In a move that surprises absolutely no one, Marvel Entertainment has announced Captain America #1, the first issue of an all new ongoing series premiering in July from writer Ed Brubaker (Death of Captain America) and artist Steve McNiven (Civil War) just in time for the release of the new Captain America movie starring Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, and Hugo Weaving.

Steve Rogers is back as Captain America but when a mysterious figure from his past returns with the Sentinel of Liberty in his crosshairs, deadly secrets will surface—and send shockwaves through the lives of everyone Steve holds dear. An all-new, high octane Captain America series begins here, just in time for the First Avenger’s highly anticipated feature film from Marvel Studios.

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We have fallen in love with Natalie Portman again and again. Beginning with her debut in [[[The Professional]]], we have seen her take on a wide variety of dramatic roles that demonstrates a young woman with acting gifts. Even in the wretched [[[Star Wars]]] trilogy, she brought a gravity to Princess Amidala that went far beyond the meager scripts.  All of this seems to have prepared her for the Academy Award winning rile in [[[Black Swan]]]. At 29, she has achieved a level of depth in her work that few peers can match.

Most of her work, such as roles in Closer, Cold Mountain, and even V for Vendetta, show a somber side to Portman, almost as cold and controlled as her Nina in this film, now out on disc from 20^th Century Home Entertainment. The Darren Aronofsky-directed film is a visual treat and the psycho-sexual assault on the sense that one comes to expect from him.

Nina is a technically-perfect but emotionally cold ballerina who wins the role of the Swan Queen. Much of the film chronicles Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassell) and his attempts to unlock Nina’s emotions. He does this by seducing her by degrees and telling her to seduce herself. Nina, though, can’t let go, largely because she has been raised by Erica (Barbara Hershey), who stopped dancing when she gave birth to Nina and has lived through her ever since. Nina has had issues in the past that manifest themselves anew as the pressure mounts in the weeks leading up to her premier performance.

She sees threats, she watches her body change in unimaginable ways, and even has a real or imaginary one-night stand with her perceived rival, Lilly (Mila Kunis). Her descent into madness or elevation to a higher plane of existence is masterfully portrayed by Aronofsky.

Portman makes this her signature role and despite the current kerfuffle over how much of the dancing she actually did, that’s secondary to the character she brought to life. Dancing doubles have been a fact of filmmaking for decades and this is just another tempest in a teapot. Jennifer Beals made us believe in [[[Flashdance]]] as Portman does here and that’s really what matters.

The movie looks fabulous in high definition with strong sound, which fits the subject matter. You might notice a grainy quality to some of the film that you may not have noticed on the silver screen. That has to do with Aronofsky’s choice to shoot the movie by blending 16mm Arriflex cameras and two Canon 1080p video-capable DSLRs.  It all meshes quite well, adding to the unusual feel of the story.

The Blu-ray disc is packed with several extras, beginning with “Black Swan Metamorphosis” (48:50) is the detailed production process. Bringing the dancers and characters to life is carefully explained during the three-parts, complete with plenty of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. You also get “Ten Years in the Making”, a shorter piece on the lengthy development process as told by director and star; along with a useless look at Ballet (2:33), Production Design (4:00). Star and directed each get roughly three minute profiles and short snippets on “Preparing for the Role” and “Dancing with the Camera”. There are also five cast profiles; all culled from featurettes that originally ran on Fox Movie Channel.

The harrowing viewing experience that is at turns titillating, exciting, terrifying, and moving, shows moviemaking at its finest. An original concept, well-handled, can entertain and enlighten. This one is well worth your time and attention whether or not you like ballet.

Another April Fool’s Day has come and gone, leaving in its wake a trail of confusion as comics news sites posted fake news article after fake news article in an attempt to hoax their audiences into believing things that couldn’t possibly be true.

Naturally, ComicMixcondemnsallsuchshenanigansasjuvenileandunworthy.

All the same, now that we’ve had a day or two to process, there have been six recent happenings in the comics world that stood out as so weird, so unlikely, that we were completely floored when they turned out to be true. But don’t take our word for it, take a look below.

Stan Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger are teaming up for The Governator, a comic and TV show detailing the adventures of the ex-Governor of California, ex-King of Aquilonia as he teams up with a precocious pre-teen hacker to fight crime. This is a thing that’s going to happen. Not a joke. We couldn’t believe it either. You’d think after Peter Paul and the Clintons Stan would stay clear of politicians.

In 1977, director Richard Donner made us believe a man can fly. It also proved for the first time that comic book heroes could be successfully translated to the silver screen. The subsequent films in the Superman series were of varying quality, getting worse by the film until the series was given a rest. In 2006, the franchise was revived under director Bryan Singer whose slavish attention to Donner’s vision may have compromised the film’s own integrity. And now, Zack Snyder is busily prepping production on a brand new vision of the Man of Steel.

Before that, though, Warner Home Video is finally releasing the five films on Blu-ray in a mammoth collection, in support of June’s Green Lantern release. Here’s a trailer followed by the formal release.

Burbank, Calif. March 31, 2011 –Superman, the cultural icon and quintessential superhero, is back in a big way. In a powerhouse year marked by the theatrical releases of several major superhero films including Warner Bros.’ Green Lantern, his arrival couldn’t be more perfectly timed. Warner Home Video (WHV) is celebrating the year of the superhero with the June 7 release of Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology (1978-2006) on Blu-ray. For the first time, fans will be able to own one super-entertaining Blu-ray collection with all four original theatrical Superman films starring Christopher Reeve (available for the first time in high def), Superman Returns, and the two alternate versions of Superman I and Superman II.

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A message from Tommy Hancock, EIC of All Pulp and Member of the Spectacled Seven-

First, I want to thank each and every one of you who have visited ALL PULP for your interest, support, and comments over the last few months.  It’s hard to believe how many people have viewed the site and hopefully enjoyed our content over the last seven, almost eight months.  It has truly been a pleasure to not only post news, reviews, interviews, etc., but it has been an honor to become, according to comments many of you have made, a vital part of the Pulp world, a major force in the Pulp Renaissance we are all currently enjoying.

ALL PULP definitely wants to and will continue to be a driving contributor and beacon for All The News that is Pulp and to do that, ALL PULP needs your help.  Now I have posted comments like this before, here and in other places, and those of you who listen to THE BOOK CAVE, ALL PULP’s official podcast, have heard me say this sort of thing there as well.  But I write this to you now to stress how important YOU are to what we do.

ALL PULP needs to know some things from you.