Shock art has been relatively calm for the past eight years, but with Donald Trump in office, that’s like whacking a beehive with a baseball bat. The shock art community has only just begun to show its wares.
Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Mother!’ could be one of the biggest anti-Trump shock art pieces released to date. Due to the lull in shock art and the over-the-top nature of ‘Mother!,’ the mainstream public was not prepared at all for a film like this.
Aronofsky even admits he wanted to punch you in the teeth with his film and make you think.
“We always knew it was a strong cocktail. (…) It’s a punch. It’s a total punch. And I realize that we were excited by that. (…) It came very much from a place of a lot of frustration, and I guess a certain amount of impotent rage on what was going on in the world,” said Aronofsky to John Horn of The Frame.
“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. (…) 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 an 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,” said Aronofsky to John Horn of The Frame.
‘Mother!’ is trending on Rottentomates at a 67% from 236 film critics, but it appears moviegoers are not ready to get punched as the movie has only grossed $18 million worldwide from a $30 million budget. Time will tell if ‘Mother!’ is profitable, but that wasn’t Aronofsky’s point.
What do you think of Aronofsky’s comments? Use the section below to start a conversation with me.
Ian McDiarmid may not know what the future holds for the Star Wars film franchise, but one thing he does know is he doesn’t want anyone else but him to play Emperor Palpatine.
“I suppose there must be a chance but I think you’d find out about it more quickly than I would,” McDiarmid explained to the BBC about the possibility of him returning to the saga. “But there is what they call the anthology series and, actually, the most recent one, Rogue One, was about the time when I was in charge. I was referred to a few times, Darth Vader popped up, but you did not see me. Maybe they are keeping me as a surprise for later but I have no idea. Of course, I don’t want anyone else to play him.”
He’s best known for his role as Palpatine. It made him one of the most notable characters in the franchise.
He played the villain in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, The Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi.
20th Century Fox/LucasFilm
Screenrant tells us, even though Palpatine was theoretically killed in Return of the Jedi when Darth Vader chose to save his son Luke Skywalker from Palpatine by throwing the Emperor into the Death Star’s reactor shaft, there’s still a chance we could see Palpatine show up in one of the anthology films Lucasfilm is producing. Palpatine won’t be making an appearance in the young Han Solo film slated to hit theaters in May, but there’s a chance he could show up in the future Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone currently in development or the many other anthology films Lucasfilm and Disney are considering surrounding Yoda, Boba Fett and even Jabba the Hutt.
“As far as the new films are concerned, I’m dead. There is no question about that,” McDiarmid says.
When The Force Awakens came out theories began to swirl that new villain Supreme Leader Snoke was actually Palpatine.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle is weighed down by a bloated narrative and minimal action sequences.
Summary
The film picks up with Eggsy (Taron Egerton) stepping into the role as the lead agent of the Kingsman. In the first ten minutes of the movie, Eggsy is tracked down by a rejected candidate for the program which results in a fantastic high-speed car chase. While in the end, we are left to believe Eggsy eliminated his adversary, it appears that the car chase was part of a more elaborate scheme to track the secret hideout of Britan’s most advanced spy service. An organization lead by a drug kingpin fixated on the 1950’s (played by Julianne Moore) is deadset on killing everyone in the organization so they can go forward with their plan of blackmailing the government into legalizing the drug trade. The Kingsmen’s American counterpart (The Statesmen) are called on to help after missile strikes level all of their hideouts destroying their resources and available agents. Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry, Channing Tatum, and Pablo Pascal all play key roles in the Statesmen organization. However, even the introduction of the key new characters takes a back seat when Eggsy realizes that his mentor (Harry, played by Colin Firth) may not have died when he was shot in the head at the end of the first film.
What Worked
Egerton was born to play the role of a secret agent. He has the looks, charm, and can pull off the elaborate action sequences with ease. One of the primary reason why the original Kingsmen worked so well is his performance, and history repeats itself in Kingsmen: The Golden Circle.
When Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn were tasked with crafting the sequel to Kingsmen, their first job was developing a semi-plausible way to bring back Harry Hart. His character is critical to the success of the sequel. Egerton brings looks and youthful exuberance to the role while Firth adds just a dash of charm and kick-ass gadgets which makes the film appear to be at least somewhat real.
George Richmond’s cinematography was outstanding. The camera shots were fluid, lengthy, and jostled as the intensity grew in their action sequences. While the opening car chase was fantastic, it doesn’t come close to the first film’s sequence in the church.
Vaughn is able to get the most out of this star-laden cast. While the movie certainly has issues, the performance of it’s cast certainly isn’t one of them.
What Didn’t Work
Way too much time is dedicated to resurrecting Firth’s character. What was baffling to me was there’s this fantastic universe that is introduced by the addition of Bridges, Berry, Pascal, and Tatum which normally would be plenty for any film to build a story around. However, they spend so much time setting up the Kingsmen’s American counterpart “The Statesmen” that the focus is away from what made the original film great. Less backstory and more blood, action, and gadgets. No one goes to a spy movie hoping for a thought-provoking narrative.
Juliane Moore is cast as this sweet drug lord who is a bit off her rocker but a delight to people who are loyal. She doesn’t pull off the villain the way it could have been. Perhaps the film needed someone who has experience as the villain (Jessica Chastain?). I’m sure she enjoyed being part of what looked like a fun shoot but is woefully miscast in this film.
Overall
While I understand it’s all the rage these days to expand a cinematic universe, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a film that should never have been greenlit. If Vaughn and Goldman were ever going to attempt a sequel that matches the standard set by the original, they should have gone back and looked at what made the first film special. The first film has a tight narrative that is centered on an origin story. The action sequences in the movie were insane. The villain was strong and at any moment could steal the scenes he was in with Firth and Eggerton. Kingsman: The Golden Circle is bland by comparison and has too much of a storyline with few action sequences. If anyone loved the first film, then check it out and make your own judgment. Just remember to temper those expectations.
Arrowverse fans! Take note! The CW had a huge hit with last year’s Invasion! four-part crossover that brought together Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl. Fans were promised another crossover this year, and ComicBook.com has revealed the plot!
The arc is called “Crisis on Earth-X,” and will feature the heroes of the Arrowverse against evil duplicates of themselves from Earth-X, a universe where the Nazis won World War II.
Fan-favorite DC Comics artist Phil Jimenez (Wonder Woman) created a custom comic book cover. Check it out in full below.
Art by Phil Jimenez
The official synopsis reads:
With all of the heroes in town to celebrate Barry and Iris’s wedding, villains from Earth-X crash the festivities with a deadly agenda.
As you can see in the image, The Ray is part of the action! The characters of Earth-X will a appear on Freedom Fighters: The Ray, an animated CW Seed series set on Earth-X and starring The Ray. However there is no word if Uncle Sam, The Ray, and the other Freedom Fighters will show up to aid the Arrowverse heroes in their live-action fight. Updated: The Ray will indeed be played by Quantico actor Russell Tovey!
The four-part crossover will air across two nights Monday, November 27th, and Tuesday, November 28th on The CW. For this Arrow will air on a special night Monday at 9/8c following Supergirl, while the other DC shows will remain in their regularly scheduled time periods.
What do you guys think? Will this be a big a hit as Invasion!? And will we actually get a live action The Ray? Comment and discuss below!
Hey there Batman fans! I know we are all waiting for Catwoman’s answer to Batman’s proposal and that answer is coming in Batman #32, but Tom King’s excellent run continues after that with a brand new story arc, ‘A Dream of Me’ in Batman #33! Check out the solicitation below along with some exciting preview pages!
BATMAN #33
Written by TOM KING
Art and cover by JOELLE JONES
Variant cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
“A DREAM OF ME” part 1! Following his marriage proposal to Catwoman, Batman leaves Gotham City on a quest of renewal and redemption. As he travels and fights, he encounters members of his family—each disturbed by Batman’s journey, each ready to stand in his way, each ready to push back against Batman’s stubborn determination to evolve into something better than a superhero.
On sale OCTOBER 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
George W. Bush has his painting. Jimmy Carter builds houses. Bill Clinton…is writing a thriller? Yep. With the help of James Patterson, Clinton is writing his first novel, The President is Missing. The plot is that the president is missing.
Spoiler Alert: It was Socks the whole time!
The novel isn’t even finished, and there’s no reason to think it will even be any good, but Showtime is already making it into a series. As CEO David Nevins said:
“Bringing The President Is Missing to Showtime is a coup of the highest order…The pairing of President Clinton with fiction’s most gripping storyteller promises a kinetic experience, one that the book world has salivated over for months and that now will dovetail perfectly into a politically relevant, character-based action series for our network.”
Patterson is happy for the opportunity, saying that “The White House is such an exciting world to explore and is made even more so with the unique insights of a former President”
Clinton is enjoying working in the world of fiction—well, literary fiction that is. “I’m really enjoying writing this book and working with Jim…and I can’t wait to see Showtime bring the characters to life.”
Hopefully, Clinton will bring a new depth to the political thriller, having actual presidential experience. Political ideologies aside, the idea of a former president writing a mystery novel about a president is pretty cool.
Netflix Friday morning released the first trailer to ‘1922’ based on a novella by Stephen King and stars Thomas Jane.
2017 has become the year of Stephen King with four films and multiple shows. ‘1922’ looks to get under your skin and gnaw at your flesh.
Watch the trailer below:
About the film: 1922 is based on Stephen King’s 131-page storytelling of a man’s confession of his wife’s murder. The tale is told from the perspective of Wilfred James, the story’s unreliable narrator who admits to killing his wife, Arlette, with his son in Nebraska. But after he buries her body, he finds himself terrorized by rats and, as his life begins to unravel, becomes convinced his wife is haunting him.
The film is written and directed by Zak Hilditch. ‘1922’ stars Thomas Jane, Molly Parker, Dylan Schmid, Neal McDonough, Brian d’Arcy James and Kaitlyn Bernard.
‘1922’ hits Netflix on October 20.
Are you excited to see all the Stephen King material brought to the big and small screen? Comment below.
After watching Hand Shakers earlier in the year, a series would have to do a lot wrong to be the worst anime in 2017. Luckily, a new challenger has emerged. Its name is Neo Yokio and you should do everything in your power to ensure no one watches it.
Writing
The story focuses around Kaz, a Magistocrat, a magician who also is an aristocrat. His job is to slay demons in a city which was the gate for a large group of demons to appear back in the day. Sounds like the standard setup which could go either way but luckily this show decides to take it in a total nosedive.
Kaz is bored with his life and it shows. He seems to both care about and give little thought to the Bachelor Board (a board which shows the most eligible bachelors in the two) in times square which regularly has him high up. Kaz asks “Who am I without the bachelor board?” He previously didn’t care about where he was on it. This is the level of vapid and shallow character who we have to follow through all six episodes.
Kaz is rich, spoiled, but still finds a way to suck the joy of more than half of his sentences when he means to. The character visits his own grave, not because he is dead but because he actually already has his grave picked out and is depressed over his ex-girlfriend. At the same moment a young girl is possessed, floating in her room, and it’s his job to handle it. This is our hero folks. He’s more worried about his own interests than about saving people from demons. Sadly, he is the center of the entire story and offers little entertainment to the viewer.
The idea of being humiliated at a party is the greatest drama a person faces in this series. This is beyond melodrama. Nothing has any stakes and frankly the characters do little to make the audience care about them. Everyone is just trying to act fashionable and be popular.
Acting
This show features voice talent by Susan Sarandon, Steve Buscemi, and Jude Law. Yet it still finds a way to be hard to listen to. Most of the cast is forced to spout some of the worst worst lines of dialogues ever written for a dub script. Lines such as “Her blog is our bible.” or “Her voice is like cashmere.” It feels like the script was meant for a dub for the 90s, but when the crew was told they were going to be put on the late night block they decided to occasional drop the F word.
As the series continues, you find yourself begging for the show to stop using the term “Herb” as an insult and name dropping expensive high end brand names like Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Clips of this show’s dub will and should be featured on future YouTube videos of cringeworthy moments. It needs to be experiences to be believed but this should highly be avoided.
Art
The artwork for the series is colorful yet bland all at the same time. Charles the mecha butler looks like a robotic design from the 80s and his all white esthetic just seems to highlight how underwhelming he is. Every character looks like they came from the late 90s or early 2000s when overwhelming color palettes were in high demand. This series started development in the last two years, it shouldn’t have production value this poor.
The series tries to redeem itself by presenting a few anime references here and there. There is a blatant Ranma ½ joke but it seems more forced than anything. Especially later as the character who turns into a woman use the change to hit on a lesbian. The joke seemed dead and wrong at this point.
Music
The opening and most background music is classical music and blues. It’s almost as if the soundtrack is trying to distinguish itself as being higher caliber. Until the pop or dance music comes in to remind us all of how it’s supposed to be modern. It feels more like elevator music then it feels inspirational which is probably what was originally intended. The soundtrack should definitely not be added to anyone playlist, ever.
Conclusion
Don’t check it out. Don’t give this series the satisfaction of your views. It’s the only way you will stop this kind of production from being made. This whole series is trying too hard to be classy, yet modern, and trendy. It this series gets a second season, the news will feature one line describing this bit of information, followed by a list of anime which never got a second season or are in need of a remake. All of those series are much more worthy of having additional content made for them. If you can’t tell, Neo Yokio is NOT a good series.
In light of all the marketing for The Punisher recently, it seems as though the show’s release date has leaked online.
The latest issue of the magazine Total Film has the show hitting Netflix on October 13 – check the image below.
As someone who has worked on magazines before, I can speak first hand that a typo like this can happen easily; while there is a chance that Total Film just spoiled the release date, it could definitely be a mistake.
The Punisher stars Jon Bernthal as the title role and also features Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as David Lieberman, Michael Nathanson as Sam Stein, Jaime Ray Newman as Sarah Lieberman, and Deborah Ann-Woll as Karen Page.
“Frank Castle is haunted and hunted after the murder of his family and becomes a vigilante known in the criminal underworld as “the Punisher”, who aims to fight crime by any means necessary.”
As of now, The Punisher still has no official release date.
Huffington Post recently put out an article all about Brie Larson and her new film, Unicorn Store; it’s Larson’s directorial debut, and represents a new chapter in her career.
After talking about the movie for a bit, the outlet proceeded to ask the actress/director if she’d be interested in helming a comic book movie in the future. Her response?
“Oh yeah, that’s my plan. Why not? My new life philosophy is I’m not going to tell myself no. I’m just going to do stuff until someone else tells me no.”
Given that she is the star of 2019’s Captain Marvel, Larson definitely has connections at Marvel and likely Warner Bros. (DC) too.
Can you see Larson putting her efforts behind a comic book movie? If so, what character should she tackle? Start a conversation in the comments below.
