News Around the Net!
I have watched this most recent trailer for Avengers: Endgame a lot:
I love the nostalgia-focused first half of the trailer, with well-used clips and soundbites from previous films. (They really tease fans with that Peggy Carter audio!! That’s from a previous film, but my heart sang for a moment at the thought that maybe she’d appear somehow in Endgame? Hope springs eternal.) I love seeing Hawkeye’s daughter (a nice nod to the comics), and I’m intrigued at the glimpses of Hawkeye in the Ronin identity (another nice nod to a story-line from the comics). (I am guessing that young-girl vanished in the snap, which I’m assuming prompted Hawkeye’s grimness in the trailer and his weird grief-haircut.) That shot of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) looking at all the missing photos (having presumably escaped from the Quantum Realm where he was stranded at the end of Ant Man and the Wasp) is heartbreaking. I’m intrigued by the new white Avengers uniforms glimpsed towards the end of the trailer. (Are those their going-into-space uniforms?) And, of course, that last shot with Captain Marvel was fantastic; now that we’ve seen the mid-credits scene in Captain Marvel, it’s fun to imagine what role she will play in Endgame. I’m impressed at how little we actually know about this film’s story, this close to release. Note that NONE of the film’s trailers have shown new footage of Thanos, who the Avengers will obviously be confronting, eventually, in Endgame. But we don’t have any idea how this will all play out, which I find very exciting. Once again, I am hoping and hoping that Marvel will be able to stick the landing.
In other Marvel news — James Gunn has been reinstated to direct Guardians of the Galaxy volume 3!!! This is fantastic news, I am overjoyed. What a relief. I am excited to see how Mr. Gunn will finish this trilogy of films. (I’m a bit bummed that we’ll have to wait until after he makes his planned Suicide Squad sequel/reboot, which he’s signed on to do after getting dumped by Disney, but if this is what it takes I am not complaining, and I’m happy these two companies, Marvel and Warners, were able to work this all out.)
Here’s our first true substantial look at Game of Thrones’ final season, now only a few weeks away!
I am excited. I am hoping against hope that they can stick the landing. (Here’s an interesting look at the lengthy runtime of the series’ final six episodes!)
Rifftrax is 10 years old!! Here’s a funny short highlight reel they put together:
For those not in the know, Rifftrax is an offshoot of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, featuring the very-funny riffs of MST3K-ers Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy. I love their stuff. They’re currently in the final days of a kickstarter to promote a series of live shows in 2019.
I love listening to Kevin Smith talk (on podcasts, in interviews, in his stand-up specials) but he hasn’t made a movie I’ve enjoyed for almost two decades. Will Jay and Silent Bob Reboot be a return to form? I’m skeptical, but I can always hope. In the meanwhile, I’m enjoying the teases and Mr. Smith does seem to have assembled a great cast.
The fourth (and sadly final) season of Catastrophe is here!! I’m already watching it and loving it. My full review will be coming soon. In the meantime, for Catastrophe fans, TV critic Alan Sepinwall has posted a fantastic in-depth interview with creators and stars Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney.
I am intrigued by news of six new Alien short films being created in honor of the original film’s 40th anniversary. Will these be any good? I’m a little dubious, but definitely curious. (I’d love for Ridley Scott to be allowed to conclude the story left hanging on a cliffhanger in the vastly underrated Alien: Covenant.)
I’ve written here before about the in-the-works documentary looking back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine entitled “What We Left Behind.” I backed this project on kickstarter and I can’t wait to see the finished film. I am overjoyed at the news that the project has been picked up by Shout! Studios and that a theatrical release might be in the works.
While I wait for that, I was intrigued to read about the DS9 fan who used AI to attempt to up-rez some clips from the DS9 episode “The Sacrifice of Angels” to HD. As fans know, DS9 is stuck in SD, because the show was edited on video and so doesn’t exist on film that could be updated for HD. (Want to know more? Read more here and here for the full skinny.) For now, this fan-made experiment is cool to see:
Thanks for reading!! Lots more reviews and other fun stuff coming soon!