This afternoon, Hasbro and Lionsgate finally released the first official trailer for My Little Pony: The Movie.  The film seems to have a mixture of 2D animation, but also seems to use CGI for the backgrounds and some other objects. While a bit odd at first, the film does visually look nice. Check out the trailer for yourself and make your own judgement. My Little Pony: The Movie releases on October 6th.

*WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE FILM AHEAD*

Now that La La Land is available for DVD, Blu Ray and 4K platforms, it seemed like an opportune time to wrap up my review on the film. But between the praise its received since release, the almost unattainable amount of hype it built up before Oscar season, and the many other sites that will surely do a fantastic job explaining how great the film and all of the special features are, (the making of the show stopping Another Day of Sun freeway number being a personal favorite), I doubt there’s anything I can say regarding the quality of the film that you haven’t heard a thousand times by now. I still can’t decide which movie I liked better among the Best Picture nominees between this and Hidden Figures, but Damien Chazelle’s ode to the musicals of decades past has stuck with me since I walked out of the theater months ago. When I’m asked about why I enjoyed this love letter to the dreamers of the world as much as I did, it always comes down to that ending.

Seb’s passion for Jazz becomes shared.

Detractors of the film have stated that everything ends up a little bit too perfect for Sebastian (Ryan Gossling) and Mia (Emma Stone), aspiring entertainers who are lost among the stars of Los Angeles. Trying to find a path to success, their love sets them on their respective paths to achieve their dreams. While they don’t end up together, Seb opens the Jazz club that he always dreamed of while Mia becomes a famous actress, giving each other one last nod of approval after what might be the last of their many chance encounters throughout the film. And to be honest, I can’t argue with that assessment! From a pure conflict resolution standpoint, the majority of the film focused primarily on their need to achieve their respective goals, and while they had to sacrifice their romance to do so, they both got where they wanted to be with relatively minor resistance.

But what makes the ending great is that it’s not the only right answer.

The viewer’s perspective shapes how they interpret the final ten minutes of what was a relatively straightforward story up until that point. After a brief time skip, we’re re-introduced to the characters in quick fashion, with Mia being a successful actress with a husband and daughter. It’s not until they wander into a club that turns out to be Sebastian’s dream bar that the film sets us up for that big turning point. During that vibrant “what if” scenario that the pair envision, we see what things could have been like if a few of their choices were different. An argument can be made that even this scenario still isn’t perfect, since it’s implied that Seb never gets his club. And yet, he seems perfectly happy being at Mia’s side, helping her achieve her big dreams.

What could have been

Which brings me to City of Stars, the popular duet that I’m sure you’ve heard a thousand times by now. More specifically, one particular set of lyrics speak volumes. At this point in the film, Mia is hard at work writing a one woman show that Seb convinced her to put together as a way to avoid the humiliating auditioning process, since he fully believed that her enthusiasm would draw people to her rather than her having to essentially beg for work. On the other side, Seb has just joined a more pop oriented Jazz band that pays enough to help him support himself and Mia, but plays a style that he’s personally unhappy with. Far from ideal, especially on his side. Yet in the song, the pair sing,

I felt it from the first embrace I shared with you.

That now our dreams, they’ve finally come true.

Despite them being very far from where they want to be career wise, in this moment in time, they feel like their dreams have already been achieved by being with each other. Unfortunately for them, the pressure of being unhappy in the band and Mia’s show tanking leads to the pair splitting, but not before Seb gives Mia one last boost of encouragement by taking her to an audition that came about in response to her show. Once we see that Seb decided to name his club “Seb’s”, using the same name and design Mia suggested, instead of “Chicken on a Stick”, a name that he was 100% adamant about earlier in the film, it’s clear to see how Mia’s memory had become a driving force that ultimately pushed him to open his club.

A final goodbye

Now onto the ending itself. I personally feel that the movie is tragically cold with the abrupt way that it ends after showing us what could have been. Yes, they achieved their dreams, but there’s a cruel irony about being completely estranged from the person who enabled those dreams in the first place. Not only that, but over the course of the film, their dreams changed to simply wanting to be together. Having to sacrifice one dream that we watched grow and blossom as viewers for the sake of dreams that are achieved off screen really drives home how unfair it is. But the most lasting part of the ending is that it’s one that we can all relate to. Would our lives be better or worse if we handled those past circumstances differently? I have my dream career, but was it worth losing touch with the people who grew alongside me to achieve it? How can a person who was my biggest supporter become a stranger within the blink of an eye? And why can’t the people who enabled, encouraged and empowered us to be the best version of ourselves be by our side when the fruits of their labor finally comes to fruition? It’s not fair. Life rarely is. But like Seb and Mia, sometimes we have to nod, smile, and resume our lives with the circumstances we’re presently in.

So yes, I can’t argue that from one perspective, the film is pretty straightforward, with the characters getting everything they fought for from the beginning and more. I can’t even argue with someone who says the ending was happy since sometimes, we have to make sacrifices to win at this crazy game. Which is what makes the ending so beautiful. Depending on your own perspective, you can draw so many different conclusions from it. Yet for me, even with whatever success may come, I’m still wondering if it was worth it.

La La Land is now available on DVD, Blu Ray and 4K formats.

Earlier today Viz announced that they’ll be partnering with Hasbro to release an art book for the upcoming MLP Movie scheduled to release October 6th. Not much has been said about the book, but it will be pretty lengthy and also include full color art. The art is due for release sometime in August, 2 whole months before the film comes out, so be wary of spoilers. Are you excited about this announcement? What animated movie do you want to see get an art book? Tell us in the comments below!

OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! Major news about Lionsgate’s 2017 Power Rangers Movie.

Today it was announced that none other than Walter White himself Bryan FREAKING Cranston will be returning to the Power Rangers series in order to play Zordon in the upcoming 2017 film. “But wait!”, you say, “did you just say returning?”Indeed I did stranger, indeed I did. Cranston is no stranger to the rangers as he used to voice Twin Man and the first appearance of Snizzard in the original series: Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. 

In fact, Cranston left his impression on the series so well that the Blue Ranger, Billy Cranston was inspired directly inspired by the man himself. Are you excited for this new casting news, or are you a bit hesitant until an official photo is revealed? Tell us in the comments below!

The logo for 2017’s Power Rangers directed by Dean Israelite is now unveiled, and, well I’m not going to dance around this. It looks like garbage.

Looking like chrome vomit from a late ’90s PlayStation game, the logo for Power Rangers is uncomfortably color-less, sporting a bizarre emphasis on black, red, and some blue. It’s not quite what I wanted from something as beloved to me as Power Rangers, and honestly the current blank logo they have would have been fine.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEMgDroGztT/?taken-by=powerrangersmovie&hl=en

I guess this is supposed to be dark and gritty? That’s kind of what Dean Israelite and literally anyone else involved with this movie has been describing the production as. Given how well Marvel balances the line between family friendly and profoundly dark, not to mention how much Zack Snyder’s nihilism plagued Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice it’s amazing to me that anyone thinks “dark superheroes targeted to children” is in any way a good idea.

As far as the logo itself, I wish I had evidence but it looks like something I actually made when I was 6 toying with the clip art in Windows 95. I printed it and kept it on my wall. I seriously wish I could show you how this logo is something an actual 6-year old made, because I did!

While we have yet to see a trailer for this, let’s reserve judgement until then. Meanwhile, last week they opened up a Snapchat account. I haven’t seen them post anything, but hopefully a social media intern doesn’t accidentally send out sexts.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDyhOOPmzgl/?taken-by=powerrangersmovie&hl=en

Power Rangers will be released on March 24, 2017. It stars (deep breath) Darce Montgomery, RJ Cyler, Ludi Lin, Naomi Scott, pop star Becky G, and 30 Rock and The Hunger Games star Elizabeth Banks.

Briefly: Take-Two Interactive’s comic book subsidiary, Double Take, may have just launched their Night of the Living Dead tie-in books back in September (yep, like one month ago), but that hasn’t stopped Lionsgate from announcing the adaptation of one of what may be the best book of the bunch, Z-Men.

“We’re delighted to expand our relationship with our friends at Take-Two by partnering with their comic book arm, Double Take, in bringing Z-Men to the big screen,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger. “We continue to diversify our portfolio with films adapted from novels, video games and board games and look forward to translating 2T’s graphic novel into a spine-chilling film for moviegoers and comic book fans alike. It is yet another example of the strong underlying intellectual property on which our film and television content is based.”

Here’s the synopsis of the cool-as-hell book, in case you’ve missed it thus far: “Dead and/or alive… LBJ orders the Secret Service to bring him back a zombie. It’s 1966 and the Oval Office is in an uproar; there’s been a spree of mass murders in Western Pennsylvania (and reports of the dead returning to life). President Lyndon B. Johnson assigns the head of the Secret Service to send agents into the field to investigate. Agents Stuart and Clancy are given the opportunity to serve their country and see if the zombie apocalypse has indeed begun.”

“We are pleased to expand our partnership with Lionsgate, who has the right team to bring to life on screen what Double Take brings to life in comics,” said Double Take General Manager Bill Jemas. “We look forward to seeing Lionsgate’s creativity transform the Z-Menstory into an exciting feature film, and everyone on the Double Take team is incredibly enthused at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

No further information about the project has been revealed at this time, but we’ll be sure to keep you informed as we find out more!

ZMEn3

I had a hunch that Lionsgate were going to cast Power Rangers out of Hunger Games. I knew it.

ComicBook has picked up that The Hunger Games‘ Sam Claflin (I don’t know who he is either) tweeted “Go go power rangers.” a few days ago. In that exact spelling and punctuation. He seems very enthused. The tweet has been deleted, but ComicBook saved it.

sampowerrangers-145776

Without remembering a single second of him on screen, he’s probably their best option. Handsome, white, inoffensive, with a superhero build? He’s obviously being looked at for Jason, maybe Tommy, but I don’t think Tommy would be introduced in the first movie right away, would he? Also, I thought Lionsgate were looking for totally new, totally unknowns, and Sam’s got like 500K+ followers on Twitter. But if you’re not Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, or Josh Hutcherson then who are you really, amirite?

Whatever. I’m game. So long as none of them are younger than me then I’m just fine.

Power Rangers, which will be directed by Dean Israelite with a screenplay by X-Men: First Class writers Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller, is slated for Jan. 13, 2017, for some reason.

The official trailer for ‘THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 2′ that premiered to rave reviews at Comic-Con is now available online!

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Willow Shields, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Natalie Dormer, with Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is in theaters November 20th!

Briefly: This sounds completely ridiculous, but it also looks a little bit bad-ass. I didn’t know that The Last Witch Hunter existed until today, but it’s definitely on my radar now.

In the film, “The modern world holds many secrets, but the most astounding secret of all is that witches still live amongst us; vicious supernatural creatures intent on unleashing the Black Death upon the world. Armies of witch hunters battled the unnatural enemy across the globe for centuries, including KAULDER, a valiant warrior who managed to slay the all-powerful QUEEN WITCH, decimating her followers in the process. In the moments right before her death, the QUEEN curses KAULDER with her own immortality, forever separating him from his beloved wife and daughter in the afterlife. Today KAULDER is the only one of his kind remaining, and has spent centuries hunting down rogue witches, all the while yearning for his long-lost loved ones. However, unbeknownst to KAULDER, the QUEEN WITCH is resurrected and seeks revenge on her killer causing an epic battle that will determine the survival of the human race.”

Yeah it sounds silly, but Vin looks so damned cool. Take a look at the trailer below, and let us know what you think! The Last Witch Hunter hits theatres on October 23rd!

IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME.

Well, in 15 months. Which means that Lionsgate really needs to get moving on production, which starts with them finding actors (and a director). The film founds its writers back in July of last year, and TheWrap has learned that Project Almanac director Dean Israelite has entered negotiations to direct the anticipated film.

Project Almanac has to be one of the most original films that I’ve seen this year, dealing with a high school student and his friends, who uncover blueprints for a mysterious device with limitless potential, inadvertently putting lives in danger. It did a fantastic job of showcasing what real people would likely do with a time machine, and it featured a cast of unknowns whose chemistry really made Project Almanac memorable. It seemed to slip under the radar of most, but I’d definitely recommend giving it a shot.

Israelite has also been tapped to direct a WarGames reboot.

How would you feel about Dean in the director’s chair? I feel like an up-and-comer with a history of working with (and making a film for) youth can only be good for a Power Rangers film. Unless you want it to look like the BOOTLEG UNIVERSE version.

You know me, I’ll do anything to mention Lionsgate’s upcoming Power Rangers feature film set for July 22, 2016. Know what else is premiering that date? Guy Ritchie’s Knights of the Round Table, which Warner Bros. has plans to turn into a franchise spanning SIX movies. What happened to the good, old-fashioned trilogy?

Here’s a bite-sized preview straight from Ritchie’s Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/realguyritchie/status/575398577796612096

Well, it certainly looks like what you’d think a King Arthur movie to look like. Yay? (Side note: I misspelled “King Arthur” two seconds ago into “Kung Arthur” and now I want a kung-fu fighting King Arthur more than anything.)

Between Joseph Kahn’s Power/Rangers and now my bae-equivalent of bombastic filmmaking Guy Ritchie going toe-to-toe against my beloved Power Rangers, this has been quite the year of cognitive dissonance for me.

Here’s some information thine courtesy of thy press release. I totally botched olde English, haters shall hate:

Acclaimed filmmaker Guy Ritchie brings his dynamic style to an original King Arthur epic, a sweeping fantasy action adventure starring Charlie Hunnam (FX’s “Sons of Anarchy”), for Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures. Principal photography has begun at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, UK.

 

The bold new story introduces a streetwise young Arthur who runs the back alleys of Londonium with his gang, unaware of the life he was born for until he grasps hold of the sword Excalibur—and with it, his future. Instantly challenged by the power of Excalibur, Arthur is forced to make some hard choices. Throwing in with the Resistance and a mysterious young woman named Guinevere, he must learn to master the sword, face down his demons and unite the people to defeat the tyrant Vortigern, who stole his crown and murdered his parents, and become King.

 

The film will shoot primarily at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, and on location in Wales and Scotland.

 

Slated for release on July 22, 2016, it will be distributed in North America by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

 

During the Disney ownership of the Power Rangers franchise, production was briefly overseen by Village Roadshow Pictures. Amazing how some things come full circle.

Ooh, also! There was a whole episode of Power Rangers Time Force where the Red Ranger got kick-ass armor upgrades after fighting an evil black knight. They also have a hard time believing the Green Ranger when he tells them the evil knight made him lose their pizza. The Power Rangers. Not believing a knight exists. It’s as bonkers as it sounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQkyeb8vfSE

Joseph Kahn is one of my favorite filmmakers of all time. The mastermind behind 2011’s Detention and pop culture staples like Backstreet Boys music videos, I always believed him to be a kind of Edgar Wright if Edgar Wright gave even less fucks. And you know how much I love Power Rangers.

So imagine my surprise to see that Joseph Kahn created a short film, POWER/RANGERS, and it stars James Van Der Beek (“Holy shit, you’re the Dawson!”) and Katee Sackhoff. Yeah, STARBUCK motherfuckers.

Note: That’s the safe-for-work version. A NSFW cut is available on Joseph Kahn’s Vimeo.

For the past year, the filmmaker has been tweeting about working on a tampon commercial. He made Twitter jokes about how epic it would be. Turns out, it wasn’t a Tampax ad.

I have been a fan of the Power Rangers for over two decades. I have been watching since I was one. I didn’t even know speech or how my dick worked, but I understood people becoming karate dinosaurs to pilot giant robots. I can name every actor, describe Alpha 5’s Edenoi origins and how Masked Rider fits into this universe, and I could pick apart Kahn’s use of the Machine Empire.

So understand that when I say fuck the Power Rangers. This is about the current state Hollywood nostalgia and reboot fever, and it’s the most punk rock thing I’ve ever seen.

It’s incredibly violent. It’s gratuitous. It’s ridiculous.

That’s exactly the point.

From Joseph Kahn’s interview on HitFix:

One, as opposed to like taking something like Barney and doing your dark version of Barney, there’s at least a mythology there. The original mythology is really expansive and kind of silly in how many different…” Kahn collapsed into laughter. “I mean, these guys turn into dinosaurs. How do you take that seriously? But there’s enough of like a groundwork of the original source material that they based off this repurposed Japanese show that has like norms of anime and kung fu and all that stuff that appeals to me because I’m an anime and kung fu guy anyways. I just took pieces that I liked and then streamlined it and made a bare bones version and really expressed the versions that seemed like they naturally fit within the down-the-middle dark and gritty reboot.

 

And by the way, the dark and gritty reboot thing is such a cliché that the intention was not only to make it dark and gritty but make it even darker and grittier than you could possibly imagine, hence the brains, the blood and the violence and the sex.”

 

It’s not just Lionsgate but all of Hollywood, they all keep toying around with this ‘dark and gritty’ concept, and they’re all PG-13. I mean…. look at the gunshots. You have a guy going in there shooting a bunch of people and it’s just like puffs of smoke. There’s no repercussions to these gunshots, which to me is even more dangerous than when you actually show some blood. You’re teaching kids that you can shoot a gun and there’s no repercussions to it. 

I highlighted the most startling, noteworthy quote sentences in bold. It sums up so much about what we as public perceive violence in art.

Joseph Kahn doesn’t give a fuck about Power Rangers and that’s the best thing about this 14-minute short. This isn’t some fan jerking off to twenty years of mythology. This is a guy who saw it, took it, and ran as fast as he can with it. Kahn sees Power Rangers as the perfect tool to make a statement about Hollywood’s reboot fever, the sickness that has allowed a fifth Transformers movie and a loud Ninja Turtles film without actually leaving a significant footprint. He’s taking something so perceived to be ridiculous and cheesy and is stopping short of dropping buckets of blood right on it like Carrie, all because you know that’s the version we all secretly want to see.

From Joseph Kahn:

There’s nothing playful except for maybe the Hip-Hop-Kido thing. Maybe a few little like motivational character [things], interactions and stuff. Overall, it’s a very serious thing. The joke isn’t that you’re laughing at each particular scene; the joke is that we did this ‘fuck you’ thing in the first place. You’re going to look at it and you go wow I can’t believe they fucking did that.”

Fans of Kahn are familiar with his sensibilities, as both a filmmaker and commentator on the current state of pop culture. His 2011 indie hit, Detention, sums up his view in a kinetic ninety-minute movie. In fact, it was Detention that once made me believe Kahn would be the perfect visionary behind a 21st-century imagining of the Power Rangers, but his feelings on it have confirmed otherwise (in a quote further down).

Side note: Have you seen Detention? It’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on a sugar rampage. Go watch it right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4PFz9gIKKM

This is why Kahn remains one of my favorite filmmakers. Behind his excellent visual eye and artistic direction, he’s a pop culture-obsessed freak but remains disenfranchised by the system. He’s a music video director. Never mind he’s directed Eminem and Shakira. If filmmaking was war and Hollywood directors are dictators, music video directors are the Somali pirates.

Seriously, go see some of his work. His music video for Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” is one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen, and there is not one ounce of sarcasm in that statement.

That’s why he’s the perfect son of a bitch to thumb his nose at Hollywood right now. He’s been there, he’s been shat on, and this is him telling the world not only is he the best at what he does but also you can go fuck yourself if you don’t like it.

He sent this short film out into the world with just one tweet. That’s how much he’s laughing.

My only regret is that Kahn actually chose Power Rangers. He could have done My Little Pony, but MLP doesn’t have the absurdity of kung-fu dinosaurs. It’s cognitive dissonance for me. I’m one of the most passionate fans of the property you’ll meet; last night, I sacrificed sleep on a work night to watch the premiere episode of Ninninger. And this morning, I’m feverishly typing this up as quickly as I can.

One of the most hurtful things I heard this morning wasn’t from Kahn, it was from longtime Power Rangers director Isaac Florentine.

From Drew’s interview at HitFix:

I spent some time with Isaac Florentine at ActionFest one year, and we talked about “Power Rangers.” He was there at the start of things, and listening to him talk about it, art was not on anyone’s mind. I get that there are people who genuinely loved the show when they were kids, and that they would love to see something new. Their fondness for this thing is not the point of Kahn’s film. Instead, it’s more a matter of talking about how these things get squeezed and bent and molded into something new.

Isaac Florentine is also a balls-crazy filmmaker who directed the amazing Ninja: Shadow of a Tear last year. I’ve always wanted to ask him if Power Rangers taught him anything that made his movies like Shadow of a Tear so awesome, because Power Rangers can be awesome if you’re in the right headspace and he himself has done some of the best, most memorable episodes (the “King For a Day” two-parter, in Power Rangers Zeo). But reading that broke me.

Don’t get your hopes up if you think Joseph Kahn is trying out for the upcoming Power Rangers reboot film. He’s not.

“The irony here is that I wouldn’t even want to make “Power Rangers: The Movie’ for real. Like if I had to make a ‘Power Rangers’ movie, this is it. It’s 14 minutes long and it’s violent and this is what I have in me. If they offered me the 200 million version, the PG-13 version, I literally wouldn’t do it. It’s just not interesting to me.”

It’s currently 9:30 AM. I’ve been reading Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing on the train to work, so between that and all my feelings about my favorite filmmaker using my favorite thing in the world as a sock puppet to mock Hollywood has left me exhausted.

Check out more of Joseph Kahn’s work here.

UPDATE: Completely overlooked this. Producer Adi Shankar (The GreyDredd) details why he chose Power Rangers. #orlando4pink

Every so often I’ll write a small throwaway line about the upcoming Power Rangers movie in any given news I post here. Because with every film that announces a release date in late 2016 or after, by then I will have seen a fully-realized, big-budget Power Rangers movie. A film that, I personally hope, stands to compete against DC, Marvel, and the big, noisy nostalgic tentpoles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (It won’t, but just let me hope.)

It’s still so bizarre to me that the movie is happening. The way the franchise was handled by Saban and Disney past its heyday, it looked like Power Rangers could never have a place in the larger pop culture zeitgeist again, even when the nostalgia wave first hit with Transformers. It’s proof that I can never work as a psychic, because now you’ll see former Power Rangers stars in nearly every comic book convention, you can buy expensive, fully-articulated figures, the complete series on DVD, fanfilms, and now the looming big-budget movie.

As far as us peasant consumers go, we know nothing about the movie. It has two well-known writers, it had a well-known (and hate magnet) executive producer, and that’s it. No cast. No director. Who else doesn’t know much about the movie? Former Power Rangers star Jason David Frank, aka “Tommy,” the Green/White/Red/Red again/Black Ranger.

From a recent interview with comicbook.com:

The movie is definitely set for this year. Everything is in place. They won’t give me specific details because it’s all like hush-hush. Even me, I try. I email Saban and ask them kind of what you’re asking me, but they do feel that I’m going to be part of it, because they feel there’s no movie, at least, without me. The funny thing is, one way or another, whether it happens or it doesn’t, I’ve been great to Lionsgate and I’ve been loyal to Saban. It’s not like they owe me, but if I want to ask for a personal favor, I’ve invested into their emotional bank account. I feel like it’s fair to have that withdrawal with them, because I’ve done nothing but support them for the last 10 years, 20 years in fact.

 

So when that happens, I don’t need to cash in any favors. I believe it’s going to happen anyway, but when it does, I’ll keep my fans involved, but I will tell you it is being filmed this year.

 

I know that for a fact. It’s going to be great when it is.

Jason David Frank has become a polarizing figure amongst the Power Rangers fandom in recent years. Whether it’s because he blows up his Instagram so much or what he’s actually saying in those posts that creates his enemies. His effort to ride CM Punk’s coattail a few months ago didn’t help his image much either.

I still don’t know what to think about the movie. Am I excited? Yes. Do I hate being left out? Yes. I will work as the director’s towel boy if it means I can participate, but if I can’t then I’m more green with envy than Jason David Frank’s spandex.

We have nothing else to report about the movie, but we will for sure when we learn more. Believe me.

If you’re hungry for more Jason David Frank, you can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can even see him in Bat in the Sun’s Super Power Beat Down. After all that you should be like the gluttony victim in Seven.

Briefly: 2016 is going to be a busy year. The year is filled with gigantic films like Cap 3, Batman v. Superman, Finding Dory, and Warcraft among dozens of others, and another huge release has just been announced for the cycle.

Lionsgate and Saban have revealed that Power Rangers will hit theatres on July 22nd, 2016.

Details on the film are still scarce (or non-existent), and the feature is still without a cast and director, but the script is coming from Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz while Haim Saban, Brian Casentini, Allison Shearmur and Roberto Orci will produce.

The first official synopsis for the film also debuted today, but it reveals nothing that we don’t already know:

From a story by Executive Producer Roberto Orci (TRANSFORMERS, STAR TREK, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2) and screenwriters Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, THOR) comes a modern reinvention of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a group of ordinary high school kids who find themselves infused with extraterrestrial powers and must harness those powers as a team to save the world.

What do you hope to see in the film? Sound out in the comments below!

Briefly: We still don’t know many details about Lionsgate and Saban’s recently announced Power Rangersbut we now know just who will write the script.

X-Men: First Class and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles scribes Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz will write the film, while Star Trek and Transformers screenwriter Robert Orci will help develop the story and executive produce.

We’ll be sure to fill you in as we learn more about the project, but as THR notes, the film will “completely re-envision the Rangers, a group of high school kids who are infused with unique superpowers but must harness and use those powers as a team if they have any hope of saving the world.”

Are you looking forward to the film? Anyone you would like to see take the role of a Ranger? Sound out below!

New Power Rangers Banner

Source: THR

Briefly: The film is now only a couple of months away from theatres, but Lionsgate has finally released the first theatrical trailer for The Expendables 3.

The trailer shows off all of the new (and familiar) faces that’ll appear in the new chapter, and also gives us a taste of the films’ sure-to-be-expansive plot. It seems as though The Expendables 3 will have the old dudes saving the new dudes, which I’m totally cool with.

Take a look at the trailer below, and let us know if you’re excited! The Expendables 3 hits theatres on August 15th!

Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables — but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.

Just hitting the Geeksape news desk is some radical news! Lionsgate and Saban Entertainment are joining forces to bring us a new live action Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie!

Launched in America over 20 years ago, the Power Rangers have been a staple of children’s saturday morning television every week. From dinosaurs to ninjas and from space police to jungle animals, they’ve gone pretty much everywhere.

Details are vague; is this a reboot/re-envisioning of the show from 1993? OR, is this an entirely brand new narrative. The world will have to wait.

Briefly: Following the awesome set of character posters released just yesterday, LionsGate has just debuted a short new trailer for this Summer’s The Expendables 3.

The trailer, titled “roll call” is pretty self explanatory, as it takes us through the film’s stellar cast (while showing off a bit of action too).

Take a look at the preview below, and let us know what you think!

Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables — but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.

Briefly: We haven’t heard much from The Expendables 3 camp since the debut of its first teaser back in December, but today Lionsgate released 16 new character posters for the film.

The images feature the film’s expansive cast, who all look to be having an absolutely blast doing whatever it is that they’re doing, and they’re are stark reminder of just how bad-ass the film is set to be.

Take a look at the images below, and let us know what you think! The Expendables 3 hits theatres on August 15th!

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Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables — but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.

Source: ColliderComingSoonJoBloIGN

Briefly: The gang’s all here.

Lionsgate today debuted the very first teaser trailer for next year’s The Expendables 3. The teaser reveals nothing about the film aside from its stellar, gigantic (physically and in numbers) cast, but it’s still freaking bad-ass.

Harrison Ford, of course, has joined the crew, and so have a few other new faces (and plenty of returning old dudes). Take a look at the trailer below, and let us know what you think! The Expendables 3 hits theatres on August 15th, 2014!

In THE EXPENDABLES 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables — but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet.

Briefly: I’m not really sure what else Aaron Eckhart’s been up to since his demise in The Dark Knight, but the first trailer for I, Frankenstein has just debuted online, and it’s looking pretty bad-ass so far.

The film looks to take a similar tone to that of 2010’s Legionexcept it’s traded angels for monsters, and Aaron Eckhart plays the sexiest Frankenstein ever.

I, Frankenstein offers quite a well rounded cast, starring (of course) Eckhart, but also Bill Nighy, Jai Courtney, and even Dexter’s girlfriend herself, the lovely Yvonne Strahovski, among others.

Take a look at the trailer below, and let us know if you’re looking forward to the film! I, Frankenstein hits theatres on January 24th!

http://youtu.be/pxOSPfUw3qw

200 years after his shocking creation, Dr. Frankenstein’s creature, Adam, still walks the earth. But when he finds himself in the middle of a war over the fate of humanity, Adam discovers he holds the key that could destroy humankind. From the co-writer of the hit supernatural saga, UNDERWORLD, comes the action thriller I, FRANKENSTEIN, written for the screen and directed by Stuart Beattie, screen story by Kevin Grevioux and Stuart Beattie, based on the Darkstorm Studios graphic novel “I, Frankenstein” created by Kevin Grevioux. The story is brought to life by a cast that includes Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Jai Courtney, and Aden Young as Victor Frankenstein.

This just in this just in! It looks like our friends over at Lionsgate are putting out another awesome over the top movie. Get eyes on this cool 3D poster and details for  I, Frankenstein.

Set in a dystopic present where vigilant gargoyles and ferocious demons rage in a battle for ultimate power, Victor Frankenstein’s creation Adam (Aaron Eckhart) finds himself caught in the middle as both sides race to discover the secret to his immortality. From the creators of the hit supernatural saga, UNDERWORLD, comes the action thriller I, FRANKENSTEIN, written for the screen and directed by Stuart Beattie based on the graphic novel I, Frankenstein by Kevin Grevioux, and brought to life by a cast that includes Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Jai Courtney, Socratis Otto, Mahesh Jadu, Caitlin Stasey and Aden Young as Victor Frankenstein.

You can check out I, Frankenstein in theaters January 14, 2014!

Horror certainly has changed over the years. If you were to hold them side by side, it’d be impossible to see how Psycho lead to Hostel III. However, if you were to work your way through the various decades of horror films, you’ll be able to see just how the genre evolved (or devolved, depending on who you ask).

Here’s a quick breakdown for you though. While the 60’s focused on films like Psycho and Peeping Tom, horror was still mostly tame until Hershell Gordon Lewis came to town with Blood Feast and 2000 Maniacs. You’d think this would mark the start of gore, but it wasn’t. Lewis’ films mostly remained all his own. By the 70’s, horror became more psychologically driven. Films about stalkers, cannibals and revenge dominated the genre. This is where you started to get films like The Hills Have Eyes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Halloween.

Enter the 1980’s. Suddenly there was a new horror movie every week. You had a nice blend of gore films, low-budget films from Full Moon Pictures and Troma, as well as plenty of Slasher flicks. Eventually, in a sea of sequels, horror died out in the 90’s.

It wasn’t until 1996 that Horror suddenly became important again with Scream, but within a few years, the self aware slasher became tiresome. While the late 90’s/early 2000’s produced a few decent surprises (Cabin Fever comes to mind), most horror fans were clamoring for the eventual release of Rob Zombie’s directorial debut, House of 1000 Corpses.

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Rob Zombie created music for Metal-heads and Horror fans (which basically has a lot of overlap). His filmmaking career at that time had been minimal.. He did some animation for Beavis & Butthead Do America, as well as directed some White Zombie music videos, but that was the extent of it.

In the 90’s, he was instrumental in helping revive Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights which opened the door for him to make a film for Universal. What he ended up presenting them was a film so demented, dark and bizarre that Universal believed it would receive a NC-17 rating and refused to release it.

The film is a throwback to the gritty psychological films of the 1970’s blended with the modern day gore. It’s packed with winks and nods to The Manson Family, Hills Have Eyes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the Marx Brothers. It begins with a group of 4 teenagers (Including pre-Office Rainn Wilson and fat Chris Hardwick) driving around, when they stop at Captain Spaulding’s gas station/Museum of Monsters and Madmen. It’s there that they find out about Dr. Satan, a local serial killer.

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While trying to find the tree where he was hung, they encounter a hitch-hiker named Baby. Shortly after picking her up, they blow a tire and need a tow. Baby informs them her family lives near by and her brother has a tow-truck.

The group end up in a strange dinner/variety show performed by the family, and when they begin to leave the house after their tire has been replaced, they are attacked and held captive for Otis Driftwood’s (Baby’s Adopted Brother) demented experiments. It just gets dark, more deranged and in general unsettling from there.

The film was completed in 2000 but Universal refused to release it. It wasn’t until 3 years later, when Zombie was able to purchase back the rights that he managed to finally get the film released by Lionsgate on April 11th 2003. I remember seeing it the night it came out with a group of friends after work (listening to the movie soundtrack on the drive there). That same weekend, I went for an encore with my girlfriend at the time. The next week we found out her best friend hadn’t seen the movie yet, and I went and saw it a 3rd time.

I know many people who hated this film and consider it Zombie’s worst movie. While I know that The Devil’s Rejects (the films sequel) is a superior film, I have more fun watching this. The film grows in enjoyment ten years later. It’s still just as demented as ever before. Rob Zombie’s weird usage of various camera styles and filters, as well as his unrelenting gore and plain bizarre twists make the movie difficult to follow but still a ton of stupid fun.

Some people might not care, but I say Happy 10 Year Anniversary House of 1000 Corpses.

After a decent 2003 remake and an abysmal 2006 prequel, the Texas Chainsaw franchise is attempting to finally head back to its origins with the upcoming Texas Chainsaw 3D.

The film serves as a direct sequel to the 1974 original, and will follow a group of ill-fated friends on a road trip to the  house after one of them inherits it from a long lost grandparent. Obviously, things don’t turn out well: you can expect lots of chainsaws, death, and a dude that wears other people’s faces. Creepy.

Lionsgate has just released a new trailer for the film, so check it out below, and let us know what you think! I’m certainly interested to see how this one fares, being a proper sequel to the 1974 classic!

Lionsgate’s TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D continues the legendary story of the homicidal Sawyer family, picking up where Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror classic left off in Newt, Texas, where for decades people went missing without a trace. The townspeople long suspected the Sawyer family, owners of a local barbeque pit, were somehow responsible. Their suspicions were finally confirmed one hot summer day when a young woman escaped the Sawyer house following the brutal murders of her four friends. Word around the small town quickly spread, and a vigilante mob of enraged locals surrounded the Sawyer stronghold, burning it to the ground and killing every last member of the family–or so they thought. Decades later and hundreds of miles away from the original massacre, a young woman named Heather learns that she has inherited a Texas estate from a grandmother she never knew she had. After embarking on a road trip with friends to uncover her roots, she finds she is the sole owner of a lavish, isolated Victorian mansion. But her newfound wealth comes at a price as she stumbles upon a horror that awaits her in the mansion’s dank cellars…

Texas Chainsaw 3D opens on January 4th.

Were you worried that you were going to be getting another version of Sylvester Stallone’s ridiculous Judge Dredd from 1995? Well, ease your fears because this time around the film is actually based on the graphic novels themselves. Pete Travis’ Dredd 3D  is gritty, bloody, violent, funny and smart all at the same time. A task that we see many movies try to accomplish but fail miserably at.

Set over the course of one single day, we see the veteran judge Dredd taking rookie Anderson out for assessment. Is it a complex plot? No, and it doesn’t try to be and that’s a good thing. But don’t take that as me saying that the script is bad. It’s quite the opposite. Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine) does a fantastic job with this one. Just like in the comics, you get a straightforward story that doesn’t become lost and confused by stupid side plots and unnecessary back stories.  I’m not going to get into the plot of the movie because if you don’t know it by now…. well, that means you haven’t seen a single trailer (which is a good thing in this spoiler-filled day and age).

So, let’s start it off with the action sequences. They are all fantastically shot and pretty damn exciting. This movie is action packed and you’re going to want to see this one in 3D at least one of the times that you see it. Yes, you definitely are going to see this more than once. The 3D sequences in slow-motion are visually dazzling. And calling this movie violent is one hell of an understatement. There’s no friendly Rob Schneider material here. Seeing bullets fly through body parts in slow motion never looked so beautiful, especially with the very well-fitting electronic soundtrack that accompanies the movie. However, the real highlight of Dredd 3D is the performances. Yes. You read that right. The performances!

Karl Urban is the law. After seeing this movie I don’t think I am going to accept any actor in the Dredd role down the line. Hopefully, we won’t have to. Even though we never see his eyes underneath the helmet (a promise that the filmmakers kept from the get go), Urban nails the intensity and determination of Dredd. He delivers a great performance as ol’ Stoney Face, using his mouth and chin alone. And if you were worried about Olivia Thirlby as Anderson you can relax because Thirlby is great. She plays the sensitive, but tough, Psy-Judge brilliantly and the mind-fuck scene between her and a member of Ma-Ma’s gang is definitely one of the best scenes in the movie. Lena Headey is great as Ma-Ma and quite intimidating but definitely could have used a bit more screen time.

Ultimately, Dredd 3D is an ultra-violent thrill ride from start to end that proves that big, action-packed thrillers don’t need to be stupid to leave their mark on the genre. The film definitely has appeal to fans of Dredd’s 2000AD origins and those who have never even heard of Judge Dredd. And trust me on this, pay the few extra dollars and see it in 3D. It’s one of the few movies with visuals that justify the expense. In the end, Dredd 3D is definitely deserving of a sequel and besides, don’t us fans want to finally see the Dark Judges make their way to the screen? I know I do.

Rating: 4.5/5

Dredd 3D is the law (and in theaters) on September 21st!

Check out the first trailer for the sequel to the 1974 horror classic! You should know by now that you never go into the basement.

Lionsgate’s “Texas Chainsaw 3D” continues the legendary story of the homicidal Sawyer family, picking up where Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror classic left off in Newt, Texas, where for decades people went missing without a trace. The townspeople long suspected the Sawyer family, owners of a local barbeque pit, were somehow responsible. Their suspicions were finally confirmed one hot summer day when a young woman escaped the Sawyer house following the brutal murders of her four friends. Word around the small town quickly spread, and a vigilante mob of enraged locals surrounded the Sawyer stronghold, burning it to the ground and killing every last member of the family – or so they thought.

Decades later and hundreds of miles away from the original massacre, a young woman named Heather learns that she has inherited a Texas estate from a grandmother she never knew she had. After embarking on a road trip with friends to uncover her roots, she finds she is the sole owner of a lavish, isolated Victorian mansion. But her newfound wealth comes at a price as she stumbles upon a horror that awaits her in the mansion’s dank cellars…

Texas Chainsaw 3D is in theaters January 4, 2013.

Over the past couple of weeks there has been a ton of cast announcements for the upcoming sequel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. But there has been one role that fans have been waiting to hear and it was announced today. Sam Claflin, who you probably know best from Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Snow White And The Hunstman, has been cast as Finnick!

Charismatic and clever, Finnick was a District 4 Hunger Games victor when he was fourteen. The character is best known for his proficiency with a trident, his skills as a swimmer, and his irresistible charm and good looks. With addition of Claflin as Finnick, the last major piece of the casting puzzle has fallen into place for the upcoming sequel. Claflin joins Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jena Malone, and Amanda Plummer as one of the main new additions to the franchise.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire hits theaters November 22, 2013.

Source: EW

We’ve got about a month to go until the release of Dredd into theaters and I honestly can’t wait for this one. The more footage that gets out for it the better it looks. Check out the latest clip below!

The future America is an irradiated wasteland. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge – a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.

During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture- a 200 story vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan. When they capture one of the clan’s inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound’s control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire. With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival.

Dredd is the law September 21st.

A few days ago we brought you the first poster for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Last Stand. Now, we are proud to bring you the first trailer for the movie! He’s back!

 

The movie is directed by the acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Kim Jee-woon (I Saw The Devil) and co-stars Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzman and Peter Stormare. The Last Stand opens January 18th, 2013.

So, are you guys ready for The Expendables 2 yet? Lionsgate has released this explosive thirty second TV spot featuring some pretty damn funny moments from the upcoming action flick.

The Expendables are back and this time it’s personal… Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren),Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) — with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard — are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time — six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way…


The Expendables 2 is going to kick your ass on August 17th.