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The Princess Bride redux–100 actors create a backyard version of the fantasy classic for charity

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July 19, 2020

Why do you wear a mask?

I think they are just terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future.

Since–like everyone else–actors are unable to do their jobs until the risk of the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, many have offered up some of their time over the past 120 to 150 days to provide fans with extra interviews, table reads (like the Community table read we discussed here at borg), and comic-cons at home, creating some content for the fan base we wouldn’t have otherwise had access to without this strange new normal of sheltering at home, social distancing, and masks. If you don’t subscribe to or know what Quibi is, you may have missed the latest–an ensemble of actors from popular to more obscure re-enacting scenes from Rob Reiner’s fan-favorite fantasy, comedy, and romance, The Princess Bride.

The style is all intentionally low budget–think of the kind of backyard films you might have made as a kid, and in fact, the film is called Home Movie: The Princess Bride. But it’s great fun, all filmed with quarantine safety rules in place (those filming together were already living together), and the kind of thing any classic film fan base would be overjoyed to see created. The best part is learning who had actual historical costumes in their closet to work with (Mad Men man Jon Hamm had a Renaissance shirt in his closet, as did comedic actors Neil Patrick Harris and David Spade, and Rogue One’s Diego Luna), those who didn’t, and who might be better actors than you’ve given them credit for.

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Tags: Andre the Giant, Andrew Bachelor, Andy Serkis, Brandon Routh, Bryan Cranston, Carl Reiner, Cary Elwes, Chris Pine, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Common, coronavirus delays, Dave Bautista, David Oyelowo, David Spade, Diego Luna, Don Johnson, Elijah Wood, Ernie Hudson, Finn Wolfhard, Fred Savage, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Ghostbusters: Afterlife delay, Giancarlo Esposito, Home Movie The Princess Bride, Hugh Jackman, James Van Der Beek, Jason Reitman, Jason Segel, JK Simmons, John Cho, John Malkovich, Jon Hamm, Kaitlyn Dever, Keegan-Michael Key, Mandy Patinkin, Mark Knopfler, Mckenna Grace, Natalie Morales, Neil Patrick Harris, Norman Lear, Patton Oswalt, Paul Rudd, Pedro Pascal, Penelope Cruz, Quibi, Rainn Wilson, Rob Reiner, Sam Rockwell, Sarah Cooper, shelter at home, shelter at home 2020, Sophie Turner, Taika Waititi, The Princess Bride, Tiffany Haddish, Wallace Shawn, William Goldman, Zazie Beetz, Zoe Saldana

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All the movies you’ll want to see in 2019

Filed under: Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes — Leave a comment

December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas!

It’s that time of year again, time to take a look forward at what movies should be on your radar for 2019. Are you going to see them all? Heck no. These are the genre films we think borg readers will want to know about to make their own checklists for the coming year–and they are only the films we know about so far. We pulled 78 of the hundreds of films that have been finalized or are in varying stages of final production, slated for next year’s movie calendar.

What looks to top the list for most fanboys and fangirls? The last of the nine films in the Star Wars saga. Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Shazam! is DC’s contribution. Quentin Tarantino returns to movies to direct Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Martin Scorsese is back with an all-star cast in The Irishman (on Netflix). M. Night Shyamalan finishes his dark superhero trilogy with Glass. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton return in Terminator. Jordan Peele is back with another horror film with Us.

Do you like sequels? This is your year. Another Men in Black, X-Men, Shaft, Happy Death Day, Lego Movie, Hellboy, John Wick, Kingsman, Jumanji, The Secret Life of Pets, How to Train Your Dragon, Fast and the Furious, Zombieland, Addams Family, Charlie’s Angels, Godzilla, Shaun the Sheep, Annabelle,and Stephen King’s It and Pet Sematary—Disney is trying to get you to move into your local theater with another Toy Story, Aladdin, Dumbo, Frozen, and Lion King–all in one year. Yep, lots and lots of sequels are coming.

Some films don’t have locked-in release dates yet. Amazon Prime and Netflix haven’t revealed dates for these 2019 releases:

Martin Scorcese’s The Irishman, a film about Jimmy Hoffa starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano, and Bobby Cannavale (Netflix)
The Kid, a Western biopic with Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Dane DeHaan, and Vincent D’Onofrio (Netflix)
The Man Who Killed Hitler Then Bigfoot, starring Sam Elliott (Netflix)
6 Underground, a Michael Bay film starring Ryan Reynolds, Ben Hardy, Dave Franco, and Mélanie Laurent (Netflix)
The Last Thing He Wanted, Dee Rees directs Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Willem Dafoe, and Toby Jones; journalist quits newspaper job to become an arms dealer for a covert government agency (Netflix)
The Laundromat, Steven Soderbergh directs Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, James Cromwell, about the Pentagon Papers (Netflix)
Radioactive, Rosamund Pike plays Marie Curie, with Anya Taylor-Joy (Amazon)

Some of these films will have revised release dates, or get pushed to 2020.

So grab your calendar and start making your plans–here are the movies you’ll want to see in 2019 (and many you might not):

January

Glass – Superhero, M. Night Shyamalan trilogy part 3, stars Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, James McAvoy; continues where Unbreakable and Split left off – January 18.

Serenity – Mystery/Thriller, stars Anne Hathaway, Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou, Jeremy Strong, Diane Lane; sorry, no relation to Firefly – January 25.

King of Thieves – Heist Comedy, stars Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay, Charlie Cox, Michael Gambon, and Ray Winstone – January 25.

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Tags: 2019 movies, 6 Underground, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Aardman Animations, Ad Astra movie, Adam Lambert, Addams Family 2019, Al Pacino, Aladdin 2019, Alan Arkin, Alan Ruck, Albert Brooks, Alexandra Shipp, Alfre Woodard, Alison Brie, Alita: Battle Angel, Amy Adams, Anna Paquin, Annabelle 3, Anne Hathaway, Anthony Mackie, Antonio Banderas, Anya Taylor-Joy, Arctic 2019 movie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Avengers: Endgame, Ben Affleck, Ben Hardy, Ben Mendelsohn, Beyoncé, Billy Magnussen, Bobby Cannavale, Bobby Moynihan, Brad Pitt, Bradley Whitford, Brie Larson, Bruce Willis, Call of the Wild, Call of the Wild movie 2019, Captain Marvel, Captive State, Cate Blanchett, cats, Channing Tatum, Charlie Cox, Charlie Heaton, Charlie Hunnam, Charlie's Angels, Charlize Theron, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chloë Grace Moretz, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Christian Bale, Christmas 2018, Christoph Waltz, Clive Owen, Cold Pursuit, Colin Farrell, Common, Craig Ferguson, D.B. Sweeney, Daisy Ridley, Dakota Fanning, Dan Stevens, Dana Carvey, Daniel Dae Kim, Daniel Radcliffe, Danny DeVito, Dave Bautista, Dave Franco, David Harbour, Death on the Nile, Dee Rees, Dennis Quaid, Diane Lane, DJ Khaled, Djimon Hounsou, Donald Glover, Donald Sutherland, Downton Abbey, Dumbo 2019, Dwayne Johnson, Eiza González, Elisabeth Shue, Elizabeth Banks, Emma Thompson, Emma Watson, Emmy Rossum, Eva Green, Evan Peters, F. Murray Abraham, Finn Wolfhard, Ford vs Ferrari, Frozen 2, Gabriel Bateman, Garrett Hedlund, Gary Oldman, Gemini Man, Gemma Chan, Glass, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Greyhound 2019 movie, Happy Death Day 2U, Harrison Ford, Harvey Keitel, Helen Mirren, Hellboy, Hellboy 2019, Hellboy 2019 movie, Helter Skelter, Hobbs and Shaw, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, IT: Chapter 2, Jackie Earle Haley, Jake Gyllenhaal, James Cromwell, James Earl Jones, James McAvoy, Jason Clarke, Jason Statham, Jay Baruchel, Jeff Fahey, Jennifer Connelly, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Jeremy Strong, Jesse Eisenberg, Jessica Chastain, Jessica Rothe, Jessie T. Usher, Jim Broadbent, Jim Carrey, Jim Gaffigan, Joaquin Phoenix, Joe Pesci, Joel Kinnaman, John Goodman, John Lithgow, John Malkovich, John Oliver, John Wick: Chapter 3, Joker movie 2019, Jon Bernthal, Jonah Hill, Jordan Peele, Josh Gad, Josh Lucas, Jude Law, Judi Dench, Jumanji 2, Karen Gillan, Keanu Reeves, Keegan-Michael Key, Keira Knightley, Ken Watanabe, Kenan Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, Kenneth Branagh movies, Kevin Dunn, Kevin Hart, King of Thieves, Kingsman 3, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kristen Stewart, Kurt Russell, Kyle Chandler, Laura Dern, Laurence Fishburne, Lee Pace, Leonardo DiCaprio, Liam Neeson, Linda Hamilton, Little Women, Luke Kleintank, M. Night Shyamalan, Mads Mikkelsen, Mahershala Ali, Maisie Williams, Margot Robbie, Mark Strong, Martin Scorsese, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Masi Oka, Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, Matthew Vaughn, Meghan Trainor, Melanie Laurent, Men in Black International, Meryl Streep, Michael Bay, Michael Fassbender, Michael Gambon, Michael Keaton, Michelle Rodriguez, Midway movie 2019, Mila Kunis, Milla Jovovich, Millie Bobby Brown, Mira Sorvino, Missing Link 2019, Mr. Rogers, Naomi Scott, Nicholas Hoult, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Oscar Isaac, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt, Pedro Pascal, Pet Sematary 2019, Playmobil: The Movie, Pokémon Detective Pikachu, Quentin Tarantino, Radioactive, Rashida Jones, Ray Winstone, Rebel Wilson, Rene Russo, Richard Roundtree, Rocketman, Rosamund Pike, Ruby Rose, Ryan Reynolds, Sally Hawkins, Sam Elliott, Samuel L. Jackson, Sasha Lane, Serenity 2019, Shaft 2019 movie, Sharon Tate, Shazam, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sophie Turner, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spies in Disguise, Star Wars Episode IX, Stephen Fry, Steven Soderbergh, Stuber movie, Taron Egerton, Terminator movie 2019, Tessa Thompson, The Aftermath, The Good Liar, The Hustle 2019, The Informer, The Irishman, The Last Thing He Wanted, The Laundromat, The LEGO Movie: The Second Part, The Lion King 2019, The Man Who Killed Hitler Then Bigfoot, The New Mutants, The Secret Life of Pets 2, The Woman in the Window, Thomas Haden Church, Tim Allen, Tim Blake Nelson, Tim Burton, Tim Miller, Timothy Olyphant, Toby Jones, Tom Bateman, Tom Courtenay, Tom Hanks, Tom Holland, Tommy Lee Jones, Toni Colette, Toy Story 4, Triple Frontier, Us 2019 movie, Velvet Buzzsaw, Vera Farmiga, Will Arnett, Will Smith, Willem Dafoe, Wonder Park, Woody Harrelson, Wyatt Russell, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, You Are My Friend, Zach Galifianakis, Zachary Levi, Zazie Beetz, Zoe Saldana, Zombieland Too

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The borg.com Best of 2017–The Year’s Best Movies

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December 27, 2017

When we created last year’s preview of 2017 movies we were pretty sure we were going to have some great movies this year, but we were surprised by what ended up being the best. All year we tried to keep up with what Hollywood had to offer and honed in on the genre content we thought was worth examining. We went back and looked at it all and pulled together our picks for our borg.com annual Best Movies of 2017.

As always, we’re after the best genre content of 2017–with our top categories from the Best in Movies. There are thousands of other places that cover plain vanilla dramas and the rest, but here we’re looking for movies we want to watch. What do all of this year’s selections have in common? In addition to those elements that define each genre, each has a good story. Special effects without a good story is not good entertainment, and we saw plenty of films this year that missed that crucial element.

Come back later this week for our TV and print media picks, and our annual borg.com Hall of Fame inductees. Wait no further, here are our picks for 2017:

Best Sci-Fi Fix, Best Sci-fi Movie, Best Costume Design – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The Valerian and Laureline comic books turned 50 and brought a big-screen adaptation to theaters. Director Luc Besson handled the material as a labor of love, and that could be marveled at in every scene, and each nook and cranny of the gigantic visual spectacle he created. More new wonders, more futuristic ideas that had never been seen on film before, bold otherworldly costumes, and incredible special effects made this film a masterpiece science fiction fans will stumble upon in the future and wonder how it was so overlooked by audiences this summer. Epic space battles, aliens, and loads of sci-fi technology, while all the other science fiction of the year kept to their familiar territories. A gripping story about a team just doing their job, but that job is saving an entire race of a doomed planet. Besson was going for something like Avatar, but he far surpassed it. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets was everything a sci-fi fan could want.

Best Fantasy Fix, Best Fantasy Movie, Best Comedy Movie – Thor: Ragnarok. As much as Thor: Ragnarok was a natural progression for Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, it was amazing how much the film busted genres, becoming more of a Flash Gordon space fantasy like the Guardians of the Galaxy movies than the rest of the Avengers series. Just like watching classic Flash Gordon and Conan movies, we saw superheroes on a legendary hero’s journey rise and encounter obstacles and make sacrifices, across a landscape of fabulous worlds and colorful characters, and scenes that looked like they were ripped out of your favorite Jack Kirby comic pages. Another film about family, it incorporated that always fun plot device of having good guy and bad guy join forces, as Tom Hiddleston’s Loki redeemed himself with his brother and their people, if only temporarily. We met one of the fiercest warriors in Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie and they all faced off against a trio of well-developed villains. A great superhero story, too, this was the ultimate fantasy fix.

Best Superhero Fix, Best Superhero Movie, Best Easter Eggs – The LEGO Batman Movie. Even as a spoof of superhero movies and the DC Universe, The LEGO Batman Movie created a genuine story full of heart that any fan of comic books could love. Will Arnett became our second favorite Batman actor this year behind Michael Keaton, and his Batman reminded us why we can’t wait for the DC Universe to get fun and exciting again. Hilarious, laugh-out-loud funny with a smart script, full of derring-do and super-powered heroics, and better than this year’s and the last decade of live-action DC at the movies, the animated The LEGO Batman Movie proved more good DC movies are out there just waiting to be made. Honorable mention: Spider-man: Homecoming.

Best Retro Fix – Classic Genre Films Return to Theaters. With all the new releases in 2017 we were lucky enough to witness the 90th anniversary of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, while Disney’s The Jungle Book, The Dirty Dozen, and the original Casino Royale turned 50. Along with Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind turned 40. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Blade Runner, Tron, and The Dark Crystal turned 35. Predator, The Princess Bride, and Robocop turned 30. Many of these made it back into theaters this year, giving us the best Retro Fix we could hope for all year long. But E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (we even interviewed the best Star Trek director of them all here this year), Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Princess Bride, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, on the big screen over only a few weeks? We can only hope for more in 2018!

Check out the rest of the year’s Best Film and the rest of our picks for the year’s best movies, after the cut…

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Logan: Noir–A better cinematic experience in stunning black and white

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May 22, 2017

Beware the light.

Review by C.J. Bunce

On first viewing of Logan, this year’s most critically acclaimed superhero film, a viewer may love it or leave it. It’s not your typical Marvel Comics adaptation, full of f-bombs and the bloodiest of action and violence. Yet it’s also a finely crafted final chapter to the successful X-Men film saga and a tribute to Hugh Jackman’s unprecedented nine-film run as Logan. Last week 20th Century Fox showed a limited screening arranged by the director of Logan in black and white, called Logan: Noir. The version is also included on the Blu-ray release available everywhere tomorrow. If you haven’t seen Logan, skip the theatrical version and go straight to Logan: Noir and if you have seen Logan prepare for a completely different experience with this special edition of the film.

Logan: Noir would be more aptly titled Logan: Black and White, as this is not so much classic noir than a modern Western tale shown in black and white. Thankfully writer/director James Mangold (Cop Land, 3:10 to Yuma, The Wolverine) carefully and elegantly filmed Logan with an eye for the stark contrasts that black and white film once regularly captured so well. Parts of the film will reach into your chest and hold you breathless, revealing the full potential of a comic book based film–and more specifically a superhero film.

Its bleak, cold landscapes are evocative of a John Ford (Stagecoach, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Grapes of Wrath) Western. Its slow, calculated scenic pans are something Stanley Kubrick (Lolita, Dr. Strangelove) could only have hoped to have achieved in his early work. Inasmuch as Hugh Jackman is a classic, Western, antihero archetype in his so-far-gone, washed-up, tired and grizzled Logan–former Wolverine of the X-Men–he appears far lonelier and resigned to a dismal, unrelenting future in black and white. The cold contrasts in this Logan somehow create a vision more true to the Old Man Logan of the comic book source material.

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Logan–Final trailer for X-Men movie reveals X-Men read their own comics

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January 20, 2017

In 2029, real X-Men read Marvel’s X-Men comic books.

Old Man Logan is one of those great comic book ideas that surprisingly took such a long time to come around. It would be like seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger come back in Conan the Conqueror to play an elder King Conan, a film that always seems in the works but never quite in a moving-forward state. In the X-Men movies it means Hugh Jackman in the big-screen release Logan, supposedly his last of nine films portraying the steely clawed X-Man, providing a rare chance for an actor to complete a character study 17 years in the making. We’re NOT looking forward to anyone else being cast in this role down the road. The first trailer (previewed earlier here) gave us a moody, grim look at Logan backed by Johnny Cash. The final trailer released this week gives more hope for the future, with a little Jim Croce thrown in.

The final trailer reveals more than what we thought the studio would reveal in advance of the film: 2017’s leading contender for kick-ass superheroine… the little girl comic book readers know as cyborg X-23 (Laura, played by Dafne Keen) taking off her kid gloves and opening up her X-Men powers on some bad guys. Hugh Jackman is the wise guardian we all need, and his own 90-year-old guardian and mentor Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) is along for the ride, bringing that additional, personal dimension to the story. The other universe of Marvel films outside the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” has been well-established to bounce around in parallel worlds and has resulted in the most satisfying movies in the superhero genre, particularly with the spectacular X-Men: Days of Future Past. This film takes us about five years after that film’s epilogue.

This new trailer features a comic book on-screen for the first time in the X-Men universe, and comic book creators are featured in a new and unique way. Comic book artist Joe Quesada drew the pages with ink work done by Dan Panosian (see above). Comic book creator Gabriel Hardman created the storyboards for the film.

Check out this final trailer, first the U.S. version followed by the international version:

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Tags: Dafne Keen, Dan Panosian, Gabriel Hardman, Hugh Jackman, Joe Quesada, Logan, Logan movie, Logan trailer, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Old Man Logan, Patrick Stewart, Wolverine, X-23, X-Men

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All the Movies You’ll Want to See in 2017

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December 24, 2016

Our annual “All the Movies You’ll Want to See…” series has been one of the most viewed of all of our entries at borg.com each year. So this year we again scoured Hollywood and its publicity machine for as many genre films coming out in 2017 that have been disclosed. The result is a whopping 58 movies, many you’ll probably want to see in the theater or catch on video (and some you may want to skip). We bet you’ll find a bunch below you’ve never heard of. Bookmark this now for your 2017 calendar!

Most coming out in the second half of 2017 don’t even have posters released yet. We’ve included descriptions and key cast so you can start planning accordingly.

What do we think will be the biggest hits of the year? How about Star Wars: Episode VIII or Wonder Woman? Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of 1,000 Planets? Ghost in the Shell? Or Beauty and the Beast?

You’ve heard endlessly about Logan and Justice League, but 2017 will also see numerous other sequels, like Alien: Covenant, Blade Runner 2049, Thor: Ragnarok, and sequels for Underworld, Resident Evil, Planet of the Apes, Pirates of the Caribbean, XXX, John Wick, King Kong, The Fast and the Furious, Cars, The Kingsman, Transformers, Despicable Me. And The Six Billion Dollar Man is finally on its way. Look for plenty of Dwayne Johnson, Tom Cruise, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, Zoe Saldana, Hugh Jackman, John Goodman, Michael Peña, Ryan Reynolds, Sofia Boutella, and Elle Fanning in theaters this year.

So wait no further, here are your genre films for 2017:

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Tags: 2017 movie checklist, 2017 movie posters, 2017 movie release schedule, 2017 movies, A Monster Calls, Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection, Ali Larter, Alien: Covenant, American Made, Angourie Rice, Anthony Hopkins, Asa Butterfield, Baywatch, Beauty and the Beast, Ben Affleck, Benedict Cumberbatch, Blade Runner 2049, Blazing Samurai, Brad Pitt, Britt Robertson, Carla Gugino, Cate Blanchett, Channing Tatum, Charles Dance, Charlize Theron, CHiPs movie, Chris Cooper, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pine, Christopher Nolan, Cloverfield, Colin Farrell, Colin Firth, Daisy Ridley, Dave Franco, Dax Sheppard, Derek Jacobi, Despicable Me 3, Diego Luna, Domhnall Gleason, Domhnall Gleeson, Dunkirk, Eddie Izzard, Elizabeth Debicki, Elle Fanning, Emma Watson, Eric Bana, Fate of the Furious, Felicity Jones, Flatliners 2017, Gal Gadot, Gary Oldman, Geoffrey Rush, Ghost in the Shell, God Particle, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Harrison Ford, Hugh Jackman, Idris Elba, Jackie Chan, Jake Gyllenhaal, James Corden, James McAvoy, Jason Statham, Javier Bardem, Jeff Goldblum, Jet Li, John Goodman, John Wick Chapter Two, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Judi Dench, Jumanji, Justice League, Karl Urban, Kate Beckinsale, Katherine Waterston, Keanu Reeves, Kennth Brannagh, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Kirsten Dunst, Kong Skull Island, Kristen Wiig, Kurt Russell, Lara Pulver, Liam Neeson, Life movie, Live By Night, Logan, Logan movie, Luc Besson, Marisa Tomei, Mark Ruffalo, Matt Damon, Michael Fassbender, Michael Peña, Michelle Pfeiffer, Milla Jovovich, Morgan Freeman, Murder on the Orient Express, Nicole Kidman, Olivia Munn, Patrick Stewart, Paul W.S. Anderson, Penelope Cruz, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Power Rangers movie, Ralph Fiennes, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Ridley Scott, Rings, Robert Downey Jr, Robin Wright, Rock Dog, Rosario Dawson, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, Sam Neill, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Smurfs; The Lost Village, Sofia Boutella, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Stephen King's It, Stephen King's The Dark Tower, The Beguiled, The Coldest City, The Emoji Movie: Express Yourself, The Great Wall, The Greatest Showman, The Hitman's Bodyguard, The Kingsman: The Golden Circle, The Lego Batman Movie, The LEGO Ninjago Movie, The Nut Job 2, The Space Between Us, The Story of Ferdinand, Thor: Ragnarok, Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise movies, Tom Hardy, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Holland, Tommy Lee Jones, Transformers: The Last Knight, Trey Parker, Underworld: Blood Wars, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Villa Capri, Vin Diesel, War for the Planet of the Apes, Will Arnett, Wonder Woman, World War II movies, World War Z 2, xxx: The Return of Xander Cage, Zach Galifianakis, Zoe Saldana

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Old Man Logan: While you’re waiting for the next X-Men movie

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December 5, 2016

Review by C.J. Bunce

Old Man Logan is a 2017 theatrical release we previewed here at borg.com earlier this Fall. Bryan Singer treated us to a sneak peek at this version of Logan aka Wolverine in this year’s hit superhero flick X-Men: Apocalypse. If all you know about Logan is the nine films in which Hugh Jackman portrayed the on again/off again X-Men leader, then now is a great time to get caught up on the monthly comic book title that inspired the movie.

Old Man Logan is the second series to follow the exploits of Logan in a post-apocalypse setting–the first was written in the eight-issue Wolverine: Old Man Logan story arc collected here, and the second was published in 2015, collected here. The current series, now on Issue #14, is available in three trade editions, with Issue #15 due out in comic book stores by year end.

Old Man Logan may be the best work yet from well-known writer Jeff Lemire, artist Andrea Sorrentino, and color artist Marcelo Maiolo. Lemire is known for his work on books from Animal Man to Green Arrow, and currently he also pens All-New Hawkeye, Extraordinary X-Men, and Moon Knight. Lemire tells a tale of a distant future, one overrun by villains and a world without Wolverine to protect it, Logan is a farmer with a wife and kids, whose life is destroyed when the Hulk Gang kills his family. But the twist is Logan finds himself back in future’s past, able to change the timeline and destroy all of those who one day will ruin his life. This Logan is an Old West wanderer and drifter, who makes Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name pale in comparison. This is Marvel’s answer to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns at last, a series gritty and dark and full of the kind of what-ifs readers are clamoring for.

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Tags: Andrea Sorrentino, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Best of 2016, dystopian comic books series, Filipe Andrade, Hugh Jackman, Jeff Lemire, Jordie Bellaire, Marcelo Maiolo, Marvel Comics, Old Man Logan, Old Man Logan review, post-apocalyptic science fiction, Wolverine, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, X-Men, X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: Days of Future Past

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First look–Xavier returns with Old Man Logan to save X-23 in latest X-Men flick

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October 21, 2016

The first trailer for Logan, the next X-Men movie following this year’s hit films X-Men: Apocalypse and Deadpool, reveals more than what we expected to see of Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier. Hugh Jackman looks the right age as Wolverine years after the villains take over Earth. The other universe of Marvel films outside the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” has been well-established to bounce around, in parallel worlds, and has resulted in the most satisfying movies in the superhero genre, particularly with the spectacular X-Men: Days of Future Past.

And something new and exciting: We meet a new X-Men character from the comic books, Wolverine’s clawed clone X-23. Will Logan be as good or better than past X-Men entries? Check out this first trailer:

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Tags: Hugh Jackman, Logan, Logan movie, Logan trailer, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Old Man Logan, Patrick Stewart, Wolverine, X-23, X-Men

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Take that, Spider-Man–Wolverine makes surprise appearance in new X-Men trailer

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April 27, 2016

Just like the new Spider-Man made his first appearance last month in a surprise trailer reveal (see it here if you missed it) for Captain America: Civil War, Wolverine is making a similar showing in the latest trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse. Is that Hugh Jackman’s arm? We’re betting he’s back once again for his penultimate appearance with the claws before he goes off into the sunset after one last swagger in Wolverine 3.

Director Bryan Singer must have had a great time putting together the latest characters and actors for world of the X-Men. This latest trailer is wall-to-wall action, previewing some of the humor the franchise is known for, and showcasing the leadership qualities of Jennifer Lawrence ‘s Raven/Mystique. And we finally get a first good look at Olivia Munn’s Psylocke taking on Nicholas Hoult’s Beast.

But don’t take our word for it. Check out this supposed final trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse:

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Tags: Bryan Singer, Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Olivia Munn, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Wolverine 3, X-Men: Apocalypse, X-men: Apocalypse trailer

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Review–Bryan Singer makes a great film even better with X-Men: Days of Future Past “The Rogue Cut”

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July 24, 2015

Review by C.J. Bunce

If you agree last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past is among the best superhero films of all time, and probably the single best film in the Marvel Universe, then you’ll want to see a new director’s cut released this month: X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Rogue Cut. Especially if you haven’t picked up a copy of the 2014 version on Blu-Ray, this new edition brings together the original theatrical release and The Rogue Cut, plus a disc full of new features, making this the definitive edition for most fans.

It’s the lack of a 3D edition that is the only miss with the new release. For most people that won’t be a problem. But if you have embraced 3D television technology like us, you’re just going to be buying a new Blu-Ray to add to last year’s superb Ultimate Edition so you can watch each version from time to time–because you just can’t miss this new edit of the film.

If you’re not aware of the quality of this movie by ace director Bryan Singer, check out our review from last year here at borg.com. On repeat viewings X-Men: Days of Future Past proves its worthiness as a superhero flick future superhero films will be compared to. This expanded edition certainly does nothing to diminish the original. It instead provides 17 minutes of additional scenes that explain plot elements skipped over in the original cut and it provides a better character study of nearly every major player: Professor X, Magneto, Wolverine, Mystique, Trask, Beast, Iceman, Kitty Pryde, and of course, Rogue. More Quicksilver (Evan Peters) would have been fun, but you can’t have everything. But we do learn more from Singer on his audio commentary about that character’s role, and that of Mystique, Beast, Magneto, and the rest of the mutants in next year’s sequel X-Men: Apocalypse.

The features disc includes a nine-part “making of” series and a 30-minute roundtable featuring Singer and most of the show’s stars. The audio track features Singer and editor/composer John Ottman. Both provide an excellent look at the storytelling process as adapted to the filmmaker’s role.

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