Happy May I guess. It's been tough. The global Coronavirus pandemic has changed everything. In the states, we've lost 100,000 people in less than four months. It's an absolute nightmare. It's hard to think about anything entertainment related when there's so much suffering going on. I'm hoping things get better soon.
My last post was a review about 'Birds of Prey' in February. It's amazing how much can change in a couple of months. If you're reading this, I hope you're well and staying safe. My family has been fortunate enough to be sheltered at home. While homeschooling my daughter and wrangling my toddler, I've been watching a lot of movies from the 90s and the early 00s. It's somewhat soothing to see what life was like before 2020.
I haven't been to the movies since February, but I hope things improve enough for a proper summer movie season. I'm hoping to support my local theater while properly socially distancing. We certainly need some good news. Most 2020 films have been delayed. Thankfully the films on my must-see list, like 'A Quiet Place II,' 'Wonder Woman 1984,' 'Lovebirds,' and 'Antebellum' will be released later this year. 'Lovebirds' has already been released on Neftlix.
Then there are some films like 'Fast and Furious 9' and 'Mission Impossible 7' that I can do without. How many Fast and Furious and Mission Impossible films do we really need? But there are some neat things going on in enetertainment news this week.
GEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
New Antebellum Trailer Drops
I'm very excited to see Jordan Peele's new film 'Antebellum.' Given the psychological and racial dynamics of 'Get Out' and 'Us,' I can tell we're in for another wild ride with 'Antebellum.' I don't quite know what the movie is about, but it centers around a successful author Veronica Henley (Janelle Monae) who suddenly finds herself in a nightmarish reality from the present time to the antebellum pre-civil war American south. I'm not sure if it's about time travel or if it's similar to the Lars Von Trier film 'Manderlay,' in which a southern town refused to acknowledge the end of slavery. I'll be curious to see what Peele does. The trailer looks fantastic and it doesn't give anything away.
'The Stand' Mini-Series Remake Yaassss
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| 'The Stand' | Vertigo Entertainment | Greengrass Productions | Laurel Entertainment Inc. | 1994. |
I loved every minute of the 1,000 page 'The Stand' book by Stephen King and I loved the cheesy four-part 90's miniseries. 'The Stand' is about a worldwide pandemic that wipes out the vast majority of humanity, excluding a small remnant. The epidemic is just part of the drama. The survivors must choose between the forces of good and evil in an epic apocalyptic battle. Here's a sneak peek of the new miniseries.
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| Alexander Skarsgard in 'The Stand' | Vertigo Entertainment | CBS Television Studios | Mosaic | 2020. |
Sadly, the release of the miniseries is well timed given the current conditions. I'm sure this mini-series will be just as popular as the 90s one. This is where I usually complain about remakes, but honestly the 90s miniseries is due for a reboot. The special effects were terrible. Computer generated imagery (CGI) was in its infancy in the early 1990s. If you'd like to know some trivia, the 1990 film 'Total Recall' was one of the last big budget films ever made using large scale miniatures, rather than CGI. The only CGI sequence in 'Total Recall' was the 42-second sequence in which commuters walked through the giant X-ray machine.
'The Stand' miniseries will debut some time in 2020 on CBS Access, starring Alexander Skarsgard, Whoopi Goldberg, James Marsden, and Amber Heard, and is directed by Josh Boone ('The Fault in our Stars'). I know there's a resurgence of everything 90s (trust me, I miss the 90s too), but did they really have to put Skarsgard in a mullet? He is not the type of man I want to see in a mullet.
See First Peek of 'Star Girl'
The new DC Comics series 'Star Girl' has finally dropped on the CW this month. The first two episodes are currently available on the CW's app. Admittedly I haven't seen much promotion of this new series. I just happeend upon it. I will definitely give it a go. The trailer looks good. I'm glad to see Luke Wilson in a leading role again, as Stripe, Star Man's sidekick.
The trailer has a great cameo of Joel McHale as a dying Starman who tries to pass his powers on to someone worthy--definitely not Stripe though! Like most superheroes Stripe has an alternative identity and a family with step-children. Enter Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) who accidentally becomes Stargirl, which follows comic book canon. The series seems to be in the same vein as family friendly shows like 'The Flash' versus a darker series like 'Arrow,' which is quite appropriate for the young teenage character.
Bassinger reminds me a lot of Erin Moriarty of 'The Boys' who plays Starlight (which I'm assuming is a take off of DC Comics' Star Girl, as 'The Boys' comic is a DC Comics imprint). If you haven't watched 'The Boys' yet, I would highly recommend it. If you ever wanted to see an R-rated no holds bar comic book series, this is is it. It was one of my favorite series from 2019 and it stars Karl Urban. How can you go wrong here?
American Horror Story Spinoff
2020 has been a bust for many reasons. Hopefully 2021 will be better, starting with the premiere of 'American Horror Stories,' which is a spinoff of 'American Horror Story.' 'American Horror Stories' plural will feature a new horror story in each episode-- think 'Tales from the Crypt,' 'Monsters,' and 'Tales from the Darkside.' Yep, I am a child of the 1980s. Admittedly, I'm excited for a true horror anthology series. We haven't had one in a long time!
Synder Director's Cut
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Joss Whedon took over with disastrous results. The Synder/Whedon cut was ALL over the place. Supposedly there is a cut of the film that included a completely different storyline, which I find hard to believe, but hey I'm game. I'm no fan of Synder, but I don't know how it could be worse than what was released in theaters?
The theatrical version of the film's main villain was a computer generated monstrosity "Steppenwolf" voiced by Ciaran Hands. Steppenwolf was a weak big bad. He was clearly a half-witted creation of Joss Whedon without any of the humor. Synder's cut supposedly had a richer villain in Darkseid. Darkseid is an extremely powerful interdimensional being, very similar to Marvel's Thanos. Darkseid is an archenemy of Superman, so his characterization would have made MUCH more sense than Steppenwolf's.
Synder's Director's Cut of 'Justice League' will be released by HBO Max in 2021 and will cost $30 million to reconfigure. I'm still trying to figure out what HBO Max is exactly. We already have HBO Go and HBO Now. But similar to the new Disney+ streaming channel that features the entire Disney catalog, HBO Max will include the entire Warner Brothers film catalog. So it should be interesting.
Henry Cavill is Back as Supes
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Another piece of good news came out of all of this. Henry Cavill will be back as Superman. I don't particularly like Cavill as an actor, but HE FINALLY found his groove as Superman in the last 'Justice League' film. It's hard to get used to yet another actor and reboot. Just ask poor Robert Pattinson who is doning the batsuit in an oversaturated Batman market.
Wait, Hol' Up
After Synder's news broke, now everyone has a director's cut. Yucky David Ayers wants to release his director's cut of 2016's 'Suicide Squad.' Admittedly, there was a lot of footage on the cutting room floor of Harley and the Joker, so it may be interesting. But now the writer of the dismal 'Dark Phoenix' said his movie was bad because it was supposed to be a two-parter. JUST STOP. Can't directors and writers take some responsibility for the muck they shove out? If you can't make a decent movie the first time, why should we believe you can make a better movie the second time? Synder gets a pass because he had a personal tragedy that caused him to drop out of the film. But normally, movies shouldn't have do-overs.
That's all for this week. I'll try to keep up with entertainment news next week! Be safe, wear a mask, and wash your hands.
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Good to hear from you! Birds of Prey was the last film I saw in the theater.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about a Snyder cut of Justice League. I don't think the tone needs to be darker and that's pretty much what he does. Good Cavill will return as Superman.
I did enjoy The Stand miniseries and am curious about the new one.
And I confess, I'll watch all the Fast and Furious and Mission Impossible movies they want to make well. I think the last three MI movies have been the best of the bunch.
Hi Alex!!! I am so glad you're well and safe. I really enjoyed the original Stand too. I'm excited to see what they will do with it. lol I can see why you like FF and MI movies. My husband does too!
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