‘The Mandalorian’ Ep. 2 Recap & Review: Now The Job Really Gets Tough

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November 15, 2019

So…now that we’re two episodes into The Mandalorian, is it what you were expecting a Star Wars show to be? I’m guessing the answer to that is a resounding “NO”, and you know what? That’s pretty cool. Sure, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni could’ve given us a story about Jedi Knights battling the Dark Side, but what’s the fun of that when you can have a lone bounty hunter escorting a baby Yoda through a desert wasteland?

What makes The Mandalorian so much fun is how unexpected it is. I already hinted/hoped that the series could shift into a Lone Wolf and Cub-esque adventure, and it surely does that with Episode 2, appropriately-titled “The Child.” After the revelation that his target was a 50-year-old “child” of Yoda’s species, the Mandalorian now has to get the little tyke back to his ship and into the hands of a waiting Client. Just the thought of Werner Herzog manhandling the adorably cute, wide-eyed Yoda Jr. is enough to give me Grizzly Man shivers. Of course, transporting the child in his little floating baby carriage proves no easy task. The Mandalorian is instantly set upon by mercenaries looking to steal the child. While they are easily dispatched, he does suffer a slash wound that needs to be patched up.

I have to admit, it felt like this episode was going to be filler. There’s typically a letdown period after such a huge reveal. But constant revelations about the child made this episode consequential to the larger whole. So the Mandalorian’s arm injury doesn’t appear too serious, but it’s bad enough that the Yoda can sense it, and repeatedly tries to reach out and heal it. While the child’s attempts are repeatedly rebuffed, it does show that it’s already in touch with the world around him and thus VERY strong in the Force. It also shows that he has empathy, which may be a trait common to all of Yoda’s species.

Returning to his cargo ship the Razor Crest to find it stripped by a bunch of Jawas, the Mandalorian picks off a few of them but is forced to chase down their escaping Sandcrawler. Props to director Rick Famuyiwa (of Dope fame) for giving us a killer action setpiece as our hero tries to scale the gigantic vehicle, getting pelted with garbage, stunned, hit with rocks, and worse the whole time. It proves for naught as he’s hit with about a dozen shock bolts and falls unconscious to the ground while the little Yoda tyke looks on curiously.

Fortunately, the Mandalorian has already made friends in these parts. The sage-like Ugnaught Kuiil (Nick Nolte) is more than willing to help negotiate a trade with the Jawas, who at first want a piece of his besker armor, which of course he’s not going to give up, and then they want the child, which is also a big no-no. Finally, they agree to give back the ship parts if he can retrieve “the egg”, which sadly, he can’t just go to a farmer’s market and buy. Turns out he needs to face a giant, hairy Mud Horn to get the egg, and that proves no easy task. Actually, the Mandalorian gets his ass beat. His armor busted up, his weapon jammed, and he’s on the verge of being gored to death until the young child does something that, in retrospect, we should’ve seen coming. Lifting his little three-fingered hand up, he elevates the Mud Horn and holds it into the air, like Yoda calling up an X-Wing out of a swamp. After a moment of stunned silence, the Mandalorian stabs the Mud Horn with his last remaining dagger.

There’s not much else that happens here. The egg is delivered, the Jawa partake of its yucky yolk, and Kuiil rejects a job offer to be part of the Mandalorian’s crew. It’s interesting nobody seems to understand what the Yoda is or what it can do. Is the Force somehow foreign to them, or what? With a hearty “I have spoken”, Kuiil returns to his now-peaceful land, while our protagonist jets off into space with a sleeping kid by his side.

Under Famuyiwa’s guidance, Episode 2 is definitely funnier than the first. The Mandalorian really takes a beating for much of this story, but we can’t help but chuckle every time it cuts to one of the Yoda’s quizzical expressions. We finally get to see more personality out of the Mandalorian and it makes you wonder what he’s going to do at the end of his mission. Will he just hand the kid over? There’s also A LOT that happens in just 32 minutes, yet the plot is very straight-forward. It also feels like the end of a chapter, and the beginning of a bigger, more dangerous part of the narrative. I hope in the last remaining 6 episodes there’s time for at least one more self-contained episode like this.

The next episode of The Mandalorian arrives on Friday, November 22nd.

‘The Mandalorian’: Jon Favreau On The First Episode’s Big Reveal And Keeping It A Secret

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John Nolan

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November 15, 2019

SPOILERS coming!!

Part of the reason The Mandalorian was so eagerly devoured on the first day of Disney+ is that nobody really knew much about it. The first episode wasn’t screened, details had been kept slim, and we were promised a big Star Wars reveal that would shock fans. Boy, did it deliver.

The end of the first episode revealed the existence of a baby Yoda-like figure. I call it a baby but it is really 50 years old because this species ages much slower than others. The baby Yoda is what Pedro Pascal’s Mandalorian is hired to find and return either dead or alive. This is a huge deal. We know so little about Yoda’s species that we could be in store for literally anything, and that is very exciting.

In a since deleted video transcribed by Collider, Jon Favreau spoke to Variety at the world premiere of The Mandalorian‘s first three episodes, and says we can expect this character to have a big role going forward…

“I wanted to surprise people, and I wanted to—well there are bigger arcs that go through the whole season and the whole throw of the show. So as fun as it is to reveal new characters and surprise them, it also fits into a larger narrative about what’s going on in the galaxy after the revolution, and this is an important character.”

Favreau continued by expressing his surprise they were able to keep this secret for so long…

“What I’m most proud of is that we surprised people. You know how hard that is to do that nowadays? And what type of commitment it took from everybody who was on set and from the studio to hide all the clues that people, especially Star Wars fans, normally tap into? Looking into toy catalogues, looking into marketing materials, looking into style guides, photography, and the fact that that secret was kept is incredible. It is exciting. It’s fun, because people are so happy when they’re surprised. They’re not used to being surprised now—not in a good way (laughs).”

I have some ideas about what this baby’s presence could mean, and you can check out as part of my first episode recap here.

DC Readers: Attend A Free Screening Of Disney’s ‘Frozen 2’!

By

John Nolan

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November 14, 2019

We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free screening of Disney’s Frozen 2! The anticipated sequel returns the voice cast of Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad, joined by new additions Evan Rachel Wood and Sterling K. Brown.

SYNOPSIS: Why was Elsa born with magical powers? The answer is calling her and threatening her kingdom. Together with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven, she’ll set out on a dangerous but remarkable journey. In “Frozen,” Elsa feared her powers were too much for the world. In “Frozen 2,” she must hope they are enough. From the Academy Award®-winning team—directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, producer Peter Del Vecho and songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez—and featuring the voices of Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Frozen 2” opens in U.S. theaters on Nov. 22, 2019.

The screening takes place on Monday, November 18th at 7:00pm at AMC Mazza Gallerie. If you’d like to attend, go to the See It First site here and enter code 102509. Please remember all screenings are first come first served and you’ll need to arrive early to ensure seating. Enjoy the show!

Visit Italy with Ryan Reynolds in the Pulse Pounding New Trailer for ‘6 Underground’

By

John Nolan

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November 14, 2019

With all of the talk of Disney+ being a Netflix killer I can only hope that they can find a way to thrive together because Netflix is really stepping up when it comes to filling the recent void of non-superhero action films. The latest proof of this is 6 Underground, which is being billed as a kind-of A-Team for the new generation.

From IMDb:

Meet a new kind of action hero. Six untraceable agents, totally off the grid. They’ve buried their pasts so they can change the future.

All I know is that the cast, made up of Ryan Reynolds, Dave Franco, Corey Hawkins, and the delectable Melanie Laurent, among others, looks amazing. Reynolds appears to be doing his usual schtick, which is always welcome (I know there’s shelf life on how long we’ll want to see someone doing the same thing, but I hope it’s not coming up soon for RR), alongside the beautiful backdrop of Italy with guns blazing and jokes flying. I can’t really tell much more then that from the trailer but, really, what more do you need?

Netflix Snags ‘Beverly Hills Cop 4’ From Paramount With Option For Another Sequel

By

John Nolan

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November 14, 2019

People can’t stop raving about Eddie Murphy in Dolemite Is My Name, and for very good reason. It’s one of his finest roles in a long time and one of the year’s most purely enjoyable films. And Netflix is eager to stay in the Eddie Murphy business. How eager? They just snagged the distribution rights to Beverly Hills Cop 4.

The streaming service has thrown some money at Paramount to land distribution of the long-awaited sequel, Beverly Hills Cop 4, which hasn’t even gone into production yet. This is very different than when Netflix took The Cloverfield Paradox and Annihilation off of Paramount’s hands. For one thing, a lot of people are looking forward to seeing Murphy return as fish-out-of-water detective Axel Foley and the film might have made bank at the box office. Then again, Paramount may have seen the returns on Terminator: Dark Fate and decided it’s best to ditch sequels to older franchises.

Included in this deal is an option for Netflix to do a sequel, as well, so if people want it, there will be another. Paramount retains control of the property and the first three movies, which helped establish Murphy as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Murphy has said he plans to shoot Beverly Hills Cop 4 once work is completed on another sequel, Coming 2 America. It’s unclear if directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys 4 Life) are still on board but longtime producer Jerry Bruckheimer definitely is.

‘Trolls World Tour’ Trailer: Justin Timberlake And Anna Kendrick Return For A Hard Rockin’ Sequel

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John Nolan

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November 14, 2019

Dreamworks could’ve had just another forgettable animated film with 2016’s Trolls, but then Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling” caught on like wildfire. Not only did it help power the film to over $300 worldwide, but won a Grammy Award and earned an Oscar nomination in the process. Now they’ve decided to just go all-in with the musical acts for the sequel, Trolls World Tour, and hopefully they find a way to get a story out of all the celebrity guest stars.

Timberlake returns to voice Branch, with Anna Kendrick as Poppy, who have learned they are part of only one of six troll clans scattered across the land. Each tribe worships a different genre of music: Funk, Country, Techno, Classical, Pop and Rock. That’s where all the musical guest stars come in. Ozzy Osbourne voices King Thrash, who rules the land of hard rock along with his daughter Queen Barb, voiced by Rachel Bloom. Mary J. Blige, George Clinton, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Ester Dean, Icona Pop, and Chance the Rapper are on board, along with Sam Rockwell, James Corden, Kenan Thompson, Karan Soni, Jaime Dornan, Charlyne Yi, and too many others to list here.

SYNOPSIS: Four years after the events of the first film, Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) discover that they are but one of six different Troll tribes scattered over six different lands, each devoted to a different form of music: Pop, Funk, Classical, Techno, Country and Rock. Their world is about to get a lot bigger, and a whole lot louder, as member of hard-rock royalty, Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom), aided by her father King Thrash (Ozzy Osbourne), wants to destroy all other kinds of music to let rock reign supreme. With the fate of the world at stake, Poppy and Branch, along with their friends — Biggie (James Corden), Chenille, Satin (Icona Pop), DJ Suki (Gwen Stefani), Cooper (Ron Funches) and Guy Diamond (Kunal Nayyar) — set out to visit all the other lands to unify the Trolls in harmony against Barb, who’s looking to upstage them all.

Trolls World Tour opens April 17th 2020.

Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Black Adam’ Film Finally Has A Release Date

By

John Nolan

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November 14, 2019

It’s only taken about a decade, but that Black Adam movie Dwayne Johnson has been attached to and promising all that time? It’s finally happening. No, f’real this time. It has a release date and everything.

Johnson took to Instagram and told his millions of followers that Black Adam will hit theaters on December 22nd 2021. Yeah, that puts it right up against James Cameron’s Avatar 2 which opens just days earlier. Showdown time! Basically, Black Adam is a Shazam! spinoff centering on the DC Comics antihero who has long been Shazam’s greatest rival. They share the same magic-based powers, but Black Adam, as his name suggests, isn’t nearly as heroic. He’s just a prick, really. Turns out that’s exactly why Johnson wanted to make this movie…

“Like most kids growing up, I dreamed about being a superhero. Having cool superpowers, fighting for what’s right and always protecting the people. It all changed for me, when I was 10yrs old and was first introduced to the greatest superhero of all time – SUPERMAN. As a kid, Superman was the hero I always wanted to be. But, a few years into my fantasy, I realized that Superman was the hero, I could never be. I was too rebellious. Too rambunctious. Too resistant to convention and authority. Despite my troubles, I was still a good kid with a good heart – I just liked to do things my way.

“Now, years later as a man, with the same DNA I had as a kid – my superhero dreams have come true. I’m honored to join the iconic #DCUniverse and it’s a true pleasure to become, BLACK ADAM. BLACK ADAM is blessed by magic with the powers equal to SUPERMAN, but the difference is he doesn’t toe the mark or walk the line. He’s a rebellious, one of a kind superhero, who’ll always do what’s right for the people – but he does it his way.Truth and justice – the BLACK ADAM way.

“This role is unlike any other I’ve ever played in my career and I’m grateful to the bone we’ll all go on this journey together.”

Black Adam was alluded to in Shazam! as one of the Wizard’s previous champions who chose the path of evil. Presumably, Johnson’s film will pick up where that left off, and then maybe lead to a big Shazam/Black Adam crossover.

View this post on Instagram

The Man in Black ⚡️ Like most kids growing up, I dreamed about being a superhero. Having cool superpowers, fighting for what’s right and always protecting the people. It all changed for me, when I was 10yrs old and was first introduced to the greatest superhero of all time – SUPERMAN. As a kid, Superman was the hero I always wanted to be. But, a few years into my fantasy, I realized that Superman was the hero, I could never be. I was too rebellious. Too rambunctious. Too resistant to convention and authority. Despite my troubles, I was still a good kid with a good heart – I just liked to do things my way. Now, years later as a man, with the same DNA I had as a kid – my superhero dreams have come true. I’m honored to join the iconic #DCUniverse and it’s a true pleasure to become, BLACK ADAM. BLACK ADAM is blessed by magic with the powers equal to SUPERMAN, but the difference is he doesn’t toe the mark or walk the line. He’s a rebellious, one of a kind superhero, who’ll always do what’s right for the people – but he does it his way. Truth and justice – the BLACK ADAM way. This role is unlike any other I’ve ever played in my career and I’m grateful to the bone we’ll all go on this journey together. BLACK ADAM 12.22.21 ⚡️ Huge thank you to my friends, @jimlee and @bosslogic for this first time ever bad ass collaboration.

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Nov 14, 2019 at 9:06am PST

‘The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run’ Trailer: It’s SpongeBob, Now With 100% More Keanu Reeves

By

John Nolan

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November 14, 2019

A third SpongeBob movies is on the way, and if you’re wondering why I have some figures for you. The first film, 2004’s The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie made a respectable $140M, but as the long-running series became more popular, 2015’s Sponge Out of Water earned a massive $325M. And I think there’s potential for the latest, Sponge On the Run to do even better. Why? Because it has Keanu Reeves.

That’s right, after awesomely voicing Duke Caboom in Toy Story 4, Reeves is back as part of the celebrity voice cast in Sponge On the Run, along with Awkwafina, Snoop Dogg, and Reggie Watts. The film finds SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) and his pal Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) on a quest to find the kidnapped pet snail, Gary.

Directing is Tim Hill, who not only helmed the original SpongeBob movie, but hit animated films Alvin and the Chipmunks and Hop.

SYNOPSIS: This Memorial Day weekend, SpongeBob SquarePants, his best friend Patrick Star and the rest of the gang from Bikini Bottom hit the big screen in the first-ever all CGI SpongeBob motion picture event. After SpongeBob’s beloved pet snail Gary is snail-napped, he and Patrick embark on an epic adventure to The Lost City of Atlantic City to bring Gary home. As they navigate the delights and dangers on this perilous and hilarious rescue mission, SpongeBob and his pals prove there’s nothing stronger than the power of friendship.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On the Run opens May 22nd 2020.

Spike Lee To Direct Hip-Hop Shakespeare Reimagining ‘Prince Of Cats’

By

John Nolan

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November 14, 2019

Not that Spike Lee has been known for taking a lot of extended breaks between films, he does seem to be moving at an accelerated clip. Following his acclaimed BlackKklansman, Lee has already begun screening his upcoming film Da 5 Bloods with Chadwick Boseman, and has now signed on to the hip-hop infused Shakespeare reimagining Prince of Cats.

I can hardly imagine a more perfect choice than Lee to direct Prince of Cats, a redo of Romeo & Juliet set in Brooklyn’s hip-hop culture of the 1980s. Yes, please! The film is based on the 2012 comic book series by Ron Wimbery, who will work with Lee and original screenplay writer Selwyn Seyfu Hinds on a new script.

When first announced by Legendary more than a year ago, Lakeith Stanfield was set to headline as Tybalt, Juliet’s hot-headed cousin and the protagonist of this story. Stanfield is no longer attached, which is disappointing, and I’m curious to see who Lee finds as a replacement. Perhaps his BlackKklansman star John David Washington?

This one is still early going but with Lee on board it just became one of the hottest projects around. Stay tuned.

‘The Way Back’ Trailer: Ben Affleck Seeks Redemption In Gavin O’Connor’s Sports Drama

By

John Nolan

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November 14, 2019

Underdog stories and tales of redemption are at the heart of every good sports movie, and The Way Back has plenty of both. The film stars Ben Affleck in the kind of dramatic role I don’t think we’ve seen from him before, or at least not for a very long time, and is a reunion with The Accountant director Gavin O’Connor. O’Connor’s presence is especially valuable, as he’s directed two of the most powerful sports dramas in recent years: Miracle, and Warrior.

The Way Back finds Affleck as a former all-star basketball player who has lost everything, his career and his family, due to his struggles with addiction. He attempts to get a little bit of his life back by returning to his alma mater to teach a disparate, ethnically-diverse team and craft them into winners. The film also stars Janina Gavankar, Al Madrigal, and Brandon Wilson. O’Connor co-wrote the script with Out of the Furnace writer Brad Inglesby.

I don’t necessarily think he needs it, but many will see this as Affleck’s own comeback moment. Let’s see if that convinces them to buy a ticket when The Way Back opens on March 6th 2020.