Annabella Sciorra has boarded Luke Cage season 2 as Rosalie Carbone, as revealed by Entertainment Weekly.
The actress will reportedly be playing “a dangerous downtown criminal underworld power player with an eye, and an agenda, toward Harlem.”
Sciorra is most known for her work in 1991’s Jungle Fever. Most recently, she played Nancy Brass in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Additionally, Sciorra was featured on The Sopranos for 3 years.
Luke Cage showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker noted that he is a big fan of Sciorra.
“I’ve been a huge fan of hers since Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever, and Anabella Sciorra is no joke as Rosalie Carbone. You haven’t seen her this gangster since her thrilling turn as Tony’s formidable flame Gloria Trillo on season 3 of The Sopranos. I’m thrilled her introduction to the Marvel Universe will be on Marvel’s Luke Cage.”
Along with Coker’s comments, Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb had this to say on the new casting.
“We couldn’t be happier to be working with such an incredible talent. This character is complex and layered and Annabella is the perfect actress to portray her.”
Are you looking forward to Luke Cage season 2 adding Sciorra as Rosalie Carbone? Chime in down below, in our comments section.
Marvel Two-In-One embarks on a journey through the multiverse in search of the Richards family. Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm represent the FF faithful as they desperately look to reunite their family.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
Writer Chip Zdarsky, the latest Marvel-exclusive talent, has been more than filling the FF-sized hole in our hearts. What could have been a cheap place holder for those of us growing impatient with the lack of Richards family members has been much more.
Marvel Two-In-One has dealt with the loss and void created by the Richards family’s absence, but it didn’t linger. Zdarsky addressed the elephant in the room and began taking us on a multiversal journey.
Four issues in and we’re tagging along with Johnny and Ben as they begin searching for their other Fantastic two. It’s not a misdirection intended to make you forget about the FF and make way for a new team. Zdarsky is up front with fan frustration and extracting a story from it.
The first stop in our search through the multiverse delivers a universe in which Dr. Doom took over the body of Galactus and ate everything in the universe outside of Earth. This could quite possibly be one of the best multiverse stories in recent memory. The “Doom Universe” is classic comic book fun, a Fantastic Four story without Reed there to solve this new puzzle.
Marvel was wise to lock Zdarsky up, his work on this title and Spectacular Spider-Man have proved that he has way more than just comedy to offer. His balance of light attitudes and heavy stakes is masterful.
Taking readers on this journey to find our beloved Richards family is going to pay off once they inevitably return. We’re already invested in the search, then going through the trials and tribulations of Johnny and Ben is going to add layers. It’s also going to be a hell of an entertaining ride
This is shaping up to be one of the best Fantastic Four titles not starring the regular roster. Similar to Fraction & Allred’s FF run, it’s a fresh examination at how important the “First Family” is. All while spending some valuable and entertaining time with some different characters.
Valerio Schiti and Frank Martin are contributing stunning artwork. Creative layouts, beautiful color schemes, and sleek re-designs make for a supremely pleasing atmosphere.
Marvel Two-In-One is one of the best looking superhero comics currently on the shelves. The creative team behind these panels is putting a lot of heart and craft into every issue.
Marvel Studios has announced the second trailer for Avengers: Infinity War will be unveiled tomorrow. They made the announcement with a short video on Twitter.
What do you expect from this trailer? I want new story details, but this is where Marvel needs to play it safe. In the past, as their films have gotten closer to release, the studio has repeatedly dropped spoilers in trailers and other forms of marketing. With Infinity War, Marvel needs to give fans a taste of what the plot will be, while not giving anything away. Nothing would be worse than to have a major story element spoiled more than a month before the movie releases.
“As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment – the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.”
Avengers: Infinity War features Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Pom Klementieff, and Josh Brolin as Thanos.
Avengers: Infinity War releases on April 27. What do you expect from the new trailer tomorrow? Comment below, let us know!
Snowpiercer is a sci-fi film that’s five years old, – so it is a stretch for it to be called retro, but it is already on the road to becoming a cult classic and it deserves some more recognition considering how badly the Weinsteins handled the film’s release.
In 2014 a scientific mission to counteract global warming backfires and freezes the planet. The few survivors live on a train known as The Snowpiercer that circumnavigates the globe. On the train people are split into three classes – the elite live on the front train in luxury, whilst the suppressed underclass live in the back in squalid conditions.
Curtis Everett (Chris Evans) plans to lead a revolt against the rulers of the train and believes he can succeed where others have failed by leading the revolution to the engine. The revolution is sparked off when the rulers of the train take young children from the underclass.
Snowpiercer was an international production – the producers were Korean, including legendary filmmaker Chan Park-Wook, it was directed by The Host’s Bong Jong-ho and it is the most expensive Korean film. The film was based on a French graphic novel, shot at Barrandov Studios in the Czech Republic and the majority of the cast were American and British – because an English language film is more marketable.
The Weinstein Company bought the distribution rights the US, UK and other territories like Australia and South Africa and this was where most of the controversy with the film stems from. The Weinsteins attempted to the cut the film by 20 minutes, leading to an internet storm and the Weinsteins only gave the film a limited release before dumping it on Netflix in the US. It was never even released in the UK and my own Blu-ray is an import from the Netherlands. This is a shabby treatment for sure a great film that deserved a bigger audience.
When I first saw the trailers for Snowpiercer I thought it looked like an extended Doctor Who episode with an unsubtle political message. This does not do the film justice because it is both an entertaining genre film and something much more complex – so it can be enjoyed on two levels.
Bong is a political director – The Host criticized the American military command in South Korea and his latest film Okja looked at industrial farming. Snowpiercer had an overt class hierarchy but this was a mask for how highly managed this system is. The people had been on the train for 17 years so resources were running out and as Tilda Swinton’s character says when that all resources have to be carefully allocated – like eggs and fish (one of the carriages is somehow an aquarium). For anyone who has studied Sociology at any level will be delighted at how this society functions – and there is a great twist in the final act.
The film is oddly reminiscent of the John Carpenter classic They Live – both films are entertaining genre films that also had a sociological message. There were also elements of Terry Gilliam films like Brazil and Twelve Monkeys because Snowpiercer has a barmy premise and Bong injects some surrealism and an unsettling humor – like when the rebellion is going into the classroom. John Hurt’s character is even called Gilliam which has to be more than a coincidence.
The film pleases on an action level. Bong is a director who has made films with impressive visual effects and Snowpiercer is no different. One of the most impressivesequences was when the rebels face up against the train’s soldiers – where the train lights are turned off, ready for a slaughter. The rebels counteract this by fighting with lit torches which leads to one of the most unique looking fight scenes in recent years.
The different sections of the train all have a distinct look and atmosphere. The ‘scum’ sectors are cram, dark and grimy with people stacked on top of each other and people have to eat horrible protein bars. The middle sectors are where the workers live as well as important facilities like farms and the richer people live in various degrees of luxury and hedonism.
Snowpiercer also has a terrific cast containing the likes of Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Ewen Bremer, Octavia Spencer and Song Kang-ho. Yet it was Tilda Swinton as Mistress Mason who stole the show as a vile and cruel woman who speaks with an unusual Northern English accent who enjoys causing pain but is a total coward when she faces any danger.
Snowpiercer is set to be turned into a TV series for the TNT Network with the aim being that the show could explore the politics of the train. Personally I cannot see how a TV series could improve upon a movie that got to say everything it needed to in two hours.
This is a film for anyone who calls themselves a cinephile.
Poor writing and listless action sequences are just some of the reasons why the latest attempt at rebooting Tomb Raider is doomed for failure. What’s sad is Alicia Vikander was an excellent choice to play Lara Croft, but her talents are wasted right from the start. Do we all need to sit and hear the tale once more of how Ms. Croft had a terrible childhood rife with daddy issues? Anyone who is excited about this release has some schema about the origins of this film, and when the narrative waste ⅔ of the film telling the same tale it’s nothing short of idiotic.
My only guess is screenwriter Geneva Robertson-Dworet wanted to showcase Croft’s humanity to the world. The film starts off with Vikander’s character getting in trouble with the law and subsequently being bailed out by an associate of her father’s (played by Kristen Scott Thomas). She urges Lara to come to terms with the fact that her father is likely dead and it’s time to step up. In the midst of the conversation, she comes upon a key which she discovers her father’s secret life. Was her dad just a businessman or was something more? Laura eventually discovers the origin of her dad’s final voyage which takes her to Hong Kong and face to face with the answers surrounding his disappearance.
Walton Goggins was a terrible choice to play the villain Vogel. His performance was so generic and offered to a narrative which at best can be described as rote. It’s as if they wrote Vogel to ensure Tomb Raider didn’t offend anyone. Why am I suppose to hate this guy? Dworet made Goggins character so generic it was a struggle to understand his purpose in the grand scheme of the film.
George Richmond’s shot selection appeared to be done with the purpose of imitating some of the action sequences from the video game. No creativity or ingenuity was shown in any of the shot selections during the film. It’s hard to believe the cinematography in an action film could be this boring, but Tomb Raider proves it can. Junkie XL’s score was loud and at times piercing and didn’t seem to go with what was unfolding on screen. At times the audience would begin to become engaged, but the score would kick in causing everyone to snap out of it.
Roar Uthaug demonstrates his lack of experience in allowing scenes to drag needlessly on for what felt like an eternity. Do we need sequence after sequence of Vogel’s hired gunmen brutalizing their workers? Did the scene between Goggins and Vikander’s character in the tent need to be six minutes long? The most important part of an action film is the action! If the action is on point and the narrative is plausible, then the audience leaves exceptionally pleased. Unfortunately, Tomb Raider is yet another example of Hollywood trying to set up sequels while ignoring the quality of the original release.
We’re ten issues into the weekly Avengers series. It’s been doing a lot of things right to help get the entire Marvel 616 Universe back on track. One of the most crucial factors has been making the world once again feel full of life.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
Since the start of Marvel Legacy, the publisher has been making an effort to get a lot of Marvel staples back onto the board through resurrection, re-purpose, and re-imagining. Avengers #684 dives into the return of Bruce Banner as the Immortal Hulk.
We also get to the bottom of this Voyager business; her identity and ruse is revealed. Voyager is actually the Grandmaster’s daughter, a now rogue game piece loose on the playing field. The superhero drama has been ramping up and continues to get juicier every week.
An issue Marvel had been having pre-Legacy was that its universe felt disjointed. What was once an unrivaled world of science fiction and mythology became more hollow. There was no connection between titles other than forced event agendas that were impressing no one.
With No Surrender, the creative team has done a spectacular job in utilizing all the players available, much like the Challenger and Grandmaster. Bringing together all the different Avengers teams sees heroes from all corners of the 616 coming together to try and sort this mysterious mess out. It’s extremely satisfying to see Al Ewing’s U.S.Avengers cast playing a major role at the heart of the drama; that series was criminally underrated.
Having the mutants back in the spotlight plays a big part in making this feel like Marvel again. One of the biggest elements that separates Marvel from DC is that DC doesn’t have the X-Men. The mutant population is one of the biggest pillars in the Marvel comic line and universe, to see the characters in pivotal Avengers roles is a welcome sight.
Writers Al Ewing, Jim Zub, and Mark Waid have found a balance that works well with this gigantic cast of characters. They’ve found a way to make the weekly structure work, much like it did for the mother of all weekly comic books, DC’s 52. Every one of these issues has been highly entertaining, keeping us exciting and guessing.
Paco Medina, Joe Bennett, Juan Vlasco, Ruy Jose, Jesus Aburtov, and Morry Hollowell deliver another explosive and beautiful issue. We’ve been getting spoiled by the art on this book. In a time where bi-weekly comics can’t keep a consistent art team, this series has been delivering every week.
Avengers: No Surrender has been absolutely dynamite so far. It has exceeded expectations and proved that Marvel is back on track. The 616 is full of life again, with both old and new characters leading the way. Marvel may want to consider another weekly series after this one concludes.
A week has passed since the release of season two of Jessica Jones on Netflix.Last week’s spoiler-free review discussed its structure. Now let’s discuss in full detail season two’s reveals, positives, and negatives. By now we all know the main arc surrounds Jessica Jones’ past, primarily the accident involving her and her family.
But unknown for a few episodes was the mystery as to how she got her powers. As it turns out it was through science and experimentation. But not in a malicious Weapon X way, instead Jessica’s treatment was different. Which gave one of the antagonists Doctor Karl Malus (Callum Keith Rennie) a sort of redeeming quality.
Malus used his new, illegal ways of treatment to save the lives of Jessica and her mother Alisa (Janet McTeer). His treatment of Alisa also closed up a potential plot hole when it came to her true identity and role in Jessica’s investigation, which also looked into the deaths of other enhanced beings. There’s a scene where Jessica goes to retrieve information about IGH (the research clinic responsible for her powers) from Alisa. During their initial meeting, Jessica doesn’t realize who Alisa really is until she discovers an old picture of herself in Alisa’s possession later on in the season.
But there is a good reason for that. Alisa was severely burned in the accident and Malus’ treatment while allowing her skin to fully grow back, gave her a different appearance. But it’s her role in the investigation that makes her one of Marvel’s most relatable villains. She doesn’t kill the people she does because she’s evil.
She does what she does because Jessica is her daughter. Also because she’s a bit mentally unstable. But all she wants to do is protect her daughter but as the story progresses her caring nature becomes detrimental to Jessica and those around her. When that starts to happen, that is where the show falls apart and becomes predictable.
As with most arcs that involve a child and a long lost antagonist parent, there comes a typical “join me” moment between the two. But in this show, it makes no sense, especially when earlier on Alisa’s actions get Jessica arrested, and make her a murder suspect. Not to mention Alisa tells Jessica she’s responsible for the murder of Jessica’s ex-boyfriend. Also, she tries to kill Trish. But despite those and other things, Jessica still goes on the run with her.
I know Alisa is her mom but at some point, you as an adult have to realize she’s toxic. Especially when she tries to literally use your own body to kill your best friend who you repeatedly refer to as your sister. Which makes the end of the season so eye-rolling. In the final episode, Trish kills Alisa in front of Jessica by shooting her.
The last scene involves Trish apologizing to Jessica and Jessica saying all she sees when she looks at Trish is the person who killed her mom, so she can’t be friends with her. Despite the fact, the woman Trish killed tried to murder her by using Jessica’s forearm to suffocate her. That decision makes Jessica Jones look very hard-headed.
That’s one of the season’s biggest issues. A lot of the dialogue and interactions towards the latter part of the season makes characters look hypocritical, and lack common sense. This is especially seen in the relationship between Jessica and her new superintendent Oscar (J.R. Ramirez). Oscar’s first few interactions with Jessica show his prejudice against super-powered beings.
Especially when he evicts her because apparently, the other people in the building feel “unsafe” with her living there. Even though we never see her do anything that would warrant that type of feeling. To me, he’s not a redeemable character and the fact they use his young son to try to show the other side of him and show cause for he and Jessica’s relationship is cheap. Not to mention his kid shouldn’t be able to erase what his father did to Jessica early on.
But it does and at the end, they’re one small happy family (at least for now). What’s even more frustrating about the creation of their relationship is we’ve had two seasons of interaction between Luke Cage and Jessica via season one of Jessica Jones and The Defenders. They are married in the comics, pull the trigger already on their relationship. Both seasons did more than enough to establish it.
It’s annoying when we all know it’s coming and the writers keep pushing it back and delaying it. Another issue as mentioned last week is the 13 episode order is way too much. The first 10 are tight and provide enough room for the main storyline to run its course. If you want to dedicate an episode just to the fallout of Alisa’s death, and the fractures amongst certain relationships, then go to 11.
Instead, the last three drag out the investigation and create scenarios and character choices that are head-scratching. I will say this. I liked how Kilgrave was brought back. He played a minor role in Jessica’s tightrope walk between vigilantism and killing and that was it.
The story did not revolve around him like last season. He was just an aberration in a pivotal moment. I also loved Hogarth’s arc surrounding her ALS diagnosis. Her diagnosis made her vulnerable and added a new dimension to her as a character.
I loved how we got to see the various mental stages as well. At first, she had this live life like it’s your last day mindset, but as her arc progressed we saw her decisions become more drastic, and heartbreaking. Seeing Trish’s past also did a lot of good things for her character as well.
To see her confront the director who raped her when she was 15 gave her a lot of power, and also played a key role in the main story. The flashback episode also did a great job of giving depth to her, Jessica, and their relationship when they were younger. However, I did not like her arc this season when it came to her getting addicted to the performance enhancer used by Simpson (Wil Traval). Even though she is a recovering addict, the substance endangered her life last season, so why would she use it?
I know she says later on that she wanted to be like Jessica, but it still doesn’t make sense. Especially when she has Doctor Malus perform the same experiment on her that he did to Jessica and Alisa. The experiment which nearly kills her, and puts her in the hospital. I am however happy this season did end with a very small tease of her becoming Hellcat.
As we head towards season three of Jessica Jones, here are my biggest hopes for it. 10 episodes, more interaction between Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, and I’d really like to see the noir element stay front in center. What made the first 10 episodes great is how they portrayed the show. It’s a detective show that happens to involve comic book characters and superpowered beings. That’s when it’s at its best.
The Tomb Raider reboot hits theaters this week, and it’s yet another bland, uninspired video game movie.
Tomb Raider (2018) is simply a Lara Croft origin story, as the franchise protagonist attempts to solve the mystery of her father’s disappearance, and becomes an adventurer along the way.
This movie’s biggest sin is that it’s slow and (get ready for the worst possible word you can use to describe a film) boring. For an adventure story, it takes way too long to get to the actual adventure. There’s too much set up at the start of the film showing Lara’s life in London. And when the adventure finally kicks in, things gets a little more interesting, but there are still tons of pacing issues. Honestly, it’s probably because the plot of this movie and the mystery that Lara’s trying to solve are so paper thin that the writers just needed to find ways to stretch the runtime.
Granted, that time in London is there for a reason. It’s to establish Lara’s character, and that could have been a great thing for this movie. It could have really connected her to the audience, and made this a video game movie with emotional stakes. And it does try to; it just doesn’t do nearly enough for the screentime it’s given. Lara feels as paper thin as the plot at times. Her supporting characters are just as guilty of this. No one in this film gets the audience emotionally invested in them; they’re not that interesting. They’re all archetypes we’ve seen before: the heroine, the reluctant partner, the ruthless villain, and so on.
Now, some of these criticisms could be forgiven if the visual effects were really good. This is an action-adventure movie after all. It doesn’t need emotional stakes or interesting characters to be watchable. Unfortunately, most of the effects look cheesy or unfinished, and they take you completely out of the moment instead of letting you get lost in it.
Tomb Raider is a popcorn flick. It doesn’t have to be deep or meaningful. It doesn’t need to break new ground. All it needs to do is keep you interested and entertained for a couple of hours. And unfortunately, it just doesn’t do its job. The best way to describe this movie is “painfully average.” The acting isn’t outright bad; the writing – while cliché – is bearable. If it weren’t so boring most of the time, it’d be a fun time at the movies.
This issue of Wonder Woman had so much promise but ended up a let down due to its weak story structure.
Not much happened in the previous issue, as most of it was dedicated to flashbacks to previous arcs. The present storyline revolves around Darkseid and his daughter going against ARGUS to grab ancient relics for a sinister purpose. After a mission, Steve Trevor meets up with Wonder Woman to unwind and chat. Before they become too comfortable, however, a person suddenly appears before them: Diana’s brother, Jason, clad in new armor. Where did he come from and how will he help his sister against Darkseid’s forces?
**Some Spoilers Below**
Story:
After Jason’s week-long absence, Diana and Steve wonder what new powers the son of Zeus has gained. Before they can think on that any longer though, reports of Grail resurfacing in Europe come to their attention. She has been working alongside her father to get artifacts for a dimensional door created by the New Gods. Their goal is to enter the dimension the Amazons are locked in and enslave them as an army to eventually conquer Earth. Wonder Woman and her brother speed off to face the daughter of Darkseid, thanks to the new control Jason has learned.
The makings of a good story is there. It has an interesting premise and a promise of good action. The problem is that the structure is what has failed this arc so far. Everything is so awkwardly paced and unfocused on the goal that the issue becomes a chore to read. An example of this is a flashback in this issue that shows how Jason met Grail. First, the whole flashback feels forced as it feels like it belongs in the Jason origin issue but was cut due to page length. Second, the flashback started and ended abruptly, leaving those not expecting it confused over what was actually the main plot or not. Overall, while the pieces are there, they aren’t set to tell even a halfway decent story.
Art:
While the story has failed to stand to expectations, the art continues to go above and beyond. The art team has given us another fantastic looking issue to behold. Jesus Merino has taken over penciling this story and from the first page, you see he’s a good choice. His designs of the characters are fantastic, especially Jason in his super suit. The only thing that could rival his skill is the returning colors of Romulo Fajardo Jr. There is a panel that has Jason standing before a small group of shadowy giants and while Merino’s pencil work is great, it’s the colors of Fajardo that evoke a sense of dread. Together, the pair makes this story feel epic and full of life. If there’s any reason to pick up this issue, it’s the teams skill with art.
Conclusion:
The second chapter of this arc had some improvements, but unfortunately still fails to even be a decent read. The story has promise, but the disjointed structure pulls it down in quality. The art team has created a strong book to look at, but even that isn’t enough to make it great. There needs to be a change in the coming issues or this story will become as forgettable as last.
With Ben Affleck rumored to be out as Batman in Warner Bros’ DC universe and a Flashpoint film planned, many are speculating this is where the company will “reset” the universe with new actors. We saw Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Thomas Wayne in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which has led many to believe he’ll be playing the caped crusader in Flashpoint. While no announcement has been made officially, Morgan recently chatted with Total Film and indicated he is interested in the role.
Morgan first touched on the fact that him and Snyder talked about Batman when they worked on Watchmen.
“Look, I’m not going to lie. Zack Snyder and I talked about doing Batman together when we did Watchmen. I think it was both he and I’s favorite character and favorite story. And what I know about the Flashpoint Batman is, you know, for me, I think he is not only the darkest of the Batmen, but the coolest. And I love his whole storyline and who he is and the tortured soul of it all.”
So, will Morgan actually be portraying the character in the future? Well, that decision isn’t up to the actor.
“We’ll see. I mean, look, DC is DC and they’ll figure out what they’re going to do next. But I’m highly aware of the character, I will say that. I’m highly aware of the character, and it would probably be a thrill of a lifetime to put on the Batsuit.”
If Affleck does indeed hang up the cowl, would you like to see Morgan give his take on the character? Comment below, let us know!
Flashpoint is currently slated to be released in 2020.
