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When it comes to comics you don’t get many names that can be recognized as quickly as Todd McFarlane. The man who gave us Spawn and brought us action figures we’d never thought we’d see has become a legend in the world of comics. Another familiar name in the comic realm is that of actor/writer/producer David Dastmalchian, a monster kid and comic fan who is quickly becoming a go-to for comic writing and creating in his own right. Hot on the heels of his success with Count Crowley and the recent announcement he would be taking over on Creature Commandos for DC (as well as helming the DC Halloween Special) Dastmalchian has penned another new series filled with the fantastical and fanged with Knights Vs Samurai.

The title is accurate with the story taking place in an alternate historical timeline where monsters exist and mankind...

Stars: Fiona Dorn, Eric Roberts, Gina Vitori, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Sunny Tellone | Written by Jacob David Smith | Directed by Michael Su

Long before Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, The Asylum was updating and repurposing myths and fairy tales into films like The 7 Adventures of Sinbad, 3 Musketeers, Avengers Grimm and the absolutely bizarre King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Here, they’ve taken the legend of Snow White and thrown in a name check of Kurosawa’s classic Seven Samurai to give us Snow White and the Seven Samurai.

Anya Voight wants her father to consider a change of careers. Considering he’s one of the biggest cocaine kingpins in the country, that’s not an easy thing to do. But she’s adamant, not only is it dangerous, but because of what he does, people keep calling her Snow White.

Their heart-to-heart chat is interrupted by a hooded assassin,...

Young Hag and the Witches Quest

By Isabel Greenberg

272 pages/Amulet Books/$24.99

The Arthurian legends wax and wane through the years and 2024 is shaping up to be a year of revival. Specifically, on Tuesday, Lev Grossman’s new novel The Bright Sword, will tell of the days after Camelot fell. It follows the May release of this charming and witty graphic novel, also set in the years after Arthur.

The legend has morphed and changed and been retconned since the first stories were set in print. Some know the tales first from Disney’s 1963 Sword in the Stone and Theodore White’s Once and Future King. Others know it from the BBC young adult series Merlin or, more likely, Monty Python and the Holy Grail or its Broadway adaptation Spamalot. As a result, conflicting details have emerged giving contemporary writers license to be freewheeling with the various sources of material.

Credit: Carlos Rodriguez/Lionsgate Just to be perfectly clear, the new film Arthur the King has nothing to do with Camelot or the Knights of the Round Table. But it was still a story that resonated with its star (and producer), Mark Wahlberg. In the film, he portrays the captain of an adventure racing team who picks up a new member along his journey — a stray dog named Arthur. So, as someone who’s a rabid sports fan and an animal lover, Wahlberg said the role felt totally natural to him. (Click on the media bar below to hear Mark Wahlberg) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Mark_Wahlberg_-Arthur_The_King_.mp3

Arthur the King opens in theaters on March 15.

The post Mark Wahlberg Fit Naturally In His ‘King’-Sized Role appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

Team Folon, the developer of the most ambitious and upcoming expansion for Bethesda’s Fallout 4 called Fallout: London, has announced that Baldur’s Gate 3‘s award-winning voice actor Neil Newbon has joined the cast of the mod and will be playing an announced role.

The expansion was announced back in 2021 and has been a hot topic in the game community. The expansion is fast approaching its release, and Neil Newbon’s reveal of joining the cast has everyone buzzing about the expansion and what it could have in store for the fans.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Actor Neil Newbon Joins Fallout: London

Baldur’s Gate 3 actor Neil Newbon joins the cast of Fallout 4 mod.

Developer Team Folon released its latest update video detailing Fallout: London‘s progress as it nears its release date of April 23, 2024. The video showed some gameplay footage and also revealed the voice actors who will appear in the game,...

"'Tis but a scratch!" Iconic Events Releasing & Mercury Studios have announced a small event in December bringing the comedy classic Monty Python and The Holy Grail back to theaters. In celebration of the film's 48 & 1/2th anniversary, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table will return to theaters for one night only two nights only! At least in 2023. Maybe there will be more nights again sometime in the future. This cinematic event kicks off in over 500 theatre locations nationwide on Sunday, December 3rd with encore screenings beginning on Wednesday, December 6th. Select locations will also be offering a fun "Quote-a-Long" version of the film for audiences to experience the joy in sharing together, as you quote your favorite lines with the characters. The film originally opened in the UK in 1975, with a small US release back then, plus another re-release 26 years later in the summer of 2001. Gather ye' friends & get ye' tickets.

Monty Python’s Spamalot is heading back to Broadway this fall. The revival, which follows a sold-out run at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., begins previews Tuesday, October 31, at the St. James Theatre, with an official opening night of November 16.

“I’m thrilled to see Spamalot back on Broadway,” said Eric Idle, who wrote the show’s book and lyrics and co-wrote the music with John Du Prez, in a statement. “More than ever, it seems we need a good laugh and it’s inspiring to see audiences still embracing this, the most happy of shows I have ever worked on. So put the News Cycle on Rinse Cycle and take a couple of hours to relax with the Lady of the Lake, King Arthur and the Knights Who Say Ni because we’re not dead yet!”

The show will mark the first production from the Kennedy Center...

London, May 22 (Ians) Ray Stevenson, the Irish actor who played the evil and authoritarian governor of Delhi in S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘Rrr’, passed away on Sunday, reports ‘Variety’. He was 58.

No information on or the cause of the death was available. Though well-known in India for his ‘Rrr’ role opposite ‘Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade’ actress and Bond girl Alison Doody, Stevenson will be remembered for playing Volstagg in Marvel’s ‘Thor’ franchise.

Stevenson, according to ‘Variety’, began his career appearing on TV shows in the 1990s and then began landing action roles in Hollywood films starting in the 2000s.

His first major film role came in Antoine Fuqua’s 2004 adventure movie ‘King Arthur’, where he played Dagonet, one of the Knights of the Round Table. In the film, his character sacrifices himself in battle to help Arthur (Clive Owen) and his brotherhood of warriors, says ‘Variety’

In...

Not many actors could claim they had played multiple Marvel characters and Star Wars characters in addition to famous historical figures and the villain in one of the biggest Tollywood hits of all time, but Ray Stevenson was one of them. As first reported by Italian news outlets and later confirmed by The Wrap and Variety, the actor died today at the age of 58. Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, Stevenson began acting in film and TV in the '90s. He would go on to become a bigger name thanks to his roles as Titus Pullo in the HBO series "Rome" and as Dagonet, one of Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, in Antoine Fuqua's 2004 period action-adventure movie "King Arthur."

As someone with a knack for playing hard-edged fighters and antiheroes, Stevenson was a natural fit to portray the Marvel comic book vigilante Frank Castle in Lexi Alexander's...

Welcome Villain Films’ Malum: Available On Demand and Digital - Tuesday, May 16: "Welcome Villain Films' invites you to #FeedTheDemon when Malum releases On Demand and Digital tomorrow - May 16, 2023."

Malum will be available 5/16 on the following platforms:

iTunes Amazon Video Vudu Google Play

"Malum is a bold and expanded reimagining of the 2014 horror cult classic, Last Shift. On a search to uncover the mysterious circumstances surrounding her father’s death, a newly appointed police officer, Jessica Loren (Jessica Sula) is assigned to the last shift in a decommissioned police station where a notoriously vicious cult saw their demise years prior. The lone officer at the station, she soon finds herself barraged by terrifying paranormal events, and in the process, is taken on a journey during which she learns the shocking truth behind her family’s entanglement with a demented cult leader. Malum takes the premise of the 2014 festival...

Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s Camelot never achieved the status of their My Fair Lady. But the 1960 musical about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, long cherished for its lush score and evergreen songs, attained a kind of mythic status, becoming a potent symbol of a certain political moment in our national history. Shortly after the assassination of J.F.K. in 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy told a reporter that her husband was a big fan of the romantic and idealistic musical and suggested, quoting a lyric from the title song, that the Kennedy era was, like Camelot itself, a “brief shining moment” that must never be forgotten.

I recently spoke with Bartlett Sher, director of the new Lincoln Center Theater revival of Camelot, currently at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Sher previously helmed a string of deluxe musical revivals at the same theater over the past 15 years:...

It’s been observed that to create, you must first destroy. There’s truth in this axiom, although at least in the case of Hollywood it’s worth a partial amendment. First, you must understand what it is you are destroying to make way for something new. Take the poems and tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: As centuries old IP, these stories have been adapted countless times, including recently—and often by filmmakers with no greater concern for their appeal than the public domain title they’ve decided to exploit.

Well, the team writer-director David Lowery assembled for his and A24’s The Green Knight understand Sir Gawain intimately. It’s there in the first scene when the alliterative prose from the 14th century poem is quoted near verbatim. And yet, by juxtaposing these words next to...

The writers behind Lucasfilm’s new publishing initiative Star Wars: The High Republic have announced that the narrative, taking place 200 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga, will give us a fresh understanding of the living Force.

A lot of people have argued over the years that the galaxy far, far away belongs in the science fantasy genre as opposed to science fiction, mainly due to the concept of the Force, which is a magical and mysterious entity that bestows the Jedi with their unique abilities. As Ben Kenobi explained in the Original Trilogy: “The Force is what gives a Jedi his powers. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.”

But beyond that philosophy, George Lucas tried to give this more depth by introducing the concept of Midi-chlorians in the prequels. Though the idea demystified...

“There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it, anything more than a whisper and it would vanish.” These were the words spoken by Richard Harris at his most regal in Gladiator, adding some blockbuster poeticism to the democratic ideals of the Roman republic—a dream lost long before Gladiator begins. But he could just as easily be speaking about the beauty and grandeur of the historical epics which inspired Gladiator .

Decades before Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott reawakened that whisper to a mighty roar, historical war epics, from swords and sandals beefcake cinema to Napoleonic and Revolutionary melodramas, were the order of the day in Hollywood. Kirk Douglas’ Spartacus and Charlton Heston’s Ben-Hur were the superheroes of the early ‘60s, before the genre’s popularity receded to camp TV miniseries ignominy. Then came Gladiator (and to a lesser extent Braveheart five years earlier), and...

Netflix’s foray into the fantasy genre didn’t stop with The Witcher and the streaming juggernaut decided to continue riding on this popular obsession with Cursed, a new live-action series based on the Arthurian legend.

You’ve obviously heard of King Arthur and his heroic deeds in the quest to unite the land of Albion. You’ve definitely seen Merlin in many adaptations on the small screen or theaters, too. And you’ve probably lived through the story of the Knights of the Round Table countless times. Netflix’s new fantasy show narrates the legend in a different light though than anything you’ve known thus far.

Cursed is the story of Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, in a quest to find Merlin and deliver Excalibur. Only this time, she’s the one true hero of ancient Britain instead of Arthur. Over the course of the first season,...

The live-action fantasy feature "Arthur and Merlin: Knights of Camelot", is written and directed by Giles Alderson, starring Richard Brake, Richard Short and Joe Egan:

"...an older 'King Arthur' returns home after fighting the 'Roman Empire'. His illegitimate son has corrupted the throne of 'Camelot'. Now Arthur must reunite with the wizard 'Merlin' and the 'Knights of the Round Table' to fight to get back his crown..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Arthur and Merlin: Knights of Camelot"...

The new Star Wars: The High Republic publishing initiative takes us back 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace and engulfs the galaxy in yet another big disaster.

It seems that the world of that galaxy far, far away can’t possibly catch a break from all-out conflicts and catastrophes. Even within the Skywalker Saga, the people of the Core Worlds and Outer Rim have never been able to find a moment of peace. And if the first chapter of Light of the Jedi is any indication, the High Republic won’t prove to be an exception to the rule. Lucasfilm recently released the snippet as a teaser for the book and this era, and it already sets a grim tone for what’s to come.

Taking place 200 years before the start of the Clone Wars, this new narrative starts by showing the Galactic Senate and the Jedi Order...

Exclusive: Ahead of this month’s Cannes virtual Marche, Clay Epstein’s Film Mode Entertainment has added to its sales slate and will be hosting the market premieres of two titles.

New on the slate is the horror-thriller pic Broil, which stars Timothy V. Murphy (Sons Of Anarchy), Jonathan Lipnicki (Jerry Maguire), Avery Konrad (Sacred Lies) and Lochlyn Munro (Scary Movie). Pic follows a defiant teen approaching her 18th birthday who is sent to live with her rich and highly controlling grandfather after she is involved in a violent incident at her school. Secluded at his opulent mansion, her suspicions about her strange family quickly grow and she begins to question the source of her family’s immense wealth and power.

Edward Drake directed and Corey Large produced. Film Mode has acquired world rights outside of North America, where Well Go USA will distribute.

The company will also be hosting...

"Your duty is to each other. And remember who we are: more then men, we are knights." Signature Ent. in the UK has debuted an official trailer for yet another King Arthur movie, this one titled Arthur & Merlin: Knights of Camelot. The British just love telling and retelling this story, they can't help it. A much older King Arthur returns home after fighting the Roman Empire. His illegitimate son has corrupted the throne of Camelot. Now King Arthur must reunite with the wizard Merlin and also the Knights of the Round Table and fight to get back his crown. Starring Richard Brake as Merlin, Richard Short as Arthur, Stella Stocker as Guinevere, plus Joe Egan, Ronan Summers, Olivia Bernstone, Emily Haigh, Tim Fellingham, and Stefan Boehm. This King Arthur movie looks exactly like every other one, rehashing the same themes and sword-against-sword fights we've seen so many times before.

Van Johnson steps into adventure-guy shoes more suitable for Humphrey Bogart in this European-shot thriller. Daring Martine Carol provides the sex appeal as the mystery dame who entices Johnson to smuggle a man out of Red Albania. The movie is practically a proto- James Bond film: it’s directed by Terence Young, includes Sean Connery and Anthony Dawson in the cast list, and features a fight in a gypsy camp. But Herbert Lom steals the show from them all as a monocle-wearing, oversexed gypsy bandit who can’t abide Commies. Oh, and the disc has special treat in store for discerning, high-toned art-movie intellectuals: this is the film’s hotter Continental version.

Action of the Tiger

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1957 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 93 min. / Street Date April 14, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Van Johnson, Martine Carol, Herbert Lom, Gustavo Rojo, José Nieto, Helen Haye, Anna Gerber, Anthony Dawson, Sean Connery,...

Star Wars: The High Republic will be the next step in expanding the narrative of a galaxy far, far away with a new line of novels and comic series, but which familiar names can we expect to see in the glorious days of the Galactic Republic?

Well, up to this point, we’ve learned that Lucasfilm intends to go back in time and explore the events that transpired 200 years before the Skywalker Saga. In this period, known as the High Republic era, the Jedi are at the height of their power and keep peace and justice in the galaxy. To oppose them, the new group of writers at the Skywalker Ranch came up with a group of elite bandits called the Nihil. With that name, your mind might quickly race to Darth Nihilus and the age of the Old Republic, but the answer as to who is ultimately pulling the strings is simpler than that.

After months of rumors, Star Wars‘ next big project has been officially unveiled. The High Republic will be set 200 years before The Phantom Menace, during a more chaotic, lawless time for the galaxy. Much of the galaxy is still uncharted, though the Jedi are already well-established and have formed a kind of Knights of the Round Table to keep the peace. It seems that the over-arching plotline will be their conflict with the Nihil, who’ve been described as “space Vikings.” Neat.

The big reveal included a trailer showing the creative thinking behind the new setting, as well as the inaugural first phase of comics and novels setting things up. The first release will be Charles Soule’s Light of the Jedi, which hits shelves on August 25th. The cover art for the book shows off the look of this era’s Jedi and fans were quick to spot that...

In case you’d forgotten, and a lot of people have, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was a thing that happened. Guy Ritchie’s fantasy-tinged historical actioner was originally set to launch an entire Knights of the Round Table cinematic universe, back in the days when seemingly every studio attempted to rush a shared mythology to the screen as soon as possible in an effort to piggyback off the McU’s success. But unfortunately, King Arthur found himself on the scrapheap at the first hurdle alongside Universal’s Dark Universe.

The $175 million blockbuster ended up as the biggest box office bomb of 2017, and one of the costliest flops ever made, after earning less than $150 million globally, with reports estimating that the failure of Legend of the Sword ended up losing Warner Bros. over $150 million. In an interview to promote The Gentlemen, his latest team up with director Ritchie, star...

Tony Sokol Dec 30, 2019

Neil Innes played with the Rutles, wrote for Monty Python and performed in the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour.

"I have suffered for my music," Neil Innes admitted on the British comedy series Rutland Weekend Television. "Now it's your turn." The renowned comedian and musician, who played the John Lennon role in The Beatles spoof band The Rutles and collaborated with the Monty Python Flying Circus, died unexpectedly on Sunday night at age 75, according to his official website. A spokesman for the Innes family said the artist had not been ill.

“It is with deep sorrow and great sadness that we have to announce the death of Neil James Innes on December 29, 2019," his family wrote in a statement. “We have lost a beautiful, kind, gentle soul whose music and songs touched the heart of everyone and whose intellect and search for truth inspired us all. He died of...

Neil Innes — the British comedy songwriter who worked with Monty Python and played in the Beatles parody group the Rutles — died Monday, the BBC reports. He was 75.

Innes’ family confirmed his death in a statement, saying, “We have lost a beautiful, kind, gentle soul whose music and songs touched the heart of everyone and whose intellect and search for truth inspired us all. He died of natural causes quickly without warning and, I think, without pain. His wife Yvonne and their three sons, Miles, Luke and Barney, and three grandchildren,...

Neil Innes, the British comedian and musician, has died. He was 75. Innes is best known for collaborating with comedy troupe Monty Python, for whom he wrote a number of original songs, as well as playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and the Rutles.

Innes’ agent Nigel Morton confirmed the news to Sky News and said that his death was unexpected and that he had not been ill.

Innes wrote a number of songs for Monty Python and the Holy Grail including “Knights of the Round Table” and “Brave Sir Robin,” singing the latter opposite Eric Idle. He also appeared in the film as a head-bashing monk, a peasant and the serf crushed by a giant wooden rabbit. He also briefly appeared in Monty Python’s Life of Brian.

Born on December 9, 1944 in Danbury, Essex, England, Innes wrote for and appeared on Monty Python’s Flying Circus and performed in the...

Aaron Potter Jan 8, 2020

We'd love to see these PlayStation-exclusive franchises back in the spotlight...

In the last seven years, the PlayStation 4 has cultivated an impressive library of quality titles that simply can’t be experienced anywhere else. Moreover, just when it looks like we’ve had our fill with the likes of Horizon Zero Dawn, Bloodborne, and Until Dawn all releasing to critical and commercial acclaim, a nice surprise like Marvel’s Spider-Man will swing on over to reinvent how people think of open-world superhero games forever.

Yes, PlayStation has continued to champion quality over quantity with its many first-party exclusives this generation, but nobody can deny that there have been a few franchise casualties along the way. Let's take a stroll down memory lane, then, and decide which PlayStation exclusives deserve to make comebacks.

From 19th-century werewolf hunters to alternate-history space aliens, we’re holding out hope that these...

It was no ordinary Monday for the royal family this week. They gathered at Windsor castle for the Order of the Garter Service. The annual service that brings the whole family together wearing their plushest velvet robes and over-the-top plumage.

The Order of the Garter is the oldest order of chivalry dating back to 1348. It was King Edward III who was inspired by "tales of King Arthur and the chivalry of the Knights of the Round Table to set up his own group of honorable knights." Today, the order was led by the Queen Elizabeth II, who is Sovereign of the Garter. All of her children are Knights of the Garter, and although it used to be reserved for just aristocracy, now both mena and women from different backgrounds are chosen in recognition of their public service. This year, she was joined by Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Charles and Camilla,...

It seems like the British royals are always arriving at one ceremonial event or another. Every June, though, there's one particularly important ceremony that has a rich, centuries-long tradition behind it. If you've never heard of Garter Day, here's what to know.

Garter Day is the day each year when members of the Order of the Garter gather at Windsor Castle for an annual meeting. In years where new members are being brought into the order, this day also marks the occasion of their official investiture ceremony. It is a very formal occasion, at which the members of the Order wear their elaborate ceremonial robes and insignia. Spouses of the Knight Companions and Lady Companions are in attendance at Garter Day as well. According to the official royal website, the day follows a set order of business.

"The day begins with The Queen formally investing any new Companions with the...

“I don’t want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!”

Monty Python And The Holy Grail Midnights This Weekend (May 24th and 25th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of the Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight Series

“We’re knights of the Round Table, we dance whene’er we’re able. We do routines and chorus scenes with footwork impec-cable, We dine well here in Camelot, we eat ham and jam and Spam a lot.” This toe-tapping, musical interlude is just one example of the genius that is found in Monty Python And The Holy Grail. It’s the medieval send-up of Arthur “King of the Britons,” along with his Knights of the Round Table, quest for the Holy Grail. All the knights run into various...

Earlier this week was George A. Romero's birthday, and if you found yourself reflecting on the legendary director's essential filmography, insightful social commentary, and unique approach to horror and humor, you're not alone. To celebrate the life and work of Romero, the Brooklyn Academy of Music is hosting an extensive, 10-day retrospective screening series titled Living with the Dead: The Films of George A. Romero.

Featuring all six of Romero's zombie movies (including a 3D screening of Dawn of the Dead) as well as the cult favorite Martin and lesser-seen films such as Season of the Witch and There's Always Vanilla, Living with the Dead: The Films of George A. Romero will take place from February 22nd–March 3rd and will include an appearance by producer Richard P. Rubinstein, who will discuss his collaborations with Romero.

For more information, we have the official press release with full details, and you can also visit Bam.

On Monday, March 4 at 630pm the medieval court of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table will come to life on the stage of the Vivian Beaumont Theater when Lin-Manuel Miranda stars as King Arthur in Lerner amp Loewe's Camelot, directed by Bartlett Sher, for a one-night-only concert event to benefit Lincoln Center Theater. He will be joined by Solea Pfeiffer as Guenevere, Jordan Donica as Sir Lancelot, Dakin Matthews as Merlyn, Ruthie Ann Miles as Nimue, Ethan Slater as Mordred, Julie White as Morgan Le Fey, and Jenn Colella, Jason Danieley, and Bonnie Milligan as three of the Knights of the Round Table. Andy amp Betsy Kenny Lack, Brooke amp Daniel Neidich, and Caryn Zucker are the Benefit Co-Chairs. Proceeds from the evening will support Lincoln Center Theater's productions and education programs.

On Monday, March 4 at 630pm the medieval court of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table will come to life on the stage of the Vivian Beaumont Theater when Lin-Manuel Miranda stars as King Arthur in Lerner amp Loewe's Camelot, directed by Bartlett Sher, for a one-night-only concert event to benefit Lincoln Center Theater. He will be joined by Solea Pfeiffer as Guenevere, Jordan Donica as Sir Lancelot, Dakin Matthews as Merlyn, Ruthie Ann Miles as Nimue, Ethan Slater as Mordred, Julie White as Morgan Le Fey, and Jenn Colella, Jason Danieley, and Bonnie Milligan as three of the Knights of the Round Table. Andy amp Betsy Kenny Lack, Brooke amp Daniel Neidich, and Caryn Zucker are the Benefit Co-Chairs. Proceeds from the evening will support Lincoln Center Theater's productions and education programs.

Let’s say you’re a kid, growing up in England’s middle-class suburbs circa right now. You’re not popular — in fact, it’s safe to say that most of your fellow students would characterize you as a dork, a geek, possibly a dweeb … and that’s if they’re being polite. But you’re smart, and you’ll stand up to the schoolyard pricks if they pick on your best friend — he’s chubby and equally as unpopular as you — even if that means risking public humiliation and a potential beating.

A likable enough, Amblin-esque update to the classic Arthurian legend, “The Kid Who Would Be King” is hardly the first time a group of adolescents have saved England from supernatural harm in a Joe Cornish movie. That said, much of the attitude and originality that drew fans to the irreverent writer-director’s inner-city alien-invasion debut, “Attack the Block” — wherein underdog heroes faced off against fluorescent-fanged beasties from outer space — has gone missing from his eight-years-later second feature, which skews considerably younger and safer than that 2011 cult favorite.

Maybe that’s because the kid in question is bland 12-year-old Alex (Louis Ashbourne Serkis). Polite, white, and thoroughly unexceptional, Alex comes across as an average student in most respects, proving that chivalry is not dead by intervening when best friend Bedders (Dean Chaumoo) is hassled by classmates Kaye (Rhianna Dorris) and Lance (Tom Taylor), two bullies who would no doubt have...

Ol’ Matt McConaughey gets caught up in a bizarre love triangle involving a fishing boat, Keanu Reeves is a scientist tampering with dark forces beyond mortal control, there’s a new blockbuster based on a popular recreational past time — it can only mean one thing. It’s January at the movies, people! Studios tend to treat the first month of the year as a lull in which they can dispose of their least-profitable properties, and this time-honored tradition is surely still in effect in 2019. But a few pleasant surprises often lurk in this no-man’s-land,...

Jim Dandy Dec 14, 2018

Crisis on Infinite Earths has been confirmed as the 2019 Arrowverse crossover. Here's what we think will happen.

This article contains Elseworlds spoilers and Crisis on Infinite Earths spoilers.

The end of the annual Arrowverse crossover, Elseworlds, lit a fire under DC fans. Crisis on Infinite Earths, one of the most important superhero comics of all time, has officially been announced as the subject of the 2019 Arrowverse crossover. But what does that mean for our favorite heroes? And what does it mean for the CW’s lineup of shows? Well, we’ve been thinking about it since the title card flashed at the end of Supergirl, and we have some ideas.

Here are five things we expect from the Arrowverse Crisis on Infinite Earths...

The Anti-Monitor

You can’t have Crisis on Infinite Earths and not have the biggest villain from the comic in there. “Elseworlds” gave us Mar Novu,...

If you thought there was a whole lot of pomp and ceremony at Trooping the Colour, wait until you see the royal family all dressed up for the Garter Day Ceremony. The annual ceremony involves a parade at Windsor Castle, where members of the order wear velvet robes, golden insignia, and plumed hats, led by the queen (whose long velvet cloak is held up by two boys - remind you of anything?).

The Order of the Garter dates back to the time of King Edward III, who was inspired by tales of King Arthur and the chivalry of the Knights of the Round Table to set up his own group of honorable knights. The order is the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry in Britain, and though it has its roots in the aristocracy, new knights are now given the honor in recognition for their public service and include...

"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail.

Back in August, I wrote about two dramatically different ways of portraying Arthurian Legend on screen. To recap: the bright silliness of Knights of the Round Table (1953) looks like psychedelic compared to the bland grit of King Arthur (2004) and the gruff, imperial fantasia of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017). But even these at least share a mild interest in engaging with English historical design. Camelot (1967), on the other hand, is a flighty fantasy of utter nonsense.

Of course, this is why it’s such a delight to watch. It’s a furry, oversexed epic that sends its glamorous cast out into magical forests to sing Lerner and Loewe songs at the top of their extravagantly-adorned lungs. The film won Oscars for production designer John Truscott,...

The Transformers mythology is an eons-long inter-galactic tale that is rich in its own history. We have the rise of intelligent techno-organic lifeforms, a split between rival points of view, and a struggle for supremacy. All along the way, for reasons that are never spelled out in their history, Earth has been of particular interest to the Autobots and Decepticons.

That much has powered countless comics, animated episodes, and four live-action feature films. Rather than marvel at the wonders of the cosmos or reveal to us why the planet is important, the fifth installment, The Last Knight, retrofit the Knights of the Round Table to an already convoluted and, frankly, boring film series. This film, out now on disc from Paramount Home Entertainment, more or less retreads the first four films, mixing returning humans and Transformers and adding in a few new figures to freshen things, and yet, no one cares.

"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail.

King Arthur, the character, is listed by IMDb as appearing in 149 films and TV shows. That’s more than Dracula. I’m not going to go through all of them, obviously. But circumstance has given me a good excuse to compare two examples: Knights of the Round Table (1953) and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017). The latter just came out on Blu-ray. The former will serve as a bit of a tribute to Mel Ferrer, whose centennial was this past Friday.

The most obvious difference is between Ferrer’s version of Arthur, noble and even a bit meek, and the ever-hulking Charlie Hunnam. But this isn’t a physique column. Instead, I want to take a brief look at how Hollywood’s presentation of the loosely defined Arthurian Age has changed.

Uh-oh, Dwight! Decisions need to be made in Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead #169, and in today's Comics Corner, we also take a look at Predator: Hunters #3, Seven to Eternity #7, Unholy Grail #1, Lady Mechanika: Clockwork Assassin #1, Redneck #3, Sacred Creatures #1, and our special Fast Forward section focuses on B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know #2.

The Walking Dead #169: "New Story Arc “Lines We Cross” It is time for Dwight to step up.

Story: Robert Kirkman

Art: Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn, Stefano Gaudiano

Cover: Charlie Adlard, Dave Stewart

Published: July 5, 2017

Diamond ID: MAY170730

Digital : $2.99

Print: $2.99."

To see what happens, visit:

https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/the-walking-dead-169

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Predator: Hunters #3: "Contact! The assault team encounters the Predator at night on the tropical island! First blood goes to the alien hunter, but ten-to-one odds and machine guns favor the humans... unless there's something about their quarry they don't know!

By David Kozlowski | 30 June 2017

Welcome to Issue #2 of The Lrm Weekend, a weekly column highlighting cool and unique videos about film, TV, comics, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, animation, and anime. We also want to hear from you, our awesome Lrm community! Share your favorite videos to: @LRM_Weekend and we'll post your Tweets below!

Last Issue: 6.23.17

Why do we love superheroes, martial arts, fantasy, and sci-fi? The big fight scenes, of course. Every week we'll bring you an epic brawl from the recent or distant past -- we want to hear from you, share your favorite fights with us!

Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris in Way of the Dragon (1972) Bonus: Chuck Norris Talks About Bruce Lee

The original movie poster from 1972!

What Is It?

If we're going to have a serious, weekly conversation about proper fight scenes, we have to go back to the source...The martial arts fight that...

I’ll get this out of the way now: Transformers: The Last Knight is by far the worst movie of the year, and quite possibly, of the last few years. It’s headache inducing, overlong, incomprehensible, and offensive. I would say that this movie was edited for children who couldn’t keep their attention span focused for more than five seconds, but based on some of the film’s “humor” and language, I wouldn’t recommend any kid seeing this movie. Director Michael Bay has outdone himself here, and this is after I honestly thought the Transformers series could not get any worse after the dreadful Age of Extinction. The new film may be called The Last Knight, but it should also be Bay’s last movie.

I should also mention that I am not a Transformers hater. The first installment came out when I was in the seventh grade and it instantly became one of my favorite movies. Over the years, I have come to accept that it is not a perfect movie, but it is still fun and holds up remarkably well. I was crushed by how awful the second installment, Revenge of the Fallen, was and had given up on the series. The Dark of the Moon was a slight improvement, and you already know my feelings on the fourth film. So, the first film came out at the right age for me and I still love to watch it, but later installments have left me questioning why I ever loved this series in the first place. The Last Knight has left me questioning how we’ve allowed Michael Bay to direct movies for this long.

The Last Knight features the Knights of the Round Table, an evil Optimus Prime, Stonehenge, a re-designed Megatron, an organization called the Trf, and Stanley Tucci as Merlin in a plot so ridiculously convoluted and complicated that makes it Game of Thrones seem as straightforward as a child’s bedtime story. Humans and Transformers are currently not on good terms as humans consider their once robotic allies dangerous, probably because they keep blowing up the planet. Transformers keep falling from the sky in droves and this makes humans wary of another attack. Optimus Prime, who was last seen floating off into space looking for the Creators at the end of Age of Extinction, returns home to Cybertron where he is seduced by Quintessa to help bring an end to the “human race.” There’s a MacGuffin (like there always is in a summer blockbuster) that both humans and robots want that leads to a third-act showdown. There was a lot of chatter the past couple of weeks about The Last Knight’s rumored runtime of 182 minutes long. While that is untrue (the real runtime is 149 minutes) the movie feels like it is well over three hours long. There’s too much going on, featuring too many characters, and too many subplots. I didn’t even mention Sir Anthony Hopkin’s storyline or the main female protagonist’s arc, mainly because it is too convoluted to matter and everything just ends up being blown up so why should anyone care?

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen his movies, but director Michael Bay wastes no screen time to develop his stories and even less to develop characters. Bay and his editors think that any shot that doesn’t involve a car transforming into a robot or some other shot with action will bore the audience, which shows their lack of faith in their story and characters. Bay is compelled to bombard the audience with kinetic shots because he knows if the movie stops long enough for people to think about it, it won’t make any sense. This makes for an exhausting experience that is equivalent to being repeatedly bludgeoned on the head with a boombox. It’s nonstop, loud, and makes for a miserable experience. Oh, and the aspect ratio adds to the misery. Someone should explain to Bay what an aspect ratio is.

It’s easy to put most of the blame on Bay, but some needs to get passed onto the film’s writers as well. There’s three credited screenwriters and you can tell that this is a story that was developed by a group rather than a single person. There’s a real difference between movies like this and something like, say, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. That movie was written (and directed) by James Gunn and his unique humor and style are all over that movie. There is no such sense of style or artisanship present anywhere in The Last Knight, which is fine, if it were just entertaining and not offensive. Bay has gotten in trouble in the past over racist and sometimes sexist humor in his movies, but he seemingly doesn’t care. There is literally a scene where a group of women, including her mother, beg Laura Haddock’s character to stop being so smart and just find a guy to date. They refer to her work as unimportant and the only value she will have in life will be determined by who she marries. It’s embarrassing that this movie will be shown on the same screens as Wonder Woman was a couple weeks ago. That movie featured powerful women who were independent and can serve as role models for young girls. In The Last Knight, Bay has a women telling a young woman that her only worth is in finding a man to marry and she should abandon her life’s work. Just imagine Diana Prince putting up with that.

Notice that throughout my bashing of this film, I have not come close to mentioning Mark Wahlberg’s portrayal of Cade Yeager. I am a moderate fan of Wahlberg and enjoy him in comedies like Ted or The Other Guys, but he was terribly miscast in Age of Extinction. He played a failed inventor on a farm, and while there is less farm time in The Last Knight, Wahlberg is just as awful here. It’s hard to blame him because the rest of the acting in the movie is similarly terrible. When Hopkins, who won an Oscar for less than 20 minutes of screen time in Silence of the Lambs, is yelling out profanities and looking at robots like a 12-year-old child, you know it is because of poor filmmaking. Bay has no idea how to convey this ridiculous story, humor, or possibly even worse, his action. The actors are just screaming over the film’s obnoxious volume and none of them ever present any real sense of danger. With all the ridiculousness going around the characters, you would think that Bay would like to add some suspense by putting someone in actual danger. Nope. Instead, we get sweeping shots of Autobots and Decepticons throwing bombs and ammunition at each other. There’s not much any actor can do with that.

It’s become easy to bash the Transformers series at this point, because Paramount could care less what kind of product the series produces. All they see is that Age of Extinction made over a billion dollars worldwide and the global audience wants more of the same. There is no need to invest in writers who develop an interesting story, editors who string together shots that make sense, actors who do more than scream, or more importantly, a director with a more interesting vision. The Last Knight is being confusingly marketed as the last chapter in the Transformers series, which we know is not true because studios love money. This is not only Bay’s last movie (supposedly), but Wahlberg also said he won’t be returning, which is probably the best decision of his career. In the end, Transformers: The Last Knight is the worst kind of summer blockbuster experience, and after Age of Extinction, I was looking for a reason to be back on board Team Bay, but I don’t see myself ever being a Bay fan again.

Bumblebee in Transformers: The Last Knight, from Paramount Pictures. Photo credit: Paramount Pictures/Bay Films. © 2017 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. Hasbro, Transformers, and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro.

It’s summer, so director/producer Michael Bay brings out another installment of the toy-based franchise. In Transformers: The Last Knight, the good robot/car Transformers called the Autobots are at war with both humans and their perpetual enemies, the bad car/robots the Decepticons – again.

At about two and half hours, Transformers: The Last Knight is a long, dull slog of disorienting, camera-spinning CGI with little actual entertainment.

But wait…”knight?” What do knights have to do with this perpetual robot/human/robot war? It seems that after four movies where the transformers fight in the streets and skies of the good old USA, the creators behind this franchise felt a need for a change for the fifth movie. So let’s throw in a little King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table! There isn’t actually a lot of King Arthur, but there are Sir Lancelot and the magician Merlin, played by Stanley Tucci. In this version of the legend, the Transformers are behind Merlin’s magic.

Mark Wahlberg returns as the Autobots’ ally, would-be inventor Cade Yeager. We also get Anthony Hopkins as an eccentric English lord and Laura Haddock as a pretty Oxford professor. At the start of the story, Autobot leader Optimus Prime has gone off-planet on a quest and Cade (Walhberg), his vocally-challenged transformer buddy Bumblebee and a ragtag group of other transformers are hiding out in an U.S. The government has declared war on all transformers, and Cade and his crew have a bounty on their heads. Josh Duhamel plays a steely-eyed, strong-jawed American military officer hunting Cade and the transformers. The tale also adds a few kid characters, led by a feisty girl named Izabella (Isabela Moner), but these characters quickly fade away in all the explosions and fights.

The trip to the past is brief, and we quickly come back to the present for the usual Transformers action. After battles in America, we get more chases in the streets of London and general mayhem battles in merry ole England and then some globe-spanning destruction.

However, any change is purely superficial. It is still director Michael Bay’s signature action movie style – meaning the action is all about CGI where things fly pass the camera, turning end-over-end, while the camera spins in circles, so you cannot tell what is actually happening in most action scenes. When that is not happening, the characters are usually running or driving, in chases that end in the next battle. The characters strike brave poses, swoop in for the rescue, crack jokes – all the usual stuff.

Like all the movies in this franchise, Transformers: The Last Knight is light on plot and character development, and big on CGI and toss-away lines. The main point is to have non-stop battles in which cameras spin in dizzying fashion, special effects buildings explode and send things and people flying through the air. Robots transform in and out of car-configuration, while the humans and robots trade quips.

More than most summer action entertainment, this franchise aimed at kids has always seemed more about selling toys and CGI effects, and it has not improved over its iterations. There are few, very few reasons, parents would want their kids to see this movie. It has a perfunctory stick-by-your-friends message but also (like several recent entertainment films) has a little anti-science message, where magic trumps those bumbling scientists.

Of course, a few new characters/toys are introduced but even they quickly vanish into the swirling, disorienting battle. The cast are asked to do little more than toss off quips and run from CGI threats. Ok, Hopkins does a little more talking and less running, but still.

At first, it looks like this sequel will finally wrap up the franchise and settle this war for all time, and this critic was willing to give it a little credit for doing that. But no – a clip in the end credits reveals that there is another Transformers sequel to come.

If you liked the previous Transformers movies, Transformers: The Last Knight will fulfill your expectations. If you are not a fan of the franchise or or Michael Bay’s directorial style generally, this film will not change your mind about either.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

The post Transformers 5: The Last Knight – Review appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.

Author: Scott Davis

It’s been a decade since the first entry into the Transformers cinematic franchise came into the hearts of the billions of fans it has accrued and like the giant robots that populate the film, the series has become a monolithic symbol of the ultimate summer blockbuster ever since. But ten years on does The Last Knight bring us full circle to the first film and give us a treat that’s most stimulating and visually impressive?

Well, for the first hour or so, its actual all rather good fun. It’s the typical Bay-hem you would expect but there is some actual story work going on with some characters, new and old, that make for some compelling moments – the world has disowned the Transformers since Optimus Prime’s defeat at the end of Age of Extinction. Cade Yeager (Wahlberg) has become an outlaw, heading off the...

There are a few action sequences of shocking coherence in “Transformers: The Last Knight,” the fifth of Michael Bay’s clang-clang-clang-went-the-robot adventures, but fear not, fans of the franchise: if you’re here for the director’s trademark chaos editing (where fights go from points A to D to Q), toxic masculinity (and female objectification), comedy scenes rendered tragic (and vice versa), and general full-volume confusion, you’ll get all those things in abundance. In a way, the film plays like a greatest-hits collection of the worst films so far of Summer 2017, from an appearance by the Knights of the Round Table that.

Here are two things I overheard upon arriving to see a screening of Transformers: The Last Knight. It was 7:35pm and the 5:00pm screening was just getting out. "It's about two hours and 20 minutes," someone reported to someone else waiting in line. "But it feels like eight."

Shortly after that, seated in the theater, a kid next me attempted to recap recent events in the franchise -- Mark Wahlberg is the star now and plays a farmer who is also an inventor, Megatron is back from the dead again -- before determining that, "Not knowing the plot is actually less confusing." But if you missed 2014's Age of Extinction (the first Shia Labeouf-less Transformers movie), rest assured that the plot is fully explained via voiceover during this one.

Exclusive: Behind the Scenes With Mark Wahlberg as 'Transformers: The Last Knight' Lays Waste to Stonehenge

Paramount Pictures

I mention the latter because there are...

Carol Lynley (The Poseidon Adventure) was rumored to have the part back in 1991. And theories swirled over the years suggesting Agent Cooper’s trusty Gal Friday might just be a figment of his imagination. But in Sunday’s Twin Peaks, the one and only “Diane” was finally revealed to be none other than Laura Dern. (Nifty that she played his Girl Friday back in Blue Velvet too, huh?) A satisfying moment 27 years in the making (even if most of us guessed and hoped it was coming). Now, Albert (who found her in Max Von’s Bar in Philadelphia – did that...

Though 2017 has already produced a handful of runaway successes in the vein of Guardians 2 and the so-hot-right-now Wonder Woman, two films that have arguably fuelled concerns of franchise fatigue in recent weeks are Alien: Covenant and Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Disney’s maritime adventure that was supposed to usher in a new era for Jack Sparrow and Co.

Neither performed terribly well at the international box office, and the particularly damning reviews for Dead Men Tell No Tales have called the future of Disney’s Pirates franchise in to question. Exactly how the Mouse House handles its waning juggernaut is still up for debate, but one film that will soon be aiming to skate around the pitfalls of franchise fatigue is Transformers: The Last Knight.

It’s the fifth entry into Paramount and Michael Bay’s global phenomenon, and even for all of the negativity Transformers tends to attract,...