Shu Qi as Nie Yinniang, the assassin. (Nie Yinniang 2015)
Sight & Sound’s Top 20 Films of 2015
1. The Assassin
2. Carol
3. Mad Max Fury Road
4. Arabian Nights
5. Cemetery of Splendor
6. No Home Movie
7. 45 Years
8. Son of Saul
9. Amy
10.Inherent Vice
11.Anomalisa
12.It Follows
13.Phoenix
14.Girlhood
15.Hard to Be a God
16.Inside Out
17.Tangerine
18.Jafar Panahi’s Taxi
19.Horse Money
20.The Look of Silence
By Armando Inquig
‘Steve Jobs’ depicts the man as a flawed yet brilliant innovator: a salesman who expects employees to meet his standards, and a creative and artistic mind obsessed with product design.
Starring Michael Fassbender as Jobs, the movie is structured like a three-act play. Each act focuses on a pivotal product launch: the Macintosh in 1984, the NeXT (also known as The Cube) in 1988, and the iMac in 1998. Each act is preceded by flashbacks or a series of TV and news montages.
Just before Jobs takes the stage for each product launch, he’s confronted by various figures from his past. These include his ex-girlfriend Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston), Lisa, a daughter he once denied was his, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Apple CEO John Scully who played a role in Jobs’s dismissal, and original Mac team member Andy Hertzfeld. Through these interactions, his exasperated marketing executive Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet) consistently supports him, striving to maintain focus amidst the distractions that always seem to surface at the most inopportune moments.
While the film’s structure offers an intriguing approach, it leaves the characterization of the title character feeling unsatisfying and inconsistent. The movie doesn’t delve deeply into his history as an adopted child, omits key aspects of his professional relationship with Wozniak, and the reference to the invention of the iPad—shown as Jobs reacts to his daughter’s use of a portable cassette player—comes off as forced. Given the numerous recent portrayals of Jobs, this film fails to provide fresh insight.
The movie reaches its pinnacle in the third act, set in 1998 before the iMac launch, as Jobs reconciles with his daughter. Here, Fassbender truly captures the essence of Jobs, closely resembling the tech icon’s familiar image. This segment is a pleasure to watch.
Aaron Sorkin’s script provides a riveting, humorous, and captivating glimpse behind the scenes of Steve Jobs during pivotal product launches. However, it doesn’t match the depth, purpose, or impact of his work on ‘The Social Network’.
Season two of Fox’s “Gotham” will premiere later this month.
By Armando
Fox has been releasing promo materials the past few weeks as we head into Gotham’s second season premiere later this month. Judging from these promos, it appears that Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock will be busier than ever as Gotham’s villains old and new begin to rise to power.
Star Ben McKenzie recently revealed on EW that the show’s story arcs will be more serialized in it’s treatment of villains, as opposed to season 1 wherein new villains were revealed and disposed of in the same episode.
Here’s the official synopsis that Fox released to go along with the announcement of the premiere date.
“The stakes are higher than ever as Gotham explores the origin stories of some of the most ambitious and depraved Super Villains, including The Riddler, The Joker and Mr. Freeze, and Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) uncovers more secrets from his father’s past.”
A new promo video can be seen below:
“This is not a red herring,” writer/producer Bruno Heller told E! Online in February. “It’s the beginning of the story of how the Joker came to be, how the Joker was created, where he came from, who he is. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Cameron Monaghan is the Joker. He might be.”
And to fans who have been waiting for Gotham’s season 1 Blu-ray, all 22 episodes will be available on Tuesday, September 8th in glorious 1080p. Additionally, it will also be available for streaming on Netflix beginning September 21st, the same day season 2 premieres on Fox. The 4-disc season 1 on blu-ray will include special features that will not be available via streaming services.
“Gotham” Season 2 premieres Monday, Sept. 21, on Fox at 8 p.m. EDT.
More Than 150 Delcourt Group Titles To Be Released Exclusively by ComiXology
July 6th, 2015 New York, NY/ Paris, France Delcourt Group, the leading independent comic book publisher in France, took a big step in their global expansion today with the debut of an exclusive line of English language digital-first comics on comiXology, the revolutionary cloud-based digital comics platform. This major publishing program premieres this month with three of the bestselling titles published in France, including The Curse of the Wendigo, which was illustrated by artist Charlie Adlard, best known for his collaboration with Robert Kirkman on The Walking Dead, and Come Prima by Alfred, the graphic novel which won the Prix du Meilleur Album at the 2014 Angoulême International Comics Festival. Announced in advance of San Diego Comic Con 2015, the initiative calls for more than 150 acclaimed Delcourt titles to be published over the next 12 months exclusively through comiXology.
By Armando
Released exclusively to Entertainment Weekly, the stills and images are the best look yet into Snyder’s hotly anticipated “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As part of EW’s preview of Comicon 2015, the images include Batman and Superman squaring off and a first look at Wonder Woman in the film.
Stay tuned as we will be bringing you live updates as they happen from SDCC 2015.
Batman vs. Superman opens in theaters March 26, 2016.
CALABASAS, CA-June 23, 2015—Profiles in History will pay tribute and honor to special effects master Grant McCune as they present McCune Masterworks at the 2015 Comic-Con International: San Diego, July 8 – 12. Profiles in History will devote its entire Comic-Con booth (#1605) to McCune’s work, highlighted by the original, screen-used, Star Wars IV: A New Hope 18″ miniature “Blockade Runner,” the ship that set the tone for the entire Star Wars franchise, creating an epic cultural phenomenon that would capture audiences worldwide for generations to come. The “Blockade Runner” was the first flying ship audiences around the world saw hurtling through space in the opening sequence of the first Star Wars film, carrying Princess Leia, C-3PO and R2-D2 among its crew.
Comic-Con fans will be treated to a rare opportunity to see this iconic piece of movie history up close, as it hasn’t been seen or displayed publicly for nearly 40 years! Mr. McCune, as Chief Model Maker, was one of the primary members of the Team that won the 1978 Academy Award® for Best Visual Effects for the film-and his Oscar® will also be on display.
New York, NY—June 24th, 2015— The Marvel Universe returns this fall, and at the forefront, a brand new band of Earth’s mightiest lead the charge as the premier team of the Marvel Universe. Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, returns to lead an all-new and all-different team Avengers – Captain America [Sam Wilson], Thor [Jane Foster], Vision, and the unlikeliest of heroes – Miles Morales, a.k.a. Spider-Man, Nova, and Ms. Marvel! Today, Marvel is pleased to announce ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS #1 – a new ongoing series from blockbuster writer Mark Waid (Daredevil, S.H.I.E.L.D.) and artistic duties from Adam Kubert (Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows) and Mahmud Asrar (All-New X-Men).
Kicking off the new series, writer Mark Waid plans no training period and a baptismal by chaos and WAR! “As faithful NOVA readers will recognize, the main villain in our first story – Warbringer – has strong ties to Sam Alexander [a.k.a. Nova], but does Sam dare confess this to the team after the havoc Warbringer wreaks in New York City?”
New York, NY—June 22nd, 2015— The Sorcerer Supreme returns for his first ongoing series in nearly twenty years! And he’s making house calls! Today, Marvel is pleased to announce DOCTOR STRANGE #1 – a new ongoing series from blockbuster creators Jason Aaron (Star Wars, Thor) and Chris Bachalo (Uncanny X-Men, Avengers)!
Prepare for a side of the Marvel Universe you’ve never seen before as the magical, mystical and all things weird lie at every turn. And if it’s bizarre enough, and you don’t know where to turn – call the Doctor. From inside his Sanctum Sanctorum – the strangest place in this or any universe, the Master of the Mystic Arts protects this realm from the supernatural.
“Get ready for a brand new Doctor Strange for a brand new Marvel Universe,” says Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso. “Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo have rebuilt Marvel’s ’Sorcerer Supreme’ from the ground up with an excitingly original take that redefines the character going forward.”
