Cate Blanchett will take on the queen of comedy, Lucille Ball, in an upcoming authorized biopic written by Aaron Sorkin.
According to the breaking report in The Wrap, the story will chronicle Ball’s 20-year marriage to Cuban actor Desi Arnaz, who starred alongside Ball in life and in the wildly successful 50s sitcom I Love Lucy. There is no word yet as to who will play Arnaz next to Cate Blanchett.
The biopic will be produced by Lucy Arnaz Jr. and Desi Arnaz Jr., the two children of Lucille and Desi (if that wasn’t clear given their names). Neither Blanchett nor Sorkin have released a statement regarding the project.
This is intriguing to me. I hold I Love Lucy in higher regard than most my age or younger. I watched every episode, multiple times, thanks to my mother who adores the series. It is antiquated, sure, but is now a fascinatingly dated look at an era where gender roles and censorship were vastly different than today. Aside from the show, the tumultuous relationship between Ball and the adulterous and sometimes abusive Arnaz should make for a fascinating familial glimpse into two of the most influential celebrities of the early days of television.
Up first for two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett is Todd Haynes’ drama Carol, which may nab her another Oscar nomination, Truth alongside Robert Redford, and Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups. Meanwhile, Aaron Sorkin’s next film is Steve Jobs, starring Michael Fassbender and directed by Danny Boyle.
Steven Spielberg invented the summer blockbuster and now the filmmaker is putting a clock on the superhero film genre. In an interview with Yahoo! Spielberg suggests that the superhero film will go the way of the Western and ride off into the sunset.
“…We were around when the Western died and there will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of the Western. It doesn’t mean there won’t be another occasion where the Western comes back and the superhero movie someday returns. Of course, right now the superhero movie is alive and thriving. I’m only saying that these cycles have a finite time in popular culture. There will come a day when the mythological stories are supplanted by some other genre that possibly some young filmmaker is just thinking about discovering for all of us,” said Spielberg.
This is an over simplification of the superhero film and could be perceived as a slap in the face to Disney as the two sides could not come together on a long term agreement and it looks like Dreamworks and Disney will part ways. Unlike the Western, the superhero genre has infinite possibilities and storylines. As long as the box office and merchandise revenues are there, the superhero machine will continue to produce.
General Lane is an important character in the DC universe, someone has to keep Lois Lane in check. On Smallville, Michael Ironside portrayed the character for three episodes. As the Kryptonians prepare to return to the small screen, Glenn Morshowe has been cast as General Sam Lane on CBS’s Supergirl, according to IGN.
Morshowe is most notable for his roles in the Transformers franchise, 24, X-Men: First Class, Star Trek, and The West Wing. Morshowe has been working in Hollywood since 1976 and has been cast as a military man more times than he can probably remember, but it could be this role that gets him the nerd love he deserves.
Anohana, the 11-episode, heart-wrenching, A-1 Pictures anime has been on my favorites list for a while (sitting at about 12 now). And just as I began craving another story like it noitaminA announced that the main staff of Anohana, including director Tatsuyuki Nagai, is working on an original film premiering on September 19th, 2015.
The trailer features absolutely breath-taking visuals, with some of those backgrounds looking more like actual photographs, and this one, odd, really creepy scene. That part when the egg fairy thing is zipping Jun’s mouth closed kinda freaks me out if we’re being honest.
The synopsis is also interesting: “Jun Naruse is a girl who carries the guilt of breaking up her family with the words she carelessly uttered when she was young… Suddenly, a mysterious “Egg Fairy” appears in front of Jun and casts a curse on her so that she can never hurt anybody with her words. Jun’s ability to speak is sealed away: every time she tries, she feels a pain in her stomach. Traumatized by this experience, Jun hides her feelings deep inside of her heart, turning to e-mail messages on her mobile phone as her sole means of communication.
Jun is now a second year high school student. One day, her homeroom teacher appoints Jun and three other students as members of the Regional Friendship Exchange Executive Committee. As it turns out, the appointed group is a rather unexpected mix of students. Other than Jun, the members of the Committee are Takumi Sakagami, the burn-out who never speaks his true intentions; Daiki Tasaki, the former baseball team ace who failed his run at the Championships due to an injury; and Natsuki Nito, the cheerleader and honor student who has some concerns about her love life. They all suffer from emotional trauma just like Jun.” (Source)
An English promotional site has also been uploaded, and looks pretty snazzy.
The only… odd thing about the movie, is the mention of “Ultra Peace Busters,” which is very similar to the “Super Peace Busters” from Anohana. Which means that this is either just a translation difference, and the movie is from the same universe as Anohana, or the writer has a thing for “Peace Busters.”
Titled “Anthem of the Heart” and made by the Anohana staff, this is a movie everyone should be looking forward to.
Theo Rossi and Rosario Dawson have been added to the cast of Netflix’s Marvel series Luke Cage, according to Deadline.
Dawson will reprise her Daredevil role as Claire Temple in Luke Cage, it was already announced that she is set to appear in the second Marvel series, Jessica Jone. In the comic books, Claire is a romantic interest of Luke Cage.
Rossi is most famous for his role as ‘Juice’ in Sons of Anarchy.
Luke Cage is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin and John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972). Imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, he gains superpowers in the form of unbreakable skin and superhuman strength. The character frequently teams up with fellow superhero Iron Fist, and is married to Jessica Jones, with whom he has a daughter. In 2005, writer Brian Michael Bendis added Luke Cage to the lineup of the New Avengers, and he has appeared in various Avengers titles since. – Wikipedia
Truth be told, I have bad memories when I was learning to drive. Just like most kids, I was in Drivers-Ed and I was not particularly fond of the teacher due to his propensity for yelling. Needless to say I didn’t pass the initial test and had to take the test again at the DMV. In the end, I got the coveted driver’s license, but even after all that hassle I wasn’t filled with joy. It was more like apathy. I certainly can make a direct comparison to sitting through Learning to Drive. After the headache of sitting through a movie where I was suppose to empathize with the woman (Patricia Clarkson), I ended up leaving the film with nothing more than a little bit of that apathy I remember as a teen.
Learning to Drive is based on an autobiographical 2001 New Yorker article by Katha Pollitt. In the magazine piece, later published in Pollitt’s collection of stories, the longtime non-driving Manhattan resident bounces back from a breakup with a womanizing jerk by learning to drive. Student and teacher (Sir Ben Kingsley in this case, once again able to disappear seamlessly into any ethnicity) become close, with hints that more could come of it. The movie was well directed by Isabel Coixet, who’s attention to detail at least added some elements to a very lackluster script. If anything this movie is a lesson how not everything needs to be turned into a movie.
The source material did not allow for a ton of creativity. So what we had is a lot of just Kingsley and Clarkson on screen talking in a car and that grew mundane very quickly. I do think that Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley did what they could with the script, and were stellar given the circumstances.
I do wish that the movie had spent more time focusing on the inner turmoil of Patricia Clarkson’s character. Instead, we were mired in a narrative involving Ben Kingsley’s character being married in what seems to be an arranged marriage.
If you’re driving to the movies and you decide that Learning to Drive is the optimal choice … Just keep on driving.
Liev Schreiber was on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night and the two discussed the possibility of Schreiber returning to the third Wolverine film as Sabertooth. Schreiber at the very least seems interested in the project but had no official word about a commitment.
The conversation was sparked by a tweet that Hugh Jackman sent back in August.
The Untitled Wolverine Sequel is expected to be in theaters in 2017 and is based on the ‘Old Man Logan’ storyline written by Mark Millar.
Rian Johnson is set to direct Star Wars: Episode VIII which comes out on May 26, 2017 and it appears that Lucasfilm is close to casting a new female lead for the film.
Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez (“Jane the Virgin”), Golden Globe nominee Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”) and “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” star Olivia Cooke are considered the top contenders for the new female lead in Rian Johnson‘s “Star Wars: Episode VIII,” multiple individuals familiar with the casting situation told TheWrap.
Lucasfilm is still try to sign Benicio del Toro to play the villain in Episode VIII, the plot for this film still remains unknown. Star Wars fans believe this new female lead is Han Solo’s daughter as the old Star Wars history has been scrapped as a new timeline is being created with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Most anime fans are aware that there has been an increasing amount of anime released that features people being sucked into or trapped inside of a video game (usually an MMO). I remember being enthralled with .hack//SIGN in college, and recently we’ve had Sword Art Online, Log Horizon, and Overlord, with each giving us different aspects of the dilemma to focus on.
What fans might not be aware of is anime that takes on the theme of “real life video games”. These shows incorporate video games into the regular daily lives of the characters in some way or another. As always, I like to only recommend shows that are currently legally streaming to keep them accessible to most fans.
The world in which Accel World takes place is one where everyone can log on to a virtual network at any time due to implants in their brains. Haruyuki Arita, an overweight boy who is constantly bullied, eventually meets a beautiful girl named Kuroyukihime. She tells him about a game called Brain Burst which speeds up the brain’s cognitive processes to the point where it seems time has stopped, as well as augmenting reality. Players are “assigned” avatars that represent their mindscapes, and they fight each other with the goal of reaching level 10, which presumably will allow them to meet the game’s creator. There are numerous ways in which the game will uninstall from a person’s brain, in which case that person will forget about the game and cannot install it again.
Accel World was originally a series of light novels written by Reiki Kawahara, who also wrote the Sword Art Online series. There are similarities between the two and there has been debate on whether the shows are in the same universe, though there is no confirmation from the creator that this is the case.
I enjoyed the mechanics of how Brain Burst worked, from how it could affect reality to the execution of battle powers and how some are acquired and developed. I don’t think I’ve seen anything else quite like it. The action was fun to watch, the drama was tolerable, and the dub was decent enough.
Ryouta spends all his time playing a Btooom, a game in which you use sonar and various bombs to destroy your opponents. But little did he know that people can “nominate” others to be sent to an island to fight to the death in a real-life version of Btooom, and he is one of those drugged and dropped on the island. He must now fight for his life, find allies, and blow everyone else up.
This series doesn’t have anything new in particular to contribute to the high stakes games genre, and the end is unsatisfying for a show that only has a single season. But if you enjoy action, people getting blown up using video game mechanics, and not thinking too hard about what’s going on, Btooom! might be for you.
Is It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Director: Yoshiki Yamakawa (Little Busters, Kill Me Baby) Animation Production: J.C. Staff (Food Wars, Golden Time, Revolutionary Girl Utena, too many more to count!) Streams on:Crunchyroll, Hulu AKA:DanMachi
Gods and Goddesses have given up some of their power in order to live on Earth. People who serve the Gods are called “familia” and are granted powers that basically work the same way as it would if you were in an MMO. Characters have levels and skills that can be developed. They enter a dungeon and kill monsters for loot, that they can sell or use to craft items. Goddesses can “check their stats” by performing a ritual using a symbol on the person’s back.
Bell Cranel is the only member of Hestia’s familia. He has no powers of note until he is almost killed by a minotaur that shouldn’t have been on a low-level floor of the dungeon. He is saved by Aiz Wallenstein, a warrior of some renown, and is instantly in awe and smitten. He vows to become as strong as she is so he is worthy of her company. This grants him a new skill that allows him to level up quickly, but Hestia chooses to keep it secret from him because it is based on his feelings.
There are some harem elements to this show that can get annoying, but because Hestia doesn’t go out of her way to turn Bell away from Aiz, I find it more tolerable. She knows that Bell’s feelings for Aiz are why he is able to be so strong, and she doesn’t want to ruin that for him. The other girls aren’t really as irritating (especially Aiz, who is oblivious to his feelings). The show does a great job highlighting the ups and downs of being in a familia and shows how Bell just tosses tradition aside and does things his own way. I hope more seasons are forthcoming.
The World God Only Knows
Director: Shigehito Takayanagi (Galaxy Angel A, Tokyo ESP, Kanamemo) Animation Production: Manglobe (Deadman Wonderland, Gangsta., Samurai Champloo, Samurai Flamenco ) Streams on:Crunchyroll, Hulu AKA:Kaminomi
Keima Katsuragi plays dating sims all day. He rejects real girls entirely, and can conquer any girl in any dating sim, calling himself the God of Conquest. When he unknowingly signs a contract with Hell, a demon named Elsie is sent to buddy up with him to capture “loose souls”. These are evil souls that escaped from hell. They live in people’s hearts, and in order to remove them Keima must take the loose soul’s place in the possessed person’s heart (Elsie claims a kiss is enough). Hell was apparently mistaken about Keima’s god-hood, not realizing he doesn’t conquer real girls.
If Keima breaks the contract, both he and Elsie will literally lose their heads, so he must make girls fall in love with him using the same tactics he does with video games by tripping “flags” depending on a girl’s personality. After a girl is kissed and the lost soul is captured, she forgets everything about the conquest, leaving Keima free to save the next girl.
And now for something completely different: instead of action-type games, we have a dating sim! I liked this in spite of it being a harem. It does seem a bit like a “monster of the week” type of deal, but there is an underlying storyline here as to why there are loose souls to begin with, so stick with it! There are three seasons, but you don’t get a satisfying ending unless you track down the manga because the last arc was not animated.
This series takes place in a school where each student has an avatar that has skills based on a student’s achievements and test score. Classes can pit their avatars against each other for things such as better classroom conditions and other privileges. Akihisa Yoshii is in Class F, the worst class. It happens to have some talented students in it due to extenuating circumstances. Akihisa is not one of these – he is an idiot who just happens to have a lot of skill with his avatar and a special item only idiots can use (because it’s broken). Class F decides their talented students deserve better school conditions and attempt to climb up in class ranking via avatar battles.
I only saw the first season of Baka and Test. It wasn’t a great show, but it was still one I binge-watched and enjoyed because at the time I needed something dumb to watch. I believe it was on Netflix and season 2 wasn’t available, and I’ll probably go back and watch season 2.
Honorable Mentions
Dragon Drive – Features a virtual reality game in which you raise a dragon and fight them against other dragons. As it turns out this “game” is actually connected to another world in need of saving, and only a special person can become a companion to a special dragon and save that world. It’s super cute, and also not streaming anywhere. I haven’t seen it since it released in 2002, and I wasn’t picky back then so I remember it fondly. Maybe it was hooey. Who knows?
The Gamer – Okay, okay. This isn’t an anime. This is a web manhwa (Korean manga) by Sung Sang-Young and Sang-Ah. It is about a boy named Han Jee-Han who suddenly develops an ability that allows him to experience life as a game. He can see power levels of different people, learn skills and upgrade stats depending on what he does (not just via fighting, but also things like reading books), and essentially makes him an “overpowered” character. He finds out there is a secret community of ability users. Some are decent people, and some are decidedly the biggest jerks ever. Han Jee-Han must “level up” not only to survive, but also to protect others.
Welcome to a new segment at MFR called Geekflix. Every month, we’ll take the time to look over the different shows and movies that will be arriving on Netflix and highlighting the ones that geeks and pop culture buffs alike need to check out and add their lists. Let’s see what’s arriving for September.
1. Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and the Punisher
Didn’t take the time to check out other Marvel anime series that came out? Don’t bother, they weren’t all that good. Still, this movie is shorter than watching a full series and has cameos by the different Marvel characters we know and love. Should hold a few people over while we wait for the latest Captain America: Civil War news. 2.Masters of the Universe
People worrying about future cartoon to live-action adaptations need only look at this train wreck and realize things couldn’t be much worse. Still, this film does have some things going for it, such as Dolph Lundgren and a young Courtney Cox. Might be more fun though to watch with friends and mock.
3. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood – Season 1
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. The first season of what was a big part of all of our childhoods is finally available at the push of a button. Turn it on and treat yourself to watching Fred Rogers put on a sweater and say “Hello Neighbor.”
4. The Rambo Trilogy
The ultimate action hero, actually started as a story of a guy who was dealing with PTSD after the Vietnam War. Still, the action in these original three (Sorry, no 2008 film) films is intense and reminds you why Sylvester Stallone is not a force to be taken lightly. Or at least why he deserves to be the leader of the team in the Expendables.
5. Sleepy Hollow
Remember a time when the idea of a Tim Burton and Johnny Depp movie was a sure thing and not hit or miss? Well, Sleepy Hollow will help remind you of that feeling and get you in the mood for Halloween. Not to mention the return of the Sleepy Hollow TV series. Also, Christopher Walken plays the Headless Horseman (before he loses his head) and brings that maniacal Walken intensity along with him.
6. Monster Squad
Ever had a group of friends you loved watching movies with? Ever thought that you and that group would be perfect to tangle with Dracula, the Wolfman, and Frankenstein’s Monster? No? Then turn on this movie instead and watch a bunch of prepubescents do it instead. Remember, “Wolfman’s got nards!”
7. Space Dandy – Season 2
Waiting for there to be some deep and meaningful payoff with this show that will some how make you question how you live your life? Sorry but it’s not coming, baby. Instead watch as Dandy goes on a date, partakes in a High School Musical, and plays in a band. Just a simple day in the life of a rare Alien Hunter.
8. The black List – Season 2
Need more James Spader after watching him try to take over the world in Avengers: Age of Ultron? Well, you’re in luck! The second season of the Blacklist, which some say is one of the best shows on TV, is now up. Take the time to binge watch so you can be ready for the new season.
9. Gotham – Season 1
Sick of there being too much Batman? Then watch the show where Batman is only a kid and Jim Gordon is doing everything he can to stay a good cop with corruption rampant. Also, high marks to Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock, Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney, and Robin Lord Taylor as the Penguin. With such an incredible cast you can’t help but want to watch more.
10. Walking Dead – Season 5
Need a refresher before the new season in October? Is Fear the Walking Dead just not cutting it? Then head on back to Terminus and remember why you enjoy this series so much. If you’re not up to season five yet then spend Labor Day and the rest of September catching up.
That’s it for this month. Stay tuned next month for the best geeky things to come out of Netflix.
