I Love You, Daddy, Louis C.K.’s new film which he made in semi-secret but managed to get an all-star cast, seems problematic. It looks and sounds like a Woody Allen film, it looks and sounds like Woody Allen’s personal life, and the subject matter sure does feel awkward given the current climate.
See for yourself:
There isn’t any “official” synopsis out there, but you get the gist, no? If not, here’s what The Playlist had to say about it:
Yet, the film follows C.K. as a rich TV writer Glen and Chloe Grace Moretz as his 17 year old daughter China who comes to live with him during her senior year of high school. While Glen and China go on a trip to the Hamptons, they encounter revered film director Leslie (John Malkovich), who has a legacy for seducing minors (making the parallels to both Woody Allen and Roman Polanski quite obvious). You can guess what happens between China and Leslie.
I’m not one to be offended easily, and I love Louis C.K. and his brilliant standup and TV shows, but wow does this feel like the wrong time to release this movie. Of course, Louis didn’t realize the whole Weinstein thing was around the corner, but he’s also sort of thumbing his nose at his own rumored transgressions.
In 1995, David Fincher’s nightmarish crime thriller Se7en exploded on the scene, shocking and stunning audiences with something they had never before seen. It was, and is, an incredible film, a mixture of horror and police procedural and violence and despair, a literal journey into the circles of hell thanks to the elaborate plan from the film’s killer, John Doe -played by a relatively unknown actor at time named Kevin Spacey.
Se7en, despite being the hardest of R-rated films, full of nihilistic brutality and gore, managed to crack the top ten at the box office in 1995, more than tripling its budget. Part of that was due tot he star power of Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, part of it was the incredible word of mouth and stunning final act, which left audiences staggering speechless from their auditoriums, imploring their friends to see this movie so they could discuss. Naturally, the success of Fincher’s film meant the imitators would be just around the corner, and the serial killer genre has never been able to step out of the shadows of John Doe.
No matter how hard studios tried, they could never replicate the visceral power of Se7en, mostly because they went about it all wrong. There was Kiss the Girls, perhaps the most direct echo of Se7en, and not just because Morgan Freeman was involved. The first film to try and make James Patterson’s Alex Cross character a “thing,” Kiss the Girls had police chasing down a serial killer with an elaborate method and an equally spooky lair. It was a moderate success in 1997, but has mostly faded into the ether of late 90s wannabes.
Then there was The Bone Collector, another story about cops chasing serial killers, this time with Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington. You can guess this killer’s bit. Phillip Noyce’s thriller tried to trick things up, having Washington’s character confined to a hospital bed at home, having been paralyzed in the prologue. It wasn’t enough to separate the film from the gaggle of films that tried their hardest to make this new subgenre flourish. The Bone Collector didn’t make its budget back upon initial release, and has become somewhat of a punchline.
This was the case with the serial killer wave in the years following Se7en. The next Alex Cross adventure Along Came a Spider, or the OTHER Ashely Judd psychological thriller Twisted (perhaps the nadir of the entire subgenre), or the Keanu Reeves thriller The Watcher, never caught on. They all tried to imitate the elaborate gimmick at the core of Fincher’s film, but they ignored what made that film brilliant to begin with. Despite the common acceptance that Se7en is “gritty and realistic,” the truth is it is anything but realistic when you back up and take in the entire scope.
The world in which John Doe is wreaking havoc is a nondescript city, a hellscape of rain and dirt and disparate existential crises all crashing into each other. The location is never given, though it is meant to resemble New York or, perhaps, Chicago. But it’s not these cities, it is a world that does not exist in the real world, made all the more disorienting and “unreal” by the third act’s journey into the desert. Though it is filmed in Los Angeles, it is never intended to be as such, and it is never filmed to represent the City of Angels, which might be the only place where a desert would be close enough. The juxtaposition of the concrete jungle and the barren sun-bleached finale give Se7en a sense of nightmarish uncertainty.
All the films in Se7en‘s wake leaned into the elaborate gimmickry of their killers, but they never tried to make the setting anything but real. Kiss the Girls, The Bone Collector, these films took place in places the audience could all recognize, in real cities on the map. It stole from the horrific skewed reality, teetering on the brink of dystopia, in Se7en. The fact John Doe was carrying out such gruesome crimes against the backdrop of a nondescript landscape allowed the audience to detach from the killings themselves and subsequently get swept up in the minutiae of Detective Mills and Somerset as they tried desperately to not only solve the crimes, but psychologically survive their world.
For years, these types of serial killer films faded from the zeitgeist. In the post-9/11 world, real horrors were more popular (for lack of a better term) than some serial killer collecting bones or toying with police officers. Serial killer films tapped into true stories with some success, most notably David Fincher’s masterpiece Zodiac. Even his adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, arguably a distant cousin of Se7en, didn’t resonate the same.
Enter The Snowman, this weekend’s Michael Fassbender thriller about a killer leaving goofy messages taunting police officer and carrying out elaborate murders. It seems, judging by the reviews, that the serial killer subgenre has still never found a way to replicate the raw power of Fincher’s 1995 film. Maybe The Snowman never had a chance, or maybe everyone involved wanted to try and make their own Se7en but missed what made that one so special. It’s probably, as is the case with all the wannabes in Se7en‘s wake, a little bit of both.
Detroit police officer Jutte Shelley (aka Jutte Frankenstein) has brought her ambushed squad back from the dead, but they’re… different, now. After all, Jutte didn’t have a lot of material left to work with, and a human being has THE strangest puzzle pieces. Still, the team—Ex, Gemini, Leo, and Hadry— is back together again, and it’s time to figure out exactly WHO issued the order to have them murdered, and also… maybe get laid? Because for some of them, it’s been a while.
Writing/Story
After the last page reveal in the first issue, the readers were left with questions about who Jutte’s team was and what made them tick. The second issue finally takes the time to flesh them out. The team and all their little quirks are explained in detail and put on display. They are a very interesting bunch of individuals but something seems a bit off.
It all comes from the presentation. The issue introduces a lot of information and it borders on too much all at once. A bit of show-don’t-tell would have gone a long way. Considering it’s a comic, the media has option of going this route. This isn’t a slight against writer Paul Tobin, who still managed to introduced a plethora of interesting characters who it will very intriguing to follow in future installments. It just feels like the issue was a bit of an information dump, despite being an enjoyable one.
Artwork
The art team once again stands out in spades. The pencils and inks by Arjuna Susini really help to convey some impressive bit of drama and emotion. Through the right level of presentation, the art makes you feel sympathy for Biz who is supposed to be an emotionless businessman as he breaks down in tears.
The colors by Gonzalo Duarte help to distinguish the present moments from the past. At the same time, the grim tone which was prominent in the previous issue is still front and center. This book has a style and wants to make sure the reader knows it.
Lettering work by Saida Temofonte really helps to drive the conversation through. A lot of attention is paid on making sure when to bold the words at the right moments throughout the issue to help drive the conversation forward.
Conclusion
Made Men still proves to be an intriguing take on the Frankenstein mythology. The second issue is hindered only by the eagerness to get out the story the team wants to tell because they fear cancellation. It’s a common dread especially with newer comic book series. Still, this is a good book and it should be given the opportunity to truly showcase what it has to offer.
Welcome to the seventeenth episode of the Comic Show by Monkeys Fighting Robots! We have a double dose of Batman this week: the Bat-family learns of Bruce’s engagement in Batman #33, and the Dark Nights tie-ins continue with Batman The Drowned. Then we review the first Black Hammer spin-off, Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil, and have our first discussion on Manga and online webtoons with aficianado Brooke Thomas!
It Happened in L.A. is being called the female answer to Swingers, Doug Liman’s 1996 bro hang out film that make stars out of Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. The cast looks great, with a mixture of unknowns and character actors, and the trailer has a handful of solid laughs.
Check it out:
Annette (Michelle Morgan) and Elliot (Jorma Taccone) are a mostly happy, moderately neurotic LA couple. Maybe Annette doesn’t enjoy game nights or taco stands as much as Elliot does, but no relationship is perfect, right? Rather than embracing their differences, Annette can only compare their relationship to their happy couple friends. This cannot be endorsed by Annette’s beautiful but romantically troubled best friend, Baker (Dree Hemingway), who is very well-versed on the bleakness of the LA dating scene. Taking its cues from classic mid-20th Century comedies with a stylish and contemporary spin, IT HAPPENED IN L.A. is an irreverent tale of life and the search for elusive love in the 21st Century.
As for that cast. Michelle Morgan in her debut film, Jorma Taccone, Dree Hemingway, Kentucker Audley, and Tate Donovan among a whole slew of others. It opens in New York and L.A. on November 10, but will hit VOD just four days later.
Movies like 24 Hours to Live are exactly why I love Ethan Hawke. Nobody can shift from intimate, prestige arthouse films and outlandish genre mayhem like him. This one is most certainly the latter.
A mishmash of a dozen different movies from the last decade or so, 24 Hours to Live has Hawke trying to kill some people because, well, he only has a few hours to live. Like, 24 or something. Anyways, check out the trailer:
This looks completely silly, but it has Ethan Hawke so it has my attention. Plus, Rutger Hauer is in here goofing it up as a dude Hawke’s TRAVIS CONRAD! has to find for some reason. Sometimes these Hawke genre films work (Daybreakers), sometimes they don’t work at all (Getaway). We’ll see where this one lands.
There’s little bit of Crank, a little John Wick, some Edge of Tomorrow, and other stuff. It’s not original by any means. Aside from Hawke and Hauer, it stars a whole smattering of VOD all stars you can probably see in a Nicolas Cage movie somewhere on your TV at this very moment.
24 Hours to Live will hit VOD November 3, a month before it’s pointless (and certainly limited) theatrical release on December 1.
The end is in sight for Rebels. The proverbial swan song is being sung at a meta-textual level. Filoni and crew want to make this last season count and go out with a bang. If Heroes of Mandalore parts one and two are any indication, then Ezra and crew want to do the same.
The two-part episode covers the exploits of everyone’s favorite Rebel team, including Jedi Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus, Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren, and droid Chopper, as they seek to free Mandalore from the grips of the Empire.
Par for the course for this series, and its predecessor The Clone Wars, Heroes of Mandalore manages a balance between well-animated action and surprisingly touching drama. While the action is as good as it has ever been, it’s these moments of character conflict that really shine.
Of particular note in this episode is Sabine’s relationship with parents. Her relationship with her warrior mother and artist father provide an interesting dynamic and gives the audience a deeper look into her character.
Heroes of Mandalore also gives a great look aesthetic design, an area in which Rebels is not given enough credit. The AT-DP walkers have qualities of the OG era’s AT-ST, and the prequel era’s AT-RT. The speeder bikes have hints of the BARC bike’s seat design seen in Revenge of the Sith/The Clone Wars, but the body of the Return of the Jedi‘s bikes.
This attention to design allows for the more casual audience to have easy continuity, i.e. “that’s an imperial walker.” At the same time, it gives hardcore fans of the franchise an easter egg of sorts, while reinforcing the idea that the show takes place in an in-between time.
This idea of in-between and thematic ties is palpable in the first two episodes. Sabine is at least partly responsible for a terrible new weapon the Empire has, so she must take responsibility while continuing to discover who she is. The thematic connections to Rogue One and Force Awakens strengthen the idea of a connected continuity.
The only area of improvement is editing for the voice acting. While the performances themselves are strong, it is often edited in a way that presupposes the next line. It sounds as though a character ends their sentence knowing what the other should say. A more natural transition, with interruptions and talk-overs, would provide smoother dialogue during the action scenes in particular.
Karl Urban who plays Skurge in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ spoke with Monkeys Fighting Robots in Miami about the possibility of a female Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“I think it’s time. I think it’s well overdue. Absolutely, yeah, I’d like to see that movie. Why not,” said Urban.
Watch the full interview below:
Marvel Comics writer Jason Aaron brought Jane Foster to the fore front when she was deemed worthy to lift Mjölnir and gain the power of Thor. Foster has held the mantle of Thor since 2014, and it’s been a compassionate tale of strength and frailty, as Foster is dying of cancer.
What do you think of Urban’s remarks? Do you want to see a female Thor film? Comment below.
About ‘Thor: Ragnarok’:
Thor’s world is about to explode in Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok. His devious brother, Loki, has taken over Asgard, the powerful Hela has emerged to steal the throne for herself and Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe. To escape captivity and save his home from imminent destruction, Thor must first win a deadly alien contest by defeating his former ally and fellow Avengers… The Incredible Hulk!
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Sir Anthony Hopkins. Taika Waititi directs with Kevin Feige producing the film.
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ will destroy the universe on November 3, 2017.
We’re still not sure who asked for the Gambit movie starring Channing Tatum. But whoever it is will not let this project die. After multiple stops and starts, 20th Century Fox insists that the film will release on Valentine’s Day of 2019, according to Deadline.com.
The project has been in the news for so long that it seems more people have signed off than signed on. However, Tatum remains connected to Gambit as both producer and star. Originally slated to begin filming in early 2016, the release date was pushed back several times. If it gets pushed back any further, we recommend the title be changed to Old Man Gambit instead.
Gambit Shares the love with…Deadpool?
A Valentine’s Day release is an interesting one. Most superhero films are summer tentpoles or Christmas family hits. To date, Deadpool is only other superhero film premiereing on Valentine’s Day–in which case the date was part of their marketing plan. Will Gambit follow in Deadpool’s footsteps? It seems unlikely but with so many setbacks anything is possible.
Some fans object to Tatum’s casting, as it places another white dude in the starring role of a superhero film. In the past, Tatum has proved himself not only a talented actor, but an ally to marginalized groups. So why grab the title role for himself? Tatum’s most recent role in Kingsmen shows his penchant for flawed but likable characters. This talent certainly makes him a decent candidate to play Gambit. But it also makes him a great candidate to act as mentor to a new face, ushering in some new talent instead.
Based on Marvel’s X-Men characters, Gambit is produced by 20th Century Fox. Producers include Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin, Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner. Gambit is directed by Gore Verbinski with a script by Josh Zetumer. The film stars Tatum (Gambit) and Lea Seydoux (Belladonna Boudreaux)
Netflix announced yesterday they plan on releasing 80 films next year, and one of them is probably going to be Hamlet, as they are finalizing a deal with Riz Ahmed to play the title role.
Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet have been in a centuries-long race of most popular and reimagined Bard works, with Hamlet probably just beating out the tragic love story in terms of remakes. Here is the breakdown of this adaptation from the Deadline report:
Set in a modern-day London of economic and political uncertainty, the story follows the intersecting themes of familial honor, moral duty and dynastic corruption. Jim Wilson (Under the Skin, Attack the Block, You Were Never Really There) will produce. Netflix will finance and distribute.
Sure, Hamlet has been done into infinity, but if Riz Ahmed wants to put his own spin on the tragic character I am here for that. Expect an updated sociopolitical take on the character in this version.
The report calls this Hamlet Ahmed’s personal take on the character, “his version,” but it’s unclear if he will direct. His friend, Mike Lesslie, who penned the screenplays for Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth, is writing the screenplay. Stay tuned for updates as they come our way.
Will Gambit follow in Deadpool’s footsteps? It seems unlikely but with so many setbacks anything is possible.