Netflix is making a live-action Mega Man movie

Video game adaptations are on a tear we got new trailers for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the Halo live-action TV series just last week. And of course, Chris Pratt is playing Mario, and an Uncharted movie is nearly here. Amid these heavy hitters comes the news that Netflix is ready to bring us another franchise as well: Mega Man, the Capcom “blue bomber” who’s been blasting his way through retro side-scrollers since 1987 on the original NES. Technically, a Mega Man movie’s been in the works since 2015 at Chernin Entertainment, and it became a little more formal in 2018 when Capcom officially announced it’d be a live-action film (!) with Henry Joost and Rel Schulman, perhaps best known for Catfish, attached to write and direct.

But recently, that directing duo revealed on their Supermarché company website that Netflix has picked up the picture (via Comicbook and IGN). “Features in the works include: an adaptation of Capcom’s MEGA MAN for Chernin Entertainment and Netflix, which they wrote and are directing,” the site reads. Unfortunately, there’s no indication of how far along the movie is or when it might release. (IGN writes that sources say it’s very early in development.) But as some have pointed out, Netflix has a first-look deal with Chernin; perhaps Netflix saw something that it liked. Netflix and Supermarché didn’t immediately have comment. The gold rush to secure video game intellectual property for Hollywood adaptation goes far beyond the films and shows I’ve mentioned so far, of course, and Netflix has definitely seen the potential thanks to the performance of its The Witcher and Castlevania series. Netflix has Resident Evil and Tomb Raider shows in the works, too, and is reportedly in development on a live-action Pokémon series as well. It generally sees a lot of potential in gaming, even vis-a-vis snapping up film studios itself. Outside of Netflix, we recently had Monster Hunter and Mortal Kombat movies, there’s a The Last of Us TV show for HBO, maybe a Mass Effect show for Amazon, a Fallout show that’s definitely for Amazon, plus Ghost of Tsushima and Metal Gear Solid movie adaptations. The Portal movie might even be happening someday.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage Review

It was everything I wanted to be and more. Carnage was the perfect villain for Eddie, and the movie had the perfect amount of action and comedy. there was not a single moment where I was not either laughing or on the edge of my seat. For those of you reading this, stay after the credits something incredible happens! In the sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Tom Hardy’s wildest instincts have triumphed mostly. Any effort at high-minded seriousness about the role of the antihero in a world of caped crusaders is out the window. So is any care for traditional storytelling notions such as coherence or believable characters. The entire film might as well take place inside that lobster tank. Venom may not have realized it was a so-bad-it’s-good cult classic, but Let There Be Carnage is striving to maintain that status from minute one. Unfortunately, it still has to tell a routine narrative in which its protagonist saves the day, something the director Andy Serkis seems to have little interest in. Best known as the actor who played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, Serkis was a natural choice to direct a film featuring another CGI creature with a bifurcated personality. He captures the discombobulation of Venom’s symbiotic relationship vividly but struggles to create comprehensible set pieces. His prior directorial efforts include the special-effect-laden but visually weak Mowgli, and the aesthetics aren’t any better here.

The action is as messy as the first Venom perhaps even more so now that our blobby protagonist is facing off against the equally gloppy Carnage (Woody Harrelson). Carnage is created when the serial killer Cletus Kasady, whom Eddie is interviewing on death row, accidentally ingests a piece of the Venom symbiote after biting Eddie’s finger. Harrelson tries to imbue the villain with a real sense of danger, but he’s so irredeemably evil from the moment the movie begins that his performance has no suspense. Even eating the symbiote doesn’t change him much. The film tries to give the character more depth by focusing on his relationship with Shriek (Naomie Harris), his imprisoned love interest with the superpower of yelling very loudly, but her part is even more underwritten, so their connection falls flat. Perhaps the film doesn’t flesh out Carnage and Shriek because of its short running time, but Let There Be Carnage is too exhausting to last any longer than it does. The viewing experience is like going to a nightclub and having someone scream the plot in your ear over a thumping bass line—ironic, given that Venom’s biggest weakness is sound waves. Serkis is clearly most invested in Hardy and his two-faced performance. Even more than the first film’s director, Ruben Fleischer, Serkis understands that Venom’s primary intrigue is the romantic push and pull between symbiote and host. So, like the first movie, he structures the sequel as a romantic comedy, having the couple bicker, break up, and finally rediscover the joy of their partnership. Hardy can communicate so much emotion through the barest grunt, and he delights in Venom’s florid dialogue, popping his sludgy head out of Eddie’s torso for face-to-face chats. “I need brains,” he demands of Eddie, who won’t let him consume human flesh. “Chickens have brains,” Eddie counters. “I most passionately disagree!” Venom whines. When the pair briefly split, Venom inhabits other bodies, covers himself in glow sticks, and goes out dancing, proclaiming, “I’m out of the Eddie closet!” Their eventual reunion comes after a recalcitrant Venom, realizing he cannot live without his original host, inhabits the body of Eddie’s ex-fiancée, Anne (Michelle Williams, a monumental actor who is still game for the absurdity). But this twisted love story keeps getting derailed by superhero business. Whenever the film cuts back to Carnage’s or Shriek’s rampages, it loses its edge; when it’s just Tom Hardy in his apartment, preparing a chaotic breakfast with alien tendrils, it brims with hilarious physical comedy. There isn’t anything quite like Venom, and the sequel knows it, but the unbridled silliness isn’t enough to justify the ticket price. Perhaps the third, inevitable installment could just be a black-box play, or a series of Hardy’s monologues with his alien love anything to finally free Venom from the boring strictures of its genre.

Jurassic World: Dominion is the "Culmination" of the Entire Franchise Director Says

When Jurassic World: Dominion is released it will be the sixth feature film in the sci-fi/action franchise. As we know the upcoming sequel will not only close out the story of the most recent films but also bring back franchise giants Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern as their characters from the original film. Speaking in a new interview, filmmaker Colin Trevorrow opened up about how the six movies together will bring the entire series to a close while also illuminating details about the first three movies in a new light. To put it another way, it will be a perfect binge watch one day.

"To me, [Dominion] is a culmination of one story that's been told," Trevorrow told EW. "When you got to the end of the Jurassic Park trilogy, it may not have been as clear in what the complete story of those three movies was because they were a bit more episodic in the way that they were approached. But this trilogy is not that way. It's very much a serialized story. What was important for me was, when you watch Dominion, you really feel like you are learning how much of a story that first set of movies was and how everything that happened in those movies actually informs what ultimately is able to happen in this. If kids who are born today are going to be presented with six Jurassic Park movies — you hope the parents will buy them the box set — you hope they are going to get to feel like they watch one long story."
 

Dominion will also see the return of Bryce Dallas Howard as Clarie Dearing, Chris Pratt as Owen Grady, Jake Johnson as Lowery Cruthers, Omar Sy as Barry Sembène, Daniella Pineda as Zia Rodriguez, Justice Smith as Franklin Webb, Isabella Sermon as Maisie Lockwood, BD Wong as Dr. Henry Wu, and Campbell Scott as Dr. Lewis Dodgson. Dichen Lachman and Scott Haze have also been added with Athie and Wise in currently-unknown roles.

Though Trevorrow seems to insist that the upcoming film will be the final entry in the series, producer Frank Marshall previously promised that it is far from the end of the franchise. When Collider asked Marshall if the new film would be the end of the series, he confirmed "no" while adding, "It’s the start of a new era."

Transformers: War For Cybertron: Earthrise Review - An Action-Packed Transformers Thrill Ride

Those who tuned into Netflix and Rooster Teeth's first entry in the Transformers: War For Cybertron trilogy discovered a stylish and more mature take on the beloved franchise with one heck of a cliffhanger. Now the time has finally come to dive back into this universe with the newest chapter in the trilogy, Transformers: War For Cybertron: Earthrise and fans are in for a wild ride that delivers the same pulse-pounding action and gorgeous visuals while also upping the ante on its ties to the greater Transformers universe, including some appearances and introductions that will absolutely delight longtime fans of the franchise.

Some time has passed between when the first series ends and Earthrise begins, though there's not much storywise that jumps forward as a result, and the few changes are covered quickly when Earthrise begins. Earthrise does completely assume you've watched the first series though, so if you are new to it you will at least want to watch the original series finale before hopping in here, otherwise, it's not going to make any sense.

Those that have watched that series, however, can jump right in, as Earthrise tells a two-pronged story of Elita-1's fight to rescue those oppressed by Megatron and the Decepticons on Cybertron and Optimus Prime and the Autobots on the Ark, who are desperately trying to recover the AllSpark, which was lost after Optimus threw it through the Space Bridge to get it out of Megatron's hands.

Towards the beginning of the series the events of Cybertron are innately more compelling, as while Elita-1's Autobot forces are but a fraction of what Prime had to work with, she seems to get better results, as she and her team have been a huge thorn in Megatron's side since the other Autobots left. Watching them work is a joy thanks to the perfect convergence of personalities and skillsets of the group, especially the dynamic between Jetfire (Keith Silverstein) and Elita-1 (Linsay Rousseau), who has truly come into her own as a leader and finally found her right-hand lieutenant in the former Decepticon. Throw in Red Alert (Todd Haberkorn) and my new favorite Autobot Chromia (Georgia Reed) and you've got a squad that I would happily watch 10 more episodes of in a heartbeat.

Things slow down a bit when the larger-scale plot comes into frame, following Optimus and the crew as they seek the AllSpark. Early on we meet a new faction of mercenaries that definitely play a role later down the line, and this also paves the way for a greater enemy threat to make their introduction. That said, while both of these do play a part in the season in later episodes, they don't feel nearly as consequential as you'd expect, and honestly you could've swapped them out with any other number of characters and achieved mostly the same effect. They serve their purpose, but I wouldn't say they left their undeniable mark on the series.

This aspect of the story does pick up considerably about midway through the season, and it's there that all the richness of the Optimus and Megatron conflict starts to surface. The back and forth between Optimus (voiced by Jake Foushee) and Megatron (Jason Marnocha) on an action level is delightful, but it's the smaller conversations between them that really bring all their baggage to the surface, with some surprisingly honest dialogue occurring between the two arch-rivals alongside several small but important glimpses into their pasts.

This all gets expanded upon wonderfully in episode 5, and while I won't spoil any of the surprises here, let's just say that if you're a longtime fan of the franchise, this one will leave you dizzy in the best way possible. Two conversations happen in this episode that not only provide some sweet fan service but also open up some intriguing possibilities for the series all the while developing its two key leads in compelling ways.

As for how it all ends, we won't spoil that either, but suffice it to say that this series knows how to craft a satisfying ending that hooks the viewer for what comes next. That said, the ending and season overall isn't quite as satisfying as the original, but don't let that stop you from jumping in, because what you will find is a gorgeous and action loaded adventure with heart and character development to spare, and the next chapter can't get here soon enough.