Tag: James Spader

Saint Mort’s Nostalgia Nightmare: ‘Jack’s Back’ Blu-Ray Review

by Saintmort

When I heard that Scream Factory was releasing Jack’s Back on DVD/Blu-Ray I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. I know that this movie has its fans… but I am not one of them. I reluctantly put the DVD into my player.

Now my previous experience of this movie was watching it when it was briefly on Netflix Instant watch. Like many out of print releases at the time, the Netflix Streaming video quality was equal to a “taped from cable” copy of the movie.

I’m still not in love with Jack’s Back. Of all the the Scream Factory films I own I can say this will be the one I will watch the least often, but I’m beginning to come around to it this second time.

JacksBack

For starters it’s beautifully shot. This was the biggest thing lost in the Netflix Streaming quality vs. the Blu-Ray transfer. Scream Factory really has a gift for taking garbage cinema and making them look like high art (The Town That Dreaded Sundown release being the best example of this).

It’s hard to hate this movie though, it’s just too ridiculous to hate. You’ve got identical twin brothers, copy-cat killers, angry cops… it’s literally every 80’s cliche smashed into one plot line.

The story follows a “Jack the Ripper” copycat killer. A Surgeon played by James Spader is the prime suspect… until he becomes a victim. Shortly after that his identical twin brother arrives at the police station claiming to have visions of the killer and offering his services to help track the killer.

It’s hard to call this a horror movie though. It’s never really horrifying and for an 80’s film about Jack the Ripper it lacks any real gore or jumps. It’s more of a crime drama with a slight supernatural twist.

It’s definitely worth checking out and if you like to collect obscure 80’s titles like I do than it should be in your collection. Pick up your copy today from Scream Factory.

Watch The Extended Trailer For Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: We all received a fantastic treat late last week when the first trailer for Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron leaked online, DAYS before it’s scheduled launch on last night’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Marvel blamed it on Hydra, which was a hilarious and lighthearted way of looking at the leak. Not wanting to leave any of us S.H.I.E.L.D. fans hanging, the studio attached a special look at the film on last night’s episode. If you we’re lucky enough to be in Hall H at SDCC this past Summer, than it’s nothing new for you, but it’s exciting to see the scene online and official.

It’s also fantastic to see the look on Thor’s face when Cap almost lifts the hammer, and now we can see it over and over and over again. The rest of the video is pretty much the trailer we’ve already seen, but I’m not going to say no to watching that one again. Take a look at the video below, and let us know if you’re excited!

Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theatres on May 1st, 2015.

‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Trailer Now Online, Officially!

by Eric Francisco

LITERALLY NONE OF THESE WORDS MATTER. THESE ARE JUST WORDS. WHAT YOU WANT IS BELOW. But play along, please?

Earlier tonight the the much-anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer was leaked online. It was supposed to air during next week’s Mavel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. But because this is 2014, of course it didn’t! After a pretty amusing, self-deprecating tweet, Marvel has decided “eff it, let’s just do it.” The trailer is now on their official YouTube page, in crystal clear high-definition.

The trailer has all the neat stuff I kept hearing about from San Diego Comic-Con this summer. The Hulkbuster, an Avengers party, Ultron himself. It’s all really neat.

My favorite part, though, is what James Spader’s Ultron (and it’s so unmistakably him) says in the trailer: “You want to protect the world. But you don’t want it to change.” There is an ongoing, neverending debate that I love getting into about the true nature of superheroes. As protectors of the status-quo, what is their role when the world needs changing? Not that I expect Age of Ultron to be political in any shape or form, but the movie (I hope) will continue to change the superhero genre and begin to ask questions we, the dedicated superhero nerds who hold up this art to a higher level than most, might be uncomfortable to answer.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron will be released in 2015 and it will make so much money.

Marvel Releases Full Synopsis For ‘The Avengers: Age Of Ultron’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: Following the plot details released all the way back in July, Marvel has just debuted the official, full synopsis for next year’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Marvel Studios presents “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.

Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” stars Robert Downey Jr., who returns as Iron Man, along with Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk. Together with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and with the additional support of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, the team must reassemble to defeat James Spader as Ultron, a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they confront two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen, and Pietro Maximoff, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and meet an old friend in a new form when Paul Bettany becomes Vision. Written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige, Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963. Get set for an action-packed thrill ride when The Avengers return in Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on May 1, 2015.

Getting excited? May 1st isn’t that far away! What are your thoughts on the plot revelation?

First look at Ultron on EW cover.
First look at Ultron on EW cover.

Take Your First Look At Ultron In ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: San Diego Comic-Con is fast approaching, and with it comes Entertainment Weekly’s annual Comic-Con Preview Issue.

This week’s cover features our first look at Ultron (well, Ultrons) in the film, as well as a slightly different suit for Cap. The first plot details for the film have also been revealed, so read all about Avengers: Age of Ultron via the excerpt below:

For better or worse (trust us, it’s worse), his Tony Stark has devised a plan that won’t require him to put on the Iron Man suit anymore, and should allow Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the Hulk to get some much needed R&R as well. His solution is Ultron, self-aware, self-teaching, artificial intelligence designed to help assess threats, and direct Stark’s Iron Legion of drones to battle evildoers instead.

 

The only problem? Ultron (played by James Spader through performance-capture technology) lacks the human touch, and his superior intellect quickly determines that life on Earth would go a lot smoother if he just got rid of Public Enemy No. 1: Human beings. “Ultron sees the big picture and he goes, ‘Okay, we need radical change, which will be violent and appalling, in order to make everything better’; he’s not just going ‘Muhaha, soon I’ll rule!’” Whedon says, rubbing his hands together.

So what do you think? How many minutes pass before Tony Stark is back in his suit?

Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theatres on May 1st, 2015.

Ultron2

Source: EW

James Spader Is Ultron In ‘The Avengers: Age Of Ultron’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: The latest star to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe has just been revealed.

It’s Lincoln‘s James Spader, and he’ll appear in The Avengers: Age of Ultron as Ultron himself.

Spader was an excellent addition to last year’s Spielberg period drama, and looks simply fantastic in NBC’s upcoming series The Blacklist. Do you think he has what it takes to pull off Ultron? Anyone else you’d rather see in the role? Sound out below!

Spader, of course, will be joining the yet-uncast Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch as newcomers to the Avengers sequel. Anyone else you’d like to see in the film?

kbid263

Source: Deadline

Geekscape’s Before First Class – What If An X-Men Movie Was Made In The Early 90s?!?

by Joe Starr

With an announced sequel to X Men: First Class, and the rumors of a rebooted 1960’s Fantastic Four, retro Marvel is officially IN. This has led Geekscape to wonder: what if different Marvel franchises had actually been released in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s?

Or, maybe you think it’s stupid to cast a Marvel movie in a different decade, justify the lineup, and pitch a plot. Well, that’s why we at Geekscape consider ourselves to be heroes, in a way. We waste our time doing the stupid things the world is afraid to do.

 The 90’s: THE X MEN

It’s 1994. X Men: The Animated Series is wildly popular, and the X Men are settling in as the most popular comic franchise of the decade. A movie spinning out of the popular Jim Lee designs of the animated series using its lineup has to happen. It just makes sense- why wait until 2000? It is only logical that the Uncanny X Men join the film legacy of 1994: The Flintstones. The Mask. Speed. Star Trek: Generations. Speed. Speed.

The pitch: All has been quiet in the mutant world since Magneto exiled himself to Asteroid M. Government tensions are at an all time high with the self appointed savior of mutantkind in orbit. The uneasy peace is shattered when Magneto is approached by The Acolytes and their leader Fabian Cortez, who manipulates Magneto and his followers into a declaration of war against the surface! And Gyrich is there, too! The only ones that can prevent a third world war? THE X MEN! Dwee do do be dooooo do do! Dwee do do be dooooooo do da! X MEN THEME SONG.

And who will play the mutants in a world that hates and fears them?

CHARLES XAVIER

Morgan Freeman? Are you crazy? SUCK IT, WORLD, YOU’RE CRAZY. There’s more to Xavier than being a bald white guy. He’s also wise, inspiring, and got his start doing Listerine commercials. Fresh out of The Shawshank Redemption, Freeman brings the cred as the telepathic founder of the X Men. Plus, it’s at least 30% appropriate that one half of Marvel’s civil rights metaphor is actually black. At least.

MAGNETO

Magneto. The exiled mutant leader and Holocaust survivor. Powerful. Intelligent. Charismatic. Handsome enough that Rogue constantly wants to bang him. Jeff Goldblum. Jeff Goldum you say? Don’t mind if I do. “Sure John, but at Disney, the Pirates of the Caribbean didn’t come to life and use their magnet powers to kill the flatscans.” Words we can all live by.

SCOTT SUMMERS

Val Kilmer. The man who would be Bruce Wayne would make a much better Scott Summers. Stoic. Serious. Handsome. He will be your wingman anytime. I can’t think of anyone in 1994 better groomed to lead the X Men into battle. Except maybe Zero Cool from Hackers. I thought long and hard on that one. Heh. Long. Hard. 90’s humor.

JEAN GREY

The woman who would be the weird character who wanted to bang Bruce Wayne. If Nicole Kidman could put up with Tom Cruise, she can deal with the enormous pressures of the Phoenix. And she can totally pull off constant fainting and shouting ‘Scott!’ and ‘Logan!’ That’s probably the audition. “Slate please. Now look right off camera here and shout ‘Scott.’ Thank you, you’ll hear from us soon.”

FABIAN CORTEZ

Is Michael Wincott super Fabian Cortezy? Possibly not. But was he the awesome bad guy in The Crow? Fuck yes he was. Can you see him being Jeff Goldblum’s right hand man and then (1991 spoiler alert) turning on him? Yes. Yes you can.

GYRICH

Gary Oldman. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, High Ranking Racist Pentagon Official.

STORM

Angela Bassett. Originally Vivica Fox, but we’ve really got to make some tough decisions about who could eventually look better with a mohawk in 1995’s sequel X Men and Jubilee (played by Angels in the Outfield’s Joseph Gordon Levitt).

ROGUE

Perhaps it’s just because I’m the president of the ‘this chick deserved a better career’ club, but Rogue goes to Kari Wuhrer. You know her from 8 Legged Freaks and Command and Conquer: Red Alert. I know her from pictures on AOL when I was becoming a man. And what stronger choice to make for the woman who can’t touch anyone than a woman that a 6th grader really, really wants to touch? It’s poetic and artistic. Like something Alan Moore would write. You guys know Alan Moore? He’s the greatest writer of all time. And he would love this movie. I’m 70% sure of that.

BEAST

James Spader was crushing the sci fi world as the geek that can also kick ass if he has to in STARGATE. Put blue fur on this man immediately! Fun fact: I bet they could have made him look better in 1994 than they did in X Men: First Class. BURN.

WOLVERINE

The Quick and the Dead’s Russell Crowe. He’s the best at what he does. And what he does is throw phones at people in 15 years.

GAMBIT

Cut from the film. Special effects weren’t available in 1994 to replicate his accent properly.

Editor’s Note: Screw you, Joe! You don’t want Van Damme in ANYTHING (except you)! And where’s my Brian “The Boz” Bosworth as Colossus?!?

HAVOK

Come on, how is this not better than Gambit? Rogue can fall in love with him AND he’s the angry younger brother of the team leader. And if the 90’s taught us anything, no one plays ‘angry young brother of the team leader’ better than CHRISTIAN SLATER. This really makes me wish that his character in Pump Up The Volume was actually Alex Summers and at the end his power manifests and he blows up all those FCC trucks. And then he yells ‘Stay hard!’

So who would direct this all out 90s X-Fest? How about a director who spent the end of the 80s making kick ass action film after kick ass action film?

KICK ASS 90s DIRECTOR

John McTiernan made Predator in 1987, Die Hard in 1988 and The Hunt for Red October in 1990. On top of his game, he then made the critical Sean Connery bomb Medicine Man in 1992 and broke Arnold’s hot streak with Last Action Hero in 1993. Ouch. We’d rewrite history to have McTiernan making an X-Men movie for 1994 instead during these dark years before he made Die Hard: With a Vengeance in 1995. How’s that for a career save? We can’t help him with 2002’s Rollerball though…

Well, we’ve learned a lot about me with this one. Mainly, that I wrote more about Kari Wuhrer than Gary Oldman, so I guess we get my priorities. Next week we’re turning the clock another ten years back to avenge the Reagan era! I want my where’s the beef! Members Only Jackets Assemble! I’m casting an 80’s Avengers movie.