Right around the time Cop Out came out, writer/director Kevin Smith started getting very contentious with film critics. It seemed like he was taking some of the criticism personally, and he probably had a pretty good reason: many critics have been especially unkind to Smith over the years, and some crossed boundaries from simply attacking his movies to attacking him and his motivations.

Speaking for myself, I grew up with his movies and find myself liking the guy despite some of his worst tendencies. It probably helps that I didn't see Tusk and haven't seen Yoga Hosers, because I don't think those movies look particularly good or look like something I'd be interested in. I'm lucky enough at this job to not be forced to see and review every single movie that comes to theaters, so I simply won't watch movies that I'm 99% sure I'll hate — at least not when they come out theatrically. That's not to say that I only watch movies that align with my current personal tastes, because when you start doing that, you lose out on growing and evolving as a person and as a consumer of art, but as a general rule, I'll sometimes watch movies I think I won't care for when they hit VOD to either be pleasantly surprised at being wrong or to confirm my suspicion. The last movie I saw of Smith's was Red State, which I actually really enjoyed, but Yoga Hosers looks pretty awful to me, so I've avoided it. Joey reviewed it at Sundance and says it's Smith's worst movie so far, but Smith has taken to Twitter to somewhat defend the film — or at least to make the subtext of the movie clear to everyone. Take a look:

SPOILERS! The 3rd act of @YogaHosers and what it really means is decoded in this attachment! Sounds stupid but true! pic.twitter.com/7AwMFDzd5o

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) July 31, 2016

Like I said, I haven't seen Yoga Hosers, and even after reading this, I'll admit I still don't plan to. But it is nice to hear that Smith cares, and he seems to be moving forward from the bitterness he was consumed by a few years ago. I wish him the best, and hopefully one of these days he ends up making something that appeals to me the way his first few films did.

Holy shit, am I right?

Comic-Con has come and gone, and like always, it came with a plethora of new footage for some upcoming blockbusters. It must be said that I wasn't able to attend Comic-Con this year, so I wasn't able to see any of the extra footage that was shown in person, but as far as I can tell, Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange is going to be something special. Why? I'm glad you asked.

5. Benedict Cumberbatch

Before production began, a few names were thrown around for the role of Stephen Strange, including Joaquin Phoenix and Ethan Hawke. While they would've made solid choices as the Sorcerer Supreme, Benedict Cumberbatch seems to be knocking it out of the park. Recently in an interview with Collider, director Scott Derrickson said that Cumberbatch was "killing" it with audiences. Cumberbatch brings a certain dedication and gravitas to his roles, and seems to have fully committed himself to the role of Strange, and it's good to see that he did. From what we've seen, it looks like he's going to put in a heavyweight performance, which is going to be key in hooking in a larger audience for the mind-bending and fantastical story that's definitely going to be told.

4. Scott Derrickson

With only a few films under his belt, Scott Derrickson joins the ranks of smaller-name directors in Marvel's employ. Most of his experience comes from the horror genre with films like Sinister and Deliver Us From Evil, and if you've seen these films, you'll know that Derrickson isn't a mediocre director that delivers your average horror flick. Deliver Us From Evil is a lot more unique and interesting than it looks, and Sinister was a step in right direction for the new age of horror films currently being fronted by James Wan.

Derrickson is lending a visionary eye to Doctor Strange which will give it the depth and scope it deserves. Granted, Derrickson isn't accustomed to big-budget action-adventure films, but from the footage that's available to the public, he seems to have gotten the most out of his already-talented cast and was able to craft a world that's rich and deep in its mythology.

3. Things Are Strange

Speaking of mythology, the world of Doctor Strange is almost as deep as the Marvel Universe itself. Strange has the ability to call upon a plethora of magical abilities and use a variety of mystical items, and we can thankfully see some of that magic in the trailer! Obviously, we can see Strange wearing his all-important Eye of Agamotto and Cloak of Levitation, but we catch glimpses of him conjuring his Flaming Whip, and kneeling down while using what could be the Shield of the Seraphim. Derrickson and Marvel seem to have pulled no punches in using Strange's large arsenal, and it's good to see that they aren't shying away from what makes Doctor Strange so intriguing in the first place. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige previously said:

"He does cast spells, which in the comics have very sort of tongue-twisty fun names. We don't want to shy away from that because that's what makes Doctor Strange Doctor Strange. He has a Cloak of Levitation that allows him to fly, but he doesn't fly like Superman or like Thor. It's almost got a consciousness of its own, this cloak, which, again, gives us a superhero with a red cape — which we’ve seen a few times — but allows us to do it in a wholly unique and wholly original way. He can create these mandalas of light that he can use as shields and he can use as sort of weapons. He can create portals that will open before your eyes that he can step through and go to other places around the world. And frankly, even in this film, we’ll only touch upon what a lot of his powers are.”

It seems that most of the reality bending and insanity being enacted in the trailers is from the film's villain Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), but the glimpses we're given of Strange's abilities are juicy enough to make us drool for more. If it's just scratching the surface, we're in for a treat moving forward.

2. How It Will Affect The MCU

Doctor Strange is going to be an important figure as we move forward into the ever-deepening ocean that is the MCU. Potentially, the Eye of Agamotto will contain one of the famed Infinity Stones, which have been popping up as we inch closer to Avengers: Infinity War. Which one? Well, Feige has some insight, of course.

“In this film, the Eye is a very important relic that can be quite dangerous if used in the wrong hands, because it has the ability to do any number of things, the most dangerous of which is, it can sort of manipulate probabilities. Which is also another way of saying, ‘screw around with time’ — which is part of our story.”

Four of six Infinity Stones have been gathered in the MCU thus far: Space, Mind, Reality, and Power. The two that remain in the shadows are Soul and Time, and it looks like Strange's Eye of Agamotto will contain the Time Stone. This is an interesting departure from the existing Strange lore, with the Eye being linked to a mystical being named Agamotto and drawing from his powers upon use.  

Sounds like they're getting ready to kill a bunch of important people in the MCU with Infinity War, because the introduction of time/dimensional travel gives them a nice out when they want to resurrect or replace any Avengers that will almost certainly be killed.

1. "Full Weird"

Normal is overrated, isn't it?

With Doctor Strange, Derrickson said that one of the objectives was to pay tribute to Strange's co-creator and long-time artist, Steve Ditko. If you've seen any of Ditko's artwork for the earlier Strange comics, you'll know that it had a very psychedelic quality. The art was breathtaking and unique, with Ditko crafting worlds that could only be seen in dreams. Derrickson has said that Doctor Strange will be the film that puts the MCU into "Full Weird" territory, saying in an interview:
 

"What the comics did was, they brought with Doctor Strange an extra dimension into psychadelia, mysticism, and spirituality and all these very 60’s things and broke open the Marvel comic book universe into the Marvel multiverse. I think Doctor Strange is going to be the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse. It’s really serving the same function that the comic did. Even though it was a weird aberration as a comic book, I think it was a real linchpin in the comics. It ended up being decades of new stories and I think this movie will do the same thing".

And full weird isn't a bad thing. Comics are laden with some of the most ridiculous plots and events in the history of plots and events. Why not embrace that as we move forward? It's fun to see some heroes grounded in reality when it works (Batman/Daredevil, for example), but it's nice to see that Marvel — and DC for that matter — are embracing the roots from which these heroes and stories stem.

Doctor Strange is going to bring a wholly new and untapped realm for future directors and writers to play with, giving the MCU a fresh and unique direction to head. It's going to set a new bar for superhero/action-adventure films moving forward, I believe, with its ability to displace the audience and sweep us away into new and strange worlds of wonder. It looks immersive and imaginative, emotional and funny; it looks like everything a movie should be! Technology is moving forward at a rapid pace, and the inevitable sequels to Doctor Strange will just submerge us deeper and deeper into its spiritual and mystical world, which has the potential to rival any superhero film, and maybe any action film, that's been made before it.

Doctor Strange will be released on November 4, 2016.

A few years into watching HBO's Game of Thrones, I went back and read all of author George R.R. Martin's novels in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, which serve as the inspiration for the massively successful fantasy show. The last two books were a little underwhelming, but the first three were wonderful, and the third ranks among the favorite books I've ever read (it's the best of the bunch by far, containing The Red Wedding, The Purple Wedding, The Mountain vs. The Viper, and much more). It's staggering to think that this whole thing started way back in 1996, but early this morning, Martin made an announcement on his blog about a new book coming out this year to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary — and no, it's not The Winds of Winter (yet).

It has been a helluva twenty years, twenty years that have transformed my life and career, twenty years during which the novel has never been out of print. And something like that has to be commemorated. So... well, let me quote the official announcement from my friends at Bantam Spectra.

"First published on August 1st, 1996, A Game of Thrones marks its twentieth anniversary today. In celebration of the fantasy masterpiece that started a cultural phenomenon, we’re excited to announce the publication of a special illustrated edition."

An anniversary like this requires something special, something more than just a reprint and a new novel. This new edition will be very special, I think. Same story, of course. But we've added an introduction by the World Famous Nebula Toastmaster John Hodgman... and a truly astonishing amount of artwork... a total of seventy-three (73) black and white interior illustrations, and eight (8) spectacular full color plates. Some of the artwork is drawn from the Ice & Fire calendars, from The World of Ice and Fire, and from the card and board games and RPGs... but forty-eight (48) of these pieces are completely new, never-before-seen artwork. Bantam says, "With gorgeous full-page illustrations to open every chapter, the mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure of this magnificent saga come to life as never before."

Martin says he's "still working on" The Winds of Winter, but he did share a couple of the illustrations that will appear in the new illustrated version of A Game of Thrones:

The new book hits shelves on October 18, 2016. If you're interested, you can read Martin's whole blog post here.

Out of all the games I played in my grade school days, Radical Rex was an old standby. When I didn't get to go to Blockbuster and get a game to play throughout...read more on Gametyrant

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We've seen our fair share of stop motion one on one fighting videos, but this is definitely one of the best executed ones we've featured on the site. Stop Motion Superfight comes from the team at Corridor Digital, and along with the obvious stop motion and fighting element, there's a cool time travel bit in here that depicts a time loop from which none of the participants can ever break free. Sort of terrifying, really. Check it out!

We wanted to make a video where we could control gravity, and it wasn't until we turned things sideways that it finally clicked. Hope you enjoy Stop Motion SUPERFIGHT!

Via: LaughingSquid

What’s the worst that could happen if you had a single bad day? Would you run home and pull out a tub of ice cream and binge watch Netflix or would you maybe do something riskier? The team reviews DC Animation's The Killing Joke starring Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. Listen on PodTyrant

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While Paramount Pictures continues to develop a crap ton of new Transformers sequels and spin-offs, a group of fans got together and made the Transformers movie fans really want to see. As Sploid says, it's better than any of the live action Michael Bay Transformers films thus far, and their obviously tiny budget, homemade costumes, and low-fi VFX are a huge part of the reason the short works as well as it does. You really get the sense that everyone involved with this loves the characters and the story they're trying to tell, and that passion comes through in a big way.

It's been years since I've seen any of the original animated series, so I forgot about the character of Ratchet being a blatant rip-off (or homage, if you're being charitable) of Dr. McCoy from Star Trek. Refresh my memory, fans: was that always the case, or is that just Chisel Pixel's little nod to another sci-fi franchise here?

In any case, the story ends with a "to be continued" tag, so expect at least one more entry before all is said and done. Let us know what you think below.

Generation:1 is a fan made live action transformers "costuming" movie featuring the characters of the original Transformers G1 cartoon series from the 80's using practical effects and in camera effects.

From the moment it was announced, I have been excited for the reboot of the Tales From The Crypt television show. I never really got into the comic books, but I was a huge fan of the HBO series and of the movies. The fact that the show will be brought to us through the eyes of M. Night Shyamalan does nothing to stop this train. I am stoked to see what they do with this version.

/Film was able to give a little insight into what we can expect from the series that is slated to air late in 2017. These are some quotes that they got from TNT/TBS President Kevin Reilly as he spoke about the show at a Television Critics Association party.

While talking about the length of the show, Reilly has a very different way to look at it:

"I think it may even be longer than an hour. There’s going to be a half-hour anthology and then a one-hour original show with some shorts in between. So it’s part of a whole block. The original half-hour, sort of slightly comedic, kind of twisted [story] that Night himself is going to direct will be a part of it every week. Then we’re going to have rotating original one-hours. Then we’ve got shorts that’ll be part of it too."

This format is definitely going to fit this show. The thing that I loved the most about both the show and movies was the fact that they were anything but cookie cutter. Their original pacing and story content is what made it a hit in my mind.

Reilly was asked how this would work, and he not only talked about the content but where he would get it from:

 "The anthology will be part of it every week and then there’ll be rotating different serialized original hours.

"Some of those shorts are going to be crowdsourced ultimately,” Reilly said. “I don’t even think we’ve announced this yet but we are working with Wattpad and ultimately I’d like some material to come from [from viewers]. We have some Guild issues we need to work out on this, but I’d like fan fiction to essentially make its way to our air."

A show that will give fans a chance to write for the show? That is amazeballs. I know a ton of people with original content foaming at the mouth for an opportunity like this. I know there are going to be all sorts of legal hoops to jump through to get this to happen, so I hope we are able to get this going.

What are your favorite TFTC stories? Are you excited for more? Personally, I can’t wait.

Vans has teamed up with Disney and Pixar to create a line of shoes inspired by the classic Toy Story film franchise. We’ve got a few photos below for you to check out that show us shows based on the characters Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Bo Peep, and more. My favorite aspect of the shoes is that the name “Andy” is written on the bottom of them. It’s such a perfect little details that fans will eat up. Vans will also have other Toy Story-themed accessories like backpacks. There’s no official release date yet, but they are expected to hit stores this Fall.

Via: Inside the Magic

A series of new photos have been released for Amazon’s adaptation of Ben Edlund’s The Tick. They offer us a new look at Peter Serafinowicz as The Tick, Griffen Newman as his sidekick Arthur, and our first look as Jackie Early Haley as the villain The Terror. Everyone looks great in their roles, especially Haley as The Terror. 

The photos came along with the following statement from Edlund:

“This has been a labor of love for Amazon, Sony, and all of us. The only way for this to have value was if we found a wholly new expression of ‘The Tick’ and Arthur’s story in live-action, and I think we’re on to something! Visually and thematically this new ‘Tick’ lives in the textures and rhetoric of today’s superhero saturation tsunami — and for it to be something you want to watch for hours, it needed to find its way to a story with heart and stakes, as well as absurdism. Is it a radically new hybrid of humor and super heroic action with characters you will care desperately about? YES! Yes it is.”

While I was at Comic-Con last month I picked myself up the two seasons of the animated series for The Tick, which are insanely funny. I really hope that this new series manages to perfectly capture the hilarity and awesomeness of this franchise. We'll have a better idea of what we can expect when a trailer is released for it. 

In a world where superheroes have been real for decades, an underdog accountant with zero powers comes to realize his city is owned by a global super villain long-thought dead. As he struggles to uncover this conspiracy, he falls in league with a strange blue superhero. The Tick stars Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy), Griffin Newman (Vinyl), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Valorie Curry (House of Lies), Yara Martinez (Jane the Virgin) and Brendan Hines (Scorpion). The Tick is executive produced by Ben Edlund (Supernatural), Barry Josephson (Bones) and Barry Sonnenfeld (A Series of Unfortunate Events), directed by Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight), and written by Edlund. The Tick is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television.

The Tick premieres on Amazon on August 19th.

One of the things I can’t wait to do is go and check out Guillermo del Toro’s Bleak House exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The exhibit is called Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters. It features several pieces from the filmmaker’s personal collection of art, movie props, artifacts, and other collectibles that are inspired by horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and the supernatural. The exhibit recently opened, and it will be on display until November 27th, so if you’re in LA there’s plenty of time to check it out! The official LACMA site offers a description of the exhibit:

Guillermo del Toro (b. 1964) is one of the most inventive filmmakers of his generation. Beginning with Cronos (1993) and continuing through The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Hellboy (2004), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Pacific Rim (2013), and Crimson Peak (2015), among many other film, television, and book projects, del Toro has reinvented the genres of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Working with a team of craftsmen, artists, and actors—and referencing a wide range of cinematic, pop-culture, and art-historical sources—del Toro recreates the lucid dreams he experienced as a child in Guadalajara, Mexico. He now works internationally, with a cherished home base he calls “Bleak House” in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Taking inspiration from del Toro’s extraordinary imagination, the exhibition reveals his creative process through his collection of paintings, drawings, maquettes, artifacts, and concept film art. Rather than a traditional chronology or filmography, the exhibition is organized thematically, beginning with visions of death and the afterlife; continuing through explorations of magic, occultism, horror, and monsters; and concluding with representations of innocence and redemption.

When talking about the exhibition with the L.A. Times, the director said:

“I love praising monsters. I love telling people how great and beautiful horror stories can be. I’m not interested in the mechanics of the scary horror. I’m interested in the sort of kinship it has with fairy tales. The dark, magical beauty of horror.”

As you’ll see in the photos below, the guy has a ridiculous amount of cool stuff! It’d be so freakin’ cool to have a collection of stuff like this and to be able to fill up two houses with it. I love that he’s willing and excited to share his collection with his fans and the rest of the world. I can’t wait to see all of this stuff in person!

You can see more photos on Del Toro's Twitter feed.

While we wait to see the second full trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Lucasfilm has released the first TV spot for us to watch to tide us over. The spot focuses on Jyn Erso’s involvement with the Rebel Alliance. Most of the footage that was cut into it comes from previous footage that we've already seen, but it's still an exciting trailer if you're looking forward to the movie! Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set for release on December 16th, 2016. Stay tuned for the new full trailer, which should be released sometime in the near future. 

Thanks to actress Elizabeth Debicki, we have some new plot information regarding James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This information specifically involves her character Ayesha and how she plays a major role in the Guardians' next adventure. 

A ton of information has been released for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 since its big panel at Comic-Con. To catch up on all the news that has been released recently make sure to click here. 

If you don’t want to know any information about Ayesha and how she gets mixed up with the characters, then don’t read ahead. 

During an interview with io9, Debick saidi:

“Ayesha is this leader of the Sovereign people. She enlists the Guardians to help her fight a sort of galactical beast. They’re this sort of ragtag bunch of people but they happen to be very good at getting rid of things and cleaning up the universe, in a way. So she enlists them and it’s all going swimmingly until it all turns very very sour. Let’s just say it goes from amiable to not-so-amiable quite quickly.”

We did get to see some footage of this character in the trailer that was screened at Comic-Con and in the scenes Rocket Raccoon started to joke around with Ayesha and her people. The Guardians obviously didn’t make a good first impression and things escalate to the point where Ayesha turns on them. The actress goes on to talk about her role and why she really wanted to play her, saying:

“The wonderful thing about James and the writing in the film is that every character has a really great arc, and that’s why I really wanted to play her because she finishes in a very different place than where we first see her. She shifts a lot. How she looks kind of shifts, and I don’t want to give anything away.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens May 5th, 2017.

Dwayne Johnson has released a couple new images from F. Gary Gray’s Fast 8, and one of them is the best and most exciting image I’ve seen from the film so far. It’s a very energetic and dynamic photo featuring Hobbs insanely kicking some ass in prison and looking extremely pissed off. 

I have no idea why Hobbs is in prison, but it really doesn’t matter because it looks like there’s going to be one hell of an epic prison riot in the film, and anyone who comes in contact with Hobbs is going to feel pain unlike any kind of pain they’ve felt before. Johnson explains:

"When our Fast & Furious writer Chris Morgan said to me months ago, 'How insane would it be if in Fast8, Hobbs was sentenced to the most hard core maximum security prison in the world!?' To which I responded, 'How even more insane and FUN FOR THE FANS would it be if Hobbs said fuck this, I'm gettin' out... try and stop me.' Our goal here was to give you - the fans - a 'holy shit' iconic prison breakout. For days our intensity was thru the roof. As it should be. And that big round iron thing on the back of Hobbs' arm is commonly referred to from scientist as his tricep."

If there’s one guy who can actually take on an entire prison and survive, it’s Johnson’s Hobbes. He looks like a freakin’ beast of death and chaos! I love that there’s a guy being thrown through the air. I’m definitely pumped up to see what this scene is all about! 

Fast 8 is set to be released on April 14th, 2017.

When our Fast & Furious writer Chris Morgan said to me months ago, "How insane would it be if in Fast8, Hobbs was sentenced to the most hard core maximum security prison in the world!?" To which I responded, "How even more insane and FUN FOR THE FANS would it be if Hobbs said fuck this, I'm gettin' out... try and stop me." Our goal here was to give you - the fans - a "holy shit" iconic prison breakout. For days our intensity was thru the roof. As it should be. And that big round iron thing on the back of Hobbs' arm is commonly referred to from scientist as his tricep.😂 #Fast8 #HobbsStyle #TheIcemanCometh #AndHeDontFuckethAround #LetTheBodiesHitTheFloor

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on Jul 29, 2016 at 8:50am PDT

Let the bodies hit the floor. #PrisonBreak #TheBBlockSavage #IcemanCometh #AndHeDontFuckethAround #OnSet #FastAndFurious8

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on Jul 31, 2016 at 10:15am PDT

I love The Goldbergs. If you aren’t watching this show you really need to start because it’s wonderfully hilarious and it’s a love letter to the '80s that is packed full of all kinds of nostalgic elements. One of the things that this series likes to do is pay homage to classic films of the '80s by parodying them in a way. They’ve had episodes based on Dirty Dancing, The Goonies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Risky Business. Now it’s been revealed that they will be taking on John Hughes' classic film The Breakfast Club! I’ve been wondering when they would finally get around to it!

The episode is called “Adam's Folly,” and it will be the season four premiere, which is set to air on September 21st on ABC. The original film starred Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and Ally Sheedy, and it tells the story of a group of teen misfits who find themselves surviving a weekend of detention in high school. I imagine The Goldbergs episode will have a similar plot line. 

Series creator Adam F. Goldberg has been wanting to tackle this movie since 2014 when he said, 

"We decided after the Goonies episode that every year we're going to do one big Adam's Folly episode and straight up homage to an '80s movie. We're already batting around which John Hughes [Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, etc.] movie it will be.” 

Since then, they already did Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It would be great to see them eventually take on Weird Science! It’d be a shame if they never got around to that. Regardless, I’m so happy that The Breakfast Club will finally be honored by this great series. 

It would be so cool if they were able to get the actors of the original movie to cameo in the series just like they got Charlie Sheen to cameo in the Ferris episode. 

Source: THR

Other than the exciting teaser trailer that premiered at Comic-Con, there hasn't been much news on Marvel's upcoming Netflix project The Defenders. We know for a fact that Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist will be involved. It was also recently revealed that Eka Darville's Jessica Jones character, Malcolm Ducasse, will be in the series, and I'm sure there's a good chance that The Punisher and Claire Temple could show up as well. 

We've now learned that Elden Henson will reprise his role of Foggy Nelson in The Defenders. He is the unsung hero of Daredevil, and it's awesome to learn that he will have a place in the story for The Defenders. The news comes from an interview that a fan got to conduct with the actor at a recent convention and this is what he said:

"Elden is going to be in The Defenders but he doesn’t know how much but Marvel approached him about it. He is most excited about Luke Cage."

I really like this character and I hope that he ends up having a decent sized role in The Defenders. If he's in it, does that mean Karen Page will be in it as well? I sure hope so! 

One of the other interesting things that Henson revealed is that Foggy was originally supposed to have a handlebar mustache during the flashback college scenes in Daredevil, but "but it didn’t look right on his face, so he ended up with the goatee." I'm kinda sad we didn't get to see this handlebar mustache on Foggy! That would have been interesting.

The Defenders is set to go into production following Iron Fist, and it's not until after The Defenders that we'll see Daredevil Season 3 and Jessica Jones Season 2. We'll start to learn more about The Defenders as Marvel gets closer to production, so stay tuned. 

Via: MCU Exchange 

Before the Duffer brothers brought us the incredible supernatural Netflix series Stranger Things, they made a chilling short film called "Eater." The film is based on a short story by Peter Crowther, and it follows a rookie cop who works the night shift at a police station with a cannibal prisoner on the loose.

Obviously, every filmmaker needs to start somewhere, and this is a college film project that Matt and Ross Duffer created together back in 2007. As you’ll see, it has a similar kind of vibe, tone, and supernatural subject matter that we saw in Stranger Things. These guys seem to have a pretty distinctive filmmaking style, and I can't wait to see what they come up with next! After the success of Stranger Things, I'm sure that offers to take on other projects are rolling in. 

I thought this short film was great, and it's awesome to see talented young filmmakers like this find the success that they have. 

Via: Gizmodo

If you skipped Sicario last year, you missed one of the year's best thrillers. It's a great movie, and one I'm proud to continue to champion in the hopes that more people eventually find it and give it a shot. The movie is the first in a planned trilogy, and we know the upcoming sequel, called Soldado, will feature returning actors Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin but won't feature original star Emily Blunt.

Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, who wrote the first movie and the sequel, spoke with Collider about the new script and how it compares to the original, and he promises some big things in the process:

“Lionsgate understood that they bought something that was a spec (on the original Sicario). So there was a certain amount of latitude they had to give me (on Sicario 2). What usually would be a long meeting about what’s this character about, what’s his arc—we didn’t have that. They trusted me to just go do it, and with Sicario, which I’m really proud of, it really approaches some difficult subjects. I didn’t want to demean that with the second one. So I really wrote something I double dared them to actually make. Ten times more unsentimental, more vicious and really reflective…It’s funny, a lot of people think Sicario's about the drug war and the cartels. It’s not. It’s a movie about American policy and the way that we police and (Sicario 2) is that on steroids.”

Ten times more unsentimental and vicious than the first film? That's a high bar to clear. It sounds like Soldado is going to be way more action-packed than Sicario was, with new director Stefano Sollima saying "it's got an incredible amount of huge action sequences in there," so I'm looking forward to seeing how the same writer expands the world he created with some of the same actors and a different filmmaker at the helm.

Spoilers ahead for Preacher season 1.

AMC's Preacher wrapped up its first season this past Sunday night. I wrote a little about the show as it was airing, notably about how Jesse sending Eugene/Arseface to hell was its first true "holy sh*t" moment. Since then, the show picked up a little bit of steam by having Emily feed the mayor to Cassidy and finally having the Saint of Killers appear in the modern world, but the show certainly hasn't been the massive hit I'm sure AMC hoped it would be. Yes, it's been renewed for a second season, and season one had a handful of standout moments, but my biggest takeaway from so far is simply that it's taken its sweet time getting to this point (I'm just now realizing that's something of a common thread for many AMC shows — Mad Men, The Walking Dead, and even Breaking Bad had a somewhat slow start).

Let's get right to it: for me, the best thing about the season one finale was the town of Annville blowing up with no human survivors left behind just after Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy set out on their road trip. Odin Quincannon, Sheriff Root, even Emily and her kids are all dead. That explosion was a mission statement from showrunner Sam Catlin and executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg: they had to know fans were frustrated with the slow pacing and being tied to the location of Annville as we learned about these characters, so they literally blew the whole thing up as a way of saying, "That part of the story is done. Now let's get on to what you really care about."

But is it too little too late? I'll admit, the only reason I stuck with the show was in case they imparted any relevant information about the characters that might be referenced again in upcoming seasons. I was not a fan of the way this season unfolded, and I think if I hadn't have read the comics, I would have bailed after two or three episodes. It may sound harsh, but there are too many great things to watch these days to devote hours to mediocre television. The good news is I think Preacher has the potential to become a truly great TV show in its second season and beyond.

Dominic Cooper's Jesse Custer is fine, but Ruth Negga's Tulip and Joseph Gilgun's Cassidy are the true bright spots of the show, perfectly capturing the essence of their characters from the comic series. The show finally got to the heart of everything, its whole reason for being, at the end of Sunday's finale. Jesse calls God in front of his church, only to realize it isn't actually God at all, but an imposter; God is missing, and Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy set out to find him.

“In the end, we had to clear the deck, there’s so many great characters from the comic to come,” Catlin said in an interview with Deadline. He promised that season 2 will introduce characters from the comics, including serial killer Reaver Cleaver and Jesse's redneck family, including his grandmother and her bodyguard (readers of the comics will know these characters well). Also playing a larger role will be Herr Starr, one of the show's big villains who was introduced as the mysterious man in the white suit in the third episode of season one, and obviously the Saint of Killers, who is hot on Jesse's trail.

I want to hear from you. Does the promise of the show sticking closer to its comic roots in the future make you more likely to watch it? Did you give up at some point during the first season, but might tune in to see how things go in season two? What did you think of season one as a whole? Anything and everything Preacher-related is fair game, so leave your comments below.

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