The Walking Dead: Monsters

There were plenty of storylines to cover with Morales; how he lost his family, his past with Rick playing into his role with the Saviors. Instead that was all wrapped up in a brief conversation with Rick before he met the business end of Daryl’s crossbow. Bringing back Morales seemed like a cool way to bridge the gap from season one to now, but killing him in the very next episode makes it all feel like stunt casting.

Meanwhile Carol and Ezekiel continue moving forward taking out groups of Saviors while Rick and Daryl are boxed in by the Saviors until they’re rescued by Aaron and a few others. Gregory (played by Xander Berkeley) arrives at the Hilltop and begs to be let inside where he’s confronted by Maggie (played by Lauren Cohan). She demands to know what happened to Father Gabriel (played by Seth Gilliam) and berates him for trying to side with the Saviors.

Maggie nearly leaves Gregory outside to die but after he apologizes and begs she decides to let him in. Jesus arrives with the captured Saviors (during which Gregory fiercely tries to deny them entry) and Jesus convinces Maggie to lock them up over killing them. Rick, Daryl and Aaron gather the remainder of their troops and head out and Rick takes pictures of the area. Aaron goes back to where he left Eric and finds only a tree covered in blood and a reanimated Eric walking away, Aaron wants to go after him but is convinced to leave with the others.

Carol and Ezekiel were taking out those Saviors way too easily they almost looked bored doing it. Gregory sank to a new low removing any lingering doubts that his character can be rehabilitated; apparently he stole a little girl’s pancakes so he clearly has no boundaries. But it was his hypocrisy with allowing the Savior captives after his plea of ‘we’re all humans’ that was the kicker.

Aside from the obvious concern of having two dozen enemy soldiers in their backyard I don’t see how keeping these Saviors locked up will broker any kind of peace talks. The Eric walker wandered off the same way Eric spent his time on the season; quietly and in the background. But Aaron’s devastation over losing Eric should be a driving force behind his actions for the rest of the season so his death will have a purpose.

Aaron sits despondent over losing Aaron, Rick rescues the baby he found in the building and Aaron offers to take her to the Hilltop. Before they can leave someone shoots at Rick and Daryl and Rick makes a deal with the boy that they’ll let him leave if he gives them information. But as soon as the boy reveals where the Saviors guns were taken to Daryl coldly executes him.

While sweeping a cleared Savior hideout Ezekiel is fired upon resulting in several deaths. Ezekiel made a statement at the top of the episode that nobody in his group would die; so really we were just waiting for it to happen. The baby girl is obviously meant as a symbol of hope for the future (maybe even a potential daughter for Aaron?). Rick has no problem killing but he’s clearly not happy with Daryl. Finding that baby seems to have spurred a kinder side to Rick that is clearly lost on Daryl.ecap And Review: Episode 9wThe Orville Recap A

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE NEW POSTER GOES TO THE DARKEST TIMELINE

This new poster for Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle goes dark side

Click here to see full size.

You can read the full synopsis for the Jumanji sequel here:

In the brand new adventure Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the tables are turned as four teenagers in detention are sucked into the world of Jumanji.  When they discover an old video game console with a game they’ve never heard of, they are immediately thrust into the game’s jungle setting, into the bodies of their avatars, played by Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan. What they discover is that you don’t just play Jumanji –Jumanji plays you.  They’ll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, or they’ll be stuck in the game forever…

UNIVERSAL’S DARK UNIVERSE LOSES KEY PRODUCERS AS ITS FUTURE LOOKS INCREASINGLY…DARK

It doesn’t look like Universal’s Dark Universe franchise is moving ahead any time soon

It’s been a rough few months for Universal’s Dark Universe franchise. The Mummy, planned as a tentpole release and the beginning of a whole shared universe saga, disappointed at the box office and was reviled by critics. Then, Bill Condon’s Bride Of Frankenstein, which was in pre-production with Angelina Jolie being heavily rumoured for the lead role, was put on an indefinite pause.

Now, THR reports that the two writer-producers who had been instrumental in this venture have departed. Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan have headed back to their other successful projects: Star Trek Discovery and the Fast & Furious franchise respectively. Kurtzman directed The Mummy and the site notes that his deal with the studio ended in September, while Morgan has the Dwayne Johnson – Jason Statham FF spinoff to work on.

It’s not too surprising to hear that there’s a bit of a shake-up going on given how categorically The Mummy did not work, but the report does make it sound like there’s a back to the drawing board approach about to start. Most depressing of all, for some reason, is the note about the big office the production had hired as their headquarters: “Emblematic of Dark Universe’s problems is the tony office building on the Universal lot that was revamped at considerable expense for the new venture. After being decked out in monster regalia, it now sits mostly empty.”

However, hopefully this means that we can have something, you know, better. As the report notes, the studio has been reaching to filmmakers and they’re investigating stand-alone movies that won’t need to come with the same baggage as The Mummy did when it comes to crowbar-ing Dr Jekyll in, for example. Jason Blum’s name has been thrown around, which suggests that they’re open to actually making a horror movie or two out with these characters.

What does this mean for the expensive stars of the franchise? Cruise appeared in a photoshopped promo pic alongside Sofia Boutella, Crowe, Javier Bardem (Dr Frankenstein) and Johnny Depp (The Invisible Man), but we’ll have to wait and see if any of their promised standalone films actually come to pass.

THE LAST JEDI DIRECTOR RIAN JOHNSON IS GETTING HIS OWN STAR WARS TRILOGY

Rian Johnson is getting his own original Star Wars film trilogy

Rian Johnson maybe not be helming Star Wars: Episode 9 that honour is going to JJ Abrams), but he’s not leaving the universe forever.

It sounds as though Disney liked the director’s work on upcoming instalment The Last Jedi so much that it’s giving Johnson his own Star Wars trilogy to play around with. His longtime producer Ram Bergman will also work on the films.

The trilogy, which is so far untitled, will feature a story completely separate from the Skywalker saga, with Disney confirming that it will focus on “new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.”

In a statement, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said: “We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi. He’s a creative force, and watching him craft The Last Jedi from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy.”

In a joint statement, Johnson and Bergman said: “We had the time of our lives collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney on The Last Jedi. Star Wars is the greatest modern mythology and we feel very lucky to have contributed to it. We can’t wait to continue with this new series of films.”

Star Wars hasn’t had a good track record with hiring directors for its standalone stories lately, what with Josh Trank being fired from one that is yet to make it past the planning stages, Gareth Edwards needing help to rework Rogue One in the last few months of production, and Christopher Miller and Phil Lord being replaced by Ron Howard midway-through Solo: A Star Wars Story.

However, Disney seems to be expecting big things from Johnson, what with it giving him a full trilogy right off the bat before The Last Jedi has even been released. But, to be honest, we don’t blame them.

DARK TRAILER FOR NETFLIX’S NEW SUPERNATURAL MYSTERY SERIES LOOKS FANTASTIC

The trailer for German mystery Dark says the question is where the missing children are, but when

The first full trailer for Netflix’s first German TV series Dark has arrived, and it is damn atmospheric and intriguing.

The show is created by Baran Bo Odar and Jantje Friese, and will hit Netflix in December. “The disappearance of two kids in the German small-town of Winden opens abysses that turn the concept of time on its head. The question is not who has kidnapped the children…but when.” Dark will be available on Netflix on 1 December.

ANOTHER WOLFCOP NEW TRAILER IS DIRTIER AND HAIRIER THAN EVER

More gore, more hair, more hockey in the new Another Wolfcop trailer

A new trailer has arrived for upcoming Canadian monster comedy Another Wolfcop, which sees Officer Lou Garou back for more gore, boozing and ice hockey.

“Alcoholic werewolf cop Lou Garou springs into action when an eccentric businessman with evil intentions seduces Woodhaven’s residents with a new brewery and hockey team in this outrageous horror-comedy sequel.”

Writer-director Lowell Dean is back, as is star Leo Fafard as Lou Garou, Amy Matysio as Tina and Jonathan Cherry as Willie Higgins. New additions include Stake Land II‘s Laura Abrahamson, Murdoch Mysteries‘ Yannick Bisson, and there’s Kevin Smith espousing the delights of Chicken Milk.

BRIGHT NEW POSTER WILL SMITH AND JOEL EDGERTON MADE A COP MOVIE WITH AN ORC IN IT

A new poster has arrived for David Ayer’s upcoming Netflix movie Bright and, we have to be honest, this definitely feels like they’re playing it safe. The film, written by Max Landis, stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton as mismatched buddy cops, the latter of whom is an Orc. It’s set in a version of LA where magic is real and humans and Orcs live alongside Elves and fairies, and magic is outlawed. Which sounds a lot more fun than this poster looks.

“Set in an alternate present-day, this action-thriller directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad, End of Watch, writer of Training Day) follows two cops from very different backgrounds (Ward, a human played by Will Smith, and Jakoby, an orc played by Joel Edgerton) who embark on a routine patrol night that will ultimately alter the future as their world knows it.  Battling both their own personal differences as well as an onslaught of enemies, they must work together to protect a thought-to-be-forgotten relic, which in the wrong hands could destroy everything.

The Netflix film stars Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, Lucy Fry, Edgar Ramirez, Ike Barinholtz, Enrique Murciano, Jay Hernandez, Andrea Navedo, Veronica Ngo, Alex Meraz, Margaret Cho, Brad William Henke, Dawn Oliveri, and Kenneth Choi.  The film is directed by David Ayer and written by Max Landis.  David Ayer, Eric Newman, and Bryan Unkeless serve as producers.”