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Fear the Walking Dead Season Three Shambles for Home in March

SANTA MONICA, CA (January 16, 2018) – Deception can be your deadliest enemy when Season 3 of Fear the Walking Dead – the companion series to the #1-rated cable series The Walking Dead – arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) and DVD March 13 from Lionsgate. As society collapses around them, the families must come together to survive the apocalypse and combat the deadly threats on all sides. Hailed as “the best full season so far” (Forbes), Fear the Walking Dead Season 3 stars Kim Dickens (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Gone Girl), Cliff Curtis (Risen, The Dark Horse), Frank Dillane (“Sense8,” Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), and Alycia Debnam-Carey (Friend Request).

When Fear the Walking Dead returns for Season 3, our families are brought together in the vibrant and violent ecotone of the U.S.-Mexico border. With international lines done away with following the world’s end, our characters must attempt to rebuild not only society, but their families as well.

The home entertainment release of Fear the Walking Dead Season 3 features audio commentaries as well as deleted and extended scenes. “Fear the Walking Dead” Season 3 will be available on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) and DVD for the suggested retail price of $44.99 and $39.98, respectively.

BLU-RAY / DVD SPECIAL FEATURES

  • Audio Commentaries
  • Deleted & Extended Scenes

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2017
Title Copyright: Fear the Walking Dead© 2017 AMC Film Holdings LLC. Artwork and Supplementary Materials are TM, ® and © 2017 AMC Network Entertainment LLC. All Rights Reserved. Package Design © 2018 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Type: TV on DVD
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Drama, Horror
Closed-Captioned: English SDH
Subtitles: Spanish
Feature Run Time: 711 minutes
BD Format: 1080P 23.98 High Definition 16×9 Widescreen 1.78:1 Presentation
DVD Format: 16×9 Widescreen 1.78:1 Presentation
BD Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio, French 2.0 Dolby Surround
DVD Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio, French 2.0 Dolby Surround

Kitty Pryde and Colossus getting married in X-Men Gold #30

  • News
  • January 18, 2018

It’s been over thirty years in the making, but it looks like it’s finally going to happen– Kitty Pryde and Peter Rasputin are finally getting married in X-Men Gold #30.

All we can say is this:

The important question, of course: will it be a Jewish wedding?

Bilal: A New Breed of Hero Trailer Explores Heroism

Bilal: A New Breed of Hero Trailer Explores Heroism

Synopsis: 1,400 years ago, Bilal, a seven-year-old boy, with a dream of becoming a great warrior, is abducted into slavery with his sister and taken to a land far away from his home and thrown into a world where corruption and injustice rule all. Throughout his life he undergoes many hardships, through which he discovers an inner strength he did not realize he possessed. Through these experiences, Bilal comes to realize that if he is brave enough to raise his voice and choose his own path – everything becomes possible. It is through his courage, that he frees himself and ultimately his community; it is through the power of his voice and faith that his lifelong dream of freedom comes true. Bilal grows into a man who will inspire the world.

Bilal: A New Breed Of Hero – Main Trailer

BILAL: A NEW BREED OF HERO

Power Of One

The story “Bilal: A New Breed Of Hero” is inspired by the true events of the African slave Bilal ibn Rabah, a man whose story is similar to that of Martin Luther King Jr., who believed in the unity of mankind and equality of all people. Bilal used his gifted voice to speak out against injustices and took a stand for freedom despite the risks to his own life. Bilal, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others seeking equality throughout history inspire us all to find our inner power and take a stand for what we believe is right. They remind us of  “The Power of One” – the belief that one courageous person can make a difference in this world.  A reminder that if each and every person embraces their own inner power it can be manifested as a force for good.

Power of Voice. Power of Change. Power of Faith. Power of Freedom.

Power of Voice

The story of Bilal shows us the importance of having the courage to step up within our communities as teachers and leaders. It inspires us to use our voice to guide others especially the voiceless. We too are called to use our voice to teach, help, and guide those around us.

Power of Change

The story of Bilal inspires us to continue to seek greater understanding and knowledge of the world around us. Knowledge and the freedom it brings has more power to change the world than any chain or sword ever could. Bilal sought the power to change his own circumstances through knowledge and training. We must also be open and willing to accept new ways of thinking if we hope to change the world for the better.

Power of Faith

The story of Bilal teaches us to believe that the ability to overcome great obstacles exists within each of us. Whether you believe in a higher power, or the strength of the human spirit, we all rely on our internal beliefs to push us through difficulties in our own lives. When you allow your belief to lift the heavy stones that have been placed upon you just as Bilal did, you find that the limits you previously put upon yourself no longer exist.

Power of Freedom

The story of Bilal reminds us that there is nothing more powerful than the human spirit and that we all have the same basic natural rights that can never be taken or given away. It teaches us to embrace our inner strength and cast off the chains within ourselves. To embrace freedom is to live without fear of the chains others may try to place around you.

Bilal: A New Breed Of Hero stars Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Suicide Squad, Thor: The Darkworld, Lost) as the voice of adult Bilal; Jacob Latimore (Detroit, Collateral Beauty, The Maze Runner) as the voice of teenage Bilal; China Anne McClain (Descendants 2, Descendants: Wicked World, A.N.T. Farm) as Bilal’s teenage sister Ghufaira; Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (Bosch, Nashville) as Bilal’s mother, Hamama; Michael Gross (Tremors, ER, The Young and the Restless, Family Ties) as Okba the cowardly slave trader; and Ian McShane (American Gods, John Wick: 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Deadwood) as the voice of Umayya, Bilal’s evil master.

Mind-bending Legion Season 1 Arrives March 27

Based on the based on the Marvel Comics by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz and featuring a powerful, all-star cast — including DAN STEVENS, AUBREY PLAZA, JEAN SMART and RACHEL KELLER — Legion follows the story of David Haller (STEVENS), a troubled young man who may be more than human. Diagnosed as schizophrenic as a child, David has been in and out of mental hospitals for years. Institutionalized once again, David spends his time with his chatterbox friend Lenny (PLAZA), a fellow patient whose life-long drug and alcohol addiction has done nothing to quell her boundless optimism that her luck is about to change.  But a startling encounter with a new patient (KELLER) forces David to confront the shocking possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees may actually be real. A haunted man, David escapes from the hospital and with the help of a nurturing but demanding therapist (SMART) and her team of specialists’ unconventional methods, David embarks on an extraordinary journey of self-discovery that leads to a new world of possibilities…and a new level of unexpected danger.

There will be a limited edition Blu-ray/DVD combo that will include an exclusive copy of The World’s Angriest Boy in the World book.

BLU-RAYTM AND DVD BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE:

  • Deleted Scenes
  • Fractured Reality: A Different Kind of Hero
  • Featurettes
    • Uncanny Romance
    • Production Design
    • Powers
    • Make-Up (Making the Devil with the Yellow Eyes)
    • Visual Effects
    • Costume Design
    • Locations

Legion SEASON 1 BLU-RAYTM
Street Date:                 March 27, 2018
Screen Format:           1.78:1
Audio:                          English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, French DTS 51
Subtitles:                     English SDH, French, Spanish
Total Run Time:           409 minutes

Legion SEASON 1 DVD
Street Date:                 March 27, 2018
Screen Format:           1.78:1
Audio:                          English Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles:                     English SDH, French, Spanish
Total Run Time:           409 minutes

REVIEW: Blade Runner 2049

Sequels are always an iffy proposition. There was a time that a hot film spawned an almost mirror-image sequel as a fast cash grab. After it was clear that was not what audiences wanted, sequels grew smarter and more sophisticated. In many cases, though, the first question asked is, “Does this really merit a sequel?” Sometimes, the creators have more they want to say or, after time has passed, feel there is something new to explore.

Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner took Philip K. Dick’s prose work and envisioned a near future that was a darker reflection of 1982. We had gobs of atmosphere, some very restrained and impactful performances, and were left to wonder.  While talk of a sequel has bopped up every few years, everyone held out until now. Director Denis Villeneuve’s sequel, Blade Runner 2049, recruited many of the original cast and crew to take use a bit further into the future to see what has changed.

Judging from the box office, apparently the audience, which was wowed in 1982, has changed and shrugged at the sequel. That’s a shame, because the movie, out now on home video from Warner Home Entertainment, is well worth a look. Yes, it pales in comparison to the impact the original had, but so much has changed in filmmaking and society that it should be expected. A meditation on humanity and the decline of Western civilization is always a welcome subject, but this story left too many gaps, too much unexplained so ultimately proved a disappointing experience.

Screenwriter Hampton Fancher picks up thirty years later and Tyrell Corporation’s Nexus 8 is the cutting edge Replicant model, complete with an average human lifespan and finely tuned memories. We learn that Replicants have been invaluable in colonizing near-space, letting humanity escape the world they ruined. After a technology disaster in 2022 destroyed most of the world’s digital data, Los Angeles and other major cities are largely abandoned, sprawling slums.

No one machine is perfect and the imperfect 8’s get hunted down by blade runners and that’s where we meet “K” (Ryan Gosling), following commands from Lt. Joshi (Robin Wright). When he finishes his work, he returns to his tiny apartment and charming AI companion Joi (Ana de Armas). They have such an intimate connection that she later arranges to hire a hooker, Mariette (Mackenzie Davis), and seemingly merges with her to pleasure K in one of the film’s most visually compelling scenes.

His most recent case, dispatching an 8 (David Bautista in a small but fine part), sends him on a case that eventually leads him to Las Vegas, where Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), has been living in solitude. Visionary industrialist Niander Wallace (Jared Leto), who took over Tyrell, is blind and wants any hint of competition wiped out, issuing orders through his replicant assistant Luv (Sylvia Hoeks), contrasting with the K/Joi team.

There’s a hunt for K and Deckard, the revelation of an underground movement (isn’t there always?), and things blow up real well here and there.

Visual futurist Syd Mead nicely extrapolates his future over three decades and you can’t question that the money went into the production. It’s rich and textured, the effects strong, and Dennis Gassner’s production design superb. But the overall effect leaves one cold, and the story’s flaws leaves too many unanswered questions to be truly successful. It certainly leaves you thinking, which is a cut above much of the genre fare we were offered in 2017.

The disc does a strong job transferring the film to 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray at the standard 2.40:1 width, with nary a hint of the material shot at 1.90:1 for IMAX. If anything, the Dolby Atmos soundtrack is better so you won’t miss a beat from the Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch score.

The film comes with complete with assortment of interesting special features. None are spectacular but given the look and feel of the future, makes for good watching. Perhaps the best is Designing the World of Blade Runner 2049 (21:55). There is also To Be Human: Casting Blade Runner 2049 (17:15); Prologues — 2022: Black Out (15:45), anime directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, 2036: Nexus Dawn (6:31), directed by Luke Scott, and 2048: Nowhere to Run (5:49), directed by Scott; Blade Runner 101 (11:22) — Blade Runners, The Replicant Revolution, The Rise of Wallace Corp., Welcome to 2049, Jois, and Within the Skies: Spinners, Pilotfish and Barracudas.

Book-A-Day 2018 #12: Satania by Vehlmann and Kerascoet

“There’s a world going on underground,” a great man once growl-sang, and Satania just is the book to explore that hidden underground world.

One might think the naked redhead at the center of the cover is Satania, but no — she’s Charlie (short for Charlotte), the teenage force behind an underground expedition to find her missing brother. Also in the group is the requisite old, crusty guide, Father Monsore, who was on the ill-fated prior expedition where Charlie’s brother Christopher disappeared. There are several others — the party starts out with about six people– but those are the ones to be concerned with.

Christopher had a crackpot theory that Neanderthals moved underground and therefore mutated into demon-looking humanoids who are the source of all worldwide stories of hell and its inhabitants. But these evolved Neanderthals are actually highly civilized, sexually free, and possessed of uniquely high technology that he will discover and share with the world. Now, Christopher deduced all of this — he has no evidence of any kind — and it seems that his book expounding his stupid theory was roundly panned out in the world. So, in a huff, he planned the expedition to prove his theories, heading into this cave somewhere in Europe to film the people he already knows everything about.

I think the reader is supposed to take Christopher’s theories seriously. But this, frankly, is impossible for anyone with a lick of sense and scientific knowledge — if he was right about anything, it could only be by pure happenstance. Luckily, it’s not necessary to believe in those nutty theories to enjoy Satania; he does not turn out to be entirely correct, though he did correctly guess that there’s much more going on in this massive subterranean cave system than surface-dwellers suspect.

So: Charlie, and Chistopher’s collaborator, and some other people somehow related to the crazy theory, are looking for him, in the cave system where a flash flood separated Christopher from the rest of his party months ago. And do they encounter their own flash flood practically as soon as the book begins?

Reader, of course they do.

They do not die in the flood, but their scrambles and running and propulsion by water leaves them somewhere they’ve never been before, with no way back. They set out to explore, in hopes of getting back to the surface. They have limited supplies and light, but, as with any self-respecting tale of underground worlds, they soon find edible and luminescent growing things to keep them going. (From that point on, everything is illuminated, and finding food not a serious issue.)

They find a lot more than that, of course: dangers aplenty, strange landscapes both made by sentients and shaped by nature, strange and dangerous creatures, allies and enemies, deadly heat and chilling cold. Satania turns out to be huge, and full of horror and wonders.

It does not, though, correspond closely to anyone’s image of Hell, even though several members of this party really really want it to, and this leads to certain unpleasant disagreements within the party. This is a story of hardships and stunning vistas, of a series of strange revelations, each stranger and more revelatory than the last. (But, to be clear: this is not a fantasy. They are not in Hell and everything they see should be roughly acceptable to physics, biology, and chemistry as we know them.)

Satania is a gorgeous book, as you might expect from the wife-and-husband art team credited as Kerascoet. The colors are exquisite, giving color to emotions and places, and the book contains a succession of amazing images, culminating in a fantastic double-page spread near the end. Even if this book hadn’t been translated from the French, I think it still would be worth “reading,” just for their work.

But it was translated (by Joe Johnson) from a script by Fabien Vehlmann, here just credited by his last name. He previously worked with Kerascoet on the stunning Beautiful Darkness , and I also really liked his script for the chilly SF graphic novel Last Days of an Immortal . So Satania is just a little disappointing: Christopher is a crank, and his crankishness sets in motion the whole plot, and there’s no way around that. The story is also more episodic — bad things happen, they flee, and have a moment of peace until the next episode starts — than the stronger Vehlmann books I’ve seen.

Not being as good as something amazing wonderful is not that much of a criticism, though: Vehlman has excellent dialogue here, making his very different people all come alive, and he particularly has a way with mania…perhaps he does realize what a crank Christopher is. Satania is an interesting, gorgeous, twisty journey through a vividly imagined world, by a set of world-class talents.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

REVIEW: Scooby-Doo! and Batman: The Brave and the Bold

REVIEW: Scooby-Doo! and Batman: The Brave and the Bold

I wish I had a grandchild to enjoy Scooby-Doo! and Batman: The Brave and the Bold with since I am far from the target audience. I was outgrowing Saturday morning TV when Scooby and the gang debuted and never warmed up to them. Over time, the troublesome teens have encountered countless pop culture celebrities in their storied career but this, their fourth meeting with the Caped Crusader, is a record.

It makes perfect sense that the 1960s homage version of Batman (Diedrich Bader) is used here since it is stylistically appropriate for this sort of crossover. Paul Giacoppo acquits himself well with a breezy script that uses touchstone elements from both series so fans are satisfied. Comics aficionados will appreciate the use of the New Look era Mystery Analysts of Gotham, even though the novelists have been replaced by the more colorful Martian Manhunter (Nicholas Guest), Detective Chimp (Kevin Michael Richardson), the Black Canary (Grey Griffin), the Question (Jeffrey Coombs), and Plastic Man (Tom Kenny). It’s funny to see Aquaman (John DiMaggio) trying to be a member while the Scooby (Frank Welker) and the gang are tested for admittance.

Since these sorts of mashups require a major threat, it seemed right that Batman’s rogues cause the trouble so of course we get to see Catwoman (Nika Futterman), Riddler (John Michael Higgins), Penguin (Tom Kenny), Clayface (Kevin Michael Richardson), Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy (both by Tara Strong).

There’s action, humorous hijinks, Scooby snacks, familiar catch phrases, and more all nicely handled by director Jake Castorena, who graduates from numerous art director assignments (Batman: The Killing Joke, Justice League: Gods & Monsters, etc.) to his third directorial job, following directing episodes of Justice League Action and Batman Unlimited.

The 75 minutes definitely feels padded but that’s to be expected given the limited range of the Scooby half of the match. Thankfully, the disc is rounded out with two classic episode from the New Scooby-Doo Movies:  “The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair” and “The Caped Crusader Caper”.

Day of the Dead: Bloodline Shuffles onto Disc Feb. 6

Fight the ultimate war against the undead when the terrifying zombie thriller Day of the Dead: Bloodline arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital), DVD, and Digital February 6 from Lionsgate. The film is currently available On Demand. A bold reimagining of the iconic George A. Romero film, Day of the Dead: Bloodline stars Sophie Skelton as a member of the military hiding underground to escape the undead monsters who have taken over the world above. With other survivors, she desperately searches for a cure to the zombie epidemic before it is too late. Also starring Johnathon Schaech and from director Hèctor Hernández Vicens (The Corpse of Anna Fritz) and writers Mark Tonderai and Lars Jacobson, the Day of the Dead: Bloodline Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $21.99 and $19.98, respectively.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

Fear goes viral in this terrifying retelling of George A. Romero’s zombie horror classic. Five years after an epidemic nearly wiped out the world’s population, Dr. Zoe Parker lives in an underground bunker among a small group of military personnel and survivalists, working on a cure while fighting armies of the undead. When a dangerous patient from Zoe’s past infiltrates the bunker, he just might hold the key to saving humanity . . . or ending it.

BLU-RAY/DVD/DIGITAL HD SPECIAL FEATURES

  • “Day of the Dead: Bloodline: Reviving Horror” Featurette

CAST

Johnathon Schaech (Marauders, Prom Night, TV’s “Ray Donovan”)
Sophie Skelton (Another Mother’s Son, TV’s “Outlander” and “So Awkward”)

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2017
Title Copyright: © 2017 Day of Dead Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Artwork & Supplementary Materials © 2018 Saban Films LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Type: Theatrical Release
Rating: R for bloody violence and gore, language and brief sexuality/nudity
Genre: Horror
Closed-Captioned: N/A
Subtitles: Spanish, English SDH
Feature Run Time: 91 Minutes
Blu-ray Format: 1080p High Definition, 16×9 Widescreen 2.39:1 Presentation
DVD Format: 16×9 Widescreen 2.39:1 Presentation
Blu-ray Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio™
DVD Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio

Box Office Democracy: Bottom 6 Movies of 2017

6. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

If this was just about wasted potential, Valerian would easily be on the top of this list.  There are five worse movies this year but none of them have a fraction of the visual artistry displayed here by Luc Besson.  Valerian has some of the best design I’ve seen in a movie all year and two of the most inventive chase sequences maybe ever.  It also features a terrible script that meanders forever over trivial nothing and merrily skips past dense plot without a moment for inspection.  I loved watching the action but I never really understood why any of it was going on.  Toss on top some of the worst chemistry I’ve ever seen between an on-screen couple (and honestly maybe Dane DeHaan isn’t ready to be a leading man) and this is an unpleasant movie to watch at any volume above mute.

5. American Assassin

I sincerely thought that we were past making movies like American Assassin now that we’re on year 16 of the obviously never ending War on Terror.  I assumed we were past movies that seemingly exist solely to demonize and dehumanize brown people on the other side of the world.  This is a movie with no nuance or subtext or anything.  It’s predictable, dreary, and the worst kind of weighty.  It depicts a world in which people are nothing but weapons for the nation as one we should want to be in.  It also runs for 15 minutes past any events of consequence happening and expects us to sit and care about literally nothing happening.

4. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage

If you’ve ever seen those posts where someone feeds a computer a bunch of data about one topic or another and then the computer spits back an attempt at making original things of the same set, you could understand how they probably wrote the script for xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.  It’s trying to be every successful action movie of the last ten years all at once.  It has a multi-cultural cast, numerous exotic locations that all happen to be filled with parties full of white people, and a bunch of supporting and cameo roles given to people intended to draw in audience in foreign markets.  There’s nothing holding the movie together so it’s easily the most boring movie I’ve ever seen that also features trying to use an airplane to hit falling satellites.  Movies are more than the sum of their parts and XXx: The Return of Xander Cage is a great lesson in that.

3. The Mummy

I long for the days when studios would just make movies with the idea that they could make an obscene amount of money from them.  Now it seems like they don’t want hundreds of millions of dollars unless they know it directly leads them to the next 100 million.  There were fine ideas in The Mummy about a woman who would not be cast aside and wanted to seize absolute power to punish her family.  That character doesn’t get to exist on screen because we need develop Tom Cruise to be the hero of the Dark Universe and we need time for Dr Jekyll and for the people who hunt monsters.  It is needless and exhausting.  The Mummy might not be an objectively terrible movie but it is so impossibly frustrating it needs to be recognized here.

2. Ghost in the Shell

Just to get it out of the way: this movie would make it on to this list just because it’s racist and tone deaf.  Deciding, in 2017, that it’s a good idea to make a movie based on an iconic Japanese manga/film/media empire and cast almost exclusively white people is astonishing.  It’s an irredeemable failure solely from looking at the poster.  Then it’s not even a good movie.  They threw out all the stories they presumably licensed the material for and instead gave us a milquetoast cyberpunk paint-by-number.  When the studio found out the Blade Runner sequel would be released in the same calendar year they should have shelved the project until we all forgot what could be done.

1. Transformers: The Last Knight

I suppose I should have some respect for Michael Bay as an auteur at this point.  He can’t possibly be hurting for money.  Nothing would stop him from getting lazy and putting out shorter films to try and goose his grosses by squeezing in another showing.  Bay is going to make these monstrous, incomprehensible, films and they’re going to be exactly as he wants them to be and as long as he pleases.  It would be charitable at this point to call these movies pointless.  There’s definitely a point: People who know things are idiots and people who shoot things are awesome.  They’re never going to stop with these; we should all just adjust our lives to accommodate them.

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