Mark Millar Is Marvel Consultant At Fox!

"Kick-Ass" creator Mark Millar has been signed on by 20th Century Fox to be their consultant for all future Marvel projects that they make. He will now be the "go-to guy"for properties such as "Fantastic Four" and "X-Men". 
I personally think this is a MASSIVE role to take on and Millar is perfect for it. He's wrote some amazing comic book stories including the "Marvel Civil War", "Wanted", "Kick-Ass" and "Wolverine: Old Man Logan". 
Here's what Millar has said on the role he's about to take on, 

"As someone who has spent his entire life obsessed with both comic-books and movies, this is essentially my dream gig as it's a unique combination of both," stated Millar. "I spent ten years working at Marvel and am really happy with the work I did on the comic side of things so the idea of working with these characters now in a brand new medium is enormously exciting for me. I really like the Fox team, love this bold new direction they have for their franchises and am proud to be working alongside some of modern cinema's biggest talents. James Mangold is incredible, Matthew Vaughn's one of my closest pals and Josh Trank gave us, in my opinion, one of the greatest superhero movies of the last decade with Chronicle. The invitation to join this crew was maybe the coolest phone-call I've ever had."

"Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" Director Drops Out Of Sequel!

The director of the amazing 2011 prequel/reboot, Rupert Wyatt announced that he was not returning to direct the highly-anticipated 2014 sequel, "Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes".
Now Fox is rushing to try and find a new director to take over and stay on track for the already confirmed May 23rd 2014 release date.
Names such as Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) and Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy) are being tipped to be taking on the role. Reeves very recently dropped out of directing the upcoming BIG-screen reboot of classic TV show, "The Twilight Zone", which is being produced by Christopher Nolan. That could be a sign that he may be involved in the Apes sequel.

Martyrs: The Most Important Torture Porn?

The hope would be that by now, you would know of the 2008 French horror film Martyrs. Directed by Pascal Laugier (whose The Tall Man has just been released), the film is notorious for being an intense and violent piece. I have yet to meet someone who has not said it was a harrowing experience but, most importantly, ends in a way that makes it completely worthwhile.

Contrary to popular opinion, I am not a massive torture porn fan. First off, I think it is a label that was used to generalise and degrade a lot of horror, but secondly, I don't find enjoyment in watching films that are violent just for the sake of being violent. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a good violent film, but only with context. I will happily enjoy vocal chords tearing in the military/science bashing Day of the Dead, or the unbridled slaughtering in the 1984-with-a-twist Dredd, but I cannot enjoy films like The Tortured, where plot is eschewed in favour of impressive special effects. I'm sure a lot of people would argue some films I enjoy border in to this territory, but I will stand by most of my choices. What I am saying is that I have not liked a film simply because it is violent.

A lot of torture porn films tend to go on the 'hey, dude, look how sick this is!' side of the tracks, but Martyrs has absolutely none of this. It is a tough film to watch, and does not let you enjoy the violence on screen (and it is ALL on screen). Instead, it forces you to sit and wait, uncomfortably, feeling dirty for watching to see where it goes. And this is the challenge it sets for you. About an hour in to the film, I was very tempted to just turn it off, a cardinal sin, and something I have never done owing to intensity before. Thankfully, I stomached it up and continued on, and, I'm not giving it away here, it is worth watching to the end.

Countless critics have made this observation, that the film is a tough watch, but ultimately rewarding, and I must agree. Like I say, I wouldn't be a massive torture porn fan, and the New French Extremity movement of films (including films like Haute Tension) have never sat overly well with me. I am fine with violence used to further or enhance plot, but not in place of it. Martyrs very clearly walks a fine line where it could just be violence for the sake of shock value, and it definitely fits in the torture porn classifications, but it directly challenges them, and the viewer. You do not walk out of Martyrs looking for your next gore hit, but with reflection on what you have just seen, and how it relates to you and your place in the world.

Martyrs is an incredible watch, and one you should put yourself through, but be warned, you do have to watch the whole thing. It is a fine piece of art, whole and complex. If you leave when it starts to raise the intensity levels, you will end up with only half the story you need to savour the experience. And you should go in knowing as little as possible. All I knew going to see it was that it was an intense and violent film, and I am glad that's all I knew. I know people who haven't seen the film who have read spoilers about the ending so they could judge if they should watch the film. This is a BAD IDEA, because the power is in the journey and the conclusion, not one or the other.

So, in what seems to happen with every film trend, Martyrs has become a benchmark in torture porn, and has probably closed the door on what can be done with the genre. There will be plenty more films. There will be exploitation. There will be intensity. There will be blood. But there will never be another Martyrs*.


*Except for the alleged US remake, which can automatically be filed under 'bad ideas'.

"Dumb & Dumber" Sequel Gets Official Title!

Bobby and Peter Farrelly have finally made some sense out of these rumours of the on/off/on/off/on again "Dumb & Dumber" sequel. They have announced via their Twitter that the script for the sequel is nearly finished and filming should be happening soon. They also confirmed the title for the next film. It's under the new title of "Dumb & Dumber To".

'You also might be interested to know that we are almost done with the Dumb and Dumber To (sic) script.I think you're going to like it.'— Farrelly Brothers (@farrellybros)

First Official Image From "The Wolverine"

New Images From The Ponds Final Adventure!

All New Images From "SKYFALL"

New Posters For "The Hobbit"

First Look At Colonel Stars & Justice Forever From "KICK-ASS 2"

First Look At Doctor Gravity In "KICK-ASS 2"

First Image From The Ponds Final Adventure!

Above is the first official image released from the Ponds final adventure with Matt Smith's Doctor. It's quite upsetting that they're leaving, but times time. On a high note, the new companion is the beez fucking knees!!!

Another Batch Of On-Set Pics From "KICK-ASS 2"