Tag: Austin Butler

Geekscape Reviews: ‘The Shannara Chronicles’

by Gabriel von Grünbaum

Holy cow—I couldn’t wait, so I’ve started writing this as I’m reviewing this first batch of The Shannara Chronicles episodes to say—you need to be watching this show. January 5th at 10pm (9pm Central) on MTV, you need to be watching The Shannara Chronicles. If you consider yourself at all a fan of fantasy, this is absolutely the show you’ve been waiting for. It has incredible production value that stands up in this post Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones world, extremely cinematic and marvelously impressive for television. Writing, directing and acting are all as equally impressive as the art direction and costume design. In fact, my biggest complaint at this point is that there’s a character whose name sounds like “Al-Anon”—I keep wondering how his meetings are going.

The first time I got to see footage of what they were creating for the show, I literally had to take it—not with a grain of salt—with a boulder of salt. It couldn’t actually look that good, I thought. If it looks that good, the story’s probably terrible, I thought. If the story’s good too, the casting is probably awful, I thought. There had to be a shoe that was going to drop some where. . . So far I’ve yet to see any dropping shoes anywhere.

It’s thousands and thousands of years in the future, like way after Skynet. There are post-apocalyptic dystopian visions like The Hunger Games—this is after that, way after that. The reset button on the world, having long since been pressed, this then is the re-emergence of civilization (with magic!) on Earth. Over the millennia, humans have evolved along different paths becoming elves, gnomes, trolls and so on—oddly, animals like horses and dogs are still just horses and dogs, and relatives like aunts and uncles are occasionally murdered by demons.

Like any fantasy, we pick up right when a great evil is about to be unleashed on the land. Of course, any hope for the future rides on the destinies of certain “chosen ones” that begin their Hero’s Journey by turning it down. Pretty boilerplate—these are the staple elements common to fantasy (and most other stories), so there really are no new concepts in play. Although, the idea that it’s taking place far into the future feels new and is fun to chew on. What really works very well through these first episodes is the fresh telling through interesting and well-constructed characters. Characters that began as interesting creations on the page and continued into some solid performances in cool costumes. And, lest we forget it’s MTV (even as the network is in the midst of redefining itself, again-again), everyone is adorable and/or gorgeous and/or rugged and worthy of being stared at a lot. It’s those characters that are making the show engaging and fun and absolutely worth carving out couch-time for—and the special effects, really good special effects for television. Then there’s the sexy romance angles, the action-packed adventure elements, gorgeously stunning settings and locations. . .

That is to say that I could give you details about the druid warrior with glowing scars, the bleeding tree that locks demons in its leaves or the fun that comes with recognizing some of the ruins of our world in the distant backgrounds and establishing shots—but experiencing all of that and so much more, first-hand, is the real magic and pleasure of watching the show. The plot points are nothing to write home about; it’s the journey getting to those points. I don’t think this is the show that’s going to hook you because you’ll be wondering who gets killed next week and what other shocking secrets will be revealed—I think this is the show that will hook you because in the back of your mind, you’ll kinda sorta believe in magic again for an hour each week. That and the cast is very stare-at-able, as I mentioned before—meaning you can look at them for a long time and your eyes won’t hate you for it.

Judging by these first several episodes, this may literally be the television fantasy adventure I’ve been waiting for since. . . ever. If Hercules and Xena were never really up to snuff for you—if Legend of the Seeker was almost everything you were looking for—The Shannara Chronicles may just be what you’ve been hoping for too.

Here’s some more video to tide you over until it starts:

Breaking Down the Potential 2017 ‘Power Rangers’ Cast

by Eric Francisco

Variety has reported that a slew of young Hollywood actors will begin testing for 2017’s Power Rangers, set to be directed by Project Almanac helmer Dean Israelite with a script by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz of X-Men: First Class and Thor. Based on the information, I can say that for the most part, they’ve chosen well!

From Variety:

Sources tell Variety the studio is about to begin testing young talent, looking at up-and-coming actors and actresses to make up the team. Sources say Daniel Zovatto (“It Follows”), Ross Butler (“Chasing Life”) and Brian “Sene” Marc are among those testing for Zack (aka the Black Ranger), while KJ Apa (“Shortland Street”), Austin Butler (“The Shannara Chronicles”) and Mitchell Hope (“The Descendants”) are testing for Jason (aka the Red Ranger).

Sources also say Naomi Scott (“The Martian”) and newcomer Stephanie Scott are up for the role of Kimberley (aka the Pink Ranger). Insiders say the studio is looking for fresh faces to fill out the team and will probably look for a big name to play the antagonist for the films, though no offers have been made for that part.

These are quite the batch of promising young stars, but let’s break them down by character and see how well each candidate would portray our beloved teenagers with attitude. As of now, we only know the potential candidates for Jason, Zack, and Kimberly.

Let’s take a look at Zack. For a refresher, here is the rumored character description.

17 years old, always the life of the party. Filled with bravado and swagger, Zack’s tough and cool on the exterior. A charming guy who’s never had trouble with the one-liner, nor lacked confidence around women. A great athlete that’s never wanted to play on any team but his own. Zack advertises everything about himself, except the truth, which is that he lives in a trailer park with his single mom, and because of it, feels deeply inferior to all his peers.

Proposed actors: Daniel Zovatto, Ross Butler, Brian Marc.

WOW. They’re really uncomfortable casting a black actor for Zack, and in some ways that’s a bummer. Power Rangers never intentionally casted by skin, but the producers they must feel as though they just can’t get away with letting Zack the Black Ranger be black. While people object to that, the Black Ranger has become an icon for black millennials, and to see that changed would turn ticket-buyers away from the movie. From what I gather, Brian Marc — who doesn’t have much of a body of work to judge him by — is of mixed race.

Ross Butler, however, is Asian. His acting credits are a bit longer than Brian Marc’s, mainly in some Disney stuff and TNT series. He’d be an interesting choice: Besides being Asian and bucking Asian stereotypes (again, read his rumored description), he has a cool air about himself — necessary for Zack –that I’d be excited to see.

Of course, Daniel Zovatto is the highest profile actor, having been on the horror hit It Follows and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. While I hope Zack stays an actor of color, Zovatto would be equally exciting as the Black Ranger.

My personal hope is that Ross Butler gets it. Just because it would be a really significant step for Asian men and POC superheroes. Zovatto wouldn’t be bad either but I don’t think he needs Power Rangers, and sadly Brian just doesn’t have enough for me to judge from.

Now, Kimberly.

17 years old, unconventionally cool all in a way the popular girls wish they were. In fact, she was one of those girls, but isn’t anymore. Not since she’s returned to school after an absence of 6 months. Rumors are flying as to why; rumors she seems not to care about, because she’s come back with this new rebel-without-a-cause, edgy attitude. But the truth is, it’s all masking a deep secret that makes her feel profoundly vulnerable.

Proposed actresses: Naomi Scott, Stephanie Scott.

Both actresses are exactly what they’re looking for: young, pretty, and up-and-coming. Both have respectable resumes (Naomi Scott was just in The Martian, although I honestly don’t remember her character). She was, however, a star in Terra Nova, which I did not see enough of to judge her from. It’s also worth mentioning she’s British-Indian, which is a rad departure from the brunette Valley Girl that Kimberly originally was.

Stefanie Scott, just 18 years-old and having starred in Insidious 3 and the upcoming Jem and the Holograms, IS your typical blonde-looking teen, and is a pop star as well. I always imagined a pop star actress would be Kimberly.

In the end, what matters for Kimberly is that she needs to be smarter and more clever than she appears to be. She has to be beautiful, yes, but she’s also not a dumb Barbie. She’s whip-smart and clever, and deceptively so. That’s what’s needed for Kimberly. Either Naomi or Stefanie would be good, but I think Naomi would be more interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlyEVDhDN0

Now, Jason.

17 years old, the makings of someone or something great if he would just get out of his own way. Jason was a legend of this town — a freshman quarterback with the skills to take him all the way. People knew his name. Children wore his jersey. Until, one night Jason wrapped his car around a pole and busted out his knee. Everything Jason was going to become ended in an instant. And with it, he lost himself. When we meet him at the start of the film, he’s a kid in need of redemption. By the end, he’ll be leading this disparate group of teens to shed their individual baggage and find who they truly are.

Proposed actors: KJ Apa, Austin Butler, Mitchell Hope.

I think I’ve mentioned how much I hate they’re departing Jason from his martial arts roots, but what kid could relate to karate when their dads want them playing football?

Disappointingly, all actors are white dudes, and none of them remotely resemble what Jason should be. I don’t get a square-jawed hero vibe from any of them, and even with his emo-laced description I just don’t see any of these guys fitting that role. Mitchell Hope is the closest one, but I’m still not sold.

Is Jon Foo too old? They can just CGI the shit out of him into looking like a teenager, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjIEL6fUOUA

Neither Trini nor Billy‘s proposed performers were mentioned by Variety (maybe I should audition!), but they’re bound to be filled soon.

Power Rangers is set for release on January 13, 2017.