If I've learned anything in this life, it's that those sitting at the top of the film industry - or any other, for that matter - will never, ever take responsibility for anything, and will instead deflect the blame onto others. Heck, after the abomination that was 2004's Catwoman failed on every possible level, did you think any suits were heard to say, "we f---ed up, this movie was terrible," or, was it more likely they said, "there's obviously no public interest in this character"? You be the judge.
Even though we receive at least a half dozen superhero films on a yearly basis these days, the fact of the matter is that we owe a great debt to director Richard Donner and all involved in the production of Superman: The Movie back in the late 1970s. Before then, a blockbuster of that scale centered on a comic book character was simply unheard of, so to think that a genre was handily legitimized with such an effort is indeed commendable.
Of all the Arrowverse midseason finales to have aired last week, it was probably the cliffhanger The Flash left us on that amazed me most. As you may recall, Clifford DeVoe AKA the Thinker pulled the old switcheroo by inserting his consciousness into the mind of the newly introduced Brainstorm. Not only that, but his freshly discarded body was planted in the apartment of Barry Allen - complete with a stab wound - effectively framing the Scarlet Speedster for murder.
If you're one to follow the Arrowverse and tuned in for last week's midseason finales, then you're well aware of how each of them left off on crazy cliffhangers that knocked us on our rears. Of course, Supergirl was the show that got the ball rolling, and it did so in brutal fashion.
Despite the fact that Sony has decided to confound us all by building a cinematic universe of their own comprised of Spider-Man’s supporting characters that doesn’t seem to actually be inhabited by the icon himself, it’s very hard not to look forward to a movie starring Black Cat and Silver Sable, even if it could use a better title than Silver & Black. Well, the film is bound to have more than a few detractors, regardless, but you can’t help being the slightest bit curious.
When it comes to superhero team-up movies, one scene that's often remembered among others is that of the one when they all come together for the first time. In the case of Justice League, that happened to be when they first went toe-to-toe with Steppenwolf and a horde of Parademons, while also trying to rescue a number of civilians.
One thing I've long admired about The CW is that it's had a knack for assembling great ensemble casts, no matter what series it may be for. And most fortunate for us superhero fans, the trend continued with Arrow and its subsequent sister shows, especially when it came to sidekicks and other masked crimefighters who are there to orbit the titular heroes.
At the very least, Justice League proved to be an entertaining action movie featuring DC's A-list superheroes. But while there were some great moments shared between the characters, those of us who vehemently followed its production are well aware of how much was left on the cutting room floor. Heck, one person even assembled a trailer featuring footage shot by Zack Snyder that didn't make the final cut.
Amid all the hoopla surrounding Justice League underperforming at the box office and what that may mean for the future of the DC Extended Universe, one movie that we consider to be "safe" is Suicide Squad 2. After all, not only was the first film a financial and merchandising success, but it was proudly listed among others as still being part of DC's upcoming slate at a Brazilian convention over the weekend.
It’s certainly been a year to remember if you’re a fan of The Punisher, now hasn’t it? In addition to winning over True Believers with the new Netflix series starring Jon Bernthal, Frank Castle has found yet another way to turn heads on the comic book side of things.
