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Ellen Page Steps Under The Cover Of ‘The Umbrella Academy’ From Netflix

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Netflix, the undisputed king of content in our modern streaming world announces Ellen Page set to star in a new comic book based TV show The Umbrella Academy. The comic book comes from Dark Horse and writer/creator Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance and illustrations by Gabriel Bá. News broke on Deadline just hours ago.

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Vanya Hargreeves aka The White Violin aka Ellen Page

The Umbrella Academy follows the story of Reginald Hargreeves and his band of adopted children, all of whom have superpowers. It’s a sort of X-Men meets Fantastic Four set in an alternate 1977 where JFK was never assassinated. The character Ellen Page plays, Vanya Hargreeves, aka The White Violin, is the undoubted outcast of the group. Vanya displays no superpowers at first. But with Ellen Page filling the role there’s no doubt they will build on the mystery behind Vanya and the deadly and secret powers hiding within.

The rest of The Umbrella Academy includes Spaceboy, the leader of the Umbrella Academy and part Martian space monkey; The Kraken, the reckless and rebellious member of the group and an “insolent brat;” The Rumor, a narcissist with the ability to instantly alter reality by lying; The Séance, a morbid guy with the powers of levitation, telekinesis, and the ability to contact the dead (of course); Number Five, a 10-year-old with a wild origin story; and The Horror who possesses monsters from another dimension under his skin.

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Steve Blackman (Fargo) will serve as Executive Producer and Showrunner. The pilot comes from Jeremy Slater who recently worked on The Exorcist. Bluegrass TV, along with Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg of Dark Horse Entertainment is also onboard as Executive Producers. Gerard Way serves as Co-Executive Producer.

The 10-episode season will premiere in 2018 with no specific day or month yet announced by Netflix.

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eps3.4_runtime-error.r00 Is the Most Pulse-Pounding Episode Yet for Mr. Robot

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Mr. Robot kicks viewers in the ass with the non-stop “eps3.4_runtime-error.r00”.  The following contains spoilers, so if you read on without having seen the episode, that’s on you.

Mr. Robot is a show that has always used camera work to build tension in the audience in order to express the characters’ anxiety and paranoia, but never has it done so as ambitiously.  Director Sam Esmail and cinematographer Tod Campbell crafted an entire hour-long episode in a simulated one-take style that will leave you white-knuckling your arm chair as you watch it.  In this hour the cast and crew weave intrigue, paranoia, violent revolution, and personal conflict together into another innovative story.

The Chase

Things kick off with a disoriented Elliot (Rami Malek) in an elevator on the way to work.  Cable news tells us that the U.N. is currently voting on whether to allow China to annex the Congo.  Elliot’s phone rings, but he’s too distracted to notice it until Angela (Portia Doubleday) mentions it.  Elliot senses that something is off with his childhood best friend, but with his schizophrenia, he can’t be sure what.  We know that she has been working with his other identity, Mr. Robot, as well the Dark Army, to help take down E-Corp.  In order to keep him from ruining their plans, she secretly had Elliot fired, which he discovers after he tries to log into his work computer and sees security coming in to escort someone out.

To escape them, he ducks in and out of meetings (playing the perfect corporate douchebag to allow him to hide there longer) and stairwells before finally getting tracked down and escorted out of the building, where he tries to get the other building evacuated before it explodes.  But was his voice drowned out by a sea of protesters or was he message received?  We won’t find out yet, because he is confronted by his Darlene (Carly Chaikin).  Already reeling from his inability to remember the last four days, he is further shook when she tells him that she has been working with the FBI and that Angela has been working with Mr. Robot.

Darlene and Elliot eps3.4_runtime-error.r00

A Riot in Corporate America

Neither Elliot nor us is allowed much of a chance to digest this information as a group of agitators in the crowd rush the barricades and storm the building.  Now the camera follows the rioters to Angela’s floor where she gets a phone call from Irving.  He tells her the riot is a distraction set up by the Dark Army to allow Elliot time to clone an HSM.  Of course, she can’t have Elliot do this, so she ends up (after a series of narrow escapes) having to perform the task herself.

Angela Elevator Blue eps3.4_runtime-error.r00

In the elevator we hear (though Angela seems too preoccupied with the consequences of her decisions to notice it) that the U.N. resolution has been approved.  Once out of the elevator, she meets a Dark Army operative who hands her a Red Wheelbarrow take-out bag.  She’s staring at this when she comes face to face with Elliot, and that’s when the credits roll.

Lingering Questions

What’s in the bag that Angela received from the Dark Army soldier at the end of the episode?  Surely it’s more than just delicious BBQ ribs cooked with the precise amount of moisture by Red Wheelbarrow.

Did Angela follow every step when working on the HSM?  Irving stressed the importance of it, and we know that she’s not the hacker Elliot is.

Where is Leon and what sitcoms has he been watching?  Home Improvement?  Third Rock from the Sun?

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Will Marvel’s Netflix Series Move To Disney’s Streaming Service In 2019?

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Since Disney announced it’s own streaming service to compete with Netflix there’s been an uproar in the industry and with fans.

Disney made a deal in December 2009 to acquire Marvel Entertainment.  Netflix currently houses 6 Marvel series ( Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Ironfist, The Defenders, The Punisher).  So with Disney launching it’s own service what does it mean for the Marvel shows on Netflix?

Netflix

Disney stated it plans to put all future Marvel series on its platform instead of producing them for others.  So the ones currently on Netflix shall remain.

A new Marvel superhero series is in development for the new streaming service.  Details haven’t been released.  It will join the new adaptation of the Monsters, Inc. and a show based on High School Musical.

 

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Asteroid Hit Just the Right Spot in Wiping Out Dinosaurs

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New research from Scientific Reports states that, had the asteroid that slammed Earth 66 million years ago landed anywhere else other than the Yucatan Peninsula, located off the coast of Chicxulub, Mexico, then dinosaurs may still be roaming a reptile-dominated planet.

The report states that, only 13-percent of the planet’s surface had conditions that were ideal, in the case of a big space rock crashing down, to cause a mass extinction event. Specifically, there was a one-in-eight chance to hit just right, thus killing off all the dinos, and it ended up landing in the exact spot.

It has long been estimated that the asteroid did indeed land off the Yucatan, which kicked up debris and ignited blazing fires, causing aerosols and soot to circulate the atmosphere, blocking the sun, and leading to dramatic climatic shifts and drops in temperature.

Had the asteroid hit a low-to-medium hydrocarbon area on Earth, the mass extinction event could possibly have been avoided, the research states. High hydrocarbon areas, as stated above, only cover roughly 13-percent of the planet which, when an ideal area was walloped by a huge space rock, would cause extreme global cooling with the sun being blocked. Thus, the impact chilled the planet with a drop in temperature of 18-29 degrees.

So many new theories and questions stem from this research. Could we potentially have real-life Jurassic Park or Jurassic World theme park(s)? Could we possibly have dinosaur pets and see them living in captivity? Would we even be here, considering the theory that mammals didn’t make an appearance till after the dinos all died? Guess we will never know.

Science is fun!

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The ‘Deadpool 2’ Poster Has Been Served Up

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The poster for the much-anticipated sequel Deadpool 2 has been revealed. In an exclusive post, Collider has shared the image. You can check it out below.

Deadpool 2

What do you guys think? The poster certainly falls in line with the humor and ‘fourth wall breaking’ element that made the original Deadpool such a huge worldwide hit.

Are you excited about Deadpool 2? Comment and discuss below!

Deadpool 2 stars Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson, Josh Brolin as Cable, Zazie Beetz as Domino, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, T.J. Miller as Weasel, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Stefan Kapicic as Colossus, and Karan Soni as Dopinder. John Wick co-director and Atomic Blonde director David Leitch is behind the camera with a script by returning writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The film opens June 1, 2018.

 

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Disney Starts Development on New Star Wars Trilogy From Rian Johnson

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Disney announced through the official Star Wars website on Thursday that they have closed a deal with director Rian Johnson (Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi) to develop a new Star Wars trilogy.

The new trilogy will be “separate from the episodic Skywalker saga” and focus on brand new characters, lore, and locations. 

Rian Johnson will write and direct the first film. Ram Begman, who Johnson worked with on Brick, Looper, and The Last Jedi, is set to produce.

Along with the new trilogy, they are also working on a live-action “Star Wars” TV series to run on their upcoming entertainment streaming service. It is expected to launch in 2019.

“We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi. He’s a creative force, and watching him craft The Last Jedi from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy.” – Kathleen Kennedy

The information comes via Disney CEO Bob Iger, who also announced TV series based on Pixar’s “Monsters Inc.,” the Disney Channel’s “High School Musical,” and an original Marvel series.

You can read the entirety of the announcement below:

For director Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi was just the beginning of his journey in a galaxy far, far away.

Lucasfilm is excited to announce that Johnson will create a brand-new Star Wars trilogy, the first of which he is also set to write and direct, with longtime collaborator Ram Bergman onboard to produce. 

As writer-director of The Last Jedi, Johnson conceived and realized a powerful film of which Lucasfilm and Disney are immensely proud. In shepherding this new trilogy, which is separate from the episodic Skywalker saga, Johnson will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.

“We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm. “He’s a creative force, and watching him craft The Last Jedi from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy.”

“We had the time of our lives collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney on The Last Jedi,” Johnson and Bergman said in a joint statement. “Star Wars is the greatest modern mythology and we feel very lucky to have contributed to it. We can’t wait to continue with this new series of films.” 

Johnson’s upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrives in U.S. theaters on Dec. 15, 2017.

No release dates have been set for the new films, and no porgs were available for comment.

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Goldberg and Rogen Look to Do the Impossible Again by Bringing ‘The Boys’ to Life

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Executive Producers Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen will be bringing another Garth Ennis comic book to life with The Boys.  Amazon has greenlit an eight-episode run set to be released in 2019, according to The Hollywood ReporterAt one time, the series was in development by Cinemax.

The creators of the comic book series The Boys (published by WildStorm, then Dynamite Entertainment), Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, will be co-executive producers.  Ennis, Goldberg, and Rogen, as well as producers Neal Moritz and Ori Marmur, have previously worked together on Preacher, the series from AMC based on the comic book created by Ennis and the late Steve Dillon.  Preacher was recently renewed for a third season.

The Boys Blood Rain

That’s When You Send The Boys Around

In the world of The Boys, superheroes are created and employed a massive corporation that markets them like any other billion dollar product.  These corporate super-beings prove that absolute power corrupts absolutely (think if Donald Trump had Superman’s powers).  They abuse their power and privilege, and it’s all covered up by lawyers and PR teams.  That’s where ‘the boys’ come in.  Led by Bill Butcher, a former British soldier with a deep hatred for ‘capes’, this team of killers uses their various skills and the backing of the CIA to impede and, if need be, eliminate threats.

Told largely through the perspective of their most recent recruit, the naive Hughie Campbell, The Boys is a story about redemption, understanding, and revenge.  Well, mostly about revenge.  It has many of the features that Garth Ennis is known for: Brutal (and often hilarious) violence, great dialogue, and a depth of idiosyncratic characters.

For anyone thinking the violence, depravity, and twisted humor of The Boys couldn’t be made into a series, you need look no further than Preacher to see that it’s possible.  Now all that’s left is to see the end result.

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‘Riverdale’ Gets Real in Episode 5 “When A Stranger Calls”

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Spoilers for Riverdale seasons one and two.

Last night Riverdale approached a social issue with a new level of gravity. For the most part, the show handles realistic issues as elements of melodrama: almost everything that happened in season one traced back to the overarching murder mystery. The show introduces Polly’s teen pregnancy, Ms. Grady’s pedophilia, and even Cheryl’s quest to reclaim her independence all within that frame.

dark betty cooper RiverdaleThere is, however, one issue that both seasons attempted to tackle: sexual assault, abuse, and harassment. In season one, the story unfolded in a stereotypical way, painting with a wide brush and introducing a new character (Ethel) before personalizing it. Some of the male jocks at Riverdale begin slut shaming Veronica, Ethel, and others all over the school. The girls get their power back through blackmail, public shaming, and a weirdly sexualized physical attack. Promos for the episode focused on Betty and Veronica in their bathing suits and lingerie. Kevin references the incident as part of Betty’s “BDSM sexuality” during season two.

Cheryl Blossom And The Very Bad Day

Episode 2.5, titled “When A Stranger Calls”, does what season one couldn’t: it shows assault without fetishization. Nicholas St. Clair, Veronica’s New York ex, shows up with a pocket full of drugs and a head full of dark intentions. He then attempts to sexually assault first Veronica, then Cheryl.Cheryl Blossom Sexual Assault

Choosing Cheryl and Veronica as victims of the attempted assault shows that assault affects everyone. Both girls are in control of their bodies, extremely confident, and unafraid of their sexuality. The choice shows that assault can happen to anyone—the only stronger choice would be a male victim. Cheryl feels anger even though she was “saved” before her attacker could “do anything”. Veronica immediately feels guilty for allowing Nicholas into their lives. Veronica and Cheryl react very differently, but neither is right or wrong.

Betty Cooper: Assistant to the Vigilante

Betty sends the black hood after Nicholas when she discovers what he tried to do. The audience then must choose between cheering for Betty (which by extension means cheering for the Black Hood to murder someone), and mourning that Cheryl will not get the justice she so desperately needs for closure.

kevin keller riverdaleBetty attmepted to help Kevin similarly two episodes ago in “The Watcher In the Woods”. She went over his head to tell his father that he was cruising in the woods while the unknown serial killer was on the loose. This episode had a happier ending. Sheriff Keller started talking honestly with Kevin about his homosexuality, and showed that he cares for his son. This particular topic can easily become part of the melodrama or kept as a “personality quirk”, but Riverdale is inching towards open communication about something that still presents a challenge for many teenagers struggling with their identity.

Riverdale is not necessarily a smart show, however it is certainly a fun one so far. If it keeps taking steps in this direction it could even become a good one. Considering its target audience it certainly has somewhat of a responsibility to do so.

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‘The Killing Of A Sacred Deer’ Review: A Sensational, Unsettling Tale

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Fantastic performances from Farrell and Keoghan plus a deftly written narrative make ‘The Killing Of A Sacred Deer’ an excellent film.

Summary

Dr. Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) is one of the best cardiovascular surgeons in the country, but his proclivity for drinking on the job leads to him making a mistake in the operating room. Filled with guilt, he attempts to build a relationship with the son of the deceased, Martin (Barry Keoghan). What comes off as an odd relationship turns into a deadly one. Martin begins to date Steven’s daughter Kim (Raffey Cassidy) much to the dismay of his wife (played by Nicole Kidman). Then about a quarter of the way through the film, the children begin to fall gravely ill and it appears Martin is to blame. To reverse the side effects of this illness, Martin challenges Steven to make a “Sophie’s Choice”.

'The Killing Of A Sacred Deer'

What Worked

Director Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou have crafted a narrative that is deliciously diabolical and something you’d expect to see in any number of Saw films. Lanthimos once again takes the simple, detached approach to his storytelling. There is no sudden twist, and the dedication to atmosphere creates an eerie authenticity. Farrell’s character desperately wants to put an end to this deadly game, but there is nothing he can do to stop it.

Farrell and Keoghan light up the screen in each of their respective roles. Farrell plays the good doctor as a man quietly, tersely struggling to keep his mind together. This illness has turned his world upside down, and the only way out involves making a heinous choice, and the decision creeps up on Farrell’s performance much like the madness surrounding him.

Keoghan’s character slowly reveals his intentions to the audience. For a slight moment, maybe he’s just socially awkward. The feeling doesn’t last, however.

 

What Didn’t Work

While the ending was something that caught everyone off guard, it still was a little too neat. A more original finish was indeed in order.

The Killing Of A Sacred Deer tackles unsettling subject matter that’s par for the course in a Lanthimos film, but that shouldn’t sway anyone from avoiding this release. The acting is top notch, the writing fresh and new, and the storyline will stick with you long after the credits end.

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The Shannara Chronicles Episode 6 Review: Love, Marriage, And Mayhem

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The Shannara Chronicles new run on SpikeTV crosses over into the final five episodes. Episode five revealed some further details that’ll make the race to the finish a wild one. To make things interesting, Spike aired episodes five and six together. And will air the remaining four episodes in two batches of two. So, that leaves very little Shannara left for the rest of the year. —Insert sad emoji here— However, let’s look on the bright side of things. After last night, we have four more episodes to close out the show’s much-improved season two run on SpikeTV.

The narrative hits a major new high.

So, episode five brought us to here and where is that exactly? To recap, Eretria is part demon and must train to resist the will of the Warlock Lord. Eretria might be the key to stopping the rise of evil, but only if she harnesses her power. And as we know, the young former Rover isn’t much about discipline.

Wil and Mareth are in the Shannara version of Back to the Future, trying to find the Warlock Skull for Bandon to save Flick’s life. A smart set of clues leads them right to what they are seeking. But the past has surprises that Wil never knew about.

Jax is hired by Tamlin to kill Riga, leader of the Crimson forces. The mission doesn’t go as planned for the weapon master. However, Jax, as is becoming the norm, puts his skills on display again in an attempt to survive. If anyone were to have a spinoff show, Jax would be a perfect candidate.

Eretria stands face-to-face with a minor wraith, a lesser minion of the Warlock Lord. The creature serves as Eritrea’s training ground on the road to mastering the darkness inside of her.

If there is one thing to say here it’s that Shannara dropped the mic here.

The narrative hits a major new high. It also ditches a lot of the exposition from the previous episode.

As Wil’s story unfolds, it redirects the future of the world. Will the Warlock King rise again and rule the Four Lands? Running alongside that, the fate of the Four Lands also hinges on the political turmoil between Ander, King of the Elves, Queen Tamlin, and the Crimson rebellion. It’s a careful balancing act between stories that Shannara Chronicles does well. And here, both trains come to their respective dramatic stations to unload a whole lot of WTF! And as trope-y as Shannara can sometimes get, it also subverts genre tropes in a nod to Game of Thrones.

If there is one thing to say it’s that Shannara dropped the mic here. The show is staring viewers down, arms crossed in an epic dramatic pose. What is to come with the final four episodes and the future of the Four Lands?

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