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Watch all of Quentin Tarantino's pop culture references...in five minutes

January 4, 2013, 1:30 am
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Quentin Tarantino loves a pop culture reference. Arguably, it's his indulgence in geekdom that's made him so beloved by, well, geeks.

College Humor (English translation: College Humour) have edited together all the pop culture references Quentin Tarantino has made throughout his filmmaking career, spanning two decades. Note the dial in the bottom right - it tells you to which decade the reference alludes.

The Douglas Sirk steak please. Cooked medium melodrama.

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Martin Lawrence and Kelsey Grammer for 'Odd Couple' TV sitcom

January 4, 2013, 2:09 am
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Interesting news has emerged that could either turn out to be comedy gold or one of the biggest mistakes in TV history. According to Deadline, Kelsey Grammer (Frasier, Boss) and Martin Lawrence (Bad Boys, Big Momma’s House) are in talks to star in a new TV comedy together. Whilst this seems like a rather peculiar pairing, that is indeed the whole point.

The TV series is to thought to be in a similar vein to the 1970’s The Odd Couple show starring Tony Randall (The Tony Randall Show) and Jack Klugman (Quincy) as two very different men who shared an apartment. The show relied on the obvious comedic conflicts that arose between the two men and was very popular, running between 1970 and 1975 on ABC.

If this show is to go ahead it would mark a welcomed return to comedy for Kelsey Grammer who up until recently starred in TV drama Boss before it was cancelled after two seasons. Martin Lawrence is also no stranger to TV having had his own successful comedy series called Martin which ran from 1992 to 1997. Apparently talks have been taking place since November, with the project now being fast tracked and potential writers and showrunners hunted.
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A blood-soaked new red band trailer for the Evil Dead remake

January 4, 2013, 2:42 am
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If you're looking to watch some good old-fashioned blood, guts and gore this fine Friday morning then we have just the thing for you as Sony Pictures has released the latest red band trailer for director Fede Alvarez's demented horror remake Evil Dead - and it's a corker.

Described as 'a new vision' of the 1981 cult classic and produced by the original Evil Dead trio of Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Robert Tapert, the remake sees Jane Levy (Suburgatory) stepping into the Ash role as Mia, a young woman who heads to the remote cabin in the woods with her brother and a group of friends, only to unleash hell when they stumble upon the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis - the Book of the Dead. Also featuring in the cast are Shiloh Fernandez (Red Riding Hood), Lou Taylor Pucci (Carriers), Jessica Lucas (Cloverfield) and Elizabeth Blackmore (Legend of the Seeker).

Evil Dead is billing itself as 'The Most Terrifying Film You Will Ever Experience' - and while that might be a bit of a stretch, from what we've seen in the trailers it's certainly not going to pull any punches...


Evil Dead is set for release on April 12th, 2013.
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More casting rumours for Guardians of the Galaxy

January 4, 2013, 4:41 am
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A couple of days ago, Joseph Gordon-Levitt joined the possibilities for James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy and now a few more names join the list for the roles of Star-Lord and Drax The Destroyer.

Joining Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises), Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas) and Zachary Levi (Chuck) for the role of Star-Lord is Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum. The former Lex Luthor tweeted yesterday:

"Read for my pal @JamesGunn GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY for PETER QUILL. What a treat! Thanks Jimmy".

Rosenbaum has worked with Gunn previously on PG Porn, a comedy series where the pair voiced Charlie Brown and Linus. Also joining the possibilities for the half-human-half-alien lead is John Krasinski (The US Office), who Marvel are reportedly still "high on" according to ComicBookMovie. However the site also questions whether the Krasinski deal will pan out with so many names bouncing round for Peter Quill. Meanwhile, Moviehole has tweeted that "a former Superman" may have tested for the role - presumably, either Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) or Tom Welling (Smallville).

Moving on to the Drax The Destroyer casting rumours, and the three names Marvel are reportedly looking at are Isaiah Mustafa, Brian Patrick Wade and Dave Bautista. Fans of professional wrestling will recognise Bautista as former WWE wrestler and champion Batista while telly watchers will know Mustafa as the guy from the Old Spice adverts (I'm on a horse). Patrick Wade on the other hand starred in 2006's Guardians and has appeared on several TV shows such as The Big Bang Theory, NCIS and Two and a Half Man.

James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy is to be part of Marvel's Phase Two which also includes Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Avengers 2. The film is set for release on August 1st, 2014. You can read more about who the Guardians of the Galaxy are here.
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Thoughts on... Killer Joe (2011)

January 4, 2013, 5:36 am
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Killer Joe, 2011.

Directed by William Friedkin.
Starring Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Gina Gershon, Juno Temple and Thomas Haden Church.



SYNOPSIS:

When a debt puts a young man's life in danger, he puts a hit out on his evil mother in order to collect on her life insurance.

 
2012 was a great year for Matthew McConaughey. He had roles in Bernie, The Paperboyand a scene stealing performance in Magic Mike. To go along with those movies he also starred in Killer Joe, where he gave a performance that has certainly been overlooked but everyone needs to see.

Killer Joe sees McConaughey as Killer Joe Cooper, a Dallas detective who moonlights as a hitman. Joe is approached by Chris (Emile Hirsch), who owes a lot of money to some very bad people. Chris wants Joe to kill his mother so he can get her $50,000 life insurance policy and pay off his debts. The problem is that Joe charges an upfront fee of $25,000, something Chris clearly does not have. Usually Joe doesn't even bother if his client doesn't have the money upfront, but in this case Joe takes Chris' sister Dottie (Juno Temple) as a retainer until Chris can come up with the money.

The plot here isn't the most original but director William Friedkin (The Exorcist) brings a certain flair to proceedings and makes Killer Joe a very dark and disturbing tale. This is based off a play of the same name, with playwright Tracy Letts also penning the screenplay and that was probably a good thing because she has put together a very tight script. There are a couple of slow moments here and there but overall the movie has a pretty brisk pace and there is always something interesting happening on the screen. One of the more interesting - and rather disturbing - scenes comes toward the end and it really is one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen on film, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't entertaining. It all leads up to a rather satisfying conclusion that certainly leaves you wanting more.

Like I mentioned before, McConaughey gives a really great performance here. His character Joe is the definition of cool and McConaughey plays him hilariously dark. The scenes he has with Juno Temple are entertaining because their relationship is so unusual and they surprisingly have great chemistry. Emile Hirsch hasn't done too much in the last couple of years but he does a really good job here and it's great to see him back on the screen. Thomas Haden Church and Gina Gershon make for some of the movies funniest moments playing Chris and Dottie's dad and step-mom. All of the cast are great, but it's McConaughey's show and he puts on a damn fine one.

Killer Joe is dark and disturbing but the well written script and great performance by Matthew McConaughey are sure to make this a cult classic.

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

Jake Peffer
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Giveaway - Win Gangsters, Guns & Zombies on DVD

January 4, 2013, 5:49 am
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The British comedy-horror Gangsters, Guns & Zombies is released on DVD here in the UK on Monday, January 7th, and to celebrate we have three copies of the film to give away to our readers courtesy of the lovely people at Lionsgate Home Entertainment.Read on for a synopsis and details of how to enter the competition...

A getaway driver for a group of hard core gangsters finds himself up against a slightly more unexpected enemy than the boys in blue when his latest job coincides with the start of a zombie apocalypse. 

After completing an armed robbery, getaway driver, Q, thinks that the most difficult job is behind him, at least until he notices that people have started to look and behave very strangely. What started as a simple job now becomes a fight for survival against the ever increasing Zombie horde. His situation is worsened by the fact that his team are a bunch of nut-cases, one of them has been shot, the safe-house is already surrounded by police, and the getaway vehicle is running out of fuel. 

This fierce and fast-paced Brit horror pits the scariest bunch of gangsters alive against an army of the undead in the ultimate gangsters vs. zombie showdown!

To be in with a chance of winning, firstly make sure you like us on Facebook (or follow us on Twitter)...



...Then complete your details below, using the subject heading "ZOMBIES". The competition closes at midnight on Saturday, January 19th. UK entrants only please.

 
 By entering this competition you agree to our terms and conditions, which you can read here.
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Lucasfilm celebrates the 100th episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars with an anniversary montage

January 4, 2013, 7:21 am
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Star Wars: The Clone Warsreaches a milestone this weekend with the broadcast of its 100th episode, and to celebrate the monumental achievement Lucasfilm Animation has put together a special anniversary montage video featuring highlights from all five seasons of the hit CG animated show, which you can watch below.

First announced way back in 2005, Star Wars: The Clone Wars got off to a shaky start in 2008 with the release of a hideous theatrical movie (which was really just the first few episodes sewn together), although the prequel-era series quickly demonstrated its quality once it began airing on Cartoon Network and it has since went on to build a loyal and dedicated following.

Prior to its launch, Star Wars creator George Lucas promised "at least 100 episodes" of Star Wars: The Clone Wars would be produced and a sixth season has already been announced, with the show expected to switch from Cartoon Network to Disney XD later this year following Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm.


Star Wars: The Clone Wars' 100th episode - "Missing in Action" - airs on Cartoon Network in North America on Saturday.
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The Bond franchise to be celebrated at the Academy Awards

January 4, 2013, 9:05 am
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The James Bond movie franchise enjoyed a fantastic 50th anniversary in 2012 with the release of Skyfall, which has become the first Bond movie to break $1 billion at the global box office, as well as the highest-grossing movie of all time here in the UK.

Earlier this week, Skyfall was also named as one of ten contenders for the PGA Award, raising hopes that Daniel Craig's third outing as 007 could go on to receive a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. However, whether Skyfall manages to secure an Oscar nomination or not, Bond is set to feature at next month's ceremony, with the Academy announcing today that it will pay tribute to the long-running spy series.

"We are very happy to include a special sequence on our show saluting the Bond films on their 50th birthday," said producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. "Starting with Dr. No back in 1962, the 007 movies have become the longest-running motion picture franchise in history and a beloved global phenomenon."

The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards are announced on Thursday, January 10th while the Oscars themselves will be presented on Sunday, February 24th.
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Comic Book Review - Godzilla: The Half Century War #4

January 4, 2013, 9:41 am
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Luke Owen on the latest issue of Godzilla: The Half Century War...


"New technologies and new recruits lead the AMF now, while Ota and Kentaro are stuck watching. But when a new threat comes to town from space, technology and young blood mean nothing. Will the grizzled vets be able to save the day? Don't miss this action packed issue, it'll have you seeing three Godzillas!"

Last issue saw the A.M.F track Godzilla through a Ghana warzone as he took part in all-out monster rumble including Mothra, Rodan, Ebirah, Megalon, Kumonga, Hedorah and Battra. I asked in the review for Issue #3 where the series can go from here to top this epic battle, but after reading Godzilla: The Half Century War #4, I wonder why I even questioned it.

Ota and his team (and all the other A.M.F teams) are now more or less disbanded following their failures to take down The King of the Monsters. Now they are nothing more than just glorified weather watchers – following Godzilla’s path of destruction to minimise the damage. 30 years older than he was when he first encountered Godzilla, Ota is struggling with this new station in life. All he wants is to be part of the new young team that has been brought in to replace the A.M.F – because they have a new way of battling Godzilla in the form of a mechanical version of their problem: Mechagodzilla.

However while watching Godzilla go on a rampage through Bombay, he accidentally discovers the man who is responsible for the death of Colonel Schooler in Issue #3 and the man who has been the cause of a lot of Godzilla’s rampages. His act of revenge is sadly short lived as it turns out Deverich has created a more powerful version of his transmitter – it’s now so powerful that it has pulled in kaiju from space: Spacegodzilla. Now Bombay has to deal with the truly epic and incredible three-way battle between Godzilla, Mechagodzilla and Spacegodzilla. Who will come out the true Godzilla?

Not only has Stokoe created a very memorable comic book series with fantastic dialogue and an interesting take on the Godzilla mythos, he has fashioned probably the biggest fan service comic I have ever encountered. Every little thing he writes is almost geared towards making Godzilla fans say “that’s awesome”, whether it be his choice of kaiju or the moments in his battles. I lost count the amount of times I gasped in awe during the showdown between Godzilla and Spacegodzilla and how Stokoe has managed to make this incredibly far-fetched scenario seem completely real. And then, just when you think he couldn’t offer anymore, he draws a fantastically brilliant teaser panel for the fifth and final issue as Spacegodzilla will not be the last of the cosmic kaiju…

I cannot praise James Stokoe’s work on this series enough and this issue may just be the jewel in his crown (to steal a line from Deverich). The detail in the battle between Godzilla and Spacegodzilla is just simply spell-binding to the point that every single millimetre of panel is important to look at. Not only is his artwork the best in comics today, but his script work is almost even better. The relationship he has developed between Ota and Godzilla is incredibly engrossing and it makes you wish that you could see every little moment of their history together rather than just getting a quick snippet through each decade.

Sadly, Godzilla: The Half Century War comes to a close with the next issue - but it’s an issue that I cannot wait to read!

Luke Owen is a freelance copywriter working for Europe’s biggest golf holiday provider as their web content executive.
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Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters debuts a new red band trailer

January 4, 2013, 9:52 am
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Hot on the heels of this morning's gore-soaked peek at the Evil Dead remake (which you watch here) comes another new red band trailer, this time for Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters - a dark spin on the classic fairy tale from Paramount Pictures and Tommy Wirkola, director of the fantastic Nazi zombie horror comedy Dead Snow.

Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters stars Jeremy Renner (The Avengers, The Bourne Legacy) and Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace, Wrath of the Titans) as the now-adult siblings, who have managed to put their childhood trauma behind them and now spend their time tracking and killing witches. Recruited by the Mayor of Augsburg (Peter Stormare; Fargo), the duo are tasked with protecting the town's children from Famke Janssen's (X-Men) evil sorceress Muriel, who plans to sacrifice the youngsters in celebration of the upcoming 'Blood Moon'.

Here's the new red band trailer, which arrived online via Collider...


Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters is set for a North American release on January 25th and arrives in the UK on February 22nd.
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A new shot of Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel

January 4, 2013, 12:35 pm
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Warner Bros. is set to launch its DC movie universe this summer as 300 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder reboots the Superman franchise with Man of Steel, and thanks to USA Today we now have a brand new shot of Henry Cavill (Immortals) as the Last Son of Krypton:


Man of Steel follows Cavill's Clark Kent as he struggles to come to terms with his emerging powers and find a place for himself in the world. However, when Earth comes under threat from the Kryptonian General Zod (Michael Shannon; Boardwalk Empire), Clark must become the hero known as Superman, not only to shine as a beacon of hope for the world, but also to protect the ones he loves...

Produced by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises) from a story by Nolan and David S. Goyer (Batman Begins), Man of Steel also stars Amy Adams (The Fighter) as Lois Lane, Russell Crowe (Les Miserables) as Jor-El, Kevin Costner (Hatfields & McCoys) as Jonathan Kent, Diane Lane (Secretariat) as Martha Kent, Laurence Fishburne (Contagion) as Perry White, Ayelet Zurer (Angels & Demons) as Lara Lor-Van, Antje Traue (Pandorum) as Faora, Christopher Meloni (True Blood) as Colonel Hardy and Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) as Henry Ackerdson.

Man of Steel flies into cinemas on June 14th, 2013.
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2013 Writers Guild Awards nominations announced

January 4, 2013, 4:45 pm
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The Writer's Guild of America has announced the nominees for the 2013 Writers Guild Awards, honouring outstanding achievement in writing for the screen in 2012.

Among the contenders are Argo, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty - all of which will be hoping to go on step further with an Oscar nomination this coming week.

However, don't expect the Academy to offer up a carbon copy of the WGA nominees, with the Guild's strict eligibility criteria excluding the likes of Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables and Rust and Bone.

Here is the full list of nominees...

Original Screenplay
Flight, Written by John Gatins; Paramount Pictures
Looper, Written by Rian Johnson; TriStar Pictures
The Master, Written by Paul Thomas Anderson; The Weinstein Company
Moonrise Kingdom, Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola; Focus Features
Zero Dark Thirty, Written by Mark Boal; Columbia Pictures

Adapted Screenplay
Argo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman; Warner Bros. Pictures
Life of Pi, Screenplay by David Magee; Based on the novel by Yann Martel; 20th Century Fox
Lincoln, Screenplay by Tony Kushner; Based in part on the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin; DreamWorks Pictures
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Screenplay by Stephen Chbosky; Based on his book; Summit Entertainment
Silver Linings Playbook, Screenplay by David O. Russell; Based on the novel by Matthew Quick; The Weinstein Company

Documentary Screenplay
The Central Park Five, Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects
The Invisible War, Written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films
Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendejelloul; Sony Pictures Classics
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, Written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media
West of Memphis, Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics

The winners of the 2013 Writers Guild of America Awards will be announced on Sunday, February 17th.
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Roman Polanski BFI Retrospective - Knife in the Water (1962)

January 5, 2013, 8:13 am
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Simon Columb attends the Roman Polanski retrospective at BFI Southbank...

Roman Polanski remains a fascinating filmmaker to this day. Alongside Andrej Wajda and Jerzy Skolimowski, Polanski came to the fore in the late 1950s in Poland. The BFI in London are screening all of Polanski’s films during January and February 2013 and throughout January, essays on separate films will be released here on Flickering Myth in the hope that you too can join us in reflecting on Polanski’s diverse and ever-expanding career. First up is his 1962 feature debut Knife in the Water...

Knife in the Water, 1962.

Starring Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka and Zygmunt Malanowicz.

Polanski, though famed for his flee of America following his own admission of guilt for sexual-assault on a minor, has been a victim himself of the cruelties of the world. A child of parents who were victims of the holocaust (his Mother killed in Auschwitz) he “saw six women shot dead and watched Poles defecate on German soldiers at the end of the war” (The Story of Film by Mark Cousins). Due to this, he was often displaced as a child and grew up intending to be an actor (appearing in Wajda’s Lotna and Pokolenie) before turning to filmmaking in 1962 with Knife in the Water.

Watching the film in 2012, you cannot help but find parallels within his work and Knife in the Water is no exception – set on a boat (Part of the “water trilogy” alongside Cul-de-sac and What?), it is claustrophobic and personal as we join a married couple on a boat trip. Suffice to say, this is disrupted as a lone student hitchhiker joins them.

Bookending the story, Polanski shows us the couple – Andrzej (Leon Niemczyk) and Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka, voiced by Anna Ciepielewska) in a car driving down a country road. The opening is telling as we can barely see through the windscreen due to the reflections on the surface – whereas at the end of the film, we are within the car, clearly seeing the couple without obstruction. This is a film whereby we will learn something about people and, crucially, society – a rare subject matter for Polanski, and generally attributed to co-writer Skolimowski. We observe the higher-earning husband dictating power over his wife – and then attempting to control the young student (Zygmunt Malanowicz, voiced by Polanski himself). It is not unexpected that Polanski toys with us – and creates conflict in the attempts by the characters to change this status. By the time we reach the end of the film, and see our married couple without obstruction, we still don’t see change in their lifestyle due to the events depicted. We are aware of social injustices, but we do not act on them. The fact that the student is nameless clarifies how little he registers to those above him in status.

Despite this ambiguous ending, akin to Cul-de-sac, the set-up of a stranger changing the dynamic of the couple is a way to force everyone to consider who they truly are. The two male roles are characterised clearly – Andrzej is the ‘brains’, whilst the student is the ‘brawn’ – or so the judge, Krystyna believes. Even the title of the film itself serves as a metaphor as the student carries a knife – something that Andzrej claims is useless on a boat. When within the ‘world’ of Andzrej (the world of affluence - of boats and sailing, etc,), those who are skilled at trades of the hand (construction, factory workers, plumbers) are not valued (and believed to be unnecessary?). Andzrej is skipper – and he deems the student and Krystyna unworthy of power (to operate the boat). Indeed, he believes he is the one to lead us forward – even naming his boat after his wife, clarifying his ownership of both the boat and his wife.

The recent release of Life of Pi has some interesting technical parallels as both films are set within such a small space, they both portray shots and use framing to accentuate and vary the way we view scenes. Life of Pi obviously explores the idea of deep-focus further to capitalise on the 3D; in comparison, Polanski explores the use of deep-focus magnificently, clearly owing a debt to Citizen Kane and the “triadic framing”, famously used in the snow-sequence (The Cinema of Roman Polanski: Dark Spaces of the World by John Orr).

When you deconstruct the auteur influences (such as Orson Welles) Polanski has had, you realise how faithful he has kept to his own traditions throughout his career. The expressionistic context, the blustery winds of Knife in the Water and The Ghost are decades apart, but manage to add to a sense of unease in the same manner. Indeed, the boat setting alone is tense (water remaining a feature in the vast majority of Polanski’s films) as we know the danger lurks all around them. Akin to the student, we are voyeurs ourselves too as we see Krystyna undress behind the men, and we notice the student catches a glance - he is aroused by another man’s wife. This adds further tension without drawing attention to the fact. The playful one-upmanship as the two male characters play with the knife – you know someone will get hurt. The New Wave Jazz score and calmness of black-and-white cinematography seems to soften any danger, but visually we know danger lurks - it surrounds them all.

As a debut, Polanski manages to map out many of the tropes that will become trademarks to his style. On reflection, the very definition of auteur is established here in Polanski’s work. The sexual tension as the lone female character wanders around in a bikini and dressing gown will spill into his films. The aforementioned use of water and subtle creaking sound-effects all appear in a different manner throughout his career. The small-scale and non-subjective perspective in Knife in the Water connects this film with his most recent, Carnage. Interestingly, though Polanski often has small-scale films, the vast majority of his films are subjective and focussed on single characters for the majority of the film. As his only Polish-language film, Knife in the Water is set apart from the rest – but knowing what was to come, it is a fascinating insight into a man who was simply an artist at this point in his career – and not the victim or offender of a heinous crime.

For more on the BFI's Roman Polanski retrospective, or to book tickets, visit the official site.

Simon Columb
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The Week in Spandex - The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Man of Steel, Justice League, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, DC Nation, Arrow and more

January 5, 2013, 8:30 am
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Our weekly round up of all the latest news stories from the world of screen superheroes, including Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3, Spider-Man, Man of Steel, Justice League, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, DC Nation, Arrow and more...

Welcome to the 100th edition of The Week in Spandex, and the first of 2013! We'll get things underway with Marvel's 'big space epic' Guardians of the Galaxy, which has been subject to intense casting speculation this past week. First up came talk that Joseph Gordon-Levitt could be set to swap the world of Gotham City for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with The Dark Knight Rises star said to be high on Marvel's shortlist for the role of Star-Lord, the half-human half-alien leader of the intergalactic superhero team. JGL became the latest - and highest-profile - name to join the likes of Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty), Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy), Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire), John Krasinski (The Office), Zachary Levi (Thor: The Dark World), James Marsden (X-Men), Lee Pace (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables) and Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas) as a rumoured candidate, while Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) also revealed that he's tested for the role, having previously worked with director James Gunn (Super) on the comedy series PG Porn. Meanwhile a subsequent report claimed that Marvel may have tested "a former Superman" - presumably, Rosenbaum's Smallville co-star Tom Welling, or Superman Returns' Brandon Routh...

...With so many names being bandied about for Star-Lord, it's a wonder there's anyone left in Hollywood to fill out the remaining slots on the Guardians' roster, but that hasn't stopped the rumour mill from shifting its attention to Drax the Destroyer, with Isaiah Mustafa (the Old Spice guy), Brian Patrick Wade (The Big Bang Theory) and former WWE star Dave Bautista (The Man with the Iron Fists) all allegedly under consideration for the role of the cosmic hero. With Guardians of the Galaxy set for release on August 1st, 2014, expect to hear some official casting news in the very near future...

...In other Marvel casting news, Time Out has confirmed that Hayley Atwell will not be joining Chris Evans (Captain America), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes) and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) by reprising the role of Peggy Carter for the 2014 solo sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier. At this point, it's unclear whether directors Anthony and Joe Russo will be seeking out an older actress to portray Peggy in the present day, or whether the Steve Rogers - Peggy Carter storyline will instead be fleshed out in The Avengers 2 or Captain America 3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is scheduled to hit cinemas on April 4th, 2014, with a cast that also includes The Avengers stars Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) and Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill) and MCU newcomers Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) as Falcon and Frank Grillo (Zero Dark Thirty) as Crossbones...

...Elsewhere in the MCU and despite being less than four months away from arriving in cinemas, the Shane Black-directed Iron Man 3 has returned to Beijing for reshoots involving Chinese actors Wang Xueqi (Bodyguards and Assassins) and Fan Binbing (Shaolin). Meanwhile, Tom Hiddleston has briefly spoken about Thor: The Dark World, stating that he believes Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor is bringing something new to the table with November's solo sequel: "It's fantastic, truly. We are making an amazing film, and we're having a wonderful time. It's so exciting to have established characters and an established setting in the world, and we are working so hard to cook up something new. That is what is exciting to me - taking what we know, taking what we love and deepening it and giving it an extra dimension. I think director Alan Taylor is really shaping up the world of Asgard and the world of these characters..."

...Disappointed by The Amazing Spider-Man last year? Thought Sam Raimi could have delivered a much better take on The Lizard than what Marc Webb and Rhys Ifans conjured up? Then feast your eyes on this concept art for Sam Raimi's take on the reptilian bad guy, which was produced by artist Constantine Sekeris for Spider-Man 2, back when Raimi was considering having Dylan Baker's Dr. Curt Connors lining up with Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus and James Franco's Harry Osborn to take Tobey Maguire's wall-crawler. You can check out a second image here - although be warned, it's not much better...

...Moving on to Warner Bros.' DC properties now and the studio has released a new image from its sole superhero offering of the year - and indeed, the only superhero movie that Warner Bros. has officially announced as part of its upcoming slate - Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, which features Henry Cavill's Superman flanked by military helicopters. Man of Steel is due to hit cinemas on June 14th, with a cast that includes Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire) as General Zod, Amy Adams (The Fighter) as Lois Lane, Russell Crowe (Les Miserables) as Jor-El, Kevin Costner (Hatfields & McCoys) as Jonathan Kent, Diane Lane (Secretariat) as Martha Kent, Laurence Fishburne (Contagion) as Perry White...

...Of course, there's been a tonne of speculation that Warner Bros. plans to use Man of Steel to launch its own cohesive DC movie universe, building (or should that be jumping straight in) to Justice League in 2015, and some new rumours about the proposed ensemble have arrived online this past week, which may or may not give us an indication of which characters will be lining up alongside Cavill's Superman. According to the (unverified report), the Justice League roster will see the Man of Steel joined by Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (as Ryan Reynolds' character from the 2010 Green Lantern movie), The Flash, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman, while both Alfred Pennyworth and Lois Lane will feature in brief cameo roles...

...While Batman's live-action crime-fighting career is on hold post-The Dark Knight Rises, the Caped Crusader will be back in animated form later this month with the release of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2, and you can check out the first clip from the direct-to-video movie here, which sees Batman (voiced by Peter Weller of RoboCop fame) taking on a group of Gotham's finest. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 is set for release on Blu-ray, DVD and Download in North America on January 29th...

...After being unceremoniously pulled from the schedules last fall, DC Nation returns to Cartoon Network in the States this weekend with new episodes of Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice; take a look at a couple of clips from the shows - plus the DC Nation Shorts Thunder & Lightning - 'Clothes Make the Hero' and Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld – 'Level 1: Your Quest' over at ComicBookMovie, while Young Justice producers Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti took part in a Q&A on the official DC Comics site, during which they gave fans an idea of what's in store from the upcoming episodes...

...Another DC adaptation heads back to the small screen on Wednesday as The CW's Arrow returns from its midseason break with its tenth episode 'Burned', which sees the introduction of Garfield Lynns, a.k.a. Firefly, who is portrayed by Andrew Dunbar (Battlestar Galactica: Razor, SGU Stargate Universe). If you're keen to see how the producers of Arrow have reinterpreted the character, you can see a batch of stills featuring Firefly and Stephen Amell's Oliver Queen here...

...And finally, David Cronenberg caused a bit of a stir last year when he argued that "people who are saying The Dark Knight Rises is supreme cinema art, I don't think they know what the f**k they're talking about" and now The Fly and A History of Violence director has moved to clarify his comments, stating that he wasn't referring to The Dark Knight Rises, but rather the superhero genre as a whole: "I wasn't talking specifically about [The Dark Knight Rises] and I wasn't criticizing it directly. What I was saying was that a comic book movie is really a comic book movie. Comic books were -- especially those comic books which I was raised on (I loved Captain Marvel) -- created for adolescents and they have a core that is adolescent. To me, that limits the discourse of your movie if you're basing it accurately on that, and you cannot rise to the highest level of cinematic art. That's my take on it. I went on to say that, of course, technically they can be incredibly interesting, since there are very clever people making the movie and of course have a lot of money they are throwing at it. But creatively, artistically, they are incredibly limited. It got bent out of shape that I was dissing Christopher Nolan, which just wasn't the case." So... I guess that's one name we can rule out for Justice League.

Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen - Available now via Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Gary Collinson

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James McAvoy wants to play a young Gandalf in The Silmarillion

January 5, 2013, 8:55 am
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Not content with playing a younger Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class and next year's X-Men: Days of Future Past, James McAvoy has now expressed his desire to portray a young Ian McKellen. However, he's not looking to step on Michael Fassbender's toes by taking on the dual roles of Professor X and Magneto - instead, he wants to play Gandalf in an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion.

"I'd like to play Gandalf," McAvoy tells Total Film. "The Silmarillion [is] a collection of poems and songs that chart the ancient history of Middle-earth. My true geek is coming to the fore, but they're really, really beautiful stories. In part of that is the genesis of Gandalf, or Mithrandir, or Stormcrow, or any of his many, many names."

Published posthumously by Christopher Tolkien in 1977, The Silmarillion is comprised of five parts and recounts 7000 years of history, including the creation of Eä (the universe), its various supernatural beings, and the First, Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth. Sadly for McAvoy, Gandalf's involvement in the text is limited to the final section, 'Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age', which has of course already been explored by Peter Jackson with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Furthermore, the rights to the book are still held by Christopher Tolkien, who isn't much of a fan of Jackson's Middle-earth movies, so don't expect this one to move forward any time soon.
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David E. Kelley talks Wonder Woman and Amazon

January 6, 2013, 2:12 am
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Adrianne Palicki Wonder Woman
With screenwriter Allan Heinberg (Gilmore Girls) busy developing a Wonder Woman prequel series entitled Amazon for The CW, producer David E. Kelley has taken a moment to reflect on his failed NBC pilot from 2011, which starred Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) as the Amazon Princess. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Kelley - whose TV successes include Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal, The Practice and Boston Legal - admitted that mistakes were made on the pilot, although he firmly believes that the legendary DC superhero is ready for a return to the small screen almost thirty-five years after Lynda Carter's iconic portrayal:

"I still believe it's viable for a television series. I think it's ripe to do it," states Kelley, who was attending the Television Critics Association's press tour to support his new medical drama Monday Mornings. "We made mistakes with ours. My only regret is we were never given a chance to correct them. We had a lot that was right about it and a great cast. In time, we could have fixed what we had done wrong, we just didn't get that chance. All my series have been a work in progress to a certain extent where you figure them out by episodes three, four or five. This one actually gelled sooner than any that I have had in the past. We would have gotten there and I wish we were afforded a little more time. I do believe in the potential of the series and I wish [The CW] well with it. I think it could be a great success."

Asked what he might have done differently with the pilot, Kelley responded: "We produced it at warp speed and it's a special effects show and it took more time than we were able to give it. We were able to give it more time and extended it had we been picked up. Just learning the storytelling -- the genre was very different for me and I had a lot to learn; my learning curve probably would have gotten better. I'm sad we didn't get to do it but I do believe it can work for the CW. They're smart to try it."

Kelley also discussed whether he would be interesting in tackling Wonder Woman again, should The CW decide against picking up Amazon, or if he has any desire to try his luck with another superhero: "I would. It's different for me, it's a genre that I have a lot to learn about. At this point in your life, everybody should do something that they're scared of; I was a little scared of it, I remain a little scared of it and be happy to wade into the fear again... If I were going to do a superhero franchise, I'd probably call Joss Whedon and beg him to try and do it with me! He's pretty good at it."
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Comic Book Review - Batman Incorporated #6

January 6, 2013, 2:49 am
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Oliver Davis reviews Batman Incorporated #6...

Batman Incorporated #6 Comic Book Review
The first panel of Batman Incorporated #6 seems lifted from a hard-boiled detective thriller. Bruce Wayne steers the Batmobile with one hand, an electric shaver trimming his stubble in the other. At the end of the sublime #5, a group of Batman Inc. operatives were blown up in a booby trapped explosion. It is to this that Bruce now speeds, not some presentation before the board.

"...I take it you won't be home for breakfast, Master Bruce?" comes Alfred's voice in the car. "Brunch," replies Bruce, his eyebrows pressing into his nose. Those working for him could be dead, and he's just decided to give his son back to his megalomaniac mother. Yet he shaves and arranges mealtime with matter-of-fact clarity. Bruce's brain operates on a higher plain to everyone else's. Some use acid to access that dormant 80% of the mind. Bruce uses the death of his parents.

But now Bruce is a parent. He's a dad. His own father used philanthropy to aid Gotham. Bruce uses violence and fear, and he's backed into a position by Talia where he has to choose between Damien and Gotham. Save your son, or save your city. Under the Batman's mask, Bruce is a Clint Eastwood slab of marble. In this first panel, he's mortal. He's shaving and thinking about breakfast. He's a dad.

While Bruce works his way through a Wayne-constructed tower block for the poor, which Talia has re-appropriated as a henchman-filled assault course with the injured members of Batman Inc. at its end, Damien is confined to the Batcave. Dick, Alfred and the recently reintroduced Jason keep him company as they listen to Bruce and Talia attempt to one-up each other in the building across Gotham. Damien's expressions as he listens to his parents fight are heartbreaking, particularly when Alfred gifts him a stray cat, or when Talia asks Bruce, "I don't want the boy. Do you?"

The art in this issue is far more subtle than that in #5. Chris Burnham contains all the action within their panels, whereas in previous issues, frames blended into one another in a dovetail of colours. It isn't until the final page where reality disintegrates, just as it did in #5 when Bruce decided to give Damien back to his mother. At the end of #6, Bruce is thrown through a window by Talia's super-Bat, the shattered fragments of glass each depicting a different cliffhanger like some grotesque church window. Gordon looks up, the children of Gotham run mad with Leviathan, and Bruce falls.

And falls, and falls.

Oliver Davis (@olidavis)
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Superman: The Quest for Intelligent Filmmaking

January 6, 2013, 8:19 am
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Commenting on the Critics with Simon Columb...

Paul Harris writes for The Guardian why Superman is so popular:

Superman Man of Steel"Some have taken the point of the moral teachings of Superman stories further, seeing a powerful philosophical concept behind them. In his book [Professor Benjamin] Saunders devotes a chapter to Superman, in which he suggests that the character's immense popularity is a result of his embodiment of goodness. 'In terms of 20th-century popular culture, he captures the notion of a Platonic ideal of the good. When Superman is done well, I am not embarrassed to call him a beautiful idea,' Saunders said."

Read the full article here.

I have written at length about my joy of watching Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and, personally, I have no problem in Joseph Gordon-Levitt appearing at the end of Man of Steel to tie-in the two comic book franchises. Whether it happens or not – it is clear that Warner Bros. has turned to The Dark Knight trilogy, primarily, for influence – rather than the Marvel series. In fairness, for all the support and success of Marvel, in comparison, since 2008 – over the course of six films – the series has made nearly $4bn worldwide, estimating each film on average earning roughly $633m each. Chris Nolan’s three films alone took $2.5bn, estimating each film on average earning roughly $818m. To some extent, The Avengers was a lucky gamble that paid off. Christopher Nolan’s series shows a tried and tested, intelligent style of filmmaking that consistently attracts a major audience. Those statistics don’t even include Inception which, for all intents and purposes, was only successful due to The Dark Knight and Nolan’s credibility following its success. Warner Bros. would be wise to look at the money from The Avengers and remain suspicious.

Personally, due to the incredible trailer and Warner Bros.' attempts at reviving Superman, I am pretty much sold on Man of Steel. I bought a pair of ‘Superman’ Converse shoes, I bought the Blu-ray boxset to watch in advance of the film – including the Richard Donner cut of Superman II. Up until now, I had only ever seen the films in passing – but by the time Man of Steel is released, I’ll be able to wax-lyrical about Lois Lane and the little fella who works at the newspaper with him. I’m not there yet (clearly), but I will be.

Paul Harris directly relates the popularity of Superman to the subtext that the character provides – as opposed to Charlie Brooker’s 2012 Wipe opinion whereby superhero films are as cheap as they come, I believe films that manage to capture the zeitgeist are more than mere entertainment. They manage to reach you personally in a manner that you didn’t expect. Maybe subconsciously, you fantasized about the bankers becoming a direct victim of their crimes in the wake of the crisis in 2008? Indeed, no one has been held accountable for the crimes today – so watching a stock-market become the victim of Bane’s attack on Gotham was something we all wanted to see. Maybe Batman isn’t Bergman, as Brooker suggests, but it reaches for more than merely 2 hours of entertainment.

I only hope Man of Steel aspires to be the same. If Snyder can work closely with Nolan, maybe he can learn a trick or two – because tight, fetishist girls fighting in a fantasy world (Sucker Punch) sounds to me like appealing to the masses by appealing to the lowest-common denominator – as opposed to appealing to the masses through stories that all can relate to – and, deeply, discuss. Ironically, Sucker Punch failed at the boxoffice, so even that cheap tactic doesn’t work every time. Warner Bros. are doing the right thing – and so far, I’ll be first in line to watch, alongside Paul Harris I expect. Charlie Brooker won’t be though – because it’s just fighting and action isn’t it? Nothing more. (More fool him…)

Simon Columb
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First footage from Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives starring Ryan Gosling

January 6, 2013, 9:42 am
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Ryan Gosling Only God Forgives
Following on from 2011's critically acclaimed Drive, writer-director Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson) teams with Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March) again this year for Only God Forgives, and based on the first footage from the film - which has just been released in the form of a short, 20-second teaser - it looks like the pair are set to deliver another slick and stylish crime thriller.

Only God Forgives stars Gosling as Julian, a respected figure in the criminal underworld who runs a Thai boxing club as a front for his family's drug-smuggling operation. When his brother is killed, Julian's mother - a merciless and terrifying mafia godmother played by Kristen Scott Thomas (The English Patient) - forces him to track down and kill the man responsible, retired policeman Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm; The Hangover Part II), a.k.a. the Angel of Vengeance.

Check out the teaser footage here:


There's no word on an official release date yet, although the film is expected to arrive around May, so a full trailer should be with us soon.
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Second Opinion - Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

January 6, 2013, 10:16 am
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Zero Dark Thirty, 2012.

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
Starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Chris Pratt, Kyle Chandler, Taylor Kinney, Mark Duplass, Stephen Dillane, Frank Grillo, Edgar Ramirez, Harold Perrineau, Jennifer Ehle, James Gandolfini, Scott Adkins and John Barrowman.

Zero Dark Thirty movie poster


SYNOPSIS:

A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011.

Jessica Chastain Zero Dark Thirty

Since 9/11 there have been many (too many) films telling various stories of that fateful day, or the events which have happened as a result; it is a subject which will always touch a nerve as we’re only a decade on and the effects are still reverberating to this day. Many people can’t get past watching a film on this subject without drawing political assessments of what they think the filmmaker is trying to say, but this review is just about the quality of Kathryn Bigelow’s film and nothing else. Do I think it’s pro-torture? I really couldn’t care less either way.

As a film Zero Dark Thirty both succeeds and shows its shortcomings on two fronts. The first 25 minutes are arguably the most efficient scenes in the film as we see the torture of a suspect with connections leading directly to Osama bin Laden; these scenes are captivating yet uncomfortable to watch but are a necessary part of the story. As callous as this may seem, the film would have benefitted from showing more of these scenes as the lengths the CIA were prepared to go to get vital information from a suspect were the most interesting aspect of the film and it’s not something we’re used to seeing in a Hollywood picture.

What then follows is a procedural film following the lead analyst, Maya (Jessica Chastain), as she follows a single lead for a decade, facing setback after setback but growing consistently obsessive in her pursuit of bin Laden. Watching this part of the film reminded me of David Fincher’s modern masterpiece Zodiac but sadly without that film’s entertainment value. The beauty of Kathryn Bigelow’s style is that she doesn’t add any emotion to the proceedings. There is a lack of any sympathy or feeling throughout the entire film; the characters are not written for the audience to care about when they die, they just die and the story moves on. In one way, this is a refreshing take and the lack of sentimentality is what the film is all about, but is it entertaining to watch for a sustained period of time? Not so much. Moreover, although the film is about the hunt for one man and the true value of the mission and the billions of dollars spent on it, there doesn’t end up being a real point to the film. We know how it ends and we know bin Laden was a real threat, unlike, say, the search for WMDs, but the thrill of watching the story unfold is not there.

The second front on which the film both delights and slightly disappoints is the final 40 minutes where we see the assault on bin Laden’s hideout. As a piece of filmmaking it is near-perfection and easily one of the most impressive scenes of 2012; it’s as tense as anything you could hope to see, even though we know how it will end, and looks as realistic as any modern military operation seen on film. The POV shots of night-vision goggles are not used as a gimmick and take us right into the heart of the scene, and the lighting (or lack of) of the night is something to behold as we so rarely see a near-pitch black mise en scène.

The problem is that the scene presents such a shift in tone and style it feels like it belongs in a different film entirely. The procedural film which leads to this has not warranted such a tense and dramatic finale, regardless of how good it is. Until this point, the film has been all about Maya and her obsession, but now the film shifts perspective from her to a group of soldiers we know nothing about. Although we appreciate that the reality was indeed that the detective and analytical work was done by Maya and the soldiers are the men who pulled the triggers, the inclusion of this extended part of the story feel unbalanced. In a film like Green Zone it would fit right in, but here I’d have preferred to see the scene from Maya’s POV just watching on a screen, not knowing how the event really went down. As technically brilliant as the sequence is, the success of it within the film feels somewhat strained.

Despite these criticisms, Zero Dark Thirty remains one of the best films of 2012 because of the craftsmanship Bigelow brings to her work. Individually, the various parts which make the whole are excellent, but they don’t quite come together to equal a truly satisfying picture.

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

Rohan Morbey - follow me on Twitter.
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