HHB Media Caught up with actress Corina Calderon who gave a few tid bits about her experience working on Suicide Squad with director David Ayer. While she couldn’t reveal too much about her character, she did reveal that the character’s name is “Grace” (Speculate away!). Grace could be an original character created solely for the film, but in time we will see if she end up being someone from the DC Comics lore.
Corina further discussed her on set experience watching Jared Leto play iconic Batman villian, The Joker and calls his performance “brilliant” and that she was amazed by it. She elaborates saying
“I was amazed, just fascinated, just memorized watching him. Even when he was going to get his mic checked, in between scenes or setting up another scene, watching him, really gave me this freedom. A whole new freedom as an actress, and I just felt brave, watching him go and just…it was an amazing lesson.”
For more from Ms Corina, be sure to check out the video above. Corina Calderon joins a trove of recent cast members all singing praises for Leto’s turn as the Clown Prince of Crime. This definitely bodes well for the highly anticipated DCEU release and surely raises a lot of expectation where “The Joker” is concerned.
What do you make of Corina Calderon’s comments and who do you think she might be playing in Suicide Squad? Leave your thoughts below!
Directed by David Ayer from his script, Suicide Squad stars Will Smith (Deadshot), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag), Jared Leto (the Joker), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Jai Courtney (Boomerang), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), Cara Delevingne (Enchantress), Jessie Eisenberg (Lex Luthor), and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Killer Croc), with Raymond Olubawale (King Shark), Jay Hernandez, Ike Barinholtz, Jim Parrack, Adam Beach, and Scott Eastwood. The film releases on August 5, 2016
With Crimson Peak, director Guillermo Del Toro delivers an sumptuous, operatic, and most certainly blood-soaked homage to grand Gothic romance cinema of the past. Thanks to its breathtaking visual style, a strong, literate script and compelling performances from its leads, the film remains riveting and suspenseful despite it at times being a bit predictable. For the more discerning and well-traveled film fan, it’s a movie experience you’ll find yourself seduced by, even though you recognize all the tropes at work. For the casual movie goer, it’s just gruesomely gorgeous fun.
The setting is Buffalo, New York in 1901. Young American heiress Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland), who since she was a child has had an affinity for perceiving the supernatural and who has since channeled her imagination and intellect into the pursuit of writing, finds herself courted by two very compelling suitors. One is her childhood friend Dr. Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam), a gentleman scholar who has the approval and support of Edith’s protective father, Sir Carter (Jim Beaver). The other is Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), an Englishman new to America who immediately draws Edith’s attention with his charm and immediate appreciation of her artistic ambitions.
In the course of Thomas courting her, Edith also comes to know his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain), who is ever by Thomas’s side and shares her younger brother’s ambition to rebuild their family’s fortune through a machine Thomas has invented that he hopes will revolutionize clay extraction for use as building materials. Edith’s fascination with Thomas soon blossoms into love, and after Sir Carter’s untimely demise, she leaves America with the Sharps as they return to the ancestral home in England, Allerdale Hall, a bleak and ominous-looking manor sitting alone atop a snow-covered hill in the middle of nowhere that itself sits above a substantial red clay deposit. The house proves both mesmerizing and terrifying to Edith, with red clay oozing from the floors and staining the white snow surrounding the building as the entire house slowly sinks into the earth with every heavy footfall. Snow and patches of sunlight fall into the decrepit halls from holes in the high ceilings, and shifting, shadowy forms creeping through the corridors just outside of her vision, invisible seemingly to all but her.
Settling into her new life with the Sharps, its not long before Edith comes face to horrifying face with the shadows that haunt the enormous house. Those encounters, in turn, lead her to clues regarding the family’s secret history, a history that brother and sister each have ample reason to keep hidden from her. As she peels away layer after layer of deceit, it becomes painfully clear that something horrible happened at Allendale Hall, and will happen again should Edith not be able to escape from her new “home.”
Visually, Crimson Peak is yet another masterwork from Del Toro, the creator of Pan’s Labyrinth and Pacific Rim, a seemingly endless delight for the eyes, particularly for fans of period and costume dramas and classic horror films. While the elaborate Victorian Era costumes and the design of the film’s ghosts is as impressive as you might expect from a Del Toro production, without question the most striking element on film here is Allendale Hall itself, its every hallway, winding staircase, and darkened room exuding mystery and menace. In every appreciable way, the house is as much a character in the film as the people living in it, a living, breathing, decaying monument symbolizing the fallen grandeur and internal corruption of the Sharps themselves. Imagine what the Addams Family or the Munsters might imagine their ultimate dream home to be, then make it even creepier, and you’ll have a sense of what this house looks and feels like. It simply must be seen to be believed.
While the house might be the most memorable character in Crimson Peak, the actors themselves are pretty compelling here as well, in particular the lead trio of Wasikowska, Hiddleston, and Chastain. as Wasikowska brings a pitch perfect blend of curiosity, naiveté, and strength of will to Edith, while Hiddleston, fresh from playing Asgard’s master mischief maker Loki in Marvel’s the Avengers and the Thor films, proves to be an equally perfect fit as the manipulative but emotionally conflicted Thomas. Chastain, in turn, is barely contained malice bubbling under a thin veneer of English civility — she chills in her every scene, with her every word and gesture, even when those gestures resemble affection.
What makes their work collectively here so remarkable is that though the characters themselves are pastiches of classic Victorian characters from the great novels of the period — Edith reminiscent of Jane Austen’s Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey, Thomas every bit a Byronic hero akin to Jane Eyre‘s Edward Rochester, and Lucille drawing from the same darkness as Jane Eyre‘s Bertha Mason, the “madwoman in the attic” — the actors bring those characters to life in a way that’s vibrant and accessible to modern audiences. (Oddly, Charlie Hunnam is the odd man out here, the British actor in the production not allowed to use his native accent, whose character’s story arc most resembles that of Raoul from The Phantom of the Opera, and is similarly underdeveloped and bland.) Put another way: if you love period films and their romantic storylines, you’ll recognize the character types in play in Crimson Peak, but thanks to won’t look or sound cliché to you as the film progresses. And if you’re not the sort to sit down and binge on whole seasons of “Downton Abbey”, you’ll still get caught up in the wicked game being played throughout the film, because it’s just executed that well.
All that said, it’s hard to imagine a film like Crimson Peak, with its R-rating and admittedly narrow appeal in terms of the tastes of the masses at the box office, being much of a success financially when set up against more family-friendly and upbeat fare. Why is that relevant? Because it means that Crimson Peak might not be in theaters very long, and that means you shouldn’t wait long to see it. It’s beautifully crafted entertainment from one of this generation’s most artistically-gifted directors, and it should experienced in the dark, on the big screen, where you can lose yourself in the macabre splendor of the production, be appropriately spooked when its ghosts come calling, and on the edge of your seat as its bloody mayhem gets rolling.
Crimson Peak
Starring Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro.
Running Time: 119 minutes
Rated R for bloody violence, some sexual content and brief strong language.
Michael Bay is a director whose signature, “everything blows up,” is well known among film buffs and general audiences alike. To most people he is not a director of substance but he is undoubtedly the king of popcorn flicks. Critics, for the most part, have not been kind to his films and 100% of the films he has directed lie within the 1-3 stars out of 5 for most mainstream critics with large audiences. He started his film career interning for George Lucas on Raiders Of the Lost Ark filing storyboards when he was only fifteen. His experience working on the film and seeing the final product in theaters (He had thought the film was going suck based on the storyboards (remind you of anyone on this site?) that he worked on) he decided that he was going to become a director. After doing his graduate work he attended Art Center College of Design. The same school that has produced Directors Tarsem Singh, Zack Znyder, Cinematographer Larry Fong and other notable film makers (Now we see why they’re all very stylish directors). After a string of Commercials (with one he did for the Red Cross winning a Cilo Award), he caught the eye of Jerry Bruckheimer who gave him his first break as a director and introduced the world to Michael Bay, with Bad Boys starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
Today on “By the Numbers”, we will be looking at what the world is saying about Michael Bay with their money. For someone with such a repertoire, it is quite astonishing that he has not been relegated to Joel Schumacher levels of career decline and even more incredible is the amount of success his films still achieve financially. Which outside its purpose to entertain, is the main reason why films are made. All numbers used will be a sum of all production costs and advertising and relevant one will include revenue from product placement.
His first film, Bad Boys (1995), was produced with a total sum of $19 Million. He was a new director and for Bruckheimer, 19 million was minimum risk. The film grossed$141,407,024. While it failed with critics (only rated 4.9 out of 10 by most), it was a success with the audience. Following the Success of Bad Boys , he developed a strong partnership with Jerry Bruckheimer and his next endevour was the critically panned The Rock (1996) , starring Nicholas Cage and legendary Bond actor, Sean Connery. It was produced with a $75 million and went on to gross $335,062,621 worldwide. This was followed up with Armageddon starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck which was produced on a budget of $140 million and went on to gross $553 million worldwide. As with every hollywood success, a sequel was bound to be made and Bad Boys II was released in 2003 on a budget of $130 million and grossing $273,339,556 worldwide. Almost twice as much as the first one. Bay’s only failure in the Box Office was The Island. A film that only made $46 million domestically but went on to make $172 million worldwide on a126 million budget. By the numbers, that’s still a win and it grossed more than his first film even though it made less profit. It was a financial success. Bay explained this saying the studio didn’t use his marketing plan and he believed this caused audiences to “Confuse about what the film was about” during the campaign.
On the top five highest grossing films on his resume, the lowest, the critically pannedPearl Harbor Starring Ben Affleck and Cuba Gooding Jr made $449,220,945 worldwide in 2001 on a budget of $140 million. His most recent “small” film (Pain and Gain) made$94,794,814 on a $26 million dollar budget (which people would attribute to the star power of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and before that he had Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 2011. The conclusion (At the time) to a Franchise that had been brutally panned by critics since its beginning and yet continued to make more than its predecessors. The numbers for the Transformers Franchise are known to almost every fan and it are a testament to the financial success of Michael Bay as a director. Besides box office receipts, that franchise was Bay’s forray into heavy product placement. The series has a collective cume of $2,669,807,552 worldwide on a collective budget of $710,000,000. Product placement campaigns with Cheverolet, Mountain Dew and Samsung alone have garnered the franchise over $1 billion collectively and theme parks and other media based on the film franchise continue to rake in revenue. All of which have Bay as director amd consultant respectively.
By The Numbers concludes that, with their hard earned cash (or whatever dubious ways people make money these days), the movie going audience has proven that despite what film analysts and critics may say, they enjoy the product that Michael Bay is selling and have thus encouraged the upcoming fifth entry to the Transformers franchise and the abundance of Michael Bay produced media (Films, TV shows, electronics endorsements and such).
His latest venture back into the Transformers Universe, Transfomers: Age Of Extinction, while panned by both critics and fans alike, made $1.104,000,000 on a $210 million budget. It also had the distinction of being the ONLY film of 2014 to earn over One Billion dollars at the box office, which has directly led to Paramounts vigorous expansion plans for the franchise. Michael Bay might be a hack where critics are concerned but he is without a doubt a box office darling.
Like him or not, Michael Bay is : WINNING BY THE NUMBERS
So what did you think? Like the feature?
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NEXT on By The Numbers with Majeed: JOSS WHEDON
Rating System Index in no particular order
WINNING : Positive across the board
WINNING CRITICS: Critics/Popularity agree on popular verdict but numbers don’t
WINNING BY THE NUMBERS: Critics and Popular verdict is negative, but numbers are winning
I’m still taking suggestions for more ratings as we move forward
Stella Artois is a big brand beer that is held in high regard, so when I found their Apple Cidre, I had to give it a shot. The season also had an impact on my desire to try their autumnal spirit. Apple-infused drinks and those similar in nature (looking at you pumpkin ale), tend to have a strong flavor that results in the drink being abandoned. The quality and reputation of Stella Artois products gave me the intrigue necessary to answer the age old question, “how ’bout them apples?”
Taste
Often times flavored beers walk a fine line between flavorful and overpowering. Stella Artois Apple Cidre actually has a flavor that is more reminiscent of apple juice than an alcoholic beverage.
Body
The usage of apple flavor is just right and the carbonation isn’t too overpowering. They are advertised as being brewed from fresh picked apples and they even carry the signature smell of a basket of fresh picked apples.
Price
A 6-pack costs $8 and change, and they are certainly worth every dollar.
Presentation
A nice clean wrapper that’s nondescript and doesn’t use any apple imagery, which seems to be the going trend for all other breweries that produce Apple Cidre.
Final Sip of Stella Artois Apple Cidre
As I reach the final sips of this apple cider I realize why I don’t care for these type of drinks. After the second one I began finding points of the taste that didn’t meld with my own tastes. The aroma begin to have too much of a cream or yogurt like smell which was too sweet for my liking. They are great for having just one but I think that 6-pack will be consumed by house guests as I have likely had my last one.
Michael Peña crushed his role as Luis in Ant-Man, so why not give him a full minute to give us the 411 on home theater release of the film.
Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.
Ant-Man is directed by Peyton Reed and stars Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, Michael Peña, David Dastmalchian and T.I.
Ant-Man will be available OnDemand November 17 and Blu-ray/DVD December 8.
Marvel Studios recently green the sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp will be in theaters on July 6, 2018
Monkeys Fighting Robots talked with Peña right before the release of Ant-Man.
Relativity Television is working on a Hack/Slash series for the small screen, with Skip Woods working the script according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Adrian Askarieh, Ray Ricord, Daniel Alter and Geoffrey Yim will produce the series. The crew is looking for directors and they like the look and feel of The Walking Dead and will use it as a template.
Hack/Slash was created by Tim Seeley and Stefano Caselli, Hack/Slash centers on Cassie Hack, a woman who symbolizes the cliche of the lone girl who survives at the end of every horror movie. However, the emotionally damaged girl not only survived but has become a killer of killers. Along with a burly protector named Vlad, Hack travels across the country hunting slashers in the vein of Halloween’s Michael Myers, Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees and A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger.
In Green Room there isn’t only a solid cast to carry out a fairly simple story, but also a great sense of suspense that keeps the audience at the edge of their seats. Couple that with some graphic violence to spice things up and Jeremy Saulnier achieves another set of thumbs up from me. After the great Blue Ruin, the third feature film as a director by Saulnier continues to reaffirm this filmmaker’s work as something to keep your eyes out for.
In essence, Green Room tells the story of a punk rock band with four members who find themselves trapped in an isolated venue. That’s pretty much it. You’ll have to watch the film for details, because you want to know very little beforehand besides the fact that you should see it.
But any recommendation for Green Room should come with a warning: it’s tagged as a horror film, and it isn’t subtle. In fact, sitting in the audience of the Sitges Fantastic Film Festival I was witness to the claps and cheering in some of the most graphic scenes, so even considering that it was an 8:30 AM pass, the horror/gore fanatics were loving it. If you can’t tolerate that, then this is not a movie for you.
As always, Anton Yelchin (Alpha Dog, Star Trek reboot, Like Crazy) stands out with a leading role in the thriller, along with Imogen Poots (Need for Speed, Filth, 28 Weeks Later), who plays one of the most interesting characters and earns the audience’s attention from the moment she appears on screen.
Other familiar faces include the charming Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development, Whip It, The Final Girls), Mark Webber (Happy Christmas, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Shrink), and of course the cause for attraction for the movie, Sir Patrick Stewart (X-Men). He plays the owner of the skinhead/neo-Nazi venue where all the second act of the film happens, and he’s not the peaceful man we’re used to seeing. If he had been given more to work with, some more depth of character, this would have been an even better feature.
In the end, Saulnier manages to tie in the whole film nicely, almost like he’s connecting dots, but trying to throw off viewers a couple of times, making us think something predictable is going to happen. He also uses a recurring conversation throughout the story which in a way, it’s an easy, almost corny aspect, but it ends up effectively being the cherry on top. Moreover, the music in itself is an element in Green Room, another piece in the dark comedy and thriller puzzle,not exactly to accompany scenes or set atmosphere.
Nowadays, when most of the time we have to invest 2+ hours in a movie, I’m always thankful for those who can keep it in the 90 minute mark without making us feel like something is missing. Green Room stays entertaining the whole time, even though it also remains pretty much on the surface of what could be a deeper story, but it’s enough to succeed.
Green Room has already collected two audience awards at four of the festivals it’s been presented in, including the Austin Fantastic Fest.
Green Room
Directed and written by Jeremy Saulnier.
Starring: Anton Yelchin as Pat; Imogen Poots as Amber; Alia Shawkat as Sam; Patrick Stewart as Darcy; Mark Webber as Daniel; Joe Cole as Reece; Eric Edelstein as Big Justin; Macon Blair as Gabe; Callum Turner as Tiger.
Music by: Brooke Blair and Will Blair.
Director of Photography: Sean Porter.
The world over at Marvel Studios is an up and down roller coaster. One-minute they have the film rights to the Fantastic Four, the next minute they don’t. There’s a rumor that Thor and Hulk are going a galactic adventure one-minute, and the next minute Marvel confirms it. WAIT, WHAT?!
Marvel Studios is working on a deal with Mark Ruffalo to bring HULK to Thor: Ragnarok, according to Deadline.
How big of a monster do you think Marvel is planning to throw at Thor and Hulk?
Thor: Ragnarok is directed by Taika Waititi and stars Chris Hemsworth. The film will destroy theaters on November 3, 2017.
ICYMI: Ruffalo loves you nerds, he was sneaking around New York Comic Con last Saturday in costume.
Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies is a film that plays the long game. This complex Cold War drama is awash in espionage, shadowy figures, and furrowed brows. It’s a slow burn that challenges the audience to trust where it’s going.
Bridge of Spies is a fictional rendering of how a Brooklyn insurance lawyer ended up negotiating a high stakes prisoner exchange during the Cold War. Spielberg and writers Matt Charman – along with the Coen brothers – throw a whole bunch of details at you in the first act, some of which make sense and some that just doesn’t. It’s at that this point that a narrative puzzle begins to take shape. Over the course of the picture you begin to fully appreciate how every moment in Bridge of Spies is actually purposeful. What seems to be an irrelevant conversation in the beginning of the story ends up being as important as the events that eventually transpire in East and West Germany.
James Donovan (Tom Hanks) is the lawyer asked to represent a Soviet Agent Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) in a trial. Through the course of events he is then called upon by the CIA to help negotiate Abel’s exchanges for a detained US Soldier. However, it would be foolish to assume that Bridge of Spies is a military thriller. It’s is a thoughtful affirmation on doing what is right. This isn’t the first time Spielberg has directed a film with this theme (Saving Private Ryan).
Through the course of his defense, Donovan is dealing with the scorn of the public, an indifferent legal system, and imminent threats to his family. Donavan’s convictions drive him during his negotiations in Berlin to not only ask for the release of detained U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell), but for the release of another imprisoned American as well.
Spielberg is very careful to not prop up Donovan in the same way that he wouldn’t prop up Lincoln in Lincoln. Hanks portrayal transforms Donovan into a real person, with a runny nose, doubts and all. Spielberg allows reality to supersede hyperbole and that decision is what makes Donovan such a relatable hero. There is truly nothing extraordinary about James Donavan but he does commit extraordinary acts.
The part of Bridge of Spies that was surprising is how likeable Rudolph Abel (Mark Rylance) was. Rylance portrays Abel as an intelligent, sympathetic, covert operative that won’t get worked up about anything, even his potential execution. His portrayal is really the most important element in Bridge of Spies because if Abel isn’t coming across as likeable then it becomes hard to believe that James Donovan would even want to help him.
It was concerning that Spielberg choose to just gloss over the story where James Donovan’s family was in danger during the course of Abel’s trial. In a film with so many wonderful and nuanced choices, focusing even more on how Donovan’s unwavering convictions put his family in danger seemed like an obvious choice. If you are going to show an extensive scene in the film where Donovan’s daughter is in the living room and someone starts shooting at the house and then it’s not addressed; that’s a wasted opportunity. Amy Ryan plays the role of James Donovan’s wife and not utilizing her emotional talents during this movie was truly a travesty. It’s these decisions that make a great move simply a good one.
In the end, Bridge of Spies is exactly what was expected. Spielberg’s ability to create a tremendous narrative plus the talents of a two-time Oscar winner makes Bridge of Spies a good movie. However, if the audience trusts that a Spielberg directed movie will always lead to a great film then they will be disappointed.
Bleak, depressing, and melancholy are certainly not three qualities that equate to a commercially successful film. However, films aren’t always made for the commercial appeal, sometimes they are crafted solely for societal impact. Time out of Mind chronicles a homeless man’s journey through the streets of New York. It’s a very tough movie to sit through, but features a cast that is worth watching.
George (Richard Gere) roams the streets looking for a place to sleep and perhaps enough change so he can have a meal or, more likely, a bottle of booze. George once had a job, a wife, a child, and a home, and all that disappeared as he went into a downward spiral of depression?. He is accepted at a men’s shelter and due to his friendship with Dixon (Ben Vereen), he learns to navigate the red tape and the routine. He attempts to reconnect with his daughter Maggie (Jenna Malone), but what went down when her mom passed away left some deep wounds.
Director Oren Moverman (The Messanger) makes a couple brilliant choices in the editing room that help elevate the overall quality of the picture. By piping in the ambient noise from the streets below, it creates a chilling atmosphere that must be all-too-common for anyone living on the streets. Moverman consciously keeps his shots at a distance so the audience can bear witness to the utter degradation that comes with the life. More importantly, he didn’t shy away from showing the awfulness of humanity towards the homeless. It’s hard to not get the impression that Moverman is attempting to give us all a wakeup call as we continue to ignore the plight of the homeless.
Gere dominates the film with a deep, uncompromising performance. He hasn’t been this raw in a performance since Mr. Jones (1993) where he played a manic depressive. Gere is unrecognizable in this film. On the screen he is a man whose has had his soul ripped to shreds by the weight of societal pressures. He seems to be haunted by the notion that he’s become nothing more than a listless member of society … a vagabond … or as he stated, “a nobody.” However, the power in his performance doesn’t come from what is said on screen but from what isn’t. There are long, silent portions of the film, the only sound the ambient noise Manhattan. Gere is just lifeless, cold, and staggering from street corner to street corner. He commits to the role of George in a way that he’s never committed to any role and the result is a performance that is so authentic and heart breaking, it transcends everything Gere has done in his career.
It is often said that art imitates life, and the artistry of Time out of Mind is that it encapsulates a part of society (our life) that is often discarded.
