Back in 2017 we previewed a line of superheroines in Mattel’s longstanding, ongoing line of its famous Barbie dolls. The first featured Wonder Woman characters from DC Comics, and two years later from over at Marvel Mattel released a line of X-Men figures featuring Mystique, Storm, and Dark Phoenix (there has been a Tomb Raider Barbie, too). In 2018 Mattel rolled out the first 17 figures in an Inspiring Womenrole model series, but we think the latest Barbie celebrates the greatest superheroine of them all. Recognizing decades of dedication, ground-breaking research, and heroic achievements as a conservationist, Mattel has revealed its next Inspiring Women Barbie: Dr. Jane Goodall–and she’s the first Barbie ever to be made from recycled materials (75%).
And it includes a lovely sculpt of her long-time friend David Greybeard.
You can order the set now here at Amazon or pre-order the set now here at Entertainment Earth.
But Dr. Goodall isn’t the only environmentalist and animal rights champion coming to Barbie.
Okay, we haven’t yet seen the entire movie, only the latest preview (below) and several earlier trailers (also below). But who could possibly be better than Keanu Reeves as Batman? The current top actor playing the Dark Knight Detective obviously goes to Will Arnett in The LEGO Batman Movie. After his performance, does it really matter? The new trailer for DC League of Super-Pets features Reeves behind the voice of Batman with Kevin Hart as the voice of his sidekick and super-dog, Ace. It’s as perfect as it sounds.
Check out the trailers (so far) for this summer’s DC League of Super-Pets:
To celebrate International Women’s Day tomorrow, Mattel previewed two new waves of Barbie dolls intended to inspire and educate kids. Hinted at as forthcoming in the recent Netflix series The Toys That Made Us, the dolls celebrate three real-life heroines of the past in its entirely new “Inspiring Women” line, and 14 new women of the present have been designed as additions to Mattel’s “Shero” line. The dolls aim to follow the vision behind the original toys’ creator, Ruth Handler, who once said, “My whole philosophy of Barbie was that, through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.”
The women reflected in the new dolls include heroines of the past: aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, artist Frida Kahlo, and NASA mathematician and physicist Katherine Johnson. The 14 new heroines of the present include conservationist and animal rights activist Bindi Irwin, journalist and Seven Summits mountain climber Martyna Wojciechowska, designers Leyla Piedayesh and Vicky Martin Berrocal, athletes Chloe Kim, Çağla Kubat, Nicola Adams, Lorena Ochoa, Hui Ruoqi, and Sara Gama, Chef Héllène Darroze, movie director Patty Jenkins, ballerina Yuan Yuan Tan, and actor Xiaotong Guan. The new line of Shero dolls adds to the line-up that began in 2015 and already includes actors Emmy Rossum and Kristin Chenoweth, journalist Eva Chen, ballerina Misty Copeland, singer Trisha Yearwood, movie director Ava Duvernay, gymnastics Olympian Gabby Douglas and fencing Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammed, and model Ashley Graham. Only Douglas, Muhammed, and Graham were made available in wide release, making this new release of 14 figures the first truly expansive Barbie line inspired by real people.
Twelve of the 14 new figures include Vicky Martin Berrocal, Xiaotong Guan, Bindi Irwin, Sara Gama, Chloe Kim, Martyna Wojciechowska, Nicola Adams, Yuan Yuan Tan, Patty Jenkins, Hélène Darroze, Hui Ruoqi, and Leyla Piedayesh. Not shown: Çağla Kubat and Lorena Ochoa.
The dolls feature a broad array of clothing, accessories, hairstyles, size, skintone, and head sculpt detail. The international selection of new dolls features representatives from Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the United States.
DC Entertainment and Marvel Studios offered superhero genre fans live-action adaptations of some of the comic book world’s best-loved superheroes last year. The concept artwork behind each of DC’s Justice League and Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok are the subject of two new books for fans wanting to dig deeper into the development of these films: Justice League: The Art of the Film, by Abbie Bernstein, and The Art of Thor: Ragnarok, by Eleni Roussos. Both share the feature of being primarily photographic essays, visual guides illustrating the phases of characters and environments leading to the final art design used in the films. So both will make good souvenir or coffee table books in addition to showcasing the artists’ visions for film aficionados and comic book fans.
Justice League: The Art of the Film is a 206-page, full-color, hardcover book similar to last year’s Wonder Woman: The Art and Making of the Film. This volume gives much attention to the variety of costumes created for the film, particularly the looks of the new characters to the film series, Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg. Cyborg’s cybernetics were added in post-production via CGI. This is not so much a behind-the-scenes, detailed account with interviews about the production as we’ve seen in other volumes, but it does include statements from each of the key actors and production members peppered throughout the photographs The layout of pages and overall design is stylized keeping with the themes of the story.
An excerpt from Justice League: The Art of the Film.
Well-designed with gorgeous concept art, The Art of Thor: Ragnarok is a hefty 320 pages in a slipcase holder, featuring classic Jack Kirby art on the book cover inside the dust jacket. Kirby’s designs can be found as inspiration throughout the film, and are reflected in the concept art and design work, particularly that found in the fantastical world of Sakaar. Each of the key characters you’d expect get plenty of coverage. Readers will find hundreds of images of Mayes C. Rubeo’s costume designs for Thor, Hulk, Hela, Loki, Odin, Skurge, and the Grandmaster, as well as supporting characters. The fiery Surtur has a surprisingly thorough section, showing the various stages that resulted in the finished look seen in the film.
Never been to a comic book or pop culture convention? Always wanted to go to San Diego Comic-Con but you don’t have the vacation time available or the funds? Planet Comicon is next weekend in Kansas City and it’s the sixth year of the show at downtown Kansas City’s giant convention center at Bartle Hall. Planet Comicon is a great way to get a complete three-day convention experience centrally located in the Midwest, ideal for a last-minute road trip for the family or a car full of friends. Kansas City is less than 8 hours by car from Dallas, less than 7 hours from Minneapolis, a little more than 7 hours from Indianapolis, and a little more than 8 hours from Denver. And you don’t need to buy advance tickets–you can purchase them at the door.
So why make the trip? How about meeting Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Firefly star Alan Tudyk? Also from Firefly, as well as Doctor Who, Supernatural, Chuck, Leverage, Star Trek Voyager (and one of borg.com‘s actors we can’t get enough of), Mark Sheppard? Want to get a photo with Michael Rooker (“I’m Mary Poppins, y’all!” Yondu) and Pom Klementieff (Mantis), stars of last year’s biggest superhero hit Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2? Are modern classics your thing? How about seeing the star of fan-favorite movies like Say Anything, High Fidelity, and Eight Men Out? Yep, John Cusack is returning to the Midwest for this year’s show (you can even bring your prized Rooker and Cusack Eight Men Out baseball cards for autographs).
Do you want to compare notes on The Walking Dead with stars Khary Payton, Rooker, and Sonequa Martin-Green (also star of Star Trek Discovery)? Maybe you’re a Game of Thrones fan. You can meet both Jerome Flynn and Jason Momoa (also Aquaman in the DC Universe movies). And speaking of fantasy, Planet Comicon is featuring a rare appearance by Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis, who played the beloved hero Neville Longbottom. Want to meet the actor who has played the toughest badass characters you’ve ever seen? Sling TV barista and Machete himself, Danny Trejo will be in the house.
It’s just what fans of DC Comics have been begging for. Finally, a Batman portrayal worthy of Adam West and Michael Keaton. The complete membership of the classic Justice League as fun as we all remember them from the comic books. Homages to famous artists adapted to the big screen from the best of DC Comics, like cover artist Jock, plus throwbacks to the campy series of the 1960s. And more homages to the musical scores from the best of the DC Comics cinematic adaptations of the past, including callbacks to Danny Elfman’s score to the 1989 Batman movie and John Williams’ Superman theme.
What was your favorite DC Comics adaptation before 2017? How far back do you go? Most superhero movie fans seem to agree upon the original Superman starring Christopher Reeve as the modern rebirth of the superhero film, and count Reeve among the best embodiments of a superhero on film. But after Reeve, fans begin to disagree as movies based on DC Comics are concerned, and usually turn to the CW Network television series for the next best DC iterations of comic book adaptations.
So when all of it finally comes together, it finally comes together in 2017, after the likes of misfires including Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad, we finally have an exciting and worthy DC Comics outing that is fun for the entire family, and best of all, it is all heart.
And as a bonus, it features villains worthy of a movie from the DCU. Sure, you might expect a pantheon of villains like The Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Egghead, Scarecrow, Bane, Clayface, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Man-Bat, Captain Boomerang, Crazy Quilt, Eraser, Polka Dot Man, Mime, Tarantula, King Tut, Orca, Dr. Phosphorus, Killer Moth, Magpie, March Hare, Frank Miller’s Mutant Leader, Dr. Hugo Strange, Zodiac Master, Gentleman Ghost, Clock King, Red Hood, The Kabuki Twins, Calendar Man, Kite Man, Catman, Calculator, Zebra-Man, and Condiment King. But all in one movie? And battling some of fiction’s other greatest supervillains, like Dracula and the other Universal Monsters, The Daleks, Lord Voldemort, Jaws, King Kong, Gremlins, velociraptors, the Wicked Witch of the West, Agent Smith from The Matrix, and Sauron? Wait–was Darth Vader tied up in some other project?
Although it still has that same look and feel of the recent Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice–it actually looks more like last year’s Suicide Squad–Warner Bros. revealed the latest team-up trailer for Justice League today at Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con at the San Diego Convention Center. This time the studio is smartly leaning on the success of Wonder Woman to reveal the inclusion of Themiscyra in the movie. We’ve seen Ben Affleck’s Batman, with his best work probably his cameos in Suicide Squad, and we’ve seen Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman this year in the first solo Wonder Woman title film. Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Ezra Miller’s Flash have had some screen time in various images from Warner Bros. promoting this film, and the last trailer (here) highlighted Ray Fisher’s Cyborg. Now, in this nearly four-minute long trailer, they all get to be seen.
Justice League, another Zack Snyder creation handed off for last-minute clean-up work to Joss Whedon, arrives in theaters later this year along with Wonder Woman,Logan,Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, and Spider-man: Homecoming. Will Justice League deliver enough punch to equal The Avengers? Can Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment ever stand a chance at catching up to the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
This is the best look at the League in trailers for the film so far. This looks more like the work of Whedon than Snyder, or are we just hopeful? Check it out for yourself–here’s the latest trailer for Justice League:
With the big reveal this weekend of DC Entertainment’s first full-length trailer for Justice League, Marvel Entertainment promoted one of its own movies, releasing three new posters that seem to appeal to pretty much everyone. In a year full of new superhero movies–Logan, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2,Wonder Woman, and, yes, Justice League, what if the come-from-behind underdog triumph of the year is Spider-man: Homecoming?
Marvel saturated audiences with Spider-man, first with Tobey Maguire’s webspinner in 2002’s Spider-man, then with similar sequels in 2004 and 2007. After a brief break Andrew Garfield was rebooted as Spidey in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-man followed by a sequel in 2014. Neither version of Spider-man was integrated into Kevin Feige’s new world of Avengers movies.
Only two years later–2016–in Captain America: Civil War were we introduced to Tom Holland’s new Spider-man within the context of the grand Marvel Cinematic Universe. His banter with Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark, and his scenes in the main fight sequence of the film, were the best parts of that movie. It’s impossible not to draw a comparison to Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne meeting Ezra Miller’s new Barry Allen in this weekend’s Justice League trailer. The chemistry and charisma of the DC duo is just not the same. Superhero movies with heart are the ones we remember. Spider-man: Homecoming may be next in line.
Although it still has that same look and feel of the recent Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice–it actually looks more like last year’s Suicide Squad–at last DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. revealed the first full-length, team-up trailer for Justice League this weekend. We’ve seen Ben Affleck’s Batman, with his best work probably his cameos in Suicide Squad, and we’ve seen Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman previewed in Batman v. Superman. Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Ezra Miller’s Flash have had some screen time in various images from Warner Bros. promoting this film. So what’s new is this preview really gives us a better look at Ray Fisher’s Cyborg.
Justice League is another Zack Snyder creation, hitting theaters this year along with Wonder Woman, and from the opposing brand Logan,Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, and Spider-man: Homecoming. Will Justice League deliver enough punch to equal The Avengers? Is there enough “wow” factor to take on all the superhero movies hitting theaters this year?
This Justice League (dropping the “America”) is consistent with the more recent incarnations of the DC squad, but it’s definitely not the Superfriends most older fanboys and fangirls are familiar with. Cyborg is definitely the new kid on the block. Former J. Jonah Jameson actor JK Simmons (who voiced the character as recently as 2015) will take some getting used to as the new Commissioner Gordon. But the biggest challenge will be viewing DC Entertainment’s opposing Barry Allens. The Flash rose to become the best superhero series on television last year, with the lovable Grant Gustin as the great speedster. It’s hard to explain a need for two actors in the same role in the same year from the same studio–it’s not like the dueling Quicksilvers over at Marvel in The Avengers and The X-Men films emerging from separate studios.
Check it out for yourself–here’s the latest trailer for Justice League:
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:
