Lionsgate has released the first trailer for the new thriller Knives Out. Rian Johnson returns with a great assembled cast in a movie that promises to pay tribute to masterminds Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock with his own modern-day murder-mystery.
Continue reading Knives Out Trailer: Rian Johnson Returns With A Star-Studded Whodunit
I saw Captain America: Civil War opening night and despite popular opinion, I was a bit disappointed.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s leaps and bounds better than the majority of other Marvel Cinematic Universe films, but I think the hype got to me and I left a little underwhelmed. So, if you loved it (and you probably did), don’t yell at me, I loved it too, my disappointment couldn’t outweigh my enjoyment. But I do have a few things I’d like to address…
Continue reading Captain America: Civil War Review (Riddled with Spoilers)
Remember how we were going to get the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer during the October 28th Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode? Well someone decided to crash the party, and if you believe Marvel, it was Hydra.
Continue reading Avengers: Age of Ultron Trailer Out Early, Thank You Hydra
It seems that Robert Downey Jr. just can’t get enough of Marvel.
According to various reports, while there may not be an Iron Man 4, Robert Downey Jr. has signed on for a major role in the as of now untitled third installment in the Captain America franchise, and it could have some huge implications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
RDJ has been making the rounds recently for his film The Judge, and naturally all anyone wants to talk about is his future as Iron Man. Originally, he was contracted for only one more Marvel movie, Avengers 3. However, it appears that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has major plans for Phase 3, which includes Captain America 3, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Thor 3 and of course, the third Avengers. Feige may just be gearing up for Marvel’s biggest storyline of the last decade.
The thought is that this casting will lead to the Civil War series that ran in the comics in 2006 and 2007. That would put Captain America and Iron Man on opposite sides of the superhero registration act, dividing the former teammates and friends, and pitting half the Marvel Universe against each other, Cap opposing the act and Iron Man backing it. This could also help explain some of the recent rumors about Sony and Marvel working together, and Spider-Man showing up in the MCU. Afterall, he did play a big part during Civil War.
So, while the deal has yet to be signed, this is obviously the major announcement that RDJ has been teasing for the last few weeks. Granted, we’ve seen stuff fall through like Joaquin Phoenix as Doctor Strange or Edgar Wright leaving Ant-Man, but I have a feeling that this one is going to get done. Especially considering that Iron Man 3 grossed more than a billion dollars, so while they’ll back up the Brinks truck for RDJ one more time, it will all be worth it.
Images: Marvel Studios, Marvel Comics
With an all-star cast, an unbelievable true story, and a period setting, it’s remarkable that The Iceman got such a limited release and such little buzz. Directed by relative unknown Ariel Vromen, the film is based on the true story of Richard Kuklinski, who not only was a contract killer who worked for various mobs over 30 plus years, but managed to hold a stable family that knew nothing of his work. Michael Shannon stars as Kuklinski with Winona Ryder playing his wife. Chris Evans, Ray Liotta and a few other well-known faces join the two as well. Originally given a limited release last May, the film did poorly, only earning back about an eighth of its 10 million budget. Now coming to DVD soon, this movie will have a second chance to reach an audience. While I have not seen the film myself, reviews have been mostly positive. Plus by the looks of the trailer, Shannon seems to be putting in one hell of a performance. This seems like something to keep your eyes out for in the coming months. Check out the trailer, and then read on if you want to know more about the true story.
The Iceman is hitting DVD and Blu-Ray on September 3. Here’s a little more background on the true story of Kuklinski for those interested. Richard Kuklinski grew up in an abusive family in Jersey City, New Jersey. Between his brother dying at the hands of his father’s abuse, his other brother going to prison for murder, and the constant beatings by his mother, Kuklinski had a tough upbringing. First going through the ranks as a loan shark, the DeCavalante crime family eventually caught wind of his ruthless, no nonsense tactics, and in the mid 1950’s hired him for his first hit. From there sprung a period of about 30 years, where he jumped across various crime families in New York City performing assassinations for money. In this period, he claimed to have committed over 100 killings, but at the same time, was in a healthy marriage with three children all while keeping his entire work private to his family. In 1986, Kuklinski was finally caught by undercover cops and was incarcerated. The oddest part of the story is the media frenzy that sprung up. During incarceration, and until his death in 2006, Kuklinski provided multiple interviews on his time as a contract killer, had two documentaries made on his life and had two biographies written about him. While clearly no saint, Kuklinski had a quite an interesting story that could make one hell of a film. Hopefully, The Iceman is just that.
In addition, here’s a test scene with Michael Shannon as Kuklinski that was shot about a year prior to production on The Iceman. If you want to get a better sense of Shannon’s dark and soft-spoken portrayal, without spoiling any of the flick, check out the clip below.
Joss Whedon, come on down! You’ve just been chosen to continue on the path of greatness and while adding to your god-like status amongst the human population! According to several news sources, ranging from the Hollywood Reporter, EW.com, Newsrama etc., Joss Whedon is back in the saddle as your writer and director for Marvel’s The Avengers 2.
In the deal, Mr. Joss “I Own The World, Bow Before My Awesomeness” Whedon, signs a deal with Marvel Studios that keeps in the fold through the end of June 2015. In that, he will cover his duties as director and writer for The Avengers 2, as well as helping develop a live action series for ABC and, according to the Marvel Studios’ press release, “will also contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe.” Basically, as I have read it, he will take the Jon Favreau role in making sure that the universe that Marvel Studios has cultivated will be ushered into the next set of movies, culminating in The Avengers 2 movie. You can bet that the TV show will deal in the Avengers universe and it is safe to say that it is NOT the Guillermo del Toro Hulk series being developed for ABC apparently. Excited much? Yessir. Let us face it, Joss Whedon knows his characters and his television. While not successful all the time in terms of nielsen ratings, his television shows always are great and at least will cater to the cult crowds and die hard geeks his drops his wisdom on. Plus if it’s set in the Marvel Universe, umm, insta-hit?
A live feed from the Whedon household after the deal
From a Hollywood perspective, this should be zero surprise of course. The Avengers has made 1.5 BILLION worldwide. A large part is because not only the commercial acclaim of putting together the most brilliant way to market your movie (uhh, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger? Yeah, those were basically marketing teasers for that movie, profitable ones too at the very least), but the critical acclaim that got people coming back for more. The onus on Whedon and Marvel was making sure the characters were enjoyable to watch and developed to where they both electrified the screen individually AND as a team. Whedon solidified the Marvel Studio’s universe in this movie because he made sure this ambitious project did not implode like a dying star. With egos and sheer enormous size of this project, this could have been an unmitigated disaster with everything that was going on but instead, Mr. Firefly himself controlled the movie and its stars (and the future of this universe) and made sure the next several movies are events flicks that people of all walks and sizes will need to see. 
So let’s recap, this will be Joss Whedon’s universe for the next three years and with Iron Man 3 for May 3rd, 2013; Thor: The Dark World in November 8th, 2013; Captain America: The Winter Soldier for April 4th, 2013; Guardians of the Galaxy launching on August 1st, 2014; with possibly Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man figuring into the equation too, this will probably confirm Avengers 2 hitting theaters in 2015, right when the contract ends. Not too mention the TV show that, crossing my fingers and just a hypothetical guess, will probably be S.H.I.E.L.D. related? Excited? You know it baby. So much that this ScarJo pic will be used to match the badassness of this news.
Grizzly Bomb 