The seventh season finale of NBC’s acclaimed drama, The Blacklist, airing May 15 (8p.m. ET/PT) is ending the season in style with a unique hybrid of live-action and graphic novel-style animation.
The season’s 19th episode, entitled “The Kazanjian Brothers,” was midway into filming in New York when TV productions across the industry were halted due to COVID-19. Looking to do something out of the box to finish the episode and close out the season, producers came up with an idea to add graphic novel-style animation that would incorporate with the already filmed live-action scenes.
Cast members recorded dialogue from their homes for the animated scenes to ensure a seamless transition between the two styles, as editors and animators complete their work remotely.
The Task Force investigates an accountant who works for lucrative criminals in order to find the violent and thuggish brothers hired for his protection. Liz must make a momentous decision. Presented in a unique hybrid of live-action and graphic novel-style animation. Guest starring: Brian Dennehy, Laila Robins
NBC announced in February that The Blacklist has been renewed for an eighth season. The 150th episode of the series will air May 8 (8 p.m. ET/PT). The show stars James Spader, Megan Boone, Diego Klattenhoff, Amir Arison, Hisham Tawfiq, and Harry Lennix.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back on the case in the roles that launched the dynamic duo to global superstardom in Bad Boys for Life. To celebrate, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment partnered with artist Luigi Lucarellito create a set of comic renderings of some of the most memorable scenes from the franchise.
The original Bad Boys, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are back. After a string of assassinations and an attempt on Mike’s life, he convinces a hesitant Marcus to hold off retirement and partner one last time. Together, they team up with AMMO, the new hotshot division of the Miami PD, to take down the merciless head of the Aretas Cartel. Rounding out the cast are Vanessa Hudgens (Spring Breakers), Alexander Ludwig (TV’s “Vikings”), Charles Melton (TV’s “Riverdale”), Paola Nuñez (TV’s “The Purge”), Kate del Castillo (The Book of Life), award-winning recording artist Nicky Jam and Bad Boys franchise veteran Joe Pantoliano.
Bad Boys for Lifebrings more laughs and thrilling action to 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and Digital, with over 50 minutes of special features, including an alternate ending from the film’s high-octane final showdown, all-new and extended scenes, outtakes and bloopers, Easter eggs, an exclusive peek at the making of the film and a look back at the first three installments of the hit franchise. The DVD includes extended and alternate scenes, bloopers, and more.
Sony has announced that Greed is coming to Blu-Ray and Digital on May 5th.
Greed is the story of self-made British billionaire Sir Richard McCreadie (Steve Coogan), whose retail empire is in crisis. For 30 years he has ruled the world of retail fashion, but after a damaging public government investigation, his image is tarnished. To save his reputation, he decides to bounce back with a highly publicized and extravagant party celebrating his 60th birthday on the Greek island of Mykonos. A satire on the grotesque inequality of wealth in the fashion industry, Greed, sees McCreadie’s rise and fall through the eyes of his biographer, Nick (David Mitchell).
Directed and written by Michael Winterbottom, Greed features Steve Coogan, David Mitchell, Asa Butterfield, Dinita Gohil, Sophie Cookson, Jonny Sweet, Asim Chaudhry with Shirley Henderson and Isla Fisher.
BONUS MATERIALS
Behind the Scenes – Steve Coogan describes playing the crass, bombastic Richard “Greedy” McCreadie, and why he and Director Michael Winterbottom are asking audiences “to connect the dots and give a damn.”
Sony Pictures has announced that Venom 2 will come to theaters on June 25, 2021. That’s the date originally held by The Batman which moved to October 1, 2021. The sequel to Venom was originally to be released on October 2, 2020.
We also get the news that the sequel has an official title, Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Andy Serkis is directing the Venom sequel, which sees Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Woody Harrelson reprising their roles of Eddie Brock, Anne Weying, and Cletus Kasady. Naomie Harris will be playing Shriek.
“Let There Be Carnage” is a reference to the character Carnage, another symbiote who bonds with Cletus Kasady, played by Harrelson. The character is an unrepentant serial killer with no morality. Kasady was created by David Michelinie and artist Erik Larsen, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #344.
Harrelson briefly appeared in 2018’s Venom in a mid-credits scene teasing the character’s debut in a sequel.
Venom earned $213.5 million domestically, $642.6 million internationally, and a little over $856 million worldwide.
Sony has shifted the release dates for some of its upcoming movies. They Jared Leto starring Morbius, based on the Marvel Comics’ character, is being pushed to 2021. All of Sony’s changes are due to the spread of the coronavirus/COVID-19.
The film was to be released on July 31, 2020 and will now be released March 19, 2021. The movie is the second expansion of Sony’s Spider-Man film universe.
An untitled Sony/Marvel film was also to be released on October 8, 2021 but now has no release date.
Virtually all of Sony’s movies were moved out of 2020.
The very first feature-length film based on a Valiant property was released on digital this weekend after spending a short time in theaters; Sony Pictures‘ Bloodshot starring Vin Diesel as the title character. I was able to get to the cinema a few days ago to check out the film, and have been thinking about it on and off for a few days. I wanted the film to sit with me so that I could really mull my thoughts about the movie.
Before we get anywhere, there won’t be any plot specific spoilers in the below review assuming you’ve watched the trailers released.
The character originated in the 90’s, created by Kevin Van Hook, Don Perlin and Bob Layton, is a recently deceased man brought back by a shady weapons tech corporation for their own use by the use of billions of tiny robots in his bloodstream. it’s these little machines that give him an ability to heal from pretty much anything, enhanced physical attributes, the ability to “talk” to other machines and ghost-white skin with a never healing open wound on his chest.
Bloodshot takes the core concept of the character and throws in an equal blend of Vin Diesel, an A to B plot with a twist that’s revealed in the international trailers (or, you know, is in the comics), of well-paced action. And humor – most intentional, some not. But that’s as far as the movie uses its comic book inspiration. For the most part, this is a straight action movie that just happens to be based on a comic book. It’s a break from the MCU movies we’ve seen over the last few years and their somewhat formulaic (but no less enjoyable) superhero stories. Bloodshot is more Terminator and Pitch Black that it is Iron Man.
It’s refreshing in its simplicity, and while I saw the twist coming long before my arse was in the chair, there’s a chance that those who aren’t readers will be taken by surprise. It’s a very well-orchestrated film.
It feels disingenuous to say that this movie is a pretty straight forward action film, but it really is. Despite the potential to really explore the themes of a man being manipulated by technology and corporations to do things he’s barely aware of, the film requires less of your grey matter than it could have. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that Bloodshot needs to stand on its own as a competent action movie, and it does just that. There’s no real Easter Eggs in the movie that’ll alienate moviegoers, and there’s absolutely nothing here other than Bloodshot. The film doesn’t try to introduce characters for the next movie in a potential Valiant Cinematic Universe. I get the sense that if that happens, then this was a good starting point. If it doesn’t, then we still get a solid action flick.
The only issue I had with the comic book adaptation part of the movie was honestly an aesthetic choice. Bloodshot’s two most defining aspects are his white skin and the bloody circle on his chest. Neither of which are present for any great length of time in the movie and certainly not long enough to make a lasting impression. Other than that, though, I’ve no real complaints about the movie. It took a comic book I enjoyed, honored the core concept of the character and touched on a couple of themes that could have been explored further. Which brings me to this; letting go of the past to embrace the future and the manipulation of humanity by technology and corporations are great backdrops to this film and fit the source material very well.
Bloodshot isn’t on par with Endgame, but then to compare the two is like comparing a tomato with Stonehenge. They’re just two totally different things. What Bloodshot does incredibly well is telling a story that translates very well as a comic book adaptation to the big screen (or to a streaming service near you now that the movie has been released digitally already). It never strays too far from an action movie formula, which isn’t a bad thing. I enjoyed the hell out of this movie as a fan of the comics and the character when I saw it in theaters, and I’m enjoying it again now.
Bloodshot isn’t a perfect movie, but it’s damn fun. And that’s what matters.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back on the case in the roles that launched the dynamic duo to global superstardom in Bad Boys for Life. The action-packed comedy that has earned over $400 million dollars at the worldwide box office and a Certified Fresh rating by Rotten Tomatoes, explodes onto Digital March 31 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD April 21 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Bad Boys for Lifebrings more laughs and action to 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and Digital, with over 50 minutes of special features, including an alternate ending from the film’s high-octane final showdown, all-new and extended scenes, outtakes and bloopers, Easter eggs, an exclusive peek at the making of the film and a look back at the first three installments of the hit franchise. The DVD includes extended and alternate scenes, bloopers and more.
The original Bad Boys, Mike Lowry (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), are back. After a string of assassinations and an attempt on Mike’s life, he convinces a hesitant Marcus to hold off retirement and partner one last time. Together, they team up with AMMO, the new hotshot division of the Miami PD, to take down the merciless head of the Aretas Cartel. Rounding out the cast are Vanessa Hudgens (Spring Breakers), Alexander Ludwig (TV’s “Vikings”), Charles Melton (TV’s “Riverdale”), Paola Nuñez (TV’s “The Purge”), Kate del Castillo (The Book of Life), award-winning recording artist Nicky Jam and Bad Boys franchise veteran Joe Pantoliano.
Bad Boys for Lifehas a runtime of approximately 124 minutes and is rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, sexual references and brief drug use.
4K ULTRA HD, BLU-RAY AND DIGITAL BONUS MATERIALS
Extended & Alternate Scenes (Including an Alternate Ending)
Outtakes & Bloopers
Ride or Die: Making Bad Boys for Life
Partners in Crime: Behind-the-Scenes
It’s About Time: Go through 25 years of Bad Boys history with Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the cast and crew
Easter Eggs: Directors Adil and Billal take us on a tour of a few of the Easter eggs and callbacks to earlier Bad Boys films
Out today from Titan Books is the official novel adaption of the upcoming Sony film Bloodshot. The novel is written by Gavin Smith.
The book also contains an exclusive short story “Into the Fire.”
Being a Hero is in His Blood
After he and his wife are murdered, Marine Ray Garrison is resurrected by a secret team of scientists. Enhanced with nanotechnology, he becomes a superhuman, biotech killing machine – “Bloodshot” – without any memory of his previous life.
But some things can’t stay buried, and Ray refuses to back down when his memories begin to surface. Haunted by the face of his family’s killer, he will stop at nothing to take his revenge and discovers a conspiracy going deeper than he could have possibly imagined…
Based on the comic and character from Valiant, Bloodshot begins to roll out to theaters in February 2020 and comes to North American theaters on March 13, 2020.
Films based on comics aren’t just limited to two publishers and Bloodshot has the potential to be huge.
Starring Vin Diesel the film is based on the Valiant character. It’s the first movie based on a Valiant Entertainment hero. Directed by Dave Wilson, Sony‘s Bloodshot stars Vin Diesel, Eiza González, Sam Heughan, Toby Kebbell, and Guy Pearce. The comic book character was co-created by Kevin VanHook, Don Perlin, and Bob Layton.
There’s high anticipation for Morbius, the first “Spider-Man Universe” film from Sony after the release of Venom. A picture of Spider-Man can be seen on a wall in one scene in the trailer, though it’s a screenshot of the “Raimi Suit” from the Playstation 4 video game.
Jared Leto plays the lead Michael Morbius. Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder, and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. What at first appears to be a radical success soon reveals itself to be a remedy potentially worse than the disease.
The most intriguing part of the trailer is the surprise appearance by Michael Keaton at the end. Keaton played the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming. At the end of the film he’s in jail and wearing a white suit that’s very similar to this tease. It’s unknown what his role will be in this film or if he’s playing the Vulture again. That latter bit would make Morbius part of the MCU. It’s also a fun wink to Batman and Joker, which Keaton and Leto played in different films.
Morbius stars Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, and Tyrese Gibson.
The film is directed by Daniel Espinosa from a story by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, and screenplay by Sazama, Sharpless, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway.
Morbius was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane and debuted in 1971 in The Amazing Spider-Man #101.
