It’s no wonder Netflix got its hooks into Ryan Reynolds (and he into them). With great films like Free Guy and 6 Underground, not to mention his Deadpool series, he’s becoming reliable–still far to go to become the next Tom Cruise, but well on his way. In his new movie The Adam Project, which started this weekend on Netflix, you get a lot: an almost family friendly, coming of age, sci-fi movie (with lightsabers). It feels like director Shawn Levy, known for everything from Stranger Things to The Pink Panther to Night at the Museum to Free Guy and Lassie (and being Eugene’s brother) completely understands what it took to make a great 1980s Steven Spielberg sci-fi movie. It has spectacular special effects like you’d see in Guardians of the Galaxy, but they take a backseat to a story of relationships and second chances. It belongs alongside E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Explorers, The Last Starfighter, Starman, Flight of the Navigator, D.A.R.Y.L., and J.J. Abrams’ own 1980s tribute, Super 8.
Next week another of the onslaught of banked Ryan Reynolds movies (see Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Red Notice, Free Guy, and the forthcoming Spirited, Deadpool 3, Dragon’s Lair, and Clue) is coming to Netflix (which, since 6 Underground, feels like the Ryan Reynolds channel). His new movie is The Adam Project, a family, coming of age, sci-fi movie (with lightsabers) that looks in every way like an update to the Bruce Willis underrated coming of age-meets-midlife crisis classic from 2000, The Kid.
Yes, Ryan Reynolds’ character (Adam) meets a younger version of himself, and you can just hear the whisper from Peter Pan warning us all not to grow up. Or will it be more like Bruce Willis meeting young Bruce Willis in 12 Monkeys or Bruce Willis meeting young Bruce Willis in Looper? What’s the deal with Bruce Willis meeting himself in movies, anyway?
Check out the trailer below with Ryan Reynolds starring in The Adam Project:
If a movie project languishes for twenty years, thee might be several reasons to explain why. Gemini Man, in theaters now, has had both Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer involved in the idea behind the film, but the timing didn’t seem right for them–digital technology had not yet evolved where an actor portraying a 51-year-old could fight himself at age 23, in a believable way. Now here we are in a Hollywood (New York City, Atlanta, Toronto, etc.) where motion capture performances are the norm. It’s not a spoiler if it’s in the movie poster, and that’s the case with Gemini Man. The movie is Will Smith, a retiring government assassin, who must face off against a younger version of himself, raised and trained for combat. So it shouldn’t surprise you thatGemini Man: The Official Movie Novelization, is a character study of what might happen when an assassin meets himself.
If you’re a fan of science fiction, a rush of prior stories and films should come to mind. First of all the novelization, which does not give an author credit, instead listing the screenplay writers, Darren Lemke, David Benioff, and Billy Ray, reads very much like an early Philip K. Dick short story expanded to be novel (or movie) length. The spoiler (if you can call it that) is that there aren’t many surprises. How would a trained assassin react when confronting a younger clone of himself? This is a single sitting read, filled with some interesting characters (the kind you’d find in supporting roles in any film, like Mission: Impossible, the Bourne Legacy films, Tomb Raider, or even Dick adaptations like Paycheck. It’s also heavy on the action, something that would be spotlighted with CGI in the film, leaving the characters in the novel to internalize what is happening on the big screen. The story feels like it was written for Will Smith. His character Henry Brogan is the same guy we’ve seen Smith play in Bright, Suicide Squad, I am Legend, Hitch, I, Robot, Enemy of the State, and Independence Day. Which fortunately means we have a likable protagonist.
The novelization brings in bits and pieces from across decades of science fiction, from addressing the question of how you select who you clone (from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones), to how you control your newly minted human military weapon (from The Manchurian Candidate), to how you survive when the world is crashing in on you (from the Jason Bourne, Shooter, and Mission: Impossible movies), to how you react when you learn you are not really you (from RoboCop, Moon, and the new series Living with Yourself).
Another “prequel that is also a sequel” is in the works, and this time it’s for one of the action genre’s biggest franchises. Director Len Wiseman confirmed at a Television Critics Association event that casting for both a young John McClane and young Holly Gennero will be part of a new film: Die Hard: Year One. Wiseman is waiting for a final script from writers Carey W. Hayes and Chad Hayes. He said that story will feature both a flashback element and a future story. The past will focus on McClane in the 1970s. And Wiseman said he and Bruce Willis want to be part of the process to select the actor who portrays the young McClane.
Back in 2015 when the idea for this movie first surfaced, one logical casting idea was floated: Why not Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Gordon-Levitt played a young McClane character in Looper, and he also has the acting chops to come back for more for such an iconic character. No one else seems that obvious, yet Nicholas Hoult might be a good choice considering his age and significant (and critically acclaimed)action performances in the X-Men series and Mad Max: Fury Road. Another choice that would be difficult not to rule out is Jai Courtney, who played McClane’s son in 2013’s A Good Day to Die Hard.
It also seems obvious that the script writers should look to the two pieces of source material that have already been written. First would be the novel that inspired the film series, Roderick Thorp’s Nothing Lasts Forever (reviewed here at borg.com), the sequel to the 1966 novel The Detective, which was turned into a movie starring Frank Sinatra. If you’re looking to get into the shoes of McClane, this would be the place to begin. But next would be renowned writer Howard Chaykin’s own take on the same title, his comic book series Die Hard: Year One published by BOOM! Comics in 2010 (reviewed here at borg.com). It doesn’t appear the new script writers are looking to these two books for ideas, but note the covers above to the Chaykin series have a great vibe fans would no doubt love to see on the big screen.
For more than six years we at borg.com have been covering entertainment memorabilia auctions–sales of not merely replicas or mass-produced collectibles, but the real objects seen on film–rare or even one-of-a-kind costumes created by award-winning Hollywood costume designers, detailed props created by production crew, model vehicles created by special effects departments like Industrial Light and Magic, prosthetics created by famous makeup artists, set decoration, concept art, and much more. Amassing a wide variety of artifacts from classic and more recent film and television history, London and Los Angeles-based Prop Store is hosting its annual auction later this month. Known for its consignment of some of the most well-known and iconic screen-used props and costumes, Prop Store’s ultimate museum collectibles auction will be open for bidding from anyone, and items will be available at estimates for both beginning collectors and those with deeper pockets.
The Prop Store Live Auction: Treasures from Film and Television will be auctioning off approximately 600 items. You’ll find the following movies and TV shows represented and more: 3:10 to Yuma (2007), 300,Aliens, Back to the Future films, Blade Runner, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Chronicles of Narnia films, Elysium, Enemy Mine, Excalibur, The Fifth Element, Gladiator, The Goonies, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Jason and the Argonauts, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the Indiana Jones films, Iron Man, the James Bond films, Judge Dredd (1995), the Jurassic Park films, Kick-Ass 2, Kingsman: the Secret Service, Lifeforce, Looper, The Lost Boys, The Martian, The Matrix, Men in Black III, Mission: Impossible (1996), The Mummy (1999), Patton, Pirates of the Caribbean series, Predators, the Rocky films, Saving Private Ryan, Scarface, Serenity, Shaun of the Dead, Shawshank Redemption, Sherlock Holmes (2009), Star Trek franchise, Star Wars franchise, Starship Troopers,Superman films, Terminator films, The Three Musketeers (1993), Tropic Thunder, Troy, True Grit, Underworld: Evolution, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Willow, The Wolfman (2010), World War Z, and the X-Men films.
You can flip through the auction house’s hefty 360-page catalog, or start with a look at what we selected as the best 50 of the lots–what we predict as the most sought-after by collectors and those that represent some of fandom’s favorite sci-fi and fantasy classics and modern favorites.
Industrial Light and Magic 17 3/4-inch Rebel Y-Wing filming model from Return of the Jedi
Sark (David Warner) Grid costume from the original Tron (1982)
Julie Newmar’s Catwoman costume and Burgess Meredith Penguin hat from the classic Batman TV series
Buttercup (Robin Wright) Fire Swamp red dress from The Princess Bride
Chekov (Walter Koenig) “nuclear wessels” costume, Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) costume, and Sulu (George Takei) double shirt from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Full crew set of costumes (Malcolm, Zoe, Wash, Jayne, Inara, Kaylee, River, Book, and Simon) from Serenity(sold as individual costume lots)
Jack Nicholson purple Joker costume, plus separate coat and hat, from Batman (1989)
Enterprise-D 48-inch “pyro” model from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Will Munny (Clint Eastwood) stunt shotgun from Unforgiven
Star-lord helmet from Guardians of the Galaxy
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) Mjolnir hammer from Thor
Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II jumpsuits made for Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman
Witch-king of Angmar crown from The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Val Kilmer Batman suit and cowl from Batman Forever
Maverick (Tom Cruise) flight suit from Top Gun
Geoffrey Rush Captain Barbossa costume from the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, Curse of the Black Pearl
Finally the Australian film Predestination will be making it to the States. The Aussie Spierig Brothers direct this loose adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s short story “All You Zombies.” Bringing some genre street cred to this independent film is Gattaca’sEthan Hawke as the lead. Hawke is a time travel agent in the business of preventing crimes before they happen, and in good film noir fashion he is on his final case to hunt down that one criminal who got away.
If the plot sounds familiar, it should. Predestination is just the latest entry in the sci-fi time travel trope, in the vein of the Philip K. Dick inspired films The Adjustment Bureau, Paycheck, and Minority Report, and the Bruce Willis/Emily Blunt rollercoaster ride Looper.
Predestination was filmed in Melbourne, and comes from that same stylized sci-fi tradition that brought us the cool post-apocalypse film The Quiet Earth. Released in Australia back on August 28, 2014, it finally has a U.S. release date.
After the break, check out the trailer for Predestination:
Before Starbuck was played by a woman he was played by Face on The A-Team. Before Richard Hatch was Zarek he was Apollo. And Adama was played by Lorne Greene, not Edward James Olmos. Vipers were distinctive and cool. Viper pilots had helmets that were equally cool, with a bit of an Egyptian aura. These were the days of the original Battlestar Galactica TV series. Despite the success of the modern remake, the original 1970s series has its own rightful place in the annals of sci-fi TV.
Next week Dynamite Comics is releasing a new comic book series for the TV series’ 25th anniversary, and if Issue #1 is any indication fans of retro TV generally and the original BSG specifically will find a familiar universe here. And yet the new series has been updated with some new twists.
How about time travel as a weapon? We saw something similar in the Bruce Willis sci-fi movie Looper, reviewed here at borg.com last month. It’s a cool idea introduced in issue #1 and likely will be a key element in future stories.
Artist Cezar Razek creates some nice outer space images with detailed baseships and both classic and updated vipers. The characters evoke the original series cast, especially Dirk Benedict’s Starbuck. Writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning offer up the background of this future world where an epic battle has pitted man against machine. And man is in search of the legendary planet Earth. And in Issue #1 Abnett and Lanning set Commander Adama off on a new battle with those machines–the classic chrome Cylon warriors.
Despite the interesting idea of clone humanoids as Cylons in the BSG reboot, it’s really hard not to love the original appearance of Cylons more.
Battlestar Galactica Issue #1 is a fun retro sci-fi read. Pick up your copy next Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at comic book stores everywhere.
If you happened to miss last year’s theatrical release of the sci-fi crime thriller Looper, you might give it a shot now on DVD or Blu-Ray. Although it has some bits and pieces that don’t quite come together and leaves you wondering whether what you think happens at the end is the same as what the director intended, so many great scenes, acting, and sci-fi concepts will have us go back to watch this one again.
In part, it’s what I was expecting from another Joseph Gordon-Levitt sci-fi film–Inception. Inception was over-hyped and more commercially successful, but ultimately didn’t deliver the promised surprises and complexity, but that’s where Looper’s story does it better, with its back-and-forth, twisty time travel tale.
Since we just passed our 200,000th visit yesterday, I wanted to send a out a quick thank you to all of our readers, on behalf of the writing staff of borg.com. Thanks for helping borg.com get to this benchmark so quickly!
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If you’ve ever been to Comic-Con in San Diego, you know what can happen when more than 100,000 like-minded people get together to do something positive–have a great time! It may sound a bit hokey, but it ties into part of our mission that we stated here last June… to pull together all science fiction, fantasy, entertainment–all pop culture–and certainly all fans of these things, in one place. Here’s all of you on a map:
A special shout-out goes to our dozens of subscribers who read our updates each day (and if you don’t yet and want to join in and get daily updates check out the right column of the home page any time). And a personal thanks to Elizabeth, Art and Jason for all the great ideas, input, and all-out work.
Thanks again!
And… because we know you didn’t come here to read about us, we’re sharing the trailer for the highly anticipated time travel cop flick Looper, starring the great Bruce Willis, Joe Gordon-Levitt (a fan favorite actor who not only ushered us all into New Years’ this year, but is likely to be the busiest working actor of 2012, with key roles this year in The Dark Knight Rises and the biopic Lincoln) and Emily Blunt (who we loved in The Adjustment Bureau and The Muppets). And did I say it has time travel?
