Tag: Simon Kinberg

On X-Men: Dark Phoenix and Tales of Future Past

X-Men

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Writer-Director Simon Kinberg redeemed himself from his involvement in the lamented X-Men: The Last Stand, the third chapter of the saga about mutants just looking for a place to belong in modern human society. This subtext has been running throughout the films and it’s been explored in the past films to varying degrees of success.

His film, The Dark Phoenix, gets a treatment that is not too out there and it works without having to resort to sending the mutants to the moon.

When I have seen all the movies to date and followed the saga of the Phoenix up till the mid-90s (Excalibur, Series one), I had specific expectations in mind. While Kinberg’s work lightly touches upon a few things coming full circle, I suspect The New Mutants will have to provide some answers about the human and mutant relationship before Marvel Entertainment rewrites the mutant chapter for Phase Five of their narrative plan.

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Journey into the Art of Star Wars Rebels, Oct 1st, 2019!

X-MenBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Dark Horse Books and Lucasfilm proudly present the official look inside one of the galaxy’s most beloved shows in The Art of Star Wars Rebels (Amazon pre-order link). This book is going to be an incredible hardcover amassing art and creator commentary chronicling four seasons of adventure in a galaxy far, far away, and I am one who has put in an order right away.

No animated series has stayed faithful to the defining vision which visits “The Force” in The Clone Wars and what it represented in the original trilogy. It manages to go beyond, if not surpass, in my opinion. The last few episodes of the final season of Rebels ventures into new territory similar to Yoda’s adventure with Clone Wars: Lost Missions, and to anxiously wait for this book may well shed light in what Dave Filoni had in mind when those episodes were written.

From the Press Release:

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An X-Nerd’s Guide and Review of X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men_Apocalypse_International_PosterBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

* Spoiler alert!

When X-Men: Days of Future Past (DoFP) introduced a young En Sabah Nur building a pyramid in ancient Egypt after the movie credits, I was very excited for the next film. While I knew the film would not be set entirely in the past, the introduction of this character was all too brief in that past instance and only a few new details are revealed in X-Men: Apocalypse.

He’s the world’s first mutant who has a god complex and he wants to wipe out humanity to forge a new empire. In the comics, he’s out to create a new world order and he is a lot more patient about it. Many months passed in his quest to find his ideal knights. In the film, he’s rushing the end of days and whom he chooses to be the four horsemen are not necessarily those of the biblical version of the four horseman of the apocalypse. The title of which, Nur uses as his codename.

Angel (Ben Hardy) transformed into Archangel and he’s easily recognizable as the Horseman of Death. He’s the only character from the original X-Factor comic book arc when the villain made life tough for the team. Unlike the source, Angel lost his wings (those fragile bones were shattered) and Apocalypse offered to regenerate them at the cost of becoming a servant. Little is known about the character in the film. He’s a slave forced into cage sports. He looked very cool at the start, but once he became evil, the punk look does not suit him well.

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Is Movie “Magic” Possible with a Trading Card Game?

Magic the Gathering is a trading card game that studio 20th Century Fox is daring to gamble their fortunes on, just for a movie.

Magic the Gathering

Magic the Gathering is a trading card game that studio 20th Century Fox is daring to gamble their fortunes on, just for a movie.

The news broke on The Hollywood Reporter and some reactions from the fandom may well be mixed. I played the game when it first came out, and I enjoyed it for what it was before it became expensive to maintain. I imagined a world that was filled with mages who can control the elements, summon monsters and go Fantasia against another opponent.

There were some good concepts that were created to make this imaginative version of poker more than profitable for Wizards of the Coast and pocketable for the masses who can enjoy a game anywhere. The same crowd is what the studio is hoping to draw into the theater. If the film becomes a mega-success, the additional products that can be sold under this license can even make Warner Bros. green with envy or red with rage.

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Star Wars: Rebels is set for TV Fall 2014

With luck, Star Wars: Rebels may well bridge the gap between Episode III and IV without Darth Vader taking center stage.

Star Wars: Rebels (TV Series 2014–2018) - IMDbComing in Fall 2014 will be a new animated television series set in the universe as first conceived by George Lucas and wonderfully illustrated by Ralph McQuarrie. This series is said to be inspired by this illustrator’s works and that can be particularly exciting for Generation One fans.

With luck, Star Wars: Rebels may well bridge the gap between Episode III and IV without Darth Vader taking center stage. Well, one can only hope. The premise is set in an era where the Empire is firming its grip upon the galaxy, and the Jedi Knights are nearly extinct.

If the news from StarWars.com is any indication of the potential this series has to win new fans, screenwriter/producer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class), Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and Greg Weisman (Young Justice) are serving as executive producers.

For Weisman, it will moreorless be a return to working with Disney. He quickly rose to become a fan favorite for having produced Gargoyles back in the 90’s. With luck, and if Star Wars: Rebels takes off, he may be able to return to bringing these creatures of stone back to life for a new generation of fans. Or Disney can finally consider releasing the last volume of the Gargoyles series to DVD. Many fans have been patient.

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