In between making Avatar sequels nobody wants, James Cameron continues to pump up this new Terminator reboot nobody wants. Arnold Schwarzenegger is back, because of course, and Linda Hamilton is back, which has some people excited.
But, I mean, c’mon…
Cameron spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about how this new Terminator will pick up where T:2 left off, much like Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns did. Except this franchise has such a ridiculous time loop issue with a 70-year old Schwarzenegger returning as the T-101. Anyway, Cameron also called the third, fourth, and fifth films a bad dream:
“This is a continuation of the story from ‘Terminator 1’ and ‘Terminator 2,’… “And we’re pretending the other films were a bad dream. Or an alternate timeline, which is permissible in our multi-verse.”
So the moral of this story is, if you paint yourself into an inescapable corner in this Terminator franchise, just create another time line! Or now, bad dreams I suppose? This is going to be a complete mess, isn’t it?
Cameron isn’t directing because of all those Avatar movies. Deadpool director Tim Miller will take over while Cameron produces, so maybe that’s enough to get you interested. I’ll stay over here in this highly skeptical timeline. Bring Eddie Furlong back into the fold and we can talk.
Violet finally confronts Jane, another survivor of the horrors of ‘Gather House’. The two women share an intense and revealing conversation where both women admit that they are still reeling from the torture, both physical and emotional, that they suffered. We also finally see the night where ‘Gather House’ was burned to the ground. It all adds up to more fuel for Violet, who vows even more strongly now to destroy anyone associated with the house. But can Jane be trusted? Meanwhile, villain and art serial killer Gala comes ever closer to finding out who Mother Panic is, but just who is helping her out? And what’s up with Otis, The RatCatcher?
Mother Panic #11 “Under The Skin Part 2”
Written by: Jody Houser
Art by: Shawn Crystal
Colors by: Jean-Francois Beaulieu Letters by: John Workman & Shawn Crystal Cover by: Tommy Lee Edwards Mondo Variant Cover by: Jay Shaw Mother Panic created by: Gerard Way, Jody Houser and Tommy Lee Edwards
Writing
Jody Houser is doing something interesting with this book, and this issue proves it. This book at its core is about living through and surviving abuse and trauma. I mean, yeah, it’s a Gotham set vigilante book, and in a way, ALL Gotham vigilantes are trauma survivors. But Houser really gets into the emotion and psychology of it, specifically in this chapter. The rooftop conversation in this issue between Violet and Jane is a great example of dialogue that serves up so much vital character information without resorting to much exposition. Violet’s measured responses conflict with the thoughts we are privy to as readers, and we finally see she may be on a cold mission of revenge, but she is also damaged and in much need of connection with someone.
“Mother Panic #11
Gala continues to be a creepy and effective villain. Her scenes are disturbing and leave you wanting to learn more about what makes her do what she does. Having the art ‘gimmick’ puts her in line with the Gotham Rogues, but her connection to high society adds a good twist.
And I can’t end this review without mentioning Otis, The Ratcatcher. This obscure character is quickly becoming one of my favorites, as Houser portrays his relationship with his rats as pretty tender. Otis also just seems to be a nice, misunderstood weirdo, which is perfect for this book (and Young Animal).
However, everything ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I can only gather (ha!) that the shit is about to hit the fan in this book, and Violet’s quest for revenge is going to bring all these things together.
Mother Panic #11
Art
The pencils, inks, and colors on this book come together extremely well. This issue is drawn by Shawn Crystal, who has alternated arcs with series co-creator (and cover artist), Tommy Lee Edwards. Crystal draws a distinctly in more stylized linework that really lends’s itself well to the designs of Violet’s Mother Panic suit (I LOVE the huge gauntlets/gloves). The use of thick outlines also adds weight to the pages. I also love the way he draws faces and hair. A lot of expression and mood is conveyed in the character heads and expressions.
Jean-Francois Beaulieu’s colors add an incredible amount of mood, especially when juxtaposed with Violet’s crisp, stark white costume design. There are a lot of blue hues and dark shadows. All this creates a great atmosphere.
Mother Panic #11
Conclusion
We are almost at the one-year mark for this title, and it’s still going strong. Of all the Young Animal books, Mother Panic is the most accessible and superhero-friendly. Get on this book as it ends its first twelve issues, and let’s hope for at least twelve more.
Wednesday morning Focus Features and Working Title released new posters and images from ‘Darkest Hour’ in which Gary Oldman leads the British as the newly-appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The studios also announced a second trailer would hit tomorrow at 10 a.m. EST.
About the film: During the early days of World War II, with the fall of France imminent, Britain faces its darkest hour as the threat of invasion looms. As the seemingly unstoppable Nazi forces advance, and with the Allied army cornered on the beaches of Dunkirk, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the leadership of the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman). While maneuvering his political rivals, he must confront the ultimate choice: negotiate with Hitler and save the British people at a terrible cost or rally the nation and fight on against incredible odds.
‘Darkest Hour ‘ is direct by Joe Wright, from Anthony McCarten’s screenplay, and stars Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Stephen Dillane, Ronald Pickup, and Ben Mendelsohn.
Watch the first trailer:
‘Darkest Hour’ hits select theaters on November 22.
What do you think of Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill? Comment below.
Alex Garland, the keen eye behind Ex Machina, is traversing complex science-fiction waters once again with Annihilation. The film is based on the first of Jeff VanderMeer’s “Southern Reach” Trilogy of books, and this trailer is probably the best thing you’ll see all day.
Check this out, and be amazed:
Here is an extensive synopsis of the book to give you an idea of what you’re dealing with. Garland’s film will probably be a bit different:
Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide; the third expedition in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy,
we join the twelfth expedition.
The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.
They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers―they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding―but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.
This looks pretty damn amazing any way you slice it. Natalie Portman is just the tip of the iceberg with this cast: Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, and Tessa Thompson.
Annihilation will be here February 23 next year. Plan accordingly.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer is Yorgos Lanthimos’s upcoming super-uncomfortable psychological thriller, and this second trailer is even more unnerving than the first.
Things are definitely spiraling out of control for Colin Farrell. Check it out:
Dr. Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon presiding over a spotless household with his ophthalmologist wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and their two exemplary children, 12-year-old Bob (Sunny Suljian) and 14-year-old Kim (Raffey Cassidy). Lurking at the margins of his idyllic suburban existence is Martin (Barry Keoghan), a fatherless teen who Steven has covertly taken under his wing. As Martin begins insinuating himself into the family’s life in ever-more unsettling displays, the full scope of his intent becomes menacingly clear when he confronts Steven with a long-forgotten transgression that will shatter the Murphy family’s domestic bliss.
Lanthimos has impressed with Dogtooth and The Lobster, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer feels on brand for sure. This is getting terrific reviews in the festival circuit, and might divide audiences much like mother! did earlier this month.
Colin Farrell stars with Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan as the Creepy AF kid, and Alicia Silverstone (!). It opens in limited release October 20 and will expand the following weekend. Count me in.
Welcome to the fourteenth episode of the Comic Show by Monkeys Fighting Robots! We have an all-DC show for you today. First, we talk about the Mr. Oz reveal in both Action and Detective Comics and what it means for Doomsday Clock and the future of the DC universe. Then beat reporter Manny Gomez joins the show to celebrate the one year anniversary of DC’s Young Animal imprint and chat about the line’s best books.
Darren Aronofsky’s mother! is one of the most divisive movies recently made—like most of Aronofsky’s films. With Noah, even the Christian community couldn’t decide if it was blasphemous or beautiful. The Fountain was as passionately hated as it was loved. And mother!…yeah, there’s a lot of polar opposite feelings. Its Cinemascore is an F while a 68% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Now, the marketing department of mother! is embracing the divide:
When talking about mother! with The Frame‘s John Horn, Aronofsky said this of the “F” score:
What’s interesting about that is, like, how if you walk out of this movie are you not going to give it an “F?” It’s a punch. It’s a total punch. And I realize that we were excited by that. We wanted to make a punk movie and come at you. And the reason I wanted to come is because I was very sad and I had a lot of anguish and I wanted to express it. Filmmaking is such a hard journey. People are constantly saying no to you. And to wake up every morning and get out of bed and to face all those no’s, you have to be willing to really believe in something. And that’s what I look for in my collaborators and what I pitched the actors I said, Look, this isn’t going to be a popularity contest. We’re basically holding up a mirror to what’s going on. All of us are doing this. But that final chapter hasn’t been written and hopefully things can change. And, to go back, the fact that it’s going down right now and things are really falling apart in a way that is really scary.
It’s scary when you talk to the people who are studying this and thinking about this and then you have other people who basically believe in the power of a iPhone that they can communicate to 35 million people in a blink of an eye, yet they don’t believe in science in other ways. You know, which is as proven as gravity at this point, really. It has as many people believe in it as believe in gravity. And it scares me and it’s time to start screaming. So I wanted to howl. And this was my howl. And some people are not going to want to listen to it. That’s cool.
Our own Dewey Singleton gave it three stars, check out his review here.
Fresh off their Han Solo firing, the Jump Street directing duo of Lord & Miller are moving on to a different sci-fi project. This one is called Artemis, and it comes from The Martian author Andy Weir.
20th Century Fox is releasing the film, and according to The Hollywood Reporter “the plot follows Jazz, a twentysomething part-time smuggler living on a city on the moon who uncovers a conspiracy.” It sounds oddly familiar to another character in another movie. Wonder if Weir’s character fly a ship called the Shmillenium Shmalcon.
It was June when Lord & Miller were fired from the Han Solo film and replaced by Ron Howard, so they probably want to work with Weir on Artemis to show off some of their abandoned ideas for the Star Wars spinoff. t could be an interesting comparative piece, depending on how similar it turns out to be and when it’s ultimately released.
The first trailer for Waco, the new Branch Davidian biopic, is all the evidence you need to realize Taylor Kitsch is channeling cult leader David Koresh in some truly fascinating ways.
Plus, Michael Shannon is here! Check out the trailer:
Having grown up about an hour north of Koresh and the whole insanity surrounding Waco in the early 90s, this one hits particularly close to home. Kitsch has the voice and the look down about as well as one could imagine.
If you see there, Waco is a 6-part miniseries on Paramount Network. This is SpikeTV, which will start pushing for their own original content with this new moniker. If this is their first foray, they look to be off to a promising start.
Michael Shannon will play an ATF Agent investigating Koresh, and John Leguizamo, Shea Wigham, Rory Culkin, Melissa Benoist, and Andrea Riseborough fill out the central cast.
Waco will be here in January, so find out where SpikeTV is on your TV and remember that’s where this one will be.
Pete Davidson revealed that he struggles with borderline personality disorder on comedian Marc Maron’s podcast, WTF With Marc Maron. Davidson is a fairly recent addition to the cast of Saturday Night Live, but is perhaps most famous for becoming a recent Comedy Central Roast staple. (At the Roast of Justin Bieber, Davidson, whose father was killed on September 11, 2001, told Snoop Dogg that his movie Soul Plane was “the worst experience of my life involving a plane.” This remark caused many to take note of the young comedian.)
Davidson discussed his symptoms in detail, explaining how he initially believed that the source of his troubles stemmed from being a “pothead.” He explained that “Around October [or] September last year, I started having these mental breakdowns where I would, like, freak out and then not remember what happened after. Blind rage.” These incidents caused him to take a break from SNL, and he used this time to check himself into rehab. Lorne Michaels gave Davidson his blessing, likely due to the showrunner’s past experiences with troubled comedians and self-destructive behavior.
A few months later, even after being off marijuana, Davidson had another episode. This is what lead to his diagnosis with BPD. He recounted that a conversation with his psychiatrist: “He was always saying before this big meltdown, ‘You’re probably bipolar or borderline, we’re just going to have to figure it out.'”
Davidson admitted that the new treatment plan has not been without its share of difficulty, but he does claim to be seeing improvement overall. “It is working, slowly but surely. I’ve been having a lot of problems. This whole year has been a fucking nightmare. This has been the worst year of my life, getting diagnosed with this and trying to figure out how to learn with this and live with this.”
Davidson is not the first entertainer to be diagnosed with some type of disorder or similar affliction. But his openness about his condition, and his struggle to improve himself, are heroic. He will undoubtedly serve as inspiration for those diagnosed with similar disorders.
Mother Panic #11
