Sesame Street is on a hot streak lately. They have had guests like Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage and Tom Hiddleston and now they have brought together two titans of discontent, Oscar the Grouch and Grumpy Cat. Get ready for the internet to explode.
Two enter, one leaves. Who you got?
It looks like we will have to wait another year before aliens return to destroy us all. The sequel to Independence Day has been delayed a year from to July 3, 2015 to July 1, 2016.
This move works for the movie in two different ways. First, it will move the sequel out of the overcrowded summer of 2015 which will see the release of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Batman vs. Superman, Terminator 5 and Pirates of the Caribbean 5. Second, it will have the film releasing almost twenty years to the day of the first one. Independence Day released on July 3, 1996.
Director Roland Emmerich has said that there are two scripts written for the movie depending on if Will Smith signs on for the sequel or not.
Disney has released the first trailer for next summer’s Maleficent. Angelina Jolie stars as the evil mistress who sets out to curse Princess Aurora. The movie will show how her character transforms from protector to villain which lead to the events in Sleeping Beauty.
The trailer looks beautiful and already looks like it will be better than this year’s Oz, The Great and Powerful with its dark tones.
Maleficent releases on May 30, 2014.
Disney has released the first poster for next summer’s Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie as the Sleeping Beauty villain. The trailer for the movie will be released tomorrow but until then you can stare at this poster and wonder just what she is hiding under that costume.
It’s children. The answer is small African children.
You knew when Ben Affleck was cast as Batman that long time friend Kevin Smith would be privy to some inside information and true to form the lucky bastard has seen Affleck’s Batman costume. He revealed his thoughts about the new look on his Hollywood Babble-On podcast which I believe is the 33rd podcast he does a week…which is cool.
“I saw the Batman costume. More than that I saw a picture of him (Affleck) in the costume. Now, I don’t want to give anything away ’cause that is up to them and stuff, but I am going to say this, I instantly bear hugged him (Snyder). You have not seen this costume in a movie on film before, and for a comic book fan it was mind bending. I was like ‘Get out of here, only you have enough power to pull this off.’ Because everyone always like does this Matrix/X-Men black armor…It was fantastic. I’m already a flag waver for this movie, but the costume, it blew my mind. I think everyone is just gonna be like ‘Holy ****!’ It’s its own thing, man. It’s like we haven’t been down this path at all. I was so elated….Even the hardest core “**** all this” person will be like ‘alright, I’m ready.”
Thanks for keeping my expectations low there Kev. There were already rumors that the new look was going to be based on the Batman: Noel graphic novel so reading Smith’s thoughts makes me think we will finally get a grey and black costume like the comics. If that is true, I will bearhug Zack Snyder too.
Thor was Marvel’s biggest gamble when it released in 2011. Movie audiences had accepted Iron Man but would they connect with a superhero steeped in mythology and magic? Luckily Thor was a hit thanks to good casting, Kenneth Branagh’s direction and knowing that the film was one of the lead-ins to The Avengers. Now comes the tricky part; making the character’s continuing story interesting.
Thor: The Dark World takes place two years after Thor and one year after The Avengers with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) doing her scientist thing and following spatial anomalies in hopes of tracking down her god with the perfect abs. This leads to her finding a weapon called the Aether which binds itself to her and reawakens Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), a Dark Elf who needs it to cover the nine realms in eternal darkness. You know, comic book stuff.
When Malekith attacks Asgard and kills one of their own it is all hands on deck to bring him down. The only difference is that Thor and Odin’s plans are exact opposites with Odin acting like the young, war-hungry Thor from the first film letting vengeance guide him and Thor wants to lead Malekith far away from Asgard to spare as many lives as possible. I liked this twist in roles that shows exactly how Thor has embraced his role and matured.
One large plus that the Thor franchise has over any other Marvel movie is that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is going to be involved. He once again steals the movie as the fallen prince who tried to take over Earth. He spends his days locked in a dungeon prison until Thor has no choice but to break him out to show him a secret path out of Asgard. As with everything involving the character there are many illusions and lots of subterfuge involved and some of it you will not see coming, even though you know Loki has something planned out.
Thor: The Dark World benefits from its director, Alan Taylor. One of the regular directors for Game of Thrones, the show’s influence can be seen and felt all during the movie. From Asgardian forces in battle to how the city looks during celebrations and also with the clothing that is less royalty and more cloaks of Westeros. Branagh used his Shakespeare background in the first movie to the best of his ability and Taylor does the same with his use of realism in a fantasy setting.
With Loki taking up the grey area between good and evil Malekith is enough of a presence to keep the proceedings moving forward. He is not a legendary villain like Red Skull but he is a constant threat even if his character and motivation is a bit by the numbers.
The secondary cast have plenty of time to contribute. This could have easily been Thor & Loki’s Excellent Adventure but the script gives each character at least one or two times to shine. Sif and the Warriors Two (I say two because Hogun is helping his home world to begin the movie) are just as loyal to Thor as ever even to bring treason on themselves. I like how they are already planting seeds for the third Thor with Sif’s apparent feelings for Thor and her obvious wonder at why he loves a mortal. Zachary Levi takes over the role of Fandral (which he was cast for in the first movie but had to decline due to his schedule) and is charming as hell. Idris Elba as Heimdall once again proves that he is amazing in everything and even Rene Russo’s Frigga gets a chance to show off more than a glimpse of being a badass for a nice change of pace.
I am here to tell you that reports of Thor: The Dark World’s mediocrity are exaggerated. Now that we know these characters we get a chance to see them further fleshed out including the parts that could have easily been left by the wayside. Where Iron Man has Tony Stark’s personality and Captain America has his never-ending belief in doing good to push their roles forward, Thor relies on family ties and they are explored and exploited in good ways in Thor: The Dark World and it does it while setting up Thor 3, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers: Age of Ultron at the same time. By the hammer of Thor indeed.
Thor landed in first as expected with $86.1 million which is nowhere near the insane $175 million Iron Man 3 opened with back in May but it was a good increase over the original film’s opening of $65 million in 2011. In two weeks the sequel has amassed a hefty $327 million worldwide and will pass the original’s entire theatrical run next week.
Thor and company should rule the box office again next week and then will have to get out of the way for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on November 22nd which is looking to have an insane $150 million opening.
1. Thor: The Dark World- $86.1 million/ $86.1 million
2. Bad Grandpa- $11.3/ $78.7
3. Free Birds- $11.1/ $38.1
4. Last Vegas- $11.1/ $33.5
5. Ender’s Game- $10.8/ $44.0
6. Gravity- $8.4/ $231.1
7. 12 Years a Slave- $6.6/ $17.3
8. Captain Phillips- $5.8/ $90.9
9. About Time- $5.1/ $6.6
10. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2- $2.8/ $109.9
Disney ended all speculation today by announcing that Star Wars Episode VII would release on December 18, 2015. It will be the first Star Wars movie to not open in the summer. Keeping with the times it will release in 3D (yay?) so expect a lot of lightsabers coming at the screen.
Recently J.J. Abrams asked Disney to delay the movie until 2016 but got a no from the Disney executives so this seems to be the closest thing Abrams would get. The director has teamed up with The Empire Strikes Back writer Lawrence Kasdan to take over the script from screenwriter Michael Arndt to get the project back on track. The new release date also makes sure that Disney’s eggs aren’t all in the same basket with The Avengers: Age of Ultron opening in May 2015. Now with Episode VII in December Disney should rule the year at the box office.
It doesn’t have to match the quality of the original films, just be better than the prequels. Please.
The newest trailer for Robocop is here and it is full of new footage including more ED-209 fun.
I know most may write this off as just another remake but I believe this can be something more than that. If they are able to use the same cynical look at society that the original movie showed and use the cast to its potential then this should be a lot of fun.
Robocop releases on February 12, 2014.
Marvel and Netflix have agreed to a huge deal that will see the creation of four new TV series which will all lead into a team-up miniseries. Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage will all get their own series with at least 13 episodes and once those are done all four characters will star in a miniseries called The Defenders which will see them teaming up.
Daredevil will get his series first in 2015 with the other characters to follow. For Daredevil fans this has to be exciting news especially for our own Daredevil expert, Trey Sterling. I think that Daredevil’s fight to keep Hell’s Kitchen safe works better as a gritty series instead of a movie. Also, how fucking cool is it that we live in a world where we can actually have an Iron Fist TV series?!
Alan Fine, president of Marvel Entertainment had this to say:
“This deal is unparalleled in its scope and size, and reinforces our commitment to deliver Marvel’s brand, content and characters across all platforms of storytelling. Netflix offers an incredible platform for the kind of rich storytelling that is Marvel’s specialty. This serialized epic expands the narrative possibilities of on-demand television and gives fans the flexibility to immerse themselves how and when they want in what’s sure to be a thrilling and engaging adventure.”
Netflix has done some great things lately with their original programming including House of Cards and bringing back Arrested Development. This deal with Marvel is on a whole different level. It shows both Marvel and Netflix’s desire to branch out into unknown territory. Let’s hope they do the characters justice.