[Weekly Netflix Fix] Final June 2015 Update
The final Netflix update of the month doesn't offer too much. However, one title, All the Wilderness, is well worth a night in. As I wrote in my review this past February, the film " will appeal to indie film darlings that can't get enough of coming-of-age films." Indeed, it was an early 2015 favorite of mine. Also of note is A Most Wanted Man, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2014 and is the last of Philip Seymour Hoffman's films released before his untimely death.
You can check out the full list of new Netflix Instant titles below!
Cedar Cove: Season 1
Cedar Cove: Season 2
Earth From Above: Season 1
Earth From Above: Season 2
Earth From Above: Season 3
Earth From Above: Season 4
All the Wilderness
Revolver Rani
16-Love
A Most Wanted Man
Gori Tere Pyaar Mein
The Birthday Boys: Season 2
Some Assembly Required: Season 1
Daddy's Home
Supremacy
Cake
GasLand
Ugly
Walking with the Dead
Confessions of a Prodigal Son
Advantageous
Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle
Beyond the Lights
Green Street 3: Never Back Down
Total Siyappa
After the Ball
Twin Warriors
King of Comedy
Ballet 422
God of Cookery
My Italian Secret: The Forgotten Heroes
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Champs, Orange is the New Black
It's been a week since the surprise early release of Orange is the New Black's third season on Netflix. I'm sure you've all binge-watched the entire 13 episode season, but if not - why haven't you? Our other main highlight for this new installment of Weekly Netflix Fix is the boxing documentary Champs. Keen readers will remember we not only reviewed the film back in March, but we also interviewed Champs director Bert Marcus. I highly recommend watching the documentary, then reading our review and interview!
You can find the full list of new Netflix Instant titles below.
Life of Crime
When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism
Life with Boys: Season 1
If I Had Wings
Champs
Orange Is the New Black: Season 3
The Cobbler
Austin to Boston
High Fidelity
Snap
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Vengeance of an Assassin
Antarctica: A Year on Ice
Grey's Anatomy: Season 11
Scandal: Season 4
Avengers Grimm
The Radio City Christmas Spectacular
Danger Mouse: Season 10
Danger Mouse: Season 9
Danger Mouse: Season 8
Danger Mouse: Season 7
Danger Mouse: Season 6
Danger Mouse: Season 5
Danger Mouse: Season 4
Danger Mouse: Season 3
Danger Mouse: Season 2
Danger Mouse: Season 1
Hawaizaada
Toby's Travelling Circus: Season 1
InuYasha: Season 2
Vecinos: Season 2
Vecinos: Season 1
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit: Season 1
Bite Size
Know How
Rita: Season 3
Rodney Carrington: Laughter’s Good
Wizards vs. Aliens: Season 1
Wizards vs. Aliens: Season 2
Wizards vs. Aliens: Season 3
Really Me: Season 1
Really Me: Season 2
Bindi's Bootcamp: Season 1
Team Toon: Season 1
Black Friday
Death Note
Paa
Nana / Season 1
Cuidado con el Angel
Teresa
Isa TKM
Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
Miss XV
Eastern Boys
3 Nights in the Desert
Vampire Knight: Season 1
Vampire Knight: Season 2
B.B. King: The Life of Riley
Leprechaun: Origins
Little White Lie
Gukjeshijang
Monster
Venus Talk
Curious George
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of
Why The Simpsons is Not As Good As It Used to Be
In season 13, the episode "Gump Roast" has a clip show that ends in NRBQ performing "They'll Never Stop The Simpsons," a parody of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." Along with summarizing the crazier stories over the years like Homer's marijuana use or when Homer thought Bart was gay, it made fun of their current lack of stories with an image of Homer jumping a shark along with joke lyrics like "Have no fears we've got stories for years!" and for the longest time I believed it. While the later seasons were never "classic" territory, there are still plenty of examples I use to show how good it is like "Pray Anything," "The Fight Before Christmas," "500 Keys," and "The Day the Earth Stood Cool." I am one of the few people out there that wanted it to go on forever.
But after watching the latest train wreck of a season, and after learning that the showrunners plan to legally separate Homer and Marge for the upcoming 27th (!) season, I'm giving up. Regardless of whether or not this is meant for a single episode, separating Marge and Homer or playing with the idea in order to get fans talking feels more like grasping at straws than ever before. And with the way The Simpsons is currently written, this can only turn out badly.
This old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be.
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Nightcrawler, Rosewater, and Primer
I know what you're all thinking - Orange is the New Black Season 3 comes out on Netflix tomorrow, and there's nothing more alluring than spending a weekend in Litchfield with Piper, Red, Taystee, Crazy Eyes, and more. However, you still have a few good hours, so why not check out some of Netflix Instant's new offerings?
Some of my personal recommendations include the first Mortal Kombat film, Shane Carruth's debut film Primer, Jake Gyllenhaal's award-winning Nightcrawler, and Jon Stewart's directorial debut Rosewater. Check out the full list of new titles below.
Asmodexia
Bad Asses on the Bayou
Diplomacy
El Niño
God's Slave
The Lost Boys: Special Edition
Mortal Kombat: The Movie
My Mistress
The Nun
Sense8: Season 1
Happy Valley
The Kidnapping of Freddy Heineken
Killers
On the Road
Primer
Words and Pictures
Grace of Monaco
The Dramatics: A Comedy
Farewell Herr Schwarz
Free the Nipple
It's Tough Being Loved by Jerks
Nightcrawler
Quiz Time
Remote Area Medical
Rosewater
Quiz Time: Season 1
The Garfield Show: Season 1
The Garfield Show: Season 2
The Sisterhood of Night
Taratabong: The World of the Meloditties
Trotro
New Scream TV Series Trailer Reveals New Killer
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Everything under the sun is getting remade, revamped, re-imagined, and rebooted these days, whether it be a new Mega Man cartoon, Bruce Campbell returning to the Evil Dead world in Ash vs. Evil Dead, ReBoot getting its own live-action/CG hybrid reboot, and the Powerpuff Girls are getting a makeover. I know I only focused on TV shows, but really - is nothing sacred?!
I say that with my tongue firmly in my cheek, as we all know the Hollywood cycle by now, as it has also found its next target: Scream. In case you haven't heard, the popular metafictional film series that ruled the mid-'90s through the early '00s. This time around, however, MTV is adapting the franchise for a new generation and a new format as Scream will be premiering as an MTV series on June 30th.
This first trailer for the series introduces us to the new generation of potential Ghostface victims, complete with a modernized version of the popular "Scream" mask that, quite frankly, is a lot more frightening. The premise, which revolves around a YouTube video gone viral that resulted in the death of a high school student, is similar to this year's Unfriended, albeit without the angle of utilizing a computer screen to depict the film.
Watch the trailer above and let us know what you think!
Jon Bernthal Joining Marvel's Daredevil as The Punisher
Jon Bernthal has been had quite the acting repertoire since being killed off in the second season of The Walking Dead, appearing in films like The Wolf of Wall Street, Fury, and one of my current favorite films of the year, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. However, Bernthal's next role could be his biggest to date.
Yesterday, Marvel announced that Bernthal has been cast as Frank Castle/The Punisher for the next season of Marvel's Daredevil. For those unaware, The Punisher is a brutal vigilante/anti-hero unlike any of the other mainstream Marvel superheroes who has no problem killing villains for the greater good. In saying that, Bernthal has the look and demeanor necessary to portray such a character. Marvel's Head of Television Jeph Loeb had the following to say about Bernthal's casting:
Jon Bernthal brings an unmatched intensity to every role he takes on, with a potent blend of power, motivation and vulnerability that will connect with audiences. Castle’s appearance will bring dramatic changes to the world of Matt Murdock and nothing will be the same.
This will be the fourth time The Punisher has been depicted in a live-action film or series, but the first time under the watchful eye of Marvel Studios. With rumors that Marvel Studios has plans to incorporate its TV series characters with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, could it only be a matter of time before we see Bernthal and the rest of the Daredevil cast side-by-side with Robert Downey, Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, et. al.? It's an exciting time to be a Marvel fan.
Daredevil Season 2's Showrunner Writing Akira Remake Script
We all know the sad tale of the live-action Akira remake by now - it's gone through numerous rumors, delays, budgetary problems, and more since Warner Bros. acquired the rights back in 2002. The last we heard, Non-Stop director Jaume Collet-Serra was on board to direct the film and bring the project's budget down to the $60m - $70m range. Since then, production was cancelled (yet again), leaving the film in limbo once again.
Fast forward to this week when it was announced that Marvel's Daredevil's Season 2 showrunner, Marco J. Ramirez, has been hired by Warner Bros. to write a new script treatment for Akira. Ramirez served as a writer and producer for the first season of Marvel's Daredevil, and has also written for Sons of Anarchy, Da Vinci's Demons, and Orange is the New Black (for which he was nominated for three awards). There's no word on which volumes of Akira Ramirez will be adapting, or if Collet-Serra is still slated to direct.
At this point, it's hard to get excited for Akira remake news, given how many false starts fans have experienced over the past decade. Once again, the best course of action is to play the waiting game to see if Warner Bros. is confident enough in the script to finally move forward.
[via IGN]
New Powerpuff Girls Series Coming in 2016
Cartoon Network is getting in on the remake/reboot fun (following the very recent announcements of the ReBoot re-imagining and a new Mega Man cartoon series) with a new, revamped Powerpuff Girls series coming in 2016. The new series won't stray too much from the established story from the original Powerpuff Girls series, but there's no word or confirmation on whether the same stable of villains will be around.
Also of note is the re-casting of each girl's voice. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup will now be voiced by Amanda Leighton (The Fosters), Kristen Li (Monsters University), and Natalie Palamides, respectively, with Tom Kenny returning as the Narrator/Mayor of Townsville. The previous voice actresses (Catherine Cavadini, Tara Strong, and E.G. Daily) expressed both their support of the newer, younger actresses, but also their disappointment in not being contacted:
I wish the new girls well but Wow! does this hurt my heart:( https://t.co/OzchpdAXFR
— Catherine Cavadini (@CatCavadini) June 9, 2015
I have NO ILL FEELINGS 4 the actresses in the new #ppg, We were just beyond hurt we were NEVER asked..every role I breathe life into I love
— tara strong (@tarastrong) June 9, 2015
Owie! Rt in the kisser ! Hurts 😥Xxeg https://t.co/nq9xQQOvUs
— RealEGDaily (@RealEGDaily) June 8, 2015
I don't blame Cartoon Network for not contacting Cavadini, Strong, and Daily, wanting to go for a cleaner slate with younger actresses. Nevertheless, when the trio played such vital roles for one Cartoon Network's most popular and successful series, you'd at least think they'd be contacted.
[via IGN]