Matthew Monagle
The First ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Trailer Is a Lurid Dystopian Dream
This past weekend, Paramount Pictures kicked off the publicity tour for its upcoming Ghost in the Shell adaptation with a global launch party in Tokyo. Cast and crew were on hand to talk about the film; exhibitions of the film’s art and costume designs were on display for those in attendance. For the rest of us, something even better was announce: the first theatrical trailer for Ghost in the Shell is here, and it is not exactly short on style.
There Are Whole Seconds of New Joker Footage in This ‘Suicide Squad’ TV Spot
Look, all things being equal, I really didn’t mind Jared Leto’s take on the Joker in Suicide Squad. Yes, the constant news items about what latest “crazy” thing he did to get in character were pretty annoying, and yes, the number of people who seem to think that Joker and Harley Quinn’s relationship is something to emulate is downright disturbing, but Leto seemed like a perfect fit for the gloomy and angst-ridden universe that Warner Bros. has created for its DC Comics characters. At another studio, he’d be woefully out of place. In this one? He’s fine.
Jeremy Renner Might Skip ‘Mission: Impossible 6’ for ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
While there are any number of things to love about this weekend’s theatrical release of Arrival — and we do offer a few of them in our review of the film — one thing that doesn’t always find its way into the buzz is the career rehabilitation of Jeremy Renner. Renner has spent so much time the past few years playing interchangeable action figures that we almost forgot his talent as an actor. It’s been a long time since he’s been this likable.
‘Deadpool 2’ Is Rumored to Begin Production in January
This hasn’t been a great month for Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool 2. Between the departure of director Tim Miller and the loss of composer Junkie XL, the sequel to the breakout superhero hit has been losing momentum at a time where it should be locking in the moving parts for the next iteration of the film. That still hasn’t stopped 20th Century Fox from pushing forward with the sequel, which apparently will begin shooting as early as January 2017, production problems be darned.
Michael Giacchino Will Score ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’
While most of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have managed to please audiences and critics alike, in recent months, the Marvel soundtrack has come under fire for its lack of imagination. Last month, for example, the popular video essay channel Every Frame a Painting devoted an entire video to this subject, beginning with a demonstration that your average moviegoer cannot even remember a specific theme from a Marvel movie. This is why fans were so happy when Michael Giacchino was added to Doctor Strange; at least this way there would be some musical skills to match all those trippy visuals.
Here’s What the New Megazord in ‘Power Rangers’ Will Look Like
Childhood gives you rose-tinted glasses about a lot of things, not least of which is the role toys played on your purchase decisions growing up. I can remember having a large collection of action figures from movies like Aliens and Batman and using them to recreate some of my favorite moments from the movie; if you had asked me then, I would have said that toys were only for playing, never imagining that the toy commercials on TV were probably what spiked my interest in the movies to begin with
A Whole Bunch of ‘Batman’ Is Coming to HBO in November
Between the epic run of Game of Thrones and the impressive first season of Westworld, odds are good that you’re currently rocking an annual subscription to HBO or HBOGo. Few networks are still in the business of appointment television, but with social media sites like Twitter exploding into a flurry of spoilers after each new episode of both shows, fans are finding that their only real options are to watch on time or to not watch at all. In fact, we can sometimes get so caught up in the flurry of long-form television that we forget that HBO has some pretty darn good movies, too.
James Gunn Shot Three Upcoming Stan Lee Cameos for Marvel
For decades, Marvel has benefited greatly from having Stan Lee as the unofficial ambassador of all things comic book-related. Over the past few years, though, director James Gunn has given Lee a run for his money with his (relative) candor about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the challenge of keeping the characters and mythology of the comic books all in a row. When Lee is finally ready to hang up his Marvel hat, Gunn might be the obvious chose to succeed him as the creative face of the company. And that makes the two of them working together on Lee’s MCU cameos just about the perfect match.
Marvel Will Release a ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Prequel Comic
While Tom Holland’s introduction as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War has to be considered a rousing success, perhaps our favorite part of the character was what we didn’t see: namely, yet-another origin story that puts him through the familiar paces of spiders, wrestling, and that old yarn about great power and great responsibility. Any self-professed Spider-Man fan knows Peter Parker’s history like the back of his hand; the fact that Captain America: Civil War was content to pick up the character’s life midstream bodes well for Marvel’s approach to the character in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
See the Stubborn Cloak of Levitation in a New ‘Doctor Strange’ Video
While domestic critics and international audiences have already been treated to their first screenings of Doctor Strange, many of us — myself included — are still waiting for our chance to see the movie in theaters. That means we’re still glued to our computer screens for every new photo, video, or audio clip that comes to mind. And that means we get excited over the silliest things. I mean, did you listen to that track from the Doctor Strange score? That theme song is amazing!