Film Review: The Struggle And Hope In “The Bicycle Thieves”

By Armando Inquig

The Bicycle Thieves lays bare the harsh reality of life in post-war Italy. Released in 1948, during a time of deep economic struggle, the film captures the raw aftermath of war with a simplicity that makes its message all the more powerful. Directed by Vittorio De Sica, it’s one of the defining works of Italian neorealism, and still widely considered one of the greatest films ever made.

The story follows Antonio Ricci, a down-on-his-luck man in Rome trying to provide for his family. Things start to look up when he finally lands a job putting up advertising posters — but the job depends on having a bicycle. His wife, Maria, sacrifices their bed linens to get the bike back from a pawn shop, and Antonio heads out to work, hopeful for the first time in a long while.

But his luck quickly turns. While he’s up on a ladder hanging a poster, someone steals his bicycle. He gives chase, but the thief vanishes into the crowd.

What follows is a long and often heartbreaking day as Antonio and his young son, Bruno, comb the city trying to find the bike. Their search takes them through different parts of Rome, each offering a glimpse into the city’s wide economic gap. At a bustling market full of stolen goods, they come up short. At one point, they find someone who may know the thief, and they track down a suspect. But Antonio can’t prove anything, and the man walks free.

As the day wears on, Antonio’s desperation grows. Eventually, in a moment of hopelessness, he tries to steal a bicycle himself — only to be caught in front of a crowd, and most painfully, in front of Bruno. The bike’s owner, seeing their situation, decides not to press charges.

The film ends with Antonio and Bruno walking away together, hand in hand, fading into the crowd. The bicycle — and the hope it once brought — is gone.

De Sica paints a painfully honest picture of what poverty can do to a person. Antonio is not a hero or a villain — just a man pushed to his breaking point by a world that doesn’t seem to care. His story still resonates, not because of the time or place, but because of the emotions it captures so clearly: struggle, pride, shame, and love.

The Bicycle Thieves is moving, human, and unforgettable.

The Criterion Collection recently released the film on Blu-ray in a 4K digital restoration. This special edition also includes a 2003 documentary on screenwriter and longtime De Sica collaborator Cesare Zavattini, directed by Carlo Lizzani.

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Superman Is the Best Superhero of All Time, Study Says

By Adam Chitwood

It’s a debate as old as time itself—which superhero would beat all other superheroes in a fight? Everyone has their own answer (with caveats galore), but now we’ve got an objective, definitive answer to the question that has perplexed philosophers and scientists for decades.

Students at the University of Leicester (via Gizmodo) have unveiled the results of a seven-year study into the age-old superhero question, and the answer is clear: Superman is the best-equipped superhero of all time.

photo copyright: Warner Brothers. DC Comics

While Superman landing the title isn’t exactly a shock—he can do basically anything—the runners up may surprise you. Wolverine and Mystique both made solid cases, with Wolverine’s regenerative capacity cited as a major benefit, and Mystique’s mastery of manipulation to aid in disguise working in her favor. Thor also ranks considerably high thanks to the God of Thunder’s energy efficiency—1 throw of Mjolnir can have an energy output of 5.97×1018 J. Inhumans member Black Bolt, meanwhile, likely holds the title of the single most destructive superhero given the energy output that results in planetary annihilation.

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Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to star in Shane Black’s Doc Savage movie

by Armando

It looks like Dwayne Johnson’s busy schedule will get even busier. The actor confirmed on Monday that he would be teaming with director Shane Black to bring the classic heroic-adventure character to life in a new film, which had been in development at Sony Pictures.

The actor relayed the information via his Instagram account post that shows Black and his co-writing team of Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry and producer Hiram Garcia.

Shane Black, recently helmed the The Nice Guys with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling to positive reviews and modest boxoffice since bowing on May 20. He also directed Iron Man 3 and wrote Lethal Weapon in the late 80s which kicked off the franchise for Warner Bros. He is also currently working on his new Predator film.

The superhero title is just the latest on Johnson’s busy slate. He is starring alongside Kevin Hart in action comedy Central Intelligence, set for a June 17 release.

Johnson will also produce the film under his Seven Bucks Productions banner with Sony releasing the movie. Production for the film has yet to begin.

It's OFFICIAL: For all comic book fans you already know the world's first superhero (pre-dating Superman) is the "Man of Bronze" himself Clark "Doc" Savage. Want to thank my bud director/writer Shane Black and his writing team Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry for flying in from LA and sitting with me and our @sevenbucksprod's producer @hhgarcia41 on this Memorial Day weekend to chop up creative and break story on this very cool project. Comic book fans around the world know that the cool thing about "Doc" Savage is that he's the inspiration for Superman. First name Clark, called "Man of Bronze", retreats to his "Fortress of Solitude" in the Arctic etc etc. Doc was physically and mentally trained from birth by his father and a team of scientists to become the perfect human specimen with a genius level intellect. His heightened senses are beyond comprehension. He can even identify a women's perfume from half a mile away. He is literally the master of everything. But here's the #1 reason I'm excited to become Doc Savage.. HE'S A F*CKING HILARIOUS WEIRDO! Confidently, yet innocently he has zero social graces whatsoever due to his upbringing so every interaction he has with someone is direct, odd, often uncomfortable and amazingly hilarious. After speaking for hours w/ Shane Black I can see why the creator of Superman took only the best parts of Doc Savage and leaving the "weirdo" part behind. But to us, it's that "weirdo" part that makes Clark "Doc" Savage dope! Can't wait to sink my teeth into this one of a kind character. #ItsOfficial #WorldsFirstSuperhero #GeniusIntellect #PhysicalSpecimen #FnLoveableWeirdo #ManOfBronze #DocSavage

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on

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Beauty and the Beast Trailer Breaks Star Wars Views Record

By Armando

The first teaser trailer for Disney’s live-action retelling of Beauty and the Beast overtakes Star Wars: The Force Awakens with the biggest teaser audience in history.

Disney’s re-imagining of the classic story was met with skepticism early in its production, with many fans expressing that a remaking of the 1991 animated classic was not even necessary. So no one really expected expected the teaser to break a record set by one of the teaser trailers for one of the biggest movies of all time, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Yet that is exactly what just happened and the movie was soon trending following the trailer release on Monday

The teaser was watched 91.8m times during its first 24 hours of release, taking it ahead of the 88m views garnered by the second teaser for The Force Awakens in 2014.

Disney has been having a fantastic run lately, with The Jungle Book’s boxoffice performance this year exceeding expectations, and looks to repeat the same kind of success when their live-action retelling of the classic fairy-tale Beauty and the Beast arrives next spring.

Here is the first glimpse of Disney remake of the classic story of Beauty and the Beast.

Beauty and the Beast opens on March 17, 2017. It stars Emma Watson, Ian McKellen, Ewan McGregor and Emma Thompson. It was directed by Bill Condon from a script by Stephen Chbosky.

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Punch It Into Hyperspace With Your New Look at STAR WARS: HAN SOLO #1!


New York, NY – May 19th, 2016 – Everyone’s favorite scoundrel – now starring in his very own series! Today, Marvel is pleased to present your new look inside HAN SOLO #1 – the highly anticipated Star Wars™ limited series coming to a galaxy far, far away and your local comic shops this June! A-list creators Marjorie Liu and Mark Brooks hop in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon to bring you a swashbuckling tale of high adventure in deep space!

Han Solo has finally entered his ship into the Dragon Void Run – an infamous high-stakes race across the stars. You know, the race Han has dreamt of winning. Only there’s a catch – his entry into this legendary race is a top-secret undercover mission for Princess Leia and the Rebellion! Will he keep his mind on the mission? More importantly – can he manage to pull it off while still maintaining his lead in the race?!

The race is on as Han, Chewie and the Falcon blast off this June for the highly anticipated HAN SOLO #1 – coming to comic shops and digital devices!

STAR WARS: HAN SOLO #1 (of 5) (APR161034)
Written by MARJORIE LIU
Art by MARK BROOKS
Cover by LEE BERMEJO
Variant Covers by JOHN CASSADAY (APR161035)
and MIKE ALLRED (APR161037)
Millennium Falcon Variant by SCOTT KOBLISH (FEB168681)
Movie Variant Available (APR161040)
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER (APR161038)
Cassaday Sketch Variant Also Available (APR161036)
Blank Variant Also Available (APR161039)
FOC – 05/23/16, On Sale – 06/15/16

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Steven Spielberg and Mark Rylance Bring ‘The BFG’ to Cannes.

By Armando

Amid the usual excitement, the 2016 Cannes Film Festival is in full swing, premiering some of the year’s biggest films. One of the more anticipated titles is Steven Spielberg’s return to family film territory, The BFG.

An adaptation of Roald Dahl‘s classic novel about a young girl who befriends a “big friendly giant,” the movie reunites Spielberg with Mark Rylance, who won an academy award for Spielberg’s 2015 movie Bridge of Spies.

“I have a lot of acquaintances over 44 years [as a filmmaker],” he told reporters at the Cannes Film Festival Saturday. “And I haven’t brought a lot of people into my life from the movies … ” Clearly Rylance is an exception.

The BFG marks the actor and director’s second collaboration, and with a third under way, the director said he’s become close with the actor. Similarly, Rylance complimented Spielberg’s commitment to storytelling, saying, “How you tell a story — Steven’s constantly always thinking about that. So, you feel very confident as an actor that what you’re doing is going to be placed into a well-told story.”

So far, the collaboration is another success. The Telegraph UK call Rylance “as good a fit for the film as Spielberg: his BFG could almost be the distant ancestor of his indelible forest-dwelling troublemaker Johnny “Rooster” Byron in the Jez Butterworth play Jerusalem.”

The BFG comes to theaters July 1, 2016. Also stars Ruby Barnhill as the impulsively kidnapped orphan Sophie who befriends the title giant.

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Danny Glover and Alec Baldwin Star in Sci Fi Thriller ‘ANDRON’

By AICreativeMedia

ANDRON opens in theaters in New York City and Los Angeles on June 3, 2016
In Theaters, VOD and Digital EST June 3, 2016

Film Synopsis
In the year 2154, a group of young men and women awake in a dark claustrophobic maze. They don’t remember who they are or how they got stuck inthe Black Labyrinth of ANDRON. The group must learn to decipher codes, understand the signals and beat the tests in this mysterious and bizarre place. Out of necessity they struggle toform a bond to survive, while the outside world watches and wagers on their fate.

ANDRON
Directed by: FRANCESCO CINQUEMANI
Cast: Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, The Departed); Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon series, The Color Purple); Michelle Ryan (Covert Affairs, Cleanskin)
Language: English
Genre: Sci Fi, Action
Rating: R
TRT: 90 minutes
Language: English
Genre: Sci Fi / Action

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JK Rowling apologises for killing off Harry Potter fan favourite Remus Lupin

By AICreativeMedia

JK Rowling has apologised for killing off Remus Lupin. Remus is a favourite of Harry Potter fans, in the final book.

Monday marks the anniversary of the fictional Battle of Hogwarts, the gruesome events described in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that ended the Second Wizarding War. To mark the day, author J.K. Rowling has apologized for killing a fan favorite character in the Harry Potter series: Remus Lupin.

“Once again, it’s the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts so, as promised, I shall [apologize] for a death. This year: Remus Lupin,” Rowling wrote on Twitter. “In the interests of total honesty I’d also like to confess that I didn’t decide to kill Lupin until I wrote Order if the Phoenix.”

“Arthur lived, so Lupin had to die. I'm sorry. I didn't enjoy doing it. The only time my editor ever saw me cry was over the fate of Teddy.

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James Cameron confirms he is making four Avatar sequels

By Bryan Bishop

We’d already heard rumors that James Cameron had found three sequels a little limiting for his Avatar follow-ups, and on stage at CinemaCon today he made it official. The filmmaker announced that no less than four new sequels to his 3D epic are in the works, with the first hitting theaters in 2018.

The filmmaker discussed the many ways in which he is expanding the world — a theme park with Disney in in the works, and his company has signed a deal with Dark Horse Comics for graphic novel spin-offs — but the movies themselves are obviously the biggest component.

The Avatar sequels have been a moving target since he first announced he was working on them, and Cameron has since assembled what amounts to a screenwriting superteam to break the story for the various films. As it stands, the second film in the series will be coming out in the holiday season of 2018, with the subsequent films arriving in 2020, 2022, and 2023.

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Young Han Solo Will Probably Be Played By One Of These 4 Actors

By Dirk Libbey

And then there were four. When we first heard about the casting search for the young version of Han Solo for the character’s upcoming standalone Star Wars film, it sounded like every living human between 20 and 35 was being considered. Then we heard the shortlist had been whittled down to about a dozen names. While the decision hasn’t quite been made yet, the shortlist has reportedly become even shorter.

While the exact size of the shortlist is unclear, according to The Hollywood Reporter, at least four actors were in London last week to test for the role. While three of the young performers have been on our radar previously, one appears to be an entirely new name attached to the intergalactic smuggler. Here’s a look at the top candidates for the Millennium Falcon pilot’s chair.

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