Category Archives: action

Constantine: City Of Demons – Trailer

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I’ve never thought that Matt Ryan’s portrayal of John Constantine was a particularly good one, though I don’t blame him more than the casting. For a start, Constantine is the comics is physically lanky and more roguish than Ryan played him.

Ryan says all the right things, but never quite does so convincingly.

Then there’s his voice, which if you haven’t seen his former series or DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow, sounds rougher-edged and ‘lower class’–whether one wants to accept it or not, there are variations on a British accent, most of which stem from where in the United Kingdom you grew up as well as whether or not you were rich or poor–than perhaps it should be.

Though perhaps most importantly, Constantine should be extremely world-weary. He’s seen and knows things that would send the average person gibbering in terror, yet he carries the burden despite the costs to himself and potentially the people he cares for.

As I implied, I never felt the desperation (and the barely concealed desire for normalcy) from Matt Ryan’s characterization.

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Extinction – Review

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Netflix’s Extinction is one of the better alien invasion thrillers that’s come down the pike in quite awhile, mainly because the ‘invasion’ is actually the least important aspect of the story.

It’s more a commentary on what it means to be human, and what we’ll do to protect what we believe to be ours.

Michael Peña plays Peter, our proxy in this strange, new world (that looks a lot like our own).

He acquits himself well, which is important because if we don’t buy his performance the whole movie may not fall apart, but it would certainly be less stable.

Extinction continues a trend began in Tau–though on a significantly larger scale–about the effect of AI (artificial intelligence) on humanity.

Does DC Stand For ‘Damn Clueless!?’

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Actually that’s ‘Detective Comics’ but based on some of their current decisions you’d be perfectly justified if you were slightly confused.

For instance, DC Films is reportedly developing two movies based on the Joker. One’s based on Jared Leto’s interpretation of the iconic Batman villain from Suicide Squad and the other…not so much (though reportedly some sort of alternate universe take on the character).

So, let’s see if I understand…one movie’s based on a not particularly well-received version of the Joker and if that weren’t bad enough, the second movie will be ‘Joker’ in name only, and exist outside of DC Comics continuity (and rumored to be played by Joaquin Phoenix).

What’s wrong with such an approach should be fairly obvious, though let’s start with the creation of an alternative to a character that’s been already introduced to audiences.

And speaking of which, suppose audiences are more into Phoenix’s movie than Leto’s?

What happens then? I have no idea but I’d bet money they’ll be retconning Leto’s version.

Think I’m wrong? Maybe, but what about the DCEU (or whatever they end up calling it) makes you think they’d be loyal to an actor when they apparently don’t hold their directors in too high an esteem (as much as I can’t stand what Zach Snyder did to the DC Extended Universe he should have been ‘fired’ long before Justice League. Heck, he should have been fired after Batman V Superman as opposed to the trifling way he was actually treated)?

Robin Hood – Teaser Trailer

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Watching the teaser trailer for Otto Bathurst‘s upcoming Robin Hood I wonder if it’s alternate title was Arrow: The REALLY Early Years because thematically it plays just like an episode of that series in a medieval setting.

Though that’s picking nits.

A more significant problem potentially is that, despite being masked, how is it even possible–even in medieval times where I hear they didn’t have the Internet–does one become such a great archer sans a reputation as such?

Archery isn’t an innate skill.  You have to learn it, so why isn’t anyone aware of a guy who’s a master archer–especially one so young–is a bit odd.

The movie may explain this, but it feels like it might be a bit of a plot hole.

And I hope the movie expands upon another aspect of life in that period, namely medieval cities were supposedly filthy–if London was any indicator–which helped the spread of plagues like the Black Death (though according to Wikipedia it didn’t start there, pre-existing sanitary conditions certainly wouldn’t have helped matters).

Though I get the feeling that the archery won’t be the only thing that’s blatantly unrealistic.

Avengers: Infinity War – Review 

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The less said aboutthe particulars of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War the better but know it rewards fans over casual viewers.  That’s not to say that if you haven’t seen all 18 of the prior MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movies you won’t enjoy it, though if you haven’t seen any Infinity War isn’t a great place to start.

This is because Infinity War assumes you’re familiar with the adventures of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Doctor Strange, Black Panther and so on and if you’re not you’re likely going to be a mite confused going forward.  Avengers: Infinity War is an epic, sprawling story that somehow manages to not only make sense, but feel significantly shorter than it’s 2 hour and 29 minute running time would lead one to assume.

Some people accuse the Marvel movies or being formulaic–and there’s a point to that in the sense that they tend to follow a particular pattern–but Infinity War turns that formula on it’s head because the movie revolves entirely around the villain, Thanos, and his efforts to procure–by hook or by crook–the five Infinity Stones that will enable him to remake reality in any way he feels necessary.

The heroes are delegated to deal with Thanos’ mechanizations though they’re almost entirely on the offensive, mainly due to the Black Order (like Gamora and Nebula, ‘children’ of Thanos) who are dispatched to obtain the Infinity Stones.

The movie is at turns funny and tragic and has one of the most somber endings of any movie in recent memory, never mind a MCU one.

Avengers: Infinity War is likely unlike any major tentpole movie you’ve ever seen and you’ll likely have a great time doing so.

Though if you’ve seen it already, what do you think?  Let me know down below.

I Hate to Say I Told You So: Moon Knight Edition

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According to Comicbook.com fan-favorite (at least THIS fan) Nova is being considered for a role in the MCU by the president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige (despite James Gunn not being particularly fond of the character).

That’s probably fairly obvious, but did you know, attributable to the same source, that Moon Knight is also particularly high on Feige’s Wish List.

My point?  A few months ago there was a lot of hue and cry (read: rumors) about Moon Knight appearing in the Marvel/Netflix shows.

Here’s the problem with that little bit of wish fulfillment:  When characters appear on Marvel Television shows, they DON’T appear in Marvel Studios movies (at least up to this point).

This way, assuming Moon Knight appears in the MCU, he’ll be catapulted on the world stage not only in a fashion that cannot be estimated, he’ll certainly attract more attention than he would on a television show.

And if you ask me that’s a win-win for comics’ fans.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – Final Trailer 

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This is really weird.

Here’s the final trailer for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

And here’s the first trailer for the same movie:

Have you noticed that if it weren’t for the same cast and dinosaurs that they play like trailers for entirely different movies?

And that’s because the final trailer gives away plot points perhaps better never revealed outside the movie

And speaking of the final trailer, it plays like The Lost World: Jurassic Park, except on a larger scale and adding the element of militarized dinosaurs, while the first puts the destruction of Jurassic Park as it’s primary focus.

As I mentioned earlier, the new trailer unnecessarily gives away entirely new plot points unseen in any prior trailer.

I don’t know how people will respond to it, but it feels like a bit of a cock-up from where I sit.