Entertainment update for May 19th 2014

                Wow, so the last week there have been a lot of announcements and reveals so I figured I would put up an article to sum up some of the things that stood out to me the most.  Let’s start with TV first.

                The first show to be announced was Fox’s Gotham. This one has the potential to go far…if it doesn’t go all Smallville on us. It’s a Batman origins story focusing more around Jim Gordon, first introduced as a newly transferred detective and new to the city. From the looks of it right off the bat (couldn’t resist) he will be put on the case of murdered billionaires Martha and Thomas Wayne.  So while we get all the day to day crime drama of Gordon fighting the criminals of Gotham, we will also get an insight into the childhood of Bruce Wayne.  Tempting us also into this tale is the already announced appearances of The Penguin, The Riddler, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Fish Mooney, Two Face and Scarecrow. All of these secondary characters and villains will also be developing from their origins, some also from their childhood.  This show has some serious production value and has a lot of potential but if it becomes too popular the writers might try to stretch it out too far just like Smallville and the entire plot could implode.  But I will definitely be paying close attention because who can say no to the bat.

                Next up is The Flash. This one is going to be coming to us from the CW studios, the same that brought us the very popular Arrow.  This will be the origin story of Barry Allen, a young man who gets struck by lightning and gains the power to move faster than, well almost anything! Unlike Gotham, this one doesn’t have the same sense of urgency.  Since it’s not going all the way back to his childhood the characters should be able to grow at a better pace and should be easier to watch as a result. The best part is that faster than the speed of light (I need help) they will be crossing over with Arrow giving two minor members of the Justice League a stage to be developed side by side.  If this works you can bet on a Justice League series happening.

                The last one is the dark horse but it’s definitely got my money on it to win. Despite the lack luster acceptance of its 2005 movie release, the DC comic Constantine will get its own series this year.  NBC will be releasing this hour long drama of awesome eye candy.  This time John Constantine will be blond and British like he was meant to be. The special effects and cinematography seem right on par with the comics so this looks like a very well deserved second chance for the demon hunter(like he needs one…).  I admit I really liked the movie but this just looks superior on every level.  All in all, I am really excited about all three of these.

                In movie news we can go straight back to the Bat.  The first pictures of the new Batman costume and the Batmobile were released and damn they look good. The suit is a much burlier, kind of Arkham Asylum style suit and the Batmobile looks just like a fresher version of the comic book archetype. So the good news is this defiantly points to a more comic based character for Batman.  The original Nolan version was a really good attempt at making the Batman seem as realistic as possible.  A lot of fans have been worried that he would try to use the same Batman in the new Batman vs Superman movie, especially since Affleck was cast. But if it does stick more to the comics then this should be a very Bruce Wayne free story, at least after the first one. With the announcements of Cyborg and Lex Luthor, along with the rumors of Wonder Woman and Flash cameos, this is really gearing up to be more of a precursor to a Justice League movie series developing. In that series Batman is just Batman, Bruce Wayne really doesn’t show up.

                Last and pretty least is Transformers: Age of Extinction.  While I feel the last two movies in this series are just examples of how good writing isn’t really needed to fill seats sometimes as long as the CGI is good. This new installment seems to want to keep that trend going. Transformers are hopelessly out numbered, shunned by all humans except a hot girl and guy (this time they are father daughter so I really hope they remember to remove the sexual tension) and constantly over dramatically stating the plot.  So what is newsworthy about this? Well the new trailer finally shows who the Dinobots  will be fighting for!  In the original trailer they show the T-rex fighting Optimus Prime but it’s revealed in the new trailer that that was a kind of test and the Dinobots will be fighting alongside the Autobots which probably won’t salvage the movie but will defiantly make it a lot more fun to watch.

                Thanks for reading.  If you liked what you read please be sure to check the rest of my blogs and reviews, likes and shares are always appreciated. For updates, look up and like TheBlackSheepCritic on Facebook.

Ride Along at your own risk!

                So Ride Along recently was released on blue ray/ DVD  so I figured it was finally time to get around to watching it. The movie is an action comedy, with way more emphasis on the comedy, staring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.  Hart plays a high school security officer who dreams of marring his girlfriend, the only thing standing in his way is her overprotective brother who happens to be a police detective played by Cube.   Hart figures that if he can join the police academy he can impress Cube enough to win his blessing.  Not wanting to make it easy on him, Cube takes him on a ride along and tries to put him through hell in the attempts of discouraging him.

                For the most part this is a pretty good watch.  The timing is good.  There is a decent amount of plot to keep it moving.  It’s shot well. It’s even pretty funny at some parts.  But unfortunately it just doesn’t seem to fulfill what it could have been.  By that I mean that there were just too many opportunities to make it funnier or more engaging that just seemed to be completely over looked.

Ice Cube plays a tough bad ass cop but that’s about it.  He has proven in the past to be funny and it would have been great to see that break out more since this is you know, a comedy.  Kevin Hart is one of the hottest comics on the scene right now and he provides majority of the movies laughs but I felt that they were trying to avoid having him come off as a complete spas so they put the comedic reigns on him as well. It’s not that Harts character isn’t really cut out for the police force, he’s just inexperienced.  It might have been better for Cube to set him up to fail but have Hart find a way through it all in a funny fashion and to Cubes surprise.

The lack of building a better relationship between the two ends up leaving the end a little flat.  All in all I would say it’s worth watching because there are a few good laughs in it, just try not to expect too much from it.

Everything you need to know: The Amazing Spiderman 2

With the upcoming release of The Amazing Spiderman 2 it's time to catch up on everything you need to know!

First up, it's a reboot people!  A lot of people have gotten hung up on the new storyline and actors,  comparing them to the Toby Mcguire trilogy.  While of course they should be compared, it is good to remember that this is a different story line. Spiderman himself has gone through numerous revamps and changes throughout his existence and this run of films is going to concentrate on a different set of rules that govern him. For the most part, the biggest style change is that this version will be much closer to the comic book style than the original. So with that being said, enjoy a new take on a favorite. And if you don't like it the good news is it's only a matter of time until they reboot all over again, especially if Disney ever gets the rights to cross him over into the Avengers!

A quick background: In this series Peter Parker is a much more headstrong,  cocky, and witty character. His background of being an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben remains the same, but this time his love interest is Gwen Stacey.  His parents seem to also play a bigger part in this series so here's a bit about them. Little is ever really know about them other than that they were secret agents who died in a plane crash while on mission. Two bodies were discovered in the crash but Ray and Mary Parker have always been listed as "missing in action" leading to speculation that they are actually still alive somewhere.  However, from the first Amazing Spiderman, it's hinted more that they were scientists who stumbled upon something major forcing them to abandon their child and run. They could have also been killed, but so far that has been left wide open.

Spiderman's abilities are a bit different in this version.  The biggest changes are that he cannot generate his own web thus depending on a device that has a limited supply, but he gets a huge boost in the strength and reflex department.  This means he will be able to go more all-out with crazy stunts but then still be limited by his web abilities. Peter himself is less hampered by his struggle to balance his life vs being a super hero, leaving more screen time for action and relevant story. So less emo, more smart ass.

The bad guys: This sequel is going to introduce the beginnings of the Sinister 6. The end credit Easter Egg in the first film showed Mysterio, one of the founding members. From the trailers, we know that the Green Goblin, this time done by Harry Osborn, and Electro will make appearances as well. Rhino will also appear, but it is unknown so far whether or not he will join The Six. The Sinister 6 has popped up several times in the Marvel universe with about a dozen different rosters, so the members and their story lines are really open for interpretation. Their main goal, however, is usually killing Spiderman.

What can we expect from the sequel?  Well, primarily a ton of popcorn inciting action scenes! Expect the villains to get equal, if not more, screen time and character development. They will probably flesh out the parents' back story some more, which we've never seen before. More than likely they will continue to treat Gwen's character as the classic damsel in distress, which will be a disappointment.  For the most part I am excited about this film, the new direction looks solid and the cast is really talented.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed. Hopefully I will be able to get a full review of the movie up right after the weekend.