The cast of Star Wars: Episode VIII is off to the UK to begin production this month. Several cast members used their travel time to tease the new adventure on social media.
The exchange between Anthony Daniels and director Rian Johnson maybe the funniest and shows Johnson’s respect for the source material.
Gwendoline Christie also commented on returning as Captain Phasma to People.
“I will be in the next Star Wars movie. I think that’s an exclusive, actually. I was very overexcited. I made no secret of the fact that I really campaigned for the part for a long time. And then I was delighted when J.J. Abrams wanted to have me in the film and then wanted to cast me in this role that had originally been designed for a man,” said Christie.
Episode VIII is written and directed by Rian Johnson. The film stars Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Benicio Del Toro, Gwendoline Christie, John Boyega, Lupita Nyong’o, Peter Mayhew, Andy Serkis, Anthony Daniels, and Jimmy Vee.
If there’s one show and character that can grab your attention from the first moment they are introduced, they’re Breaking Bad and Walter White. Vince Gilligan created the show and brilliantly directed the first episode (and a few more), where we get to see the beginning of what would become a cult series. This fast-paced pilot is exactly what the show needed to start off with, but what else can be said anymore? If you still haven’t seen Breaking Bad, here’s a reason why you should:
Game of Thrones
One of the highest rated, most expensive TV shows is on this list because its premiere episode is also defining of one of the biggest television and pop culture phenomenons of this decade. It establishes the premises of the show, congregating the main characters, showing us their colors without filter and ending with a bang.
After being in development since 2007, shot in 2009 and directed by Tom McCarthy (who recently helmed the acclaimed Spotlight) the original pilot was greenlighted to become a series, however HBO scrapped it and ordered a re-shoot. McCarthy stated not having enjoyed the experience, so apart from some of the cast who didn’t return, that second time the director was Timothy Van Patten.
Mr. Robot
This crime drama was one of the biggest surprises in 2015. The thing that makes the most impact in audiences when they watch the first episode is how intelligent and researched it is. The writing in this show is what elevates it from interesting to brilliant, and the acting helps the audience feel more engaged to a story which, while being original, can feel a bit far-fetched.
Mr. Robot recently won 2 Golden Globes for Best Television Series – Drama and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Christian Slater). Lead actor Rami Malek was also nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama.
American Horror Story: Murder House
As a fan of horror, and after having given up on Glee, I was initially very intrigued about a new Ryan Murphy show with such an impressive cast on board, from Jessica Lange and Denis O’Hare to Connie Britton. This detail has always been the case in any of its seasons, but the one I enjoyed the most in terms of story was, by far, Murder House.
The series premiere episode was one to never forget. It set the tone nicely from the first scene and it didn’t let you go until the end, when you were left wanting more. From then on, each episode kept getting better than the previous one. Yes, it was scary, creepy and plenty sexual, but it also had a lot of style and characters to care for.
Six Feet Under
Before the rapidly deflated True Blood, Alan Ball‘s most treasured TV creation was this drama series about a family who run a funeral home.
In this pilot episode, we’re introduced to a completely dysfunctional family, suddenly mourning the loss of their patriarch in the midst of their own chaotic lives. Michael C. Hall stands out as the son who stayed with his parents to help run the business and is now forced to consider its fate.
The show also has what’s considered one of the best series finales, but this first episode is just as important to set the premise and characters as well as the sense of disarray between all of them.
The Killing, Longmire, Arrested Development, Full House and recently Gilmore Girls are shows which received the Netflix revival treatment, meaning they were cancelled before the streaming service picked them up again to produce new seasons. There are several other cancelled series fans are dying to see continued which could interest Netflix to bring back. Here I present some of them.
Firefly (2002-2003)
It’s no surprise to see Firefly in any kind of list like this one. This is the show everybody asks Nathan Fillion and Joss Whedon about during Comic Con each year. Even Alan Tudyk mentioned last year the possibility of it returning for a second season. Could it actually happen?
Over the past seven years Fillion has been attached to the show Castle, but now rumors of it ending soon are becoming more and more loud since nobody can assure whether Stana Katic and/or Nathan Fillion would sign on for another season. And while it seems that Whedon is taking a break after Avengers: Age of Ultron, he might be open to continuing one of his most fan-loved projects.
One thing is for sure, if Netflix were to revive Firefly, it would be praised upon by thousands upon thousands of “browncoats” all over the world.
Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)
This show created by “self-professed Star Trek geek” Bryan Fuller was cancelled prematurely after only two seasons when it was still quite popular because of its unique aesthetic, vibrant colors and quirky tone. The story about a pie-maker (played by Lee Pace) who can bring people, plants and animals back to life with his touch would fit in nicely amongst the rest of Netflix’ catalog. Think about the outside-of-the-box kind of comedy a show like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt presents, with a bit of romance, drama, and fantasy.
Dexter (2006-2013)
There are shows running for several years and they end the way Dexter did: not entirely how fans would have liked or expected. For what it’s worth, this was a great crime show which lasted 8 seasons and had somewhat of an open end that disappointed many people. In the same style as The Killing, it would be interesting too see one final season on Netflix to mend those broken hearts.
Chuck (2007-2012)
Zachary Levi has said time and time again that he’d be open to doing a Chuck movie or mini-series instead of a full-on revival. Still after 5 seasons and a weak finale, this fun spy, action show deserves a proper goodbye and Netflix could make it happen. While Levi is busy on Broadway until June, Yvonne Strahovski’s latest show The Astronaut Wives Club, was just cancelled after only one season on ABC. Is it this year a good opportunity?
Dead Like Me (2003-2004)
Another Bryan Fuller comedy, drama and fantasy show which got cancelled before it should have been. A young girl who dies on the street by a toilet seat that falls on her head gets recruited to work in a team of grim reapers to collect souls of people before they die. While the series ending essentially with a direct-to-DVD movie wasn’t terrible, it didn’t make the show justice. Over 10 years later, a wrap-up season or mini-series on Netflix feels like a sound idea to me.
Carnivàle (2003-2005)
HBO cancelled this great fantasy show, intended to form a cohesive arc every pair of seasons, ending after 6. But after the series finale episode in season 2 there were a few questions remaining unanswered to this day. The problem is that while fans would be definitely open to a continuation, even if it meant a jump forward in time, HBO is still in possession of the rights and also, the level of production design Carnivàle needs is fairly high. Would Netflix be up for that kind of investment?
Forever (2014-2015)
A 200-year-old man works in the New York City Morgue trying to find a key to unlock the curse of his immortality.
Why was this cancelled? Although ratings picked up toward the end of the season, the show wasn’t strong enough against the list of great series on ABC, including How to Get Away with Murder, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Marvel’s Agent Carter. In the end, the interesting premise didn’t hold up for the network, which didn’t even own the show. That might have solidified the decision to cancel it. Still it had enough potential to be developed by Netflix if they were interesting in acquiring the rights. At least the lead actor, Ioan Gruffudd would definitely come back to it, as he was very sad when he learned the bad news.
Which shows would like to see come back by the hands of mighty Netflix?
Yesterday afternoon, at Universal Studio Orlando during its celebration of Harry Potter event, Warner Brothers unveiled a surprise for the fans. They showed an exciting behind the scenes featurette for the highly anticipated Harry Potter prequel, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them which was meet with thunderous applause.
The behind the scenes featurette shows off never-before-seen footage as world famous magizoologist Newt Scamander makes his way to New York. Check out this new wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling.
Warner Bros. Pictures has slated Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for worldwide release in 2D and 3D in select theaters and IMAX on November 18, 2016. Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) stars in the central role of wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander, under the direction of David Yates, who helmed the last four Harry Potter blockbusters.
The Star Trek movie franchise was reinvigorated by director J.J. Abrams with a reboot in 2009, albeit with the new movie taking a slightly different view on the original series characters. After the huge success of the ’09 film a sequel was produced, which received a mixed reception namely due to the overly secret nature of the movie’s plot and the ultimate letdown of said “spoiler.” 2016 will witness the third entry in this new series released and expectations have been relatively low. However, there may be more reasons to be optimistic than first glance.
Back to Basics Star Trek Beyond appears to be going back to the basic trend of the Star Trek TV series: the crew of the starship Enterprise exploring new worlds and boldly going where no one has gone before. From what we know so far of Star Trek Beyond, the Enterprise has been destroyed and the crew must fend for themselves on a new planet and face a brand new enemy, played by Idris Elba. One of the criticisms of Star Trek Into Darkness was too much retreading over previous story lines, so this at lest appears to be trapping over new ground intros new franchise while returning to the truth of the original series and its offspring.
More of an Ensemble
In a move to differ from the previous two Star Trek movies, Beyond appears to be more of an ensemble focusing as much on the rest of the crew and new characters as to the leads of Chris Pine’s Kirk and Zachary Quinto’s Spock. Star Trek has always had it’s leads but traditionally never failed to develop the rest of the crew throughout the many movies and TV series.
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg who will be playing Scotty for the third time, he took over script writing duties from Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof, and as a self confessed ‘Trekkie’ himself, Pegg will surely bring back the best of Star Trek and what fans love about the entire series. Despite the fact that Paramount supposedly are trying to emulate movies like Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy, Simon Pegg is a real fan and shown much integrity with his film making work so far.
“Scully puts the ‘science’ in science fiction,” is a concept that stuck out from my previous article arguing Dana Scully’s essential role in The X-Files. When we left Scully and Mulder in ‘My Struggle,’ Scully had scientifically proven that both her and Sveta have alien DNA. This ties into bigger X-Files mythology around abductees, the Cigarette Smoking Man, and The Syndicate. Of course Scully is key to these storylines, and Scully and Mulder fear their son William is a part of The Syndicate’s conspiracy.
Now ‘Founder’s Mutation,’ which starts off like a monster-of-the-week episode, goes on to explain what exactly this conspiracy is. The Syndicate, featured heavily in The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998), worked to implement a project for aliens to colonize and repopulate the planet. The full details of this storyline never really played themselves out in The X-Files. This episode looks into human-alien hybrids as the new theory on how this alien colonization will work. For The Syndicate this has been their goal all along, as some twisted way to speed up human evolution. One great allusion to the human evolution theme is when Scully and Mulder run into Agnes (Kacey Rohl) at the hospital. In one of the shots with Agnes, the audience can see Planet of Apes playing on a TV in the background.
Scully and Mulder’s investigation lead them to discover a series of inhumane genetic experiments, most of which are preformed on women and young children. This is a call back to Scully’s choice to give up her son for adoption in Season 9. Could William be like these children that Scully and Mulder find in Goldman’s hospital? Bringing back William Scully might be Chris Carter’s master plan to finally give audiences the answers to all the alien-related storylines. Often the government conspiracy and alien cover-up storyline felt tired. These mythology episodes usually didn’t work for me, because any answers given to the viewer felt vague. But in The X-Files revival these mythology-heavy episodes hold my attention, because Scully can quantify what’s fact and what’s fiction. Scully’s medical background makes her indispensible proving the science in these genetic experiments. As a former abductee, Scully continues to develop through her character arc. Dana Scully adds complexity to the story, as she can relate to and help investigate other survivors.
The second episode works by giving audiences the Scully and Mulder team that fans know and love. It’s a call back to some serious nostalgia, complete with scene in Assistant Director Walter Skinner’s office. Here the mission is clear, and Scully has a lot of challenges ahead of her.
Ewan McGregor was on Jimmy Kimmel Live Thursday night to promote his latest film Jane Got A Gun, McGregor talked about his voice-over work for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
In the scene describe below Rey has a Force Vison, and Obi-Wan says, “Rey, These Are Your First Steps.”
In ‘The Force Awakens’ when Rey touches the hilt of the lightsaber, the Force vision takes hold, and she is taken to the hallway on Bespin, where Luke fought Vader. She is then taken to a scene where she observes Luke placing a hand on R2. A fire backlights the scene. Next we see a figure, swinging a club-type weapon, before a red lightsaber blade blooms from his chest. Then, Rey in on the ground, in the rain, staring up at Kylo Ren and the other Knights of Ren. The next scene is a little girl (Rey) being dropped off on Jakku, as an alien hand pulls her saying “Quiet, girl.” The girl is screaming and crying, as she watches a starship take flight and leave Jakku’s atmosphere. Finally, Rey is taken to a scene from the future, where she is in a snowy forest, and as she turns, Kylo Ren is in front of her, his lightsaber ignited.
There are several theories on who Rey is and who she’s related to. You can check out this article: Top 5 Theories On Rey
What we do know is Rey has a connection between Obi-Wan, Luke and or Anakin. If she didn’t, there would be no Force Vison. The best theory so far is that Rey is Luke’s daughter and Obi-Wan’s granddaughter. That would mean that Obi-Wan had a daughter and Luke found her. Obi-Wan’s daughter could be one of the female characters introduced in Episode VIII.
Episode VIII is written and directed by Rian Johnson. The film stars Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Benicio Del Toro, Gwendoline Christie, John Boyega, Lupita Nyong’o, Peter Mayhew, Andy Serkis, Anthony Daniels, and Jimmy Vee.
Episode VIII will be in theaters on December 15, 2017.
Some of the greatest superhero stories ever told in comic books have occurred within one-shot issues. Many of these single issues deviate from the norm of their respective series and portray our favourite heroes at their most human. This is a list that told powerful and important stories for their respective characters.
The Incredible Hulk #420 – Lest Darkness Come
In this issue the Hulk has to face a real world horror when his former sidekick, Jim Wilson, contracts HIV. Jim Wilson pleads with the Hulk to give him some of his blood in order to save his life, however Hulk refuses as he does not want Jim to turn into a Hulk-like creature. The levels of fear of HIV/AIDS was still high in 1994 when this issue was published and to show the immensely powerful Hulk struggling with a real world issue many readers may have faced as well took this issue to new heights and showed the Hulk character at his most human.
Daredevil #191 – Roulette
Daredevil visits a now paralysed Bullseye in hospital, he can no longer move or even talk, but must lie there and endure round after round of Russian Roulette. As the story reaches the final round it is revealed that Matt Murdock is who he is and despite his deep hatred for Bullseye there is only one way their story can end, with an empty gun. Miller builds almost impossible tension as he takes the reader right to the edge of belief that The Man Without Fear is about to take a life. This was the issue that marked the end of Frank Miller’s first run on Daredevil. Miller culminated his series with the darkest superhero tale to date (Daredevil #191 pre-dates The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One).
Amazing Spider-Man #248 – The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man
After Spider-Man himself reads a newspaper article about a young fan who is dying of Leukaemia, he decides to pay him a visit. What unfolds is one of the most touching and sad moments in all of Spider-Man’s many issues. The pair bond and Spider-Man shares some of his stories including how his negligence caused the death of his Uncle Ben, a touching scene that causes the young boy to comfort his hero. This one-shot is a great example of why Spider-Man is still a fan favourite to this day.
Superman Annual #11 – For The Man Who Has Everything Created by the famous Watchmen duo of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, For The Man Who Has Everything is one of Superman’s most famous one-shot stories. Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman arrive at the Fortress of Solitude to celebrate Superman’s birthday only to discover him in catatonic state. He has succumbed to an alien plant known as Black Mercy in a plot by the super-villain, Mongul. The Black Mercy will show Superman a realistic dream of his ‘heart’s desire’. While the heroes battle Mongul, Superman must cope with his dream of living a full life on Krypton with a wife a son, as he begins to wake up he must face the challenge to give up what he believes is real and say goodbye to his family. An incredibly powerful Superman one-shot that provided the best look into the character’s psyche since his inception in 1938.
Batman – The Killing Joke The Killing Joke is the single most famous and important Batman/Joker one-shot. The story became infamous for telling the origin of the Joker; a family man and failed comedian who suffered ‘one bad day’ that finally drove him insane. After escaping from Arkham Asylum Joker begins a rampage of crime including paralysing Batgirl and kidnapping Commissioner Gordon. The issue culminates in a stand off between Joker and Batman at an abandoned Gotham theme park. This famous tale portrays the Joker at his most vicious and violent but the legacy of the comic stems from the debate of whether Batman, did or did not kill the Joker at the end after he tells him ‘The Killing Joke’. Created by Alan Moore, The Killing Joke is single handedly the most horrifying Batman one-shot that continues to inspire and challenge comic book creators today.
What are your favourite one-shot comic books and why?
Yeah so I know this doesn’t have to do specifically with anime, but whatever its relevant to almost every kind of entertainment that there has ever been or will be. If you’ve been on the internet for more than a minute, its safe to say you’ve seen your fair share of top 10 lists. So let me ask you this rhetorical question. Have you ever really agreed with any of them? I’m talking 30% or more. I know most of the top 10 lists I walk away from always end the same way, me rolling my eyes and thinking the other person is dumb or something. Maybe you’ve had this same reaction and are sick and tired of these top 10 lists that plague the internet as easy click-bait (maybe I’m a hypocrite here because of my title). Yes the title is misleading because this will not be a top 10 list. No this subject doesn’t really matter, and yes this is basically a rant. And to clear something up, I honestly think a stupid rant like this has more merit than a top 10 list. Rants may be another scourge of the internet but lets deal with this first.
To clarify this up in case it was a little vague in the opening paragraph, I don’t have a problem with the idea of a top 10 list. As an avid fan of things and stuff I have plenty of top 10 lists. What I don’t like is forums/websites/youtube channels whose main source of content is throwing together a top 10 list for every stupid thing under the sun. Theres a specific youtube channel you all know so I won’t have to say it, its watchmojo.com. Oops, couldn’t help myself. These are the types of top 10 lists I loathe and since I’m already 300 words into this thing I better start telling you why.
Like I said before I have my fair share of top 10 lists, who doesn’t? However, just because I have all these lists, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are worth sharing. “Logan what do you mean by that?” Well while I may have a list of certain top things there are only a few subject matters that I feel like are worth me sharing with other people (especially people who don’t really know me). For example, I know little to nothing about cars, so it would be pretty pointless if I posted a list of top 10 cars having to do with whatever. The most I could get away with is aesthetic, but if I did that the list wouldn’t really have any purpose. Its just a matter of wanting people ranking things to be a little informed about what they’re talking about.
Now there are times where you feel like you know someone online and want to get there opinion on things (and attempt to validate your own). Thats probably the biggest thing wrong with having all these top 10 lists. There really isn’t being any worth to them if you have it laid out that way, is there? Sure I find myself looking to be validated by someone else opinion every once and a while, but it shouldn’t really be encouraged (when talking about entertainment of course). So we look to, most of the times, random columnists (like myself) or faceless youtubers and look at what they think is the best in certain fields that are 99% pointless.
To make this easier to understand (Im doing a really bad job at that) Ill give an example of a pointless top 10 list and then a good top 10 list. A bad top 10 list would be something like Top 10 anime battles. I even put a link so you could watch and see what I’m getting at (and oh look its that one channel that I talked about earlier). Lists like these are as shallow as they come. They’re just there for that justification and validation purpose and thats it. Most of the top 10 lists are set up like this, people talking about things they know little about and thus can’t really bring anything to the conversation at hand. This potentially could be good if it were more informed and gave me something to chew on. Thats not the case though, every list is accompanied by a half-assed explanation and a fanboy pen bleeding through the video.
Now here’s an example of a good top 10 list, Top 10 Fullmetal Alchemist Theme Songs. So whats done right here as opposed to the other is that this clearly has more though put into it. There’s some real research to tie more things to think about into the subject at hand. It gives reasoning not only why its on the list but why it might resonate with people, why its unique compared to other things. The difference is that I learn something from this video as opposed to the former.
If you’ve read any of my articles you know I like to get as much out of my entertainment as possible. I’m just that greedy. So when I waste my time on something that really didn’t do anything, and even made me kind of mad that I watched it, it stays on my mind. Not too long or anything, I’m not crazy. most top 10 lists are bad right now and thats not necessarily because of the lists themselves, Its about whose making them. Whether they intend to actually share an educated opinion or just make some click-bait.
The CW announced in January, Legends of Tomorrow will eventually run into the DC Universe’s anti-hero cowboy Jonah Hex, which means it won’t be long before the team runs into more history-based characters.
Looking through DC’s vast mythology, there are many characters from different time-periods who would be perfect for the team to encounter on their journey through the ages.
1. Robin Hood
The prince of thieves has made many appearances over the years in DC comics. Often teaming up with and giving pointers to Green Arrow. Running into him would be entertaining enough but if Green Arrow’s actor Stephen Amell played him on a guest appearance it would be hilarious. The Atom and White Canary could keep making the joke “Doesn’t he remind you of someone?” the entire episode.
2. Ra’s Al Ghul
Arrow already introduced and defeated this long time leader of the League of Assassins, but since he was granted a long life by the Lazarus pit, it would be easy to imagine the team meeting up with him sometime in the past. Maybe even before he becomes a killer and White Canary wonders the entire episode, “Should we kill him and prevent him from killing others?”
3. Sherlock Holmes
One of the greatest detectives of all time has made several appearances in the DC universe over the years. He’s run into many different characters including Batman and would take the team on a very interest mystery. The only problem is there is no Batman-like character on the team for him to play off.
4. Sergeant Rock
The original comic book (non-superhuman) soldier who debuted before both Nick Fury and G.I. Joe. The team gets stuck while chasing Victor Savage during World War II and run into the good Sergeant. The story would get even more interesting if he found a way to steal some of the equipment from the Waverider and try to use it to stop the Nazis, causing the team to have to stop him or risk altering the timeline.
5. Merlin
The wizard known for aiding King Arthur and his knights could easily appear if the team made a trip to Camelot. Also, thanks to his ties to the character, meeting Merlin could explain him popping up in either Flash or Arrow and lead into the introduction of Captain Marvel into the DC TV universe. His appearance could also introduce…
6. Etrigan the Demon
Merlin’s half brother who was bonded with the knight Jason Blood would be a perfect addition along with Merlin. His mythical origins would make him perfect to battle with Hawkgirl. Then thanks to his immortality, he later appears in an episode of Flash or Arrow down the line.
7. Wonder Woman
With news of Wonder Woman’s movie taking place during World War II as a pilot crashes onto her island home of Themyscrica, having an earlier introduction with a TV episode wouldn’t be half bad an idea. It would finally tie the movie universe into the TV ones. The major issue is Warner Bros. plans to keep the Cinematic Universe separate from the TV Universe. Oh well, still a good idea.
8. Kamandi the last Human
The last human alive after a great disaster which results in a future where the world is run by highly intelligent anthropomorphic animals could easily appear on the show. Given the fact the team already has to fix a mistake which could have resulted in a terrible future in just the Pilot, a mishap resulting in meeting Kamandi isn’t so unthinkable. The team would be faced with the conundrum of fixing the future and not wiping out Kamandi in the process.
9. Booster Gold
The hero who does it all for fame and fortune would easily be able to make an appearance if the team takes a small trip into the future. If he did appear maybe Nathan Fillion can be called into to play him. The actor already said he would do it so why not give him a shot to portray the character on TV before giving him a full movie.
10. The Legion of Super Heroes
The superhero team from a distant future spotting an insanely high roster could easily make an appearance in the show. They could even show up in an effort to stop the team from continuing in their adventures because it’s affecting the future the Legion comes from. Complications would come from narrowing down which of the team’s long list of members would be able to show up.
Which of these characters would you like to make an appearance on this DC’s Legends of Tomorrow? Write a comment about it below.
