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Monday, September 30, 2019

Rotten Tomatoes May Be Making Even More Changes To Combat Trolls

Rotten Tomatoes May Be Making Even More Changes To Combat Trolls
Brie Larson in Captain Marvel combating trolls.

Rotten Tomatoes recently made changes to its users reviews after a deluge of trolls opted to give Captain Marvel some negative nods before the movie had even opened in theaters. The review aggregate service said the changes were not made to accommodate Captain Marvel specifically and will continue to be a part of Rotten Tomatoes moving forward. However, now it looks as if the site may not stop at changing the windows in which users are allowed to review.


A new report indicates that Rotten Tomatoes is looking at “additional measures” in terms of user reviews. Per THR those measures will likely include adding an additional layer of security so that users have to verify they’ve seen a movie before they can review it on Rotten Tomatoes.


This move hasn’t been made by the aggregate site yet, so it’s hard to tell exactly what that would like for regular users who leave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s possible that if the additional layer of security is kind of a pain in the rear, it could deter both avid users and trolls.





Still, the whole Captain Marvel brouhaha led to a really low audience score for the new Marvel movie early on. At one point it was running at just 33% with over 58,000 reviews.


At the time of this writing, following Rotten Tomatoes’ user score change led by parent company Fandango, Captain Marvel is running at 62% with 64,385 reviews. If that math doesn’t totally add up, it should be noted that number only happened after Rotten Tomatoes literally went through and purged reviews that had been written and kept on the site even after the policy change last week.


Originally, users were able to reveal their excitement or lack thereof in a project ahead of its release, but a couple of weeks ago, Rotten Tomatoes said it would be changing its pre-release function and that comments would be disabled until a movie was released. For Captain Marvel this was a hassle and eventually some reviews had to be dropped from the site because people had been allowed to review prior to the rule change; presumably, this would not be an issue for future movies.





In fact, Rotten Tomatoes' decision has also had a bit of a chain effect, as YouTube also mentioned changes to its platform to combat trolls related to the same Marvel flick.


All in all, none of the trolls really had a huge effect on Captain Marvel fans. The movie nabbed an A CinemaScore and has gone on to already make $500 million worldwide, which is an incredibly quick period of time to achieve that number. That's the good news. However, what will be most interesting to see will be if Rotten Tomatoes complicates its user review process if it will have an effect on the engagement and user reviews people are willing to put on the site.


If you’ve left a review on Rotten Tomatoes before, is the process already a hassle? Would adding another step make you more or less likely to leave a user review? Let us know, and in the meantime, be sure to check out Clark Gregg calling Marvel trolls "butthurt."




Chewbacca Actor Joonas Suotamo Pens Tribute To Peter Mayhew

Chewbacca Actor Joonas Suotamo Pens Tribute To Peter Mayhew
Chewbacca in Solo: A Star Wars Story

There’s a disturbance in the Force. The Star Wars family lost one of their own when the original Chewbacca, Peter Mayhew, died last week at 74. There’s since been an outpouring of love and homage paid to the actor who portrayed the lovable Wookie for almost 40 years.


Peter Mayhew’s apprentice, Joonas Suotamo, who shared the Chewbacca role with him in The Force Awakens before completely taking on the role for The Last Jedi, Solo: A Star Wars Story and The Rise of Skywalker, has joined in to pay tribute as well. Suotamo reminisced about working with the icon with these words:



We had a camp-like session together at [London's] Pinewood [Studios] for a week or so before we began filming The Force Awakens. We watched footage of the original movies and talked about Chewbacca's mannerisms, his nature, his attributes, his physical movements. It was the cocking of the head in a certain way, and also the proud chest of Chewbacca and the way the arms flail all over when he gets angry or excited. We talked a lot about all that.





Joonas Suotamo talked about the memorable time he shared with Peter Mayhew to The Hollywood Reporter when they worked together for the 2015 Star Wars film. It looks like Mayhew set up a Chewbacca boot camp of sorts for him to teach Suotamo how the character moves and acts – including to lead with the chest. Suotamo continued by describing how the actor felt about passing the character to him:



I think it was a tender situation for Peter because he'd been Chewbacca all his life, and to pass the baton — it's not easy. But I always told him, he's the original Chewbacca, and everything I would do was to pay homage to how he set up the character. He took it so well.



George Lucas cast Peter Mayhew for 1977’s A New Hope, and he reprised the role for the entire trilogy whilst keeping his other job at a hospital. Due to his love for the character (and Chewbacca’s global popularity), Mayhew made his living in the role and through public appearances. In a recent tribute, Lucas said he was “more like a Wookie than I originally imagined a Wookie to be.” Mayhew reprised the role in Revenge of the Sith among other reappearances.




Joonas Suotamo closed out his recent words about his Wookie mentor by saying:



Peter was always a very kind, very likable person who didn’t make a big deal about himself. He was quiet but very wise in his words — he chose his words carefully. And he was honest. The first time when I met with him, he told me I was too skinny to play a Wookiee. We laughed a lot about that. He was a giant man with a big heart.



This is so sweet! The two developed a great relationship and Joonas Suotamo got to get to know Peter Mayhew as he genuinely was. The new Chewbacca actor joined in tribute after Star Wars actors including Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill reacted to his passing. Mayhew died soon after suffering a heart attack and had undergone spinal surgery last year to improve his mobility. The actor was over seven feet tall due to a connective tissue disorder called Marfan Syndrome.




Joonas Suotamo was a Finnish basketball before taking on the role of Chewbacca, and he towers at 6'11''. He was approached while the search was on for a very tall man with blue eyes and the role fit the bill for him. Chewbacca will live on in Suotamo when he reprises the role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on December 20.

Toy Story 4’s Forky Almost Had An Even Funnier Name

Toy Story 4’s Forky Almost Had An Even Funnier Name
Forky in Toy Story 4

Disney has produced tons of iconic animated blockbusters, but there is one property that's never been far from theaters: Toy Story. Starting back in 1995, Andy's group of toys have consistently made moviegoers laugh and cry. Toy Story 3 was especially tear-inducing, but it seems like the Disney/Pixar will outdo itself with the highly anticipated fourth movie.


Toy Story 4 will arrive in theaters in a month and change, and the generations of fans are eager to catch back up with Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the group. But in addition to catching up with the toys and Bonnie, audiences will also be introduced to some new characters. Chief among them is Tony Hale's Forky, a spork brought to life by Bonnie's creativity. Director Josh Cooley recently shared the hilarious origin story of the character's name, saying:



Well, you know, we were coming up with a bunch of different names for him, and I showed a picture of him to my son. I think he was probably four at the time, and I go, ‘Hey buddy, what do you think the name of this character is?’ He looks at it and he goes, 'Hmm, Fork Face.' And I’m like, ‘That’s hilarious. We cannot use it.’ But the fact that he’s around the same age as Bonnie and didn’t know what a spork was, I thought, ‘That feels real to me.’ So Forky felt like a kid would name him that.





Yeah, this is a solid story. Some moviegoers may have FOMO that the name Fork Face wasn't chosen, but it's not exactly the family friendly title that Disney is known for.


Josh Cooley's comments to Collider show how organically the character of Forky came about, and how it was influenced by actual kids. Cooley wanted to make sure Toy Story 4's upcoming addition would come from a place of childlike wonder, so he went straight to source when trying to nail down a name for that character. And that's exactly how Forky came out.


Related: Could We See A Toy Story 5?




It's fun to see exactly why Josh Cooley didn't name Tony Hale's character Sporky, considering what he's made out of. The name Sporky seems arguably more appropriate, but the Toy Story 4 director realized that a 4 year-old girl probably wouldn't know that word yet. And Fork Face was out of the running for obvious reasons. So Forky was born, and will no doubt be stealing the show once the third sequel finally arrives in theaters.


Forky is going to be a macguffin for Woody's adventure in Toy Story 4, as trying to rescue him will eventually find the sheriff reunited with Bo Peep. And with Veep and Arrested Development favorite Tony Hale voicing him, smart money says Forky will be a serious scene stealer in Toy Story 4.


Toy Story 4 will finally arrive in theaters on June 21st. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.



Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Cute Homage Peter Parker Pays To Tony Stark In New Far From Home Trailer

The Cute Homage Peter Parker Pays To Tony Stark In New Far From Home Trailer
Avengers: Infinity War Doctor Strange, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Wong stand ready to face their

Warning: SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame are in play. If you still want to avoid being spoiled, head on to another story and come back once you’ve seen the film.


In the wake of Avengers: Endgame’s climactic finale, the world is mourning Tony Stark’s death after he used the Infinity Gauntlet to take down Thanos and his invasion army. And one of the most prolific mourners is, undoubtedly, Peter Parker, who became a sort of son to the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist before he had a family of his own.


So obviously, when someone as influential as Tony was to Peter passes, the young hero is going to want to pay tribute to the man who helped him become an Avenger in the first place. And in Spider-Man: Far From Home’s latest trailer, we saw a fitting homage to Tony Stark, as Peter Parker now has Tony's last pair of iconic sunglasses, as you’ll see in the screenshot from the trailer below:




First seen in Avengers: Infinity War, Tony Stark had been wearing a pair of rather sharp Dita Mach-One sunglasses in his final arc in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So naturally, upon his passing, someone had to inherit them. While his wife, Pepper Potts, or even his daughter, Morgan, might have been good heirs, seeing those shades go to Peter feels rather apt.


Despite not being an actual heir by blood, Peter Parker is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s current heir to Tony Stark’s mantle. He even says in the new trailer, “The world needs the next Iron Man,” and looking at the rest of the trailer at hand, it looks like Peter might be keen on trying to fill that void. Though if Tony were to give him advice on the matter, he’d probably tell him not to try so hard, and to just be that friendly neighborhood Spider-Man he’s always been.


We’ll see Peter Parker undoubtedly learning some similar lessons in Spider-Man: Far From Home, as a class trip to Europe starts out like the usual fun and games, but turns into serious business. With Nick Fury and Maria Hill drafting Spider-Man into assisting Quentin Beck’s Mysterio in fighting the Elementals waging war on the continent, the usual teenager abroad antics are going to be the least of Peter’s worries on his itinerary.




And where else would be a better place for someone like Peter Parker to learn the lessons of being a hero than in a variety of beautiful European settings? We don’t know where we’d suggest as alternatives, but we do suggest that you watch the Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer again (or for the first time) below:


You still have some time to prepare for Spider-Man: Far From Home, as it takes its first bows on July 2, with tickets now available for opening weekend showings. Which means you have plenty of time to see Avengers: Endgame, which is currently in theaters.

Everything New Coming To Disney's Streaming Service, Disney +

Everything New Coming To Disney's Streaming Service, Disney +

Disney is planning their own streaming service to launch in November and along with the studio's massive back catalog of content, they're also planning a massive amount of new material as well. While we don't know every new thing that the service, called Disney+, will include, a lot of information has been revealed about the upcoming shows and movies.


With the huge list of valuable properties that Disney has at its disposal, the studio is in a position to disrupt the entire streaming marketplace in a single moment with everything they could potentially create here. Some of these projects have been confirmed by Disney, while others are simply reported by other sources, but regardless, here's everything that is confirmed, followed by everything that is rumored, coming to Disney+ starting in November.


Confirmed Projects




The Mandalorian


The first Star Wars series to go into production was being helmed by Iron Man director Jon Favreau and while we had no actual idea what he was working on for the longest time we now know that the series is called The Mandalorian. This would mean that our main character comes from a similar history as fan-favorite character Boba Fett. Casting on the series rann the gamut from Gina Carano to Carl Weathers so it's anybody's guess just what we have in store as far as characters and story. The show also has some major behind the camera muscle as episodes are set to be directed by the likes of Taika Waititi, Rick Famuyiwa, and Star Wars Rebels vet Dave Filoni. The show is confirmed to at least see the first episode release on day one of the service.


A Rogue One Prequel Series


Star Wars ideas were teased early on and we learned before long that Tha Mandalorian wasn't the only show being planned. We're also getting a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that will follow Diego Luna's character Cassian Andor in events that lead up to the film. Alan Tudyk will also reprise his role as the voice of K-2SO. All signs point to this series debuting in late 2020 or 2021.


The Clone Wars


Quite possibly the most exciting Star Wars related news for Disney+ isn't a brand new series or movie, but the return of a well-loved one. Star Wars: The Clone Wars was a six-season animated series that filled in the gaps of the events between Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The show ended without really reaching the end of the story it was trying to tell, which left many fans wanting more. Now, they'll finally get the end they've been waiting for.




Lady And The Tramp


One of the more interesting movie projects that Disney is planning is a Lady and the Tramp remake. While Disney has been doing really well with their remakes of classic animated films, Lady and the Tramp isn't the sort of film you'd expect to see get a major theatrical remake. The film will use the same life-like computer animated style of The Jungle Book. One of the potential benefits, with projects like this one, is that viewers could have the ability to watch the new remake, then jump over and watch the original, which is the sort of thing that could keep people glued to the new service.The movie will be released on day one.


Noelle


What's quite possibly the single most surprising report for a movie looking to debut on Disney's streaming service is Noelle, a Christmas movie starring Anna Kendrick. The reason this one is a shock is because, previously, this film had a theatrical release date for November 2019, but after being rumored to be making its way to Disney+, the company officially confirmed that during its recent Investor's Day. Officially, Noelle is slated for "shortly after launch" of Disney+ but with the launch set for November 12, and Noelle a Christmas movie, it should be a pretty short window between launch and this release. This might be literally the first thing added to the service after the day one content.


Monsters At Work


Another of the "actually confirmed by Disney" projects in development is a series based on Pixar's Monsters Inc. Disney has turned several of its successful animated films, like Tangled and Big Hero 6, into series, but this is the first time we've seen it happening with a Pixar property. The show will be called Monsters at Work and Billy Crystal and John Goodman will both be back to voice their characters of Mike and Sully from the films.




High School Musical: The Musical: The Series


Let's face it, it just wouldn't be Disney if it didn't have teenagers singing pop music. Following the success of the original High School Musical on the Disney Channel, Disney made a couple of sequels, including one that saw a theatrical release since the series was so popular. Since then, Disney has made several other musicals with up and coming pop sensations like Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers. Now, Disney goes back to the well with a new series based on High School Musical. The premise, and stay with me on this one, will see a new group of kids, from the "real" high school where the films were set, as they attempt to put on a staged performance of the original High School Musical. It gets pretty meta, but it also means that new versions of the popular songs from the original will have a place.


A Loki Series


Tom Hiddleston's Loki may be well and truly dead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that doesn't mean the actor or the character are quite done yet. Bob Iger confirmed during a Walt Disney Company earnings call last year that a series about the trickster god, and starring the man who made him famous, TGom Hiddleston, was coming to Disney+. One assumes it will be some sort of prequel series, but we're still waiting for those details, and it's always possible that Avengers:Endgame could change the situation for the character in a big way ahead of the series.


WandaVision


Marvel has had nearly as much success on the small screen for Disney as they have on the big one, so it's little surprise that other Marvel series are reportedly planned for Disney+. A series focusing on Scarlet Witch and Vision, had been previously rumored as being bound for Disney+, and the recent Investor's Day event officially confirmed that it is, in fact, on the way. The show will be called WandaVision and both Elizabeth Olson and Paul Bettany are confirmed to reprise their roles from the MCU.




Falcon & Winter Soldier


One additional Marvel series that had been rumored and has now been confirmed, is a team-up with The Winter Soldier and the Falcon. Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan will reprise their MCU roles for the new series. Kevin Feige says the pair will be "forced" to team up in the new series, implying that neither character will be fully on board with the idea. It sounds like this project will be a bit down the road, but no release date was announced.


Marvel's What If?


Marvel's What If? is a long running comic title that images what would happen if both minor and major changes took place in the Marvel universe. That idea will now be making its way to Disney+ as a new animated anthology series, but this one will be focused on creating "what if" scenarios specifically for the MCU. The first episode will examine what could have happened if Peggy Carter had become the super solder, and Steve Rogers had instead joined World War II inside an armored suit built by Howard Stark. MCU cast members will be adding their voices to the new series as well.


Togo


You might remember the animated movie Balto from many years ago, which was based on the sled dog that led the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome which brought much needed Diptheria medicine to Nome, Alaska. Togo is the name of the sled dog that led the team that ran the leg prior to Balto, the longest leg run by any team during the race. This project looks to be a live-action movie that will focus on Togo and Leonhard Seppala, the human driver of the sled dog team. Disney is good at making inspirational stories, and this looks to be right in their ballpark.




Stargirl


While Stargirl sounds like a science fiction story, it's actually a very grounded YA drama about a girl transitioning from homeschooling to high school who is at first embraced for differences before shunned for being so unusual. The book has been in development hell since almost back when it was written in 2000, but Disney reportedly cast the two leads, some time ago and has now officially confirmed the project is happening.


Timmy Failure


Timmy Failure is a children's book which focuses on an 11-year-old boy who fancies himself a great detective. The project is being co-written by the book's author Stephan Pastis and Spotlight director Tom McCarthy, who recently handled rewrites on another Disney project, the live-action Winnie the Pooh movie Christopher Robin. This was another project that had been rumored for Disney+ a while ago, but was only recently confirmed by the studio at the Investor's Day event.


The Imagineering Story


Clearly, there will be a lot of Disney magic all over Disney+, but for those who'd like a look behind the scenes at just how Disney magic is made, there will be a documentary series that goes behind-the-scenes at Wat Disney Imagineering, the division that's responsible for creating everything that makes a Disney theme park feel like you've stepped into another world. The show promises to give viewers a look at things that have never been seen by the general public before, which will make it a must watch for the average Disney fanatic, which is sure to be the core audience of Disney+ when it launches on day one of the new service.




The World According to Jeff Goldblum


Along with the acquisition of Fox, Disney purchased National Geographic, and along with that comes a vast array of existing content. However two new series original to Disney+ will also be available. The World According to Jeff Goldblum will follow the famous actor as he investigates mundane and everyday items and "pulls back the curtain" to reveal the fascinating science and history behind them. This one sounds like a lot of fun, made all the more fun by including Jeff Goldblum.


Magic Of The Animal Kingdom


The second original Disney+ series from National Geographic may mark the first major collaboration between Nat Geo and its new Disney overlords. Magic of the Animal Kingdom will take viewers behind the scenes of Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot's Sea Base Aquarium, following the vets, biologists, and others who use the theme park as a location for learning more about animals. For fans of Disney theme parks, or of animals, and especially if you love both, this promises to be a very special series.


Rumored Projects




A New Muppets Project


The Muppets have had a rough go of late. They came back strong with a 2011 movie, but that was followed by a lackluster Muppets Most Wanted sequel, and while I personally thought The Muppets TV series was mostly pretty good, it failed to connect with audiences and didn't last beyond one season. It looks like they're going to be given another shot, though, as the word is that a new series, that will co-star Josh Gad and follow the events of Muppets Take Manhattan is being developed for Disney+.


The Paper Magician


The Paper Magician is the first in a fantasy book trilogy written by Charlie N. Holmberg that Disney picked up the rights to in March of 2016. It looks like the plan for the first film, and one assumes the rest of the trilogy, is to see a release via streaming service rather than theatrical release. Since the project was announced prior to Disney's streaming service being a known entity, it was assumed that this was going to be a theatrical release. Officially, this one is still in limbo as it has not been confirmed by Disney that this is Disney+ bound.


Magic Camp


Magic Camp is an interesting one because the film sat on Disney's theatrical release slate for quite some time, all while essentially nothing seemed to be happening with it. Then, the project was pulled from the theatrical calendar with just as much fanfare as we'd had before -- none. Now, it appears the reason for the switch is that the film is going to be moved to debut online instead of on the big screen. The movie stars Adam Devine and Gillian Jacobs, so we know it's a comedy, and the movie appears to have been completed for some time, but it looks like it'll be at least a year before anybody actually sees it. Considering how old this project is, we would have expected official confirmation by now, but that hasn't happened.




The Sword in the Stone


One of Disney's live-action remakes that we did know was on the way was the remake of The Sword in the Stone. In fact, we only recently learned that the movie was talking to a director in 28 Weeks Later 's Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. It appears now that the plan is for that particular remake to be an original production for the streaming service rather than the big screen. With the writer of the project being a Game of Thrones vet, perhaps the feeling was that the final product would fit better on TV. This would does seem to be moving forward, but it's still lacking confirmation.


The Mighty Ducks Series


Another potential TV project in the works is one based on the Mighty Ducks film series. What's more, the original screenwriter of the films is attached to write it. It's not clear if the plan is to reboot the franchise fresh and make a series that more or less follows the premise of the film(s), or if the plan will be to make the series a sequel which picks up after the films. Perhaps with one of the now adult Ducks taking the role as coach of the team? It feels like a premise like that could both attract fans of the films as well as those new to the franchise.


Don Quixote


The writer of The Hunger Games and Captain Philips, Billy Ray, has a script for an adaptation of Don Quixote which Disney picked up in 2016. It appears they see the feature as a Pirates of the Caribbean-like action adventure and they're eyeing the streaming service for the film. Considering Terry Gilliam's Don Quixote project finally saw the light of day, perhaps that's a good sign for this one. Clearly, the two projects will take the same material in very different directions.




Three Men And A Baby


Of all the reboots that the Disney streaming service is planning, one of the oddest that has been reported is a remake of Three Men and a Baby. The original was technically a Disney project, though it was produced through Touchstone, the studio Disney started to do more "adult" movies, and starred Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson as three men who find themselves raising an infant. One hopes that a sequel won't find quite as much novelty in the mere concept of men raising kids, but if not, what exactly would this movie be about?


More Star Wars Series


While two Star Wars series have been confirmed, a host more have been rumored. One potential series could focus on Finn and Poe Dameron, the characters played by John Boyega and Oscar Isaac in the current Star Wars trilogy. Two other series could see a pair of characters from Solo: A Star Wars Story get their own shows. Both Emilia Clarke's Qi'ra and Donald Glover's Lando Calrissian could get shows of their own if rumors are accurate. In addition, it's possible that the long rumored Obi-Wan Kenobi movie might actually become a series for Disney+. All of these are only rumors, but considering how many Marvel series are happening, it's entirely possible all of these could be real as well.


Hawkeye


While several of the rumored Marvel series for Disney+ have been confirmed, one that was not mentioned by Disney at the recent big event was a rumored series that would focus on Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye. Allegedly, the new show would see Clint Barton pass on the Hawkeye mantle to a new character. Since the other Marvel rumors turned out to be true, this one may be as well, but it maybe so far out that Disney doesn't want to confirm it yet.



Dark Phoenix’s Sophie Turner Compares Jean Grey With Sansa Stark

Dark Phoenix’s Sophie Turner Compares Jean Grey With Sansa Stark
Sophie Turner as Jean Grey in X-Men: Dark Phoenix

With the Game of Thrones series finale still fresh on our minds, seeing Sophie Turner move on from Sansa Stark to Jean Grey in less than a month is destined to attract comparisons. Ahead of the next X-Men film’s summer release, Turner has noticed some similarities between her two most-talked-about roles. Check out what she said:



I'm always drawn to strong, independent women and Sansa and Jean are both that. They eventually use all of these terrible things that happened to them and they become incredibly strong women.



That’s right! Over the years on Game of Thrones, fans have quite literally watched Sophie Turner’s Sansa Stark grow up from being a naive “little bird” to a powerful presence in Winterfell who answers to no one and owns her tragic life experiences. Jean Grey emits a somewhat similar energy as a member of the X-Men, who becomes haunted by her new powers and must fight for herself in Dark Phoenix.




However, Sophie Turner explained that Sansa is more self-assured than Jean is in the upcoming flick, who will grapple with her identity and place in the world after being hit by a solar flare and gaining new energy she doesn’t quite know what to do with.


In the HBO interview, Sophie Turner also compared the two franchises’ ability to be grounded in real emotion and human connection, despite being ridden with fantastical elements such as fire-breathing dragons and blue beasts. She also imagined Jean Grey in the world of Game of Thrones with these words:



If the world’s were to collide, I think Jean would probably be a Targaryen. She’s the Phoenix. She rises from the ashes just like Daenerys does at the end of season one. It’s all about fire, baby!





The comparison certainly fits! Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys famously walks through the circle of fire in the beginning of the series and rises with the strength of the Mother of Dragons. Jean Grey will take a similar journey in Dark Phoenix while the team is on a space mission to save some astronauts.


In Dark Phoenix, Jean absorbs a new energy that has her bursting into flames and causing some damage to the X-Men team. When they try to control her, she seems to find herself at a divide between the X-Men and Jessica Chastain’s character.


Also much like Game of Thrones, Dark Phoenix will mark the end of a long-running franchise and may wrap up the stories of characters fans have been following for years. The X-Men movies have been going on for almost 20 years, along with Jean Grey’s storyline, and this movie will presumably close it out now that the Disney/Fox merger has been completed.




Dark Phoenix hits theaters on June 7, alongside The Secret Life of Pets 2, the latter tracking to win the weekend over the superhero flick.


Are you excited to see Sophie Turner reprise her X-Men role in Dark Phoenix? Let us know in the comments below.

The 6 Best Jim Carrey Movies, And The 4 Worst

The 6 Best Jim Carrey Movies, And The 4 Worst
Jim Carrey in a more serious role in The Truman Show

If high-energy slapstick with rambunctious, rubber-faced characters is the kind of comedy you crave, there is no better person to look to than Jim Carrey. The man behind icons like Ace Ventura, the title character of The Mask or Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber is a one-man army of non-stop explosive hilarity,


The actor is also never afraid to bring out the deeper side of his acting talent for more dramatic roles like The Truman Show. Jim Carrey’s versatile talent has resulted in some of the funniest comedies and most moving dramas of the last few decades… not to mention a few forgettably laughless bores and overblown messes.


Shall we take a look back at Jim Carrey’s fascinating career by analyzing our picks of his biggest hits and most sheepish misses among the Jim Carrey movies? Allllllllrighty then!




The Best Jim Carrey Movies


Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)


It seems pretty obvious to include the film that skyrocketed Jim Carrey to fame on his best list. Yet, by that criteria alone, it deserves it.


Jim Carrey is Ace Ventura, a private investigator with a knack for solving animal-related crimes and has a tremendously bizarre personality. When he is hired to find Snowflake, the kidnapped mascot for the Miami Dolphins, Ace’s unusual detective methods keep putting him in the hot seat, but still closer to solving the case than anyone else.




Following his successful run on In Living Color, this was the film that introduced audiences to Jim Carrey’s definitive, rubber-faced character traits. With Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Carrey led a one-man comedy revolution by doing what no actor had ever done before: talking through his butt.


The Mask (1994)


Boy, was 1994 a good year for Jim Carrey. First Ace Ventura: Pet Detective makes a box office killing, then Dumb and Dumber finds critical success later that year. That summer, however, there came a movie that defied expectations, solidified Carrey as a multi-layered comedic tour de force and earned him his first Golden Globe nomination.


The Mask, a much, much lighter interpretation of a Dark Horse comic book series, stars Jim Carrey as down-on-his-luck bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss, who gets a chance to turn his life around when he finds a mysterious mask. Putting it on turns him into living cartoon character with superhuman powers and a menacing disposition.




Never has Jim Carrey been so animated, versatile and out of control. He carries this inventive story with Oscar-nominated special effects to comedic gold of historical measure.


Liar Liar (1997)


Jim Carrey put his manic, explosive acting style to its most appropriate and uproarious use in this story of an average person (unusual for Carrey at the time) with a really weird problem.


In Liar Liar, Lawyer Fletcher Reede (Jim Carrey) makes a living out of stretching the truth to help get his clients out of trouble. Unfortunately, his dishonest habit often pours into his personal life, feeding into his strained relationship with his ex-wife and dwindling trust from his son, Max (Justin Cooper). When Max makes a birthday wish that Fletcher can not tell a lie for just one day, suddenly, he finds himself literally unable to tell a lie for the next 24 hours.




Watching Jim Carrey drive himself to the brink of insanity over his inability to lie is painfully hilarious, but watching him facing his demons and learning to be a better person and father is heartwarming. Liar Liar was one of Jim Carrey’s first roles that allowed him to show his sensitive side to wonderful effect.


The Truman Show (1998)


Jim Carrey’s next major role took far more advantage of the actor’s sensitive side than ever before. I would even consider Truman Burbank to be one of the most soulful and devastating performances of his career.


Truman (Jim Carrey) is an average, likeable, married insurance salesman who cannot seem to escape his mundane existence, let alone his picturesque hometown. Little does he know that his unexplained sense of entrapment is by design of the creator of a television show that gives hope and joy and inspiration to millions, and he is the star.




Nominated for three Academy Awards, The Truman Show is a brilliant satire on the influence of “reality” television on its viewers and its subjects, tackling themes more relevant now than ever. As one of Jim Carrey’s first departures from his comedic reputation into a more dramatic setting, he knocks it out of the park.


Bruce Almighty (2003)


Jim Carrey re-teamed with the director of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Liar Liar for this ambitious romp of heavenly proportions. That is not me being incredulous. It is thematically appropriate.


After dissatisfied field reporter Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) loses his job, he blames God for his current losing streak. Thus, the Almighty One himself appears to Bruce, in the appropriately cast form of Morgan Freeman, to offer him His job and endow him with his powers. Thrilled, at first, by his omnipotence, Bruce soon realizes that being God is no easy feat.




Bruce Almighty succeeds at being more than a story of a man who fixes his problems by acquiring great power. It is a clever, heartfelt morality tale about a man who learns to rediscover his humanity by becoming larger than life. Not to mention, I laugh painfully hard at the scene where Jim Carrey makes Steve Carell speak gibberish every single time.


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)


Maybe director Michel Gondry’s critically acclaimed 2004 dreamy fantasy does not come to mind when you think of Jim Carrey. Nevertheless, if you have seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, it should come to mind when you think of stunningly unique and remarkably absorbing dramas.


Following a painful break-up with his girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), Joel (Jim Carrey) undergoes a procedure to have her erased from his memory. It is not until he is knee-deep in the procedure when he realizes that he would rather keep the memories.




Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a visually hypnotic, unfathomably clever and ultimately heartbreaking masterwork. Few films before or since have come close to its level of originality and its authentic examination of the complexities of tragic romance is gripping.


This is Jim Carrey like you have never seen him before in a world like you could never imagine.


The Worst Jim Carrey Movies




Batman Forever (1995)


There is a lot of back-and-forth among Batman fans about what should be considered the shining example of the comic character as portrayed on film. Rarely does one agree which is best, but many agree that it is certainly not Joel Schumacher’s 1995 revamp of the franchise.


Batman Forever is the third installment in Warner Bros’. Batman franchise that started with Tim Burton’s interpretation. Following lackluster box office results and parent protests over 19922’s Batman Returns being “too dark,” the studio put Joel Schumacher in the director’s chair, Val Kilmer in the cowl and Jim Carrey in the villainous role of The Riddler, partnered with an unnecessarily unplugged Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face.


To be clear, the faults of Batman Forever are not to be put on Jim Carrey, even if his performance gets to be a little much sometimes. What this overblown, nonsensical, uncomfortably goofy toy commercial does to deserve a spot on this list is make a mockery out of its title character and all he stands for.




Me, Myself & Irene (2000)


The Farrelly Brothers brought out the lovably kooky side of Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber. Somehow they must have felt that a good way to stretch their legs a bit was to bring out a more unlikeable and inappropriate side of him.


In Me, Myself & Irene, Jim Carrey plays Charlie, Rhode Island state trooper who has allowed a life’s worth of misfortune bottle up inside, resulting in a condition referred to as “advanced delusionary schizophrenia with involuntary narcissistic rage.” That’s the movie’s highly incorrect way of describing Charlie’s split personality, Hank, who gets him a whole heap of trouble involving a woman in need of protection named Irene (Renee Zellwegger).


Peter and Bobby Farrelly are behind some of the most celebrated comedies of the 1990s (Kingpin, There’s Something About Mary), but there is a reason this R-rated 2000 critical failure has been since forgotten. It is a lazy, laughless bore that lacks any much-needed heart and makes poor use of Jim Carrey’s talents in physical comedy.




The Number 23 (2007)


Perhaps director Joel Schumacher realized that Batman Forever was too lighthearted and decided that his next collaboration with Jim Carrey should be much darker. He forgot another Batman Forever mistake that The Number 23 could have also used: a story that makes sense.


Jim Carrey goes completely humorless for this thriller inspired by a real-life conspiracy theory that all bad things are somehow related to the number 23. Carrey plays a man who becomes obsessed with a disturbing book that seems to be imitating his life while the aforementioned number keeps popping up everywhere he turns.


The Number 23 is another example of Jim Carrey not being at fault for a film’s failure. He struggles to carry a plot that barely keeps your attention until it reaches its irritatingly unoriginal “twist” conclusion. If the conspiracy of tragedy related to the number 23 is true, this movie is some fine evidence.




Yes Man (2008)


Remember Liar Liar, in which Jim Carrey is unable to tell a lie? What if we basically remade that with one crucial twist.


Yes Man, from future Ant-Man director Peyton Reed, stars Jim Carrey as a guy who compulsively says no to everything, even things that sound pleasant. When he decides to make the decision to compulsively say yes to everything, even things that do not sound pleasant, his life begins to change for the better… until it doesn’t.


Yes Man has a wonderful, inspirational message that encourages living life to the fullest, but in the end, it defeats itself by admitting that saying yes can eventually prove problematic. It’s hard to decide what Jim Carrey and Peyton Reed wanted people to take this film. Laughter? Nah, it can’t be that.




Jim Carrey is one of our most beloved iconic comedians, but like any actor, his career is not without its missteps. However, The Number 23 or Me, Myself & Irene will not be what he's remembered for best. We will always think of him as a comedian with unprecedented energy and enthusiasm who taught that world that a man who talks with his butt actually can be pretty funny.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

What We Want To See From The Star Wars: Episode IX Trailer

What We Want To See From The Star Wars: Episode IX Trailer
Rey showing that lifting rocks is part of the Force

It has been roughly 1 year and 4 months since Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the last film in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, hit theaters. In all that time we have yet to see so much as a single frame from the next and final film in the trilogy, J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX. Fortunately, that long wait will soon be at an end.


Star Wars Celebration begins this week in Chicago, and with a Star Wars: Episode IX panel featuring director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy scheduled for Friday, April 12, the prevailing wisdom and expectation is that is when we will finally get the trailer for the film. A trailer for a new Star Wars film would be eagerly anticipated regardless, but this one has even more riding on it.


This trailer, which is for the final movie in the Skywalker Saga, comes after the bumpy patch of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Those factors mean that this trailer has to deliver. So what do we want from the Star Wars: Episode IX trailer to make it worth the wait? Here are a few things we’d like to see.




A Title


This one is obvious and pretty much a given (how weird would it be if we got a trailer but no full title?) but that doesn’t diminish the fact that we want to know what this movie is called. This will be the latest we have found out the title of any movie in the Sequel Trilogy and while the title doesn’t matter insofar as the quality of the film is concerned, on a macro level, it is important. This is the end of the Skywalker Saga and an over 40-year journey, the concluding chapter title is more than a point of speculation. It should have weight and meaning and sound cool.


In our long wait for the title reveal, there have been a ton of rumored and potential contenders thrown out there, from Son of Darkness and The New Order to Balance of the Force and Skywalkers. We’ll soon find out if any of these guesses were right. I expect that this title reveal will be done as it was for Avengers 4, with the title being revealed at the end of the trailer. If it’s a banger, it will be a heck of a way to close out the first trailer for Star Wars: Episode IX and send fans into a frenzy.


The Knights Of Ren


Glimpsed in the first full trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Rey’s lightsaber vision in the film) and talked about in both Episode VII and Episode VIII, we still have yet to see the enigmatic Knights of Ren in person in the sequel trilogy. Rumors have indicated that Kylo Ren’s coterie of force-wielders will finally show up in Star Wars: Episode IX and if that’s true, they need to be in the trailer.




At this point, the villains are just Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, General Hux, and a bunch of faceless First Order soldiers. The Star Wars: Episode IX trailer could up the stakes and the threat level in a major way by giving us a group of badass darksiders showcasing some serious skills and powers or doing something menacing. J.J. Abrams introduced the idea of the Knights of Ren all the way back in 2015’s The Force Awakens, its time to finally deliver and that should happen starting with the Episode IX trailer.


The Original Trilogy Characters


In the official Star Wars: Episode IX casting announcement, Lucasfilm let us know that Mark Hamill would be reprising his role as Luke Skywalker, Billy Dee Williams would be returning to the franchise as Lando Calrissian, and the late Carrie Fisher would appear as Leia Organa thanks to unused footage from the previous two films. Although the focus of this film will likely be on the new characters like Rey, Finn, and Kylo, the trailer for Episode IX, the end of the Skywalker Saga, should honor its history by showing these Original Trilogy characters.


Lucasfilm made the bold decision to reveal that Luke Skywalker would be back (in some form) in Episode IX, choosing not to keep it a secret despite his death in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. With Luke returning being public knowledge, we should see him in the trailer. With regards to Leia, without knowing how much footage they had to work with, I wouldn’t want too much revealed ahead of time, but just a shot or two would be enough. And Donald Glover’s Lando stole the show in the Solo trailers, and just seeing Billy Dee Williams as Lando again in the Episode IX trailer would be great.




Lightsaber Moments


There are few inventions in fiction as cool and beloved as the lightsaber, and seeing an awesome lightsaber ignite or some signature lightsaber combat is a great way to have people freaking out over a trailer. Just think back to the trailer for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace when you saw Darth Maul whip out a double-bladed lightsaber or in the teaser for The Force Awakens when Kylo Ren pulled his jagged crossguard lightsaber. The trailer for Episode IX should have a similar ‘Holy Shit!’ lightsaber moment.


I know Rey’s/Anakin’s blue saber is/was broken and I’m not saying we need to see a new kind of lightsaber in the trailer, but it feels like we do need to see some kind of lightsaber moment that surprises you and has you pumping your fist. The Last Jedi didn’t feature any lightsaber on lightsaber battles but I hope and expect J.J. Abrams to give us plenty of that in this film. If we could see some of that in the trailer it would help get everyone back on board with this saga and hyped about this film.


The New Characters


Star Wars: Episode IX may be the last film in this trilogy and the Skywalker Saga at large, but there are still new faces that will be introduced. Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Dominic Monaghan, and Naomi Ackie are all joining the cast in roles that are yet to be officially revealed. There is also still something of an open question whether or not Matt Smith is in this movie. Exciting new characters interacting with our faves and doing cool things is a good way to build the hype for the film and hopefully the Episode IX trailer does just that by showing them.




That said, there is a caveat to this wish list item; if any of the new characters or their roles in the film are meant to be a surprise, like Yoda in The Last Jedi, I’m fine with omitting them from the trailer, as I don’t think any of us want major plot beats spoiled. But we should be able to see at least some of these new characters in the trailer, if only enough to whet our appetites and give us something to speculate over until December.


An Idea Of The Story


Generally speaking, I’m a huge advocate of trailers that go light on plot details and heavy on establishing the tone of a film, and while that latter part is also important, I think that the first trailer for Star Wars: Episode IX needs to really give us an idea of what the story is. This isn’t a teaser that’s arriving a year before the film releases, this is a trailer that’s giving us our first anything from this film a mere eight months before its release.


Unlike The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi didn’t leave us with a cliffhanger or a ton of huge questions in need of answering, so the story feels wide open with where it could go in Episode IX. This trailer needs to give us some idea of where it is going, what’s at stake in this film and what the characters will be up to. Obviously it will be a battle between The First Order and the Resistance, but what’s the current dynamic between those forces after the time jump? What are the characters up to and what’s going on with Kylo and Rey? Is there a new enemy or a quest that must be completed? I feel like tone alone isn’t enough; we need at least a few plot details (nothing too spoilery, of course).




These are just a few of the things that we’d like to see in the Star Wars: Episode IX trailer. The wait alone for this trailer has built up a ton of anticipation and that means expectations are sky high. This is the last time we'll ever see the first trailer from a Skywalker Saga film for the first time. That's momentous and the trailer should convey that.


Whatever it includes or doesn’t, this trailer has a lot of work to do to get everyone excited and on board for a new Star Wars film after the past two entries haven’t been universally beloved. The Episode IX trailer can do that by delivering on some of these elements, feeling epic and maybe even including a surprise or two.


Star Wars: Episode IX blasts into theaters on December 20. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule for all of this year’s biggest movies. We’ll keep you updated on all the latest Star Wars news as it drops and let us know in the comments below what you want to see in the Episode IX trailer.



This Fake Aquaman 2 Trailer Is Hiding A Funny DC Gag

This Fake Aquaman 2 Trailer Is Hiding A Funny DC Gag

If you were thinking, "wow, it's way to early to be getting any sort of new information about Aquaman 2," then you'd be right. The  movie isn't scheduled for release until 2022, and nothing is really happening with it yet, but that didn't stop the Warner Bros. YouTube page from dropping something this morning that it claimed was a trailer for the forth coming sequel. Needless to say, it was not.


Rather than being a promotion for a project coming in several years, it's actually a promo for one coming in just a few days. Shazam! is DC's next major release and the movie hits theaters at the end of the week. "The Kid Shall Reign" actually has a nice ring to it.


While Aquaman wasn't exactly the most dark and serious of the recent DC films, this little joke promo does show how the universe is shifting into an apparently more fun and light-hearted tone. Aquaman was one of the less serious members of the Justice League, but compared to Shazam, Aquaman has all the angst of your average Batman.




Of course, one area where Shazam! would like to be able to be compared to Aquaman for sure is in the realm of box office receipts. Aquaman became the highest grossing global hit for the DC universe so far, which, to be sure, was something of a surprise for a character that has largely been viewed as one of the Justice League's punchlines up until now. Shazam! isn't expected to do quite that well, but then, Aquaman wasn't either. The fact is that, because of the wider audience that Shazam! is likely to attract, it's very possible that the movie could do incredibly well by selling tickets to kids who might not have been allowed to go see something like Aquaman.


Shazam! is also doing much better with critics than Aquman did, which might help bring in a segment of the audience that avoided the king of the ocean because they heard the movie wasn't necessarily all that great.


Having said that, box office projections for the film have actually been shrinking slightly. The film was looking to do something around $50 million domestically on opening weekend but that number has now slid back into the $45 million range. Although, if international audiences pick up the baton for this one it could still become a massive hit even if it doesn't overwhelm the North American audience. That's ultimately what happened with Aquaman, while that movie did a quite impressive $334 million domestically, it was the over $800 million that was brought in overseas that made the movie the phenomenon that it was.




We still have a few years to wait before we see a trailer for Aquaman 2 but our next dive into the DC universe movies will be here much sooner when Shazam! arrives this week.

The Huge Amount The Lion King Could Make In Its Opening Weekend

The Huge Amount The Lion King Could Make In Its Opening Weekend
The Lion King Mufasa and baby Simba on cliff

The summer kicked off with a bang with Avengers: Endgame, currently the second highest-grossing movie of all time. Analysts and movie buffs are trying to find what the next big hit of the summer will be and all evidence is pointing toward The Lion King. The remake of the classic film is due to hit theaters in July and when it does, it will do so with a roar. Current projections for The Lion King have it opening to $201 million and a total domestic gross of $650 million.


Disney is no stranger to remaking the most iconic animated films in its library. It's found massive success in films like The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast, both of which were one of the highest-grossing films of the respective years they were released. So, no one was surprised when The Lion King was called up to the plate, with Jon Favreau leading the charge with cutting-edge photo-realistic technology.


The Lion King is beloved by multiple generations and those fans will turn out big time when the remake arrives in theaters. According to BoxOfficePro, The Lion King could open within the range of $180-$230 million. If that happens, the 2019 Lion King would top Beauty and the Beast's $174 million as the biggest opening weekend of any Disney "live-action" remake.




There are multiple factors working in The Lion King's favor. First off, the reaction to the trailer for The Lion King has been well received. The first trailer received 225 million views in the first 24 hours, which was ranked second all-time among all studio releases at that time. For comparison, Beauty and the Beast's trailer scored 128 million in its first day.


Additionally, in a recent Fandango survey, the film ranked as the most anticipated summer family film, ahead of Toy Story 4, Aladdin, and The Secret Life of Pets 2.


The original Lion King was the second-highest grossing film of 1994 with $312.9 million. After adjusting for 2019 ticket prices, that number jumps to over $680 million -- not including the 2011 re-release that scored $94.2 million domestic. Accounting for inflation, it's the second highest original run by any animated release, behind only Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (over $700 million).




In short, people love The Lion King. The animated movie won two Oscars, a Golden Globe, and two Grammys, and it has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie checks a lot of boxes and appeals to a very wide audience. The 2019 Lion King is the last family friendly movie until November, so it has ample room to stretch its legs and build up a nice total.


The only real thing working against The Lion King, is that Disney has proven to not be bullet-proof with its remakes. Just earlier this year, Dumbo underperformed with $112 million domestic, while this weekend's Aladdin is still unclear.


However, it seems inevitable that The Lion King will reign supreme from Pride Rock when it releases on July 19, 2019.



Friday, September 27, 2019

Rotten Tomatoes Rolls Out New Policy For Audience Score To Fight Trolling

Rotten Tomatoes Rolls Out New Policy For Audience Score To Fight Trolling
Captain Marvel glowing with cosmic power

2019 saw a significant portion of Rotten Tomatoes, as well as the internet community in general, trying to troll the system by review bombing release like Marvel’s Captain Marvel, thanks to the previous system that allowed users to post ratings and reviews before and after a film had been released. In order to combat such abuses of the system, Rotten Tomatoes removed the pre-release audience rating, allowing audiences to only rate films past their opening date.


Now the company is taking another, more aggressive step in determining which reviews are legitimate and which ones are fake. And it starts with a new feature known as the Verified Audience section.


Effective as of today, when you purchase tickets to any film through Fandango, you can choose to have your account linked to Rotten Tomatoes. Through that link, you’ll be able to post “verified” reviews and ratings on RT, as your ticket purchase will be your verification that you’ve seen the film.




However, if you haven’t seen the film, or even if you don’t buy tickets through Fandango, you’ll be able to still post a review after films like Disney’s Aladdin have opened. But those reviews will go to the “All Audience” section of Rotten Tomatoes’ audience feedback, meaning it has not been confirmed that you’ve actually seen the film.


This sort of activity is bound to be reduced by the end of the year though. The Hollywood Reporter specified that cinema chains AMC Theaters, Regal Theaters and Cinemark Theaters will have their ticketing apps included in the Verified field as the year goes on.


This new policy feels like a happy medium for fans who like to use their Rotten Tomatoes accounts to log personal reviews. Those who really want to be verified can do so with a simple purchase through Fandango, whereas those who aren’t too concerned with such things can still put their feelings down in digital ink. However, that difference in verification will definitely tinge how people read the reviews in the Verified and All Audience fields.




Rotten Tomatoes has been making quite a few alterations to the way it records reactions from both fans and critics alike, as even its RT Verified guidelines for critics have shifted in recent times. It’s clear to see that the review aggregator is looking to shape up its image, as well as draw more attention to itself through events like official freshness score unveilings.


How exactly this will shake out for the company’s fortunes is yet to be seen, and really it can’t be properly be judged until at least the big three movie theater chains sign up to be a part of Rotten Tomatoes’ Verified review program. For now, it’ll be interesting to see how the public reacts to these early days, as well as how the quality and quantity of reviews on both sides shows this program’s efficiency.


If you’re interested in testing out your status as a Verified reviewer, then check out the 2019 release schedule to see which new films you’d be interested in seeing for yourself. Also, don’t forget that only tickets purchase through Fandango will allow you to achieve such status.



What If Steve Or Bucky Had To Sacrifice For The Soul Stone In Endgame? Here's Sebastian Stan's Take

What If Steve Or Bucky Had To Sacrifice For The Soul Stone In Endgame? Here's Sebastian Stan's Take
Captain America The First Avenger Steve Rogers Bucky Barnes Sebastian Stan

Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame.


Captain America and Bucky Barnes are a favorite duo in the MCU, with their friendship being vital for each character's arcs. Seeing as how their friendship is so strong, some fans have been wondering what would happen if Steve and Bucky were the ones to find the Soul Stone. The specific rules of the stone require a sacrifice and, according to Sebastian Stan, it's one both characters would be willing to make.


In the quest for the Infinity Stones, no stone costs as much as the Soul Stone. Found on the planet Vormir, the stone requires an everlasting exchange from the one looking to claim it. As the Red Skull says, it's a soul for a soul. In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos killed his daughter Gamora, and in Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow makes the sacrifice to save Hawkeye.




Basically, shit goes down when characters go to Vormir, so how would the MCU's biggest bromance handle the cost of the Soul Stone? While in attendance at Italy’s Jus In Bello convention (via ComicBook.com), Sebastian Stan was asked which of the two characters would take the plunge off the cliff to spare the other. Stan sounded fascinated by the question and this was his answer:



Wow. [Steve] would probably be like, ‘I got this.’ And [Bucky] would have been like, ‘No, I should be doing this.' No, I think it would have been a fight, and I probably would have tried to — I should be the one, after everything, to take the leap, so to speak. But knowing him, he probably wouldn’t let me. But I don’t know, that’s a crazy question. Jesus. And then the Red Skull was there.



That sounds about right. Neither Steve or Bucky would be okay with the other killing themselves for the stone and they would definitely fight each other for that "right." It's exactly what happened with Clint and Natasha in Endgame. In fact, you could probably take almost any two heroes in the MCU, put them on Vormir, and they would fight each other to make the sacrifice.




Plus, Sebastian Stan brings up the very good point that Red Skull adds an interesting wrinkle. How would Cap and Bucky react to seeing their arch-nemesis alive as a Ring Wraith on Vormir? Cap definitely had to meet Red Skull to return the Soul Stone at the end of Endgame, so hopefully one day we get to see how that interaction plays out.


Avengers: Endgame is still out there eating up records and you can watch it as much as you like. For everything the summer has to offer for movie fans, be sure to stay up to date with our 2019 movie release guide. For all other movie news, keep it right here at CinemaBlend.

Marvel's The Eternals Is Adding Angelina Jolie

Marvel's The Eternals Is Adding Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is no stranger to big action movie roles, with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Wanted being some of the most significant titles on her resume, and it looks like she is now ready to join her first superhero franchise - specifically the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to new reports, the actress is now in talks to join the cast of The Eternals, albeit in an unknown role.


This news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter, which sadly doesn't have a ton of info about the film beyond the fact that Angelina Jolie is now signing up to be a part of it. The project is set up to be directed by Chloe Zhao (The Rider), and it is said that the story will be a centuries-spanning romance that centers on the titular near-immortal beings and their monstrous genetic relatives, the Deviants. The two lead characters will be the cosmic energy-powered Ikaris, and the powerful sorceress Sersi - though it's unclear if either of these roles will ultimately belong to Jolie.


Given her stature in the movie industry both as an actor and as a director, rumors have been swirling around for years connecting Angelina Jolie to superhero film projects. One of the most prominent stories that stuck around for a while was the idea that she was on the short list to potentially helm Captain Marvel, but obviously that gig wound up going to Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. We'll just have to wait and see what it was about The Eternals that made Jolie want to be a part of the franchise.




What adds yet another layer of mystique to this development is the fact that Angelina Jolie doesn't really do a ton of live-action performing anymore. Later this year we will get to see her back up on the big screen in the sequel Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil, but it will be the first time we've seen her in the medium since 2015's By The Sea. Her career has been much more focused on the directing side of things, so it makes one wonder about the particular allure of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (assuming that it's more than money). She does have six children between the ages of 10 and 17, so it's entirely possible that The Eternals is a film she wants to make because her kids are fans of the brand.


Right now the state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's future is a bit hazy, as Marvel Studios isn't announcing any official plans until this summer. That being said, it's been reported that The Eternals could be going into production some time later this year, meaning that it could wind up with one of the three 2020 release dates that the franchise currently has carved out. If that's the case, it's very likely that we will be hearing more casting reports soon, so stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all the latest updates.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

This Rotten Week: Predicting The Beach Bum and Dumbo Reviews!

This Rotten Week: Predicting The Beach Bum and Dumbo Reviews!

Two movies hit the big screen and they couldn’t be any more dissimilar if they tried. In one we get a drug-addled writer buzzing his way through the Florida Keys. And in the other it’s a beloved elephant who uses his ears to fly (which kind of sounds like something a drug-addled writer would come up with. Maybe these flicks aren’t all that different). Get ready for The Beach Bum and Dumbo.


Just remember, I'm not reviewing these movies but rather predicting where they'll end up on the Tomatometer. Let's take a look at This Rotten Week has to offer.


If there was ever a movie that seems written specifically with Matthew McConaughey in mind, it's this one. In fact, I get the sense that if the dude had passed the movie might never have been made.


Harmony Korine has written and directed a bunch of films, though the only one to really hit wide release was 2012’s Springer Breakers (66%). It is easily his most well-received and well-publicized film. The other stuff is mostly, well, weird (or just depressing like Kids).


Beach Bum appears to take some of its look and feel from Springer Breakers, embracing the neon Florida haze while following around Moondog in his attempt to, well, be Moondog. McConaughey looks every bit in his element, playing what seems to be a mashup of Jimmy Buffett and Hunter S. Thompson.


Early reviews are basically split down the middle with the Tomatometer sitting at 55% through 20 looks. I suspect it only drops as the week goes on considering the positive reviews all found a few things they didn't like with the film. I see that trend continuing and it ends in the rotten territory almost for sure.


It’s now been 78 years since the original Dumbo hit the screens so I suppose, at least as far as Hollywood is concerned, we are way, way, way overdue for the remake. Now we get it in the form of a live action film about the titular elephant whose ears are so flappy they generate the requisite thrust to get him airborne.


Director Tim Burton has had an up and down critical run over the last decade or so. Sure there was the adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (65%) and the animated Frankenweenie (85%). But he also helmed Dark Shadows (36%) and Alice in Wonderland (51%) so it hasn’t been all great.


This latest looks like a visually pleasing, if vanilla retelling of the classic tale. And I suspect that tone will actually help it with critics. This isn’t a remake that needs to take a lot of chances, or distinguish itself from the original. Just hitting the right notes will be fine. I think critics take to it positively.





We only had one movie hit the big screen in wide release last week. Us (Predicted: 99% Actual: 95%) represents another knock-it-out-of-the-park critical win for Jordan Peele in a worthy successor to his award-winning Get Out. Peele has done it again, embracing the horror genre while adding additional layers of commentary about our society as a whole. Getting the prediction in the zone was rather easy. It was sitting at 100% early last week and picked up only a few negative reviews along the way.


Next time around we’ve got The Best of Enemies, Shazam and Pet Sematary. It’s gonna be a Rotten Week!

Captain Marvel Might Not Be The Last We’ve Seen Of The Kree-Skrull War

Captain Marvel Might Not Be The Last We’ve Seen Of The Kree-Skrull War
Skrulls in Captain Marvel

Warning: SPOILERS ahead!


The Kree-Skrull War is a huge storyline within Marvel Comics universe, and now that conflict exists within the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well. Captain Marvel showed the Earth-born Carol Danvers joining this war originally fighting for the Kree empire, but then later aiding the shapeshifting Skrulls, as they were depicted much more sympathetically than they usually are on the printed page. Carol’s defection marked a major turning point in the MCU’s Kree-Skrull War, but according to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, it didn’t necessarily mark its conclusion. Speaking about introducing the Skrulls in Captain Marvel, Feige said:



This Captain Marvel story was the right one to bring them into the fold and to introduce the overarching narrative of the Kree-Skrull War, which is one of the most important and groundbreaking storylines in the Marvel comics. That will be the backdrop to the adventures of Captain Marvel.






Given the commercial success of Captain Marvel and the many positive reviews it’s received, it’s a good bet that Marvel will give the green light to Captain Marvel 2 eventually. While Kevin Feige’s above comment doesn’t confirm whether or not the Kree-Skrull War is still going in the present day, the conflict obviously played a huge role in Carol Danvers’ origins, and her actions might not have spelled the end of this bloodshed. We’ll have to wait on more official confirmation, but evidently Captain Marvel 2 will explore the Kree-Skrull War further, either directly or through the fallout.


Kevin Feige also elaborated on why it was decided to feature the Skrulls in Captain Marvel, saying the following in the Captain Marvel Official Movie Special (via Comicbook.com):



We’ve talked about the Skrulls since the very earliest days at Marvel Studios, figuring out when and where to introduce them. They might be the most famous alien race in Marvel Comics. They’re shape-shifters; they’re green; they’ve got pointy ears. They are very important to the mythology of our comics universe, going back decades.






He’s absolutely right. The Skrulls were introduced in 1962’s Fantastic Four #2, and while various members of this species frequently fight Marvel’s First Family, the Skrulls as whole evolved into a threat against all the heroes of the Marvel Comics universe, particularly in the Secret Invasion storyline. That said, in sharp contrast to their usual depiction in the comics, Captain Marvel positioned the Skrulls, who were advertised as the movie’s main villains, as the victims in the Kree-Skrull War, with the Kree destroying their homeworld and intent on wiping out all of these shapeshifters.


Carol Danvers, who had spent years believing she was Kree and fighting for Starforce as Vers, eventually learned the truth from Talos and discovered how her mentor, Dr. Wendy Lawson, a.k.a. Mar-Vell, had defected from the Kree empire to help the Skrulls find a new home. After her powers fully awakened, Carol sent Yon-Rogg and the rest of the Kree operatives who had come to Earth packing, and she left to help the Skrulls find a new planet to live on. We have no idea yet if Captain Marvel 2 will be set in the 23-year gap between Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame, or if it will be set post-Endgame, but either way, this particular narrative isn’t over.


You can see Captain Marvel in theaters now, and be sure to read CinemaBlend’s review of the movie. Keep checking back for any news about the future of the MCU’s Kre-Skrull War, but for now, Carol Danvers will appear next in Avengers: Endgame, in theaters on April 26.




Keanu Reeves Is Down To Play John Constantine Again

Keanu Reeves Is Down To Play John Constantine Again
Keanu Reeves as John Constantine

Right now, Keanu Reeves is garnering a lot of attention for his third turn as John Wick, and naturally a lot of people are quite familiar with him from the Bill & Ted and Matrix movies. However, let’s not forget that Reeves has also left his mark in the comic book movie realm, as he played John Constantine in 2005’s Constantine. That movie never got a sequel, but nearly a decade and a half later, Reeves is still interested in reprising the character, saying:



I've always wanted to play John Constantine again. I just love that world, too, and I love that character. I just had a blast playing a character and in that world.



Made off a $100 million budget and ultimately making nearly $231 million worldwide, Constantine, which came out the same year as fellow DC Comics movie Batman Begins, was met with mixed reviews. Director Francis Lawrence talked about making a sequel six years later, one that would lean harder into the R rating, but nothing ever surfaced with that. Now Keanu Reeves is keeping busy with other projects, including the John Wick franchise and Bill & Ted 3. So while the idea of Constantine 2 might sound nice on paper, the chances of it actually coming to fruition are slim.




Keanu Reeves was also asked in his interview with Variety if he’s ever been approached to be in a superhero movie, to which the actor noted he had a “brush” with that genre, but it “didn’t work out.” While John Constantine has operated in the DC universe for years and fights the forces of evil, he doesn’t fit into the traditional superhero mold, and that was especially the case with his movie, which felt more at home in the horror genre.


Constantine certainly left the door open for a follow-up down the line, and even though Keanu Reeves’ version of the character didn’t resemble his comic book counterpart, nearly every other aspect of him felt faithful to the source material, from the chain-smoking to exorcising demons. The movie’s supporting cast included Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Djimon Honsou, but even if we assumed that Constantine 2 is a legitimate possibility, who knows if the sequel could successfully gather most, if not all of those actors together again.


Nowadays if you want to see John Constantine in live action, you’d turn to Matt Ryan’s version, who led a short-lived NBC series and then popped up on Arrow before being thrown into Legends of Tomorrow a couple years later. There’s also been talk in recent years of John Constantine returning to the big screen in a Justice League Dark movie, which Guillermo del Toro and Doug Liman were lined up to direct at different points. Colin Farrell was once rumored to be up for the Constantine role, but lately it seems like that’s one of the lesser priority projects for the DC Extended Universe.




Rest assured, if there’s any news about John Constantine appearing in another theatrical movie, we here at CinemaBlend will let you know about it. In the meantime, you can currently see Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, which was the highest-grossing domestic movie this past weekend.

 

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