As you binge-watch Season 2 of Iron Fist on Netflix today make sure to stay for the post-credits scene after episode 10 as Daredevil has a confession for you.
“I once believed that justice could be found in a court of law, and in the light of day. But I was fooling myself. Darkness only responds to darkness. And the truth is, I’d rather die as the devil than live as Matt Murdock.”
Matt Murdock, all bloody and in the black suit is sitting in a confessional talking to someone. It is a very quick scene and doesn’t add to Season 2 of Iron Fist, but it does get you excited for Season 3 of Daredevil.
It’s funny; I always forget how much I love Charlie Cox as Daredevil during the season breaks, but as soon as hits the scene all the emotions from the previous seasons come rushing back.
Daredevil returns to Netflix in October. You can see him and Iron Fist fight alongside each other in Marvel’s Defenders.
Are you excited for Daredevil Season 3 on Netflix? Comment below.
Burt Reynolds, known for his iconic roles in The Longest Yard and Smokey and the Bandit, has passed away at age 82.
The actor reportedly went into cardiac arrest at a hospital in Florida Thursday night. His family was by his side at the time of his passing.
Reynolds made a name for himself in 1972 with his performance in Deliverance. He went on to become one of the biggest names in Hollywood starring in numerous hits throughout the 70s and 80s. In 1997, he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the Mark Wahlberg led Boogie Nights.
The coming months were going to bring the icon to the forefront once again. In December, his movie, Defining Moments, is set to release. He was also currently filming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood alongside Brad Pitt and Leanardo DiCaprio.
What was your favorite Burt Reynolds performance? Let us know in the comments below.
The newest adventure of the Super Sons continues to be a fun ride!
While the summer of 2018 is coming to a close, the Super Sons’ is only just beginning. As their school year comes to an end, Jon and Damian plan an epic summer of Superheroing. While preparing for their first big adventure, they learn of an attack by a Sasquatch in Metropolis. On the approach, they discover the beast isn’t alone.
Along with him is a group of kids based on supervillains called The Gang. Their leader, Rex Luthor, demands to surrender to them before pulling out Gold Kryptonite to fight the Boy of Steel. Just who are these crazy kids?!
**Some Spoilers Below**
Story:
Before we return to the present, we get a background on our villains. Rex and the Gang are actually aliens from a far-off planet, where they love the culture of Earth. The children, however, connect more to the villains of Earth and plan to follow in their footsteps. To have The Gang grow into the legion Rex envisions, they need a hyperspace cube. This is why they attack Superboy and Robin, as the Boy of Steel knows his father has one in the Fortress of Solitude. After bringing forward a hostage, the Super Sons reluctantly let themselves get captured to find the cube.
This story is ridiculous, silly, and I love every moment of it. There isn’t as much action as one would hope, sticking with fleshing out our antagonists. The origin of the Gang basically boils down to a group of Fanboys going a bit too far. Knowing how far they went to look like the villains, especially with Rex, I can’t help but laugh. These are the ultimate villains for the Super Sons, as they have done the exact same thing.
There are also moments when the silliness fades just to remind us there are stakes. Our heroes reluctantly giving up only to try to stop Rex from killing the hostage shows off the heroism within our characters. It’s a mixture between that and the villains that make this issue a great read.
Art:
The story is able to walk a line of silly cartoony fun with moments of seriousness and the art helps perfect it. Carlo Barberi masterfully illustrates this issue and the world of the Super Sons has never looked better. The overall style may look cartoonish, but there are times that can capture seriousness as well. This art is only made better with the fantastic colors of Protobunker. They make the world feel more alive and pop right off the page. It’s a great look for an already great book.
Conclusion:
I love this freaking comic. It’s a ton of fun to read and a feast for the eyes. I recommend this comic to anyone who wants a fun, campy comic adventure. Hop on the Super Sons train while the series is just starting!
Snotgirl #11 by Brian Lee O’ Malley and Leslie Hung is out now. Though it’s been five months since issue #10 wrapped up our last arc, the latest issue doesn’t waste any time.
First, let’s dive into the shocker sprung on us at the end of issue #10…specifically, the fact that this issue doesn’t really address it much. It’s always present, but definitely takes a backseat. O’Malley and Hung are setting us up for a slow build as we enter this new phase of the story, and I love how it gradually ratchets the tension.
Still, fans of the series up to this point will find plenty to like with this latest issue. We get some development of the relationship between Lottie and Caroline, while somehow leaving things just as ambiguous as they were before. In fact, thanks to the convenient haze of mushrooms, not even Lottie knows where the two stand. There’s awkward tension between multiple characters, and it’s in all the right places.
The art is on-point in this new issue. The ink work is stronger that in issues past. I got more expression from the faces, which really helps push the story. The bright, pastel day colors and darker, rouge night tones from colorist Rachael Cohen accent the soft line work.
Snotgirl #11 is a great way to dive back into this story. While some readers might be a little annoyed by the shift of focus away from the broader mystery, I actually appreciate it. We have the chance to reacquaint ourselves with these characters and enjoy the lighter, human drama, which is always surprisingly compelling. If you’re behind on it, this is a great time to catch up.
In the latest episode of Kieran’s Movie Space, Kieran delivers his spoiler-free review of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, the brand new Amazon Original Series starring John Krasinski. Is this a series worth bingeing? Is Jack Ryan another win for John Krasinski? Listen to the review below and find out!
If you like what you hear, it would be awesome if you hit the like/subscribe buttons and drop a comment in the appropriate section.
Kieran’s Movie Space is an insightful, fun and reliable new podcast for fans of all things cinema. Host Kieran McLean delivers in-depth reviews of the latest movie releases, from small indie movies to massive blockbusters. New episodes weekly…or whenever I feel like posting.
Author Tom Clancy introduced the character of Jack Ryan in a series of books before Ryan headed to the big screen in several films. Now the former U.S. Marine is featured in an episodic series for the first time, with John Krasinski portraying Ryan in this Amazon original thriller that centers on Ryan as an up-and-coming CIA analyst. He is thrust into a dangerous field assignment for the first time and uncovers a pattern in terrorist communication. That launches him into the middle of a dangerous gambit with a new breed of terrorism that threatens destruction on a global scale.
Award-winning costume designer Rafaella Rabinovich is an art school kid who went from photographer to set designer to costume designer with a filmography that includes Project MC2, Final Vision, and the Netflix film To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.
Monkeys Fighting Robots spoke with Rafaella who snuck out to from her current gig to a Starbucks for the phone call “I’m working on the fourth season of The Detour. Every season is shot in a different province, so this season they’re shooting in Vancouver.”
What’s coming in the fourth season? “I obviously can’t tell you anything about the fourth season, but it’s going to be dope. The people involved in it are incredibly creative.”
Flashback …
Rafaella’s road to working for productions from the likes of Netflix began at a young age “I went to an art high school. When I was twelve years old, my dad gave me this amazing camera. I started taking pictures of the productions the school would put up. I realized that what I really wanted to do was frame a stage.
However, just like a good movie, there was a twist that changed the course of things “When I got to university the only way I could learn set design was if I also learned costume design. I love set designing, but I realized costume design is where my heart is at.”
To All The Boys
After stints working on pop culture darlings like Supergirl, Lucifer, and Once Upon A Time “I got involved with [To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before] when the script was fairly ready. I got involved about a month and a half before we started shooting. I just got off a show called MC2 …” Of note, Rafaella received a Daytime Emmy Nomination for her work on the Netflix show “I read the script. I knew the book; I’d read it a year earlier …”
The process began “I made a mood board. I got on the phone with Susan Johnson, the director. I got on the phone with [Producer] Robyn Marshall. We had a month or so of prep time. It was go-go-go.”
In the end “It was a great group that came together to make it all happen. To All, The Boys is something that anyone can relate to. It touches on stereotypes we all know from high school but not in a cynical way.”
Versatility
Productions are typically bursts of furious activity “It all depends on the show. Certain shows I’ve only had two weeks. Every dance is different.”
From period piece to military drama, does Rafaella have a favorite genre? “I’ve been privileged to have a diverse resume … done period costuming, kids … contemporaries. I have to say that what kind connects all the great stories are great characters.”
How about TV vs. Film? “Your brain needs to process things differently. It’s more technical. The way things are shot is often different. But I love to go back and forth between a feature [film] project and a television project.”
Digging Deeper
Who influences Rafaella’s work, both past, and present? “Eduardo Castro is certainly one of them. I’ve had the privilege to work under his wing. He has a beautiful language. Ruth Carter, I’ve looked up to her for a long time. Sandy Powell I think does beautiful work. A lot of theatre designers; Adrian Greenberg is one of my favorites from back in the days. Patricia Field. Many, many people.” Indeed, we chatted about costume designers for the next five minutes, including shout-outs to the work of Michele Clapton on Game of Thrones.
What’s the relation between a specific fabric and a certain mood? “That’s a really beautiful question. I think in the right constellation of fabric, let’s take an example, a wedding dress can be made from a variety of different materials that can all give you a feeling of being loved and romance. Certain fabrics I might not look at automatically for certain things, but I wouldn’t exclude them. Fabric and the way we look at it as it’s presented in a film can instantly say so much about a character and story.”
The great films and TV stories pay attention to details “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before has the attention to detail that creates mood.”
Thanks to Rafaella Rabinovich and Impact24 PR
for making this interview possible.
After her scene-stealing performance in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Rebecca Ferguson has her eyes set on one of the most exciting projects currently in development. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ferguson is in talks to take a lead role in Denis Villeneuve’s next project, the remake of Dune.
If she lands the role, Ferguson will join Call Me By Your Name star Timothee Chalamet, who is already on board to play the protagonist, Paul Atreides. Based on the popular novel by Frank Herbert, Dune is looking to start production in 2019. Villeneuve will also produce the project, along with Mary Parent and Cale Boyter.
Ferguson is most known for her role as Ilsa Faust in the Mission: Impossible series, although she has had sizeable roles in films such as The Greatest Showman and Life. The actress recently joined the cast of the new Men In Black movie and will star in the adaptation of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep later this year.
Now that Alex Summers has his team of not-X-Men together, they get caught in the middle of a Reavers war with the O.N.E. organization. Astonishing X-Men continues Havok’s haphazard journey to becoming a hero once again.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
Matthew Rosenberg’s voice for Alex Summers gives him a human edge. He’s a loose cannon who doesn’t think things through, he’s “more of a gut guy than a brains guy.” Havok is also someone who knows how important his brother Scott is to the group of people he so desperately wants to win over.
Cyclops being dead and Havok having recently been a villain gives Rosenberg plenty to play with. It makes for some memorable character interactions. In Astonishing X-Men #15 it comes in the form of Warpath sitting at The Bar With No Name, explaining what he learned under Scott Summers’ leadership. It’s a really great moment between two characters every X-Fan enjoys seeing more of.
The story in this issue is also a testament to this new characterization of Havok. As soon as he finally gets his team together (and just barely at that), they’re immediately split up because of a lie he told to keep them out of harm’s way on his behalf–which puts them in harm’s way on his behalf.
I could see old school Havok fans having a bit of a tough time accepting a new direction for their favorite Summers brother, but would you prefer the scar-faced villain era we just got through? Probably not.
Similar to what Rosenberg is doing with Jamie Madrox on the brilliant Multiple Man series, he’s breathing new life into a character in order to bring them back to the forefront of the mutant landscape. His vision is more comedic and lighthearted than previous incarnations of both characters, but the transitions are smooth and entertaining.
This team is full of shake-ups and new directions, and it’s all the better for it. Colossus going through a very dark breakup, Banshee being resurrected but nobody is really sure what his deal is, Dazzler’s floundering music career, and Beast finding himself in a situation that’s way beneath his level of intellect. This is a great cast that gives the one-man-ResurreXion (Rosenberg) plenty to work with.
Matthew Rosenberg’s Astonishing X-Men is a comic that’s more in line with what Marvel was promising us with their ResurreXion initiative. It’s a colorful and fun return to form for a peripheral X-Men title. We’re dealing with a war between the Reavers (in all their ridiculous glory) and the mutant-hating O.N.E. that Havok is caught up in because of Bastion–what more could you want?
Pencils by Greg Land and Neil Edwards are great for the most part. There’s some miscommunication between writer and artist with a couple of faces that don’t match the dialogue very well. Land does great work up-close. The more you zoom the comic book panel lens out the more things start to get oddly proportioned, especially on bigger characters like Colossus and Beast.
Those nitpicks aside, there’s a lot of great face work in the conversational scenes. Towards the end of the issue, there is a handful of fantastic pages of Colossus in action. The shot of him initially emerging from the wreckage to begin fighting is glorious.
Inker Jay Leisten uses a lot of thick lines to clean up a lot of the dodgier panels. Dazzler has a few panels where she’s covered in a bit of shadow overkill. Colorist Frank D’Armata keeps the energy of the book vibrant and explosive. The color really brings a lot of the city at night to life. Letterer Clayton Cowles hammers the tone of the book home, especially with the villains.
A rag tag team of fan-favorite X-Men all down on their luck banding together to stick up for a troubled but charming Alex Summers. Matthew Rosenberg is a one-man-ResurreXion, he should’ve been given the mutants from the start of Marvel Legacy.
Episode Two of Season Two of Marvel’s Iron Fist gives every fan of the character the money shot we so deserve. Danny Rand is wearing the Iron Fist mask in the battle versus Davos for the right to fight the dragon Shou-Lao. That sentence alone should give you goosebumps.
The battle is through flashbacks throughout the episode which gives ‘The City’s Not for Burning’ a quick pace as tension builds. The struggle to save Chinatown continues which is a million times more interesting than the boardroom drama of Season One. All the chess pieces are in play, and we are just waiting for the reveal.
Again, the cinematography is what shines so far in the season. The darker setting, whether at night or the use of a cloudy day give the series a better feel. It helps to suck the viewer into the episode.
The fault in the episode and possibly the season is the development or origin story of Mary Walker (Alice Eve). The show is having a hard time capturing her dissociative identity disorder. Mary has the potential to breakout star of season two, but through two episodes it’s slow going.
Overall, the arrow is still pointing up, and there is no need to stop binging now.
The Fury of Iron Fist – S02E01
Marvel’s Iron Fist
Marvel’s Iron Fist Season two hits Netflix Friday, and the first episode ‘The Fury of Iron Fist’ brings a refreshing new tone to the series as the drama moves from the boardroom to the streets of Chinatown.
‘The Fury of Iron Fist’ has excitement, with two major action sequences and a few quick spurts of hand to hand combat. The cinematography is what stood out most about the episode, with most of it filmed at night. There’s a gritty dampness to the scene selection, giving a feel of evil creeping into the city. The last few minutes of the episode had no dialogue and relied on the cinematography to convey the emotion, and it does. You will be compelled to watch the next episode.
The plot of the episode is straightforward and sets up the series well. The weight of the world is about to be dumped on Danny Rand, and it is up to the Iron Fist to dig himself out. Danny’s relationship with Collen evolves well to where you feel for the couple and want to see them succeed. As soon as you see Ward Meachum, you can’t stand him. It will be interesting to see what his story arc is for the season. Joy, on the other hand, is at the beginning of her origin story and the path she takes will be exciting to watch.
Marvel’s Iron Fist
Finn Jones finally feels comfortable as Danny and the Iron Fist, and his surfer delivery fits the character. Jessica Henwick (Colleen) seems to have the most compelling on-screen presence, and Tom Pelphrey (Ward) has the ability to steal the show. The cast has grown in the acting craft since the first season.
The only issue is with Davos, it is hard to find him intimidating. The Steel Serpent needs to become pure evil and strike fear in the hearts of men. Sacha Dhawan is a good actor, but the size difference between Jones ruins all the tension. All the praise I gave the cinematography crew above, they need to work on finding a better angle when Davos and Danny are on screen together.
Overall, now that the show is past the origin the series will improve immensely. Season two can get to the good stuff like the Iron Fist battling it out, and the viewer can sit back and enjoy the binge.
After you binge watch the show come back and give us your thoughts in the comment section below.
Let me tell you a personal story; my late grandfather used to own an Oldsmobile/John Deere dealership, it was one of the most successful in the Midwest for decades. When I was young, I always felt that if they had the Oldsmobile dealership; everything would be OK. That is until GM folded the division in 2004 and refused to give him another product line to sell, this caused the domino effect of John Deere pulling out of the dealership, as well. There’s a reason I’m telling you this story; because this kind of greed and lack of human compassion is shown on full display in today’s retro review; Michael Moore’s first film: Roger & Me.
Roger & Me, is the upbeat story of General Motors and its relationship with the city of Flint, Michigan; after GM closed its production plants in Flint, during the mid-80s, and the fiscal impact, the plants’ closure had on the town. The film also tackles what little concern GM had for a city, that had given so much to GM for 50 years.
One of the narrative elements is Moore’s efforts to meet Roger Smith.
The structure of the film itself is somewhat loose and relies on crosscutting multiple stories together into a hypnotic weave. We have a police deputy who makes his money evicting people; a wife of a laid-off auto worker who sells rabbits as either “pets or meat”, what happened to Flint itself, with the desperate marketing efforts to get themselves out of the fiscal hole, and finally, Moore’s attempts to interview the then CEO of GM, Roger Smith (The “Roger” in the title), and bring him to Flint to see the devastation the closing of the plant brought to the town, (it doesn’t work).
Let’s talk about what works; mainly, the tone. The film splits its tone, into three distinctive styles, that mesh surprisingly well together. The first is the depression and misery of the working class, as people are laid off en masse; the quirky ways some of these people are trying to survive (the woman with “pets or meat”, a former feminist DJ, who was now [Now, in the film’s timeline] selling Amway, and the previously mentioned police deputy), seems inspired by the early work of Errol Morris (see: Gates of Heaven & Vernon, Florida). The second style is one I call; “The ironic bent,” in which Moore used comedic and dramatic irony; in quick succession. The greatest example of this comes relatively late in the film. Flint was going to be featured on ABC’s Nightline, with live shots. However the news van was stolen, the culprit was eventually found; he was a laid-off auto worker. If my description doesn’t make sense, let me explain: Moore had the setup (Nightline), then the first payoff with comedic irony (The van being stolen), and the final payoff with the dramatic irony (the thief being a former auto worker); in the span of one minute, Moore made us laugh, then brought the film back to pathos.
Many of the interviews with normal Flint citizens have the quality of an Errol Morris documentary.
The third and final part, was Moore’s personal story, to bring Smith to Flint. Moore has been criticized for (still) playing the blue-collar joe, even though he’s made two of the most successful documentaries of all time (Bowling for Columbine, and Fahrenheit 9/11), and some people will say that disingenuous. I would tend to agree. However I don’t know his financial situation, so he might just be investing his earnings into his next film, I don’t know. Here, however, it’s genuine, and he doesn’t have enough money to appear disingenuous (at least to some people). Moore talks about his family’s connection that it seemed everyone in his family worked for GM, in Flint. It’s not taking up a cause, just because. He’s taking up the cause, because it’s personal. When I realized that, any thought of him being disingenuous (in this film, anyway) died off, quickly.
Film, by its intent, is universal, the ability to relate to what’s on the screen; as such, while Roger & Me is about GM and Flint, MI, it’s also about every town whose economy fell apart due to the avarice of a corporation. For Wilmington, OH: it was DHL; for many sleepy towns in Pennsylvania, it was the steel industry (and companies like US Steel), and in other small towns; it will be the fracking industry. It’s the old “second verse, same as the first” adage.
In one of the more ridiculous ironies, the city decides to build an indoor amusement park…that closed in less than a year.
This universality brings us back to the beginning of this retro review; the auto dealership, that I mentioned. You’ll find very little trace of Willowdell Sales online, Versailles, OH doesn’t have an auto dealer anymore. Roger & Me, is the definitive statement of something I have always believed: “Don’t put your faith in a corporation, because they’ll sell it to the almighty dollar.”
