#6 in my ranking of the DCEU franchise.   I think it’s pretty obvious that James Gunn doesn’t agree with me about ensemble movies, not that he thinks they’re easy, but that we differ on how good ones are constructed. I feel that ensemble movies are hard because you have to create a variety of different characters all swirling around one thing, and that their journeys need to interrelate on some level beyond the mechanics of plot to help reinforce the central point of the film. Gunn sees ensemble pieces differently. He seems to see them as large canvases for him to fill in with wha ..read more

  Variety reports that Disney’s Marvel Studios laid off 15 staffers on Monday, including production and development employees in Burbank as well as employees in the Marvel Entertainment division in New York.   Although it’s reported that the layoffs were “predicated by the overall reduction in Marvel’s slate of film and TV titles after the challenges of the 2023 releases led the company to reassess the rapid increase in productions to feed the launch of Disney+,” the root cause of these layoffs is a single issue. This was caused by subpar offerings. Almost all of of Marvel’s recent ..read more

  Warner Bros Pictures Animation is heading to the Discovery vault to adapt its Animal Planet series Meerkat Manor into an animated feature. Think Happy Feet: That George Miller-hatched franchise, which centered around tap-dancing penguins, raked in over a half-billion dollars at the global box office.   Warner Bros. Discovery’s Animal Planet first aired Meerkat Manor in 2005, with the series becoming the network’s highest-rated show over its four seasons. The Emmy-nominated series reached 204 million households in more than 160 countries on the Animal Plane ..read more

  Gamespot has an interesting list of manga and graphic novels based on video games that’re on sale at sites like Amazon:   A huge list of Halo novels are up for grabs, including the first three entries in the original Halo book series Halo: The Fall of Reach, Halo: The Flood, and Halo: First Strike. In total, there are 20 Halo books eligible for the B2G1 offer, including various other sub-series like the Forerunner Saga and standalone entries like Halo: Epitaph. Zelda fans who want to experience alternate takes on the storylines from the video ..read more

  James Gunn’s Superman has cast veteran character actor Pruitt Taylor Vince as Jonathan Kent aka Pa Kent, TheWrap is reporting. Jonathan Kent is Superman’s adopted father who finds the superhero when he first arrived on Earth as an infant in a Kryptonian spaceship in the fields of Kansas. The role was previously played by Kevin Costner in the 2013’s Man of Steel, and Glenn Ford in 1978’s Superman.   Vince is known more as a supporting actor, with several roles in a number of major films, including a turn as a dimwitted Ku Klux Klan member in Mississippi Burning (1988), Lee Bowers i ..read more

  Binge-watching has totally changed how we dive into stories and adventures on screen. It’s like our favorite way to unwind and get lost in another world. But, let’s face it, when your Mac starts acting up, it can really snap you back to reality.   That’s why knowing a few Mac hacks can be a lifesaver. This guide is all about making sure your marathon sessions go off without a hitch. We’re going to show you how to tweak your Mac so you can keep the good times rolling without any annoying interruptions.   So, if you’re ready to make your Mac the best binge buddy ever, let’s get ..read more

#7 in my ranking of the DCEU franchise.   After the dreary mess that was Black Adam, it’s nice to have a filmmaker who has a basic understanding of structure taking the helm of a film. Granted, the Shazam sequel is still overstuffed and confused, but at least David F. Sandberg is able to take the script by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan and come out of production and editing with something resembling a cohesive story going on. It helps that he actually allows his star to have a bit of fun, as well, but while this may be the height of the nadir of the DCEU in terms of its la ..read more

    Welcome back to another installment of Indie Comics Showcase, the weekly blog where we signal boost a few truly independent comics that are currently crowdfunding their projects, crowdsourcing their funding in some way, or just completely self-publishing on their own. Every little bit of support for these creators matters, from a single dollar pledge to the twenty-five dollar bundle, and of course the higher tiers are usually fun too! Even if you can’t back a campaign or buy a book, you can share or tweet about these projects to your friends and followers.    On Indie ..read more

  As she accepted Variety’s Creative Vanguard Award at the Miami Film Festival on Saturday, actress Molly Ringwald, who became a well-known member of the “brat pack” in the 1980s thanks to director John Hughes’ work, spent time criticizing the films that launched her career for not being “diverse” enough.   Ringwlad has had a long career, but she never regained the level of fame she achieved in films such as Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986), all of which were written and/or directed by John Hughes.   Ringwald claimed during her accept ..read more

  Something most remarkable was performed by quite a few comics contributors, old and new, who’ve had writing/art/editing credits on Batman over past years, as the Times of Israel reports:   Fifty creators of the iconic Batman superhero character signed a petition urging the governments of Egypt and Qatar to press for the release of Yarden and Shiri Bibas along with their two red-haired sons, Ariel and Kfir. All four family members have been held hostage in Gaza since October 7. The family was kidnapped from Nir Oz by Hamas terrorists on October 7, a day that saw 3,000 ..read more