According to Rueters, dutch brewer Heineken is set to buy Slovenia’s largest brewery Pivovarna Lasko after it offered the highest bid for Lasko, sources close to the deal told Reuters.
Heineken offered 25.5 euros per share, which would value the whole company at some 220 million euros (158.8 million pounds), the sources said.
Sunday afternoon Sylvester Stallone gave fans of his Instagram account the first glimpse of Creed. This will be the seventh film in the Rocky franchise and has a release date of November 25, 2015.
Creed, helmed by Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler, is a spin-off from Stallone’s own legendary Rocky series focusing on the son of former world heavyweight champ Apollo Creed, Adonis Johnson. Born after his father’s death (and despite the circumstances of Apollo’s passing) Adonis heads to Philadelphia to be trained by his father’s best friend: Rocky Balboa (who is described as currently “battling an opponent more deadly than any he faced in the ring”).
According to Alex Young of Consequences of Sound, On July 31st, 2015, the Griswolds will embark on their latest family vacation. The film stars Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Chris Hemsworth, Leslie Mann, Charlie Day, Beverly D’Angelo, and Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold.
In the film, Helms plays Clark’s son, Rusty. He decides to take his wife (Applegate) and kids on a cross country trip to the family’s favorite stomping grounds, Wally World. Along the way, Rusty meets up with his sister Audrey (Mann), her husband (Hemsworth), and their parents Clark and Ellen (Chase and Beverly D’Angelo).
Netflix’s newest original series, “Daredevil” debuted April 10, with all 13 episodes of the Marvel Comic adaptation’s first season available on the streaming service. Ed Carroll will review each episode here on Monkeys Fighting Robots without fear and let you know if the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe meets the lofty standards of its predecessors. Previous Daredevil review links are at the bottom of the post.
WOW. AGAIN.
It seems like Netflix’s Daredevil is making sure it avoids the early-season mistakes of ABC’s first Marvel Cinematic Universe show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., of which its chief mistake was stalling. It took about 16-episodes (and a game-changing twist I won’t dare spoil here) for S.H.I.E.L.D. to get any sort of consistency, and the show didn’t become truly great until season two. Admittedly, that show had about 24 hour-long episodes in its first season, where Daredevil has a little more than half that, with 13, so Netflix’s show had to have a faster pace anyways (much like ABC’s second MCU show, Agent Carter).
But it’s still impressive to see what Daredevil is accomplishing, and it’s truly taken advantage of the freedom of being a Netflix original. Unlike network (and even a lot of cable) shows, Netflix doesn’t need to account for commercials or commercial breaks. Netflix originals also don’t have any set requirements on episode length; Daredevil episodes have ranged from 48 to 59 minutes. It’s not a massive deal, but it’s nice that the creators can keep an episode short if they feel it paces better, or in the case of this ninth episode, “Speak of the Devil,” some more time to fit in some pretty big plot developments. Very few of the scenes feel wasted, which helps keep the show riveting.
Karen and Foggy brought Matt into their plans with Ulrich, which seemed like the smart play from the start. A lot of the beginning of this episode was chasing dead ends, and some disorienting flash-forwards that made more sense as the episode progressed.
Things picked up when Murdock went to meet Vanessa and met the woman who loved Wilson Fisk, and then an unexpected and unsettling meeting between Fisk and Murdock. Murdock controlled his emotions and left, but I wonder if Fisk realized who he was speaking with (or made the connection later). This was a scene that started out light and fun, with Murdock asking Vanessa for help picking out art for his apartment, but quickly spiraled into suspense and tension.
But the first true shocker was the murder of poor Ms. Cardenas, who was the unfortunate bait to lure Murdock out of the shadows into attacking Fisk. I was surprised at the empathy I felt for a character I didn’t particularly like, but I did feel for Foggy and Karen, who were the most shaken. Murdock took the bait, and was lured into a fight with Nobu (Peter Shinkoda). After roughing up some goons and junkies, Daredevil showed some vulnerability today, as he got knocked around first by Nobu, and then later by Fisk himself.
That fight with Nobu was fun; it was one of the more elaborate fights, and Daredevil was really close to being down for the count a few times against Nobu, who was more than a worthy opponent. I’m curious to see how much guilt Murdock carries with him since he basically murdered Nobu.
I was slightly disappointed by the first in-person meeting between Fisk and Daredevil. I’m not certain Fisk made the connection between Murdock and Daredevil yet, but I could be wrong. Still, it was slightly disappointing to only see the two go toe-to-toe but have Daredevil be really beaten up already. Still, it’s always fun to see Kingpin in action, and I absolutely love Vincent D’orofrio’s portrayal of Fisk. Still, a pretty big moment, and smart planning by Fisk.
Murdock of course got away to his apartment, but only after a drunken Foggy had stumbled over to his place, too. Foggy heard a non-sexual crash and investigated, only to discover the identity of the man in the mask. I’m really glad the show didn’t delay on this inevitable development, and this was a great way to do it. I don’t think Foggy should really be so upset with Murdock that he’d end the friendship, and this might be another way Rosario Dawson’s Claire Temple re-enters the picture.
This was another showcase episode of Daredevil, with a great extended fight and loads of juicy plot developments. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it much here, but even the credits sequence is absolutely brilliant (a weird niche that Netflix absolutely NAILS, with standouts such as House of Cards and BoJack Horseman). “Speak of the Devil” also pushed Daredevil closer to its inevitable season finale (maybe series finale?), with several big reveals, and nearly every actor or actress is owning their characters. This has been brilliant television, and I’m kind of sad there are only four episodes left, but I can’t wait to see what’s next. Links to every one Daredevil review of each episode are at the bottom, and feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!
Netflix’s newest original series, “Daredevil” debuted April 10, with all 13 episodes of the Marvel Comic adaptation’s first season available on the streaming service. Ed Carroll will review each episode here on Monkeys Fighting Robots without fear and let you know if the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe meets the lofty standards of its predecessors. Previous Daredevil review links are at the bottom of the post.
After sitting out the previous episode, Wilson Fisk came back in a big way in Daredevil’s eight episode, “Shadows in the Glass.” It’s really interesting to see the show’s dedication to not having this version of Kingpin be one-dimensional; yes, the Kingpin was always a bit more nuanced in the comics, but for TV shows, it’s often rare to have such a ruthless villain cast in such a sympathetic light.
No, it’s not very original to go for the abusive father angle, but “Shadows in the Glass” did an excellent job of showing not only how Fisk’s father drove him to murder, but also how it shaped Fisk to be the person he is today. It was also a nice contrast with previous episodes (particularly “Cut Man” and “Stick”) which gave us a look at how Matt Murdock came into his ideals. Particularly, Murdock’s belief that he doesn’t need to kill and Fisk’s belief that to do whatever it takes to get what he wants.
Domenick Lombardozzi was an excellent casting choice for Bill Fisk, as he nailed the blue-collar tough guy mentality, initially just seeming to be rough around the edges, but scene-by-scene, we learned just how hard he was on Wilson (not to mention his brutal beating of Wilson’s mother, which didn’t seem to have been the first time). Even though Wilson murdered him without much remorse, but we still felt empathy for him, and that’s a credit to both the acting but also the writing, and how they allowed us time with the Fisks in the past to understand what it was like growing up in that household. We also saw why Wilson was so captivated by the Rabbit in a Snowstorm painting (despite it being a bunch of white paint).
In the present, Fisk’s empire had been crumbling for much of the episode and we show how poorly he was handling everything. The lack of subtitles reared its ugly head again though, this time the language was Chinese, during a discussion between Fisk and Gao (Wai Ching Ho). I’m just not sure what the purpose would be for keeping the viewers in the dark so frequently, and it’s becoming a source of frustration. That discussion seemed important, but without knowing what was said, it was hard to take Fisk’s anger over it too seriously. It’s fun seeing Fisk and Vanessa becoming a bit of a power couple, though.
Karen and Foggy (inadvertently) let Matt in on their plans to expose United Allied, but unfortunately for them and Ben Ulrich, Fisk got the jump on everyone by coming out of the shadows and announcing … something. That he’s here to protect the city? Is he now going to run for mayor? It was a smart play to have Fisk get ahead of Daredevil like this, but it felt a little half-assed in terms of what he was actually doing. Still a pretty dramatic way to close out the episode. And poor Ben, having to delete a complete article is just soul-crushing. The scene in the rain with Ben and Daredevil was also well done; as someone who used to report, it’s encouraging to see Ulrich practice responsible journalism ethics in this series (for the most part).
Also, the jerk cop Blake (Chris Tardio) ended up dying in the hospital, thanks to his partner (and considerable money from Fisk). I’m not sorry to see the character go, but even I can admit he got screwed a little bit. Oh well, shouldn’t have been crooked.
Netflix’s newest original series, “Daredevil” debuted April 10, with all 13 episodes of the Marvel Comic adaptation’s first season available on the streaming service. Ed Carroll will review each episode here on Monkeys Fighting Robots without fear and let you know if the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe meets the lofty standards of its predecessors.
As the title of this Daredevil review (and episode) tells us, a major character in the Daredevil comics, Stick (Scott Glenn), made his first appearance. And this episode handled his introduction expertly, using a mix of flashbacks and present-day action to help explain why Stick was so important to Murdock and why it was so hard on Matt when Stick bounced.
Of course, by the end of the episode, we got a bit more insight into the war Stick claimed Murdock was about to face, but this still seems like a big mystery. And I’m not entirely sure who the Black Swan boy is supposed to be; part of me thinks he might have had some sort of super powers (possibly an Inhuman?). But it was pretty cool to watch Stick and the still-not-calling-himself Daredevil reluctantly team up, and there were some really good fight scenes between Stick and Murdock, in both the past and present. I found Stick’s “old man attitude” to be laugh-out-loud funny at times, and both Glenn and Charlie Cox seemed to have a great rapport together.
We got another extended discussion in Spanish, and I just find it curious that the show flatly refuses to provide any subtitles for what the characters are discussing. I’m not entirely sure why Karen left the apartment (other than a mention of “tattoos,” which the one thug who assaulted Karen had), but seeing Foggy show up to help her take care of the thugs was a fun scene, and as a result, Karen has brought Foggy in on her and Ben’s plans to take down United Allied. This series does an excellent job of moving the pieces around the board.
Murdock is still keeping both Foggy and Karen in the dark about his vigilantism, which I suppose makes sense, but given Foggy’s reaction to the man in the black mask (whom Wilson Fisk framed for the murders of police officers and the bombing in previous episodes), wouldn’t it make more sense to open up sooner rather than later? I suppose this contrasts with what Stick told Murdock about cutting all ties, because they will die.
Murdock is clinging hard to the idea of killing as a line he cannot cross, and it was interesting to see someone similar to him that did cross that line in Stick. Murdock obviously doesn’t view himself as a solider, but it will be interesting to see how Matt decides to proceed.
Some of the action in the final fight between Daredevil and Stick was absolutely brutal, in some of the best ways. It seems like a given that we’ll see Stick again this season, and I’m excited to find out who he’s actually working for — a man with a lot of scars on his back.
All-in-all, this was a fun episode, one that didn’t seem to advance the overall plot too much, but introduced new questions. The Kingpin sat on the back-burner, which was probably the right call after their tense discussion last episode and allowed the show to really focus on the Stick-Murdock dynamic. Netflix’s Daredevil hasn’t had a bad episode yet.
Netflix’s newest original series, “Daredevil” debuted April 10, with all 13 episodes of the Marvel Comic adaptation’s first season available on the streaming service. Ed Carroll will review each episode here on Monkeys Fighting Robots without fear and let you know if the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe meets the lofty standards of its predecessors.
The sixth episode of Netflix’s Daredevil, “Condemned,” gave us a huge payoff on what I had considered to be a silly cliffhanger — Daredevil found himself cornered by the police, but he was able to quickly escape … only to become pinned down in an abandoned warehouse.
This episode was ripe with suspense and tension, and only took place in a short period of time (the night wasn’t even over by the end of the episode). The fallout from Wilson Fisk bombing the Russians continued, as we saw how the explosions had affected most of the major players on this show. The hospital scenes, while fairly uneventful, gave Foggy and Karen some more bonding time, as well as unknowingly encountering Claire. Having all three of them worried about Matt was a nice touch, and it was interesting to see these characters have small pieces of who Matt Murdock really is but only we, the viewers, have the entire picture.
But the meat of “Condemned” was focused mostly on Murdock’s struggle to escape the warehouse, with NYPD and a SWAT team bearing down on him, as well as keep Vladimir alive long enough to get the information he needed. It was a little shocking to see the SWAT officer stab the rookie cop in the neck (I figured he would die, but not THAT way), you can easily make the argument that he deserved it for snitching on Murdock and not believing the man in the black mask would really let him free. Make dumb choices, die because of the consequences, I guess.
Vladimir got a bit of redemption at the end of the episode, first by helping Murdock escape, then by giving up the name of Fisk’s accountant and finally, staying behind to fight off the SWAT team. I hadn’t really cared for his character until now, but better late than never. I was a little bummed out at the end of the episode when he (presumably) died, but I don’t see that as a bad thing, I see that as the show making me feel connected to a character in a relatively short amount of time. Great work.
On the outside of the building, Ben Ulrich began sniffing out the warehouse, and I found the tense words between him and the police officers to be amusing and well-done (as a former journalist who often interacted with police, it was exaggerating a little, but not too much). I’m still a little unsure if the sniper was aiming at Ulrich or the cop working for Fisk; I think Ulrich was the intended target, but I’m not positive.
Which leads to probably the best part of this episode, with Fisk and Murdock speaking (via walkie-talkies) for the first time. This was absolutely perfect as a first interaction between these two characters, and Fisk definitely got into Murdock’s head with his comments about how similar the two of them really are. I’m still really enjoying Vincent D’Orofrio’s Wilson Fisk, and Charlie Cox’s Murdock is still pretty fun to watch, so it was a blast to watch the two call each other’s bluffs. Just a perfectly directed and acted scene, and easily a highlight of the series so far.
Seven episodes left in this season, and Daredevil hasn’t failed to impress. I’m not sure what to expect in the last half of the season, but I’m sure hoping it continues to be as awesome as the first half. “Condemned” was dripping with suspense and picked up from where “World on Fire” left off before ultimately eclipsing the solid fifth episode. I absolutely love Netflix’s first entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far.
Netflix’s newest original series, “Daredevil” debuted April 10, with all 13 episodes of the Marvel Comic adaptation’s first season available on the streaming service. Ed Carroll will review each episode here on Monkeys Fighting Robots without fear and let you know if the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe meets the lofty standards of its predecessors.
Maybe I’m just quick to complain about things, because Netflix’s Daredevil seems to have a habit of revealing information to us viewers as we need to know it. So far, the delayed gratification is paying off, and while the fifth episode, “World on Fire,” probably wasn’t the best episode of the show so far (that honor goes to episode three, “Rabbit in a Snowstorm”), but nearly everything in this explosively-eventful episode worked to perfection.
A lot seemed to happen in this episode, starting with the pre-credits scene with Matt Murdock and Claire Temple kissing (and then later on, revisiting Murdock’s previous declaration that he enjoys torturing awful people). This was a little cliche, overall, but we did get a glimpse into how Murdock “sees” the world: as if it’s on fire. The affects were both brief and way-better than the crappy 2003 film’s sonar, and honestly, I’m mostly satisfied now. I’m not against the show giving us that viewpoint again in perhaps a sweet action scene, but I would probably be OK even if they only use it there (or only show Rosario Dawson’s Temple in that viewpoint).
The fallout from Wilson Fisk’s anger continued, as he told the Russians that the man in the black mask (Daredevil, although he hasn’t taken the moniker yet) was the one who killed Vladimir. Honestly, the plan to try to pin his murder on Daredevil seemed silly to me at first, but instead it was more of a stalling tactic to buy Fisk some time to set up a pretty explosive way to take out most of the Russians.
Foggy and Karen got some fun screen time together, and the relative levity of their scenes was a nice contrast to the brutality we were seeing in others. Of course, Daredevil reminds us that in this Hell’s Kitchen, danger is everywhere and unfortunately for Karen, Foggy and Ms. Cardenas (Judith Delgato), as one of the explosions set off by Fisk to eliminate the Russians rocked the elderly woman’s apartment. It was also nice to see Foggy spring into action to try to help (rather than his unexpected first date with Karen being spoiled by an explosion).
Fisk had a ruined date himself in the last episode, and Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) did return to give him another chance. I don’t remember Kingpin having such nervous tics in the comics (I could be wrong), but I’m not opposed to Vincent D’Orofrio putting his own spin on the character. It’s a bit odd for the main villain in a series to have a love interest, but give credit to Daredevil for humanizing Fisk, but still showing how brutal he can be if provoked. Vanessa also apparently wasn’t as naive about Fisk as we were lead to believe, because she brought a gun because she knew if nothing else, he was a dangerous man. D’Orofrio and Zurer performed really well in this dinner scene, as opposed to their awkward first date last episode.
Murdock’s own assault on the Russians was thwarted by Fisk’s bombs, but we still got some pretty great action scenes in “World on Fire.” This episode ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I feel compelled to point out how silly that cliffhanger actually is. No, Murdock isn’t bulletproof, but there appeared to be four police officers, and we know he’s taken on more armed Russians at a time than four. Maybe Murdock was injured from the explosion, but it didn’t appear like he was, so it just seemed silly for him to be scared of this and give up. I’m going to assume he gets away early in the next episode.
But minor quibbles aside, “World on Fire” was a terrific episode of television. This feels a lot like the Daredevil comics come to life, without being a carbon copy of some of those storylines. Netflix’s Daredevil doesn’t hold out on its viewers for longer than it needs to, and as a result I’m falling in love with this show.
New York, NY – April 10, 2015 – She’s smart, charming and she can lift a car! She’s Gwen Stacy, the Spectacular Spider-Woman and she comes to you each month in the pages of the critically acclaimed Spider-Gwen series! But what if Gwen Stacy had lifted Mjolnir to become Thor: Gwen of Thunder? What if she had been awarded the Eye of Agamotto, and battled the forces of the supernatural as Dr. Gwenge? Find out as she powers up for June’s can’t miss GWEN VARIANTS – as the industry’s top artist show you a side of Gwen Stacy you’ve never seen before!
“Gwenom? The InGwenible Hulk? The Mighty AGwengers? What about G.W.E.N.D.O.K.?,” asks Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel. “The possibilities are endless. As soon as the idea came together to portray Gwen as a variety of Marvel heroes, our artists couldn’t sign up fast enough. They’re having a ton of fun putting these together and it shows.”
“Just wait till you see Chip Zdarsky’s ‘Brian Michael Gwendis’ cover,” continued Gabriel.
Gwen Stacy Variants will be available throughout the month of June, coming to these 20 exciting titles:
· 1602 Witch Hunter Angela #1 by John Tyler Christopher
· Armor Wars #1 by David Lafuente
· Black Widow #19 by Dan Hipp
· Captain America & the Mighty Avengers #9 by Jake Wyatt
· Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #2 by Chris Bachalo
· Future Imperfect #1 by Nick Bradshaw
· Groot #1 by Giuseppe Camuncoli
· Guardians of Knowhere #1 by Rob Guillory
· Howard the Duck #4 by Jason Latour
· Inhumans: Attilan Rising #2 by James Stokoe
· Magneto #19 by Declan Shalvey
· Old Man Logan #3 by Chris Samnee
· S.H.I.E.L.D. #7 by Robbi Rodriguez
· Secret Wars #3 by Nick Bradshaw
· Secret Wars #4 by Chris Samnee
· Secret Wars 2099 #2 by Jason Latour
· Squadron Sinister #1 by Greg Smallwood
· Thors #1 by Kris Anka
· Ultimate End #2 by Chip Zdarsky
· X-Men ’92 #1 b Ryan Stegman
Featuring artwork by some of the top talent in the industry, Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on these hotly anticipated variant covers. No fan will want to miss the chance to see the incomparable Gwen Stacy as she transforms into some of Marvel’s biggest characters when the GWEN VARIANTS come to comic shops this June!
Netflix’s newest original series, “Daredevil” debuted April 10, with all 13 episodes of the Marvel Comic adaptation’s first season available on the streaming service. Ed Carroll will review each episode here on Monkeys Fighting Robots without fear and let you know if the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe meets the lofty standards of its predecessors.
The fourth episode of Netflix’s Daredevil wasn’t a bad episode, but it did make a few curious choices as we learned a lot more about Wilson Fisk’s operations (or at least how vast they are) and the seeds of the Ben Ulrich-Karen Page combo planted in episode three are starting to pay off.
It was a little odd to see the weakest parts of “In the Blood” were scenes involving Matt Murdock. Charlie Cox is still doing a good job with the character, but it was weird to see so little of him considering how the rest of Daredevil has had a laser-like focus on its leading man. Murdock began to watch the consequences of his vigilantism, as Clare Temple was kidnapped by some of Fisk’s Russian delivery drivers. Or taxi drivers.
Which brings up my biggest complaint about this episode: why would you have extended scenes of characters speaking in Russian without any subtitles? Yes, there was another (shorter) scene with Murdock and Santiago speaking in Spanish that also didn’t have subtitles, but more people speak Spanish than Russian (at least in the United States), so it’s forgivable. I know Netflix has shows that do better internationally than others, but everything about Daredevil seems to imply it’s mainly intended for American audiences. Perhaps the creators wanted to keep us in the dark, but I often felt really lost as I watched these scenes having no idea what was being discussed (for the most part). We saw this earlier in the pilot, but it was for only a couple sentences and someone even asked if anyone spoke Chinese, so none of the characters understood her either. Not enough to ruin the episode, but it did feel like an odd choice.
Anyways, Matt saved Claire before the end of the episode, laying waste to most of the Russians in the process, but that fight scene was totally eclipsed by the final moments of the episode, which helped answer another curious choice in “In the Blood.”
We were (finally) able to see Fisk a.k.a. the Kingpin in the previous episode, but we got to see much more of Vincent D’Onofrio, and I’m certainly intrigued by this take on the character. Fisk went back to ask out the art gallery manager, named Vanessa, on a date, which was awkward at best, and then it appeared to be a quiet date at an Italian restaurant for the two, which I thought at first was a really weird way to show off the Kingpin for extended time.
But one of the Russians barged into the restaurant, ruining the date, and in the final minutes of the episode, another request I had previously made was answered. I wanted to see more of Fisk’s ruthlessness, not necessarily see more of Fisk throwing money at problems. Having Fisk murder the Russian with his own hands both allowed us to see that ruthlessness in bloody detail and gave justification for the entire date scene, as Fisk was PISSED his date was ruined. Might have been a tad over-the-top (particularly the blood dripping down the car door), but it was still effective. I do wonder if we will see Vanessa again this season.
Similarly, the Ulrich-Page investigation really didn’t advance too much until the end, when Ben revealed he was chasing the story of United Allied, but he didn’t want to see Karen get hurt. I felt like the show was dragging its heels on some of this subplot, but it looks like the stalling was temporary. Also, now Foggy and Matt have actual communication devices for their offices, thanks to Karen’s auction bidding.
We also got references to Iron Man and Thor, with Wesley mocking the Russians for letting a “guy in a black mask” beat them up. Thankfully, these references aren’t gratuitous, but feel more natural in this Marvel version of Hell’s Kitchen.
All-in-all, “In the Blood” was a solid episode, but it did feel like a bit of let down after the excellent third episode, “Rabbit in a Snowstorm.” But Daredevil needed to move some pieces on its figurative chess board anyways, and it looks like things are about to get nuts in Hell’s Kitchen soon enough. Nine more episodes to go, but so far, it looks like Netflix AND Marvel have another winner on their hands.
