Abed predicted it… but he was talking about NBC’s super-dead ‘The Cape.’
Well, at least we made it to six seasons of ‘Community’ with Yahoo! (of all places) saving the show after NBC cut the cord. (Here’s hoping something similar happens to ‘Constantine.’ You need a DC/Horror show, Yahoo!?).
Sure, we’re down half the original cast from the glad-he’s-gone Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase) to the oh-my-God-I-can’t-believe-the-show-still-works without Troy Barnes (Donald Glover). And then the ‘meh’ Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown).
“Troy and Abed in the…” will never be the same (or possible) without Donald Glover. #DonaldGlover4Spider-Man.
But, have no fear, creator Dan Harmon is here (after being booted from the show in the abysmal 4th season due to conflicts between him and apparently-he’s-a-true-dick-in-person Chevy Chase). The episodes previewed here seem to capture that ‘Community’ magic of classic episodes like the 1st Paintball ep, the conspiracy theory ep, the Halloween zombie ep, and Meow-Meow beans.
And though we also lost recent addition Professor Buzz Hickey (Jonathan Banks), better known as Mike Ehrmantraut on ‘Breaking Bad,’ again, the show must go on.
We’ll miss you too, Mike. I mean Jonathan Banks.
Still, it looks like additions Paget Brewster (from one of my favorite prematurely cancelled shows, ‘Andy Richter Controls the Universe’) and, even better, Ernie Hudson (‘Ghostbusters,’ duh) will bring much needed, entertaining new blood to make up for all the characters ‘Community’ has lost over the years.
Long story short, watch the trailer for Season Six of ‘Community,’ which is just as wacky as ever. It may have borrowed a few ideas from the various ‘Age of Ultron’ trailers.
[EDIT]: Apparenly Yahoo! is a bitch, so even though I embeded the video, you still need to click their link to view it. On the plus side… it is full screen! Wow.
As good as the other trailers for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ have been, the third and final preview for Marvel’s next film takes the cake. It takes ALL the cake.
Watch Now! Talk Later!
Prepare to have your socks knocked off (not literally, though that is possible)!
That opening speech… is Ultron JEALOUS of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? Awwwww. That’s so cute.
But seriously, that trailer is the very definition of coo-coo-bananas.
Capt. Fights Quicksilver.
And that “Vision” comment… for those not in the know, Vision is the character whose eyes we see at the tail end of the trailer.
Nick and Andrew play the 2nd and final round of the Oscars Game: 2015!
Arguments over the Street Sharks “Jawsome!” legitimacy lead to Nick and Andrew’s ‘Elektra’ lament. They watched the ‘Daredevil’ spin-off as part of their “POS Film Series” and you get to hear about it… without having to watch the not-so-Jawsome movie yourself! Talk ends with ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ as it always does, where our heroes disagree about the appeal of the poster for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ 2nd big-screen adventure.
Now with “The Stan Lee Theory!”
Chris Pine cries for no man! Except a single tear for Leonard Nimoy! (Okay, he’s crying at the Oscars…)
Tune in every Friday for a new ‘Breaking Geek’ podcast!
Though we’ve seen no sign of him in the trailers (like Vision) and his mug isn’t on the New Poster (unlike Vision who flies above our classic team), said poster still proves that this fan-favorite from ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ made the cut when it comes to the new, almost overfulling roster of Avengers this summer.
I’m talking about Anthony Mackie who plays Sam Wilson/Falcon. Look at the poster below, courtesy of Cinema Blend.
Check out that highlighted name. Yup, that’s Anthony Mackie alright.
The poster is crowded as hell, which could be why we don’t see Falcon along with his best friend Steve Rogers aka Captain America. Wilson is not even in the released scene where James Rhodes/War Machine/One-Time Iron Patriot (Don Cheadle) tries to helps team Stark lift Thor’s Hammer. Of course, none are worthy, except for Rogers who pulls the hammer just a few inches… so imagine if he had future-Captain America helping him lift that sucker.
Since we haven’t seen Falcon at all yet, the other explanation is that he is barely in the movie, which is the safest bet. He’ll likely have a small role like Nick Fury, and the Asgardian’s ALSO listed on the poster.
You can also see Tom Hiddleson (Loki), Idris Elba (Asgard’s Gate Keeper), and Stellen Skarsgard (Scientist gone mad in 2012′ ‘Avengers’) made the cast list at the bottom of the poster as well. So more fun from Asgard and Thor’s world!
Finally, even Hayley Atwell makes the cut. A recent fan favorite who premiered in ‘Captain America: The First Avenger,’ appeared as an old woman with CGI make-up magic in ‘The Winter Soldier,’ finally landing her own Marvel One-Shot and mini-series based upon it.
Atwell’s Agent Peggy Carter seems to be tightly intertwined with the early age of S.H.I.E.L.D. It is assumed that Scarlet Witch messes with the minds of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, controlling the Hulk and sending Captain America into a flashback to what was or what could have been in the 1940s.
Or, Peggy Carter could be used for some exposition on the ‘Ultron Program’ which was dormant before Tony Stark kick-starts it in ‘Age of Ultron’ After all, her show ‘Agent Carter’ delves into the earliest years of the MCU and she is also in the cast for ‘Ant-Man’ which should fill in some gaps around the years of a younger Hank Pym and middle-aged Howard Stark.
Peggy Carter will fill in some blanks in Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man’s origin. Above: Paul Rudd as Scott Lang and Michael Douglas as an older Hank Pym.
Whatever the case, watch for fan favorites Falcon, Loki, and Peggy Carter in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ on May 1st!
Though the painted poster-style of artists like the incomparable Drew Struzan may be dead, the final poster for ‘Age of Ultron’ is way classier and less of a Photoshop mess than the final poster for the 1st film.
Or the Photoshop messes of overcrowded ‘Iron Man 3,’ ‘Thor: The Dark World,’ and ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier’ posters. (The ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ poster was actually pretty sweet…)
This poster, though also a Photoshopped hodgepodge, has way more style and is much more pleasing to the eye than Marvel Studios’ previous attempts at a good “final” poster for a film.
Here it is.
The official poster for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron.’
There you go. Notice the curved flow of the images, making the poster more pleasing to the eye, as art, than any of the previous posters from Marvel Studios.
Plus, we get Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, AND our best official look at The Vision yet! No “Ultron Prime,” though. Just the Ultron Drones.
And my favorite Avenger, Captain America, is finally front and center where he belongs! Team leader (now with high franchise potential)! Capt.’s not wedged behind Iron Man and Thor like last time!
Andrew runs the show! Nick still steers talk towards Spider-Man. Andrew pushes on to his own guilty pleasures and blindsides Nick with some ‘Mission: Impossible 5’ news. Pod ends with ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ and movie-going experiences discussion.
Monday night Marvel made an announcement on their website (web… site… webs… like Spider-Man!) announcing to the world that Sony and Marvel Studios/Disney have reached an agreement to bring Marvel’s most popular character Spider-Man into Marvel’s most successful franchise/universe: the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Welcome to the MCU, Web-Head!
The official announcement from Marvel’s website is below. Following that quick read, let’s break down what all this means for Spider-Man, Sony, Marvel Studios, and the rest of the MCU’s Phase 3, which has been shuffled due to the addition of a Spider-Man solo pic in 2017.
(Culver City, California, and Burbank, California February 09, 2015) – Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios announced today that Sony is bringing Marvel into the amazing world of Spider-Man.
Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017, in a film that will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger. Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.
Marvel and Sony Pictures are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films.
The new relationship follows a decade of speculation among fans about whether Spider-Man – who has always been an integral and important part of the larger Marvel Universe in the comic books – could become part of the Marvel Universe on the big screen. Spider-Man has more than 50 years of history in Marvel’s world, and with this deal, fans will be able to experience Spider-Man taking his rightful place among other Super Heroes in the MCU.
Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company said: “Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s great characters, beloved around the world. We’re thrilled to work with Sony Pictures to bring the iconic web-slinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which opens up fantastic new opportunities for storytelling and franchise building.”
“We always want to collaborate with the best and most successful filmmakers to grow our franchises and develop our characters. Marvel, Kevin Feige and Amy, who helped orchestrate this deal, are the perfect team to help produce the next chapter of Spider-Man,” said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. “This is the right decision for the franchise, for our business, for Marvel, and for the fans.”
“Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios share a love for the characters in the Spider-Man universe and have a long, successful history of working together. This new level of collaboration is the perfect way to take Peter Parker’s story into the future,” added Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.
“I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie,” said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. “Amy has been deeply involved in the realization on film of one of the world’s most beloved characters. Marvel’s involvement will hopefully deliver the creative continuity and authenticity that fans demand from the MCU. I am equally excited for the opportunity to have Spider-Man appear in the MCU, something which both we at Marvel, and fans alike, have been looking forward to for years.”
Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.
Let’s put all this in Layman’s terms. I’ll answer the questions this deal raises right now!
Does Marvel Studios Own the ‘Spider-Man’ License now?
Spider-Man has a love history with Captain Marvel… who is also getting a solo movie in Phase 3.
No. In fact, no money has changed hands. Marvel doesn’t need to pay Sony anything for Spider-Man’s inclusion in the MCU. Sony doesn’t need to pay Marvel Studios any money for their characters’ appearances in ‘Spider-Man’ films.
Spider-Man will make an appearance in a MCU property, most likely 2016’s ‘Captain America: Civil War’ which already features Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Anthony Mackie back from ‘Winter Soldier’ as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Frank Grillo back as Brock Rumlow now running around as Crossbones, new classic Capt. villain Baron Zemo played by Daniel Bruhl, and introducing Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther.
That’s a very full playing field and I would be worried, but the same writers and directors from ‘Winter Soldier’ are returning and, simply put, ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ is the best MCU film yet.
After appearing in ‘Civil War’ made by Marvel Studios (there’s a small chance Spider-Man may instead appear in 2016’s ‘Dr. Strange,’ but that hero pairing makes less sense), Spider-Man will get his own solo-pic on July 28th, 2017.
Marvel makes the MCU movie, Sony does all production on the solo-Spider-Man films like the apparent “reboot” of Spider-Man as a member of the MCU. They split the money.
Movie Spider-Man has many new MCU friends!
Sony saves their crumbling 4 billion dollar ‘Spider-Man’ franchise (after ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ fell below expectations and alienated Spider-Man fans who have seen 3 bad films too many) with the might and creative input of Marvel’s incredibly successful MCU overseen by Kevin Feige.
Sony keeps all rights and has all final say on the new ‘Spider-Man’ films, though Feige will partner with Amy Pascal, who recently stepped down as President of Sony to head the production company handling Spider-Man for Sony.
Sony gets the good-will of the MCU and Marvel gets to use Spider-Man in their extended universe.
They will split the profits as they have in the past with the ‘Spider-Man’ franchise.
What Does This Deal Mean For ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 3’ and ‘Sinister Six?’
There’s a bit of confusion here. Since Marvel is introducing a new Spider-Man, said to be high-school age to contrast the older Avengers who are all in their thirties and forties, it seems Andrew Garfield is out. It is also assumed the ‘Amazing’ header is kaput, with a brand new era starting for the web-slinger.
There are reports that Sony still wants to make ‘Sinister Six,’ ‘Venom,’ and a female-team-up with characters from Spider-Man’s universe like Spider-Woman. It is not clear how these fit in the new continuity, as ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’ was basically a big set-up for ‘Sinister Six,’ and now it appears we are entering a new age of Spidey, ignoring not only the original Sam Raimi films but the Marc Webb directed ‘Amazing’ titles.
How Sony gets the other projects off the ground is a mystery; the scariest part of the equation. As they don’t need to consult Marvel with these titles which could be as poorly handled as ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2.’
‘Amazing Spider-Man 3’ appears to be dead, making way for a new title. Is it back to ‘Spider-Man’ with a subtitle (please!) or another book’s name like ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ or ‘The Sensational Spider-Man.’
Is Andrew Garfield Returning?
No! Both Garfield and director Webb are out of the equation now. Rejoice!
This movie is still about Peter Parker right?
Miles Morales from Marvel’s ‘Ultimate’ Universe
Not necessarily. Unless I missed it, the name Peter Parker is never mentioned in the announcement.
One way to shake up the franchise is to not use Peter at all and instead go with Miles Morales, who took over for Spider-Man in the ‘Ultimate’ Comics Universe after Peter Parker was killed by the Green Goblin.
Mile Morales is black, which would be an amazing change for the franchise. Is the story of a black nerd in Queens any different than if he was white?
Troy’s (Donald Glover) Spider-Man PJs on ‘Community’
You could even keep the name Peter Parker and go black. I really want the franchise to go this direction, mainly because I think comedian/rapper/actor Donald Glover would be an amazingly geeky, yet hilarious Spider-Man. Sony needs a funny-man like Glover to make those quips quippy enough for Spidey.
All this being said, Sony is apparently looking at Dylan O’Brien from MTV’s ‘Teen Wolf’ and ‘The Maze Runner’ and Logan Lerman from ‘Fury’ suggesting Spider-Man will remain a white Peter Parker.
Dylan O’Brien, possible Peter Parker.Logan Lerman, another possible Spidey.
What Does This Mean for the Rest of the MCU?
It’s shuffle time. Marvel may have already released their ‘Phase 3’ lineup last year, but the addition of Spider-Man shakes things up. First, by hitting July 2017 he takes ‘Black Panther’s release date, pushing Panther’s solo movie to November. Other films are pushed by several months including pushing the ‘Inhumans’ movie to AFTER ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Part 1 & 2.
Spider-Man’s inclusion in ‘Civil War’ could possibly bump or drastically shrink Black Panther’s role in that film.
Who knows what other changes Spider-Mans addition to the MCU will cause, as he could be a main player in a new Avengers team containing newbies Black Panther, Ant-Man, Dr. Strange, a Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson Captain America, and likely Quicksilver and his sister Scarlet Witch in ‘Infinity War’ and beyond! As long as Sony and Marvel continue to play nice.
Who Wins?
Everyone! Hopefully.
Sony gets the Marvel Studios bump to save their ‘Spider-Man’ property. Hopefully Kevin Feige’s influences improve the quality of films to a point even above Raimi’s.
Marvel Studios gets to use Spider-Man in at least one film, if not through Phase 3 and possibly 4. Their characters, like Daredevil, can also cross over into a Sony made, Spider-Man solo film.
We get to see Spider-Man alongside our new favorite heroes. Rocket and Spider-Man shooting the shit in ‘Avengers: Infinity War?’ Why not!
Rejoice! We’ve all won something special, something to look forward to for years to come.
Marvel Studios and Netflix have assembled as a super-team to create four Marvel shows. The first is ‘Daredevil,’ set to premiere all ten episodes on April 10th.
Ben Affleck in 2003’s ‘Daredevil’ film.
(Side-note: Marvel & Netflix also plan on spinning the four heroes from their four respective shows into a fifth show featuring Marvel’s lesser knon, Earth-bound superhero team: ‘The Defenders.’)
As anyone who saw the original 2003 ‘Daredevil’ film starring Ben Affleck knows, that movie was terrible (listen to Andrew and I rant about it on this podcast). So I assumed the character was equally terrible. Worst than terrible possibly; he’s a blind man whose superpower is sight!
Similarly, over a decade ago I initially assumed Batman was an awful character after witnessing the horror that was ‘Batman & Robin.’ But Nolan’s movies completely altered my perception of the Dark Knight and now I consider myself a sort of “Batman Scholar.”
Daredevil oversees his Hell’s Kitchen; his own personal Gotham.
Now I can see that Daredevil’s true power is that he can see in the dark as he sees everything through sonar (more-or-less). The superhuman hearing that allows said sonar sight also gives him an advantage when sneaking around criminals or listening in from afar.
Daredevil can hear through walls!
If you boil Daredevil down again (especially after viewing the trailer) he is basically Batman with the “Bat-Sonar” seen in the finale of ‘The Dark Knight.’ Minus the wealth and nickname, “World’s Greatest Detective.”
This ‘Daredevil’ trailer does seem to have a lot in common with Nolan’s Batman films… which is actually a great choice for the character. In a world where lighter heroes like Superman (‘Man of Steel’) and the Fantastic Four (‘FANT4STIC’) are getting overly dark movies in a reaction to ‘The Dark Knight’s success, Daredevil is a character who deserves that grittiness.
Doesn’t this all look familiar? Hunting bad guys around shipping containers. Disappearing in the shadows. Only, NOW WITH PARKOUR!
It’s no surprise that this MCU version of ‘Daredevil’ is drawing from the source material ‘The Man Without Fear’ graphic novel by Frank Miller. Frank Miller, who also wrote the graphic novel ‘Batman: Year One’ which served as the basis for ‘Batman Begins;’ both in scenes and tone.
Further proof is in the Costume. Rather than the “Devil red” suit Ben Affleck had to wear, the MCU’s Daredevil wears a black ninja-looking-getup with his eyes covered (because he doesn’t need to see! See?). This look was established by Frank Miller in ‘The Man Without Fear.’
Daredevil does indeed have a lot in common with Batman, lamenting about his corrupt city and jumping around rooftops, taking out bad-guys from the shadows.
I’m already on-board for anything MCU (except for ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D which lost my attention in season one), but this trailer finally makes me believe that ‘Daredevil’ can (and hopefully will) be awesome…
…Because he is Marvel’s equivalent of my favorite hero of all, The Batman (let’s not get into Tony Stark territory here).
While Matt Murdock (Daredevil’s secret identity) is just a poor lawyer in Hell’s Kitchen, Bruce Wayne is Gotham’s “drunk” playboy billionaire. But you know, other than that they’re the same.
Watch the trailer now and see if you agree!
You got Charlie Cox playing Matt Murdock/Daredevil and, most importantly, Vincent D’Onofrio playing Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin. A role played by Michael Clarke Duncan previously in the film.
Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk. The Kingpin.
There’s a lot to take in here, so we’ll cover that later. We do have 3 months until the show bows on April 10th.
Nick has to make his first edit. After an event that shall remain anonymous, Nick has to cut out part of the show… For the first time… Ever.
Nick and Andrew discuss recent ‘Daredevil’ and ‘Jurassic World’ trailers, slipping into ‘Mission: Impossible” talk and even Bradley Cooper conversation. And then there’s that edit… you’ll know when it happens, but never why.
I have here a load of screen grabs of all the new key moments in the 2nd ‘Jurassic World’ trailer that aired with the Superbowl. (I choose not to screen-grab the shit we’ve already seen. For brevity’s sake, bro.)
Now, I couldn’t find the trailer any higher def than 720p, so these glorious pics ain’t HD as hell, but there is still much to glean and enjoy their beauty.
Training Time
Chris Pratt proves he can outdo Robert Muldoon by training the clever creatures. (I refrain from using that ole’ JP pun… for now…)
Chris Pratt trains his pet Raptors. So they can help him one day live his dream of hunting down a hybrid-monster-dinosaur.
The Indominus Paddock
When dinosaurs live in paddocks as crazy as this super-sized version of ‘Jurassic Park’s Velociraptor pen… well… “That’s probably not a good idea.”
Where the monster lives.
The face of a cold-blooded killer.
Literally.
“Clever Girl”
Chris Pratt and an Employee Run For Their Lives from Indominus Rex
This won’t be the last time you see that claw.…And… the JW Employee is Gone!
Time to Hide, Mr. Pratt!
Make it like the old days! To rekindle old memories of people hiding back in 1993’s ‘Jurassic Park’
Money Shot!
Montage Time!
The Indominus Rex Kills Dinosaurs Like This One for Sport!I swear this image is from the new ‘Jurassic World’ trailer and not the original 1993 film.“Shoot Her!”The Jaws of Indominus Rex. Yes, he does have more teeth.Pterodactyls! Spooked by Indominus Rex tramping around Isla Nublar?It’s like Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Birds!’ Only they’re Pterpdactyls!
Lady gets grabbed…… And she’s gone too“We’re going after it.” But I won’t say if it’s my human team or my raptor team!Pratt Pops a Wheely. Seen with Raptors before and after this shot, so he choose his dino-team. Raptors…. ASSEMBLE!!!
Finally… Suffer the Little Children…
I told you last time his claw seems to be his most lethal feature behind his mouth.
There you have it. A bunch of “rad” screen grabs from the hours old ‘Jurassic World’ Superbowl trailer. Enjoy.
Wow. If the first trailer was subtle, then the 2nd ‘Jurassic World’ trailer promises you there’s loads of CGI dinosaur mayhem… and not just the brand-new “probably not a good idea” hybrid, Indominus Rex.
The cold stare of Indominus Rex
Speaking of Indominus Rex, we do see a lot of him. Pretty Bad-Ass, but again, no subtly or true surprise.
Yeah, this won’t be slow boil delightful like ‘Jurassic Park.’ This is more in-your-face-action involving helicopters, starving pterodactyls, and trained Velociraptor romp across Isla Nublar.
In preparation for its triumphant return for the 2nd part of the second season, NBC has dropped a full-throttle, full-length trailer similar to what you would see for a feature film. And it plays like a trailer for a fantastic action-movie/thriller, even though it’s a trailer for a two-episode plot involving Red’s (James Spader) worst nightmare: the escape of Luther Braxton (Ron Pearlman).
The episode ‘Luther Braxton’ looks great, with Ron Pearlman joining the show as what looks like the ‘Blacklists’s most terrifying criminal yet.
Watch the trailer now, and check out the episode ‘Luther Braxton’ after the Superbowl on NBC.
(Though Unlike ‘Constantine,’ ‘Blacklist’ doesn’t really need your eyeballs. It has strong ratings.)
On the (nearly) eve of the Superbowl, prior to the promise of a brand new trailer for ‘Jurassic World,’ the good folks at Universal have given us an official peak at the already infamous “Indominus Rex.”
(There are a bunch of more spoilery images of the beast confirmed correct if you wish to find them online. I’m just covering the official Universal Studios less spoilerly review of the creature.)
Nothing super-spoilery like a full image of the beast, but we have a sneak peak at the creature’s Godzilla type snout. We also have a “guide” to the dinosaur, showing us his “logo” with an outline of the beast, as well as a fake press-release explaining Jurassic World’s newest attraction.
Here’s the very vague face of Indominus Rex.
The official look at Indominus Rex. See, barely a real look. No spoilers!
Now, for a clearer look at the creature, without actually revealing the full beast itself, comes a graphic officially released by “the park.”It does live up to the top ad’s promise of “More Teeth.” But is it bigger and louder?
Notice the emphasis on the Indominus Rex’s clawed hand. It seems to be the creature’s most dangerous feature, besides the terrifying teeth above. Obviously, the arms are much more effective than a T-Rex, while keeping the overall shape of the classic movie-monster from the first two ‘Jurassic Park’ films.
AND GREAT NEWS! It’s not a dino/human hybrid from earlier drafts of the script. This was fixed, as promised and to the relief of ‘Jurassic Park’ fans across the interwebs.
Indominus Rex does seem to have a interesting toe as well, but the “official press release from the scientists at Jurassic World” doesn’t include Velociraptor as one of the species spliced into this hybrid as previously rumored (and hoped!).
Even has a T-Rex-esque Face Logo
There are a bunch of other Dinos and jargon I don’t understand, making this piece of viral marketing very effective. In addition to the description of the beast’s genetics we get its max speed and even the number of decibels produced by Indominus Rex’s roar.
“We set out to make Indominus the most fearsome dinosaur ever to be displayed at Jurassic World. The genetic engineers at our Hammond Creation Lab have more than delivered.
At first glance, Indominus most closely resembles a T. Rex. But its distinctive head ornamentation and ultra-tough bony osteoderms can be traced from Theropods known as Abeliosaurs. Indominus’ horns have been placed above the eye orbit through genetic material hybridized from Carnotaurus, Majungasaurus, Rugops and Gigantosaurus. Fearsome indeed.
Indominus’ roar is estimated to reach 140-160db—the same as a 747 taking off and landing. And it can reach speeds of 30 mph…while confined to its enclosure. Come experience Indominus Rex for yourself beginning this summer. If you dare.”
So it is louder. Much louder!
Run Chris Pratt! Run! You can’t make it up to 30 miles per hour like Indominus Rex! (But a jeep could out run it…)
Prepare to see a bunch of tourists eaten by Indominus Rex on June 12th.
Nick and Andrew discuss the trailer for the ‘Fantastic Four’ or… ‘FANT4STIC’ as Fox is calling it. Talk shifts to Disney’s plans for the ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise, whether or not they include Chris Pratt. And how can they not visit topics relating to other superhero films like ‘Justice League Dark’ and the future of Matt Ryan as John Constantine?
Get your favorite trailer condensed into 30 seconds!
Not really any new footage or dialog here, though the frightening instrumental version of ‘I’ve Got No Strings’ continues to be a theme. At this point, it sounds like it may even be incorporated in the final score!
I assume this is the Superbowl spot. If this is the case, this is very disappointing because, as I said, there’s nothing new here. Just a change in pacing to fit 30 seconds.
Hopefully there IS something new airing this Sunday during the NFL Championship. If not, at least this TV-Spot will ensure everyone in America will know the film is coming; even those who have been living under sport-rocks.
Disney owns the world these days. They possess Pixar, Marvel, and, of course, Lucasfilm. The latter’s purchase has thus far been focused on getting a new ‘Star Wars Trilogy’ off the ground, but now it looks like the House of Mouse may want to shine a little light on Lucasfilm’s other giant property: the ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise.
Even 7 years ago in 2008, it was the years AND the mileage.
While I liked ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ more than most, I don’t think Disney can put together a movie before Harrison Ford hits 80, so continuing the franchise is going to mean replacing Harrison Ford.
And who could possibly do that?
Indiana Jones is one of those characters so iconic, it seems silly that any other actor should wear his fedora.
And yet… there is one… one who could pick up the hat and make it fit.
Already in ‘Jurassic World,’ Pratt has the Indy look down pat.
I’m talking, of course, about 2014 Super-Star Chris Pratt who played Emit in ‘The Lego Movie’ and Peter ‘Star-Lord’ Quill in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’
I’m not the only one who noticed the similarities between Pratt’s Star-Lord and Ford’s Han Solo.
And it’s not necessarily blasphemy to recast such an iconic role (though I would have shot you for introducing the idea to me a year ago); after all, Sean Connery defined 007, but the character has since been played by a handful of iconic actors including Daniel Craig returning in 2015’s ‘SPECTRE.’
Indiana Jones is my favorite character from cinema so any mishandling or casting silly choices like Shia LeBeouf will ruin everything and send me home crying.
There is only one name I’m okay with to play Indiana Jones besides Harrison Ford: the aforementioned Chris Pratt.
Someone photo-shopped this over half a year ago, and I have since loved the idea of Chris Pratt playing a either a young Indiana Jones or Han Solo.
Chris Pratt is only 35, making him younger than Ford who played Henry Jones Jr. most famously in his 40’s. So, if this great casting comes true, expect adventures around the same time period as the 1st three films.
A few fears (AND DEMANDS) I have…
DO NOT REBOOT – Give us more Indy adventures within the same timeline, don’t start all over again.
How about a young Mac & Indy fighting Nazis? That work for you?
DO HIT WWII – I mentioned Pratt is younger than Ford when he played the role, but after hearing Mac and Jones briefly refer to their adventures serving in WWII in ‘Indy 4’ (the original Trilogy precedes the 2nd World War) I really want to see a movie about that.
GET A GOOD DIRECTOR! – Spielberg is #1 choice, but I’d say it’s incredibly unlikely he will direct another ‘Indiana Jones’ film, especially not one without the full team including Lucas and Ford.
Get a young lad like Colin Trevorrow who was handed the keys of ‘Jurassic World’ from Steven Spielberg after his indie film ‘Safety Not Guaranteed.’ You know, a young director with character experience; like the young Spielberg hot off ‘Jaws,’ defining his career.
A lot could go wrong, but casting Chris Pratt as Indiana Jones would be the 1st step in the right direction for my favorite cinematic character ever.
Of all the Blockbusters this year, the ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot has long been deemed a disaster, from other geeky blog sites not liking the casting choices, to an apparent temper-tantrum by director Josh Trank, and finally a complete lack of photos or footage…
Until today.
Why in the world is Fox’s calling it ‘FANT4STIC?’ Did they learn nothing from ‘TAK3N?’Our best look at The Thing.
Now we have a teaser-trailer and a poster; our first look at the film what-so-ever. And, though we have yet to see anything fantastic, the trailer’s images and tone are very interesting; very akin to the tone of Fox’s recent X-Men adventures ‘First Class’ and ‘Days of Future Past.’
Maybe a little creepier.
Ok, Definitely creepier!
It may not be ‘The Dark Knight,’ but this version of ‘Fantastic Four’ looks far darker than the overally-kid-friendly originals directed by Tim Story.
I’m now cautiously optimistic the film may be good; I do like the almost terrifying images of the crew’s transformation including Miles Teller painfully stretching for the first time as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic to The Thing (Jamie Bell) breaking out of a mass of rocks.
This apparent similarity in tone between Fox’s ‘Fantastic Four’ and their ‘X-Men’ franchise is no mistake, Fox plans on crossing their two Marvel properties into a mini-Fox Cinematic Universe. There’s also a sequel in the works already…
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Ok. So now the logo is a square? Because there are four sides? To distance new franchise from old?
‘The Fantastic Four’ (or ‘The FANT4STIC’) gets a much needed reboot on August 8th!
Chris Evans as The Human Torch
P.S. Let us not forget the original ‘Fantastic Four’s legacy: Chris Evans, who graduated from Johnny Storm/The Human Torch to Steve Rogers/Captain America.
Nick and Andrew recount the horror’s of ‘Daredevil’ before jumping into Ben Affleck’s new reality as the Dark Knight. They cover the DCCU (DC Cinematic Universe) including ‘Aquaman’ casting and the troubles of ‘The Suicide Squad.’
Batfleck Vs. Superman (also known by the silly title ‘Batman V. Superman: Justice Begins’) is still over a year away with a scheduled release date of March 25th, 2016. In the meantime, I think we should all take a step back to admire the greatest comic book movie of all time; Christopher Nolan’s 2008 film ‘The Dark Knight.’
Breaking Batman
I wanted to do the top 5 scenes of the entire ‘Dark Knight Trilogy,’ but that was too limiting as there are too many fantastic scenes in my ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy’ to cover here. I couldn’t even narrow just ‘The Dark Knight’ down to 5 favorite scenes. I need 6 to do the job!
Without further ado, here are the top 6 scenes from ‘The Dark Knight’ in the order they happen in the film’s narrative.
1. The Heist
The Bank Heist is quite the little scene to open and therefore establish the tone of the 2nd movie in Nolan’s Batman Saga. Inspired heavily by the Michael Mann film ‘Heat,’ the scene twists a classic heist into the Joker’s (Heath Ledger) plot, all while setting you on complete edge using the heights of IMAX and the sharp cords of the Joker’s theme… all screaming “Chaos.”
The Joker poses as one of his own henchmen.
2. Decent Men In An Indecent Time
The Joker’s heist may kick off the movie, but it is a decision made by three men that really set events in motion.
To defeat Gotham’s biggest recognized problem, the mob, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale) make a pact that will dictate the fate of all three involved, as well as collateral damage of Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal).
Gordon warns,
“We’re going after the mob’s life savings. Things will get ugly.”
Replies Dent,
“I knew the risk when I took this job, lieutenant.”
Dent accepts the risk willingly, as do Batman and James Gordon.
It is this pact that will determine the destiny of all three men; destroying them all by the end of the film.
3. Dent’s Dark Side
‘The Dark Knight,’ specifically the scene just covered, is largely based on my favorite graphic novel ‘The Long Halloween’ by Jeph Loeb and by Tim Sale.
Nicholas D’Agosto’s Harvey Dent on ‘Gotham’ has quite the temper.
In the comic, Dent’s dark side is hinted at early in the story; long before the accident that scars him. Let’s just say he may may have done more than take a henchmen down an alley and flipped a coin to decide his life. But we’ll get to that now.
Dent spends half the movie as Gotham’s “White Knight,” the honest and law-fairing District Attorney bringing hope to Gotham. I would argue that Dent’s dark side is introduced too late in the movie; around the hour mark. Even here, the film form is not as severe as his comic version. Hell, ‘Gotham’ showed Dent’s short fuse in the first episode introducing the young assistant D.A.
Shiff Thomas wearing Rachel Dawes’ name; signaling her as Joker’s next victim.
The 1st sign something is amiss with Gotham’s White Knight is when he interrogates Joker’s henchmen Shiff Thomas; the man wearing the name tag pegging “Rachel Dawes” as the Joker’s next victim.
The Darker Side of Harvey Dent.
Thomas gets the ‘ole coin flip multiple times, gun held to his head, until Batman stops Dent. The Dark Knight warns the D.A. that if anyone saw what Dent was doing, faith in the White Knight and Gotham would fail.
Even going off the cuff, Dent left the fate of Shift Thomas to his double-sided coin. He (likely) meant Shift Thomas no terminal harm.
Still, that Dent darkness has to appear somehow.
4. Batman Interrogates The Joker
Batman’s one rule comes back to bite him in the ass. By a rabid dog chasing cars.
“You Complete Me!”
It’s really hard not to love this scene. Though Batman has the Joker in his gauntlets, Joker has all the power.
“You have NOTHING! Nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with your strength.”
It really is powerful to watch Batman wail on Joker to no avail. His “one rule” that prevents him from killing leads to the deaths of others in the film. This same number was over 600 by the time the pair face off for the final time in Frank Miller’s ‘The Dark Knight Returns.’
In this case, his one rule kills Rachel and blows Dent halfway to hell. But it is this rule that separates Batman from the masked villains. Even though he may lose to the Joker this scheme, I think he may get him in the end…
5. An Unmovable Object and An Unstoppable Force
Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin dies the old fashioned way.
‘The Dark Knight’ breaks the superhero’s genre one rule, established in classic films like 1989’s ‘Batman’ and carried on to nearly-modern day ‘Spider-Man’ (2002) and ‘Batman Begins’ (2005): kill off your villain so the end is nice and tidy.
The Caped Crusader does toss the Clown Prince of Crime off the Pruitt building… only to catch him with his grappling hook, much to the Joker’s disappointment.
“Oh, you. You just couldn’t let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren’t you? You won’t kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won’t kill you because you’re just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.”
Boom! That’s comics in a nutshell.
Spider-Man doesn’t kill the Green Goblin in the comics (well he does, several, but some come back… and, you know, crazy Marvel stuff); they clash again and again and again. And there are very few foes that have been clashing longer in the comics than Batman and the Joker.
6. The White Knight Vs. The Dark Knight
The real finale. The one we were promised when Gordon, Dent, and Batman meet on that rooftop in the first act.
Things got dirty. And all three of these decent men in an indecent time were torn to shreds by the joker, but none more than tragic Harvey Dent.
“What happened to Rachel wasn’t chance. We decided to act! We three!”
Batman knows what’s up! Cause he’s the world’s greatest detective.
But Harvey Dent is the apparent loser in the room, having lost his fiance (and scared his face), with no knowledge that Bruce carried similar feelings for Rachel.
In the comics, Bruce Wayne blames himself for not revealing to Harvey Dent who he was. For not showing Dent who fought alongside him for the soul of Gotham. For remaining anonymous and letting Gordon and Dent take the brunt of mob vengeance.
In the movie, even in this immense time of crisis, Batman is able to vocalize the importance of Harvey Dent to Gotham; why he was chosen.
“Because you were the best of us! He wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall.”
So rests the soul of Gotham in these three-warriors-torn-asunder’s final moments together. Harvey “Two-Face” Dent deciding each of their fates with a flip of the coin.
This scene completes the movie. Three young men with rose-color glasses are wrung through the shredder as a promise they made destroyed their partnership and their lives. Classic Nolan/Batman tragedy.
BREAKING GEEK Radio: The Podcast 