DCEU News: Flash/Black Adam Begin Filming, DCFanDome Returns

A slightly slower month compared to the last two but at the same time, there's some interesting developments in the DC Universe.

The Flash (November 4th 2022) after years of development hell has finally began filming in the UK and while no further casting has been revealed yet, director Andy Muschietti has revealed the logo for the upcoming movie with Ezra Miller in the title role.

Zack Snyder's Justice League will be available to buy physically from May 24th and it was recently revealed that Wayne T. Carr had been cast as John Stewart but his scene was removed.

Lucy Liu has been cast as the villain Kalypso for Shazam!: Fury Of The Gods (June 2nd 2023). She will be the sister of Helen Mirren's Hespera and Rachel Zegler's unnamed character. Filming will start in May. 

Pilou Asbaek has been cast in an undisclosed role for Aquaman 2 (December 16th 2022) as the sequel will start filming in the UK during the summer.

Both Mo Amer and Uli Latukefu has been cast in undisclosed roles for Black Adam (July 29th 2022). The film has now began production.

DCFanDome will return on October 16th, so expect a lot of reveals for both upcoming movies and streaming shows.

Michael B. Jordan has mentioned working on a draft for the Static Shock movie. 

Legends Of Tomorrow, which returns for a sixth season on the CW from May 2nd will see Dominic Purcell exit the series as Mick Rory. The 15 episode season will also see the Waverider crew tackle aliens, singing competitions, animated antics, their own take on Baby Yoda and a solo adventure for John Constantine. Former cast member Maisie Richardson-Sellers will direct the penultimate episode of the season while Caity Lotz will direct the fifth episode and David Ramsay episode seven. Jes McCallan will also direct an episode this season.

Stargirl's second season will air on the CW from August 10th while the second half of Supergirl's sixth and final season will air from August 24th.

Titans has cast Vincent Kartheiser as Scarecrow and Sharon Ferguson  as Luand'r, the mother of Starfire and Blackfire. McKinley Freeman will play Justin Cole and Cole Young has been cast as a teenage version of Jason Todd.

Doom Patrol's third season has cast Ty Tennant and Sebastian Croft as the Dead Boy Detectives while the Sisterhood Of Dada will also factor into the new season.

Last but not least, a happy 36th birthday to our Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot and here's hoping we get some information on her third solo outing as the heroic Amazon later in the year.

Some interesting stuff to mull over there. 

My Review of Nomadland (2020)

 

Written And Directed by Chloe Zhao 

Fern: "I'm not homeless, I'm houseless. Not the same thing, right?"

It's been hyped for a while and with director Chloe Zhao winning Oscars for this movie, I decided it was time to finally see what the fuss was about.

Based on a book by Jessica Bruder, Nomadland has Frances McDormand's Fern on something of a personal journey. A vandweller who following her husband's death and town's collapse took to the open road in her RV to live a less restrictive life.

Throughout the movie we see Fern interact with fellow vandwellers while learning a bit more about the culture itself as even Fern has to learn lessons in self sufficiency and the logistics of changing a flat tyre along with seasonal work at a certain company to make some money along the way.

There are even hints of a potential relationship when Fern strikes a bond with a fellow vandweller named Dave (David Strathairn) as the two form a lovely connection but ultimately they're two different people on very different paths.

Needless to say, Frances McDormand has always been an extremely talented actor and she certainly excels here. Fern isn't always likeable in the movie but she's an engaging protagonist with believable motivations. While the vandweller lifestyle wouldn't be for me, this movie does make a convincing argument for it nonetheless.

- The movie has fictionalised versions of real life vandwellers such as Bob Wells, Charlene Swankie and Linda May.
- Frances McDormand and David Strathairn were the only actors in this movie as everyone else were real life nomads.

-  Standout music: Rose Garden by Lyn Anderson.

- Chronology: I'm assuming 2020 and Empire in Nevada is a real place that was owned by the US Gypsum.

Nomadland certainly is a triumph for director Chloe Zhao as she provides a brilliant adaptation to Bruder's book along with a fantastic central performance from McDormand. Some beautiful scenery as well and this is a superb watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Murder On The Orient Express (2017)

Written by Michael Green

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Poirot: "Ladies and gentlemen. I have understood in this case that the scales of justice cannot always be evenly weighed and I must learn for once to live with the imbalance. There are no killers here, only people who deserve a chance to heal. The police have accepted my first solution to the crime, the lone assassin who made his escape. I will leave the train here to conclude formalities. You are all free to go. May you find your peace with this. May we all."

It's not the first time we've had an adaptation to this particular classic from Agatha Christie but this is a big screen version that will truly live beyond it's release back in 2017.

Kenneth Brannagh has been making a name for himself as a director, especially with cutting his teeth into being the first to bring Thor to the big screen back in 2011 for the MCU and now with this adaptation of the popular novel from Christie as well.

Not only content with directing this wintery murder mystery but Branagh also cast himself in the role as Hercule Poirot and while David Suchet will remain the iconic version of that particular fictional sleuth, there's no denying that Branagh also brings a steely charm to the role as well in this outing.

Aided by likeable playboy Bouc (Tom Bateman), the duo wind up on the titular train and soon enough a murder has taken place when notorious gangster Edward Ratchett (Johnny Depp) is found murdered and everyone turns out to be a suspect.

The suspects being Ratchett's secretary Hector MacQueen (Josh Gad), his valet Edward Henry Masterman (Derek Jacobi), Spanish nurse Pilar Estravados (Penelope Cruz), conductor Pierre Michel (Marwan Kenzari), Princess Natalia Dragomiroff (Judi Dench), Dr. Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom Jr), his lover Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley), maid Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman), Cyrus Bethman Hardman (Willem Dafoe) and Linda Arden (Michelle Pfeiffer) to name but a few.

It's an interesting game of cat and mouse as Poirot and Bouc go through each of the suspects, slowly breaking down their innermost secrets and character motivations before the big reveal that they all bandied together in order to dispose of an evil man.

It's a stunning moment in the movie when Poirot is genuinely shocked by the confessions with all of them having a sympathetic reason to kill Ratchett. It's Pfeiffer's Arden who suffered the most and it's her who gives the most compelling performance outside of Branagh himself.

It also ends the movie on a sombre note with Poirot unable to pin the murder on a single person but instead allowing the suspects to live with the magnitude of their own actions. However justified those actions happened to be in the circumstances.

- Some of the characters were changed to add more diversity to the film. Pilar is a character from another Poirot story.

- There's a Christopher Nolan cameo in the movie. He plays a waiter during a brief scene. 

- Standout music: Michelle Pfeiffer provides a nice version of Never Forget during the closing credits.

- The movie ends on a teaser for Death On The Nile, which will be released in February 2022. 

Murder On The Orient Express is a triumph for Branagh. A classy adaptation of a classic novel, given a reasonably modern update while maintaining the essence of what has come before. I can't wait to see his next Poirot movie.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Life Is A Caberet

I'm using a new tablet to write this so bear with me, lol but here goes.

Batwoman: Things have certainly taken an interesting turn now that we know Kate Kane is alive and that Black Mask and Enigma currently have her prisoner. Already it's a step up from the underwhelming plot with Safiyah that's currently on pause while Alice broods over her lost sister, Ryan cemented herself as Batwoman and Sophie finally questions the way of the Crows.

Schitts Creek: Five seasons down and with one more to go, I'm glad I got into this series. The fifth season had fun with Moira doing a certain horror franchise as well as the soap convention circuit, while David and Patrick got engaged, Alexis was willing to to the Galapagos with Ted, Stevie took on an iconic acting gig as well as a brief romance with Amir while Johnny had fun with a roast at Roland's expense.

Supergirl: With the CW doing the bare minimum in terms of promotion and as a consequence of Superman And Lois having to take an early break, the final season of the Girl of Steel opened on a decent note. Lena is back in the fold with the main team, Lex has been rendered mortal again and Kara herself has wound up in the Phantom Zone but at least this last season is off to a good enough start.

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier: Following the success of their previous MCU effort, it seems that Disney+ are on a roll with another hit here. Three episodes in and this show has reunited Bucky and Sam as a right Odd Couple, added a new Captain America with John Walker, shown the duality of the Flag Smashers along with welcomed returns of Sharon Carter and Zemo along with a new potential mainstay in Torres. The action sequences have been impressive along with the chemistry of the leads.

The Flash: With the Mirror Monarch story dealt with, Iris out of the Mirrorverse, it actually feels like the season has actually started properly. Both Abra Kadabra and Psych were good guest baddies, Barry and Iris dealing with their traumas handled well, along with both Caitlin and Frost being split in half with the latter gaining a new threat of her own. It's still not the show at its best but does feel like an improvement over last season.

• American Gods has been cancelled after three seasons, though Starz are considering a movie to wrap up potential loose ends.
• Annie Murphy has joined the second season of Russian Doll.
• The Right Stuff has been cancelled by Disney+.
• Rege Jean Page will not be returning for the second season of Bridgerton.
• Nicholas Podany and Donald Faison have joined the cast of Powerpuff Girls.
• Young Sheldon has been renewed for an extra three seasons.
• Daniel Zovatto and Lori Petty will star in upcoming HBO Max series Station Eleven.
• Dan Stevens has joined Starz series Gaslit.
• Law And Order: Organized Crime has added Nicky Torchia, Michael Rivera and Ibrahim Renno to the cast.
• Rose McIver will star in the US version of Ghosts which will air on CBS.