After a decade floundering both critically and at the box office, DC Studios has regained their footing under James Gunn. With the moderate success of last year's Superman and the groundwork laid by a relatively well-received second season of Peacemaker, it seems as if the days of DC's cinematic outings getting pummeled by the MCU are over, as well as their days of approaching the plate without a plan in hand.
In the 21st century, superhero stories are often judged on how realistic they are - how "gritty," how dark, how "adult." It's never been more visible than with Batman. Between Christopher Nolan's take in the Dark Knight trilogy and the still-ongoing takes by Matt Reeves, it seems like the Caped Crusader was built for the Nirvana-scored, brooding tone of tragic flashbacks and smeared eyeliner.
Spider-Noir, the pulpy detective reimagining of Spider-Man starring Nicolas Cage, has received its first teaser trailer, which you can watch below - in both black and white and color. Premiering on Prime Video on May 27th, the Spider-Noir series sort of kind of spins off Cage's voice role as Spider-Man Noir in the animated Spider-Verse film franchise. However, he's not playing the same grizzled Peter Parker here;
In a non-Netflix world, a film like The Rip flashy, action-heavy, led by two household names should be available this weekend on the biggest high-format screens across the country. But then in that same world, at this particular time, it's doubtful that a film like this would even get made, granted a budget that's reportedly close to $100m, highly unusual for R-rated non-IP.
Crime 101 lifts heavily from the oeuvre of Michael Mann, particularly Heat, in setting this thriller in Los Angeles. The "101" in its title is for the 101 freeway, which our solitary jewel thief, Mike (Chris Hemsworth), uses to make clean getaways. That anyone could carve out a life of crime in a metropolis so choked by traffic is a silly concept at best, and the first of many plot holes at worst.
Starring Brad Pitt as the titular Cliff Booth along with Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, and more, the trailer depicts Booth after the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. "So you helped rick subdue those hippie intruders, huh?," he's asked before replying "Something like that." The teaser then shows various scenes and scenarios from the film, but with minimal dialogue; though each time a character cusses or flips someone off, it's bleeped and censored.
