When Richard Donner and Warner Bros. released "Superman" in 1978, interconnected cinematic comic book universes were but a twinkle in a geek's eye. Donner and his screenwriters were keen on Superman and Superman alone, placing the character in a world where no other superheroes exist. This made for a certain amount of narrative clarity, as mainstream film audiences weren't yet trained to accept kid-friendly crossovers and team-ups. In the past, on the hit TV series "Batman," the title character did have a notable team-up episode wherein Bruce Wayne (Adam West) was revealed to be old school chums with Britt Reid (Van Williams), a.k.a. the Green Hornet. In film, team-ups and crossovers were, at that time, reserved for Godzilla and for Universal monsters. Oh, and also for when Zatoichi met Yojimbo.
That same ethos was at play 11 years later when Tim Burton made his high-profile "Batman" feature film, a darker...
That same ethos was at play 11 years later when Tim Burton made his high-profile "Batman" feature film, a darker...
- 12/14/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
If your summer holiday entertainment menu is in need of a colourful kick up the arse, Bullet Train comes barrelling into cinemas this week. The Japan-based comical caper – weaned on a diet of liquidised Guy Ritchie mockney monologues and lesser Statham Transporter fights – might be as woefully Westernised as its influences sound but there are worse ways to kill two hours.
Returning to his deadly day job after a period of self-reflection, Ladybug (Brad Pitt) is feeling ambivalent about the whole gun-for-hire biz. To the extent that he’s reluctant to pack a piece at all. But his honey-voiced handler Maria (Sandra Bullock) persuades him to step into the shoes of a colleague from the assassin community who is off sick with a dicky tummy. Board an iconic train, grab a case, deliver the case, and pocket the fee. How hard can the assignment be?
Double hard bastard hard, as it transpires.
Returning to his deadly day job after a period of self-reflection, Ladybug (Brad Pitt) is feeling ambivalent about the whole gun-for-hire biz. To the extent that he’s reluctant to pack a piece at all. But his honey-voiced handler Maria (Sandra Bullock) persuades him to step into the shoes of a colleague from the assassin community who is off sick with a dicky tummy. Board an iconic train, grab a case, deliver the case, and pocket the fee. How hard can the assignment be?
Double hard bastard hard, as it transpires.
- 8/3/2022
- by Emily Breen
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
For a film filled with piles of dead bodies, generational family trauma, and a general bad-luck vibe, David Leitch’s Bullet Train lacks any sense of authenticity. Leitch and screenwriter Zak Olkewicz adapt a Japanese novel into a supposed thrill-ride, high-speed chase through train cars brimming with famous actors waiting to make short and ineffectual cameos. Starring Brad Pitt as Ladybug, a too-tired, zen-focused assassin, the action flick beats its audience over the head with constant gags, humor that will likely appeal to those under the age of 18, and slapstick jokes with no meaning behind them.
Pitt revels in his role as a sad sap of a hitman, a character focused on talking rather than fighting, eventually killing all of his adversaries by accident. His pure stardom carries the film during portions of inactivity, and Leitch’s action sequences remain some of the genre’s best, using the confinement of...
Pitt revels in his role as a sad sap of a hitman, a character focused on talking rather than fighting, eventually killing all of his adversaries by accident. His pure stardom carries the film during portions of inactivity, and Leitch’s action sequences remain some of the genre’s best, using the confinement of...
- 8/2/2022
- by Michael Frank
- The Film Stage
Click here to read the full article.
The early work of a string of directors comes to mind while watching Bullet Train, among them Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Guy Ritchie, Joe Carnahan and Timur Bekmambetov. The difference is that those filmmakers have mostly moved on from this kind of assaultive bloodbath, which pummels you into numbness with its onslaught of glib dark comedy, escalating carnage and over-the-top gore. David Leitch’s directing credits — Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw — have remained firmly tethered to his stunt background, occasionally with entertaining results. But his latest is so busy delivering violent action with a self-satisfied wink that its contorted plotting and one-note characters get real tedious real fast.
Leitch has served on multiple occasions as Brad Pitt’s stunt double, so there’s a certain symmetry in him shepherding a movie that relies so extensively on the star’s insouciant charisma. But...
The early work of a string of directors comes to mind while watching Bullet Train, among them Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Guy Ritchie, Joe Carnahan and Timur Bekmambetov. The difference is that those filmmakers have mostly moved on from this kind of assaultive bloodbath, which pummels you into numbness with its onslaught of glib dark comedy, escalating carnage and over-the-top gore. David Leitch’s directing credits — Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw — have remained firmly tethered to his stunt background, occasionally with entertaining results. But his latest is so busy delivering violent action with a self-satisfied wink that its contorted plotting and one-note characters get real tedious real fast.
Leitch has served on multiple occasions as Brad Pitt’s stunt double, so there’s a certain symmetry in him shepherding a movie that relies so extensively on the star’s insouciant charisma. But...
- 8/2/2022
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
[Editor’s note: The following story contains spoilers for “Thor: Love and Thunder.”]
Superhero films have a long, fraught history with the depiction of disability. Often, these films’ disabled characters are portrayed as villains, like Dr. Poison in “Wonder Woman” or Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah Price in “Unbreakable.” Most, like DC’s Doctor Mid-Nite, haven’t yet been considered worthy of bringing into the cinematic world. And when these characters do appear in sprawling movie and TV franchises, they are often played by non-disabled actors (such is the case with “Daredevil” or Professor X in “X-Men.”)
There’s no dearth of these kinds of heroes and villains in comic books: Disabled superheroes have been around since the 1940s, with Doctor Mid-Nite — who can see in the dark but is blind at night — widely considered the first disabled superhero. Others include Oracle, otherwise known as Barbara Gordon, who became the hero after being paralyzed; the inventive Komodo, a double...
Superhero films have a long, fraught history with the depiction of disability. Often, these films’ disabled characters are portrayed as villains, like Dr. Poison in “Wonder Woman” or Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah Price in “Unbreakable.” Most, like DC’s Doctor Mid-Nite, haven’t yet been considered worthy of bringing into the cinematic world. And when these characters do appear in sprawling movie and TV franchises, they are often played by non-disabled actors (such is the case with “Daredevil” or Professor X in “X-Men.”)
There’s no dearth of these kinds of heroes and villains in comic books: Disabled superheroes have been around since the 1940s, with Doctor Mid-Nite — who can see in the dark but is blind at night — widely considered the first disabled superhero. Others include Oracle, otherwise known as Barbara Gordon, who became the hero after being paralyzed; the inventive Komodo, a double...
- 7/8/2022
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
The superhero genre couldn’t be more popular. Marvel and DC films dominate the box office, and the latter has become a juggernaut of intertwined franchises to surpass the dominance of things like “Star Wars.” With that in mind, other studios that don’t have that sort of deep bench of comic book heroes have been adapting obscure or long-forgotten heroes in an attempt to strike gold. Universal Pictures, known for their “Jurassic World” and “Fast & Furious” franchises, is now attempting to bring the iconic radio/serial era superhero “The Green Hornet” back to the big screen with a new film.
Continue reading ‘The Green Hornet & Kato’: Leigh Whannell In Talks To Direct New Movie At Universal at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Green Hornet & Kato’: Leigh Whannell In Talks To Direct New Movie At Universal at The Playlist.
- 6/24/2022
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
Terror Films has acquired the worldwide digital rights to Marcus McCollum’s feature film debut, “Noise In The Middle”. Check out the trailer:
After the sudden death of his wife Sara, Richard, a grieving and emotionally ill-equipped father, is left on his own to care for his severely, non-verbal autistic daughter Emmie. Before her death Sara had arranged for Emmy to partake in an experimental therapy and rented a house near the facility where the treatments would take place. Little does Richard know the house has a haunted history. While Richard struggles with his wife’s death he soon realizes he has no patience, skills, or even any empathy to deal with Emmie’s condition and begins to find solace in drinking and drugs. As the spirits in the house grow restless, so does the noise in Emmie’s head, awakening her psychic abilities along with Richard’s personal demons.
After the sudden death of his wife Sara, Richard, a grieving and emotionally ill-equipped father, is left on his own to care for his severely, non-verbal autistic daughter Emmie. Before her death Sara had arranged for Emmy to partake in an experimental therapy and rented a house near the facility where the treatments would take place. Little does Richard know the house has a haunted history. While Richard struggles with his wife’s death he soon realizes he has no patience, skills, or even any empathy to deal with Emmie’s condition and begins to find solace in drinking and drugs. As the spirits in the house grow restless, so does the noise in Emmie’s head, awakening her psychic abilities along with Richard’s personal demons.
- 10/2/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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