Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, as some of you may have seen, last year I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus and on this podcast, I talk about various topics in film and reviews as well on a biweekly basis. As for the latest episode, it is an in-depth yet casual discussion of the superhero films of 2017!
Anyway here’s the episode 45:
So this year we had 6 major superhero films in a variety of flavours and most were a good time at the cinema, though not all of the films were met with positive reviews. So in this episode, we cover all 6 films in chronological order from Logan to Justice League discussing our thoughts on each film and then ranking them in our own lists towards the end. And yes I said we as I have a wonderful guest joining me for this episode in the form of Eddie from Jaccendo.com to offer his insight on these blockbuster films. Also be aware will be spoilers for Logan, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Wonder Woman, and possibly minor ones Spider-Man but I am not too sure about that one.
As I mentioned before I’ll cover a different topic or review in each episode and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂
So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you can. Also, you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining in future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, as some of you may have seen, last year I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus and on this podcast, I talk about various topics in film and reviews as well on a biweekly basis. As for the latest episode, it is a recap/review of the summer movies of 2017!
Anyway here’s the episode 37:
So episode 37 of Film Focus is the longest one yet as we do a pretty in-depth recap of the summer movies. And yes you read that correctly, I said “we”, as this episode marks the first time I have a guest on the podcast as I’m joined by Drew from Drew’s Movie Reviews to discuss our thoughts on most of the films released over the course of the summer. Now obviously there will be blind spots in our list because we didn’t have the time or interest to see everything, but I think we did a decent job, plus it was just a really fun to have a different voice on the podcast. The conversation flowed in a casual and relaxed manner and I’m super thankful to Drew for joining me. From The Fate of the Furious to American Made, we get cover a lot of films that came out from April through to August.
There were also a lot of films I saw but never got around to reviewing on my blog, I also have mini review for:
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
The Big Sick
Atomic Blonde
The Hitman’s Bodyguard
Detroit
Logan Lucky
American Made
The Dark Tower
As I mentioned before I’ll cover a different topic or review in each episode and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂
So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you can. Also, you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, as some of you may have seen, last year I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus and on this podcast, I talk about various topics in film and reviews as well on a biweekly basis. As for the latest episode, it was actually done a few weeks ago and the topic was on theme songs in superhero films.
Anyway here’s the episode 36:
In this episode, I cover theme songs in superhero films and their importance not only to the characters they represent but also how they enhance the overall film experience when you have memorable themes. So from the John Williams Superman theme to Danny Elfman’s Spider-Man theme to the recent theme from Batman V Superman/Wonder Woman by Junkie XL, I cover some of the most recognisable and less notable themes that I feel should be talked about. Now I should have uploaded this podcast episode weeks ago but I got super busy and then forgot until now. Scheduling around work has become a tad complicated and tedious. Hopefully, the latest episode will be done soon.
As I mentioned before I’ll cover a different topic or review in each episode and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂
So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you can. Also, you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, as some of you may have seen, last year I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus and on this podcast I talk about various topics in film and reviews as well on a biweekly basis. Now you may be wondering, “Where’s episode 32?” Well it exists, I just forgot to post about it on here so here’s a link: https://soundcloud.com/film_focus/episode-32-godzilla-2014-vs-kong-skull-island
As for the latest episode of the podcast features my review of Wonder Woman 🙂
Anyway here’s the episode 33:
Now I already did a written review for this film on Thursday but had to do audio based review just to expand upon my thoughts on not just the film itself but my expectations for the film during the marketing phase and how I’ve felt about the DCEU films so far. I was surprised by how short this episode turned out to be considering how I could have said a lot more about it had my memory banks been in check. 😛 Anyway I hope you all enjoy the episode. 🙂
As I mentioned before in each episode I’ll cover a different topic and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂
So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you can. Also you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents, how’s it going? So today is a special day as I finally get to talk about Wonder Woman, the latest film from Warner Bros. and DC Films and is the fourth film in the DC Expanded Universe. So after three pretty divisive films, WB and DC had a lot deliver to people who weren’t on board with the previous offerings of the DCEU, me included. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate Man of Steel, but I didn’t love it, Batman V Superman was a long-winded chore with Batman being the only thing I liked, and with Suicide Squad being a frustrating mess, my hope for the DCEU was waning. And so with Wonder Woman I wanted to love it, not only because the marketing made the film look good, but also because I wanted to see a good film in this cinematic universe. So does Wonder Woman succeed? Well read on and find out!
So the story can be described as the following:
“Before she was Wonder Woman she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained warrior. When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, she leaves home to fight a war to end all wars, discovering her full powers and true destiny.”
I thought the story was pretty good. What I enjoyed about was Diana’s whole journey, learning about her early days and how she learnt about the world and was eager to become a warrior, and then later in her adult life discovering man, the world and the horrors of war. All of that material was handled well. I also liked how this film was able to be serious but also light-weighted and humours, there were some nice subtle yet notable moments which covered race, greek mythology, the never-ending nature of war and equality. If I had any complaints I would just say that some of the story plays out as you would expect and no there weren’t any major surprises or super stand out plot points, but that’s it. One final thing of note, I felt like this film had a lot of similarities to Captain America: The First Avenger and Winter Solider when it came to the war-like setting, certain plot points and the way the character was handled, while that’s not a knock against this film it was very surprising to see how lose some of the similarities were.
The cast was pretty good, everyone whether their roles were big or small performed well. Firstly Gal Gadot impressed me as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, while I thought Gadot was fine in BvS, she really brought her A-game with her performance in this film. Diana was smart, brave, curious, perceptive and fun and it was really interesting seeing her discover the pros and cons of existing in the world beyond her homeland and Gadot’s performance had far more range and depth than anything I’ve seen from her so far and at this point I’m happy with her incarnation of the character. I also really loved Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, he was a charming man who was not only funny but also rational, skeptical and was afraid to break the rules. Pine’s performance was so delightful and engaging and it reminded me of why I love him as an actor as he can strike that basis between being light-hearted and dramatic pretty well. Then there’s Robin Wright who was awesome as General Antiope, of all of the Amazon women she was the best, Antiope was practical, harsh yet fair and was very cool both on and off of the battlefield. Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta was fine, she had some nice moments but overall she wasn’t as compelling as her sister. Danny Huston as General Erich Ludendorff was good, he played his part well but was a little forgettable until the latter side of the film and the same could be said for Elena Anaya as Doctor Isabel Maru/Doctor Poison, she had some notable moments but when she wasn’t around I kind of forgot about her character. Also for those not away of David Thewlis’ role in this film let just say that enjoyed what he brought to this film, it was quite fun and surprising. And finally I have to mention Saïd Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner and Eugene Brave Rock who played Trevor’s allies Samee, Charlie and Chief, each of them brought a level of charm, fun and weight to their characters.
When it comes to the presentation if was very good for the most part. Visually the film was very striking with good cinematography, use of vivid colours, and good visual effects. The action sequences were pretty badass with Wonder Woman and some of the other Amazonian fighters dishing out the pain in some very athletic and brutal ways, and I appreciated the creativity with the fight choreography too. If I had any complaints it would be that some of the CGI and green screen was a little off at times, and the use of slow motion got a little overdone especially during the fight scenes, I understand that slow mo is used for dramatic effect but it didn’t need to be as frequent as it was. The film score from Rupert Gregson-Williams was decent, it certainly had moments to stand out and shine especially in the moments where it used the theme from Batman V Superman, otherwise the music was fine but nothing too memorable.
In conclusion Wonder Woman was really good, while it didn’t set my world on fire, it was a solid film that exceeded my expectations in terms of the story, characters and action sequences. It is easily the best film in the DCEU so far (though not a hard task to pull off) and I would recommend it, well done DC and WB.
So have you seen Wonder Woman and if so what did you think of it? Did it meet your expectations or were you disappointed? Also where does it stand with you in terms of the previous DCEU films? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to leave them in the comments section below and I’ll see you on the next review, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents, time for my top 12 most anticipated films of 2017, I know it’s almost 2 weeks into 2017 and most people have done their lists already, but I had to sort out PART 1, 2 & 3 of my Films to Look Out For in 2017 lists first. Now I’m finally ready to reveal the films I’m most looking forward to. Now this was a hard list to put together so this some of these films aren’t specifically in order (mainly in the lower half). But anyway let’s get on with this list.
12. Wonder Woman
This is the superhero film from DC and Warner Bros that I’m the most curious/excited to see, not only is the first solo film for Wonder Woman, but it is also the first film in the DCEU not handled by Zack Snyder (not counting David Ayer). I’m just very fascinated to see how this film plays out, the second trailer really sold me on this film with its vibrant colour palette, cool action sequences and interesting characters. I hope this film succeeds.
11. The Fate of the Furious
While I’m not overly keen on the idea of Dom going against the very people he’s had such strong ties to for so many films now, but hey if it means we can get Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson teaming up then I think I’m cool with it. The film will be interesting to see how the story plays out, but more importantly for all the crazy action sequences, I really want to know how that submarine fits into this film. 😛
10. Dunkirk
This is the first war film from Christopher Nolan, I think that’s all that I need to say haha. But seriously that’s my main reasons for watching this film, that and the cast.
9. Kong: Skull Island
I’m really curious to see how this film turns out, I was initially really exited for this film, but the second trailer with the humour and overall atmosphere wasn’t as good as the last trailer. I have hope for this just because I want a good King Kong film with some cool mystery, mythology and potential ties that could set up the crossover film with Godzilla in 2020,
8. Thor Ragnarok
I think it is safe to say that Thor is the least loved Avenger, even though he works well in the Avengers films, his solo films haven’t fared to well with certain fans and critics. I love the first film and don’t care for The Dark World, but Ragnarok has the potential to be the best of the three with the incorporation of Ragnarok, Hela, the Planet Hulk storyline and seeing what Taika Waititi can do with an MCU film? I’m down.
7. John Wick Chapter Two
The first film was a lot of fun and as soon as I saw the teaser for this sequel it caught my attention straight away. I’m just looking forward to some more kick ass action with Keanu Reeves being a badass.
6. Kingsman The Golden Circle
The first Kingsman was one of my favourite films of 2014 and while I didn’t need a sequel, I am glad that it exists just so I can see where Eggsy’s and his crew advance to and see how these new characters factor into the story.
5. Logan
Here we have a film I’ve been looking forward to for a while now, but wasn’t absurdly excited for until I saw that trailer. The trailer for this film totally took me by surprise and now all I can hope is that the film is half as good as the trailer is. Logan looks dramatic, violent and totally different from what we’ve seen from the X-Men film series so far, I can only hope it delivers the goods.
4. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man is my boy, he was awesome in Civil War and now has his solo film on the horizon and so far it looks really good. I already love Tom Holland in the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, I can’t wait to see how Michael Keaton handles Vulture, and finally I just hope that this film is the one that gets that right balance of high drama with superhero adventures right. This could be Spectacular Spider-Man in live-action if we’re lucky.
3. War For the Planet of the Apes
If this film is as good as the trailer suggests, then War could be part of one of the best trilogy of films in recent film history. I really want to see the war between humans and apes kick off, seems like Caesar is done being patient and forgiving and will butt heads with Woody Harrelson (who looks crazy cool).
2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
I feel like the wait for this film has been SO long, my love for Guardians of the Galaxy was pretty intense back in the summer of 2014 and I’ve been ready for so long to see these characters back in action. Now we’re only around 4 months away and the details we’ve gotten James Gunn and the first trailers have only made me more excited, can’t wait to see the visual spectacle and hear that new soundtrack.
1. Star Wars Episode VIII
I think we all knew that Star Wars was gonna end up at number one, while there are many other films that have me excited for different reasons whether they be first time adaptations or original films, seeing the next chapter in the episodic Star Wars films. Regardless of your thoughts on The Force Awakens, it was still a solid film which set up this new world of
Now I know the majority of my list are all major blockbuster films and a good few of them are comic book films but I can’t help it, I like what I like and I want awesome comic book adaptations. So what are your most anticipated films of the year? Drop me a comment below and I’ll see ya on the next blog post, laters! 😀
Howdy people of the interweb and welcome to Films to look out for in 2017! This is my preview of upcoming films that I believe deserve your attention. In PART 1 I covered films from January to March, and in this post I’ll be covering April to July.
Now before we begin I have two main things I need to point out:
Obviously a lot of films come out, so if they’re not on my list it’s either because I don’t know about them or I don’t care…
2016 films getting their UK releases this year don’t count! So there. 😛
Okay then, let’s start 😀
Going in Style
Release Date: April 7th (USA & UK)
Trailer:
I saw the trailer for this the other day and I felt mixed about it. On the one hand it is an interesting concept of having three old guys going off to steal some money when their financial situations become problematic, but it also looks very questionable with some of the humourous situations that they’ll get into. To put it simply, this film looks like Last Vegas, except with old guys being robbers instead, I like the lead men and this could be fun, if handled correctly.
Gifted
Release Date: April 12th (USA), June 16th (UK)
Trailer:
I’m interested in this film for three reasons: 1) I loved Chris Evans. 😛 2) I’m curious to see what Marc Webb’s been up to since those Amazing Spider-Man films. And 3) The premise for this film sounds intriguing and I’m liking the look of trailer so I hope it’ll be as good as I’m hoping.
The Fate of the Furious
Release Date: April 14th (US & UK)
Trailer:
At this point you’re either on the Fast and Furious hype or not, but for those of us who are we’re pretty curious to see how this series progresses, not only because it’ll be the first film without Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner but also because Dom Torreto seems to have turned on his people and has teamed up with the enemy. I think the series should have ended with Furious 7 considering the send off for Paul Walker, but considering the money that film made, you knew this series was gonna continue regardless. The trailer for this new film looks like the same chaotic and nonsensical fun we’ve seen from the last few films, I just hope that some of the changes aren’t going to make the film less interesting.
The Lost City of Z
Release Date: April 17th (USA)
Trailer:
I’ve heard a lot of talk about this film since last year and it has an interesting premise, but the main reason I want to watch this is because of Tom Holland. There’s no UK release but hopefully since its being distributed by Amazon Studios it’ll be available on Amazon Video at some point for Prime members like myself.
The Circle
Release Date: April 28th (USA)
Trailer:
Here we have another interesting film with no UK release date, but I’m liking what I’m seeing in the trailer and it has a really impressive cast including Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega, Karen Gillan, Patton Oswalt, and Bill Paxton? Sign me up yo!
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Release Date: April 28th (UK), May 5th (USA)
Trailer:
Guardians of the Galaxy was one oft he best surprises of 2014, I mean I knew it’d be good, but for it to be as fun and different as it was, it changed the landscape of the MCU and the types of comic book films that could be made going forward. So far I’m totally happy with the marketing for this sequel with the humour, beautiful visuals and my favourite people, Groot and Drax looking to be standout characters once again.
Alien: Covenant
Release Date: May 19th (USA & UK)
Trailer:
I wasn’t the biggest fan of Prometheus when it came out in 2012, and subsequent viewings didn’t do much to change my opinion, the film had some interesting ideas and was a beautiful film, but most of the characters besides Michael Fassbender’s David we idiots or just really boring. So the idea of a sequel to that film wasn’t too high on my list of films to check out this year, however, that trailer that dropped on Christmas day has swayed me a little, it looks violent and has some elements of the first and second Alien films (the best ones), so I am curious to see if this could be the Alien film I’ve been waiting for.
Wonder Woman
Release Date: June 2nd (USA & UK)
Trailer:
This film has the potential to be really good or really bad depending on the story and central performance from Gal Gadot. It seems like a fair amount of people have embraced her as this character after Batman V Superman, but this solo film will be the real to see if her character can shine on her own. I thought the first Comic-Con trailer was fine, but the second trailer was much better with the action and visual presentation, I hope this can be a win for Warner Bros. and DC because they need it.
The Mummy
Release Date: June 9th (USA & UK)
Trailer:
I wasn’t too interesting a reboot of this franchise, until Tom Cruise was attached and the additional cast came along and kept my interest going. Now the trailer wasn’t the most impressive thing ever, and that Tom Cruise scream will be stuck my head forever, but that being said I’m curious to se how this turns out.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Release Date: July 7th USA & UK)
Trailer:
Spider-Man is my all-time favourite superhero and he has had 2 great films, 1 decent one and 1 terrible one, after 2014 I thought I might be done with live-action Spidey films for a little while, and yet last year, Civil War showed me that I was completely wrong, that I could love Spidey in films again in a fresh yet classic way. I’ve liked what I’ve seen of this new Spidey film from the set pictures to the first trailers, I hope the film is as good as I’m hoping because it has the potential to be the best Spidey film to date.
War for the Planet of the Apes
Release Date: July 14th (USA & UK)
Trailer:
Rise of the Planet of the Apes was one of the best surprise films of 2011, and Dawn was a dramatic and character-driven adventure, both of these films have been really fun, exciting, badass and surprising captivating. So with this sequel I’ve been excited for the last few years to see where this franchise would go and after that first trailer I am so hyped for to see this film in July.
Dunkirk
Release Date: July 21st (USA & UK)
Trailer:
I’ve pretty much liked every film that Christopher Nolan’s made and this is probably his most realistic and grounded film for a while, so I am curious to see how he handles a film in the war genre, the trailer looks good and I’m excited to see the cast especially Kenneth Branagh and Cillian Murphy.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Release Date: July 21st (USA) August 4th (UK)
Trailer:
I heard about this film I think after Comic-Con last year and I wasn’t too keen on the promotional images, and wasn’t too fussed about this film until I saw the trailer. Now while I’m not too sure on what the plot is, and I don’t really care for the music, on a purely visual level the film looks insane! The amount of creativity, colour, detail and crazy designs of the aliens and locations is mind-boggling and depending on if the film is good or not I may want to see this in IMAX. Now I wasn’t the biggest fan of Lucy so I am cautious, but I like Dane DeHaan so here’s hoping there with be some substance to this spectacle.
The Dark Tower
Release Date: July 28th (USA & UK)
I’ve heard a lot about this film from the years it’s been trying to be made from different studios to finally getting into production with Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey in the lead roles. I’ve never read the book, but I am interested in this film just to see how it turns out.
The Coldest City
Release Date: July 28th (USA), July 28th (UK)
I had no clue this film was coming out until I looked it up and the more I’ve looked into it the more excited I’ve intrigued I’ve gotten. Firstly its a spy thriller film which has my interest already, plus you have a good cast including Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman and Sofia Boutella. And you have the fact that it’ll be helmed by David Leitch, one half of the directing team behind John Wick, and will also be responsible for directing the Deadpool sequel? It sound like this film will be cool to watch.
Alrighty then, that’s PART 2 done. Thanks a lot for reading. Are any of the films listed on your personal list of films to watch? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to drop them below and I’ll see you for PART 3! Laters 😀
Good day to you ladies and gents, once again another crazy session at San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone, and if you’re fan of comics, film and TV then you’re more than likely hyped for this event. So between Thursday and Saturday this week us fans were treated to a plethora of information in form of interviews, trailers and descriptions of panels and footage, and man, it was an overwhelming amount of gorgeous announcements. While some of the stuff that shown off was expected, at the same time there were plenty of unexpected announcements and it was glorious as a fan of several of these different franchises to get all of this information. The hype is real right now and just trying to think of it all right now is boggling my mind! But like last year, I’m gonna try to show off my personal highlights from SDCC 2016 😀
Doctor Strange Trailer #2
Yo, this was the best thing I could have woken up to. I had heard rumours of a second trailer for Doctor Strange being released during Comic-Con, but I wasn’t sure it was going to happen, but sure enough it did and it was glorious! And while this wasn’t super amazing, it was certainly fascinating to watch. We got some additional details on Steven Strange’s path to becoming the Sorcerer Supreme with his training, use of magic and interaction with other characters, we also got to see more of the main cast especially with the extra scenes of Mads Mikkelsen as the villain and Benedict Wong as Wong. What I’m loving is how Marvel Studios are embracing the supernatural elements of the source material which is reflected in some of the dialogue and plot, but mainly with the visual presentation which is super trippy, colourful beyond comprehension and clearly got an Inception kind of feel but times twenty! Cumberbatch looks so cool especially with the way he puts on that cloak and I love that line at the end of the trailer with Baron Mordo giving Strange the Wi-Fi password, that was great. I’ve been hyped for this film for ages, but now the hype has gotten so much higher! 😀
Wonder Woman Trailer
Okay so the Wonder Woman trailer has finally been released and I have to say that I’m intrigued and definitely down for this film more so than before. The thing about Gal Gadot’s version of Wonder Woman is that she’s pretty, but I don’t find her intimidating or badass, and while she had her moments in Batman V Superman, I wasn’t in love with her. However this trailer really seems to be winning me over with the good chemistry between Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, the WWI setting and the action sequences that look pretty cool. Oh and the colour, I’m liking the use of colour especially in WW’s costume and some of those action scenes look pretty hardcore. Oh and the use of WW’s theme from BvS, nice! My only issues with the trailer was the use of slow motion during the action scenes, these days it feels a little excessive in action movies and seeing some of WW’s movements, it looked a little awkward, but other than that the trailer’s good and I’m ready for this film.
Justice League Footage
But this footage was the real surprise for me, Justice League is still in production as far as I know and for there to be such polished-looking footage already is crazy, but welcomed for me. This footage if anything proved one single thing, that Justice League will be a different kettle of fish from the last two DCEU films with humour, light-heartedness and colour. I liked how Bruce and Diana were on the hunt for their superhero team and how these moments of banter between Diana and Bruce about Aquaman’s recruitment or the conversation between Bruce and Barry Allen. Ezra Miller’s version of the Flash is one that I think I’ll like a lot and Jason Momoa looks tough as nails as Aquaman, and overall it looks like this film will be good session. I will admit that this trailer lacked the style, charisma and impact of a proper trailer like Wonder Woman, but since the film’s not done with principal photography I’m gonna let it slide.
Kong: Skull Island Trailer
Out of every trailer that dropped from SDCC, this was the one that really caught me by surprise. I’ve been looking forward to this film for a while, but to see some actual footage and the tone this film is going for, I was like “Damn, this needs to be in my system now yo!” This film really has a Godzilla (2014) kind of vibe especially with that opening shot on the ocean with the use of colour and the dark clouds, but the style and tone feels more in line with a film from decades ago like the 1970’s. I also enjoyed seeing how big of a part Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman have with Jackson looking like the tough military guy and Goodman being some kind researcher familiar with the island. The visuals are looks very solid with some cool cinematography, big set pieces and King Kong, damn, how big is here? This film definitely establishes that Skull Island isn’t a place for humans, that it’s been around since the early times of Earth and that trespassers will meet their end, and that just excites me to see how dangerous this place and it’s inhabitants are.
Danai Gurira Joining Black Panther
This was one of the best small surprises for me, to have Danai Gurira from The Walking Dead come over to the MCU in the new Black Panther film? Hell yeah, she’s perfect to come into this film and to have her as the head Black Panther’s personal body guards it seems like a great role that’ll hopefully have some action material as Gurira excels at that in Walking Dead. And just in general to see Ryan Coogler talk so passionately about being a fan and working on Black Panther was great, but also seeing the current cast, Chadwick Boseman Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan and Danai Gurira together talking about their excitement for this new film was awesome.
Luke Cage & Iron Fist Trailers
And finally there’s the trailers from the first day of SDCC that got me all sweaty in the from of the trailers for the Netflix Marvel shows; Luke Cage and Iron Fist. And while there was this nice teaser for The Defenders, these trailers had actual footage and I’ve been hyped for these shows because of their potential in the future especially when it comes to crossovers. Firstly there’s Luke Cage and while there wasn’t really much in the way of story, this trailer definitely gives a look at the kind of tone, action and style of this show and how it’s different from Daredevil and Jessica Jones. I’m liking the action and how brutal/humourous it is with Cage just dispatching bad guys. And with Iron Fist there’s even less to see, but what glimpses we do get are pretty cool flashbacks to a young Danny Rand and his mum in a plane crash and then being found by monks in the snow, then fast forward to modern times with Rand being restrained in a bed and then smashing through that wall. I liked it, Finn Jones looks cool and with the music it really felt mystical and otherworldly.
And so that brings my highlights from this year’s SDCC to a close, what was your favourite material from Comic-Con this year? Whatever they are be sure to comment below and let me know and I’ll see ya on the next blog post, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents, time for some more film news and today I will be talking about the big announcement relating to DC’s upcoming Wonder Woman film. The following information comes from superherohype:
It was just over a week ago that word broke that Warner Bros. Pictures was keen on signing “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead” director Michelle MacLaren to helm their long-awaited DC Comics adaptation Wonder Woman. Today, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the deal is done! MacLaren will both develop and direct the solo film with Charles Roven and Zack and Deborah Snyder producing.
Gal Gadot is already set to headline Wonder Woman with the character planned to make her first cinematic appearance in 2016′s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. She may even make additional appearances across DC’s new cinematic universe before her solo film sees release on June 23, 2017. It’s pretty much a guarantee, too, that Wonder Woman is also going to play an important role in Justice League Part One, hitting theaters November 10, 2017.
Recent rumors have suggested that, as a franchise, Wonder Woman is being targeted for development as a trilogy with the first film planned to take place in the 1920s, revealing Themyscira’s first encounter with the outside world and Wonder Woman’s own experiences with a USA that still had a lot to learn about equal rights. Then, it is alleged, a sequel would take place in the 1940s and will be set against the backdrop of World War II. A third film, then, would finally bring Wonder Woman’s solo adventures to a contemporary setting. Take all of that with a grain of salt, however.
MacLaren’s directing credits also include episodes of “Game of Thrones,” “The Leftovers” and the upcoming “Breaking Bad” spinoff “Better Call Saul.” She’s also well-known for serving as co-executive producer on the final two seasons of FOX’s “The X-Files.”
All I can say is, “This is some g mean that in a good way for anyone who was assuming otherwise haha. Now I remember hearing about the rumoured frontrunners for the directing role for this film, but I didn’t think much of it because 1) It was all rumour and 2) I was not fussed about any of the choices because I’m not overly familiar with the Wonder Woman source material, plus I can’t say that I cared that much. That being said, now that he have a director on this film, I can start to speculate and get an idea of how this film will start to take shape, and the choice of Michelle MacLaren is certainly a good one. MacLaren has an impressive resume working on shows like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and The Leftovers, and while she doesn’t have any film experience from my understanding, it seems like her work on TV will definitely give this new film an interesting kind of flavour. MacLaren sort of reminds me of Alan Taylor when he was brought on to direct Thor: The Dark World, he didn’t have experience in film but had worked on Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire and he was able to add something interesting to the MCU, let’s hope that MacLaren can do the same for DC.
Good day to you ladies and gentlemen, today I return to you to talk about more comic book film-related news that’s been going down over the last few days. So with the big rumoured announcement surrounding Captain America 3, DC and Warner Bros. deceived to fight back with their own big film announcement and as one person put it online “Go to Defcon 3.”
While speaking at Time Warner Investor Day, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara fully revealed their DC Comics movie slate, which was previously filled with nine untitled films.
2018 will see the release of two solo DC films with The Flash on March 23, 2018, starringThe Perks of Being a Wallflower and We Need to Talk About Kevin‘s Ezra Miller in the title role, in addition to Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa, on July 27. We’ll also get a sequel toThe LEGO Movie on May 25 and the second Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them later that year.
In 2019, WB will release Shazam, starring Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam, on April 5, 2019, and Justice League Part Two, once again to be directed by Zack Snyder, on June 14, 2019 .
2020 brings us two more solo films with Cyborg, starring Ray Fisher, on April 3, 2020 and a reboot of Green Lantern on June 19. A third Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will also be released later that year.
Furthermore WB has also confirmed that solo films for both Batman and Superman are also in development though no release date has been set for either. Here are highlights from the press release:
As part of his presentation, Tsujihara announced a bold expansion of the industry’s broadest theatrical slate, built around the largest, most important global franchises. Warner Bros. Pictures will release three LEGO-branded films over the next four years, building upon the enormous success of this year’s “The LEGO Movie” ($468 million worldwide box office), starting with “Ninjago” in 2016, directed by Charlie Bean and produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Batman will take a star turn in “The LEGO Batman Movie” in 2017, directed by Chris McKay, and the sequel, “The LEGO Movie 2,” will debut in 2018.
The Studio will release three pictures, in 2016, 2018 and 2020, based on best-selling author J.K. Rowling’s original story and screenwriting debut, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” Set in an extension of her familiar wizarding world, featuring magical creatures and characters inspired by Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbook and its fictitious author, Newt Scamander, “Fantastic Beasts” will be directed by David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter movies, and reunite the filmmaking team of David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram.
And, in a massive expansion of the Studio’s DC Entertainment-branded content, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema will release a slate of at least 10 movies–as well as stand-alone Batman and Superman films–from 2016 through 2020 that expands this prized universe of characters:
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” directed by Zack Snyder (2016)
“Suicide Squad,” directed by David Ayer (2016)
“Wonder Woman,” starring Gal Gadot (2017)
“Justice League Part One,” directed by Zack Snyder, with Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams reprising their roles (2017)
“The Flash,” starring Ezra Miller (2018)
“Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa (2018)
“Shazam” (2019)
“Justice League Part Two,” directed by Zack Snyder (2019)
“Cyborg,” starring Ray Fisher (2020)
“Green Lantern” (2020)
Well, damn, this came out of nowhere. Now don’t get me wrong, it isn’t like Warner Bros. and DC hasn’t been making announcements since their Batman V Superman film has been in production, but I didn’t think their progress was real… Until now. Looks like these companies are starting to show some balls now and I’m surprised. They have been cowering in the shadows while Marvel have been taking all the glory in the film department, but now they have a list of films dating up until2020, that’s a long way off, but the fact of the matter is, after all this time, we see that there are plans of DC Comics’ character and they will have a their day in live-action, provided that the film schedule works out. Now I have to say that I am a bit of a Marvel fanboy and I love how much they are owning everyone in the realm of live-action comic book films (with the exception of 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. from time to time), but to hear that some of these films will actually start happening, it does make me super giddy and curious as to how it will turn out.
As for the films chosen, it is interesting the way they’ve structured it. Did not expect there to be a two-part Justice League film, they must have some major story plans for that if they’re calling part one and two. As for the Suicide Squad film, I’m not too fussed, however, having David Ayer behind it does make the project seem more interesting. I know of the SQ and their iterations in Arrow and Batman: Assault on Arkham., but to have a film based on them is a bit risky since they aren’t that well-known, but hey, if Marvel can make something as obscure as Guardians of the Galaxy mainstream, then DC can try it too right? And speaking of risky, I’m not sold on the choice of actor relating to The Flash, now I like Ezra Miller a lot, but he does not come across as superhero material at all, ESPECIALLY when it comes to someone as cool as the Flash, but hey, maybe he and the filmmakers will prove us wrong, but man they will have their work cut out for them, the internet fan boys aren’t too happy about this decision.
As for the rest of the films, Wonder Woman, I dunno, Gal Gadot is gonna have to do something amazing in BvS to prove that she deserves her own solo film. Shazam, I’m sold, I only know a bit about the character from Young Justice, but he seems like such a cool character that belongs on the big screen at some point. Aquaman sounds like a badass in the comics these days, so it will be interesting to see id that cool version of the character can be translated into live action with Jason Momoa. Cyborg is the one I’m not too interested in seeing a solo film about, why? Because as much as I’ve liked him in the animated adaptations of Teen Titans and Young Justice, I’ve always liked him as an ensemble character rather than having a solo film focused on him. And finally, there’s Green Lantern, coming back to the world of live-action after nine years, well it will be by that point, hopefully they’ll get it right the next time.
So all in all this is good news and I’m intrigued for Warner Bros. and DC have coming up in the future beyond BvS, if they can play their cards right.
Anyways, what do you think of this news and which new film are you excited for the most? Please comment below and let me know people! Laters. 😀
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