All posts by Tony Lang

Aside from being a major pain in the a** to anyone who doesn't know or like Kevin smith, Anthony is a History Major which proved spectacularly useless in his day job as a computer tech, and spends most of his working hours writing movie news and reviews for his blog. He hails from Eastern Canada and fluently speaks both of its single language, will happily share his poutine recipe when asked, and no habla if you want to blame him for Celine Dion.
Movies/TV

Evans Dishes on New Torch

Is it me or does the only awesome news about the Fantastic Four reboot lie in Michael B. Jordan playing the Human Torch? At least on THAT point I got a heavy hitter in my corner.

It’s almost inevitable that a major comic book character will polarize fans when cast for the big screen, but Jordan brings an energy and confidence that is so perfect for this role it easily rivals the previous incarnation; at least according to said incarnation himself.

Chatting up the New York Daily News at the recent Winter Soldier junket, Evans gushed about the young actor stepping into the Storm-y shoes, saying:

I couldn’t even give that guy any advice if I wanted, that guy is so good. It’s exciting to see what he’s going to do, because I know he’s going to reinvent it in a way that I could never have imagined.

And when asked whether he feels proprietary or nostalgic toward the part:

It’s so funny, you almost feel precious over the role that you don’t want someone else to do it, but when you hear someone phenomenal is doing it, it’s very exciting like you almost can’t wait . . . It’s almost like we’re sharing, the character is ours. I feel like I’m connected with him in a way, it’s a nice feeling.

Of course he’s not gonna call the guy an A-hole, but it must be nice to have Captain America geek out about you taking his place. Although both those guys like to geek out on one another, as witnessed by this bromantic snaphot posted on Michael B. Jordan’s instagram this week.

 

Movies/TV, Pop Culture

Bubba Nosferatu Lives?

Cult indie director Don Coscarelli took his fandom by storm last week when a completely unexpected trailer for a fifth entry in his Phantasm franchise was unveiled, dubbed Ravager. Though the thing looks damn good and the surprise is high (the project went entirely under the radar) it did prompt at least one fan (hi!) to shout in despair WHAT ABOUT ELVIS?

If you’ve never heard of or seen Coscarelli’s Bubba Ho-Tep, you’ve missed out on one of last decade’s wackiest pieces of indie awesomeness. In a nutshell, it features Bruce Campbell as an elder Elvis, living his final days anonymously in a home he and his pal JFK must defend from a redneck mummy that sucks your soul through your . . . yeah, it’s awesome.

The movie was an instant cult classic, but nowhere near a financial smash (Campbell himself ran marketing by screening it at his book signings). The promised sequel, Bubba Nosferatu, will pair the King with his infamous manager, played by Paul Giamatti. Somehow, the two inevitably fall into limbo. Many false starts later, including Ron Perlman replacing Bruce because of those pesky “Artistic Differences,” the project is apparently still this close to happening.

Talking to the folks at Bloody Disgusting, Coscarelli laid out the latest on the project, saying:

“Nothing to report right now on the sequel ‘Bubba Nosferatu,’ other than a couple months back I had an excellent dinner with both Bruce Campbell and Paul Giamatti. I can swear to you, they would make an awesome on screen team! Elvis is eternal, and his manager Col Tom Parker probably is too, so, with luck, the Gods of Graceland will help us find a path to get that movie to the silver screen.”

Forget the Gods Don, pray to your fans! With Bruce back on board, put that mother out to crowd funding and see how many fans will gladly pay for it. My guess: quite enough. If Veronica Mars can do it, it’s a walk in the park for Elvis Campbell. What say you Geeks?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXGP07vrab8

Movies/TV, Pop Culture

Closing Moment For Every Best Picture Oscar Winner

Making a movie feel, look, and sound really good usually requires a great closing shot: a lingering image that either haunts the mind or carries the momentum for hundreds of discussion hours to come. If the movie itself is truly great, generally the final moment is simply unforgettable.

The folks at The Final Image, a spot dedicated to study and highlight such final frames (if there’s a whole cable channel dedicated to nothing but food, why not this?), put together an impressive and geek-tastic video montage comprised of the 86 closing images of each and every Best Picture Oscar winner since 1928. All of them starting with 12 Years a Slave and ending with . . . nah, not gonna tell. See if you can name them all!

Here’s that awesome montage courtesy of the folks at Devour. Then hit the comments with your score out of 86. I got 79, booyah!

http://vimeo.com/88553323

Movies/TV, Pop Culture

Today IS a Good Day to Drink!

The world is a little bit of a better place this week. It’s a week where Starfleet fanboys finally get to party like it’s 2299.

The consumer products arm of CBS Network where—Captain Kirk first strut his spatial stuff—announced this week an endeavor with the Federation of Beer to offer a new refreshment from Indiana’s Tin Man Brewing Company: “a bold beer suited for the harsh Klingon lifestyle.”

Warnog Beer, drawn from a blend of rye malt and character clove, makes its grand debut this week at the Vegas Nightclub & Bar Show. Full-scale release will follow in Canada in U.S. in the next few months.

The drink of honored warriors is the second such offering from CBS and the Federation, following the surprisingly popular Vulcan Ale, launched last year to help celebrate the centennial of an Alberta hamlet called. . . Vulcan. Because Romulan was, you know, lame.

Movies/TV

An X-Cellent New Trailer for Days of Future Past

Maybe it’s Superhero fatigue, but it seems to me that Days of Future Past should have been a much MUCH bigger cinematic event than what it currently feels like. So what’s the deal?

You have the original X director, the gent who helped comic book movies be taken seriously (for a while at least, because Superman Returns. . . yeah. . .), back at the head of his original cast mixed with that of the most recent—and arguably best—entry in the franchise, all to adapt one of the more iconic comic book arcs of its generation.

I blame the first trailer released back in October, which, let’s be Frank, stank (Frank likes to say it stank). That and the awful Empire Mag cover dedicated to Quicksilver who looks like the bastard child of the Fonz and a pokemon. Good news: this trailer kicks far more booty and announces plenty of Jennifer Lawrence  (and Hugh Jackman) for the movie. Bad news: Quicksilver looks just as lame.

Here’s that brand new trailer for you all to enjoy, while the film, hopefully a success-to-be because I REALLY wanna see Apocalypse on the big screen, hits the multiplex May 23.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6acRHWnfZAE