Movies

Life is full of crazy coincidences. But in Life, nothing is coincidental.

Gabriel Hardman is a writer and artist you might know from Invisible Republic, Kinski and Planet of the Apes, but you might not know that he's also an accomplished storyboard artist, having worked on Inception, Superman Returns and most recently, Logan. Over at his Twitter account, Hardman has been posting several of his Logan storyboards from pivotal scenes in the movie, and not only do they look gorgeous, but they also show how important a talented storyboard artist is in establishing a film's visuals.

Atomic Blonde is an easy sell: It’s Charlize Theron in a stylish spy thriller from one-half of the directing duo behind John Wick. But the first solo directorial effort from David Leitch is a little more James Bond than Blonde Wick — James Blonde, maybe, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s certainly more plot-driven (and at times, slightly convoluted) than John Wick, but no less enjoyable, and though the action scenes are every bit as awesome as you’d hope, it’s not quite the film you might be expecting.

So far, the new Power Rangers movie has unleashed nine (9) whole TV spots upon us that, all together, pretty much allow us to piece together the entire plot of the movie. Five kids somehow get glowing coins, stumble upon a spaceship that grows colorful suits on their bodies, and then Rita Repulsa shows up with her magic staff to wreak havoc on their small town of Angel Grove. These teens will have to acclimate to their new superpowers, learn how to drive their prehistoric creature-shaped Zords, and save the world, all while trying to survive high school!

March is Women’s History Month, and we're looking at the history of Wonder Woman. As we all know, her first theatrical film is due out later this year. But what if it wasn’t her first? What if there had been as many onscreen Wonder Women as Batmen? Last week's Cast Party offered suggestions for a Golden Age Wonder Woman movie; this week we move into comics' Silver Age, with another movie cast with stars from the period.

Warner Bros. supposedly has years of DC Comics movies mapped out, but the map keep changing before our eyes. Officially announced titles include this year’s Justice League and Wonder Woman, and next year’s Aquaman and a Shazam movie featuring Dwayne Johnson. But beyond the immediate future, things look more hazy. Will we get a solo film with Ben Affleck’s Batman? What’s the story with The Flash, which has gone through directors faster than its title character could run on his cosmic treadmill. And then there’s the case of Superman. He got a sort-of sequel to Man of Steel in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but the Man of Tomorrow was mostly a supporting character in his own movie there. Will Warner Bros. deliver an official Man of Steel 2?

If the first batch of trailers and clips have shown us anything, it’s that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is going to be Drax show. Dave Bautista famously cried when he was told that he would be playing Drax in Marvel’s new franchise; the direct-to-video market is littered with the work of former professional wrestlers who tried their hand at becoming action stars, and playing Drax meant that Bautista would escape the same outcome of some of his peers. As a result, Bautista poured his heart and soul into this character. It definitely shows.

While I don’t typically pay attention to the box office tracking numbers for upcoming releases, I’ll admit, I’ve checked in a few times on Ghost in the Shell. The blend of intriguing trailers and negative publicity surrounding the film make it a tough cookie to crack; those who would normally be excited by the prospect of a blockbuster action movie starring a woman have good reason to stay at home, while the fans who might normally boost its box office numbers may be disappointed that Paramount is tinkering with a classic. As of right now, Ghost in the Shell is estimated to bring home about $105 million domestically, a very poor showing for a project of this size. I’m fascinated by the whole thing.

With all eyes on the next entry in the DC Cinematic Universe, it’s hard to say what is under more pressure: Wonder Woman, the World War II-era superhero and savior of the modern world, or Wonder Woman, the first female-directed movie in the modern blockbuster era and a stab at social relevance for the beleaguered executives at Warner Bros. The first Wonder Woman trailer that debuted at Comic-Con hit all the right notes for an exciting and female-driven superhero movie; would additional trailers walk back that promise or deliver more of the same?

As ScreenCrush managing editor Matt Singer recently noted, March is now the beginning of the summer movie season. That means saying goodbye to all the middling horror movies, low-concept boutique pictures, and genre films we used to see in March and cutting straight to the $100 million dollar blockbusters that are looking for any competitive edge. Last year, the big release at the end of March was the gloomy Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; this year we’re going to get the gentler kid’s version of that movie in Power Rangers, a film about people in bulky suits and flying machines fighting CGI monsters. It’s kind of a nice parallel.