Turns out whatever shaky ground we may have thought HBO’s Westworld was under could prove false worries. The series looks to be near completion and with that arrives the very first, full trailer for the series.
Check out the trailer:
Tag Archives: Jimmi Simpson
Wherefore art thou ‘Knights of Badassdom’?
Sit back, close your eyes, relax… and let me tell you a tale that will frustrate and infuriate even the most chill amongst us.
It starts back in 2010 when a group of actors signed on for a movie about a group of LARPers (that would be Live Action Role Playing for those who aren’t in the know or who haven’t seen Role Models) who accidentally summon a real demon and the hijinks that ensue. This just isn’t your run of the mill group of actors though. No, this is a group of actors that get the neck hairs of a wide variety of geek standing on end. Peter Dinklage, Danny Pudi, Jimmi Simpson, Steve Zahn (a personal favorite of mine), Ryan Kwanten, Joshua Malina, and of course the geek girl herself, Summer Glau. I don’t know that it’s possible to look at that list of names and not want to immediately see what they have put together.
Well, fast forward to 2011 San Diego Comic-Con and a trailer is released. Our own esteemed Dr. Kronner did the honors and provided a nice write up about it, including interviews with the cast. You will most certainly want to check that out, but just for ease of use right now, let’s go ahead and put the trailer here as well.
Right? Even though I’ve never had the chance to don chain mail and wield a foam sword myself, I am a huge fan of LARP and movies about LARP. I’ve watched Faintheart more times than I can count, and Unicorn City is one of my “because you liked…” categories on Netflix. Hell, I’ve even watched All’s Faire in Love more times than anyone should ever admit to, so it isn’t really surprising that I really want to see this movie. Enter the problem.
It appears as if Knights of Badassdom has hit a bit of a snag and by that I mean, it’s having a lot of issues, and by that I mean, we might not ever get to see it. With a trailer being released in 2011, one would expect to see the movie in 2012, especially when the movie’s site has a banner that says…
In case you’ve been living under a rock, 2012 has come and gone and this movie has not been released. Actually for quite a while there was nothing even mentioned of this movie. In July of 2012, an unknown investor in the movie took to the internet claiming that the film’s production company, IndieVest, was doing nothing but stringing them along. Then radio silence again.
That was until March of this year. It seems as if the original cut of the movie, done by director Joe Lynch and completed days before the trailer was released at Comic-Con (remember this was back in the summer of 2011), was tossed aside by the Indievest and namely, it’s CEO Wade Bradley. It was actually Wade Bradley himself who responded to the ‘Rip-Off Report’ complaint by saying that “The film is now readying for its final mix and is on schedule to be released (by IndieVest Pictures) in the first half of 2013.”
I’m thinking that perhaps Mr. Bradley needs Santa to bring him a calendar this Christmas because there’s only roughly three weeks left in the first half of 2013 and there’s been neither hide nor hair seen of the recut Knights of Badassdom. But what of director Joe Lynch? What has he been saying in all this? Well when IndieVest was planning on screening their own edit, he took to twitter to make sure that everyone knew that it was not his version of the film by often using the hashtag #notmyedit.
He hasn’t said much else about it since then, instead choosing to tweet about Joss Whedon and S.H.I.E.L.D., conversations with friends, and his podcast, The Movie Crypt, with Adam Green.
When asked directly about Knights of Badassdom, the answer is a little sad.
I’m a person that hates to see good people get hurt (unless they’ve wronged me then I take glee in it – I’m a complicated individual) so it’s disheartening to see a director of a movie get shut out of his own project publicly like this. Granted this was probably mishandled by everyone involved but it’s hard not to paint IndieVest as the demon in this situation.
The real victim here though? Well that of course is the movie and the potential fans of said movie. I think we can all agree that this is the type of film that it doesn’t really matter if it wasn’t the best writing, or the best story, or the best anything. As a rule, if you don’t mess up the major things like Star Wars, Star Trek, or any other established universe, we geeks can be rather forgiving. There aren’t many shows or movies that have LARP as a main aspect so I think it’s safe to say that most of us would embrace it regardless. Sadly, no word yet on if we’ll ever get that chance.
Trailer Roundup: Prof. X, Sinestro, and the Governor Made a Movie, Plus Hangover 3…
This is Grizzly Bomb’s Trailer Round for April the 12th in the year of 2013…
[tabgroup][tab title=”The Hangover Part III”]
When you saw the first Hangover film, did you think it would make a great trilogy? Someone did. So here it is. The triumphant conclusion to the story that doesn’t appear to have an ending. You know it will be good when it returns back to where the first film has already been. Here we go again, again.
The Wolf Pack returns to Vegas on what appears to be a mission fulfilling the wishes of deceased father in law Sid Garner. Or, at least, that is what I believe the plot to be. The only thing confirmed from the trailer is that giraffe dismemberment is hilarious.
Director: Todd Phillips
Stars: Bradley Cooper, Melissa McCarthy, Zach Galifianakis, Jamie Chung, Justin Bartha, John Goodman, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, and Ed Helms.
Release Date: May 24, 2013
[/tab][tab title=”Welcome To The Punch”]
Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong) is an ex-criminal. But like father, like son. Go figure? His son ends up in the hospital after a heist gone wrong, and Sternwood has to get him out. So this should be the perfect opportunity for Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy) to put Sternwood behind bars for good. Wait, no. That would be too simple.They grab my interest when they attach the name Ridley Scott in the opening sequence. Does this mean it will be a great film? No. It just means they have my attention.
Director: Eran Creevy
Stars: James McAvoy, David Morrissey, Mark Strong, Andrea Riseborough, Jason Flemyng, Peter Mullan, Johnny Harris, and Elyes Gabel.
Release Date: March 15, 2013 UK
[/tab][tab title=”Somebody Up There Likes Me”]
This seems to be one of those dry indie comedies that I find difficult to relate to. Though it is considered a comedy, it has evident dark tones. That being the case, I wouldn’t expect our presented “protagonist” to advance or become any better by the films end. Therefore, with no relatable characters, I would fail to have my usual cathartic experience. This is often the case with dark comedies.
Why should you see it? Well, heck. It’s got Ron Swanson in it, now doesn’t it? Not really, but Nick Offerman is in his typical form which I am sure is quite entertaining. The more screen time he gets, the better this movie will be.
Director: Bob Byington
Stars: Nick Offerman, Keith Poulson, Jess Weixler, Stephanie Hunt, Marshall Bell, Kate Lyn Sheil, and Kevin Corrigan.
Release Date: March 8, 2013
[/tab][tab title=”Stuck In Love”]
This seems like an endearing little piece with a large cast that I very much enjoy. The trailer shows what appears to be a great representation of modern love in a divorced society. Selfishness motivates most of our decisions, and because of it, we let things go that we shouldn’t, and we give up on things that deserve our attention.Sometimes, it’s tragic how dependable we can be on other human beings. Love is the overpowering emotion that convinces us many times that the unreasonable is reasonable. I know this description seems complex, but it is all invoked from this trailer. So it seems like a pretty interesting movie.
Director: Josh Boone
Stars: Logan Lerman, Lily Collins, Jennifer Connelly, Kristen Bell, Stephen King, Greg Kinnear, Liana Liberato, Nat Wolff, Spencer Breslin, and Patrick Schwarzenegger.
Release Date: June 14, 2013
[/tab][tab title=”White House Down”]
I feel like this movie will succeed. Hear me out. Everyone was a bit disappointed with the flat, explosion friendly Die Hard 5. They felt a little bit better when Olympus Has Fallen came out. They felt that their Die Hard void had been filled. So people will enter into the summer movie madness remembering that they enjoyed a film where the White House was under attack from foreign invaders.
So enter White House Down. It is very Red Dawn ish. Which, I love. It cannot be determined if the invaders are foreign or domestic, but judging upon the Lincoln quote, probably domestic. It’s like Red Dawn meets Die Hard 4.
Director: Roland Emmerich
Stars: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Jason Clarke, Joey King, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Rachelle Lefevre, and Jimmi Simpson.
Release Date: June 28, 2013
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Breakout Kings – Renewed For Second Season by A&E
Good news for any fans of A&E’s Breakout Kings. According to Deadline, the cop/criminal drama will be back for another batch of episodes! It took me an episode or two to really get into the show, and I will admit it’s not MUST WATCH TV, but if you have nothing going on the night it airs, and are in the mood for a unique crime-drama then by all means you should tune in. Check out the news from Deadline:
A&E is bringing back its drama series Breakout Kings for a second season that could begin in the first quarter of 2012. The series, from Fox 21, stars Laz Alonso and Domenick Lombardozzi as U.S. Marshals who use former fugitives to catch fugitives. Production is slated to get underway later this year.
It’s a simple enough plot idea, and the criminals that the marshals and inmates chase after and apprehend are definitely unique. Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell from episode three stands out as deeply disturbed sociopath son-of-a-bitch, and I actually enjoyed watching to see what he would do next. It was even better when he got caught and Lloyd has a sit down with him and calls him out as not being a criminal genius or rosetta stone for the criminal mind, but just a defective human being. Lloyd is the group’s psychiatrist and is played wonderfully by actor Jimmi Simpson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia).
Then again there’s Serinda Swan on the show as well, but she’s not the main reason I watch the show….even though she’s a big reason. Look below to get a look at the cast of characters on Breakout Kings and then hopefully check it out if it is ever on Hulu or Netflix. At only thirteen episodes it’s well worth watching if you have some down time. It’s like Law and Order but with the Hollywood feel to it and some great humor thrown in between the cast mates.
Charlie Duchamp
A former U.S. Marine with a heart condition that landed him a desk job with the U.S. Marshals, the Breakout Kings task force under his command is his chance to get out from behind that desk. Charlie is definitely not my favorite character on the show; he treats the convicts working for him like they’re just tools and has that Marine no-nonsense attitude about him. Regardless of that Charlie is an honorable good guy who tries to do his job as best he can despite his heart condition.
Ray Zancanelli
Ray is on thin ice with his superiors at the moment for taking some money he shouldn’t have to pay for his daughter’s car. He currently lives in a halfway house and his only shot of getting out and back to a halfway decent life is by the success of the Breakout Kings Task Force him and Charlie lead. Ray is definitely the foul-mouthed tough guy of the group, but he also adds some comic relief to the mix, which is good because the other authority figure Charlie doesn’t show us much humor.
Julianne Simms
Julianne is like the team’s ‘Oracle’ (from Batman). She’s tech savvy in every way and is the best at what she does. There’s only one problem…. She suffers from panic attacks, depression and has severe social anxiety. But I guess that makes her the perfect computer guru. She sees working for the Breakout Kings as a better alternative to working from her basement as a telemarketer. At least this way she can get back to some semblance of what she was— the top in her class at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Facility.
Shea Daniels
Shea is probably the most street smart out of the convicts recruited by Ray and Charlie. He created a gang at 17 that spread to 40 cities in 32 different states, making Shea quite the little street kingpin. Even though he helps the group, Shea never stops plotting to make his escape into the world. It makes you wonder if once he has the opportunity if he’ll take it.
Lloyd Lowery
Lloyd is pretty much a genius who royally screwed up his life with online slots gambling and selling prescription drugs to the wrong people. He graduated from high school at 12, college at 16 and was done with med school by 20. Very impressive. Lloyd is easily my favorite character and the main comic relief on the show. His main role is as the team’s psychiatrist who gets into the criminals’ heads to contemplate their next move.
Erica Reed
Erica is the convict of the group who is extremely easy on the eyes, played by the lovely Serinda Swan. Erica was landed in prison due to an arms technicality, but has five tally marks on her arm supposedly representing five of the six people responsible for her father’s death. Erica has an affinity for tracking down criminals, thanks to the lifetime of training her now deceased bounty hunter father passed down to her. She is hot but deadly!
Grizzly Bomb 