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.
The Dark Knight Returns has been called the prime example of how a Batman story should be. It changed the public view of Batman from the Adam West camp to the dark, brooding vigilante that became so popular among fans. Frank Miller was called a genius and became a pop culture icon for his ground breaking work on The Dark Knight.
Fifteen years later Frank Miller created a sequel called The Dark Knight Strikes Again. And it was a jumbled mess at best, and just a crappy uninteresting story at worst. And since then Frank Miller’s writing and artistic ability has only dipped in quality, and he has become a source of mockery for his more recent work. (Anyone who had the misfortune of reading Holy Terror can attest to this).
But, now, after some time Frank Miller is back at DC with another sequel to TDKR. The Dark Knight III The Master Race is billed as the end of “The Dark Knight” stories. (At least until Miller writes the fourth one.) However, Miller is not alone this time. Comics veteran writer, Brian Azzarello is co-writing the script, Andy Kubert is penciling, and Klaus Janson ink the “three-quel.” Despite Frank Miller not being completely in charge, the news of this book’s release met online criticism due to Frank Miller’s recent work.
However, not only does DK III issue 1 succeed in being a cohesive story, but in my opinion it is one of the better comics to have come out this past year.
The story takes place sometime after the events of The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Batman is an outlaw from the authorities again, and heroes seem to have gone into hiding once more. The narrative has a lot of intrigue and follows multiple characters throughout this world. We get a glimpse of Commissioner Yindel responding to the return of Batman, a glimpse of Superman and Wonder Woman’s daughter, Lara, discovering the shrunken city of Kandor, and a glimpse of Wonder Woman fighting a hybrid between a Minotaur and a Centaur. Each one has unique struggles, and interesting perspectives about the world they’re in. The book surprises by having really strong female characters that aren’t the stereotypical female action hero that is a parody of itself sometime. They’re certainly more complex and interesting than most of Miller’s female characters of recent years.
Some of the original pencils from Andy Kubert
There are some questions raised about the world we’re introduced to and what has happened since we last saw these characters, but like any pilot episode the writers are smart enough not to give away all the details, and keep some things to raise intrigue levels up. So it feels all right that we’re in the dark about certain things. However, questions definitely need to be answered sooner than later.
The story definitely has the same classic Miller ideas and story beats, but it feels like Azzarello took charge on the dialogue and the pacing of the story. For example: there’s a two page spread that invokes the classic TDKR talking heads bit. It’s only contained to those two pages, but it works well because it invokes the constant stream of news through the internet and network news programs. There’s also a clever twist on the use of slang, which Miller made famous in the TDKR, with texting.
The art is some of the best on the market now. Andy Kubert’s pencils have dynamic images and show awesome action. The colors have a similar muted quality from Miller’s earlier Dark Knight work, they allow for darker shadows and backgrounds while highlighting the characters. Kubert’s artwork (along with Janson’s inking) certainly creates a wonderful homage to Miller’s classic artwork, but it also is its own unique design. One of the best parts about the artwork is that all the characters look unique and different. There’s no one body type they all conform to.
The reveal is pretty awesome.
The art in the book isn’t clouded by a lot of text, which is great. It allows the artwork to show not tell and create the mood in the story. The minimal text of the story also doesn’t distract us from the action scenes. There are a few, but the book isn’t constant action, and a few quiet moments in the book. There’s a particularly great moment with Ellen Yindel contemplating her choices and The Batman at the bat signal.
This book is fantastic, it’s not perfect, but it’s very entertaining and has a lot of intrigue to the story. It just needs to fill in some of the gaps sooner than later. Now some might complain about the 5.99 price, but let’s think about it for a minute. The book is printed on wonderful smooth paper, has been fantastically bound and stapled, has no advertisements, is thirty-two pages long (which is longer than the average comic) and comes with a free twelve page mini booklet story. That’s a good deal, certainly better than what Marvel has been charging for comics lately.
Oh and speaking of the bonus story:
BONUS REVIEW Dark Knight Universe Presents The Atom #1
Much better than that cover I refuse to put up.
The first issue of DK III came with a free copy of a tie in story featuring Ray Palmer. (Which is a pretty novel idea actually. Shorten the tie in books and give them away with the issue. But I digress). Ray is contemplating the actions of the Justice League, and his own life as a superhero. There’s an action scene at the beginning involving lizard creatures that’s pretty entertaining, but for the most part it’s a slower paced comic that ends with Lara bringing the city of Kandor to Ray Palmer. This issue stands out by having a notoriously awful cover drawn by Frank Miller, but Miller drew the inside art and it’s actually pretty good. Nothing outstanding, but all the characters look dynamic, and the backgrounds shine very well. It’s definitely worth reading as well, as it gives us some more information about some of the other characters as well.
As the Star Wars: The Force Awakens promotion by Disney hits an epically obnoxious level, we do get a glimpse of Simon Pegg’s character in the latest spot promoting Daisy Ridley’s character Rey.
“Rey is so wonderful. She’s vulnerable. And she’s strong. She’s a scavenger on the desert planet of Jakku. She’s up for new experiences. And new adventures. This has been really special. I love the films. But obviously, now being a part of it, is really amazing. And it has been a lot of fun on set. I think the kids are going to love it, because they can really connect with the characters. BB-8 is amazing. We are packed full of creatures. It’s really cool,” said Ridley.
(Right to left: J.J. Abrams, Daisy Ridley, Simon Pegg)
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.
Just as there are people who still have their Halloween decorations out in the middle of November while others have already put up a Christmas Tree, there are songs just now being released that are trying to catch the passing tides of the Halloween spirit while other tracks are coming out now in preparation for the upcoming waves of the Christmas Season. However, there is hardly any music directed towards the American holiday of Thanksgiving. While some may argue that major musicians refrain from Thanksgiving songs for the reason that it would not spread outside of the United States, that still does not explain why holidays such as Independence Day are showered with songs about liberty and freedom. Why are there no Thanksgiving songs?
When this song came out in November of 2012, it was received with nearly universal disapproval (as can be seen by the fact that the music video has over 270,000 dislikes.) Some credit this to the Rebecca Black Friday fiasco and how many associated the two songs as being similar, but the lyrical content of the song points to an entirely separate reason. Analyzing the lyrics of The Thanksgiving Song, you can quickly see what might be the most simple way to answer this question: Songs about turkeys and mashed potatoes serve as terrible lyrical content.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, or in this case any sane musician, to realize songs pertaining to eating yams, pumpkin pie, and stuffing do not provide a very good subject for a song. Even if Frank Sinatra sung The Thanksgiving Song it would have still been a terrible song from a lyrical standpoint. Though this is only one example, there is a vast sea of similar if not worse songs. There will always be exceptions; it can be said that, as a whole, the relationship between music and Thanksgiving could seriously be improved.
If you’re here I’m assuming you’ve seen Jessica Jones, but if you haven’t, STOP, go watch it and then come back to share your thoughts! Jimmy Kimmel brought it up when talking to Krysten Ritter, when is it okay to say anything about a show that premieres all at once like Netflix does? I gave you a week, now let’s get to it.
When it comes to Netflix, binge-watching is the norm, and that’s exactly what many of us did this past weekend with Jessica Jones. Some of the early reviews of the show put it up on a pedestal, rating it even higher than Daredevil. My guard was already up because the superhero market is saturated enough to keep making more and more shows, especially if there aren’t going to be exciting crossovers within the Cinematic Universe.
It took me four episodes to really get into Jessica Jones, but when it started to become interesting, I was all in, and by the end I’d fallen in love. I wanted to talk about it, hear what people thought about it…
One of the things I enjoy the most about these kind of shows and movies are the easter eggs and sneaky references. Here are a few I caught myself and some others I found while searching around. How many of these did you notice?
Comic strip sequence.
Jessica Jones’ front door is a character in itself. At the beginning of the show you might remember a man being thrown out of her apartment through it. That was taken straight out of the first comic book in which Jessica Jones appears, Alias #1.
During the first third of the show, the only appearances of the villain, Kilgrave, are in Jessica’s PTSD episodes, whispering creepily in her ear, surrounded by flashes of purple light. Later on, he dresses in purple and ends up having purple veins showing up when he exercises his power, but he isn’t purple from head to toe like his character in the comics. The color is a tying feature around him more than his signature image.
AKA Hulk and Captain America.
There are a few references, especially toward the beginning of the show to both the events of The Avengers in New York (the city where Daredevil and Jessica Jones work in) and to “the big green dude who’s cruel” and “the Flag-waver”. Later on we see a kid dressed-up as Cap, shield and all, running around. These kind of references would be cooler if they mentioned them by name, but Jones makes a point to distance herself from them, so it makes sense that she doesn’t name them… I guess.
In this same vein, secondary characters refer to people with habilities as “one of them”, meaning one of those rare people like The Avengers, Loki, Inhumans, the mutants they can’t mention, etc.
It’s Jessica Jones’ BFF!
Since the first stages of development of the show, Melissa Rosenberg had to adapt to the MCU, so as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel got her own movie, her original role of BFF went to Patsy (or Trish) Walker. She doesn’t have powers, but we see her training and find out how many resources she has to help out Jessica. In the flashback scene where we see Jessica Jones considering the super heroine role, Trish shows her an outfit and names her Jewel. In the comics, that’s an identity Jones adopted briefly.
Any other P.I.s in the room?
Jessica mentions Angela Del Toro being another private investigator. In the comics, Del Toro is White Tiger, a supporting character in Daredevil. We can guess she could be cast soon, either to appear in Daredevil, Luke Cage or Iron Fist.
Who the Nuke is that?
Will Simpson might be the shakiest character in Jessica Jones, but the writers really knew how to spice him up towards the end. Dr. Koslov gives him three kinds of pills: red, blue and white, the colors of the US flag, which Simpson/Nuke had painted in his face in the comics.
Barman, a Luke Cage, please.
When Luke Cage first appears on Jessica Jones he’s wearing his signature golden-yellow t-shirt from the comics, and he also says “Sweet Christmas!” like his character, in later episodes.
What doesn’t kill you… What?
Corey from Moviepilot caught another very interesting reference in Episode 11. Either Nolan’s The Dark Knight exists in the MCU and Jessica Jones is a huge fan of the Joker, or someone was having some fun playing around with DC quotes in the writer’s room.
Finally, a Daredevil connection!
In the last episode, Rosario Dawson makes an appearence as Claire Temple, the nurse treating Luke Cage, also commenting that he’s not the first one with habilities she has encountered, because of course that was Matt Murdock AKA Daredevil. We already know we’ll see Claire in Cage’s solo show, along with her mother.
What easter eggs and/or references did I miss? Let me know in the comments.
