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Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 7, 2014 in Cinema 
The final Hobbit film is almost here: it jumps into theaters on December 17th. The trailer honestly looks pretty, but it’s not really grabbing me. I still feel that The Hobbit trilogy should have been just two films. But hey, everything has to be a trilogy or a multi-film universe these days, so I guess I’m not surprised. Looks like there’s lots of fighting between the five armies, which will satisfy most people. I’m also surprised that there’s no Smaug in this trailer! It’s almost like despite the cliffhanger ending of the second film, everyone knows what happens in the end… Hmm! Check out the trailer below. Read more…
Tags: The Hobbit
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 4, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books, Television 
Alongside a young Howard Stark, Hayley Atwell’s character Peggy Carter is becoming synonymous with the early days of S.H.I.E.L.D., at least in Marvel’s movies and TV series. After first appearing as Captain America’s girlfriend in Cap’s first film, she has appeared as an old woman in the sequel, garnered her own short film Agent Carter, and now has an Agent Carter TV series airing this January based on the prior short. She even cameos in the first episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s second season, as well as a flashback in Avengers: Age of Ultron. So where is she showing up next? Supposedly Ant-Man, which raises a few questions. Read more…
Tags: Agent Carter, ant-man, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 3, 2014 in Cinema 
After a bit of a delay, Furious 7 is out its way out. Paul Walker’s death left them wondering how best to handle the release of the film respectfully, and time seems to be the best answer there. Now scheduled for April 3rd, 2015, the film features all the crazy, over-the-top action sequences you’d expect. In fact, the first half of the trailer almost shows an entire sequence, which includes (obviously) cars parachuting in for a takedown. I’ve always looked at the Fast and Furious films as something of a novelty, but their pure delight and ability to revel in silly, ridiculous car-related action makes them fairly enjoyable. Check out the trailer below. Read more…
Tags: Fast and Furious
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 2, 2014 in Cinema 
Alex Garland is directing his first film! You might know him from his work with Danny Boyle, such as his script for 28 Days Later and Sunshine, or perhaps elsewhere, like his Dredd script. Now he’s working entirely on his own project, a sci-fi film titled Ex Machina. It stars Domhnall Gleeson as a programmer who meets a secretive CEO (Oscar Isaac) and his “true” AI woman he’s created (Alicia Vikander). It looks to mostly take place in the CEO’s remote cabin, focusing on the characters and what lurks beneath the surface. I’m hoping there isn’t a “you were a robot all along” twist at the end, because otherwise this looks really interesting for a directorial debut. Check out the trailer below. Read more…
Tags: Alex Garland
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 31, 2014 in Cinema 
Terminator fans: I have bad news. Here are some new images from Entertainment Weekly of the upcoming film, Terminator Genisys. Yes, it’s really spelled that way still. I like many of the actors in this, but man, I am not optimistic after seeing this and hearing the plot details. Emilia Clarke (KHALEESIII) and Matt Smith (Who?) are the headliners here, along with Arnold, of course. Still, these seem like bizarre photos to use, as everyone’s head appears to be photoshopped onto their bodies. What exactly happened here? I think fans would love a new Terminator film but I’m not anywhere close to being sold on this one. Are they angrily shooting the ground? Read more…
Tags: Terminator, Terminator Genisys
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 29, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
If you’re a Marvel fan, you have good reason to be very, very excited. Marvel Studios has announced all nine — yes, nine — films that will make up “Phase Three” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, lasting from 2016 to 2019. (Phase Two will end not with Avengers: Age of Ultron, but instead end on July 17, 2015 with Ant-Man.) Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige made a ton of announcements which apparently weren’t fully worked out until recently, or else they’d likely have announced them at Comic-Con. Some of these may have been rumored in the past, but there’s still a lot of new information, including three films in both 2017 and 2018, so let’s jump in! Read more…
Tags: Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, captain america, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Inhumans, Marvel, thor
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 28, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
It seemed as though Marvel had locked down Joaquin Phoenix to star in their upcoming comic adaptation Doctor Strange. But when he pulled out at the last second, it was back to the drawing board. But according to Deadline, they may have finally found their Sorcerer Supreme. Sherlock‘s Benedict Cumberbatch is reportedly entering negotiations to star in the film. Jared Leto and Tom Hardy are supposedly in the mix, but it sounds fairly certain that Cumberbatch will end up signed. Then again, many thought the same for Phoenix, so I wouldn’t fully trust the casting until we see something official from Marvel. Read more…
Tags: Doctor Strange, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 26, 2014 in Cinema 
Yes, J.K. Rowling can’t stay too far away from her most popular creation: a new Harry Potter short story will be arriving this Halloween, on October 31st. The story will focus on Dolores Umbridge. Do you think some fans might take umbrage at that idea? Eh? Eh? Ok, I’ll stop (I’m sure that joke has been done a million times). The short story will show up on Pottermore.com, run 1700 words, and will feature “back story about Umbridge’s life filled with many new details, as well as Rowling’s revealing first-person thoughts and reflections about the character.” Check back on Halloween at Pottermore is you want to read all the villainous details then! Read more…
Tags: harry potter
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 25, 2014 in Cinema 
Air New Zealand is loving all the extra tourism due to the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, so what better way than to theme their entire new safety video around The Hobbit? It features Elijah Wood, Sylvester McCoy, and Peter Jackson himself. It’s pretty silly, and barely has any actual instructions in it, because hey — you guys already know what not to do in an airplane, don’t you? It’s pretty fun, although the actual title of the video is the most marketing-driven internet-speak possible: “The Most epic Safety Video Ever Made #airnzhobbit” Yeah, uh, no. Check it out below! Or, you know, fly Air New Zealand and watch it there. Read more…
Tags: The Hobbit
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 23, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
There was much rejoicing when Marvel announced that there would be a trailer for The Avengers: Age of Ultron attached to next week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode. But what if you could watch it…now? After some sort of leak (Marvel jokingly blames HYDRA), Marvel has decided to release the official version, and man, does it look exciting. We get to see various forms of Ultron, lots of similar robots, and Iron Man fighting the Hulk with his Hulkbuster armor. Best of all, it’s set to a creepy recording of “I Got No Strings” from Pinocchio, a nice thematic touch that likely wouldn’t have happened if Disney didn’t own Marvel. But enough talk, go watch the trailer over and over again! Read more…
Tags: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Disney, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 22, 2014 in Cinema, Tech 
October 2015 is only a year away, which means one thing: Marty McFly is going to arrive from the past, as depicted in the popular documentary Back to the Future Part II. It seemed as though our history would diverge, since we still don’t have the hoverboards depicted in the movie, but there’s some last-minute hope. The company Arx Pax is seeking Kickstarter funding for the Hendo, their version of a hoverboard, which actually hovers! The catch: it uses magnetic levitation, similar to a bullet train, so it will only work with certain metal floors, like copper or aluminum. It doesn’t propel itself, so you’ll be using your foot like a regular skateboard. Read more…
Tags: Back to the Future
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 21, 2014 in Animation, Cinema 
Disney and Pixar are quite secretive these days about their upcoming films, considering how much a project can change during development. So it’s good to see them teasing some of their upcoming movies. First off, Disney officially announced Moana for release in late 2016. Set in the South Pacific, this movie sees the titular teenage girl set sail to fulfill her ancestors’ quest. The film is directed by Ron Clements and Jon Musker, best known for The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Princess and the Frog. Not to be outdone, Pixar shared a video of director Peter Sohn sketching Arlo, the main character in the upcoming The Good Dinosaur. While Pixar is releasing Inside Out in June 2015, The Good Dinosaur is set for November 2015; it tells the story of a world where dinosaurs continued living and rule the world. Both releases look great! Read more…
Tags: Disney, Pixar
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 19, 2014 in Cinema 
Most folks know Maisie Williams as Arya in Game of Thrones, but she’s been starting to expand and do more roles. She recently did an interview with Flicks in the City, talking about several projects. One is the long-gestating The Last of Us movie, which has essentially offered up the role of Ellie to Williams freely. Sadly, nothing is set in stone yet, she says. She goes on to talk about a personal project, a superhero series with her in the lead role. It sounds very far off, but she sounds passionate about it: “It was kind of inspired just from walking around Comic-Con and seeing so many woman dressed as all these sexualized female superheroes and just thinking if I was a superhero, I would just want to wear a hoodie and jeans, and taking that and making it into a superhero that isn’t wearing spandex and isn’t a sexy Catwoman or that sort of thing.” Read more…
Tags: Maisie Williams, Superheroes
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 19, 2014 in Cinema 
Guillermo del Toro is now hard at work on Pacific Rim 2, a film many thought might never get made. But movies studios love franchises, and they especially love trilogies, so it’s not surprise that del Toro also confirms that Pacific Rim 2 will segue directly into a Pacific Rim 3 (which is not yet officially confirmed). Talking with Collider, del Toro said, “We got the first draft of the movie now, and we are going to spend another 4-5 months on the screenplay before we start pre-production.” He adds, “Some of your favorite characters come back, some others don’t because we have decided that we’re going to shoot ambitiously and say ‘Let’s hope we have three movies.’ So some characters come in at the end of the second, hoping that it will ramp up on the third one.” Optimistic indeed! Let’s hope it works out. Read more…
Tags: guillermo del toro, Pacific Rim
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 18, 2014 in Anime, Cinema 
The live-action Ghost in the Shell adaption is moving forward, now that they have a director (Rupert Sanders), producers, and script. Time to start casting! Earlier in the week Margot Robbie (Wolf of Wall Street) was offered the lead role, but it fell through. Dreamworks then extended an offer to Scarlett Johansson, where it now sits. Deadline reports that offer was $10 million, Johansson’s price after her success in Lucy and as Black Widow. Sadly we’re not getting an Asian actress like Rinko Kikuchi, it seems. It’d like to see the script to see how much they’re altering the story and concept. I’m not sure if this could be good, right now. Read more…
Tags: Ghost in the Shell
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 16, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Well, at least WB and DC are getting serious about competing with Disney and Marvel. WB has confirmed all the upcoming pieces of their shared superhero universe that started with Man of Steel in 2013. 2016 will see two movies: the already-known Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice (directed by Zack Snyder), and then a Suicide Squad movie (directed by David Ayer) about a team of villains who do dangerous work for the government. Then, 2017 will see a stand-alone Wonder Woman movie (starring Gal Gadot, who will be introduced in BVS:DoJ) followed by the inevitable Justice League movie (which will see all the heroes team up). But the schedule doesn’t stop there. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 14, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Let’s start with the facts, because this is going to turn into speculation quickly. According to Variety, Robert Downey Jr. is in final negotiations to play Tony Stark (Iron Man) in Captain America 3, due out on May 6, 2016. Though currently only contracted for one more Avengers film — The Avengers: Age of Ultron has finished filming and will release May 1, 2015 — Downey had previously stated that he was in negotiations for further Marvel movies, which seemed to be Iron Man 4. While that may still happen, this movie could be what was being referred to. While this was initially supposed to be a small role, Downey asked for a bigger role, which angered Marvel Entertainment chief Ike Perlmutter. Though Stark was almost entirely written out, it seems this was resolved by Marvel mastermind Kevin Feige. But that’s not even the most interesting news. Read more…
Tags: captain america, Iron Man, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 14, 2014 in Cinema, Star Wars 
Maybe you’ve heard of Star Wars Uncut, the 2012 project that split the movie up into 15-second clips, allowed fans to pick a clip to remake however they liked, and then cut it back together into a full-length movie. Disjointed? Yes. Fun? Totally. Well, Star Wars is well and good, but every true fan knows that The Empire Strikes Back is where it’s at. Hence, the team has finally released Empire Uncut, using the same premise as the first movie. 480 fans worked on this two hour movie, which you can watch below. But if you don’t have the time, at least check out the trailer to see what they were going for. Read more…
Tags: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 11, 2014 in Cinema, Hobbies and Collections 
Yes, Warner Bros. is taking notice of how much you all loved Batman in the LEGO Movie, and are fast-tracking a LEGO Batman movie. Chris McKay, the animation supervisor on The LEGO Movie, was previously slated to direct the sequel, but now has been switched over to the Batman film. In fact, it appears that the Batman movie will take the 2017 release date of the LEGO Movie sequel entirely, pushing the latter back to another year. Will Arnett is also returning to voice Batman. This means that Will Arnett will get a solo Batman film before even Ben Affleck. Neato! Read more…
Tags: Batman, Lego, The LEGO Movie
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 10, 2014 in Cinema 
Oh, I know we were just talking about Tomorrowland, but I’m sure Disney doesn’t mind. The first teaser trailer for the film has finally surfaced, and I must say, it’s a really well-done teaser. Rather than showing too little or too much, it simply introduces the main plot point and leaves you wondering where it’ll lead. Good job! I’m a big fan of Brad Bird’s work (but I think most people are), and I can’t wait to see how this will turn out, given that he basically gets to create a whole new world. Oh, and throw a little George Clooney in there to grab the mainstream audiences. Check out the teaser right here! Read more…
Tags: Brad Bird, Tomorrowland
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 10, 2014 in Cinema 
After rumors swirling for the past month, it has officially been confirmed: Bridesmaids director Paul Feig will direct a new Ghostbusters film, it’ll be scripted by Katie Dippold (who wrote The Heat), and will reportedly feature an all-female leading cast. If we’re going to have to make a new Ghostbusters film, I think this is a great direction to take it. Feig has a great interview over at EW where he goes into detail about his ideas regarding the film as a reboot, as well as addressing some internet complainers about the cast: “When people accuse it of being a gimmick I go, why is a movie starring women considered a gimmick and a movie starring men is just a normal movie?” Good question, Paul! I doubt the internet commenters have a satisfactory answer to that retort, though. Read the full interview here. Read more…
Tags: Ghostbusters
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 9, 2014 in Cinema 
Remember when Disney adapted their Disneyland ride Pirates of the Caribbean into a movie? While the sequels and fellow ride-turned-movie The Haunted Mansion got mixed reviews, the first Pirates movie was great fun. Brad Bird (The Incredibles) is currently adapting Disneyland’s Tomorrowland section — or at least adapting the name and concept — into a movie starring George Clooney. The story involves a young girl (Britt Robertson) teaming up with a failed inventor (Clooney) to rediscover Tomorrowland, a sort-of separate, better world of science. Ordinary people have difficulty finding this wonderland, much in the way that only wizards can enter Platform 9 ¾ to go to Hogwarts. Obviously, most of the production is shrouded in mystery, but this first image sets the imagination on fire. Tomorrowland seems to be a mix of dreamy nostalgia and retro-futuristic optimism, another sign that escapist stories are continuing to move away from depressing dystopias in favor of dreams of a better tomorrow. Read more…
Tags: Brad Bird, Disney, Tomorrowland
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 8, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Since Robert Downey Jr. is only contracted for one more Avengers movie after 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, many assumed that individual Iron Man films may be no more. The actor commands an extremely high paycheck, and he has also expressed an interest in retiring from the role as he gets older. It would make sense for Marvel to continue to build up newer heroes while giving Iron Man a big send-off (before a later recasting) in Avengers 3. But lo and behold, maybe Downey will be starring in more films than expected! On Ellen, he admitted that Iron Man 4 was in development. It would be strange for him to allow the crowd to get excited if he wasn’t involved, so perhaps Marvel’s willing to pony up the cash to keep their biggest star around. It also gives me hope that he may remain involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Avengers 3, at least in some capacity. Read more…
Tags: Iron Man, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 4, 2014 in Animation, Cinema 
After spending a while in development, Pixar’s next film, Inside Out, has gotten a teaser trailer. Sadly, like most teaser trailers, it doesn’t show much. In fact, most of the trailer is footage from previous Pixar films, reminding you how good they were. It feels like Disney’s marketing department said, “Hey guys, we know this isn’t a sequel, so we’ve got to sell people on it by showing them characters they DO know!” Maybe that’ll be successful — I don’t know. Still, I’m interested, as this film is from Pete Docter, the fellow behind Up and Monsters Inc., so there is a skilled craftsman at the helm, at least. The last few Pixar films didn’t really blow me away, so I’m hoping this will be a return to form. Check out the teaser below! Read more…
Tags: Inside Out, Pixar
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