The Rules have Changed in the First 'Terminator Genisys' Trailer

There's a good reason why fans haven't exactly been eager for Terminator Genisys, a sequel/reboot of James Cameron's sci-fi franchise. The last film, the McG-directed Terminator Salvation, was largely killed by the audience it was targeting, to the point where even Cameron wanted nothing to do with it.  The bigger problem is the confusing plot, which seems to be an homage, a reimagining, a sequel; who the heck knows? Now that the first trailer has been unveiled some of the questions are beginning to be answered, but certainly some new ones need to be asked.

Directed by Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World), the film brings back Arnold Schwarzenegger as the T-800, and if his age should be a concern...well, the wonky time travel stuff should take care of it. Starring Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, Jason Clarke as her son John Connor, and Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, the film flips the tables on some aspects, such as Sarah's "Come with me if you want to live", while keeping some aspects firmly in place. We see Reese sent back in time by John Connor, only to discover the version of 1984 he was expecting has been seriously altered.  From what little we know of the plot, Sarah was orphaned as a child and raised by the Terminator, who she refers to as "Pops". There's also a liquid metal Terminator chasing them down who looks somewhat like Robert Patrick, but not quite.

Exciting, yes, but will it be enough to satisfy the Terminator die-hards? Terminator Genisys opens July 1st 2015.


Terminator Genisys Trailer by Stuff We Like

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Review: 'Thor: The Dark World' Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Natalie Portman

At one point in Marvel's superhero sequel Thor: The Dark World, the devious Loki (Tom Hiddleston) exclaims confidently "If it was easy, everybody would do it!" That sentiment could describe Marvel's genius construction of their cinematic universe, a perennial cash cow that only seems to be getting more lucrative by the film, especially in the wake of the $1.5B-grossing The Avengers. While an assemblage of Earth's Mightiest Heroes was always a shoe-in to be a hit, the solo films have been more of a challenge, and none more so than Thor. And while that first movie did well despite its many problems, the sequel surpasses Iron Man 3 in terms of scope and focus to be one of the most entertaining superhero movies yet.

The mandate is pretty clear for this one from the beginning: Do everything bigger!! The sheer spectacle of Thor: The Dark World stands on par with The Avengers, and while nobody is going to say the film is better, it's impressive the number of elements director Alan Taylor is able to juggle successfully. A Lord of the Rings-style flashback, complete with dark elves that look like orcs battling Asgardians with swords and axes, introduces us to the villain Malekith (Christopher Eccleston). There's a bit of mumbo jumbo about the alignment of the Nine Realms and Malekith's desire to plunge the universe into eternal darkness using a powerful destructive force known as the Aether. Defeated, Malekith is forced into slumber and the Aether hidden away where it can never be found, until of course it is found years later quite accidentally by Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) while searching for Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who has been missing for months.

So where exactly does one hide a blond chiseled slab of godly beefcake, anyway? Well, you don't, and in the wake of the attack on New York City in The Avengers, Thor is seen delivering Loki to an Asgardian prison where he'll sit for the rest of eternity. But even when behind mystical prison walls Loki is good at getting under one's skin and that includes his mother Frigga (Rene Russo), who gets a greatly expanded role this time as the mediator between her two sons. As Thor gets on with the business of protecting Asgard and the Nine Realms, while also catching the eye of his warrior colleague Sif (Jaime Alexander), he's still torn by his love for Jane. Returning to Earth to find her, he's greeted by a couple of nice slaps to the mug, but after discovering she's been bonded to the Aether it's off to Asgard they go. Before she can finish awkwardly meeting Thor's parents, Malekith is awoken and stages a devastating attack that leaves Thor, Loki, and the almighty Odin (Anthony Hopkins) struck to their core.

And what a battle it is. Really, Malekith's attack on Asgard is the film's biggest set piece, and it looks absolutely incredible. It benefits by the impressive direction by Taylor, the Game of Thrones vet giving Asgard a more grounded, recognizable look than the fake, comic book look favored by previous director, Kenneth Branagh. This Asgard actually looks like a place people could inhabit, which fits with Marvel's clear mandate to make Thor fit into a realistic world. Since the bulk of the action takes place away from Earth this time, it also affords the chance to really dig into the Shakespearean drama that is Thor's family line. Bad blood continues to boil between Thor and Loki, with Hemsworth and Hiddleston both playing their parts extremely well. Let's face it, Hiddleston has been the rock star of the entire Marvel Universe up to this point, and every time he's on screen the film has a dangerous vibe that is undeniably fun. We're presented different shades to Loki's scorned child selfishness that were missing in the first film, and mark him as more than someone out for vengeance. Hemsworth too has really grown into a solid actor, as we saw recently in Ron Howard's Rush, and this version of Thor is one who is feeling the weight of responsibility and family obligation wear him down. The family dynamics of the Thor movies are unlike anything else Marvel's movies can offer and they are consistently fascinating.

Less interesting is pretty much everything that has to do with Jane Foster and her irritating pal, Darcy (Kat Dennings), who had been a scene-stealer the last time around. Less is more with a snarky character like Darcy, and she's around so much that eventually one starts to wish Malekith would pay her a personal visit. For what it's worth, Portman gives her all imbuing Jane Foster with a measure of strength, but she's still basically a damsel in distress waiting to happen. She gets a few moments to flash her intellect alongside the returning Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), but any explanation of the overly-complicated plot just sounds like gobbledygook ripped from an episode of Doctor Who. Idris Elba gets a little more to work with as the fierce protector Heimdall, including a brief but thrilling action sequence that was probably designed just for his fans. One problem that continues to trouble Marvel films are their lackluster villains, and Malekith is another in a long line of them that don't feel all that important.

Effortlessly combining sci-fi, supernatural, and fantasy elements, anything can and often does happen in Thor: The Dark World, and that unpredictability is a big part of why Marvel has struck gold (or is it lightning?) one more time.

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Joss Whedon Helped Rewrite Scenes in 'Thor: The Dark World'

Marvel already has Joss Whedon running around all over the place trying to maintain the cohesiveness of their superhero universe. Aside from prepping The Avengers: Age of Ultron, he also wrote and directed the pilot to next week's Agents of SHIELD, and serves as consultant to all of the studio's projects. Part of that job includes swooping in to save the day when a director needs his help on a film, and it appears that's exactly what he had to do with Thor: The Dark World.

While talking to SFX, director Alan Taylor revealed that he had a handful of troublesome scenes that he just couldn't get a handle on, and so Whedon was flown to London to give them a shot. Sounds like it worked out pretty well, at least from Taylor's perspective....

Taylor: “Joss came in to save our lives a couple of times,” laughs the director. “We had a major scene that was not working on the page at all in London, and he basically got airlifted in, like a SWAT team or something. He came down, rewrote the scene, and before he got back to his plane I sort of grabbed him and said, ‘And this scene and this scene?’ And he rewrote two other scenes that I thought had problems. Then finally we let go of him, he took off again, and we shot the scenes; and they were just much better and much lighter on their feet. Much more fun, much more surprising than what we had been trying to do. I can relate to guys who come out of the TV world, since that’s where I come from. And being able to land and work and solve a problem quickly… I really was grateful.”

Reshoots had been taking place to add in more of Tom Hiddleston's Loki, because there can never be too much of a great thing, but it's unclear if Whedon's involvement had anything to do with it. I guess we'll know if the phrase "mewling quim" turns up.  This isn't the first time Whedon has helped out on another Marvel project, as he pitched in on the Captain America: The First Avenger script.

Thor: The Dark World opens November 8th.

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'Game of Thrones' Director Alan Taylor to Helm Next 'Terminator' Film

HBO's Game of Thrones continues to offer up a wealth of opportunities for everyone involved. We've seen a number of the Starks and Greyjoys make the move to the big screen, while director Alan Taylor has jumped over to Marvel's Thor: The Dark World, where he's bringing much of the same medieval-fantasy look to Asgard. Now as that film prepared to open this fall, Taylor has just been tasked with helming Paramount and Annapurna Pictures' long-developing Terminator reboot.

Designed as the first in a brand new trilogy, details on the film are still under wraps although Arnold Schwarzenegger is confirmed to appear in some capacity. Whether that's as one of the indestructible robotic killers or a human protector is still unknown, but at least he won't be all CGI like in Terminator Salvation. This will be Taylor's first feature in more than a decade, and according to Variety he wasn't exactly the studio's first choice. We knew that Justin Lin had been attached some time ago, but the story says that Rian Johnson, Ang Lee, and  Denis Vileneuve (Prisoners) were all approached at various points.

Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier are penning Terminator for release on June 26th 2015.

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New 'Thor: The Dark World' Trailer Starring Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston

While many considered Thor the most uneven of Marvel's slate of superhero films, it was also one of the most successful. Hauling in $450M for a character that few considered worthy of a solo franchise (the same could've been said for Iron Man at one point) is a pretty big deal, but Marvel hasn't been content to merely rehash the same formula for the sequel, Thor: The Dark World. With Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor at the helm, the footage presented at Comic-Con suggested a story that was more violent and definitely bleak in tone. And now we're getting another look at just how dire things get for the thunder god in a brand new trailer.

Picking up where The Avengers left off, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds he must turn to his traitorous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) for help in defending Asgard and Earth from the shadowy threat of Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), a dark elf.  Hiddleston is the highlight, channeling a Hannibal Lecter vibe for Loki that is both fun and a little menacing. With the character not appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron, we may only get to see him as part of the Thor franchise, so it's good see his role expanded even further. We also get better glimpses at Sif (Jaime Alexander), who appears to be a little jealous of Thor's lover Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), and Heimdall (Idris Elba) showing he can do more than just guard the Rainbow Bridge.

Thor: The Dark World opens on November 8th.


THOR: THE DARK WORLD - Trailer 2 by dmagianet

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First trailer for 'Thor: The Dark World' starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman

As Marvel prepares to unleash Iron Man 3 on us in little more than a week, they've already begun the push for the next in their mega-hit line of superhero titles. We've already seen glimpses of Thor: The Dark World in the Phase Two preview, along with a new poster and some photos released as star Chris Hemsworth has been making the interview rounds. Now Marvel is officially pulling out all of the big guns as the first trailer is finally here.

Directed by Game of Thrones' Alan Taylor, the mood of the sequel is considerably blacker and less flashy, as the title would suggest. Thor finds himself again attempting to save the Earth from a powerful threat, this time from the Dark Elf Malekith the Accursed (Christopher Eccleston), and in order to keep his lover Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) safe he whisks her away to Asgard. We already know she'll face some disapproving members of Thor's family, and we see hints of that in the scowl on the face of Sif (Jaime Alexander), who has always seen herself as Thor's true love.

Perhaps most importantly of all, we see the next step in the contentious relationship between Thor and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who is locked away like Hannibal Lecter after the events of The Avengers. It looks like Thor is going to need his help to stop Malekith's schemes, and Loki's sneering glee over that pretty much steals the show. Overall, Marvel appears to be leaving behind some of the campier elements from the first film and going with something that, at least for now, has more of an epic quality.

Thor: The Dark World hits theaters on November 8th, and in October in the U.K.


Thor: The Dark World trailer by FilmBoy.gr

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'Thor: The Dark World' to feature all nine Norse realms?

If you find all the characters and kingdoms in HBO's Game of Thrones confusing, just know that it's got nothing on the nine realms of Norse mythology, which we saw depicted in part in Thor. The film introduced us to Asgard, where Thor and his kin reside; Midgard, which is Earth; and Jotunheim where the Frost Giants live. If a new story by Kinopoisk turns out to be true, we may be seeing the other six realms depicted in Thor: The Dark World, which is currently filming.

The news is translated from a Russian Cinema Expo report, and says...

"The film promises to cover not just the Earth and Asgard,  but the entire Nine Realms. The studio hopes that 'Game of Thrones' director Alan Taylor has the experience to build upon the fantasy of the series."

Taylor always seemed like a left field choice to tackle such a major blockbuster franchise, but if this story is true he actually makes for a smart pick. The other six realms include Vanaheim, home of the Vanier, the sister race to the Asgardians; Svartalfheim, home of the Dark Elves and guaranteed to be in the sequel; Nidavellir, home of the dwarves; Muspelheim, home of the demons and the evil Surtur; Hel, home of the dead who are neither honored or dishonored; and Alfheim, home of the Light Elves. Each realm is connected by the world tree, Yggdrasil, which if disturbed can destroy the fabric of reality.

Marvel's been making a concerted effort to have each of their Phase Two films stand apart enough that they can survive on their own, and we're seeing with Thor their plans to dig deeper into the extensive Norse mythology. Part of that will come into play with the addition of Christopher Eccleston as Malekith, the dark elf leader.  It still seems unlikely we'll see all nine realms in the next film, but clearly we're going to get them at some point.

Thor: The Dark World is currently in production and set for November 8th 2013.

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