The past seven days

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Most Anticipated Films of 2015

We've examined the best and worst of 2014 so now it's time to look forward and talk about what we are most looking forward to in 2015. Shouldn't need clarification but if it does, this is an opinion list so if you are anticipating something that isn't on here feel free to comment and talk about it! Are you not excited about what is on this list? Leave a comment and talk about it.

These are listed in the order of release, as it currently stands, and does not include rumored 2015 releases. If it doesn't have an official date it won't be included. Let's get started!


Selma (January 9th)

Seriously, who doesn't love a movie about Martin Luther King, Jr.? Aside from that it does look really good. I don't know if I will see in theaters, but I do plan on seeing it at some point next year.


Still Alice (January 16th)

Again, I am not sure if I will see this in theaters but it does look good. It's also gaining a lot of awards buzz already.


Fifty Shades of Grey (February 13th)

I am not putting this on the list because I think it will be good, but I am curious to see it. That and part of me is curious to see how it will do at the box office. If it's a smash I'm sure we will be Fifty Shades Darker and/or Fifty Shades Freed in the next couple of years.


Fast and Furious 7 (April 3rd)

Who doesn't want to see this? Come on.


Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1st)

No explanation is needed.


Mad Max: Fury Road (May 15th)

This one looks more than enjoyable.


Tomorrowland (May 22nd)

I think the concept alone is worth giving this one a try. The teaser looked cool, too.


Insidious: Chapter 3 (June 5th)

I'm more than curious to see where they are going to go with this one. I also am rooting for Leigh Whannell.


Jurassic World (June 12th)

Terrible trailer aside, seeing this one is a given.


Inside Out (June 19th)

Been a long time, Pixar. 


Ant-Man (July 17th)

I'm not happy with this project at all because I don't see the relevance to the rest of the MCU at this point and the whole thing with Edgar Wright was bullshit, but I'm curious. Here's to hoping it will at least serve as relevant to Captain America: Civil War or to the Infinity War films. That's the only hope they have because I don't see Ant-Man turning into a standout character in the MCU.


Goosebumps (August 7th)

My childhood is calling me. I'll see this one, for sure.


Sinister 2 (August 21st)

If it's as good as Sinister was I will be satisfied.


Peanuts (November 6th)

Who doesn't want to see Charlie Brown again? Good grief.


Spectre (November 6th)

My body is ready for more 007. That's all there is to it.


The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (November 20th)

They left off at a good spot, so I think they could do great things with this last installment. I just hope they include the epilogue and don't destroy the last half of the book.


Star Wars: The Force Awakens (December 18th)

Duh.



Out of all the releases we are getting next year I did manage to narrow the list down to less than 20 movies. I'm not guaranteeing that I will see all of these in theaters because I didn't make it to the theater a lot this year, but I do plan on seeing all of these at some point. I'm sure I will see more but these are on the top of my list.

Happy New Year, everyone. Bring on 2015!


Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Best Films of 2014

It's that time again, boys and girls. I will start by admitting I didn't see as many movies this year as I usually do and not nearly as many as I would have liked to, but I did see enough to make a "best" and "worst" list. I always start with the worst, which you can see here, so now I will get to the best ones. Didn't think these were great? Enlighten me on why.

Also note these are not in any particular order from best to worst or anything like that. If they are in any sort of order it's just in the order of when I watched them. I also will mention that some of these films were technically made in and/or received limited releases in 2013, but if they got a wide release in 2014 I'm counting them.


Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Before you judge me on this one, let me explain. As a franchise bit this was by far the best one of the Paranormal Activity franchise. It was suspenseful and did what the previous four movies failed to do... IT KEPT MY ATTENTION. This movie had a lot more going on than just nighttime speed shots of people sleeping for an hour. It was actually fun to watch which is why it is on this list.



Devil's Due

As far as horror went this year, Devil's Due was one of the better ones. It kept my attention and was just fun to watch. Was it the best? No, but it wasn't the worst. It was better than what's on the worst of 2014 list.



The LEGO Movie

I can't say enough things about this one. It was funny, the animation was gorgeous, and it was just... I can't even put it into words. I loved it.



Bad Words

Hilarious. Just plain hilarious. 



Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This skyrocketed to my favorite Marvel film immediately after I walked out of the theater. The suspense was amazing and seeing how Hydra was still in the picture even after all this time was fascinating. It took a comic character and gave us a great political thriller in the middle of a bunch of superhero movies with humor elements and cartoony characters. Fantastic.



Godzilla

For what it was it was great. The effects were on point and the story itself was a nice refresher to have. It could have been bad but it wasn't.



X-Men: Days of Future Past

Was it as good as X-Men: First Class? No, but it was still pretty good even with a few disappointments.



Deliver Us from Evil

It was more of a psychological thriller than a horror movie and I appreciated that.



Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Despite the long title it was still good. By far some of the best visual effects of the year. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one but I still liked it.



Guardians of the Galaxy

Easily by top movie of 2014. It was funny, interesting, touching, and it really showcased its strengths. James Gunn is a welcome addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as is the group of criminal heroes. I can't even begin to describe why I loved this movie.



The Boxtrolls

Great animation and a fun story.



Interstellar

Long as hell but Christopher Nolan did it again. Loved it.



The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

Not as good as it could have been and I still don't think it should have been split into two movies, but they picked a good stopping point and what they did do they did well. I'm looking forward to wrapping it up next year.



Camp X-Ray

This movie got a lot of crap and I don't really know why. I thought it was enjoyable for the kind of movie it was and it further proved that Kristen Stewart needs to get back to doing small films like this. It's really where she shines.



The Sacrament

Holy shit. That's really all I can say.



The Babadook

GREAT. The way this movie played with my mind was amazing. It was more psychological than visual gore and I really appreciate movies like this. The foreign horror market is really kicking America's ass right now.



Gone Girl

Wow! I'm really bummed I didn't get the chance to see this one in theaters.



I might still add to this list because I still have a couple movies I am trying to cram in before the year is up, so keep an eye out. Hope you enjoyed!

Worst Films of 2014

It's that time again, boys and girls. I will start by admitting I didn't see as many movies this year as I usually do and not nearly as many as I would have liked to, but I did see enough to make a "best" and "worst" list. As always I will start with the worst. There are always people who disagree with me and think I'm nuts, but that is the fun of doing these lists. It's interesting to see how people justify thinking these movies were great.

Also note these are not in any particular order from best to worst or anything like that. If they are in any sort of order it's just in the order of when I watched them. I also will mention that some of these films were technically made in and/or received limited releases in 2013, but if they got a wide release in 2014 I'm counting them.


Maleficent

Despite beautiful cinematography and visual effects, Disney basically murdered the best classic villain they have. The origin did not work, there was a serious lack of dragons, and the story just didn't work. Sorry.



Transformers: Age of Extinction

Ugh, don't even get me started. Just another special effects poop from Michael Bay.



Transcendence

Lacking story, bad acting, plot holes, and an overall lack of reality. Sorry, Johnny Depp. You were kind of on my shit list this year.



Lucy

This movie wasn't horrible, but it moved way too fast and similar to Transcendence, it just had a lack of reality. It was very hard to believe this woman had all of these abilities in the short amount of time shown. I usually don't say this, but the movie needed to be longer by a good 30-45min.



If I Stay

Horrible. Just horrible. The concept is great and the book wasn't bad, but the acting slayed this one. I'm a fan of Chloe Moretz, but she is getting worse as she ages and it's not working for her. The lack of chemistry between her and her male counterpart was almost painful to watch and the charm it should have had was not there. Big disappointment.



Nymphomaniac: Volume 1

No comment. It was just horrible.



Nymphomaniac: Volume 2

Ditto.



The Quiet Ones

Lack of originality, predictable twist, and flat acting. Another one that could have been good but it just wasn't.



The Fault in Our Stars

I didn't quite understand why everyone loved this movie so much. Yes, it's a sympathetic tale of two young kids with cancer who fall in love, but that's really all it is. When it was over I didn't feel like my life had changed or that I had learned some major lesson. It was just sad and not really that impressive. I felt that Shailene Woodley was just doing what she does best and playing an angsty teenager. If she does manage to get an Oscar nod for this movie I will be in shock.



Neighbors

I did laugh but it tried way too hard to be funny. That and there was just a bit too much dick. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate penis but not at this level... and not when Seth Rogen is near the thought.



Oculus

It was a good premise, but it didn't really hold enough to be a full film. Karen Gillan is awesome but her character was a bit too crazy and it made you wonder how she didn't wind up in a mental ward long before her brother got out of one. It tried too hard to be creepy and to mindfuck you and that was its downfall.



The Purge: Anarchy

I don't know what I expected seeing that The Purge was a huge crock of shit, but Anarchy wasn't much better. It was an improvement and I did appreciate them actually showing the night but it still was just meh. Better than the first one but not something I would watch again.




I might still add to this list because I still have a couple movies I am trying to cram in before the year is up, so keep an eye out. Hope you enjoyed!

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Sony will not release The Interview at all

Just kidding on that whole VOD/DVD release. Sony Pictures responded to criticism about cancelling the theatrical release of The Interview by canceling its release altogether. The studio released a statement that they have no plans to release the James Franco comedy at all after US officials reportedly linked the Sony hack and theater threats to North Korea. As of yesterday the studio said they were looking into releasing the film on VOD and on home media, but those plans have apparently changed.

This decision could mean the rights to the film could go to another studio, but after all of this controversy I don't know what studio would want to pick this film up. On the other hand, if another studio did pick it up they could make a lot of money because there are a lot of people who have now said they'd watch the film just out of spite, even if they didn't want to see it to begin with. As it currently stands, this will result in a loss of millions of dollars to Sony Pictures as the film alone had a budget of $42 million. That isn't even counting the money spent on marketing and actor salaries. The Sony leaks told us that Seth Rogen received $8.4 million while Franco received $6.5 million.

Like I said in my previous posts about this, I didn't want to see The Interview to begin with and I wouldn't even watch it out of spite like many are saying they would. I thought the premise was stupid and I was surprised when I first heard about it that a studio actually funded the idea. I'm not saying I'm a supporter of North Korea or of Kim Jong-Un, but a little common sense would tell you it wasn't a very good idea in the first place. I'm sure at some point this film will see the light of day, but it isn't looking too promising right now.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Viola Davis joins Suicide Squad

Warner Bros. and DC have officially cast Oscar-nominee Viola Davis in the upcoming adaptation of Suicide Squad. Davis will portray Amanda Waller, the government official in place to oversee the group's operations. She is essentially the Nick Fury of the Suicide Squad.

Davis was among the shortlist of sought after actresses for the role which also included Octavia Spencer and Oprah Winfrey. There are still some kinks to work out with her schedule as she is currently on the television series, How to Get Away with Murder, but I am sure they can work it out. There are also rumors that Davis might get a Summer job filming some small easter eggs for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Viola Davis gained a lot of popularity after the 2011 film, The Help, which earned her nominations for an Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA. She's also been seen in Ender's Game, Get on Up, Prisoners, and Eat Pray Love




Sony pulls theatrical release of The Interview

After several theater chains such as AMC, Cinemark, and Regal Cinemas decided to not show the upcoming Sony release, The Interview, the studio has decided to pull the film from its theatrical release altogether. This is a result of the recent "Sony hacks" by internet hackers as they issued 9/11-type threats against theaters still choosing to show the film next week. The studio is already exploring options to release the film such as an on-demand style VOD release or straight to DVD.

Sony's response was:
"Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome."

Many theater chains who ultimately decided to drop the film prior to Sony's announcement have now come out and said the cancellation is due to Sony's lack of confidence in the film. Regal Cinemas made a statement saying they feel the cancellation is due to negative press over the film and that the studio had lacked confidence since news first broke of the film. Others feel that it would have destroyed the usual high box office numbers over Christmas and would have forced families to not see films such as Annie and Night at the Museum 3. Rest assured, those are still your holiday releases for this year and you won't have Seth Rogen or James Franco present to ruin it.

I don't think this is a bad move by the studio. People online are bitching about freedom and how the studio has given into the hacker demands, but the way I see it is this whole situation had no victorious outcome. You either screen the movie and potentially risk thousands of American lives or you pull the movie, lose some money, and give the hackers what they want. I don't see it as a freedom issue. I see it as playing things a bit safe and trying to avoid something terrible. Whether the threats had validity or not, I can guarantee that no one wanted anything going down at any theater in America. The last thing we need is more Century 16 shootings or bombings. Come on, people. Just wait until Sony releases it on VOD or DVD and shut up about it.

In my opinion, The Interview was a stupid premise to begin with and if I remember correctly it had already received a delay due to the subject matter. It was a gamble by Sony to even make this movie and they obviously lost the bet.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Sony hackers threaten attacks on theaters screening The Interview

The Sony hackers have just upped the stakes on their recent releases against Sony Pictures Entertainment. In a new group of files today, the internet hackers issued threats against every theater screening the upcoming James Franco comedy, The Interview. Yeah, the movie where Franco and Seth Rogen are recruited by the CIA to kill the leader of North Korea. The group claims 9/11 style attacks will hit at different times and different places for all theaters screening the film under the belief that the film will cause a war with North Korea.

The message is as follows:
"Warning
We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places “The Interview” be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to.
Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made.
The world will be full of fear.
Remember the 11th of September 2001.
We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time.
(If your house is nearby, you’d better leave.)
Whatever comes in the coming days is called by the greed of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
All the world will denounce the SONY.
More to come…"


Personally, I am happy that I wasn't planning on seeing The Interview to begin with but at the same time this all seems to be overkill.  These hackers have released a great deal of things including the script for the upcoming James Bond film, private studio emails, and full unreleased movies so I think they might just be enjoying the spotlight and figured that terrorism was popular enough at the moment.
Another thought I had, which I don't know how this would help matters, was that Sony is doing this themselves to boost popularity of the studio. Sony releases haven't done so well lately so they definitely needed the hype. I don't know if this is a good way to go about it, but there haven't really been any top agencies going after these hackers. With threats like these coming out I am a bit confused why the FBI hasn't launched a probe on these hackers, but that might just be me.

So yeah, you might want to wait until The Interview comes out on DVD if any of this has credibility.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Bond 24 officially titled Spectre

We now have an official title for the upcoming "Bond 24" film that is set for November 2015. Bond 24 has received the official title, Spectre. Along with the announcement there was also the first teaser poster that came with a small hint of its own.



The title is short for SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion and it is notoriously led by Ernest Blofeld.  
Spectre will have Daniel Craig returning as 007 and recently announced that Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz had joined the cast, too. It was previously thought that Waltz would be playing Blofeld, but the press conference suggested differently.

In addition to the teaser poster we got a glimpse at the new Bond car, an Aston Martin DB10.


Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Full Suicide Squad cast revealed

It seems that there was a lot of truth behind the rumors behind Suicide Squad as we now have the main cast out in the open. In addition to a prior announcement of Margot Robbie playing Harley Quinn, the rest of the cast includes:

Jared Leto as The Joker
Will Smith as Deadshot
Tom Hardy as Rick Flag
Jai Courtney as Boomerang
Cara Delevinge as Enchantress


This will mark Jared Leto's return to the screen after his Oscar-winning performance in Dallas Buyers Club He will also have a lot of eyes on him because he is the first actor to tackle The Joker since Heath Ledger's performance in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight back in 2008. Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for his performance as the DC villain.
Will Smith was previously rumored for Boomerang but that role has gone to Jai Courtney. DC Universe veteran Tom Hardy will be filling the shoes of the Suicide Squad's military leader, Rick Flag. Hardy previously played Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.

The film isn't completely cast because Warner Bros. is still looking for an actress to play Amanda Waller. The role was previously played by Angela Basset in 2011's Green Lantern but the studio is evidently wanting to further distance themselves from that trainwreck. Actresses on the shortlist, according to sources, are Octavia Spencer, Oprah Winfrey, and Viola Davis. Out of those choices I think I would go with Viola Davis, but there is no telling what direction they will go.
There is also no mention on whether any characters from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will have cameos or not, but the main one to expect would be Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. If anything he might have a small cameo or at least some mention.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Jurassic World - First Trailer




I don't really know what I was expecting, but this isn't it. The CGI is just painful to look at.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - First Teaser

I don't know about you, but I am intrigued.





One thing I am a bit curious about is John Boyega. If he is a Stormtrooper does that mean the clones were eliminated? Or have civilians gained the chance to join alongside the clones?
Another thing I am curious about is this Sith creature. Is it human? Is it some form of life? Either way, that lightsaber looks pretty creative. 

#TheForceAwakens #StarWars #EpisodeVII


Friday, November 14, 2014

Daniel Bruhl joins Captain America: Civil War

German actor Daniel Bruhl has officially joined the cast of Captain America: Civil War. Bruhl will be playing an undisclosed villain and is also rumored to be the main villain in Doctor Strange as well.

Marvel made the official announcement before anyone else managed to leak it, but they neglected to mention exactly which role he will be playing. If the Doctor Strange bit is true it will reunite him with Benedict Cumberbatch as the two shared the screen in The Fifth Estate.
So far it seems that Civil War is going to be a key point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it is apparently going to unite a ton of characters together and set the course for the rest of the films. I say that because along with the announcement of Marvel's film schedule they announced that Chadwick Boseman was set to play Black Panther and that he would make his first appearance in Civil War. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see a Guardians of the Galaxy cameo or an introduction to Captain Marvel, either.

Either way, it should be interesting to see what character Bruhl has been brought on to play. You might recognize him as the Nazi poster child in Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds back in 2009. He also previously shared the screen with Marvel alum Chris Hemsworth in Rush.




Thursday, November 13, 2014

Christoph Waltz rumored for Bond 24

Rumor has it that Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz has signed on to play the villain in Bond 24. Filming is set to begin next month so it is a bit surprising that more casting announcements haven't hit yet. If this is true I think it would be a great casting choice. Bond 24 is set for release on November 6, 2015.

Waltz will be seen next in Horrible Bosses 2 and has come pretty accustomed to playing the villain. He won an Oscar for his portrayal of a brutal Nazi officer in Inglorious Basterds and has also played the bad guy in Water for Elephants, The Green Hornet, and had been rumored to be in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.


Fifty Shades of Grey - New Trailer

We have the second, and probably final, trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey. The trailer shows a lot more footage than the first one did and it also gives some insight to the sexual nature of the film. Fifty Shades of Grey is set for release Valentine's Day 2015 and stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson.


Monday, November 10, 2014

Margot Robbie to play Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad

After learning that Jared Leto was being courted to play The Joker, many started speculating on who would be cast to play Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. We now have our answer and it is Australian actress, Margot Robbie.

Robbie was most recently seen alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street and was also a season regular on the short-lived television show, Pan Am. The is fairly young at the age of 24, so it might be a hard sell for people to believe that she is a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. That is, unless they write that aspect of the story out of the movie.
If you are somehow unfamiliar with Harley Quinn, she began as psychiatrist Harleen Quinzel inside Arkham Asylum where she was assigned to The Joker. She quickly was manipulated by him and became obsessed with him. To comic fans, she is known as his psychotic sidekick girlfriend. She comes equipped with a black and red jester suit and white face paint. This will be the first time the character is portrayed on the big screen, but she was originally introduced in the Batman animated series. She has also appeared in Rocksteady's Arkham games for Playstation, Xbox, and Wii. She was a bit different in the games (aka, more of a sexy version of Harley), so there are a couple ways Warner Bros. could go with this character.

This does make the rumors surrounding The Joker have a bit more substance as you can't really have Harley Quinn without The Joker. If they are serious about including him, and about Jared Leto, I think they are teasing everyone even more with this casting announcement. Suicide Squad is set to open in theaters on August 5, 2016.




Image via Crave Online

Friday, November 7, 2014

Jared Leto rumored to play The Joker

With Warner Bros and DC quickly putting their own universe together there are rumors circulating about which actors will play upcoming film characters. A big rumor we got today is regarding Suicide Squad which is set for release on August 5, 2016. Apparently, Oscar-winner Jared Leto is in the mix to play a new version of the popular DC villain, The Joker.

So far Suicide Squad has Will Smith, Tom Hardy, and Margot Robbie in various stages of negotiations. Leto was previously in contention for the role of Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the role ultimately went to Joaquin Phoenix (Benedict Cumberbatch is now Doctor Strange).

We haven't really seen or heard from The Joker since Heath Ledger's acclaimed, and Oscar-winning, performance in The Dark Knight back in 2008. Many people felt that after Ledger's unbelievable performance that the character should be left alone. There isn't any confirmation that The Joker will be part of Suicide Squad or that Leto will be playing that character, but he is apparently circling around a major role in the film that "could prove to be The Joker."
Now... this is somewhat interesting as some people, including myself, thought that Jena Malone's casting in the DC Universe could possibly be Harley Quinn. Even if Malone is not connected to the role, it has been rumored that the famous sidekick will be part of Suicide Squad. Leto's role was previously attached to Ryan Gosling, but he was reluctant to sign a multi-film contract with press obligations.

Suicide Squad follows a team of villains who begin executing dangerous missions for the US Government to avoid major prison sentences. As a result, they have the ability to roam free among the DC heroes undetected until they commit a major crime or offense.



Thursday, November 6, 2014

Toy Story 4 confirmed for 2017

Disney CEO, Bob Iger, confirmed today via an investor call today that Disney and Pixar will release a fourth Toy Story film in 2017. John Lasseter will return to direct as will Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. And, naturally, the film will be released in 3D.

This isn't necessarily unexpected as Toy Story 3 was dynamite and kickstarted the franchise a bit. We have had Toy Story short films since Toy Story 3 and a fourth film has been rumored for a year or two already.
I personally find this somewhat disappointing because I think Pixar is turning into sequel territory and it's unfortunate. We have Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur coming up, but we also have Finding Dory and announced sequels for The Incredibles as well as a third Cars film. I don't like it. Pixar is best with original stories.


Star Wars Episode VII full title revealed

We finally have the official title for Star Wars Episode VII. This news hits a little over one year from the December release date.

Make way for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.



The photo was shared via Twitter on the official Star Wars page and it will be the first Star Wars film in 10 years. It is also the first out of a new trilogy and at least two spin-off films to be released by Disney.

Devil's Carnival: Alleluia - First Trailer

The first trailer for the second chapter in Darren Lynn Bousman's, The Devil's Carnival, has hit the internet. This time around they take us up from the carnival in hell and we visit Heaven. The film stars Paul Sorvino, Terrance Zdunich, Barry Bostwick, Briana Evigan, and more.



Monday, November 3, 2014

Summary of last week's Marvel announcements

I was on vacation last week so I am playing a bit of catch-up with everything that I missed. By far the biggest event that I missed out on was Kevin Feige's Marvel event which announced the full size of phase three and gave a lot of casting news and also hinted at Marvel's direction with certain existing characters.

Starting off, let's look at this massive schedule they gave us...

Captain America: Civil War (May 6, 2016)
Doctor Strange (November 4, 2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (May 5, 2017)
Thor: Ragnarok (July 28, 2017)
Black Panther (November 3, 2017)
Avengers: Infinity War - Part I (May 4, 2018)
Captain Marvel (July 6, 2018)
Inhumans (November 2, 2018)
Avengers: Infinity War - Part II (May 3, 2019)

In addition to this schedule there was confirmation that all films will be released in 3D. The title of Captain America also confirms the Civil War rumor that was floating around, so we will see Robert Downey Jr. in that film. It is also possible that he could appear in Thor: Ragnarok seeing that there is no Iron Man 4 on the list.



Speaking of casting, there were announcements regarding Black Panther along with Doctor Strange. The surprise introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe was definitely Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther. You might recognize Boseman from the James Brown biopic, Get On Up, and the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42. He has reportedly signed a five film contract with Marvel and will appear as early as Captain America: Civil War before appearing in his solo film in 2017. Black Panther, otherwise known as T'Challa, is the leader of the panther tribe in the African nation of Wakanda. He later joins The Avengers.
Regarding Doctor Strange, we did finally receive word of an actor who has entered final negotiations to star in the lead role. So much for people wishing it would be Jared Leto because Benedict Cumberbatch has secured the role. Cumberbatch has seen a big surge in work in the past couple of years and I personally am worried that he is becoming a little overused, especially for a big franchise like this, but I don't think he will do badly. His voice alone is a great fit for the character. Prior to his involvement, Joaquin Phoenix had secured the role but negotiations fell through and he walked away from the project. The inside rumors were that Phoenix was not comfortable with the amount of backlash that came with the role such as press tours, talk shows, multi-film commitments, etc..





Moving onto the announcement of Thor: Ragnarok, this does tie into Robert Downey Jr.'s extended involvement with this film franchise aside from solo Iron Man films. The story of Ragnarok apparently takes place right after Avengers: Age of Ultron where Tony Stark creates a cyborg clone of Thor to aid his pro-Superhero Registration Act team in the Civil War. This also could tie into the characters to be introduced in Ant-Man as Stark works with Hank Pym in order to properly clone Thor. There was also confirmation by Kevin Feige that the lineup of The Avengers will change after Age of Ultron, so it's possible that Chris Hemsworth's Thor will go missing or will be killed in the 2015 Avengers sequel causing Ragnarok to be created.
However, there is another possibility with Thor: Ragnarok. According to some sources, there are guesses that the Ragnarok subtitle could be referencing the "Norse End of Days" where Asgard is destroyed and submerged into water. It is also worth mentioning that insiders are saying Thor will not appear in Avengers: Infinity War - Part I or Part II, so the possibility of Marvel retiring Thor from the MCU is plausible.
In addition to all of this Thor news, we did not receive any information on if the actors exclusive to those films will be returning. I am of course referring to Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Jaimie Alexander, and so on. I would assume Natalie Portman's contract wasn't just for two films but you never know. I would personally like to see Jane Foster in a bigger role as the universe expands but that could just be wishful thinking at this point.




Continuing on with what we aren't seeing, or potentially aren't seeing, Marvel has also said that they have no immediate plans for solo films for Black Widow and Hulk. All of us who were hoping for the Planet Hulk arc or another solo Hulk can sit down and keep wishing. Kevin Feige stated that there was a possibility for a solo Black Widow film but that he was never fully on board with it and that the Hulk might happen but nothing is in the works as of right now. He feels the character was successfully rebooted in The Avengers with Mark Ruffalo and that it can be left at that. He wants to focus on bringing us new characters and begin expanding the universe. 
Many thought Black Widow was Marvel's chance to showcase a female driven superhero film, but they are doing that with Captain Marvel in 2018. It's still up in the air on whether she will appear in either of the Infinity War films, or have a cameo in Civil War, but we will be receiving the film either way. The Captain Marvel we are getting is Carol Danvers, a NASA director who is turned into a Kree-Human hybrid after encountering Mar-Vell (a Kree warrior). Her powers include super strength, super speed, invulnerability, and the ability to fire energy blasts from her hands. (A sidenote to remember was the introduction we had to the Kree in Guardians of the Galaxy) There is no casting announced for Captain Marvel, but I am sure it will be a coveted and much sought after role, especially with the direct competition with Warner Bros/DC's Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot.




In addition to these announcements, we did once again receive confirmation on the release of Inhumans and Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Guardians will see James Gunn return to write and direct once more as Inhumans currently has no director attached and no cast.





Saved the best for last... let's talk about The Infinity War. Marvel has decided to compete with the division of Justice League into two parts by dividing the third Avengers film into two parts with two films in between. We got our first tease of Thanos in the mid-credits scene of The Avengers film and finally got our first full look at him in Guardians of the Galaxy. We might see more glimpses of him as more infinity stones are revealed, but the major reveal of Thanos will indeed come with these two Infinity War films. We already have Josh Brolin cast as the villain.
The Infinity Gauntlet is the culmination of all of these little trinkets we have seen introduced bit by bit; the Tesseract, the Aether, and the Orb. There are six infinity stones total so we still have three to go, but with five films coming before Part I and another two in between, there is plenty of time for Thanos to obtain all six stones. In his quest to obtain them he does murder a lot of Marvel heroes, so the idea of Thor disappearing might just become a reality. We also must keep in mind the rumor surrounding the Winter Soldier arc where Bucky takes over for Captain Rogers.
Personally, I hope these two films act as a massive team up with all of these characters. Seeing Guardians of the Galaxy fighting alongside The Avengers would probably make me giggle in my seat. I think all of this being set up is very exciting.


Idris Elba spoils Age of Ultron cameos

It was recently revealed, and more like spoiled, by actor Idris Elba regarding cameos that will be in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Elba confirmed that he will be appearing in the sequel as Heimdall, the gatekeeper of Asgard. He has already appeared in both Thor and Thor: The Dark World and it seems that his presence is needed once more.

In addition to his cameo, he also revealed that he will also be sharing a scene with... wait for it... Tom Hiddleston. Yes, that means we will once again see Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Given how The Dark World ended and with the announcement of a third film, Thor: Ragnarok, it does kind of make sense to include Loki once more.


Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Avengers: Age of Ultron - First Teaser

This teaser was originally supposed to premiere during next week's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode on ABC, but like just about everything it leaked online. Marvel did quick damage control by blaming Hydra for the leak and then uploaded the trailer on their YouTube page. I guess it's not a leak if it's in 1080p on YouTube.

Personally, I think this trailer looks fantastic. It's menacing, conflicting, and it looks like it's definitely going to be even crazier than The Avengers was. Not to mention Ultron looks and sounds like a fucking badass. I am very excited.




Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters on May 1, 2015. 

Insidious: Chapter 3 poster debuts; Trailer hits tomorrow

We got our first poster for the third chapter in the Insidious trilogy and also learned that the first teaser for the film will hit the internet tomorrow.



Insidious: Chapter 3 follows a new family as Elise (Lin Shaye) tries to help a teenager rid herself of a paranormal entity. This marks the directorial debut of Insidious co-creator, Leigh Whannell, and also stars Dermot Mulroney and Stefanie Scott. The film is set for theaters on May 29, 2015.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Cabin Fever is being remade

Yeah, let that sink in for a second.


It was announced that Eli Roth's 2002 horror film, Cabin Fever, is being remade and will begin shooting in Portland, OR next week. Roth has been brought on as an executive producer alongside Cassian Elwes. The film is apparently using the same script as the 2002 original and has a cast already set, including Teen Wolf star Gage Golightly. Travis Zariwny is directing this reboot.

Cabin Fever was set around a group of college students who rent a cabin and fall victim to a mysterious, flesh eating virus. It starred Ryder Strong, James DeBello, and Jordan Ladd and served as Eli Roth's directorial debut. The film spawned two sequels titled Cabin Fever: Spring Fever and Cabin Fever: Patient Zero. This will mark Eli Roth's return to the story as he had no involvement with either of the sequels.


The Conjuring 2 delayed until 2016

New Line has moved the sequel to James Wan's The Conjuring from October 23, 2015 to 2016 and have replaced the slot with an untitled horror film. Warner Bros. and New Line had announced the sequel for 2015 and said that Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga were expected to return as Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The Conjuring was a surprise smash at the box office as it brought in a total of $320 million and only carried a $20 million budget. Set in 1971, the film followed the acclaimed paranormal investigators as they were called to investigate a home in Rhode Island where a family of seven experienced hauntings and paranormal entities.
Annabelle, the film's spin-off, made somewhat of a dent at the box office with $166 million on just a $6 million budget.