Mere hours after the news of the legendary H.R. Giger passing away, tragedy has struck once again in the world of film and cinema. Malik Bendjelloul, who recently won the Academy Award for Best Documentary at the 85th ceremony, was found dead in Stockholm. No cause of death is yet known, but according to Deadline, his death is not being treated as suspicious. One could speculate Malik Bendjelloul would have had a fantastic career in documentary – surely Searching for Sugar Man is proof of that – and it’s truly a shame to see such talent cut short.

Searching for Sugar Man was almost entirely composed from Bendjelloul’s hands; he wrote, directed, produced, edited and composed score for his documentary that instigated a personal search for reclusive musician Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, a legendary musical figure of myth from the 70s. Bendjelloul’s documentary earned him an array of awards alongside the Oscar, including the Audience Award at Sundance, accolades from DGA, PGA, WGA, BAFTA and the National Board of Review. His passing has undoubtedly come too soon, as he was only 36. Our thoughts go our to friends and family of Malik.  

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After being tipped as the front runner last week, it has now been confirmed that Roberto Orci will make his directorial debut on Star Trek 3, the third instalment of Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions’ rebooted Trek universe.

Orci of course has plenty of experience with the Star Trek universe, having co-written and produced both Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, as well as steering IDW’s comic book tie-ins. Orci is currently writing the script for Star Trek 3 alongside J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, while J.J. Abrams will remain involved in a producing capacity.

How do you feel about Orci taking on the reins for Star Trek 3? Let us know your thoughts…

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Dimension Films has released a new poster for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, which gives us a new look at Josh Brolin (Oldboy) as Dwight McCarthy….

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For weaves together two of Frank Miller’s classic stories with new tales in which the town’s most hard boiled citizens cross paths with some of its more repulsive inhabitants. In Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Dwight is hunted down by the only woman he ever loved, Ava Lord, and then watches his life go straight to hell. Chronologically, this story takes place prior to “The Big Fat Kill” (featured in the film Frank Miller’s Sin City) and explains how Dwight came to have a dramatically different face.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is set for release on August 22nd, with a cast that also includes returning Sin City stars Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Powers Boothe and Jaime King alongside newcomers Eva Green (300: Rise of an Empire), Jamie Chung (Sucker Punch), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises), Ray Liotta (Goodfellas), Dennis Haysbert (24), Juno Temple (Killer Joe), Alexa Vega (Machete Kills), Christopher Meloni (Man of Steel), Lady Gaga (Machete Kills), Stacy Keach (The Bourne Legacy), and Jeremy Piven (Entourage). Watch the latest trailer here.

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It’s certainly an exciting time for Batman fans. Yesterday we got our first look at Ben Affleck as The Dark Knight in Zack Snyder’s Batman vs. Superman (which you can see here, if you’re one of the three people yet to see it), and now we have a featurette for Gotham, which sees creator Bruno Heller and the cast giving us some insight into Fox’s upcoming Batman prequel series.

Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world’s greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon’s story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world’s most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker.

We’ve also got a selection of cast photos which you can see here, as well as the official trailer here.

Gotham is set to get underway on Monday evenings on FOX in the Fall and also stars Ben McKenzie (The O.C.) as Detective Gordon, Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers) as Alfred Pennyworth, Donal Logue (Sons of Anarchy) as Harvey Bullock, newcomer Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle, David Mazouz (Touch) as Bruce Wayne, Robin Lord Taylor (Another Earth) as Oswald Cobblepot, Cory Michael Smith (Olive Kitteridge) as Edward Nygma, Jada Pinkett Smith (The Matrix) as Fish Mooney, Zabryna Guevara (The Guilt Trip) as Detective Essen, Victoria Cartagena (Salt) as Renee Montoya, Andrew Stewart Jones (The Tomorrow People) as Crispus Allen, Erin Richards (Being Human) as Barbara Kean and Drew Powell (Malcolm in the Middle) as Butch Gilzean.

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UK box office top ten and analysis for the weekend of Friday 9th Sunday 11th May 2014…

After three weeks atop the chart, Sony’s superhero sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2 fell to second place this past weekend as the Seth Rogen / Zac Efron comedy Bad Neighbours stormed to the top of the chart with a hefty £8,446,240 haul – the second-highest opening of the year after Spidey. However, that figure was inflated by a whole six days of previews, totaling £5.16 million.

Three other newcomers managed to grab a spot in the top ten this week, with the Arnold Schwarzenegger action thriller Sabotage earning £300,521 to claim seventh place – another disappointing return for Arnie in his latest comeback vehicle. Meanwhile the Met Opera’s live broadcast of La Cenerentola claimed eighth with £285,597, followed by the comedy drama Frank in tenth with £202,747.

Number one this time last year: Iron Man 3

1. Bad Neighbours, £8,446,240 weekend (New)
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2, £1,286,356 weekend; £22,281,550 total (4 weeks)
3. The Other Woman, £928,788 weekend; £7,121,577 total (3 weeks)
4. Rio 2, £551,655 weekend; £13,289,929 total (6 weeks)
5. Pompeii, £505,186 weekend; £2,230,156 total (2 weeks)
6. Tarzan, £440,643 weekend; £1,611,347 total (2 weeks)
7. Sabotage, £300,521 weekend (New)
8. La Cenerentola: Met Opera Live, £285,597 weekend (New)
9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, £252,908  weekend; £19,095,843 total (7 weeks)
10. Frank, £202,747 weekend (New)

Incoming…

The King of the Monsters stomps into cinemas this Thursday with the release of British director Gareth Edwards’ kaiju reboot Godzilla (cert. 12A) [read our review here] and will surely trample the competition, including Friday’s new arrivals In Secret (cert. 15), The Two Faces of January (cert. 12A) and Concussion (cert. 15).

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Last we heard of the sci-fi film The Martian, director Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods) was set to write and direct the e-book adaptation, Goddard has now left the project in order to direct the Spider-Man tie-in The Sinister Six and The Hollywood Reporter is now claiming that Ridley Scott (The Counselor) is in talks to direct the film. Scott is also set to produce the film, with Matt Damon (Behind the Candelabra) in a starring role. Prometheus 2 is set for a March 2016 release, so there’s no telling when Scott will be available to start production on the film.

The plot is based on the e-book of the same name by Andy Weir. The story involves an astronaut stranded on Mars and his journey back to Earth. Naturally the concept sounds similar to Gravity, whilst allegedly being described as an amalgam of Cast Away and Apollo 13. Ridley Scott isn’t the most consistent director around, but we can’t forget his affinity with the sci-fi genre as shown with Alien and Blade Runner. This production should at least be worth a look.

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Villordsutch reviews Star Trek – New Visions #1: The Mirror, Cracked…

New Visions begins by going through the looking glass to tell the story of what happened after the classic “Mirror, Mirror” episode of the original series. In issue #1, “The Mirror, Cracked,” the crew of the Starship: Enterprise discovers two strangers in their midst, and things take a turn when they learn that one of them has made a pact with one of James Kirk’s oldest foes.

It could be easy to be glib about this bi-monthly Trek release and “Pfft!” at it whilst decrying, “someone (in this case John Byrne) has just Photoshopped stills from Original Trek and made a comic out of it!?” I can honestly say that my rather shallow outlook concerning the first few pages was the above, but then my feeling of being cheated turned to confusion, then later enjoyment, back to confusion and finally I honestly couldn’t wait for the end to come.

Possibly not the greatest opener to a review, with no suspense as to how I felt here, but this isn’t the greatest of Star Trek comics.  What guiles me the most though is that part way through this comic book (if I can call it that) I felt like I was enjoying it! However on a more observational view of myself, it was more an appreciation of the photo-manipulation (in this case it’s called Photomontage) of the actors in the stills rather than anything to do with the actual story itself; even then there are people, with amazing talents, out there manipulating photographs daily across the 9GAG meme world and I’m not shelling out $8 for looking at that.

The story follows on from the original episode “Mirror, Mirror” by Jerome Bixby; in this tale Evil Kirk beams on board the U.S.S. Enterprise and brings with him the means to bring a fiery end to Good Kirk and Co. for the trouble they brought upon him once they had left his Universe, corrupting Goatee Spock with good logic instead of bad logic which cascaded into a whole heap of bother for Evil Kirk.  Along the road within this fifty something page issue, we have Klingons including Commander Kor with a Romulan Cloaking Device (brought over by Evil Kirk) and a loophole in the Organian Peace Treaty and Captain Uhura.  This all may sound like a big bag of fun to Star Trek fans, but I was left far from that feeling as I wondered where Kirk had stashed the Romulan Cloaking Device when he beamed over, or in the beginning actually wondering who was who, and was thankful when John Byrne gave Spock his beard back and Kirk his “Evil” uniform back; the Organian loophole was more of a “try to pretend it doesn’t exist somehow”, except when Kor had the chance to do a kill of his own.

One thing I do have to say in favour of this though is a lot of work has to have gone into it, and for that I cannot take anything away; it’s such a shame that a reliance of gimmick of a photo-story to generate sales has been used.  Perhaps for the next issue they could get somebody in from the stables of new Trek or a respected original Trek scribe to generate a story then get John to do his photomontage on top of that.  Give this substance to rely on instead of hoping for people to be caught in the style trap.  Perhaps in two months we’ll see a change. My fingers are crossed.

View our preview of Star Trek – New Visions #1: The Mirror, Cracked here.

Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.

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HBO has released episode descriptions for the final three episodes of the fourth season of the epic fantasy series Game of Thrones; check them out here…

Season 4 Episode 8: “The Mountain and the Viper”
Unexpected visitors arrive in Mole’s Town; Littlefinger’s (Aidan Gillen) motives are questioned; Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) tries to prove himself to his father; Tyrion’s (Peter Dinklage) fate is decided.

Season 4 Episode 9: “The Watchers on the Wall”
Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and the Night’s Watch face a big challenge.

Season 4 Episode 10: “The Children”
Circumstances change after an unexpected arrival from north of the Wall; Dany (Emilia Clarke) must face harsh realities; Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) learns more about his destiny; Tyrion sees the truth about his situation.

Game of Thrones airs on Sunday nights on HBO in the States and on Monday nights on Sky Atlantic in North America.

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Ahead of its release this week [read our ★★★★ review here], Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have released a new IMAX featurette for director Gareth Edwards’ (Monsters) kaiju reboot Godzilla, which we’ve got for you below, as well as two fantastic stills giving us our best look yet at the King of the Monsters…

An epic rebirth to Toho’s iconic Godzilla, this spectacular adventure, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, pits the world’s most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity’s scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

Godzilla is set for release tomorrow (May 15th), with Gareth Edwards (Monsters) directing a cast that includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Ken Watanabe (Inception), David Strathairn (The Bourne Legacy), Juliette Binoche (The English Patient) and Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine). Watch the latest trailer here.

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As part of the BFI’s Studio Ghibli Season, Simon Columb reviews Pom Poko…

“Testicles play an important role in tanuki mythology” writes Colin Odell and Michelle Le Blanc when discussing Pom Poko. Directed by Isao Takahata, this is a far call from the deeply serious war story of Grave of the Fireflies. Rather than humans, Pom Poko tackles morphing racoons. These creatures, along with foxes and cats, have a long history in Japan whereby they’re playful, mischievous transformations is merely one trick, alongside their ability to expand their balls into enormous parachutes or rugs to sit upon. Studio Ghibli always manages to inform us of the fascinating stories embedded in Japanese culture – but, until a tanuki (the accurate name for these magical racoons) reveals that his entire tanuki-class is sitting on an outstretched scrotum, you never realise how culturally different it truly is.

That’s not to say that this is a problem as Pom Poko is a joyous celebration of nature and life. Introducing two tribes of racoon’s as they fight each other for territory, the tanuki realise their true enemy is man as Tokyo’s outskirts are expanding the city limits, decimating the area known as Tama Hills. The racoon’s feverishly try tactics to scare off the construction workers – from creating ghost-like apparitions and parades through to perfecting their morphing technique to become human. Despite these efforts, the expansion continues and esteemed Masters, and non-morphing tanuki, die in the attempt at holding them back. The final moments are undercut as they change their way of life – tanuki scavenge for food in waste bins while others, who transform into humans, desperately reminisce of the time that once existed whereby forest, lakes and green, green grass was all that dominated the Tama Hills.

Pom Poko manages to tell its ecological tale in no uncertain terms. Humans are destroying the landscape irreversibly. Released in 1994, it seems to tell a similar tale to BBC’s Animals of Farthing Wood, a TV-series running briefly between 1993 and 1995. The dangers of busy roads, in both animations, is a tale often told. As I recall, the Farthing Wood creatures were escaping the industrial deconstruction of their natural habitat – and this is the same conflict that forces tanuki to fight humans. But Pom Poko has a mysterious, yet plucky tone that seems to make light of the earnest tale it tells. The multiple characterisations of the tanuki is deftly edited and effortlessly realised. Considering the characters change between five different forms, each tanuki has specific characteristics that are clearly realised. When we meet a sneaky, money-driven human it becomes apparent that he too is kitsune (a transforming fox) and this is clear from his animated human features from the outset.

This charming tale has only heightened my appreciation of Studio Ghibli. In the final moments of Pom Poko we see what the tanuki want to create – and it’s not a world without humans. It is furosato (meaning ‘homeland’) whereby humans live alongside the tanuki. Small, but comfortable houses and clearly marked water pockets surrounded by lush, overgrown forest and plants. It is beautiful, and it’s not the first time that Studio Ghibli has made me wonder what a world would be like with more time aside for wildlife. The two girls running free to find a spirit in My Neighbour Totoro. The two children on the beach, even for a moment, in Grave of the Fireflies to take their mind of the horrors of war.

Spinning his tail, *poof*, Mario would transform into tanuki in Super Mario Bros 3 – and this was my first introduction to the term. Now, Pom Poko has told me how tanuki represent so much more.

Throughout April and May, the BFI on Southbank are screening all the Studio Ghibli films. For more information, click here.

Simon Columb – Follow him on Twitter @screeninsight

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Ahead of tonight’s sure to be explosive Arrow season two finale, The CW has released an extended clip from ‘Unthinkable’ which you can watch after the official episode description…

OLIVER MUST DECIDE ONCE AND FOR ALL IF HE’S A KILLER OR A HERO – Slade (Manu Bennett) moves forward with his plan to kill one more person in Oliver’s (Stephen Amell) life. While Oliver has fought all year to be more than the killer he once was, when Slade kidnaps someone close to Oliver’s heart, Oliver is pushed to the edge and realizes sometimes it takes doing the unthinkable to stop the monster. Meanwhile, Diggle (David Ramsey) takes on Amanda Waller (guest star Cynthia Addai-Robinson) with a little help from some friends, and Thea (Willa Holland) turns to Roy (Colton Haynes) in her time of need.

‘Unthinkable’ airs on The CW tonight, and is also set to be followed by the first trailer for The Flash. Check out some promos, images and a poster for the finale here and here.

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We’ve already seen a couple of images of Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Marion Cotillard (The Dark Knight Rises) as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth [see here and here], but now The Weinstein Company have given us another look at the Scottish lord from director Justin Kurzel’s (Snowtown) upcoming Shakespeare adaptation…

Macbeth is expected to arrive late in the year in time for awards season, with Fassbender and Cotillard joined in the cast by cast are Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby), Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), and Paddy Considine (The Double).

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Lucky Bastard, 2014.

Directed by Robert Nathan.
Starring Don McManus, Jay Paulson, Betsy Rue, Chris Wylde and Catherine Annette.

SYNOPSIS:

When the adult website LUCKY BASTARD runs a contest giving the winner a night with a hot porn star, the outcome turns from fantasy to horror in a deadly nightmare no one could possibly have expected.

In recent years the success of films like Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield have seen a marked increase in ‘found footage’ films. It’s almost become an easy option for film-makers too, allowing a very quick, cheap shoot where anything that feels a little sloppy, and not quite on the mark with the performers, can pass as naturalistic. There have been so many found footage films in recent years that it has almost become an epidemic. Rarely has a sub-genre become so popular among film-makers of all levels, from aspiring to established. Are audiences getting tired of them? Well, I for one am, but generally it would seem that they’re not.

So Lucky Bastard arrives offering what found footage fans should rightly expect, lots of amateur camera work, mixed with surveillance footage. Does it offer anything a little different with it? Yes and no. Lucky Bastard opens with a woman seemingly being raped in a snuff porn video. As it transpires it’s all staged by professional porn actors performing just your run of the mill ‘rape porn.’ Mike, the head honcho of the company, played by Don McManus (who Seinfeld fans may remember as Jerry’s running nemesis, Duncan) comes up with a new idea to help boost his viewers. It’s the “lucky bastard” concept, whereby a fan chosen at random gets to perform with porn starlet, Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue). Unfortunately for the crew and cast, the man they choose ends up being mentally disturbed and goes on a rampage.

The porn element is a little bit out of the ordinary but not really pushed enough. The fact that it’s not genuinely explicit (or a real porn production) makes proceedings feel a little faker than it should. This is exploitative but perhaps they might have pushed proceedings further to at least gain a bit of notoriety. As it is, it’ll probably go by largely unnoticed. At least the film doesn’t take itself too seriously with plenty of light hearted moments and ably performed by the cast, lead by established actors like McManus, Rue and Jay Paulson as the bad guy. Unfortunately there’s little development in any of the characters that isn’t incredibly formulaic.

Much like a lot of these films, it takes too long to get to the nitty gritty of people getting picked off one by one. Director Robert Nathan who co-wrote the script with Lukas Kendall, seems happy to let the build up and exposition take up most of the film. Unfortunately, as is the want of many of these films, much of the build up is perfunctory. To the films detriment too, the more staple aspects of a film like this, ie the horror/stalker elements (which at the end of the day will be the major selling point), are lacklustre with little imagination.

Overall, despite a solid cast and an attempt to offer something a little different to the standard ghost/creature story most associated with found footage movies, Lucky Bastard fails to fully utilize it’s one difference fully, and its failure to at least deliver on the minimum requirements of the horror part make this difficult to recommend to genre fans. There have been worse films in the genre, but also many better.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★ ★

Tom Jolliffe

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With a little over a week to go until the release of the film, Fox has debuted a new ‘Power Piece’ featurette from X-Men: Days of Future Past focussing on Halle Berry’s Storm, as well as a new clip featuring Michael Fassbender’s Magneto demonstrating his power. Check them out below, and if you haven’t already, you can read our review of the sequel here….

The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original “X-Men” film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from “X-Men: First Class,” in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future.

X-Men: Days of Future Past sees X-Men veterans Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), James McAvoy (Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Lucas Till (Havok), Halle Berry (Storm), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde), Shawn Ashmore (Iceman) and Daniel Cudmore (Colossus) joined in the cast by franchise newcomers Evan Peters (American Horror Story) as Quicksilver, Booboo Stewart (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) as Warpath, Omar Sy (The Intouchables) as Bishop, Fan Bingbing (Iron Man 3) as Blink, Adan Canto (The Following) as Sunspot, Evan Jonigkeit (The Following) as Toad, Josh Helman (Mad Max: Fury Road) as William Stryker and Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) as Bolivar Trask.

X-Men: Days of Future Past opens in the UK on May 22nd and North America on May 23rd. Watch the latest trailer here.

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The Flickering Myth writing team share a few thoughts on the first look at Ben Affleck in the Batsuit….

DC fans haven’t had much to shout about over the best part of the past year, having to sit twiddling their thumbs waiting on news while Marvel Studios, Sony and Fox laid out their superhero plans for the next few years, as well as delivering the likes of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. However, since the announcement of a Justice League movie, we’ve had the DC shows The Flash, Gotham and Constantine all picked up, and yesterday Zack Snyder sent the internet into meltdown by releasing the very first image of Ben Affleck as The Dark Knight in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel Batman vs. Superman. So, what did our writers make of the new Batsuit?

Villordsutch: I’m made up with this new Batsuit to be honest. Of course I was a bit wary of what was coming our way after witnessing the back-end of the Batmobile as I was getting cold sweats of the neon Joel Schumacher days; I began to get the fear of Bat-nipples. However, seeing this beefy Batsuit I’m over the moon. Now if we can just take the name Zack Snyder out of the picture I’ll be air-punching all the way to the Odeon!

Chris Cooper: I love Christian Bale’s Batman. I love Michael Keaton’s Batman. As open to Ben Affleck as I’ve been, I never expected to even consider that he could be better than either of them.

This suit is Batman. To my eyes it merges the ‘Earth One’ suit with Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns design, to great effect. The short ears were a concern at first, but I’m pleased they’ve finally used something so common in the comics. Really helps makes this Batman stand out amongst the others. The most famous batsuit designs from the comics – Miller in DKR, Lee in Hush, Mazzucchelli in Year One and most recently Capullo – all have shorter ears so it’s about time really.

The colour scheme, whether it turns out be blue/grey or black/grey (maybe grey/grey?) will further differentiate him and make it plain that this is a new take on the character.

He definitely looks grizzled (notice the scars on the suit and the stubble), and gives me the impression that he is not someone to be mucked around with. Very imposing, and I hope the writing and acting makes the most of that.

I have questions. Namely how well can he turn his head, and what will he sound like? But he has the build and the suit so that’s a strong start.

It could all fall apart when we see it in action, but going by Watchmen (I’d always wondered if Nite Owl’s suit would be an inspiration) and Man of Steel, Snyder knows how to design a superhero, and how to make them look cool at least.

A lot of the rest falls on Affleck’s rather broad shoulders. I think he’s up to the task.

The Batmobile looks like a hybrid of Tim Burtons and Christopher Nolan’s cars, and I’m happy with that. From models I’ve seen I wonder if it can be more than a car, but time will tell.

Overall, I’m very excited and pleased.

Gary Collinson: I like it a lot. Nice to see the utility belt looking like it actually has a purpose. Will be interesting to see it in colour. I’m hoping it’s black and grey, which would make a change from the typical black movie Batsuits. I have no idea how Affleck’s Batman will turn out (although I’m quietly confident), but I definitely prefer this suit to the rubbery-looking one from The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.

Matt Spencer-Skeen: I do hope that this will slow down some of the rampant scepticism about whether this is basically going to be a Joel Schumacher fest of a Batman film. I like the suit, I like that it feels different to what’s come before while staying true to the character. I think Affleck will surprise the naysayers, I just hope Snyder can do the same. I have less faith in the latter.

Kris Wall: I’m intrigued rather than excited at the moment. Not sure how I feel about the ears. Definitely looking forward to seeing it from a better angle and in colour. However, he looks great in the suit, physically imposing! Very excited by that Batmobile design though.

Gavin Logan: Extremely excited about the new Batsuit. Have always been on board with Affleck however its still too early to tell if he’ll pull it off. Good first signs though.

Luke Owen: I just love the Bat logo. The design is great and Affleck looks really good in the costume. Not bothered by the ears, but I could see why some people might not like it. I’m just glad to see we’re getting a grey suit and not the standard black suits we’ve had previously. Do you think they’d go with a blue cowl?

Chris Cooper: I don’t think they will Luke, but if they did…I’d be cool with it. Black/grey is faithful as it is. But blue/grey would be crazy! I wonder if they’ll stay away from that to keep the colours between Batman and Superman distinct. Cavill’s Supes is already dark so they might not want the same palette too.

Martin Deer: I like it. I like a lot.

Gary Collinson: I must say though, I think WB has missed a trick with the marketing campaign. They should have built up to Batman by releasing images of Superman (whose sequel it is meant to be), Wonder Woman et al instead of jumping straight to the money shot. But I guess you could say that’s their whole approach to a DC Cinematic Universe…

So, a positive reaction to Affleck’s Batsuit from us here at Flickering Myth then, but what did you make of the look? Let us know your thoughts…

Batman vs. Superman is set for release on May 6th 2016 with Zack Snyder directing a cast that includes returning Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill (Superman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Diane Lane (Martha Kent) and Laurence Fishburne (Perry White) alongside Ben Affleck (Argo) as Batman, Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious 6) as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jesse Eisenberg (Now You See Me) as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons (The Borgias) as Alfred Pennyworth and Holly Hunter (The Piano), Callan Mulvey (300: Rise of an Empire), and Tao Okamoto (The Wolverine) in as-yet-unrevealed roles.

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Luke Owen reviews the penultimate episode of From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series…

We’ve reached the ninth step of this ten-episode run and… well… it just got odd. Not ‘odd’ in a good way, but ‘odd’ in that perplexing kind of way where you find yourself asking, “just how did we get here?”.

Richie Gecko is now a vampire-snake creature and Santanico finally reveals what she needed him for and how he can set her free. After he is reunited with his brother Seth, we discover that The Titty Twister is a prison for Santanico and the only way to free her is if the Gecko Brothers complete a series of tasks in a mind labyrinth which bases its challenges from the memories of those who walk through it. Still with me? Meanwhile, Jacob, Kate and Professor Tanner (aka Sex Machine) are looking for Scott when they run into Frederico. Determined to track Scott down, the four carry on through the maze below, only for one of them to show their true colours.

Let’s ignore the fearless-foursome section of this episode (even if it does have one of the better twists of the series) and focus on the bizarre mind labyrinth portion of Boxman.

It’s such an odd journey for us to be going down at this point of the series. Santanico reveals that her blood is at the centre of the labyrinth and if the Geckos can find it, she’ll be set free. As the tasks are based on their memories, we are presented with a heist mission (the one that landed Seth in jail) only this time there are new elements added and every now and again, they’ll be thrown into a new area of their sub conscience – Seth being tormented by his father (Dexter‘s James Remar in a great cameo) for example. It’s like Inception meets that part of Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey where our excellent friends first reach Hell and are being chased by their childhood nightmares.

But is a drastic change of pace a bad thing for From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series? Let’s face it, while it has been fun for a bit, the show hasn’t quite been the same since they arrived at The Titty Twister. Like the original movie, the first half of this series was incredibly interesting and it created a lot of tense character moments. Once it all kicked off with the vampire-snake creatures, the show devolved into a sub-par Temple of Doom and all the good character development the show had thrived on was pushed aside for wacky Mayan nonsense. Furthermore, one of the biggest complaints about the show was that we’re seeing things we’ve already been shown back in 1996 and a more interesting show would have been watching the Geckos do what they do best.

So with the Geckos back in business and pulling another job, does the episode pick up and bring us back on track?

Yes and no. The problem is that, while it is an Oceans Eleven style pick-up, it’s surrounded by the From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series madness which can be quite distracting. Zane Holtz and D.J. Controna are both great in their roles and certainly look the part, but it would have been more fun to watch if we didn’t have Ritchie “feeding his hunger” or shape-shifting into other people. It’s like they gave us something new while constantly dropping the old stuff around it to remind us it’s not that new. A prequel series (like Bates Motel) would have been a better suit to the From Dusk Till Dawn mythos?

So what now for the last episode? With the series showing no signs of wrapping up, it looks like From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series may give us a cliff-hanger ending to tease its return for the second season. Or, maybe they’ll surprise us and it will all wrap up nicely with a bow on top. We do know this though, they have an awful lot to get through in a 45-minute time frame.

Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.

The post From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series – Episode Nine Review appeared first on Flickering Myth.

With the new movie released tomorrow, Luke Owen looks at the Top 5 Godzilla movies…

For the last 60 years, one giant monster has stood tall above all others – the King of the Monsters: Godzilla. Since his first appearance in 1954, Godzilla has torn up cinema screens in Japan and around the world in no less than 29 movies. He has become a key part of this world’s pop culture, had his own cartoon series and has even played basketball with Charles Barkley. He’s even worked with Superman and has his own star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

And with the new movie on the horizon, let’s take a look at some of The Big G’s finest outings. Here are the top 5 Godzilla movies…

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A group of teenagers discover that they have supernatural abilities which puts them into conflict with mythical monsters in a new Image Comics series featuring the creative talents of writer Jim Zub (Samurai Jack), penciler Steve Cummings (Legends of the Dark Knight), and colour artist John Rauch (Invincible).

Rori Lane is an outsider by nature, but moving to Tokyo to live with her single Mom has only exacerbated her weirdness. She’s feeling out of sorts, worried about fitting in and, as if that wasn’t enough, strange things are beginning to happen. Glowing symbols and patterns are starting to appear before her eyes… and she’s the only one who seems to notice.

“Wayward is a coming-of-age story filled with mystery and emotion,” stated Zub. “It’s also an ass-kicking joy ride with teenagers beating the hell out of Japanese mythological monsters.  Steve and I built this series from the ground up to play to both our strengths. I can’t wait for people to see what we have planned.”

Wayward #1 which has special variant covers by Alina Urusov (Birds of Prey), Jeff “Chamba” Cruz (Street Fighter), and Adam Warren (Empowered) arrives in stores on August 27, 2014.

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An Autumn Afternoon (Japan: Sanma no aji), 1962.

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu.
Starring Chishu Ryu, Shima Iwashita, Keiji Sada and Mariko Okada.

SYNOPSIS:

An aging widower arranges a marriage for his only daughter.

An Autumn Afternoon tells the story of Hirayama (Chishu Ryu), an older man, who has three children. His eldest son, Koichi, is married. His daughter Michiko and college-son Kazuo remain at home. He works within a factory and meets with his friends Kawai and Horie over sake. The three spend a night with a former teacher, referred to as ‘The Gourd’, who lives alone with his daughter. ‘The Gourd’, working in a noodle shop, has an older daughter who has dedicated her life to looking after her father, forsaking her chance to marry. Kawai tells Hirayama that this could be the future of his own daughter. This drives the story, as Hirayama has to release his daughter from the boundaries of home, and marry her into another family.

Ozu’s unique direction is apparent within An Autumn Afternoon, as it would be within the majority of his films. Indoor locations, low-framing and static shots are part and parcel of his oeuvre. The style of filmmaking makes you analyse and hone in on the characters emotion. A final shot of Hirayama sipping tea switches our thoughts – we wonder what he is thinking. Indeed, a calm and slow structure forces a viewer to work harder at considering the purpose of each sequence. This isn’t a flaw in any respect, merely an observation from a viewer who is fed on the fast-paced, urgency of modern filmmaking.

An Autumn Afternoon balances the personal story of Hirayama against the larger context of the change in tradition within Japan. While the arrangement of marriage is an important role for parents – something Hirayama holds dear, it is clear that the traditional role of husband and wife is vastly different within the younger marriage between Koichi and his wife, Mariko. He helps with the chores and food-preparation, literally wearing the apron, while Mariko is happy and content to dictate where the finances will (and will not) go. This larger context provides a fascinating scale to the story – something that a small, domestic story rarely demonstrates.

Ranking amongst the very best filmmakers of all-time, Ozu stands toe-to-toe with Welles and Hitchcock. His inspiration reaches to Jim Jarmusch, Claire Denis and Wim Wenders in contemporary cinema. Ozu, for many years, was considered “too Japanese” for Western audiences. The year his films were screened at the Venice Film Festival, was followed by his death the next year. International films are a great way to experience another culture. But what is clear about An Autumn Afternoon, is how these themes still resonate with Western audiences. Caring for parents may not be as traditionally expected as it is in Japan – especially in 1960’s, but our duty to our family against our own ambitions and aspirations, for a family or otherwise, can often be a conflict. This tender story, though distant, is recognisable and will remain relevant for as long as family exists.

Opening on 16 May 2014 at BFI Southbank and selected cinemas nationwide. Book tickets at BFI Southbank by clicking here.

Flickering Myth Rating - Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Simon Columb – Follow him on Twitter 

The post Movie Review – An Autumn Afternoon (1962) appeared first on Flickering Myth.

We’ve already seen one new poster for Transformers: Age of Extinction this week, and with a new trailer set to land later today an international one-sheet from the Michael Bay-directed sequel has arrived online which sees Autobot leader Optimus Prime joined by new human cast members Mark Wahlberg (Pain & Gain), Jack Reynor (What Richard Did) and Nicola Peltz (Bates Motel). Take a look via CBM…

And here’s a new promo image featuring Prime, Grimlock and Bumblebee…

Transformers: Age of Extinction is set for release on June 27th with a cast that includes Stanley Tucci (Captain America: The First Avenger), Li Bingbing (Resident Evil: Retribution), Sophia Myles (Underworld), Victoria Summer (Saving Mr. Banks), Titus Welliver (Lost) and T.J. Miller (She’s Out of My League) alongside voice actors John Goodman (Inside Llewyn Davis), Ken Watanabe (Godzilla), John DiMaggio (Futurama), Mark Ryan (Transformers) and the returning Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Robert Foxworth and Reno Wilson.

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