Joker Revealed For Upcoming The Dark Knight Returns

TV Guide recently revealed the first look at the Joker and his appearance in the animated film version of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. It was also announced that Michael Emerson, most known for his role on “Lost” will be vicing the character.

The Dark Knight Returns is the upcoming animated feature based on the graphic novel. The story will be split up into two separate films with the Joker being heavily featured in the second part. Emerson commented on his role in the project, stating:

He’s one of those great villains that an actor like me likes to play because he has layers — he has a face for the world and a face for himself,” Emerson said. “He is, in a way, a villain who is a natural actor. All of that is that is delightful and confounding at the same time. It’s freeing because of the largeness of it. When he laughs, there’s nothing subdued about it. When he screams in rage, there’s nothing controlled about it. The amp is turned to 11 at all times.”

In the film, the Joker has been declared as legally sane by Dr. Wolper. He is released from his cell at Arkham Asylum and of course returns to his old ways in the wake of the return of Batman.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 will be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital platforms on September 25th with the second part expected to land in February of 2013. The first part is described as follows:

It’s been a decade since Bruce Wayne hung up his cape, following most of the other superheroes who had been forced into retirement. Facing the downside of middle age, a restless Bruce Wayne pacifies his frustration with race cars and liquor – but the bat still beckons as he watches his city fall prey to gangs of barbaric criminals known as The Mutants.”

Peter Weller provided the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne and is joined by David Selby as Commissioner Gordon, Ariel Winter as Robin, Wade Williams as Two-Face and Michael McKean as Dr. Bartholomew Wolper. The film is directed by Jay Oliva, written by Bob Goodman and executive produced by Sam Register and Bruce Timm.

You can check out the previously-released trailer below:

Killer Joe Is Earns It’s Rating With Enthusiasm – Review

With NC-17 movies, you’re never sure going in if the rating is going to be legit or if it’s essentially kowtowing to the Puritanical morals that still rule too much of the entertainment industry’s decisions.  Killer Joe, I’m happy to say, earns its rating with enthusiasm.  Starring Matthew McConaughey in the titular role, the film is, above all, a completely successful delivery of what its title promises:  a brutal, morally gray movie about a man who is a killer for hire.

Killer Joe is brought in by a simple family of questionable morals to kill their estranged mother when she takes out a life insurance policy benefitting her daughter Dottie.  Joe doesn’t work on speculation—cash up front or nothing—but Dottie’s innocent sexuality intrigues him enough to work on a retainer:  her.  As Joe’s relationship with Dottie deepens, so does his control of the entire family, and his hit on the mother brings consequences none of them could have predicted.

The climax of the movie is reminiscent of Michael Hanneke’s Funny Games as Joe’s sadistic personality pushes his victims to see just how far they will bend before breaking.  The scene is both exquisitely torturous and disturbingly erotic.  And, unlike Funny Games, there is never a question as to whether the victims deserve what they get.  The dishonesty and dishonor with which they have all behaved—barring Dottie, who is, like the archetypal innocents of melodramas, spared because of her honest purity—leaves only the question of whether they got exactly what they deserved or if the punishment exceeded the crime.  The film makes no attempt to answer that question for the viewer, and I expect different people will have different answers.

This film is one I will happily re-watch.  It was satisfying and not quite predictable on the first watch, and it has the kind of textual depth that means multiple viewings will reveal new humor and nuances every time.  It was well-filmed and tightly edited; at 103 minutes, there isn’t any fat that could have been trimmed, but yet the film never felt rushed or underdeveloped.

Killer Joe is a wonderful character and, while the role is not a stretch for McConaughey, one he plays with the suaveness and aplomb that are his hallmarks.  The rest of the characters were equally well-cast, especially Dottie.  I needed the same number of frames as Joe to recognize her allure—I never once questioned why he would be willing to work with only her as compensation, nor that he would consider the whole messy job a success if she was all he walked away with.  And that understanding was entirely because of [Juno Temple].  She was, perhaps, a more important role to get right than Joe himself; the entire premise of the movie falls apart if the audience cannot understand why she motivates him to proceed as he does.

Killer Joe is based on Tracy Lott’s stage play by the same name, and while the film is not an obvious adaptation of a play (the way, say, Carnage is), the origin makes sense upon reflection.  There are essentially five characters in the movie, with a handful of extras that could easily have been scripted in to add visual interest and depth of world to a film.  The scenes which take place somewhere besides the family’s trailer could easily have been relocated for the same reason.

If you like unapologetically brutal movies, you can’t do better than Killer Joe.  Highly recommended for those who like that sort of thing.

Game Of Thrones Season 3 To Be “More Visual” And “Less About Clever Dialogue”

Screenwriter Vanessa Taylor, who will be working on the upcoming third season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” spoke a bit about what fans can expect from the new season.

Season 3, based on the first half of A Storm of Swords features lots of new cast members as well as new settings for several of the characters.

Taylor explained what she’s learning from head writers D.B Weiss and David Benioff on the show and what the third season will be like.

I’ve actually been learning a particular lesson this season. My bosses [Weiss and Benioff] seem to be becoming more visual storytellers. All of the episodes of the third season seem to open with a particularly cinematic opening. And they’re less about clever dialogue and transition and more about these huge cinematic… just the visuals of it all. And so I’m really learning a different way of writing from that. Because I think it’s quite subtle and I feel like, by contrast, the writing of the second season was a bit more conventional.

New cast members are a huge part of season 3,  and include:

  • Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane, a Wildling raider
  • Thomas Sangster as Jojen Reed and Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed, two young Crannogman siblings, children of Howland Reed, a Stark bannerman
  • Tobias Menzies as Edmure Tully, Catelyn Stark’s brother
  • Clive Russell as Brynden Tully, the “Blackfish”, Catelyn’s uncle\
  • Tara Fitzgerald as Selyse (Florent) Baratheon, Stannis Baratheon’s wife
  • Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon, their daughter
  • Diana Rigg as Olenna (Redwyne) Tyrell, the “Queen of Thorns”, Margaery and Loras Tyrell’s grandmother
  • Richard Dormer as Beric Dondarrion, the leader of the “Brotherhood Without Banners”
  • Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr, a red priest with the Brotherhood
  • Philip McGinley as Anguy, an archer with the Brotherhood
  • Mackenzie Crook as Orell the skinchanger, a Wildling
  • Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei, a Naathi servant of Daenerys Targaryen
  • Anton Lesser as Qyburn, a former maester of the Citadel
  • Iwan Rheon as the character “Boy”
  • Ciarán Hinds as Mance Rayder, the Wildling “King-Beyond-The-Wall”.
  • Ed Skrein as Daario Naharis, a Tyroshi mercenary captain
  • Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm, a eunuch soldier captain
  • Dan Hildebrand as Kraznys mo Naklaz, a wealthy slaver of the Ghiscari city of Astapor.
  • Ramon Tikaram as Prendahl ze Ghezn, a captain of a notorious company of sellswords

Other new characters will include Vargo Hoat, the leader of the mercenary group “Bloody Mummers”

Season 3 of “Game of Thrones” will premiere March 31, 2013.

Hot Toys Reveals The Dark Knight Rises Catwoman Figure

Hot Toys have officially announced their Selina Kyle/ Catwoman The Dark Knight Rises action figure. With the announcement of the new figure, they posted the following:

Following the great response of The Dark Knight Rises movie and our movie-accurate collectibles, Hot Toys is proud to present the highly anticipated female character – the 1/6th scale Selina Kyle/ Catwoman Collectible Figure from this movie.

The collectible is specially crafted based on the image of Anne Hathaway as the prominent character Selina Kyle/ Catwoman, highlighting the movie-accurate head sculpt, hair implantation, highly detailed costume and accessories.

The Selina Kyle action figure is incredibly lifelike. Played by Anne Hathaway in the film, these figures look exactly like her. It is actually pretty impressive.

You can see images of the new action figure below:

Marvel’s The Avengers is Back in Theaters for Labor Day

In case you missed your chance to see Joss Whedon’s Marvel’s The Avengers in theaters, you should be happy to know that it was announced earlier today that the film will be returning to theaters for one more week. Marvel Studios officially announced that the popular film will expand back into 1705 theaters for the next week.

However, this may not be just an ordinary re-release into the box office. When Marvel announced the news via their Facebook Page they added a simple reminder: “Don’t forget to stay through the credits…” Why would they remind people to stay through the credits unless there was something new to see?

Written and directed by Joss Whedon, the superhero ensemble stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, and Stellan Skarsgård. The film has earned a massive $1.49 billion at the worldwide box office and it stands as the #3 film of all time globally and domestically.

This announcement also comes off the heels of news that Whedon will be writing and directing an upcoming live action Marvel television series for ABC. The series will focus on S.H.I.E.L.D. who features prominently in the Avengers film. No word yet on who will star in the television series.

The Dark Tower Turned Down By Warner Bros.

The big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower continues to fall on troubled waters as another studio turns down the project. Universal Pictures dropped the project that would have been a multi-film commitment earlier this year and now Warner Bros has reportedly turned down a proposal to take over the ambitious project.

The adaptation was being helmed by Ron Howard and Imagine Entertainment according to Variety.

While Warner Bros, is the latest in a list of studios turning down the project, the film may not necessarily be dead. In a world where most of our biggest hitting franchises are adaptation of fantasy and science fiction novels, King’s Dark Tower franchise would seemingly fit right in.

Howard initially planned to make a triology based on the novel series with an accompanying television series to fill in the gaps between each film installment. Akiva Goldsman is on board to provide the screenplay and has reportedly delivered his latest draft for the first film

It was also originally reported that Javier Bardem would be expected to portray gunslinger Roland Deshain, a character who travels across a desolate and vaguely post-apocalyptic landscape in his quest for a black tower. Russell Crowe later showed interest to take the lead role if the project got a greenlight from Warner. There is no word on whether Crowe will remain attached to the project since  the studio passed on the project.

Genius Joss Whedon Returning To Television With S.H.I.E.L.D

If you are a fan of directing genius, Joss Whedon, you are probably used to news stories about his shows getting cancelled but it seems that maybe networks are catching on to his large fanbase. ABC has ordered a pilot for “S.H.I.E.L.D.,” a live action television series from Whedon who must recently was the director/writer on Marvel’s The Avengers. 

The project is based on Marvel’s peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D (which stands for Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate or Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) found in both the Marvel comic book and feature film universes, including the blockbuster 2012 movie The Avengers, in which S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury, recruits Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and Thor to stop Thor’s adoptive brother Loki from subjugating Earth.

The series will be written by Whedon and his frequent partners in crime, brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. Joss Whedon is also expected to direct the pilot episode.

“S.H.I.E.L.D.” will be the first live-action Marvel television series to get a greenlight from the networks and is expected to start immediately. The project had been in the works at Marvel TV and ABC Studios for quite a while before it was announced earlier this month by Disney CEO Bob Iger that it had signed an exclusive film and TV deal with Joss Whedon. The deal included him both writing and directing the The Avengers sequel and develop a live-action series for Marvel TV and ABC, both owned by Disney.

Whedon is most known for his amazingly ahead of their time shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Dollhouse. Let’s all hope we can keep this show from getting cancelled, amiright?

Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Tancharoen executive produce with Jeffrey Bell and Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb.

The Best and The Worst Of True Blood Season 5

Now that season 5 of HBO’s “True Blood” has concluded, it is time to reflect back on the semi-terrible season we all just witnessed. Don’t get me wrong, there were some fantastic moments, moments were my girly squeals of glee echoed through my apartment, but those moments were leveled out by the multitude of times I said “what the fuck is happening?”

So, here is “True Blood” season 5 in retrospect.

I think it goes without saying, but just in case: SPOILERS AHEAD

Pros:

Russell is back, OF COURSE BECAUSE WHY KILL THE MOST DANGEROUS VAMPIRE? Though he falls in love with Steve Newlin, which is cute in its own creepy “lets drain a fraternity” kind of way. Denis O’hare is a fucking pro and handles his character like a boss.

CHRISTOPHER MELONI (do I really need to say more?)

Eric is finally back to the witty, sarcastic, intense viking we all love by the end of the season. We have missed you Eric.

Sam and Luna are naked this entire season. I’m pretty sure. This a pro because who doesn’t want to see them naked?

Luna’s daughter is a puppy the whole time too, which is freaking adorbs.

Pam does truly love Eric and she used to be a hooker. I love LOVE all the flashbacks to how they met.

Jessica glamours Hoyt to forget her and Jason. It broke my heart. Tears like waterfalls. But I saw the point in it. Definitely one of the most heartbreaking scenes of the entire season. Also the entire back and forth with Jessica and Jason. There are some genuinely sweet times between those two who can just never seem to get it together.

Alcide. Does anyone else feel like Sookie should give him an honest shot. He is sweet and loving and could treat her well. He also spends most of his time shirtless and growling which makes my heart and pants happy.

Vampire religion is a huge role this season. At first, I was annoyed however the more i think about it the more this social commentary didn’t feel as forced as some of the ones in the past. Also led up to Bill’s transformation in to the fucking worst.

Lafayette tells Alcide “don’t fucking growl at me.” Later he makes cajun margaritas and Merlotte’s is at peace once again.

Steve Newlin is a vampire now, wants a pet puppy, falls in love with Russell and then seems genuinely distraught at his death. His whole storyline. Gold.

Everything Roslyn said the entire season.

Sookie vomits on Alcide’s shoes. They do not talk about it.

Stoned vampires. Classic.

Jason says, “I don’t give a twirly fuck.”

Cons:

Bill has finally secured the role of being the fucking worst. Closely followed by Lillith.

CHRISTOPHER MELONI DIES! I wanted more shirtless Roman, more Meloni damnit!

Tara is a vampire. Her character has annoyed me from the beginning, and her whininess only gets worse now that she has fangs and can’t die.

PAM IS NOT FULLY UTILIZED. She spends the entire season with Tara. Then they make out.

Jason rebuffs Jessica’s love in the end.

Eric bangs his vampire sister.

We learn literally nothing about Worlow.

As in previous seasons, even more storylines are added to this season that no one cared about:

Terry and Ifrit. I literally forgot this whole storyline existed because once it was over, I forced it out of my mind.

Listen, I am all for any reason for Alcide to be shirtless/naked but I do not care about him and his “should I/shouldnt I be pack master” shit.

The fairy elder. What the fuck was that about? I’m glad she got drained.

Andy impregnated that fairy lady, whose “light breaks” and proceeds to pop out four fairy babies and promptly leaves. It took a whole season to lead up to that.

The hate group killing “supes.” They wear Obama masks and it feels forced. This is a storyline I could have done without.

The Walking Dead Casts Dallas Roberts In New Role

When fans think of the upcoming season 3 of “The Walking Dead,” they are most likely anticipating the introduction of new characters Michonne and the Governor. However, they aren’t the only new characters this season. AMC has announced that Dallas Roberts will be appearing as the character of Milton, one of the residents of Woodbury.

Robert Kirkman, comic book creator and series executive producer, explained,

“Milton is the details guy. He’s the guy that works with the Governor, who is monitoring all situations and is trying to help the Governor make sense of this world that they’re living in. He’s not exactly a scientist, but he’s a smart guy that is trying to find out how zombies behave. Watching him do his little experiments is going to be a lot of fun.”

According to the series showrunner, Glen Mazzara, fans will see Milton being not necessarily an imposing threat on the gang, but more of someone attempting to make themselves useful in a terrible situation.

“We were examining, ‘How do people survive in this apocalyptic world, and what can people contribute?’” says Mazzara. “And we didn’t think it was plausible that every single character we meet is an efficient zombie killer. We just didn’t buy that everyone we know would be active and deft enough to kill every walker. We wanted to show how other people survive, and Dallas has come in and helped us establish that character. He just adds a lot of heart and humanity to Woodbury, which further complicates what that is. That is a real town with real people and real survivors. It’s not necessarily a group of bad guys.”

The third season of “The Walking Dead” is set to premiere on October 14, 2012 and will feature 16 episodes.

City of Bones Facebook Page Launches

Sony has officially launched The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Facebook page in celebration of the year threshold mark of when the movie will hit theaters.

As of  the launch of the page, it garnered over 11,000 “likes” and continues to grow.

City of Bones is the big screen adaptation of the first book in the Mortal Instruments series written by Cassandra Clare. The film stars Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Kevin Zegers Godfrey Gao, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jemima West, and Lena Headey.

The novel follows young Clary Fray (Collins) as she finds out she is the descendent of a powerful supernatural group called Shadowhunters. When her mother is kidnapped, she must team up with the group to save her and figure out who she really is.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones will hit theaters August 23, 2013.