in the 2009 Star Trek reboot when Kirk suggested he never loved his mother. That’s my Mr. Freeze, mentally-ill reboot Spock in a refrigerator suit.
I would also like to see Clayface in a movie. I wouldn’t even mind them shoehorning a fight with the giant, shape-shifting clay monster at the end of the film as long as the character of Matt Hagen was well-developed. Maybe he was manipulated by whatever gangster character they use in the movie. Speaking of which, we’ve never really seen Penguin portrayed as a gangster in a Batman film, just as a Tim Burton circus freak. I would like to see that version of him, maybe he does have his flippers and was raised in a circus, but now is a powerful, ruthless, genuinely scary, fish-gobbling mob boss. True, that’s not a sci-fi element, but speaking of gangster characters.
THE VENTRILOQUIST AND SCARFACE.
Here’s a character that can be done in a genuinely creepy way without the above-mentioned sci-fi elements. He was always one of my favorites from the 1992 animated series. I picture him being like Smithers from The Simpsons. Remember how, before he actually “came out,” they used to do all of these jokes about how Smithers had a crush on Mr. Burns without actually saying it. Okay, they did “come out” and say it a few times. Envision the Ventriloquist being like that, accept the doting, creepy relationship that he has is with a puppet named Scarface that houses the other side of his multiple personalities.
Visualize what they could do with that character in a PG-13 film vs. a children’s cartoon that admittedly did get pretty dark. I would want him to be a brilliant criminal that earns the respect of other mob bosses with his ferocity and not the butt of their jokes. Maybe he is the mob guy that manipulated Clayface. Or maybe he and Mister Freeze were childhood friends, so you have two characters with unhealthy fixations for Dr. Harleen Quinzell to treat in Arkham, (assuming that this a prequel to BvS and takes place before Suicide Squad). Speaking of unhealthy fixations, I would love to see Harley Quinn’s love story with The Joker play out like a PG-13 Mickey and Malory from Natural Born Killers, but I assume Suicide Squad will handle that.
THE URBAN MYTH
One thing that BvS did very well with Batman was to make him an urban myth once again. We see cops bursting into a place where Batman has already beaten up the criminals, and we see him disappear like “a terrible thought, a wraith,” as Ra’s Al Ghul said in Batman Begins. We haven’t seen this kind of thing since Batman Begins, and many fans decried the scenes in The Dark Knight Rises when he fights in broad daylight. I would put the shadows back into these films. Maybe some of the more superstitious of the “cowardly lot” still think that he is actually a giant bat. Why not? Aliens exist in this world.
THE RIPPED-UP ROBIN COSTUME
Yes, many fans want to see an adaptation of the Red Hood/Jason Todd returns as a bad guy story that was nodded to in BvS. Bruce has a line about good guys that “didn’t stay that way”…and then they show the dead Robin’s costume. So, if the next few Batman movies want to elaborate on the Death in the Family/Red Hood stuff from the comics, taking the gray out of Ben Affleck’s hair and doing a prequel might work. The key thing that I would do is to balance sci-fi elements that were absent from The Dark Knight Trilogy with the dark and creepy stuff from the best Batman stories. Imagine how cool The Dark Knight would have been if it did have the light sci-fi, instead of the studio feeling that grittier Batman was necessary to make up for the Joel Schumacher debacle.
Did you like Batman v. Superman? Did you like Batman’s portrayal in it? Which characters would you like to see in a Batman solo film? Comment below.
