In the last instalment I touched on potential villains for the Suicide Squad movie and my pick was Black Mask. We also know Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor is the villain in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, so I thought it would be fun to run down potential villains for the other announced films, starting with 2017's Wonder Woman...
Wonder Woman (2017):
Right off the bat I want to say Dr. Psycho would be the best choice to be Wonder Woman's first nemesis, he's a deadly telepath which would be the perfect balance to Wonder Woman and her lasso of truth. However I don't believe they go this way. Really depending on what they do with the script comes down to the villain. I think if we are getting an origin story similar to her New 52 origin you can go with either First Born or, more likely, Ares saving First Born for a latter movie perhaps starring the Injustice League. If we're not getting an origin and Wonder Woman is already loose in the world, which would make sense since I doubt in Dawn of Justice Bats and Supes go to Amazonia, the perfect villain would be Cheetah. As long as you're doing your first solo super hero film with a female lead, you might as well give her a female arch nemesis at the same time, couple this with WB scouring for female directors to lead the film, this has an opportunity to be the best girl power movement since the Spice Girls broke up.
Cast: Emily Blunt as Cheetah
Justice League (2017):
If you ask anyone who the first villain for the Justice League to face, and presumably come together to face is, you'd get a nearly unanimous Darkseid vote, that being said I don't think Darkseid is the best place to start, similar to what Marvel is doing with Thanos, I think it's best to build up Darkseid's destruction by using Brainiac in the first JL film. Not only is Brainiac an excellent villain, but he's from the cosmic side of the DCU so he can make reference that he needed to escape Planet X to avoid Darkseid and perhaps do a further buildup in Green Lantern (more on that later). I also support Brian Cranston as Brainiac, everyone wanted him to be Lex but I agree they needed to go younger with a younger Superman, however we can have Cranston be Brainiac's deep and intimidating voice in alien make-up/costume just fine.
Cast: Brian Cranston as Brainiac
The Flash (2018):
I think with The Flash, a lot depends on what works with the TV series, I think if they introduce The Rogues or Reverse-Flash/Zoom and they are popular that the film will use them. Another option is to avoid whoever the series uses, for example it may be possible that DC is forbidding The Rogues from forming until after the film was released so although people know the characters they're most likely flock to see them all together in a group taking on Barry... And yes it will be Barry, sorry West fans. I expect this to tie-in with Suicide Squad as one of the rogues will be cast in that film for sure. Not sure about the rest of the cast since I don't know many younger actors which DC is sure to fill the team with since they're going up against a young Ezra Miller as The Flash
Cast: ???? as Mirror Master, ???? as Captain Boomerang, ???? as Weather Wizard, Logan Lerman as Captain Cold.
Aquaman (2018):
Without knowing what happens in Justice League it's hard to know whether Arthur will start off fighting the Justice League or fighting with them to know if the "villain" from Aquaman will be a leaguer or an actual villain. Assuming that they listen to my dream casting Aquaman will be a leaguer from the start and in this solo film he'll return to the ocean to find out his father died and his mother is being held prisoner by Ocean Master, Arthur's brother. With help from the future Black Manta, Aquaman defeats his brother and takes the crown that is rightfully his, but not without Black Manta losing someone he cares for which sets in place Black Manta's future spot in the Injustice League.
Shazam (2019):
We already know The Rock is Black Adam... So let's just move on...
Justice League 2 (2019):
I've talked about the Injustice League, well here's where it comes to fruition headlined by Jared Leto's Joker (rumoured) and Eisenberg's Luthor while also featuring Black Manta (Aquaman), the Suicide Squad Rogue, Lerman as Captain Cold in my perfect world (The Flash), First Born (Wonder Woman), Black Adam (assuming Shazam is included), Deathstroke (Cyborg) and a human Green Lantern enemy, possibly Vandal Savage and he could conceivably start the team,
Cast: Viggo Mortensen as Vandal Savage, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jared Leto as The Joker, The Rock as Black Adam, Logan Lerman as Captain Cold, Sean Bean as Deathstroke, Karl Urban as First Born and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Black Manta.
Cyborg (2020):
Cyborg doesn't have any real archnemesis outside of the Teen/New Titans world, so they could skip comic book lore altogether here, but I hope they don't, as you might have guessed after reading my Justice League 2 casting I'm hoping Deathstroke. It'd be simple enough to do, after being thwarted (presumably) in JL2 Deathstroke, usually a mercenary for hire, can come after Cyborg for ruining his business, or maybe you have someone bigger (Trigon?) pulling the strings only to be discovered in the last scene where Raven shows up and informs Cyborg that her father was behind it, and it's time to get the Titans back together (yeaaaah!)
Cast: Sean Bean as Deathstroke
Green Lantern (2020):
Now this is where I'm torn, if you're doing a Lantern movie it needs to be Sinestro as the villain right? But if we want Darkseid in JL3 we'll want to allude to him in this film. Perhaps Mongul comes looking for a planet for Darkseid to conquer settling on Korugar (Sinestro's homeworld). Sinestro and Hal are forced to team up (Green Lanterns must protect worlds, Sinestro wants to protect his) after Mongul is defeated, Darkseid decides to take revenge by destroying Hal's homeworld Earth as he heads here Hal asks for Sinestro's help and Sinestro declines leading to a sequel along the lines of the Sinestro Corps War and into JL3 where Darkseid finally hits earth. Tough to cast the two villains here since they'll mostly be CGI (especially Darkseid), but I'll try anyway.
Cast: Ron Pearlman as Mongul, Javier Bardem as Darkseid.
I've spent my last few nights at the multiplexes taking in a bunch of movies... You know what that means... Mini-Review time!!
The Book Of Life:
Manolo (Diego Luna) and Joaquin (Channing Tatum) are longtime friends both in love with the same girl, Maria (Zoe Saldana). They catch the attention of La Muerta and Xibalba, ex-lovers and rulers of separate worlds in the afterlife. Xibalba bets that Maria will marry Joaquin and if he wins he gets to rule La Muerta's world and if Manolo marries Maria, Xibalba has to stop interfering in human affairs, when it becomes clear that Maria has fallen for Manolo, Xibalba sends him into the afterlife where he must embark on a fantastical journey to win back the girl of his dreams.
My thoughts? The animation was phenomenal, the bright colours and accents were a wonder to see on the big screen. The voice-acting was well done but considering this was a completely Latino cast plus Channing Tatum, Tatum felt horribly out of place. This was simply a very happy movie despite the death that takes place since it's put to the back drop of The Day Of The Dead celebration in Mexico so we're meant to celebrate the dead. All that being said the themes of the film were incredibly obvious and a lot of the time I felt like I was being beaten by them which was an annoyance... We get it! Family is important... The ending was absolutely perfect however and we rarely see an entire cast of characters in a film be happy.
Final verdict: 3 (bordering on 4) double headed snakes out of 5
Interstellar:
Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is a former engineer and rocket pilot forced to work on a farm to provide for his kids. The earth is slowly dying and there is little food to be had which forces most citizens to become farmers so the world has corn to eat. After stumbling upon a hidden NASA base, Cooper gets an offer he can't refuse, go into space and try to find a planet that humans may continue to live on.
My thoughts? I don't claim to be a science expert, but some of the stuff just seemed to far out there to comprehend, and although that might as well be director Christopher Nolan's mantra, when the plot hinges on the audience's understanding of such matters it ends up hurting the overall product. The visuals of space were very much an ode to 2001 which I'm again not sure if that's a good thing. The acting was spot on and all the actors played their characters given perfectly, even the robotic TARS. But it just always felt like there was something missing, the runtime wasn't really an issue, despite pushing 3 hours it didn't feel like it as you genuinely cared for the characters and the story kept you intrigued all through.
Final verdict: 4 worm holes out of 5
Big Hero 6
Hiro is a brainy teenager with dreams of getting rich, his family implores him to use his brain for good but it's not until he's challenged at the San Fransokyo Robotics Institute to create something that will change the world, the night of his presentation a mysterious fire claims the life of his brother, after finding out that someone is using his invention he's determined to find out why and avenge his deceased brother with the help from his brother's robotic creation Baymax, Hiro and his friends transform into Big Hero 6 to save the world.
My thoughts? This was a shameless crowdpleaser, tons of action, tons of laugh and tons of heart. Big Hero 6 doesn't quite touch the upper echelon of Disney movies, but damn does it ever come close. Baymax is the centre of the movie and immediately becomes one of the most lovable characters in recent movie history. The film does suffer from some pacing issues early on but it successfully overcomes that thanks in part to excellent animation and direction. I think it's safe to say that Disney Animation Studios rebound is still going strong as their last 7 features, this included, have scored at least an 83% on Rottentomatoes.com. You have to go back to 2005's Chicken Little to find a movie that didn't hit at least 60% and 2004's Home On The Range to find a movie that didn't make it's budget back at the Box Office.
Final verdict: 4 fist bumps out of 5... buh luh luh luh luh
The Players: Directors: Sean Anders (Sex Drive, That's My Boy), Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief) Writers: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley (Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2, Horrible Bosses) Starring: Jason Bateman (This Is Where I Leave You, Arrested Development), Jason Sudeikis (We're The Millers, The Campaign), Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Pacific Rim), Chris Pine (Star Trek, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained, Inglorious Basterds)
Synopsis: The follow-up to the 2011 hit comedy "Horrible Bosses" reunites Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as everyone's favorite working stiffs: Nick, Dale and Kurt. Jennifer Aniston and Oscar winners Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey also reprise their "Horrible Bosses" starring roles, while Chris Pine and Oscar winner Christoph Waltz star as new adversaries standing between the guys and their dreams of success.
Why you should watch: The original totally makes me LOL. If it wasn't for such a stacked month at the movies this could've easily been a number 1 choice.
4. Interstellar
The Players: Director: Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) Writers: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight) Starring: Matthew McConaughey (Dalls Buyers Club, Mud) Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables, The Dark Knight Rises), Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone, Ocean's Eleven), Jessica Chastain (Mama, Zero Dark Thirty), Michael Caine (Inception, Batman Begins)
Synopsis: With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history; traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.
Why you should watch: Nolan's toughest sell to date, should be visually striking and thoughtful but will it hold up to the movie-going public?
3. Big Hero 6
The Players: Directors: Don Hall (Winnie The Pooh), Chris Williams (Debut) Writers: Robert L. Baird (Monsters University), Don Hall (Meet The Robinsons), Jordan Roberts (You're Not You), Duncan Rouleau (Debut), Paul Briggs (Debut) Starring: TJ Miller (How To Train Your Dragon, She's Out Of My League) Damon Wayans Jr. (Let's Be Cops, New Girl), Ryan Potter (Supah Ninjas), Jamie Chung (The Hangover 2, Premium Rush), Scott Adsit (30 Rock, The Informant!)
Synopsis: With all the heart and humor audiences expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios, "Big Hero 6" is an action-packed comedy-adventure about robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada, who learns to harness his genius-thanks to his brilliant brother Tadashi and their like-minded friends: adrenaline junkie Go Go Tamago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred. When a devastating turn of events catapults them into the midst of a dangerous plot unfolding in the streets of San Fransokyo, Hiro turns to his closest companion-a robot named Baymax-and transforms the group into a band of high-tech heroes determined to solve the mystery.
Why you should watch: Disney's been on a roll recently and if Big Hero 6 can even touch Wreck-It Ralph it'll be a huge success, early reviews have been great so expect big things from Hiro and crew.
2. The Hunger Games: Mockinjay Part 1
The Players: Director: Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Catching Fire) Writer: Danny Strong (The Butler, Recount) Starring: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook, X-Men: Days Of Future Past), Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song, The Expendables 2), Josh Hutcherson (Red Dawn, The Kids Are Alright), Julianne Moore (Non-Stop, Crazy Stupid Love), Donald Sutherland (Pride & Prejudice, Horrible Bosses)
Synopsis: The worldwide phenomenon of The Hunger Games continues to set the world on fire with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, which finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in District 13 after she literally shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and a nation moved by her courage. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Danny Strong and Peter Craig and produced by Nina Jacobson's Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the third in a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins that has over 65 million copies in print in the U.S. alone.
Why you should watch: Very rarely does a movie aimed at teens strike the right chords with critics and fans alike but that's exactly what the first 2 films do. We can expect more of the same in the penultimate chapter as the rebellion starts.
1. Dumb And Dumber To
The Players: Directors: The Farrelly Brothers (Stuck On You, Shallow Hal) Writer: Sean Anders (Hot Tub Time Machine, We're The Millers) Starring: Jim Carrey (Mr. Poppers Penguins, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective), Jeff Daniels (Looper, RV), Kathleen Turner (Monster House, Marley & Me)
Synopsis: Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reprise their roles as lovable imbeciles Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne in this sequel to Dumb and Dumber from original directing duo Bobby and Peter Farrelly
Why you should watch: All signs point to this being a stinker... The Farrelly's haven't done anything notable in years, the film is yet to be screened to critics (likely because the studio expects bad reviews) and sequels years apart tend to fall flat (Scream 4, Toy Story 4 and Men In Black 3 are the exceptions). But God help me it's Harry and Lloyd! I'll cry if this movie is bad but I liked the trailer so I'm sure I'll like the film!
What happens when 2 classic pulp heroes go head-to-head? Well you can catch the conclusion this month as the 3 part mini-series wraps up. Will Grendel succumb to the seductive temptations of the past? Or will The Shadow finally fall prey to the most dangerous foe he’s ever faced? Who will prevail as... The Master of Darkness? Best of all this is an action packed 48 pages of comic for only $5.99 brought to you by Eisner award winning writer Matt Wagner who has been writing Grendel for a while now but now he takes his talent to The Shadow. In what has been dubbed the perfect creator for the perfect project.
DC Comics: New Wonder Woman Team
Please welcome the new superstar creative team and husband and wife team-up of writer Meredith Finch and artist David Finch! They take over Wonder Woman with this month's issue #36 following Brian Azzarello's will be legendary run. As this new epic begins, the fate of the Amazons is about to be revealed, major new characters will be introduced and a new villain will arrive with enough power to defeat the combined might of Wonder Woman and her Justice League teammates! Don’t miss the start of this story that guest stars Swamp Thing! It will define what it takes for Diana to fulfill her destiny as Wonder Woman!
IDW Publishing: Shadow Show
Usually these posts are filled up with a whole slew of new #1's however this month Shadow Show is the one of 2 #1 we're spotlighting and with good reason. IDW is getting ridiculous with it's crossovers (Transformers Vs. Angry Birds... Really!?) and although I've been enjoying some, TMNT/Ghostbusters and Super Secret Crisis War have been good, but most are questionable. That's why it's a good thing that Joe Hill is still working for IDW to give us a break from their licensed products. In Shadow Show, acclaimed writers come together to pay tribute to the work of the one and only Ray Bradbury, the incomparable literary artist who has given us such timeless classics as Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and Dandelion Wine. Up first is “By The Silver Water of Lake Champlain,” written by Joe Hill and adapted by Jason Ciaramella (The Cape) and Charles Paul Wilson III (Wraith). In this haunting story, Gail and Joel, two young teens, form an unlikely bond over the discovery of a lifetime. But their lives will soon be changed, forever altered by what they found that foggy day by the silver waters of Lake Champlain.
Image Comics: Savage Dragon's landmark issue
I talked in a previous instalment of Comic Shop Corner, way back when this was a weekly segment about how Savage Dragon was likely to be Image's first non-Spawn series to hit 200 issues... Well we are finally here! Savage Dragon is out of prison and the Vicious Circle is gunning for him. Malcolm Dragon and his stepsister Angel join forces to keep their father alive against an all-out assault in this movie-length epic. This issue also contains a number of back up stories by some world renown comic shop creators they include an Angel and Mr. Glum story drawn by Batman alum Chris Burnham, Malcolm and Savage Dragon in WWII by legendary Incredible Hulk artist Herb Trimpe, Special Agents Strikeforce by Nikos Koutsis, Vanguard by Gary Carlson and Frank Fosco and Malcolm Dragon by Travis Sengaus.
Marvel Comics: Superior Iron Man
How much would you pay for perfection, beauty…immortality? Tony Stark is going to find out. The AXIS effect has changed Iron Man and now he's going to change the world…at a terrible cost. A new creative team of Tom Taylor (Earth 2, Injustice: Gods Among Us) and Yildiray Cinar (Supergirl) start an all new series spinning out of the aforementioned AXIS. Be Superior! How much would you pay for perfection? Beauty? Immortality? Tony Stark knows, and he’s ready to give it to you, but at a terrible price. The old Tony Stark is back, only this time he’s superior! More stylish, more confident, and more cunning than ever before. And he’s ready to lead you into the future! San Francisco is about to become the prototype for his new world concept. The first step? Release Extremis upon the entire city! Only Daredevil isn’t down with Stark’s new vision of the future. Does the Man Without Fear have a place in the city of tomorrow? A bold new direction for the Armored Avenger begins this November with issue #1 and #2.
Other top titles:
ALL NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA #1
Publisher: MARVEL COMICS
Creative Team: (W) Rick Remender (A/CA) Stuart Immonen
Release Date: 1/12/2014
Description: This is it! The all-new, Spy-Fi, highflying adventures of Sam Wilson Captain America and Nomad begin here! Hydra is growing, the terrorist band have has infiltrated the Marvel Universe completely! But what is their ultimate goal? United by Hydra, Cap’s rogue’s gallery gathers to take down the new untested Captain America and Nomad! Rated T+
If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Google+ you may have noticed all October I was doing a 31 days of movie challenge with Halloween movies but in case you missed some I've compiled the list here for your enjoyment.
Day 1 - Movie From Your Childhood You Still Love: Beetlejuice
Day 2 - A Comedy Tailored To Your Sense Of Humour: Tucker And Dale Vs. Evil
Day 3 - Great Remake Of Another Movie: Dawn Of The Dead
Day 4 - Movie You've Seen The Most Times: Nightmare Before Christmas
Day 5 - Favourite Love Story On Film: Corpse Bride
Day 6 - Great Movie Based On A True Story: The Strangers
Day 7 - Great Movie Twist You Never Saw Coming: Scream Franchise
Day 8 - Movie From A Favourite Filmmaker: Frankenweenie (Tim Burton)
Day 9 - Favourite Slasher Movie: My Bloody Valentine 3D
Day 10 - Movie Everyone Hates But You Like: The Covenant
Day 11 - Period Piece That Makes You Long For Time Travel: Sleepy Hollow
Day 12 - Favourite Horror Movie: 30 Days Of Night
Day 13 - Movie That Shows Off A Favourite Actor: 28 Days Later (Cillian Murphy)
Day 14 - Movie That Shows Off A Favourite Character: Zombieland (Tallahassee)
Day 15 - Family Friendly Movie: Halloweentown Franchise
Day 16 - Great Movie For A Rainy Day: Coraline
Day 17 - Gorgeous Looking Movie: Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Day 18 - Movie That Totally Blew Your Mind: Disturbia
Day 19 - Movie So Bad, It's Good: Evil Dead Franchise
Day 20 - Movie You Can't Sleep After Watching: Insidious Franchise
Day 21 - Animated Movie That Proves Animation Can Be Awesome: Monster House
Day 22 - Great Movie to Put On In The Background While Doing Other Stuff: Pulse
Day 23 - Movie That Should've Been A Hit, Dammit!: Fright Night
Day 24 - Great Date Movie: Shaun Of The Dead
Day 25 - Movie You Don't Get Bored Of: Red Eye
Day 26 - Favourite Monster Movie: Underworld Franchise
Day 27 - Oldest Movie You Love: The Lost Boys
Day 28 - Movie You Love That You Didn't Expect To Enjoy: From Dusk 'Till Dawn
Day 29 - Movie You Like But You Won't Watch Again For A While: Slither
Day 30 - Movie That Isn't For Everyone, But You Wish They'd Try: Clue
