We've seen time and time again, across every channel from Showtime (Dexter) to ABC (Heroes), that network heads are thoroughly reluctant to greenlight definite endpoints for their most popular series and characters. No matter the creative vision of the writers, showrunners, and actors bringing breakout TV icons to life, networks often put limitations on what storylines they can play out. Most frequently, there's what you might call a no-kill order often at play in planning out series finales.
Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous is one of the recently down-on-his-luck director's finest films, a beautiful and touching tribute to the passion and power of rock 'n' roll. Its characters hum with urgency and life; its screenplay is a rawly funny, exuberantly upbeat exploration of idols and idealism, and the ways in which we can find hope in a world often intent on suffocating it. The same subject matter, especially that regarding the relationships between people whose admiration for music and lyrics has been channeled into a fully immersive profession, is on display in Crowe's new Showtime series, Roadies, even if the show (in its early episodes) never comes close to matching the sheer potency and emotion of something as fully formed as Almost Famous.
Marinated in its seedy, sweltering setting and fueled by its hyper-masculine antiheroes' reckless behaviors, Animal Kingdom is a welcome adrenaline rush in the typically underwhelming summer season.
Though Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was largely considered a disappointment by both its studio, which is restructuring its DC Movieverse in the wake of lower-than-expected box office numbers and savage reviews, and audiences, which branded the pic with a B CinemaScore (the same one given to Catwoman and Green Lantern), there's reason to be hopeful for Suicide Squad.
Hot off the success of magic-centric caper Now You See Me 2 - which opened solidly this past weekend despite major competition from another high-profile follow-up, The Conjuring 2 - Jon M. Chu is in talks to helm an adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights.
With shooting underway on Fox's R-rated Wolverine standalone pic, all kinds of intel has been leaking out onto the web about the anticipated film, from news about X-23's confirmed involvement to Hugh Jackman's transformation into an Old Man Logan-esque version of his most iconic character.
With its vast tapestry of knights, orcs, and mages, the World of Warcraft franchise was always going to be a tricky one to adapt. As fans of the MMORPG (I can't claim to be one of them, though I did some research before heading into the pic) know well, there's so much packed into the series' lore that it inarguably lends itself better to encyclopedias than films.
Given what a bang-up job she did on the second film, it was disappointing to all fans of the Pitch Perfect franchise when Elizabeth Banks revealed that she'd be stepping out of the director's chair for Pitch Perfect 3, letting another filmmaker take the reins. But Banks will still be involved in the production, and she's recently gone on record to explain exactly what happened behind the scenes that led her to walk away.
Whether you like it or not, Transformers is expanding into a full-blown cinematic universe on the level of Marvel and DC, with upcoming fifth entry Transformers: The Last Knight serving to introduce some key players in the series' extended mythology while planting seeds for potential spinoffs or even prequels.
Most of us were thrilled when Ex Machina actress Alicia Vikander, an Oscar winner for her role in The Danish Girl, landed the highly coveted role of Lara Croft in a big-budget remake of Tomb Raider, and now she's gone on record to add yet another reason why she's likely going to be a terrific fit for the part: Vikander's a life-long fan.