Ever since the surprising success of Guilmerro Del Toro’s Pacific Rim, fans have been clamoring about any detail they can get about Pacific Rim 2. Safe to say the news surrounding Pacific Rim 2 has been sporadic with constant shifts between hiatus to straight up talk about cancelling at points. It seems now that we finally get some refreshing headway into the actual production of the movie. Of course since Del Toro himself won’t be returning to direct Pacific Rim 2, mainly because of projects such as Fantastic Voyage and Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, they had to get someone else to take the helm. Enter Steven DeKnight, mostly known for his creation of the hit Starz series Spartacus, he’s also responsible for bringing the recent hit Daredevil TV series to Netflix. And by this pedigree alone it seems like Pacific Rim 2 is in good hands.
Now we just have to hold out breath until principal photography starts, because as of now there still isn’t a planned release date. However I’m feeling rather confident that DeKnight can take Jon Spaihts script and help make lightning strike twice for this developing franchise.
Met w DeKnight and we are all so happy with our choice to take Pac Rim 2to where we know it can go!!
New xXx film ‘The Return of Xander Cage’ Coming In 2017!
Vin Diesel will make his big-screen return to the xXx franchise in January of 2017! Reprising his role from the 2002 film ‘xXx‘, Diesel will join Samuel L. Jackson & action-superstar Donnie Yen in the newest installment; cleverly titled ‘xXx: The Return of Xander Cage‘.
Following a weak entry in 2005 where Ice Cube took over the lead role, the third film in the franchise will follow Xander Cage, a former extreme sports expert turned secret agent. We can expect some insane action scenes with brilliant fight scenes as Diesel’s brand of action movies has grown-up significantly since the first entry.
2017 is shaping up to be quite the year for Vin Diesel as he has ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘, ‘Fast 8‘, and now ‘The Return of Xander Cage‘ all set for the beginning of the year.
Are you looking for to Diesel’s domination in early 2017?
Last weekThe Flash ended with a shocker and this week’s episode starts right where they left it. The only portal to Earth-2 closed after Zoom’s arm went through Jay’s torso and they both disappeared into the bridge.
After everything that happened in the last two episodes, now Team Flash need to deal with the consequences. Except we don’t get to see much of it at first. Instead, the show seems to go back to its villain-of-the-week formula and to ignoring the running mystery we’ve all been dying to find out: Zoom’s real identity. Not so fast.
To start, Caitlyn isn’t in a great emotional state, so they try to show more of her not-so-sweet side, toward a complete stranger and also toward Cisco, who fears she’ll become evil like her doppelgänger from Earth-2. The only problem here is that Danielle Panabaker wasn’t exactly convincing as a meta-human killer, and she’s also not that strong at acting rude. An extreme change of character for Caitlyn wouldn’t have made sense, but the whole pissed-off-at-the-world attitude didn’t feel great either from her. She’s probably the weakest character in the show, but Panabaker is lucky to have Carlos Valdes as a partner in most scenes.
The title King Shark gave us a hint as to what – or rather, who – we’d see again this episode. Turns out, we also got a very nice treat with Arrow’s Lyla and Diggle showing up in Central City to warn Barry and the others about King Shark. In the process, we learn Lyla has become the new director of A.R.G.U.S. after the incident in their headquarters in episode 11 of this season’s Arrow. These kind of little connections between shows always help elevate them, and DC execs know it. Diggle is one of the most loved characters on Arrow, and he doesn’t get to see the type of meta-humans they’re used to seeing in Central City, so having him experience it in person makes his perspective much more interesting for the viewers.
During this episode, the show also acknowledges the fact that while Wally has finally become a part of the West family, he hasn’t had a chance to get to know Barry since the beginning of the season. Of course, it wouldn’t be a CW show without the drama, because as likeable and sociable as Barry can be, he doesn’t appear to be keen on the idea of becoming friends with Wally. The obvious awkwardness between these characters shows a wider range for the actors, and especially Grant Gustin. He’s really grown into playing Barry Allen, so over time he’s being able to prove how he can express the character’s depth in interactions with other people he’s not familiar with and make it believable. Wally’s animosity toward Barry feels like a breath of fresh air, as opposed to every other non-villain character who Barry gets on with.
Later on, the fight between The Flash and King Shark is one of the most impressive scenes we’ve seen this season. The quality of the visual effects is one of the strongest points of the show. Grodd was a phenomenal CGI character on the first season. Now King Shark, although he didn’t feel as menacing, was integrated in a fairly grounded way despite him technically being “a talking shark wearing pants” without a solid back story to connect with.
In the end, something we’d been dying to know was finally revealed, only to the audience: the person behind the Zoom mask. Every week there’s a new wave of speculations all over the Internet about the character, and while this was the right time to show who he really is, there’s still one more thing missing for us to care about this villain – the same thing King Shark lacked, which was a motive. We need some kind of emotional connection to be established other than the fact that Zoom is just a bad guy seeking more power. Last week the mystery was more around the person behind the iron mask.
This second season is shaping up well, but there are still some tie-in issues to be improved. What did you think of this episode?
Last night’s episode of the CW’s The Flash ended on a great reveal with the identity of Zoom, if you haven’t watched the episode look away as there will be spoilers ahead.
Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg spoke with EW about the identity of Zoom and the emotional impact it will have on Barry Allen and his friends.
“Zoom’s identity has been revealed: He is Hunter Zolomon, a.k.a Jay Garrick. How all of that plays out and what’s actually happening, we’ll leave for after the break, but we wanted to go out on this run of episodes with a big reveal, just the same way we did at the end of episode 9 in season 1, where we revealed that Harrison Wells was the man in the yellow suit. Zoom’s identity is finally revealed,” said Kreisberg.
The Flash returns to the CW on March 22 with ‘Trajectory’ and then the following episode ‘Flash Back.’
After the tragic events of the breach and Jay’s abduction, things aren’t looking good. Barry decides that he and the team need to find a way to reopen the breach and not only save Jay, but the mysterious man in the iron mask.
“It’s an even larger betrayal than last year in some ways because they’re all going to feel like they should’ve been inoculated against it. ‘Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.’…They let this person in. Part of the reason he was able to do that was because there was a hole in the center of their group, and he knew that. He was able to step in because they wanted it so desperately. Barry was missing his mentor, Wells, and here comes Jay offering to be his mentor. Caitlin had lost Ronnie, and then here comes Jay offering to be her new knight in shining armor,” said Kreisberg.
“For us, there was all of this great, delicious irony to the whole thing. It happens in a way that didn’t make them look stupid, that the reason he was able to manipulate them was because he was playing on their emotions. It wasn’t because they were gullible. They actually took precautions in the beginning – Barry locked him up right away – but all of them had that need for a center and for a new star to right their ships by. Jay’s one charming, smooth guy and he was able to manipulate them in that way,” said Kreisberg.
One possible theory on the man in the iron mask is that it’s Barry from the future, as Kreisberg said it’s “an even bigger surprise than this one” and will be a mystery to “pull you through the season”. The only thing bigger than Jay is Barry.
Who do you think the man in the iron mask is?
With eight-episode left in the season, the second season of The Flash comes to a close on May 17.
The star of Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds mocked the Academy Awards yesterday with a tweet that supported a last-minute write-in campaign for the ineligible film.
The Academy Awards are Sunday night, but Reynolds couldn’t hold back any to chance to steal some headlines with a Deadpool quote. Ride the wave as long as you can sir. The film is already the highest grossing X-Men film in the US after two weeks.
Only a few hours left for Oscar voting. Too late for a write-in campaign for an ineligible movie? pic.twitter.com/kR4nrRrULv
Based upon Marvel Comics’ most original anti-hero, Deadpool tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, he hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.
Deadpool is directed by Tim Miller and stars Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein, Gina Carano, and Brianna Hildebrand.
Netflix released a teaser and poster for Elektra, Wednesday afternoon to promote season two of Marvel’s Daredevil. The teaser displays Elektra’s skills and gives the viewer a glimpse of her costume. The costume is a departure from the comics with only a hint of red.
Elektra Natchious gets the Netflix treatment in Daredevilas Elodie Yung plays the infamous character, and Matt Murdock’s love interest. In season one, she is mentioned as Murdock’s college girlfriend.
Netflix plans to release a second trailer tomorrow.
The series stars Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Jon Bernthal, Elodie Yung and Rosario Dawson.
Season two of Marvel’s Daredevil will be available to stream globally on March 18 at 12:01 a.m. PT on Netflix.
Marvel’s Daredevil – Character Artwork – Elektra
Just when Matt thinks he is bringing order back to the city, new forces are rising in Hell’s Kitchen. Now the Man Without Fear must take on a new adversary in Frank Castle and face an old flame – Elektra Natchios.
Bigger problems emerge when Frank Castle, a man looking for vengeance, is reborn as The Punisher, a man who takes justice into his own hands in Matt’s neighborhood. Meanwhile, Matt must balance his duty to his community as a lawyer and his dangerous life as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, facing a life-altering choice that forces him to truly understand what it means to be a hero. (Source: Netflix)
Marvel’s Daredevil – Character Artwork – Frank Castle
Marvel’s Daredevil – Character Artwork – Karen Page
Marvel’s Daredevil – Character Artwork – Foggy Nelson
Marvel’s Daredevil – Character Artwork – Daredevil
Batman: Bad Blood, though hardly the best release in WB Animation’s current line of DC Universe Original Movies, does hit its mark in terms of at least one of the new characters it introduces. The film’s treatment of Batwoman, a.k.a. Kate Kane, is as true to the character’s 2006 comic book origin as possible within the video line’s continuity, which should delight fans of the character and Batman comic fans in general.
Additionally, the feature delivers strong fight and action sequences, as well as bringing back other series regulars and allowing fan favorite “Firefly” alum Sean Maher to get some time in the spotlight, voice-acting Batman’s longest and most well-known ally, Dick Grayson/Nightwing, in a prominent role.
What’s it about?
While assisting Gotham City’s newest Bat symbol-sporting vigilante Batwoman (voiced by Yvonne Strahovski, “24: Live Another Day“, Mass Effect 2, 3) in clashing with some new super-powered baddies making noise in the city’s criminal underworld, the Caped Crusader (voiced once again by Jason O’Mara) goes missing. Weeks go by, with no word to Alfred, who does what he can to keep up appearances on the Bruce Wayne front. As crime in the city escalates without Batman on patrol, Alfred reaches out to Nightwing, making the case that Gotham needs a Batman sooner rather than later. Reluctantly, the one-time Boy Wonder steps up to the task he’d hoped never to have to undertake: putting on the cowl and succeeding his mentor, at least temporarily, as the Dark Knight.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the current Robin, Damian Wayne (Stuart Allan), learns of Batman’s disappearance while serving the monks at the monastery in the Himalayas to which he retreated at the end of Batman vs. Robin. Convinced that Gotham will need him in his father’s absence, he returns to the city just in time to help the “new” Batman wrap up his first night on the town in his new role. Damian insists that Dick is incapable of convincing anyone that he’s the real Batman without assistance and commits to helping, regardless of the fact that his help was not called for.
The new Dynamic Duo then set out to figure out what happened to Bruce, a mystery that leads them to ally with Batwoman, who was the last to see Batman alive. Together, the Bat “family” face off against a new foe calling himself “the Heretic” and the criminal mastermind behind him and the gang of super-villains seen at the start of the whole caper, who engineered Bruce’s disappearance as part of a much grander scheme. Along the way, the heroes are joined by another “bat” — Batwing, a.k.a. Luke Fox (Gaius Charles), son of Wayne Enterprises board chairman and engineering genius Lucius Fox (Ernie Hudson) — and find themselves pushed to their limits by a surprise enemy, one they never imagined they’d ever have to trade punches with: Batman himself.
All in the (Bat) Family
Batman: Bad Blood continues WB Animation’s marketing strategy of alternating Bat-centric titles with Justice League-centric ones, and remains firmly entrenched in the new Batman status quo first established in 2014’s Son of Batman. While that status quo doesn’t exactly match what the comic line established with “The New 52” a few years ago — no Tim Drake/Robin character, most prominently — it’s pretty close, so if you’re just coming to this series with this title and you know the comic continuity, you shouldn’t be too lost.
Stories focused on Dick Grayson reluctantly filling the role of Batman during a prolonged absence of Bruce Wayne are certainly nothing new to longtime Bat fans. It is a new story thread for this series, however, and it’s important to note for potential viewers that despite exclusive marketing from Best Buy that might lead you believe Batman: Bad Blood draws in some way from “Batman: Battle for the Cowl”, the 2009 comic story by Tony S. Daniel, that’s simply not the case.
That’s a good thing, for it allows this story of Nightwing taking that next step to feel far less forced than it might have otherwise. In previous appearances of Nightwing in Son of Batman and Batman vs. Robin, there have only been hints of the tension between Batman and his one-time ward that led to Grayson striking out on his own. Here, audiences get more about that, and just how Grayson feels about the unwanted legacy he’s forced to carry on. It’s also entertaining to watch Grayson as Batman paired with a Robin so highly dubious of his partner’s worth or worthiness, as Damian, while not nearly as obnoxious and combative as in the earlier releases, still considers himself the “true” heir of the Bat legacy.
Enter Batwoman
The willingness of the creative team behind the DC Original Animated Films to introduce Batwoman into the “Bat Family” mix stands as strong evidence of their continuing commitment to more sophisticated and emotionally mature storytelling. The considerable amount of time spent in this release developing Kate Kane’s personality and backstory while not shying away at all from the character’s sexuality as established in the comic line — she’s openly gay, for those not in the know — represents more than just keeping fans of the character happy. It represents a faith in the emotional maturity of audiences potentially coming to the series for the first time.
That faith is validated in terms of how organically that character development unfolds within the context of the larger story in Batman: Bad Blood. The character’s quieter scenes with family, interacting with peers, and even a scene involving a potential romantic interest are all brought to life with sincerity and an emphasis on realism.
Batwoman is arguably one of the most interesting characters introduced in the Batman line in the past decade, not because of her sexuality, but because of her supporting cast, her reasons for putting on the costume, and how her methods and attitudes sometimes clash with Batman and his more well-known protegés. Thus, it’s not surprising that the choice was made to bring her in, from both a storytelling and marketing standpoint. What will be interesting is where they go with the character from here — screenwriter J.M. DeMatteis, director Jay Oliva, and actress Yvonne Strahovski have given Batwoman a strong start, so hopefully they follow up with prominent appearances in future releases, or perhaps even a title where she takes center stage.
… and Batwing, too!
Sadly, the same can’t be said about the treatment of the other new addition to the Bat-fold. The story elements drawing Luke Fox/Batwing into the plot feel precisely like contrivance, adding a convenient additional ally to bail the script out once it had written itself into a corner. It doesn’t help that the production utilizes the less interesting iteration of Batwing from the comic line — the original Batwing, as created by Grant Morrison and appearing in the first volume of “Batman, Incorporated” back in 2011, had a far more interesting backstory and reason for existence. Yes, incorporating David Zavimbe in a way faithful to his comic book origins would have been cumbersome for this film, but that’s just evidence to why the character shouldn’t have been here at all. Better to leave the introduction of Batwing, regardless of whether it is Zavimbe or Luke Fox, to a future “Batman, Inc.” feature release, where it could have been showcased, rather than getting the shorter end of the “new kid on the block” stick as it does here.
Oh, yeah — the action
As in the previous Bat-centric releases, the action in Batman: Bad Blood is capably choreographed and fun to watch, in particular the fight scenes. There’s one particular one-on-one during the film’s climax that’s not only well staged and animated, but also very capably conveys an emotional significance, as it takes one of the main emotional conflicts at the core of the film’s story and makes that conflict brutally physical. Is it the best in the line in terms of action-driven entertainment and thrills? No — that distinction, arguably, still belongs to Batman: Assault on Arkham. But it works, and the script even manages to get some humor worked in between the grunts and explosions:
Batwoman: “Nuns with M-60s and katanas?”
Batman: “That would make them ‘nunjas’.”
Rim shot!
Oh, fine. This reviewer thought it was damn funny.
Batman: Bad Blood
Starring the voice talents of Jason O’Mara, Yvonne Strahovski, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, Gaius Charles, Ernie Hudson, and Stuart Allan. Directed by Jay Oliva.
Running Time: 72 minutes
Rated PG-13 for violence throughout and some suggestive content.
A trailer for The Light Between Oceans, Derek Cianfrance’s latest emotionally devastating film, has been released. It stars Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, both Oscars hopefuls this year, and seems poised to make a run at next-year’s ceremony.
Here is the trailer:
The plot is laid out for us, but there promises to be any number of emotional pendulum swings throughout. Vikander is officially the hottest new actress around, and Fassbender continues to flirt with that Oscar statue. This could very well get it for him.
It’s easy to cry “Oscar Bait!” at the very sight of The Light Between Oceans, but so what? What if it’s compelling drama, Oscar bait or no?
The Light Between Oceans, based on ML Stedman’s bestseller, will start its release schedule this September.
Brooklyn’s Finest was so fleeting and forgotten, it’s almost as if the film never made it to multiplexes. Released in March 2010, it scraped together $27 million, just a couple million over it’s meager budget, and was here and gone before baseball’s Opening Day that year. It happens sometimes. But make no mistake, Antoine Fuqua’s bleak and unforgivingly dark crime noir deserves much more credit than what it initially received. It is soaked in genre cliché, which was a central complaint from critics and audiences, and it’s one of the more nihilistic police dramas this side of Joe Carnahan’s Narc. But Brooklyn’s Finest doesn’t shy away from these commonalities in its narrative. It embraces cliché full force, but Fuqua knows how to take standard narrative threads and shape a compelling story in a dark, beautiful frame.
And as we travel down these roads to perdition, with three polluted souls, three policemen whose fate seems sealed, it sinks its teeth in. If you allow it.
Richard Gere is Eddie, a beat cop a week away from retirement (if you want to count the clichés, go for it. You’ll lose track.). Eddie is a hopeless asshole with no friends in the department, reluctant to spend any of his last week doing police work and instead visiting bait and tackle shops to collect gear for his upcoming fishing excursion. He is also battling some dark personal demons; he and his wife are estranged, and he spends his nights in a red-lit slum apartment with a prostitute. If these weren’t enough indicators that his soul is rotting, every morning he wakes up, he slams two fingers of whisky, and chews on the barrel of his service revolver. Remember, Fuqua isn’t going for subtlety.
Eddie is saddled with one rookie, then another when the first kid requests to ride with pretty much anyone else. This second eager rook is what sets Eddie’s arc in motion.
Meanwhile there is Tango, an undercover officer played with desperation by Don Cheadle. Tango has spent too much time undercover, the lines between the police and his criminal family blurring more every day. His wife, too, has left him, and he begs his contact in the department (Will Patton) to get him behind a desk. Tango has also befriended Caz (Wesley Snipes), recently released from prison and looking to get off the streets. The problem, then, arrives in the form of “Agent Smith,” a shadowy suit played by the great Ellen Barkin. Smith promises Tango a desk job, only if he gets Caz back in the drug game.
Fuqua and screenwriter Michael C. Martin throw these genre tropes at their film with reckless abandon. Everything that’s ever happened to downtrodden police officers in the history of crime drama is on display here – and we haven’t even gotten to the third party. That being said, the performances here are powerful, because the script desensitizes the clichés, dilutes them to the point of opening up the film for these great actors to flex their genre muscles. The greatest performance of the three comes from Ethan Hawke.
Hawke, perennially overlooked as one of our greatest cinematic treasures, plays Sal, a man soaked in Catholic guilt. He’s dedicated himself to his family, which is expanding to seven (!) kids now that his wife, Angela (Lily Taylor) is pregnant with twins. Sheesh. But the home they’re in is eaten up with mold, wreaking havoc on Angela and the babies, and Sal needs enough money for a downpayment on a new place. He couldn’t get that in time on a cop’s salary – and Brooklyn’s Finest dives into some of those politics in a compelling poker game scene – but he could get it if he swiped some drug money during one of his raids.
Sal is, at his deepest core, a good person. He’s allowed his desperation to get the better of him, and he has become a killer and a thief. But, as he explains to his Priest, “they were all bad.” It’s justification, and maybe he’s right. But he’s also a cop. All of these characters have a moral compass deep down in their hearts, but the job has petrified the walls around what they know is right. They all have a chance to tap into said morals, and they eventually do in the hopes their souls can be saved. Gere and Cheadle are great playing against character, but it’s Hawke’s turn as Sal anchoring the film.
Antione Fuqua knows what he’s doing in Brooklyn’s Finest. Again, these clichés come quickly, firing away in each and every gear of the plot. But these familiar beats create an interesting dynamic in the storytelling; the less-important plot and character pasts fade into the background, allowing the plight of these three broken men take center stage. Allow those overused tropes to sit on the sideline, and watch these wonderful actors push everything they can into the story. It’s not the fact you have clichés in your story, it’s what you do with those clichés.
This weekend, John Hillcoat’s Triple 9 hits theaters, and looks to have some of the same inertia at the center of Brooklyn’s Finest. It may suffer the same fate of Fuqua’s picture, but that isn’t always an indication of the genre creativity. Brooklyn’s Finest is cliché, but it works. It’s brutal, violent, and bleak, and it deserves a second look.
Deadpool Mania has taken the world by storm. The movie has exceeded all expectations, breaking multiple box office records, with much of the success being credited to its faithfulness to the source material. The filmmakers truly captured the essence of the character, and Ryan Reynolds has revealed himself to be the real life Wade Wilson (minus the murdering, as far as we know). However, it did make one huge change to the Merc with a Mouth’s story: it gave him a happy ending (insert Deadpool-appropriate joke here).
As funny as he is, Deadpool is really a tragic character. Rarely does he get what he wants, and it never lasts long when he does. So to see him and Vanessa reunite to live happily ever after was a bit surprising. In fact, the scope of the film’s romantic element was something of a surprise in general.
Deadpool is not a character known for his love interests. Granted, they exist (he’s currently married to Shiklah, Queen of the Undead), and Vanessa was a partner of his from the comics, so that was actually adapted faithfully. But they’ve never played a central role in his mythology like in the movie.
Deadpool and Shiklah.
Admittedly, the film handled the romance well; it wasn’t overplayed or sappy. It worked as a way to drive the plot forward. However, now that Wade’s origin story is out of the way, should Vanessa return in Deadpool 2? She’s a great character, for sure. Morena Baccarin absolutely owned the role, and the writers established her as a strong, kickass female lead. But that doesn’t mean she’ll fit as well a second time.
The Regenerating Degenerate himself has already promised fans that Cable will appear in the sequel, already in development. That suggests an epic team-up, full of action and senseless violence (basically all of the best parts of 2016’s Deadpool), paving the way for a hardcore X-Force film.
During the mayhem, should the lead antihero be worrying about how his actions will affect his girlfriend at home? Deadpool is at his best with nothing to lose; that’s what inspires his recklessness. Fans love himbecause he never considers the ramifications of his actions.
Consider this: Wade and Cable are tearing up bad guys, kicking ass and taking names, and it’s glorious. Do viewers want to see him stop and reflect on whether or not he’s putting Vanessa in danger, similar to what happened with Francis? Probably not. He’s invincible; he shouldn’t have to worry about anything. Save that kind of depth and character development for someone who needs it.
Perhaps Vanessa should be benched in the sequel. She can be written out pretty subtly; films have done that before (Batman Returns disregarding Vicki Vale would be the most apt comparison). And, if she must be addressed, a throwaway line can do the job. Maybe this will annoy some fans since it “breaks the rules,” but isn’t that what the first Deadpool flick was all about? A follow-up might simply do better without the love interest.
Unless they mutate her into her superhero persona, Copycat:
That would just add to the unbridled insanity, which is something all fans would be ok with.
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Deadpool is currently in theaters; Deadpool 2 is still being written. In the meantime, enjoy the “Deadpool Rap” below:
