Comicbook Countdown: The Best Comic Book Shows of 2014 Including ARROW, THE FLASH, CONSTANTINE, GOTHAM, S.H.I.E.L.D., and THE WALKING DEAD

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As you may have realized, comic book adaptations currently rule the airwaves.  While the big budgets and the bold headlines go to the major feature films, the small screen has seen quite the uptick in comic series in recent years.  Some, like Fox’s Gotham, NBC’s Constantine, and The CW’s The Flash are enjoying their premieres in 2014, while others like Arrow, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and The Walking Dead are back for yet another round of supernatural storytelling.

Hopefully you’re a fan of this TV transition, otherwise the coming years are going to be rather upsetting for you since this trend shows no sign of slowing down.  But before we’re absolutely drowning in comic book shows, we thought we’d take a look at the current slate of comic book adaptations on TV today, in order to pit them against each other, of course.  Hit the jump to view the rankings.

Rupert Wyatt, Brie Larson and Michael K. Williams Talk THE GAMBLER, Working with Mark Wahlberg, Shooting the Film Like a Western and More

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Mark Wahlberg leads The Gambler as Jim Bennett, a college professor with a nasty gambling addiction who’s got absolutely no problem blowing big bets, failing to pay back his moneylenders and putting his life at risk.  Whether you’re a big bad loan shark, someone looking for a relationship or a close family member, when someone like Jim steps into your life, you turn the other way.  However, that’s not the case in The Gambler.  Jim may be self-destructive to the max, but his relationships in the film are too dynamic for those around him to just write him off, even after he makes a slew of terrible decisions.  The Gambler is very much about a guy who has to win big to pay off his debts, but one of the most fascinating elements of the film is how the supporting characters react to his decisions.

With The Gambler due for a wide release on Christmas Day, I got the chance to chat with director Rupert Wyatt and stars Brie Larson and Michael K. Williams about their experience making the film, shooting it like a Western, their characters’ unique relationships with Jim and more.  Hit the jump to check it all out.

James Gunn Clarifies the Relationship Between the Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers in the MCU

by     Posted 2 hours ago

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When it comes to Marvel movies, every single thing that a filmmaker or actor or producer involved with the MCU says is scrutinized, twisted, and distorted in the name of fandom.  The franchises obviously have a lot of fans, and those fans feel invested, so they’re always looking for a hint or revelation about what’s next.  Recently, Guardians of the Galaxy co-writer/director James Gunn took part in a Q&A in which he was asked about the possibility of the Guardians teaming up with The Avengers in a future Marvel movie.  Before even hearing what he has to say, the answer is, obviously, yes that will happen.  The entire idea of the MCU is that these films take place in the same universe, so obviously characters from Marvel’s hip new franchise will cross paths with the others at some point in the future.

However, Gunn’s comments on the matter were misconstrued as him either confirming a team-up or denying it will ever happen, depending on which report you read.  The filmmaker has now taken to Facebook in a lengthy post trying to clear up the issue once and for all.  Read on after the jump.

Adam’s Top 10 Films of 2014

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2014 has been a good year for film.  While it’s certainly not a 1999 or even a 2012, we’ve been privy to a nice array of storytelling from a variety of different filmmakers.  There may not have been too many movies that I flat-out loved this year, but there were plenty that I liked a whole lot.  And it was also a swell year for studio tentpole pictures as a handful of filmmakers found ways to turn multi-million dollar corporate investments into somewhat personal and slightly subversive pieces of entertainment.  My own Top 10 list runs the gamut from big studio films to very small, contained dramas, but if there’s a throughline that can be drawn across all ten (something I didn’t pick up on until the list was complete, I should add), it’s that they tell stories that feel relevant to the world we live in today.

Check out my full Top 10 of 2014 list after the jump.

Tim Burton Talks BIG EYES, Making Such an Unbelievable True Story Feel Real, Working with Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams, and More

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When you’ve grown up obsessed with films like Beetlejuice, Batman and Edward Scissorhands, it’s only natural to look at a film like Big Eyes and think, that’s an unusual project for Tim Burton to take on.  But he actually had a connection to Margaret Keane’s work prior to making the film.  Plus, just look at her paintings.  They do have a surreal and even somewhat horror-like quality to them, and that’s part of the reason Burton was so drawn to them.

With Big Eyes making its way into theaters for a December 25th limited release, I got the opportunity to sit down with Burton to talk about how Keane’s paintings influenced his own work, making such an unbelievable true story feel real, working with a full cast of actors he’s never worked with before for the first time since making Beetlejuice, and more.  Hit the jump to check it all out.

THE INTERVIEW Is Available to Rent on YouTube, Google Play, and Xbox for $5.99 Starting Today [Updated]

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The number of theaters now willing to show The Interview on Christmas Day is now reportedly over 300, but that’s still a fraction of the initial release that Sony Pictures was planning for the action comedy.  Ever since Sony initially pulled the film, reports have been swirling that the studio is considering a possible VOD release. When the limited theatrical release was first announced, we also learned that Sony had asked the theaters willing to show the film (mostly independents) if they would be fine with Sony also releasing the film on demand at the same time.  The response was overwhelmingly positive, and now word comes that the studio is in talks to make The Interview available to rent on YouTube.  More after the jump.

[Update: And now Sony Pictures has confirmed that The Interview will be available to rent starting today at 10am PT/1pm ET on YouTube Movies, Google Play, and Microsoft's Xbox Video.  Hit the jump for more details and to watch the movie!]

Exclusive A MOST VIOLENT YEAR TV Spot Features SBTRKT and an Intense Jessica Chastain

by     Posted 3 hours ago

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A24 Films has given us an exclusive look at the new A Most Violent Year TV Spot in support of writer/director J.C. Chandor’s (All Is Lost) upcoming crime drama.  It features  a new song from the band SBTRKT as well as more hints at the movie’s icy menace.  The film is set in New York in 1981 and revolves around “an American immigrant (Oscar Isaac) and his wife (Jessica Chastain) trying to expand their business as violence and corruption threaten to destroy all they have built.”  I unfortunately missed my screening of this due to weather so I’m looking forward to plunking down a few bucks to see it next week.  Chandor, Issac and Chastain should make for a pretty great trio.

Check out the new TV Spot for A Most Violent Year after the jump.  The film also stars Alessandro Nivola and Albert Brooks.  A Most Violent Year opens in limited release on December 31st before expanding in January 2015.

Lorraine Toussaint Talks SELMA, Spending Time with the Woman She Plays, Bringing Her Daughter to Set, and More

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Selma is a beautifully designed film that not only hits you emotionally in the gut, but also makes you feel for the humanity that the Civil Rights movement was fighting for.  While Martin Luther King Jr. was just a man, he spoke for and to people willing to defy intimidation, face economic retaliation, and endure arrests and beatings, all in hopes of provoking a transformative confrontation that would give African Americans the basic rights that they so desperately wanted and deserved.  Expertly directed by Ava DuVernay, the film stars David Oyelowo (in an award-worthy performance as Dr. King), Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Oprah Winfrey, Andre Holland, Common, Giovanni Ribisi, Tessa Thompson, Dylan Baker, Alessandro Nivola and Omar Dorsey.

During a roundtable interview at the film’s press day, actress Lorraine Toussaint (who plays key Civil Rights figure Amelia Boynton) talked about the aspects of the woman she portrayed that there just wasn’t time to explore in this film, getting to spend time with the real woman behind the character, going from playing the beacon of darkness on Orange is the New Black to the beacon of light in Selma, what she hopes young people get out of seeing the film, and bringing her daughter with her to the set.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

3 New THE INTERVIEW TV Spots: The Marketing Campaign is Back On!

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Sony may have taken down posters and clips, but now that the December 25th release of The Interview is back on, it’s time to get back to promoting the film.  The Interview won’t get a wide release as originally planned, but it’s being reported that more than 300 theaters have agreed to screen the film even after all of these last minute changes.

After the AMC, Regal, Cinemark, Cineplex and Carmike theater chains all opted out of screening the film, Sony chose to cancel the theatrical release entirely.  However, shortly after President Barack Obama dubbed the decision a big mistake, Sony announced that The Interview will get a limited theatrical release on Christmas Day.  Hit the jump to check out The Interview TV spots.

Johnny Depp’s Shenanigans Continue in New UK Trailer for MORTDECAI

by     Posted 4 hours ago

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A new Stephen Fry-narrated UK trailer for writer/director David Koepp’s (Secret Window) upcoming comedy Mortdecai has been released online.  The film stars Johnny Depp as the roguish Charlie Mortdecai, an art dealer who finds himself in a race to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.  The role and tone of the film is actually quite fitting for Depp, who’s been increasingly hamming it up in front of the camera in recent years (I believe we achieved maximum ham in Tusk).  The ensemble cast is swell and I quite liked Koepp’s last film, Premium Rush, so I’m pretty optimistic about this one.  And if comedy Depp isn’t your thing, we have what’s sure to be a dark, dramatic turn in next year’s Whitey Bulger drama Black Mass to look forward to.

Check out the new Mortdecai trailer after the jump.  The film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Paul Bettany, Olivia Munn, Aubrey Plaza, Oliver Platt, and Jeff GoldblumMortdecai opens in theaters on January 23, 2015.

TAMMY Blu-ray Review

by     Posted 5 hours ago

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After years of toiling away in nameless bit parts like “Sky King Waitress” in Disney’s The Kid (2000) and thankless supporting parts in rom-coms like The Back-Up Plan (2010), Melissa McCarthy finally broke out as a big screen star in Bridesmaids (2011).  Since then, she’s been on a career roll, acting in such box office hits as Identity Thief (2013) with Jason Bateman and The Heat (2013) with Sandra Bullock.  This summer, however, McCarthy set out to test her box office mettle without the help of a big name costar – well, at least not one made obvious in the film’s marketing materials – with Tammy, another middling, low-brow comedy hit.

Common Talks SELMA, How His Spirituality Prepared Him for the Role, Writing a Song for the Film, and More

by     Posted 14 hours ago

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Selma is a beautifully designed film that not only hits you emotionally in the gut, but also makes you feel for the humanity that the Civil Rights movement was fighting for.  While Martin Luther King Jr. was just a man, he spoke for and to people willing to defy intimidation, face economic retaliation, and endure arrests and beatings, all in hopes of provoking a transformative confrontation that would give African Americans the basic rights that they so desperately wanted and deserved.  Expertly directed by Ava DuVernay, the film stars David Oyelowo (in an award-worthy performance as Dr. King), Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Oprah Winfrey, Andre Holland, Common, Giovanni Ribisi, Tessa Thompson, Dylan Baker, Alessandro Nivola and Omar Dorsey.

During a roundtable interview at the film’s press day, Common (who played real-life figure, James Bevel) humbly and appreciatively talked about how Selma is the most inspiring and fulfilling film that he’s ever gotten to be a part of, immersing himself in the real-life person that he portrayed, how his own spirituality prepared him for this role, how he came to write a song for the film, working with someone as committed to the project as David Oyelowo, the selflessness of director Ava DuVernay, the most powerful moment for him during the shoot, and what he hopes young people take away from the film.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

BIG EYES Review

by     Posted 15 hours ago

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It’s such a relief to see Tim Burton direct a real movie again.  2003′s Big Fish was a culmination of the directors’ talent as he blended his fantastical, dreamlike imagery with a heartfelt father-son story that also served as a thoughtful exploration on the power of storytelling.  Since then Burton devolved into a parody of himself to where I will never be able to hear his name without thinking of this video.  After repurposing other tales to suit his whims, Burton has returned to reality and delivered his best movie since Big Fish with Big Eyes.  Although the movie bears none of Burton’s signature flourishes, it’s refreshing to see the director take a step back to focus more on characters and themes, which provides a rewarding exploration of gender roles, authorship, and mass consumption of art.

Find Out Where You Can See THE INTERVIEW on Christmas Day; Plus Sony Re-Releases Final “In Franco & Rogen We Trust” Trailer

by     Posted 16 hours ago

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It’s been a genuinely crazy past couple of weeks, but at long last The Interview is indeed opening in theaters on Christmas Day.  After the five biggest theater chains in the country refused to show the film due to threats from the North Korean hackers, Sony pulled directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s follow-up to last year’s This Is the End from theaters, prompting the President of the United States himself to chime in and say the movie should still be released.  Sony Pictures announced today that they’ve reversed their decision and will open The Interview on Christmas Day in any theater willing to play it, but this puts those major theater chains in an unenviable position in that they’ve already sold tickets to Christmas showings of other films and thus can’t fit The Interview in.

Regardless, smaller theaters are starting to chime in saying they’ll be showing the film, and we’ve got a running list of where you can see The Interview on opening day.  Moreover, Sony has re-released a final trailer for the film that directly addresses the controversy; it was initially pulled shortly after going online. 

THE COLLISION: Episode 115 – THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES and the Sony Hack

by     Posted 17 hours ago

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This week on The Collision, we have a super-sized episode as we talk about The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies as well as the Sony hack and the resulting drama surrounding how they handled The Interview.  With The Hobbit, we look over the trilogy’s conclusion, the trilogy overall, dashed expectations, what happened to Peter Jackson, what could have been, and more.  As for the Sony hack, it should be noted that we discussed this last night, so we didn’t know about the latest development regarding the film’s release.  However, we still touch on pertinent points regarding censorship and how Hollywood might handle future cyber attacks.  As always, we finish up with our recommendations.

Click here to listen to the new episode of The Collision, click here for the previous episode (“Exodus: Gods and Kings and Ridley Scott“), click here to add the podcast to your RSS, and click here to find us on iTunes. To keep up to date with The Collision, you can follow us on Twitter at @MattGoldberg and @AdamChitwood.

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