First up, 2011’s The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins and Colin O’Donoghue. It is inspired by a true story involving exorcism.
Also, the 2018 Halloween reboot, now available on home video.
Into The Crystal Ball (1:10:43)
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is currently in theaters. Train, Greg, and Seth all give their recommended Godzilla movies if you need a prep for the new film. In a previous episode of Geekville Radio, Seth and Greg summarized every Godzilla movie made through Final Wars.
WARNING: Mild Spoiler Sauce in this review, and in the trailer below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjoY7foPDgo
Latest trailers showcase the other kaiju seen in the film
It’s hard to believe that five years have passed since Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla roared into theaters. While the deviations from the classic lore were apparent, the heart of the film was still in the right place. It was also a different take that placed Godzilla squarely in the protector role. Something the classic Toho movies rarely did.
Perhaps the biggest issue a die-hard kaiju fan might have with these recent takes on Big G is the removal of the nuclear metaphor that was integral to the monster’s character. Godzilla was created out of the Atomic Bomb tests during World War II. When mankind decided to play god, Nature created Godzilla as a result.
Raymond Burr sums up why Godzilla exists
However, the new lore still works in a different way. Rather than Man creating the Monster, the Monster actually predates Man. It’s not unlike the original Mothra, a creature who exists to protect Earth from other atrocities. And, in a way, puts the “god” in Godzilla.
Fast forward five years. Gareth Edwards bowed out of the sequel to make Rogue One, and screenwriter Michael Dougherty took his place. Thus, an almost entirely new cast was put on display. That, and the highly anticipated addition of other famous Toho monsters, made the film less of a sequel and more like another story in a franchise.
Which brings us to 2019, and the latest entry in Warner Bros. “Monsterverse”, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters.
Only one major character returns from the 2014 film. Ken Watanabe reprises his role as Dr. Serizawa, the scientist who has been studying Godzilla all his life. Sally Hawkins also returns as his assistant. The rest of the cast are all new characters.
The setting is five years after the first film, and Godzilla has remained virtually unseen since. Monarch has tracked and located other “Titans”, who of course are the kaiju we’ve seen in the trailers. When you add in the military who want to destroy these creatures, plus other groups who want to free and/or use them, and it’s easy to see where the story goes from there.
If you’re a fan of classic Godzilla, and other kaiju movies, you will see where a lot of material is inspired from. There are story elements from the original 1954 Gojira, 1964’s Ghidorah, 1968’s Destroy All Monsters, 1991’s Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and 1995’s Godzilla vs. Destroyah. If you’ve seen those films, you’ll get an idea of what you’re in store for.
To say this is the best American made Godzilla film may seem like a punchline at first, given there have only been three made. In the end, G:KoTM is a movie about Giant Monsters. If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get. It was awesome finally seeing justice done to such classic kaiju as King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan. There are still plenty more monsters in Toho’s toybox to pull from, so the best may yet to come.
And in case you’re asking, yes, stay after the credits.
It’s been rumored for the last few weeks, but today it has been confirmed. Variety reports that Robert Pattinson, probably best known from the Twilight films, has been cast as Batman/Bruce Wayne for the oft delayed film The Batman.
Pattinson will take over the role from departing actor Ben Affleck, who himself faced backlash over being cast in Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman film.
Directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman is scheduled for a Summer 2021 release. It is rumored to be the first of a new trilogy of films based on DC Comics’ popular Dark Knight.
We spoke a bit about this casting in the final segment of our last podcast, Episode 234, linked above. We’d love to hear your thoughts. Post them below or on our Facebook and Twitter!
In this episode, which was recorded in 2013, we discuss almost every Godzilla movie ever made. Only the 2014 film and Shin Godzilla are left out, simply because they hadn’t been made yet at the time of recording.
Gojira (1954) Godzilla Raids Again (1955) King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) Ghidorah (1964) Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965) Ebirah, Horror Of The Deep/Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966) Son Of Godzilla (1967) Destroy All Monsters (1968) All Monsters Attach (1969) Godzilla vs. Hedorah/Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster (1971) Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) Terror Of Mechagodzilla (1975) The Return Of Godzilla/Godzilla 1985 (1984) Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993) Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995) Godzilla Millennium/Godzilla 2000 (1999) Godzilla vs. Megaguiras (2000) Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003) Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Thankfully, most of the movies are readily, and legally, available for easy access. Syfy.com as made a list of every Godzilla movie ever made and where you can watch them.
No joke! There is another Rambo movie on the horizon. And it is called Rambo: Last Blood. That is of course a play on the original 1982 film First Blood.
Stallone co-wrote the story, which is said to be the final film in the series. Adrian Grunberg, whose only other directing credit is 2012’s Get The Gringo, will be helming the film. It will be released in September, and will likely carry the franchise’s usual “Hard R” rating.
Last month Disney held an investor’s conference where they unveiled their highly anticipated streaming service, Disney+. The presentation answered a lot of questions about what is in store for subscribers this coming Fall.
Pricing
Disney+
Starting Price will be $6.99 per month and will be ad-free
Annual price of $69.99
Hulu
$5.99 – Basic Plan will have ads
$11.99 – Ad-Free plan
$44.99 – Ad Free with Live TV
Hulu fans have been affectionately dubbed Hulugans
Programming
Between Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, Disney will have three popular but very different streaming services that can be subscribed to individually or in a package.
Disney+
All existing Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars films at launch
Falcon & Winter Soldier Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan confirmed to reprise their roles
WandaVison – Effectively Vision & The Scarlet Witch series
Loki – Tom Hiddleston will reprise as well
The Mandalorian – Created and written by Jon Favreau
Cassian Andor – Pre-Rogue One series
Obi-Wan – Rumored more heavily lately that it will be a a Disney+ series and not a movie.
Deadpool 3 – This would seem to be the most likely possibility.
Miniseries – Since Disney+ will be family friendly, the chances of “Hard R” content, such as the Deadpool movies, are pretty slim. However, Hulu has several TV-M series.
Spider-Man 3 – This might be the most entertaining option, even if the content is toned down for PG-13 content. While some fans question putting a mature audience in a PG-13 movie, there is precedent in the comics for this. Spider-Man and Deadpool already have an ongoing series.
Aladdin’s Opening Weekend
Disney’s latest live action adaption of an animated film opened to the tune of $122 million dollars. Compared to the previous Dumbo, it was more successful. The trend to adapt animated films to live-action will likely continue.
At this time, there is no confirmation of any connections to the trilogies from Rian Johnson or Game Of Thrones creators David Benoiff and Dan Weiss. The first Benoiff & Weiss film will be in December 2022
Pattinson has been no stranger to genre roles. He was rumored to be one of the finalists to replace Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man,
before the part was given to Andrew Garfield. He appeared alongside
current Spider-Man Tom Holland and Emperor Palpatine himself Ian
McDiarmid in The Lost City Of Z.
As we keep saying, actors act for directors, not necessarily for the audience. Similar reactions to Michael Keaton, Heath Ledger, and Ben Affleck have happened before, but their performances impressed audiences.
Looks like Bruce Wayne to me…
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With the Disney/Fox merger complete, fans have been wondering how Fox-owned properties will be incorporated into The MCU. Especially now, in the wake of a Post-Snap Phase Four.
Of course, one of the hottest properties is the Merc With A Mouth, Deadpool.
It has been reported that Ryan Reynolds will keep his job portraying Deadpool/Wade Wilson. Given that Disney would almost assuredly alienate a fanbase if they recast the role, that news is most welcome.
According to MCU Cosmic, Disney is already exploring ways to bring the R-Rated cash cow into continuity. There are three main options:
Deadpool 3
A Series a la Disney+ or Hulu
A co-starring role in Spider-Man 3
Let’s look at these options one at a time
Deadpool 3 – This would seem to be the most likely option. Deadpool already has two wildly successful movies under his belt. Why would they deviate from that platform? Disney owns 20th Century Fox, so can continue to distribute under that name if they choose. Failing that, it could simply be released under the Marvel banner.
Series – There are already several exciting titles that will be debuting on Disney+ when it rolls out in the Fall. At least two Star Wars titles, two Marvel series, and every episode of The Simpsons from their near 30 year run. A Deadpool mini-series certainly could fit in with that company.
Disney has already stated that the Disney+ service will be family friendly, so the chances of “Hard R” content, such as the Deadpool movies, are pretty slim.
The possible solution to this is simple. Disney now also controls Hulu, the second biggest streaming platform in the world. Several of Hulu’s original series (Catch-22, The Act, The Handmaid’s Tail, etc…) all sport a TV-MA rating. They even have an original movie called I’mJust F*cking With You. Deadpool would fit right in with that company.
Spider-Man 3 – This might be the most entertaining option, even if the content is toned down for PG-13 content. While some fans question putting a mature audience in a PG-13 movie, there is precedent in the comics for this. Spider-Man and Deadpool already have an ongoing series.
There is one more option though, albeit not nearly as probable as the previous three. Disney is considering doing a X-Force movie. In the comics, Deadpool is part of that group.
No matter what unfolds, it seems likely that we will be seeing Deadpool in the MCU sooner rather than later.
It has long been speculated, but now there appears to be some truth to the news that Disney and LucasFilm are developing a Knights Of The Old Republic feature film. Buzzfeed reports that Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar, Terminator: Genisys) has been hired to write the screenplay based on the popular 2003 Star Wars video game.
There has been no confirmation from LucasFilm regarding a KOTOR movie, or Kalorgridis’s involvement. Nor has there been any reported connection to the Star Wars movie trilogy in development by Game Of Thrones showrunners David Benoiff and Dan Weiss. The first film of that series is due in December 2022.
Rian Johnson, writer and director of The Last Jedi, also has been tied to a future trilogy, but no release date has been given.
LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy recently told The Hollywood Reporter that she will be meeting with Benoiff, Weiss, and Johnson about where the franchise will go in the future.
The final film of the Skywalker Saga, The Rise Of Skywalker, is due December 2019.
After a long two year hiatus, Examining The Doctor is returning to the Geekville Radio airwaves. Join Mark and Seth as they hop back into their TARDISes to talk about every incarnation of everybody’s favorite Time Lord, The Doctor. Listen along as they give episode commendatry to all time favorite, and not so favorite, Doctor Who stories.
From William Hartnell to Jodie Whittaker, Examining The Doctor is there for Classic and Current Doctor Who fans alike.
To kick off Season Two, Examining The Doctor looks at the long lost, but recently released, Tom Baker story Shada from 1979.
The next story to be discussed on Examining The Doctor, 1979’s “Shada”
Unless you’ve been living in The Negative Zone for the last few weeks, you’ve heard dozens of fan theories regarding how Avengers: Endgame concluded the way it did, with some major players seemingly written out of The MCU. One of the most popular theories regards the fate of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America.
In the film’s epilogue, Cap sets out to return all the Infinity Stones and Mjolnir (Thor’s famous hammer) to their proper places in the timeline. However, when he’s done, Cap doesn’t return home like originally planned. He decides to return to post-WWII New York and spend the rest of his life with his first love, Peggy Carter.
We learned in Captain America: Winter Soldier that Peggy Carter did marry and have children after WWII. She said that Cap saved her future husband during the events of the first film, but her husband was never named nor shown.
So that begs the question: Who was Mr. Peggy Carter after all?
What many fans have proposed is that Peggy’s future husband was none other than Steve Rogers himself! After accomplishing his tasks and returning home, Steve Rogers simply lived a sheltered life, while his wife went on to become a founding member of SHIELD. After all, he knows the world is in good hands for the next 80 years. Plus, it puts closure on Cap’s story for the past decade.
Fortunately, Avengers: Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have stepped up to give fans the real story when asked by The Hollywood Reporter and their readers.
It was always our intention that he was the father of those two children. But again, there are time travel loopholes for that
-Stephen McFeely via Hollywood Reporter
That does seem to confirm the theory of Peggy and Steve getting their happy ending.
So which is it? Could there be such a creative difference between story writers and storytellers? Did Steve Rogers live out the rest of his life with Peggy? Or could this just be fanning the fanboy flames to keep discussion going about whether Back To The Future was right or not?
