DC Comics released a three-page preview of the Mini-Comic for Book 3 of Dark Knight III: The Master Race Spotlights Hal Jordan Thursday afternoon.
With the next chapter of DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE, readers will learn more about the plans of the newly-freed Kandorians in the main story, but this 12-page supplemental tale sees an alien-looking (for details, check out Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Strikes Again) Hal Jordan’s otherwise idyllic life interrupted by a distress call from Earth. On his arrival, Hal is greeted by three strangers, looking for a God to worship…
This third mini-comic is co-written by Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello, with art breakdowns by John Romita Jr. and finishes by Frank Miller. In addition to the Book 3 periodical version (scheduled for late February), the Collector’s Edition hardcover publishes both the main story and the mini-comic in a same-size “prestige” format approximately 2 weeks after the periodical hits retailer shelves.
Michael Bay seems fitting to be the first entry into Monkeys Fighting Robots’ Undisputed Collection of Greatest Filmmakers*. There are few directors who have come to personify a generation, for better and worse, while also leaving a cultural crater the size of an asteroid quite like Mr. Bay. Now, having a lasting impact doesn’t necessarily make someone a great director. Hitler and Uwe Boll have had lasting impacts, after all (coincidence that they’re both German? — Just kidding, I’m not comparing a director to Hitler).
Michael Bay is known for being a fascist dictator on set and his ultimate control over the image he presents means we are able to get what each Great Filmmaker must have: a voice. The voice of Michael Bay is one of extreme kinetics; at once slick, commercial and cool yet perverse and self-gratifying. With a few exceptions, there isn’t a director working today who places as much of their unfiltered selves into the images we see.
Mr. Bay’s filmic eye was honed creating flashy commercials and music videos. Bay is amongst the first swath of narrative directors to emerge working in this fashion. There is a very real sense of commerciality in mainstream feature films and Bay came around at the exact right time when that commerciality deemed itself worthy of its own voice.
His first movie, Bad Boys, was an instant hit. Things were helped with it being headlined by upcoming superstars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence (who, at the time, wasn’t a film superstar but was definitely one in pop culture) but, for the director, it was like kissing a girl (or guy) for the first time. It was clunky, it was jagged at the edges but dammit it was cool.
Michael Bay kissed the girl that was Bad Boys and went immediately to third base, making The Rock, Armageddon and Pearl Harbor. During this period, his voice was firmly established but not quite understood. With all three being hits, the latter two of this trio cemented Bay as a divisive mainstream star, capable of crafting enormously successful films with enormous set pieces while also being completely tone deaf when given incompatible material.
In 2003, Mr. Bay once again visited his first kiss and this time went all the way. The resulting offspring was Bad Boys II. Up until this point, Bay’s voice was blunted either by learning the ropes of narrative cinema (Bad Boys) or making films he had no real business making (Pearl Harbor). By the time Bad Boys II came around, Bay was at the height of his filmmaking talents and was allowed to use whatever means necessary to bring the world another chapter in the saga of Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. During this two and a half hour sun-drenched epic, Michael Bay finally revealed to the world his particular brand of sick. It crept in at the edges of his earlier work but here it was totally unsheathed and brandished like a sword dipped in syphilis.
One of the more interesting things about Michael Bay is his total lack of irony. When he holds an action set piece revolving around dodging human cadavers thrown from a van, there is absolutely no pretension or sense of metaphoric value. It’s just there. If there is no such thing as objectivity in art, Michael Bay is as close as we come to it. He is acutely aware of the subjectiveness his lens provides (especially when it comes to the objectification of women) but he presents it simply as is. It’s what he wants to see. It’s what titillates him. Therefore, it’s what you’re going to see. In Bad Boys II we are able to fully view an artistic statement through the lens of total objectivity. Mr. Bay is not a master manipulator when it comes to theme but fools viewers into thinking he is when baring his soul through the manipulations of his insanely crafted action beats.
From here, we go into Mr. Bay’s most controversial phase. After having finally produced a bomb in The Island, Michael Bay directed Transformers. I wholeheartedly believe the first movie in this series gets a bit of undue hatred. It’s a fun time at the theater. Some fans with a little too much time on their hands may decry this as an utter mishandling of the series they so cherish but I say that way of thinking is a tad immature. Oh, and guess what Transformers is? Immature. The most accurate criticism leveled at these movies is that they are most definitely not for children. Bay’s voice has been proven to be a wild, dangerous one and filtering it though a movie about children’s toys is completely ill-advised. There are a handful of R-rated horror films I’d rather any 10-year-old watch than a Transformers movie.
If Transformers is decent at best, the less said of Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Transformers: Age of Extinction the better. At the very least, what makes these Transformers movies interesting in the slightest is this strange, acceptable filtration of a madman. I pay for my ticket just to see what kind of sick nonsense Bay was able to get past the MPAA and Paramount when making his “kids movies”. We can rant and rave all we want about this series being the decline of human culture but the utter truth is that it reminded us that Michael Bay isn’t some PG-13 hackboy giving everyone a handshake after he tells them how fat their moms are.
No, no. The genius of Michael Bay is when he calls you fat and retarded, spits in your face then hugs you and licks his own saliva off your flesh with a toothy grin.
This is what I like to call Pain & Gain. If we have to bitch and moan about Transformers, I say it’s all worth it for this mean little film. For the first time, Mr. Bay is given a script with a pulse (written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely of the Captain America series and soon to be Avengers: Infinity War fame) and the perfect subject matter with which to imprint upon. In this world of steroids, creeps and misplaced eroticism, Bay finds his home. It’s like David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” in that we finally get to see from which planet Michael Bay hails. The movie is shaggy but never fails to entertain and even manages to be poignant. If Michael Bay never works with Dwayne Johnson again, we’re all losers.
Michael Bay is a rocket in need of correct aiming. His visual touchstones are clear and recognizable even for film neophytes. He is a master craftsman and when matched with the correct, diseased material he transcends standard storytelling and becomes something else entirely. At their best, Michael Bay’s movies are an exploded hole-in-the-wall allowing us to see the wreckage of a man’s soul. That soul isn’t without its flaws but it is pure, it is beautiful and it is mother-effing Michael Bay.
*”Undisputed Collection of Greatest Filmmakers” is a semi-regular column that attempts to place today’s working directors into a pantheon of greats, only surrounded in fellowship by talent of equally unparalleled measure. This collection is non-refundable.
Sony Pictures released the first trailer for Money Monster starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
In the taut and tense thriller Money Monster, Lee Gates (George Clooney) is a bombastic TV personality whose popular financial network show has made him the money wiz of Wall Street. But after he hawks a high-tech stock that mysteriously crashes, an irate investor (Jack O’Connell) takes Gates, his crew, and his ace producer Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts) hostage live on air. Unfolding in real time, Gates and Fenn must find a way to keep themselves alive while simultaneously uncovering the truth behind a tangle of big money lies.
Money Monster is directed by Jodie Foster and stars Clooney, Roberts, Jack O’Connell, Dominic West, Giancarlo Esposito, and Caitronia Balfe.
A new teaser for Green Room shows Patrick Stewart leading a band of neo-Nazis, who seek to wipe out a punk-rock band who saw something they shouldn’t have seen. Green Room is the second feature film from director Jeremy Saulnier, whose debut, Blue Ruin was a captivating, understated revenge thriller.
Green Room is a brilliantly crafted and wickedly fun horror-thriller starring Patrick Stewart as a diabolical club owner who squares off against an unsuspecting but resilient young punk band.
Down on their luck punk rockers The Ain’t Rights are finishing up a long and unsuccessful tour, and are about to call it quits when they get an unexpected booking at an isolated, run-down club deep in the backwoods of Oregon. What seems merely to be a third-rate gig escalates into something much more sinister when they witness an act of violence backstage that they weren’t meant to see. Now trapped backstage, they must face off against the club’s depraved owner, Darcy Banker (Stewart), a man who will do anything to protect the secrets of his nefarious enterprise. But while Darcy and his henchmen think the band will be easy to get rid of, The Ain’t Rights prove themselves much more cunning and capable than anyone expected, turning the tables on their unsuspecting captors and setting the stage for the ultimate life-or-death showdown.
Intense, emotional, and ingeniously twisted, Green Room is genre filmmaking at its best and most original. Saulnier continues to build his reputation as one of the most exciting and distinctive directors working today, with a movie that’s completely different from his previous, highly acclaimed Blue Ruin, but which is just as risk-taking and even more full of twists. The entire cast deliver first-rate performances, but Patrick Stewart gives a transformative and brilliantly devious turn as Darcy—elegant yet lethal, droll yet terrifying, Stewart makes the film simply unforgettable.
The film has been running the festival gamut, seemingly forever, and is finally getting a wide release. Green Room will hit theaters in limited release April 1, and will go wide April 15.
Zack Snyder, the director of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, appeared on Conan Wednesday night and released a new clip from the film.
Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.
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.
The film is set to open worldwide on March 25, 2016
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the nominations for the 88th Academy Awards Thursday morning.
The 88th Academy Awards will be held February 28 live from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, hosted by Chris Rock. Here is the list of all Oscar nominations.
Best Picture
Big Short
Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
Bridge of Spies Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers
Brooklyn
Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
Mad Max: Fury Road
Doug Mitchell and George Miller, Producers
The Martian
Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer and Mark Huffam, Producers
The Revenant
Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent and Keith Redmon, Producers
Room
Ed Guiney, Producer
Spotlight
Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust, Producers
Best Actor
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Micheal Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge Of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Directing
The Big Short
Mad Max
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
Film Editing
Big Short
Mad Max
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Foreign Language Film
Embrace Of The Serpent Mustang Son Of Saul A War
Original Score
Bridge of Spies Carol The Hateful Eight Sicario Star Wars
Production Design
Bridge Of Spies The Danish Girl Mad Max The Martian The Revenant
Visual Effects
Ex Machina Mad Max The Revenant Star Wars The Martian
Adapted Screenplay
The Big Short Brooklyn Carol Martian Room
Original Screenplay
Bridge Of Spies Ex Machina Inside Out Spotlight Straight Outta Compton
Animated Feature Film
Anomalisa Boy And The World Inside Out Shaun The Sheep Movie When Marnie Was There
Cinematography
Carol The Hateful Eight Mad Max: Fury Road The Revenant Sicario
Costume Design
Carol Cinderella The Danish Girl Mad Max: Fury Road The Revenant
Documentary Feature
Amy Cartel Land The Look of Silence What Happened, Miss Simone Ukraine
Documentary Short Subject
Body Team 12 A Girl In The River Last Day Of Freedom
Makeup and Hairstyling
Mad Max: Fury Road 100 Year Old Man The Revenant
Original Song
50 Shades Of Gray Racing Extinction Youth The Hunting Ground Spectre
Animated Short Film
World Of Tomorrow
Live Action Short Film
Ave Maria Day One Everything Will Be OK Shock Sutter
Sound Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Sicario Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Sound Mixing
Bridge Of Spies Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Legendary actor Alan Rickman passed away at age 69 after losing his battle with cancer, his family confirmed Thursday according to Deadline.
“The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends,” the family statement.
The actor had 68 credits to his name, depending on your generation, Rickman is either famous for his work on Die Hard or the Harry Potter series. He also canceled Christmas in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and saved Earth in Galaxy Quest.
There’s an inherent danger when a movie tackles such a hot-button topic as Benghazi. It’s easy for audience members to get annoyed when filmmakers who are hellbent on letting anyone know that they are depicting actual events when, in reality, they are painting Hollywood’s version of said events. Such is the case with Micheal Bay’s latest monstrosity 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. This new Micheal Bay film is supposed to tell the story of a CIA security team responding to militant attacks on both an American diplomatic compound in Libya and the nearby annex in September of 2012. There’s been rampant speculation that this movie might hurt former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Well, that thought is erroneous. The film makes no mention of the former Secretary of State nor President Barack Obama. Like the Mitchell Zuckoff book it’s based on, the script by Chuck Hogan (The Town) does not take a political slant. The alleged focus of the film is on the security personnel who faced a very fluid and dangerous situation.
In tapping into such emotional subject matter, one of the key elements that Micheal Bay had to get right is that he had to create a connection between these men who paid the ultimate price and the audience. Bay even went as far to cast all-American looking John Krasinski as one of the former Navy SEALs, who says goodbye to his family once again to be a security contractor at the beginning of the story. Bay rounded out the cast with a group of actors that had to belong to an acting troupe called “men with the personality of wallpaper.”
It’s certainly easy for the audience to watch this movie and be swayed into liking it just for the sole reason of how tragic the Benghazi event was. Lucky for us, the audience can count on the over the top filmmaking of Micheal Bay to help us see the truth about how horrid Bay’s film is. Now, this movie certainly had its fair share of explosions and gunfire, which is right in Bay’s wheelhouse but where 13 Hours loses me is in the choice of shots. Was it necessary for Bay to use crane shots so we can follow the mortar blasts from overhead? Did we need to see slow sweeping shots of the dead militants outside the compound? Of course, the shot that caused me to sigh the most was Bay’s use of slow motion as one of the brave men defending the compound was blown up. This type of filmmaking is reminiscent of any one of the Transformers films. Often Micheal Bay has things cranked up to 11 when in reality he should have been at about a six.
Hogan’s writing is bloated Hollywood drivel. 13 Hours is chock full of sensationalized dramatic moments, one-dimensional characters, and a slanted take on an immense tragedy. In the end, for 13 Hours to have worked, Micheal Bay would have had to hit a massive of home-run with this film. What transpired is a film that was doomed from the get go. To be honest, it was going to be difficult for any filmmaker to encapsulate not only what transpired on that fateful day in September, but the horror that occurred in the aftermath. Sometimes certain topics are best left alone, and Benghazi should have been one of them.
Could Your Favorite Super Heroes Be Heading To TV?!
Since the debut of Arrow in 2012, there has been more than 8 comic book properties brought to the small screen with more awaiting release. The most recent super heroes smash was surprisingly Jessica Jones on Netflix. After a great success with Daredevil, I thought the streaming service would fall into a second series slump but they proved me very wrong. Netflix isn’t the only place where you can find great superhero entertainment; ranging from CBS to The CW, there is something for just about everyone in the mood for a little comic fun.
But what’s next for the beloved genre? I will break down what’s upcoming and in development, trying to pinpoint what would be the next small screen success.
Confirmed:
Legends of Tomorrow
With all the memorable side characters in both Arrow/Flash, there was a need for Legends of Tomorrow to handle all the leftover superheroes. So now there is a place for Captain Cold, White Canary, and many more to have a moment to truly shine. The show officially kicked off during an episode of The Flash when Vandel Savage showed his truly villain status as he tried to kill Hawkgirl and Hawkman. Now the Hawk-people will join the other “heroes” as they time-travel with Rip Hunter to stop Vandel and his evil plan for world domination. The show premieres on January 21st on The CW!
Luke Cage
After being a guest star on Jessica Jones, look for Luke Cage to come smashing to your Netflix account sometime this year. The show will be completely different from anything in the comic book universe up to this time; it will feature a predominantly black cast and be set in Harlem, which coupled with the story gives me instant feelings of 70’s Blaxploitation films. Luke Cage will use his superhuman strength and unbreakable skin to bring peace to his city. If his role on Jones is anything like his solo show, I expect Luke Cage to be a massive hit.
Preacher
Nowadays, you don’t even have to be a superhero to get a television show. Preacher is Vertigo/DC series that will be coming to AMC sometime in 2016. Brought to you by Seth Rogan of all people, Preacher will try to match the success of comics on AMC…in vain of the beloved Walking Dead. The show Preacher will star Dominic Cooper as a small town preacher who is joined by an Irish vampire and his ex-girlfriend on a supernatural journey to find God. Unique & controversial, this show will surely make an impact on television.
Iron Fist
One of the hidden gems in Marvel comics, Iron Fist, is a master of martial arts & able to focus his ‘chi’ as attacks. His inclusion in the Netflix line-up of superhero adaptions makes sense; he’s not easily accessible to a mainstream audience, but the hardcore comic fans would love to see his story be told. It reminds a lot of the Daredevil TV series, and we have seen the massive success that is. Iron Fist can be the hit no one ever saw coming.
The Defenders
If The Avengers were the cool kids in high school, The Defenders are the pot smoking oddities that hang out on the lawn during lunch. Mixing the previous mentioned Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones & Daredevil; the upcoming show The Defenders will bring together Marvel’s Netflix oddballs to a mini-series coming in late 2016. This group will showcase a different side of Marvel and will surely be a refreshing take on the superheroes group dynamic.
In Developmental Hell:
Static Shock
One of my personal favorite animated series from the mid-00’s, Static Shock sticks out as one of the few black comic book characters to make it into the mainstream. The initial announcement of the show was met with positivity but as the lack of new information has come out, the positivity has diminished. Since the rumored casting of Jaden Smith as the titular Static, there has been no other talk of the project.
Teen Titans
TNT has been supposedly working on Titans for a while now. Teen Titans had great success on Cartoon Network with their animated show but with the growing need for teen entertainment, I think a live action Titans would have been a great fit for TV.
While it is a great fit for TV but I don’t think it’s a fit for a channel like TNT. Known for “lighthearted fun” entertainment like The Last Ship & Major Crimes, TNT doesn’t feel like the home for the group featuring characters like Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire.
Krypton
There isn’t much known about the prequel to Superman, but it’s supposed to be coming to SyFy sometime in 2016 by writer David Goyer. Life on Krypton is rarely depicted in the live-action universe, so this show will be a totally new take on the Superman saga. But since it was announced about a year ago, nothing else has been said of the piece. With Gotham showing pre-Batman life, I think Krypton would be another great re-invention of the classic brand.
So what show will surpass just being loved by genre fans and become a mainstream success? I personally think Preacher could the bright star of this bunch but after 2 successful Netflix shows, I think Luke Cage has a chance to really steal the show.
We know both Lex Luthor and Doomsday are appearing in the upcoming Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but is a third villain joining the party? It seems, according to a few rumors, a third big-time villain will be thrown into the fray to get the plot of Justice League moving forward.
Warning: Possible Spoilers Ahead!
According to a rumor over at Latino Review, Bizarro could be the third villain in Batman v. Superman. Theses all speculation right now, but Latino Review is typically at the forefront of rumors that come to fruition. Bizarro is a Superman clone who isn’t hindered by the moral fortitude of the Man of Steel. This could be interesting, but it could also muddy up the waters too much. Too many villains was a problem with Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and the trailer for Batman v. Superman haven’t been the most solid glimpses at the film thus far.
Devin Faraci of Birth.Movies.Death, who’s seen the shooting script for the film, also added a little ambiguous hint that Zack Snyder and Co. added what could be considered a fourth act to the film, so Bizarro truly does seem like a possibility.
