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Do you prefer Westerns or martial arts actioners? Gritty dramas or medieval fantasies? The antebellum South or steampunk dystopias? Whatever your genre preference, you’ll probably find a bit of it in Into the Badlands, AMC’s completely batshit-looking new drama.

Loosely based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, Into the Badlands stars Daniel Wu as Sunny, a skilled fighter who takes a mysterious young boy (played by the majestically named Aramis Knight) under his wing in a land ruled by feudal barons. Watch the Into the Badlands trailer after the jump.

AMC unveiled the Into the Badlands trailer at Comic-Con, and now has it up on YouTube.

It’s tough to pin down Into the Badlands, and that’s a huge part of its appeal. This genre-bender hails from Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and is executive produced by Django Unchained‘s Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg. Also executive producing are Stephen Fung and lead actor Wu, both of whom have martial arts movie experience.

With a lineage like that, no wonder Into the Badlands plays like “a Comic-Con attendee’s fever dream,” as Devindra put it. It’s too early to tell whether Into the Badlands will turn out to be amazing or awful, but either way it certainly looks worth checking out.

Into the Badlands premieres this fall on AMC.

Into the Badlands is a genre-bending martial arts series inspired by the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West. In a land controlled by feudal barons, Into the Badlands tells the story of a great warrior and a young boy who embark on a journey across a dangerous land to find enlightenment. After cities fall into ruins and survivors return to the fields, a new society forms where the strongest prosper and the weak serve.

A high-octane fantasy story filled with martial arts action and a “Tarantino” touch, this series is about an unlikely band of adventurers who embark on a quest through this futuristic world in search of a better life.

Created by AMC Studios and produced by Oscar-nominated Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg (Pulp Fiction, Erin Brockovich, A Fish Called Wanda, Django Unchained, Contagion), and master martial arts filmmakers Daniel Wu and Stephen Fung (Tai Chi Zero)

Series is written by the creators of hit drama Smallville Al Gough and longtime writing partner Miles Millar (Shanghai Noon, Spider-Man 2), who will also serve as show runners and executive producers.

The post ‘Into the Badlands’ Trailer: AMC’s Western Martial Arts Fantasy Drama Looks Gloriously Batsh*t appeared first on /Film.

USA Network has released the first trailer for Colony, the new science fiction television series from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Hercules screenwriter Ryan Condal about a family’s struggle to survive and bring liberty back to the people of an occupied future Los Angeles. The show stars Lost actor Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies from The Walking Dead. Watch the Colony trailer embedded after the jump.

USA Network’s programing has been getting better. I really enjoy Suits and the early episodes of Mr. Robot, so I’m interested to check the pilot to this show out when it debuts this fall. Legendary Pictures’ involvement in the series also has me interested in this series. That said, the flourishes of visuals like the wall around Hollywood and the hovering robot droids have me more interested than the story shown in this first trailer.

Here is the official synopsis for Colony:

From executive producers Carlton Cuse (“Lost”) and Ryan Condal (“Hercules”) comes USA’s newest, highly-anticipated drama COLONY. Set in the very near future, COLONY centers on one family’s struggle to survive and bring liberty back to the people of an occupied Los Angeles. SAG winner Josh Holloway (“Lost”) stars as former FBI agent Will Bowman and Satellite Award winner Sarah Wayne Callies (“The Walking Dead”) stars as his wife, Katie, in the series which takes place in a dangerous world of divided ideologies. While some choose to collaborate with the occupation and benefit from the new order, others rebel and suffer the consequences. After being separated from their son during the invasion, Will and Katie are willing to do whatever is necessary to be reunited with him. Thus, when the powerful Proxy Snyder (Peter Jacobson, “House”) offers Will a chance to get his son back if he will collaborate with the occupational government, Will and Katie find themselves faced with the toughest decision of their lives. They will have to go beyond whatever they thought possible, risking their lives and their relationship to protect their family.

Colony is a co-production between Legendary Television and Universal Cable Productions. Nelson McCormick (“24”) also executive produces.

The post Colony Trailer: New TV Series From Lost Showrunner and Legendary Pictures appeared first on /Film.

For a long time, Marshall's bread and butter was guitar amps. Then came headphones and Bluetooth speakers (via its partnership with Zound, makers of Urbanears) -- a fairly fitting diversification. Today, the brand is moving on to phones, announcing t...

In a coordinated takedown, law enforcement agents around the world have teamed up to shut down the well-known cybercrime forum Darkode, pursuing 70 of its members and associates resulting in 28 arrests so far. In the US, the Department of Justice and...

A day after we caught a glimpse of the best photo we've seen yet of Pluto, NASA has released an even closer shot of the dwarf planet: Behold the image above. In a press conference today, the team behind NASA's New Horizons probe gave more information...

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During the San Diego Comic Con panel for Star Wars: The Force Awakens Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford, said he never thought these next series of movies would happen. He’s not alone. Fans have been anticipating a return to this cinematic universe since the release of Revenge of the Sith in 2005.

The panel was an enormous boon for fans and included appearances from The Good Guys: Daisy Ridley (Rey), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), and John Boyega (Finn); The Bad Guys: Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), and Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma); and The Icons: Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), and Harrison Ford (Han Solo).

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Mariana  Brussoni is  an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia in public health and pediatrics, and lead author of a major report on the health benefits of “risky” play. The study determined what Free-Rangers feel in their (once in a while broken) bones: Too much supervision and safe-to-the-point-of-stultifying play spaces prevent kids from getting the kind of exercise and life skills they need.

Her study appears at the same time as Canada’s ParticipACTION report, which states: “Access to active play in nature and outdoors—with its risks—is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children’s opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings—at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature.”  The takeaway? We are making our kids too safe to succeed.

Here’s an excerpt from the excellent interview Maclean’s magazine did with Brussoni:

Q: Your research reviewed 18 studies that examined “play where children can disappear [or] get lost, play at great heights, and rough-and-tumble play.” I picture helicopter parents squirming in agony as I say this. Why did we develop this parental paranoia?

A: We have this growing movement to what I call anxiety-based caregiving—caregiving where decisions about childhood and what children need are made based on anxiety, rather than stepping back a bit and thinking about what might be best for child development. You’re in a playground and you hear, “Be careful!” “Get down!” “Watch out!” Those are things that are based on anxiety, not on stepping back and thinking: What does the child hear when you’re saying those things? What the child hears is: “The world is a dangerous place. You don’t trust me to navigate that world. I need you to take care of me; I can’t be independent myself.”

Q: Are those fears legitimate? Are more kids losing eyes, breaking backs, being scooped by strangers?

A: As an injury-prevention researcher, I know the data. Kids have never been safer than they are right now. When I talk to parents, they are afraid of injuries in general, but there are two things that overwhelm them. One is kidnapping—“stranger danger.” The other is motor vehicles, their child being hit by a car. Kidnappings are so rare, it’s really hard to get statistics on them. The last statistics I was able to find were from a report from the RCMP looking at kidnappings in 2000-01. Kidnappings happen, but kids are being kidnapped by people they know. In that two-year period, there was only one instance of a child getting kidnapped by a stranger. It works out to a rate of one in 14 million. The likelihood is very small. Parents are right to be afraid of motor vehicles; they are the leading cause of death for children. But what parents don’t realize is that it’s kids in cars, not kids outside of cars.

Q: So kids being driven to piano practice, as opposed to kids running across the street?

A: Exactly. Pedestrian injuries happen, but it’s eight times more common for a child to actually get seriously injured in a car than outside of it. Parents, in an effort to keep children safe, are driving them around from one supervised activity to another, not realizing that they’re actually putting them in more danger that way.

Q: What do parents say about your research? Are you considered subversive?

A: With parents, I can tell them there’s a one-in-14-million-chance that their kids will get kidnapped. I can tell them their kids are more likely to get hit in a car than out of it, and it has very little impact. What influences parents is the research showing how a lack of ability to take risks affects their child’s development, health and well-being.

Q: Let’s explore that. What are the benefits?

A: The studies showed that physical activity increased, while sedentary behaviour decreased. Social health and behaviour increased, and, what’s also important, there were no adverse effects in engaging in risky outdoor play.

Q: They also found benefits I wouldn’t have expected: conflict resolution, even negotiating decisions about substance abuse and sexual behaviour. How are they linked to risky outdoor play?

A: In supervised activities, there’s somebody else guiding the activities; they don’t have to set the goals for what they want to do and how they want to engage in it. When they’re out in the neighbourhood, they’re deciding, “Okay, let’s build a fort. Let’s play prisoner. Let’s play capture the flag.” They’re negotiating back and forth to decide what the rules will be, how it’s going to work, who’s going to do what. There’s a lot more opportunity to develop those social skills.

Expecting kids to know how to make wise decisions and look after themselves when we limit their opportunities to do that makes about as much sense as expecting them to know how to drive safely without ever letting them practice.  – L.

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It didn't take long for the rejuvenated Large Hadron Collider to push the boundaries of science once more. The LHCb experiment team has discovered the existence of "pentaquarks," or subatomic particles where there are four quarks and one antiquark in...

It sounds like Siri, Cortana and the entity known only as Google Now could get some competition. Facebook is launching a virtual assistant of its own, according to The Information, and James Bond fans might smile when they hear what Zuckerberg and Co...

It seems almost certain that Oliver Queen will finally be going by the superhero name Green Arrow in the upcoming fourth season of The CW's hit comic-inspired series, Arrow.

Anarky and Mr. Terrific Joining Arrow: Season 4

In a post on Twitter, executive producer Marc Guggenheim noted that filming for Season 4 begins today, and revealed that the premiere episode will be titled "Green Arrow."

Arrow Season 4 begins filming tomorrow. @GBerlanti @SchwartzApprovd @MericlesHappen. @ThorFreudenthal pic.twitter.com/O3EW6M0oqD

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After a crappy, fan-recorded version of it was (illegally) posted online, Warner Bros. has released the official version of the Suicide Squad sizzle reel that was shown at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday.

Yes, you can now watch it in high-definition! Behold Margot Robbie's transfixing Harley Quinn, Jared Leto's frightening Joker, Viola Davis' badass Amanda Waller, Will Smith's Deadshot, Jai Courntey's Captain Boomerang and the rest of Task Force X in the video below!

The studio was none too happy about the leak. Here's a statement from Sue Kroll, President Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures:

“Warner Bros. Pictures and our anti-piracy team have worked tirelessly over the last 48 hours to contain the Suicide Squad footage that was pirated from Hall H on Saturday. We have been unable to achieve that goal. Today we will release the same footage that has been illegally circulating on the web, in the form it was created and high quality with which it was intended to be enjoyed. We regret this decision as it was our intention to keep the footage as a unique experience for the Comic Con crowd, but we cannot continue to allow the film to be represented by the poor quality of the pirated footage stolen from our presentation.”

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Casey Jones will take up his regular arsenal of sports equipment in Ninja Turtles 2, but that doesn't mean he'll be the same jovial character we've seen before.

Speaking with IGN Live at Comic-Con -- you can see the full interview below -- actor Stephen Amell discussed his role as Casey Jones in the upcoming sequel to 2014's Ninja Turtles.

"It's certainly not your father's or your younger self's Casey Jones, but that's because we meet him at a very different time in his development," Amell said.

"He is not the Casey Jones that a lot of comic fans have come to know and love. He is a guy with a job that lives in New York and loves hockey. When things go awry,

when he goes through the normal methods of what someone would do when they're

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...

(Sorry for the lateness. Comic-Con delay, doncha know. I'll keep this brief.)

At the end of last week's episode, it seemed like Anita's stay with the Hawkins family had come to an end. Fortunately, "Episode 3" immediately squashed that and put her back in the household, now with Laura questioning her own original suspicions of malfunction.

We didn't dig much deeper into the larger mythology at play regarding the five sentient Synths this week (just that they were created by a Dr. David Elster - who gave Niska a philosophical psychology book called "Ghost in the Machine"). Especially since Anita did return back to the mostly-loving Hawkins clan. But I was totally fine with that because the Anita/Laura dynamic is my favorite part of the show. And this week really let that play out. With Anita doing small things to try to actively ease the tension between them (asking Sophie to allow her mother to tuck her in) while also being at the ready with totally reasonable answers for some of her odd behavior and sayings. Enough to make Laura question some of her own accusations.

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AFP/Getty Images Reigning Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton missed yesterday's Wimbledon Final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, for being refused entry after falling foul of the strict dress code. continue reading

Audiences got their first look at the new Deadpool trailer during 20th Century Fox's panel at Comic-Con today. Based on the footage shown, the upcoming Deadpool movie is definitely putting that R-rating to good use.

Some quotes include: "You look like Freddy Krueger face f***ed a topographical map of Utah," said by Weasel to an unmasked Wade Wilson, and, "You look like an avocado f***ed an older avocado."

Colossus, who appears in the trailer, is at one point referred to as a "big chrome c***-gobbler."

The video shown was plenty violent, too: in one scene, Deadpool leaps over a crashed car and shoots three henchmen through the skull with a single bullet.

At least one head explodes.

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During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con tonight, DC announced multiple new comics characters headed to season two of The Flash, plus the show's new villain.

The first confirmed new character is Jay Garrick, who will be played by actor Teddy Sears (Masters of Sex, Raising the Bar). In the comics, Garrick is the original Flash, created long before Barry Allen took up the mantle. According to The CW, on the show, Garrick is “a mysterious figure who arrives in Central City to warn Barry Allen and his team at S.T.A.R. Labs of an impending danger that he alone cannot hope to stop.”

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Warner Bros. TV has released a trailer for CW Seed's animated Arrow/The Flash spinoff series, Vixen. Check it out below.

Vixen features Arrow and The Flash actors Stephen Amell, Grant Gustin, and more.

Vixen - whose actual name is Mari McCabe - is a superhero whose powers are granted to her by the Tantu Totem she inherited from her parents. Using the Totem, Vixen is able to adopt the abilities of any animal, be it flight, super strength, speed, and others. The short animated series is expected to stream online sometime this summer.

For more on Vixen, stay tuned to IGN.

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Based on Philip K. Dick's classic novel, The Man in the High Castle tells an alternate history of America, one in which Germany and Japan share control of the land after defeating the nation in World War II. Set in 1962, the former Americans find themselves in the middle of a deepening Cold War between their two conquerors.

The series, which bounced from BBC to Syfy before finding its home on Amazon, is executive produced by Ridley Scott and Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files). The project is a labor of love for Spotnitz, who read the book in college and found that it forever changed the way he thought about the world we live in, and the freedoms we often take for granted.

Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat) praised the project for the depth of Japanese characters portrayed by himself and other actors. He stated that it is a rare chance for him to play a "good guy." Rufus Sewell (Dark City) relished the idea of playing a Nazi who is "humanized", as it shows that its human beings who are capable of genocide, not monsters whom we can't relate to.

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No war. No disease. If a powerful entity came to Earth and solved all of its problems, what would be the long term cost? These are questions that Childhood's End, written by Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey), has been posing since it was published in 1953. Adapted for the screen by Matthew Graham (Life On Mars) and directed by Nick Hurran (Doctor Who), the three-part SyFy miniseries seeks to bring one of Clarke's challenging works to the screen.

Can utopia be that bad? Hurran points to a line in the book that says, "The only enemy of utopia is boredom." Actress Daisy Betts, who plays the girlfriend of the man chosen to be the human spokesman for alien overlord Karellan pointed out that no two people's idea of utopia would be the same, once you got past big details like ending suffering.

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At the Person of Interest Comic-Con panel, creator/executive producer Jonathan Nolan spoke to the packed room of fans on hand and addressed some of the concerns many have about POI's reduced episode order (and push to midseason) for Season 5.

“We’re going to make 13 kickass episodes, and drop the microphone,” Nolan said.

Since it's impossible to know this early on if the show's to return for a Season 6, Nolan couldn't make and solid claims about POI's future, but said "I can't predict down the road but we’re very proud of the show and if it’s the last season, no one is going to be disappointed with the story we tell."

Some more tidbits for Season 5? After witnessing the "Correction" in the Season 4 finale, Fusco will finally start asking questions, wanting to know some of the hard details about all the people he's been saving and the forces that are at work behind the scenes. Also, Root and Harold will be tasked with rebuilding the Machine. But will Harold choose to remake it the same way or will there be adjustments? It may even be a bit more like a warrior this time around. Hmmm.

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Minions has knocked Jurassic World out of number-one position at the box office, opening with the second highest-grossing weekend in history for an animated film. All told, Minions brought in over $115 million domestically over the weekend.

On Friday alone, the film brought in $46.2 million, making it the largest opening in animated film history, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.

Overseas, Minions earned an additional $280.5 million, driving Minions to an astounding global cumulative total of $395.7 million. Jurassic World dropped down just one spot to number 2, making $18.1 million and bringing that film's lifetime domestic total to $590 million.

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All men must die take selfies with Harry Potter.

The worlds of Westeros and Hogwarts finally crossed paths at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend. Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark on HBO's "Game of Thrones," shared a selfie on Sunday of herself with Daniel Radcliffe, "GoT" co-star Hannah Murray (Gilly) and her new "Doctor Who" co-star, Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald):

Williams was at the convention for the "Thrones" panel on Saturday, which revealed little about Season 6 of the show. But the young actress also made an appearance in the first trailer for Season 9 of "Doctor Who," playing a mysterious character. Meanwhile, Radcliffe was in San Diego to promote his new film "Victor Frankenstein" alongside co-star James McAvoy.

But beyond the fact that Williams and Radcliffe are both from two of the biggest fictional franchises imaginable, the English actors also have something else in common. At last year's San Diego Comic-Con, they both disguised themselves as Spider-Man.

Now all we need is a Radcliffe cameo on "Thrones." Maybe The Boy Who Lived could help resurrect Jon Snow or at least help give Arya her sight back. (One can dream.)

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Five years ago the fourth and final season of Heroes came to an end, and fans assumed they'd seen the last of the show that redefined the superhero TV landscape. Who knew, half a decade later, that executive producer Tim Kring and co. would be back at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015 to present the next chapter of Heroes, Heroes Reborn?

For those hesitant about more Heroes after the less-than-well-received latter seasons of the show, Kring kicked off the panel by saying, "We've had a long rest, a good sleep, and we're ready to save the world again," which was met with hearty applause from the crowd.

From there, Kring screened a new extended trailer for Heroes Reborn (see above) before moderator Greg Grunberg (who also plays returning hero Matt Parkman) introduced the rest of the cast: Jack Coleman, Zachary Levi, Robbie Kay, Kiki Sukezane, Ryan Guzman, Gatlin Green, Henry Zebrowski, Judith Shekoni, Danika Yarosh, and Rya Kihlstedt.

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Now that the world has fallen in love with Charlie Cox as Daredevil, Netflix and Marvel TV are ready to introduce you to two more of its small-screen heroes. The first photos from the upcoming series Jessica Jones have been revealed, featuring Krysten Ritter as the title character and Mike Colter as Luke Cage. Get your Jessica Jones first look after the jump.

Netflix unveiled the Jessica Jones first look photos today (via CBR). Because only Marvel could steal the spotlight during Comic-Con, with a show they didn’t even bring to Comic-Con.

The photos show what should be a very alarming scene — a man on fire, running out of a building. Fortunately, the man in question just happens to be Luke Cage, who has unbreakable skin (among other powers) and is therefore invulnerable to fire. Not that that keeps Jessica Jones from frowning with concern. Catching on fire probably isn’t fun, even if it’s not fatal.

It’s interesting to see Jessica Jones and Luke Cage in normal, everyday outfits. Jessica Jones looks to be taking on a more grounded, realistic tone a la Daredevil, which also featured the hero in street clothes for most of the season. It should also be fun to see how their relationship unfolds as the show goes on, as the characters are romantically involved in the comics.

Jessica Jones picks up with Jessica Jones after the tragic end of her short-lived stint as a superhero. She rebuilds herself as a New York City detective who specializes in cases involving people with extraordinary abilities. Luke Cage makes his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut with a recurring role on Jessica Jones before headlining his own series in 2016. Melissa Rosenberg serves as showrunner on Jessica Jones.

Netflix will debut Jessica Jones on Netflix later this year with 13 episodes. Jessica Jones is the second Marvel TV show to hit Netflix after Daredevil. It’ll be followed by Luke Cage and Iron Fist, and then all four titular superheroes will team up for the show The Defenders.

The post First Look at Netflix’s ‘Jessica Jones’ Also Offer a First Look at Luke Cage [PHOTOS] appeared first on /Film.

Director Duncan Jones has been coming to Comic Con with Warcraft for three years now. With the movie finally set to arrive in theaters just under a year from now, Comic-Con finally got a first look at some official footage from the video game adaptation, and it’s definitely something to talk about.

The footage on display has simultaneously some of the most beautiful visual effects footage I’ve ever seen, along with some of the most niche, heavy-fantasy, somewhat confusing story elements in recent memory. As someone who hasn’t ever dove into the world of Warcraft, I’ll do my best to break down what we saw in Hall H.

Check out our Warcraft Comic Con 2015 panel recap after the jump!

Legendary Pictures pulled out the massive screens in Hall H for a roll call with the main members of the cast in this sprawling fantasy epic. Here’s your first look at some of the characters from Warcraft:

Above you can see Travis Fimmel as Anduin Lothar, Paula Patton as Garona (a half-elf, half-human), Ben Foster as Medivh (a wizard), Toby Kebbell as Durotan, Dominic Cooper as King Llane Wrynn, Rob Kazinsky as Orgrim (an orc), Ben Schnetzer as Khadgar, Clancy Brown as Blackhand (an orc), Ruth Negga as Lady Taria and Daniel Wu as Gul’dan (far right in the second photo)

The character designs are spectacular, and the special effects that bring the orcs to life are every bit as good as the work done on Avatar. While some sequences still need a little work so as not to look like video game cinematics, others look impressively photo-realistic. The problem is telling them apart and getting a grasp on what’s going on.

As a person who’s not familiar with Warcraft mythology, characters, races, and locations, I found the footage a little hard to follow. There’s definitely an angle that adds some humanity to the orcs, and makes them as real as the Na’vi in Avatar, but trying to figure out what they’re doing in the footage was disorienting and thoroughly confusing.

The main reason that the footage was hard to understand or comprehend was that it was just a series of scenes. From orcs entering the village of a different, green-skinned race of orcs, to several wizards and/or sorcerers (like Medievh and Gul’dan) using magical powers. The sights are astounding, and the casting of magic looks very cool, but without a frame of reference for why Gul’dan was opening a massive portal for some orcs to walk through, it was hard to follow.

From what I can gather, Gul’dan aims to use the orcs to raid Azeroth in an effort to get more human slaves to help power this portal that runs on souls. They’re desperate for any help because they need food and water, and it seems like this task will get them what they need. Other orcs have already been helped by the “death magic” that Gul’dan possesses and it seems like their only chance for survival.

Of course, this act of desperation leads to an epic fight with the orcs and humans. And in the middle of that, Paula Patton‘s half-human, half-orc character will likely have some struggles since she doesn’t feel like she really belongs in either camp fully.

But for fans of the movie, this looks like exactly what they’ll want. In fact, star Rob Kazinsky is an avid Warcraft player, logging about 600 days played on the game. He played so much that he lost a girlfriend and his self-esteem, but now he’s in the Warcraft movie so the actor asks, “Who won this round?”

The real important quote from Kazinsky is his standing behind what he’s seen from the movie so far, “I’m a gamer and I know what I’m expecting you’re expecting, and Duncan Jones has made the movie you want to see.” That’s a pretty ringing endorsement, and it doesn’t sound like it’s just because he’s in the movie.

Even so though, this seems like a really hard sell to general audiences. It’s very deep fantasy, and as someone who is a little more in tune with that genre than most casual movie goers, that could be a problem.

For example, I’ve seen footage from the movie and had these characters introduced one by one, but I still couldn’t tell you which orc is which, with the exception of Paula Patton as the half-human, half-orc. That’s something that could get easier for viewers once a more comprehensive marketing campaign begins, but that could be also be an issue in the future.

On the other hand, the core of the story is about opposing forces, doing what they think is right or necessary, and the characters who get caught in that conflict. So if it’s done the right way, it could work just as simply as any other compelling story.

Having said that though, there’s still a lot to like about what was seen. The magic powers look bigger and more bad ass than any kind of magic we’ve seen on screen before. It’s much different than Harry Potter. In fact, the feel of the movie was best described by the equally out of the loop Angie Han who said it looks like John Carter meets Lord of the Rings. It’s hard to disagree, for better or worse.

There’s also some cool action moments like one of the human warriors jumping off the cliff on the back of some kind of feathered, flying creature (it’s not a bird, but it could be a griffin for all I know). And we catch glimpses of some creepy elves with glowing eyes, and a village that seemed to be situated in a volcano maybe? And let’s not forget about the cool armor and weapons designed by the team at Weta.

But Duncan Jones is hoping this is a movie that everyone can enjoy, whether or not they’ve ever played a minute of Warcraft. He says, “We wanted to make a film which everyone would be interested in beyond the Warcraft audience, a similar challenge to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, which had to appeal to non-Tolkien fans. We’re hoping we can do the same.”

Honestly, I think it’s going to be a uphill battle to get a massive, non-gamer audience for Warcraft. But a movie with millions of fans should still do pretty well at the box office. At the same time, there’s a chance that it’s just too early to get a firm grasp on what this movie will be, and it still has the chance to blow us all away. After all Duncan Jones is already thinking about sequels. We’ll just have to wait and see how the first film delivers.

Warcraft hits theaters on June 10th, 2016.

The post Comic-Con 2015: ‘Warcraft’ Looks Like the Coolest Fantasy Movie I Just Don’t Understand appeared first on /Film.

For years comic book lovers have been clamoring for a Deadpool movie, and earlier this movie it finally started shooting. Today, fans at Comic-Con got a first look at actual footage from the R-rated superhero pic, which stars Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth.

Reynolds also took the Hall H stage to talk about the movie, along with his co-stars Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Ed Skrein, and Gina Carano and director Tim Miller. They revealed new information about the movie, including character details. After the jump, read our Deadpool footage recap and reaction, plus highlights from the panel. 

Deadpool Comic-Con Panel Highlights

The Deadpool Comic-Con panel announced itself with a promotional video. “In a world divided by light and dark,” the voiceover began. “From the studio that fucked this up the first time…” Gradually, it faded into a video of Deadpool sitting on a fancy-looking leather couch talking to the audience — and soon trying to light a pipe to smoke through his mask… which doesn’t work at all.

Reynolds appeared onstage as the video ended, and immediately established that he knew the crowd he was playing to, greeting Hall H with “Looks like we’re ready to make the chimi-fucking-changas.” And now, five things we learned from the Deadpool Comic-Con panel.

Yes, Deadpool will be rated R.

“I think it’s an absolute miracle that the studio let us make Deadpool, let alone a rated-R Deadpool,” remarked Reynolds. Miller admitted it took a bit of a fight to get there, though. “At first it was R, then PG, then R again,” he said. “But ultimately, I think they saw that the world is ready for something different.”

Vanessa is a “perfect match” for Deadpool.

Speaking about her character Vanessa, Baccarin noted how unusual it is for superhero movies to have “badass” female love interests. “She gives [Deadpool] lip right back, and not necessarily the talking kind,” she said. “She’s really awesome, a perfect match to his crassness.”

Negasonic Teenage Warhead starts out as Colossus’ protege.

Hildebrand described her character as follows: “She is a 15-year-old superhero in training. She’s Colossus’ trainee. She’s gothic, apathetic… she’s a strong young superhero who’s a female and I love her.”

The young actress also admitted that Deadpool was a “dream come true” for her for one very specific reason. “I may or may not have had a huge crush on Ryan Reynolds growing up,” she confessed.

Ajax and Angel Dust are the “creators” of Deadpool, in a way.

Up until now, we’ve wondered how exactly Ajax and Angel Dust would fit into Deadpool. At the panel, Skrein revealed Deadpool comes to his company looking for salvation when he realizes he’s terminally ill.

“We give him the special powers that turn him into Deadpool, and he’s very disrespectful and ungrateful,” Skrein said. “We’re the creators of Deadpool,” Carano added. As for her character Angel Dust, Carano claims she has “anger issues.”

This is very much the Deadpool you remember from the comics.

Reynolds stressed that this Deadpool will have the same spirit as his comic book counterpart. “Well, it’s everything that we loved about the comics,” he said. “We have a guy that’s obviously gonna break the fourth wall, obviously going to say what [he wants].”

Acknowledging his own bias, he continued, “I think this is the most faithful adaptation of a superhero from a comic to a movie I’ve ever seen. We have here the Merc with a mouth. The mouth is not at any point in the film sewn shut.” Or to put it another way, “You have the guy that is doing his best to annoy the living shit out of everyone around him 24/7.”

The Deadpool panel also included a footage reel about four minutes long. Below, our detailed footage recap and then our overall reaction.

Deadpool Comic-Con Footage Recap

The footage starts with Wade Wilson in his non-scarred state, curled up with his girlfriend Vanessa. “I love you, Wade Wilson. We can save this,” she says. He seems more skeptical. “Sure, the cancer’s only in my liver, lungs, prostate, brain…” A doctor warns him, “It’s important not to do anything rash.”

But the world has other ideas. “What if I told you we can make you better?” a man asks, as we see shots of Wade in a hoodie, going down shady-looking nightclubs and alleys and hallways. The man continues: “You’re a fighter. We can give you abilities most men only dream of. Make you a superhero.”

Wade responds, “Promise me you can do right by me, so I can do right by someone else.” And then, as he’s being rolled down a creepy-looking hallway on a gourney, that famous sense of humor emerges. “Just please don’t make my supersuit green. Or animated!” he calls.

He’s brought into a room where Ajax tells him, “The one thing that never survives this place is a sense of humor.” Wade retorts, “We’ll see about that, Posh Spice.” As Wade leaves, he calls, “You’re going to leave me with less angry Rosie O’Donnell?” Angel Dust doesn’t seem too happy to be in a room with him either, and punches him in the face. The reel cuts to an exterior shot, where we see a building explode…

And then we’re on top of a freeway overpass with Deadpool, this time in his full superhero costume, listening to Salt ‘N’ Pepa’s on a portable radio and drawing a picture of himself. He then drops into a moving car through its sunroof.

What follows is an updated version of the test footage reel that made Deadpool possible in the first place: Deadpool, once inside the car, starts beating up everyone inside. At some point the car flips over onto its side. Other cars close in, and people come out of them with guns pointed at Deadpool, who’s still in the car.

The car window opens, and Deadpool holds his hands up through them as if in surrender. “WAIT!” he yells. “You may be wondering why the red suit. That’s so bad guys can’t see me bleed. This guy’s got the right idea,” he continues, pointing at a man approaching with a gun. “He wore brown pants.”

Deadpool flips himself out of the car and shoots the brown-panted man in the head, yelling “MOTHERFUCKER!” At one point he taunts someone else by gyrating and pointing at his crotch… only to get hit by Colossus, who sends him flying into the side of a car.

We get a moment to meet this Colossus, whom Deadpool calls a “big chrome cockgobbler.” But his attention seems more taken with Colossus’s sidekick, who introduces herself as Negasonic Teenage Warhead. “Negasonic Teenage what the shit?” Deadpool exclaims. “That’s the coolest name ever!” He gestures. “Cue the music!”

A fight montage ensues, in which we see Deadpool flipping and slicing and dicing. There are explosions, and a strip club… in which we see Stan Lee (in his cameo roll) announcing, “Give it up for Charity!” There’s also a brief shot of what appears to be Vanessa making out with a muscular man, possibly a pre-operation Wade.

We also see Deadpool inside a messy home. “It reeks like old lady parts in here,” Deadpool complains. “It sounds like you have a dick in your mouth,” she retorts.

The next scene sees a scarred-up Wade sitting across a table from Weasel in what appears to be a bar. “Oh, motherfucker, you are hard to look at,” says Weasel. “I look like a testicle with teeth,” says Wade. “You look like Freddy Kreuger fucked a topological map of Utah.”

Cut to more action, including some shots of Deadpool battling Ajax with swords. The scene right after that is even better, as Deadpool flips off a car, shooting a man mid-flip. The bullet explodes the man’s head, and continues to tear through two other men behind the first one.

Deadpool lands, and sniffs the smoke coming out of his guns. “Ahh,” he sighs, “I’m touching myself tonight.”

Then it’s back to Wade and Ajax at the bar, continuing their conversation. “You are haunting. You look like an avocado had sex with an older avocado,” Weasel observes. “Thank you,” Wade responds.

Deadpool Comic-Con Footage Reaction

This was our first look at real footage from Deadpool, and it’s safe to say it delivered. Deadpool basically seems to be to Fox’s X-Men franchise what Guardians of the Galaxy was to the Marvel Cinematic Universe — a quirky offshoot that’s all the better for its willingness to poke fun at itself.

And like Guardians, Deadpool has an emotional component to ground it. The early part of the footage reel actually played like a drama, as we saw Wade faced with terrible options following his terminal diagnosis. His relationship with Vanessa promises to be a highlight of the film.

One big difference is that Deadpool is, as promised, an R-rated movie. The footage involves plenty of inappropriate language and graphic violence. When a man gets shot in the head, we actually see his brains splatter, all bright pink and red.

And while not part of the footage, the cast’s panel appearance also went a long way toward selling Deadpool. They clearly felt comfortable with each other and displayed great comedic chemistry, which is exactly what you’d want from a movie that’s supposed to be this funny.

Overall, Deadpool looks to be exactly as Reynolds said it would be: a foul-mouthed, fourth-wall-shattering, big-screen adaptation of the Merc we love from the comics. We’ll be looking forward to this one when it opens February 12, 2016.

The post ‘Deadpool’ Panel Highlights and Footage Description: Five Things We Learned [Comic-Con 2015] appeared first on /Film.

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