We’re back with our daily column, or as daily as we can humanly manage. (I was sick yesterday. Apologies all around!) The good thing is now there’s two days’ worth of cool things to talk about and share with you.
8½!
One of Federico Fellini’s most beloved and accomplished films in a career that is plentiful with those, 8½ stars Marcello Mastroanni as a film director in search of inspiration. I am partial to this one since one of its costars is Claudia Cardinale, aside from the fact that there are images and ideas in this film that had never been seen before, shots that still linger in your imagination years later. But also because Claudia Cardinale.
Film Forum will be showing 8½ in 35mm later this month. I really recommend seeing it, even if you’ve already seen it, and obviously only if you’re anywhere near New York between 4/25 and 5/8.
JOHN CARPENTER!
John Carpenter received his star on the Walk of Fame today, with Kurt Russell, Keith David, and FX guru Greg Nicotero there to speak in tribute to their longtime collaborator and, in my view, the greatest living director. I am going there. I am going all the way there. Bless you, John Carpenter. Happy everything always.
SAM PECKINPAH!
The 15th Beijing International Film Festival, with the incredible actor-director Jiang Wen in the role of head of the jury for competition, will be celebrating 130 years of world cinema with various retrospectives, including one featuring the films of the Dogme 95 movement.
Of greatest interest to me, Sam Peckinpah will be honored on the occasion of what would have been his 100th birthday with a screening of one of his finest films, 1969’s THE WILD BUNCH. I’ve seen that film countless times, most recently on the big screen last year for my birthday, and it yields new revelations each and every time.
The festival will also be screening a half dozen of Robert Altman’s films for his would-be 100th birthday. I’m an admirer of Altman too, of course (and he’s one of the few greats that I’ve actually seen in real life while he was still here!), and I recommend a deep dive through all of his films. But I only led with Peckinpah because I’m more of a Peckinpah kind of guy. Altman is wonderful too.
The Beijing festival will be happening from April 18th through the 26th.
CRIME 101!
CinemaCon in Vegas continues to fire off announcements and revelations about upcoming movies. I’m keeping an eye out for CRIME 101, adapted by director Bart Layton and writer Peter Straughan, who won an Oscar this year for CONCLAVE. It’s based on a novella by the great Don Winslow, and it stars Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, Monica Barbaro, Mark Ruffalo, Corey Hawkins, Barry Keoghan, and Nick Nolte, to name a few. Could it be HEAT for the new millennium? It sure has the cast for it… (Note: The 101 of the title refers to the famed freeway in Los Angeles.) Excited about this one.
NOBODY 2!
Here’s a new poster. No trailer yet. This and HAVOC are maybe the two movies in 2025 that I’m most ravenous to see. 2021’s NOBODY was one of my absolute favorites from that year. It’s Bob Odenkirk as JOHN WICK, and it totally works. The less you know about who some of his costars are, going into it, the more fun you’ll have. Some of those costars are coming back for the sequel. Timo Tjahjanto is directing. Usually when people say “I can’t wait,” there’s not much literalism to it, just general enthusiasm. In this case, I can’t wait. Feels like my entire scalp is burning. The movie is out on August 16th. Let’s just hope my head doesn’t erupt in flame like I’m Ghost Rider in my deranged anticipation.
@ Empire Magazine.
M3GAN 2.0!
This is a the trailer for M3GAN 2.0, the sequel to the surprise mega-hit from early 2023. If you’re someone who was into it, you’re gonna be pleased with what you see here. I am usually a little suspicious of movies that arrive as memes almost instantly, but I saw M3GAN early enough and had fun with it enough that none of the meme-ing bugged me. And I am pleased but hardly surprised that this trailer appears to address that, in a meta kind of way. Looks like a lot of fun, and fun is healthy and good. Lighten up, Francis.
THE REHEARSAL!
Here’s a trailer for Season Two of THE REHEARSAL, starring Nathan Fielder. Loved Season One. Honestly didn’t know I should have expected a second season. Must have missed the renewal announcement. So this was a nice surprise today.
AESOP ROCK!
Been a fan of this guy forever. The new song is called “Checkers.” The new album is called “Black Hole Superette!”
SUPERMAN!
Here’s an extended look at stuff we mainly saw already in the teaser trailer from several weeks back. Superman is badly hurt from a battle and needs a hand getting to the Fortress of Solitude, and his super-dog Krypto arrives and jumps all over him, complete with cartoony thumping sound effects of the sort you would hear if your dog had superpowers and kicked at you to get you to play even if you just had gotten your ass kicked. The tone of this movie so far looks like a cross between comically over-reverential and outright slapstick, which is par for the course for superhero movies in 2025. I’m gonna see it. If I sound cranky, it’s just the increasingly tortured roll-out that’s frustrating me. Just let’s see it already!
YESTERDAY WAS NEW COMIC BOOK WEDNESDAY!
Here are a few recommendations!
Death In The Family is an infamous storyline from 1988, right when I was getting into comics. If you love Batman, you know about his trusty sidekick Robin. There has been more than one Robin, though. The first one was Dick Grayson. In the comics, he aged out of being Robin and went on to have adventures on his own as Nightwing. The second Robin was a kid named Jason Todd, who Batman caught trying to steal the tires off the Batmobile and took in as his new apprentice. Jason Todd wasn’t exactly as popular as Dick Grayson was, so in a weird and dark attempt at democracy in storytelling, DC Comics offered a telephone line where fans could vote to have Robin killed off in the comic books, or else to spare him. By what was reported as a narrow margin, fans in 1988 voted to have Robin killed. The Joker did it, with a crowbar. Dark shit. Luckily, I got into comics not with this story, but just after, at around the time of Tim Drake, the third Robin, who got the job after independently figuring out that Bruce Wayne was Batman. I liked that kid! Eventually, Jason Todd returned, since there are no characters in comics who stay dead forever. And it’s not like the original story was poorly told. It had art by Jim Aparo, longtime Batman artist, and cover artwork by Mike Mignola, who as you can see above returned for this new series.
Robin Lives! is an alternate-universe story, which follows the untaken path delineated in the title, written by the great JM DeMatteis, who wrote one of my favorite Spider-Man stories ever, Kraven’s Last Hunt. And it has interior art by Rick Leonardi, a veteran draftsman who as far as I’m concerned, is one of the most underrated superhero artists there is. He’s maybe most famous for designing Spider-Man 2099, but everything he does has a unique energy. I liked this story, and it came out in hardcover and paperback this week.
Ahoy Comics is an independent publisher who specializes in stories that aren’t being told by DC or Marvel. They often do superhero comics, but in very individualized and sometimes hilarious versions. To my knowledge, this is their first licensed title, which means characters that already existed in other forms coming to comic books. No doubt you know The Toxic Avenger from the Troma movies, or even from the 1990s cartoon and toy line. Either way, you’re gonna enjoy this series, which would have been worth it for the covers alone. In a weird way, this is a relevant pick for a reboot, since we are headed into a time of increasing emvironmental distress and horror. The comic is funnier than that, happily, and this week a paperback collection of the series is out. Toxie will return for a new series this year, to coincide with the movie starring DINKLAGE!
Batman: Off-World is the first Batman story from Jason Aaron, a writer whose work I am always interested in. The high concept is that, early in Batman’s crime-fighting career, Batman had done all the training he needed to do to fight Earthly criminals, but he realized that he’d need to train to fight alien threats too, so he uses Bruce Wayne’s infinite resources to head into space to take on bad guys there. Intriguing idea, in an era where people are regularly questioning on social media whether or not Batman being a billionaire who beats up on criminals is moral, often on a website owned by a billionaire who dreams of going to space. I’m not sure this story has any of that subtext: I’ve read it, and to me it’s just a fun story with engaging artwork. But that’s a good thing too!
Daredevil: Cold Day In Hell is a story about Daredevil in his twilight years. This is a genre that isn’t done too often, since superhero comics are usually about aging down heroes, not imagining them as old bags of bones. Obviously, the most famous of these stories is The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, who made a big splash telling Daredevil stories before taking on Batman’s far future. I also like Spider-Man: Reign by Kaare Andrews, and Death Of Wolverine, written by Charles Soule and drawn by Steve McNiven. That team returns here, to do a take on a much older Daredevil. Charles is a great Daredevil writer, but you don’t have to take it from me: Go watch the current season of Daredevil: Born Again, which draws as much from the Mayor Fisk storyline as it does from Frank Miller. Guess I should disclose that I consider Charles a real-life friend, but I don’t think it’s so bad for me to recommend this comic because the result would be you reading great comics! In addition to striking covers by Steve McNiven, the series also has covers from past Daredevil greats including John Romita Jr., Joe Quesada, and motherfucking Frank Miller himself. Amazing.
Have a great night. See you tomorrow!
- [THE BIG QUESTION] WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FEMALE ENSEMBLE IN MOVIES? - July 22, 2016
- [IN THEATERS NOW] THE BOY (2016) - January 24, 2016
- Cult Movie Mania Releases Lucio Fulci Limited Edition VHS Sets - January 5, 2016
Tags: Aesop Rock, Ahoy Comics, Barry Keoghan, Beijing, Bob Odenkirk, Charles Soule, Chris Hemsworth, Christopher Lloyd, Claudia Cardinale, Columns, Comic Books, Comics, Corey Hawkins, daily grindhouse, Daredevil, DC Comics, Don Winslow, Federico Fellini, frank miller, Halle Berry, HBO, Jason Aaron, JM DeMatteis, Joe Quesada, john carpenter, John Romita Jr., Jon Abrams, Keith David, Kurt Russell, Los Angeles, M3GAN, Marcello Mastroianni, Mark Ruffalo, Marvel Comics, Mike Mignola, Monica Barbaro, Nathan Fielder, nick nolte, Rick Leonardi, Sam Peckinpah, Steve McNiven, Superheroes, Superman, The 1980s, The RZA, Timo Tjahjanto, Trailers, Troma, Troma Entertainment
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