Written by Daniel Cohen & Justin Matchick
Olivia Wilde returning as Quorra (Tron 3)
Thumbs in the Middle: My history with Tron is as follows – I tried to watch the first one and fell asleep. I never saw the second one, but own the score by Daft Punk. It’s the only movie score I’ve ever bought without having seen the actual movie. This third movie confuses me as the box office for Tron: Legacy didn’t exactly light up the arcades. I’m sure Olivia Wilde is perfectly fine in Tron: Legacy, but she’s a solid actress and could probably be doing better roles, but whatever. (DC)
Thumbs Up: Tron: Legacy was a serviceable sequel to cult classic Tron, relying too often on style over substance, but Wilde as Quorra was a standout in the film and her return is very welcome. I’d still like to see how the rest of this third Tron film develops (fingers crossed for more Daft Punk), but this is a step in the right direction. (JTM)
Ed Skrein as Ajax (Deadpool)
Thumbs Down: I can’t say I’m to familiar with Ajax, but I do know he’s a villain to Deadpool. I’m not familiar at all with Ed Skrein’s work, but if he’s going to be a primary antagonist, I was hoping for a bigger name here. (DC)
Thumbs Undecided: Best known for portraying Daenerys’ right hand man Daario for a hot second on Game of Thrones (he left that role to start in the upcoming Transporter reboot), Skrein now takes on mercenary and Weapon X project Ajax. Since he only played Daario for a very short time and the Transporter reboot won’t be out until the fall, I don’t really have much to go on. I’ll pass on judgement for the moment. (JTM)
Independence Day 2 Round Up
Brent Spiner returning as Dr. Brackish Okun
Judd Hirsch returning as Julius Levinson
Bill Pullman returning as former President Whitmore
Thumbs Up on All: Bill Pullman is a slam dunk, and I’m curious to see how Dr. Okun gets back in the mix. That was a great character, and if I’m not mistaken, I’m pretty sure he died in the original, so what the hell is going on there? Judd Hirsch was hilarious in the first movie and I’m shocked they’re pulling him back for this. It’s good to see the old team back together, minus Will Smith of course. To be fair though, he’s a little busy with Suicide Squad. (DC)
Thumbs in the Middle: I’m happy to see some more returning cast members, even if the whole idea of an Independence Day sequel seems unnecessary to me. In the first film Hirsch and Pullman provided some nice comic relief and inspirational speeches respectively, with Pullman’s final speech on Independence Day is still the benchmark for rousing speeches in big action movies. Spiner’s return is the most curious, as his character died in the first film. From what it seems they are explaining that his character was actually in a coma, which is spectacular ass-pull on the writers’ part. Overall nice returns, but I’m still down on the project as a whole. (JTM)
Sofia Boutella in unknown role (Star Trek 3)
Thumbs Down: No, I haven’t seen Kingsman. Certainly if I saw the movie things could change, but from the previews, Boutella just seems like the stereotypical bad ass with not a lot of substance. From all the billboards I saw, it was more about her knife shoes than the actress herself. It sounds like this will be a major role, so I was hoping for someone more established, but than again Alice Eve did a good job in the previous film. I have much bigger problems with this upcoming sequel than Sofia Boutella though. I love the first two films, and people only hate the second one for absurd Star Trek reasons. GET OVER IT! Going from J.J. Abrams to Justin Lin doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence, and I fear they are making a movie that will give into the mob mentality of what Trekkies want. That’s not a good way to make a movie. (DC)
Thumbs Up: After stealing a few scenes as the sword-legged henchlady, Gazelle in Kingsman earlier this year, Boutella seems primed to start taking on bigger and bigger roles. Her extensive training and expertise as a dancer fit perfectly in with the role of Gazelle, which makes me wonder if they will take advantage of her abilities for this Star Trek role. I’m hoping it’s a sizeable part, as I’m looking forward to seeing more of her on screen. (JTM)
Beauty and the Beast Remake Round Up
Ian McKellen as Cogsworth (the clock)
Ewan McGregor as Lumiere (the candle)
Thumbs Up: Yeah, I’m really going to disapprove of Ian McKellen and Ewan McGregor. I still want to know if these will be voice performances of the objects, motion capture, or something else entirely. This movie is certainly attracting a stellar cast though. (DC)
Thumbs Up: These two are amazing additions to the already fantastic cast we discussed on Casting Couch previously. Both McGregor and McKellen are highly respected and have been lauded many times over, giving a cast already brimming with award winners even more prestige. Reservations about Disney seemingly trying to adapt every major animated hit into live-action aside, I’m really looking forward to this one. (JTM)
X-Men: Apocalypse Round Up
Olivia Munn as Psylocke
Lucas Till returning as Havok
Thumbs Up on Till/Thumbs in the Middle on Munn: If this were any other movie, I’d be concerned about all the characters we have for this film, but I just saw Bryan Singer make it work in spades with Days of Future Past, so he can cast 900 more mutants for all I care. I’m glad Lucas Till is back. I’ve always enjoyed him as Havok, even in his one scene from the previous film. As far as Olivia Munn goes, I was hoping for better as Psylocke was an intriguing character from the animated series. Munn isn’t bad, but there’s definitely another actress who could do more with the role. I suspect this is a small part. (DC)
Thumbs Down: I won’t knock bringing back Till as Havok, he’s a fine actor who’s been good in the role for two films already so it makes sense to bring him back once more. But I’m really not a fan of casting Munn at all. I’ve never been a fan of hers going back to when she was a host on Attack of the Show, finding her to rely too much on pandering to popular sensibilities instead of displaying any characteristics of having genuine opinions. This dislike continued even as she turned from hosting to acting, with her performance in The Newsroom also ringing disingenuous week after week. Psylocke might only be in the film for a short time, but it’ll take a lot to convince me on this one. (JTM)
Zoolander 2 Round Up
Billy Zane returning as himself
Fred Armisen in unknown role
Justin Bieber in a cameo
Thumbs Down on Zane/Thumbs Up on Armisen and Bieber: Billy Zane was literally in one throw away scene for Zoolander. Do we really need him back? No. Fred Armisen seems like a good fit for this, and as much as I hate to say it, Bieber probably fits this franchise like a glove, as long as it’s literally just a cameo – could be pretty funny. (DC)
Thumbs Up: I’d like to know how many people even remember that Billy Zane was in the first Zoolander? Either way the man obviously needs a job, and this is a job for him, so who’s to complain that he’s returning? Not I. Armisen was great on Saturday Night Live and managed to get even funnier once he began working on Portlandia. His skills as an impersonator and experience playing outlandish characters will come as a huge benefit here, where the entire fashion industry is ripe with opportunity for comedic send-ups. Justin Bieber’s cameo gets its own special separate rating: Thumbs No. No. No thanks. Not today. (JTM)
Captain America: Civil War Round Up
Elizabeth Olsen returning as Scarlet Witch
Daniel Bruhl as Baron Zemo
Thumbs Pending on Olsen/Thumbs Down on Bruhl: Elizabeth Olsen is a very good actress. This is more about seeing how Scarlet Witch is characterized in Age of Ultron. We knew Daniel Bruhl would be the villain, but now we know the name. I’m not a Daniel Bruhl fan and thought his performance in Rush was ridiculously overrated. Get ready for another boring, throw away Marvel villain – yay. (DC)
Thumbs Up: I really don’t know what I can say there that I haven’t said about almost every other major Marvel casting news. Olsen returning helps keep the continuity going from Phase 2 to Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which is good, but I haven’t seen Age of Ultron yet to know whether or not keeping her around is actually a *good* thing. Bruhl being cast is even better news. He was fantastic in Inglorious Basterds, and he’ll once again be playing a Nazi as the supervillain Baron Zemo. Marvel is reaching deeper and deeper for comic characters to bring to the screen, and I for one love that the general public is being introduced to such deep cuts from their roster. (JTM)
Common in unknown role (Suicide Squad)
Thumbs Down: If it’s not a major character, fine, but whenever a wrestler or musician gets cast in a film, the red flags go up for me. I guess this seems to be the theme for me on this month’s Casting Couch, but for a superhero movie, can’t we do better than Common? (DC)
Thumbs Up: I’ve always liked Common as an actor, but a big breakout acting role has always seemed to elude him. Aside from some romantic comedies and small parts in some action movies, he’s probably best known for playing one of the characters on Hell on Wheels, aka one of those AMC shows that is not Mad Men or The Walking Dead. No word yet on who he could be playing, but given this is an ensemble film of supervillains I’m hoping it’s a fan favorite. (JTM)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 Round Up
Tyler Perry as Baxter Stockman
Brian Tee as Shredder
Thumbs in the Middle on Perry/Thumbs WAY Up on Tee: If you were to ask me before Gone Girl, I would have given a massive thumbs down to Perry playing Baxter Stockman. After seeing Gone Girl though, Perry proved he’s capable of acting, although the director there was David Fincher. I’m pretty sure David Fincher isn’t directing Ninja Turtles 2. The reason I’m thrilled about the Shredder casting isn’t so much about Brian Tee, as is the message is clear they are fixing the Shredder problem from the last movie. Out of all the elements I hated about the first movie, Shredder was a complete atrocity – the most generic, lifeless villain I can remember. He felt like a last minute addition because fans got upset at the William Fichtner character possibly being Shredder/Eric Sacks. With them bringing in a real Shredder in addition to Baxter, Bebop, and Rocksteady, I’m gaining somewhat more faith in this second effort. I still haven’t read anything about Krang though. Are you really going to recycle the old favorites from the animated series, but not include Krang? This is such crap! For crying out loud, I’ve been waiting for Krang to show up in a Turtles movie my entire life. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE KRANG HIS DUE! HONESTLY! (DC)
Thumbs Up: My TMNT knowledge is deep enough to know Casey Jones (see last month’s Casting Couch article), but that’s about as far as I go, so I’m not familiar with Stockman at all. From what I’ve read he is a scientist who often teams up with Shredder to stop the Turtles, which surprisingly might be a great fit for Perry. Perry’s years of acting as his character Madea in drag and old makeup seem to be behind him as he branches out into more varied roles. He was nothing special a few years back as an FBI agent in Alex Cross, but I’ve warmed up to him a lot after his excellent supporting role as Ben Affleck’s lawyer in Gone Girl. I’m hoping he can ride his success in that film and bring something special to TMNT 2. As for Tee, he’s mainly been seen in The Wolverine and as the villain in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. I think he has boundless potential to work with as Shredder, as he replaces Tohoru Masamune from the first film. Masamune was decent in the role, but bringing in Tee gives us a much more versatile actor. (JTM)
