Hard NOC Life 298: DCU Pods and Monsters
Britney and Dominic return to Hard NOC Life! They join Keith and guest co-host Mike Manalo to discuss James Gunn and the announcement of DC Studios’ slate of films and television series!
Tag: Amanda Waller
We Watched the New ‘Black Adam’ Trailer with the Justice Society
Every once in a while, life gives you quick opportunities I like to call treats: I had the privilege last Wednesday to spend a toasty but beautiful afternoon on the Warner Bros. Burbank lot for a sneak preview of the now-recently-released Black Adam trailer and an intimate Q&A session with some of the leading cast of the upcoming action flick.
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New Details and Image from ‘The Suicide Squad’ Explode Online
We’re inching closer to the release of James Gunn’s high octane film, The Suicide Squad! And in a recent interview, Gunn spoke with Entertainment Weekly about what we can expect about the film, and revealed a new image through the publication, but also revealed a few tidbits of information from recent tweets including:
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‘The Suicide Squad’ Trailer Brings in the Big “Gunns”
James Gunn is back baby! And this time, he’s bringing us a new Squad! That’s right! The Guardians of the Galaxy director is aiming to unify all of comic book fandom by introducing us to his unique vision of The Suicide Squad! And let me tell you, this trailer has got me feeling all sorts of tingly excitement inside!
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DC FanDome: Enter ‘The Suicide Squad’
Oh man, the anticipation is killing me! Today during DC FanDome, James Gunn and the full cast of The Suicide Squad, including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, Alice Braga, John Cena, Viola Davis, and more took to the internet to share some awesome announcements and fun for fans across the world, who have been waiting on pins and needles for the eagerly awaited follow-up. And my god. I think they may have just won the whole DC FanDome experience!
Admit it: Diversity Saved ‘Suicide Squad’
Suicide Squad director and writer David Ayer has written a screenplay that is flat and not very exciting. The editing is all over the place and most of the characters are boring. This may not be all Ayer’s fault. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Brothers gave him only six weeks to write whatever he could and went straight to shooting. Why did the studio let this happen?!
I will give Ayer props for making the cast unique in that it’s one of the few (maybe the only) comic book film with such a diverse group of actors in major roles.
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An Honest Review: Suicide Squad
So let’s talk about Suicide Squad, one of the most highly anticipated films of the year.
Synopsis:
Figuring they’re all expendable, a U.S. intelligence officer decides to assemble a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a top-secret mission. Now armed with government weapons, Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and other despicable inmates must learn to work together. Dubbed Task Force X, the criminals unite to battle a mysterious and powerful entity, while the diabolical Joker (Jared Leto) launches an evil agenda of his own.
The verdict? There was some pacing issues and the worldbuilding/mythos was a bit rushed, especially considering this is only the third movie in the DCEU universe. Definitely some areas of opportunity in terms of the editing. It made the one scene with Amanda Waller handing out pinkslips gangsta style a bit on the nose.
NOC Recaps Arrow: Falling Behind
Apologies if you’ve been coming here the last few weeks for our Arrow recaps. I’ve been supposed to be Connie’s back-up, but I haven’t been able to muster the strength to recap a show that, honestly, I’ve been out on all season. Sure, I’ve been watching it (on DVR delay) every week, but this season has been more than disappointing. And if rumors about the death being revealed on tonight’s episode is true, I might be out for good. But more on that later.
NOC Recaps Arrow: A.W.O.L. Stands for Amanda Waller
From Felicity’s back and forth with pain meds to the Diggle’s being featured up front, Episode 4.11, “A.W.O.L.” gave its secondary leads lots of screen time. It was one of the season’s strongest episodes on that front, because fans always want more of Diggle and Felicity, and less of Oliver (and the darn island). We did, however, see how the DC Cinematic Universe could be ruining things for their TV properties. Let’s dive in real quick.
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In a Typically Weak Year for Nerdy Emmy Noms, NOCs Still Garner Big Wins
Two of this year’s big Emmy stories split the difference between our PoCness and our nerdiness. You’ve probably heard about the Game of Thrones’ record-breaking wins, and it helps that Viola Davis’ historic win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama is a NOC favorite due to her upcoming role in the DC Cinematic Universe.
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How to Get Away with Casting Amanda Waller
Last night, El Mayimbe of Latino Review broke the news that Viola Davis was in final negotiations to portray Amanda Waller in Warner Brothers’ upcoming Suicide Squad movie. Back when the cast was first announced a few weeks ago, it was reported that the studio was interested in Davis for the role of Amanda Waller — who could play a key Nick Fury-like role in the upcoming DC Cinematic Universe — but reports also had Oprah Winfrey and Octavia Spencer circling the role as well.
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We Do Not Need a Wonder Woman Movie
We don’t need a Wonder Woman movie. Yeah, I said it.
I can scarcely imagine a worse waste of digital celluloid: flying spears thrown from thin, gangly limbs, a star-spangled miniskirt threatening wardrobe malfunctions for two and a quarter hours, unblemished ivory skin strained under gold and platinum body armor, practicality be damned. Wonder Woman the movie — fangirl nirvana, fanboy nightmare. Whenever people discuss the needless parade of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants who populate superhero movies’ starring roles, part of me appreciates their boredom with the obnoxious identity politics at play; what was The Avengers but a classic fraternity bro-down with human growth hormone, outdated mythology and colorful titanium tossed in for kicks?
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The Many Faces of Amanda Waller
Yesterday, it was announced that Spartacus: War of the Damned star Cynthia Addai-Robinson has been cast as Amanda Waller in season two of The CW’s Arrow. This casting news came pretty quickly considering rumors of Waller appearing in Arrow only surfaced a few days ago. Confirmation of her presence in the Arrow-verse is further proof that season two will be including more of the DC Comics mythology than was delivered in the first season. In addition to Waller, there will be story arcs involving Deadshot and Bronze Tiger (played by Michael Jai White) which pretty much confirms that the Suicide Squad is coming to Starling City (Is it wrong that I’m still bothered by the name of the city in this show?), not to mention the much-hyped appearance of The Flash/Barry Allen some time during the season.
Addai-Robinson’s take on Amanda Waller won’t be the first stab at the character in live action. In fact, multiple actresses have tackled the role in recent years, showing that The Wall is a major structural foundation of any iteration of the DC Universe (ha, see what I did there?). After the jump, we’re going to look back at all of the acclaimed actresses who have brought Amanda Waller to life. From CCH Pounder to Pam Grier and Angela Bassett, Cynthia Addai-Robinson is going to have some rather large shoes to fill (well, not that large, since it seems The CW is going with the slimmed-down and sexed-up New 52 version of the character. Ugh, have I mentioned how much I dislike the DCnU?)