This All Hallows’ Eve, Nightmare is bent on conquering our waking world by crossing through the Dream Dimension, and converting each dreamer into a monster. Can Dr. Strange, Hulk and the Howling Commandoes hold the line and put an end to his nefarious scheme?
Marvel’s Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell, the first animated, feature-length film centered on Hulk, premieres on Digital HD on Oct. 21. In this spooky, action-packed feature, the Green Goliath and Sorcerer Supreme team up with the Howling Commandoes, a supernatural strikeforce, to thwart the villainous plan of Nightmare, the evil, supernatural lord of the Dream Dimension.
VOICE CAST:
Fred Tatasciore as Hulk; Liam O’Brien as Dr. Strange; Jesse Burch as Bruce Banner; Edward Bosco as Warwolf and Minotaur; Chiara Zanni as Nina Price, Vampire by Night; Mike Vaughn as Zombie Jasper Sitwell; Matthew Waterson as Nightmare; and Michael Robles as Benito
WRITERS:
Marty Isenberg (Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man, Ben 10), Dave McDermott (Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men: The Animated Series)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:
Alan Fine, Dan Buckley, Joe Quesada, Jeph Loeb, and Cort Lane
RELEASE DATE: Oct. 21, 2016
RELEASE FORMATS: Digital HD/SD & On-Demand
FEATURE RUN TIME: 70-75 min.
ASPECT RATIO: 1.78:1
AUDIO: Dolby Digital 5.1
LANGUAGES/SUBTITLES: English
Sometimes I think the most difficult job in the DC Universe is Bruce Wayne’s accountant.
Bruce Wayne doesn’t go to H & R Block. Who takes care of him?
I mean, I assume that all the Wayne businesses, including WayneCorp and the Wayne Foundation, use one firm, and the person who does Bruce’s personal tax returns is part of that firm. Or there are accountants and tax lawyers who work directly for the company, and one of them is assigned to Bruce. Whatever the arrangement, one hopes that they strive for an impeccable separation of business, philanthropy, and personal finances.
Bruce rarely seems interested or involved in his corporate financials. The Nolan movies established that Lucius Fox uses an unobtrusive division of WayneCorp to develop various Bat-tech under the guise of government military research. Those expenses won’t show up on Bruce’s tax forms.
Bruce is extremely interested and involved in Wayne Foundation charities. He is often shown to be an active donor and fund-raiser. Almost as frequently, he is shown learning about the potential recipients of his charity, studying how to best help them. He does this so often that it seems unlikely that anyone would connect his generous impulses in general to the innocent victims of Batman’s specific activities.
Neither his corporation nor his charities would raise tax questions. I’m thinking about his personal tax returns. All the equipment deliveries to the Manor. All the repairs after on-site fights. Even the medical supplies that Alfred keeps on hand. All of these things leave a paper trail, the kind that the IRS wants to know about.
My tax returns aren’t as complicated as I imagine Bruce Wayne’s to be, but they do stack up to be several inches tall. I know that I need to have receipts and more on hand. I can’t believe that Bruce (or, more likely, Alfred) doesn’t have file cabinets and/or hard drives full of the stuff.
Bruce Wayne needs to hire the best possible people to take care of his taxes. His wealthy playboy persona demands it. And I do believe that because he’s Batman, he would only hire the most ethical. And smart, honest accountants ask a lot of questions. And they want to see receipts.
I don’t believe Batman is trying to cheat the federal government. Bruce Wayne is not using his position to amass personal power. He’s not on the ballot. His taxes are none of my business.
HOLLYWOOD, CA – Based on the phenomenal bestselling book series by acclaimed author James Patterson, MAXIMUM RIDE takes flight on DVD
December 6, 2016 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. Patterson’s book series spent 144 weeks on the New York Times best seller list, has sold over 20 million books worldwide, and has spawned 11 Manga comics. The film brings to life the extraordinary journey of six DNA-enhanced young orphans with the ability to fly who are on a mission to rescue the youngest of their flock while discovering the diabolical, scientific secrets of how they came to exist. Their leader is Max, wise beyond her years, who must summon all her courage and acumen to outmaneuver the brutal half-human/half-wolf creations known as “Erasers”, confront her own inner demons and ultimately face a stunning betrayal.
MAXIMUM RIDE boasts a sensational cast of up-and-coming talent including digital influencers such as Allie Marie Evans (Vanity), Patrick Johnson (Mean Girls 2), Lyliana Wray (Girl Missing), Luke Gregory Crosby, Gavin Lewis (OMG!, Just Jacques), Tetona Jackson (Stolen from Suburbia), Zayne Emory (Crazy, Stupid, Love), Carrie Wampler (Austin & Ally) and Peter O’Brien (Neighbours).
The MAXIMUM RIDE DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with English 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Studio71 and J.P. Entertainment present “Maximum Ride.” Starring Allie Marie Evans, Patrick Johnson, Lyliana Wray, Luke Gregory Crosby, Gavin Lewis, Tetona Jackson, Zayne Emory, Carrie Wampler and Peter O’Brien. Casting director Chelsea Ellis Bloch, C.S.A. Edited by Joel Griffen. Director of photography Ed Wu. Music by Bowie Dinkel and Kelvin Pimont. Executive producers Andrew Reyes, Carrie Morrow, Leopoldo Gout, Bill Robinson, Jenna Marbles and James Patterson. Produced by Gary Binkow and Amee Dolleman. Casting director Chelsea Ellis Bloch, C.S.A. Based on the novel by James Patterson. Written by Angelique Hanus and Jesse Spears. Directed by Jay Martin.
MAXIMUM RIDE
Street Date: December 6, 2016
Runtime: 88 minutes
U.S. Rating: PG-13 for some violence
Canadian Rating: PG for violence; not recommended for young children
I am sitting across the dining room table from a DNA-sharing fellow human being and, for no reason I can recall, the subject of Mighty Mouse arises and, for no reason I can recall, I start to – yes! – sing:
Here he comes to save the day / Mighty Mouse is on his way…
Okay, before we lurch further, let’s get a bit of full disclosure out of the way: What I was singing – no, what I thought I was singing – was the Mighty Mouse theme song.
But wait! That chap at the rear of the room, scratching his bald head, his long, curled fingernails tearing bloody streaks in his taut scalp – yes, him! Is he puzzled because he’s never heard of Mighty Mouse? Well, it’s probably unkind to leave him in torment, so, briefly:
Mighty Mouse was created in 1942 as an animated cartoon character destined for theaters – gotta plump out those double bills, particularly the ones that cater to the kiddies. He starred in 80 movie shorts until he took a long vacation in 1961 and returned from it in 1987 when Ralph Bakshi did a Mighty Mouse series destined for Saturday morning television. (And since we seem to be digressing, another factoid: One of Bakshi’s scripters was Doug Moench, who wrote hundreds of comics for Marvel, DC and, I think, Warren. And Doug, if I’ve forgotten any of your publishers, forgive me. I’m not as young as I used to be.)
But weren’t we noticing MM’s theme song? Yes. Well. What I sang last night, at the dinner table, was, “Here he comes to save the day / Mighty Mouse is on his way.” My bad. The real lyrics:
Here I come to save the day / That means Mighty Mouse is on his way…
Okay, maybe you don’t think that switching pronouns is important, but others might beg to differ! And that second line? Doesn’t it suggest that the Coming of the Mouse has some greater meaning? Offering, perhaps, some existential hope? Even a promise of existential hope?
But wasn’t I telling a story, way back at the top of the page? Yes I was! To continue, then: the person sitting across from me, whom I’ve known for over 65 years – I’m not really sure of his birth date – suddenly continued the impromptu recital that was being created:
Yes sir, when there’s a wrong to right / Mighty Mouse will join the fight!
Now, you have to understand that this person has no direct connection to pop culture – he’s a grocer if you must know – nor have I ever observed him to have any particular interest in it (though he does like the old Have Gun, Will Travel show.) Yet here he was in in my dining room, with no hesitation, singing the lyrics to a long gone cartoon presentation.
Did I mention that I’d never heard him sing before?
The question I have for you, my friend, is, what the heck is this column about? Which itself begs another question: Did you see that coming?
This summer’s blockbuster hit STAR TREK BEYOND has been beamed up to the team of astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to make its extraterrestrial debut.
The International Space Station serves as the world’s leading laboratory for conducting cutting-edge microgravity research, and is the primary platform for technology development and testing in space to enable human and robotic exploration of destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, including asteroids and Mars. The STAR TREK franchise is widely credited for inspiring a number of the technologies we enjoy today and for depicting a future in which international—and interspecies—cooperation advances human knowledge beyond the bounds of Earth. A living embodiment of STAR TREK creator Gene Roddenberry’s vision, the multinational inhabitants of the ISS will now have the opportunity to enjoy the very latest STAR TREK adventure as they continue to boldly go where no one has gone before.
From producer J.J. Abrams and director Justin Lin, the newest installment in the iconic STAR TREK franchise was one of the best-reviewed action movies of the year. Featuring an all-star cast including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and franchise newcomer Idris Elba, STAR TREK BEYOND follows the intrepid crew of the Enterprise as they explore the furthest reaches of uncharted space and encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.
STAR TREK BEYOND is now available on Digital HD and will arrive on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray™ and DVD on November 1, 2016.
Created and written by our columnist John Ostrander in concert with his DC Comics editor Robert Greenberger, Suicide Squad has quickly proven to be a worldwide smash hit. The film has earned over $739 million and stands as the second biggest film in the DC line of adaptations, ranking thirteenth on the All-Time Super-Hero Adaptation list according to Box Office Mojo. It withstood mixed critical reviews thanks to an impressive marketing campaign and pent up demand. Now, Warner Home Entertainment has announced an Extended Edition is being released for the holidays.
Burbank, CA, October 5, 2016 – Bring the Squad home when Suicide Squad arrives onto Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD. From director David Ayer (Fury, End of Watch) comes Suicide Squad, starring Oscar® nominee Will Smith (Best Actor, 2002, Ali, Best Actor, 2007 The Pursuit of Happyness,), Oscar ® winner Jared Leto (Best Supporting Actor, Dallas Buyers Club, 2013), Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, Focus”), Joel Kinnaman (House of Cards) and Oscar nominee Viola Davis (The Help, Doubt”.
Written and directed by Ayer based on the characters from DC, the film also stars Jai Courtney (Insurgent), Jay Hernandez (Takers), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Thor: The Dark World), Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors), Scott Eastwood (Fury), Cara Delevingne (Paper Towns), Adam Beach (Cowboys & Aliens), and Karen Fukuhara in her feature film debut. It is produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.
Suicide Squad: Extended Cut features more action and more Squad with 13 more minutes of footage not previously seen in theaters. The Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack and Blu-ray Combo Pack will include the extended version of the film on the Blu-ray disc. The extended version will also be available to own on Digital HD.
Suicide Squad will be available on Ultra HD Blu-ray for $44.95, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack for $44.95, Blu-ray Combo Pack for $35.99 and 2-disc DVD Special Edition for $28.98. The Ultra HD Blu-ray features an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the theatrical version in 4K with HDR and a Blu-ray disc with the extended version. The Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack features the theatrical version of the film in 3D hi-definition and hi-definition, as well as the extended version in hi-definition; the Blu-ray Combo Pack features the extended version and theatrical version of the film in hi-definition on Blu-ray; and the DVD features the theatrical version in standard definition. All Blu-ray products include a digital version of both the extended and theatrical versions of the movie in Digital HD with UltraViolet.* Fans can also own “Suicide Squad” via purchase from digital retailers.
The Blu-ray discs of Suicide Squad will feature a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. To experience Dolby Atmos at home, a Dolby Atmos enabled AV receiver and additional speakers are required, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar; however, Dolby Atmos soundtracks are also fully backward compatible with traditional audio configurations and legacy home entertainment equipment.
SYNOPSIS
It feels good to be bad… Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION ELEMENTS
On November 15, Suicide Squad will be available to own for streaming and download to watch anywhere in high definition and standard definition on favorite devices from select digital retailers including Amazon, CinemaNow, Flixster, iTunes, PlayStation, Vudu, Xbox and others. On December 13, “Suicide Squad” will be made available digitally on Video On Demand services from cable and satellite providers, and on select gaming consoles.
BASICS
PRODUCT SRP
Ultra HD Blu-ray $44.95
3D Blu-Ray Combo Pack $44.95
Blu-ray Combo Pack $35.99
DVD Amaray (WS) $28.98
Standard Street Date: December 13, 2016
EST Street Date: November 15
DVD Languages: English, Latin Spanish, Canadian French
BD Languages: English (Dolby Atmos TrueHD), Latin Spanish, Canadian French, Brazilian Portuguese
3D Languages: English (Dolby Atmos TrueHD), Canadian French, Thai, Latin Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese,
DVD Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish, Canadian French, Parisian French
BD Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish, Canadian French, Parisian French, Brazilian Portuguese
3D Subtitles: English SDH, Parisian French, Canadian French, Latin Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Cantonese, Complex Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Thai,
Theatrical Version Running Time: 123 minutes
Extended Cut Running Time: 136 minutes
Rating: Rated PG – 13 for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language
Extended Cut is unrated
DLBY/SURR DLBY/DGTL [CC]
The New York Comic Con is this week and the geek community is totally in a frenzy. It’s been crazy how much is happening. Every day for the past couple of weeks, my inbox has been billowing with email after email of press releases and announcements. One of the more interesting announcements is from yesterday.
Comixology announced that they are expanding their digital library once again. Now they will have original digital titles (starting in 2017) from some of their many publishers, including Boom! and Valiant. Ever since Comixology announced they were adding their Comixology Unlimited subscription service, I was expecting this. They are following the tried and true path set out by Amazon (the owner of Comixology), Netflix and Hulu. Subscription service turned media giant in one big swoop.
No matter what anyone says, digital is supplanting print. And as much as I hate to admit it, comics will go digital too. When I look around the subway car, a.k.a. a micro section of New York City, you don’t usually see paper in their hands. You see smartphones, tablets, and other various more modern technologies. As print becomes more and more pricey, digital will become more and more prominent.
Another expectation of the Netflix-style journey is the appearance of original comics. Yes, I know this is an article about original comics. The ones they announced are from existing publishers. I’m curious if Amazon will take the plunge into comics publishing. They’ve gone the route of book publishing with mixed results. Amazon Studios has been fairly successful on the TV front, with shows like Transparent and The Man in the High Castle. To have a comics arm that could potentially feed straight to your TV studios could be a media game changer.
Amazon has also made the efforts to diversify, especially through TV. With that in mind, this could be an excellent way to develop more minorities comic creators. This is a company that looks to fill voids and diversity in comics is definitely a hot topic to work on. They could buy up an indie publisher and put an advertising machine behind it to rival Marvel/Disney and DC/Warner Bros.
As always, there is a downside. Amazon is quickly becoming the go-to company for everything. I can buy groceries from Amazon. Beauty care, t-shirts, dishes, furniture, a giant bucket of lube, socks, a lawn mower – the list goes on and on. Now the same company that I can buy 99% of everything I need is also actively affecting media. That reminds me of the sinister WeSaySo Corporation from the 90s show Dinosaurs. Too much influence can be a bad thing.
Print comics won’t be gone anytime soon, no matter how fast things seem to be moving. No matter what happens with Comixology or any other digital comics provider, this is definitely a step towards digital, and that’s a step forward.
You’ve probably seen the second Superhero Fight Club by now; if you haven’t and you’ve got four minutes to spare, go give this a click. It’s great fun, not necessarly part of The DC-CW continuity, and it brings Supergirl in to play with the boys. And Felicity, of course.
SPOILER ALERT! (I’ve always wanted to say that!) From this point forward, I’m going to write stuff that presumes you’ve seen Superhero Fight Club 2, although as spoilers go, I’ve already spoiled it with my choice of graphics and my headline. Sue me.
Easily, the coolest part of the short is the “surprise” appearance of Gorilla Grodd, who already has been established in The Flash teevee series. But, let’s face it, Gorilla Grodd usually is the coolest part of damn near everything he’s ever appeared in, dating back to his introduction in early 1959. I’m sure you’re aware of the common belief that, at least in the 1950s and 1960s, putting a gorilla on the cover of a comic book guaranteed higher sales. I’m sure you’re aware of this because I’m one of the wags who has spent the past several decades sharing that observation at every possible opportunity.
Of course I found Grodd amazing at the time of his introduction, in the second issue of the silver-age Flash, #106 (DC Comics didn’t have the auto-renumbering algorithm built into their reboot program way back in 1959). I was eight years old. The fact that John Broome and Carmine Infantino did one hell of a great comic book story helped a lot, and to put it in context Grodd came as a complete surprise to us at the time because he was not cover featured! It was the Pied Piper who on the cover. I realize this flies in the face of the “putting a gorilla on the cover of a comic book guaranteed higher sales” theory, but damn, you open the comic book and there’s this big gorilla frying The Flash with “deadly thought waves.” By the time I got to the Pied Piper story, that villain was – please forgive me – an also-ran.
Editor Julius Schwartz knew he was on to something. He usually was those days, but on page 15 of “The Menace of the Super-Gorilla” he captioned “In the next issue of The Flash – another Super-Gorilla thriller!”
However…
Grodd was not on the cover of that second appearance, either. The cover was all about some guy who could outrun The Flash by running backwards. Where’s the damn super-gorilla?
Right there on page one. On the final story page, Barry Allen is reading the newspaper and hoping he never sees Grodd again. Fat chance, Barry. Julie ratted it out in the last caption, stating the smart ape would return “in a forthcoming issue.”
And there Grodd was. In the very next issue, #108. And, for the third time in three issues, he was not on the cover. After that I’d have an attitude problem too!
For the record, our great ape didn’t return for another seven issues. The Mirror Master came back in the following issue, and Wally West was introduced in the issue after that. Grodd didn’t make it back into The Flash until #115, September 1960…
… and he wasn’t on the cover of that issue either!
Gorilla Grodd didn’t make it to the cover until #127. By that point, Jay Garrick had been brought back, the Elongated Man, Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, the Trickster and several other important rogues were introduced, and The Flash clearly was the most exciting comic book on the racks at the time.
Although by then The Flash was in for a run for the money. A few months earlier we saw the debut of the Marvel Universe. The Fantastic Four encountered their first ape villain – three of them, in fact – in 1963.
I’m at a bit of a loss when it comes to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children because I was so sure I would leave the theater either fantastically impressed or utterly repulsed. There were just so many flags for a strong reaction: it’s a Tim Burton movie, it’s a movie where the director made a boneheaded comment the week before release, it’s a superhero movie but not really, it’s a bit Harry Potter adjacent. None of it ended up inspiring a strong reaction in me. Miss Peregrine’s is a fine movie that capably blends some spellbinding spectacle with some rather drab boring junk. That probably sounds a little more harsh than I intend but this is very much the movie equivalent of the little girl with the little curl; when it’s good it’s very, very good and when it’s bad it’s horrid.
The fun stuff in the film is unmistakably fun. The use of super powers, or peculiarities, has a sense of wonder and more importantly whimsy that separates it from a lot of the bleak drab superheroics we see in films these days. It feels a little more like Grant Morrison’s X-Men than Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and it makes the whole thing so much less psychologically draining. The time loop mechanism is fun in the light doses of it we get in the first two-thirds of the movie. There’s a great fight scene on a pier in modern-day London. This is a disjointed list because the connecting tissue that binds all of these things together is lacking.
The story, once you get past the fun stuff, is a boring mess. Plot points are gone over and over until belabored doesn’t seem appropriate anymore. I understand that the target audience for this movie is probably a bit younger than me but I bet they don’t need to be told that Emma had a thing for Abraham before he left a half dozen times. There are severe lulls where it seems like nothing happening and no new information is being parceled out. The finale also seems flat but maybe that’s because it relies heavily on time travel causality loops that can’t be thought about too hard or it gives you that weird feeling in your stomach. I guess I believe the ending is consistent with the rules established, but I’m not certain why.
Tim Burton got a lot of well-deserved flack for his comments about how he wasn’t sure if his movies “call for” diversity, but I think there was a different representation issue overlooked here… Miss Peregrine’s is unmistakably a movie about a young child dealing with the enormity of the Holocaust. A boy learns from his grandfather (named Abraham no less) that he had to flee his home in Poland as a boy due to the threat of “monsters” and go in to hiding in a remote part of Wales. The boy goes to try and trace the history and finds a bombed-out building. The monsters in the movie are called Hollowgasts, which sounds a fair bit like “Holocaust” to my ear. It’s honestly one of the best ways I’ve seen an issue like this tackled in a movie, obvious but indirect so it doesn’t become smothering, but they did it without any Jewish actors involved. It’s strange to see such a specific metaphor explored with no one with a direct connection to the actual lived experience. I’m not here to argue that Jews are somehow underrepresented in Hollywood, but it’s a bit vexing to see this happen like this.
There were no children in my 2pm Sunday showing of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Maybe it was the awkward time or maybe it’s because I was seeing it in Hollywood, which is not exactly a big family destination, or maybe people were just seeing through it. The ad I saw for this movie called it “Harry Potter meets X-Men“, but it was really more like Doom Patrol with a British accent. There’s nothing wrong with Doom Patrol, but I don’t think it’s ever going to be a monolithic kid’s franchise. I liked the stuff I liked but it wasn’t a good movie and I remain basically uninterested in Burton’s entire oeuvre since Mars Attacks. He’s become some kind of heartless version of Wes Anderson, and I’m not sure how much heart Anderson has to lose.
SYNOPSIS: 
