Matthew Monagle
‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ Brings the Jingle Bells in a Special Holiday Greeting
A few weeks ago, I attended a holiday party where Nick Offerman’s ‘Yule Log’ played in the background for the entire evening. As people milled about the living room, passing appetizers and making polite introductions, the wise face of Nick Offerman beamed forth from the television, taking occasional sips from a glass of whisky and listening to the crackling fire. And despite years spent listening to Mannheim Steamroller and Frank Sinatra around the holidays, it was the silence of Nick Offerman’s fake living room that now sounds the most like Christmas to me.
Tim Miller Speaks Out Against Those ‘Deadpool 2’ Production Rumors
One of the stranger stories to end the year was the sudden departure of director Tim Miller from Deadpool 2, the sequel to 2016’s biggest breakout hit. Given the original film’s agonizing production history, it seemed like shooting a sequel would be a walk in the woods; instead, Miller’s decision to walk away from the project caught everyone by surprise, and rumors have swirled about creative differences ever since. Thankfully, Miller himself recently spoke at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects (via iO9) and put some of these rumors to bed.
Sony Sets a ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming 2’ Release Date
File this one under ‘Least Surprising News Stories of the Day’: right on the heels of releasing the first trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Sony has announced the release date for Spider-Man: Homecoming 2, proving that no title is so awkward as to prevent Hollywood from slapping the number ‘2’ on it and calling it a day.
Zack Snyder Shares a Closer Look at the ‘Batman v Superman’ ‘Knightmare’ Costume
Here’s something that bothered me about that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice nightmare sequence: why does he continue to wear the mask? I get the body armor; I can even set aside the whole ‘Batman-doesn’t-kill’ thing and accept the machine gun he wears during the sequence. But why the mask? If we assume that the world has ended, there’s no real reason for him to keep his civilian identity a secret, and it’s not like audiences were going to be confused at who Ben Affleck was playing in the movie. Has Bruce Wayne just gotten used to getting up every morning and putting on eye blac
Warner Bros. Bumps Back Its ‘Aquaman’ Release Date
Listen. I know that the DC Cinematic Universe gets a lot of criticism for its dour visuals and themes, but let’s give credit where credit is due: Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is really shaping up like the sleeper hit of the whole endeavor. With a visual aesthetic stolen directly from an episode of Sons of Anarchy — and perhaps the most talented director of the Warner Bros. slate behind the camera — this is shaping up to be the best movie about people who talk to fish since Disney’s animated adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
This New ‘Logan’ Photo Hints at a Mysterious Medical Experiment
Future advertising executives of the world, take notice: the official Instagram account for 20th Century Fox’s upcoming Logan is how you build up to the release of a movie. For the past few months, Logan has released a series of black and white photos that tease fragments of the new mutant-free world inhabited by Wolverine and Charles Xavier. Rather than simply share images found in the final movie, the Instagram account has put together a collection of photos meant to keep their social media audience engaged leading up to the film’s release. The photos serve as a kind of art installation for dedicated fans of the X-Men franchise.
Gal Gadot Describes Her First ‘Wonder Woman’ Costume Experience
One of my favorite parts of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was Gal Gadot’s costume as Wonder Woman. Not only was it a much-needed splash of color in an otherwise monochrome film, it was also a nice departure from the overly bulky superhero costumes that have become the norm. Ben Affleck might be a great Batman, but there were times when he looked a little bit like Ralphie’s brother in A Christmas Story, too padded up to put his arms down, let alone fight his way through a warehouse of bad guys. Wonder Woman, on the other hand, looked every bit the agile warrior we were hoping for.
Rumor: Catwoman Will Not Appear in Ben Affleck’s ‘The Batman’
For as much as Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies varied wildly in tone and aesthetics, one thing both franchises got right was the character of Catwoman. Michelle Pfeiffer played Selina Kyle in Batman Returns as a demented femme fatale, the true star of Burton’s sequel, while Anne Hathaway’s high-tech criminal was the perfect updating of the character for Nolan’s urban Batnoir. One unhinged and unbroken, the other sleek and urbane, the perfect summary of two separate directorial styles.
‘John Wick’ Director David Leitch Officially Gon’ Give It to You in ‘Deadpool 2’
A few weeks ago, Deadpool director Tim Miller shocked the world — or a nerdier and more profane subsection of the world, anyways — by walking away from Deadpool 2. As reporters scrambled to make sense of why Miller would leave one of the breakout franchises of 2016, reports emerged that Miller and star Ryan Reynolds had very conflicting ideas for the upcoming sequel and that 20th Century Fox had thrown their support behind Reynolds’ vision for the franchise. Deadpool 2 was officially in the hands of Ryan Reynolds now, but the film still needed a director, and the hunt was on.
Go Behind the Scenes with Joker and Harley Quinn in This ‘Suicide Squad’ Featurette
Listen, impressionable young men and women of the world, because this is important: you should not watch Suicide Squad and think that the Joker and Harley Quinn represent any kind of reasonable #RelationshipGoal. This is an abusive and possessive relationship, start to finish, and while there may be a more consensual love story scattered among the footage on the cutting room floor, we won’t know until we see it. This is a pretty important disclaimer to throw out there before we talk about this footage