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04 Sep

The Den of Geek Weekly Quiz! Movie Planets

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Which of these titular movie planets is in our solar system?Planet of the Apes (1968)Treasure Planet (2002)Solaris (1972)The Forbidden Planet (1956)Which planet does the Death Star destroy in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope?AlderaanTatooineYavinHothAccording to the John Carpenter movie, which of these planets has ghosts?MarsVenusJupiterSaturnWhich of these planets has not been completely destroyed?Miranda (Serenity, 2005)Krypton (Superman, 1978)Earth (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 2005)Vulcan (Star Trek, 2009)In Pitch Black (2000), when do the predatory aliens attack?During a solar eclipseAt nightDuring a volcanic eruptionDuring winterWhat is the name of the musical planet in The Marvels?AladnaHalaAakonSakaarIn The Hitchhiker's Guide to the…

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04 Sep

The Many Actors Who Played the Penguin

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“Crossing the path of the Batman, most feared of all crime-fighters, waddles the strange, almost ludicrous, figure of the Penguin… the umbrella man! The jovial face of the Penguin seems to radiate good will toward all men… but behind that smiling mask lurks an evil mind!” This loquacious introduction to Detective Comics #58 (1941) captured the tone of the Penguin, even as it fails to sound like the first appearance of one of the most enduring villains in popular culture. Throughout the story “One of the Most Perfect Frame-Ups” (by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, and George Roussos), the…

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03 Sep

The Pleasure in Waiting Years for the Next James Bond

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Last week it was reported that Eon Productions is at last taking meetings with potential directors for the next James Bond movie—a film currently without a title or, for that matter, a Bond. British newspaper The Telegraph even broke the news with the faintly disapproving headline of “why it’s taking so long to find the next James Bond.” It is indeed a surprise that almost three years after Daniel Craig’s interpretation of 007 took a final and fiery bow in No Time to Die, there still hasn’t been an heir apparent sized up for the tuxedo. Even before Craig’s Bond…

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02 Sep

The Star Trek Movies and TV Shows That Never Happened

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Exploration. Discovery. Evolution. These core concepts are not just at the center of Starfleet, but of Star Trek itself. The Original Series harnessed the optimism of the 1960s and projected it on screen. That ethos has allowed Star Trek to explore many new ideas through different series, films, spinoffs, and even a reboot on the big screen. But as vast as the world of Star Trek already is, it could have been so much bigger. The story of Star Trek is, in part, the story of fits and starts. For every project that makes it to screen, there are two…

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02 Sep

The Deleted Beetlejuice Scene That Would Have Made the Movie Scary Evil

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You know Beetlejuice. Beej. The Ghost With the Most. An enthusiastic watcher of The Exorcist. As portrayed by Michael Keaton in the 1988 Tim Burton comedy classic, Beetlejuice, as well as the upcoming sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, our favorite bioexorcist is a regular demonic trickster. He does some nasty things like trying to force teen Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) to marry him. But his exploits rarely rise beyond pranks. While that subtle distinction is probably what made the character a beloved household name—even winning him cartoon shows and Broadway musicals—that perception definitely wasn’t part of the original vision of the film.…

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01 Sep

Hulu New Releases: September 2024

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Hulu is honoring its network TV roots with a list of new releases packed with Fall television. September 2024 sees the arrival of several Hulu originals like Tell Me Lies season 2 on September 4, reality series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on September 6, and How to Die Alone on September 13. The streamer’s relationship with Disney-mate FX bears much fruit this month as well as Hulu will be the exclusive streaming home for series English Teacher (September 3), The Old Man Season 2 (September 13) and a Ryan Murphy double feature of American Sports Story (September 18)…

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01 Sep

HBO and Max New Releases: September 2024

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The already-thin separation between cable channel HBO and Warner Bros. streamer Max grows even closer this month. That’s because Max’s list of new releases for September 2024 is highlighted by none other than The Penguin on Sept. 19. Originally announced as a Max-title, this Batman spinoff series starring Colin Farrell as the titular criminal is now getting the traditional TV treatment for HBO as well. Other HBO/Max TV titles in September 2024 are reality series Coming From America on September 5, Sopranos documentary Wise Guy on September 7, and My Brilliant Friend season 4 on September 9. Meanwhile, Max’s movie…

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31 Aug

Ranking the Post-Lord of the Rings Fantasy Movies of the 2000s

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By the time Sam and Frodo finished their 14th and final ending in 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the movie business had changed forever. Fantasy films went from the domain of bookish nerds who debated the merits of Tom Bombadil’s dancing to something with mass appeal. The same was true of Harry Potter, back when J.K. Rowling was credited with saving the literacy of Western youth and not persecuting trans folks, and even Shrek, with its winking approach to fairy tales. The success of these franchises taught Hollywood that fantasy was a profitable genre…

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30 Aug

Apartment 7A Trailer Offers Devilish Backstory to Rosemary’s Baby

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A frustrated performer. Nice, if pushy, elderly neighbors. A stately old building filled with amazing apartments. Of course these images would show up in Apartment 7A, the upcoming Rosemary’s Baby prequel on Paramount+. But what really stands out are the specific echoes and reverberations of the 1968 Rosemary’s Baby‘s very aesthetic in the Apartment 7A trailer. Dianne Wiest does a brassy impression of Ruth Gordon, stepping into the late actor’s Oscar-winning role as Minnie Castevet. Conversely, where Mia Farrow played the titular Rosemary as as a vulnerable waif, and Angela Dorian played dancer-turned-drug addict Terry Gionoffrio as a woman at…

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30 Aug

Fall Movie Preview for 2024

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It may not yet feel like it in your neck of the woods, but fall really is just around the corner. In not too much time at all, the air will be getting crisp, the days short, and your drinks pumpkin-spiced. And as we transition into that autumnal season, one question remains on movie lovers’ minds: will our upbeat feeling toward cinema change too? The summer was certainly a rollercoaster. A bleak May where several quality Hollywood tentpoles flopped caused much soul-searching in the industry about what would come next. Yet what did come turned out to be, surprisingly, pretty…

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29 Aug

The Crow (1994) vs. The Crow (2024): The Differences Between Greatness and Not

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This article contains spoilers for both versions of The Crow. The Crow (1994) is one of those seminal touchstones that help define a generation. Gothic, mournful, and haunted by the nigh literal ghost of Brandon Lee, every frame of the film can feel like it’s projected from another world. So it has always been a bit of a mystery why anyone would dare remake the cult classic, including in the mind of the original’s director, Alex Proyas. Yet since about 2008, the redo has experienced starts and stops, and seen interesting directors and castings come and go, from Norman Reedus…

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29 Aug

Great School Movies That Make You Happier You Graduated

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Goofy, caricature-led, stoner comedies and rom-com reworkings of classic literature… We know what to expect from movies set in schools. There’ll be a prom, a herd of cheerleaders, scenes set in cafeterias, detention and in the gymnasium, as well as at least one and possibly several song-and-dance sequences. These movies aren’t that. They’re not Grease or High School Musical or The Breakfast Club or even Clueless, Carrie, Easy A, Mean Girls, Dead Poets Society, or School of Rock. They’re not 10 Things I Hate About You or the Harry Potter franchise. Solid as all those films are, they’re the popular…

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28 Aug

James Bond 26 Directors List Includes the Best 007 Relaunch Director

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“You know my name,” sings Chris Cornell at the start of 2006’s Casino Royale. The song, of course, is a cheeky reference to the way that Casino Royale reboots the Bond franchise with Daniel Craig as the lead. However, it might also refer to the man behind the camera for Craig’s debut. After all, Casino Royale director Martin Campbell also helmed 1995’s GoldenEye, which itself kicked off a new era and post-Cold War status quo for Pierce Brosnan. Thanks to Campbell’s tight action direction, GoldenEye and Casino Royale rank not only at the top of Brosnan and Craig’s tenure, but…

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28 Aug

The Fantastic Four Set Leak Delivers First Look at The Thing Costume

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When Ebon Moss-Bachrach appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show about six months ago, The Bear and future Ben Grimm actor was coy about how the Fantastic Four’s beloved Ol’ Blue Eyes would be realized on the screen next year. Back then, the man who would be Marvel Studios’ The Thing said, “I don’t think it’s a suit. Michael Chiklis wore a suit. Apparently the suit was really uncomfortable, we’re past that, I think. It’s a little cosplay and amateur now with technology. It’s mostly performance capture.” Whether Moss-Bachrach was telling the truth and plans changed, or he’s just…

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28 Aug

The Den of Geek Weekly Quiz! Sci-Fi Movie Monsters

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Who played the original monster-created-by-science in the first movie adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein?Charles Stanton OgleBela LugosiBoris KarloffChristian BaleWhich movie was originally known as Star Beast?Alien (1979)The Thing (1981)Predator (1987)Species (1995)In Godzilla (1954) what is the name of the first ship destroyed by Godzilla?Elko MaruKobayashi MaruHakudo MaruNippon MaruWhat kind of sharks do they genetically modify in Deep Blue Sea (1999)?MakosGreat WhitesTiger SharksHammerheadsIn The Thing (1982), what do the characters apply to blood samples to tell if they are from a human?Extreme HeatWaterLitmus PaperAcidScott Beck and Adam Woods, the writing duo behind killer dinosaur movie 65 (2023), also co-wrote which other…

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27 Aug

Sonic 3 Will Finally Bring Back a Game Location That Fans Have Requested for Years

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In a franchise with as long a history as Sonic the Hedgehog it’s no surprise nostalgia plays a huge part in what certain segments of the fanbase want to see in new entries. Some long for more 2D Sonic in the style of his earliest games. Others cling to the hope that characters from the various ‘90s animated series will turn up again one of these days.The loudest and most persistent request though hails from fans of the Sonic Adventure games. Originally debuting on the Sega Dreamcast in 1998, with a sequel following in 2001, these two games are the…

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27 Aug

The NeverEnding Story Scene So Traumatic It Damaged a Generation and Birthed a Legend

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It was the scene I could never watch again while growing up. Yet I did, every time, through cracked fingers and squinted eyes. Like countless children of the ‘90s and ‘80s, it was agonizing to watch Artax, that gallant white horse, sink into literal darkness. But I also never fully looked away. Like Artax, we were drawn toward staring at the abyss and feeling it looking back. The gaze would intensify, too, as the beautiful steed descended further into the murk. “Everyone knew that whoever let the sadness overtake him would sink into the swamp,” the narrator Bastian (Barret Oliver)…

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27 Aug

Deadpool & Wolverine Deleted Scene Just Set Up a Hopeful Future for Gambit

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This post contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 and Deadpool & Wolverine. “The name is Gambit,” the Ragin’ Cajun tells an massive Sentinel in X-Men ’97. “Remember it.” With that declaration, Gambit won over even the most skeptical fans of the revived animated series, sacrificing himself to take out a major threat and doing it with style. At first, it seemed like Deadpool & Wolverine gave Gambit a similar fate, as he and his fellow multiversal escapees in the Void fell during their assault on Cassandra Nova’s stronghold. But Ryan Reynolds just shared a deleted scene from the movie, which gives…

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27 Aug

The Worst Lines in the Best Movies

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“There’s no crying in baseball!” “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” “Forget, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” Film isn’t really a writer’s medium, but that doesn’t mean that writing doesn’t matter. The perfect line, delivered by the right actor, can elevate even a bad shot into something powerful. That said, the opposite isn’t always true. The best movies can survive some clunky writing, if the acting and cinematography are good enough. Still, some of these clunkers deserve a bit more attention if only to praise the rest of the film for overcoming a real stinker. “It was an…

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26 Aug

It’s Time to Admit That Ultron Is One of the Best MCU Villains Ever

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Ultron’s coming back, just like he always does. Any good Marvel Zombie knows that the Avengers can never defeat Ultron for good. He always makes a comeback, upgrading himself to fight his “father” Hank Pym in a different way each time. So it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that Ultron’s reportedly slated to return for Vision, an upcoming Disney+ series from Picard season three showrunner Terry Matalas. To be sure, some fans didn’t love James Spader’s snarky take on the domineering robot in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. But after nearly a decade since his big-screen, it’s time…

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