Liam Neeson is Hollywood’s most bankable action star. That’s a statement of fact, but how do we know it is fact? How much more bankable is he than others? First off, we take a look at the box office returns for his action films and match them against the budgets and see what sort of…
The migration of filmmakers from the big screen to the small one is not a new phenomenon, but another team was formally inducted this weekend, with the Wachowskis’ Netflix series Sense8 making its debut. The duo join the ranks of others such as Steven Soderbergh, and they are far from the last ones, as Steve…
Hugh Jackman has played Logan aka Wolverine in seven different films. It’s an impressive number that will shortly increase with a third solo Wolverine film and possibly X-Men:Apocalypse, although at the time of writing he has yet to be officially cast. A few other names are snapping at the heels of Jackman, notably the cast…
Every decade has their cinematic science fiction obsessions which speak to its concerns of the age; in the 1950s films such as Earth vs. The Flying Saucers and Them! capitalised on fears of alien invasion and nuclear proliferation. In the 1960s films like Barbarella and Ikarie XB-1 captured the hopes and dangers of space exploration…
If you caught Carole King performing with Sara Bareilles at the 2014 Grammys, you’d know just how timeless an artist King and her work are. Her Diamond graded pop-album Tapestry from 1971 is a masterpiece, and one of the best selling albums of all time. And though today King maybe doesn’t get the indie cred as…
Film scores are pretty ephemeral to a large chunk of the movie-going populace, where music isn’t noticeable unless a triumphant fanfare or sweeping ballad draws enough attention to itself. So if scoring is already the film industry’s unappreciated middle child, how silly is a list about ones that haven’t been released yet? Very silly. Oftentimes,…
Doug “Dougie” Braithwaite is one of a few comics artists who can make pencils look like the beautiful strokes of a paintbrush. This skill made Braithwaite a perfect choice for DC Comics’ 2007 Justice maxiseries, which was an homage to the old Super Friends vs. Legion of Doom. He pencilled the comic while Alex Ross co-wrote and painted over his pencils. Braithwaite has…
In recent years, comics conventions have become less about the comics creators, who crafted (and continue to craft) the characters beloved by pop culture and more about celebrity guests. Yes, it is fun to get a picture made with your favorite Star Trek captain or Doctor Who companion, but from my personal experience as well as that of con-goers and the crowded nature of big shows…
If you were a fan of how Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn balanced the comedy of a Weapon Plus reunion between Deadpool, Wolverine, and Captain America with real character growth for Deadpool in “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, Deadpool and Captain America will be a treat to read. Duggan takes Deadpool seriously as a character while peppering his script with puns, pop culture gags, and silly, but chuckle worthy jokes about Wolverine’s grooming. Scott Kolins’ figures aren’t as sharp and well-defined as Declan Shalvey’s in “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, but he is skilled panel architect, who can turn a mundane elevator ride into an opportunity for humor and character reflection. Kolins adds layers to the comedy with sight gags and slapstick, like when Captain America beats up an AIM.
Automata Directed by: Gabe Ibáñez Written by: Gabe Ibáñez, Igor Legaretta Gomez, Javier Sanchez Donate Starring: Antonio Banderas, Birgitte Hjort Sorensen, Dylan McDermott, Robert Forster, Tim McInnerny, Melanie Griffith USA, 2014 Following up 2009’s Hierro, Gabe Ibáñez goes from domestic to sci-fi mystery with Automata. Set in 2044 AD, when solar storms turn Earth into…
One of the most iconic action characters of the past 35 years is Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, who has fought various xenomorphs through the course of the Alien quadrilogy. With The Expendables 3 opening in theatres this past weekend, talk had heated up in recent months of an all-female spinoff of the franchise, centred on…
Anderson:Psi-Division #1 Written by Matt Smith Art by Carl Critchlow Published by IDW In her solo debut for IDW, writer Matt Smith takes psychic judge Cassandra Anderson out of familiar territory to catch some robbers that have taken an old map of the Cursed Earth from a museum in Mega City One and most definitely have…
Towards the end of his life, the legendary Jack Kirby created Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers for the defunct Malibu Comics. With a special blessing from the Kirby family, Dynamite obtained this characters and can create new stories with them. Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #1 is the best drawn Dynamite book that I have read, and Fox, Rugg, and Farinas’ distinct art styles blend well. Joe Casey’s plot is fast-paced and filled with new characters, conflicts, and concepts.
There is something about getting a kick out of the sleazy celluloid cretins that feels rather intriguing. Whether these movie weasels are unctuous lawyers, abusive spouses or borderline bullies the concept of being a big screen weasel brings to mind some of the most colorful cast of conniving cohorts of misbehaving ever assembled. Okay…maybe that…
2000 AD, the British sci-fi anthology magazine has been around for nearly 40 years. Let that sink in: 40 years. Since its inception, the publication has survived radical terrorism, made it through the Thatcher administration, witnessed the loss of a princess, had their country host an Olympics ,and more. Week in, week out, no matter…
The Fuse #1 Written by Antony Johnston Art by Justin Greenwood Colors by Shari Chankhamma Published by Image Comics The Fuse is basically Lethal Weapon in space, but it replaces Riggs and Murtagh with an aging, foulmouthed Russian woman and a young, laconic German man. Antony Johnston and Justin Greenwood don’t re-invent the crime or science fiction genres, but…
RoboCop Written by Joshua Zetumer Directed by José Padilha USA, 2014 The remake of RoboCop is a largely different beast to Paul Verhoeven’s original film, and is all the better for choosing not to be a slavish re-creation minus the trademark ultra-violence. The 2014 take may be less gory and far less cartoonish, but there…
Robocop: Hominem Ex Machina Writer: Michael Moreci Art: Jason Copland Colours: Juan Manuel Tumburus Letters: Ed Dukeshire Publisher: Boom! Studios Purchase: http://www.boom-studios.com/ Robocop is coming back in a big way this season with a brand new reboot. While many have been rushing to judgement on the movie prior to its release for numerous reasons, that doesn’t…
Zenith Writer: Grant Morrison Art: Stephen Yeowell Publisher: 2000AD Purchase: http://shop.2000adonline.com/products/zenith_phase_1 We all start somewhere, even Grant Morrison. When he was but a wee lad living in Glasgow he published his first comic strip, Gideon Stargrave, for a small publication based out of Scotland called Near Myths. While Near Myths would only last 5 issues, that…
In July, when Zack Snyder announced that Batman would have a role in the Man of Steel sequel, the internet went ablaze with excitement and speculation. A major issue of speculation was casting; who would play Batman? After Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale each succeeded and/or failed at making…
Trance Written by John Hodge and Joe Ahearne Directed by Danny Boyle UK, 2013 Danny Boyle’s return to the thriller genre is also a return to the three character piece nature of his debut feature Shallow Grave, albeit placed within the confines of a heist film set mostly within the human mind. This is bound…
After his death in Green Arrow 101, Oliver Queen is replaced as Green Arrow by his son Connor Hawke. The series lasted for 37 more issues before being cancelled in 1998. Connor Hawke also became a temporary member of the Justice League of America in Grant Morrison’s run on JLA even taking out the supervillain The Key with his…
I hate being wrong. Really hate it. The only thing I hate more than being wrong is publicly admitting I’m wrong. And, man, when it comes to how 2012 played out at the movies matched up against what I’d predicted in my end-of-2011 box office wrap-up, I couldn’t have been more wrong. “Want a prediction…