Marvel announce Wednesday that Now Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has officially reached its conclusion with the release of Marvel’s Ant-Man, they are adding four more films to their schedule.
Marvel has green-lit a sequel for Ant-Man for July 6, 2018, Ant-Man and the Wasp.
The announcement of Ant-Man and the Wasp will lead to two films shifting their dates, with Marvel’s Black Panther moving up to February 16, 2018 and Marvel’s Captain Marvel landing on March 8, 2019.
The big hidden gem of the announcement is that Marvel has three more films slated for May 1, 2020, July 10, 2020, and November 6, 2020.
Ant-Man has earned $178.5M domestically and $231.3M internationally for a global total of $409.8M.
Could we be getting a Planet Hulk announcement soon or Spider-Man 2 and 3? What new superhero do you want to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Marvel Studios Schedule
2016
May 6: Captain America: Civil War
November 4: Doctor Strange
2017
May 5: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
July 28: 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)
Marvel and Netflix released the fifth teaser for Marvel’s Jessica Jones. This teaser introduces the villain of the series.
“Jessica … I know your secrets. I know about your friends … about your gifts. Jessica Jones … I know everything.,” says the man in purple.
The show takes places after a tragic end to her short-lived Super hero career. The series follows Jessica as she rebuilds her personal life and career as a detective who seems to get cases involving people with super abilities in New York City. Marvel’s Jessica Jones premieres on November 20th on Netflix.
The series stars Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, David Tennant as Kilgrave, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, Rachael Taylor as Patricia “Trish” Walker, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Marvel’s Jessica Jones is Executive Produced by series Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg and Liz Friedman, along with Jeph Loeb, who also serves as Marvel’s Head of Television.
Marvel’s Jessica Jones is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix.
New York Comic Con appears to be the next San Diego Comic Con is big super hero blockbusters continue to be released in March.
Lex Corp appears to have taken over the convention and this morning released a viral video with a tease of more to come. There are also flash drives hidden around the convention that have more information as well. A new trailer perhaps…
Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice is directed by Scott Snyder, and 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
At LexCorp Industries, we believe in technology that unites us, where inspiration, innovation and imagination all come together to create a greater tomorrow, today. Now, LexCorp is proud to announce Lex/OS the world’s most private and secure operating system. Engineered with the protection you need, and the freedom you want. To celebrate, please enjoy our free Lex Wi-Fi throughout this venue and visit our LexCorp booth for your free charging device. LexCorp and the New Lex/OS, providing the safety and confidence we need in an ever changing world. Let’s build a better tomorrow.
Where will you be when the future begins? #LexCorp Oct 8-11
According to Zoe Saldana who played Gamora in Guardians Of The Galaxy, Benicia Del Toro will return for the sequel and reprise his role as Taneleer Tivan, The Collector.
“I’ll see you on Guardians!” said Saldana in the video below.
Latino-Review points out that James Gunn is still working on the script and now one has read it to confirm if The Collector is even in the film, but Gunn did like the video on Facebook along with 4,020 others.
This will book Del Toro’s 2016 work schedule very solid as he will be filming Star Wars: Episode VIII as well.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be in theaters on May 5, 2017.
On paper, claiming Bone Tomahawk to be anyone’s first film is a nearly unbelievable statement. The film is confident beyond measure and has a firm grasp on its tone which straddles the lines between comedy and horror. Amidst the other genres it plays with, Bone Tomahawkis a Western, through and through.
The film’s writer and first-time director, S. Craig Zahler, has been writing Western novels and screenplays for years and his experience in the genre shines through and adds a nuanced, if a little long, take to what is a simple premise.
Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Kurt Russell) protects the typically quaint town of Bright Hope from intruders, rustlers, robbers and savages all while keeping his Deputy, Nick (Evan Jonigkeit), and simple-minded Deputy Backup, Chicory (Richard Jenkins), busy and out of each other’s way. When a robber (David Arquette) wanders into town one night, having seen and survived something certainly terrible, Sheriff Hunt questions his intentions. Unable to provide just cause for his presence and proving a physical threat, Hunt shoots the robber, which calls for the attention of the town’s doctor. With the doctor being the old drunk he is, they turn toward the doctor’s assistant, Samantha O’Dwyer (Lili Simmons), who was attending the broken leg of her loving husband, Arthur O’Dwyer (Patrick Wilson). Left with tending to the robber’s wound, Sam stays the night in the town jailhouse with Deputy Nick acting as security. It isn’t until morning, after a grisly murder is found in the local stables, that Hunt goes to check the jailhouse and finds all three who were inside missing. Arrows left behind suggest a band of savage Troglodytes are those responsible for the kidnapping. Known for their brutal attacks and cannibalistic tendencies, Hunt rides out in haste with Arthur, Chicory and suave cowboy and experienced Indian killer, John Brooder (Matthew Fox) taking up arms with him.
Search and rescue is about as simple as it gets when it comes to narrative structure. It allows the story to move along at its own pace, all while the ticking clock of an innocent’s life hangs in the balance. Bone Tomahawk plays things slowly, allowing the viewer to get swept up in conversation with these four men. Kurt Russell anchors the cast with his grizzled experience and deadpan delivery. He does what he does best and it’s wonderful, if not surprising. Through his filter, we see how the characters dance around one another, eventually growing trust within themselves that might actually allow them to survive this unknowably evil trek.
Because things here get really, really evil.
Tension is mounted through the deliberate first two acts, often leavened by flat-out hilarious bits of humor. Richard Jenkins is nearly unrecognizable under the years and scruff of his character Chicory. He plays the type of simple Western folk made famous by actors like Andy Devine. I don’t say it lightly when I claim that this may be my favorite Richard Jenkins performance ever. The comedy that is peppered in through one-liners and situational gags are all-timers and were a welcome distraction from the onslaught of dread as our rescuers ventured closer and closer toward their goal.
To spoil any details beyond the premise I’ve already laid out would be a true crime. Going in cold, with no knowledge of the secrets the film holds (very much like our band of heroes) is a wonderful experience, full of moments of shock, terror and joy.
Matthew Fox also brings an unexpected humor and bravado to the character of Brooder. His dead stare and wry timing are used to perfection as he plays both into and against one of the more common Western tropes of the gunslinging cowboy. The movie has plenty to say about these tropes, Zahler placing his stamp on the genre with his take. He wants to push the limits of typical Western fortitude, all in the shadow of relentless evil and certain death. The film explores the tensions between man, nature and manifest destiny and firmly makes a point as to why the West is such an interesting place to explore.
Make no mistake, this is no Unforgiven and I mean that as a compliment.
Zahler and the entire cast and crew succeed in spades with Bone Tomahawk. It is everything the filmgoing experience should be and will no doubt leave a mark on at least two storied genres. Keep ’em coming like this, Zahler, keep ’em coming.
Bone Tomahawk held its West Coast premiere earlier this week as part of Beyond Fest, a week after its worldwide premiere at Fantastic Fest. The film hits select theaters on October 23rd.
About a week ago I wrote about Sakurako-san, in particular how excited I was for it. I was still a little apprehensive, TROYCA has only done Ald.Noah Zero, which was pretty terrible. But I was excited nonetheless. It’s a mystery show! Those don’t come around often, the trailer made it look like a mix between Hyouka and Sherlock.
Boy what a perfect description that is. I was looking for a few things from this show, a duo consisting of a ‘straight man’ and a quirky character, a focus on mysteries, and gorgeous visuals. Sakurako-san delivered in spades.
The show was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. It might not have the technical prowess found in One Punch Man, but it had a level of polish akin to something from KyoAni. The colors were vibrant, the backgrounds were detailed, and the CG was well utilized.
The music was pretty standard, nothing too special, though a bit of jazz poked through in one particular scene. We didn’t have a chance to hear the opening, but the ending seemed decent, if a little generic.
The characters were fun. Sakurako was the most entertaining, of course, but Bo- I mean Shoutaro played the ‘Watson’ role pretty well. It’s also nice to see how these two characters have affected one another. It’s clear that due to his time spent with Sakurako, Shoutaro is far more comfortable among the deceased than most, and Sakurako seems to act more ‘herself’ around Shoutaro.
We even get the analysis scene, a staple of this genre, the close-ups to relevant information, with a cut to character reactions. These scenes are probably my favorite aspect of these shows, something that’s been sorely lacking in my entertainment line-up.
The star of this show though are the bones. Lovingly detailed and quite beautiful, it’s easy to see why Sakurako would proclaim the beauty of such objects.
It’s also refreshing to see that, in spite of our main character being high-school, that doesn’t seem to be a big focus. Instead the episode preferred to focus on Sakurako and her adult adventures. Even though not even two episodes in and we’ve already had our beach episode…
Any anime fan worth their mettle would be able to tell you about the tropes of the shonen genre. The famous action-series; Dragon Ball, Bleach, Naruto, Fairy Tail, One Piece etc, they all share common traits and themes. They emphasis the importance of friendship, the need to protect those who you love and almost always feature a main character whose goal in life is to become the best, like no one ever was. We, of course, love these shows, but its often hard to deal with some of the cornier aspects. What if if I told you there existed a series that’s sole focus is to parody the absurdities of the shonen genre? Meet One Punch Man.
One Punch Man has an interesting history behind it. Starting off as a webcomic by the mysterious author known only as “One”, it gained mainstream popularity internationally with the release of a digital remake series illustrated by Yusuke Murata for Young Jump Web Comics. Although I haven’t read the manga (which is available both in print and digital through Viz Media) in quite some time, I’ve always held a soft spot for One Punch Man, but does the anime live up to the pedigree?
Before becoming the titular hero, Saitama was a salaryman, discontent with his menial boring life. Following an incident with a mutant crab (just go with it), our hero is inspired to become the strongest there is and, unlike many shonen, heroes he succeeds. Saitama trains so hard that his hair falls out, but with such a loss comes great power. As his name implies, One Punch Man is so strong that he is capable of defeating any enemy with a single punch. Good for the Earth, which is constantly under threat from various arch-typical shonen baddies, but bad for Saitama as the cohort of disposable would-be villains pose little challenge to him. The first such villain we encounter; Vaccine Man talks at length about his complicated origin story (see any shonen anime ever) and sports a design that would put Akira Toriyama’s lawyers on notice. The Piccolo Daimao parody is swiftly dispatched of much to Saitama’s despair.
One Punch Man is a subversive take on the quintessential shonen character arc; the quest to become the strongest. Instead Saitama’s goal is to merely find a worthy opponent. He doesn’t fight for justice out of a sense of righteousness, but rather for fun. It’s a hobby and like any hobby, for Saitama, it’s only worth doing if its still fun. The show is talks at length about how becoming the world’s strongest man has left Saitama quite melancholic. He knows that his actions haven’t made a huge difference,they haven’t stopped the Earth from being attacked, but that doesn’t trouble him as much as it should. It’s a character trait that is demonstrated through lengthy monologues which poke fun at the melodramatic tendencies of shonen characters. Saitama is an endearing protagonist, even if his motives for being a hero are quite selfish. We feel his frustration and that makes each disappointment all the funnier. The dialogue as a whole is quite witty and illustrates an appropriate degree of self-awareness. It’s meta-humour at its finest, but it does require you to be a least somewhat aware of the tropes in order to fully appreciate the jokes. The episode acted as a comedic character study of Saitama and funny as may have been, I am looking forward to seeing how Saitama interacts with his soon-to-be apprentice; Genos in the coming weeks.
While the animation is fantastic throughout most of the episode, this is studio Madhouse afterall. While Saitama’s fight against the Subterraneans is a particular highlight, there are moments where it lags. This occurs mainly in a section in which Saitama fights what appears to be a parody of the Colossal Titan. There a moments during this fight that the anime just isn’t as smooth as it is in other places. One could argue that some of the choppy found in this particular fight scene is a parody of some of the poorer animation found in a lot of classic shonen shows, but I’m not buying it. There is a nice detail found within Saitama’s appartement; a manga shelf full of tankobon and issues of Jump. It subtlety reminds the viewer and Saitama about why he chose to become a hero in the first place.
One Punch Man’s music is a lesson for future series in both its vocal themes and score. The background music provides the right level of energy for the fight scenes adding to their fast pace and brutal nature. In the moments which mimic the tense melodrama of the shonen genre, the score provides the suitable dramatic buildup as hero and villain stare each other down before the clash. The opening theme, however, is where the music really shines. “The Hero!! Set Fire to the Furious Fist” by Jam Project is one of the catchiest themes that I’ve heard in the last few years with a heavily rock beat and high tempo. It is highly reminiscent of Hironobu Kageyama‘s work on Dragon Ball Z with a bit of metal thrown to keep it in line with modern opening theme sensibilities (see Death Note, Parasyte etc). In contrast he ending theme;”I’ll Find It Before the Stars for You” by Hiroko Moriguichi is very subdued and is reflective of the emptiness that Saitama sometimes feels.
One Punch Man is a welcome edition to the Fall anime season and everyone, especially those who aren’t shonen fans should definitely give this one a shot. It’s something new, an approach to anime that we haven’t really seen since Cromartie High School.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcpVSbmphSQ[/embedyt]
Malala Yousafszai is a young activist and Nobel Laureate who survived being shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan. In Davis Guggenheim’s new documentary, “He Named Me Malala,” based on her memoir “I am Malala,” you’ll get to see this girl in an intimate light, but is that light correct?
Gugenheim focuses the documentary on three different timelines altogether to not only discuss Malala, but her family as well. The present day timeline focuses on your typical scenes of Malala leading a pretty normal life. The second is a timeline where she is a global education activist and pushing for girls to be educated. The third timeline is animated, and discusses how Malala got her name. Apparently the origins of Malala come from an Afgani Fable of a young woman who raised her voice to inspire a nation. The name is given to her by her father who is outspoken and wants his daughter to be independent.
Malala, as a teenager, makes the choice to become a critic of the Taliban’s practices in her hometown of the Swat Valley in Pakistan. The Taliban responds to her activism by bombing more schools and spreading a broad message of woman not needing education. Even in the face of certain danger, Malala wouldn’t relent and that act of heroism is one of the most inspiring acts by a teenager, period. Gugenheim’s attempt at using the intertwined storyline is appreciated because the audience develops a stronger understanding about Malala.
However, Gugenheim’s intentions behind this documentary become crystal clear as He Named Me Malala is reality nothing more than a puff piece. Documentaries are meant to not only inform the audience, but push the subject matter forward. For example, In Amy, the brilliance of the documentary is not the subject matter (Amy Winehouse) but that it questioned darkest alleys of fame. He Named Me Malala is nothing more than a biography about the life Malala and will confuse and bewilder audiences.
Did David Gugenheim not see what was so painfully obvious to the audience members? Why didn’t the director focus He Named Me Malala on the need for furthering Woman’s education? This decision is a strange decision from David Gugenheim, a talented documentarian who has already won an Oscar for his work on An Inconvienient Truth. The Director opted to shy away from focusing on a hot button issue such as woman’s education, and instead gave us a general retelling of Malala’s life.
In the end, Malala Yousafszai is an inspiring subject to build a documentary around but the final product is lackluster regurgitation.
I think its fair to say that I watch quite a bit of Anime. Most of that however ends up falling to the waist side to only be brought up later with the phrase, “Oh yeah, I’ve seen that”. But every once in a while a show comes around that I truly enjoy not only on an entertainment level, but on a more artistic and deeper level all together. A show comes along that I can find true meaning in and that I feel that can spark real discussions as opposed to the usual “best girl” or “shit/not shit” comments that plague every anime forum. Don’t let its cute girls and colorful art style fool you, School Live! is such a show that breaks that mundane mold to entertain and inspire.
Yeah Yeah it’s a Zombie Show… Boooring
I think its hard to for someone in the current pop culture loop to get excited about zombies anymore. The markets been too over saturated with zombie content for too long and its starting to get boring and predictable. Even so that doesn’t mean that there can’t be fresh stories that deal with zombies in new and creative ways. It’s just hard.
School Live! is able to break the zombie monotony the same way that “The Walking Dead” was able to climb to the top of everyone’s weekly twitter feed. By having the zombies take a backseat to whats going on with the characters, it gives us something relatable to care about. With fleshed out characters we now have something that can ground the context of the show and have it relate to ourselves. So even while we aren’t being literally attacked by zombies like the characters in the story, we can still feel their struggles as they deal with there zombie infested world. This is where the strength of School Live! shines most bright and marks it as my favorite zombie anything.
Characters that Make me Feel
School Live! makes it’s big reveal at the end of episode one. Where high school senior, Yuki Takeya, is revealed to be in a serious case of denial about the state of the school she and her friends now live in. To her its business as usual and she goes about her daily school life zombie free. In reality, her and her three classmates are held up in the school trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.
To be fair I haven’t seen all of the zombie content there is, but I’m pretty sure this has to be the only zombie story to deal with this sort of trauma. Yuki’s situation sets a tone for the show that is forever looming not only her but the other characters as well. Sure it may be easy to ridicule Yuki for not being able to face reality and come to terms with her situation. This however is the most relatable character if you think about it. Every one of us has had those moments in life where we were shaken to the core and it takes us a while to get back on track. Not always do we get back up right away either. In fact there may be times where we revert back to a previous self to try to protect ourselves from facing something like that ever again. Yuki isn’t weak, she just needs time to deal with the trauma she’s had.
It’s not like she is just some crybaby curled up into a ball either. Having her be in her disillusioned fantasy world helps bring light to some of the darkest parts of the show. She inspires the other girls to stay strong with her uppity attitude and is always there trying her best for her friends. The fact that she is disillusioned almost helps the situation they are in if you think about how the other characters react to her carefree antics.
Yuki isn’t the only character who has a great amount of depth to them that helps sell this cute girls vs. zombies scenario. The whole cast is very relatable and charming. Their conflicting chemistry with one another is great to watch as well, and it really shows just how close these girls have been forced to become given their dire circumstances. Their closeness and relationships with each other is what drives the show, so its redundant to keep saying that it’s great, but it is.
Symbolism of Zombies
While I wouldn’t consider School Live! a horror show I think that its core message is delivered a lot like a horror story. And I’m not talking about horror movies like “Saw” or “Human Centipede”. I’m talking about classic horror films (honestly though I’ve probably seen more of the former). In School Live!, like most horror works, the main threat is an allegory for something else that the characters are facing internally.
In School Live! the zombies represent the inevitability of change and the fact that every one needs to move on with their life even though it seems scary. Sure a plot that’s been tackled before, but still interesting none the less. This running theme throughout the show gives the shows school setting justification because it’s what they ultimately need to move on from. They all know they can’t stay in the school forever because the zombies will get in, but they try to avoid the fact with wacky antics all the while avoiding the problem. This is what made the show feel so real to me because I’ve had that same mindset on countless things in my life as well. It’s message is timeless because until we die there will be things that we have to face that may seem foreign and scary, but we must do them or else we won’t be able to move on, in turn dying in a sense. Even if their circumstances are a little more extreme, Yuki and her friends have to come to terms with graduating, even if that means making decisions that they won’t know the outcome of.
One other equally strong message in the show is coming to terms with loss and mistakes that you have made in the past. To be fair this message plays in a lot with the first message but at the same time holds weight on its own. The girls are constantly regretting things that have happened and can’t seem to get over them. They blame themselves as “could have” “would have” thoughts start to plague their mind, and this ultimately holds them back from moving forward. Its only when they come to terms with the things that have happened and the things that are happening, that they are able to move forward. Personally I think that one of the best things a show that is trying to have depth can do is have overlapping themes, so its fair to say that this hit a major button with me. And I think that it will with most people.
Annoying Zombie and Cute Girl Stuff
While School Live! is as close to a masterpiece as a show like this can be, it still has some stupid things that if dwelled on can ruin parts of the show. One of these things is the fact that the level of danger that the characters are feeling and the show is portraying aren’t always consistent. Sometimes the music and scene composition are trying to make a moment really intense, but when I see a bunch of girls with only one having a weapon and prepared to kill a zombie, it sort of confuses me on how I should be feeling. I’m not expecting that all these girls have sawed off shotguns or anything, but Jesus, you would think you would be prepared to be attacked by zombies when they are literally surrounding your school. Maybe they are overly confident in their barricades but it just seems dumb to me. Most of these scenes are caused by Yuki’s carefree whims in her seemingly zombie free world that everyone is trying to go along with. But it would have been nice to have more scenes where everyone else is nervously trying to stay cautious while wearing a happy-go-lucky face for Yuki.
Another thing is that whenever a character is trying to get away from a zombie, it always seems like the zombie should have got them. Theres a scene where a girl is standing on a piano and its surrounded by zombies that could easily reach up and grab her. But they don’t, instead she just tip toes around until someone comes and distracts the zombies. This happens a few times and I kinda roll my eyes every time. I get that they are trying to make it as tense as possible but don’t put the zombies hand right next to her face, if you do that I expect that person to die. They try to get the zombies so close to make it feel intense but every time it just looks like the zombies are too stupid to just grab them. You can have close calls but there’s a point where you have to say, “yeah there really isn’t any logical way for them to get out of this”. That’s when you know you have to pull back on the reins if you intend for this person to survive this encounter.
So Yeah Best Zombie Thing
I think its safe to say that this show did a whole lot of things right. Those things just so happen to fit perfectly in with my tastes, which is why I enjoyed it so much. With that said, I can easily see how someone can take this show and not relate to its meaning as deeply as I did. But even if you didn’t enjoy the execution as much as I did, it’s still a show that can spark a conversation about bigger and important things, and that’s a sign of true art. Which is exactly what School Live! is.
With the release of Spectre just around the corner, Daniel Craig is making the press rounds discussing both the hotly-anticipated new entry into the James Bond franchise, and the future of the character. More specifically, his own future as 007. Well, despite recent reports Craig was on board for at least one more Bond adventure, his recent interview with Time Out London made it seem like the actor was over it all.
In the interview, Craig spews apathy and a hint of disdain for the character and wanting to return. When asked about returning, he had this to say:
“I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment. Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on… I haven’t given it any thought. For at least a year or two, I just don’t want to think about it. I don’t know what the next step is. I’ve no idea. Not because I’m trying to be cagey. Who the fuck knows? At the moment, we’ve done it. I’m not in discussion with anybody about anything. If I did another Bond movie, it would only be for the money.”
It gets better, especially when the interview focused on who Daniel Craig thinks should replace him in the franchise:
“Look, I don’t give a fuck. Good luck to them! All I care about is that if I stop doing these things we’ve left it in a good place and people pick it up and make it better. Make it better, that’s all… You’ve got to step up. People do not make movies like this any more. This is really rare now. So don’t be shit…Go for it. Embrace it. Some clichéd line like that. But no, just make sure you’re great. You’ve got to push yourself as far as you can. It’s worth it, it’s James Bond.”
Quite blunt talk from Craig, who sounds less and less interested in moving forward with any more James Bond films. It’s a pretty odd new angle, especially since he mentions he’s contractually obligated for another film in the middle of the interview.
Regardless, Spectre looks badass, and if Daniel Craig isn’t interested in hopping back behind the wheel of the Astin Martin, then don’t make him. The apathy can be felt through the screen when actors are over the character.
