All 39 Marvel movies ranked from best to worst by Rotten Tomatoes
With the release of Ant-Man just a few hours away, signaling the end of Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it might be a good time to take a look back at everything that Marvel has brought the theaters over the past few decades. The studio has certainly been on a hot streak over the past few years, but looking back, not every Marvel property has been a critical success.
As part of its summer movie guide for 2015, Rotten Tomatoes has put together a list of all 39 Marvel movies, including movies not made directly by Marvel Studios, ranked by Tomatometer rating.
The ratings have been weighted based on the amount of reviews each film received, so although one film’s current Tomatometer score might be lower than another’s, its adjusted score might place it higher on the list.
Here’s the list in its entirety:
- Iron Man
- The Avengers
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- Spider-Man 2
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Big Hero 6
- Spider-Man
- X-Men: First Class
- X2: X-Men United
- Iron Man 3
- X-Men
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Thor
- The Amazing Spider-Man
- Ant-Man
- Iron Man 2
- The Wolverine
- The Incredible Hulk
- Thor: The Dark World
- Spider-Man 3
- Hulk
- X-Men: The Last Stand
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2
- Blade II
- Blade
- Daredevil
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
- The Punisher
- Fantastic Four
- Blade: Trinity
- Punisher: War Zone
- Ghost Rider
- The Punisher
- Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
- Howard the Duck
- Elektra
Unsurprisingly, Marvel Studios films generally appear towards the top of the list, but 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures have both had success with the X-Men and Spider-Man franchises, respectively. If you had to make your own list, how close would it be to the list above?
All 39 Marvel movies ranked from best to worst by Rotten Tomatoes
The 5 Best Games of 2015 (So Far)
The first half of the year is safely in the rear view mirror, and so are plenty of awesome games. As we head into the slow summer months and brace for the overloaded fall season, we thought it was a good time to take stock. What are the best games we’ve played thus far in 2015? In no particular order, here are our five favorites.
(Image: Microsoft)
Ori & the Blind Forest (Xbox One, PC)
Don’t let its adorable looks fool you — Ori’s awesome platforming is tense and tricky. But the style is part of what makes this Metroid-style adventure so riveting.: meshing Pixar-esque graphics with tough but rewarding gameplay, it’s both a gripping action game and a gorgeous, playable painting. And at only $20, it’s a steal, too.
(Image: Warner Bros. Interactive)
Mortal Kombat X (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Mortal Kombat has evolved from a game all about Fatalities to a game all about killer graphics, slick controls, and, yeah, Fatalities. This one’s jam-packed with clever modes and crazy characters – the sort of fighter that’s easy to learn, tough to master, and pretty much impossible to put down. Just make sure to bring a barf bag.
Amazon’s Echo Brings the ‘Star Trek’ Computer to Your Home
How often does a truly new electronics category come along? The first television. The Walkman. The iPhone. The iPad. Each time, the industry spends years making copycats and refinements, but the original concept doesn’t change much.
Frankly, Amazon is the last company I would have expected to come up with the next completely new idea. I mean, its hardware ventures so far have been very much in the Us Too department. E-book readers, touchscreen phones, tablets — we’d seen all that before.
But not the Amazon Echo, which just became available for sale to the public (following an invitation-only, testing-the-waters release last November). Somehow, nobody’s thought of this before.
The big idea: Create a voice-activated smartphone assistant like Siri or Google Now — but take it off the phone. Make it a smart, always-listening machine in your house. Engineer it to understand you from across the room, hands free, as you’re cooking, reading, doing homework, discussing, living. Make it good enough to be just like the conversational, environmental computers on Star Trek or in the Iron Man movies.
That’s what the Amazon Echo attempts to be. And you know what? I’ve never been so excited about something that did so little.
Meet the Echo
If you wanted to make a conversational computer for the home, what should it look like? Because Amazon was creating the first one of something, there was no existing design model, no accepted size or shape.
So Amazon went with a nine-inch-tall, sleek black metal cylinder. And why not? It works. It fades into the clutter of your house, along with whatever else is on your bookcase or shelving unit or kitchen counter, just as it should.
The bottom part is perforated, hinting at the speakers inside. The top disc rotates — it’s a giant volume knob — and lights up in various cool LED colors and patterns to telegraph what the thing is doing. On the very top is a power button and a mute button that means both “stop speaking” and “stop listening.”
The Echo is indeed listening all the time to the conversation in your home, but it doesn’t pay attention until you say, “Alexa.” (You can change the attention word to “Amazon,” but that’s your only option. It would be so much more fun if you could make it any name you liked — say, “Hal,” “Jarvis,” or “Skynet.” But you can’t do that. Yet, anyway.)
Why is the product called Amazon Echo, but its starter name is Alexa?
Anyway, once you say “Alexa,” the Echo is just like Siri, Cortana, or Google Now. You ask things in conversational English, and it answers in a clear, fluid, natural-sounding woman’s voice. Actually, Alexa sounds much better than Siri, Cortana, or Google Now. In part, that’s because she’s being projected by a 2.5-inch woofer and a 2.0-inch tweeter instead of a phone speaker the size of a fingernail clipping.
The most amazing engineering achievement is the Echo’s ability to understand commands in terrible acoustic conditions. It understands you whether you’re close to it or a whole room away. It understands every member of the family without training. It understands you when there’s background noise. It even understands you over the music it’s playing.
Above all, it understands you despite the natural echoes and reverberations of a room. Amazon says that’s because it has an array of seven microphones on top. Apparently, even though they’re just inches apart, they can measure the relatively delayed arrivals of incoming sound waves from your voice, and thereby cancel out any echo.
Now, the Echo doesn’t understand you every time. If you ask something beyond its limited circle of commands, you get either a beep or a “Sorry, I can’t find the answer to the question I heard”-type message. And sometimes it mis-hears you completely. (That situation crops up most often when you’re ordering a certain song or band to play.)
But considering the fact that your voice commands have to be transmitted to the mother ship (Amazon’s computers) and back across the Internet, the accuracy and speed of Echo’s responses are really impressive.
Oh, that’s right: Your recorded commands are collected for study by Amazon, for the purposes of improving Echo’s recognition skills. Amazon says that these recordings are not anonymous, and they’re not deleted unless you delete them. You can delete these recordings yourself, either one at a time or all at once (but that “may degrade your experience using Amazon Echo”).
In short, the easily spooked should not buy an Amazon Echo.
What Can I Say?
At 6 months old, the Echo isn’t nearly as capable as, say, Siri; it doesn’t recognize as many commands or do as many things.
But Amazon promises that the Echo’s talents will rapidly expand. And indeed, the number of requests the device can handle has already doubled since its early adopter beginnings six months ago.
Here’s what the Echo responds to, in order of usefulness:
“Alexa, play Billy Joel.” Music is the killer app. You walk into the kitchen and ask for virtually any band, song, album, genre, or even activity (“play some cooking music”) — and the music just starts. It’s as close as you’re going to get to owning the Star Trek computer.
This feature works best if you’re an Amazon Prime member ($100 a year), because it gives you instant access to a million songs, plus thousands of playlists created by your fellow members.
If you’re not a Prime member (or even if you are), you can also request any of the personalized radio stations you’ve created on a Pandora or iHeartRadio account (free or paid). “Play my Coldplay channel from Pandora,” you can say. Here’s what else you can say.
You can also upload 250 of your own song files to Amazon, to play upon vocal command.
Spotify and Apple Music are more limited; they’re not integrated with the Echo (yet, says Amazon). For services like these, you’re supposed to use the Echo as a glorified wireless Bluetooth speaker for your phone.
You start by saying, “Alexa, connect my phone,” which starts directing playback to the Echo instead of your phone’s speaker. Then you open the music app (Spotify or whatever) on your phone. From here, you can command playback by voice, without needing your phone: “Play,” “Next,” “Previous,” “Resume,” “Softer,” Louder,” and so on.
When music plays, you can adjust the volume by voice, buy the song by voice, or say “Alexa, thumbs up” to “like” the song (for Pandora, iHeartRadio, and Prime Music).
“Alexa, play WCBS.” You can also request any radio station in the country, just by asking for it. That’s a feature of TuneIn.com, which is built right into the Echo and doesn’t require an account or setup. It’s the best.
“Alexa, what’s the news?” Alexa instantly begins playing NPR’s latest headline summary. Using the Echo app on your phone, you can also turn on the option to request the news from the BBC, ESPN, the Economist, or TMZ.
“Alexa, how’s the traffic?” Once you’ve entered your home and work addresses in the phone app, Alexa can tell you exactly how many minutes your commute will be if you leave now.
“Alexa, what’s the weather in Dallas this weekend?” As you’d expect.
“Alexa, read ‘The Casual Vacancy.’” If you’ve bought an audio book from Audible, the Echo begins playing your most recent book. It picks up where you stopped before, even if you were listening to it on a different device.
“Alexa, wake me up at 7:20 a.m.” The Echo is rock-solid on alarms and timers. (If Echo is in the kitchen, you’ll use “Set a timer for 20 minutes” a lot. One night, my wife, with no idea if it would work, said, “Alexa, how much time is left on my timer?” — and bingo, Alexa answered. It was awesome.)
“Alexa, how far is it from Chicago to Tampa?” Alexa is really good at facts. She’ll convert units for you, give you historical or geographical facts, calculate the days of the week for dates, fill you in on movie and music trivia, and on and on. Same kind of thing Siri, Cortana, and Google Now do. Here are a few examples.
She knows sports scores and schedules, too. (“When do the Giants play next?”)
“Alexa: Wikipedia ‘The Rolling Stones.’” This command reads the first couple of lines from the corresponding Wikipedia entry.
“Alexa, put nutmeg on my shopping list.” Alexa doesn’t buy anything without your confirmation. But she will put things onto a shopping list that’s maintained in the Echo app on your phone. Same thing with To Do items: “Put ‘Paint the living room’ on my To Do list.”
“Alexa, reorder cat food.” You can buy stuff by voice — if you’ve previously bought them from Amazon. Alexa describes, aloud, any matching item from your order history, tells you price, and asks if you want to go ahead and order it. For things you order often, it’s pretty cool. (If you make a mistake, you can return the stuff for free. And if you have mischievous teenagers in the house, you can also disable this feature, or require a spoken password.)
“Alexa, how do you spell fluorescent?” She’s a great dictionary. She’ll also define any word for you.
“Alexa, turn off the living-room lights.” In one of Amazon’s recent feature updates, the Echo gained the ability to control home-automation gear from Wink, Belkin, and Philips (that is, the Philips Hue light bulbs). Here’s the complete list of compatible gear.
Once you’ve set all this up, you can use your voice to control lights, light switches, and — here’s the limitless part — power outlets. I tried it with a couple of Belkin WeMo Internet-controllable outlets, and it was wild.
“Alexa, when’s my next appointment?” You can ask various things about your Google calendar, once you’ve told the Echo app your Google account details. You cannot, however, create, delete, or move appointments by voice, as you can with Siri; you can only look things up. (“What’s on my calendar for Tuesday?”)
“Alexa, tell me a joke” quickly became a favorite command in our household of kids. She’s always good for a short, painful pun or two (“Why don’t bicycles wake up early? They’re two-tired”), but now and then she gets the adults laughing. (“How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb? Two. One to hold the giraffe, and the other to fill the bathtub with brightly colored machine tools.”)
Alexa’s Personality
Amazon has put a lot of work into giving Alexa witty responses to silly questions, just like Siri or Cortana — especially when you feed her movie quotes. For example:
- You say: “Beam me up.” (She says: “At warp speed, Captain? The engines will never take it!”)
- “Which came first: The chicken or the egg?” (”The chicken. Or the egg. No, the chicken. I’m not sure.”)
- “Do you want to take over the world?” (”I don’t want to take over the world; I just want to help you.”)
- “Earl grey tea. Hot.” (”Unable to comply. Replicators are offline.”)
- “How much is that doggie in the window?” (”That one’s not for sale. But the one with the fluffy tail is really nice, too.”)
- “I am your father.” (”No! No, no, no!”)
- “All your base are belong to us.” (”You have no chance to survive. Make your time.”)
- “I want the truth.” (“You can’t handle the truth!”)
- “Inconceivable!” (”You keep using that word. I do not think that word means what you think it means.”)
- “Is Santa Claus real?” (”I don’t know him personally, but I’ve heard a lot of good things…”)
- “Klaatu barada nikto.” (“Well remembered! Unfortunately, I’m not Gort, and I have no powers of resurrection.”)
- “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” (”A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”)
- “What is your favorite color?” (”Infrared is superpretty.”)
- “Knock-knock.” (She tells a knock-knock joke.)
- “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” (”More fair by far are you than all…” etc.)
- “Party on, Wayne.” (”Party on, Garth.”)
- “Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” (”Deny thy father and refuse thy name; / Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love / And I’ll no longer be a Capulet!”)
- “What do you think about Siri?” (”Siri’s a great app, but I’m different.”)
- “What does the fox say?” (”Waa, was, way do.”)
- “What is your quest?” (”To seek the Holy Grail.”)
- “Who’s your daddy?” (”A team of inventors at Amazon.com.”)
- “Open the pod bay doors.” (“I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that. I’m not Hal, and you’re not in space.”)
- “What do you want to be when you grow up?” (”I want to be the computer from Star Trek!”)
The App and the Remote
You don’t have to spend much time in the companion Echo app (for iPhone, Android, or Fire OS). But it serves as the only screen the Echo’s got. Here’s where you see your To Do and Shopping lists, for example. It’s where you set up your music-service accounts, specify which news services you want on call, get help, see manual music playback and volume controls, and take the voice-training exercise. (This asks you to read 25 typical Echo commands. It’s supposed to improve accuracy, but it’s optional.)
The app also keeps written and audio records of your voice commands — and lets you indicate which ones didn’t work, for the benefit of Amazon’s engineers.
For another 30 bucks you can get a remote control. It offers music-playback and volume controls, plus three key benefits:
- You can command the Echo quietly, by speaking into its microphone.
- You don’t have to say “Alexa” before every command (just press the microphone button and talk).
- *You can make the Echo say anything you want. Hold down the microphone button, say “Simon says…” and then say what you want Alexa to say in her own voice. (That’s how I got the Echo to say the goofy things in my video above.) Great for pranks.
Where Echo should go from here
Amazon still has plenty of work to do on the Echo.
You should be able to add appointments to your calendar. Make restaurant reservations. Look up movie schedules. Make phone calls (why isn’t it a speakerphone?). Send and read text messages. Add notes to your Notes app. Check stock prices. Post to Facebook or Twitter.
The To Do and Shopping List features should integrate with the ones you’ve already got on your iPhone or Android phone, rather than being confined to the Echo app.
Some people complain that Echo has no batteries, so it’s not really mobile, although that seems beside the point; it’s meant to become part of your home environment.
The price
If Echo were $500 or even $300, well, no: It would just be a gimmick.
But the price is $180, which is about what you’d pay for a similarly sized Bluetooth wireless speaker. You get the whole voice-assistant thing for nothing.
I know, I know: “But my phone does the same thing.” No, it really doesn’t.
Most smartphones can take commands like “OK, Google, what’s 17 times 12?” or “Siri, what’s the weather?” (Siri responds hands-free only if your iPhone is plugged into power.) But the details make the difference. The Echo doesn’t require your hands. Doesn’t require you to be close. Doesn’t have to come out of your pocket — or require you to hunt around the house for it. Doesn’t require you to be you (anyone’s voice works). Doesn’t sound tiny and tinny.
I’m telling you, a voice assistant is a totally different concept once it’s untethered from your phone and always available. It grows on you. As you experiment and live with Echo, you master its vocabulary and begin using it more.
You should give Amazon a huge mental high-five for a) having the imagination to create a whole new product category and b) being able to actually pull it off.
And you should keep the Echo in mind — maybe to get for yourself, maybe at holiday gift-giving time, or maybe just to keep your eye on. I’m telling you, it’s going to be a thing.
Chris Evans helps Agent Carter star Hayley Atwell win Marvel Dubsmash battle
Agent Carter star Hayley Atwell may have just won her ongoing Marvel Dubsmash battle — with a little help from Captain America.
Chris Evans joined Atwell and her Agent Carter costar James D’Arcy for a fantastic cover of Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust,” complete with Cap’s shield and an enlarged image of the trading card Cap signs for Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) in The Avengers.
“Mic dropped…?” the actress tweeted to Gregg and his Agents of SHIELD costar Chloe Bennet. “Consider it picked up and thrown out of the f–ing window.”
The Dubsmash is the latest in a five-day-long battle — which largely unfolded during San Diego Comic-Con — between the casts of the two Marvel series, both on ABC. It all began with Atwell and D’Arcy and their dub of the “The Oompa Loompa Song” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory:
Gregg and Bennet threw down the gauntlet, officially declaring Dubsmash war and performing the Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock classic “It Takes Two”
Agent Carter shot back with The B-52s’ “Love Shack” and Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” (Goat Version), followed by a performance of Bennet’s “Uh Oh,” from back when she was singing under the name Chloe Wang:
Then Agents of SHIELD upped the ante, bringing in the whole cast for an ensemble performance of Queen’s “We Are The Champions,” complete with Gregg in Peggy Carter drag:
But the battle was all in good fun. Agent Carter and Agents of SHIELD joined forces for this Dubsmash of Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood”:
After throwing what might be the winning blow, Atwell, Evans and D’Arcy celebrated, Dirty Dancing style:
Chris Evans helps Agent Carter star Hayley Atwell win Marvel Dubsmash battle
‘Batman v. Superman’ and ‘Suicide Squad’: Ben Affleck, Will Smith, Cara Delevingne Pose for THR’s Epic Group Photo
After stunning the Hall H crowd on Saturday with new footage, 17 actors, as well as directors Zack Snyder and David Ayer, from Warner Bros.’ Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad — together comprising the long-awaited first phase of Warners’ DC Cinematic Universe — zoomed off for what would be their first photo together.
While both casts appeared during Warner Bros.’ panel, they didn’t take the stage at the same time. So THR‘s photo shoot was not only the first time that the two casts got together, but for many it was their first time meeting one another entirely.
Jai Courtney mightily shook hands with Jesse Eisenberg while Henry Cavill chatted with Will Smith, who introduced him to Jay Hernandez. Cara Delevingne and Gal Gadot posed for a selfie together.
Ayer and his Suicide Squad cast — Smith, Margot Robbie, Courtney, Delevingne, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Hernandez, Adam Beach and Karen Fukuhara — arrived backstage first. They rushed to the craft services table, scarfing down sandwiches and snacks.
The group was on a whirlwind trip, to say the least. Ayer had been working on the film in Toronto until 1 a.m. Friday night, then woke up the next morning to fly with his cast to San Diego. They were in San Diego for a little under three hours before having to rush back out to the airport at 1 p.m. to head back to Toronto. Ayer, who was trying to convince his handlers to stop to get burritos before he headed back to Canada, needed to return to shooting second unit the next day.
Onstage, Ayer touted his villain-focused movie: “Who’s got the best bad guys out there? DC Comics,” he said. “I’m not trying to start no East Coast-West Coast feud with Marvel Comics, but someone has got to say the truth.”
The footage he showed was surprisingly dark in tone, but at the shoot Ayer told THR of the film, “The real shock is how hilarious it’s going to be.”
Smith, who was the only castmember to speak (if only a few sentences) onstage during the Suicide Squad presentation, relished leaving the crowd wanting more.
“This was just a little taste,” he told THR backstage. “We’ll see them again next year.”
If the movies are part of a big DC family, Batman v. Superman is the older, more mature sibling on which the weight of responsibility falls. Suicide Squad is the bratty little kid, chewing bubble gum and tagging walls.
Each cast has bonded in different ways. Loud and boisterous, the Suicide Squad cast was bonded by an attitude fueled by brashness and exuberance.
“We’re very much a squad,” said Robbie, with her co-star Delevingne joking, “We should start a dance squad.” Indeed, the cast was seen taking plenty of selfies together, laughing at inside jokes and throwing up their hands in faux-squad poses during the shoot.
The cast of Batman v. Superman looked on with bemusement, like they weren’t quite sure what to do with the family member that steals cars for a living. They were bonded too, it just showed in a more subdued way — like when Adams jokingly sat on Affleck’s lap when they were taking their seats for the shoot. But don’t let their quiet demeanor fool you: Adams photo-bombed Delevingne and Gadot with aplomb.
And while they may be only newly acquainted, there’s already a friendly rivalry brewing between the two casts, with the Suicide Squad group joking that they’d eat all the sandwiches before the Dawn of Justice cast got there. Affleck, meanwhile, joked that he wouldn’t be waiting on the slacking Suicide Squad to take his group photo.
Click the photo below to see a larger version of THR‘s exclusive image, as captured by photographer Joe Pugliese. And click here for a larger version of the image that includes the key to who’s who.
We reveal the cover and title of Diary of the Wimpy Kid 10!
Drumroll please… Jeff Kinney’s 10th Wimpy Kid book is out on November 3, it’s called Diary of a Wimpy Kid Old School and here’s what it looks like
Game of Thrones: Bran Stark actor confirms he’s in season 6
Your assumption is correct, Game of Thrones fans: Bran Stark will be in season 6.
Actor Isaac Hempstead Wright confirmed to the Irish Examiner that he’s returning to the HBO fantasy hit after being benched during season 5.
“I can’t say a lot, but I am back this season, and it’s going to get particularly interesting with Bran,” Wright said. “He has some interesting visions.”
The actor noted he hasn’t watched the fifth season yet because he was so busy with school, and also said that he doesn’t know if co-star Kit Harington (Jon Snow) will return after his apparent death scene. “I don’t know [if he will come back]. He’s said he’s not,” Wright said.
Previously, Thrones showrunner David Benioff compared Bran’s season-long absence while he develops his warg skills with the Three-Eyed Raven to Luke Skywalker training in the Star Wars saga. “Like, it would be far less interesting, after The Empire Strikes Back to have an hour-long movie in between Empire and Return of the Jedi where Luke is training,” Benioff said. “It’s so much cooler to cut from end of Empire to beginning of Return, where he’s become the Jedi.”
‘Ant-Man’ review: A little hero and a lot to like
“Ant-Man” has been skittering around the development corridors of Hollywood so long, the earliest unproduced screenplays about the tiny superhero actually preceded the Disney film “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” That was another age (1989), decades before our present Age of Ultron — an epoch of expensive cheap thrills dictated by the steady, crushing rollout of so many Marvel movies that even the good ones start to seem like ants at an endless picnic.
But wait. The “Ant-Man” we have now before us, half-an-inch tall and played by genial, skillful Paul Rudd, turns out to be better company than you’d think possible in a multi-strand franchise lousy with corporate directives.
The plot’s the same old thing. Mad, mad, mad, mad science; imminent apocalypse; parent/child issues; blah blah blaggidy blah. The tone of “Ant-Man,” however, is relatively light and predominantly comic. Those who feel they need a break from the numbing destruction of the “Avengers”/”Captain America” movies will likely enjoy it.
lRelated ‘Minions’ review: Too much mellow yellow wears thin
“Ant-Man” is a frisky hybrid — part “Land of the Giants,” part heist film a la “11 Harrowhouse,” but with Rudd leading an army of ants against the villain, Yellowjacket, played by the excellent character actor Corey Stoll. The set-up finds burglar Scott Lang (Rudd) getting released from three years in San Quentin. His ex-wife, Maggie (Judy Greer, never in a role big enough for her talent), has custody of their daughter (Abby Ryder Fortson). The stepfather figure in the girl’s life (Bobby Cannavale) is a sympathetic cop who doesn’t like Lang’s rap sheet and wonders if he’ll continue his life of crime.
Lang and his old pals (Michael Pena chief among them) learn of a safe inside a mansion belonging to some old rich crank, just begging to be robbed. The crank is one Hank Pym (Michael Douglas, solid if a little dull), whose big secret involves something called the Pym Particle. This enables humans to shrink down to ant size and then back up to human size, in a flash. Pym targets Lang for the next phase of the experiment, conducted with the surly but charismatic help of Pym’s daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly).
The shrink gimmick of “Ant-Man” is simple and fetching. It may appeal to the younger segment of the Marvel audience more so than the jaded older teenagers and adults accustomed to wearying mass slaughter and entire cities being lifted up in the sky. The climactic smackdown between Rudd and Stoll takes place largely on a toy train set, and when director Peyton Reed cuts away from the close-up action to longer shots, the effect is very funny, as if a pair of invisible preteens were knocking around a Thomas the Tank Engine, happily.
‘Minions’ – 2.5 stars
‘The Gallows’ – 2.5 stars
We’ll never know how much of what works in “Ant-Man” relates to the input of Edgar Wright (“Hot Fuzz,” “The World’s End,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”), the first director assigned to the movie. Reed (“Down with Love”) replaced Wright, though Wright retains producer and co-screenwriting credit, along with Joe Cornish. The second credited writing team, Adam McKay and Paul Rudd, presumably took things in a direction more pleasing to the Marvel folks while adding a few more jokes. Plus heart! Can’t forget the heart. Also there’s a cameo from a back-bench “Avengers” superhero setting up Ant-Man’s future screen appearances.
Time will tell whether a movie such as “Ant-Man,” in which conventional firearms are so rewardingly irrelevant, can find a big audience. But it’s more fun than “Avengers 2.”
Universal Hits $3B At International Box Office In Industry-Record Time – And A First For The Studio
The studio hit $1B, then $2B and now $3B in record time. Universal just keeps taking bites out of box office records domestically, internationally and worldwide. Driven by a plethora of hits — from Fifty Shades Of Grey and Furious 7 to Jurassic World and Minions — Universal Pictures 
International has just jumped past the $3B milestone, becoming the fastest of any studio to do that. Furious 7 and Jurassic World handed UPI two-thirds of that gross. It also marks the first time in its 103-year history that Universal has reached that height at the international box office.
The hits are expected to keep coming for the studio with Judd Apatow’s next comedy Trainwreck, starring Amy Schumer and Bill Hader, which bows in two weeks, and F. Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton, which arrives August 14. And then … expect a bit of a breather from the studio.
Now, let’s look at the lineup UPI has had: Fifty Shades Of Grey ($403.6 million internationally), Fast & Furious 7 ($1.16 billion), Pitch Perfect 2 ($96.6 million), Jurassic World ($843.9 million and counting) and early results in 26 international territories from Minions ($141.7 million).
Now for the records — though they are seriously too numerous to count: Because of Jurassic World, Universal was able to have bragging rights to the quickest climb to $1B domestic — beating the previous record ascendance achieved by Paramount on June 22, 2008. It also hit the $3B worldwide combo of domestic/international earlier this year, passing Fox’s previous race to the milestone on June 30, 2010.
Other records? Universal currently has three of the four highest-grossing films of the year, and its films opened No. 1 worldwide three times in 2015 and have been No. 1 at the international box office for nine week
s — more than any other studio.
Now let’s look at the individual pictures in order of appearance: Fifty Shades of Grey is studio’s highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. The film has grossed $403.6M at the international box office.
Fast & Furious 7 (as it was titled in international markets) grossed $1.16B at the international box office. Among countless milestones, Fast & Furious 7 is the highest-grossing film ever in China ($390.8M) and the third-highest-grossing film at the international box office ever, joining Avatar and Titanic as only the films in history to reach $1B in international box office. Um, that is, until the dinosaurs came stomping through.
Jurassic World became the fastest film to reach $1B worldwide, doing so after only 13 days in release. It went down in history as having had the biggest opening weekend of all-time internationally, domestically and worldwide. It ranks as the fifth-highest-grossing film of all-time worldwide behind Avatar, Titanic, Marvel’s The Avengers and Universal’s own Furious 7, and is known as the ninth-highest-grossing film internationally.
And it’s still playing, grabbing a total of $43.3M last weekend alone, with its final territory, Japan, opening August 5.
Also gotta give props to breakout hit Pitch Perfect 2, the musical comedy that came out of nowhere and started shoving Mad Max: Fury Road around in heated competition, especially Down Under. The female-directed film (Elizabeth Banks) is still playing in 49 territories and is on the verge of crossing $100M, stepping to the tune of around $280M worldwide to date. It has yet to open in 13 more territories before its performance is through.
“We are proud of our slate and the accompanying success, which is due to the hard work of our filmmakers and our tireless Universal Pictures team,” UPI President of Distribution Duncan Clark said in a statement today. “From our production group, who have been so brilliant at nurturing our homegrown franchises, to the best marketing and distribution teams in the business — both in London and Los Angeles — and our dedicated teams around the world, this year has been a joy for every member of our organization.”
Universal Hits $3B At International Box Office In Industry-Record Time – And A First For The Studio
Disney Reaches Another Milestone In Record Time: $2B International Box Office
After crossing $3B worldwide last week, Disney has now set another benchmark with $2B at the international box office so far in 2015. This is the sixth year in a row for the studio and is the fastest it’s ever made the climb. Last year, the mouse roared to $2B on August 3. The current estimated international total is $2.012B with $3.19B global.
This is the latest in a string of milestones for the Hollywood majors as summer box office blooms. Disney also has over $1B at the domestic box office, which it achieved in record time on June 25.
Films propelling the studio to new heights include Avengers: Age Of Ultron, whose international box office now sits at $933.3M after this frame; Cinderella at $340M; and Inside Out, which jumped to $151.8M this weekend. It added $19.1M in the session, aided by a strong debut in Korea at $5.1M — the biggest Pixar opening of all time in the market.
Next week sees Paul Rudd shrink to fit the Ant-Man costume in Marvel’s latest superhero tale. The movie screened for exhibitors at CineEurope in Barcelona last month to strongly positive reaction and has been garnering critical praise as its July 14 release approaches internationally. Domestic bows July 17.
Disney Reaches Another Milestone In Record Time: $2B International Box Office
‘Minions’ Henchmen Nab $124M & No. 1; ‘Terminator’ Generates $47M; ‘Baahubali’, China See Big Bows – Intl B. O. Update
2ND UPDATE, 3:45 PM PT: The top two pictures internationally this session are the same as last week, only they switched places. With an expansion to 30 more markets, Minions rose to No. 1 in its 4th frame with $124.3M and a global cume approaching $400M. Last week’s champ, Terminator: Genisys, moved to 2nd place with $47.3M and in a handful of new territories. Looking at the Top 10 Hollywood movies playing internationally, this week’s frame was up almost 10% over last. When we include local language pics in the Top 10 offshore, this session was 26% higher than the previous frame — there were big plays in China with the Nos. 3 and 4 films on the international chart hailing from the Middle Kingdom. India’s Baahubali: The Beginning was also a smash this frame with an opening north of $20M, although full figures are not yet available.
When comparing it to last year, this frame across the Top 10 Hollywood movies is also up — about 18%. At the international box office in the similar 2014 period, Transformers: Age Of Extinction was still packing picturehouses with a $100M weekend, followed by How To Train Your Dragon 2 at $35M and the rise of Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes at just over $31M in its debut.
Next week, Paul Rudd will aim to charm worldwide audiences as Ant-Man. The latest from Marvel is going out day-and-date beginning July 14 in France and rolling out to Brazil, Mexico, Russia and about 50 total markets over the weekend as it also bows Stateside. The full film screened to very positive reaction at CineEurope in Barcelona 
last month. Also next frame, Sony’s Pixels will descend on Korea. It’s getting a jump on a major day-and-date rollout that starts July 22. Extended footage from the high-concept Adam Sandler-saves-the-world-from-alien-influenced-1980s-arcade-games pic was also shown in Barcelona to much delight.
See below the original post for more on that film (including trailer) and other local titles. Actuals tomorrow.
PREVIOUS, 11:15 AM PT, WRITETHRU: This weekend at the international box office was largely a holdover/expansion session, but that didn’t take away from the action as Universal and Illumination’s Minions added 30 markets and claimed the No. 1 spot in its 4th frame of release. The weekend was worth $124.3M offshore where the Despicable Me 2 spinoff now has an estimated cume of $280.5M. The global total thus far is $395.7M. Records continue to be set by the little yellow fellows with the top animated opening ever in 25 overseas territories. The only places it has not opened No. 1 out of 56 markets thus far, are Australia (where U’s Jurassic World was the No. 1 film that particular week) and India where its debut this frame faced off with epic local actioner Baahubali: The Beginning, itself a record smasher. As for last week’s winner, Terminator: Genisys has come in No. 2 internationally with $47.3M in 60 territories. The offshore cume for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to the Paramount franchise is $156.1M. Notable openings were in Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy and Argentina (details below).
Elsewhere, Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out headed to Korea, Ted 2 hit the UK and Magic Mike XXL lap-danced to Oz, Brazil and France among others. In China, where the unofficial blackout period continues, coming of age tale Forever Young and franchise fourquel Tiny Times 4 released, landing the No. 3 and 4 slots on the international chart. (More on those and other local films including Baahubali to come.) Here’s a look thus far at how the studios fared overseas in the frame:
Minions
Among highlights for henchmen Stuart, Kevin and Bob is Mexico and its $19.7M opening this weekend — the 2nd biggest ever for all films. With 79% of the market, it’s running 30% higher than DM2. This was the 2nd biggest market for that film.
The prequel also bowed in Russia with 73% market share and $14.3M in the bank. Universal now boasts the Top 2 openers ever in Russia with Furious 7 and Minions. Notably, Minions is the biggest opening of all time in terms of admissions (the ruble being extremely soft against the dollar these days). Minions also opened twice as big as DM2.
France, where DM2 was huge and this film has extra wanna see thanks to co-helmer Pierre Coffin, local animation company Illumination Mac Guff and, in the provinces, the famous local voice cast, has overwhelmingly embraced Minions. The No. 1 opening at $12.1M is not only the year’s biggest start, it’s also the best since 2012. It’s Universal’s biggest opening day and weekend of all time here. Admissions are 70% higher than Despicable Me 2’s opening.
Also of note, Venezuela opened No. 1 with $5.6M and set the record as the biggest opening weekend ever for all films. There are 11 more territories to release over the next two months.
Terminator: Genisys
With an additional 14 markets, Terminator: Genisys booted up $47.3M for an overseas cume of $156.1M. Now playing in 60 offshore markets, the drop from last frame was 35%. Notable new plays included Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy and Argentina where it’s being comped to such pics as Pacific Rim, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Lucy. For the new group of markets, T:G was 27% above PR, 32% below MIGP and 10% under Lucy. It was the biggest opening for the franchise in three of the overall new markets and the best for Arnold in four. Among those, Argentina grossed $2.3M at 157 cinemas — 393% above MIGP and also gave Paramount its top opening ever.
Japan, which was the biggest market for the last two Terminator films, opened to $5.4M at 339 locations. Paramount isn’t using the previous movies in the franchise as comps since projections on T:G’s ultimate outcome are above those. Thus, the Japan bow is double the opening of World War Z, 121% above Pacific Rim and 9% below MIGP.
Germany was a No. 2 bow behind Minions, delivering $3.1M from 554 sites, 10% below MIGP and 6% below X-Men: Days Of Future Past. Spain opened to $1.4M at 373 locations. Also No. 2 there, it’s 27% above Pacific Rim and 39% below MIGP — and is also the biggest opening for the former governor. Italy was a No. 1 bow with $1.2M at 530 cinemas, 8% above Pacific Rim and 53% below MIGP. The Netherlands provided $605K at 90 sites for a 3rd place start that’s 28% above Pacific Rim and 19% below MIGP.
Holdovers pulled a lot of the weekend weight with Korea taking $5.1M at 775 cinemas, dropping 54% from last. The cume there is $19M. Russia grossed $3.8M in the 2nd session at 1,121 locations. The local cume is $19.1M. Elsewhere, new grosses and cumes are as follows: UK ($2.7M/$11.5M), Brazil ($2.7M/$8.1M), Australia ($2.2M/$8M), France ($1.9M/$6.9M) and Mexico ($1.6M/$9.7M).
Jurassic World
Jurassic World’s international weekend estimate is $21.7M bringing the offshore dino dollar total to $875.2M. Playing in 65 territories, it has now passed Frozen‘s overseas lifetime of $873.6M to become the 7th highest-grossing film ever internationally. Insidious Rex and the raptors still have to stomp into Japan, the next and last release, which rolls around August 5.
Inside Out
Off of a $5.1M bow in Korea, Inside Out added $19.1M this frame which had it playing in 44 territories repping 48% of its international footprint. The offshore cume after its 4th frame is $151.8M for a global total of $435.44M. In Korea, Pete Docter’s charmer is the biggest Pixar opening of all time in the territory – besting Toy Story 3 by 17% and equaling almost the entire lifetime of Monsters University.
Holds throughout the run have been strong and this weekend was no different, demonstrating the emotional connection folks are finding with the film. Australia put Inside Out into the top spot in its 4th frame (after an increase in Oz box office last session, IO dropped just 6% this time around) while New Zealand jumped 39% this weekend; Argentina rose 12% and Brazil dropped just 5%.
In Mexico, IO’s top offshore play at $27.7M, it is the highest grossing Disney/Pixar original IP animated release of all-time, ahead of Frozen. In Russia, IO has spread so much joy that it’s the first Pixar movie to exceed 1B rubles and is the No. 2 Disney/Pixar animated release of all-time, behind only Frozen. In India, a market known for its local tastes, Inside Out is now the biggest Disney/Pixar animated release of all time and in Ukraine is the highest grossing Pixar release ever.
Much as with Minions, the rollout will continue over the next months. Next weekend sees openings in Spain and Japan as well as the Netherlands. The UK, Italy and Germany are still to come – as is China which is not yet dated.
Ted 2
Seth MacFarlane’s Ted 2 grossed another $12.4M for Universal in 35 territories. The overseas cume is now $53.2M. Among the new markets, the UK bowed at No. 2 with $6M; Peru opened at No. 1 with $438K — the biggest opening day ever for an R-rated comedy; and Poland debuted at No. 2 with $573K, 16% ahead of Ted. In holds, Germany was No. 4 with $1.3M and up 4% over last week. The cume there is $7.5M. Australia’s 3rd week was down 46% to $954K for an 18-day total of $8M. Mark Wahlberg and the bear have 27 more territories to open with Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Sweden and Vietnam on deck for next weekend.
Magic Mike XXL
Warner Bros’ Magic Mike XXL shimmied down to Australia this weekend with $4M in dollar bills on 401 screens. That includes previews and Warner says the film is primed to take the No. 1 slot where it’s in contention with Inside Out and Minions for the honor. Overall, MMXXL added $10.3M this session in 30 markets and on about 3,800 screens. The offshore cume is $20.5M. Elsewhere, France opened to $563K on 295 screens. In holds, the UK added $1.6M from 551 screens for a $6.3M total to date. Holland increased 28% to add $351K on 117 screens. The cume is $1.5M. Germany and Brazil release later this month.
Insidious: Chapter 3
Sony’s Insidious: Chapter 3 numbers show $3.9M creeping into the now $47M cume. Playing on 1,890 screens in 50 territories this weekend, I:C3 notably opened in Korea to $1.5M. In France, it grossed $945K on 245 screens. Both debuts landed at No. 6. In holdovers, Germany was just 1% off from last week, adding $550K for a $1.5M cume, and Mexico now has a total of $4.5M. Australia and Brazil open later in the month.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron
As it winds down its overseas run, Avengers: Age Of Ultron picked up a further $2.9M in the frame, bringing the international cume to $933.3M for a global total of $1,388.5M. Its last market is Japan where after the 2nd session it now has a cume of $13.5M. Japan tends to do better with the ensemble Avengers pics — the 2012 first movie ultimately hammered out over $45M — as opposed to the standalones. AOU’s gross after nine days has already bested the entire runs of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World and Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Paper Towns
Fox’s Paper Towns has begun its international rollout with Brazil the first market to release. At No. 3 in box office after Minions and Terminator: Genisys, it earned $2.4M from 630 screens. The latest adaptation of a John Green book was the No. 2 film in terms of admissions in Brazil where last year’s The Fault In Our Stars had a stellar run. Paper Towns opens wide the week of July 20.
Spy
Spy uncovered another $1.68M in the frame to bring the international total to $116.4M. The Melissa McCarthy-starrer from Fox is winding down its run with Italy the final market to release next week.
The Gallows
Beginning its international hang, The Gallows opened in 13 smaller territories for Warner Bros, grossing $1.2M on 473 screens. The UK and Mexico are on deck for next weekend.
Poltergeist
Poltergeist scared up another $1M at the weekend with a new opening in Hong Kong of $275K on 65 screens. The offshore total is now $47.2M with three markets still to come — Korea is last in October.
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F
Fox International Productions’ Japanese title Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F added $658K to take the cume past $50M at $50.4M. Uruguay was this week’s opener on six screens for $5,475.
LOCAL-LANGUAGE
CHINA
Despite pretty harsh reviews, Chinese coming-of-age title Forever Young won the weekend at the Middle Kingdom box office. It’s the directorial debut of TV personality He Jiong and fashioned somewhat out of a song he recorded several years ago, Gardenia In Blossom. The pic has grossed $38.5M since releasing July 10. These kinds of stories are popular in China so the performance is hardly a surprise, although it slightly edged out Tiny Times 4, the latest in that coming-of-age franchise which grossed $36M in the debut frame and has a cume of $54M throughout the week. Also new to the chart was Monkey King: Hero Is Back, an animated 3D take on the age-old tale. With $10M at the weekend, its total is now $11.5M. And, last week’s new entry to the unofficial Chinese blackout period, The Monk Comes Down The Mountain, added $6M for a cume to date of $58M.
INDIA
SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali released in about 4,200 theaters worldwide and crossed the coveted 100 crore mark in just two days, according to local reports, taking in 135 crore ($21.3M) on Friday and Saturday. The North American debut was $3M in 170 theaters, but exact figures are not yet available in India alone — this is a particularly wide release for a southern title, with several different versions. However, to put that 135 crore figure into perspective, Jurassic World opened in India on June 12 and passed 100 crore on July 10. With an estimated opening day of 50+ crore, Baahubali broke the previous record set by Shah Rukh Khan’s Happy New Year which released at Diwali in 2014. Baahubali stars Prabhas, a fixture of Tollywood (as the Telugu industry is known) and Anushka Shetty who also toils in the Tamil business, or Kollywood. The film is a period war saga that has been shot in two parts at a reported budget of $40M with versions in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam. Some are already calling the first installment of the film an instant classic; the second part is expected in 2016. Once we can get more exact figures on this, we’ll take a closer look — especially in light of the upcoming release this week of Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan.
10 Great Mutants The X-Men Franchise Got Wrong
Scott Summers had an important role in the first X-Men film as the team’s leader, but the following films diminished his importance in favor of spotlighting Wolverine, and eventually he was killed off. X-Men: Days of Future Past at least somewhat remedied this by reviving him, but that doesn’t really make up for years of just making him come across as a dick. It’s unclear we’ll see the adult version of the character again, but at least fans will get to see Cyclops used more substantially next year when X-Men: Apocalypse explores his teen years studying under Professor X.
Unfortunately, the Emma Frost seen in X-Men: First Class (as opposed to the Emma seen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) was nowhere near the fleshed-out character her comic book counterpart is. The woman was reduced to being Sebastian Shaw’s scantily-clad underling who seduced powerful men. Aside from the white costume, she barely bore any resemblance to comic book version of the White Queen. Oh, and it doesn’t help that January Jones delivered her lines in the most monotonous tone possible, sucking any and all energy out of the performance.
In the comics, Juggernaut is Charles Xavier’s stepbrother who was mystically transformed by the Gem of Cyttorak into the unstoppable Juggernaut, one of the X-Men’s greatest foes. What was he in X-Men: The Last Stand? A not-too-bright recruit of Magneto’s who was not related to Xavier at all. He was just the guy who smashed into things, and will forever be remembered for that ridiculous line “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!” Basically, just a simple grunt wearing fancy armor, and it doesn’t even come close to being a worthy adaptation.
In the months before X-Men: The Last Stand, Angel was advertised as one of its most important characters in the movie, but that wound up being very far from the truth. Here’s what moviegoers saw him do during the main story: escape being cured by his father, make his way to Professor X’s mansion, and save his father during the Alcatraz battle. That’s it. Fortunately, it looks like X-Men: Apocalypse will attempt to make this up with their younger Angel, hopefully letting us forget about his less-than-stellar previous adaptation.
Admittedly, Ray Park’s stunts as Toad were impressive to watch, but the character bore little resemblance to the Toad from the comics. Not only did his personality completely different, but he barely got to speak during the entire film. Like nearly all of Magneto’s henchmen, he was only added as a physical obstacle for the team to deal with, and nothing more. If that wasn’t bad enough, the younger Toad in X-Men: Days of Future Past had even less to do appearing in only one scene.
Daniel Cudmore’s Colossus appeared in three films in the X-Men series, and he’s said approximately four lines of dialogue total. In the comics, this is someone who’s been a valued member of the X-Men for four decades and one of Marvel’s more fascinating mutants, but in the movies, he’s just the tall, metal guy that punches things and doesn’t get character development. Ideally Deadpool will put him to better use next year, featuring a motion capture performance from Canadian actor Andre Tricoteux.
Pyro in the comics is an Australian criminal who joins Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The movies turned him into an American who becomes disillusioned with Professor Xavier’s vision of peace and joins Magneto’s Brotherhood. His personal journey, not to mention his personality, was nowhere near as cool as the comic book version, and while the contrast between him and Iceman was interesting in X2: X-Men United, unfortunately the payoff wasn’t that great in X-Men: The Last Stand.
Forget that Havok’s connection with Cyclops in these movies remains untold (for now). Once again, here’s a character that’s only useful for his power. Aside from being in prison and joining the military, we don’t know anything about him! There’s been no character exploration at all thus far, and you could have taken him out of X-Men: Days of Future Past, and have the story unfold the exact same way. Will X-Men: Apocalypse give him more to do? Given what we’ve seen so far, I have my doubts.
This one is especially disappointing. In the X-Men comics, Bishop has primarily been portrayed as a time traveler who comes to the present to prevent an apocalyptic future – similar to the role that Cable plays. Granted, he did get to travel back in time in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but like most of the other mutants in the future period, he was just manpower used to slow down the Sentinels. Visually, he was great to watch, but character-wise, he was wasted. Hopefully the future of the franchise will find some way to give actor Omar Sy something better to do in a future installment.
Even ignoring her first two cameos in the series, Kitty has never lived up to her potential in the X-Men films. Yes, she did take down Juggernaut in X-Men: The Last Stand, but her potential romance with Iceman felt awkward and forced. Her phasing powers were better utilized in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but it didn’t help that unlike in the comic books, Wolverine traveled back to the ‘70s rather than her, taking away her opportunity to shine (and randomly giving her an ability we’ve never actually seen her have before).
‘Supergirl’ Star Says ‘SNL’s Black Widow Comparisons Are Off The Mark
No matter how famous a superhero may be, or how well-funded a big screen adaptation may hit theaters, it’s the actor or actress entrusted with bringing the character to life that tends to make it a success or failure. With CBS’ upcoming foray into DC Comics television, Supergirl, the producers knew that finding the right leading lady was the top priority.They found just that in Melissa Benoist (Glee, Whiplash), now set to bring Kara Zor-El and her Kryptonian upbringing to the small screen in Fall 2015. As the show’s official debut at San Diego Comic-Con fast approaches, Benoist explains why she hopes Supergirl will become an icon for young women everywhere, and addresses the less-than-flattering comparisons to a Black Widow sketch on Saturday Night Live.
Long before any official casting news or trailers were released, it was clear the Supergirl series was aiming for a female audience – something sorely lacking in the growing blockbuster arena. So lacking, in fact, that fans had nothing else to compare the first Supergirl trailer to than an SNL skit in which Scarlett Johansson’s Avengers super-spy was given her own film: a cheesy romantic comedy where Black Widow struggled to find love (and a job in the fashion industry).
The sketch succeeded in taking shots at a genre of film that is, admittedly, an easy targets when it comes to formulaic filmmaking and marketing (although superhero adventures are gaining ground). Unfortunately, not every viewer took the skit as a parody of Hollywood, where a major studio could proudly reveal a superheroine comic book movie, but decide only a rom-com could work with a female star. Instead, many took it not as playful commentary on the Hollywood system, but an indictment of the rom-com as a whole.
Enter Supergirl‘s first trailer: a lighthearted, female-led, ‘modern’ look at a young woman’s coming of age, shaped by the likes of The Devil Wears Prada and Ugly Betty. Rather than sticking to the serious, melodramatic tones of Arrow or Gotham, CBS was clearly looking to grab the attention of the (largely female) masses… who happened to make romantic comedies a hit in the first place. Comparisons were drawn and some ruled that any comic book property following such formula was to be mocked – but star Melissa Benoist disagrees.
Speaking with EW, Benoist explains that those involved with Supergirl enjoyed the SNL sketch as much as anyone, but believes that what makes her series different simply hasn’t been seen yet:
“We don’t really take ourselves too seriously in that respect. The camp is going to be there. It’s a superhero show. But I don’t think that takes away from the female empowerment. Obviously you see Kara in her work atmosphere, it resembles the Black Widow parody, but what you don’t see is Kara kicking butt. There’s so much more in the pilot that I think people are really going to be surprised by. Also, it’s a girl. Supergirl, that whole discussion, it’s a girl figuring out how to become a woman. [The SNL spoof] came out and all of us thought it was so hilarious. I don’t think any of us expected people to compare them or put them side-by-side.”
“I want to do right. Of course this is a broad statement, but I want to do right by women. I want to portray someone they can relate to and look up to that’s not a trite or a shallow depiction. I want her to be complicated and flawed. I guess I just want all women to feel like they could be Kara and Superwoman as well. I don’t want it to be campy. I want it to be grounded and human. That goes for anybody. It doesn’t matter what sex. It doesn’t matter if it’s women or men I inspire, I just want to inspire people in general to realize their strengths and their potential, and that you can do the things that you feel like are impossible to accomplish.”
We would hope that every actor or actress entrusted with a superhero role would have Benoist’s mindset. Trailers released since the debut have showcased more of the action sequences Benoist refers to, and the budget of a network series already looks promising compared to its CW counterparts. Of course, it isn’t the special effects or large-scale action that have made Arrow a success, and turned The Flash into one of the best-received superhero TV shows in recent memory.
That lies with the creative team and talent responsible – several of which are also at work creating Supergirl. Although Benoist hasn’t had a chance to get to know her new DC TV stars (that will likely come during SDCC), she is well aware of just how large a shadow they cast:
“I’ve not met Stephen [Amell]. Grant [Gustin] I know from Glee. They’re in Vancouver, so I didn’t really get much advice, but all that I’ve gotten has been support and excitement… The bar is set so high with those shows for a reason, because it has someone like Greg Berlanti, our executive producer, and Andrew Kreisberg, who are also behind those shows with us. They are responsible for so much of the success. They’ve found a really good formula and a really good way of portraying heroes with heart. I don’t think we’re lacking any of that in our show.”
“When I learned that I got the part there was a mixture of many emotions that rushed through me — elation, relief, immense joy and then, there was also a huge sense of responsibility that came immediately. I definitely thought to myself, ‘Oh man, you’ve got your work cut out for you.’”
Even if Supergirl winds up finding its own identity in a genre that is becoming more and more crowded by the second, direct comparisons with Arrow or The Flash won’t be invited by their respective networks. Fans may dream of seeing those three Justice League members join forces – and there’s always reason to hold out hope – but as Benoist makes perfectly clear, establishing the first successful superheroine TV show comes first.
What do you think of the show’s chances? Is CBS wise to go after a different audience than The Flash, Arrow and Gotham, or would a single style be a better choice? Sound off in the comments.
Supergirl premieres on CBS at 8:30 p.m. EST on October 26th, 2015. It will air at 8 p.m. EST on Mondays thereafter.
‘Supergirl’ Star Says ‘SNL’s Black Widow Comparisons Are Off The Mark
Planned Sequels That Were Completely Abandoned
Based on the Destroyer series of novels, Remo Williams martial-arted his way into theaters back in 1985. If you’re scratching your head at not only the character’s name but also the novels from which he’s adapted, don’t feel bad: Remo Williams is terrible and utterly forgettable, and audiences in 1985 seemed to agree. As it happens, there doesn’t seem to be much evidence pointing to production of a sequel ever having been started. But, really, you can tell the filmmakers had high hopes considering they gave their movie the subhead, “The Adventure Begins.” It probably should’ve ended with a card that read, “The Adventure Has Ended,” because it did.
Considering how many various Super Mario Bros. games we’ve seen since the plucky plumber’s debut in the 1980s, it wasn’t too hard to imagine that the film adaptation might enjoy at least a sequel or two. That’s probably why the movie ends on a cliffhanger, with Princess Daisy barging into the Marios’ apartment saying she needs their help once again. Though the original film was a monumental bomb, killing any chance of a return to the Mushroom Kingdom, an unofficial sequel comic made its way onto the Internet over a decade later. That’s something, at least.
Bryan Singer’s Superman sequel from 2006 was kind of a bad idea from the start. It followed up the events of Superman II, ignored Superman III and IV, and two of its major plot points revolved around Superman super-stalking his former girlfriend, Lois Lane, as well as a revelation that her son was their secret love child. Worst of all, however, the movie didn’t really give Superman very much to do in terms of fighting bad guys, which is one of the things Superman does best. Warner Bros. pulled the plug on the possibility of another Singer-helmed sequel, which screenwriter Michael Dougherty says might’ve introduced Brainiac and more Kryptonians to the screen.
Rumor: Marvel’s ‘Iron Fist’ Netflix Series Problem
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has expanded into a gritty and hard-hitting corner via Netflix, where we got the acclaimed Daredevil reboot series, with three other Marvel heroes (Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist) all set to follow with their own Netflix shows.But while Daredevil has found its rhythm (with an exciting Punisher storyline coming in season 2), and Jessica Jones and Luke Cage are establishing an intersecting mythos (the two heroes were an item and had a daughter in the comics), Iron Fist has remained off the radar, with only a few small hints that the character will eventually appear in the MCU. Now, word is that Marvel is still having trouble bringing Iron Fist to the screen, for several key reasons.
BMD is the site claiming to have sources close to this RUMOR. Here’s the breakdown of the issue that could be holding up Iron Fist’s progression:
Power Source
In the comics, Iron Fist is Danny Rand, son of an explorer who discovers the mystical city of K’un-L’un, which only appears on Earth every ten years. During an expedition to the mystical city, Danny and his parents are betrayed by his father’s business partner, resulting in Danny being orphaned at K’un-L’un. There, he is trained in the ways of a warrior, culminating in a fight with a mystical dragon that endows him with mystical powers, making his hands incredibly powerful weapons. Donning a ceremonial costume, Danny becomes the superhero Iron Fist – often partnered with Luke Cage in the group “Heroes for Hire.”
In the case of the Iron Fist Netflix series, BMD’s Devin Faraci reports that Marvel has been taking multiple pitches from different creative teams regarding how to approach the show, with the primary point of contention being the character’s mystical powers and origin.
Daredevil approached street-level Marvel heroes in a very grounded way, presenting Matt Murdock’s superhuman abilities as something akin to a blind martial arts master (i.e., extraordinary but not impossible). However, in that same show, there were also hints of Marvel mysticism (ninjas, old lady martial arts masters, a drug bearing Iron Fist’s enemy Steel Serpent’s logo on its label…), so it’s clear where Marvel wants to take things. The questions are: how fast to get there, and what’s the best way?
Let’s Get Mystical… Mystical…
The biggest criticism of the Daredevil series was that the climatic superhero vs. super villain battle was the least engaging part of the show; fans had a clear preference for the more grounded exploration of a vigilante in black clothing. Meanwhile, on the movie side, 2016 presents a big challenge as Marvel tries to incorporate mysticism and magic into their universe full-on, with the release of Doctor Strange. That film will have a similar challenge as Thor in front of it: selling the idea of a “real-world” where magic (or cosmic beings) is an everyday occurrence.
Once that door is opened, how mystical abilities are filtered into the rest of the MCU remains to be seen; however, after films like Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy opened the cosmos of the MCU to fans, a “grounded” spy show like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. found a way to put that extraterrestrial mythos to interesting (and effective) use. So maybe Iron Fist is poised to do much the same, in perfect coordination with Doctor Strange’s debut. Since Doctor Strange is rumored to appear in Iron Fist at some point, the connection between the two seems pretty clear.
Grounded Still Works
Marvel would do well to remember that fans were more engaged in seeing how Matt Murdock evolved from nameless vigilante into the hero known as Daredevil more so than seeing the finished version of the hero. Danny Rand’s evolution into Iron Fist is a story that is ripe for extension into a long-form narrative, if we take time to examine key elements of the character. For example:
- A good portion of the season focused on his training at K’un-L’un.
- How he tries to bring his martial arts training into a modern urban setting (eg., early vigilante mistakes).
- His past with his parents, and the reasoning for his dad’s obsession with K’un-L’un.
- The tragic trek to K’un-L’un that got his parents killed.
- The larger mystic/martial arts mythos that will tie back to Daredevil, and introduce the Iron Fist villain(s).
- How he comes to befriend Luke Cage (presuming we don’t see Iron Fist introduced in the Luke Cage Netflix series, first).
The truth here is that Iron Fist is almost too close to a show like Arrow at this point, now that The CW’s flagship superhero series has explored ideas of mysticism and ancient cities where orders of ninja assassins hang out. Keeping Iron Fist’s mystical abilities seems like a no-brainer, even if the mysticism is kept to a minimum in season 1 (focus on training and practical martial arts, with the iron fist powers held back as some big reveal or turning point).
But distinguishing the show in the same way as Daredevil is going to be more about cracking the code of Danny Rand’s journey and its thematic richness, than deciding on comic book powers (or the character’s ethnicity, which is another issue referenced in BMD‘s report). The story of a man (maybe a fish-out-of-water type who looks like Ryan Phillippe) who is training in an ancient mystic city to hit harder than any other man on earth has loads of potential; here’s hoping that Marvel figures out the right approach to realize that potential.
Daredevil is currently available on Netflix. AKA Jessica Jones releases this fall followed by Luke Cage and Daredevil season 2 in 2016. Iron Fist is still currently in development.
Warner Bros. hands over the edgier DC Comics movies to New Line
In an attempt to protect the fragile minds of young comic book readers, in 1993 DC created a special age-restricted imprint called Vertigo that would house its more “adult” titles. Free from the constraints of capes and continuity, some of the Vertigo books—like Sandman and Hellblazer—became big hits with both readers and critics. Thanks to the Vertigo logo on the cover, though, nobody had to worry about these award-winning stories about sandmen and people who blaze hell mucking up their beloved mainstream comics like Batman and Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen.
One interesting wrinkle in all of this, though, is that Justice League Dark/Dark Universe—the spinoff movie that would star some of DC’s Vertigo-friendly heroes like Swamp Thing, Deadman, and John Constantine—will be staying with Warner Bros. instead of heading to New Line. In other words, it could link up with the regular Justice League movies. That’s according to The Hollywood Reporter, which also adds the unfortunate note that Guillermo del Toro—who has been attached to this project since forever—has now dropped out. Hey, at least we have a million more superhero movies to look forward to!
Warner Bros. hands over the edgier DC Comics movies to New Line
Marvel To Publish A Rom-Less Space Knights Series?
Kudus to Matt Moore at ComicBook.com, run by Marvel’s ex-PR guy with a Marvel alien race named after him, James Vascardi.They have learned that Marvel has a new Space Knights series to be launched, featuring the cosmic gladiator types of Galador, that used to include Rom The Space Knight when they had the license.
Now with Hasbro, the odds are that at will end up at IDW. But Marvel still owes all the Space Knight stuff that Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema created for them.
Expect the official word on Wednesday,
Game of Thrones: HBO reveals awesome construction sets from McFarlane Toys
Now you can stage your own Westeros palace intrigue with HBO’s upcoming, intricately designed Game of Thrones toy line. HBO is partnering with McFarlane Toys (as in Spawn creator Todd McFarlane) on making realistic “construction sets” and character figurines based on the hit series.
The first release is the Iron Throne Room (more photos below), which is shown with characters for King Joffrey, Tyrion Lannister, members of the Kingsguard and Lannister guards. Upcoming playsets include a Mother of Dragons set and an Attack on The Wall set. Each includes some scene-specific characters and accessories and retails from $14.99 to $49.99 (the fully stocked spread below includes the Iron Throne Room’s starter kit plus additional characters that cost extra). The figurines ($3.99 each) have articulated body parts and include characters like Tyrion, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Grey Worm, Ghost, Rhaegal, an Unsullied, a Crow, a Wildling and a Wight.
“[HBO is] a world-class network and Game of Thrones is one of the most visually compelling shows that I’ve ever seen,” McFarlane said. “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to create high-quality collectible construction sets based on this fan-favorite property. Both collectors and fans of this epic series can build their favorite scenes with this new product line.”
Finally, you can have your Star Wars figures team with Daenerys and Tyrion to blow up the Death Star (or invent other, far more R-rated Thrones-ian scenerios).
The toys will be revealed at Comic-Con in San Diego next week and will be released to stores this fall. Here’s some more images of the Iron Throne Room:
Image Credit: HBO
Image Credit: HBO
Game of Thrones: HBO reveals awesome construction sets from McFarlane Toys
Kevin Feige Says Marvel Has Future Plans For The Wasp
In the first Avengers movie, Black Widow was the sole female member of the team. With Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel introduced a second female superhero to the big screen with Scarlet Witch.
However, The Wasp, who is one of Marvel’s most famous female superheroes and a founding member of the Avengers, has been noticeable absent from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
At an Ant-Man press event on Saturday, Feige had some good news for fans of the Wasp. In regards to the Wasp, Feige said, “We have plans for her in the future, and we see that not-so-subtly in this film [Ant-Man].”
What are the future plans for the Wasp? Feige didn’t give any more details, but Captain America: Civil War is coming up next for Marvel. Could the Wasp make an appearance in that film?
Ant-Man is scheduled to be released in movie theaters on July 17, 2015.
Marvel’s Secret Warriors are coming to Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. next season
Since the show started, ABC’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been determined to make viewers like Chloe Bennet’s character, Skye. She was the audience surrogate at first, an (apparently) original character who was new to the world of super spies that was just naive enough to need her fellow agents to show her the ropes, but enough of an expert hacker that she could always help them out of a jam if the plot demanded it. Then, the show gave her super powers, revealed that her real name is Daisy Johnson, and suddenly she was a crucial member of the team—and, perhaps more importantly, an actual character from the comics.
In the comics, the Secret Warriors were put together by Nick Fury during the Secret Invasion event to stop a certain race of shape-shifting aliens that Marvel can’t legally use in the MCU, but they eventually started fighting against Hydra—which, conveniently, the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. were doing for most of last season on their show. Unless the show wants to blow its guest star budget on Samuel L. Jackson again, this version of the Secret Warriors will almost certainly be assembled by Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson. Other than that, the rest of the Secret Warriors are pretty much all nobodies as far as mainstream Marvel fans are concerned, so it remains to be seen if the show will bother to adapt the comics very closely at all.
Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. will premiere on ABC on September 29th, and you can see a poster that tells you nothing about the premiere below.
Marvel’s Secret Warriors are coming to Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. next season