It’s been a couple of months since we checked in on Wonder Woman, and with her recent debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it seemed like the perfect time to see how things were going with her 2017 solo feature.
Back in January we were treated to some snippets, but we haven’t seen much since then. That is until Warner Bros. (through Entertainment Weekly) released a new promotional shot of the Amazons…
Hey, Wonder Woman fans, remember last year? 2015 was scarce in news of the Amazing Amazon’s first feature-length movie. We covered here at Grizzly Bomb the available info at the time: Chris Pine of Star Trek fame is Wondy’s love interest Steve Trevor; actors Sean Bean and Eva Green were rumored as possible villains; and Lord of the Rings‘ Cate Blanchett was auditioning for…something.
Flash forward a couple of months, and into early 2016. Talk about a night and day difference. The amount of teaser information is almost as overwhelming as the Amazon herself.
First Gal Gadot, who plays the warrior princess of Paradise Island / Themyscira, shared one of the first images from the movie.
Diving back into the franchise started by the incredible author Tom Clancy, who sadly passed away last week, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit hopes to restart his franchise on the big screen. Directing is Kenneth Branagh (Henry V, Thor) whom also stars as the main antagonist opposite Chris Pine (Star Trek), who takes the titular role in this one, stepping into shoes previously filled by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and even Batman himself, Ben Affleck.
Joining him is Kevin Costner, who interestingly has signed a two-picture deal to reprise the same role in another Tom Clancy Series that Paramount is trying to kickstart, Without Remorse. Other notable faces are Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean) and David Paymer (Mr. Saturday Night).
Initially written by newcomer Adam Cozad, David Koepp (Spiderman) was called in to do rewrites, and the film is only based on Clancy’s characters, not a specific book.
The plot for this one centers around a CIA analyst, Jack Ryan, who discovers a Russian plot to destroy the US economy. It sounds somewhat generic, but nobodies pegging this to be a complex character study, instead just deliver on its promise as an action spy flick that entertains. By the looks of the well-cut trailer, it seems to succeed:
Going in I had zero expectations for this because it seemed like another throw away action movie, kind of what the Die Hard series has become, but damn is this trailer put together nicely. Between the music, and the practical action scenes, this looks to be one hell of a good time at the theater.
As I said, this one isn’t going for Oscar’s, but likely be more in the vein of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol , it looks to simply be a fun movie with some cool action set-pieces. Also, the playback between Pine and Costner is a nice touch, and Branagh as the stoic russian villain could surely add to the entertainment.
The first official poster was also released:
The film is due out Christmas Day against a packed line-up of new releases including Keanu Reeve’s 47 Ronin, Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the expansion to wide release of the new David O’ Russle film, American Hustle, and the De Niro vs. Stallone boxing movie, Grudge Match.
I think the most interesting thing about all the clips and previews we’ve seen from the new Star Trek movie is definitely Benedict Cumberbatch. Not just in a “Oh who is he?” sort of way, (although GODDAMMIT WHO IS HE?!), but more in that he’s probably the best actor of the bunch, with the possible exception of Karl Urban. I say Karl Urban, because I defy you to watch Dredd and think that dude pulled off the most menacing and accurate portrayal of Judge Dredd, all only using the lower half of his face. That’s irrelevant though, because the real meat and bones here is the fancy new clip we have of Benedict acting circles around Chris Pine. Probably because of his soothing, baritone voice and limey accent. Those brits always have inherently more authoritative voices don’t they? Here, judge for yourself:
There’s been talk about the “villain in a glass cage” trope that’s being used here, but I don’t really find that all that interesting or revelatory. Tropes exist and will continue to do so. The creation of a new one isn’t anything to be particularly surprised about, unless for some terrible reason anal-eel interrogations become a new movie trope, and every movie has a scene with a good guy getting violated anally by writhing eels while the villain taunts and cackles from the darkness. Is that how Zero Dark Thirty started? I know there was an interrogation scene somewhere… Oh god I hope my horrific prediction hasn’t come true! HOLLYWOOD, NO ANAL EEL INTERROGATION SCENES PLEASE!
Well to get that awful image out of your head, here’s a few new posters featuring Chekov and Scotty via Moviefone. Frankly I find that Chekov adorable. Much more adorable that Walter Koenig ever was. Granted Koenig was amazing in his role, but have you seen him lately? So not adorable anymore.
Oh and lastly, a friend of mine was browsing through a bookstore and found a new Star Trek novel, where the cover art is strangely drawn so that Kirk looks halfway between Shatner and Pine and the more I look at it the more convinced I am it’s ripping my sanity in half.
Shocker of shockers, it’s still a month away from the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, but those bastards out there responsible for hyping the film still find it necessary to ceaselessly tantalize any and every Trekkie out there by releasing little clips or new stills. In particular a new trailer has been released, and this time it gives us a bit more of a confirmation of the growing themes for these Star Trek movies. It’s almost definitely revenge and the pursuit of it destroying you. This trailer paints a clear picture of Kirk becoming his own personal Ahab, with Cumberbatch painted as his white whale. I’m looking forward to the movie obviously, but I’m more looking forward to seeing how the film will stand up as the ever so important “middle” entry in the series, if it is indeed a thematic trilogy we’re getting with these new Star Trek films. Sure there could and probably will be more, but in the same way Wrath Of Khan, Search For Spock and Voyage Home were all linked around the character for Spock, this first three can be around the idea of revenge. I’m just looking to see how it’s all going to play out in the grand spectrum of things, because this trailer certainly makes the film look to be very, very revenge-centric. Overcome personal demons and all that. It’s literally titled INTO DARKNESS, so I suppose that’s the first clue anyway.
Also there was a new teaser that was shown on the MTV Movie Awards, which I would have never seen if not for Internet. I think the only reason I ever even put on MTV anymore is to watch that Catfish show. I have this fantasy about someone really beautiful pretending to be a total uggo, starting an online relationship with that person, and revealing that they’re actually totally gorgeous after all. Surprise! You got reverse-Catfished! I mean, that’d be a much more interesting show than one about a bunch of weird broken people pretending to be people they’re not right? How does this relate to Star Trek? It doesn’t. At all. And I’ll tell you why; It’s because there’s only so many ways you can possibly look at what generally adds up to the same series of clips, trailers, previews with a new little scene added in to make it technically new, and not just immediately groan in impatience and frustration. I’m not necessarily a child of instant gratification, but let’s just say I tend to like things as a sudden surprise than a long, excruciatingly dragged out wait. When it comes to film or TV, the journey is never the point, it’s always the destination. Unlike life, which is almost always the opposite.
Well regardless of my elaborate and terrible bitching, (because I’m a huge bitchy little emo man-baby), the clip does look goddamned neat, and the myriad pictures collected spell an interesting story. One I’m still not sure about, but why would I want to be? I’m one of those people who enjoys being surprised by a movie, and often films I’ve loved the most are the ones I knew nothing about beforehand at all. Take a look at them for yourself, and you be the judge of whether you find yourself wanting to know more about the scenes they’re from.
See like I said, that teaser was interesting, but mainly composed of things we’ve seen before, with little barely perceptible snippets of new stuff. I get it though, it’s a teaser. You’re supposed to watch it over and over to try to guess. I suppose I’m just so tired from being teased all the time. It’s a love/hate relationship with film and television. It teases you relentlessly, but you always come back for more. It’s probably the most abusive relationship there is. Aside from any of those on Catfish though. Man have you SEEN that show! Goddamn!
Oh yeah. Pictures. Woo!
Last but not least, there’s also some actually pretty well designed movie posters. They’re still basically floating heads, but at least they’re good floating heads.
And last but not least, I certainly won’t add in that picture of Alice Eve in her underwear like last time, because I am a man of class and taste. However, I can’t be held responsible for whatever my editor decides to add here at the last-minute. Ahem.
The MIB duo of Agent Jay and Agent Kay are back in action. When the world is threatened by an evil alien, Agent Jay travels back in time to 1969, where he teams up with the younger Agent Kay to stop an evil villain named Boris from destroying the world in the future.
It appears time for the Akira live action movie to be moving ahead, with SuperHero Hype’s report of the front-runners for the two main characters; Kaneda and Tetsuo. The villain of the story is Tetsuo, a young man with a big chip on his shoulder who begins to manifest immense psychic powers, and then use them with extreme prejudice. This guy was a total psycho in the animated movie and equally so in the graphic novels that movie was based on. He was a part of the same biker gang as his friend and rival of sorts, Kaneda. Kaneda is a bit of a jackass, but he’s a loveable jackass and the closest thing we get to a hero.
That being said let’s have a look at the contenders for the role of Tetsuo. It’s between Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield and James McAvoy. Right off the bat I need to discount McAvoy because he seems a little too old for the role. If they’re following the story of the graphic novel, the two characters are teenagers and McAvoy is about to hit 32 in a month.
Maybe they’re going a different direction with the characters’ ages, but if not I don’t see a 32-year-old guy playing a kid still in a “home for boys”. This leaves Pattinson and Garfield. I think either one of them could pull it off, but it would be more refreshing to see Garfield in the role than having the Twilight star Pattinson thrown in our faces once again. If you can’t tell I’m a little burned out on Twilight.
Picture courtesy of Gamma Squad
On the Kaneda side of things we have a few more options. Up for the role are Garret Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake, and Joaquin Phoenix. I’m going to immediately discount Phoenix because of his age, and the fact that his moronic shenanigans over the past two years made me care less and less about him ever being in another movie. Fassbender, like McAvoy, is too old though it would be interesting to see them both in the roles of hero and villain this time in reverse. In case you haven’t heard Fassbender and McAvoy are both in X-men: First Class this year, starring as Magneto and Charles Xavier respectively.
Justin Timberlake: No. That’s all I can say about that one.
The role of Kaneda for me boils down to either Garrett Hedlund or Chris Pine.
They both have experience playing the troublesome, act without thinking young gun type. Pine’s James T. Kirk persona from the excellent Star Trek reboot is almost exactly how Kaneda acts in the Akira animated movie and graphic novel; overconfident, quick thinking and totally unable to impress the girl with his bravado. Garrett Hedlund played the mischievous young motorcyclist in the recent Tron: Legacy, and the light cycle he tore it up on definitely had a likeness to the bike Kaneda rides in Akira.
What other credentials do ya need? I really enjoy both actors and would be happy with either one, but I tend to lean toward Chris Pine on this one. He has the sort of charisma and humor needed to play Kaneda. And he rode a motorcycle in Star Trek and that’s the most important thing… right?
In case you didn’t notice, none of the actors are Asian like their character’s namesakes, but I’m trying to look past that. I’ll be satisfied as long as they yell one and others name as they try to kill each other. (Watch the Akira animated movie for more on that.)
I hope this movie is done right, because being based off of the six graphic novels it’s going to need at least two or three movies to do the story justice. I’d recommend the Akira animated movie and graphic novels to anyone who is a fan of sci-fi or cyber punk stories. The graphic novels are definitely better than the movie, but it’s still quite a ride either way.
Grizzly Bomb 