In the wake of Marvel Legacy, the company is pulling out all the stops in an effort to ensure that their titles are at the top of there game. To this end, the studio plans to introduce a new creative team to the Doctor Strange series in November.
The team will consist of Donny Cates (God Country) as writer, and Gabriel Hernandez Walta as artist with Jordie Bellaire as the colorist. Walta and Bellaire are known for providing the art for the highly recommended series, The Vision.
The journey the team is planning to take Doctor Strange on will have him facing off with Thor’s mischievous brother Loki. Loki has stolen the Doctor’s title of being Sorcerer Supreme and it will be up to Stephen to find a way to get it back. Cates has insisted the story will have twists and turns to it which even the most dedicated of fan will not see coming. Fans will have to wait until November to see if this claim rings true.
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Are you excited for the news about this team taking on Doctor Strange? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Paramount recently announced their new president of their animation division, Mireille Soria (Home, Madagascar). Viacom, Paramount’s parent company, has tasked them to make movies that are franchise friendly, and easy to adapt to and from television. There is a particular emphasis with using characters from Nickelodeon (which they own).
Soria has a long history in animation, both with original and adapted features. She was a producer on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, the Madagascar franchise, Home, and Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. She also served as co-president of feature animation at DreamWorks Animation, and worked on “Trolls” and “Boss Baby.”
Basically, Soria is awesome, and is just the person to bring Paramount-owned intellectual properties to the big screen. With that in mind, here are 5 animated properties that Paramount Animation, and Soria, should consider pursuing:
The concept for Maggie and the Ferocious Beast is simple: Maggie is a five-year-old girl who imagines herself on adventures, driven by a map of “Nowhere Land” with her two favorite toys: the entirely not-ferocious Beast, and Hamilton, a fussy pig. This simple concept is what made the show such a hit: it was just a girl and her imagination.
Now take that same idea, but adapt for life-action CGI. Pour the budget into the Beast, make him look incredible. Then throw in a story reminiscent of Inside Out, except earlier and Beast is Bing Bong. Bring on the tears.
4. The Wild Thornberrys
Thornberrys was a fan favorite, mostly due to the varied personalities of the Thornberry family and the cool animals. So the film should be easy; there’s already been two theatrical releases.
This one should act as a launch point for a new show, with an older Eliza Thornberry, and her increasingly less-able-to-adventure parents. Then mix in a plot point that dares to be timely: climate change and the rapidly increasing rate of disappearing species. The show never shied away from serious topics like poaching, so it will feel like a natural progression.
Someone else can work out the details, but the movie can hand off to a new show about a younger protégé of Eliza’s. Also, keep Donny. Everybody loved that wacky kid.
3. Star Trek
Paramount clearly wants this rebooted Star Trek train to keep chugging. Beyond did well, even nabbing an Oscar nomination. The trailer for Discovery was well received. So really, why not get a younger crowd involved in the fun?
Star Trek already had an animated series back in the ’70s, creatively titled Star Trek: The Animated Series. It was critically acclaimed, so much so that it won an Emmy. So basically, we know the concept works. And a lot of that is because of the format: animation lacks the limitations of live action. The Red, Blue, and Gold shirts can be pushed the absolute extremes of imagination.
Think: relatively advanced storylines that pull in both adults and children, following the adventures of some Starfleet ship as it explores new planets and species every week. Just with a lot less Kirk/Alien-woman “interaction”.
2. Rugrats
Tackling Rugrats is like playing with fire. It’s Nickelodeon royalty, as their second longest running show behind Spongebob. It’s well known to at least three generations: the late GenXers whose early Millennial children watched it, said early Millennial children, and the late Millennials/Early Z’s who caught the reruns that turned the show into a juggernaut.
Rather than running away from that challenge, embrace it. In the original show, the adults all had fairly complex back stories and relationships that went back to their own childhoods. There’s no reason this can’t be used again, with the original cast as the adults and their children as the main protagonists. This allows for a sense of closure for fans of the original series, while also giving the creative freedom of new characters.
It also allows the movie (and eventual show) to explore the changed generational dynamic. Stu and Didi and the rest of the parents are now the grandparents, with Tommy and the rest as the parents. There was a commentary in the original, however subtle, on the differing parenting styles between families and generations. The same can be done here. The movie/show can also use this to explore how that change looks for the newest generation of babies. Tommy Pickles never had an tablet. Tommy Jr. almost certainly would.
1. Avatar: The Last Airbender
This is the best show ever produced by Nickelodeon. Much like Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings, it focuses on a close group of friends who embark on an epic quest to save the world – fairly standard fare.
Except the world they’re saving was a fascinating fantasy/martial arts mashup, incorporating an array of Asiatic cultural influences, languages, and alphabets. The world felt both unique and completely built out. It was lived in, and the audience were simply guests to a world that evolved all on its own. And this is all without mentioning the great voice acting, animation, script, and score. If you need any more proof, here’s one of the show’s best scenes. P.S. Zuko is voiced by Dante Basco, a.k.a. Rufio from Hook.
The result was the nothing but success. A:TLA was consistently the highest rated show in its demographic, and had some of the channel’s most viewed episodes. The finale averaged 5.6 million viewers. The series garnered several nominations and wins from the Annie, Primetime Emmy, and Peabody Awards.
Then they made a movie.
The Last Airbender.
Not much more to say other than it is considered to be one of the worst films ever made. The result was a tarnishing of the brand, and a lack of commitment by Nickelodeon to the sequel show, The Legend of Korra, despite it also being a critical darling and winning awards. Here’s an excerpt from The Atlantic‘s Julie Beck, on Korra: “some of the highest quality fantasy of our time.” So, naturally, the time slot was completely mismanaged, and the fourth season wasn’t even released, instead relegated to Nickelodeon’s site.
What better way to signal the change brought by Paramount’s new animation division, and its head, than to reward the long-forgotten fans of the series with a new film/show. Not live action, but computer animation in the vein of Korra or Big Hero Six. Rather than remaking these beloved series, continue to explore the rich fantasy world that creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko already built. Do a prequel, a sequel, a midquel, it doesn’t really matter.
The point is to use a fascinating and powerful intellectual property already at your doorstep. One that has a devoted following who have done nothing but beg for more (or at least an HD release) for years. Paramount doesn’t have to go searching for their flagship. It’s already there, begging to be explored.
A grade school history teacher, looking for a respite from her life’s problems, finds the ultimate escape when the owner of a local winery reveals its secret to her: drink the right glass of wine in the right tasting room, and travel back in time to the year it was bottled. Together, they’ll journey through the history of the 200-year old winery… as well as their own.
Writing
Thomas F. Zahler is back again. With his new book, Time and Vine, the writer and artist once again finds a way to use comic books to tell more personal stories with characters. The concept of using wine as a time travel device is very unique and gives a lot of possibilities for what can be done with the series. .
There also is a bit of intrigue involving Jack and his late wife as both of the trips back to the past involve seeing her and lamenting about the follies in their relationship. Though he has rules against changing history and instead tries to use the bar as a way for others to relive moments of time, it seems there is a good chance the storyline could result in the timeline being distorted. Whatever the case, the concept is more than enough to get the audience interested in what’s to come.
Artwork
As stated, Thomas F. Zahler pulled double duty and does the art as well with Luigi Anderson taking care of the colors. The book has a similar look to the other pieces Zahler created like Love and Capes and Long Distance. Though the style is similar to what he has done before, the characters designs are new for this project and do not look like any of the other characters he has introduced in the past. It goes to show Zahler still has as few tricks up his sleeve as a creator.
Conclusion
This is the kind of series which is perfect for giving to your parents. Which is said with the utmost respect for the material. This is the kind of comic you give to a more mature reader who is under the disillusion graphic novels and comic books are only meant to tell superhero stories or are filled with nothing but violence and nudity. This is the type of series which allows somebody to tell personal stories they wish to tell in a unique way. It’s the start of something good and it’s easy to recommend someone to try at least a sip.
Every day of summer is saturated with events and activities like barbecues, music festivals, love affairs, and outdoor parties. It seems you have no right to miss this high season and not to live 2017 summer to the fullest. Though, in this rapid cycle of fun and traveling, one may definitely wish to spend a warm summer evening on the sofa, in front of a digital screen, watching movies and drinking one’s favorite beer.
And it does not matter whether you are a student of 20 years old or a mature man who frequently visits dating over 40 section of matchmaking sites, the moment when you wish to do this will inevitably come. At the time do not forget to check this list helping you to choose the movies that expose their best sides only if you drink beer while viewing them.
Beerfest, 2006
Beer is the main focus of this comedy. All events happen around it. That’s why in this film you’ll see everything related to this drink, like Octoberfest, the search of the greatest beer, beer drinking tournament, and rivalry for the German team and American guys. While drinking beer you’ll be watching how the main characters, brothers Jan and Todd Wolfhouse, get into and out of trouble. They win the rivalry and get the brewery.
Drinking Buddies, 2013
The genre of this movie is defined as comedy-drama. That means that besides comic situations, it will be about feelings and relationships. Indeed, two central figures who are Kate and Luke are tangled in their feelings towards each other. They work together at Chicago craft brewery and spend a lot of time drinking beer and talking to each other, though both of them have partners. Beer will help you to watch the film to the end and unknot the knot of these fours’ tangled relationships.
The Hangover, 2009
If you are not going watch films with your girlfriend and not prone to any dramas, this movie is right for you. Watching how three guys have an insane time in Las Vegas before the wedding is a great opportunity to laugh yourself into stitches. Not without reason ‘The Hangover’ got the Golden Globe Ward and was 2009 tenth-highest-grossing movie.
EuroTrip, 2004
It is a teen comedy. Nevertheless, even if you are a mature man or a housewife with three children, you won’t be able to tear yourself away from the screen. With a bottle of a good beer in your hand, it becomes more interesting to watch how four friends-student travel across Europe and experience so many funny adventures. That is a great reminder of your college time and those hard parties you had.
Strange Brew, 1983
Is your love for beer so big that you could do like Bob and Doug McKenzie and put a mouse into a beer bottle? If no, watch this movie to know why they did that, what happened next and how this story ended. A retro tint of the film made in 1983 will serve as an additional flavor to your beer.
These movies are not only about beer but also about friendship and love, insane adventures and humor. They won’t fail to amuse you and provide a cool atmosphere for you and your friends.
Carrie Fisher’s final project before her death last winter recently earned her a posthumous Emmy nomination, according to Variety.
The Princess and The Amazon Series
While many will assume that Fisher’s final project was her work on Star Wars XIII: The Last Jedi, they would be wrong. Fisher also guest-starred on the Amazon series Catastrophe. She had already guest-starred in five other episodes of the series as Rob Delaney’s mother Mia. Co-star and co-creator Sharon Horgan posted, “Very happy and sad and proud and messed up and delighted about our friend Carrie Fisher’s nomination.” Delaney also posted a response to the nomination, simply tweeting out the word “mom”.
Catastrophe is not Fisher’s only posthumous nomination. The documentary Bright Lights, which shows the inner workings of the relationship between Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds, is also up for an award. Reynolds passed away just a day after Fisher last December.
Catastrophe is available for streaming on Amazon Prime. The show stars Rob Delaney (Rob), and Sharon Horgan (Sharon). The show is now in its third season.
Michael Keaton does great in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but we nearly got a whole other Vulture.
The character of Adrian Toomes had a different arc, according to reports.
Writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein explain they almost threw out the blue-collar inventor storyline altogether. Instead, their original idea would be to have Toomes as Peter’s teacher, which would make their relationship more personal.
“He was still stealing from Damage Control, but we had a different way into it,” says Daley. “[Toomes] was going to be [Peter’s] teacher.”
During the writing process, the duo had a change of heart. “Then we were like, ‘No, let’s separate him fully from the school — or at least so it seems,'” Daley explains. “And that’s I think when we decided to make it the love interest’s dad.”
The challenge was to make Vulture a sympathetic antagonist. “I think our intention was always to keep him a not-terrible guy,” Daley says. “What I can never relate to or even root against is the mustache-twirly villain [where it’s unclear] why they’re evil, and they’re just evil for evil’s sake.”
According to Goldstein, the writers chose to de-age Toomes to being slightly younger. The character was originally a senior citizen in the comics.
“Once we started talking about Vulture, it was clear that the version in the comics wouldn’t do, where he was this bald old man,” Goldstein says. “It just never felt terribly scary on film to us. So we thought, ‘All right, let’s make him more of a middle-aged guy.”
Regarding the twist of Toomes being Liz Allan’s father, this came from debating how to raise the stakes. As Daley explains, “The biggest challenge is finding equal levels of stakes in both of those worlds, because obviously the stakes of high school are inherently lower than life-or-death stakes of being a superhero and potentially dying.”
“We found a way to combine those two plot threads and in a way that we hope pays off,” Goldstein says. “You think you’re in the high school movie story, and then you’re shocked to find out this relationship.”
Ryan Reynolds updated his Instagram with a photo from Deadpool 2, and look who made an appearance! Blind Al, a fan favorite character from the first film, is back.
Fantastic performances from Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance, stellar cinematography, plus a deftly crafted narrative make Dunkirk one of the best films this year.
Summary
This film centers around Operation Dynamo and the attempted rescue of 400,000 stranded troops from the shores of Dunkirk. An all call was made to every civilian sailor to take their vessel across the English channel to rescue as many of the soldiers as possible. This effort wasn’t as simple as depicted in the 1940’s British propaganda film from ‘Their Finest.’ High winds, crashing waves, German U-Boats, and bombers all had clear shots and any incoming vessels thus making them targets as well. The story is told from three perspectives. The Mole (giving us the perspective of the soldiers who were stranded on land thus being easy targets for any number of German sharp shooters or aircraft), air (from the perspective of two spitfire pilots … one of which is played by Hardy), and of course the sea (which centers around the civilian rescue). The three stories are masterfully interwoven and it’s not until the very end of the film that audiences are let in on how all the characters are connected.
What Worked
Christopher Nolan found a way to manipulate time during the narrative. The portions taking place on land happen in one week, while the air battle takes place in one hour, and all the elements at sea take place over 24-hours. By doing this it created the element of chaos which is often associated with War. It also gave this feeling that in the midst of the worst military disaster in British history, that time was beginning to blend together. That mixture heightened the intensity of the film.
The use IMAX Cameras captured both the beauty and the brutality of war. In one instance we get a nice shot of the water just as a torpedo rips through the side of a Red Cross boat housing the wounded as it slowly sinks to its watery grave. Nolan used this technology throughout the film, even when two soldiers were rushing up to load one of the last of the wounded in hopes of sneaking on the medical vessel.
The sound was extremely crucial in this film. Nolan cranks up the ambient noise making the audience feel uncomfortable which one can only imagine wasn’t even 1/100th of the way these soldiers felt as it was happening. By raising the noise levels at various times in the picture, it takes the audiences out of the theater and places them right in the middle of this conflict. The sound adds to the visceral nature of the film.
The dog fight scenes were crisp, briskly paced, and shot beautifully. By mounting that IMAX Camera on the Spitfire, Hoyte van Hoytema was able to get some amazing shots. By having the camera facing forward, it gave the sensation that you were in the cockpit flying right with Hardy’s character.
Nolan didn’t hold back and thoroughly explored the horrors of being in combat against a relentless enemy. We were treated to scenes of sailors trapped as boats tipped over, bridges being blown to bits, and seeing countless soldiers abandoning ship only to be shot at in the water.
The use of dialogue was minimal at various points in the film. Banter would have distracted us from the sheer hell these brave men were experiencing.
The film was filled with strong performances. The two standouts performances for me were Rylance and Hardy. Rylance is able to project strength even in the most subtle of ways during the rescue portion of the film. There’s a point in the film when he realizes that a major tragedy has befallen him (can’t spoil it) and for a split second he has this profound look of sadness which morphs into the look a man who just wants to carry on. In his mind, he has a job to do. Hardy plays one of the Spitfire pilots and spends over 1/2 the film with his face covered. There comes a point where he realizes that the fuel on the plane is as low as it can go without running out of gas and sees one of the British ships be destroyed. He immediately gets this intense look and pushes the plane as far as he could, taking out the remaining enemy fighters.
Hans Zimmer’s score was haunting and certainly adds more tension to the film.
Overall
Dunkirk is a triumph for not only Christopher Nolan but filmmaking as a whole. Nolan has found a way to bridge the gap between the theatrical and the practical resulting in an experience that will immerse audiences on many levels. Audiences members will gasp as the U-Boat rips through the British vessels. Their hearts will break as Cillian Murphy begs to go home and not to the front line. Nolan has found a way to bring out the horrors of war and it’s terrifying to the core. How does Dunkirk compare to other recent war films? Hacksaw Ridge andSaving Private Ryan are great films, but Dunkirk takes the experience to the next level.
Strong performances from Cobie Smulders, Keegan-Micheal Key, and Billy Eichner make Friends From College worth your consideration.
Summary
Friends From College centers around the lives of six college buddies who are reunited when two of them (Ethan played by Keegan-Michael Key and Lisa played by Cobie Smulders) move back to New York. Their group consists of a trust fund kid named Nick (Nat Faxon), Sam (Anne Parisse), playwright Marianne (Jae Suh Park), and literary agent Max (Fred Savage). They all graduated from Harvard and manage to take every opportunity possible to remind the audience of this. Even though they had slightly grown apart over the last twenty years, this group certainly has some unresolved issues. Ethan and Sam have been having an affair since college which hasn’t ended (even though both are now married). Nick tries to mask his feelings for Lisa by throwing himself at every young lady who saunters his way. Marianne seems to be getting nowhere with her playwriting career and Max is own worst enemy in both his professional and personal life.
What Worked
Lisa’s storyline involving her desire to get pregnant was some of the best writing and contained the most scintillating on-screen moments in the whole series. As someone who has had friends and has personally tackled the possibility of infertility, Smulders and Key captured the anguish that comes over a couple when faced with the possibility of not having kids. Lisa has to go through a series of crazy involved shots that have to be timed to the second. Each of these shots is extremely painful and towards the end of the sequence when things go wrong, she loses it. Ethan just wants to make her happy and begins to lose it as well. He seems willing to anything to make it right, even offer up sexual favors to random pharmacists.
Billy Eichner is cast as Max’s (Fred Savage) boyfriend and acts as a reality check for everyone in the group. He reminds Max constantly that they are grown ups, Lisa and Ethan are not given any special treatment at his fertility practice, and he won’t put up with any of the group nonsense. In the end, he even ends up serving as a wake-up call for his boyfriend.
What Didn’t Work
Sam, Max, Marianne, and Nick were written very one dimensionally. While Lisa and Ethan seemed more layered, the rest of the cast seemed to be playing archetypes. Sam is the confused middle aged woman who doesn’t know what she wants. Max is the guy who longs for the past. Nick who loves to avoid dealing with any of his personal feelings. Marianne is just a lost 30 something who doesn’t know what she wants.
Overall
While Friends From College is not the strongest release that Netflix has ever had, it does offer up enough entertainment value. They have the show set up in eight 30 minute parts which will make getting through the show extremely efficient. Don’t expect to be blown away like when you first saw GLOW but that doesn’t mean a show like this shouldn’t be on your radar.
Dunkirk is only a few days away, and judging from early reactions it is going to be an event that must be seen on the largest screen possible. That’s primarily because it is a Christopher Nolan film.
Nolan has become, at least in my mind, the new populist filmmaker. He is the new Spielberg because he has an ability to deliver scope, and tell stories which cut across cultural lines. Christopher Nolan delivers epics, but his epics still carry the thoughtfulness and complexity he displayed in his early work.
Here is your arbitrary ranking of Christopher Nolan’s films up to this week. Let me know if I’m on point or insanely stupid, whatever you’re feelin’…
1The Prestige
This is a personal choice, of course. The Prestige is a beautiful, haunting film, steeped in the turn-of-the-century mythos of competing magicians. Bale and Hugh Jackman are terrific in opposition of one another, and as the film unfolds Nolan stays committed to a distinct, alienating mood. Some criticize the coldness of The Prestige, and the coldness of Christopher Nolan films in general, but the relationship between Bale’s character and his young daughter sticks the landing more often than not.
The end is a shocker, and it works for me no matter what you say. It is a victory for one of our obsessive protagonists, and it encapsulates the very notion of obsessive competition in a few breathtaking moments. The Prestige is sharp and unique, and it is the perfect balance of Nolan’s smaller, intimate works, and his grand-scale storytelling.
During the writing process, the duo had a change of heart. “Then we were like, ‘No, let’s separate him fully from the school — or at least so it seems,'” Daley explains. “And that’s I think when we decided to make it the love interest’s dad.”
