The Netflix series stars Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, David Harbour as Chief Jim Hopper, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers, Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, Dacre Montgomery as Billy, and Sadie Sink as Max, among others.
The first season of ‘Stranger Things’ received 18 Emmy nominations this year with five wins.
How do you want to see Season 3 play out? Sound off in the comment section below.
The Hellboy reboot officially has a release date. The film stars David Harbour (Stranger Things) and will be released January 19, 2019.
Plot details haven’t been released, but EW says, the film will be separate from Guillermo del Toro’s original films.
The cast also includes Milla Jovovich as the villainous Blood Queen; Ian McShane as Hellboy’s adopted father, Professor Broom; Daniel Dae Kim as Ben Daimio, an officer at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense; and American Honey breakout Sasha Lane as Alice Monaghan, who’s rescued by Hellboy from fairies in the comics.
Ed Skrein was originally cast as Ben Daimio, but left after fans got upset about a white actor playing an Asian character.
“There has been intense conversation and understandable upset since that announcement, and I must do what I feel is right,”
Neil Marshall who directed Game of Thrones episodes “Blackwater” and “The Watchers on the Wall,” is directing the upcoming film.
“We’ve been granted permission to do it R-rated, which for me is just like taking the cuffs off,” he said. “It’s like, okay, so now we can just make the movie we want to make. It’s not like I’m going to force it to be R-rated, but if it happens to come out that way, just because of my own sensibilities, then fine. And nobody’s going to stop us. So, that’s the main [difference]. And I’m sure, obviously, the success of things like Deadpool and Logan have not hurt that cause. But, also, when you go back the original material, it is kind of bloody, so I’m going to embrace that.”
Are you excited about the reboot? Leave your comments below!
An award-worthy performance from James Franco and a fantastic script make The Disaster Artist one of the year’s best films.
Summary
This release is an adaptation of Greg Sestero’s “The Disaster Artist” which details the making of Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. James Franco directs and plays Wiseau while his brother Dave portrays Sestero (Tommy’s producing partner). Franco has roles for some of the familiar faces we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in his films (for example Seth Rogen plays script supervisor Sandy Schklair), what makes this release unique is the amount of laugh out loud cameos it has.
What Worked
Franco’s performance as Wiseau was fantastic. It wasn’t so much that he nailed his accent or even his mannerisms, it was that he was able to capture Tommy’s idealistic nature. While he didn’t have the looks or charm of leading man, it didn’t stop him from continually putting himself out there. Embarrassment was just part of the process in his eyes. He had a dream to be the next big thing and was successful in his quest. Did it go according to plan? No, but everyone came to remember this film for a different reason. What was compelling about Franco’s portrayal was he didn’t merely show Wiseau as content with his newfound fame. Tommy is on display for everyone to see. His performance is on par with likes of Johnny Depp in Ed Wood.
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber construct a narrative that managed to capture the ludicrous circumstances behind this passion project on top of the humanity of all the individuals involved. The idiosyncrasies of Tommy are a large part of the film, but we also get the innocence of Sestero as he morphs from someone with stage fright to a daring young actor.
The pacing was adequate, and none of the narrative lags.
The film does attempt to explore the relationship between Sestero and Wiseau. What starts off as a friendship with pure intentions ends up being an obsession. Did Tommy develop feelings for his roommate?
The attention to detail was incredible. During the credits, they even set up a split screen between The Disaster Artist and The Room and the accuracy between the two was remarkable.
Ari Gaynor and Zac Efron deserve recognition as well. Gaynor plays the love interest Lisa in The Room while Efron plays Chris R. It takes a degree of talent to come off that terrible on screen. Each was crucial in demonstrating the absurdity of the project.
I love that the film is an ode to the dreamers. The Disaster Artist is undoubtedly proof that no matter how absurd your dream might be if you work hard (and have a spare six-million dollars) then it can happen.
Overall
While The Disaster Artist is undoubtedly worthy of being on most top ten lists for 2017, it’s probably not a film that could earnestly contend for Best Picture. However, the performance of James Franco certainly has put him as a lock to be nominated at both the Globes and The Oscars. No one has to subject themselves to The Room so they can enjoy the film. The Disaster Artist is a fascinating look at a man who defied all the odds and got his passion project made. It may not have been the fame he sought, but his movie still resonates to this day.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns tonight with a 2-hour season premiere. Earlier this week a 20-minute preview of the show dropped on Marvel’s social media, and we got a good look at the agents in their new space habitat. The video has since been removed from YouTube, but the hype remains. Tonight’s long-awaited return has a lot of promises to cash in, but the two hour time frame might just pull it off. In the spirit of optimism, here’s our wish list for season five.
Put The Fitzsimmons Puzzle Together–For Good
Fitz was conspicuously absent from the entire preview. Other characters brought up his absence at least twice in the first fifteen minutes. Please, for the love of Phil Coulson, reunite Fitzsimmons quickly. We know it’s coming. Another season of “will they won’t they” after they already have is pointless. There are plenty of other opportunities for dramatic tension without rehashing this tired storyline. Give the two of them something new to grapple with, or let a different romantic couple take the spotlight for a change.
Keep “Mom and Dad” Apart
Please veer away from Philinda under any and all circumstances. There’s no romantic chemistry between them, and it’s infuriating to watch the showrunners try to make it happen. Their relationship doesn’t have to be sexual or romantic to be strong and important.
For the Love of All Things Flaming
That being said, if Ghost Rider returns, he needs to be more than a romantic interest for Daisy. They’re each strong and independent on their own, and they don’t need kissy break time between battles.
THAT being said, Ghost Rider needs to return for more than three minutes.
To Infinity War and Beyond
It’s about time for more MCU tie-ins. S.H.I.E.L.D. is the longest running Marvel TV show to date. It’s been around for half the life of the MCU as a whole. The last tie-in (Civil War) was last year’s Slingshot, which directly referenced the Sokovia Accords. Time for Thor to show up. You want Melinda May to have a romantic relationship with a man who can keep up with her in a sparring match? I know a guy.
There Can Only Be One
Zero secret levels to S.H.I.E.L.D. this year. We’ve had HYDRA S.H.I.E.L.D., Secret-secret S.H.I.E.L.D., government S.H.I.E.L.D., Framework S.H.I.E.L.D…now we’re in space. The rulebook doesn’t apply, and there are no precedents (in this version of the Marvel Universe). This loops back to item five—with Infinity War on the way, it would be great to see S.H.I.E.L.D. expand instead of chasing its tail regarding legitimacy.
I Miss My Shotgun-Axe
Mack is officially the team heavy. Kill off whoever else you want, but he needs to keep bashing in heads until this show is rolling in a very shallow grave.
The “E” Stands for Experiments
Some more experimenting with form. Episode 3.5 (“4,722 Hours”) was almost entirely carried by Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons, trapped on an alien planet. First, she had to solve the problem of where, exactly, she landed. Then there were questions of survival. Finally, the science of getting back mixed in with the new, complicated feelings for her fellow survivor. The episode is still one of the show’s best, and, as Stranger Things 2 showed with their seventh episode, a side quest here and there can actually enrich rather than draw away from the main story.
Finally: We, the fans of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., wish that Marvel Entertainment and ABC would wake up.
S.H.I.E.L.D. has a diverse cast and a loyal fanbase that hung on through the absolute strangest season of ups and downs. After the three-part season four, which introduced characters just to kill them off a few episodes later, started and stopped its story threads, and ended up in SPACE, it’s pretty clear that if we’re still watching, we’re not going to stop. Regardless of every monkey wrench, space rock, demon book, and/or coma, the cast and crew continue to give the show their all. Showrunners Mo Tancharoen and Jed Whedon pushed the show to its limits when its future was unclear. Imagine what they could manage if they had some job security.
The Netflix official Twitter account confirmed that the series would be receiving a second course on Thursday. The news was received warmly, though many suspected this would be the case.
Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Hannah Gross, Cameron Britton, and Anna Torv all star in the drama, the first season of which featured a story inspired by serial killer Ed Kemper. Mindhunter is set in the 1970s, where two FBI agents work together to interview serial killers in a prison to gain insight into the cases they are currently working. The series is a mostly-true telling of the early days of criminal profiling and forensic psychology, and is less evocative of Silence of the Lambs than it might sound.
The series debuted to explosive critical acclaim in October, and it currently holds a 96 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. (Although it is important to note that Rotten Tomatoes scores can be a little strange and inaccurate when it comes to television series.) Although Netflix does not release viewer data, this news confirms that the show has done quite well for itself in terms of viewership, as well.
David Fincher, Joshua Donen, Cean Chaffin, and Charlize Theron all serve as producers on Mindhunter, which is created by Joe Penhall.
Last month Netflix announced Ellen Page had joined the cast of ‘The Umbrella Academy’ as Vanya Hargreeves. Today, the streaming service announced five more cast members to the series adding Tom Hopper as “Luther,” Emmy Raver-Lampman as “Allison,” David Castañeda as “Diego,” Robert Sheehan as “Klaus,” and Aidan Gallagher as “Number Five.”
The Umbrella Academy is based on the Eisner award-winning comics created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá from Dark Horse Comics.
According to Netflix, the live-action series follows the estranged members of a dysfunctional family of superheroes – Luther, Diego, Allison, Vanya, Klaus and Number Five – as they work together to solve their father Reginald Hardgraves’ mysterious death while coming apart at the seams due to their divergent personalities and abilities.
Netflix released charcter descriptions below:
Tom Hopper (Luther)
“Luther” was groomed by his father from an early age to be the leader of The Umbrella Academy – a responsibility that has always weighed heavily on him. He is resilient, a workaholic, and possesses the ability of heightened physical strength. Upstanding to a fault, Luther always tries to do the right thing, even if that means putting others before himself.
Emmy Raver-Lampman (Allison)
“Allison” is beautiful, elegant, and a formerly world-famous movie star who possesses the power of suggestion – anything she says aloud comes to pass. Her life seems perfect from the outside, but her ability has undermined every relationship she’s ever had. With her career on the decline and her marriage in shambles, she refuses to use her power as she seeks a more authentic life.
David Castañeda (Diego)
“Diego” is a skilled, intense vigilante who has a real problem with authority. He isn’t as naturally strong or smart as his siblings, so he’s worked three times as hard for everything. Believing he should have been the leader of his family instead of his brother, he carries a massive chip on his shoulder that makes him hostile to just about everyone.
Aidan Gallagher (Number Five)
“Number Five” appears to be a thirteen-year-old boy, but in actuality, he is a fifty-eight-year-old man trapped in the body of a child. He doesn’t suffer fools and is the smartest person in the room. He’s haunted by the things he’s seen and done and is on the verge of losing his grip on reality.
Robert Sheehan (Klaus)
“Klaus” is a drug addict and lovable mess of a human being and yet, if you ask him, any day now his life is going to turn around. He’s a classic “middle child” – a disarming pleaser who is seemingly everyone’s friend but will rob you blind without thinking twice.
The series is produced by Universal Cable Productions, with Steve Blackman serving as executive producer and showrunner, with additional executive producers Bluegrass Television and Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg from Dark Horse Entertainment. Gerard Way is a co-executive producer. Jeremy Slater adapted the pilot script.
The 10-episode season will premiere in 2018 with no specific day or month yet announced by Netflix.
Are you excited about ‘The Umbrella Academy?’ Comment below
Years ago, Chris Powell discovered a mysterious amulet that allowed him to transform into the spacefaring gladiator known as DARKHAWK. With his newfound edge against crime, he stood against some of the most extreme threats the Marvel Universe has to offer! Now, when two members of the Fraternity of Raptors descend on New York with designs on stealing the amulet and returning it to the stars, it’s not Darkhawk who has to rise to the challenge…it’s Chris Powell!
Writing/Story
This book was truly a joy. After two decades of seeing the character pop up in Marvel comics and be used sparingly it was a thrill to read Darkhawk #51 and enjoy a full issue dedicated to the character. Writers Chad Bowers and Chris Sims pack a lot into this issue. They had to, as it had to accomplish a lot of feets. This issue served as the direct sequel to where the original Darkhawk comic left off and tackled the insurmountable task of having to tie together all of the different threads which the character had been a part of since. This is harder than you think once everything is laid out.
Through different comics and storylines Darkhawk has been used to introduce the Fraternity of Raptors (which is now a major threat to the Guardians of the Galaxy), been connected to the Shi’ar as part of an anti-phoenix force weapon, and showed up in series like Avengers Academy. Now all these plots are pulled together while also explaining what Chris has been up to as he tried to move forward and have a real life. If you were ever a fan of this character at all you owe it to yourself to check it out.
Artwork
The art team made sure to make the comic there own. Key Walker really did some impressive work with the scenery and cosmic effects for the book. Though there are many points where the facial expressions are a bit off putting.
The color work by Jaya Tartaglia really steals the issue. It helps to showcasing some phenomenal graphic work which truly makes it feel like the series is from another planet.
The lettering by Travis Lanham feels appropriate and makes sure to distinguish Chris’ inner monologue from the regular speech. It would be great to see the entire team do more together in the future. Like more issues of Darkhawk.
Conclusion
This issue was good but the fans need more. At the end of the book they supplied an email address, mheroes@marvel.com with the instructions of “Mark your letter “Okay To Print.”” This will help them know what series to bring back. Personally, I could go for more adventures of Darkhark, a character who has become a pivotal part of the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe.
In a particularly grim season of an already dark show, sometimes you need a ray of light, and eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko was that ray. An episode about hope in the face of despair, this was my favorite episode yet of the show, and probably the best.
This review contains spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the episode yet, hop in your DeLorean and go check it out first.
Sit Back and Enjoy the Show
We start with a flashback to a young Elliot and his father at the movie theater, dumping a bag of M&Ms into a bucket of popcorn. A heartfelt (if somewhat unhealthy) moment, right? Not on this show. Elliot is still angry at his father for breaking Elliot’s arm and for not admitting he has advanced stage cancer. We see exactly how advanced when Mr. Alderson collapses. While the other patrons scramble to help him, Elliot takes his Mr. Robot jacket and calmly leaves his father’s body to go watch the movie. He’s not alone, though. Mr. Robot is with him. As the film starts, Elliot tells an invisible person in the seat next to him to shush.
Old Habits Die Hard
When we return from the flashback, Elliot is back to some old habits. As we saw last week, Trenton and Mobley, two of Elliot’s compatriots from the 5/9 hack, have been killed and framed by the Dark Army for the bombings of 71 E-Corp locations. In a scene mirroring one from season one, Elliot backs up on discs any data he had relating to these two and then burns the hard drives that may link him to them.
Darlene is worried about Elliot (understandably, since he hasn’t left his apartment in weeks) and wants to stay with him. He says come back tomorrow and they’ll hang out, get high and watch their favorite movie.
But that’s just a brush off. Elliot has decided the only way to rid the world of Mr. Robot permanently is to kill himself. He leaves his dog with a neighbor, drops off the Mr. Robot jacket at a trash burning business and buys enough morphine for a burn ward. As you may recall from season one, Elliot was a heavy morphine user who staved off addiction with the use of naloxone. This time, however, he’s not buying naloxone.
Before he shuffles himself loose this mortal coil, Elliot goes to pay his respects to Mobley and Trenton. Mobley’s brother seems more concerned with how his career will be affected than the death of his brother, so the next stop is Trenton’s family. On the trip there, he sees that New York is in a military lockdown, with a curfew set up and Jeeps full of armed soldiers roaming the streets. Trenton’s mother, father and young brother Mohammed (in a fantastic performance by Elisha Henig) are leaving town due to anti-Muslim prejudice further stoked when the Dark Army framed Iran for the bombings.
“All history present in that visage, the child the father of the man”
So Elliot heads back to the pier and sits on the beach in the shadow of the Ferris wheel. He’s about to start taking the morphine when Mohammed approaches him. Elliot tells him to go home, but he doesn’t know how, his parents aren’t there, and he doesn’t want to go. Who can blame him? The home he knew isn’t there anymore, his sister has been killed and the news says she was a terrorist, but this stranger, Elliot, says he thinks she was innocent.
Elliot tries to get rid of him, insisting that he has something to do. Mohammed pesters him about his hobbies, but Elliot is so far gone that nothing holds joy for him…except perhaps Back to the Future. In the show, it is October 21st 2015: the day that Marty travels into the future. Elliot has wanted to watch this movie on this day since he was a kid, and a local theater is showing it. So a lonely young man takes a lonely kid to escape from their troubles in cinema. One problem, though: partway through the movie, the kid escapes from the theater. Reminded of an earlier conversation, Elliot determines he went to pray at the mosque. Luckily, he finds a ride with a friendly Jewish ice cream man who is familiar with all the local religious groups. In the mosque, Elliot and Mohammed have a conversation about how Mohammed is the only one of his family who was born in America and thus the only one who could become president.
When Elliot finally brings him home, Mohammed asks if he will see him again. Elliot, deciding that life is worth living, says he’ll take Mohammed to see The Martian before he leaves. Mohammed, since Elliot said he was sick, gives him a green lollipop as he leaves.
Old Habits, Part Two
Elliot, reenergized, pays another visit to Mobley’s douchebag brother. He has hacked him and found some dirt from his business emails. Unless the brother gives Mobley a decent funeral, Elliot will expose him. He hands him the morphine and tells him to use the money he gets from selling them back to pay for the funeral.
Then he pays a visit to Angela, realizing he was too harsh with her earlier. She may have been used by White Rose, but so was he. She’s still his oldest friend, no matter what. Though she won’t unlock the door for him, they sit on either side of it, as Elliot sadly and sweetly reminiscing about their wishes when they were kids. It wasn’t what they wished for, but the hope that those wishes provided them, two kids dealing with the death of parents, that was important.
Returning to his apartment, the trash burner throws a load of garbage on the street (if you can’t trust trash burners, who can you trust?), including the jacket Elliot thought he was finally rid of. Inside, he finds an email that Trenton had set to be sent to him automatically in the event of her death. There may be a way to undo what they did…
The Shannara Chroniclesseason two ended with some epic fantasy shenanigans, completing its first season on Spike TV. Season two was an improvement in almost every way possible, but was it enough for the show to earn a third season?
The Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States threw a bump in the episode review road. We watched the final two episodes but had little time to review. And now, since the season is a week over, this isn’t an in-depth look at those last two episodes as it is a recap of a fantastic season and a bit of wondering about where the show goes from here.
The most interesting line during the final two episodes came from anti-hero bounty hunter Jax who says:
“If this is our last show, let’s make sure it’s a damn good one.”
It’s a very self away set of words early on in the final episode. More importantly, the show delivered on the line, offering an action-filled closure to its second season. If this is the last episode, they put on a damn good one. Shannara completes the stories started by Wil and Eretria in a satisfying way. There is loss and victory along the way. So, if there is no more, one can enjoy the 20 existing episodes.
If Shannara does go on, what are we left to learn? Lyria is the new Queen of Leah and Mareth is the Queen of the Elves AND the future of the druidic order. Let’s hear it for girl power! Eretria is off to find herself. And Wil, well … SPOILER … he dies. Sort of.
Even with its closure, viewers might want to ignore the last few minutes of the last episode. Since a season three is still up in the air, Shannara ends with a bit of a cliffhanger too and ends on Wil, very much alive, but in a very dark place.
But the true dark reality is that the show was garnering an average of 250,000 viewers per episode which is a steep drop from the MTV audience a season earlier. However, a few things are still promising here:
1. Spike TV is rebranding so they might’ve anticipated a drop in ratings. Perhaps Shannara gets one more season.
2. One of the reasons Shannara went to a two-episode a week formula was because, according to a representative, viewers were watching On Demand. Such viewings will help boost numbers.
3. A Lord of the Rings TV show is coming from Amazon, so perhaps Spike will extend the show to ride a potential wave of genre interest.
4. The Shannara series of books is VAST and the show runners have plenty of material to work with to make many more season.
It’s no surprise that Shannara ends with Wil saving the day. Shows like these rarely end any other way. However, the road to get there was spectacularly bloody, touching, and terrific. If this is the end of the road for the show, it was a fun ride.
The one thing that everyone can agree on regarding the DCEU, is that Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman was a smash hit. The film took the world by storm, becoming not only a box office success but one of the best critically received superhero films in recent memory. Warner Brothers wasted no time greenlighting a sequel, Wonder Woman 2 will hit theaters November 1, 2019, and director Patty Jenkins has teased some details regarding where she sees the film going.
During an appearance on Variety’s Playback podcast, Jenkins discussed where Wonder Woman 2 will take Diana as a character:
“It’s really still going to other values of hers, and a similar formula insofar as making a great, enjoyable fun movie but that ultimately in its third act turns some very big issues, and a very big experience that will aim to have slightly more weight and profundity than it has to have. Because that’s a formula that I really like, and I like the idea of taking somebody on a very solid, great journey but that arrives at a bigger question being answered. So it’s like that but because she is Wonder Woman and she’s here now and she’s fully developed, it’s got great fun from the start and great big superhero presence from the start, and is funny and a great love story again and a couple new unbelievable characters who I’m so excited about, who are very different than were in the last movie.”
The major takeaway from her comments are the tease of a new love story. At the end of Wonder Woman, Diana’s companion and brief love interest Steve Trevor met his untimely demise. It was a heartbreaking moment and something that has seemed to define Diana as a character. Will this mean we see someone new make their way into the heart of the Amazonian princess or will Steve Trevor reappear in epic fashion? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Mack is officially the team heavy. Kill off whoever else you want, but he needs to keep bashing in heads until this show is rolling in a very shallow grave.
