Review: WWE #13 Celebrates 25 Years of RAW

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WWE celebrates 25 years of Monday Night RAW with this month’s WWE #13 from Boom! Studios.

Like the “Big Four” pay per view event anthologies that precede it, WWE #13 is a compilation of four short stories, each focusing on a different WWE Superstar, and each is individually written and illustrated.

Samoa Joe is the next WWE Superstar to help pen his feature, “Undrafted,” and he doesn’t disappoint. He tags up with Michael Kingston, who also teamed with AJ Styles for his feature in the Royal Rumble special published earlier this month. “As a lifelong comic book fan, it’s a thrill to partner with Boom! Studios on the official WWE comic book series and tell the true story behind my journey to WWE,” says Samoa Joe in a statement from Boom! Studios. Michael Mulipola and Doug Garbarks’ illustrations and color smoothly blend together the panels from Joe’s fancy dinner meeting to his visualization of running through the RAW roster one by one.

“More” is an appropriate word to describe for the next story, “The Yes! Movement.” Rodrigo Lorenzo and Doug Garbark make this story shine with the bright colors and excitement behind Daniel Bryan’s “Yes” chants. They made me feel like I was in the middle of a crowd with fingers being pointed in the air repeatedly. However, Julian May’s story is short; I really wanted to have more than four pages of Bryan’s rally of WWE fans.

“Unbroken” recalls the WWE Championship ladder match between The Undertaker and Jeff Hardy, who had previously dominated the tag competitions with his brother Matt. Lan Pitts gets us into the head of Hardy, learning what was going through his mind during this crazy match. Hardy is acrobatic and fun to watch wrestle in real life, and Kendall Goode’s visuals make Hardy just as fun to read. The Undertaker’s black background word balloons were a nice touch, emphasizing his gruff and haunting voice.

Kevin Panetta replays the “Festival of Friendship” in “Fest Prep,” by giving us the behind the scenes look at Chris Jericho gathering goodies for the party he planned for one fateful RAW episode earlier this year. Daniel Blayliss’ artwork embodies the flamboyancy of Jericho with the perfect amount of sass and arrogance.

This is another solid set of stories put together to get us excited about another monumental WWE event. I was, however, surprised that they didn’t make this another stand-alone issue; they’ve included this in the numeric order and released this as they have with their ongoing monthly series. It is, nonetheless, a nice intermission between storylines, as they’ve just finished a focus on The Shield members and will soon begin to tell the tale of the Women’s Evolution.

What has been your favorite RAW moment? Mine was just this past spring at the RAW after Wrestlemania where Roman Reigns stood in the ring alone for about 10 minutes, listening to the taunts from the crowd after his win over the retiring Undertaker. Then, he simply states, “This is my yard now,” drops the mic, and walks off.

What other fun trips down memory lane will we take when the WWE celebrates RAW 25 on Monday, January 22 at 8:00 PM EST live on the USA Network? Tune in to find out. Pick up your copy of WWE #13 at your local comic shop this Wednesday. Find one near you at comicshoplocator.com.

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Review: PHANTOM THREAD, 60’s Cinema With A Twist Of Anderson

By

Matthew Sardo

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Phantom Thread is writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, and could also be Daniel Day-Lewis’ final performance on the big screen. The story is set in 1950’s London, and Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alman (Vicky Krieps), who becomes his muse and lover. This plot seems somewhat arbitrary, sure, but that is Anderson’s intent. What makes the makes Phantom Thread a must-see are the ways in which PTA breathes life into this story through visual acuity and narrative brilliance.

The texture of the film carries all the qualities of the great cinema of the fifties and sixties. The graininess, the lighting, and the dirt all have a place even in this world of high fashion. Anderson serves as cinematographer as well and this is his intent according to longtime gaffer Michael Bauman. They underexposed the film and then pushed it up in the development process so the stock became more sensitive and increased the grain and texture of the image.

Woodcock loves to drive his car throughout the film, and the clunkiness of the camera combined with the speed of the filming put to shame how over-the-top car movement is filmed today. The clouds while driving add an eerie calm. And continuing the theme of eerie calm, Jonny Greenwood’s score truly makes Anderson’s visual idiosyncrasies sing. The tension, the passion, and the twists of emotion throughout the film are because of Greenwood. He adds the punch to the punchline.

Phantom Thread is a three-person play with Day-Lewis, Krieps, and Lesley Manville as Woodcock’s assistant, Cyril. The actors take Anderson’s script and inject their own strong choices. Day-Lewis is captivating, perfectly over-the-top, and brilliant as the lead. His body language can build tension better than most actors with all their tools. Krieps and Manville in separate ways stand toe-to-toe with Day-Lewis in the most passionate scenes. Manville brings a sharp tongue and Krieps has a bold resistance to the status quo. Each actor has a solid performance which complements the cinematography and score to a bizarre climax.

At two hours and ten minutes, even the most exceptional performance starts to drag if the story struggles for closure. Phantom Thread could have been tremendous had Anderson adhered more to his brisk Punch Drunk Love runtime; not that this picture goes for days, it simply would have been perfect had it shed 20-30 minutes. The climax loses steam.

In Phantom Thread, Paul Thomas Anderson puts together a weird tale in a way only he can. He puts together a beautiful “finale” for Day-Lewis, which makes it understandable why Anderson wanted to stay in this world and keep on shooting.

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Lindsay Lohan Wants To Be BATGIRL In Joss Whedon’s Film

By

Aric Sweeny

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January 15, 2018

After it was announced that Joss Whedon will be directing Batgirl, the conversation regarding who should play the character started to begin. Although there isn’t a clear frontrunner yet, one individual who has shown interest in the role is Lindsay Lohan.

Back on January 6, Lohan attempted to use the power of Twitter to inform Whedon that she was a favorite for the role.

https://twitter.com/lindsaylohan/status/949637009454305281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fscreenrant.com%2Flindsay-lohan-batgirl-role-campaign%2F

Then, most recently, the actress tweeted an edited image of her next to Batgirl.

pic.twitter.com/YSCfSV6lhk

— Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan) January 15, 2018

Would Lohan be a good fit to portray Batgirl in the DCEU? Although she’s not a terrible actress, I’d much prefer someone more unknown than her, to cement themselves as Batgirl. Similar to that of Gal Gadot, when we look at her we associate her with Wonder Woman. I want the same to happen with Batgirl, given how important the character is to many storylines.

As news regarding Batgirl drops, Monkeys Fighting Robots will have it covered.

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Jon Bernthal Wants Daredevil & Jessica Jones In THE PUNISHER

By

Aric Sweeny

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January 15, 2018

Given that The Punisher has been confirmed for a second season, news outlets have begun talking to the cast and crew about the forthcoming season.

During a Q & A at ACE Comic-Con, actor Jon Bernthal revealed that he’s interested in having Charlie Cox make an appearance in The Punisher season two.

“You know, I love Charlie [Cox]. I’ve worked with him before and I’d work with him again on anything in a heartbeat. He’s the reason I’m doing this. He brought me into this and his performance is what made me want to do it.”

Later on in the session, Bernthal mentioned that, along with Cox, he’d also love to work with Krysten Ritter on The Punisher.

“That being said, they’re all great. I’m a huge fan of Krysten’s [Ritter] too. She’s killer and I’d love to work with her as well.”

Would you be interested in seeing the two Defenders pop up in The Punisher? Comment below, let us know.

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Fans Make A Push For FRIENDS THE MOVIE, Watch The Trailer

By

Matthew Sardo

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January 15, 2018

Since Ross and Rachel just won’t die, there is a push for a Friends movie. Smasher, a fan-made movie trailer channel on Youtube is the latest to produce a Friends Movie trailer from TV and movie clips from the past ten years.

Here is Smasher’s concept for the film as well:
This picks up a few years where the final season left off with Ben and Emma grown up. Mike and Phoebe have trouble with marriage, Monica and Chandler are getting a divorce, Joey couldn’t find someone, and Ross and Rachel have trouble after many years of not being together! Filled with some surprise appearances by today’s actors, along with some old friends (no pun intended), this movie will be an all-star extravaganza, while showing a lesson in being there for each other.

Do you want to see a Friends Movie? Comment below.

Friends aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. The series starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer.

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Outlander Season 3 Finale: Eye of the Storm Rounds out the Voyage

By

Michael Bedford

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The third season of Outlander ended on December 10th with an action-packed finale entitled Eye of the Storm. This finale didn’t follow the same kind of formula as previous Outlander season finales, though, which straddle both time periods that the show is set in, i.e. the 18th and 20th centuries. Instead, Eye of the Storm ended with an indication of where next season will be set rather than when.

A change for the show, viewers will get a chance to see pre-revolutionary Georgia and probably other colonial settlements next season. Where the third season followed Gabaldon’s Voyager novel, the fourth season will reportedly follow Drums of Autumn.

Outlander: Eye of the Storm – Friends in High Places

It pays to have a Governor as a friend, as Jamie is reminded when Lord Grey frees his Scottish friend from Captain Leonard’s arrest. Forbidding Leonard from taking Jamie until Leonard has produced some evidence that Jamie is a seditious murderer, and getting a few good jabs in about the British Navy, Lord John once again proves his worth as a friend and comrade-in-arms.

Outlander: Eye of the Storm – The 200-year-old Baby (not Donald Trump)

Searching Geillis Duncan’s house for young Ian Fraser, Claire is apprehended by Geillis’s powerfully built footman. Geillis accuses Claire of working against her over the past decade to prevent the return of a Scottish king to the throne, and in her haste to convince Geillis of her innocence Claire reveals that she traveled back to 1948 in order to raise her then-unborn child Briana in a safe place. Geillis realizes that Briana is the 200-year-old baby that the prophecy spoke of.

Outlander: Eye of the Storm – Willoughby Triumphant

Shortly after this transpires, Willoughby kills Archibald Campbell, the brother of the prophetic Margaret Campbell, while defending Margaret her abusive brother. Willoughby and Margaret’s relationship has blossomed since last we saw them, and they intend to run away together. With Archibald dead on the ground, nothing will stop them. Luckily, just before his death Archibald reveals to Claire and Jamie the nature of the prophecy concerning the 200-year-old baby that Geillis has been so absorbed with.

Realizing that Geillis intends to kill Briana, Claire gets a brief chance to talk to her daughter using Margaret as a medium. Unfortunately, the content of their discussion is less than pleasan: Briana is being chased by a “monster” and needs help. After coming out of her trance, Margaret repeats the name of a nearby cave, and Jamie and Claire make their way there, believing both that Geillis intends to kill Briana and that she will do so by sacrificing young Ian.

Outlander: Eye of the Storm – Don’t Lose Your Head

The time-crossed lovers stop Geillis from killing Ian in the nick of time, but unfortunately Claire’s method of stopping Geillis leaves Geillis headless. They hurry young Ian out of the cave and away from the stones that very nearly draw Claire back to the 20th century.

Their young compatriot now recovered, the Frasers set sail for home, but, after a bit of trademark canoodling, they meet yet another obstacle. A raging storm assaults their ship, and Claire gets washed overboard. Jamie, who must be getting sick of always saving Claire’s life, dives down and rescues her from a watery grave, but upon surfacing they find little help.

Adrift on some flotsam for a time, they finally wash up on an unknown beach. After resuscitating his water-logged wife, Jamie spies some locals. Asking what island they’ve wrecked on, the pair are met with surprise. No island, says one of them. They’re told they’ve reached the mainland, Georgia to be exact. Jamie is confused, but Claire understands. They’ve reached the colonies, what will one day become the United States of America.

Outlander: Eye of the Storm – Drums of Autumn

As always, as a watcher of the show but not a reader of the novels, I have no concept of what to expect from Oultander’s fourth season. I wonder if we viewers will get a chance to reconnect with Briana and Roger. Based on her brief conversation with Claire, it sounds like Briana could be in some form of danger not yet resolved by Geillis’s beheading.

I also wonder if we might see a set of American stones that could allow for easier travel between 18th and 20th centuries. With Black Jack and now Geillis out of the way, one longs for a villain and a cause for the heroic couple to fight for, although I recommend against trying to install a Scottish king on the throne. Didn’t work out too well for Geillis.

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HBO’s 2018 Sizzle Reel Includes Looks at SHARP OBJECTS, PATERNO, More

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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January 15, 2018

HBO has unveiled their 2018 sizzle reel, and it is most impressive. But then again, who would expect less?

In this reel, you see bits and pieces from all of HBO’s content, and it reminds you just how great the vast majority of it is. There’s the return of Westworld, Insecure, Divorce, and the T.J. Miller-less Silicon Valley, but there’s some tastes of new documentaries (which all look incredible), Al Pacino as Joe Paterno, and a look at Fahrenheit 451. It’s awesome:

HBO continues to rule the roost, no matter who comes in to try and take the crown. Paterno looks interesting, and Fahrenheit 451 will absolutely own. On top of those newbies, we have our first look at Amy Adams in Sharp Objects, Jean-Marc Vallée’s follow up to Big Little Lies.

And we haven’t even gotten to the return of Sharon Stone in Steven Soderbergh’s experimental choose-your-own-adventure drama, Mosaic. Oh yeah, and over here we have Tim Robbins and Holly Hunter in the bizarro family drama Here and Now. And don’t get me started on this documentary collection; HBO has a deep lineup this year.

Here’s a handy list of release dates and what’s coming when. You’re probably going to need it.

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Clive Owen, Will Smith To Star in Ang Lee’s GEMINI MAN

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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January 15, 2018

In an interesting collaborative move, Clive Owen and Will Smith have agreed to star in And Lee’s upcoming sci-fi hitman movie, Gemini Man.

While that title probably makes one think of an old Steven Seagal mid-90s rap-infused action flick, or the 70s TV show of the same name about an invisible dude, this Gemini Man sounds like something original. According to the Variety report, “[T]he film follows an over-the-hill hitman who faces off against a younger clone of himself.”

This project has been around for twenty or so years, with Tony Scott once attached to direct. Jerry Bruckheimer is producing, and now Clive Owen and Will Smith are set to star, with the former playing “an antagonist role.” Hopefully this turns into something interesting.

Ang Lee has been hit or miss his entire career, as has Will Smith the past decade. But this news is especially exciting for Clive Owen fans (present!), who has mysteriously disappeared into thankless supporting parts when he should be making serious movies and chewing on meaty roles. Gemini Man at least has a shot.

We’ll see when the film arrives October 4… 2019…

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BLACK WIDOW Writer To Meet With Scarlett Johansson Next Month

By

Jackson Hayes

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January 15, 2018

It was announced last week that Jac Schaeffer, best known for writing the script for the 2009 film TiMER, would pen the script for a solo Black Widow movie for Marvel.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige met with several candidates before deciding on Schaeffer. He also met with Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson to discuss what the direction of her character would be in her solo outing. The two talented ladies have yet to meet but that will change in the near future. According to Variety’s Justin Kroll, Schaeffer and Johansson are set to meet next month to discuss the film.

Black Widow made her MCU debut in Iron Man 2 and has been a mainstay of the universe ever since. Many fans have been calling for a solo film for the character for some time and it appears to be moving forward rather quickly.

No release date has been set but many are speculating the film will release sometime during Phase 4 of the MCU. If you can’t stand to wait to see Natasha Romanoff again on the big screen, she will appear in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War with a great new haircut.

“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.”

The film stars 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 hits theaters on May 4, 2018.

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Review: HARD SUN Episode One – An Intriguing Opening Episode

By

Kieran Freemantle

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Hard Sun is the latest prime-time series to be shown on the BBC on Saturday nights – a crime thriller with a sci-fi twist.

The first episode of the series is set in near future London where two police detectives – DCI Charlie Hicks (Jim Sturgess) and DI Elaine Renko (Agyness Deyn) are partnered up and assigned to investigate an apparent suicide. Of course, the case leads the pair down a giant rabbit hole with a secret that MI5 are desperate to protect.

Hard Sun is a series with a lot of talent on screen and behind the camera. It was written by Neil Cross, the creator of Luther and directed by Brian Kirk, best known for directing three episodes of Game of Thrones and was considered to direct Thor: The Dark World. The cast is a mix of well known and emerging talent: Jim Sturgess is the big star, and the first episode featured Lorraine Burroughs, Aisling Bea and Luther alumni Nikki Amuka-Bird. This should give audiences a lot of hope.

Despite the caliber of the cast, there were issues. The main one was some of the actors seem too young for their roles. Sturgess is 38, and even with a beard, he looks young. It was hard to believe him as a hard-boiled senior detective especially when he is shouting at a street and smashing up car windows or when he is worried about his family. He can’t pull off badass, hard-ass or desperate. Deyn and Bea also looked too young for their roles. Deyn was playing senior detective which is technically possible but unlikely, and it was stated that she was a young teenager to justify why she has an adult son. At least Amuka-Bird was convincing as a shady MI5 officer.

The episode starts with some brutal violence with Renko getting beat up by a young man (Jojo Macari) which sets up her character dynamic for the series. It is an instant start to the series especially for prime time Saturday night viewing.

Hard Sun has been heavily promoted in the UK, and its twist was already announced – Earth is about to suffer an extinction level event. This affects the first episode because there could have been a great bait-and-switch from a police/spy conspiracy thriller to an apocalyptic level drama. It is basically like the first act of Deep Impact.

Even without prior knowledge of the show’s premise, there are clues throughout the first episode of something bigger than a government conspiracy. There are computer monitors showing solar flares from the sun and the cinematography shows a large red sun looming over London. These touches would have been more impactful if it weren’t for the marketing.

Hard Sun comes across as the BBC attempting to make an American style show. The biggest example was a large chase sequence when Hicks and Renko are following a young man who has a flash drive with information on it, and they end up being chased by the Security Service with a big car chase in London. It was a well-executed set piece with a decent amount of bloodshed. There are also small touches like the character Renko using the term ‘flash drive’ – in the UK people use the term USB stick.

The episode did have a terrific ending with David Bowie’s “5 Years” playing as the main characters are forced to make a decision that would impact their families and the whole world. It offers enough intrigue to make the show worthy of continued viewing.

The first episode of Hard Sun acts as the BBC’s attempt to make a blockbuster action show in the guise of a police procedural. The first episode can easily feed someone’s bloodlust and offers a decent idea of a sci-fi thriller hybrid.

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