Ben Affleck – Page 2 – BREAKING GEEK Radio: The Podcast

MALLRATS 2 – The 6 Characters Confirmed to Return

Posted on March 24, 2015March 29, 2015 by Nick Doll in Mallrats 2, Movies

Mallrats is my favorite Kevin Smith movie. Though I was a die-hard Kevin Smith (who was in a Die Hard film) fan in college, the honeymoon phase ended around the time of Red State, when Smith finally became the Pot Head foreshadowed by his classic role as Silent Bob. Around the time of Tusk, I returned to Smith like an Ex desperately wanting to get back together. I’ve been especially excited after the announcement of Clerks III, if for nothing else, than the return of Jay and Silent Bob.

In fact, I think you can chart my Kevin Smith fandom using Jay and Silent Bob. Smith’s movies just haven’t been the same since Smith left the “View Askewniverse” behind (except for Zack and Miri Make A Porno, which was pretty great), and I’m glad he’s returning to Mallrats in addition to Clerks.

It’s time to get the gang back together. And not just Jay and Silent Bob.

In addition to Smith’s two famous universe connecting heroes, four other cast members from the original 1995 film are confirmed for Mallrats 2. And they may not be who you think…

That's Steve Dave and Fanboy on the right, from Dogma, played by Brian Johnson and Walter Flanagan of 'Tell 'Em Steve Dave' and 'Comic Book Men' fame. — That’s Steve Dave and Fanboy on the right, from Dogma, played by Brian Johnson and Walter Flanagan of ‘Tell ‘Em Steve Dave’ and ‘Comic Book Men’ fame.

Just don’t expect Brodie’s cousin Walt to show up… though Steve Dave and Fanboy will hopefully return! (Please, Kevin Smith! Pwetty Pwease!)

Fun Fact: Brodie is based on Walt Flanagan, a friend of Smith’s who has appeared in Clerks, Mallrats, Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob, a host of my favorite Podcast TESD (Tell ‘Em Steve Dave), and star of AMC’s Comic Book Men. Walt being a comic enthusiast who carried a tiny cup of Pepsi whilst shopping for deals at the mall and the flea market. Hence, Brodie’s stories about his “cousin Walt.”

Now let’s get off to the races!

Jason Mewes as Jay.

‘Nuff Said.

Kevin Smith as Silent Bob.

Fly, Fatass, fly!

Jason Lee as Brodie!

Though he wasn’t the main lead, per say, Jason Lee’s Brodie is by far my favorite View Askew character and seems the most essential actor/character for a sequel to Mallrats. We’ve already seen him once since Mallrats, in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (my 2nd fav Kevin Smith film), when Jay and Silent Bob run into Brodie at Brodie’s Secret Stash (a play on Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, Smith’s actual comic book store where Comic Book Men is shot).

And just like his past two appearances, Jason Lee’s announcement tweet about returning to the world of Mallrats still invites you to enjoy a delicious chocolate covered pretzel!

Shannen Doherty as Rene.

Because, really, what would Brodie be up to without Rene?

Michael Rooker as Jared Svenning!

Rooker is hotter than ever between The Walking Dead and his turn as Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy. Yet he still has time to return for the sequel to what may have been the biggest flop of his career. Yet, that whole Stink Palm scene has given him legendary status before he ever fought Zombies or Ronan.

The only question here is, how does he play in to the movie, IF Claire Forlani doesn’t return as his daughter Brandi? He is simply Brodie’s nemesis now?

Brandi may return, but no announcement has been made yet. Really, I don’t think she or Jeremy London’s TS Quint are crucial to the sequel. For me, Mallrats is all about Brodie.

Finally….

Stan “The Man” Lee.

That’s right, just like a Marvel film, you can’t make a Mallrats movie without Stan Lee, perhaps the wisest person in the View Askewniverse besides Silent Bob. Like his Marvel appearances, Stan Lee will surely just have a small cameo, though he has done a lot of acting (a line at a time) in dozens of Marvel movies since 1995.

Here’s the pic Smith released to announce the cast, sans Jason Lee. (The earlier picture was Jason Lee’s announcement).

So those are the 6 confirmed returning characters: Brodie, Rene, Mr. Svenning, Stan Lee, Jay and Silent Bob.

Now is it too late to add Shannon, the clerk from Fashionable Male? You know, one of Ben Affleck’s first roles? Is Batfelck too busy with the DC universe or can he at least stop by for a cameo?

Kevin Smith shoots Mallrats 2 later this year. And I can’t wait to catch up with Brodie!

Marvel Goes Batman In Their First Feature-Quality Trailer For Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Nick Doll in Batman, Daredevil, Marvel, MCU, Netflix, Trailers, TV Shows

Daredevil is cool for the first time ever!

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. — 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. — 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.

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! — 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. — 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.

Podcast #12: The ‘Daredevil’ Dare

Posted on January 23, 2015January 23, 2015 by Nick Doll in Age of Ultron, Avengers, Batman, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Comics, DC, Marvel, MCU, Movies, Podcasts

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.’

David Fincher and Ben Affleck Are Remaking The Best Movie Possible

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Nick Doll in Movies

Ben Affleck (Batfleck!) and David Fincher are planning on working together again following their great financial and critical success of the excellent film ‘Gone Girl.’

They will be remaking a Alfred Hitchcock classic that is due for a reboot.

‘Strangers On a Train’ is a great premise, one even slightly duplicated in ‘Horrible Bosses;’ only less comedic than the Jason Bateman/Charlie Day/Jason Sudiekis version.

But the film has not aged well, especially with the *SPOILERS* finale on a carousel.

The ridiculous finale to the original 'Strangers on a Train.' — The ridiculous finale to the original ‘Strangers on a Train.’

It does seem like the perfect premise for a dark David Fincher movie and Ben Affleck is the man to either play the uneasy nice-guy who agrees to the exchange without realizing the ramifications OR the psychopathic man who takes the agreement too far.

For those of you not in-the-know of Alfred Hitchcock’s original classic, the premise to ‘Strangers on a Train’ is that two strangers (see?) meet on a train (SEE!?!?), tentatively agreeing to carry out a murder for each-other that would leave both parties looking innocent as they have no connection to the victim or the crime. Unfortunately, the man proposing the deal is far more serious than the other man who agrees to participate, leading to a thriller where the murderer threatens to blackmail the other man unless he returned the “favor.”

"What's in the Box?!?!" — “What’s in the Box?!?!”

Fincher is among my favorite directors, nailing the darkness needed to carry classics like ‘SE7EN’ and ‘Fight Club’ or more current releases like ‘Zodiac’ or 2014’s amazing ‘Gone Girl.’

Meanwhile, Batfleck has been on fire since his career was re-kickstarted by his directorial efforts in ‘Gone Baby Gone,’ ‘The Town,’ and ‘Argo.’

And let us never forget that Ben Affleck is now our Batman in DC’s Cinematic Universe (DCCU).

I know everyone shudders at the word “remake,” but between the original cheesy ending and the talent of Fincher and Affleck, it may very well be time for a new version of ‘Strangers on a Train.’

May I suggest Brad Pitt for the other role? Does that suit you, Fincher?

Either way… YAY! This project has me excited.

Marvel Studios’ Netflix Show ‘Daredevil’ Has A Poster and Release Date!

Posted on January 7, 2015January 7, 2015 by Nick Doll in Daredevil, Marvel, MCU, Netflix, Posters, TV Shows

Marvel’s marketing department has been in overdrive this week.

‘Daredevil’ is coming to Netflix April 10th, before even ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and the recently advertised ‘Ant-Man’ hit the silver screen.

No, I don’t mean the 2003 film ‘Daredevil’ starring Ben Batfleck as the title hero. 2015’s ‘Daredevil’ is a brand new show, officially part of the the Marvel Cinematic Universe, by Marvel Studios. Fox made the original film but let the rights slip back to Disney/Marvel, allowing the pros that brought us ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ to create and execute the first of five planned Netflix shows.

Let’s start by watching the ‘trailer’ for the Release Date announcement and poster unveil. (Not too unlike the logo trailer for 007: SPECTRE)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) hasn’t had much luck on TV, especially when you compare it to DC’s successful ‘Arrow,’ ‘Flash,’ and ‘Gotham;’ all shows that look like they will be around for a few seasons. My personal favorite, ‘Constantine’ is the most enjoyable, as though it can get dark as hell, the tone is closer to that of a Marvel movie than the aforementioned darker DC shows or the new DC Cinematic Universe (the DCCU) kicked off by Zack Synder’s overly dark ‘Man of Steel.’

Meanwhile, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ clings to life and is a complete disappointment when compared to the rest of the MCU, or even Fox and Sony Marvel films like ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘X-Men.’

‘Agent Carter’ may be great (the premise sure is), but I have yet to watch it (I think I’ll hop on Hulu+ following this post) and haven’t seen any TV ratings yet.

Though we have yet to see any real footage from Netflix’s’Daredevil,’ one would expect the gutsy “online network” that brought us ‘House of Cards’ to deliver a more cinematic product with a much higher budget than ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ The former should also feel less constrained by network television standards than the latter.

And ‘Daredevil’ is just the beginning of a run of MCU Netflix programming that could eclipse DC’s thus far successful television efforts.

Here’s the poster.

Following the 13 episode ‘Daredevil’ series starring Charlie Cox as Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpen, Marvel and Netflix will release ‘AKA Jessica Jones’ starring ‘Breaking Bad’s Krysten Ritter as the title character and Mike Colter as Luke Cage. Seeing as how the two are an item in the comics, Mike Colter will play Luke Cage in ‘Aka Jessica Jones’ before he gets his own show, ‘Luke Cage,’ next. Following that we get ‘Iron Fist’ which has yet to be cast, followed by an ‘Avengers’-esque series called ‘The Defenders’ that brings all four characters together for an ensemble superhero team.

Basically, Marvel has focused their TV efforts on an MCU of Netflix’s own; one that could lead to appearances of the characters on ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ which desperately needs more superheroes and even a possible team-up in ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’ Part 1 or 2.

Thus far, we have only seen this Frank Miller look of the costume, not the red horned costume used in 2003's 'Darvedevil' film. — Thus far, we have only seen this Frank Miller look of the costume, not the red horned costume used in 2003’s ‘Darvedevil’ film.

This does raise the question, where and if these shows exist within ‘Phase 2’ or ‘Phase 3.’ Being a part of the MCU means they have to fall somewhere. I would guess that somewhere is ‘Phase 3’ as we won’t see Daredevil on the big screen helping with the sadistic Ultron. But IT DOES come out before ‘Age of Ultron’ and ‘Ant-Man,’ the latter ending ‘Phase 2.’ Maybe some plot points do feed into either film and are a part of Phase 2?

We’ll know more on April 10th when Netflix drops all 13 episodes of Marvel Studios’ ‘Daredevil;’ the next frontier of superhero shows.

A JACK RYAN for the 21st (or is it 24th?) Century

Posted on October 9, 2013November 24, 2013 by Nick Doll in Movies, Trailers

Jack Ryan is back! After a long hiatus following the worst film the the “Jack Ryan” franchise.

In an age where subtitles appear bigger than the franchise name (see below; MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL & STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS – also starring Chris Pine) comes JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT, a franchise that seems to be attempting to cast as many actors to play the Tom Clancy character as have played other, more well known icons like 007 and Batman.

Wait... all the logos are for Paramount films.. is this a paramount Paramount conspiracy? (Pun very much intended). — Wait… all the logos are for Paramount films.. is this a paramount Paramount conspiracy? (Pun very much intended).

JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT seems to be a reboot to the franchise. Jack gets his first ‘in-the-field’ mission, just as he did in HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.

Instead of Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman (both will now have worked in the Batman-universe), Harrison Ford and James Earl Jones, or Alec Baldwin and… again… James Earl Jones, this time we have Capt’Kirk himself, Chris Pine, playing Ryan with Kevin Costner as his government contact/father-figure/aid.

The first Jack Ryan movie not based off an actual Tom Clancy novel (notice the poster says ‘based on the characters created by Tom Clancy), is also the first Jack Ryan film to have the character’s name in the title. All because, unlike in the days of CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER and PATRIOT GAMES, HWood knows we are too stupid to make the connection unless all upcoming films carry ‘JACK RYAN’ in the title.

I kind of like it, as long as Paramount keeps using subtitles instead of numbers. Numbers date a movie (which is why even Marvel dropped them after the IRON MAN franchise), though SHADOW RECRUIT sounds it could be just as much the name for the next MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE film. GHOST PROTOCOL… SHADOW RECRUIT… tell me I’m not the only one who thinks these spy titles aren’t generic, focus-group tested, Hollywood executive garbage!

The trailer and more! After the jump! Continue reading “A JACK RYAN for the 21st (or is it 24th?) Century” →

Good Will Hunting with Batfleck

Posted on October 5, 2013November 24, 2013 by Nick Doll in Batman, DC, Pete Holmes, TV Shows

Pete Holmes.

You may not know his name now, but you will.

This month (Oct-o-ber) on the 28th, at midnight, THE PETE HOLMES SHOW premieres after whatever-Conan-O’Brien’s-show is called.

He is also a wonderful comedian, a great podcaster, the voice of the E*Trade baby, and the best Batman impersonator on the interwebs. Simply put, one of the greatest talents working today.

His latest feat, a parody of GOOD WILL HUNTING… if Ben Affleck were Batman in the academy award winning film.

I assure you, this makes sense. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know Ben Affleck will portray the Dark Knight in 2015’s BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN. It’s simply Batfleck!

Check out the hilarious video after the jump! (Meaning, CLICK CONTINUE READING!)

Continue reading “Good Will Hunting with Batfleck” →

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