Ryan Reynolds

What Hollywood Should Learn From Deadpool

Essentially, Fox has nothing to lose by playing it safe, but apparently they don’t have much to lose by backing the ugly underdog, either. The best case scenario? The improbable success of Deadpool gives Fox a mandate to make superhero media weirder, smarter, and more subversive. Worst case: we get another Avengers clone with more sex and blood. Both scenarios make Fox a boatload of box-office money, so why not get a little weird?

To Better Know an Anti-Hero: Deadpool

Deadpool’s road to super-stardom, from a 90s-riffic Liefeld character to movie star and perennial bestseller is an odd, almost-unprecedented one. Without a doubt the most successful (in terms of revenue-generation, multi-media exposure and overall popularity) solo Marvel character introduced after Wolverine, Deadpool was born amidst the dying gasps of New Mutants, a series that was being put to pasture in order to transform it into X-Force, a move intended to placate superstar artist Rob Liefeld by giving him a brand new series in which he could cut loose in EXTREME 90s fashion.

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Deadpool: Everything you need to know

Much like a pre-2008 Iron Man, Deadpool is a beloved character whose cult popularity has yet to reach mainstream audiences. In order to get moviegoers up to speed for the movie, here is a quick rundown on who Deadpool is and why his new film is significant.

‘Deadpool’ is shallow, vulgar fun

Though it feels like being locked in a bathroom with the ‘life of the party’ for two hours, there’s no resisting the inspired energy and vulgarity of ‘Deadpool.’

‘Deadpool’ Breaks the Internet or Maybe Just Comic Con

The Deadpool trailer and panel won the hearts and souls of San Diego Comic Con through a mix of rude, uproarious comedy; some hilarious in-jokes, and a real passion for the source material. Tim Miller, Rhett Reese, and Paul Wernick have integrated characters from all eras of Deadpool comics as well as dusted off some underrated X-Men characters, which weren’t really being used in that movie. If the actual film is as filled with comic anarchy as the trailer and panel, Deadpool could be a sleeper hit and bust the market wide open for more R-rated comic book films that aren’t dead serious, like Watchmen or V for Vendetta.

‘The Voices’ will make talking to your pets feel so wrong

Jerry (Ryan Reynolds) spends his days working the nine-to-five shift at his new job at the Milton Bathtub Factory. Jerry is chipper to the point that he may turn some people off, but he never stops trying to make friends. Friends are something that Jerry could use because the only other conversation he has is with his dog Bosco and his cat Mr. Whiskers. Things are looking up though, Jerry has been tasked with planning the company picnic and he’s asked a girl (Gemma Arterton) out on a date. Jerry is so excited to share the news he rushes home to tell his pets about Fiona. Oddly enough, both Bosco and Mr. Whiskers start talking back.

Sundance 2015: Ben Mendelsohn is the jackpot in otherwise middling ‘Mississippi Grind’

The first shot of the film is a rainbow: The rainbow becomes a sort of plot device for Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn), a down and out gambler who strikes up a friendship with drifter Curtis (Ryan Reynolds) and the two head out on a road trip through the South to win back Gerry’s losses in writers/directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s character driven road trip. For them the rainbow is a symbol of their friendship, a sign of good luck for bets, and ultimately what both are searching for – the beauty after the rainy storm both of them are experiencing.

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