A Simple Favor is slated for release in September which is primarily considered to be a transitional month between the summer and award season. Could that trend be changing? Paul Feig’s latest project A Simple Favor ratchets up the tension with every trailer or teaser poster they release. The release is anchored by Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in roles we aren’t accustomed to seeing them in. Is it a delicious mystery that would have worked during the summer or will we start hearing awards buzz about the film? Who knows at this point, but what’s clear is A Simple Favor looks excellent! Check out the synopsis –
A SIMPLE FAVOR, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy
vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily’s (Blake Lively) sudden
disappearance from their small town. Stephanie is joined by Emily’s husband Sean (Henry Golding) in this
stylish thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and
revenge.
If that doesn’t do it for you, then watch the trailer –
The trailer looks impressive and it appears that Feig has assembled some great supporting cast members as well. A Simple Favor opens up September 14th and stars Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Cardellini, Jean Smart, and Rupert Friend.
According to Variety, the indie director’s hiring comes after a successful meeting with star Scarlett Johansson. Other contenders on the list include Kimberly Peirce, Amma Assante, and Maggie Betts.
Shortland is best known for her work in film and television. Her directorial credits include Somersault, Lore and Berlin Syndrome. Directing Black Widow makes Shortland the second female director to work for Marvel Studios. The first is Anna Boden, co-director of Captain Marvel.
Black Widow will take place sometime before TheAvengers. Little is known of the plot, but there is a chance her origins will be shown. There is also talk of Jeremy Renner showing up as Hawkeye, and this could explore their shared history. Another possibility is Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier.
Or perhaps we may see the Budapest incident after all….
X-23 picks up where Tom Taylor’s All-New Wolverine left off. Laura and Gabby continue their lovable and bizarre partnership in an all-new adventure featuring ten adamantium claws and three Stepford Cuckoos.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
Writer Mariko Tamaki, coming from her She-Hulk run, had pretty big shoes to fill. Tom Taylor’s All-New Wolverine was a major triump, one of Marvel’s most consistently brilliant books over the last few years. This was the run that introduced Laura’s sisters, her new sidekick sister Gabby, and Jonathan the actual wolverine.
The pressure was on but Tamaki effortlessly grabs the torch from Taylor and runs with it in full sprint. This introductory issue of X-23 doesn’t take time to start from scratch or tramble over what was just an all-time great run with the character. Mariko Tamaki pushes forward and takes it to a new place.
Laura and Gabby are digging into some clone business and cross paths with the Stepford Cuckoos while visiting Beast at the school. This story is monumental for being so deeply involved with cloning multiple characters but not at all being a tough read. Any comic book reader that has read pretty much anything from the 90’s knows how much cloning is too much cloning.
The discussion about birthdays and how clones choose to celebrate them is an interesting one. Tamaki shows she’s bringing something new to the table immediately. She’s also got a great handle on both Laura and Gabby. It’s a huge relief to see how well she writes Honeybadger given that she’s only the second person to get a crack at her after Tom Taylor.
X-23 takes some turns as the story starts to take shape. It was a wise choice to craft a story that is both an X-23 tale and that of the Stepford Cuckoos. The premise should satisfy X-Men die-hards.
Artist Juann Cabal illustrates X-23 with plenty of flair and loads of charm. Laura and Gabby’s facial expressions sell every interaction, Cabal makes it known that we’re in good hands in that department as well. Nolan Woodard’s great color work raises the tempo during action scenes and sets the tonal shifts from scene to scene.
The one downfall of X-23 is costume design. After a few years of Laura in her amazing Wolverine uniforms, this wasn’t going to be the easiest job. It’s not an awful costume, it’s just ultimately a downgrade and a little too busy. The Stepford Cuckoos’ matching outfits were also pretty bland for clones of Emma Frost.
Mariko Tamaki and Juann Cabal show they’re more than capable of continuing to build on what Tom Taylor accomplished. X-23 starts off as a perfect compliment to and evolution of All-New Wolverine. This issue should satisfy Laura’s fans, X-Men fans, and newcomers to the character.
The Flash War comes to an explosive, emotional, and fun close.
The battle between Barry and Wally may have finished, but there is still one more fight. After Wally’s failed attempt to break his children out of the Speed Force, Hunter Zolomon reveals his plan. The destabilization of the multiverse caused by The Flash gave him access to the Strength and Sage Force. These new forces, along with speed, allow Hunter to become a different, more powerful Flash. With the League incapacitated and the Multiverse splitting apart, Barry and Wally must put aside their differences to stop Hunter. How will this war between the Flashes end and who will be on top?
**Some Spoilers Below**
Story:
Hunter reveals the second part of his plan is to become a hero and “fix” time. Barry and Wally chase after the mad speedster, finding themselves in Hypertime. As they run, the pair sees several different moments in the history of The Flash, including Wally’s kids. They also notice that Hypertime is fading due to this whole debacle and they have to work quickly. They return to the 25th century, now an empty white space, where Hunter tries to bring them in as a new Flash Family. Wally, now remembering his full past, refuses and runs in to take him down.
This finale does a great job to remind us what makes the Flash Family great before it is all destroyed. The closeness we are shown in this issue far exceeds any super-family we’ve seen at DC. Every action and fight is tied to this theme, adding emotional weight throughout the issue. There are plenty of memorable moments throughout the issue, but the best has to be Wally going one on one against Hunter. It perfectly blends action and emotion in one beautiful scene.
There is a problem with this issue, despite its positives. The way the story ended left with me more questions without answers than I think was intended. The Sage and Strength forces have vanished, and there is no clue to what will happen next for Wally going forward. It is a bit nitpicking, but there is still plenty of enjoyment in the issue to overlook it.
Art:
The art team goes above and beyond for this finale and make it a spectacle on the page. Howard Porter finishes off this arc in spectacular fashion, with the fights being the highlights. The final attack on Hunter, in particular, stands out in this issue. It’s not only well drawn, but colored beautifully by Hi-Fi, allowing the whole scene to pop.
Conclusion:
While there are a few nitpicks, this comic is a fantastic ending. It’s full of emotion and action, bringing the Flash War to an epic conclusion. The art team takes this story to the next level with both illustrations and colorwork. It’s a fantastic comic, and I can’t wait to see where our speedster family goes next.
Ringo-nominated series Spencer and Locke is returning this winter, but San Diego Comic-Con attendees will be able to check out the new story next weekend.
In case you missed volume one (shame on you), the premise is simple: imagine Calvin and Hobbes are detectives in Sin City. Now swap out Calvin for Locke and Hobbes for Spencer, and you have one of the best, most original new series in recent memory. It’s written by David Pepose, with art by Jorge Santiago, Jr, colors by Jasen Smith, and letters by Colin Bell. The series is published by Action Lab: Danger Zone.
Spencer and Locke blew fans away last year, and the volume two looks to be upping the ante in a big way. The duo will face off against “their deadliest foe yet” in Roach Riley, a former soldier who’s basically an evil Beetle Bailey.
“We’ve told fans from the beginning that there was a much larger universe for SPENCER & LOCKE to explore — and we’re excited to expand their world further with their latest adversary, Roach Riley,” Pepose said. “Half The Deer Hunter, half Heath Ledger’s Joker, Roach is only the beginning of Locke’s latest gauntlet, as every classic comic strip from your childhood will be fair game for parody in our action-packed sequel.”
“I think people that enjoyed the first volume will love where SPENCER & LOCKE 2 takes them,” added Santiago. “In both scale and scope, Spencer and Locke will have a lot more riding on things with Roach lurking in the shadows.”
Spencer and Locke earned five nominations at the 2018 Ringo Awards, including Best Series, Best Writer, Best Cover Artist, Best Colorist and Best Letterer.
About Spencer and Locke 2: Suspended by Internal Affairs, Detective Locke continues to wrestle with the demons of his past alongside his trusty partner, his talking imaginary panther Spencer. But when Spencer and Locke face Roach Riley, a scarred former soldier set on violence and terror, will their partnership become the latest casualty on Roach’s hit list? Find out when the twisted nostalgia of Action Lab’s SPENCER & LOCKE 2 arrives in comic shops and digital devices Winter 2019, or be one of the first to enjoy the story at San Diego Comic-Con with an exclusive variant of SPENCER & LOCKE 2 #1 by artist Joe Mulvey!
Are you excited for Spencer and Locke‘s return? Sound off in the comments!
Kevin Smith returns to his Clerks roots with Hollyweed, an irreverent, charming, and funny new TV series about a Los Angeles pot dispensary and its employees and customers.
Hollyweed Episode One ‘Pilot’ Starring: Kevin Smith, Donnel Rawlings, Frankie Shaw, Adam Brody, Ralph Garman and Jason Mewes Written & Directed by: Kevin Smith
Hollyweed opens with two guys, Pete (Kevin Smith) and Nips (Donnel Rawlings), clipping weed plants while talking about pot and cracking jokes. The actors seem to be having fun, feeling each other out. The scene opens naturally and makes you chuckle, as any good sit-com cold open should. Fans will be instantly pleased to see that Smith still has a knack for witty dialog and observations. As the episode progresses, there are also some funny plot developments and supporting characters; it all flows easy enough in that comforting way sit-coms seem to unfold in.
Donnell Rawlings & Kevin Smith
If the show suffers anywhere it’s a bit with the acting. But that’s mostly in the very beginning. It like the cast (Smith included as an actor and director) are trying to get a feel for what to do. But at around the midway point, when Frankie Shaw (as Brookline/Janet) has her scene with Smith, the actors and crew seem to find their groove. Donnel Rawlings especially has a few great moments and line deliveries in the final scene.
Overall, a pilot just serves to give you a feel for the characters and tone, and in this case, it’s definitely warm. That’s exactly how the whole show feels. Warm. Like being pleasantly high on a random weekday afternoon with the right people at the perfect place. Hollyweed is definitely worth taking a hit on.
Earlier this week it was revealed that Joaquin Phoenix has officially signed on to play The Joker in Todd Phillips’ standalone origin movie, and just days later the actor is talking about the project in public.
Collider’s Steve Weintraub recently spoke to Phoenix, who seemed more than willing to discuss The Joker. When they asked how he got involved in the project and if he was nervous to play the character, Phoenix said:
“I take a lot of time and consideration when making decisions and what I’m gonna work on always. So, in some ways, the process, which is obviously reading a script and meeting a filmmaker and then continuing to have meetings and discussions with Todd [Phillips]. I think he’s very impressive and he seems to have a very interesting understanding of this world and what he’s trying to say. And so there is something very appealing about that and working with him on this particular project. It feels unique, it is its own world in some ways, and maybe, mostly, it scares the fucking shit out of me or something. It might as well be the thing that scares you the most.”
Weintraub then asked Phoenix if he ever looked to see what fans and news outlets were saying about the film and his casting specifically:
“It’s a magnified version of what you deal with as an actor. So, when you get a script, obviously, the writer— usually for me, it’s the writer/director, last several years I’ve worked with a filmmaker that was the writer and director— and they have their expectation, and they’ve imagined things in their head, and they’ve imagined different actors, and suddenly you take it on and so there’s this moment of anxiety of ‘Did I live up to their expectations?’ And at some point you have to just own it and say like, ‘I can’t consider who they might have thought up before or what the movie was for the 6 months ago, this is what it is now and I have to find my way into it.’ And so in some ways it’s a very similar experience, right? But it feels magnified because it’s not just one person’s expectations, but what you’re telling me is that there’s at least a dozen.”
Phoenix also revealed that this isn’t the first time he’s considered joining one of these movies:
“Three or four years ago, I called my agent and said ‘Why don’t they want to take one of these characters and just make a lower budget film about it, a movie but a character study, and why not take one of the villains?’ And I thought, ‘You can’t do the Joker, because, you know, it’s just you can’t do that character, it’s just been done.’ So I was trying to think of other characters, and he said ‘I’ll set up a general meeting with Warner Bros.’ And I said ‘I’m not gonna go, I can’t go to a general meeting.’ So I completely forgot about it, and so then I heard about this idea, I was like, ‘Oh that’s so exciting, that’s the kind of experience I wanted to have, with a movie based on a comic character.’ I felt like you could get something on screen.”
Finally, Phoenix talked about the films director Todd Phillips and briefly discusses the tone and the direction of the story:
“I wouldn’t quite classify this as like any genre. I wouldn’t say it’s a superhero movie, or a studio movie or a … It feels unique, and I think more then anything, and probably the most important thing, is Todd seems very passionate about it and very giving, and so that’s exciting. I think, underneath the excitement of these films, and the size of them, there are these incredible characters that are dealing with real-life struggles. And sometimes that is uncovered and exposed, and sometimes it isn’t, and so I always felt, like, there were characters in comics that were really interesting and deserve the opportunity to be kind of studied. And so I think that’s what Todd sees appealing about this idea.”
while Phoenix doesn’t give too many details away, it’s great to hear him talk about the Joker movie and more than anything, it’s exciting to hear that they’re taking a more grounded and more character-driven approach to the tone. If done properly, a standalone Joker movie has the potential to be one of the most unique and compelling comic book movies of all-time.
The Hangover director Todd Phillips is helming the project. He also co-wrote the script with Scott Silver (The Fighter). Early rumours suggested that Martin Scorcese was producing the project, but we haven’t heard anything about that for a while. There’s a chance that Warner Bros. and DC Films could take the opportunity to divulge more details about the Joker origin movie at San Diego Comic-Con, which takes place next week.
Entertainment Weekly has debuted a bunch of first-look images from M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass, which is a direct sequel to the directors latest film Split and his 2006 flick, Unbreakable. The pictures reveal a new look at James McAvoy’s Kevin Wendell Crumb, Bruce Willis’ David Dunn and Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah Price in the highly-anticipated crossover.
Check out the images below:
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, James McAvoy talked about the moment Shyamalan revealed his plans to bring the worlds of Split and Unbreakable together:
“We were chatting and he said, ‘Well, maybe if this one does well, we’ll do another one.’ I was like, ‘Really? We’re going to do a sequel to “Split”?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, you know, bring back David and all that.’ And I was like, David? Oh, wait a minute…”
Following the conclusion of Split, Glass finds Dunn pursuing Crumb’s superhuman figure of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters, while the shadowy presence of Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Glass stars James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Spencer Treat Clark and Sarah Paulson. The film will land in theatres on January 18, 2019!
Mary Queen Of Scots has been universally regarded as an awards season release which has the potential of becoming a contender. While the Oscars and Golden Globes are at times hard to predict, it’s easy to see why the buzz is building for this fall release from Focus Features. Not only is the source material full of areas in which to create a strong narrative but the cast of this film looks exceptional. Mary Queen Of Scots stars Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn, Gemma Chan, Martin Compston, Ismael Cordova, Brendan Coyle, Ian Hart, Adrian Lester, James McArdle, with David Tennant, and Guy Pearce.
Grace Molony stars as Dorothy Stafford, Margot Robbie stars as Queen Elizabeth I and Georgia Burnell as Kate Carey in MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, a Focus Features release.Credit: Parisa Tag / Focus Features
In anticipation of today’s trailer launch, Focus Features released two character poster tied directly to Mary Queen Of Scots –
and here’s the other one –
It’s hard to ignore the immediate use of contrasting colors in each poster to symbolically set which side is on the right side of history and who isn’t. That’s not to say the heroes end up victorious in Mary Queen Of Scots (anyone who has studied history knows how their battle ends). Focus Features even released a synopsis of the film, and here it is –
“Mary Queen of Scots” explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart (Ronan). Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. But Scotland and England fall under the rule of the compelling Elizabeth I (Robbie). Each young Queen beholds her “sister” in fear and fascination. Rivals in power and in love, and female regents in a masculine world, the two must decide how to play the game of marriage versus independence. Determined to rule as much more than a figurehead, Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth’s sovereignty. Betrayal, rebellion, and conspiracies within each court imperil both thrones – and change the course of history.
Sorry To Bother You by writer/director Boots Riley is a trippy experience, and it’s one of the most original movies to come out in a long time.
Telemarketer Cassius Green (cash-is-green…get it?) quickly works his way up the corporate ladder. But is his newfound financial success worth the toll on his soul?
Riley’s film is a surreal look at our world, and it hits close to home. The racial and financial struggles facing Cassius and his friends are seen every day in our world. Yes, things are exaggerated for the film, but real terror hits you when you realize it’s not that far off from reality. It’s smart satire in the best way, full of metaphors and symbolism and clever writing. If you like to analyze film, you’ll have a ball with Sorry To Bother You.
Financial strife is at the core of this movie more than anything else. Cassius feels like he needs money to be interesting and give his life value. It’s nonsense, but – just like in the real world – this is the message that society puts out there. Riley shows the stark gap between the rich and the poor, and how the incompassionate uber-rich manipulate the system to keep themselves on top. He shows the ridiculousness of big business, the buzzwords and nonsensical stats (“35% of men who wear pink are more likely to start a franchise”). It’s frustrating to watch, mostly because you know it’s not fiction.
But as good as Riley’s script is, his direction is actually the most notable aspect of the flick. Sorry To Bother You is a visually original movie if I’ve ever seen one. The way Riley plays with the medium to do scene transitions, or show time passing, or just immerse you in Cassius’ sales calls is so fresh and fun to watch. This is the rapper’s directorial debut, and if this is the kind of fire he’s bringing, he’s got some awards in his future.
Of course, a movie’s only as good as its cast. Luckily, put together a stellar crew led by Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson. Armie Hammer comes close to stealing the show though as the sleazy big businessman who loves to chew the scenery.
Film fans, go see Sorry To Bother You. Everyone loves to complain about blockbusters and sequels and reboots, but this is proof that fresh and original movies are still being made, and being made well.
