#may he be in the next Deadpool and Wolverine installment (if there’s another one)

[watmalik]

I’m taking this time to apologize to my moots and just my followers in general. I don’t know what happened to me these past couple of weeks, I’ve been through so much (STILL I’M) and I’m glad you’ve been with me through this poolverine brain rot journey…willingly or not.

I hope one day we can all look at the Honda odyssey as just a simple family minivan again. One day… in the distant future 😩

[reidingandwriting]

1989 (Peter Parker’s Version

Chapter One: Welcome To New York

“Welcome to New York! It’s been waiting for you”

Word Count: 2.2k

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Warnings/Contains: Gender neutral reader (no pronouns, no use of y/n, no descriptors mentioned in this chapter), mild language, likely some OOC moments but whateverrrr

A/N: Going back to my roots and writing some Peter Parker content! I struggled for ages deciding if I wanted to write for Tom’s Peter or Andrew’s and this is based on Tom’s but trust, Andrew’s Peter Parker will get his time in the spotlight. Also for all my Deadpool & Wolverine people, I PROMISE that next installment will be out soon! I’m at 4k words and not even at the Good Part yet so I hope to have her up by the end of this week 🫶🏻

You were lost. So lost it would’ve been comical if it wasn’t your first day of class at Midtown. You clutched the schedule in your hands, looking at door numbers as you passed them. If 305 was right here, 303 across the hall, where in the hell was 304? You turned to look around the hallway, hoping to see someone who could help you and then you saw him.

Warm brown eyes met yours and you set your shoulders back before you walked over. He looked as anxious as you felt, but you hoped he would be able to help. “Hi! I’m so sorry, but I’m so insanely lost right now and you look really nice. Do you know where 304 is? I found 303 and 305 but I can’t find 304.”

“Uh, yeah! Yeah, sorry. Can I see your schedule?” You handed your schedule over to his outstretched hand and tried not to flinch when your fingers brushed his. “We have the same schedule, so you can follow me around today.” A pause. “Only if you want to! But it may be helpful. Having someone you can stick with today.” You watched as his cheeks grew slightly more flushed. He shifted his weight from one leg to another, like he couldn’t help but fidget.

“That would be really nice.” You smiled, hoping you came across as grateful as you felt. He ducked his head but you caught the faintest glimpse of a smile before he looked back at you.

“So, 304 is all the way down the hall. I don’t know why they did that, but.” He shrugged and together, the two of you walked down the hall.

“Thank you,” you trailed off and he introduced himself. Peter Parker, he said. You told Peter your name, feeling yourself smile as he said your name. “I’m glad I found you, Peter.” Nothing else was said as you two walked into class and after a moment of hesitation, you took a seat beside him. A minute later, someone else took a seat on the other side of you. Peter introduced him as Ned, Ned introducing himself as Peter’s best friend, and the three of you made light conversation as you worked on a writing assignment.

“Where did you move from?” Ned asked and you hummed.

“Portland. My mom got a new job at the city hospital, and we moved in a few days ago. Thursday, I think? The days have all blurred together at this point.” You chuckled. Your apartment was a labyrinth of moving boxes, having barely unpacked anything over the weekend. You just barely had all of your school things unpacked before you left for school this morning. “I need to finish unpacking, do some actual exploring. I’ve never been to New York before and now I live here.”

“Trust. Stay with us, you’ll be like a native in no time,” Ned said and you couldn’t help but laugh softly.

“Thanks.” You got through the rest of the day fairly well, even if you felt like a lost puppy trailing behind Peter. You felt lucky to have the same schedule as him, and Ned was pretty cool too. You also met a girl, MJ, who kind of intimidated you in the best way. At the end of the day, you parted ways from Peter and his friends, beginning your own walk home.

Hours later, you sat on your fire escape, sketchbook in your lap until a shadow swung past you. Was that…? There’s no way.

-

Peter didn’t mean to see you on his patrol. He had perched on a rooftop, watching over the people on the street below, and he felt a pair of eyes on him. Peter looked around as if his head was on a swivel, and then he saw you. You had a sketchbook in your lap, now dressed down in a simple t-shirt and black sweatpants, and you offered him a simple wave before you returned to your drawing. Peter found himself watching you for a few moments, watching your focus return to whatever you were drawing.

Come on, Peter, get a move on, Peter thought before he was off. He just missed you looking up, watching him with a curious gaze.

Every day for the next week, Peter saw you while on his patrol route. And every day he passed you, he couldn’t help but pause for a moment. He’d perch on the rooftop across from yours, taking a minute to just breathe and watch you. You spent a lot of time on the fire escape, he noticed. Some days drawing, some days reading. Always doing something. Today, he watched as you taped a piece of paper to your fire escape and he tilted his head. Your eyes met his (well, where his eyes are under the mask) and you tapped the paper and waved before climbing back through your window. A few moments passed before Peter moved and he swung over to your fire escape, landing quietly as he took the paper.

Peter smiled as he studied the drawing. You had drawn him as Spider-Man, perched on the rooftop he frequented. You colored the sky to resemble the setting sun, and the drawing looked as if it was glowing. Peter looked up into your window, frowning when he didn’t see you. With a soft sigh, Peter swung off to tuck the drawing into a safe place and continue his patrol route. Later that night, you noticed a sticky note stuck to your window that simply read ‘thank you’ with a drawing of Spider-Man’s mask on the bottom. The sticky note now lived on the side of your bookshelf, it being the first and last thing you saw every day.

-

You had been in the city just shy of a month before you properly met the web slinging hero. You were walking home from the library, and admittedly, you had gotten distracted and now you had no idea where you were. Everything looked somewhat familiar, but it all blended together into vaguely familiar blurs. You had no idea where you were at this point and you had started to panic when a familiar masked hero landed in front of you. You screamed, jumping back a few feet and Spider-Man frantically waved his hands.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, I thought you heard me.” Spider-Man sounded as panicked as you felt and you held your hand to your chest as you willed your racing heart to settle down.

“Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man my ass, almost gave me a heart attack,” your sentence ended in a laugh as you composed yourself. “I drew you such a nice picture a few weeks ago and you repay me by scaring me.”

“In my defense, I kind of rely on my stealthiness. Can’t sneak up on bad guys if I’m noisy,” Spider-Man said and you rolled your eyes, the corner of your lips twitching up.

“What can I do for you, Spidey?” You shifted from one foot to the other, studying him. When he was swinging through the air, fighting off muggers or even worse bad guys that you had seen on YouTube, he held an air of confidence. He came up with quips just as fast as he shot webs, blocked hits, and threw punches of his own. Talking to you though? He seemed fidget-y. He rubbed at the back of his neck and rocked up on the balls of his feet before settling back down. And that voice. That voice was familiar.

“Just happened to be in the area, you looked a little lost. I’m near the end of my patrol route for the day, so I thought I’d see if you wanted an escort home.” You obviously couldn’t see his expression, but he sounded sincere- if not a little amused.

“That would be… really nice, actually. I usually know my way home better, but I went to a different library today and I thought I had only lost focus for a second, but.” You gestured around yourself. “No clue where the hell I am.”

“Welcome to New York,” Spider-Man said as he started to walk the opposite you were going. “Come on, you just missed it by a few blocks.” Together, the two of you walked back to your apartment, and you made conversation as you walked. You talked more than he did, understanding there was a lot he couldn’t share with you without risking his identity being revealed. You talked about your homework, a group project you had, and your mom’s hectic work schedule. Spider-Man spoke a little, talking about things he had seen on patrol today, and asking questions where appropriate as you talked. You thought it would feel awkward, talking to the superhero, but it didn’t feel like you were talking to a stranger. It felt as if you were talking to a friend.

Your apartment came into sight soon enough and you were relieved, but also disappointed. You had enjoyed talking to him and you were sad you had to go inside and do physics homework.

“Thanks for walking me home. I’m sure you have more important things to do, so I really appreciate it,” you said and Spider-Man shook his head.

“Like I said, I wrapped up my patrol a little early today. Got some superhero business to attend to.” He saluted and you couldn’t help but laugh. The eyes of his mask squinted and you tilted your head, surprised by how expressive his mask was. “Need a lift to your window?” Spider-Man made little hand motions, resembling how he shot his webs, and you shook your head.

“Maybe next time,” you said and he nodded. “If you’re ever around and have a minute. You know where my fire escape is. Just knock on the window if I’m not already out there. I’m home alone a lot,” you admitted. Your mom was home as often as she could, but as a doctor who worked in the emergency room, she worked odd hours. You were a pro at being alone at this point and you couldn’t fault her for it. Chasing her dream even after having you, it was commendable.

“I’ll be on the lookout for you.” Spider-Man’s head shifted slightly, looking up as if he heard something. “Duty calls. I’ll see you around.” He waved before he shot a web at a nearby building, then he was off. You couldn’t help but stare at where he stood not too long ago, thinking about the interaction you had, before you walked inside your apartment building. Odd.

-

Peter sat on your couch, working on homework when you scared the absolute shit out of him.

“Can we talk?” It only took three words for his heart to stop and he hoped he didn’t look even half as panicked as he felt.

“Yeah! Yeah. What’s up?” Peter struggled to meet your gaze and you ran your hand through your hair, a nervous habit.

“I’m gonna sound batshit crazy, but it’s been driving me crazy for a while now and I have to ask.” A deep breath. “Are you Spider-Man?”

Many emotions filled Peter at once and he picked panic as the primary emotion to feel. His hands shook and he felt frozen, yet the need to run at the same time. You already knew his secret, what was stopping him from jumping out the window and swinging away? He could probably convince May to let him stay home for a few days, avoid you a little. Instead, Peter let out a shaky breath.

“What- what makes you say that?”

“Your reaction for one. But I noticed some similarities, your behavior mostly and your voice. Come on, Peter, you’ve gotta look into a voice modifier. But what really sold me? Welcome to New York.” Peter thought back on how not even a few days ago, you were talking to him about the almost friendship you had developed with the spider hero.

“Is this normal for people here? Being friendly with superheroes?” Peter had snorted in response and said, “Welcome to New York.” You had paused for the briefest of moments, Peter almost missed it, before you laughed in agreement.

“I think that connected the dots for me,” you finished. “So… are you?”

Seconds, possibly minutes passed, before Peter spoke again. “You know you can’t tell anyone, okay?” You nodded quickly before sitting back into the couch, relaxing against the cushions.

“Thank you.” Peter tilted his head. “For trusting me. I promise, you never have to worry about me saying anything.” The two of you fell into a comfortable silence until you groaned dramatically. “Do you get number nine? Because I keep getting the wrong answer.”

“Come here, let me see.” Peter scooted closer to you and looked at your work. “Right there.” As Peter explained what you were missing, you were grateful nothing felt different between the two of you. As if the conversation never happened. You ordered pizza for dinner later than night before Peter had to go home, and you watched as he swung into the distance, waving him off. Friends with a super hero. Only in New York.

[renzywenzy]

Logan Review

*Spoiler Alert*

“One Last Time”, said Hugh Jackman back in 2015. It was at that moment that I started to feel the pain. The pain of knowing we were going to lose someone who not only has been a huge part of the character that he played but has become the character. James Howlett. Weapon X. Logan. Wolverine. For over 15 years and for one role, he’s dedicated every facet of himself. His body. His mind. His heart. And now it has all culminated into this. With one last mission, we have finally arrived to his curtain call. 

I was thinking not to let my emotions get the better of me for this review but then I thought that doing so would result in the best and most honest critique I can possible give. To dissect this film properly, I had to be a nostalgic nerd as much as a film critic because this is 17 years and 7 movies (9 if you include cameos) we’re talking about here. Whether those movies were great (Days of Future Past) or shit (Origins), he would never turn in a bad performance as the feral mutant. So with that being said, let’s delve deeper into the beloved hero’s final adventure. 

The Good

1.) I just have to say this first. Hugh Jackman just fucking destroys it as Wolverine!! I always thought that his performance in the 2003 “X2″ was his best outing as the comic book icon and that his later performances, though fantastic, weren’t quite up to par…but this one is and actually surpasses it. For a role like this, he had to step his game up and he did so flawlessly. Wolverine is just a broken down mess of a man. He has been through hell and has the unhealed scars to prove it. What the writers did for Wolverine here is instill in the audience a sense of fear. Fear that he may actually die at any given moment. His healing powers are just not the same in his old age and the adamantium’s poison is finally catching up to him. I feel like I should tell some of you who may still be wondering what’s causing him to die what exactly is wrong with him. Well, to put it simply, Wolverine was the perfect test subject for the adamantium project because not only would his natural healing abilities help him survive the injection of adamantium but it would keep the metal from poisoning his blood after. However, now that he’s growing older (he’s not immortal, he just ages a LOT slower) his healing factor isn’t the same and because of that, his blood is finally feeling the effects of the poison. So now, he’s exponentially weaker and that’s what I love about it. We finally get rid of that feeling of “Oh well he’ll just heal in a few seconds. This is nothing to him”. No, that’s just not the case anymore. He’s relatively vulnerable now and that’s what makes Wolverine more engaging than ever before. He can feel the lasting results and not just from physical pain. Now, alcohol can make him drunk, his body can’t even heal enough to give him perfect vision and hell, maybe even a fucking snake bite can kill him for all we know. However, his physical deterioration is the least of his worries. 

No longer the sharp, agile, and feral weapon that he once was, he is now a rusty, old, and mentally exhausted man running on whatever precious fumes he has left. A recurring motif is how tired he constantly is. Literally and figuratively. A far cry from the battle-ready and ever vigilant soldier that he once was. It takes a special kind of actor to pull this off but thankfully, Wolverine is played by a very talented man. Hugh Jackman, for all the positive adjectives I can give him, is just downright believable. You just believe every emotion he shows whether it’s anger (and there’s a lot of that), sorrow (even more of that), or happiness (so few that they have to be cherished). For example, that one scene at the barn where he, Laura (X-23), and Charles were having dinner with the nice family. Wolverine cracks a smile and it just feels genuinely warm. The fact that one smirk meant so much captures just how heavy-handed this film was and how convincingly depressed Wolverine was throughout. Another scene was when he was yelling at X-23 (I’m sorry but I’m just gonna call her that for the rest of this review since that's how I called her growing up) at how he and his friends “never asked for this”. You see the sadness and rage in his eyes at the same time. You see the decades of torment in his face and the toll it has taken on his body and mind. A body and mind that has been impaled, brainwashed, shot at, nuked, telekinetically thrown around, physically thrown around, and has even travelled through time. The perfect portrait of a man that has been through centuries of anguish. 

A role like this requires a 100% from a physical and emotional standpoint and Hugh gives more than just 100. Maybe it’s experience, maybe it’s the fact that he has lot of hype to live up to knowing that this is his final outing, maybe it’s the love and the respect that he has for Wolverine. Maybe it’s all of the above. Whatever it is, I’m glad that he saved the best for last. I know that somewhere along the line, 20th Century Fox (or even Marvel Studios if they somehow get the movie rights) will just find a new actor to play Wolverine but this performance alone shows how it’s damn near impossible to fill Hugh Jackman’s shoes. I feel sorry for whoever has to replace Hugh because you would not just be replacing an actor. You’ll be replacing The Wolverine. Thank you, Mr. Jackman, for this bravura performance and thank you for 17 fucking years of unadulterated brilliance. 

2.) This girl…holy fucking shit. This girl steals her scenes, man. Dafne Keen, in her first ever film role, absolutely amazing. She holds her own with Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart (who we’ll get to in a while). Honestly, I was genuinely surprised how solid this kid was. It was actually one of my initial worries that she wouldn’t pull it off because, if I’m being completely honest, we’re in a generation where good kid actors are a rarity these days. So it’s just refreshing to see this little child show off her visible acting chops and her potential to be an even better actress. What really makes her stand out is how so much of her emotions can be felt through her eyes alone and her eyes are fucking daggers that pierce right through you. When the camera closes in on her stare, you feel the coldness and the intensity. You feel that at any minute, if she’s pushed too much, she’ll unleash her fury on the poor soul she sets her eyes on. I was completely sold on her abilities in that final scene where Wolverine dies and she was required to cry. That scene right there was almost a litmus test to see if she can dial up the drama. It’s a scene that would make or break an actor and she made it. 

The character of X-23 is properly developed (thank Jesus). She is handled just as well, if not better than her cartoon counterpart in X-Men: Evolution. Her life story is accompanied by such tragedy that doesn’t feel too manipulative. In fact, it garners a lot of sympathy. That’s why when the claws start flying, it feels extremely satisfying but I’ll talk more about the fight scenes later. Her tragic background, her attempts to become closer with her father, and her engaging search for a purpose make her a strong and compelling character who, if given the right direction, can replace Wolverine’s presence in future installments. I look forward to seeing more of Ms. Keen as X-23 and hopefully, her next adventures become as memorable as this one. 

3.) Damn. Has Patrick Stewart ever given a bad performance? He’s just one of those dudes where acting just feels natural to him. Every line is delivered excellently and every emotion displayed perfectly. I will definitely miss Hugh Jackman as Wolverine but damned if I say nobody will miss Patrick Stewart once he leaves Professor X for good (I know he said that this will be his last outing but he expressed interest in appearing in future Deadpool films so there you go). He has proven time and time again that he is the perfect Professor Charles Xavier. McAvoy’s great too but this is the definitive Professor. In this film, every aspect of his personality is on full display. Whatever comedic potential he had was reached here. His vulgar cussing at Wolverine from time to time is just funny and is timed perfectly. His warm nature is still there but is mixed in with some bitterness and surliness which is appropriate given all the shit that he has been through directly and/or indirectly caused by Wolverine. The slight animosity that he has for Wolverine is earned because he is a man who believes in the idea of helping others while Logan seems to have forgotten that. Even with his sense of honor, more so than ever before, he is vulnerable. The most vulnerable that he can possibly get and it is dangerous for everybody around him. The greatest and most powerful mind in this cinematic universe suffers from seizures. Fatal seizures at that. 

In X2, we’ve seen just how lethal his powers can truly be when he loses control. Imagine a powerful bomb that can potentially wipe out the entire world in a slow and very painful manner. Now imagine that bomb retains its level of destruction but now it has faulty wiring. That is how deadly Professor X has become in his ancient and deteriorating age. During his seizures, you see that his mind is eating away at the lives of those around him. I’m not sure what the fuck is happening to them but I sure as hell do not want to find out. All I can say for sure is that it’s not pretty and if left unchecked, it can kill people within a few minutes. How do we know? Well, apparently he has killed others already. It’s never explicitly said how (which is good) but the way I pieced it together was during his first seizure, he injured 600 people (some mutants and probably some humans) and killed 7. Those 7 were X-Men. 

It’s really sad the more I think about it. The one person who gave Wolverine a home was the same person who destroyed it. You feel his guilt towards the end of his life and how he thought he doesn’t deserve to be happy. I’ll admit that I cried with him as he recalled that dark moment of his life and when he died, it was just horrible. Honestly, I thought that the way his death played was great. Not necessarily the way he was killed but what came after it. When Wolverine had him in his arms and he kept telling Chuck “It wasn’t me”. That was great and how Xavier was stroking the car and saying “Sun Seeker” as if he thought that he was on the boat that Wolverine promised to buy. It was shot beautifully. In the end, he died feeling both happiness and sorrow. If we ever get to see Professor X again, he may never top this performance but this newfound comedic timing would work wonders in a possible appearance in Deadpool. I enjoyed all the dynamics that were laid out among its 3 central figures. Whether it was the father-daughter relationship between Logan and X-23 or the friends/mentor-protector relationship between Wolverine and Professor X or the collective dynamic of all three characters together, the on-screen chemistry was just perfect and it really sums up the main vibe of the film.

4.) I think now it’s appropriate that I talk about the tone and pacing of the film. If anything else, this is probably the darkest,grittiest, and most down-to-earth movie in the X-Men Cinematic Universe. For Wolverine’s character, that tone fits perfectly. I think being an R-rated film really helped out here because not only does the R-rating show itself in the action sequences but it shows in the maturity of its storytelling. It takes a less fast-paced approach and becomes more methodical. There are plenty of stretches where there’s really no action happening and all you’re given is interesting character arcs that are handled with care and respect. It takes its time with these people and rightfully so. These moments could have easily been boring but because you care about these people, because the dialogue is so well-written, and because the chemistry between Wolverine, X-23, and Professor is so damn strong, you don’t really notice the slower pacing. The film is heavy handed and it wants you to feel the pain of these people through these character-driven moments. 

It’s not all gloomy, though. The film balances drama with some humor and neither aspect ever makes the other an afterthought. There are also those bittersweet scenes of some subtle happiness sprinkled throughout. In fact, we needed some of these lighter moments to balance out all the depression surrounding their adventure. The sweet little barn scene, in particular, fleshed out X-23 more. With X-23 discovering music, it reminds the audience that she is still a child even with all that adamantium-filled rage within her. Scenes like her laying down on the floor and looking at her picture of friends reminds how this weapon created through test tubes and collected DNA is just someone who wants to have a normal childhood and have a family. That’s why seeing her have her momentary sense of sanctuary made me both happy and sad. Happy because at least gets to be a normal person for a few hours but sad because I know, right around the corner, the painful reality is slowly tracking them down. 

5.) I just need to talk about the kick-ass action scenes. They are fucking bloody and gory as hell. Blood here, blood there, claws through the throat, through the eyes, through the chest, you got them all here. It’s superficially satisfying but awesome nonetheless and thankfully, there is a lot more of that in this film. Initially, I wondered how far would this movie go in terms of violence and within the first 5 minutes, they showed me just how. Wolverine is being messed around with by a few thugs and he just wastes them. One dude’s arm is just gone and I was like “Oh shit, that actually happened” and just from there, you get the sense that this is different from previous X-Men films. Also, there’s this one scene that takes it even a little further than. So X-23 is in a building eating cereal and this one massive dude comes in and attempts to apprehend her. The massive dude’s team is with him and the rest of his buddies are outside. You hear noise but you don’t see anything. X-23 comes out and is holding something and yes, that something is the guy’s severed head. This little girl established her bad-assery and didn’t even do anything on-screen yet but when she finally does unleash the claws for the first time, everyone just gets murdered and mutilated. I would like to thank Deadpool for being such a success because if it hadn’t, we probably would not get any of this. This is by far some of the best and most appropriate action sequences involving Wolverine and it’s just fucking awesome. I figured that maybe it might too gratuitous at times but then I said “Fuck it. This Hugh’s last outing so go out with all the bloodshed and severed limbs you want.” And just went you thought they would run out of ideas for these action scenes, they even use Professor X’s seizures cleverly. I don’t usually do this but I want to give massive props to the choreographers of these stunts because they did justice to the character here and hopefully, if X-23 gets her own films, we get to see plenty more of these.

6.) Finally, I have to talk about Wolverine’s death and I’m a little bit on the mixed side. The second part of this point will be #2 in my negative section. However, let’s first talk about why this death worked. He finally died and not as a punk. He died fighting like the rabid warrior that he is. It was an extremely sad point in the movie but what came after was even more melancholy. His final conversation with X-23 and how he tells her to not be the weapon that they her created to be was fantastic. Not only because of what he said to her but the fact that, out of all the people in the world, Wolverine knows that feeling better than anybody else. My favorite part was definitely when he said “So this is what it feels like”. There was something darkly funny about that moment because keep in mind: this is a man who, for centuries, has avoided death. He feels all the pain that he goes through but it’s never enough to kill him. Whatever gets thrown at him, he’ll just heal and come back stronger than ever. Yet, here he is. In the middle of the forest. Dying as both the wild animal they made him to be and as the honorable man that he thought he never was. It’s an emotionally powerful moment indeed. 

Now that we’ve talked about the good parts of the film, here comes the less attractive job when talking about great movies: what didn’t work well. 

The Bad

1.) This point is more of a two-parter, maybe even a three-parter because I will be talking about the main villains and their wasted potential. Seeing as how this is my biggest gripe, I felt it was appropriate to talk extensively about it.

The weak, vanilla villains. These dudes were generic as fuuuuck. You had the “relentless asshole soldier type” and “the evil doctor”. Oh joy. Thing is it’s sad because the two actors who played Zander Rice and Donald Pierce (above) gave solid performances but it’s just the development or lack there-of that was the movie’s biggest misstep. There was no real motivation behind these bad guys and nothing interesting about them. More importantly, there was really not enough character in there for me to hate. There was so little weight to their misdeeds and they were just not convincing enough. They were so over-the-top bad for no good reason that they just felt static and robotic so that’s why when they finally died, I didn’t feel any sort of satisfaction or hell, even that bare minimum “That asshole finally died. YES!�� feeling. It’s not like Gaston from the animated Beauty and The Beast or Commodus from Gladiator or even Sebastian Shaw from X-Men: First Class where you let out an inner scream of triumph when you finally see the main villain die after a grueling adventure. I really wanted that triumphant feeling but sadly, it just wasn’t there. Hell, if they couldn’t make them convincingly villainous then at least make them insufferable and annoying like fucking Jesse Eisenberg from BvS. God, now that will be a death that I will cherish forever. For all who don’t know, I hate Jesse Eisenberg as “LEX” “LUTHOR” for reasons you can find in my BvS review. 

But I digress. One thing that they could have done with these villains is build on those small character moments that they already showed. For example, that scene where Donald is talking to Wolverine and tells him that he looked up to Wolverine growing up as a kid. They could have made so much more out of that particular aspect but they didn’t and it would have made this cat-and-mouse chase all the more emotionally charged. 

The biggest waste, however, is the character of Dr. Rice. The man who was apparently the reason for the extinction of the majority of mutants. He just comes in halfway into the film and I’m like “Woah, alright , that’s a bit sudden for a new villain.” and he does nothing to make the film any better. I really can’t talk too much about this guy because there’s really nothing too much to talk about anyways. He’s just there. He is, however, the creator of X-24. 

X-24 is the younger, more feral, and more evil clone of Wolverine. Although, his healing abilites are limited and not quite up to par with the healing factor of Wolverine in his prime. He doesn’t have that much going for him but he’s not completely wasted as he does give Wolverine some pretty cool fight scenes. Again, though, they could have done so much more with this character and here’s why I say that. In his introduction scene where he kills Xavier, the nice family who owns the barn, and the family’s hostile neighbors, he gets a little too crazy and the doctor has to stop him by yelling at him. Now, that particular aspect of “Frankenstein trying to control his monster” felt unnecessary because they never went past that one scene. Then, there’s a scene where X-24 gets impaled and Doctor Rice is injecting this serum in him so that he can heal properly and he speaks to him in a way like a father does to his son. That right there showed a more human side of Dr. Rice that we sadly don’t get more of. Had the writer given more emphasis on this “father/son, evil genius/unstable creation” dynamic, it would have made this movie a lot better and it would have given Dr. Rice and X-24 a hell of a lot more development. 

If maybe they would give us 15 to 20 more minutes of scenes like that, I would have been perfectly fine with it. They could given Logan the “Dark Knight Rises” treatment and make it 2 hours and 45 minutes. If Christian Bale’s Batman gets that much time than so can Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. I mean, honestly, it didn’t feel like it was dragging too much and extra scenes like the Dr. Rice/X-24 development would have kept things fresh. It’s a huge opportunity wasted. 

2.) Here comes the continuation of positive point #6. This next point is a little complicated. You see, this point is about the fact that Wolverine didn’t go out in that grand and epic way that he deserves BUT the reason that it’s here in the negative section is only because of negative point #1. Had he been killed by a villain that actually mattered more and meant more then I would have been completely fine with the manner in which he died. As it stands, however, because he was killed by a rather bland villain, it doesn’t feel as grand as it should have. Don’t get me wrong though. It’s weird because I’m not necessarily talking about his final moments while he was dying but I’m talking more about the actual cause of his death. It’s not a huge problem in the grand scheme of things but still, for a character like Wolverine, we needed a little more. Guess it’s kind of appropriate, really, seeing as how his comic book counterpart canonically died rather anti-climatically. (Props to Marvel, by the way, for keeping Wolverine dead for 3 years and counting. None of this cheesy comic book resurrection bullshit).

BUT, and here’s a massive but, it still has some clever symbolism that makes it less negative. Remember throughout the entire film, Wolverine kept contemplating on whether or not he should kill himself. Also, remember when he was keeping that adamantium bullet for himself. Well, technically speaking, HE did kill himself just not in the conventional way and that bullet was used on HIM again not in the conventional way. I’m not sure if the writers meant that or if it was accident but the symbolism worked well as a whole. 

Now that we have the major positives and negatives out of the way, here’s a new section that’s unique to Logan. It’s not really bad nor is it good but I feel like I have to mention it.

The Confusing

Where the fuck does this fit in with the X-Men movie timeline? It honestly does not make any sense and here’s why. After Days of Future Past (DoFP), the timeline of the films have changed. Basically, X-Men 1,2,3, Origins, and The Wolverine never happened. The timeline followed First Class, DoFP, and Apocalypse and James Mangold, the director, told people that this follows the timeline after DoFP BUT they make references to what happened in X-Men 1 and technically Wolverine got that adamantium bullet from Origins. It might not be the same bullet but I don’t see why it can’t be. There aren’t exactly any adamantium bullets lying around. So either they completely fucked with the timeline OR it’s an else-world story. Mangold, himself, did say that one of the main reasons the film is set in the future is to avoid following plot points from previous films. I get that. He wanted to tell a story and he felt that staying too much on the path of the previous films would limit the tale. I get it but it’s just so damn confusing. In the middle of it all, I accepted it because of how good the film is so that’s why it’s not good nor bad. It just is.

Quick Bullet Points

So because I can’t make paragraphs about everything, here are some quick positives and negatives for you

+ Cinematography is top notch. 

+The settings they chose were beautiful.

- Caliban is a wasted character. More of a plot device than anything else and…

-….that’s why his death was just meh.

+ Soundtrack was pretty good.

+ Thank God they don’t use that fucking shaky cam

- They don’t really explain how they kept X-24 in control. 

+ Some of Wolverine Uber-esque drives were pretty funny.

+ That Deadpool teaser at the beginning got me excited for the sequel.

- No Deadpool/Wolverine crossover 

+ I’m glad there was no post-credits scene like previous X-Men films. That showed real closure. 

Overall, this was a fantastic film. What Logan is to Marvel movies is what The Dark Knight is for DC. It goes beyond the comic book genre and instead becomes a gritty, dark, and dramatic tale of an old veteran looking for peace in this world. I am so glad that they made this movie and that it was every bit as good as it possibly could have and more. It’s the appropriate send-off to a beloved role that has become a part of people’s lives for 17 long years. Years from now when a new X-Men movie come out, something will feel different and you’ll realize it’s because a huge part of what made these movies so great has left this hole that may never be completely filled. For all the people who love and will miss Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, cherish this movie as much as you can. It’s funny when you think about how Hugh wasn’t even the first choice for Wolverine. Imagine what it would have been like had he never been chosen. They will find someone to replace him sooner or later (Tom Hardy is rumored while Hugh believes Scott Eastwood should do it) but deep down, we’ll all know nobody can really replace him. It won’t be because other dudes aren’t good enough actors. It’s because, like I said, this is 17 dedicated years and 7 full movies. That’s not easy to replicate or even add to so to the actor who’ll eventually play Wolverine, best of luck to you. You’re gonna need it. 

And as for Hugh..

…goodbye and thank you. 

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1296

Monday, January 13, 2020

 I knew my dad had an older brother living in Edmonton but I've never met him. I was introduced to him recently when my cousin sent me a picture of Uncle #2 taken while he visited with him and his other cousins there. I showed my dad the picture of his brother and his face lit up in a big smile. He hasn't seen him in decades. Uncle #2 is 91-years-old now and he and dad are the only surviving children from grandpa's first wife. I was glad that I gave my father that moment of happiness.

 Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #5 - Jody Houser (writer) Adriana Melo (pencils) Mark Morales (inks) Hi-Fi (colours) Gabriela Downie (letters). The trail to the Floronic Man leads the ladies to Manhattan's Central Park where they are met with a surprise. No, it's not Batwoman who guest stars this issue. It's a great cliffhanger to next issue's finale.

 The Immortal Hulk #29 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo & Cam Smith (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Roxxon sets a trap for the Hulk and it works. This is where monsters dwell. The scene with Betty and Bruce in the cafeteria was great.

 The Dollhouse Family #3 - M. R. Carey (writer) Peter Gross (layouts) Vince Locke (finishes) Cris Peter (colours) Todd Klein (letters). We catch up with Alice as an adult while the flashbacks to the past shows us some weird creatures in a cave. The dollhouse makes a couple of appearances in each point in history but we don't learn much more about it. It's still really creepy though. The last page came as a total shock. I like this DC Black Label book.

 Excalibur #5 - Tini Howard (writer) Marcus To (art) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This is the payoff issue for the first story arc and I'm out of here now. My biggest complaint about this book is that I find myself wondering what the heck is going on as I'm reading. I feel disconnected with the action because of the different locations and all the mutants involved. There's a major change to a major hero so you may want to stick around to see where that goes.

 Young Justice #12 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) John Timms (art) Gabe Eltaeb (colours) Wes Abbott (letters). It was nice to see Warlord even though he was only in 4 pages of this massively dialogued issue. This book had just as many heroes running around and different locations for action as Excalibur #5 and yet not once did I feel confused or disoriented. I loved how all the Wonder Comics heroes were brought together. Especially that Miguel, the Dial H for Hero kid changed into a Miles Morales-like super hero at the end. This 12-issue run was Fun with a capital F.

 X-Force #5 - Benjamin Percy (writer) Joshua Cassara (art) Dean White & Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). There's plenty of force this issue as Domino and Forge go to rescue Wolverine and Kid Omega. This new thing where every mutant can be resurrected if they die has me wondering when I'm going to get tired of writers killing characters just for shock value. Plus, the mutants can't lose now. So what if you die on a mission? I'm afraid I'm going to get bored with these characters again until the next big change.

 Catwoman #19 - Joelle Jones (writer) Geraldo Borges, Aneke  & Inaki Miranda (art) FCO Plascencia, John Kalisz & Laura Allred (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). Selina comes to the rescue of family and friends and is partially successful. I like the new costume.

 Black Cat #8 - Jed MacKay (writer) Dike Ruan & Annie Wu (art) Brian Reber (colours) Ferran Delgado (letters). What a great issue. The Cat and the Beetle go on a heist and we get some background on Felicia's life. It was fun until the last page when things get serious.

 Conan Serpent War #3 - Jim Zub (writer) Luca Pizzari (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) Vanesa R. Del Rey (art James Allison sequence) Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colours James Allison sequence) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). There's a mysterious force manipulating everybody in this story and I'm staying with it until I find out what it is.

 Star #1 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Javier Pina with Filipe Andrade (art) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Kelly's name in the credits made me give this a try. I'm not a fan of super villains being the star (har) of their own books but there are two women also in this comic book that I really like. If they're not enough to keep me reading then the God of Mischief certainly is.

 Daphne Byrne #1 - Laura Marks (writer) Kelley Jones (art) Michelle Madsen (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). This is another creepy comic from the same imprint that puts out Basketful of Heads. It's 1886 in New York and Daphne is a very intelligent young lady who doesn't fit in with the others at Miss Farrow's School for Girls. Her mother is a patron of a psychic who claims to have communicated with Daphne's dead father. That may be a hoax but her dreams seem to be all too real. I miss seeing Kelley Jones's art on the racks so I hope to keep reading this book as it comes out.

 Ruins of Ravencroft: Carnage #1 - Frank Tieri (writer) Angel Unzueta (modern day art) Guiu Vilanova (flashback art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). I saw the ads for this and didn't think I would be interested but I liked the art when I flipped through it so took it to read. Other than being connected to Carnage from the title I didn't know anything about this comic book, but seeing Misty Knight on the second page meant that I had something familiar to anchor myself. And then Mayor Wilson Fisk shows up. Ravencroft is New York's version of Arkham Asylum and it was a major location during the Absolute Carnage story. It's being torn down to be rebuilt and this issue gives us the history of the evil ground that it's built on. This establishes that the Venom and Carnage symbiotes have been around since forever because the history starts in the early 1400s. I don't know where this series is going but I liked it enough to want to check out the next instalment hitting the racks January 15, Ruins of Ravencroft: Sabretooth.

 The Clock #1 - Matt Hawkins (writer) Colleen Doran (art) Bryan Valenza (colours) Troy Peteri (letters). Again, it was the art that prompted me to pick this off the rack. I first appreciated Colleen's art in 1983 when she put out "A Distant Soil". I loved her detailed pen and ink work in black and white. Here she is in colour and it still moves me. Her expressions really convey what the characters are feeling. The story is about a cancer epidemic and the threat to the world's population seems credible. I'm going to follow young scientist Jack to see how he saves the world.

 Marvels X #1 - Alex Ross & Jim Krueger (writers) Well-Bee (art) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I really liked the first Marvels series by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross showing the Marvel U through the eyes of regular people. This latest story features a young super hero fan named David trapped in his house after what seems to be the worldwide Terrigen Mist event when Marvel tried to make the Inhumans a big deal. David's entire family is lost and now he's off to New York City to find his heroes. I liked the kid so I'm going to follow his adventures.

 Miles Morales: The End #1 - Saladin Ahmed (writer) Damion Scott (art) Dono Sanchez-Almara (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This $4.99 US one-shot really is the end for Miles. He lives to be a ripe old age and goes down fighting. I would only recommend this for collectors of all things Miles.

 Deadpool #2 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Chris Bachalo (pencils) Wayne Faucher, Livesay, Al Vey, Jaime Mendoza, Victor Olazaba & Tim Townsend (inks) David Curiel (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I don't find Wade's new role as King of Staten Island, where monsters dwell, to be very interesting so I'm not going to read anymore of this. Much as I like Chris Bachalo's art, it's not enough to keep me coming back every month.

 20XX #2 - Jonathan Luna & Lauren Keely (writers) Jonathan Luna (art & letters). We find out what newly minted Sym Meria's power is and how she's going to cope with it. The developments with the East Side and West Side gangs and Meria's new friend are interesting enough to make me want to read the next issue of this black and white book.

 Fallen Angels #5 - Bryan Hill (writer) Szymon Kudranski (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). The team is set. Psylocke leads X-23, young Cable, Husk and Bling to Dubai to fight the super villain Apoth. The foreshadowing on the last page ratchets up the anticipation for the next issue.

 The Amazing Spider-Man #37 - Nick Spencer (writer) Ryan Ottley (pencils) Cliff Rathburn (inks) Nathan Fairbairn (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Now that Absolute Carnage is done, it's time for Peter Parker to get back into the swing of things. He's testing a new device called the Clairvoyant that can predict what might happen in the future. I predict it's going to screw up his life big time down the road. The one thing I'm excited about is that a plotline that was put on the back burner is now cooking with gas. Kindred is back and he's hinting at how he's going to confront Spider-Man. As big a Spider-Man fan that I am, I still have no clue who this new super villain is.

 Batman #86 - James Tynion IV (writer) Tony S. Daniel (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Let's welcome the new writer. He's got a tough act to follow but he starts his first story off very well. Batman gets wind of something big going down in Gotham City and has to deal with paid assassins gathering for nefarious purposes. There are major changes to get used to, the least of which is that Alfred is gone. Same with James Gordon, and the new Police Commissioner was a surprise. I probably would have continued to read this book because the art is so nice. Selina in the LBD at the fund raiser, MeeOwww.

 Savage Avengers #9 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Patch Zircher (art) Java Tartaglia (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Conan holds his own as Doctors Doom and Strange battle Kulan Gath. When Stephen is felled by sorcerous venom Doctor Doom comes to the rescue. The amalgamation of the two Doctors was a fun surprise. If would be cool if the Iron Mage stuck around after this story.

 Joker: Killer Smile #2 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Andrea Sorrentino (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Steve Wands (letters). The doctor is out, of his mind that is. The Joker has gotten into Dr. Arnell's head in this psychological thriller. I don't imagine that things are going to end well for the good doctor in next issue's finale. Thanks to Doug for lending me his copy to read after we sold out on the racks.

[screenandcinema]

Looking Ahead to 2018

With December coming to an end, I thought this would be a good time to list the ten films I am most excited about coming to theaters in 2018 (in alphabetical order):

Avengers: Infinity War 

Black Panther, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Avengers: Infinity War could easily encompass three spots and almost a third of this list. But for the sake of avoiding having three Marvel Studios films on this list, I will just put one and mention the other two in this preamble - both of which will likely be awesome.

Avengers: Infinity War - along with its untitled sequel coming in 2019 - is being billed as the culmination of the first decade of Marvel Studios films. The bar is set very high for this one and I have no doubt that it delivers this May.

Creed II

Director Ryan Coogler’s Rocky sequel/reboot Creed was the breakout hit of 2015 and one of my favorite movies from that stacked year. Next November, Michael B. Jordan returns to play Adonis Creed in the sequel alongside Sylvester Stallone and Tessa Thompson. Unfortunately, Ryan Coogler will be too busy finishing Black Panther to direct, but newcomer Steven Caple Jr. will do just fine in the director’s chair.

God Particle

On many occasions, I have been called a J.J. Abrams apologist, and I hold no ill-will toward that title. That is why God Particle, the Bad Robot-produced and likely third installment in the Cloverfield franchise, is on my list of films I am looking forward to in 2018. God Particle has floated around a lot, first announced in 2012 before its association with Abrams, and later set for release in early 2017, and then fall 2017 and now finally Groundhog Day 2018. I won’t say too much about the rumored plot for God Particle since things have likely changed over the years, but it is definitely something I am very excited for.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

The first trailer for the follow-up to 2016′s Jurassic World didn’t do much to make me more excited for the film, though it didn’t do anything to make me less excited either. I just hope that Jeff Goldblum’s return to the role of Ian Malcolm isn’t wasted by having him sit behind a table the entire film.

Mission: Impossible 6

While much isn’t known about the sixth installment of the Mission: Impossible series due out in July, we do know that Christopher McQuarrie is back to become the franchise’s first returning director. And honestly Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation was so good its sequel is more than deserving of a place on this list.

Ocean’s Eight

Sandra Bullock stars as the newly paroled sister of Danny Ocean in this upcoming comedy caper from director Gary Ross. Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, Sarah Paulson and Helena Bonham Carter round out her crew as they attempt to see jewels from Anne Hathaway who from the trailer appears to be their mark, though I think she is more likely to be the eighth member of the new Ocean team. I love that the Ocean’s 11 films are being continued in this way and just like with the original series, an impressive cast is ready to take on the con. 

Ready Player One

I wrote about my excitement for Spielberg’ Ready Player One adaptation almost two years ago here on the S&C. As a fan of the novel, the first two trailers for Ready Player One have only made me more excited about the feature. 

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Hot on the heels of The Last Jedi, another Star Wars film isn’t far off at all. In five months - in what is likely to be the shortest gap between Star Wars movies ever - we will see the release of Solo, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Ron Howard’s origin story of the smuggler we all know and love. There has been a lot of a behind the scenes drama revolving around the film starring Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Donald Glover, and strangely nothing else. No posters or trailers, not even an official image of any characters. Just radio silence. Honestly, I am surprised we even know the title of the film and even that we got only two months ago. Lucasfilm is likely waiting for the buzz surrounding The Last Jedi to wear off and I am sure we will have a teaser during the College Football Playoff National Championship game on ESPN, and then a trailer by the time the next big Disney tentpole comes out in February, Black Panther. Even with a cloud of uncertainty, there was no way I was leaving this Star Wars film off my 2018 list.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

The upcoming animated film starring Miles Morales’ Spider-Man looks fantastic. The artistic style of the film is unique and the decision to feature Miles Morales over Peter Parker is a stroke of genius. I am very happy that Sony is delivering this character to an audience of all ages to enjoy. Not to mention my excitement of the tagline Into the Spider-Verse. Marvel’s “Spider-Verse” story-line created so many opportunities for the iconic character to explore and hopefully, this film does too.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Longtime X-Men writer and producer, Simon Kinberg, finally gets his chance behind the camera with his directorial debut Dark Phoenix. Last year Kinberg mentioned how he hopes that Dark Phoenix would be the first of a new trilogy of X-Men films - technically the fourth such trilogy behind the original X-Men trilogy, Wolverine trilogy, and First Class trilogy. Though, as I wrote on the S&C earlier this month, the purchase of 20th Century Fox by Disney could put the future of the X-Men film franchise as we known it jeopardy and Dark Phoenix could be the end of the cast of characters as we know them. The end or not, hopefully, Dark Phoenix and Kinberg have learned from the mistakes of 2016′s Apocalypse and doesn’t repeat them.

Other 2018 films of merit (in no particular order): Black Panther, Game Night, Red Sparrow, Tomb Raider, Pacific Rim: Uprising, The New Mutants, Rampage, Super Troopers 2, Deadpool 2, Incredibles 2, Tag, The Purge: The Island, Skyscraper, The Predator, The Happytime Murders, Venom, Holmes and Watson, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, Mortal Engines, Aquaman, Bumblebee: The Movie, Mary Poppins Returns, and Bohemian Rhapsody.

[actionfigureinsider]

NEW ASH VS. THE ARMY OF DARKNESS COMIC BOOK SERIES CELEBRATES THE CULT HORROR FILM’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY WITH A SPECTACULAR 99-CENT INTRODUCTORY #0 ISSUE

Co-Writers Chad Bowers and Chris Sims (of Marvel’s X-Men ’92) Join Artist Mauro Vargas for the Next Spine-Chilling Chapter of the Chosen One, Ash Williams!

  March 20, 2017, Mt. Laurel, NJ: Dynamite Entertainment is proud to launch Ash Vs. The Army of Darkness, an all-new series in the popular comic book franchise based on the 1992 cult favorite film, with a #0 issue at the introductory retail price of only $0.99. This great value, billed as “S-Mart Special Pricing” as a in-joke to hardcore AOD enthusiasts, will welcome new fans as the perfect comic book “impulse buy”. The opening chapter in the latest Army of Darkness epic comes courtesy of the red-hot writing team of Chad Bowers and Chris Sims (X-Men ’92, Swordquest), along with artist Mauro Vargas (Crossed: Badlands).

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For 25 years, Ash Williams has been waging a war in film and comics against the Army of Darkness. Now, Dynamite Entertainment is proud to present the next thrilling chapter, kicking off in this special prelude! Ash may be the Chosen One, but that doesn’t mean he can hold down a steady job at S-Mart. When he’s scrambling for employment, will he find himself once again thrown into battle against the Deadites? Here’s a hint: The book ain’t called Ash: The Guy With A Regular Job Who Doesn’t Battle Against The Forces of Evil.

“Army of Darkness, and really Sam Raimi’s entire filmography, is such a major influence on how we approach storytelling,” says co-writer Chad Bowers. “Being turned loose inside that sandbox and having a chance to add to the AOD mythology feels like something we’ve been working toward for years, and hopefully it reads that way, too. And I dare anybody to tell me Ash Williams isn’t the toughest ass-kicker in horror! What he lacks in brains, he more than makes up for by having a chainsaw for a hand. That’ll get you a long way in this world!”

“I saw Army of Darkness when I was nine, and I’ve literally described it as a life-changing experience. It might’ve been the most influential movie I’ve ever watched — in terms of the stories that I like and how much I love smartass everyman heroes that stumble into having to do the right thing — and almost everything I’ve written has had a variation on that idea kicking around in it,” says co-writer Chris Sims. “One of our big goals whenever we sit down to write a new story is to keep things moving fast enough that nobody has a chance to get bored, and with Ash, escalating those situations was so much fun.”

“Chad and Chris bring such vibrant life to their scripts; they translate their own enthusiasm so incredibly to the work, and they are Army of Darkness fans through and through. Teaming them with Mauro Vargas, an exceptional rising star (especially in the realm of hardcore horror), will ensure that longtime fans and curious newcomers are more than satisfied!” says Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher of Dynamite Entertainment. “Celebrating AOD’s anniversary with a 99-cent introductory-priced #0 issue is a great way for our retail partners to welcome as many customers as possible to the world of Ash Vs. The Army of Darkness with minimal risk. Put copies on your store shelves and watch as impulse buys ensue — Ash is back, and we couldn’t be happier!”

The 99-cent debut issue of Ash Vs. The Army of Darkness features a cover by superstar artist Nick Bradshaw (Wolverine & The X-Men). Five variant editions are available as retailer incentives for comic shops that support the launch issue with stocking thresholds. These variant editions include three “Sneak Peek” editions by Reilly Brown (Deadpool & Cable), series artist Mauro Vargas (Crossed: Badlands), and Pasquale Qualano (Doctor Who); a “Blood Red” Line Art cover edition by the aforementioned Nick Bradshaw; and a J. Scott Campbell “13th Anniversary Flashback” cover edition, re-presenting the very first Army of Darkness comic book cover when Dynamite launched its flagship title in 2004.

Army of Darkness is a 1992 fantasy/comedy film with strong horror elements starring Bruce Campbell (Burn Notice), the third installment in a trilogy featuring reluctant hero Ash Williams. Directed by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man), the film saw its tough-as-nails, wise-cracking protagonist transported from the modern era to the Dark Ages in his continuing war against demonic evil. Army of Darkness generated a dedicated fan following for its premise and lead actor. Since 2004, Dynamite Entertainment has been the proud home to Army of Darkness comic books.

Ash Vs. The Army of Darkness will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ April 2017 Previews catalog, the premiere source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in June. Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies with their local comic book retailers. Ash Vs. The Army of Darkness will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Dynamite Digital, iVerse, and Dark Horse Digital.

  About Dynamite Entertainment:

Dynamite was founded in 2004 and is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including The Boys, The Shadow, Red Sonja, Warlord of Mars, Bionic Man, A Game of Thrones, and more.  Dynamite owns and controls an extensive library with over 3,000 characters (which includes the Harris Comics and Chaos Comics properties), such as Vampirella, Pantha, Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, and Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt.  In addition to their critically-acclaimed titles and bestselling comics, Dynamite works with some of the most high profile creators in comics and entertainment, including Kevin Smith, Alex Ross, Neil Gaiman, Andy Diggle, John Cassaday, Garth Ennis, Jae Lee, Marc Guggenheim, Mike Carey, Jim Krueger, Greg Pak, Brett Matthews, Matt Wagner, Gail Simone, Steve Niles, James Robinson, and a host of up-and-coming new talent.  Dynamite is consistently ranked in the upper tiers of comic book publishers and several of their titles – including Alex Ross and Jim Krueger’s Project Superpowers – have debuted in the Top Ten lists produced by Diamond Comics Distributors.  In 2005, Diamond awarded the company a GEM award for Best New Publisher and another GEM in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%) and again in 2011.  The company has also been nominated for and won several industry awards, including the prestigious Harvey and Eisner Awards.

Dynamite Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dynamitecomics Dynamite Twitter: http://twitter.com/DynamiteComics Dynamite Official Website: http://www.dynamite.com/ Comic Shop Locator Service: 1-888-comicbook, or visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com/

  ASH VS. THE ARMY OF DARKNESS COMIC BOOK CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY WITH 99-CENT #0 LAUNCH ISSUE NEW ASH VS. THE ARMY OF DARKNESS COMIC BOOK SERIES CELEBRATES THE CULT HORROR FILM'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY…

[thesnootyushers]

What are The Snooty Ushers looking forward to most in 2017?

2016 is well and truly in the rear view mirror now, and as the New Year haze is slowly clearing we are ready to stride into 2017 with renewed vigour. And what films should you pencil into your brand new calendars and diaries? Dan has already looked at a few films that might fly under the radar in 2017 here, the best upcoming horrors here, and some of this year’s riskier films here, but right here is where you can find our Most Anticipated Films of 2017!

(NB All release dates mentioned are the latest information on the planned UK releases, and are subject to change)

10. Thor: Ragnarok (Taika Waititi) Release Date: 27th October

James: This is all about the director. Taika Waititi has made two great films in What We Do In The Shadows and Hunt For The Wilderpeople, and the thought of what he could do in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is tantalising.

9. Trainspotting 2 (Danny Boyle) Release Date: 27th January

Dave: As a Scotsman and a product of the 90s, Trainspotting was huge for me.  I loved how it took a group of pretty despicable characters and made you care about them.  I was 19 when this was in the cinema and I saw 4 times and 100 more since.  I have read the book twice and seen it on stage.  I can not wait to see what has happened to these characters over the last 20 years.  I am happy that Boyle has gone his own way rather that adapt Welsh’s lukewarm follow up novel Porno.  We have waited long enough for this, I am positive it will be worth it.

8. Paddington 2 (Paul King) Release Date: 24th November

James: Paddington is a heart warming family film that leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy. The chance to visit the bear from Peru again can’t come soon enough!

No trailer yet for Paddington 2, so here’s the trailer for the first.

7. Star Wars: Episode VIII (Rian Johnson) Release Date: 15th December

Welshy:  People will reminisce  in 30 years time and say “it was the best in the series”. Hand to god,  this will be our generation’s Empire Strikes Back.

No trailer yer, but here’s a trailer for the joyful The Force Awakens

6. Spider-Man: Homecoming (John Watts) Release Date: 7th July

Rich: Spider-Man joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe again for his first Marvel Studios solo movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming. The trailer is bursting with classic Spider-man quips and action, but it also shows you just enough of the characters and villains to keep a little bit of mystery about the plot .Directed by Jon Watts who directed hidden gem Cop Car it looks like he’s paid attention to some faults of previous Spidey instalments and is giving us a lot of things we haven’t seen before in this one. Lets hope the franchise can find new heights and stick around for years to come. Also go and watch Cop Car, it’s brilliant!

5. Alien: Covenant (Ridley Scott) Release Date: 19th May

Rich: Sir Ridley Scott is reunited with his baby, the Alien franchise which he helped create in 1979. It’s been tough going for this film franchise and its numerous directors and sequels, but I feel none came close to recreating what Sir Ridley Scott had done. Obviously the attempted reboot in Prometheus (2012) was a bit hit or miss with audiences but Scott seems determined to win back our trust with this glorious trailer which is dripping with the Alien style and aesthetic. Scott seems set on still fleshing out the universe but also returning to his roots of bloody and terrifying. Check out the trailer below and see what I mean.

4. John Wick: Chapter 2 (Chad Stahelski) Release Date: 10th February

Dan: Good lord was John Wick one of the best action films released in the past 10 years, and one that pretty much came out of nowhere. Who would have thought a film, starring Keanu Reeves, about a former hitman and his dog would be such an entertaining action packed watch. Not only did Reeves do brilliantly, the first brought us fresh directing talent, one of whom has been rewarded with Deadpool 2. John Wick only scratched the surface of this potentially massive underworld of criminals, assassins and hotels, and I for one can’t wait to see how they follow it up.

3. Logan (James Mangold) Release Date: 2nd March

Welshy: So here we are at the end of the line for the Ol’ Canucklehead. Well, for Hugh Jackman anyway. Having had a rocky start with his abysmal first solo outing, then gaining  great momentum in his second we reach the third and final chapter. Now oh sweet Mary the source material this is based on is one of the most glorious narratives ever put to seven panels and thirteen pages. It looks like they are going all out with this final instalment, James Mangold has learned from The Wolverine and now will showcase the best there is at what he does. Just Watch.

2. Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villenuve) Release Date: 6th Ocotber

Dave: Forget Star Wars and Superheroes, this is what 2017 is about for me.  Blade Runner is one of my favourite films of all time.  Now, normally I would be sceptical about a belated sequel and when it was first mooted I dismissed it out of hand, then along came Denis Villenueve, he is one of the most exciting and promising directors working today.  Ryan Gosling most definitely has the talent to carry any film and then there is the returning Harrison Ford.  The teaser looks like they have nailed the feel of the original.  Here is hoping.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (James Gunn) Release Date: 28th April

Dan: As a fan of James Gunn with his work on Super, and Slither, I was intrigued by the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Then the trailer hit and I just knew it would be special. Watching it in the cinema was the best experience I’ve had watching a Sci-Fi film since my mother took me to see the re-releases of Star Wars: Episodes IV-VI when I was younger, if not better. I’ve never been this excited for a film for as long as I can remember, I’m actually more excited than I was for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

  And that is our Top 10 – let us know what you are looking forward to in 2017! For more upcoming 2017 releases, check out the upcoming horrors of 2017, the 10 films to keep you eye on in 2017, and the riskiest films of 2017.

Until next time, stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold. See you soonish.

PS As a special treat for reading all the way to the end, here are our individual Top 10 lists:

James 1. Blade Runner 2049 – Come on. I was looking forward to this before I saw Sicario. Then Arrival was amazing. In Villeneuve we trust. 2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – Can they capture lightning in a bottle again? 3. Paddington 2 – One of the most charming films in years gets a sequel. 4. War For the Planet Of The Apes – After two amazing films I’m pumped for another! 5. Logan –His scene in X Men: Apocolypse was the best thing in it, and the trailer looks epic. Time to say goodbye to one of the best characters we have seen 6. John Wick: Chapter 2 – Will this be a Raid 2 style upgrade or a Taken 2 style retread? I imagine a bigger budget, but will it work again? 7. Thor: Ragnorak – Man, I just love What We Do In The Shadows and Hunt For The Wilderpeople 8. Dark Tower – Years of expectation means I can’t get my hopes up too much. But still… 9. Kingsman: The Golden Circle – Manners. Maketh. Man. 10. The LEGO Batman Movie – Yes, I AM still a 7 year old, so what?

Split – M. Night Shymalan’s comeback? Alien: Covenant – Prometheus has dulled my expectations of being blown away by this, but on re-watches that is an interesting movie. Kong: Skull Island – Godzilla? Justice League/Wonder Woman Spider-Man: Homecoming Star Wars: Episode VIII: Pressure is on, will need to stand on it own (can’t rely on nostalgia like The Force Awakens) but Looper is a great movie (and those episodes of Breaking Bad), so I have faith in Rian Johnson

Dan

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2

Logan

Alien: Covenant –

It

John Wick 2

Blade Runner 2049

The Dark Tower

Star Wars: Episode VIII

Soldado

Ghost in the Shell

Dave

Blade Runner 2049 – Best director working today, a classic in waiting

Trainspotting 2 – cant’t wait to see these characters again

Guardians of The Galaxy 2 – More of the same please…

John Wick 2 – I could watch Keanu play this character all day long

Murder on The Orient Express – I love a murder mystery, just check the cast

Logan – Old Man Logan! Or as close as we will ever get on the big screen

Soldado – just watch Sicario and you will see why this is on the list

Alien Covenant – back to its horror roots?  Can’t be as bad as Prometheus right?

Paddington 2 – First one was a delight, Whishaw’s vocal performance was spot on

Despicable Me 3 – These movies are just fun.  Trey Parker’s villain looks a hoot.

The Mummy, Live By Night, Episode VIII, The Six Million Dollar Man, Lego Batman, Sing, King Arthur, Baywatch, Pitch Perfect 3

Welshy – Mine is very comic heavy

Star Wars episode 8

Logan

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

Spiderman Homecoming

Power Rangers

Thor 3 Ragnarok

Wonder Woman

Justice League

Blade Runner 2049

The Coldest City

Rich

Alien: Covenant – come on… seems like its going back to its roots which is great

Spider-man: Homecoming – lets hope it skips the origin story

Eyes of the Mother – artsy, moody horror flick

Bladerunner 2049 – Trailer is dripping with style

Ghost in the Shell – big fan of the original anime

John Wick Chapter 2 – more shooty shooty

Baywatch – The Rock and Zac Efron!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2

Justice League – It has to succeed, right?

Dark Tower – Will this even release in 2017?

2017 is full of blockbusters, sequels and franchises, but what films are The Snooty Ushers looking forward to most? What are The Snooty Ushers looking forward to most in 2017?

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Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/will-2017-good-year-film/

Will 2017 Be a Good Year for Film?

It’s a wonderful time to be comic book fan as our favorite heroes come to life one by one on the big screen. 2016 gave us Deadpool, the Suicide Squad, and Doctor Strange and a new incarnation of Batman for the DCEU. Harley Quinn became a household name and Ghost Rider got a proper treatment on TV and Spider-Man debuted in the MCU in a pretty big way. Favorite sci-fi franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars also made a big splash in the box office with Star Trek Beyond and Rogue One. 2017 promises to be a similar year for us geeks as well as the general public as both DC and Marvel have several offerings. This year, Marvel has three. Rogue One was stunning in IMAX. So save up to watch your favorite franchises in the best way possible in IMAX or in 3D. 2017 will be quite a ride. Here are the most anticipated films for 2017.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter – January 2017 – this film is anticipated by both Resident Evil fans and the general public as this is the final chapter of the long-running series of Resident Evil films starring Milla Jovovich. Is Wesker really actually a good guy? What happens to Alice, and the rest of the remaining human survivors on an earth taken over by the undead? Can the earth still be cleansed of the T-virus? We’ll find out very soon.

Logan – March 2017 – This could very well be Hugh Jackman’s final appearance as Wolverine on the big screen as he has held on to the character for over a decade and he’s not getting any younger. It’s been that long already? This will be an adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Old Man Logan storyline but without anyone else in the Marvel universe. This film somehow follows the disappointing X-Men: Apocalypse as Fox seems to have something against the chronology of X-Men stories. For their sake, hopefully, this redeems the X-Men franchise as not even Deadpool can hold everyone up. Maybe he could and teach Fox the merits of following source material instead of egos. The plot is something like Lone Wolf and Cub as Logan travels the country in a post-apocalyptic future. Tagging along is a young incarnation of X-23 and an old Charles Xavier which also marks Patrick Stewart’s final portrayal of the character.

Power Rangers – March 2017 – this is basically a wait-and-see film for fans of the Power Rangers franchise. This film takes some liberties with the kid-friendly version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The trailer and toy reveals have so far been disappointing, but hopefully, this film will surprise us like some films of 2016. Hopefully.

Beauty and the Beast – March 2017. While not a comic book or sci-fi film, we always love to anticipate the almost yearly fairy tale offerings from Walt Disney or Pixar. Beauty and the Beast is another live-action remake of Disney’s animation classics following Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty), Cinderella and The Jungle Book. Beauty and the Beast will star Emma Watson as Belle and like the animated musical, will also have the same musical score and possibly a few new twists.

Kong: Skull Island – March 2017 – Legendary Films is building its own shared universe after Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla. King Kong will be remade in a very big way. He will be much more colossal in order to be able to kick ass against or along with Godzilla in the future. The cast is equally colossal with Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and Brie Larson.

Ghost in The Shell – March 2017 – is a live-action film based on the beloved sci-fi cyberpunk anime classic of Masamune Shirow. This film is controversial as the lead role was given to Caucasian Scarlett Johansson since the lead character was supposedly Asian given her name but is surprisingly okay with Japanese fans as their characters may be ambiguous when it comes to race or nationality. Fans of the anime are hopeful that the film will do the anime justice and that the film will be good enough to pass the casting issues like in Doctor Strange.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 – May 2017 – is the long-anticipated follow-up to the highly successful film of the formerly highly obscure team of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The whole gang returns including Vin Diesel to voice the adorable Baby Groot. Guess he’ll grow up by the end of the film. This film will feature the return of Nebula, the debut of Mantis as well as Ego, the Living Planet. If it’s any indication, the trailer alone suggests this adventure will be a fun ride. Plus, we’re excited to hear the contents of Peter Quill’s new mixtape.

Alien: Covenant – May 2017 – Director Ridley Scott returns to helm his most famous creation, this time giving us a less ambiguous prequel to our beloved space horror franchise. This film will follow the events of Prometheus but will now feature the familiar xenomorphs of the Alien franchise. Naomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender will reprise their previous roles as Shaw and the android David respectively. Fassbender will also take on the role of a newer android named Walter and Katherine Waterston is cast as Daniels as the other lead character akin to Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley.

The Mummy – June 2017 – is an anticipated reboot of Brendan Fraser’s action-horror franchise. This time, Tom Cruise takes over for Fraser while the gorgeous Sofia Boutella (Kingsman, Star Trek: Beyond) takes on the titular role.

Wonder Woman – June 2017 – could probably be the DCEU’s saving grace after Batman V Superman. Wonder Woman’s appearance near the end was one of the film’s highlights and though some fans voiced their objections to the casting of Gal Gadot, she carried the character very well. Like Captain America: The First Avenger, this film will be the DCEU’s period piece. Has everyone noticed she’s been carrying a shield a lot recently? From the look of the trailer, this could be good. It’s another historic moment ad this will be her first solo film on the big screen.

Transformers: The Last Knight – June 2017 – Optimus Prime and Megatron return in another installment of the Michael Bay Transformers franchise. This picks up from the events of Transformers: Age of Extinction. Though the Transformers franchise is generally panned by critics and Transformers diehards, this franchise continues to rake in profits and let’s face it. We geeks love giant robots duking it out even though we can’t discern what’s happening when they come in contact. We remain suckers for what happens next in this franchise.

Spider-Man: Homecoming – July 2017 – this will be Spider-Man’s first solo film since his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was already great in Civil War, and with RDJ and Iron Man as support, this film could turn out to be more than amazing. Michael Keaton again plays a winged character in the form of The Vulture. It’s a logical choice as he predates The Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus and The Lizard. Some fans can’t wait to see younger upbeat Aunt May again.

Thor: Ragnarok – November 2017 – The Mighty Thor returns in the third installment of his own franchise. This film will pick up after the events of Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Doctor Strange as we seek to discover what happened to Odin as well as the whereabouts of the Hulk. This film will feature an adaptation of Marvel Comics’ popular Planet Hulk storyline and we’ll be treated to an appearance of Doctor Strange as he will help Thor and Loki locate Odin.

Star Wars Episode VIII – December 2017 – there seems to be no stopping Disney in giving us new Star Wars stories every December. This decade is a new heyday for Star Wars fans as more and more Star Wars films are expected to come out after the success of The Force Awakens and Rogue One. We expect this film to pick up where Episode VII left off with Rey and Luke Skywalker and the fates of Finn and Kylo Ren.

Justice League – December 2017 – DC’s own efforts at an extended universe will finally come to a head this upcoming December with the release of their Justice League film. Much like with the Avengers going against Loki and the Chitauri, the newly-formed Justice League will likely go against an initial attack from the Parademon forces of Darkseid from Apokolips which will be led by Steppenwolf. The film will also feature the return of the Man of Steel. Again this will be a first for the big screen bringing together DCs core team of superheroes.

Other films to watch out for – Underworld Blood Wars, Jeepers Creepers 3, Despicable Me 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3: Dead Men Tell No Tales, War for the Planet of the Apes, Pitch Perfect 3, The LEGO Batman Movie, Cars 3, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, The Fate of the Furious, Stephen King’s It.

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