Our First Mysterious Glimpse of The Last Jedi!

"Breathe...just breathe..."

































With those words, we got our first look at The Last Jedi, still eight months down the long road, but for most of us, a truly exhilarating and provocative glimpse at the latest chapter in the Star Wars saga. With the very first shot, director Rian Johnson seems to be telling us that appearances can be deceiving and that things can change mightily depending on your perspective, as what appears to be a pock-marked planetoid seen from space is in reality a cliff face on Ach-To, Luke Skywalker's planet of exile.

We hear Luke's words, revealing things to Rey, asking what she sees, what she perceives, until at last he promises, "It's so much bigger."























I love that this trailer just gives us a tantalizing glimpse, and doesn't reveal too much. We know Rey is somehow training with Luke, and it looks like the Resistance is dealing with Kylo Ren and his First Order cronies hungry for payback. Both Kylo and Finn seem to be carrying scars from their last encounter, and there's a sense that opposing forces are about to clash mightily.






































For me, the biggest impression was that of a changed, somehow damaged Luke Skywalker. That may be a thematic undercurrent, of wounded heroes, altered by their experiences, trying to make sense of what's coming and how to face it. Luke says, "It's time for the Jedi to end," which sounds ominous, and we might think that's said out of guilt or regret - that he's thinking too much sorrow comes from trying to make new Jedi. But if as he says earlier, "It's so much bigger," might he be meaning that it's time for the Jedi to evolve to something even grander and more powerful than what we've known of so far? Could it be that the Jedi need to close one door, in order to open a new one? To become something else entirely?




















Me, I'm thrilled! Let the theorizing and debates begin! Let's watch that a few more times, shall we?

New Hasbro Vehicles Kick Off Star Wars Celebration!

For the next few days, Orlando, Florida is the center of the universe, as fans the world over flock to Star Wars Celebration - a massive exposition, trade show, and well... "celebration" of all things Star Wars. George Lucas is there in person, and there will be uncountable fan events and reveals, with tomorrow's release of the very first The Last Jedi trailer leading the pack.

Toy company Hasbro has a few new goodies on display, and are continuing their emphasis on 6-inch Black Series figures, with two new collector-friendly vehicles: First, we've got a brand new version of "Farmboy" Luke Skywalker, with his iconic Landspeeder. Nice ride! It's got a plastic stand to simulate hovering, and Luke comes with new accessories, including the desert hat he wore in the filmed-but-deleted scenes. Looks pretty nice!

Then from The Force Awakens, a similar scale depiction of Rey's Speeder, along with a new version of Rey in her desert scavenger outfit from the beginning of the film. The detailing and features on these two vehicles is great and a definite step in the right direction for Hasbro. Here's hoping for plenty of more reveals, and maybe some surprises in the neglected 3.75-inch figure range!

Celebration is just getting underway, so stay tuned for lots more excitement over the next few days!

May the Force be with You!

Hey, Jude, You're Dumbledore! - and RIP Michael Ballhaus

The collective fan community was just beginning to process the news that Josh Brolin had beat out Michael Shannon for the role of Cable in Deadpool 2, when other casting news sent eyebrows leaping off of foreheads - word that the part of young Albus Dumbledore in the as-yet-untitled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them sequel (due in 2018) would be going to none other than Jude Law. Other than rumors that locations will include Paris and London, we know very little about the Fantastic Beasts sequel, but Law will undoubtedly be seen in all four remaining films of the franchise. It's striking people as an unusual choice, given Law's overall leading man persona, but he's also a terrific actor (go back and watch Gattaca and Road to Perdition), so it will be very interesting to see how he shapes the character to make it his own. Stay tuned for more news on what's shaping up to be a fascinating second chapter.

Also, we have to pay our respects at the passing of legendary cinematographer Michael Ballhaus - frequent Martin Scorsese director of photography and the man who shot Goodfellas - who died at the age of 81. His many collaborations with Scorsese included Gangs of New York, After Hours, The Color of Money, The Age of Innocence, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Departed - an interesting partnership, given Ballhaus' aversion to violence. Ballhaus came to Hollywood after a long period of work in Germany with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, which included The Marriage of Marie Braun. His work on many, many other films included Baby It's You, Broadcast News, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Quiz Show and Bram Stoker's Dracula. He was one of the all-time greats.

Trailer Abundance: Misty Mist and Atomic Blondes

I tell ya, spring is turning into the season when all the new trailers bloom, forget about the flowers.

There's been a ton of new reveals lately. I'd forgotten that Spike had decided to mount a series adaptation of Stephen King's The Mist, which intends to expand substantially in scope and theme from the novella and 2007 film (which I absolutely loved). The Mist rolls in June 22nd.




Atomic Blonde just wowed the crowds at CinemaCon, and now we've got the first international trailer to give us a taste of Charlize Theron's stab at La Femme Nikita spy mayhem. Looks like a lot of fun to me...



All this is fun and all, but it's just preamble, leading up to the real prize later in the week when we get out first glimpse of The Last Jedi!

Thor: Ragnarok - Now THAT'S how you cut a trailer!

Those crazy kids over at Marvel Studios with their Led Zeppelin music!

This first glimpse of footage from Thor: Ragnarok is a fan's quarter-pounder with cheese!
Love the vibe, love the design, and love the fun. Come on, November!

CinemaCon's Yahoos and Yawns Set the 2017 Box Office Stage

In the last couple of years, CinemaCon - the annual convention of the National Association of Theater Owners - has come to rival San Diego Comic Con, in terms of being a pop culture weathervane of box office buzz and bluster. Want to know what to get excited about this year, and what's like going to disappoint, then CinemaCon is a pretty strong crystal ball.

Let's start with what went well. Everyone's got a very strong vibe on Alien: Covenant, and what was screened in Vegas last week only upped the ante. Expectations are doing really well. Likewise some jaw-dropping additional footage from Blade Runner: 2049, which wowed the crowd and has people feeling that this is going to be something really special. October can't get here soon enough.

Stephen King's It managed to dominate the zeitgeist, as they've seemingly cracked the code at finding the best elements of King's shocker by telling the story in a fresh way. Today's post-Stranger Things audience is chomping at the bit, as the trailer broke the record for the most online traffic in a 24-hour frame after debuting. Just think about that.

Other big winners include Spider-Man: Homecoming, finally putting the web-slinger into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. The latest trailer is sharp, charming, and has a singular, formidable villain. It's going to do really well.

Likewise Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets looks to overcome its ungainly title and bring Besson's wildly expansive Fifth Element vision of the fantastic to a new generation. They've got a great trailer and a cool, young cast.

Two femme fatale flicks look like they'll be doing well - Red Sparrow with Jennifer Lawrence and Atomic Blonde, with Charlize Theron, look to capture some John Wick ultra violence and atmospheric excitement. Add sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, to that spy list, as Kingsman evoked some of the most wildly enthusiastic applause and crowd energy of the entire convention. Also watch for P.T. Barnum musical The Greatest Showman, with Hugh Jackman, which the audience went crazy for. It's going to be a huge Christmas success.

May as well accept it, The Rock is a massive force in Hollywood these days, and the first look at Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle did an impressive job of captivating attendees.

On the more adult front, two extremely strong showings were made by Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express and Christopher Nolan's World War II saga, Dunkirk. Dunkirk looks like it might just out-Save Saving Private Ryan, and should be a potent addition to the August box office roster.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. has nothing to worry about at this point, and War for the Planet of the Apes is looking strong, too. Wonder Woman should also be a lock and is feeling terrific. There was more footage from Justice League, that clearly shows they've listened to fans who griped about the dour lack of fun. Me, I'm just concerned there won't be a substantial enough villainous threat to justify all these titans banding together - because so far, I haven't seen it.

Okay, so that's all the good news, now what's not so great?

The Dark Tower - feeling like the Yang to It's Yin, this long anticipated epic saga is getting tepid reactions, concerned grimaces from fans, and lackluster impressions of Matthew McConaughey as The Man in Black. I so want to be wrong about this, but there's very little excitement, which is stunning given the property in question.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword looks just abominable. Remember First Knight in 1995 and King Arthur in 2004? This is going to make those look like King Lear. Lugubrious CGI that's like a Sharknado riff on Return of the King and a bestiary of anachronisms and clichés look to make this one of the biggest bombs of the summer.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales - This one looks so yawn-inducing, yet Disney screened the entire picture at CinemaCon, and it was generally well-received. Though it looks pretty much like franchise autopilot and deliriously heavy on green-screen. It's one of those behemoths that seem to make money despite how they're received - I'm looking at you, Transformers: The Last Knight.

The Mummy. Man, I'd just love for Universal's big gamble at creating a "shared cinematic universe" for their classic pantheon of monsters to work, but this looks really bad to me. So far, the footage is trying to be all things to all people, and the titular mummy just doesn't look even remotely scary. If this is the best they can come up with, they are in serious trouble over there. Prove me wrong, because I would just love for this to work.

And that's about it. A pretty good sense of what to expect, and it sure looks like there's an awful lot of good coming our way this year.

Oh - and what we didn't see even a glimpse of, is that most hungered for reveal of all - a trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. We should expect to see that later this week at another big convention, when Star Wars Celebration begins in Orlando, sometime between Thursday and Sunday.



5-inch Scale Walking Dead Figures Crawl Back From the Dead!

Lord knows I've had my issues with The Walking Dead this year, but I still never miss an issue of the comic, and I'm still a fan. And like many fans who also avidly collected the McFarlane toys figures, I was pretty cheesed when after years of production, McFarlane supposedly decided to eighty-six their 5" scale figures and focus on new 7" "Color Tops" figures, which to be honest are clunky and kind of disappointing, with nowhere near the articulation of the previous fan-friendly line. Here's a look at my Walking Dead shelf, just to show I've got street cred on this:

I even tracked down a tiger for my comic series Ezekiel, for cryin' out loud! So ya gotta trust me, I'm  invested.

So I'm taking it as good news that miraculously - and a little inexplicably - new 5" Walking Dead figures are starting to...come back from the dead, and that this scale still has some life in it.

Three of these are Walgreens exclusives, which should come as no surprise, as the drugstore chain has been expanding their toy presence and had locked up several previous Walking Dead exclusives over the last couple of years.

First, in a timely appearance, we have Sasha:

Then we have a version of Rick Grimes in his "Constable" gear from Alexandria...

Next up, Aaron, in a pretty terrific sculpt...

Then in what's sure to be a popular - and controversial - offering, we have a deluxe "take it like a champ" two-pack of Negan and Glenn, due in August...

There's also a three-pack of the core trio, which almost seems like it's aimed at new collectors, as at least two of these seem to be repacks, though I'm not 100% sure about Rick here - the set is rumored to be a Walmart Exclusive.

So make of all this what you will. Regardless, I'm very happy to see this 5" line continue, and I have a feeling I'm not alone. Those Walgreens exclusives should be starting to appear now, if not already, so keep your eyes peeled, and if you collect, support this line! I'm still holding out hope for a Lori Grimes figure someday.