Blade Runner 2 is happening whether you want it to or not, and now it has a release date that is pretty weird given the star power surrounding this thing: January 18, 2018.
January has always been the dumping ground for strange CGI disasters and movies with which the studios have little to no confidence. Now that The Hollywood Reporter tells us a sequel to one of the more influential sci-fi films of all time, with Harrison Ford reprising his role as Rick Deckard, Ryan Gosling co-starring, and Sicario director Denis Villeneuve behind the camera, is getting a mid-January release, what does that say about studio confidence?
It could say quite a bit. There are some things to consider here. First of all, January 18 will be the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, so perhaps placing Blade Runner 2 here is an attempt to tap into extra time off for consumers. Second, maybe Blade Runner 2 will get an R rating and the recent success of Deadpool – R rated in the winter months, etc. – is expanding to release dates in 2018. That seems unlikely, but you never know.
If tradition is to be believed, this is a strange release date for a film that, however unnecessary, has a built in following given the expansive reach of the original film (it can be debated whether or not the original is really that good, but it’s influences are undeniable). Warner Bros. release schedule for 2018 includes The Flash, (presumably) the second Justice League film, Godzilla 2, Aquaman… their tentpoles are all but set. But they have room in October 2018. Even November. Anywhere but January, where films come and go in the wake of Oscar hopefuls expanding wide and awards season dominating most of the film landscape.
Maybe it’s a radical new test, but maybe the studio realizes this isn’t really a necessary film no matter where it lands on the calendar. Hopefully that its the case.
Do you remember that time Deadpool killed the Marvel Universe? Or that time Wolverine tried to kill Deadpool 400 times in a row. Or when Deadpool got his head severed from his body, grew another head, and talked to the old one.
Needless to say, Deadpool mania is in full swing, and Paul Wernick talked with Cinemablend about how insane future films will be.
“I think some things work better in a comic than it might on screen. That’s not to say we can’t explore some of these crazier things, but whether you’re talking about a severed head that’s talking, or Squirrel Girl, or any of the number of crazy things that have happened, I think we just have to be careful to take baby steps into territory like that and not get too crazy too quickly. We’ve got to lead a broader audience slowly down that road, and I think if you were to look two or three movies down the road, you’re probably going to see a lot crazier stuff than you’re going to see in this movie number two necessarily. So I think we’ll push it for sure. We’re certainly not shy about pushing the envelope,” said Wernick.
Deadpool 2 is in development, and the sequel will feature Cable. No release date has been announced. Ryan Reynolds will return as Deadpool, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are working on the script.
Emma Watson infiltrates a cult in the new domestic trailer for Colonia. The film also stars Daniel Brühl and Michael Nyqvist, and tells the true story of the Colonia Dignidad, a religious cult which also served as a house of horrors for General Augusto Pinochet.
Chile, 1973. Lufthansa flight attendant Lena (Watson) is in Santiago to visit her boyfriend, Daniel (Brühl), a talented graphic artist creating images in support of embattled President Salvador Allende. When Allende is violently ousted, General Augusto Pinochet’s forces begin rounding up dissidents. Daniel is taken to the remote stronghold of Colonia Dignidad (“Dignity Colony”), home to a secret agricultural commune and crypto-fascist sect led by sinister minister Paul Schäfer (Michael Nyqvist). Daniel is interrogated and tortured, but feigns severe mental deterioration to stay alive. Valiant and wily, Lena travels to Colonia and offers herself up to Schäfer as a follower. She is determined to find and free Daniel — but first she must ensure that she herself can survive Schäfer’s crushingly oppressive, viciously misogynistic practices.
I’m a sucker for movies about cults, and the true-story angle on top of it raises the stakes for sure. It’s also nice to see Emma Watson (and Daniel Radcliffe for that matter) continue to work away from her Harry Potter image with challenging, adult-oriented films.
*Warning: Very mild Spider-Man spoilers ahead. Nothing major, just enough to explain the general gist of each story.*
The 1980’s were an amazing time in comic book history. Pioneers like Alan Moore and Neil Gaimen took the medium to new heights, writing stories with depth and gravitas. Frank Miller, on the the other hand, took it to new lows, in the best way possible, telling street-level, gritty tales. Some of the best story arcs were written in the 80’s, especially for Spider-Man, who was previously known for light-hearted romps. Here are the web-slinger’s best stories from the 1980’s!
Amazing Spider-Man #200
The decade started with a bang for the web-head: Amazing Spider-Man #200 was published in January of 1980.
This landmark issue features the return of Uncle Ben’s killer, The Burglar. Peter hunts down his first foe, seeking revenge, and willing to stoop to great depths to get it. The whole notion of “closure” permeates the issue, and many elements from Amazing Fantasy #15 are revisited. Marv Wolfman and Stan Lee clearly did everything they could to ensure that their readers felt fulfilled after reading. Whether or not Peter achieves closure, though, is better left unsaid.
“The Spider and The Burglar…A Sequel” is a story full of angst and rage, an early indicator of what the new decade would offer.
The Alien Costume Saga
Up until the 1980’s, costume changes were just for C and D-List characters on the brink of disappearing. So when Marvel took their most iconic character and put him in a stark black outfit, the world went nuts. It may have been a pure marketing ploy, and an effort to sell more toys, but it made for a classic storyline.
Peter Parker didn’t just sew up some new duds out of boredom; the black costume is actually an alien symbiote! The symbiote bonds itself to Spidey, slowly tries to take him over, and generally screws up his personal life. That’s what makes this story so great: it’s a Peter Parker story even more than a Spider-Man story. It marks a landmark moment with Mary Jane, and showcases one of the darkest periods in the character’s life.
Do not let Spider-Man 3 spoil this story for you; the original comic is far superior to its campy big screen adaption.
Venom
“Venom” is the natural follow-up to “The Alien Costume Saga,” and the start of a legendary run on Spider-Man by Todd McFarlane.
Eddie Brock has inherited the symbiote, and they both seek revenge on Spider-Man. Their hatred runs deep, fueling one another. And, because the symbiote was previously bonded with Spider-Man, that means that Brock now knows all about Peter Parker’s life and secrets. He’s even invisible to Pete’s spider-sense. Never had Spidey faced a villain so lethal before this terrifying tale.
McFarlane just wanted to draw a jacked up version of Spider-Man, and, in doing so, he created one of the webhead’s greatest rogues.
The Death of Jean DeWolff
This may be the best Spider-Man story that you’ve (probably) never heard of. Police Captain Jean DeWolff, close friend to the web-slinger, gets murdered in cold blood by the Sin-Eater, and the hero seeks justice.
“The Death of Jean DeWolff” is great because it is not a super-villain tale; it’s Spider-Man versus a maniac with a shotgun. It’s dark; it’s gritty; it’s real. The notion of justice gets explored (with a little help from a blind attorney from Hell’s Kitchen), as do mental health issues. Peter David writes Spider-Man at his best: as a street level hero, fighting street level crime.
Most importantly, this story humanizes Peter Parker. Whereas Superman and Captain America have always symbolized ideals to strive for, Spider-Man is supposed to be relatable. His reaction to his ally’s murder, and the lines he crosses thereafter are not very hero-like, but they are genuine.
Hobgoblin
The Green Goblin has always been one of Spidey’s greatest rogues, but it was the Hobgoblin that captivated readers during the 1980’s.
Writer Roger Stern created Hobby without any strong idea of who was under the mask. He decided on an answer after three issues, but wanted to keep it a secret for just one issue longer than Stan Lee had done with the Green Goblin (Hobgoblin may have been a knock-off, but he was a great knock-off). To complicate matters further, Tom DeFalco took over writing duties before Stern could do his reveal. He disagreed with Stern’s choice for the Goblin’s identity, and thought that the mystery should go on even longer. Then, editorial disputes led to more disagreements and sabotage, prolonging the process, until Hobgoblin’s identity was finally revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #289, more than four years after his introduction.
This may sound jumbled and convoluted, but it actually led to one of the greatest mysteries in Spider-Man history, and Hobgoblin was a better character for it. Read his full publication history here.
Kraven’s Last Hunt
Kraven hunts down Spider-Man, shoots him, buries him, and then spends weeks trying to prove himself the superior vigilante.
Pretty dark, right? It gets darker. “Kraven’s Last Hunt” is probably the Spidey story that stands out most from the 1980’s. It visits themes of mortality and purpose, and it’s actually pretty terrifying to boot. J.M DeMatteis took a lame villain and went full Dostoyevsky, all because he was flipping through a Marvel Universe Handbook and noticed that Kraven was Russian.
Peter digging himself out of his grave (no spoiler; he obviously didn’t die) is also one of the most chilling sequences of his publication history.
Kid Who Collects Spider-Man
Break out the tissues. In this one-issue story, the hero reads about a boy claiming to be his greatest fan, with a collection of every article ever written on him. He swings into his fan’s bedroom, and the two converse for hours. It’s a deeply intimate tale that’s left its mark on Spider-Man history. Google “Best Spider-Man Stories of All-Time,” and this will be on every list.
For the record: the above image may be considered a spoiler by some, but trust that it wouldn’t have been used if the story wasn’t much larger than just that one panel.
The Commuter Cometh!
Here is another outstanding single-issue story from the 80’s. Spidey tracks a common crook out of the city and into the suburbs, and quickly realizes how ill-equipped he is without any skyscrapers to swing from. While it’s amusing watching the hero interact with suburbanites and get stuck in trees, writer Peter David throws some existentialism into the mix for good measure.
Simple Spider-Man stories are usually the best, and “The Commuter Cometh!” is all the proof that you need.
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Is your favorite story missing from this list? What other characters thrived during the 1980’s? Frank Miller revolutionized Daredevil and Batman, but what’s your top pick? Sound off in the comments below!
Where were you when JFK got shot? 11.22.63. It’s one of the most significant points in American history, and one of the best-known pop culture references. JFK, the man himself, is legendary and radical. One of the most popular conspiracy theories on JFK is his own government organized his assassination.
It’s likely all of these and other ideas will take up a bulk of the show. Without getting into any spoilers, there are several elements that add a science fiction feel. Stephen King, notorious for writing about horror and science fiction, used the not-so-simple concept of time travel. 11.22.63 takes all the paradoxes that come with time travel and immediately go out to hash out the dirty details. What are the repercussions? Will they make a difference?
There’s an added detail that doesn’t come up often enough in time travel narratives: will time fight against change? There’s a strange supernatural force at work, and it gets more violent whenever Epping (James Franco) does anything incredibly out of line. It’s like some unknown, greater force can feel a grandfather paradox coming on. This gives the writers the opportunity to put in the stuff of nightmares. These added details always follow the phrase, ‘you’re not supposed to be here.’ Well no kidding.
Despite all this added detail to make the story richer, the show is entirely lacking on complex female leads. Executive producer J.J. Abrams doesn’t have a great history how he writes in female characters. Epping even walks into a tavern with a sign that reads ‘Men Only.’ This show feels like an old boys’ club, and the concept of how ‘this is the 60s’ is a shoddy excuse. Mad Men, which is set in the same time period, has several complex female leads. Two women show up in 11.22.63 with significant screen time. One of them is Epping’s ex-wife, Christie. The second woman is a beautiful blonde named Sadie, who’s clearly Epping’s new love interest. A Hulu Original series can do much better than that.
Anyway, every time James Franco gets closer to finding information about JFK’s assassination there’s always this supernatural crap literally pushing back. It’s hard to say why Hulu cast James Franco. The man does a great job carrying the show, but there’s nothing audiences haven’t seen before. Franco has the same comedic relief, the same charming expression, and the same ‘whoa did that just happen,’ reaction. Al, played by Chris Cooper, brilliantly upstages Franco in spite of having so little screen time. It’s obvious Hulu cast Franco to appeal to the generation where the events on 11.22.63 seem outdated, before their time.
A ‘Deadpool’ themed petition was created this afternoon on Change.org for the film’s star Ryan Reynolds to host Saturday Night Live in character as our favorite merc with a mouth.
The petition is directed at NBC and SNL creator Lorne Micheals. Reynolds once hosted in 2009 and discussed superhero films in his monologue. With as aggressive as 20th Century Fox publicity is, it wouldn’t be shocking to see this petition become a reality soon.
Kanye West went on an epic rant before his appearance on Saturday Night Live, last week. According to the New York Post, Kanye was upset that staffers ripped up some shiny flooring from his set because it was reflecting the stage lights, creating a confusing effect on the video wall behind him.
“Are they f—–g crazy? Whoa by 50 percent [I am more influential than] Stanley Kubrick, Picasso, Apostle Paul, f—–g Picasso and Escobar. By 50 percent more influential than any other human being. Don’t f–k with me. Don’t f–k with me. Don’t f–k with me. By 50 percent dead or alive, by 50 percent for the next 1,000 years. Stanley Kubrick, ‘Ye,” said West.
Apparently West wanted to bail on the show, but Lorne Michaels brought him back to perform.
Listen to rant below. We apologize for the New York Post’s long commercial.
When Sam’s Town came out, it had something of a mixed reception by fans, being seen as inferior to Hot Fuss. The likes of Rolling Stone magazine panned the album with a two-star rating. However, it didn’t take too long for the album to be reassessed and seen as another great work from a great band.
Perhaps the most affecting thing for Killers’ fans back then was how different the album sounded from Hot Fuss. That great album was more of a straight forward attempt at pop rock, meanwhile Sam’s Town is more interested in giving a weird blend of sounds. It’s mostly pop rock with a touch of the electronic, with everything played up to eleven. Take for example, “Bones”, one of the singles from the album that had its video directed by Tim Burton; it’s operatic and thrilling, a potent rock piece with use of synthesizers and a choir. It’s not such a stretch from a song like “Everything will be alright” from the previous album, but here, The Killers play things broadly. It seemed like too much at the time, but now that we have grown used to this effort, one can appreciate The Killers having fun and experimenting here.
Also, perhaps another surprise was the Sam’s Town’s more seemingly personal touch. Hot Fuss dealt with its themes in a more general way. That doesn’t make it any less personal, but something about Sam’s Town just feels like Brandon Flowers putting himself out there. There’s a certain naïveté to the lyrics, fitting for the themes of nostalgia throughout the album. There’s a certain sincerity that may strike some as clumsy, but that’s the point.
The album has won many fans ever since, with many seeing it as some of their best work if not their best. It is true that often bands suffer something of a sophomore slump, and that can be seen as their failing but this is one of the occasions where the failing was on the fans’ part. But now many have changed their mind and as the fans get older, I wouldn’t be surprised if they connected even further with the album.
If you haven’t given it a listen, you can do so here.
United States Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym ordered Apple to help the government unlock and decrypt the iPhone 5C used by Syed Rizwan Farook, who shot up an office party in a terrorist attack in nearby San Bernardino in December 2015.
The federal judge instructed that Apple provides the FBI a custom firmware file, that would enable investigators to brute force the passcode lockout on the phone.
Tim Cook pledged to fight a federal order to unlock the phone, arguing the court ruling would force a loophole into the encryption of iPhones that could breach Apple users’ privacy around the world.
Tuesday night, the CEO of Apple responded with an open letter to his customers on apple.com.
A Message to Our Customers
The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand.
This moment calls for public discussion, and we want our customers and people around the country to understand what is at stake.
The Need for Encryption
Smartphones, led by iPhone, have become an essential part of our lives. People use them to store an incredible amount of personal information, from our private conversations to our photos, our music, our notes, our calendars and contacts, our financial information and health data, even where we have been and where we are going.
All that information needs to be protected from hackers and criminals who want to access it, steal it, and use it without our knowledge or permission. Customers expect Apple and other technology companies to do everything in our power to protect their personal information, and at Apple we are deeply committed to safeguarding their data.
Compromising the security of our personal information can ultimately put our personal safety at risk. That is why encryption has become so important to all of us.
For many years, we have used encryption to protect our customers’ personal data because we believe it’s the only way to keep their information safe. We have even put that data out of our own reach, because we believe the contents of your iPhone are none of our business.
The San Bernardino Case
We were shocked and outraged by the deadly act of terrorism in San Bernardino last December. We mourn the loss of life and want justice for all those whose lives were affected. The FBI asked us for help in the days following the attack, and we have worked hard to support the government’s efforts to solve this horrible crime. We have no sympathy for terrorists.
When the FBI has requested data that’s in our possession, we have provided it. Apple complies with valid subpoenas and search warrants, as we have in the San Bernardino case. We have also made Apple engineers available to advise the FBI, and we’ve offered our best ideas on a number of investigative options at their disposal.
We have great respect for the professionals at the FBI, and we believe their intentions are good. Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.
Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.
The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.
The Threat to Data Security
Some would argue that building a backdoor for just one iPhone is a simple, clean-cut solution. But it ignores both the basics of digital security and the significance of what the government is demanding in this case.
In today’s digital world, the “key” to an encrypted system is a piece of information that unlocks the data, and it is only as secure as the protections around it. Once the information is known, or a way to bypass the code is revealed, the encryption can be defeated by anyone with that knowledge.
The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks — from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable.
The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers — including tens of millions of American citizens — from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals. The same engineers who built strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe.
We can find no precedent for an American company being forced to expose its customers to a greater risk of attack. For years, cryptologists and national security experts have been warning against weakening encryption. Doing so would hurt only the well-meaning and law-abiding citizens who rely on companies like Apple to protect their data. Criminals and bad actors will still encrypt, using tools that are readily available to them.
A Dangerous Precedent
Rather than asking for legislative action through Congress, the FBI is proposing an unprecedented use of the All Writs Act of 1789 to justify an expansion of its authority.
The government would have us remove security features and add new capabilities to the operating system, allowing a passcode to be input electronically. This would make it easier to unlock an iPhone by “brute force,” trying thousands or millions of combinations with the speed of a modern computer.
The implications of the government’s demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.
Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government.
We are challenging the FBI’s demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country. We believe it would be in the best interest of everyone to step back and consider the implications.
While we believe the FBI’s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products. And ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.
This episode of Venture Bros. finally gets to develop that love interest for Hank. Remember in Episode 1 when Hank tried to heroically save a drowning girl in the building across the street? Well turns out she wasn’t drowning, and she’s also Wide Whale’s daughter.
A girl like Serena, that’s the daughter, feels smothered by her over-protective, mob boss of a father. As far as evil villains go he’s a pretty great dad. Of course, he’s a sworn enemy of Dr. Venture. The two are like rival businessmen, literally living across the street from each other. Dr. Venture doesn’t pay Wide Whale any mind after Brock kicked his ass in the previous episode. He’s busy setting up an R&D section in the basement of Venture Industries. Now Pete White, Billy Quizboy, and Dr. Venture have billions of dollars worth of mad science to play with. This opens the show up to some hilarious and science fiction-like possibilities for Season 6.
But this episode is really about Dr. Mrs. The Monarch. People try to manipulate her left and right. First it’s Wide Whale, and now it’s a new badass villain known as Copy Cat. Copy Cat seemingly wants to get a seat on the council, but the effort he puts into discrediting The Monarch says something more. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch will hopefully catch onto Copy Cat’s bigger ploy, whatever that may be, and continue to come into her own. She’s also so much of a badass that she doesn’t need The Monarch or Copy Cat. It would be great to see her really take advantage of her position in the guild.
With everything revealed about The Monarch’s father it’s possible he might turn to a life of a hero. Maybe? The Monarch’s father was really The Blue Morpho. Like father like son. The history between The Blue Morpho and Dr. Venture Sr. might explain why The Monarch feels this relentless need to arch Dr. Venture.
