Month: September 2024

5 Sep

James Gunn’s Creature Commandos gets a release date, and new images depicting DC’s action-packed monster mash

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Creature Commandos, DC, Comic-Con, teaser trailer

Chrismas comes early for DC fans this year as the release date for James Gunn’s Creature Commandos arrives to end 2024 with an action-packed monster mash! Premiering December 5 on Max, the first entry in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s “Gods and Monsters” arc finds Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) with her hands tied, operationally, meaning that she’s no longer able to get away with putting human lives on the line to carry out her clandestine morally questionable missions. Instead, she recruits a ragtag band of misfits, not unlike the Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. Her new team is a collective of literal monsters, bringing tooth and claw to the DCU with unpredictable tempers and tantrums that could change how Waller wins the day.

The cast of Creatures Commandos includes Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein, Indira Varma as The Bride, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic, Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorus, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, and Steve Agee as John Economos, and Sean Gunn as Weasel.

In addition to revealing the Creature Commandos release date, Entertainment Weekly debuted a gallery of new images for the series, featuring the cast kicking back at the bar, enjoying a nice cup of tea, and ready to throw down with guns blazing.

Creature Commandos, release date, Max, James Gunn
Creature Commandos, Max
Creature Commandos, James Gunn, DC

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn explained the appeal of Creature Commandos and how playing in the DC universe permits access to unique characters and teams outside the superhero norm. “The thing I’ve always loved about DC Comics was that you had your mainstream comics that always ran, but they also had these tonally different comics like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns and All-Star Superman,” Gunn tells Entertainment Weekly. “It was different from Marvel in that way. That’s something that I really want to retain within the studio, that every project is going to bring a different vision by the artists who are creating it.”

“I’m used to dealing with oddballs and irregular types and weirdos,” Gunn continues. “That’s what Guardians is, and Creature Commandos is kind of like Guardians without the sentimentality. The Guardians are all really good characters at their heart, and that just isn’t necessarily the case with the creatures.”

Gunn says each episode of Creature Commandos delves into a different character’s backstory, giving us a glimpse at what makes them who they are and how they became a part of the eerie ensemble. While Superman is the honest-to-goodness launch of the new DCU, Gunn wants fans to think of Creature Commandos as a “nibble” of the main course, an amuse-bouche of beasts, war-hardened robots, and wild takes on Universal Monsters.

“There are a ton of fun references to other DC stuff, a bunch of hints for things that are coming. So I think it’s just an extraordinarily fun way to start,” Gunn says about Creature Commandos.

The post James Gunn’s Creature Commandos gets a release date, and new images depicting DC’s action-packed monster mash appeared first on JoBlo.

5 Sep

Deaner ’89 Interview: Paul Spence and Will Sasso throw up their horns for the origin story of a rock ‘n’ roll legend in the making

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Capturing the essence of rock ‘n’ roll on film is often difficult. It’s not just about the music; it’s about the attitude, urges, style, and passion to get to the heart of a form of expression that conjures inner demons and lets them out to play. Movies like Airheads, This is Spinal Tap, Detroit Rock City, Metalhead, School of Rock, Heavy Metal, and Rock ‘n’ Roll High School stand tall as some of the best of what cinema has to offer regarding the raw, inspirational power of rock ‘n’ roll. This year, we have Deaner ’89, an exploratory and nostalgia-tinged comedy about Dean Murdoch, a headbanger on the verge of emerging from his heavy metal cocoon in the small town of Haylen, Manitoba, Canada.

We recently had the pleasure of raising our horns alongside actor, musician, and writer Paul Spence (Fubar, I’m Not There) and versatile comedic actor Will Sasso (MAD TV, Young Sheldon, The Three Stooges) during an in-depth discussion about Deaner ’89. During our interview, we discovered the origin of why Spence wanted to re-establish Dean Murdoch for new audiences, the secrets behind some of Dean’s quirks, Sasso’s inspiration for his Canadian hockey coach character, Glen, the important of comfy furniture, which bands the duo would choose to headline a rock ‘n’ roll music festival, and more.

Directed by Sam McGlynn from a screenplay by Spence, who drew inspiration from his own family past, Deaner ’89 has the following official logline: Hard-luck metalhead Dean Murdoch (Paul Spence) reveals how he finally made it, taking us back to the ’80s – when being a hockey jock was a badge of honor, Jazzercise was a national movement, seatbelts were optional, and teachers were as drunk as their students.

Coming from Eagle Vision and PSA Productions, Deaner ’89 is a more-than-worthy addition to Hollywood’s rock ‘n’ roll movie pantheon. While growing up in the ’80s, I knew people like Dean and wanted to become him before bands like Tool, Korn, and Alice in Chains led me down a different path. Deaner ’89 captures the vibes of living life with your fist raised high and a cold beer in your hand. Make sure you check out our full review here for more.

The post Deaner ’89 Interview: Paul Spence and Will Sasso throw up their horns for the origin story of a rock ‘n’ roll legend in the making appeared first on JoBlo.

5 Sep

Conclave (TIFF) Review

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PLOT: When the reigning pope unexpectedly dies, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) must assemble the College of Cardinals to elect a new pope during a Conclave that grows increasingly bitter and deceitful. 

REVIEW: Back at TIFF 2022, one of the festival’s biggest surprises was director Edward Berger’s powerhouse new take on the classic WWI story, All Quiet on the Western Front. It was a movie that no one expected much from, but it won Best Foreign Film at the Oscars and was a major Best Picture contender up to the eleventh hour. It marked Berger as a prominent director, and now he’s back at TIFF with another stunning drama, Conclave.

Based on the novel by Robert Harris (“Fatherland”, “The Fear Index”, etc.), what could have been a dry, talky drama becomes a riveting piece of work in Berger’s hands. While working from admittedly solid material, Berger expertly (and muscularly) directs one of the year’s best casts in a movie that – metaphorically – is more timely than ever in this election year. 

Indeed, with over 1.39 billion Catholics worldwide, a position as pope would make the man elected perhaps the most famous and influential person on earth. In Conclave, the Vatican is being torn apart by an incredibly bitter battle between traditional clergy and a more liberal wing, which included the deceased pope, whose lifelong mission was to modernize the church. Fiennes’s Cardinal Lawrence is shown to be in the midst of a crisis of faith, with him even seeking to leave his position, only to be denied by the pope, who knew he was the only Cardinal crafty (and selfless) enough to make sure the wrong man doesn’t get elected pontiff. 

The film centers around four central cardinals with a strong chance of being elected. On the more liberal side, there’s Stanley Tucci’s Bellini, who seems the most worthy candidate but lacks the killer instinct of John Lithgow’s Tremblay, a Canadian cardinal who, while vaguely liberal, isn’t above using dirty tricks to get his way. On the more conservative side is Lucian Msamati’s Adeyemi, who would be the first black pope and would be a good candidate were it not for the fact that he’s a raging homophobe. Finally, there’s Sergio Castellitto’s xenophobic Tedesco, who wants to undo all modernization within the church and take a step backward in time.

The liberal Lawrence is shown to be divided between his wish to see Bellini get elected and the fact that he emerges as a dark horse candidate at the eleventh hour. Fiennes delivers an incredible performance as the sharp-witted Lawrence, who has to become something of a detective amid his duties, with his performance bringing to mind Sean Connery in the classic In the Name of the Rose. Fiennes expertly depicts Lawrence’s humanity and increasing disillusionment with some of his fellow men of God.

Everyone is expertly cast, with Tucci striking as the liberal Bellini who isn’t without his Machiavellian side. While playing a character with repugnant views, Msamati as Adeyemi also has moments that allow him to come across as somewhat sympathetic, as opposed to Castellitto’s Tedesco, who is depicted as a nightmarish candidate. Then there’s John Lithgow, as the seemingly pious Tremblay who goes on to show his ruthless ambitious as the film bolts towards its fantastic final act. Carlos Diehz also makes a big impression as Benitez, the Cardinal of Kabul, whose arrival is met with suspicion but strikes an almost Christ-like figure. 

While undeniably talky, every line of dialogue is potent, and Conclave is anything but boring. Berger keeps the movie tense and does a remarkable job depicting how cut off the conclave has to be, even when it’s suggested that terrorists might attack Rome.

One of Berger’s critical collaborators on All Quiet on the Western Front, Volker Bertelmann, returns for Conclave, contributing another evocative score, albeit one done differently from his memorable electronic work that film. I fully expect this to wind up with a Best Original Score nomination. While Conclave probably doesn’t sound like an ultra commercial movie, I think it might surprise people when Focus puts it out in theatres, as it’s phenomenally entertaining and has a knockout ending that should generate a lot of talk. It’s one to watch for and seems like an Oscar contender. 


Conclave

AMAZING

9

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