Hear Me Out: Guy Ritchie Should Direct a Harry Potter Movie

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May 18, 2017

It’s been almost a week since King Arthur: Legend of the Sword released to lackluster box office and critical performance. The newest film from director/producer/writer Guy Ritchie had a budget of $175M and was slated to be the first in a series of six films from Warner Bros. Now, it looks like those plans are dead; the King Arthur has managed to pull in only $46M to date.

Don’t feel too bad for Ritchie; he’s set to helm the live-action Aladdin movie for Disney, and of course, there’s the third Sherlock Holmes film. Still, a flop this big is never good. However, there’s another Warner Bros. blockbuster that would benefit from Ritchie’s unique hand: The magical world of the extended Harry Potter franchise. Now before you click out in utter disbelief, hear me out: Ritchie might just be a perfect fit for WB’s renewed cash cow.

*Minor spoilers ahead for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and the Harry Potter franchise*

Demon Elephants and Bringing Magic to Life

The MFR review for King Arthur hit the nail on the head: “Despite moments of visual splendor, King Arthur…is structurally a mess.” Ritchie set out to start a six-film franchise based on a legend that does not have a mutually agreed upon canon and has been told a dozen different ways already. Oh, and he’s mainly known for gritty, focused crime films with intense and unique action sequences. This is to say that a truly massive blockbuster like King Arthur may have been doomed to start.

Except for those visuals. There quite a few moments throughout King Arthur that leave the viewer in awe, if for no other reason than the sheer audacity of what is bring presented. The opening sequence is the best example: fireballs are being shot out of pyramids on the back of giant demon elephants, as they assault the walls of Camelot, only to be solely defeated by an Excalibur-wielding Eric Bana. As ridiculous as it sounds, it works. Ritchie used excellent CGI to bring the magic of Arthurian legend to life.

And that’s exactly what Harry Potter films need: magic. This seems like a no-brainer, but starting with Alfonso Cuarón’s Prisoner of Azkaban, most of the magic used in the HP movies consisted of various types of balls of light. The good guys shot white lights or turned into white smoke. The bad guys threw black and green lights or turned into black smoke. And that’s just how it was for six films.

With Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, there was once again the chance to show off the power of modern computer generated imagery, and wow audiences with what could seem, just maybe, like real magic. Instead, it was filled with creatures whose animation was no better than 2007’s The Golden Compass, and more light-flashing magic. There were few, if any, moments of “wow.”

The Golden Compass — Hard to tell that it’s not a real polar bear in magical armor, vs. the painful CGI of “Fantastic Beasts.”

The magic in King Arthur, far more sparse and less expected than in a Harry Potter film, was still more satisfying. Astrid Bergès-Frisbey as “The Mage” possessing various creatures while trying to eat Jude Law was both delightful, and terrifying. The magical was palpable, visceral, real. A viewer should not be more convinced of the realism of pyramid-clad demon elephants than bowtruckles. Ritchie is just the director to make that correction.

An Identity Problem

At this point, you might be thinking, “I haven’t seen King Arthur, so all of this is fairly meaningless to me.” Fair enough. Even if you haven’t seen Sherlock Holmes or one of his handful of British crime films, you’ve likely been exposed to his unique style. His movies are whimsically dark, often reliant on non-linear editing and unreliable voice over, and feature hard-hitting, close focused action. The most common description is “__ meets Rock n’ Roll.” The result are movies that are undeniably different. They stand out in the crowd, even if they aren’t received well. Watch this trailer for King Arthur; the pacing and music are exactly that of the film and gives a good sense of Ritchie’s style.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rbPTQIdjmY[/embedyt]

Now imagine Fantastic Beasts but with loud, quick-fire wand duels. Close up city-spanning chases that bring to life the inhabitants of the magic world. A percussive and contemporary soundtrack. Deplorably charismatic villains. It would give the new HP cinematic world exactly what it needs: an identity. As it stands, Fantastic Beasts was fairly typical modern blockbuster fare. The cinematography, the CGI, and the music were all fairly vanilla.

If there’s one thing Ritchie is not, it’s typical. The chance to have a highly-stylized WWII-set Harry Potter film? It’s almost too good to pass up.

Do you agree that Guy Ritchie would make an interesting Harry Potter film? Let us know why or why not on Twitter and Facebook!

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Remembering the Late Chris Cornell’s Best Movie Theme Songs

By

Emma Nicholson

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May 18, 2017

It was confirmed in the early hours of this morning that Chris Cornell has sadly passed away while on tour with his band Soundgarden. As well as fronting and writing for his various rock bands, the American musician, singer and songwriter was famed for his huge vocal range, powerful belting technique and for writing some of the most iconic movie theme songs of recent years.

Let’s take a few moments to appreciate some of the artist’s greatest works.

5Machine Gun Preacher – ‘The Keeper’

Cornell earned a Golden Globe nomination for his song ‘The Keeper’ from the movie Machine Gun Preacher, a story of a gun-toting, God-fearing, crusader (Gerard Butler) seeking to protect Sudanese child soldiers. Cornell’s song is a hopeful ballad that has undertones of campfire singing with soaring harmonies.

Cornell is a huge loss to the music industry and will surely be greatly missed by cinema fans and filmmakers everywhere. But his formidable songwriting and unique voice are not going anywhere. We know his name and we know where to find him. Rest in peace.

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‘God Particle’ Writer Explains How the Film Connects to ‘Cloverfield’

By

EJ Moreno

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May 18, 2017

‘God Particle’ Plans To Expand ‘Cloverfield’ Universe

After last year’s surprise project ‘10 Cloverfield Lane‘, things have kicked into overdrive for the growing universe. With the next film in the franchise, ‘God Particle‘, it seems like there is no slowing down for all things Cloverfield.

The writer of the film Oren Uziel recently spoke with Collider about the project:

“[God Particle] was written before the expanded Cloverfield universe even existed. Everything fell into place with J.J. [Abrams], Bad Robot, and Paramount. I don’t know exactly when it became a Cloverfield movie, but I suspect in this current market where it’s just harder and harder to market an original movie of any kind, a science-fiction movie in particular… I think everyone just knew if it fits—and it does—into that Cloverfield world, it should, and it can only help.

We rewrote during production, but I’m not sure what it means to be part of the expanded Cloverfield universe, other than knowing what kind of quality and feel you’re gonna get from something that’s coming out of Bad Robot and J.J.”

Things like this often happen in Hollywood with films taking on a new life during production. Just last year, ‘The Woods‘ turned into ‘Blair Witch‘ overnight. Re-working a script to fit into the ‘Cloverfield‘ universe also worked for ‘10 Cloverfield Lane‘, which was originally a separate piece. ‘God Particle‘ isn’t treading new ground but it’s still risky.

Oren Uziel also talked about how this film is more character-driven than previous entries.

“I guess for me sometimes those movies tend to be more concerned with whatever the obstacle is, and I’m more concerned with the characters’ relationships to each other and that obstacle.”

The film’s plot centers around a team of astronauts who make a shocking discovery and end up fighting for survival.

‘God Particle‘ is expected to continue the Cloverfield franchise on October 27th, 2017. The film will star Ziyi Zhang, Elizabeth Debicki, Daniel Brühl and Chris O’Dowd. Directing is Julius Onah with the screenplay by Oren Uziel and Doug Jung.

What do you think? Let me know your thoughts on ‘God Particle‘ in the comments below!

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Ten Obscure “Cult Classic” Movies You’ve Probably Never Seen

By

EJ Moreno

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May 17, 2017

You Know A Cult Classic Like ‘Rocky Horror’ But What About ‘El Topo’?

It’s tough to make the perfect cult classic. All the pieces have to come together for the perfect storm of insanity but when it does, there’s nothing better. Most movie fans know the famous cult classics like ‘Clerks‘ or ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show‘ but what about the ones that got lost in the shuffle? This is a celebration of some obscure movie choices ranging from the 1940’s to a few years ago.

‘Mom and Dad’ (1945)

– What ‘Mom and Dad‘ did to shape filmmaking is legendary. This 1945 feature film feels like sex education but is basically an exploitation film. The infamy of this project comes from producer Kroger Babb and how he marketed ‘Mom and Dad‘. Babb went out of his way to make screenings special, even splitting the audience between men and women.

‘Caligula’ (1979)

– Fun fact: Acting legends Helen Mirren and Malcolm McDowell once starred in a high-budget softcore porn. It’s said they didn’t know what kind of film ‘Caligula‘ was when they signed up but it still lives on in infamy as the raunchiest movie about Roman mythos. This film really wanted to be 1963’s ‘Cleopatra‘ but feels like the porn parody instead.

‘El Topo’ (1970)

– ‘El Topo‘ really defined what makes a “cult classic”. Alejandro Jodorowsky’s western is one, if not the first, midnight movie; a sub-genre made to embrace cult classics. Countless directors have said ‘El Topo‘ inspired them to get into the business and Jodorowsky remains an important figure in cinema history.

‘Hobo With A Shotgun’ (2011)

– We all know legendary actor Rutger Hauer is bad-ass but give him a shotgun and he’s even cooler! This Candian action film won over the hearts of film fans with the throwback to exploitation. Starting out as a fake trailer for ‘Grindhouse‘, ‘Hobo With A Shotgun‘ was made with every intention to become a cult classic.

‘What We Do in the Shadows’ (2014)

– Before this year’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok‘, you need to check out the director’s other films. In particular, ‘What We Do in the Shadows‘. Since this Taika Waititi film is so recent, it may be the most viewed cult classic on this list but it’s still fairly obscure. This mockumentary about vampires is not only hilarious but still slightly horrifying.

‘Pink Flamingos’ (1972)

– Created by the “Pope of Trash” himself John Waters, ‘Pink Flamingos‘ has to be seen to be believed. The star of the piece is Divine, the drag queen who made us scream and laugh all in the same scene. Divine dives into the role and allows himself to be used by John Waters as a way to be a cinematic terrorist.

‘A Serbian Film’ (2010)

– You don’t want to watch this film, which is probably why many of you haven’t seen it. ‘A Serbian Film‘ is without a doubt one of the vilest films ever. When rape is the easiest subject to swallow in a film..you know it’s gross. ‘A Serbian Film‘ is infamous among film fans as the most extreme film of this generation.

‘Gummo’ (1997)

– This list could’ve been made up of Harmony Korine films but ‘Gummo‘ is picked to represent his work. Even his most mainstream film ‘Spring Breakers‘ is odd so you can imagine how obscure this can be. Like some others on this list, I believe Harmony Korine made this with every intention for the cult audience.

‘Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song’ (1971)

– There’s a special place in many cinephile’s hearts for “blaxploitation” films. It represented a voice in filmmaking that was often stifled. ‘Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song‘ is the most important from that genre. Filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles changed the portrayal of black men in films but often gets shafted for the more famous ‘Shaft‘.

‘Wizards’ (1977)

– You think animated shows like ‘Rick and Morty‘ are odd and trippy, ‘Wizards‘ perfected the insane cartoon. This animated cult classic is one of the strangest films of all time. Don’t know what Nazi imagery has to do with two wizards battling but that’s what this presents. So strange that Ralph Bakshi would follow this up with the animated ‘Lord of the Rings‘.

Let me know what you think of these picks. Have you seen any of them?

Comment below and share your thoughts!

Zordon Takes A Dimensional Ride In ‘Power Rangers’ #15

By

Anthony Wendel

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Zordon’s fate is revealed leading to some surprising developments for Drakkon’s world and the old sage himself.

Writing

The best part of this new Power Rangers series has been how it has to spotlighted views of different characters. It has been able to show meaningful character moments without making the cast seem out of place or unnatural. To this end we have seen Goldar suffer humiliation, Tommy learning to let go of his past, and Billy come to understand being a hero means more than simply following some type of plan. This issue lets a character shine who hasn’t been seen in quite a long time. It’s everyone’s floating disembodied head, Zordon.

Frankly, more Zordon is a good thing. Despite being one of the most recognizable faces (pun not intended) in the franchise, he never got fleshed out as much as he could have been. The new film did a much better job helping to establish a past than the old TV series did. Most of the time he was a glorified plot exposition device. Here though, Zordon gets to showcase his personal belief of there being good in anybody, despite how he watches the events leading to the downfall of the alternate world which has been built up for the better part of this story arc. It’s powerful to see him stand by his convictions even after watching the tragedy play out before him and even having to witness someone fall as a result of it. Though these events have already played out before in early issues, seeing them from another retrospective helps to add to the experience a bit. The issue helps to show how he truly is a worthy teacher for Power Rangers to follow and proves that writer Kyle Higgins has an incredible grasp on these characters.

Artwork

The main appeal of this issue is the fantastic visuals which are on display as Zordon takes this extra dimensional trip. The background add a bit of mystery to the experience and the use of colors is very appropriate and eye catching. Illustrator Daniel Bayliss really needs to take a bow for such an incredible issue.

Conclusion

This series is still awesome and finds new ways to stay on top without getting old and repeating itself too much. It’s almost as if the editorial team behind the book has a deep understanding of the original series and knows what won’t work. They know that, despite the show’s popularity, if they repeated the same formula as the show the result would not be the same. Luckily, the way things are going, readers will not have to worry about this series becoming repetitive anytime in the near future.

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Netflix Hands Us Fifth Season of Arrested Development

By

Joshua Versalle

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May 17, 2017

Fire up the Cornballer, adjust your Fakeblock settings, and trade in that Homefill for a real TV because Arrested Development is returning for a fifth season, according to Variety.

The official announcement was expected after star Jason Bateman tweeted this on Friday:

Look very probable I'm going to put some miles on the Stair Car this summer. Just officially signed on to more ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT today.

— Jason Bateman (@batemanjason) May 12, 2017

The comedy is known for its wordplay, recurring gags, and satire. It focuses on the Bluth Family, a dysfunctional clan of real estate developers and their trials and tribulations stemming from some light treason on the part of their patriarch, George Bluth (Jeffery Tambor). If this sounds familiar to you, you’re not the only one, as creator Mitchell Hurwitz had this to say in a recent statement:

“In talks with Netflix we all felt that stories about a narcissistic, erratically behaving family in the building business — and their desperate abuses of power — are really underrepresented on TV these days. I am so grateful to them and to 20th TV for making this dream of mine come true in bringing the Bluths, George Sr., Lucille and the kids; Michael, Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric, George-Michael, and who am I forgetting, oh Tiffany. Did I say Tiffany? — back to the glorious stream of life.”

The entire cast is expected to return, though Netflix may have its work cut out for it when it comes to scheduling, as many of the stars are involved in other hit shows. Jessica Walter (Archer), Tony Hale (Veep), and Will Arnett (BoJack Horseman) in particular. The new episodes should be available to stream in 2018.

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Pirates of the Dark Water: A Forgotten Cartoon Ripe For A Cinematic Universe

By

Ruben Diaz

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May 17, 2017

In the age of the entertainment remixes, we’re getting all manner of reboots, remakes, and re-imaginings. Coming soon is the Hasbro cinematic universe that will feature and connect five 80s classic cartoons: M.A.S.K, Visionaries, Micronauts, ROM, and GI Joe. My inner 12-year-old is doing flips and cartwheels across a meadow made of candy. My present-day self is writing this article about Pirates of the Dark Water, a forgotten 90s cartoon that would make for as good a cinematic universe as any other.

Come with me, into a world of re-imagination!

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12. Part Eight

In the final film, Bloth and his forces hunt Ren and his group one by one. Toran is killed but passes on power to both Welker and Tula that they can’t quite control. Ren is hunted by Bloth who orders his men to leave them both alone. Bloth taunts Ren with memories from his past before Ren finally ends Bloth.

Ren, Welker, and Tula confront Dracolich with the Treasures of Rule, a suit of armor that shapes itself to the wearer. The trio uses all their powers, with Ren wearing the Treasures, to defeat Morpho and repel the Dark Water back from where it came.

There you have it. Pirates of the Dark Water, a 90s cartoon that few ever talk about re-imagined as an eight-movie cinematic universe. There’s room to grow, too. So, if Warner Brothers are listening, I’ll joyfully write the scripts for a low fee.

Did you like my re-imagining? More are coming, and I take suggestions. Got a cartoon you think I could re-imagine? Post it in the comments below.

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‘The Witcher Saga’ is Coming to Netflix

By

Joseph Rejent

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May 17, 2017

Following the wild success of the video game series, Netflix will develop and produce a television show adapted from The Witcher Saga. But based on initial appearances, it seems that the series will be more closely related to the original source material, the eight novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. Sapkowski’s novels have been a widespread success in their own right, topping the New York Times bestselling list numerous times. They have also been translated into 20 different languages.

The series follows main character Geralt of Rivia, who became a “witcher,” or a person made to develop supernatural abilities through training and body modification, at a young age. Witchers use these abilities to hunt and battle various monsters and mythical creatures. Sapkowski’s enthusiasm about the adaptation is palpable. “I’m thrilled that Netflix will be doing an adaptation of my stories, staying true to the source material and the themes that I have spent over thirty years writing,” he explained in a press release. “I’m excited about our efforts together, as well as the team assembled to shepherd these characters to life.” Sapkowski will himself serve as a creative consultant for the series, so he will likely make sure that the adaptation remains true to his novels.

The rest of the team is similarly impressive. Tomek Bagiński, director of the Oscar nominated short The Cathedral, who also directed the introductory videos for each of the three games, will be helming at least one episode per season. Sean Daniel and Jason Brown (from The Expanse) have signed on as executive producers, in addition to Bagiński and Jarek Sawko from Polish production company Platige Image.

Sawko and Bagiński were careful to mention how important the nuances of the original work were to them. “There is a moral and intellectual depth in these books which goes beyond genre,” they said. “It is a story about today and today’s challenges, hidden under a fantasy cover. It is a story about us, about the monster and the hero inside all of our hearts.”

There is no further information about casting or directorial choices, so until they are announced, all we can do is hope the Netflix series is better than the Saga’s other adaptation, Poland’s The Hexer.

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Jordan Peele is Bringing ‘Lovecraft Country’ to HBO

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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May 17, 2017

Jordan Peele has become one of the hottest directing commodities over the last few months, after the release of his incredible, racially-charged horror Get Out. And now, he’s heading to Lovecraft Country with HBO.

Here is a synopsis of the material from Deadline:

Lovecraft Country, the 2016 novel from Matt Ruff, focuses on 25-year-old Atticus Black. After his father goes missing, Black joins up with his friend Letitia and his Uncle George to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America to find him. This begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the malevolent spirits that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.

Sounds perfect for the talents of Jordan Peele, who has recently said in several places that he is all in on the horror genre, and he has several ideas percolating.

The series will be on HBO, and will be a horror anthology, which is something we need to return to television. Also, Peele is executive producing along with J.J. Abrams and Ben Stephenson. #pedigree.

There is no release date or shooting schedule for Lovecraft Country, but if I were a betting man I would say the fall of 2018 makes the most sense.

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Is ‘Justice League’ Going Through “Major” Reshoots?

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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May 17, 2017

Reshoots have made their way to the DC Cinematic Universe’s upcoming Justice League, according to a report at Splash Report.

Now, for all the standard disclaimers: reshoots are normal, many films as big as Justice League go through reshoots, etcetera etcetera. But this news seems to indicate that the reshoots are basically remaking the entire movie. Yes yes, that sounds incredibly normal, everything is fine, nothing to see here.

The anonymous source who spoke to Splash Report said these reshoots will pretty much remake the whole thing… twice:

They refused to offer any further details, but they said that Warner Bros. is really putting everything it has into overhauling the movie. Apparently, they didn’t like what they were seeing and so the film has had a lot of work put into trying to make it better while on its way towards its November 2017 release.

Take this however you’d like, but before all the tinfoil hat DCEU fans get angry, I just want to say don’t shoot the messenger. I am inherently more attached to the DC characters than anyone over at the MCU, I love these heroes and want to see them do well in a big cinematic universe. But Zack Snyder has, to this point, made it incredibly difficult to get behind his vision.

Wonder Woman looks great, buzz seems decent thus far, and it’s directed by Patty Jenkins. NOT Zack Snyder. There was little to no mention of reshoots with Wonder Woman, which is positive, and I hope it’s as great and exciting as it looks. But David Ayer’s Suicide Squad underwent “extensive reshoots” before its release and that movie turned out to be an epic disaster in just about every way. I’m all for the DCEU forging their own path in the opposite direction of the canned MCU assembly line movies. But this doesn’t appear to be working.

Fingers crossed that this news is nothing more than status quo. And who knows, it might be a complete fabrication. Some Warner Bros. insiders are flatly denying the rumors, so there’s that. But this same site broke news of Rogue One reshoots, though that turned out to be a terrific movie with limited reshoots, so this could be entirely overblown. But it sure sounds more concerning than a few changes here and there.

Justice League has a lt riding on it; if it’s a failure, I wouldn’t be totally shocked if the entire DCEU is scrapped and taken in an entirely different direction. They can’t keep shoveling out shit and expect fans of these characters to embrace Snyder’s vision. Unless the intent is to create enough controversy and make movies so uneven that people go to the theater just to see how much of a mess they are.

Justice League opens November 17.

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