‘Venom’ Trailer Looks Intriguing — Except for Venom Itself

I hate Venom, the Marvel Comics villain-turned-anti-hero spun off from The Amazing Spider-Man, so I am definitely not the target audience for Venom, the movie. That would be 13-year-old boys who think the stylized hyper-violence of the comic is cool, and love the idea of a character whose costume is not only alive, but fights its wearer, Eddie Brock, for control over Brock’s body.

The new trailer for Venom was just leaked to the interwebs, compelling the studio to officially release it earlier than planned. Apparently far earlier than planned, because the worst thing about the clip is the appearance of Venom itself.

The title character is supposed to be a mix of actor and CGI, but it clearly needs to spend more time in rendering. Green Lantern also tried to pull this off back in 2011, and we all know what an unmitigated disaster that turned out to be!

This Sony film is centered on a Marvel character, but it is not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (like the Avengers and Spider-Man), which is unfortunate because Venom’s comic book origin is intimately tied to Spidey and his supporting cast; with Peter Parker and pals off-limits, the movie has to manufacture a new origin for Venom, and it’s… weak.

It’s also part of this trailer. See what you think:

‘Solo’ Official Trailer Shows Why Studio Waited So Long To Drop It

The first official full trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story dropped overnight, and while it’s not quite a snooze, nothing in it made me sit up and pay attention, either. In fact, if anything, I was disappointed by the lack of imagination on display.

Overall, I can see why the studio waited so long to release a real trailer: Curiosity is the only thing that’s going to bring the casual viewer in to see this Han Solo origin story, so maintaining the mystery about what it actually is, seems to be the best bet. The more I learn about Solo, the less excited I am about it.

A train robbery? Really? That old saw? Sure, it’s “in space,” but c’mon, FIREFLY already did that years ago, not to mention Sucker Punch!

Almost Christmas Means Almost Time for DOCTOR WHO Christmas Special!

Two versions of the Doctor — the 12th (Peter Capaldi) and the First (recreated by David Bradley) — team with returning companion Bill (Pearl Mackie) and Mark Gatiss‘ Captain to battle a brand-new threat that has frozen time in “Twice Upon a Time,” this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special.

Here’s another clip that teases the action!

First ‘Stargate: Origins’ Footage Teases Series Story

After twice tweaking fans with behind-the-scenes footage, Stargate Command has finally released a teaser trailer that hints at what will happen in the series when it premieres on Feb. 15, 2018.

While it is difficult to piece together what might happen, we do see Catherine Langford (Ellie Gall) in the clutches of Nazi Germany’s dreaded SS; lots of guns and running; constellations (stargate addresses?), notably Orion, scrawled in a notebook; Egyptian-style architecture — and a stargate chevron locking on the symbol for Earth.

‘Stargate: Origins’ Gets Feb. 15, 2018 Premiere Date!

Stargate: Origins, the new web-only series that reveals the untold story of Catherine Langford’s early adventures with the alien artifact, will premiere on the Stargate Command streaming service on Feb. 15, 2018.

The first two episodes (running about 10 minutes each) will be free to stream. while the remaining eight live-action installments will be exclusive to Stargate Command members.

A new teaser for the digital series, which we now know will be set in the World War II era, will drop tomorrow, Dec. 20.

The series, which recently wrapped production, has previously released two behind-the-scenes video clips (see the first one here), but nothing storyline related.

Stargate: Origins stars  Ellie Gall as Catherine Langford, Connor Trinneer as Professor Langford, Philp Alexander as Beal and Shvan Aladdin as Wasif.

Disney Is Open to Making Fox-style R-rated Superhero Films

The senses-shattering news that Disney, home to Marvel Studios, has acquired 20th Century Fox‘s library was met with elation by many comic book fans, but the blockbuster deal also struck fear into the hearts of some, who worried that the family-friendly brand would neuter Deadpool’s famously NSFW aesthetic and turn the foul-mouthed and bloody murderer into someone acceptable at a small child’s tea party.

While not a promise, it sounds like Disney is at least willing to consider releasing R-rated superhero movies like Deadpool and Logan in the future — as long as they are segregated from the PG-13 heroes and the kiddie stuff.

It’s Official: Disney Buys 20th Century Fox Properties

The Walt Disney Company has announced that it is acquiring 21st Century Fox‘s film and television studios, cable entertainment networks and international TV businesses for $52.4 billion dollars.

But forget all that financial babble — all comic book fans want to know is: When will the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool be reunited with the House of Ideas? Well, it’s certainly going to happen, as Disney’s release stipulates:

“The agreement also provides Disney with the opportunity to reunite the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool with the Marvel family under one roof and create richer, more complex worlds of inter-related characters and stories that audiences have shown they love.”

Japanese ‘Black Panther’ Trailer Boasts New Footage

 

The just-released international trailer for Black Panther contains a significant amount of new footage and dialogue not seen in either version of the first domestic trailer, shedding more light on the characters and hinting at the film’s storyline.

We also get a slightly clearer look at Andy Serkis‘ villain — Ulysses Klaue a.k.a. the supervillain Klaw — using the sonic device on his left arm. (We saw his arm get chopped off in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.) There are also some nice shots of Michael B. Jordan as the film’s Big Bad, Erik Killmonger.

Does this new international trailer make you more excited to see Black Panther when it opens Feb. 16, 2018, in the USA and on March 1 in Japan?

DOCTOR WHO ‘Twice Upon a Time’ Trailer

BBC America have unveiled a short-yet-thrilling trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special, “Twice Upon a Time,” which sees the 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) team up with the First Doctor (David Bradley) to solve a unique problem with Time freezing.

Oh, and they both are facing traumatic regenerations, one of which will result in the first female incarnation of the Doctor, as portrayed by Jodie Whittaker.

First Trailer for ‘Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom’ Drops

One of the most surprising hits of 2015, Jurassic World, gets its inevitable sequel with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, featuring the return of cinema’s most beloved man-child, Chris Pratt, and his counterweight, the more mature Bryce Dallas Howard.

And, almost equally inevitably, the sequel’s first trailer stinks worse than a giant mound of dinosaur poop. As Samuel L. Jackson said in the original Jurassic Park (1993): “Hold on to yer butts!”

I am very, very disappointed in this trailer, which tells me Fallen Kingdom is going to be just more of the same. More goofy Owen (Pratt), more uptight Claire (Howard) — well, maybe she’s loosened up a bit — more bubble cars, more annoying kids and yet another heavy-armed “rescue mission,” but this time to save the dinos, not people, trapped on the island. And, on top of all that, we get Jeff Goldblum as the pompous Dr. Ian Malcolm one more time, as well as B.D. Wong as the conniving geneticist, Dr. Henry Wu.