"Memory's so treacherous..." 

During Star Wars Celebration last weekend, Mark Hamill took the opportunity to plug his upcoming animated film, Batman: The Killing Joke. During his panel at the event the actor performed some dialogue from the film live as The Joker, and it's freakin' awesome! Hamill will always be my favorite version of The Joker. He just always manages to bring that character to life through his voice perfectly, and it's always fun to see him break out and do it live for his fans! As you'll see, he gets really into it and gives his fans a great show. Check it out!

Via: Flicks And The City

Paramount Pictures, Skydance, and Bad Robot have officially announced today that they will be developing a fourth Star Trek film ,and they even confirmed a recent report that Chris Hemsworth will reprise his role as Kirk's father, George Kirk, in the story! The press release states:

In the next installment of the epic space adventure, Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk will cross paths with a man he never had a chance to meet, but whose legacy has haunted him since the day he was born: his father.

There are no other plot details other than that, but the majority of the original cast from the previous three films are expected to return. 

J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have been hired to write the screenplay, and J.J. Abrams serve as a producer on the project. There's still no word on who will be brought on to direct, or how they will handle the character Chekov as they will be moving forward without Anton Yelchin, who tragically passed away.

I do think it's a great concept to bring both Captain Kirk's together, and I'm curious to see how exactly that will happen and what kind of story they will tell with that plot device. What do you all think about bringing George and James together for an adventure in Star Trek 4?

Around three years ago, Zack Snyder swept the rug from under our collective feet and announced that he would be tackling Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. We rejoiced, we cried, we hated...but regardless of what camp you belong to in our world of infinite opinions, there was one simple fact no one could ignore: this was going to be an event.

Fast forward to present day: BVS has come and gone. To many, it was a disappointment. To some, a joy. Regardless of what you think, Snyder has made his decisions and we're stuck with them...but I'm not convinced this is a bad thing moving forward. He's already stated in an interview with Vulture:

"When Batman V Superman came out, I was like, 'Wow, okay, oof. It did catch me off guard. I have had to, in my mind, make an adjustment. I do think that the tone of Justice League has changed because of what the fans have said."

So you've spoken, and you have been heard! Let's take a look why some of the more widely criticized aspects in BVS will result in better quality movies as we move forward into the DCEU, because it's happening whether we like it or not. I'll throw a spoiler warning out there, just in case a some of you were in space a few months ago, or something. SPOILERS FOR BATMAN V SUPERMAN LIE AHEAD!

MINOR SPOILERS FOR JUSTICE LEAGUE!

One of the most widely criticized aspects of BVS was its dark and somber tone. Seldom breaking for moments of light-heartedness, BVS resembles Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy but fails to achieve similar quality. Moving forward, I can understand why some might have a sour taste in their mouths. Since The Dark Knight's success, we've been given grounded adaptations of heroes resulting in more grounded stories...but that era seems to be coming to an end. 

Justice League promises to build upon the foundation BVS laid in many ways, starting with tone and continuing with scope. Snyder has not only promised a lighter and more adventurous tone; he showcased it from the set of Justice League in London a few weeks ago when a gaggle of journalists were invited to the set (not me). Shifts toward a more comic-book accurate world were evident, and that plays well to Snyder's grandiose flair for visuals and scope. Some of you may have heard about certain scenes involving a fun and humorous conversation between Bruce Wayne and Barry Allen, or another with Commissioner Gordon and a few members of the Justice League on a rooftop in Gotham; there were also reveals of a massive Wayne-Tech airship to transport the Justice League, a crazy Batmobile-walker, and a happier, less-murderous Batman!

One key figure missing was Henry Cavill's Superman, who has spent the better part of two films being a sad and confused mess. This characterization of Superman has been criticized a lot, and for good reason. His character hasn't organically grown or evolved since his inception in Man of Steel, and we needed about 90% of BVS' runtime to finally move him along. I understand the goal was to humanize Superman, but it's left us with an utterly joyless version of such a beloved character. Having said that, the DCEU would be moving forward regardless of our opinions, and that freedom allowed Snyder to kill off Superman in BVS without severe repercussion. We all know Superman will return (mullet or not), but this is clever because it allows them to reset his character in a positive and lighter way. Superman has now sacrificed himself for the world! Now he can quit sulking around and become the beacon of hope and leader he is hopefully meant to be. I'm wondering how they'll explain Clark Kent's resurrection though...

Speaking of missteps in characterization, Ben Affleck's Batman was (although admittedly one of the best parts of the film) a driving force of chaos and death, but hey! Just mention Martha and maybe you'll have a new best bud, you know, with a cape and everything. Bruce Wayne's savagery and disregard for life in BVS was off-putting at first; it went against everything Batman stands for! However, this allows an older and seasoned Bruce Wayne/Batman an interesting potential arc moving forward: digging within to find his ideals of old, trying to find himself again after years and years of emotional and physical battery. It gives us reason to get behind Batman and his crusade again while creating a fresh take that we haven't seen on film before. As you may know, Warner Bros has officially announced a solo film. Pair that with an Affleck/Geoff Johns script, Affleck in the director's chair, sprinkled with Jeremy Irons' delightfully grumpy Alfred, and it's a solid recipe for (potential) success.

Some didn't buy Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Lex Luthor, aka Alexander Luthor, Jr. He was unhinged and wildly disturbed, more akin to Heath Ledger's Joker than anything else. He lacked that "supervillain" quality, didn't he? Never really in control. The choice to name him Luthor, Jr. is an interesting one, leaving a large opening for Daddy Lex to possibly come back into the fold. Maybe for a Man of Steel sequel, eh? Regardless of the speculation, Lex Luthor is out of the way for now, giving way to Steppenwolf in Justice League, which is probably a good thing. Primarily, Lex Luthor and General Zod have been Superman's main antagonists since the Richard Donner era. It was cool seeing Superman fight Doomsday, but that's done now, Zod is dead, and Lex is taking a back seat. Opening up the field for some well-known villains such as Brainiac or Metallo is a fresh and exciting premise for the future.

Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman was one of the only universally praised aspects of BVS but was underutilized and left us all wanting more. Thankfully, her solo film is less than one year away; it'll be a breath of fresh air in a film landscape dominated by male heroes. Snyder has gone on record stating that she is the 'best fighter' in the DCEU, and I'm quite certain we're all excited to finally see her kick some ass for more than 15 minutes. According to the official synopsis released a few days ago, we'll see Wonder Woman leaving her sheltered island life in order to fight along side humanity in World War I.

The Justice League reveal email could've been handled better, but it gave us cool glimpses of Aquaman breaking James Cameron's submarine camera and The Flash's crazy convenience store lightning storm. The most interesting tease might have been Cyborg, whose little email file showed us our first glimpse at the transforming black cubes known as Motherboxes, which will tie into the Justice League storyline.

Batman v Superman deserved some praise, and it also deserved some hate. As we look forward at the upcoming slate of DCEU films, there's plenty of reason to be excited for the future of the franchise. Suicide Squad is right around the corner and if the hype is to be believed, David Ayer's villain-led ensemble piece could prove to be the spark to ignite interest in the universe again. Wonder Woman isn't too far away, and Justice League should be a film that all fans can rally behind, leaving us all drooling for more.

If you're already going through Game of Thrones withdrawals, we have some slightly disappointing news. A week or so ago, I wrote about how the upcoming seventh season of the HBO fantasy series might be delayed due to weather, and now the network has confirmed that decision. President of programming Casey Bloys said the following in a statement:

“Now that winter has arrived on ‘Game of Thrones,’ executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss felt that the storylines of the next season would be better served by starting production a little later than usual, when the weather is changing. Instead of the show’s traditional spring debut, we’re moving the debut to summer to accommodate the shooting schedule.”

It makes sense for the story, but it's a bummer that fans will have to wait longer than usual between seasons. We don't have an official premiere date yet, so we'll keep you posted when one becomes available. In the meantime, drown your sorrows about the delay in some meat and mead.

TVinsider has debuted the first poster for Luke Cage, the latest collaboration between Marvel and Netflix that's set to hit the streaming service in just a couple of months. This poster, designed by Marvel Entertainment chief creative officer Joe Quesada, will be available at the Marvel booth at this week's San Diego Comic-Con for fans who'd like to score one for themselves.

“There’s always great pressure with superhero posters,” Quesada says. “You’ve got one shot to encapsulate a character with a pose that’s provocative and that you hope will someday be iconic. Mike [Colter] gives Luke a smoldering strength. He’s sexy and calming. And the ladies love it.”

I like the exaggerated, muscular look of the character. It's not quite as insane as Genndy Tartakovsky's upcoming comic, but it's still heavily stylized and has a cool look to it. What do you all think? 

The first season of Luke Cage will be available to stream on Netflix starting September 30, 2016.

Boston Dynamics was caught by a bystander taking one of their latest robots in a hike through the woods. The video itself is much more interesting than the robot...

The footage is so grainy, you'd think the guy who shot that Bigfoot video several decades ago shot this! Then you have the whole BD crew following like they're members of some robot-worshipping cult. If this video would've gone viral without explanation, I would've thought it was viral marketing for a movie!

I also love the dog's reaction because he looks like he wants no part of that robot walking! Great video all around. Thanks to Reddit for bringing this video to the masses.

Despite coming out at least a year after Angry Birds largely left the cultural consciousness, somehow The Angry Birds Movie was a massive success, making over $340 million worldwide on a reported $73 million budget. So Sony Pictures Animation is at it again, this time hoping to cash in on something probably won't have to worry about its popularity waning any time soon: emoji. Their new movie — which, I kid you not, is actually called Emojimovie: Express Yourself — aims to "reveal the secret world inside your phone."

It’s a world where Emojis come alive (when they’re not being texted) and journey through Apps, each one its own wild and fun world, to get to their ultimate destination: The Cloud. It’s the App-venture of a lifetime!

So...I can already tell this movie is not going to be for me, but on the off chance I do end up seeing it, at least the lead character's voice will be familiar. T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley, Deadpool) has scored the lead role of Gene, and the studio released a video of him "auditioning" for the part. This movie hits theaters just over a year from now, in August of 2017.

Before we go any further with this post, I have to go on the record in saying anytime I hear the name Dr. Zaius, this instantly pops in my head.

Now that it's out of my system, let's talk about the second-funniest Dr. Zaius thing I've ever seen. TCM did a parody interview with the character Dr. Zaius and asked him the significance of the film's interspecies kiss. It's a short clip, but it's so hilarious how they made it mirror real life. Check it out below and thanks to Collider for the heads up!

With the announcement of an NES Mini, you have to wonder if Nintendo has more "mini" consoles set for release. Even though the NES Mini will be popular...read more on GameTyrant

Permalink

Universal's The Girl on the Train is being marketed as this year's cross between Gone Girl and Fifty Shades of Grey, complete with a slowed down hip-hop cover, sexy shots of writhing bodies, and a big mystery at the center of the proceedings. A month or two ago, I read the best-selling book on which this film is based, and it's an entertaining, compelling read — I can see why it's been flying off the shelves since its debut, and it's very easy to imagine its voyeuristic vibe interpreted cinematically as a Hitchcockian thriller. Let's hope that's what director Tate Taylor (The Help) will be able to give us, because the cast — which includes Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Allison Janney, Edgar Ramirez, Lisa Kudrow, and Laura Prepon — is terrific.

The Girl on the Train hits theaters in that Gone Girl slot on October 7th.

The Paul Feig-directed Ghostbusters: Answer The Call reboot finally hit theaters this weekend. The movie brought in $65m worldwide. For a Feig film, it's his largest opening weekend; but despite that, it opened in the #2 slot behind The Secret Life of Pets. Perhaps the hate toward the film tempered the box office numbers, but it's going to be word of mouth that will be a deciding factor in it's second weekend.

Ben took a somewhat controversial stance in his review, saying it was "Way Better Than It Looks." You can read his full review [here].

Joey shares his thought in a mini-review:

I really wanted to like the Ghostbusters remake. I even got a little excited about it after seeing all of the positive reviews. Unfortunately, it let me down. There were a few funny elements in the film, but for the most part it was a major disappointment. I didn’t think that the story and characters were developed properly, which caused them to be weak. I also didn’t care for the comedy as it felt like it was all forced and was no natural flow of it in the film. I have enjoyed most of the films that director Paul Feig has made in the past, but this was not a shining moment for him. It felt more like a studio-directed film to me. For me, Ghostbusters was just a lot great talent that was completely wasted on nonsense. I honestly believe a Ghostbusters reboot could have been awesome with all the acting talent that was involved, it just needed a better story, better character development, and better direction.

Now that you've seen Ghostbusters:

What did you think of the movie going in?
What was the film's greatest weakness?
What did it get right?
Would you watch a sequel?

Amid all of the Star Wars fun at this past weekend's Celebration, there was also a small tease that hinted at the future of the Indiana Jones franchise. At a panel called "The Art of Storytelling," ILM's Lynwen Brennan had an interesting little tidbit that fans will likely find worthy of parsing:

“Kiri [Hart] and her group have mapped out a story and timeline across multiple platforms many years in advance, many exhausting years in advance...We have a great honor to have responsibility for, so we want to be really careful with that. Not only for Star Wars but with Indiana Jones, which we’re all really excited about as well.”

Hart, of course, is the head of Lucasfilm's story group, the team that's in charge of not only making sure everything in the Star Wars canon fits and makes sense, but in developing the broader outlines of pretty much every Star Wars story going forward. I believe this is the first time we've heard it mentioned that the same team will be responsible for the future of the Indiana Jones saga as well, and considering how well they've done with Star Wars so far, that's an exciting prospect.

(It also will hopefully curb the amount of influence George Lucas has on future Indy movies, since Steven Spielberg himself has essentially blamed Lucas for the worst aspects of The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and might have the same effect on writer David Koepp, who isn't my favorite contributor to the Indy franchise.)

The story group's leadership means that there's a lot more involved here than just one movie, which is something anyone with half a brain realized the moment Disney bought Lucasfilm (the studio was never going to just make one more movie and retire the character). But since we don't have any more details to go on, we're still left with the same speculation we've had for months about what the future of this franchise actually looks like. Spielberg has said he won't recast Harrison Ford in the role, but how long can that realistically remain the case before the studio steps in and supersedes his decision? Hopefully we'll get some real answers soon, but with the story group involved, we could be on the verge of a full-on Indiana Jones cinematic universe with multiple movies, VR experiences, comics, books, TV shows...the works. What do you think?

If you're looking to win the heart of one of film's greatest composers, why not sit outside his house and play one of his most iconic songs? That's exactly what these two brass musicians did, and, at first, I thought it was going to blow up in their face. The first half of the video you just see John Williams peeking out of his doorway with a look like "Am I going to die?" on his face. Eventually, though, he comes out from behind his surprisingly modest-looking home and greets his fans. 

I'm glad it has a happy ending. I was wondering if he was going to call the cops!

The original Kickboxer is one of Jean-Claude Van Damme's most iconic action movies, and with contemporaries like Stallone and Schwarzenegger revisiting the parts that made them household names in the 80s, it makes sense Van Damme would want in on that action. So he's starring in the remake, Kickboxer: Vengeance, but he's not reprising the same role he played the first time around. This time, he'll play a revamped version of the first film's Master Chow, who trains "Kurt Sloan (Alain Moussi), a talented martial artist who travels to Thailand where he must learn the secrets of the kickboxer to avenge his brother's death at the hands of Tong Po (Dave Bautista)."

Yahoo Movies has released the full trailer for the movie, and if you know anything about the original or have even heard of this remake at all, it probably looks exactly like you'd expect.

Kickboxer: Vengeance hits theaters on August 19th, and Van Damme will return for a sequel, Kickboxer: Retaliation.

From what I played at E3, Tekken 7 seems pretty solid. I'm still not sold on its new mechanic from a competitive standpoint (you can read my E3 impression here), but...read more on Gametyrant

Permalink

Last night at MetLife Stadium, something magical happened. Michael J. Fox took the stage with Coldplay and performed "Johnny B. Goode" in front of a packed stadium! Fox, of course, is known for playing the song in the time travel classic Back to the Future:

Fox plays guitar while lead singer Chris Martin handles the vocals, and it sounds like the crowd is having a blast. You're definitely ready for this, and your kids will love it as well. See it all below.

This week, we’re going to talk about the new Ghostbusters movie starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones & Chris Hemsworth. We will also cover some exciting geek news!...Listen on PodTyrant

Permalink

Last weekend the much anticipated and talked about Ghostbusters reboot was released to somewhat critical and box-office success. The film pulled in $46 million dollars, making it the highest grossing live-action comedy in well over a year. Ghostbusters is directed by Paul Feig and stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon.

Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony, stated “the Ghostbusters world is alive and well… I expect Ghostbusters to become an important brand and franchise." He later went on to say, “While nothing has been officially announced yet, there’s no doubt in my mind it will happen.”

What this means for the sequel can only be speculated, Feig has never directed a sequel, but fans of the film can hope that Feig will return. Near the end of Ghostbusters, the team really seemed to start to hit their stride in terms of their team dynamics, so I hope that all four of our leading ladies will return to the big screen for this sequel.

Source: The Wrap

Dane Cook has officially joined the cast of American Gods. According to Deadline, the actor/comedian will play the character Robbie, who is Shadow Moon's best friend in the upcoming Starz series. 

In other American Gods news, we got the first look at Bilquis played by Yetide Badaki!

This series has a lot of expectations to live up to, as Neil Gaiman's work is so highly celebrated. Let's hope the amount of time it took to finally bring this to the small screen means the series will do it justice!

"Let's hope this doesn't get messy."

Paramount Pictures has released the final trailer for Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond, and it’s my favorite trailer for the film so far. It features a ton of cool new footage that is sure to get fans pumped up to see the movie. I just like the energy of the trailer; it flows a lot better than any of the previous trailer that were released.

We already have a review up for the film that you can read here, but I’ll be seeing it myself for the first time at the World Premiere at Comic-Con tomorrow night! 

Along with the trailer I included two clips from the film along with another trailer that is promoting the three-screen Barco moviegoing experience, which might actually be a pretty cool way to watch the movie if there are any theaters in your area that have it. 

This third chapter in the Star Trek saga continues the galactic voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise and its intrepid crew as they are deep into their mission of exploring new worlds and new civilizations. This movie follows the crew as they explore “the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test."

It was recently revealed that a fourth film is in development and that James Kirk will meet his dad George Kirk, which should prove to be an interesting event. Star Trek Beyond will be released this weekend on July 22nd, and I’m ready to jump on the Enterprise and take a ride with the crew!