I was lucky enough to attend the Batman V Superman press screening last night. Is it as bad as the critics would have you believe? Check out the video below to find out.
It features an appearance from Alex Zane, Zack Snyder, and the man of steel himself-Henry Cavill.
Drawn from Ben Aaronovitch’s novel Rivers of London, this serialised comic is co-written by Andrew Cartmel, who was Aaronovitch’s script editor on the Doctor Who television series.
Chapter one, page one we’re sat in a van with a trio conversing urgently in Russian. Balaclavas are pulled on, shotguns grabbed and then it’s out into a London morning for a meeting with The Night Witch.
Issue 1 is rich in the back story, much of it set in Russia. Politics and power, money and migrants and military women practising the Old Religion.
Varvara Sidorovna is doing time at HM Prison Holloway but her army past is causing trouble in her London present. This hasn’t escaped the attention of police constable Peter Grant, who spots the mysterious Faceless Man behind recent events just as the Russians have turned their attention to him as well.
Artist Lee Sullivan is also no stranger to the Doctor Who franchise. Here he shows his talent for pushing a lot of character out of the faces in his panels without resorting to outlandish facial features. He’s got a good exchange going with his colourist, Luis Guerrero; a reflective laptop screen and the ‘golden hour’ before dusk come to mind particularly.
During one flashback, an actual Russian stock certificate fills the page behind the panels, bringing a sense of high-def to the necessarily bold shapes of comic art. The technique was a good choice here; the last time I was so delighted by it was long ago in an adaptation of The Vampire Lestat.
The trickiest part of the read was that the visual focus of issue 1 is relatively even; main story and back story are interlaced but the transitions between the two aren’t very marked.
As a newcomer to The Rivers of London, I found the story stood alone quite well but after some research, it seems like this chapter puts PC Grant – the main character – into the background somewhat. Perhaps this is because it’s not the first tale from the novel and it’s only the first bit of the serial.
Night Witch issue 1 is a cracking bit of urban fantasy overall. The pace is good and the international angle contributes to a freshness that no modern tale of London can do without.
So, a strange thing has happened. DC have filled copyright on the name ‘Pennyworth’ as in Alfred Pennyworth, the character played by Sean Pertwee.
The copyright is for “production of live-action, dramatic comedy television series”.
Plot details have yet to be revealed but two things are happening, either Sean Pertwee is getting a spin-off, or this prequel series is getting a prequel series.
Below are the first two posters for Life on the road, the big screen spin-off to The Office. Click on the images to enlarge.
Twelve years ago, David Brent (Ricky Gervais) was a regional manager for a mid-level paper merchants. Now working as a rep selling cleaning (and ladies personal hygiene) products up and down the country, Brent hasn’t given up his dream of becoming a rock star – or more specifically, singer/songwriter for fledgling rock band ‘Foregone Conclusion’. As he assembles a group of mercenary session musicians, a talented sidekick for street cred and an overpriced yet underwhelmed tour manager, he embarks upon a self-financed UK tour coming to a venue near every major city near you.
Life on the road is out on the 19th of August.
#BrentsBack
In which Martyn and Gerrod talk about Raiders of the lost ark live, at The Royal Albert Hall.
For more information on upcoming events at the Roayl Albert Hall click here.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Lawrence Kasdan from a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman.
It was produced by Frank Marshall for Lucasfilm Ltd., with Lucas and Howard Kazanjian as executive producers.
To listen to us review the Indiana Jones saga, click here.
The podcast can be accessed via different places, including Audioboom, Tunein, Miro, Stiticher, Blubrry, Player fm and Itunes.
Twitter:
The Royal Albert Hall-@Royalalberthall
Martyn – @BadWilf
Pete – @BeeblePete
Gerrod – @ingerrodsmind
Email:info@badwilf.com
I’ve been a long-time fan of the Indiana Jones franchise. I remember being transfixed, aged 8-when I saw my first instalment of the Saga (The Last Crusade). Steven Spielberg’s 1981 movie is still as exciting over thirty-years on.
This event was a world first, John Williams full score was performed by the 21st century Orchestra and conducted by their founder, Ludwig Wicki.
I’ll admit, I was sceptical when I first heard about this film/orchestral mash up. Just how would it work? It turns out, tremendously well.
The film played on a suspended screen, above the musicians. The dialogue and effect sounds were intact, with the Orchestra performing the soundtrack live. It wasn’t always successful, the Orchestra did very occasionally drown out some of the dialogue, but to combat this the film played with subtitles.
Not only are these amazing musicians a sight to behold on stage, but the evening provided a phenomenal audio experience too-that no Blu-Ray can possibly live up to. I’ve watched Raiders of the Lost Ark, a thousand times over but this felt like the first time.
My personal highlight of the evening, was by far the Orchestras performance of The Raiders of the Lost Ark theme, for which they received a four minute standing ovation.
What I took away from this event, is just how beautiful and timeless John Williams’ score is. This is an experience I will cherish for a life time.
I highly recommend attending one of these screenings. Click here to find out information about the next one.
Listen to us discuss the event here.
Watch us discuss the event here.
Watch Keanu Reeves destroy targets with an icredible amount of accuracy in this short video, from his training for John Wick:Chapter Two.
When the Sony hack happened in 2014, we learned they were planning to develop a cross-over between Men in Black and Jump Street.
Now, According to Variety, the studio is pressing a head with their plan. James Bobin (The Muppets/The Muppets most wanted) is in negotiations to direct the movie.
Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum will reprise their roles as Jenko and Schmidty. However, we won’t be seeing Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in their roles as Agent Jay and Agent Kay. The plan in to reboot the franchise with a younger cast.
I don’t have any problems with a men in black reboot. But, why cross it over with Jump Street? That just seems like such an odd pairing. Sony own Ghostbusters, surely a Ghostbusters/Men in black cross-over makes more sense? In the comics the men in black investigate all manor of paranormal activity. So the reboot could set that up and have them appear in a ghostbusters movie.
It’s hard to believe that we’re just two short months away from seeing Captain America:Civil War. The thing I’m most excited about seeing in this movie is Tom Holland’s take on Spider-Man. Back in August, the actor posted a video on his instagram account which showed him practising some moves.
Yesterday, he posted a video of himself doing something called a “side summy” it’s pretty impressive.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCabs9msdrS/?taken-by=tomholland2013
We still haven’t seen the new Spider-Man costume, but I assume that’s because both Sony and Marvel are still ironing out the finer points in their contract.
I’m sure Holland will be great in the role, but personally I would have brought Andrew Garfield back. In my version, Peter Parker would now be in his late thirties, retired and married to Mary Jane. Something would have happened that made him put on the famous suit again, I would have then killed Peter Parker off. Given him a heroes send-off, he would have died saving The Avengers. I would have then introduced Miles Morales in the post credit scene and kicked off a new franchise, with a new Spidey.
Ex-Eastenders actress Rakhee Thakrar is rumoured to be the front runner for the new companion in Doctor Who.
