Marvel Studios' cinematic universe may already be in its second phase, butSony's own shared universe is just about to get started when The Amazing Spider-Man 2 hits theaters next month. Fans will be keeping their eyes and ears pealed when the franchise's second installment hits theaters, as the film's trailers have already teased a few references to Sony's upcoming Spider-Man spin-offs; Venom and Sinister Six. While the studio hasn't given us much info about these upcoming films since their announcement, they've finally broken their silence about a few key details. It's now been confirmed that Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods) will be directing the Sinister Six film (Which he's already writing), and both spin-offs may be hitting theaters sooner than we expected.
The confirmation of Goddard's involvement shouldn't come as a surprise to many, as his name was mentioned as the most probable choice to direct the Sinister Six film upon its announcement. The original announcement gave us news that Goddard was already set for script duties on the project, and was really the only candidate we knew was in contention for the director's chair. Goddard's previous work certainly will put some fans at ease, as he's certainly a talented and geek friendly director for Sony to bring on board. Goddard's past work under the wing of The Avengers' director Joss Whedon will help his cause, given the fact that Sony essentially wants Sinister Six to be the villain equivalent of said film. Goddard's upcoming work on Marvel and Netflix's upcoming Daredevil TV show doesn't seem to be a scheduling problem, given his willingness to accept the project.
While we still have yet to get any real details on either spin-off film, producers Matt Tolmach and Avi Arad have finally broken their silence toIGN. In regards to The Sinister Six film, both were quick to point out how the film's essentially a story of redemption for the Spider-Man villains included in the line-up. Although the two admit the team's members will be united over their hatred for the web-slinger, they played coy when asked whether Spidey would actually be making an appearance. As for the Venom movie, probably the most intriguing detail came from Arad, who stated they're considering Carnage as a possible antagonist for the film.
But probably the most appealing piece of news in regards to both Venom and Sinister Six is that of which Tolmach let slip during an interview with Den of Geekis that the films will actually be arriving before The Amazing Spider-Man 4. The fourth film of the series has been garnering a lot of curiosity after director Marc Webb recently confirmed he won't be returning to direct the film. While Sony's set May 4th, 2018 release date was originally thought to be occupied by TASM 4, the release date may in fact be given to one of the two spin-offs. It's still hard to tell what in fact the studio has in mind for The Amazing Spider-Man 4, yet it's difficult to imagine the aging Andrew Garfield reprising the role so far down the line.
So are you happy with Drew Goddard directing Sinister Six? Would you want to see Venom face-off against Carnage in the upcoming spin-off? And what're your thoughts on Sony's plans for The Amazing Spider-Man 4 thus far? Let us know below!
You'd think a movie that just released it's first trailer and actual footage to critical responses from fans would want to lay off the publicity for a while, yet it seems that won't be the case for Jonathan Liebesman's upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It seems Leibesman and producer Michael Bay haven't yet finished stirring up as much controversial casting as the possibly can, because it's recently been announced that there's been a last minute swap for the actors voicing Master Splinter and Leonardo. Thankfully, there's a pretty cool set of teaser posters for each turtle that sort of eases all the frustration over the casting news, but that isn't to say it's enough.
Deadline brought in the reports for the two new casting changes, probably the most controversial of the two being the addition of Knoxville as the voice of Leonardo. The role was originally set to be portrayed by relatively unknown actor Pete Ploszek, who's most notable credit is and episode of Parks and Recreation. While it's understandable that the studio may not be as confident in such a little known actor playing the leader of the turtles, it seems odd that they'd make such an abrupt and last minute change. As for Knoxville, he's to be a it of an odd choice given that he's more well known for playing a goofball in film's like Jackass and The Last Stand, and isn't the first person that would come to mind when you think of a leader as serious as Leonardo.
Woodburn and Ploszek has both already completed the motion capture work for both of the characters, so it's likely that will remain intact despite the changes. While Knoxville's casting initially seems off the mark, the actor may be able to bring the more teenage and playful side of Leo on to the big screen, and hopefully take a more serious approach to this role than he has in his past ones. As for Danny Woodburn's Master Splinter, the character will now be voiced by Tony Shalhoub (Pain and Gain), which to be quite honest isn't exactly and improvement over Woodburn. Neither actor really has the voice fitting for the wise Japanese sensei, so it's likely Liebesman and Bay are looking to take a much more different approach to the character.
The posters themselves aren't much, and those who were expecting the teaser posters to give us our first full look of each of the turtles will surely be disappointed. Yet, it's at least reassuring to know that each of the turtles will be sporting their unique weaponry, such as Leonardo with his katana, Raphael with his pair of sai, Donatello with his bo-staff, and of course Michelangelo with his nunchakus. The poster also shows us each turtle's set of protective gear on their arms, with Leonardo sporting the most padding. It'll be interesting to see how each turtle's full set of gear and armor varies from the others once we get our first official full look at them, but until then these posters seem be the closest we'll get for a while.
So what do you think of the new teaser posters for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Are you happy with casting of Knoxville and Shalhoub as Leonardo and Splinter? Let us know below!
Well it's that time of year again, the month of May is slowly creeping up upon us, and as is the continuation of Marvel's never ending streak of successful box office hits. Admittedly Marvel's Phase 2 of their post-Avengers cinematic universe has gotten off to a rough start, with the critically successful Iron Man 3 not sitting well with many fans, Thor: The Dark World not exactly meeting expectations, and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy still proving to be a rather risky gamble for the studio. All things considered, Captain America: The Winter Soldier has without a doubt been the studio's safest bet in recent months, and boy does it deliver what we've all been yearning to see from Phase 2.
The Russo brother's Captain America: The Winter Soldier follows Steve Rogers (Chris Evans); who was product of a super soldier serum experiment, in his first solo outing since the events of The Avengers and after being frozen for over seventy years. Now residing in Washington D.C., Rogers still find himself catching up on the many culturally and historically significant things he missed out on since the 1940's. Though keeping him preoccupied in his spare time is his work for the government organization S.H.I.E.L.D., headed by the enigmatic Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), whose methods Steve finds himself troubled by.
Through his new found friendship with fellow Avenger Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), the two find a new use for their talents, working on missions assigned by S.H.I.E.L.D. along with the special forces team S.T.R.I.K.E. But when a mysterious new leader named Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) begins to come into the picture, and a conspiracy begins to unfold, Romanoff and Rogers find themselves questioning their loyalty. And that isn't to mention the masked mercenary who's on the loose, who's more connected to Steve than either of them realize. With former soldier Sam Wilson joining them along the way, Rogers and company find themselves at odds with those they once trusted, and ghosts of their past.
Now just by reading the plot summary itself, there's a lot to take in here, yet that really only skims the surface of the complex story at hand here. I must admit that my excitement for this film was dulled by my disappointment with Thor: The Dark World's plot and villain, which is an issue Captain America: The Winter Soldier veers right out of its way from the start. While I can't say much without spoiling the plot, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely brought us an engaging story that set the stakes so much higher for The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and proves Marvel's done playing games here (That is until they bring out the talking gun totting raccoon in August of course).
In reality, despite Captain America: The Winter Soldier's expansive cast of talent, the show really belonged to two of its stars in the end. One of those stars being the man playing Steve Rogers himself, Chris Evans, the other of course being Sebastian Stan as The Winter Soldier. While many were skeptical when Chris Evans was first cast in the part, coming off his role as Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four films, Evans was really able to surprise many in The First Avenger. Frankly, I wasn't as fond as I'd hoped I'd been of his performance in The Avengers, but many of the mistakes he made with character there are corrected in this film. Evans is able to find a good balance between the good hearted man out of time side of Steve, while also keeping the strong leader side of him present as well. There's truly some great emotional character moments for him, and he really is able to progress as a person and hero throughout the story.
But of course, you wouldn't have Captain America: The Winter Soldier if you didn't have the unapologetic masked assassin himself. The Russos' adaption of The Winter Soldier takes some liberties from the comics, but his general back story and mysterious identity remains intact. Sebastian Stan is finally able to bring us a fresh and truly menacing threat to add to Marvel's growing gallery of on screen villains, and one that truly feels unstoppable in force and motives. Stan's able to convey so much emotion and intimidation through the only portion of his face uncovered by the mask, and makes you truly feel conflicted over his character and the person he once was. It's also worth mentioning that the character's famed robotic arm was put to good use, and the Russos were sure to make the audience feel the pure strength that it gave the Winter Soldier in combat.
One of the main strengths the films is its numerous talented cast members, who essentially all serve a key purpose in the plot of the story. The supporting cast on the good side of things was very strong, with an especially great performance by Scarlet Johansson as Black Widow. While I wasn't the biggest fan of the casting decision when it was first announced, I've come around to really like it now. Samuel L. Jackson brings us a more personal performance as Nick Fury, which surely makes us feel more connected with the character than in his previous appearances, and even Colbie Smulder's Maria Hill has much more to do this time around. But on the supporting side, the show belonged to new comer Anthony Mackie, who nailed it as Steve's new partner in crime Sam Wilson aka Falcon. His great chemistry with Evans and Johansson, along with his great comedic timing and serious character moments just make this another genius casting move on Marvel's part.
While Winter Soldier may steal most of the show, one musn't forget the many other smaller villains included in the film, who ultimately were much more menacing than we'd thought. Spoilers ahead.Robert Redford gives an interesting portrayal as Alexander Pierce, showing a character with nice contrast to Jackson's Nick Fury, and more subtly menacing nature. Although his character's story arc was quite predictable, Redford does a great job at giving us a character who's basically the face of S.H.I.E.L.D. corruption. The other villain I especially enjoyed was Frank Grillo's Brock Grumlow, who I felt for a supporting villain was well developed and a nice inclusion to the film despite not donning his famous super villain persona. It'll be interesting to see Grillo eventually reprise the role and take on the identity of Crossbones sometimes in the future. End spoilers.
If there's been one are the majority of Marvel Studio's films haven't exactly excelled in, it's the action department. While The Avengers brought us some really cool CGI fight sequences in it's third act, and as did Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier knocks those both out of the water in the action department. The Russo brothers manage to avoid would could've been a number of redundant hand to hand combat scenes, and in place go all out with fully choreographed and well though out sequences (Minus a few shaky cam sequences). There's so many great scenes, between the car chase, elevator fight, the bridge face-off, etc., it's just too difficult to pick a favorite. And if their was ever any doubt that Steve Rogers would run out of ways to use his shield in combat, this film has cast those aside with ease.
Now as for one of the most important factors that effect a film's tone, you can imagine that drastic change between this film's OST and that of The First Avenger. Having said that, Henry Jackman (X-Men: First Class) was sure to pay homage to the original Alan Silvestri them a few times throughout the film, which was a touch that helped the connection between the films seem much closer. In all honesty, Jackman's score for The Winter Soldier is not his strongest nor his most memorable work, but it certainly gets the job done. His score this time around really helped sell the espionage feel the Russo bros. were going for, while providing a much needed change of pace for Marvel's last couple of scores composed by Brian Tyler.
Now with a film that has a scale this large, it's hard to really find too many flaws with such a well crafted story, set of characters, set pieces, and action scenes, but there were some things here and there that couldn't help but leave unmentioned. I was slightly disappointed in the lack of time Anthony Mackie got actually suited up as Falcon in this film, specifically considered how heavily marketed his inclusion was. While he'll probably become much more involved and controlling of his suit in the next Captain America film (Or fingers crossed, in Age of Ultron), it felt like a bit of a let down after all the build up given to the Sam Wilson character (Though he still had a moment to shine later on).
My other main grip with the film involved the return of a certain character from The First Avenger, hence this paragraph may have some slight spoilers, so treed with caution. Having said that, we've known for some time now that Arnim Zola (Toby Jones), Red Skull right hand man in the first film, would be returning this time around. While we knew he'd return, we didn't know to what degree, and unfortunately his return wasn't in the way many of us fans had expected. Rather than his robotic body in the comics, Zola was speaking through a massive computer. Although I understand this scene was meant to explain a major plot point, I felt it was very out of place in this film, and took us out of the story and a scene that had started out with a nice set-up (Having Steve back at the military camp he trained at in the 1940's with Natasha).
For many who have been very concerned about the direction Marvel's taken with the first couple of films they've released following The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is certainly a breath of fresh air. Being that this was a film given to two director with little experience in the genre, and the difficult storyline that the duo decided to adapt to the big screen, there's a lot that could've gone wrong with this film. Yet thankfully, none of that happened, and in turn we get one of the strongest solo superhero films since Christopher Nolan's iconic Dark Knight franchise dominated the market. Needless to say, Marvel's back on track, and right on course for the Age of Ultron in summer 2015.
I give Captain America: The Winter Soldier 4.5 out of 5 stars:
So what did you think of Captain America: The Winter Soldier? Were you impressed by it or did it leave you disappointed? Let us know below!
Ask any Marvel comic fans to list their top five favorite super villains, and the famed Fantastic Four nemesis Dr. Doom is sure to be included. While many regular movie goers may not no why that is, given the character lackluster presence in the previous Fantastic Four films, Dr. Doom is easily one of the most threatening comic book antagonists of all time. And with a new chance at starting an FF franchise that does the comics justice, there's also a new opportunity at showing audience the true gravitas of the Victor Von Doom character, and actor Toby Kebbell (Wrath of the Titans) now has the honor of doing just that.
The report comes courtesy of Variety, who indicates that Kebbell, who will be starring inFox's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes this summer, has signed on to play the leading villain in the film. It shouldn't come as a surprise to any that director Josh Trank went with a young Victor Von Doom for his version of the character, specifically taking into the account of the primary roster for the team he's cast so far (Which includes Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell). The actor reportedly beat out many young stars for the part, including Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) and Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), who are both great actors in their own right.
Now having said that, Kebbell was ultimately the best choice for the part in the grand scheme of things. Unlike Huston and Gleeson, Kebbell has a slightly more exotic look and accent to him that could work wonders for the Latverian born Von Doom. He'll make for an interesting dynamic with the rest of film's current cast members, specifically Miles Teller's Reed Richards who has a strong past with Doom. Gleeson's resume isn't as impressive as one would hope, with duds such as Prince of Persia and Wrath of the Titans being his most recognizable, yet he's proven himself to be a versatile actors in films such as RocknRolla.
As for the last bit of Fantastic Four related news, it also has to do with Dr. Doom, or at least indirectly. According to Nerdist, Kebbell's Doom won't be the only villain Trank's Fantastic Four will be facing in the film. The site reports that the site will also include Doombots, the henchmen of Doom who are basically robotic replicas of himself (Think the Iron Legion of armors from Iron Man 3. This doesn't come as too big of a surprise considering Doom himself may not be exciting enough of a threat for the reboot, especially given that he's the exact same villain the team faced in the previous films.
So do you think Fox made the right decision casting Kebbell as Doom? Would you have preferred Gleeson or Huston in the part? Let us know below!
X-Men: Days of Future Past. A film that serves as a "passing of the torch" from veteran cast members from X-Men: The Last Stand to their new younger counter parts from X-Men: First Class. Taking place directly after X-Men: The Last Stand, the mutant population is on the verge of extinction. With newly developed mutant murdering machines, the Sentinels, patrolling the world in search of what is left of the mutant population provide a nice touch to the development of the X-Men franchise. Well now we finally have our first fill looks at those Sentinels and much more and the theatrical trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Below is the second full-length trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past:
In the trailer we receive a series of intriguing snippets both from the future and the past. We also get our first official taste of the destructive power of the Sentinels as well as their heavy influence on the contextual view of the future. While it's already been confirmed by director Bryan Singer that the majority of the film will in fact be taking place in the past, the future is really the major highlight of this trailer. While we'd only scene quick shots of some set pieces in the first trailer, we now have a full scope of the post-apocalyptic Sentinel ruled future the mutants have found themselves living in.
Both the X-Men and the Brotherhood are put at a state where they must join together in order to prevent the extinction of the mutant race as a whole. It's also very interesting to see the significant difference between the dynamic between Charles and Erik of the future who are ready to put their differences aside, and their past versions who's hatred for each other is at its peak. We also see more of the specific scene in which James McAvoy's young Charles and Patrick Stewart's older version meet face to face, which definitely seems like it'll be one of the more powerful scenes of the film, bridging the two sets of X-Men emotionally.
There's of course many other familiar faces in the trailer aside from just Professor X and Magneto, with many returning mutants from both the past and future rosters. The film seemingly promises a big part for Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique, now allied with Magneto and estranged from Xavier. There's also some great moments of mutants both familiar and new showcasing their abilities, specifically Iceman's famous slide, Colossus turning into full metal, Sunspot's transformation, and Havok's laser blasts. Nicholas Hoult's Beast also seems to have a larger part than was originally expected, as it appears he'll be very involved with Wolverine's mission in the past timeline. While it's still unknown whether is relationship with Mystique will be further explored in this film, it wouldn't be too surprising.
Below are the all new posters for the film, featuring many of the main mutants:
So what do you think of the new X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer and posters? Are you more excited for the film now that you've seen more footage? Let us know below!
With all the attention Marvel's villainous A.I. 'Ultron' has been getting in the last few days, one mustn't forget about the original rogue robot that started it all; the T-800 Terminator played iconically by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. Like many other classic films that'll be getting long over due sequels in 2015, director Alan Taylor's (Thor: The Dark World) upcoming reboot of the saga has been kicking things into gear in recent months. In just the last few months, the film's cast its three major players in the forms of Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) as Sarah Conner, Jason Clarke (Great Gatsby) as her son John, and Jai Courtney (Good Day To Die Hard) as his father Kyle Reese. Now four new stars have joined the film's ever impressive cast.
The first of these five to have joined the cast was Simmons, who's of course best known for his work in the Spider-Man trilogy as Daily Bugle Editor and Chief J. Jonah Jameson. THR reported that Simmons would be joining the cast as an alcoholic detective, who been assigned to the case of Sarah Conner for three decades. Other than his roles in the Spider-Man films, Simmons has recently sticking to voice-over work, reprising J.J.J. in Disney XD's Ultimate Spider-Man series, and Tenzin in The Legend of Korra. Simmons is certainly a nice addition to the cast, and it should be great to see him finally back on the big screen.
THR also got the scope on the three latest additions to the film's cast, who are slightly less known than Terminator: Genesis' previous casting announcements. Two of these cast additions are Michael Gladis (Mad Men) and Sandrine Holt (House of Cards), both of whom are of TV fame. The best known of these stars is South-Korean actor Byung-hun Lee, best known for his role in Red 2 and as Storm Shadow in the G.I. Joe films. Lee's roles up to this point have primarily been action based, so it shouldn't be too surprising if he turns out to play one of the robots in this film.
But of all the recent cast additions, probably the most interesting of them has to be Dayo Okeniyi (The Hunger Games) as Danny Dyson. Dyson's being described as a Steve Jobs type genius by THR, who claim he'll be heavily involved in the film conclusion. Dyson is in fact the son of Miles Dyson from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, who's best known as the man who invented Skynet. The role had originally looked like it was going to fellow rising star John Boyega (Attack the Block), who coincidentally was also rumored for a role in Star War: Episode VII (Could he have gotten the part?). That being said, Okeniyi is an excellent addition to the film's cast of young actors, and Dyson's son will certainly be an interesting new character to be explored.
So what do you think of the cast of Terminator: Genesis so far? Does this effect your anticipation for the film? Let us know below!
The last few years of publicity for the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot hasn't exactly gone as planned, with all the controversy basically centering around the involvement of Michael Bay (The Transformers series) as it's producer. Since then, there's bit all sorts of rumors and cast additions that have left many fans unsettled, whether it be the casting of Megan Fox (Transformers) as April O'Neil, the leaked promo art and first draft of the script, or the famed false rumor that the turtles would be aliens in this film. Well now fans and movie goers can pass their judgement on some actual footage, with the premiere of the film's first trailer, which doesn't seem to be half bad after all.
Below is the first teaser trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
Taking into account all the controversy this film has gotten since it's announcement, the film's trailer surprisingly impresses on points that many fans were worried about. Specifically the turtles themselves actually look pretty realistic, and while the trailer only really gives us full looks a Michelangelo and Leonardo, their signatures weapons and personalities seem to be intact. Of course, the usual Bay action sequences seem to be in tow, and Megan Fox's casting as April still has yet to win over fans, it's safe to say Liebesman, Bay, and the four actors portraying the brothers will be doing them justice. Though some fans have been quick to criticize the changes that have been made to the turtle's designs, specifically their prominent nostrils.
Now while William Fichtner's Shredder had stirred up a lot of controversy when it was first announced, namely because the character is not Japanese like the original incarnation, it's safe to say the actor will be able to pull off a good enough villain for the turtles to face. While we get a brief glimpse of his suit and mask in the trailer, we still have yet to see him in action, but we surely can expect some great action sequences between him and the turtles. We also have yet to see Danny Woodburn's Master Splinter, but we can only hope that his past with Shredder remains intact in this film.
But the main aspect of the trailer that had frustrated some fans ended up having to do with Shredder, specifically Fichtner's narration that was directed toward April O'Neil. Shredder mentions to April how him and her father had worked together on the ooze that created the turtles, an origin that has never been explored in the comics. Having April's father be involved with the creation of the ooze isn't to surprising in its self, considering the fact that it'll make her much more important to the narrative of the turtles. Yet Shredder's involvement doesn't seem nearly as fitting, and if anything may be a sign that Liebesman and Bay have decided to replace the history between Shredder and Splinter with that of April's father and himself.
So what did you think of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trailer? Are you happy with the way the turtles look? What do you think of Shredder now being involvement with the creation of the ooze? Let us know below!
