In a very lackluster midseason finale for the sixth season of The Walking Dead on AMC, the gotcha moment came with the release of the ‘Prologue to the Next Chapter of The Walking Dead.’
Your property belongs to Negan! – stated a new character, possibly Dwight.
Jeffery Dean Morgan was cast as Negan in early November. Morgan will make his first appearance as Negan in the season finale on April 3, 2016.
“This is the craziest thing ever. It’s the probably the most emotionally wrought and dark episode I’ve ever read. I’ve never read an episode that is so dark and compelling in my life (…) I had to stop reading this at three different times. It was just messing me up. It is so emotionally dark and twisted,” said Ross Marquand.
Marquand used the words ‘Usual Suspects’ to describe the last episode in an interview with ComicBook.com.
We love a hero, we love to watch them persevere, fail at first, but then succeed, but a story is only as good as its villain or villains. From Cobra Commander to Lex Luthor to Hans Gruber, great villains can make the hero look good and take a mundane story and make it great.
Arrow and The Flash have been hits for The CW, and while Oliver Queen and Barry Allen are the focal points, their adversaries are what keep them interesting and keep us watching.
The Trickster
The Trickster Photo: The CW
Reprising his role from the 1991 CBS series The Flash, Mark Hamill goes full on Lecter/Joker, complete with his own glass cage and isolated wing in Iron Heights. When a copycat, who would later be revealed as the son of James Jesse, begins attacking Central City, Barry and Joe (Jesse L. Martin) go to seek help from Trickster, which then leads into a double cross by father and son. Exploding gift boxes, poisoned champagne, and out-and-out maniacal laughter makes The Trickster a great foil for the Scarlet Speedster. Hamill will be reprising the role later on this season.
Malcolm Merlyn
Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) Photo: The CW
First the Dark Archer and now the current Ra’s al Ghul, Merlyn (John Barrowman) has been 2 steps ahead of everyone since he appeared in the first season of Arrow. Trained by the League Of Assassins after the death of his wife, he took on the guise of the Dark Archer to make the Arrow look like the killer he had once been. Upon learning he was Thea Queens biological father, he sought to train her to be the warrior his son never could, and then used her to kill Sara Lance (Black Canary). Striking a deal with Oliver to become the new Ra’s al Ghul at the end of last season. Now leader of the League Of Assassins, Merlyn holds the lions’ share of the power in Arrow for the time being.
Deathstroke
Deathstroke Photo: The CW
Initially an ally of Oliver Queen when Queen was first stranded on the island, Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett) originally sought to help Oliver avenge the death of his mentor Yao Fe. Growing jealous of Oliver and his growing relationship with Yao Fes’ daughter Shado, Slade was pushed over the edge when after a battle, Oliver gave him a dose of mirakuru to save his life.
Making his first appearance in season 2 of Arrow, Wilson resurfaced with a plan and a grudge to end Oliver Queen and destroy all he holds dear. He developed an army of mirakuru powered foot soldiers, planted a mole in Queen Consolidated to manipulate Oliver to sign over the company, and he also murdered Moira Queen right in front of Thea and Oliver.
He is one of the worlds’ most dangerous assassins and fighters, can go toe to toe with almost anyone, and probably has the scariest costume going. Deathstroke was a standout character in the sophomore season of Arrow.
Captain Cold
Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) Photo: The CW
Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller) is a simple man who likes simple things. He likes to steal, and doesn’t have qualms about hurting people to get what he wants. Forced to adapt his approach when The Flash appeared in Central City, Snart came into possession of a cold gun stolen from S.T.A.R. Labs. Snarts’ new weapon has the ability to reach ‘absolute zero’ and stop The Flash in his tracks. The game changed and Snart changed with it. Calculating every angle and anticipating almost every outcome, Cold has come to a bit of an uneasy truce with The Flash after a recent encounter, agreeing to not kill anyone in the commission of his illegal activities. Captain Cold will be a part of Legends Of Tomorrow, which will be premiering Jan 2016 on the CW.
Damien Darhk
Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) Photo: The CW
The primary antagonist in this current season of Arrow, Darhk is a chess master who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty when needed. Formerly the heir to take over the League Of Assassins and cast out by Ra’s Al Ghul because he wasn’t going to wait to assume power. Currently the leader of the mysterious HIVE, Darhk also presents the face of a legitimate businessman who wants to help Star City. Sharp suits, a killer smile, and supernatural powers from an unknown source, Darhks’ endgame has yet to be revealed this season and that makes him the Green Arrows’ most formidable foe yet.
Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments
The Flash airs Tuesday nights at 8pm EST, Arrow airs Wednesday nights at 8pm EST on The CW
“The you in you isn’t the you you think is in you.” –Satoshi Kon
Satoshi Konwas known for many things, subjective reality, mentally broken characters, and fluid visuals. He loved using skewed perspectives and messing with the continuity, Kon loved making his audience just as confused as his characters. Kon was also known for making a darn good movie, Millennium Actress, is the perfect example.
Review of Millennium Actress by Satoshi Kon
Millennium Actress is literally the best movie I have ever seen, well… in my opinion. The movie is drenched is subliminal meaning, thematic depth, and emotion. Having seen the movie 20+ times, I’d like to think that I’m pretty knowledgeable about this subject. And yet, when watching it for this review I still discovered new things. There is so much to cover for this movie that I was originally planning to write a 8,000 word article, minimum. I wanted to cover everything this movie has to offer. But that was a little too ambitious, so instead we’ll cover the meta-story and three major themes within the movie. But be warned, I might plan an entire series dedicated just to this movie.
The synopsis of Millennium Actress is as follows: “Two men interview an elderly woman about her extensive film career.” (Source) This might not seem like much, because it isn’t. Millennium Actress’s story far exceeds the boundaries of just a plot, Millennium Actress’s true genius lies in the meta-story.
Warning: The rest of this article contains SPOILERS
Yes, Millennium Actress’s bare plot is a little more involved that what was described above, but that isn’t the point. The point is that the surface plot isn’t important in Millennium Actress, it’s what lies underneath. The meta-story, which contains all themes, motifs, and symbolic meanings, is the true heart of the story. There is a lot to cover, I wasn’t kidding when I said I was planning on writing such a long article, it would be easy, this movie is flooded with… with… genius. There are tons I could cover, like the themes of cinema, fanboys, the hag’s place in the story, the rivalry between Chiyoko and Ako, running, and earthquakes, just to name a few. But I’ve limited myself to three major themes, and I’d like to go over them.
The first is Chiyoko’s Memories, this is the most important because it’s the lens through which the nearly the entire movie is viewed. As anyone who’s watched more than thirty minutes knows, Millennium Actress is not a literal movie. You cannot watch this movie and expect everything to make sense. One of my friends didn’t like Millennium Actress because “She did all those movies but they all had the same plot. It doesn’t make sense.”
But you can’t watch the movie with that mindset and fully enjoy it, unlike a majority of Kon’s other films (namely Magnetic Rose, Perfect Blue, and Paprika), this is not a film you can piece together, it’s not designed like that. Think of Millennium Actress as a grounded art film, The Holy Mountain this is not, it’s much closer to Synecdoche, N.Y in that regard.
However, that doesn’t mean you just have to accept the shifting realities. Millennium Actress gives us a wonder explanation to ties directly into the major theme mentioned both at the beginning of this article and in Magnetic Rose. The majority of Millennium Actress is shown through an individual (or dare I say… subjective) viewpoint. Chiyoko herself says it, “I’ve gotten old and my memory is not what it used to be.” This is further supported by the movie in various scenes (I’d play the clips right now but… you know… this isn’t a video).
Thus everything told by Chiyoko to Genya and Ida is inherently subjective, that’s why all the movies have the same plot, that’s why she’s constantly switching roles and movies. Even the lighting is affected by this, the relevant part is at 2:04, but I suggest watching the entire video.
Moving on to our second we have the final line of the movie, “After all, it’s the chase I really love.” A few people have stated that this line negatively affected their thoughts on the movie. These people take this line to believe that Chiyoko didn’t truly love the painter, but rather just objectified him and the chase. I, however, don’t believe this is fully the case.
The first reason is that Chiyoko didn’t truly know that it was “The chase I really love” until Genya, Ida, and we showed up on her doorstep. As she says in the movie “You’ve helped me unlock this, I feel like a little girl again.” It wasn’t until Chiyoko looks back on her life that she realizes that “It’s the chase I really love.”
The second being what the painter told Chiyoko in the warehouse. “I like this moon the best, because after the full moon everything starts to wane. But with the penultimate moon there is still time, and thus still hope.” In Chiyoko’s journey, as soon as she achieved her goal, finding the painter once more, her life is at it’s full moon, but after that everything starts to wane. But with her goal impossible, her life was always bathed in the light of the penultimate moon, which is the best, according to the painter, “I like this moon the best.”
Finally, I would like the address “The Key to The Most Important Thing There Is.” So, what is the most important thing there is? There are three major interpretations of what “The Most Important Thing There Is” is. Each interpretation is from a specific viewpoint, so all three are correct.
The first it from the perspective of the painter. This would be Creativity. The reason being is that Chiyoko glances at his painting supplies, which are obviously what the key lies to. I am 100% positive that this is what Chiyoko would have guessed “tomorrow” if the painter had not run off. Some would claim the answer is either paint, or art. However, paint is only useful because of how it’s used, because of art. And art is only one of many ways of demonstrating Creativity. Furthermore, the painter was an “anti-government rebel,” taking a stand for free speech, this would further support the Creativity theory.
The second interpretation would be from Chiyoko’s perspective. This would be her entire search. Without the key Chiyoko would have burned out within months. But the key is a constant reminder of the painter and her search. This is seen most evidently when Otaki tries to seduce Chiyoko but her attention is brought to the key, which causes her to run off. Furthermore, after Chiyoko loses the key her passion is lost with it. This is why Chiyoko says she, “feel[s] like a little girl again,” the key brings her the search and the passion for it. This is important because, as discussed above, Chiyoko quite enjoys this search.
Finally, the third interpretation would be our perspective, that of the audience. This would be the entire movie. If not for the key Genya would not have searched so hard for Chiyoko, and Chiyoko would have never told her story. If it wasn’t for the key, we would never have the chance to ‘unlock’ this story. And as someone who adores this film more than my siblings, I am sure grateful we have it.
Technically, the painter claimed it was “The Key to The Most Important Thing There is.” So in a literal sense the first interpretation is the most ‘true’ but as said before Millennium Actress is far more than any literal interpretation.
Conclusion
So, that was my brief analysis of my absolute favorite movie of all time, Millennium Actress. I could talk for hours and hours about how much I love this film and everything I’ve discovered within it. If you’d like to talk to me about it, feel free to comment below, tweet me, anything. I have some notes I took while watching posted on my personal site in case you’d like to see those. But if you want to talk, oh man I would love to, please don’t hesitate.
Back to the actual movie, I feel like it would be impossible to give this movie anything but 100%. This may seem crazy, but if you’d read my Glass Mask Episode one review, then you may know where I’m going with this. This movie has one of the deepest, yet tightest narratives I’ve ever seen. I’m sure it has mistakes too, but it has so much ‘Magic’ to it that I cannot find a single one.
Millennium Actress is basically a perfect movie, and every movie loving fan owes it to themselves to see it at least once.
Kon loved challenging his viewers to make sense of what’s happening, and consider their own perspectives, his movies may seem cynical and pessimistic, but underneath there lies a layer of vain hope. “With feelings of gratitude for all that is good in this world, I put down my pen. Now excuse me, I have to go.” –Satoshi Kon
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is rapidly expanding with 14 upcoming films and three new Netflix series, plus the additional seasons of Daredevil, Agents of SHIELD, and Agent Carter. With all this uncharted territory being forged by Marvel Studios, Monkeys Fighting Robots compiled a list of the top five characters that need to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe now.
These characters don’t need solo films, but what they would do is make a good movie, great.
Honorable mentions for Ka-Zar, Eddie Brock, Beta Ray Bill, She-Hulk, Darkhawk, and Quasar.
Richard Rider (Nova)
Even though Nova is a complete ripoff of the Green Lantern, who doesn’t want to see a Star-Lord and Nova team up for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? The Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning run at Marvel Comics that reinvented the cosmic characters are a must-read, and director James Gunn used it as the source material for Guardians of the Galaxy. Richard Rider was the primary catalyst of that time and deserves his big-screen moment.
Richard Rider was born in Hempstead, New York. As a teenager, he was chosen at random by the alien Rhomann Dey, last surviving Centurion of the planet Xandar’s elite Nova Corps, to inherit his power and succeed him in the rank of Nova Prime following the destruction of his world by the intergalactic pirate Zorr. Having been mortally wounded in the battle that tore Xandar apart, Dey succeeded in tracking Zorr to Earth but was unable to exact vengeance due to the extent of his injuries. At death’s door, Dey had little choice but to transfer his power to an unsuspecting human on the planet below, praying whoever he found will take up his cause and prove worthy of the powers he had given.
Silver Sable
The biggest issue with Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, the series is one-note, Hydra. The series introduces the Inhumans, but it still goes back to Hydra. Silver Sable is a great character that is not an Inhuman or part of Hydra. Silver Sable International would work well occasionally popping up in the series to work with or against SHIELD. Just imagine the rivalry with Agent May and the loss of words by Coulson.
Silver’s father was a Nazi hunter, considered to be the best in Europe, even working alongside James Howlett, known as the Canadian at the time. His wife was murdered when the home he shared with his wife and daughter was bombed. Silver begged her father to train her so that she could avenge her mother’s murder, and though he tried his best to discourage her, he soon realized her potential, and she soon began joining him on hunts. After his death, she assumed command of the Wild Pack and became founder and owner of Silver Sable International.
Taskmaster
Did you see his costume? The Avengers fighting Skeletor, OMG! Seriously, the Taskmaster’s origin would fit perfectly with Agents of SHIELD or if Marvel wanted to introduce the Thunderbolts on Netflix. Plus, his powers are brilliant; he can physically mimic anyone’s abilities. The Taskmaster can be Captain America, Daredevil, Hawkeye, and Black Widow all at the same time, and he has an over the top personality. The Taskmaster is the perfect heel.
Tony Masters gained an ability known as “photographic reflexes” during a mission as a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. This ability enabled him to watch another person’s physical movements and duplicate them without any practice, no matter how complex. He was previously a naturally gifted athlete who trained himself to superb physical condition. His power was only limited because of the memories he gained by watching others overwrote his personal memories. As a result, Tony forgot his wife and field agent partner, Mercedes Masters, as well as his own history with S.H.I.E.L.D. Mercedes crafted an elaborate set-up to help control and guide Tony in his new guise as Taskmaster. Using a series of muscle memory and reflexive tasks, she linked Taskmaster to “the Org” his “handler” between jobs and a constant to keep him on task despite his frequently over-written memory. The Org was actually Mercedes herself, gathering intelligence and feeding it back to S.H.I.E.L.D. thanks to Taskmaster’s reports. Tony, therefore, became the ultimate double agent in the super-villain underground — one who didn’t even know what he was.
Hercules
There is no personality like Hercules in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and with the number of jokes the MCU puts in their films, this Greek God writes is own.
“I would like to order one drunk hero to save New York City,” enter Hercules to throw kegs of beer at the invading aliens.
To where the Taskmaster makes a great heel, Hercules is the Babe Ruth of the Olympian gods. Just like the Babe showing up drunk and hitting home runs, Herc would roll out of bed at the Avenger’s mansion to fight monsters. Thor couldn’t handle his wit, and the Hulk would have to put Herc in his place every five seconds. At the very least, Hercules would be a great guest star on Agents of SHIELD.
Hercules is the son of Zeus, king of the Olympian gods, and Alcmena. Zeus seduced Alcmena in the guise of her husband, King Amphitryon of Troezen. Thanks to Zeus’s enchantment, Hercules was born with the potential for extraordinary superhuman strength, which he first displayed before he was even one-year-old by strangling two serpents that attacked him (sent by Hera). Hercules had many notable adventures in ancient times. He sailed with the Argonauts (with them he may have battled the Akaana), faced the Hydra, saw the death of Medusa, and defeated Antaeus.
J. Jonah Jameson and The Daily Bugle
Now that Sony and Marvel have worked out a deal to bring the Spider-Man franchise back to the MCU, J. Jonah Jameson and The Daily Bugle need to make their presence known.
J.K. Simmons is the absolute no-brainer as Jameson, and imagine adding his commentary to every film and television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Jonah is the Editor in Chief and owner of The Daily Bugle. He even becomes the mayor of New York City in the comics. The Daily Bugle is a mainstay of the books, and the MCU feels weird without the iconic building as part of the landscape.
Jameson’s involvement in Civil War:
Jameson pressured his staff into supporting the government’s Superhuman Registration Act, still directing the general tone of the paper, despite losing his more hands-on position. When Spider-Man unmasked to reveal himself to be Peter Parker, Jameson fainted dead away at the realization that the man he’d been calling a menace had been on his payroll for years.
That is why without a doubt J. Jonah Jameson needs to enter the MCU now!
Marvel Studios Schedule
2016
May 6: Captain America: Civil War
November 4: Doctor Strange
2017
May 5: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
July 2: Marvel Studios co-produced Spider-Man film (Sony)
November 3: Thor: Ragnarok
2018
February 16: Black Panther (new date)
May 4: Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1
July 6: Ant-Man and the Wasp (new addition)
2019
March 8: Captain Marvel (new date)
May 3: Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2
July 12: Inhumans
2020
May 1: Untitled Marvel Studios film (new addition)
July 10: Untitled Marvel Studios film (new addition)
November 6: Untitled Marvel Studios film (new addition)
Will you be alive in 100 years? If so, you’ll probably get to see the film Robert Rodriguez has made with John Malkovich, which has been sealed in a time capsule to be released on November 18, 2115.
If you don’t know, a time capsule is usually a box containing items somebody finds valuable (mostly emotional) and it gets buried or kept hidden for a long time, to be opened by someone else or by a future self. I’ve heard about special editions of certain films included in time capsules to be preserved or as a special memento.
This new project titled 100 Years: The Movie You Will Never See is an entirely new thing, as we most likely won’t be able to see it, but kids born from now on might. And this is not a joke, but a publicity stunt. The film is being used to promote Louis XIII Cognac, a top shelf liquor produced by Rémy Martin.
The movie was inspired by the legacy of craftsmanship and time it takes to create LOUIS XIII Cognac, which is one of the most luxurious spirits in the world.
What we can do today is choose to see three videos featuring one of three possible futures to explore in 1 minute teasers each: futuristic LED lights, a dystopian Titanfall-esque or Galactic City scenes.
https://youtu.be/GJsLMs2vzIQ
Robert Rodriguez has stated:
I was intrigued by the concept of working on a film that nobody would ever see in my lifetime.
I have to admit, it is a cool concept (especially considering it’s Robert Rodriguez we’re talking about), even if it ends up being more of long commercial than an actual movie with a decent plot… But since we presumably won’t get to see it and the people who made it won’t know what the audience thought about the project, do we really care for it?
The hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is at an insane level with Disney creating a cross promotion for every aspect of the film. What is even worst is the amount of footage that’s been released as well; from the trailers to the TV spots, to the inside looks. Since the film with debut overseas earlier than the states, you might have to go off the grid for 48 hours to avoid spoilers.
But what if you could Jedi mind trick the internet into to not spoiling Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Two developers are attempting that feet. Alex Jumašev and Max Al Farakh released a Chrome extension in the Chrome store, the Star Wars Spoiler Blocker extension. The program reads through the web page for the words ‘Star Wars’ and if you end up on a page that mentions Star Wars, the extension will take over your screen and show you a warning screen.
This what the extension looks like on Latino-Review:
Is this the next level of ad blockers, content blocking? Will you use this extension to prevent spoilers from showing up on your computer?
We've made a little Chrome extension that warns you about potential Star Wars spoilers on any page you visit: https://t.co/YfhxV31MyX
Episode VII in the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opens in theaters December 18, 2015.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.
The release of The Dark Knight III has created quite the buzz in the comics universe, and it also signaled the return of Frank Miller. Miller is back for his third standalone Batman graphic novel (we have a fresh review on book one here) and in a recent interview claimed to hate Superman.
In the interview with DC Comics All Access, Miller admits to hating the Man of Steel, of course with a little tongue-in-cheek fun:
Of course, who wouldn’t hate someone who could fly, someone who is just loved by everyone, was the handsomest guy who could get all the dates. Of course I went for the underdog who had a nasty streak to him and played a much nastier game than Superman.
Here is the full interview:
Clearly Frank Miller is having a little fun, but I still it’s clear he isn’t the biggest Supes fan regardless.
Book one of The Dark Knight III: The Master Race is available now.
A number of rumors have hit the web this week regarding the future of DC’s Extended Universe. These rumors come mostly courtesy of JoBlo, a well-connected movie news and rumor site.
According to JoBlo:
Mera will play a major role in the Aquaman film and will be a “force to be reckoned with.” The studio is looking to cast a non-white actress in the role. Additionally, the villain of the film will be Aquaman’s half-brother, Ocean Master.
Cyborg may be replaced with a Teen Titans film, in which Cyborg will be featured.
Green Lantern Corps will feature both Hal Jordan and John Stewart, in a “”Lethal Weapon in space” team-up.”
Adding to the rumor mill this week is a report from the Latino Review, which states that WB is considering a Birds of Prey film staring Black Canary.
With so many rich characters and brilliant stories, DC’s untapped potential is only beginning to be realized by Warner Brothers.
According to a new promo for Gotham, fans anticipating DC’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will get a chance to whet their appetites this Monday, when an exclusive sneak peak for the film will premiere during Gotham’s midseason finale. The promo features cast members from Gotham responding to the question of who would win a fight, Batman or Superman – unsurprisingly, their answers overwhelming favor the Dark Knight. This news follows comments made recently by producer Charles Roven, who promised new footage from the film “very soon.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice arrives in theaters on March 25, 2016.
In an incredibly candid behind-the-scenes DVD featurette from the extended edition of The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, Peter Jackson admitted to “winging it” when directing the Hobbit trilogy.
“Because Guillermo Del Toro had to leave and I jumped in and took over, we didn’t wind the clock back a year and a half and give me a year and a half prep to design the movie, which was different to what he was doing,” Jackson explained. “It was impossible, and as a result of it being impossible, I just started shooting the movie with most of it not prepped at all.”
Jackson added that he and his collaborators didn’t even have the “scripts written to our satisfaction,” and that contributed to “a very high pressure situation.” Things became especially difficult during the huge battle sequence in the trilogy’s final film. “I was able to wing it, right up until the point that I had to start shooting this very intricate battle. And I couldn’t wing that, really, I did need to know what I was doing and have a plan.” Jackson said at that point he “simply didn’t know what the hell” he was doing.
Discussing the decision to delay the shooting of that battle, Jackson explained that though they “had allowed two months of shooting for that in 2012,” he suggested to his producers that, because he didn’t have the necessary “storyboards and prep,” the sequence should be postponed. The production shut down and The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies was pushed back from its July 2014 release date to December of that year.
Though commercially successful, the final Hobbit film received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, earning 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest rated film of Jackson’s two Tolkien trilogies. Considering the extreme circumstances under which Jackson was forced to shoot, that his Hobbit films are at all enjoyable is a testament to his experience as a filmmaker.
