Director Sam Raimi was constrained by the comic books with his three Spider-Man movies, but Kevin Fiege and Marvel Studios let him unleash everything for his latest superhero movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The result is fantastic, the most ambitious crossover mash-up and blend of comic book characters to hit the screen since X-Men: Days of Future Past. Loki writer Michael Waldron was the right choice to create this seamless masterpiece of twisty storytelling, and adding music by Batman 1989’s Danny Elfman is the icing on a (dark, funny, horror-themed) cake.
Finally, the multitudes get to witness the madness of the multiverse for themselves–the film arrived this week on Disney+. Is it the best Marvel Studios ensemble movie yet? (spoilers ahead)
Just when you think there may be some hope for a Zack Snyder property, here we are again with another head scratcher. The movie that gave us hope was the trippy, funny, quirky Army of the Dead, a zombie movie with the gore of the genre, but with the light tonal notes of Shaun of the Dead. In short it was a worthy entry into the zombie horror genre, if on the more accessible, mainstream side (check out my review here). The new spin-off film, Army of Thieves, just landed on Netflix, and it is a prequel, but a prequel probably nobody asked for. It might make you think Snyder & Co. longs to have the C.V. of J.J. Abrams (see the Cloverleaf films) or M. Night Shyamalan (see the Unbreakable trilogy). Imagine taking the most obscure–the least likely–character from an action film, and then giving him a sweet, heart-warming, dramatic origin story with romance, and have the actor that played the character direct it. I can’t think anyone would select German actor Matthias Schweighöfer’s safecracker as the character that warranted a spin-off from Army of the Dead, but there it is. And you can watch it right now on Netflix.
Moviegoers either love or hate Zack Snyder movies. His latest, Netflix’s Army of the Dead (reviewed here), is very different from the typical movie he directs, which includes 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League. Despite taking on a heist movie and a zombie picture in a major action movie, he wrote, directed, and took over the camera for Army of the Dead. The result was a mash-up that may appeal to regular Snyder fans or anyone else. This month to accompany the film, Titan Books releasedArmy of the Dead: The Making of the Film. If you liked the movie, and especially if you’re a fan of the horror genre and zombie films, you will want to check it out.
Zack Snyder finally did it. Despite taking on a heist movie and a zombie picture in a major action movie, he wrote a script and delivered the type of action blockbuster he has not yet been able to create. Army of the Dead is his first movie to get it right, a load of tropes, a mash-up of genre ideas, a tightly written story with a great cast, and wall-to-wall fun. Not a comedy like Shaun of the Dead or iZombie,Army of the Dead features the right amount of humor for this story, while incorporating all the expectations of any fan of the father of the genre, George A. Romero. Rivaling the incredible action and effects in 6 Underground, it also rises to become one of Netflix’s most promising productions.
Today we have three previews for coming theatrical releases of the comedy variety. Two of them hail from two of the most financially successful former Saturday Night Live cast members, and one a coming-of-age zombie flick full of young actors. Are they all dumb comedies, or will any of them break through the pack and be worth the ticket price?
The first film comes from Adam Sandler’s production company and will be a Netflix release. It’s a Western comedy–a rare genre appearance for audiences–with a large cast that might make you think of big cast pieces of years past like Airplane! Along with Sandler, The Ridiculous 6 stars Steve Buscemi, Terry Crews, Norm MacDonald, Danny Trejo, Will Forte, Luke Wilson, Steve Zahn, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Chris Parnell, John Turturro, Jon Lovitz, and Vanilla Ice. That’s a lot of former SNL cast members!
The stars of the hilarious comedy The Other Guys are back. Will Farrell, the most successful SNL actor since Eddie Murphy, and along with Sandler one of the big three of the box office grossing SNL elite shares billing again with one of our favorite actors, the versatile Mark Wahlberg, in Daddy’s Home. Farrell is a step-dad and must contend with his wife’s tougher and cooler ex-husband, played by Wahlberg. This is the film widely reported on earlier this year where Farrell and crew broke in on an actual basketball game and seemingly drunk Farrell beaned a dance group gal in the face (no worries, she was a stunt woman in on the gag). Definitely one for the Farrell and Wahlberg fans out there.
Finally, The Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is the latest zombie flick. It’s a comedy and coming of age movie, but also seems like it has a bit of Steven Spielberg’s Super 8 meets American Pie. Definitely a strange entry, it features a slate of young actors including Arnold’s son Patrick Schwarzenegger, plus comedic actors Cloris Leachman and David Koechner.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring in a new zombie movie, and it’s not a comedy?
Michael Fassbender is starring in a Western?
It can only be Trailer Park: The “What the ?” Edition. Check out two new trailers below, after the break.
It’s always fun to be blind-sided by unexpected previews. Today’s two movies weren’t in late 2014’s trade papers, or they might have made our All the Movies You’ll Want to See in 2015 list.
What’s it with all the cool, new zombie material being previewed this month? Since 28 Days Later I hadn’t gotten the bite yet for the genre, and suddenly zombie TV series iZombie, The Returned, and Les Revenants are knocking everything out of the DVR priority list? Did we time-skip into a parallel dimension?
Arnold’s new movie, Maggie, is completely surprising. The first trailer out of the gates looks great. Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin plays his zombie-infected daughter in her last weeks before completely going zombie. Arnold’s tired and troubled father looks like Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven. If the dark and measured pace of the trailer reflects the final cut of the film, this may be a horror thriller to check out.
Then there’s this quirky new Western, Slow West. The film has generated some decent buzz already. A Western filmed in New Zealand absolutely looks a bit off. But the steely-eyed Fassbender as a John Wayne in The Searchers / Han Solo type? That may deserve a casting award.
Slow West follows a boy on a quest across the sea to America to track down his lost love. John Maclean directs a relatively unknown cast, Fassbender aside. The trailer carries a bit of British-influenced flare, and the vibe of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s epic immigrant picture Far and Away.
Originally slated for December 2012 release date which was pushed by Paramount Studios in favor of the Tom Cruise movie Jack Reacher, the zombie movie World War Z release was kicked out all the way to June 21, 2013. Although Brad Pitt holds his own as usual in the first trailer, released this past weekend, the zombies in this preview look like… ordinary people. En masse they flow like liquid or carpenter ants crawling over each other around their little anthill homes. Like many previews released this year, we bet the production is saving a lot for later, or maybe they haven’t yet finished off their CGI work.
