By George Robbins
The ‘Mortal Kombat‘ franchise of video games has been a famous franchise ever since the release of the original video game in 1992. The games first came to prominence when it was revealed just how violent they were and this fact made them known on many news outlets. Due to the “intense” violence of the game there were many a controversy about the game where many parents were angry about it. This resulted in censorship of the game and eventually helped carve the path forward for the ESRB rating system for video games. Midway, who made the game, had to release toned down versions of the game to arcades. The censorship of the games eventually led to secrets being implemented into the games that turned the violent combat back on by allowing blood to be shown on screen.
Over time, and with the release of more violent video games, the games themselves could stop being censored so much. This is what led to the Mortal Kombat games being brought back as the violent games they were and it made those games among the most popular of all fighting games. The height of the series’ popularity was when the movie, simply titled ‘Mortal Kombat,’ released in 1995. The movie loosely followed the plot of the original video game, but it lacked something that made the games popular. The reason why the games were considered to be so violent to begin with was the fact that the fatalities seen in game were very vicious. They have since become even more so in the newer games to have released over the past few years.
For those unaware, fatalities are essentially finishers for the ‘Mortal Kombat’ series. When an opponent has been beaten, the fighter can then input a certain command with the controls to inflict a harrowing finisher unique to the character they are playing. In recent games, there are a number of different fatalities per character and they are all equally brutal. The fatalities are the reason why the game was considered so violent to begin with and they are what caused the controversy when the games first released. Over time, society has become more desensitized to the violence seen on screen and so the fatalities only ended up becoming even more brutal than before. So it is nice to here that these brutal finishers will end up making their way into a new film.
There is going to be an upcoming ‘Mortal Kombat’ movie reboot that will have a heavier focus on the actual combat part. Actor Lewis Tan who has a role in the new film has said that the fatalities are so brutal that it has made him feel sick. For those who are fans of the video games, this is a good thing to hear because it is the brutality of the games that people fell in love with over the years. This gives an opportunity not really seen by the original film to witness glorious combat in a way that only ‘Mortal Kombat’ can do it. Hopefully it will live up to the expectations that fans have for it and we will be able to see some incredible action as the film makes its way to the big screen.
By George Robbins
Not too long ago, just after the announcement of the Snyder Cut for the ‘Justice League,’ director David Ayer announced that he could have a working director’s cut ready for ‘Suicide Squad.’ The announcement came out as a plea for fans to ask for the cut from Warner Media so that he could release the film the same way as ‘Justice League.’ If it wasn’t for fans, then that would have never really happened to begin with, so he wants people to get the studio to sign off on it. According to Ayer, the director’s cut is the version of the film that he wanted to put out before the heavy studio interference cause massive reshoots to take place. He has said that this version of the film is pretty much all set to go and he really just needs the okay. The question some may be asking is, just how different is the director’s cut from the original.
According to Ayer, the two versions of the film are very different from one another and the theatrical cut wasn’t even really his film anymore. The original movie, now the potential director’s cut, was supposed to be a dark action movie, but after reshoots it became something that didn’t fit the tone. For instance, there were parts of the film that seemed really dark in comparison to the rest of the film and these moments are littered throughout. This completely messed up the tone of the film as a whole and changed the outcome of the film. This came from the fact that ‘Deadpool‘ had done well theatrically and they were trying to copy that success so they messed with the tone of the film trying to make it more lighthearted with “comedy.” Ayer stated that it was due to this that the film ended up as it was but this was not all.
Ayer stated that the only thing that he wanted in the film that got to stay was Diablo’s backstory, but he was not actually supposed to die and he even survives in Ayer’s cut. Also included in his cut are scenes that show just how much of a role Joker was supposed to play in the grand scheme of the film and that he was also supposed to team up with Enchantress. The character Slipknot, who was only used as a demonstration tool for the explosives on the members of the squad, was supposed to have a fleshed out backstory as was Enchantress. Katana was also meant to be possessed by Enchantress to fight the team in the third act. It seems that one of the biggest changes was the fact that Harley’s and Joker’s abusive relationship was never really shown at its worst which drove her to have a romance with Deadshot which is also not shown on screen. Hopefully the director’s cut is allowed to release because this would make the film far more interesting.
By George Robbins
Comic-Con is an event of world renown nowadays that comes around to show us what will be releasing in the world of comic books in the near future. Although its name suggests that it is all about comics, there are many facets to the convention which attracts crowds of all backgrounds. While the people who go there are still primarily comic book fans, there are fans of many different movie brands and show brands that travel to the convention as well. The convention itself is usually host to thousands of people every single year at every convention that is held. It is due to this fact that they have sadly had to close down the in-person event and instead decided to go with an online-only event where anyone can see what is happening in the comic book entertainment world.
Normally at Comic-Con there are a number of publishers and distributors who show up in order to tell people about their upcoming releases. It doesn’t even necessarily have to be a comic release and more times than not has something to do with some form of media for said brand. This is why companies that produce toys are often times found at conventions like this because it gives them the perfect space to market their new lines of toys. It is the movie and television announcements that usually draw in the largest crowds however, so this is why so many people, even those who cannot attend, end up being drawn into the culture of Comic-Con. As already stated, this year is a sad affair due to the pandemic as it has forced a number of businesses to decide not to participate at all in the convention.
Among the companies that often times bring the most content and the content that brings out the biggest reactions are DC and Marvel. These two companies are responsible for drawing in very large crowds for their announcements. It appears as though neither company is going to be attending the online convention this year. DC has decided that they will simply host their own online event where they will make announcements at the end of August. Meanwhile, Marvel will skip the Con entirely and most likely won’t go back until next year’s Comic Con. One of the big questions currently on people’s minds is why Marvel is skipping out on the convention this year. The simple answer would be that they just have nothing to present this year to the public.
To go more in-depth as to why they are not going to be participating in Comic-Con this year, we need to take a look at conventions from previous years. They did skip out on the 2018 convention as well due to the fact they they were just trying to wrap up the infinity saga, whereas this time, they are skipping due to the lack of content. They spent last year at the convention revealing information for the new ‘Black Widow‘ movie that has yet to release. ‘Black Widow’ was meant to release earlier this year, but the announcement of the pandemic forced all theaters to shut their doors to the public. Thus, the movie’s release date was pushed to some time later this year and even that is tentative based on what happens in the coming months. they had already run a full marketing campaign for the film to hype it up, so bringing it to the convention again would just be redundant.
The ‘Black Widow’ movie was among only a couple of films that have been announced as releasing over the next year and a half or so. The only other film that had completed principal photography before the pandemic was ‘The Eternals.’ What this means is that the movie actually has content that can be cut into trailers or images to help hype the movie and even then it might just not fit the release schedule. The only other movie that was supposed to be worked on was ‘Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ which wasn’t even able to start up production due to the start of the pandemic. Without any production, there is no content to show for the film, so it really isn’t all that surprising that they would not want to participate this year.
By George Robbins
The DCEU is abuzz right now due to the fact that despite the pandemic that is causing trouble all over the world, there is a lot happening for the extended cinematic universe. For instance, one of the first pieces of news that we received after the pandemic began was the fact that the Zack Snyder cut for ‘Justice League’ would be releasing to HBO Max some time next year. This announcement was one that fans had been looking forward to ever since the release of the original movie in 2017. The so-called Snyder Cut is one that people speculated for a long time because people knew Snyder had to leave the project early. With that in mind, everyone began to wonder just how the movie would have ended up if he had the chance to make the film his way. Now it appears that fans will end up with a chance to see it after all.
Unfortunately for Warner Bros., they will not be able to release ‘Wonder Woman 1984‘ in August like they anticipated due to the virus. This still doesn’t change the fact that the movie is still set to launch whenever the climate for movie releases improves. On top of that, any of their current productions had to be shut down to prevent the further spread of the virus. Among the titles that they had to put a full stop on for production was the upcoming Robert Pattinson led film ‘The Batman.’ This movie has been hyped up for the past couple of months despite what is happening with the pandemic and a lot of people are getting excited for it. When the pandemic first began, they only had about a quarter of the movie filmed, so they are eager to start up production again.
Many who may be expecting new information on the movie will have to wait until the end of August because that is when DC FanDome will take place. This is considered DC’s own convention that they will be hosting this year as a virtual convention that gives fans an opportunity to see what is happening with everything DC. Due to conventions such as Comic-Con being virtual only, it is hard to tell just what will end up being revealed, but at the very least fans are hopeful for some kind of news. Though it isn’t like we have heard nothing about the movie as the process of getting it made has been fairly interesting. Not only has the process of resuming production been interesting, but the actors have said that the script for the film is strong and they believe it will do very well.
Actress Zoë Kravitz revealed not too long ago that she was in love with the script of the film and can’t wait to get back to work on the film. This movie is one that many are hoping to get back to working on as soon as possible and this is evident in their commitment to making sets for the film. Originally, they were filming the movie on location in London, but it was decided recently that this would no longer be the case. They will instead make all of the sets in-house to prevent further risk and to get back to filming as soon as they possibly can. Kravitz worked hard to get in shape for the role of Cat Woman and wants to get to filming as soon as possible. The studio themselves are hoping for the same thing because they still have a release date set for next year that they don’t want to change. Hopefully that date stays as is and they do actually get back to work soon.
By George Robbins
Christopher Nolan is a director that is now known for the incredible films that he is responsible for creating and how those films are executed. Regardless of what film it is that he works on, he puts as much effort into the films as possible which results in films that are seen as masterpieces. If the story of any of his films is lackluster, this is made up for by the directing and the visuals being displayed on the screen. For many of his films, he has to use CGI just for the sake of creating an immersive universe, but what many people may not realize is that he tries to use as many practical effects as he can. This gives his movies the realism you would expect to find in movies that are trying to make you think what you see on screen is a possibility.
Nolan is responsible for some incredible films like ‘Interstellar,’ ‘Inception,’ ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy‘ and more which are widely regarded as incredible films in their own rights. They are all visually stunning and many of the films have plots that can be somewhat complicated, but simultaneously interesting. It is for this reason that Nolan is so well regarded by the movie making community and has a lot of say as to what happens with his films. Lately, there has been much discussion around his newest film, ‘Tenet‘ and what should be done with it because of everything going on with the pandemic. Nolan has wanted his film to be the first blockbuster film to release in theaters since the start of the pandemic, but the likelihood of this has pretty much disappeared.
Warner Bros. originally had the film set to release in the middle of July and had to move the date to the middle of August to accommodate for the surge in coronavirus cases. They just recently announced that this would not be the case either and the movie will be delayed in the United States indefinitely. In the meantime they mentioned that they might just end up releasing the film internationally in countries that are containing the virus better first. This would be a first for the studio, but given the choices they have available to them, this is the only one that makes sense. In the end, there is nothing we can do but wait and see if people can work on containing the virus better, otherwise the film will not be shown in the U.S. for a very long time.
Although we may not get to see the film anytime soon, this hasn’t stopped information for the film from releasing, even if it is a statements by the actors. Actor Himesh Patel, who stars in ‘Tenet,’ has said recently that the practical effects for the movie are a sight to behold. He said that the lack of CGI and the practical effects work on the film makes it something that people should look forward to seeing. There is no word yet on when the movie will release anywhere, but given how important this release is for WB, I can’t imagine that they will wait long to come up with a new date. With that being said, it will most likely be a long while before we see the U.S. release for the film.
By George Robbins
Theaters have been a source of controversy since the beginning of the pandemic due to the actions of networks, studios, and even the theater owners themselves. The biggest factor behind any of the controversy surrounding theaters is the fact that many don’t believe theaters should even try to open up. The problem is that theaters are a business, however, they are a type of business that are very high risk when it comes to the world’s current climate. The coronavirus spreads similarly to the flu so it can spread fairly easily and having people in an enclosed room crowded near one another makes it kind of difficult for people to avoid getting sick. Among the complaints by theaters are questions like why other businesses such as malls can remain open but they cannot. As of now the only thing I can think of is the fact that malls are more wide open spaces than theaters are.
Networks and studios have decided that certain movies should not have to wait for theatrical releases and so they released them digitally right from the get-go. This is what caused AMC and other theater chains to say that they would no longer show their films in their theaters and Universal had to issue a response saying that they would still be showing movies in theaters in the future. What would follow from that point is a series of issues with studios releasing any films whatsoever because it was becoming too dangerous. Summer titles were supposed to have started releasing by now in the U.S., but due to a resurgence in the coronavirus, those plans were scrapped. It now appears that alternative plans are going to be made and, for Warner Brothers at least, they might just release their movies oversea first.
Theaters have had no new movies to show, thus it has been pointless to even try opening their doors again, and even if they do, then they will likely have to close back up again not too long afterwards. Apparently the constant delays of movies are making the head of the National Association of Theater Owners, or NATO, annoyed. He said recently that movies should just be shown in theaters already so that they can open their doors to the public. Even in the midst of a pandemic, he wants studios to take the risk and release their movies to theaters which most of them will never do because it is too much of a liability. The head of NATO believes that theaters will simply have to function at “limited capacity” until a cure for the virus is found, but that they should remain open. This being something that doesn’t actually work this way has fueled a fire of controversy that will be debated going forward.
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