Early screenings of The Post are happening right now, as we live and breathe. The first reactions to these screenings are, unsurprisingly, positive. Oscar is the common thread, and you’ll never believe who’s getting Oscar buzz.
Actually you totally will. It’s Meryl Streep. I apologize for the clickbait headline and I will dock myself points.
Yes, Streep and director Steven Spielberg are getting most of the accolades out there. The story, about The Washington Post‘s battle to publish the Pentagon Papers, which told the gruesome truths behind Vietnam, certainly has the built-in modicum of timelessness, but it appears it’s also pretty terrific. There are a few raves about the film, and a few “good, but”‘s thrown in for good measure:
THE POST is fantastic, it’ll probably win a bunch of Oscars, and it’s Meryl’s best performance since DEVIL WEARS PRADA. Happy now???
THE POST, as everyone else is saying, is dynamite. As good as THE PAPER? As good as LINCOLN? I dunno. Probably. Streep has multiple line-readings that remind you why she's Meryl Goddamn Streep.
Also, whether I'm objective or not, I will say that what Meryl Streep does in this movie, building a narrative about her character with each line, move, and gesture, is, even by her standards, astounding.
The Post benefits from a great, likable cast and a sadly timely reminder of the last time a president tried to villainize the press. However it’s super on the nose, incredibly slight and kind of a snooze overall. Felt to me like Spielberg was on autopilot.
That’s a solid snapshot of the reactions. Most hover somewhere in the middle of great to good, and Meryl Streep has once again become the leader in the clubhouse this Oscar season. Which, great, yes, Meryl is a National Treasure in my book. But is it fair to also say it’s a little tiring?
Not being mean, but there are a number of great female performances this year; they’re finally becoming somewhat commonplace, and it’s a delight seeing these new actresses ascend. Either way, if Streep wins, good on her.
The Post stars an incredible cast (inhales): Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Oedenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons, David Cross, and Pay Healey.
After Tom Holland secretly unveiled the official Avengers: Infinity War poster, Marvel Studios released a high-res copy online. Check it out below.
Though a simple design, it maintains the consistency that began with 2012’s The Avengers and was continued through 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Check out both posters below, for reference.
The first trailer for Infinity War will drop tomorrow. Click here for more information on that, and to watch the first teaser.
“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 cast includes 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 will be released theatrically on May 4, 2018.
James Franco never slows down, and now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, he plans to produce and act in a film with plentiful roles for himself.
Onboard the James Franco Express
While on tour for his latest film The Disaster Artist, James Franco continued his signature breakneck pace by discussing upcoming projects. “…we’re going to take this superhero thing and really just push it into a new genre. So we’re working with Simon Kinberg on an X-Men property.” Franco cites R rated films Logan and Deadpool as inspiration for his upcoming project. He plans to produce and act as the main character in the film: Multiple Man.
Multiple Man or Jamie Madrox already appeared in the X-Men films, showing up in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. Details about the upcoming solo film are scarce, with only Franco confirmed.
In the last few years Franco himself seems to have been multiple men: trying his hand at teaching, writing, acting, producing, and even going back to school for his Ph.D. “…I was following my interest, and that as weird and as disparate as a lot of those pursuits might have seemed from the outside…in my head it felt like there was a connection.”
We have to ask ourselves: has Franco crossed the line from hard-working to narcissistic? The Disaster Artist is a navel-gazing film about a navel-gazing film. It follows Tommy Wiseau making his pet-project film The Room, categorized as the best worst movie ever made. Wiseau promoted the film as a “Tennessee Williams-level drama” (it’s not), but it became popular for the “dark-comedy” aspects. Unfortunately, the dark comedy is in the real-life people who spent time working on it, rather than the fictional characters it portrays.
Franco admits Wiseau’s reasons for making the film where self-centered at best. “…Tommy Wiseau, he is what happens when you don’t get past your James Dean phase. He actually thinks he is James Dean, I think.” So what does it say about Franco that he created a film about Wiseau’s project, casting himself in the leading role? And what about the fact that he wants to co-produce (Franco owns Ramona Films with his brother) and star in a movie about a man who can literally make more of himself?
After years of waiting, Avengers: Infinity War is finally right around the corner. The film opens in just a few months, and Marvel Studios has confirmed that the trailer will be dropping tomorrow, November 29.
“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 cast includes 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.
What do you expect from the first trailer? Speculate in the comments below.
Avengers: Infinity War will be released theatrically on May 4, 2018.
This Dark River trailer is not all sunshine and rainbows. In fact, the sun doesn’t appear to shine at all and, well, rainbows might be a possibility because it definitely rains in this movie at some point.
Ruth Wilson stars as a woman returning to her family farm, where things have not been going well for her brother. Check out the trailer:
Following the death of her father, Alice (Ruth Wilson) returns home to Yorkshire for the first time in 15 years, to claim the tenancy of the family farm she believes is rightfully hers. Once there she encounters her older brother Joe (Mark Stanley) a man she barely recognizes, worn down by years of struggling to keep the farm going whilst caring for their sick father. Joe is thrown by Alice’s sudden arrival, angered by her claim and finds her presence increasingly impossible to deal with. Battling to regain control in a fraught and fragile situation, Alice must confront traumatic memories and family betrayals to find a way to restore the farm and salvage the bond with her brother before both are irrevocably lost.
There’s clearly some fucked up business with Ruth Wilson’s father, played here by Sean Bean in another role that will eventually kill him off. Wilson is a magnetic actress, and no matter how absurd her Showtime series The Affair got in its bizarro final season, she remained steadfast and always watchable.
Dark River opens across the pond February 23. There’s no word on a US release date yet, but odds are it will pop up on your TV before your local theater.
Marvel has done great things with Spider-Man since he first swung onto the scene in 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15, however there was no better time to be a fan of the character than in the early 1990s, specifically, 1990-93. Three of the listed titles were ongoing from way back when, but each had great runs in said years. The ongoing series all intertwined with each other as well, including various crossover story arcs, which is what made them all so special.
Amazing Spider-Man (1963-2007)
This was the first series for Spider-Man following his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15. It went an astounding 441 issues! The 1990s run of the series had a six-part ‘Revenge of the Sinister Six’ (#334-339) arc that featured a new team of Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Electro, Sandman, Mysterioand Hobgoblin. Issue #361 saw the first (full) appearance of the symbiotic spawn known as Carnage, as part of the ‘Savage Genesis’ three-part arc, tabbing Spidey against both Venom and Carnage! Issue #375 was a 30th Anniversary issue of the character that featured a gold holofoil cover with both Venom and Spider-Man doing battle. Issues #378-380 pick up during a 14-issue ‘Maximum Carnage’ arc that spanned over five-different Spider-Man titles. Issue #400 is an embossed gray overlay cover that looks like a big cloud in the shape of Spidey.
Spectacular Spider-Man (1976-98)
This series lasted 263 issues and in 1991 had six-part arc from issues #178-183 that featured Vermin for the first time in ‘Up from the Depths’. The arc ultimately pins Spidey against both Vermin and the Green Goblin. Issue #189 has a hologram cover as part of the 30th Anniversary celebration for the character. Issues #197-199 feature the X-Men, while #200 is a giant-sized issue and tabs Spidey against the Green Goblin, while issues #201-203 are included in the ‘Maximum Carnage’ storyline.
Web of Spider-Man (1985-2001)
Issues #73-76 featured an arc called ‘Art Attack’ and each issue saw Spider-Man take on a new created villain(s). No. 73 had The Headmen, #74, The Avant Guard, #75 included a baddie named Spark, while #76 had the entire group in a final showdown. No. 90 had a holographic cover as part of the 30th Anniversary celebration, while #100 saw Spidey adorned in a special armor suit on a metallic, giant-sized issue. Issues #101-103 was part of the ‘Maximum Carnage’ story arc and #113 teamed Spidey up with both Gambit and the Black Cat. This series went 129-total issues.
Spider-Man (1990)
This series ended just two issues shy of the century mark, but was one of our favorites in the 1990s. Todd McFarlane, you know, the creator of Spawn and maker of all the toys we love, did the art for the first 16 issues of this series. A run that included guest appearances by Ghost Rider, Wolverine, Beast and X-Factor. The best storyline in this series was the six-part ‘Revenge of the Sinister Six’ arc from issues #18-23. It came down to a six-on-six standoff of Doctor Octopus, Electro, Vulture, Hobgoblin, Sandman and Mysterio versus Spidey, Hulk, Ghost Rider, Sleepwalker, Solo and Deathlok, including a guest appearance from Nova. Issue #26 marked the 30th Anniversary of the ‘Web Head’ and the cover features a beautiful hologram. Issues #35-37 crosses over with other running Spider-Man titles as part of the ‘Maximum Carnage’ storyline. Issue #50 has a holographic cover and tabs Spider-Man against the son of Kraven the Hunter. After issue #51 is where things get weird as the series crosses over with the ‘Spider-Man: Clone Saga’ run and features his clone, The Scarlet Spider!
Spider-Man Saga (1991)
This was a four-issue miniseries. The first issue was a pictorial history and authorized biography of Spider-Man. Issue #2 covered events from Amazing Spider-Man #101-175 and highlighted the death of Gwen Stacy. The new Green Goblin and the rising of the Hobgoblins comprised issue #3, while #4 featured ongoing feuds with Venom.
Deadly Foes of Spider-Man (1991)
The ‘Sinister Syndicate’, a villainous quintet comprised of Rhino, Beetle, Hydro-Man, Speed Demon and Boomerang attempt to rob the Federal Reserve Bank. With a guest appearance of Shocker and Leila Davis. It ultimately comes down to a fight for super-villain supremacy while Spider-Man tries to intervene.
Lethal Foes of Spider-Man (1993)
This four-part series serves as a follow-up mini to ‘Deadly Foes’. It features Rhino, Vulture, Boomerang and Hardshell (Leila Davis) join forces to attempt to steal the nuclear blaster from the U.S. Atomic Research Facility. The third issue, thanks to a lone blast from the nuclear blaster, brings Stegron, the Dinosaur Man, back to walk the Earth once again! The finale tabs Spidey against a boatload of villains, including the team currently running in the series, as well as Vulture, Doc Ock, Swarm, and more!
Spider-Man Classics (1993-94)
This series was great because the entire 16-issue run were reprinted early tales from Spider-Man’s history. The first issue was a reprint of his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 and also featured Strange Tales #115. Each comic in this series was written by the Stan Lee.
Spider-Man Unlimited (1993-98)
This series starts off with a bang as the first two issues fall into the ‘Maximum Carnage’ story arc. The life of the series went just 22 issues over a five-year span, but saw appearances from villains like Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, Scorpion, Lizard and friends like Thor, Black Cat, Iron Fist and Human Torch.
‘Justice League’ hit theaters two weeks ago with a solid ‘eh,’ but fans hold out hope for a secret Zack Snyder cut of the film as the Joss Whedon reshoots are apparent and don’t blend well with the bulk of the movie.
There is even a petition out there with 146,000 signatures on it urging Warner Bros. to release Snyder’s version of the film.
VFX artist from the ‘Justice League’ hosted an AMA on Reddit and stated there will be no director’s cut of the film.
“The film is found in the edit process, rarely does a director start shooting with the entire film plotted out. Some things work, some things don’t. There is no Snyder cut – obviously, he had a rough edit in process when he left in February, but the reshoots were done six months after that, and he had no final version of the film. Sure, Zack would’ve probably done things differently to how the movie turned out, but that’s it. There isn’t a secret Zack version hidden somewhere. It just doesn’t exist. There is no cut.”
Here is a list of other details about cutscenes and reshoots: • Alfred’s “let’s hope your not too late” cut scene from the trailer is addressing Superman. No one else. It’s funny because it was cut a few weeks before the trailer came out, so we were like “ugh” when it was in the trailer.
• The cut hologram scene is also Superman Not Supergirl or any bullshit like that.
• The cutscene of Flash breaking through the glass is from a scene where he’s rushing to save Iris from a Car Crash with a hot dog van. It was cut fairly early on when Famuyiwa bailed on Flash as Kiersey Clemons was cast due to his involvement. It’s currently being worked on again to remove Clemons and replace her with a random woman for the home release. Whether that means an extended version or just for deleted scenes, I don’t know. I expect Clemons will be recast.
• The original after credit scene that was shot in principal photography was Bruce being woken in the night in his lake house by a green light and being visited by Tomar Re and Kilowog. It was cut fairly early on during post.
• My friends all worked on the beard removal shots. Now, nobody was happy about these having to be done in the first place – it’s a ludicrous notion and had to be done in only 3 months over 4 vfx companies. A massive task, and Warner Bros were thoughtless not to push the film back based on this alone. The initial idea was to shave Henry’s beard, and then WB would foot the bill for the VFX of adding the beard back in for Paramount’s MI6. This was tested on existing shots from Zack’s principal photography and very successful – adding a beard as opposed to removing one is a walk in the park. It’s essentially body track, groom/fur SIM and lighting/comp as opposed to rebuilding a man’s entire fucking face. Despite the success, Paramount said fuck off and beard removal was the only option. Why they couldn’t just stick a false tache on him in MI6, we’ll never know.
What did you think of LDN_Film insider comments? What did you think of ‘Justice League?’ Sound off in the comment section below.
Little did we know that, five years later, it would become a television show on SyFy! This comic series, though short, was fantastic! It tells the story of Nick Sax, a corrupt and always intoxicated ex-police officer, turned hitman. He lives in a world where murder is casual, sex is meaningless and betrayal is a common theme. One day, a hit goes wrong and he has both the mob and police on his trail, including a child killer in a Santa suit. It’s up to him and his little tiny blue unicorn friend named ‘Happy’, which only he can see, to fix everything and get out of this bind.
Check out the trailer below. The show will be just as ridiculous, weird, exciting, demented, gory and for some reason, strangely cute, all at the same time, just as the graphic novel is. Christopher Meloni will lead the show as Sax, while Happy will be voiced by Patton Oswalt. Click HERE for the complete cast list.
Over the last few years, James Cameron has been single-mindedly focused on making Avatar sequels until we have blue Na’vi makeup coming out of our ears. Avatar 2 and 3 are on the way, but 4 and 5 and possibly 6 are, according to Cameron, up to audience reactions.
Cameron spoke to Vanity Fair about these infinite Avatar sequels, and here’s a bit of what he had to say:
“We all know where we’re supposed to be dramatically in the saga, and that’s great. Let’s face it, if ‘Avatar 2‘ and ‘3‘ don’t make enough money, there’s not going to be a ‘4‘ and ‘5.’ They’re fully encapsulated stories in and of themselves. It builds across the five films to a greater kind of meta narrative, but they’re fully formed films in their own right, unlike, say, ‘The Lord of the Rings‘trilogy, where you really just had to sort of go, ‘Oh, shit, all right, well I guess I better come back next year.’ Even though that all worked and everybody did.”
Whatever the motivations behind Cameron’s backtracking might be – maybe he’s, like, reading how people generally don’t care about all these movies anymore – this is a good thing. If we have to have these Avatar sequels, don’t inundate the pop culture landscape with these things for another 20 years. Nobody wants that.
Anywho, Avatar 2 and 3 are on the way; there’s nothing we can do about those. Hopefully Sam Worthington can clear his busy schedule enough to be the superstar we all remember and love.
This series will be a brief, semi-comedic review of the CW superhero shows. You can check out last week’s review post here. The only shows discussed will be ‘Arrow’, ‘Flash’, and ‘Supergirl’. There WILL be some spoilers discussed, so only look at the reviews you’re up to date on!
There’s some great action & return to form in ARROW’s holiday episode. The Oliver/Diggle argument is boring and old hat, but seeing Oliver back in action is great. The promise that the FBI plot is going to result in something soon is nice. Plus, the tension between Felicity and Curtis is compelling enough to carry the interpersonal drama of “Thanksgiving.” Cayden James is ALMOST interesting in this episode – he’s clearly very clever and mean. However, aside from knowing his son is gone, he’s a rather non-dynamic villain. Don’t forget, the episode was about him building a bomb that never got built. But Thea’s finally returned, and William hasn’t gotten too grating yet, so there’s still hope for a solid season of ARROW.
SCORE: 7/10 Algorithms
WEEKLY WIN TALLY:
Supergirl: 3.3 Weeks
The Flash: 2.8 Weeks
Arrow: 0.8 Week
What show did you think won the week? Does Legends of Tomorrow take your vote? Are you excited for this week’s 4-show crossover event? Let us know in the comments below!
Multiple Man or Jamie Madrox already appeared in the X-Men films, showing up in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. Details about the upcoming solo film are scarce, with only Franco confirmed.
