I am not a great fan of the modern sitcom – most of what passes for situation comedies nowadays is mostly situation and very little comedy – so I am a bit surprised to find myself liking what I’ve seen of the forthcoming… er, police dramedy BACKSTROM, set to star THE OFFICE’s Rainn Wilson.
Yes, this series was created by Hart Hanson (BONES), which means we can expect a certain level of quality from the scripts and characterizations. Based on this teaser clip, I will watch this show when it debuts on Fox in 2015.
Far from abandoning Marvel’s AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC is practically doubling-down on the concept by committing to Marvel’s AGENT CARTER, a series that centers on Peggy Carter, Captain America’s love interest in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Hayley Atwell will reprise her role as Peggy in the 13-episode series that will debut at midseason, allowing AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. to take a break and minimize reruns. Continue reading
The sequel to 2005’s Sin City is coming, but when Sin City: A Dame To Kill For opens on Aug. 22, it will be with a different poster than the one the studio submitted to the Motion Picture Association of America, because the trade group just rejected that image for being too sexy!
The poster in question, seen here, depicts Eva Green in character as femme fatale Ava Lord, the titular dame. The MPAA took one look and clutched its collective pearls over “nudity — curve of under breast and dark nipple/areola circle visible through sheer gown,” according to gossip site Page Six. (Don’t enlarge image if you’re in a NSFW environment.)
It would be difficult to spawn more TWIN PEAKS comparisons than Fox’s new WAYWARD PINES does with this initial trailer. From the strangely quaint town full of colorful characters to the federal agent in way over his head to the star-studded cast, WAYWARD PINES is just begging to be measured against David Lynch’s seminal weird series.
About the only thing that will distract from the allusions to the adventures of Special Agent Dale Cooper in the great Pacific Northwest is the presence of creator/producer M. Night Shyamalan – the onetime cinematic wunderkind-turned-cliché-turned-Hollywood punch line. Everyone is trained to expect the “unexpected” from Shyamalan, so his greatest achievement here would be to get anything past the audience.
I’m calling it right now: This series will be overwhelmed by fan arguments over whether lead character Ethan is dead or not. I can almost see Twitter the next morning; and it won’t be pretty. Beyond TWIN PEAKS, this series also appears to borrow heavily from Shyamalan’s 2004 movie The Village, doesn’t it? And how about that PRISONER vibe?
One of British television’s greatest achievements was last year’s eight-part miniseries BROADCHURCH, which examined the agony of a small town after a child is found murdered. The series has been transplanted across the pond and reimagined for American audiences as the 10-part GRACEPOINT.
DOCTOR WHO’s David Tennant – who recreates his role from BROADCHURCH – and BREAKING BAD’s Anna Gunn star as the detectives charged with unmasking the killer before the town tears itself apart.
Chris Chibnall, who created and wrote BROADCHURCH, serves as an executive producer on GRACEPOINT and wrote the premiere episode, so he will be establishing the tone of the series. Hopefully he is allowed to keep things as intelligent and emotional as he was on the brilliant original. I’d hate to see that absolutely searing miniseries blunted and dumbed-down for Americans. Continue reading
While we’re waiting for Scarlett Johansson to return to screens as the Black Widow in next year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, we will be able to watch the actress kick butt as a far different character in Luc Besson’s Lucy, coming this August.
I’m wincing a little, because the premise of the movie jumps off from the outdated myth that we only use 10 percent of our brain capacity – and Lucy gains superpowers from unlocking increasing amounts of her cerebral capacity. But, hey, it looks like fun, and Morgan Freeman is in it, playing yet another authority figure, so what’s the harm?
What was once just the fever dream of a few dedicated toy professionals is about to come to pass — but only with a little help from their fiends friends! And Friendship is Madness!
Little Maddie and the Four Horsies of the ‘Pocalypse is an attempt to summon into existence a line of designer collectibles for the discerning adult with a touch of that ol’ H.P. Lovecraft netherworld madness. But these toys cannot become manifest on this plane unless we help Bigshot Toyworks with its Kickstarter campaign to raise enough funds to pay for earthly necessities like sacrificial offerings raw materials, dark altars factories and minions workers and such.
While Little Maddie shows a dark Chthuloid influence, the Four Horsies of the ‘Pocalypse owe a debt to more classical sources. They are Raven (Famine), Clash (War), Calamity (Pestilence) and Ghost (Death).
In what is by far the most disappointing news to come out of Marvel Studios probably ever, director Edgar Wright has walked off the Ant-Man film, citing the standard Hollywood cover story, “creative differences.”
Wright had been preparing to begin filming this summer (that is to say, within weeks) with Paul Rudd in the lead role as a thief who “acquires” equipment that allows him to shrink to insect size. Losing your director so close to the start of principle photography is a big problem, so Ant-Man is in BIG trouble! Continue reading
At last, the BBC has released a teaser trailer for the eighth series of the revived DOCTOR WHO, and while it runs just about 15 seconds, we do get to see a new logo and — more importantly — a confirmed start month for the Peter Capaldi era on BBC One and BBC America: August.
There is not much more than a brief, dramatically backlighted glimpse of the 12th Doctor in an exploding TARDIS console room, but at least it’s something.
It is believed (but not certain) that the 12- or 13-episode series will run uninterrupted by a hiatus like the one that seemed to dull viewer response last season.
Brace yourselves, parents and kiddies – this could make you lose your lunch.
Burger-meister McDonald’s – once the home of Grimace and the Hamburgler – introduced another new mascot today, a computer-generated talking Happy Meal box called… wait for it… “Happy.” And, from its horrifying appearance, apparently his job is to make McDonald’s new “healthy” Happy Meals unpalatable to kids.
Read at Joe's 
You must be logged in to post a comment.