The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman has teased that the seventh season of the AMC TV series will be especially hard on main character Rick Grimes.
During a Reddit AMA session, Kirkman said:
“The premiere episode of season 7 is going to be hard on everyone. Rick especially.”
Kirkman’s tease is likely hinting at Rick having to watch his power be given to Negan and seeing someone he loves beaten to death in front of him. Kirkman also teased during the same Q&A that Rick Grimes will be killed off eventually.
The Walking Dead returns for its seventh season in October.
Thoughts on this report? Are you looking forward to the challenges Rick Grimes faces in the seventh season of The Walking Dead?
On the next LIVE guest interview from the Everything Geek Podcast which will take place today, we’ll be interviewing actor Michael Lockwood Crouch! Michael is best-known as the voice of Trevor in Pokémon. His other notable roles include the voice of Sylvio Sawatari in Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V and the Local Population in Grand Theft Auto V. We’ll be taking YOUR questions for Michael as well, so if you have any questions for Michael on any of his roles, please leave them in the comments or call-in when we look for questions or call-ins from our listeners on Channel1138! Michael’s full list of credits can be found here:
The Avengers go to war with each other in the second superhero showdown movie of the year. Captain America: Civil War sees Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) end up on opposing sides as a new villain manages to successfully turn the Avengers on each other.
Captain America: Civil War is the third film in the Captain America trilogy and sees Anthony and Joe Russo return as the directors, following their debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the directors of 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier was immediately hailed by many fans as one of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date.
I think Civil War surpasses The Winter Soldier and the Russo brothers did another outstanding jobs. While the movie is only loosely based on the comic series of the same name, it still has enough of the same material to feel like the Civil War story-line, has lots of great action and story, has a great focus on Captain America and shows that the brothers can balance using a lot of Avengers in one movie very well ahead of directing the upcoming two-part Avengers: Infinity War movie.
One of the greatest strengths of Captain America: Civil War is its character development. While billed as a Captain America film, not only does he get a lot of character development but every other Avenger gets their moment to shine and stand out amongst the others and every cast member put in strong performances. I’d easily say that this film has the best performances from Chris Evans (Captain America), Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) and Sebastian Stan (The Winter Soldier) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date.
As mentioned above though, every Avenger has their moment to shine including both old and new. We see Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) playing both sides in the conflict, The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) now established as Captain America’s right-hand man, War Machine (Don Cheadle) ends up partially paralysed after the fight at the airport, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) comes out of superhero retirement to help Captain America, The Vision (Paul Bettany) struggles with feeling human emotions, Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) struggles to cope with how strong her powers are and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) is recruited to assist Team Captain America and in doing so viewers are able to see him become Giant Man for the first time on screen.
The movie also had debuts for a couple of other Avengers. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) played a vital role and his performance was one of the highlights of the movie. You’ll come out of Captain America: Civil War and be very excited for his solo film if you weren’t already. His story-line was excellent, from the death of his father King T’Chaka (John Kani) to his pursuit of The Winter Soldier and his eventual decision to not be vengeful was a strong choice. Spider-Man (Tom Holland) makes his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as well and, in my opinion, is already the best Spider-Man in a movie. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, who played the character in Sony’s Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man films respectively, did great jobs in their own right but Tom Holland’s portrayal instantly felt like the portrayal we were always meant to have as fans, and seeing a new take on May Parker (Marisa Tomei) briefly was nice as well. Things are looking good for the Black Panther film and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Other returning characters in the movie included Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) and Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt), who both had pivotal roles to play as well. Sharon got to partake in some action scenes (which she didn’t really get to do in The Winter Soldier) and was pivotal in helping Captain America. One of the highlights of the movie was her kissing scene with Captain America (though the highlight was just as much for the reaction of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier which was hilarious). One of the most emotional scenes in the movie is the funeral for Peggy Carter, Sharon’s aunt, who was Captain America’s love interest in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Ross, who debuted in The Incredible Hulk (2008), played a big role in introducing the Sokovia Accords to the team and being the political side of the film. The Sokovia Accords plays a crucial role in splitting the Avengers apart which leads to them forming two teams: Team Captain America and Team Iron Man.
Captain America: Civil War had two major villains. Zemo (Daniel Brühl) is the main villain and, in my opinion, is one of the best villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. The reason I think Zemo is one of the best is because he succeeds where numerous other Marvel villains have failed; tearing the Avengers apart. Yes, there have been more interesting looking villains (whereas Zemo’s just a guy) but for me that’s one of the strengths of the character. It’s revealed that Zemo lost his family in Sokovia because of the events seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron and he wants revenge on the Avengers for that. I really liked that he wasn’t another villain that tried to take out the Avengers through force. Instead, he cunningly manipulates events so that they will eventually turn on each other and this made him a memorable villain for me. It was disappointing that he didn’t wear his iconic suit from the comics, but given that he isn’t killed off it’s likely he will return and wear the suit in another movie.
The other villain was Brock Rumlow (Frank Grillo), returning after his debut in The Winter Soldier, who finally got to wear his iconic Crossbones outfit from the comics. I only had a couple of complaints about Civil War and Rumlow’s limited screen-time and death was one of them. Frank Grillo is a terrific actor and I would have liked to have seen more of him (and the Crossbones suit) in Civil War. It’s especially disappointing if you knew how pivotal a character he is in the comics. That said, he does have a large impact on the events of the film so at least his death had meaning to it and he wasn’t killed off just for the sake of it.
Civil War had three big fight scenes that stood out to me and were all done excellently. The opening sequence where Captain America, The Falcon, Black Widow and Scarlet Witch are chasing Rumlow was great in the way it got the film rolling. The fight scene at the airport with all of the Avengers was incredible to watch and everyone got their moment to shine in the fight as well. The third fight scene with Captain America and The Winter Soldier fighting Iron Man was also perfect and leaves a massive impact on the viewers.
Not only does Civil War stand out on its own and set up upcoming films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it also ties back to the very beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (on top of recent instalments). We finally learn that The Winter Soldier was the person who killed Tony Stark (Iron Man)’s parents and this leads to the third fight scene described above. A lot of fans, myself included, had been predicting this for a long time but I think the reveal was handled so well that it was still very impactful in any case.
Aside from Brock Rumlow’s demise, my only other complaint was with the ending of the film. It wasn’t bad but it felt like the film ended very abruptly and simply, which felt strange given the complexity of everything that happened before the ending. Following the airport fight, all of Team Captain America excluding Cap and The Winter Soldier (The Falcon, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Ant-Man) had been taken to a prison called The Raft. The movie ends with Cap getting into The Raft and breaking his allies out. The aftermath also sees Zemo taken to the authorities and War Machine given leg braces that allow him to walk again.
There are two additional scenes that followed the end of the movie. The mid-credits scene sees Black Panther putting The Winter Soldier into a cryogenic sleep until someone is able to find a cure for his brainwashing and the post-credits scene sees Spider-Man testing a new gadget that he received from Tony.
In my opinion, Captain America: Civil War is one of the best movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. The Russo brothers have brought us another excellent Captain America film that also manages to balance using a lot of Avengers superbly and gives every important character their moments to shine. The film also manages to perfectly establish every characters perspective on the Sokovia Accords and gives them their moment to shine in the fight scenes. The debuts of Spider-Man and Black Panther were great to see and it’s great to finally have both characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Zemo was an excellent villain and hopefully we’ll see him in another Marvel movie soon. Civil War also does a great job of tying the whole franchise together with the reveal of The Winter Soldier being the one who killed Tony’s parents. My only complaints were the death of Brock Rumlow and the abrupt ending, but other than those issues it was a near perfect film.
My rating: 9.5/10
By Ruari Williamson
*The opinions in this article are of the writer and do not represent the views of all of the Everything Geek Podcast staff*.
Two titanic superheroes clash in one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year, as Batman and Superman appear in a live-action film together for the first time in a movie that also prepares for the Justice League movie.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Ben Affleck (Batman) and Henry Cavill (Superman) in the title roles, and is directed by Zack Snyder. In my opinion the movie is the perfect example of Snyder’s strengths and weaknesses as a director. Snyder is great at visualising what he wants to see in a film but needs more help on writing the screenplay. Batman v Superman is visually spectacular and deserves a lot of credit for being one of the (visually) best superhero movies of this generation. However, it suffers from a script that tries to accomplish too much in one movie. The movie borrows heavily from two DC comic book story arcs (The Dark Knight Returns and the Death of Superman). Both of these are big story arcs and in my opinion could have made great films on their own instead of both having elements utilised for the same movie. On top of this, the film does have connections to other story arcs from the comics and I feel like the crew included too many connections because they really wanted to seed the ground for a much larger cinematic universe.
Batman v Superman also had to set up the events of the upcoming Justice League two-part movie. Ezra Miller (The Flash), Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and Ray Fisher (Cyborg) all make cameo appearances in the film. It’s clear that their inclusions were to set up the Justice League (like how we’ve seen the Marvel movies set up their next movie) so it’s no surprise that Bruce Wayne talks about setting up a team towards the end of the film.
On top of Batman v Superman trying to accomplish too much (especially taking into account that it’s only the second movie in the DC Cinematic Universe), the reason that leads to Batman and Superman putting their differences aside and teaming up to stop Lex Luthor was very weak. I appreciated that the writers made re-using Bruce Wayne’s origin story again relevant by having Batman learn that Superman’s mother is also called Martha and Lex has her hostage, but I still think it was a predictable move used to get the characters to put their differences aside. You could argue that the revelation makes Batman realise that their fighting is wrong and has him see Superman in a different way, but I felt like the writers could have had the exact same effect portrayed without using something predictable like their mothers having the same name. Like I said though, at least the writers made Batman’s origin story being shown again relevant.
That said, I think the casting for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was perfect. Affleck puts in a strong debut performance as Batman and is already being considered as one of the best Batman actors to date. Cavill returns as Superman (after his debut in the role in 2013’s Man of Steel) and puts in another excellent performance, nearly rivalling the strong performance of Affleck. Amy Adams (Lios Lane), Diane Lane (Martha Kent) and Laurence Fishburne (Perry White) also reprise their roles from Man of Steel and put in excellent performances again. Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) and Jeremy Irons (Alfred Pennyworth) also make their DC Cinematic Universe debuts in this movie and put in excellent performances. Eisenberg’s and Irons’ new takes on Lex and Alfred respectively were instantly memorable and Gadot was the perfect choice to bring Wonder Woman to the big-screen for the first time. It would have been nice to see more of Wonder Woman in the film but she still managed to play a pivotal role and I’m looking forward to seeing a lot more of her in her solo film next year.
The villains of the movie, Lex Luthor and Doomsday, were brought to life very well in the movie. The way Luthor manages to manipulate Batman and Superman into fighting each other was done excellently and Eisenberg shows a wide range of acting abilities in his role as the main villain of the movie. He doesn’t don Luthor’s iconic bald look until the end of the movie but it was great to see him go bald by the end. The way in which Doomsday was created by the body of General Zod (Michael Shannon) was very interesting and Doomsday’s fight scenes were great to watch. It was disappointing that such an iconic DC Comics villain in Doomsday didn’t last long but he did have a big impact on the movie (more to come on that…)
While I did have complaints about the film, I will say this; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is still the perfect movie to have Batman and Superman clash on the big-screen for the first time. Zack Snyder perfectly visualised all of the fight scenes and all of the fights made for excellent viewing. I’d argue that the fight scenes in the movie are among the best I’ve ever seen from a superhero movie. It’s clear how much time and effort were put into the fight scenes and it’s a pity that the rest of the movie wasn’t as good as the fight scenes.
The death of Superman by Doomsday was also handled really well in my opinion. It was a sad moment to witness, albeit more so the characters (Bruce, Lois, Martha and Diana) responses to Clark/Superman’s death, and the funerals that were held for Clark and Superman individually. It was the death of Superman that caused Bruce Wayne to decide to set up the Justice League as hinted at earlier in the film with the cameos of The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. Seeing Superman’s coffin start to move slightly was a great way to end the film and get fans excited to see his return in the Justice League movie.
In my opinion, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a solid movie that could have been even better. It had the potential (and hype) to be one of the best superhero movies of all time but fell a little short as far as I’m concerned. The film was visually outstanding and the fight scenes were terrific. The visuals in the fight scenes in particular were very memorable and the special effects throughout the movie were used excellently. The casting was also perfect and all of the cast members put in great performances, especially Ben Affleck in his debut as Batman. However, it suffers from trying to accomplish too much in its script with the connections to numerous story arcs from the comics and setting up the Justice League movie which, while handled well, showed how much the crew felt they needed to accomplish in just the second movie from the DC Cinematic Universe. The way in which Batman and Superman put their differences aside felt rushed and predictable. Hopefully it won’t be too long until we see Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor again and we can expect to see Superman return sooner rather than later.
My rating: 8/10
By Ruari Williamson
*The opinions in this article are of the writer and do not represent the views of all of the Everything Geek Podcast staff*.
CBS have released the first teaser trailer for their upcoming Star Trek TV series.
You can watch the teaser trailer below:
The teaser trailer reveals the shows logo and promises new crews, planets and villains.
A statement from CBS to accompany the teaser reads as follows:
“CBS Studios debuted a teaser trailer and revealed the logo for the new Star Trek series today at the CBS upfront presentation for advertisers at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Les Moonves introduced the first elements for the show, which will premiere in January, 2017.
The upcoming Star Trek series, from CBS Studios, has Bryan Fuller on board as executive producer/showrunner, Alex Kurtzman as executive producer and Nicholas Meyer as writer and consulting producer.
In the U.S., a special premiere episode will air on the CBS Television Network and all subsequent first-run episodes will be available exclusively on CBS All Access. The series will also be available on television stations and platforms in other countries around the world.
Production on the new Star Trek series will begin this fall in Toronto, Canada.”
Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) serves as showrunner and executive producer on the series.
The series is scheduled to debut on CBS in January 2017. New episodes will follow on CBS’s digital platform, CBS All Access.
Thoughts on the teaser trailer? Are you looking forward to CBS’ upcoming Star Trek TV series?
By Ruari Williamson
*Be sure to subscribe to our website for updates every time a new article is published and check us out on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube*.
A new trailer for the Ghostbusters reboot has been released.
You can watch the trailer below:
“30 years after Ghostbusters took the world by storm, the beloved franchise makes its long-awaited return. Director Paul Feig brings his fresh take to the supernatural comedy, joined by some of the funniest actors working today.”
The Ghostbusters reboot is scheduled for release on July 15th, 2016.
Thoughts on the new trailer? Do you think it’s better than the first trailer?
By Ruari Williamson
*Be sure to subscribe to our website for updates every time a new article is published and check us out on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube*.
David Harewood (Martian Manhunter) has revealed some details on the second season of Supergirl.
Details had been scarce when it was announced that Supergirl would be moving to The CW, but Harewood has revealed that the second season has a 22-episode order (two more episodes than the first season had) and will be filmed in Vancouver.
While the show had the biggest debut of the 2015/2016 season, it lost half of its viewers over the course of the first season. While it remained as one of the networks biggest shows even after losing half of its viewership, the series was very expensive to make. It’s reported that Supergirl costs about $3 million to make per episode (not taking licensing fees into account).
Thoughts on the new details? Are you excited that Supergirl is moving to The CW?
The fourth series of Sherlock has officially begun filming.
Toby Jones (Harry Potter, Captain America, The Hunger Games, Infamous, Dad’s Army) has joined the cast as the main villain in the fourth series. Jones will make his debut in the second episode of the three-episode season.
On the subject of joining the Sherlock cast, Jones said:
“I’m excited and intrigued by the character I shall be playing in Sherlock.”
Co-creator Steven Moffat welcomed Jones to the cast, saying:
“Delighted to have Toby Jones on board, bringing to life one of [Arthur Conan] Doyle’s finest villains.”
Co-creator Mark Gatiss also welcomed Jones to the cast, adding:
“We’re thrilled to welcome one of our finest actors to the Sherlock family. I know Toby will embrace the part with true relish!”
The fourth series of Sherlock began filming on Monday.
Thoughts on this news? Are you excited for the fourth series of Sherlock and Toby Jones joining the cast?
Screenwriter Zack Stentz (X-Men: First Class, Thor, Power Rangers) has confirmed that he will be writing the script for Warner Bros. upcoming DC Comics movie Booster Gold.
Stentz made the confirmation during an appearance on the latest instalment of Screen Junkies’ “Movie Fights”. He said:
“I am jumping into the DC Universe with both feet, and I am at least, until they fire me, I’m gonna be writing Booster Gold — for the big screen.”
This will mark Stentz’s second involvement with DC Comics. He recently wrote the script for the Kevin Smith-directed episode of The Flash titled “The Runaway Dinosaur”.
A description of the character from the comics can be read below:
“In the comics, Booster Gold is a disgraced athlete who steals a time machine and some superhero equipment to travel back in time and become a celebrity. Ultimately his journey from laughingstock to hero includes, among other things, fathering a child — Rip Hunter, the inventor of time travel in the DC Universe.”
The movie is being developed by Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow).
Thoughts on this news? Are you looking forward to seeing the Booster Gold movie?
The box artwork for the Batman: The Killing Joke animated movie has been revealed. The artwork can be seen above.
The movie features the returns of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as Bruce Wayne/Batman and The Joker respectively.
The special Deluxe Edition of the Blu-Ray combo pack will be priced at $29.96 and include a limited edition figurine of The Joker. The regular Blu-ray pack is priced at $24.98 and the DVD will cost $19.98.
The press release says:
“Based on the acclaimed graphic novel of the same name, Batman: The Killing Joketakes a journey into the dark psyche of the Clown Prince of Crime – from his humble beginnings as a struggling comedian to his fateful encounter with Batman that changes both of their lives forever. Years later, and now escaped from Arkham Asylum, The Joker devises a plan to prove that one bad day can make anyone as insane as he is – setting his sights on Commissioner Gordon. It’s up to the Dark Knight to put a stop to The Joker’s latest scheme and save one of Gotham City’s finest. Following a gripping prologue introducing Barbara Gordon’s heroic adventures alongside Batman as Batgirl, Batman: The Killing Jokestays true to the authentic tale that has held fans’ imaginations for nearly three decades – spotlighting the birth of a Super-Villain, the fortitude of a Super Hero and the punchline that will leave you speechless.”
The DVD will include a sneak peek at the next DC Universe Original Animated Movie. Both editions of the Blu-ray will have a featurette focusing on the music of the film, in addition to a featurette about the artistic process behind The Killing Joke and two 22 minute episodes of Batman: The Animated Series: “Old Wounds” and “Christmas with the Joker.”
The Batman: The Killing Joke animated movie was given an R-rating. It’s scheduled for a Digital HD release on July 26th, 2016. This will be followed by its Blu-ray/DVD release on August 2nd, 2016.
Thoughts on the box artwork? Are you looking forward to the release of the Batman: The Killing Joke animated movie?
