Last week it was announced that ABC had picked up the Marvel One-Shot spin-off Agent Carter to join the network’s upcoming TV schedule alongside the second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and now leading lady Hayley Atwell has spoken about reprising her role as Peggy, discussing the attraction of returning to the character, and confirming that the show is set for an eight episode run (which will reportedly fill the gap during Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s midseason break):

“It’s surreal and humbling that the character that you played four years ago when you’ve done other jobs in other worlds and other genres call you back and say ‘we want you here, we like you and we want you to tell our story’, so I feel that there’s a responsibility to make sure she’s what everyone wants her to be. I think the main thing is fans see her being capable, being sexy, being a femme fatale and they want to see something more, they want to see the complexities and dimensions of her, what makes her tick, what makes her crumble, what makes her crash, and the limitations of who she is, because that makes her all the more relatable.

“I think over the arc of the eight episodes there’ll be a very different facet to who she is which won’t disappoint the fans in making sure that she has a story within herself, as well as the stories of each episode fighting who she fights against and still battling against her own demons and losing the love of her life and what the personal cost to her that is. So there’s many different ideas behind who she is and I think she’s going to become more interesting.”

The post Hayley Atwell discusses the Agent Carter series, confirms eight episode run appeared first on Flickering Myth.

Matt Smith reviews episode 22 of Elementary season 2…

Lies and back stories. This is what makes TV at the moment, from the long running soap operas to the highend thrillers that run like a series of short movies. It’s what keeps the audience coming back for more, to discover what it is that makes these compelling characters what they are. Peeling back the layers to find out more. They are two subjects that fit Elementary quite nicely, linking to character and environment quite well.

The post Elementary Season 2 – Episode 22 Review appeared first on Flickering Myth.

Our weekly round up of all the latest stories from the world of screen superheroes, including Batman vs. Superman, The Flash, Arrow, Gotham, Constantine, JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, Aquaman, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool, X-Force, Gambit, The Fantastic Four, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Daredevil, Big Hero 6, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Heroes Reborn and more…

Well, the wait is over… After teasing the unveiling of the new Batmobile early in the week, Zack Snyder went one better the following day, sending the internet into meltdown – and launching a new meme in the process – by giving us our first look at Ben Affleck as The Dark Knight in Warner Bros. eagerly-anticipated Man of Steel sequel Batman vs. Superman (if you were hoping to see more of the Batmobile, a couple of concept images have arrived online, which we’ve got for you here and here). Of course, with the photo being black and white we’re yet to get an idea of the colour scheme, but it appears that Snyder and company have opted to move away from the traditional black movie Batsuit, and with principal photography on the sequel now underway, it shouldn’t be too long before we get to see the costume in all of its black-and-grey or blue-and-grey glory. Be sure to let us know what you make of Affleck’s Batsuit, and you can read some thoughts from our writing team in the latest Flickering Myth Reaction…

…Affleck’s Batman wasn’t the only character we got our first look at this week, with the first batch of set photos showing Gal Gadot shooting scenes as Wonder Woman’s non-costumed alter-ego Diana Prince [see here]; meanwhile, speculation circulated that The Dark Knight’s arch-enemy The Joker could make an appearance in the sequel, owing to an image of playing card posted by director of photography Larry Fong [see here], while Jesse Eisenberg spoke about the one villain we do know will feature as he shared some thoughts on his approach to the role of Lex Luthor: “I don’t know the history as well as the people making the movie, so I guess it’s up to them to figure out how much they want to separate it from previous incarnations. But I will treat it like it’s its own role. There’s no way to play the history of the character played by other people, unless you do some kind of wink, but that doesn’t seem like a responsible way to act. So I will just do it as though it’s a character, in the same way you do a movie like The Double, which is a smaller movie — but you just kind of treat it like a character, and that’s probably the best course of action, I think… But the character’s written really well. It’s a really great role…”

…It’s not just the big screen where things are picking up speed (literally) for DC; having announced that the Arrow spin-off The Flash had received a full season order just last week, The CW has given us our first look at Grant Gustin’s fastest man alive by releasing a first-look promo and full five-minute trailer for the series, as well as two new images of Gustin’s Barry Allen both in his civvies and full costume. And, if you’ve watched the trailer, you’ll have no doubt noticed that Stephen Amell’s masked vigilante is set to feature in the pilot episode, while Amell himself has admitted that it’s likely there will be further crossovers between the two shows…

…And speaking of Arrow, with the curtain falling on season two with the finale ‘Unthinkable’ [read Jessie Roberton's review here], The CW wasted little time in teasing what’s to come with the arrival of an official synopsis for season three (which is also confirmed as seeing John Barrowman’s Malcolm Meryln upgraded to series regular): “After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. He returned home to Starling City, bent on righting the wrongs of his family and fighting injustice. To do this, he creates the persona of the Arrow and allies himself with former military man John Diggle (David Ramsey), computer-science expert Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), street brawler Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) and international assassin Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), while keeping his secret from those closest to him including his sister Thea (Willa Holland), who has allied herself with his most deadly enemy. Rivalries and allegiances will shift as Oliver faces his most difficult challenge yet…”

…FOX is also wasting little time in building buzz for its upcoming Batman prequel series Gotham, releasing a first look featurette that offers up plenty of new footage and comments from the cast and crew [watch it here], as well as a selection of new cast photos of Gordon (Ben McKenzie), Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee), Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova), Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), Sarah Essen (Zabryna Guevara), Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) and Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) [see here]. Meanwhile, it’s also been announced that the show has picked up three new series regulars in Cory Michael Smith (Edward Nygma), Victoria Cartagena (Renee Montoya) and Andrew Stewart Jones (Crispus Allen)…

…Heading over to NBC and we’ve also been treated to the first poster and clip from Constantine, as well two images of Matt Ryan (Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior) as the supernatural detective and Lucy Griffiths (True Blood) as Liv, a newly created character who possesses the ability to predict supernatural occurrences and helps Constantine to track down demons and send them back to Hell. Check them out here…

…On the DC animated front and ahead of its wide release this coming week, Warner Bros. has also released two clips from the animated family feature JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, which sees the Justice League going up against their arch nemeses the Legion of Doom [watch them here and here]. Meanwhile, some early details about the Aquaman animated movie has emerged, with reports suggesting that it “will likely be something of a New 52 origin story for Aquaman, meaning at the start of the film he won’t know much, if anything, about his connection to Atlantis, his place in their royal family, and his destiny to be their king.” Sam Witwer (Being Human) will reportedly lend his voice to Aquaman’s brother Orm, who we glimpsed during the post-credits sequence of Justice League: War, and more details are expected to be announced at Comic-Con…

Continue on to the next page for X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool, X-Force, Gambit, The Fantastic Four, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Daredevil, Big Hero 6, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Heroes Reborn…

The post The Week in Spandex – Batman vs. Superman, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Gambit, Daredevil, Agent Carter, The Flash, Gotham and more appeared first on Flickering Myth.

As Legendary Pictures latest kaiju movie Godzilla stomps into theaters around the world, Legendary CEO Thomas Tull taken part in an interview with I Am Rogue, where he offered an update on the potential sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim – and if you’re holding waiting with bated breath for a follow-up, you might be disappointed by what he has to say…

“Here’s the deal. … We’re not just going to do Pacific Rim 2 just to do it. Right now we’re talking to Guillermo del Toro. If we can crack the story, we all think it’s great, and it’s him at the helm, then fantastic. But right now there’s nothing going on officially to proclaim.”

Released last year, Pacific Rim starred Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman and Ron Perlman, and grossed $411 million around the globe; when you total up a production budget of $190 million and maybe half of that on promotion, then deduct the exhibitor’s split, it’s understandable why Legendary appears reluctant to pull the trigger on a sequel.

The post Legendary CEO gives an update on Pacific Rim 2 appeared first on Flickering Myth.

Earlier today we brought you a preview of Monday’s new Guardians of the Galaxy trailer [watch it here], and now Marvel has released a second tease, which includes a glimpse of Drax vs Ronan, as well as a couple of words from Rocket Raccoon…

“From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team — the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits — Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Peter discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand — with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.”

Guardians of the Galaxy is set for release on July 31st in the UK and August 1st in North America, with James Gunn (Super) a cast that also includes Chris Pratt (The Lego Movie) as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora, Dave Bautista (Riddick) as Drax the Destroyer, Bradley Cooper (American Hustle) as Rocket Raccoon, Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious 6) as Groot, Benicio Del Toro (Sin City) as The Collector, Lee Pace (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) as Ronan the Accuser, Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) as Nebula, Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) as Korath, John C. Reilly (Step Brothers) as Rhomman Dey, and Glenn Close (Damages) as Nova Prime Rael.

The post Second tease for the new Guardians of the Galaxy trailer appeared first on Flickering Myth.

Warner Bros. and Rocksteady have released a new screenshot from the hotly-anticipated video game sequel Batman: Arkham Knight, the finale game in the bestselling Arkham series, which gives us a look at fan favourite villain Harley Quinn….

In the explosive finale to the Arkham series, Batman faces the ultimate threat against the city he is sworn to protect. The Scarecrow returns to unite an impressive roster of super villains, including Penguin, Two-Face and Harley Quinn, to destroy The Dark Knight forever.

Batman: Arkham Knight is set for release on Xbox One, PS4 and PC on October 14th.

The post Harley Quinn featured in new Batman: Arkham Knight screenshot appeared first on Flickering Myth.

We’ve already seen a promo, and now HBO has released four images from tonight’s seventh episode of Game of Thrones season 4, entitled ‘Mockinbird’, which feature Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), Sam (John Bradley), Sansa (Sophie Turner), Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and Pod (Daniel Portman); check them out here…

Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) enlists an unlikely ally. Daario (Michiel Huisman) entreats Dany (Emilia Clarke) to allow him to do what he does best. Jon’s warnings about the Wall’s vulnerability fall on deaf ears. Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) follows a new lead on the road with Pod (Daniel Portman).

Game of Thrones airs on HBO in the States on Sundays and on Sky Atlantic in the UK on Mondays.

The post Promotional images from Game of Thrones season 4 episode 7 – ‘Mockingbird’ appeared first on Flickering Myth.

A couple of days ago we got our first look at Gal Gadot on the set of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel Batman vs. Superman, and while those images were taken from a distance we’ve not got a much closer look at the Israeli actress as Wonder Woman’s alter-ego Diana Prince….

Batman vs. Superman is set for release on May 6th 2016, with 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.

Source: Twitter (via CBM)

The post Closer look at Gal Gadot in new Batman vs. Superman set photo appeared first on Flickering Myth.

The Flickering Myth Podcast returns….

With Godzilla smashing his way through cinemas over the weekend, the Flickering Myth Podcast takes a look at Gareth Edward’s 2014 reboot to the Ishiro Honda 1954 classic.

Flickering Myth co-editor Luke Owen and Rohan Morbey sit down to review the movie, talk about its dark tone, lack of character, superb effects and how it compares to the rest of the series.

Read Scott J. Davis’ ★★★★ review here.

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.

The episode is now live so if you refresh your iTunes or RSS feed it should automatically update. However, you can also listen to the podcast directly in the player below…

The post The Flickering Myth Podcast – Godzilla (2014) appeared first on Flickering Myth.

With so many rumours circulating about Disney’s various Star Wars projects, it’s hard to distinguish between those with a shred of truth to them, and those which have just been plucked from thin air. However, this past week threw up a new rumour about a potential spin-off movie which may belong to the former camp, seeing as various Star Wars fan sites have been asked to remove said posts.

So, according to German site Star Wars Union, a Hasbro marketing event supposedly revealed Disney’s Star Wars release plans through to 2020, which included confirmation of the long-rumoured spin-off movies for Boba Fett and Han Solo, as well as a previously unmentioned spin-off entitled Red Five.

Red Five is of course Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing call sign in Episode IV, so presumably this spin-off would centre on Red Squadron, and perhaps even a young Luke Skywalker. If that is the case, then Red Five would surely need to take place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back (seeing as Red Squadron has been replaced by Rogue Squadron by Episode V), which doesn’t really give them much room to maneuver plot-wise.

If the report is true (and as always, take this with a pinch of salt until we get official confirmation), then Disney’s Star Wars release schedule through to 2020 is as follows…

2014: Star Wars Rebels
2015: Star Wars: Episode VII
2016: Star Wars: Boba Fett
2017: Star Wars: Episode VIII
2018: Star Wars: Solo
2019: Star Wars: Episode IX
2020: Star Wars: Red Five

With Star Wars Rebels also included on the release schedule, there’s also a chance Red Five could be another animated series, perhaps taking place within the timeframe of the Original Trilogy?

Throw in the Darth Vader TV special, and that’s a lot of Star Wars to look forward to… although I have to say, with so much scope to explore the galaxy far, far away, it’s a pity they’re focusing everything around established characters rather than giving us something new.

The post New Star Wars spin-off rumoured, possible release schedule through 2020 appeared first on Flickering Myth.

The Two Faces of January, 2014.

Directed by Hossein Amini.
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Isaac.

SYNOPSIS:

A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues between a con man, his wife and an enigmatic young stranger.

Patricia Highsmith’s novels have been the source of many great adaptations from Strangers on a Train to The Talented Mr Ripley; and now comes the adaptation of The Two Faces of January. Set in 1962 it follows married couple Chester MacFarland (Mortensen) and Collette MacFarland (Dunst) as they attempt to run away from Chester’s numerous bad investments and cons in the states. A chance meeting in Athens with the quick witted American tour guide Rydell (a superbly cast Oscar Isaac) leads them on a dangerous path after Chester accidentally kills a Private Detective.

The first thing to say about this taut thriller is that it is a beautiful film to watch. From it’s opening shots of various tourist attractions throughout Athens to the crowded markets, sleepy villages and abandoned ruins in Knossos it is a treat for the eyes. Everything looks exactly how you would imagine for the 1960s, and it’s a world that encapsulates you from the moment the film begins.

But this is the story of two men and their power struggle and they are played expertly by Viggo Mortensen and Oscar Isaac. The two actors are convincing as the two faces of the same coin and as the film continues and both similarities and differences become intertwined until at the end you’re unsure what will become of the young Rydell (Isaac). As the film progresses their clothes become similar and they share the same facial expressions. But at the same time Amini portrays a distinct sense of separation between the two. As they exit a boat, both walk off on separate steps and go into separate lines, they always sit opposite each other and never side by side. It’s this imagery and power struggle that makes The Two Faces of January an intriguing film to watch.

However, at 96 minutes running time it does feel that Amini rushes the film and there isn’t enough time to delve fully into these characters. We never find out why MacFarland is a con man, we don’t know why Rydell won’t go back to America and Kirsten Dunst’s unfortunate wife Collette isn’t given much to work with. It left me wondering about Highsmith’s source novel and whether these questions were answered in there and were deliberately left out. Either way, the short running time does make the ending feel quite rushed and a last minute epiphany from Chester feels unbelievable.

The Two Faces of January is a good film to watch for the central performances from Mortensen and Isaac.  You never know exactly what the other one is thinking and the way their conversations escalate and the power shifts continually back between the two is gripping and intense. It is also one of the most beautiful films I’ve seen all year from the burning sun over Athens to the cold dark underbelly of Knossos. Amini pulls you right into the world these two characters inhabit; it’s just a shame that we never get to discover who they really are.

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

Helen Murdoch

The post Movie Review – The Two Faces of January (2014) appeared first on Flickering Myth.

As part of the BFI’s Studio Ghibli Season, Simon Columb reviews My Neighbours the Yamadas … 

Rather than the bold and bright animation of Pom Poko, Isao Takahata’s My Neighbours the Yamadas is a collection of short stories celebrating family. Indeed, the anime style of Studio Ghibli is considered a defining element of the studio itself. The watercolour, pastel-coloured animation of My Neighbours the Yamadas combined with the flippant, YouTube-like length of each episode, separates this film from the others.

We observe the trials and tribulations of the small Yamada family. Mum, Dad, teenage son, a (roughly 5 years old?) young daughter and Grandma. Stories range from family-engagements as they return from shopping realising they’ve lost the daughter to duo-plays between Father and Son, or Mother and Grandmother. There is no narrative that runs throughout the entire film and, between the larger-scale bookends of the film (a toboggan race to represent married-life and a final flying-on-umbrellas musical number), it is merely comedic vignette’s shrewdly observing the highs and lows of this family life.

Isao Takahata, director of Grave of the Fireflies (heart-breaking wartime animation, told from the perspective of deceased children) and Pom Poko (a retelling of the magical tanuki who can morph into humans and use their testicles as parachutes) manages to reinvent his approach to storytelling – and changes the definition of what animation should be. His films couldn’t be more different and shows how he himself can morph between artistic styles for the sake of story. In comparison, Hayao Miyazaki clearly showcases a more consistent and definitive style.

But it is Takahata’s sense of detail that is so engrossing. The family dog, whose apathetic eyes seems to capture his I’ve-seen-it-all-before mood. The father, Takashi, shifting gears as he speeds back to collect his daughter. The briefest of brush strokes and minimal lines that manage to capture the humour, tone and attitude of this clearly loving family. Each character is shown to have many more sides to read too. Takashi’s laziness is offset by his keenness to bond with his Son, Noboru. The put-upon Mother Matsuko, who endlessly prepares food but has to contend with her own forgetful Mother, Shige, throughout the day.

Clearly, My Neighbours the Yamadas will never be considered a masterpiece, as Spirited Away and Grave of the Fireflies is, but it is unique. The wry jokes that capture the atmosphere and truth in every family, shows a sharp script. The animation may provide a limited visual palette for our attention, and after an hour of mini-movies, this can get tiresome. But like many Studio Ghibli films, My Neighbours the Yamadas offers a different meaning to feature-length filmmaking. Cartoons are not necessarily for children, and they can be a moment to laugh and relate to the trials and tribulations of all families. The father slowly considering his sanity when forgetting an umbrella; a son who realises family-inheritance will surely, inevitably, involve him; the family-member whose timing of a family-photo is at the most inopportune time. My Neighbours the Yamadas speaks to the heart – something many blockbuster, computer-cartoon behemoths of Hollywood often miss.

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

The post Studio Ghibli Season – My Neighbours the Yamadas appeared first on Flickering Myth.

We’ve already had two teasers [see here and here], but just to remind us that the second full trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy is arriving tomorrow, Marvel Studios has now given us another peek at what’s in store….

“From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team — the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits — Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Peter discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand — with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.”

Guardians of the Galaxy is set for release on July 31st in the UK and August 1st in North America, with James Gunn (Super) a cast that also includes Chris Pratt (The Lego Movie) as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora, Dave Bautista (Riddick) as Drax the Destroyer, Bradley Cooper (American Hustle) as Rocket Raccoon, Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious 6) as Groot, Benicio Del Toro (Sin City) as The Collector, Lee Pace (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) as Ronan the Accuser, Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) as Nebula, Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) as Korath, John C. Reilly (Step Brothers) as Rhomman Dey, and Glenn Close (Damages) as Nova Prime Rael.

The post Third teaser for the new Guardians of the Galaxy trailer appeared first on Flickering Myth.

Anghus Houvouras on how he learned to love Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor….

The internet is a reactionary place.   Information is dispensed at a frantic pace and often times we are forced to quickly react to a story and offer whatever knee-jerk initial reaction we experience.  Often times these decisions aren’t made with our heads but our hearts.   We learn that Ben Affleck is playing Batman, and a hundred thousand reactions hit every media outlet based on your love, hate, or ambivalence to him.  Fans are thrilled.  Detractors declare it to be the most heinous crime ever perpetrated against pop culture.  The ambivalent shrug.

Entertainment news used to be a steady drip, but now it’s a torrential downpour.  The traditional cycle moves so quickly that a story is released, we react, and then move on to the next story.  It’s rare that we get to pause or even revisit something after our initial prognosis is made.  When Jesse Eisenberg was cast as Lex Luthor, my initial reaction was ‘Seriously?’  It felt almost comical.  The kind of interesting but misguided choice that brought further head scratching questions into Zack Snyder’s attempt at bringing Batman vs. Superman to the big screen.   The cries of “Zuckerberg as Luthor” felt apt.  I was pushing for someone like Christoph Waltz to get the gig.  An actor who could deliver the kind of crazed, silver age mad scientist version of the character we’d never seen before.  Eisenberg is a talented actor but I thought he lacked the weight to create a terrifying and intimidating villain.

Then I saw Richard Ayoade’s excellent The Double.

First impressions are often hard to shake.  You categorize an actor or a filmmaker, put them in a box, and label them.  It takes something special to change your initial assessment.  Like seeing Matthew McConaughey in True Detective or Mud.  You realize that there may be more to this actor than you originally thought.  Even after a decade of performances, actors can still be capable of surprising you.  I remember when they first announced McConaughey had been cast in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.  I almost did a spit take.  That was before True Detective, Mud and Dallas Buyer’s Club when I was still considering that one of the greatest directors in the world had just cast the lead of Failure to Launch and Ghost’s of Girlfriend’s Past as the lead in his latest big budget blockbuster.

Those of us who write about film are often slaves to our hearts and don’t use our heads nearly enough.  We’re steadfast in our belief that our first reaction is right and don’t often enough challenge ourselves to reconsider.   Seeing Eisenberg in The Double, I couldn’t help see shades of what his Lex Luthor would be.  The dark, surreal psychological drama has Eisenberg playing two roles.  A matching pair of people separated by divergent personalities.  One is shy, awkward, and fearful of the world around him.  The other is arrogant and fearless.  Eisenberg’s excellent performance turned me into a believer.   If he’s able to combine those two ranges, to deliver an arrogant (and frankly terrifying) Lex Luthor who underneath it all is overcompensating and awkward tortured genius, then I think they’re on to something.

I don’t know what kind of Lex Luthor we’re going to get.  But I’ve changed my initial position on Eisenberg playing the role of Lex Luthor.  He’s won me over and forced me to reconsider.

Talent has a way of doing that.

Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the novel My Career Suicide Note, is available from Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.

The post How I learned to love Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor appeared first on Flickering Myth.

This won’t come as much of a surprise seeing as the movie is currently demolishing the competition across the globe with almost $200 million from its opening weekend ($93 million domestically and $103 million internationally) but Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have announced that a sequel to Godzilla is in development.

At this point it’s not yet confirmed whether Gareth Edwards will return as director, although seeing as he’s previously spoken of his plans for a second movie, it would seem likely that he’ll be back in the director’s chair.

Described as an epic rebirth to Toho’s iconic monster, Godzilla is out now with 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). Read our review here.

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The stars of the small screen gathered in London tonight for the 2014 BAFTA Television Awards, with ITV’s Broadchurch the big winner, taking home Best Drama, Best Supporting Actor (David Bradley) and Best Actress (Olivia Colman), while Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and The IT Crowd were both the recipients of two gongs apiece. Check out a full list of nominess, with the winners highlighted in bold…

Leading Actor
Jamie Dornan – The Fall
Sean Harris – Southcliffe
Luke Newberry – In The Flesh
Dominic West – Burton And Taylor

Leading Actress
Helena Bonham Carter – Burton And Taylor
Olivia Colman – Broadchurch
Kerrie Hayes – The Mill
Maxine Peake – The Village

Supporting Actor
David Bradley – Broadchurch
Jerome Flynn – Ripper Street
Nico Mirallegro – The Village
Rory Kinnear – Southcliffe

Supporting Actress
Shirley Henderson – Southcliffe
Sarah Lancashire – Last Tango In Halifax
Claire Rushbrook – My Mad Fat Diary
Nicola Walker – Last Tango In Halifax

Entertainment Performance
Ant and Dec – Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway
Charlie Brooker – 10 O’Clock Live
Sarah Millican – The Sarah Millican Television Programme
Graham Norton – The Graham Norton Show

Female Performance in a Comedy Programme
Frances de la Tour – Vicious
Kerry Howard – Him And Her: The Wedding
Doon Mackichan – Plebs
Katherine Parkinson – The IT Crowd

Male Performance in a Comedy Programme
Richard Ayoade – The IT Crowd
Mathew Baynton – The Wrong Mans
James Corden – The Wrong Mans
Chris O’Dowd – The IT Crowd

Drama Series
Broadchurch
My Mad Fat Diary
Top Of The Lake
The Village

Single Drama
An Adventure In Space And Time
Black Mirror: Be Right Back
Complicit
The Wipers Times

Soap and Continuing Drama
Casualty
Coronation Street
EastEnders
Holby City

Mini-Series
The Fall
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Godzilla, 2014.

Directed by Gareth Edwards
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, CJ Adams, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, David Strathairn, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, Richard T. Jones, Victor Rasuk, Carson Bolde and Bryan Cranston.

SYNOPSIS:

The world’s most famous monster is pitted against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity’s scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

This latest incarnation of Godzilla may well do a lot of things right if you’re a fan of kaiju monster flicks and have ‘always wanted’ to see what would happen if the legendary creature went up against mankind and other monsters with a mega production budget behind it. If, however, the sight of this is not enough and, like me, you want at least some semblance of character to go with your action, then Godzilla will strike you as a massive bore. A Godzilla-sized bore, wreaking havoc and destruction on your patience whilst stomping all over your expectations.

The film can be split into three distinctive parts, each one as dull as the other but for different reasons. Part one is arguably the worst and by being the film’s opening act it is detrimental to whatever may have followed; we are introduced to a host of human characters which range from the lively but farcical (Bryan Cranston is so one-note he’s unrecognisable from the talent we saw in Breaking Bad) to the useless (Elizabeth Olsen is token sexy wife who does nothing) to the downright awful in Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Not only is Johnson’s character flat, clichéd, and pointless (no one cares what happens to him or any of the humans, just show us the monsters, that’s all anyone wants to see) but he is completely without charm or any screen presence. Screen presence in films of this size is so important if film wants to be accepted for anything other than its special effects, but that clearly isn’t the case here. Johnson is simply terrible here, rivaling Charlie Hunnam in last year’s Pacific Rim for the prize for how bad a lead can be.

By writing characters so utterly devoid of anything interesting, a film is asking a hell of a lot from its audience for the next two hours if spectacle alone is not enough. The next two acts see various battles between man and monster or monster and monster against in and around San Francisco (at least New York is given a rest for a change) but the damage is already done as far as me caring was concerned. I have to be the first to admit that movies which centre on CGI vs CGI battles are not for me. Nothing bores me more than this and this is all the film’s really has to offer but that was to be expected, I’m not suggesting I was surprised at the outcome.

What I was surprised about was just how little Godzilla was featured in the film, leaving us with these flat humans to drive the film on; the realisation of Godzilla is superb and director Gareth Edwards clearly has a love for the character but the utilisation of him (considering money is no concern here) was a serious disappointment. Moreover, whilst the decision to tell this story from the human angle without a single interesting character is bad enough, the oh-so serious tone is a major mis-step. There isn’t one moment of levity or humour in the film which would be fine (I’m not asking for a comedy here) if it was believable; but it’s about giant monsters fighting each other, so why the desire to be taken so seriously?

God knows the Roland Emmerich Godzilla isn’t without its problems (and the human characters are just as weak) but at least it acknowledges that its nonsense and just wants the audience to have a good time and enjoy the sight of Godzilla rampaging through New York. In 1998 we hadn’t seen a monster/alien/creature terrorising Earth on that scale too often, but by 2014 every other film is destroying earth in some form or another, and Edwards’ film offers precious little that’s new in that department and I don’t see the point to this new film because it’s just as ridiculous.

Where Edwards and his team do succeed lies in how they use the technology to create the monsters, and how size and scope is conveyed to the audience. The only standout sequence in the film is quite sensational from a film making perspective, showing us something we’ve not seen before. The ‘halo jump’ scene (as shown on posters) may only last two minutes but it allows Edwards to show Godzilla’s size and mass from head to foot and the human’s POV shot is outstanding. Also excellent are the wide shots of down town San Francisco at night where the monsters tower over skyscrapers or come together in battle. Edwards isn’t interested in repeating the Transformers style action shots and no one can argue that at least he created a big budget film which tries to blend artistic visuals with crowd-pleasing spectacle. It’s just a shame the script and performances were not up to the same standard.

I completely understand why Godzilla was remade. Like Marvel, DC, and bestselling teen fantasy novels, it has a built-in audience and it’s an easy sell. It could have been escapist fun but it tried far too hard to be something more than what it needed, or deserved, to be. In trying so hard to distance itself from the previous version it ended up being just as disappointing, and even less fun.

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

Rohan Morbey - follow me on Twitter.

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It may have just lost first place to Godzilla when it comes to the biggest domestic opening of 2014, but Marvel Studios has plenty to celebrate this weekend with Captain America: The Winter Soldier crossing the $700 million mark at the global box office.

The Phase Two sequel is only the third Marvel Studios release to do so after The Avengers and Iron Man 3, and currently sits on a hefty $703,427,000, making it the highest-earner of the year so far. However, rival superhero sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is hot on its tail, having amassed $633 million itself, and if it can rack up a few more ticket sales before the arrival of X-Men: Days of Future Past this week then you’d have to imagine Cap will find himself second to the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man before too long.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (Community) and sees Marvel veterans Chris Evans (Captain America), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Cobie Smulders (Agent Maria Hill), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), Toby Jones (Arnim Zola) and Maximiliano Hernandez (Agent Jasper Sitwell) starring alongside MCU newcomers Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) as Sam Wilson / Falcon, Emily VanCamp (Revenge) as Sharon Carter / Agent 13, Frank Grillo (Zero Dark Thirty) as Brock Rumlow / Crossbones, George St-Pierre (Death Warrior) as Georges Batroc / Batroc the Leaper, and Robert Redford (All Is Lost) as Alexander Pierce.

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