It will be interesting to see how the film will fare at the box office. The press screen for BvS is the Tuesday before the release, and that’s usually not a good sign. As it would appear Warner Bros. could be worried about reviews. Star Wars: The Force Awakens had a late press screening as well, but that was to prevent spoilers from the film.
About Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice
Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, violent vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting the world in greater danger.
Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jason Momoa, Ben Affleck, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Diane Lane, Ezra Miller, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Michael Shannon, and Laurence Fishburne.
Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice has a worldwide release on March 25.
From the director of The Proposition, The Road and Lawless, Australian filmmaker John Hillcoat has turned to making a crime genre movie. Triple 9 boasts a fantastic cast but suffers from an overly convoluted screenplay.
In the city of Atlanta, Michael Belmont (Chiwetel Ejiofor) runs a crew of dirty cops who commit armed robberies for the Russian Mafia. After a job to steal a safe deposit box, the team think they are done working for the Russians, but are forced to do one last job after one of their members is killed and blackmailed by their boss, Irina (Kate Winslet). It is made even more personal for Michael because Irina practically holds his son hostage. Their mission is to rob a Homeland Security building which would require a big window to ensure they can do the job. They decide the best way to do it would be to commit a Triple 9, police code for a cop being killed, on the other side of town, and their target is a young detective who has joined the gang unit, Chris Allen (Casey Affleck).
On the surface Triple 9 has everything a film fan would want, it is made by an excellent director, based on a screenplay that was on the Black List and has a cast to die for – having the likes of Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Woody Harrelson and Norman Reedus. With talent like that you can expect a quality movie and Triple 9 does offer some fantastic moments. The majority of the cast give strong performances, particularly Ejiofor as the gang leader who basically has his balls in a vice; he had the most to work with – his character being given the most depth and he has the most to lose personally. The stakes for him are high.
Despite the quality of the cast, some actors are given little to work with. Mackie does well as Marcus, Chris’ partner who picks the young detective as a target for assassination but slowly befriends Chris as the movie progresses. There are great looks on Mackie’s face as he becomes more conflicted about his mission and his new found friendship. We do not get to see much of his personal life, but Mackie does the best he can with the material he is given. Clifton Collins Jr. as Jorge Rodriguez was given the short straw as the hot-headed Hispanic member of the crew who has no qualms about using violence. Michael K. Williams has a bizarre role as a transvestite pimp, and one of the big name actors leaves the movie very early which leads to some disappointment.
Triple 9 basically wanted to be a modern version of Heat, a crime epic that is as much about the cops and robbers personal lives as the preparation of the crime. But the characters were much richer and well-drawn in the Michael Mann classic, even the minor ones. Many of the characters in Triple 9 disappear for long periods and the movie has a very disjointed method of storytelling. Some of the plotlines are just pushed into the background, like Harrelson’s investigation into the opening robbery. The movie tries to put too much in 115 minute running time. It stretched itself too thin and it would not be a surprise to find out there is an extended cut for the Blu-ray release.
Hillcoat directs the action with panache. There is an excellent opening bank robbery that is akin to opening of Ben Affleck’s The Town and there is a good shootout in the projects where the camera follows the cops during a raid. The race to the cop shooting was truly intense to see if the cops are able to make it to the scene in time while Mike and the rest of his crew commit the heist. Hillcoat’s talent is evident, the crime scenes are filled with energy and tension and he gets the best from his actors. But Hillcoat is hampered by the screenplay and Triple 9 lacks the depth that his previous movies had.
Triple 9 could have been a great heist movie and crime; it had the director and the cast to achieve this. But the unfocused story and shallow characters drags it down, making it more a collection of well-crafted action scenes and wasted talent. It pains me to say this because I enjoyed Hillcoat’s previous movies.
You’ve all surely heard the buzz around the latest iteration of Batgirl? It’s amazing to think that DC would put forward a soft-reboot of the character, let alone one that offered such a drastic shift in tone. Gone are the dark photo-realistic visuals and the traumatic story-lines, replaced with a more light-hearted, but no less compelling, affair. The book’s manga-inspired art style has endeared the series to a whole new audience, some of which hadn’t ever engaged with mainstream . Maintaining the depth of characterisation that made the house that Gail Simone built one of the best titles emerging from the new 52. Despite this the change wasn’t without controversy, to the extent that part of the opening story arc began to get meta almost in response to the backlash by having Barbara Gordon face a darker, more cynical version of herself. Volume 2: Family Business continues Stewart, Fletcher and Tarr’ loving tradition of looking behind the cowl and examining what makes Barbara who she is.
Instead of one long story-arc, Volume 2: Family Business contains a number of shorter arcs and “done-in-ones” which give different glimpses into the Barbara’s social life. The first arc features her father; James Gordon, as Robo-Batman and discusses the impact that secrets have on familial ties. It’s an thoroughly emotional story-line, featuring a distraught Batgirl unable to fully open with her august father despite his willingness to open up to her about his new role as the not so-much caped crusader. This is, perhaps, the most self-aware comic when it comes to the ridiculousness of the Robo-Batman design and it isn’t afraid to take digs at some of the creative choices its parent series has made in recent years. It’s rare that you see a comic willing to build that kind of humour off the back of one of the most established characters in comics. The second story-arc features a more traditional mystery involving the murders of a number of software developers as a fledgling love-interest in the form of one Luke Fox; Batwing emerges to shake up Barbara’s world. Throughout the volume Barbara’s role as graduate student is explored and the series truly becomes a college drama worthy of a CW adaptation.
The one constant through these issues is the upcoming wedding of longtime Batgirl supporting character Alysha to her long-time partner; Jo. It is great to see the progression of this story-line given it amounts to the first transgender wedding in mainstream comics. It also provides an interesting balancing act for Babs as she must juggle her role as both maid of honour with her duties as Batgirl. It’s very Peter Parker and not revolutionary in that sense, but the fact that the Fletcher and Stewart treat the wedding as a matter of fact without any added pomp is quite significant. It is indicative of an industry and a creative team that are sensitive to the need for greater diversity within comics, but at the same time recognise that to turn that very inclusiveness into a spectacle is to miss the point. This could easily have turned into one of those “collectors’ editions” special wedding issues, but it instead the event is treated with the respect and dignity that it deserves.
The final issue, examining Barbara’s relationship with Dick Grayson is perhaps the most impactful of the collection. Not only do we get the aforementioned wedding, but we get our first soft-reboot insight into the relationship between these characters. As a long-time fan of the character, this turns Grayson’s playful, flirtatious nature on its head and demonstrates the negative impact that it has on those close to him. It challenges the notion that Babs and Dick are meant to end up together. It questions the narrative that says its acceptable for the good Mr. Grayson to consistently act in a way that toys with people’s emotions, to come and go as he pleases. This is Barbara asserting herself as a woman, standing up to a culture of entitlement that certain male character inhabit and it’s glorious. Dick Grayson may be one of my favourites, but it’s about time someone called him out on his crap. Brenden Fletcher and Cameron Stewart have tapped into an important conversation that needs to be had within the industry and they are effectively tackling problematic tropes by portraying an empowered Barbara who is the author of her own destiny in a way we haven’t seen in many comics before. No longer is she the pre-destined love interest of Dick Grayson, instead the series has given her the opportunity to explore her relationships in a way that reflects contemporary views towards dating. She’s a quirky character and often shy around potential love interests, but Barbara knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to pursue those prospects either.
Babs Tarr’s art improves with every issue with action scenes that are as dynamic as the latest Hollywood blockbuster. It is in the quiet moments in which Batgirl truly shines with Tarr’s manga-esque style allowing for subtle emotional changes to be reflected more accurately than other more conventional styles. Tarr makes effective use of blushing to demonstrate an evolution of the character’s relationships with each other. Much like a well-drawn rom-com, these slight changes in express tell us more than words ever could as to how they characters feel for one another. It isn’t realistic by any means, but it stands out in a sea of photo-realism and endears itself to a generation that grew up on imported anime. Does it go to far occasionally and become far too cutesy? Perhaps, but it has that Teen Titans quality that is hard to replicate, but instantly memorable. One of the interesting aspects of the series’ visual presentation is the almost Holmesian portrayal of Barbara’s cognitive abilities. Barbara Gordon has always been the intellectual powerhouse of the Batman family, but this series gives her a hybrid mind-palace/ detective-vision that allows us an unprecedented insight into the world as she sees it. It makes the us feel more attached to the character as our views of the world are aligned, even for that brief moment. It’s our collective experiments in form like Batgirl and Ms. Marvel that allow our consequential stories to develop in new and exciting ways.
I’ll be honest, it was Fletcher’s Black Canary thatinspired me to go back and catch up on this series and I can’t believe I haven’t been reading this for the beginning. A single weak annual that serves little more than as an advertisement for other series in the Batman family of books prevents this from being an almost perfect collection of stories, but it’s mediocrity is only noticeably due to the extremely high quality of work on display everywhere else in this volume. With Batgirl, Stewart, Fletcher and Tarr have created a soup opera that unites a broad readership of fans both old and new. Like it or not, the Batgirl of Burnside is here to stay and long may she reign.
A review copy was kindly provided by the publisher.
Like any good Venture Bros. adventure, the episode starts with a set of problems. The first with Dr. Venture getting a reminder, from the not-ghost of his dead brother, that he’s meant to present something at Science Now Conference in two days. Cue scientist duo Pete White and Billy Quizboy. Useless and terrible inventions abound in the shiny new lab.
Meanwhile in the Blue Morpho’s former secret lair, The Monarch and Henchman 21 hash it out. The Monarch is pissed that his father was a hero, and not a notable one at that. Henchman 21 thinks this is The Monarch’s ‘birthright,’ whatever that means. It’s now blatantly obvious that The Blue Morpho is a reference to the Green Hornet. Think the ABC, 60s television Green Hornet, not that shitty movie with Seth Rogen. The Blue Morpho’s secret lair still looks an awful lot like Batcave.
Henchman 21, our beloved pop culture geek, really comes into his own in this episode. The guy somehow transfers seamlessly (and conveniently) to mentor roles to push The Monarch into new storylines. Of course Henchman 21 is also a great excuse for the Venture Bros. to make as many nerdy references as they like. Watch for the great Star Wars bit.
Billy Quizboy, Pete White and Dr. Venture finally come up with another disaster waiting to happen: Mind Control Gas. Quixboy’s rodent trials encapsulate some serious dark humor. The mice actually have their own storyline over a few scenes. Viewers must have a basic knowledge of the bible to get it.
Now Venture Bros. scaled back Dr. The Mrs. Monarch in this episode, which is a huge disappointment, but brought back Warriana. Viewers haven’t really seen Warriana since Episode One. Warriana is great, and calls Brock out on all of his BS. Warriana doesn’t have time for your fragile masculinity. She’s got stuff to do. It’s hard to say if Warriana will turn into just another love interest in Venture Bros., or if she’ll develop into something more. One thing to for sure, Hispanic Wonder Woman doesn’t take crap from anyone.
Marvel Television’s Executive Vice President Jeph Loeb, crushed fans hopes for a Punisher Netflix yesterday when he denied the rumors, according to Digital Spy.
“I think that’s something that people are speculating on, as opposed to something that’s actually happening. It’s certainly our hope that any of our characters will be embraced and that people want to see more of them,” said Loeb.
Jon Bernthal will breathe new life into The Punisher when he battles Matt Murdock in season two of Marvel’s Daredevil.
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)
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.
Jessica Jones
Loeb was also surprised that Netflix ordered a second season of Jessica Jones.
“When they announced that Jessica Jones was getting a second season, every single report said, ‘It should come as a surprise to no one that Jessica Jones has received a second season order.’ I’m the guy going, ‘Well, it was a surprise to me!’ It isn’t a given in television. The fact that we get to continue telling stories with these characters speaks a lot about the quality of the storytelling and the acting and the writing. We are telling the best stories that we can at Netflix, and they seem to be responding to it,” said Loeb.
Marvel’s Jessica Jones stars Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, Rachael Taylor as Patricia “Trish” Walker, and Carrie-Anne Moss. The series is Executive Produced by series Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg and Liz Friedman, along with Jeph Loeb, who also serves as Marvel’s Head of Television.
Netflix needs to work on their teasers, as they released another 15-second Character Artwork piece. They look beautiful, but there is no substance. With ten episodes there should be more than enough footage a new 30-second spot. Marvel and Netflix are playing the long game, and they want fans to crave Daredevil by March 18. A second trailer is supposed to drop on February 25.
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.
Are you getting goosebumps waiting for season two?
Marvel’s Daredevil – Character Artwork – Frank Castle
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 – Karen Page
Marvel’s Daredevil – Character Artwork – Foggy Nelson
Marvel’s Daredevil – Character Artwork – Daredevil
We haven’t heard much from Rosamund Pike since she dominated David Fincher’s Gone Girl and nabbed a Best Actress Oscar nomination last year. She has a few projects on the horizon, including A United Kingdom where she’ll star opposite David Oyelowo. But for the time being, watch her lose her shit at the mercy of a strange floating orb in Massive Attack and Young Fathers video for “Voodoo in My Blood”:
The video is intense, and even in a five minute spurt it’s easy to see Rosamund Pike’s chops. Can’t wait to see some more projects from here in the near future.
The Oscars 2016 are fast approaching. Before the ceremony airs on Sunday, February 28, at 8pm ET/5pm PT on ABC, let’s look over a few moments of the Academy Awards trivia and controversies throughout the years.
In 2005, Uruguayan Jorge Drexler was nominated for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song for “Al Otro Lado del Río” in the film Diarios de Motocicleta (Motorcycle Diaries). All the songs nominated for the Oscars that year were to be performed during the awards ceremony. Beyoncé sang three of the songs, including “Vois Sur Ton Chemin” from Les Choristes, “Believe” (with Josh Groban) from Polar Express and “Learn to be Lonely” from The Phantom of the Opera. Counting Crows performed their song “Accidentally in Love” from Shreck 2, and while Drexler expressed his desire to sing his own song, the Academy decided it was probably best that more recognized people perform it instead. The guitarrist Santana and Antonio Banderas made a decent rendition of Drexler’s song, but he wasn’t exactly happy with the Academy’s denial, so when he won the award and went up on stage to deliver his acceptance speech, this is what happened:
If that felt short, at least he said more than two words… Patty Duke holds the record for shortest acceptance speech at the Oscars, even though Alfred Hitchcock’s and Joe Pesci’s have become more memorable. Duke won an Academy Award in 1963 for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in The Miracle Worker.
Opposite her, and despite the Academy’s 45 second speech acceptance limit imposed in 2010, many consider Matthew McConaughey’s speech during the 2014 ceremony the longest (over 3 minutes long), although that’s only in the last 25 years. He won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Dallas Buyers Club.
The longest acceptance speech ever was actually Greer Garson’s after winning Best Actress in a Leading Role for Mrs. Miniver in 1943. Hers was 5 and a half minutes long, although some urban legends tell the story of her speech being over 30 minutes and close to an hour long.
And as far as speeches go, now we’re used to Oscar winners taking advantage of those few seconds to reclaim against wars, wage gaps, political issues, etc, even going as far as Marlon Brandon having a Native American activist go up on stage in his stead. But the best moment was during 1996’s award ceremony, when four-time Oscars presenter Whoopi Goldberg covered all those bases right away:
“I got [this gig] because I seem to cross so many ethnic and political lines… I’m an equal oportunity offender. And to make sure you don’t feel short-changed in the political soapbox department, I’m going to get it all out of my system right now.”
In 1984, Linda Hunt became the first person ever to win an Oscar for portraying a member of the opposite sex, and she’s still the only one with that title. She was cast by The Year of Living Dangerously director Peter Weir after not being able to find a male actor capable of playing the role the way he wanted. This was her breakthrough performance.
Eddie Redmayne is nominated this year for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl, but his win wouldn’t make Hunt’s list because there wasn’t any cross-dressing process involved for her part. Same reason Jared Leto didn’t take the spot in 2014. Cate Blanchett, however, could have made the list had she won in 2008 for her role in I’m Not There.
And speaking of nominees, everybody loves Meryl Streep. She’s by far the most nominated actor with 19 nominations (15 for a leading role and 4 for a supporting role). She has won 3 of those for Kramer vs Kramer (1979), Sophie’s Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011). Katharine Hepburn comes second in that list with 12 nominations and 4 wins, but the second still living actress holding the most nominations after Streep is Cate Blanchett with 7 (4 in a leading role and 3 in a supporting role), but she already has won 2 of those for (ironically) playing Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator (2004) and her role in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine (2013).
Nowadays, it’s not possible to vote for Oscar nominees whose names are not on the ballot. But that hasn’t always been the case. In 1936, Hal Mohr received an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, becoming the first and only person to ever win as a write-in nominee. The next year, the Academy eliminated the possibility for that to happen ever again.
What will happen this year? Will we see moments like these, which will go down in history, like DiCaprio winning his first Oscar? Will there be a record of speeches about diversity? Let’s tune in to ABC on Sunday to find out.
Now that Fastlane and its predictable finish (yes, Roman Reigns won…again) is out of the way, the fun can begin. WrestleMania is fast approaching and the WWE has injected some high-octane fuel headed into the biggest event of the year.
Shane McMahon Returns To The WWE
After 6 years away, having left the WWE in 2010 to pursue other interests, Shane-O-Mac made a stunning return to RAW. Interrupting his father, Vince McMahon, and sister, Stephanie McMahon, Shane stunned his family and a sold out Detroit crowd. Saying what many fans have been feeling, that The Authority is running the WWE into the ground, Shane alluded to having leverage over Vince and wants control of RAW. Vince makes Shane a proposal – one match, one night, Shane wins, he gets what he wants. Not one to back down from a challenge, Shane accepts and Vince McMahon announces what is a marquis match for WrestleMania.
Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker. Hell In A Cell.
Now anyone who remembers Shane’s matches in the late 90’s and early 00’s knows that a match like that falls right into his wheelhouse. Shane McMahon made his mark with Street Fights, No DQs, weapons matches, and pretty much any sort of match with a high risk potential. In case you don’t remember, an upcoming column will cover Shane’s most dangerous matches and opponents.
Dean Ambrose gets beat down by, and then challenges Brock Lesnar
Dean Ambrose photo: WWE
Proving that he is nigh indestructible or just plain crazy, Dean Ambrose took a fair amount of abuse at Fastlane, then caught another surprise beatdown right before RAW, and proceeded to ask for more. Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar are unhappy about what happened at Fastlane and lay the blame at the feet of ‘The Lunatic Fringe’. A video posted earlier Monday on WWEs Facebook page showed an upset Lesnar going after Ambrose and planting him into a limo’s windshield. Ambrose would return in an ambulance and challenge Lesnar to a Street Fight at WresteMania.
The (NXT) Divas Get Their Chance
The Boss, The Lass Kicker, and the Champion photo: WWE
After a fairly decent match between Sasha Banks and Naomi and some interference from Tamina and Becky Lynch, the current Divas Champion Charlotte would have words for both The Boss and Becky Lynch. Mocking their current alliance and showing off some new merchandise in the form of a new t-shirt, Charlotte would make it clear who the dominant Diva really is and that only one of them would get a shot at the title come WrestleMania. While Charlotte thinks that may be the case, what may actually happen is a Triple Threat for the Divas Title between Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch, which would be pretty fantastic considering all three just came up to the WWE main roster last summer and will now be headlining the WWEs biggest show of the year.
The COO is gone, only The Game remains
After his friend was beat down, again, by Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns had to put all that aside to focus on a match with Sheamus while the League Of Nations looked on. Reigns would win via DQ after interference and half a beatdown from Alberto Del Rio and Rusev but Triple H would show up to finish the job. Giving Reigns a beatdown reminiscent of his ‘Cerebral Assassin’ days, HHH would proceed to make Reigns’ head a permanent part of the announce table and then Pedigree him on to the ring steps. What looked to be a ‘just OK’ WWE Championship match now has the potential to be a lot more interesting if the story continues on this visceral path.
WrestleMania will take place on Sunday, April 3 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas and will be available on the WWE Network or local PPV providers.
Are you excited for Mania? What other matches do you think should be added? Let us know in the comments.
Julia and Maria Reis are trying to catch the monster with their band Pega Monstro, but their album ‘Alfarroba’ creates a creative monster.
The video below, ‘Não Consegues’ is taken from Pega Monstro’s new full-length album, ‘Alfarroba.’ With Julia on drums and Maria on guitar and keyboard, the band has full gritty sound, late 70s punk. It’s the exact sound that Richie Finestra is looking for in HBO’s Vinyl. The second track Branca gets under your skin and compels you to get up and dance. There is a groove throughout the whole album to where you can visualize Nicolas Winding Refn next film.
Upset! The Rythm describes the Portuguese sisters as having a dream-punk sound.
Alfarroba‘s vinyl is limited to a first pressing of 500 copies.
t-shirt do fernando travassos em toulousephoto by Blast radius photo
