(VIDEO) R-Rated POWER RANGERS movie will blow your mind!

Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, Zordon! 

The “let’s make everything darker” trend has made it’s way to Angel Grove and the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers are now either dead, bad ass action heroes, or evil cyborgs.

This absolutely insane short film is like Power Rangers on crack. In 14 minutes, you’ll see enough sex, violence, and special effects to fill out a Robert Rodriguez movie. (Apparently there's a NSFW version out there too.)  But it looks more like a mash-up of Kill Bill, Blade Runner, and Pacific Rim.   

James Van Der Beek (Dawson’s Creek, Don’t Trust the B in Apt. 23) stars as an evil Rocky, and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, Riddick) plays Kim/the Pink Ranger. I didn’t think I could like these two actors any more than I already do, but I was wrong.

Joseph Kahn (Detention) directed this “deboot fan film” with Adi Shankar (Dredd) serving as producer. Kahn has stressed that it’s…

“…not a pilot, not a series, not for profit, strictly for exhibition. This is a bootleg experiment not affiliated or endorsed by Saban Entertainment or Lionsgate nor is it selling any product. I claim no rights to any of the characters (don't send me any money, not kickstarted, this film is free)."

A totally unrelated Power Rangers movie reboot is still in the works for July, 2016. 

But how could it possibly top this?

PS: All of this Power Rangers talk has got me feeling nostalgic for the 90's. Here's the old Mighty Morphin' intro.

SPIDER-MAN REBOOT! Too soon or too late?

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Why, Dear Readers, do I have so much homework and so little time to report on the BIGGEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE NEWS IN MONTHS!? Spider-Man fans are already all over this, but if you haven’t heard the news just yet, a rare cross-studio deal between Sony and Marvel is completely reshaping Spider-Man’s future at the movie theatre. Here’s the important stuff you need to know.

The Amazing Spider-Man franchise is finished

Sony’s premature reboot is over after two movies and Andrew Garfield is no longer Spider-Man. After the first movie did little to set itself apart from Sam Raimi’s 2001 movie, and the second movie bombed with fans and critics, Sony has decided to cut its losses and move in a different direction.

Spider-Man is entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel finally has the right to include Spider-Man in their own productions, which means we could see Spider-Man cracking wise with the Avengers before too long. Chances are we’ll first see the new Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War as he plays a major part in the comic’s story arc. There had been some rumors about this deal and Marvel fans had been hoping for this for a long time, but it seemed incredibly unlikely until now. These kinds of deals just don’t happen — look at the two Quicksilvers, in X-Men: DOFP and Avengers: Age of Ultron, for proof.

Sony’s not finished with Spider-Man just yet

Personally, I would have liked it if Sony admitted defeat, fully handed over the rights to Spider-Man back to Marvel, and apologized for making Amazing Spider-Man 2. But that’s not the case. Sony will produce new stand-alone Spider-Man adventures, and they’re still going ahead with the Sinister Six movie, too. Let’s hope they’ve learned from their mistakes.

We’re going to see a new Spider-Man in 2017… but will he be Peter Parker?

Ever since this story broke, it seems like everybody is asking the same question: will he be black? More specifically, will Marvel and Sony decide to leave Peter Parker behind and go with Miles Morales, the half African-American half Latino teenager from the Ultimate Spider-Man comics? I suspect a huge push from fans is already underway to bring Morales to the big screen, and I won’t be surprised if it succeeds. After all, we’ve already seen Peter Parker’s origin story twice, and Marvel’s superhero lineup is sorely lacking diversity.

Movie Pilot

My Flawless Master Plan for Making Spider-Man Cool Again and Satisfying Everyone

I know that everything I’m about to suggest is completely unrealistic and it’s never going to happen. But it’s my blog and you can’t stop me from dreaming.

The biggest problem facing Sony and Marvel right now is fan fatigue. We’ve seen too many Spider-Man movies and the ‘Amazing’ franchise didn’t give audiences enough time to breathe after the original trilogy wrapped up. So it’s rather ironic that Spider-Man is getting a reboot, in part, because Spider-Man got rebooted too soon. I think this tweet from a New York Times reporter says it best.

“We’re 10 years away from a Spider-Man movie that reboots itself during the movie”

-       David Itzkoff

So what’s the solution?

Cast Tobey Maguire in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and find a young, talented actor (not Jaden Smith) to portray Miles Morales for Sony.

Yeah, I know some people don’t like Tobey Maguire. Yeah, I know he’s almost 40. But we know him. We’ve already seen his origin story and it would be an easy enough transition to have him return. It’s not like it’s an unprecedented move either. Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford are returning to Star Wars, Kiefer Sutherland did another season of 24, and Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny might even be returning to a new X-Files TV series. Audiences love a good comeback, and I think people are ready to forget the evil dancing of Spider-Man 3.

Sony can have Miles Morales inject some new life into the Spider-Man franchise and bring in Maguire for a cameo. If they handle Morales’ story right and make a good movie, he can join the Avengers and replace Maguire.

Seeing as this isn’t likely to happen, I’m going to vote for Miles Morales. If the ‘Amazing’ franchise taught us anything, it’s that audiences don’t want to see another Peter Parker origin story.

Sony had great power and they acted irresponsibly.

World of Entertainment

DAREDEVIL, CONSTANTINE, and why Netflix is the best sidekick for Marvel

“We got on the bandwagon of these shows based on comic books, and maybe there are too many of them. It’s a popular series of comics, but it’s not The Flash.”
 

This is what Robert Greenblatt, entertainment chairmen at NBC, had to say a few weeks ago about Constantine’s failure to draw viewers. There hasn’t been any word yet as to whether or not Constantine will get another season, but its odds don’t look good.

So, why am I telling you this?

Marvel’s 4-series deal with Netflix is starting to show results with this teaser trailer for Daredevil’s first season. 

AKA Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist are on the way, too. Daredevil looks a lot darker and grittier than that awful movie from the early 2000’s. Okay, whoa! I’m having déjà vu! I think I wrote the exact same thing for the Fantastic Four trailer last week. Can we expect a darker, grittier Howard the Duck next?

I can understand why Marvel wants to produce a TV show that’s decidedly dark. Initially, my biggest complaint with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is that it felt way too much like a network show. The characters were cheesy, the dialogue was flat, and there was absolutely no suspense throughout most of Season 1. I half expected every episode to end with a corny joke, a big laugh, and an audible sigh from the entire cast. “Agents” improved a lot as the season went on, and what I’ve seen of Season 2 has been promising, too, but I have my doubts about the show’s longevity.

And that’s because Greenblatt is right. There are too many comic book TV shows for network or cable audiences to invest in. I’ll be honest. Aside from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I don’t watch superhero TV shows. It’s called SUPER MOVIES with MATT, not SUPER TV. Really, I just don’t have the time to keep up with traditional TV. That’s why I have Netflix.

And it doesn’t help that there are more high quality TV shows to get into than ever before. Never mind Constantine competing with The Flash, it needs to compete with The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and every other TV show and movie that’s ever been made. Because we’re all just downloading this stuff anyway, right? 

At least with Netflix, you’re getting a reliable streaming service that you can watch at your own pace. On top of that, Netflix is willing to take risks on content. Networks tend to follow trends, play it safe, dumb it down to reach a wider audience. It’s sad when you hear that Hannibal has trouble attracting viewers and Two and a Half Men is getting a twelfth season. 

I can’t predict Constantine’s fate, or if Daredevil will be a big success. But if this superhero TV trend is going to last, it won't be on NBC.