Daily Archives: September 1, 2012

Movie News & Opinions

Another Take on the Robocop Updates…

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It’s no secret here at GB we’re fans of RoboCop. Something about the combination of humanity, steel, justice, and violence [in Detroit] that’s perfectly captured by RoboCop speaks to our heart of hearts. Which is what makes the following news pretty surprising, that unlike previously reported, Hugh Laurie will NOT be playing the villain of the remake. Taking his place is Michael Keaton, who I’m positive is a familiar name to all of you out there.

via [Deadline]

“Michael is the final addition to the amazing cast we have assembled for this film and it is so great to have the last puzzle piece in place. It is thrilling that everything has come together to bring this innovative new vision of RoboCop to life. We’ve got a great script, a great cast, some killer ED-209’s and I can’t wait to get Alex Murphy back on the streets,” said Padilha.

Now, I love Michael Keaton, and I’m positive he’ll do a great job, but the fact Hugh Laurie left before he even started isn’t a good sign. Actors leaving projects before they begin is almost never a good thing for pre-production. Along with that slightly disheartening blow, is a much greater one, hearing that apparently the studio behind Robocop is making things “Hell” for director Jose Padilha. According to his close friend and Director of City Of God, Fernando Meirelles, Padilha is having the stereotypical, Studio-Makes-Things-Impossibly-Difficult-For-Director woes.

via [Screenrant]

Here’s Meirelles’ quote, translated from his native Portuguese:

“I talked to José Padilha for a week by phone. He will begin filming Robocop. He is saying that it is the worst experience. For every 10 ideas he has, 9 are cut. Whatever he wants, he has to fight. ‘This is hell here,’ he told me. ‘The film will be good, but I never suffered so much and do not want to do it again.’ He is bitter, but it’s a fighter.”

Out of every 10 ideas, 9 are cut? Ouch. That really sounds rough. To make things worse, the script was reviewed recently, and Drew McWeeny of Ain’t It Cool News posted a series of tweets describing some of the plot points and ideas behind the film, including the idea of “re-vamped” Robocop suits.

via [Screenrant]

I’ll share this one detail. In the film, when Murphy is turned into Robocop 1.0, it’s described “a high-tech version of the ’80s suit.”

Then they show a focus group scene where criminals laugh at the design. “He looks like a toy from the ’80s!”

So they redesign him to look “meaner” as Robocop 2.0, who passes focus group approval.

So they not only make sure to include the original design, they also point out it’s dated and stupid. *facepalm*

Hold onto your sides for more hilarious “Robocop” details. They outsource his construction to China. #seriously

And we meet the ED-209s in the field in Iran, where they’re used to subdue suicide bombers. #ineedallthedrinksnow

Ahhh… now they just dropped Robocop 3.0 onto an Al Queda training camp to see what he does.

“He should be programmed to incapacitate in all scenarios.” “Agreed. Let’s keep him PG-13, Dr. Norton.” No. No. No. No.

By page 54, they are already onto Robocop 4.0, who looks like a “cop on steroids painted metallic blue.”

That… That whole thing sounds pretty awful, and really seems to be “borrowing” the idea of the Iron Man Mark 1/2/etc armor pretty heavily. I know the whole movie is supposed to be contemporary, and that’s not really the issue I have, but the thought of watching a scene of people in a focus group, talking shit about the classic, totally awesome ’80s RoboCop suit, seems really disingenuous and insulting to the RoboCop franchise in totality. Part of his appeal is his unique look, and to strip it down, or make it more streamlined or modern, would really leave a sour taste in fans’ mouths.

Plus, there’s this concept art floating around the web, which in all likely hood is fake…

It makes me cringe to look at, because it’s SO generic and boring. This is what the nameless villains in any random dystopian movie should be wearing, NOT RoboCop. I know it’s just a concept art, but if this is the direction the studio is steering Padilha towards, I wouldn’t be surprised to have to be writing a report about his leaving the project in a month or two. Hopefully all of this negativity is for naught, and we’ll end up with a great movie out of it, but so far, things aren’t spelling out an easy beginning.

TV

Get Ready for ‘American Horror Story: Asylum’

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Would it be too bold to say that American Horror Story gave us some of the most entertaining horror we have ever seen on television? With 17 Emmy nominations, I feel it’s an appropriate statement. However, this is the same show in which a man was murdered and then sodomized with a fire poker. That isn’t exactly water cooler talk for the next day at the office, now is it? So where did these nominations come from, and how did it earn such a broad fan base?  It’s likely because AHS is such a strong representation of the entire horror genre, and that’s been recognized. The first season ended in December, and since then fans have anxiously awaited their horrific thirsts to be quenched, and now we finally have a date to look forward to. Season two is scheduled to premier on October 17th at 10/9c.

Season one got our attention with its devilish, mysterious nature. To sum it up, great writing that was shot well forced even those that hate the genre to not only engage in the program, but enjoy it. I myself am a self-proclaimed fanatic of horror so I find it interesting how often I have heard people say, “I hate horror movies, but I love that show.”

So what was it that you loved about season one? Was it a guilty pleasure? Did it have something to do with young Moira portrayed by Alexandra Breckenridge? Did the Friday Night Lights fans need some more of Coach’s wife Connie Britton? Maybe you just loved the classic struggles of the Harmons and all their foibles. If you can’t wait to see what happens to our beloved ghostly Harmon family, prepare for a blatant, and somewhat obvious spoiler. Season two, appropriately titled American Horror Story: Asylum, is set in a new location with few returning cast members. When starting from scratch, it is hard to assess how the new season will stack up. What do you say we try anyways?

From what has been reported, these rumors could very well be spoilers.

Season 2 takes place during the 1960s in a New England Mental Hospital called Briarcliff. The Hospital is run by returning actress Jessica Lange as Sister Jude. Given her expected intimate relationship with new cast member Joseph Fiennes, I suppose it is uncertain if she is truly devote. When I see a nun in a mental hospital, I can’t help but think of the forced conception of Freddy Kruger. Anyone else? No? Okay, so I may have watched The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise too many times.

Without the return of iconic figures such as Rubberman, the canvas is fresh for new terrors. So say hello and welcome to, “BloodyFace.” With origins unknown we know he/she/it is a murderous psychopath who has an affection for wearing human skin. Other expected plot points will reflect upon aliens, and Nazis.

Other new cast members include James Cromwell, Chloë Sevigny, Franka Potente, Clea Duvall, and Adam Levine. Yes, that Adam Levine. Apparently he was capable of putting the button down for a while on The Voice so he could become part of the on camera couple known as, “The Lovers.”

We certainly have more information this time around then the first season marketing campaign gave. Was this necessary to gain viewership again? Are we still going to be blown away with what is revealed? I would think so considering the trailers serve more to keep me awake at night rather than tell me anything too specific. There are now eleven teaser trailers of different names to spark as much intrigue as possible. (1) Special Delivery, (2) Blue Coat, (3) Hydrobath, (4) White Rose, (5) Ascend, (6) Glass Prison, (7) The Bucket, (8) White Rave, (9) Taste, (10) Bandages, and (11) Fork. All 11 are available HERE.

My expectation is that we have much to look forward to out of season 2. Returning cast members Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Lily Rabe, and Evan Peters, with returning writers such as Brad Fulchuk and Ryan Murphy means continued chemistry. Murphy harnessed what terrifies him most, and transferred that fear to another medium for us to fear as well. I didn’t previously have a particular fear of aliens, nuns, or Nazis. That being said, we weren’t terrified to go into the water until after we saw Jaws for the first time.

Now for a brief moment of speculation: Co creators Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy have already stated that each season would belong to a non related anthology. However, one of my favorite things about anthologies is their potential for connection. Rarely do I find something more satisfying than when multiple stories intertwine to develop a grander plot. Is there a possibility Briarcliff will hold connection to our beloved “Murder House” from season one? Though the co creators have clearly stated, “No.” I would still love to think so.

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Comic Rack: New JLA, A New Green Lantern, & Jack Kirby’s Birthday!

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Welcome to Comic Rack! My pick of the top five comic news stories in no particular order…

A New Justice League In 2013!

Jim Lee and Geoff Johns have been hitting it off pretty hard with the New 52’s Justice League, a book that’s been breaking sales records in an industry that people thought was growing stagnant. Now with a book that’s selling well and a movie that’s in the works, it’s clear that the Justice League is back to the forefront of fans’ interest. Accordingly, Geoff Johns, DC”s head maestro, is looking to re-debut the more traditionally named Justice League Of America, next year.

Via [GEEK]

“This is a very different kind of team book,” says Geoff Johns in a DC blog post. “On first glance, people might think the heroes of the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA stand in the shadows of Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the JUSTICE LEAGUE, but [they] thrive in the shadows. They’re underdogs who have everything to prove and something to lose. They’re a team of unlikely heroes who will help one another discover they’re as A-List as anybody — yes, even Vibe. Though getting there won’t be easy. Why they’re formed, why each member joins, what they’re after and who the society of villains is they’re trying to take apart will all be clear in the first issue when it hits early 2013. David and I are really focused on delving deep into what it’s like to not be a member of the big seven and why, sometimes, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”

The roster of heroes to be joining will be Green Arrow, Katana, Martian Manhunter, The New Green Lantern (Baz I presume), Star Girl, Vibe, Hawkman, and Catwoman. Which really does sound like an… eclectic team to say the least. But if there’s one thing that Geoff Johns is good at, it’s making lesser, forgotten, or wayside characters shine and pop like they’re brand new again. Case in point being Aquaman, which is one of my favorite DC books right now, and that in and of itself is a sentence I never thought I’d type. So I’m looking forward to the new JLA, since at the very least, it’ll be interesting to see Green Arrow try to hit on Catwoman.

Invincible’s Spin-Off Finally Looming Into Becoming A Reality.

For a while in 2010, Invincible was probably the best superhero book on the shelves. Not that it’s gotten bad or anything, just the opposite, but back then the Viltrumite War was happening, and that story arc was really kind of the climax of the entire story that Invincible had been building up to. Now it’s rebuilding it’s world, and it’s heroes to that effect, and in doing so, is expanding it’s actual line up by bringing back the Guardians Of The Globe, who fans of the book will remember as the Justice League analogue in the book. A few months ago,the book’s writer, Phil Hester, spoke about the book, and where it falls into place regarding the Invincible Timeline:

Via [Newsarama]

“The Invincible Universe has outgrown its parent title and I’m very excited about being able to tell larger, more in depth stories with some of the key players from that book in this series,” said GUARDING THE GLOBE creator/writer Robert Kirkman, “Phil Hester and Todd Nauck are well known to fans of superhero comics and I think people are fully aware that they’re going to knock this book out of the park.”

I’m interested to see where he takes the heroes we’ve come to know and care about in the Invincible/Image universe, and the idea of seeing Brit back in action sounds pretty great. Best of all, you can even check a 6-Page preview of the book right here.(link)

The New Green Lantern, Baz, Is Arab-American.

I know, for some of you, this shouldn’t mean anything, and good on you for thinking it doesn’t, because it shouldn’t. However, it unfortunately does, and a small section of xenophobic comics fans, whether they want to admit it or not, will have a problem with this.

via [Newsarama]

 “The confirmation comes from an unlikely yet reliable source:  Green Lantern writer and DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns is appearing on Sept. 8 at the Arab American National Museum in Detroit to mark the hero’s debut, according to a story in the Detroit Free Press.

The article, which called the hero the “first Arab-American Green Lantern,” is also the first DC confirmation of the character’s name — ‘Baz’.”

Believe me, I want to say that this kind of story should be no big deal, but the fact is that some people will make it out to be. A similar thing happened a long time ago when they had Nightrunner back in 2011 for Batman Inc. Nightrunner was a Muslim character who lived in France, of all places, who was taking up the mantle of Batman there. Unfortunately, the mere fact he was Muslim led people to thinking he was “Terrorist Batman”, (which is literally what Mark Millar does, but that’s neither here nor there), and people judging the character before even reading anything or knowing anything about him, and that’s without that character even BEING Arab or anything. Hopefully, I’m over-speculating, and it’ll be no big deal at all, but I do have to give kudos to Geoff Johns for trying to expand the idea of an establishing the idea that a superhero doesn’t need to be a white person, and having a representation in the book there for the plenty of Arab-American comics fans.

Wait, what? Why are they beating him up? Oh Man…

Uncanny Avengers Spearheads The Lineup of Marvel Now, Marvel Insists It’s Not A Reboot.

Fans of Marvel will have a lot to look forward to in the coming months, as we’ve previously detailed here at GB. But what’s interesting is the basic idea of trying to unite the two different sides of Marvel fandom. One being the Avengers/Marvel U fans, and the other being the longtime X-Men fans. This summer’s big event AvX was an attempt to start this, and really has kicked things off for them to cancel, revamp, and re-begin (I’m trying to avoid the word “re-boot”) certain main titles in the effort to make all X-Men fans, Marvel fans, and vice versa.

via [CBR]

“It’s a team of characters comprised of characters coming both from the Marvel heroes, Avengers side of the fence and characters from the X-Men side of the fence,” said Brevoort. “It’s our cats and dogs in the same pen book.”

Alonso added that part of the major appeal of “AvX” is that it spans the entire Marvel Universe as opposed to just the Avengers, Spider-Man or the X-Men segments — something he hopes will continue with “Uncanny Avengers.” “With ‘Uncanny Avengers,’ you’re going to see a book that’s going to be relevant to both types of fans: the fans who gravitate towards the Avengers and the larger Marvel Universe and fans who are all about the X-Men.”

That’s just one of the main focal points that they’re trying to get across to their fan base, but along with that is their plans to with Marvel NOW! Point One, which is a collection of stories by big name Marvel Creators such as Brian Michael Bendis, Steve McNiven, Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuiness, Nick Spencer, Matt Fraction and more.

“Marvel NOW! Point One’ is sort of the kickoff of our entry into Marvel NOW! and also gives a new setup and little taste,” said Brevoort. “Completely all-new stories that are not the first eight pages of the individual books that are involved of a number of new titles that are coming out in the context of a full story. All — I think it’s 50 pages of this thing — are new content by the biggest creators.”

There’s a ton more in the article where they even mention the New 52, and it’s switching of creative teams early on, as an example of what they will NOT be doing. Along with that, there’s the brief mention of digital content codes being included in books priced at $3.99, and a few other tidbits that are all very enlightening about the longterm goals of this re…launch. Ahem. Anyhow, make sure you go back to CBR and read the whole thing, because there are loads more interesting anecdotes from the Marvel VP of Sales and Marvel’s Editors on the whole shebang.

In Case You Didn’t Know Or Forgot, This Week Was Jack Kirby’s Birthday!

August 28th was the day, and if the man was still alive today it would have been his 95th birthday. If for some sick reason you don’t know, Jack Kirby is the one who many believe to be TRULY responsible for the myriad Marvel characters you enjoy, and that the credit is unfairly balanced towards Stan Lee in his stead. Personally, I’ve always loved both, but it is pretty prevalent that Kirby, outside of the comics world, has never gotten the recognition for his work that Lee has. Regardless, Kirby has contributed to the comics landscape with unforgettable, imaginative characters and worlds that are timelessly evocative and creative. He was the guy who brought us Captain America, many of the X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Hulk, Thor, Darkseid, The Fourth World, The Anti-Life Equation, The New Gods, and so many others that we love.

I’m not hating on Stan Lee, but there’s a reason he’s Stan “The Man”, and Kirby is “The King”.

TV

Fringe: Season 5 Promos Make Me Hate Linear Time…

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If you’re not watching Fringe, you’re missing the best science fiction show on television, hands down. No other show takes such enterprising risks week to week with its narrative technique, story, character development, and concepts. It’s pretty daring to try to get the average viewer to accept such off the wall things as time travel, multi-verses, transhumanism, bio-engineering, genetic manipulation, and still have it all centered around a humane, emotional center. Last season, they pulled the most daring thing the show has done yet, and flash forwarded 20 years into the future, and showed us the true nature of the dystopian future we saw a glimpse of in Season 3. This season looks to show us how we get to that future, where the Observers start to do quite a bit more than observe.

That promo alone is packed with lots of juicy flashes there, a number of which have me speculating quite wildly. Will The Observers take Etta forcefully? Are they growing/harvesting organs? Why are they torturing Walter? And what’s the deal with the hatch they’re looking down into? Is a Scottish man in there, pushing a button to save the world?

It’s probably just a visual reference, since both shows are produced by JJ. Abrams, but I can’t help but wonder. On a website, somewhere, there’s probably mind-bending fan fiction being written, based on this shot alone. Either way, we’ll all have to wait until September 28th, to find out exactly what the hell is gonna happen to our favorite Fringe scientists, and whether or not they’ll stop the dire future we saw from happening.

http://youtu.be/lyMm3kXtsLg

Man, I wish I could see all time at once like The Observers, so I could watch this show already. Stupid linear time!

TV

Star Wars: Clone Wars S5 – Trailer With New Footage!

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So, Star Wars Celebration VI happened last weekend and I regrettably was unable to attend. But hey, they released an extended trailer! And this trailer showcases plenty more badassery than the last one, as awesome as it was. Let’s not keep you in suspense any longer. Check out the trailer below:

Based on more of the footage shown it becomes pretty clear that the Maul brothers will be joining forces with the Death Watch this season, though see the clip of Viszla and Maul throwing down it might be a tenuous alliance at best. It looked like Maul was even sporting his own Mando gear and even had his own Mandalorian troops. Vat in za hell?!

We also get more of the fighting on Onderon which another clip below expands upon. To me that whole thing takes a backseat to the Maul-Death Watch-Sidious stuff. More on Sidious after this clip:

So yeah, the Bantha in the room…. Sidious+Dual Lightsabers=holy shit. And oh yeah, he’s taking on Maul and Savage solo! So much for Sidious just being in the back seat for the duration of the Clone Wars, but I suppose it had to come to this. I half expected Maul to be seeking out Sidious for a confrontation in this season, but it would appear that ole’ Palps came straight to him. The outcome of that fight should definitely be interesting and I’m guessing either Maul or Savage doesn’t make it through the ordeal alive.

The new trailer shows the hairless harpy, Ventress, in action again. And this time she is sporting a pretty awesome looking mask! No clue if she’s still toeing the good guy line, but she is definitely tangling with Ahsoka in the trailer. I’m still waiting to see what direction they ultimately go with Ventress. I realize they’ve spent a good deal of time trying to make her a good guy of sorts but I truly think they’ll have her back in the villain saddle before the end of the show.

And here’s one more juicy tid-bit for all of us fans of the Republic Commando X-box game and the Karen Traviss Republic Commando novels; We get to see a Republic Commando… in action! We were able to catch a glimpse of a squad of these bad lads in season 3 of the Clone Wars, but now we’re going to see what one can do against those petty droids. I’m hoping for some massive mayhem being caused by a one clone killing machine. I’m sure the show won’t go into much detail about the commandos themselves but I’m hoping we at least get an inside the helmet look at the Heads Up Display in the clone commando helmet!

Regardless there is tons to be excited about for the upcoming season of Clone Wars.  It would also appear that they are going to force me into looking like more of a kid than I already feel by moving the Clone Wars to a different date and time: Saturday mornings at 9:30am. Damn it… I hate mornings and I haven’t watched Saturday morning cartoons since I was 23.