Monday, October 10, 2016

Week in Movie News Review 10-3-16 to 10-9-16

        Hello ladies and gentlemen. I'm here to give you a review of this week in movie news bringing the biggest stories of the week with some of my thoughts and opinions. So without further ado...


(NOTE: all of these stories come from comingsoon.net)


        Although it’s been rumored since the first inklings of the project leaked to the press, director/star Ben Affleck has confirmed to the AP that his Batman solo movie will be titled The Batman. This title harkens back to the very first appearance of the character in “Detective Comics” #27, before criminals dropped the “The” when referring to the Caped Crusader. The title also follows a current trend of identifying a sequel simply with a character name (likely to help sell it to foreign territories), i.e. The Wolverine, Rambo, Riddick, Jack Ryan, etc. The character was referred to as “The Batman” many times throughout Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, most famously by Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow in Batman Begins. “The movie I think is gonna be called ‘The Batman,'” said Affleck. “At least that’s what we’re going with now. I might change it. I think that’s about it, that’s all I got. We’re working on the script, the script is going well, I’m really excited about it. I assure you when anything develops you’ll hear about it.” Affleck, Jeremy Irons (Alfred) and J.K. Simmons (Commissioner Gordon) have just completed work on Zach Snyder’s Justice League, and all three are pretty much a lock to appear together in The Batman, with Joe Manganiello portraying primary villain Slade Wilson/Deathstroke. Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Films have the solo movie tentatively set for a 2019 release, with Affleck both starring and sitting in the director’s chair. DC Entertainment President and CCO Geoff Johns will serve as co-writer (with Affleck) and producer.

        This isn't shocking news to hear, but I'm really glad to hear it. The title is simple and that's all it needs to be. It's the first film for Batman in this new film universe and it just needs to be something that the fans can get behind. everything about this film. If you remember back in 1989, Tim Burton's film was just called Batman so this nothing new for the caped crusader. I'm hoping this film comes out in the 2018 release date DC has set because I want this film to come out as soon as possible and to get to see Ben Affleck as Batman in a film by himself. 



        CBS Films has brought online the first trailer for Peter Berg’s Patriots Day, starring Mark Wahlberg. In the aftermath of an unspeakable act of terror, Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) joins courageous survivors, first responders and investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the bombers before they strike again. Weaving together the stories of Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon), Police Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman), Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese (J.K. Simmons) and nurse Carol Saunders (Michelle Monaghan) this visceral and unflinching chronicle captures the suspense of the most sophisticated manhunt in law enforcement history and the strength of the people of Boston. The film co-stars Melissa Benoist, Michael Beach, Jimmy O. Yang, Vincent Curatola, Alex Wolff, James Colby, Themo Melikidze, Rachel Brosnahan and Christopher O’Shea. Directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon), Patriots Day was written by Berg and Matt Cook (Triple 9), Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (The Fighter). Scott Stuber, Wahlberg, Hutch Parker, Dylan Clark, Stephen Levinson, Dorothy Aufiero and Michael Radutzky are producing. Patriots Day was co-financed by CBS Films and Lionsgate, with the former handling production and marketing and the latter handling distribution. Patriots Day will open in New York, Los Angeles and Boston on December 21, 2016 and will then expand nationwide on January 13, 2017.


        This is a fabulous trailer. It really keeps you on the edge of your seat as you watch and relive that fateful day back in 2013. The entire time you are just anticipating the shot of when the bombs go off because you want to see how the filmmakers portray it. The cast for the film is stacked from top to bottom and this film might just be a big time Oscar contender this spring. Recently Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg worked together on Deepwater Horizon and that film turned out great and I hope that this one does too. 



        Microsoft and The Coalition‘s Gears of War video game franchise is coming to theaters. The Gears of War movie, which was announced during a live stream for the upcoming Gears of War 4 (via Variety), is being developed by Universal Pictures. Scott Stuber (Ted, The Kingdom) and Dylan Clark (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) are producing. “As a way to support the franchise the next logical step was to make the movie,” Rod Fergusson, studio head of game developer at The Coalition said. “We’d done comics and novels in the past but the opportunity to work with Universal to bring the movie to life was perfect.” It was not revealed if the Gears of War movie will be a straight adaptation of the games. “I think you have to let the movies be the movies,” Fergusson added. “They’re two different mediums, and two different audiences in some cases, and I think some video game movies in the past have failed because they tried to make a movie for gamers. If you have this great IP with a deep backstory and lots of lore that you can make interesting stories out of it’s great, but if you just go after the gaming audience then it isn’t going to be a successful movie. That’s one of the great things about working with Universal. We’re finding that line where we can say it has enough lore and canon that it feels genuine to the game while at the same time going beyond that and asking ‘OK what makes a great movie?’”

        This is really exciting news to hear. I've played all of the Gears of war games and I have to say that the games themselves have a cinematic feel to them and I think this could be a great transition to the big screen from the XBox One. It has a chance to be a really visually stunning war film that could introduce an entire new audience to the franchise and make them want to buy the games. There are a lot of ways the studio can go with the film due to the games deep lore and I hope that they use the characters of Marcus Phoenix and Dominic Santiago just for general audience who play the games. 



        2049 is just one year away! Warner Bros. Pictures and Alcon Entertainment today announced the Blade Runner sequel title – Blade Runner 2049. Blade Runner 2049 is being directed by Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Sicario, Prisoners). Opening October 6, 2017, the movie will be distributed by Warner Bros. in North America and Sony Pictures Releasing International in all media for all overseas territories. The sequel is set several decades after the 1982 original, and stars Ryan Gosling together with Harrison Ford, reprising his iconic role as Rick Deckard. The film is written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, and succeeds the initial story by Fancher and David Peoples based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Story details are not being revealed. Blade Runner 2049 also stars Robin Wright, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Carla Juri, Mackenzie Davis, Barkhad Abdi, David Dastmalchian, Hiam Abbass, Lennie James, Dave Bautista and Jared Leto.

        I love this title. Just like The Batman, this title is simple and it gets the meassge across. It has been 34 years and by the time the film is released, 35 years since Blade Runner first hit the big screen back in 1982 and with that film being set in 2019 and this one being set in 2049 it makes sense for the title to be this way. I kinda wish that it was Blade Runner: 2054 just to go along the lines of the whole 35 years old thing. it's going to give us a more grizzled ans seasoned look at Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard and it will finally answer whether or not he is a replicant because replicants don't age. The cast for this film is phenomenal and packed with Oscar caliber actors and I'm excited to see what type of visual spectacle Denis Villeneuve is going to bring us. 



        Ahead of its debut at the New York Comic Con, Lionsgate has brought online the teaser trailer for Saban’s Power Rangers! You can watch the Power Rangers teaser trailer below. Saban’s Power Rangers follows five ordinary high school kids who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove – and the world – is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover that they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so they will have to overcome their real-life issues and band together as the Power Rangers before it is too late. The Power Rangers cast includes Dacre Montgomery (A Few Less Men) as Jason the Red Ranger, RJ Cyler (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) as Billy the Blue Ranger, Naomi Scott (The 33) as Kimberly the Pink Ranger, Becky G (Empire) as Trini the Yellow Ranger, Ludi Lin (Monster Hunt) as Zack the Black Ranger, and Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect, The Hunger Games franchise) as Rita Repulsa. In addition Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad,” Godzilla) has been announced to play Zordon with Bill Hader (“Saturday Night Live) voicing Alpha 5. Directed by Dean Israelite (Project Almanac), Power Rangers is written by John Gatins (Kong: Skull Island, Real Steel), Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama (Dracula Untold), Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller (X-Men: First Class, Thor), and Max Landis (Chronicle). Producers are Power Rangers creator Haim Saban, Brian Casentini, Wyck Godfrey, and Marty Bowen (The Twilight Saga, The Fault in Our Stars, The Maze Runner franchise).


        I haven't been this excited about a trailer since the first Star Wars Episode VII trailer. As a kid I grew up watching the Power Rangers and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Heck there were several times where I went as a Power Ranger for Halloween. he trailer was just so great because it brought back some nostalgic moments for me that I remember watching as a kid. The film has a mix between The Breakfast Club and Chronicle which are two films I love and I think that's the way this film needed to go. It looks gorgeous from a visual perspective and I loved the fact that this was a true tease and that we didn't get everything all at once. To be honest the film could suck, but I am holding out hope that this film  does well and becomes the start to a new franchise.



        Straight from the Lionsgate panel at New York Comic Con comes the official John Wick: Chapter 2 trailer! You can check it out below. John Wick: Chapter 2 features Keanu Reeves reprising the title character and director Chad Stahelski returning to helm. Common joined the franchise as the sequel’s chief antagonist, and the film also stars Riccardo Scamarcio, Laurence Fishburne, Ruby Rose, Bridget Moynahan, Lance Reddick, Franco Nero, John Leguizamo, and Ian McShane. John Wick screenwriter Derek Kolstad returned for the sequel, which will be released through Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment and is produced by Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk. Iwanyk also produced the first film. Produced on a modest $20 million budget, the first John Wick earned more than $86 million at the worldwide box office and also became a hit in the home video market. John Wick: Chapter 2 opens in theaters on February 10, 2017.


        This trailer is just flat out awesome. The first trailer for the first John Wick film was just perfect and it gave you a little taste as to what you could expect from the film and this one does same. I'm glad that the bad guys didn't kill his dog this time (or as far as we know that didn't) and I like seeing the return of cast members from the first film. A lot more is going on in this trailer and the action looks more intense than I could've imagined. Hopefully this film just stays simple and becomes a really great action film. 


        So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of these stories and which ones stood out to you? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                           Jonah Sparks

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