‘Gotham’ TV Series Exploring Commissioner Gordon’s Origin Coming to Fox

September 25, 2013 James Henshaw Leave a comment

Over the years DC have been pretty successful with TV shows based on its flagship characters. Superman has enjoyed numerous incarnations such as Lois and Clark as well as CW’s Smallville. CW also has Arrow, based on the adventures of the titular Green Arrow. Batman has had a few himself, mainly animated, including the bloody amazing Batman: The Animated Series. Now Fox are planning to revisit Gotham City with a series, currently titled Gotham, following the early years of Gotham Central’s finest, James Gordon. Gotham will be headed up by The Mentalist creator Bruno Heller who has signed on for a series commitment.

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Pilot Review: Does It Succeed? Yes, It Does.

September 24, 2013 Chris Tansuche Leave a comment

At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, there was a debate as to what would be the most anticipated panel. A lot of people said Game of Thrones, the Marvel panel or the Catching Fire panels would be the most sought after panels. However, judging from the fanbase in Ballroom 20, on Friday at 1:45pm, you would think that the Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. panel was going to be the best one out there. The question was whether we were going to get an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot. We heard that word clips and small snipets were going to be used but executive producer Jeph Loeb made tons of fans happy by announcing we were getting a pilot. Now they had our attention. Does it satisfy Joss Whedon fans? Of course. Will it appeal to a consistent mainstream audience? Well, we’ll answer that question later. I will say that the pilot was an absolute Whedon-fest of family, snappy dialogue and quick pacing that made the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot all the more enjoyable despite the limitations of being on the small screen.

I’m going to try to keep this as spoiler free as possible but obviously I have to explain what’s going on. The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot picks up after the Battle of New York, and the repercussions of that (much like Iron Man 3). It’s a brave new world out there, and we are introduced to Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) as he James Bond’s his way through stealing, sneaking, beating and all that fun espionage stuff. The opening sequence was fast, funny and strikingly violent, revealing Ward to be the muscle and badass, loner character we all need to create future conflict. I love Whedon’s direction in this sequence because it reminded me of the opening to Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol. Whedon knows how to direct action and keep bits of humor throughout and create depth and get more out of the character on the pages.

We soon get our introduction to a new unit in S.H.I.E.L.D. with Agent Hill (Cobie Smulders, returning for a possible recurring then permanent gig after HIMYM ends) putting together a team to help investigate and assess the phenomenons in the world today. From this point, we finally get to see all the hype that #CoulsonLives has been building up to as Clark Gregg makes his triumphant return to the Marvel Universe. He’s eager and ready to go and we get a tiny resolution as to why he’s still up and kicking. Of course, we get a Firefly cameo from Shepard (Ron Glass) that will get the fanboys and fangirls squealing, explaining that there’s more to the #CoulsonLives scenario that everyone realizes.

The first mission introduces us to a bunch of characters that work extremely well together as they hunt down a super-powered hooded ‘hero’ (J. August Richards) that just jumped on the radar. A hacker named Skye (Chloe Bennet) has been tracking him and Coulson sees an opportunity with her to help each other out. Other people on the team include scientists Fitz and Simmons (Iain de Caesstecker and Elizabeth Henstridge, respectively) and stoic ‘pilot’ Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen). All these characters has mysteries and enigmas the series will explore but putting them all together, they have great chemistry and play off each other well.

Bennet has a fangirl type of curiosity and charisma she brings to the table and almost acts as the audience as she delves further into this world of espionage. Dalton and Ming-Na play the badass well with Dalton getting into a great sequence with Skye in an interrogation room. The “twins”, Fitz and Simmons, could be my new favorite duo as they finish each others sentences and work so well with each other, I would watch a pilot of them alone as they navigate and conquer their niche of science in this world. Of course, Clark Gregg is the biggest draw as he serves as a direct connection to the cinematic universe. He obviously plays Coulson brilliantly as the hilariously dry leader of this team. They also don’t try to make him the centerpiece, just as the glue to this ensemble that he ties together effortlessly.

The action in the pilot is quick and well shot by Whedon, who clearly still carries a deft eye for television. However, the production works effectively with a TV budget and creates a great spy and superhero world to explore in the future. The dialogue and story carries a lot of heart and humor that Whedon typifies in his work and carries the major theme of family, which is familiar ground. Although sustainability will remain the big question, because for all the Marvel references, whether we see heroes or major players in the MCU, it depends on the TV audience. These heroes will have to establish themselves quickly as people the audience will dedicate one day a week to watch.

Overall, I loved the pilot. The pacing was great. The action was crisp and believable. The production was terrific. The cast works brilliantly together. Whether that’s a testament to Joss Whedon directing or the writing remains to be seen but when you watch the pilot, you feel the same magic you got from watching Buffy and Firefly and other brilliant shows. This one is definitely one to watch and on September 24th, 2013, you can enjoy it as much as the rest of Ballroom 20.

Images: SuperHeroHype, Collider

Movie News & Opinions

Ender’s Game: New Posters and Official Images – Are You Ready to Join the International Fleet?

September 21, 2013 James Henshaw Leave a comment

Gavin Hood’s (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) has not been without its media attention, and not always for the best reasons, but following on from the promotion we saw at SDCC, there has been a new set of poster released ahead of the November 1st opening. These new promotional posters use the tried and tested propaganda style that the likes of X-MEN: Days of Future Past have also adopted.

There have also been some new stills released from the movie detailing what looks to be some great visual effects. The posters and the stills do not reveal much that we don’t already know about the movie, which has been adapted from the award winning novel by Orson Scott Card.

Ender’s Game, starring Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, with Abigail Breslin and Harrison Ford, is set in the near future when a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer.

With the central characters of the movie being young heroes, distributors Lionsgate will be hoping to build another successful tween franchise to rival the likes of Twilight and Harry Potter, much like they did with the successful Hunger Games. Hopefully Hood will keep some of the tone and focus of the novel to keep adults on board and get them buying tickets too. The novel has also become suggested reading for many military organizations, including the United States Marine Corps.

[box_dark]Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.[/box_dark]

Enders Game opens nationwide on November 1, 2013.

Movie Trailers

Escape From Tomorrow Trailer Shows Us The Dark Side of Disney

September 20, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

I think we can all agree that in a certain light Disney can seem like a dark universe to immerse yourself into. If it’s not Buzz Lightyear losing his arm in a botched flight, then it’s Bambi’s mum getting blown away by hunters. Disney mixes a bit of the mildly macabre into their movies for the obvious dramatic effects. So it is interesting to see this new film trailer come out that focuses on this very aspect. Escape From Tomorrow is directed by Randy Moore, who filmed inside Disney theme parks secretly, without Disney’s knowledge or approval. It got some much deserved attention at Sundance, as well as some noted buzz for the unusual filming method, which is never a bad thing.

escape from tomorrow trailer poster

Before you watch here is a brief synopsis of the movie from Slash Film

[box_dark]In a world of fake castles and anthropomorphic rodents, an epic battle begins when an unemployed fathers sanity is challenged by a chance encounter with two underage girls on holiday.[/box_dark]

Well, that sounds freaky enough for this reviewer as it is, but here is the trailer if you have the bottle to watch it. [Ed. Note: Apparently ‘having the bottle’ is British slang for ‘having guts’, or ‘cojones’. We think. Knowledge is Power.]

http://youtu.be/1nfU_5NWBoE

Now it is really difficult from the random images that assault our senses to know what the hell is going on but what you do get is a very unnerving feeling of unease. The black and white photography gives it a stark and disturbing look and gives the place a very disconnecting feel. Also certain creepy images stand out that all combine to make quite the powerful piece of entertainment. The setting is a key factor as well, taking this recognized area where we assume children are meant to be safe and twisting it on its head. this alone puts the viewer off kilter, which continues throughout the trailer.

Much like Eraserhead (the classic David Lynch movie) it seems to be able to plunge us into this fathers mind and makes you think about whether what you are watching is real or the ramblings of a mad man. Looks like a very small cast to so it should be easier for the audience to get emotionally connected to the characters. It is always great to see surrealist concepts put onto screen and it looks like this film will be full of them.

So far Disney has not taken any legal action against the film, which does seem a bit of a shock as they are very protective of their faimly freindly name. It has been touring the festivals and has a release date in October, so it won’ be long before we see just what the heck is going on with this movie. Check out this interview with the cast and crew, which goes into more detail on their reasons for making the movie and the problems they had while making it.

THE INTERWEBS

Unknown Fan Films – Aquaman: The Cast of the Angler

September 20, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

Comic books have appeared in most people’s lives at some time, whether it be the cheeky antics of comedy comic characters like Dennis the Menace, superhero exploits with titles like Superman or even the funny pages in your local newspaper. Somewhere, somehow, you will have come across this medium. With comic book movies becoming a huge draw at the box office as of late, interest in comic books has never been higher. But there was a time before this when the comic book moviegoer was starved for attention when it came to movies about their favorite superhero teams. So what did these fans do? They just made the movies themselves.

With the introduction of YouTube, it became even easier to make your own superhero movie and be able share it with the world. Now, I am a huge fan of these fan films and have seen quite a few. While browsing through the internet, I decided to do a series of articles highlighting some of these movies. So for your viewing pleasure, here is part one of this series and today we focus on a DC character who never seems to get a fair deal, the lord of the DC Universe oceans, Aquaman.

Aquaman is a hero that has gone through various character changes to try to make him more relatable to an audience but for the most part, he always seems to get slammed by fans who for some reason see him as a kind of joke. The recent DC Comics New 52 version of Aquaman has helped to change perception of this hero, even making jokes about how people see him as a fishy loser. Gone is the messed up 90s hero with a trident for a hand and a crazy beard and long gone is the campy hero who used to ride a sea-horse to work.

But in 1984, the campy version of the hero was definitely still alive and kicking and made his heroic entrance to the world of entertainment via this film The Cast of the Angler. This has to be one of the greatest attempts so far to put Aquaman onto the small screen (yes, even better than Smallville). Shot for $10,000 by students Thomas Farr and Jeff Klein, with very little crew to help, they were able to create something which when viewed, came off as unique if nothing else. They were also able to secure DC Comics permission to film, something which they may not have been able to pull together in this day and age. It is certainly an amazing achievement to make something like this under the restrictions the team had. Look below to see a quote from Thomas Farr’s YouTube page just to see what they were up against.

Jeff Klein and I (Thomas Farr) produced Aquaman while attending film school at CSUN. Permission was granted by DC COMICS to make the film after we send our script to Jenette Kahn President of DC COMICS at that time. The film won several awards.

While I was attending a comic book convention in the 90’s, I came across our film inside the Super Hero video bins. It had been pirated and turned into a double feature with a WB pilot of Justice League of America. It was touted as a WB Pilot that was not picked up for series (which I found funny). Most of the crew have gone on to careers in the industry.

The Adam West Batman influence shows and is the driving force behind this show. Much like Batman, the reason The Cast of the Angler works so well is because Aquaman plays it so straight. Showing its influences even more, it goes so far as to have its own animated intro. You thought Batman was a campy classic? Well, Aquaman managed to fill a whole 20 minutes with camptastic events. The acting is either over-the-top or not there at all with Aquaman being quite a dullard throughout, but still managing to be strangely entertaining. Here we have an Aquaman who uses his fishy friends for more sinister purposes, the main sufferer being the starfish that Aquaman uses as a flying death star. You heard it right, this Aquaman does not take prisoners.

If this was not enough to keep you going the main villain of the piece is The Angler, a guy with a fishing hat and mask on his face (similar to The Weather Man in the awful yet amazing JLA TV movie) and needs a daily dose of potassium to keep him going. You read correctly, he is addicted to bananas and they pop up all over this little short. Why they did not attempt to use a more established baddie for this, like say Black Manta, I do not know. For this however, this new villain works perfectly. There is not much more plot than Aquaman going out find The Angler and he gets to kick his goons’ backsides before taking on the big guy himself. To say too much would spoil the fun of watching the events unravel but I will say that it is hilarious. Whether it was meant to be or hardly matters at all. It is a must see for fans of over-the-top superhero action.

http://youtu.be/flWDxkK5kKc

AMC Announces The Walking Dead Spin-off Series

September 20, 2013 James Henshaw Leave a comment

Like buses, announcements in Hollywood tend to come in at least twos. Only last week, it was confirmed that AMC are prepping a prequel spin-off series of Breaking Bad focusing on Saul Goodman. Now AMC have announced what they are calling a ‘companion’ show to their ever popular and critically acclaimed series The Walking Dead.

Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman will serve as executive producer on the new series alongside Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert. Kirkman is clearly still in love with the project and stated, “After 10 years of writing the comic book series and being so close to the debut of our fourth, I couldn’t be more thrilled about getting the chance to create a new corner of The Walking Dead universe.”

The Walking Dead — Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman

AMC President and General Manager Charlie Collier added, “Building on the success of the most popular show on television is literally a no-brainer. We look forward to working with Robert [Kirkman], Gale [Anne Hurd] and Dave [Alpert] again as we develop an entirely new story and cast of characters. It’s a big world and we can’t wait to give fans another unforgettable view of the zombie apocalypse.”

There have been no further plot details as of yet, but it looks likely that the series will focus on new characters not yet in the original show. Kirkman has already stated that, “The opportunity to make a show that isn’t tethered by the events of the comic book, and is truly a blank page, has set my creativity racing.”

While it is exciting to see that AMC are looking to expand the Walking Dead universe (set in in the UK perhaps? …Anyone?), is there any need? Do Kirkman and company have plans for the likes of Rick, Darryl, Michonne and the rest of the survivors, that leads to them to need look ahead to another story? At any rate, it looks as if we won’t be finding out anytime soon as the series is currently aiming for a 2015 release date.

In case you don’t remember, The Walking Dead returns with season 4 in the United States on the 13th of October and will be followed in the UK on the 18th of October but for now, you can check out this The Walking Dead season four teaser.

Grizzly Bomb

Yearly Archives: 2013