The CW announced Tuesday that Former Disney Channel star Cole Sprouse will play Jughead Jones in the pilot episode for the live-action ‘Riverdale’ TV series, with Lili Reinhart playing Betty Cooper, according to Deadline.
What could be considered the headline in the Deadline article is the ‘Riverdale’ series plans to introduce Josie and the Pussycats. Where ‘Riverdale’ is just another high school drama, a ‘Josie and the Pussycats’ series could fill the void left by Glee.
‘Riverdale’ will be written by Archie Comics Chief Creative Officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and produced by Warner Brothers Studios and Berlanti Productions and has been described as a subversive take on the classic Archie mythos. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schecter, Jon Goldwater, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa serve as executive producers.
The live-action series offers a bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica, and their friends, exploring small-town life and the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome facade. The show will focus on the eternal love triangle of Archie Andrews, girl-next-door Betty Cooper, and rich socialite Veronica Lodge, and will include the entire cast of characters from the comic books—including Archie’s rival, Reggie Mantle, and his slacker best friend, Jughead Jones. Popular gay character Kevin Keller will also play a pivotal role.
No premiere date has been announced for the series.
From the moment Deadpool begins, you know you’re in safe hands. It’s no ordinary opening, and it sets the tone for what is about to come. Which is pure, full-throttle entertainment. Director Tim Miller does a fantastic job and it’s easy to see this must have been a lot of fun on set. The work put into the characters is complete, and it just makes you want to see more of everyone on-screen. The film could have run another hour. Easily.
Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool. This is the character we should have seen long ago, and it is a shame it wasn’t made sooner. He is perfect in this role, and his sense of humour, and comic timing is flawless. His scenes with T.J. Miller, who plays Weasel, are funny, and his scenes with Morena Baccarin are emotional and somewhat disarming. Reynolds can switch from being the merc with the mouth, to merc with the heart without missing a beat. This helps you understand why he is trying so hard to change the way he looks and get back to Vanessa.
Speaking of Vanessa, Morena Baccarin is simply awesome in this film. She plays a different type of love interest, just as foul-mouthed and crazy as Wade/Deadpool is. The chemistry is tangible, and Reynolds and Baccarat work off each other incredibly well.
The standout element of the film was the humour. Deadpool will require a second viewing as lines spout one after another. The breaking of the fourth wall works. It never comes across as forced and fits in with the everything else and you just accept it. One surprising element was how much the film made fun of both the studio and other superhero franchises. It would be easy to see studio heads watching this and laughing through gritted teeth.
Ed Skrein does a great job of making you hate Ajax, the central villain, and makes it easy for the audience to get behind Deadpool. His fight scenes are well done and choreographed with confidence, which makes for great viewing. Gina Carano as Angel Dust is also solid. She doesn’t have much to say, but when you can lay the smackdown on Colossus, then words don’t matter all that much.
Someone I would love to see come back for a sequel is Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Not only is she armed with brilliant powers, but she’s also fun to watch and has great chemistry with Reynolds.It’s also a welcome back for Stan Lee in his usual cameo role. A couple of people actually cheered when they saw him on-screen (yes, I was one of them.)
The action in the movie is incredible. From the opening scene, to the big battle at the end, everything you see is inventive and forever kinetic. Deadpool is a superhero film that grabs others by the short and curlies and gives them a good shake. When it comes to the source material, then Deadpool is the closest you will get to seeing a comic book on-screen. A massive round of applause to all the cast and crew.
In a cross promotion that worked so amazingly well, the crew at Documentary Now! announced the summer tour of Hall & Oates for Live Nation.
Documentary Now! is a comedy series on IFC. The show parodies some of the world’s best-known documentaries. Helen Mirren served as host of the six-part first season, lending the gravitas that documentaries of this caliber so rightly deserve. Documentary Now! stars Fred Armisen and Bill Hader, each episode is shot in a different style of documentary filmmaking, and honors some of the most important stories that didn’t actually happen.
The second season of Documentary Now! will debut this fall.
Watch The Blue Jean Committee reflect on their time touring with Hall & Oates.
Hall & Oates Tour Dates
May 13 – Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
May 15 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
May 17 – Austin, TX @ Austin360 Amphitheater
May 19 – Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
May 21 – Tampa, FL @ MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
May 24 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
May 26 – Washington, DC @ Jiffy Lube Live
July 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ BB&T Pavilion
July 12 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
July 14 – Bangor, ME @ Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
July 16 – Boston, MA @ Xfinity Center
July 18 – Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
July 20 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
July 22 – Chicago, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 24 – Indianapolis, IN @ Klipsch Music Center
September 9 – Seattle, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
September 12 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
September 14 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
September 18 – Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion
September 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
September 23 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
Superman is having a tough time in both his comic books and mass media appearance. Some people think that the character is simply too difficult to make appealing in this day and age, what with the boyish charm and goody “two-shoes” persona. Others feel that it comes from the fact that he is too powerful to give any real conflict. And finally there’s a sense that whatever they do to make the Man of Tomorrow relevant again, it’ll never truly be the iconic character audiences know and love. Yes, it seems that Clark Kent just hasn’t got that movie, show, or even comic book that has rejuvenated his initial groundbreaking popularity.
Many have tried to analyze why Superman has got the short end of the stick for so long. Just a few days ago, writer Asher Elbein offered his take on the issue in an article for The Atlantic. His overall thesis was that the character isn’t at fault for his criticisms, the problem comes from overeager heads trying to reinvent the character. He talks about Kal El’s most recent iterations, and why they are hurting the character more than helping him. He offers the idea that there’s no real need to reinvent Superman, but rather just get to the core of the character and tell unique stories as the best Superman stories do that. “Stories that stop trying to reboot Superman and instead refine and build on what’s already there. In other words, if you believe in him, the man can fly.”
“Superman, you know I can’t breathe in space right?”
I agree with the sentiment and feel that it’s not difficult to keep the idea of Superman without reinventing his main ideals. Marvel has had great success bringing Captain America into the movies without sacrificing who he is, for example. However, I do offer a small rebuttal to Mr. Elbein. There is a Superman movie that stays true to Superman and attempts to build on his character by creating a new story for him. It was called Superman Returns and everyone hated it.
Yes, a lot of audiences and fans forget about this movie, or refuse to acknowledge anything about it other than that it existed at one point. It debuted ten years ago, and made very little of an impression then and even less of an impression now. Directed by X-Men director Bryan Singer, the film was trying to bring the Man of Tomorrow back to the mainstream audiences… By trying to recreate a Christopher Reeve Superman film, and keep it in that same continuity. Kind of.
The film is a sort of sequel that takes place after Superman and its first sequel; it blatantly ignores the other two. The main premise is that after Clark Kent (Brandon Routh) leaves Earth for five years to see if there’s any chance that some remaining debris of Krypton has any life on it; he comes back to discover that the world has moved on from Superman. Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) even writes a Pulitzer Prize winning piece on how the world doesn’t need the Man of Steel and even raises a kid with Cyclops from the X-Men trilogy. The film tries to analyze the purpose of Superman’s return, while also having Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) create yet another scheme to get real estate and kill Superman.
Honestly after watching three movies of Lex Luthor nearly killing millions of people to try to get some beachfront property it’s hard to not wonder why he doesn’t just buy any with his vast fortune, but I digress.
Step 1: Kill Superman. Step 2: Uhmmmm.
The story of the film is bizarre; the events don’t occur with logical progression. They’re kind of weirdly tacked on, with little to no sense, and incredibly clumsy transitions. One minute we’re with Lex discussing a plan with a beat that feels like the next scene should be about Luthor acting out his scheme, but then we awkwardly go back to Clark Kent being a dope around Lois Lane. There’s also little structure with the events, and the film almost has these little scenes that are almost independent of the story. There are times when I was wondering why they kept certain moments in the film. Most of them could have been cut and there wouldn’t have been much lost.
Then there are some weird choices that ended up in the final cut that were obviously trying to bring something new to the character, while still keeping to his core. First of all, he’s kind of a stalker. When he finds out that Lois has moved on he out right flies to her house to see what her life is like, and it doesn’t come off as charming. It comes off as really creepy. There’s also the forced interactions and moments of dialogue where they discuss trying to bring back the ideals of Superman in a modern age. And then finally the infamous twist that Lois Lane’s child is also Superman’s kid. It was a stupid reveal then, and it’s still a stupid reveal now. The fact that Superman has a child didn’t add anything to the character or give him more relation, if anything it makes Superman look more like a jerk for not being there for him in the end. And on top of all that, wouldn’t be more tragic if it wasn’t his kid? Wouldn’t the real sadness of the film be that he could never have the life Lois has? It was just something thrown in there to try and build on the legacy of Superman while still understanding his character.
The kid’s acting does not help save the movie.
One of the upsides to this movie is that Singer and his team understood the public perception of Superman. He saves everybody he can, he smiles a lot, and he stands for Truth, Justice, and the American way. Brandon Routh actually plays a great Superman, when he’s in the tights he has a confidence and bravado that resonates with those around him. When he’s Clark Kent he’s a little clumsy, but he’s still genuine and nice. He had the Kal El down (even though he does stalk women and break into the bedrooms of children), and it’s a shame that he was given this script that wasn’t trying to reintroduce audiences to the character. The film was trying to reintroduce the Christopher Reeve Superman movies to audiences.
That’s the biggest problem with the movie, it’s trying way too hard to be something it didn’t need to. Sure the story and script are a wreck, and the special effects were held back by the technical limitations of 2006 (they did NOT hold up), but those could have been fixed/forgiven if it was its own movie. The writers Michael Doughery and Dan Harris clearly understood Superman, and Bryan Singer did the best job he could with the script. But they wanted to continue a story that audiences lost interest in over twenty years before its release. All the actors do a fantastic job, Kevin Spacey is almost eerily identical to Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor, and Kate Bosworth played a fun Lois Lane. And if this were a reboot, or a re-imagining, or just creating a new franchise the movie could have worked.
There are so many fans who complain that Warner Bros. doesn’t get Superman, and that he’s not getting the proper treatment he deserves with the Zack Snyder and the current direction. Well all I have to say to that is simply that they did make the ultimate movie that understood the character. Nobody liked it, and nobody wanted to see anything more with it, so no wonder the studios are constantly trying to reinvent Superman, and going to people like Zack Snyder to see what happens.
It’s certainly not the worst Superman movie. There are elements that are very enjoyable, but in trying to somehow both be a tried and true Christopher Reeve Superman film, and create a new story that can help audiences identify with the Man of Steel it fails miserably. It should have taken a bigger risk by being its own movie, but instead we got a boring, uninteresting film that may be authentic to Superman, but wasn’t interesting for the audience. I would say that you should give it a watch if you’re curious as there are some diamonds in the rough.
Spoiler alert: This is how House of Cards ends.
Next time we take a look at what many people consider as the greatest adaptation of Batman, The Dark Knight. Strap yourselves in, because it’s going to be a long one.
Johnny Depp has been cast to play The Invisible Man for Universal, as they continue to expand their new reboot of their Monster’s Universe.
Deadline had the exclusive earlier this evening. Johnny Depp’s Invisible Man will presumably be the second film in the new reboot series, with The Mummy ramping up production soon and Tom Cruise on board in an unnamed role. I’ll say this for Universal, they’re getting stars.
The original Invisible Man, adapted from the H.G. Wells novel, was released in 1933 and Claude Rains nailed the eccentric maniac behind the bandages. The special effects for the time – or decades after for that matter – were tremendous. It was a tight, well-crafted blend of comedy and madness. I can’t imagine Johnny Depp being able to pull off subtle madness anymore. This whole franchise will most certainly be run into the ground now. Cruise still has the star power to propel a film and, possibly, anchor an entire universe of films. Depp, on the other hand, quit trying a decade ago. And forget the Black Mass defense, because it took about two weeks for the general consensus to sour on that shallow mob flick wannabe.
Where is all the Invisible Man’s jewelry going to go when he’s invisible? His bracelets and his necklaces? Will Depp channel someone like Iggy Pop to play this potential franchise part? Or will he just coast through on autopilot? This is inspired casting on the business side of things, but on the cinematic drawing board this is two things: 1) a step back above everything else, and 2) a clear indication this new Universal Universe is going to be action oriented. I fully understand the need to sell tickets, and Depp does that very thing, but there are so many fresher and more motivated options available.
Just please, for all that that is sacred in this world… Don’t bring Tim Burton on this boat too. Or Verbinski.
The 2016 Presidential election feels a Hispanic soap opera mixed with a Asian talk show. It’s buck wild. The Republican race has a bunch of rabid Tea-Partiers with a man I shall not name (he gets enough attention as it is) leading the Bizarro bunch. The Democratic race is just as crazy. In a nail-biting race, Bernie Sanders has taken a slight edge after winning New Hampshire. He is certainly winning with the 18-34 demographic, and history will certainly be made with either Hillary Clinton as the first major female presidential nomination, or Bernie Sanders as a Democratic Socialist. Like him or not Bernie Sanders has created quite an uproar in politics, in comedy, and believe-it-or-not in music too. Whether it be supporters, who are New York City musicians, creating this hilarious, informative, Elton John parody…
With Deadpool coming out in a few days, it’s worth noting that many love him due to his fourth-wall-breaking antics. What does this mean exactly? Simply put, it’s the idea that the character or the movie itself acknowledge there’s an audience watching them and that they’re part of a work of fiction. In his appearances, this has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of Deadpoolas a character and one of the reasons I’m very much looking forward to watching the film. But he’s not the first to do so. It’s one of the most used aspects in film, and here we will list a few that already did it. Spoiler alert!
1. Band of Outsiders
The movie has an omniscient narrator that not only does it know everything about the characters and story, but also offers updates to people in the audience who arrived late and even gives them the unfulfilled promise of a sequel at the end. But on top of that, there’s a moment when Anna Karina says: “A plan? Why?” A nod from Jean-Luc Godard to his audience that his filmmaking methods are just as unconventional as the movie we’re watching. You can get it here.
2. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
This one is a lot of people’s favorite. In some way, it puts in Ferris as some sort of god-figure in the story, why, he can get all of Chicago to ask for his salvation. So it’s no surprise he’s the only one in the movie who can talk to the audience and separate himself from the narrative. You can get it here.
3. The End of Evangelion
One of the trippiest moments in this ultra-trippy film is a live-action montage that shows an audience sitting in the theater waving, throwing peace signs at the camera, with some of them holding dolls of the characters from the anime. Neon Genesis Evangelion’s creator Hideaki Anno is known for berating otakus (at least a little), so it’s no surprise he makes them look at themselves. If anything, the series acknowledges there are different realities, which might very well include our own. Unfortunately, the movie is no longer in print in the States. Here’s hoping that we get a Blu-Ray release very soon.
4. The Wolf of Wall Street
Speaking of turning the camera on the audience, Belfort gets to have fun manipulating aspects of the film, such as asking for the color of a car to be changed as well as insulting the audience for oogling Margot Robbie. But the most crucial and subtle use of this is the very last shot, where a whole crowd of Belfort fans are sitting at one of his seminars just like us in the theater. It’s a moment of reflection, whether we like it or not, we all want to be Belfort, even if it’s just a bit. Buy it here.
5. Fight Club
It’s not just The Narrator, but what about the moment when Tyler Durden gives us his “You’re not your job” monologue, the film shakes so much it looks like it’s about to strip away from the gate? And what about the very end where we get a flash image of a penis that tells us that Tyler Durden or one of his cronies has taken over the projection booth? The point: We all have a little Tyler Durden inside all of us. Get it here.
6. Funny Games
The two killers take moments to talk to the audience, almost taunting them for having to watch how they torture the lead characters. On top of that, one of them gets shot and the film freezes and rewinds to bring the killer back to life. Buy it here
7. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Right off from the beginning, we get subtitles asking us to visit Sweden. Then, we get a narrator attempting to engage with us with his opinion about the movie, just as the characters later do as well. It’s hilarious and one of the many reasons why this has gone on to become a comedy classic. Get it here.
A month ago, nobody knew that 10 Cloverfield Lane even existed. Then, the trailer dropped out of nowhere in January, boasting a release date just two months later in March. Now, fans are discovering more hidden marketing online each day, similar to the viral campaign used by the original Cloverfield in 2008. See if you can crack the codes behind the latest discovery.
Tagruato, the corporation that was likely behind the terror in the first film, has their own website, which is not new information. However, now the company has added an Employee of the Month page for February 2016. Take a look at who made the cut for Bold Futura, a subsidiary of Tagruato:
That is Howard Stambler, the character played by John Goodman in the upcoming film. The company website provides a little more insight into Howard’s accomplishments:
Bold Futura
Howard Stambler
Telemetry Analyst
Howard will celebrate his seven-year anniversary with Bold Futura in the fall. This month, Howard’s drive, commitment and refusal to accept easy answers resulted in a significant breakthrough diagnosing transmission complications with two of our governmental clients’ orbiting satellites.
A Reddit user, dinosaurdracula, discovered that the logo on Howard’s shirt is actually a clue to yet another website: radioman70.com. And, when you click on that link, you will be redirected to FunAndPrettyThings.com:
There are a ton of little Easter Eggs on this homepage. Cloverfield Clues has picked out three so far:
1. The photo with the letters is missing the following letters; M E G A N
2. If you try to “cheat” by viewing the source code for the page, there is a warning message:
You do not belong here. Megan would never come here. I know who you are and will be tracking you.
3. One of the photos is the Eiffel Tower, and there were a lot of Eiffel towers in the 10 Cloverfield Lane trailer.
The only interactive photo is the one of the girl in front of a computer, an image from Pretty in Pink. When clicked, it prompts for a passphrase. Another Reddit user, BriarrRose, deduced that the passphrase is a line from the John Hughe’s flick: “Do you want to talk?”
Entering the passphrase leads you to a message that RADIOMAN70 has hidden for his daughter Megan. In the message, he expresses his frustration with her mother, who has blocked his other attempts at contact, and who “never listened to [him].” He also warns that “They may attack any day now, so there’s no time to waste.”
The message also reveals that Stambler has built not only one, but two bomb shelters.
When you attempt to chat back to Howard, the system asks if you are Megan. When you inevitably select “Yes,” it supplies yet another riddle:
What was the secret gift I gave you on your 13th birthday?
No one has figured out the answer (so far).
For the record, the young woman from the trailer played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead is listed as Michelle, not Megan.
What does this all mean? How will it play in the actual film? Speculate and ponder in the comments below!
10 Cloverfield Lane is scheduled for release on March 11, 2016.
The sixth season of Venture Bros. continues where it left off in the premiere. But in this episode viewers get to know what happened to Pete White and William Whalen. These two haven’t been seen since Episode 0, or even before that. The two battle their own villain by way of wits, pop culture references, and a robotic T. rex. This sub-plot unfolds over the course of the episode with the three adversaries fighting over a red ball.
Dr. Mrs. The Monarch doesn’t get a lot of screen time in this episode sadly. She’s really coming into her own in this season with her high-ranking position in the guild. Hopefully viewers will see more of her in action in the following episodes. This episode is really about The Monarch, as tries to bump up his villain status. That way he can get back to what he does best/worst: arching Dr. Venture. Here The Monarch’s only remaining henchman, Henchman 21, is really becoming a great sidekick.
With Dr. Venture and his sons are in the big league the family faces a whole new set of problems. First off, Dr. Venture won’t have his multi-billion dollar empire if he keeps running the company the way he does. It’s like if Bruce Wayne tried to run his company without a board of directors. The only other person that can stop Dr. Venture from driving his company into the ground is a pirate addicted to tranquilizer darts. Yes you read that right. This leads to a great sequence of the Venture brothers helping said pirate kick his habit. I won’t ruin the details of that.
Now the Batman references get real heavy in the second half of the episode. First there’s Wide Whale, the apparent mafia crime boss of New York City. Wide Whale feels very much like a Salvatore Maroni character. Turns out he controls the knock-off DC characters viewers saw in the previous episode.
Now The Monarch’s childhood home, which is currently getting a makeover, feels very much like Wayne Mansion. Partly because of the old, creepy factor, and also because there’s a Bat Cave in the basement. Or should I say Monarch Cave?
Also don’t miss the quick appearance of what looks like Bat Mobile stretch limo after the credits.
Fuller House is still actually a thing, so much so that they filmed it and they’re putting it on Netflix and everything!
The fullest Fuller House trailer is here. Candace Cameron-Bure, Jodie Sweetin, and Andrea Barber stopped by Ellen recently to discuss this latest ill-conceived nostalgia reboot and, once Cameron-Bure was done hijacking the interview, they showed us an extended trailer for the show.
The trailer starts around 2:30, unless you wanna fight through the awkwardness:
The quick synopsis says “D.J. Tanner-Fuller is a widow and mother of three. Things become too much to handle, so she asks for help from her sister Stephanie and her best friend Kimmy.” Because Michelle is apparently still the most self-centered little monster in the whole family and couldn’t be bothered to help out.
All the wonderful (terrible) humor is still in tact it seems, and Kimmie Gibler is so funny with her 90s slang callbacks. L.O.L. But there’s an air of sadness and desperation hanging like a cloud of poor writing over the entire thing. Especially from Jodie Sweetin.
Fuller House premieres on Netflix February 26. So… watch it? I guess. Or don’t.
