Movies – World’s Best Media

FIRST LOOK: James Gunn’s Superman & More!

Published on May 15, 2024 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

One of the most highly anticipated upcoming films is undoubtedly James Gunn’s Superman (originally titled Superman: Legacy). Now we have our first official look, at our new Clark Kent/Superman, David Corenswet, in the new Superman suit! Check it out…

On this episode, we analyze the image of the new suit, and what it says about this new version of The Man of Steel (which is a lot more than you might think). We also take some time to sing the praises of the incredible new Disney+ animated series, X-Men ‘97.

Listen & Subscribe on…

iTunes/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worlds-best-podcast/id1246038441?i=1000655308309

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7sG6tSTCGBVJvUAySfXx94?si=gCq3ky5MSF6Lzx2ZQMAs_w

AmazonMusic: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/aae0120a-21d0-49d8-9637-098f080f0b14/episodes/e7acd90e-75ec-4252-93f2-730e5c547596/the-world’s-best-podcast-first-look-at-james-gunn%E2%80%99s-superman-x-men-%E2%80%9897?ref=dm_sh_Pb7wlMJk49PB93Zwr4WcczYdO

And wherever else you get your podcasts!

A lot of fans have been speculating as to the identity of the seemingly alien entity attacking Metropolis in the background of the photo. Some have suggested it could be Solaris The Tyrant Sun, an evil, sentient, artificial sun, seen in the image below.

The character has appeared in stories like Grant Morrison’s DC One Million and All-Star Superman.

In the podcast, I mentioned a video James Gunn put out last year, going into detail about what to expect from upcoming DC Studios projects. It’s really cool and informative, and must watch if your a DC fan:

The first look at the latest bug screen incarnation of The Last Son of Krypton is always a big deal. Below are the debut images of Brandon Routh as Superman in Bryan Singer’s 2006 film, Superman Returns and Henry Cavill in 2013’s Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder.

Both images are an interesting contrast to this new “first look” at Superman. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the debut pictures for Superman Returns and Man of Steel bring to mind words like: strength, power, classic, godlike, and heroic. It’s no accident that in comparison David Corenswet’s Superman comes across as far more human and down to earth. The 2 images above evoke heroes from Greek mythology. While James Gunn’s Superman looks more like a fireman, putting on his battered gear to answer another emergency call (a far more heroic image in my opinion). But I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Lastly, I think everything about this first look at David Corenswet as Supermen, and everything about it, was very carefully chosen. I think it tells us a lot about the kind of Superman film he’s making.

Recently, Gunn posted this comment on Twitter (yes, I know it’s X now, but dammit I’m not calling it that)

He went on post the below images of the Superman stories that were influencing the movie The examples he chose only made more confident in his ability to this a special film…

I certainly like what I see, but at the end of the day we’re painstakingly going over every detail of ONE photo. As fans, we tend to over analyze everything. Especially when it comes to our most beloved figures. Others have said, and I happen to agree, that you can’t get a sense of how well a superhero costume works, until we see it in motion on screen. I think that’s when we can actually judge the latest take on Superman’s iconic uniform. Again, let me know what you think!

Thanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!

-Paul

TRAILER: HBO’S The Penguin!

Published on March 24, 2024 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwright1 Comment

Hey Everyone.

Paul here…

Ben Affleck may have been my favorite on screen incarnation of The Dark Knight, but 2022’s The Batman directed by Matt Reeves, was definitely my favorite live-action Batman movie. It finally showcased one of the Top 3 most fundamental aspects of the character, that had yet to be the focus of any of his other live-action, big screen counterparts: He’s The World’s Greatest Detective! Maybe he hadn’t quite reached the “World’s Greatest” part yet by the end of The Batman, but Bat-tinson was well on his way, he’s still new at the job! Regardless, we finally had a Batman movie that was a detective story. You know, where Batman’s an actual fucking detective! It’s kind of an important part of the character. Batman should be Sherlock in a cape and cowl. But I digress…

One of the highlights of the film was Colin Farrell, who was fantastic in his supporting role as Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. Oz, a.k.a.The Penguin. At the end of 2022’s The Batman, crimeboss Carmine Falcone‘s death, along with several other players in his organization, had left a vacuum in the Gotham underworld. Nature abhors a vacuum, especially in Gotham City. As we wait for The Batman Part II, this fall HBO is premiering The Penguin, a new miniseries focusing on Oz’s rise to power as Kingpin of Gotham, after the events of the first film.

With Robert Pattionson confirmed to make an appearance on the show, the miniseries will directly tie into Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman Part II. So you think of The Penguin as almost like The Batman 1.5, if you will. It’ll be interesting to see who else from The Batman mythos will pop up in the series.

Unfortunately, because of The 2023 Actor and Writer strikes, everything has been pushed back, including the series, which should have come out last year. In the wake of the strike, even The Batman Part II doesn’t have a concrete releases date yet. While the film is definitely still happening, it’s much more likely to expect it in the second half of 2025 or Spring/Summer 2026.

In the meantime, it looks like we have a great new series, further fleshing out the world of this Gotham City. I know I’m psyched. Take a look at the trailer below:

The Penguin premieres this Fall on HBO Max

Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!

-Paul

What I Want to See: DCEU

Published on September 12, 2018November 24, 2020 by Michael Christopher Cole1 Comment

It was announced today, that Henry Cavill is no longer going to be the live action Superman in the DCEU. It was recently confirmed (and long rumored) that Ben Affleck was not going to be Batman in the DCEU. So, the DCEU is down 2 of their three most iconic characters, and many people are speculating a ‘soft reboot’ of the DCEU in general. Of their 5 films so far, the only success across the board (critics/fans/box office) has been Wonder Woman, and so this might make sense to do. Especially since Wonder Woman and the upcoming sequel take place before the events of the other 4 films released so far.

Has Aquaman ever looked cooler?

Now, I personally think this reboot idea will likely take some of its cues from what happens with December’s Aquaman film. We already saw Jason Mamoa as the character in Justice League, and I’ve heard virtually no complaints about him, but an Aquaman stand-alone will be a completely different thing, and so we really won’t know until it comes out.

There is also the forthcoming Shazam, scheduled for next April. Now, Shazam hasn’t appeared in the DCEU previously, so if Aquaman tanks and they go full steam ahead on the reboot, Shazam could be part of the ‘new’ universe, or if Aquaman is a success, it could be tailored into the ‘newish/soft reboot/whatever they’re going to call it.’

I knew nothing about this character, and the trailer sold me.

So let’s make the assumption that some kind of reboot is going to happen, and I will tell you what I want to see with that. Ok?

I want to see this reboot build characters individually. I’m not saying not to put Easter eggs, or slight references to each other, but let’s not get to the second movie before we have a full blown cross over. If in Wonder Woman ’84 we see some story about a ‘meteorological event’ which implies Kal El’s (Superman) arrival, that’s fine, but I don’t want Jason Mamoa or Shazam or anyone else to show up. Get several stand alone films under your belts, like you should have done the first time around.

Thanos’ snap was more powerful than we all realized.

The second thing that I want to see happen, is I don’t want Superman and Batman to show up for a while. It might sound dumb, and I’m sure people hate hearing about the MCU as a model, but Marvel didn’t have access to their A listers when they started, and it forced them to build characters and not assume we knew who they were, it forced them to get creative and be better story tellers. I think Batman and Superman are too iconic to start. Let’s deal with Shazam, and Cyborg, and other characters that the general film going audience that aren’t comic book readers aren’t familiar with, and start world building through them. There is some brand recognition with characters like Flash and Green Lantern, but use those characters to bridge the gap between the audience who know nothing, and the audience who totally get it. Then once you’re several successes deep, you can start introducing Superman and Batman. This exercise, will also help you to understand how to create those characters more memorably, to not be coming at them as the icons they are to the general public, but to fill in and establish all of the layers that have comic book fans hooked.

Two MCU Films at the Box Office…

Published on April 18, 2018November 18, 2020 by Michael Christopher Cole1 Comment

Avengers: Infinity War is coming out in just a couple weeks, and it will very likely dominate the Box Office, this isn’t surprising, and if you’d asked someone a year or two ago, they’d have known then that it was likely. Right? Here is what was unlikely, but is now seeming incredibly likely:

Black Panther, will still be in the top 10 spots at the Box Office when Infinity War comes.

Never before, have we seen two MCU films (I’m not sure we’ve ever seen two films of the same franchise in general) dominate the box office at the same time, but we’re about to. So I wonder what this means for both films.

In case you’re unaware, Black Panther has not only been raking in more money on a week to week basis than almost any other film since it’s release, but it has been moving in on the all time earners. As of this past weekend, it took down Titanic, as the #3 earner domestically of all time. It currently stands at #10 globally of all time (not taking inflation into account), and is only $32 million from the #9 spot, and $41 million from the #8 spot, which when you’re looking at the fact that it made $8 million last week, seem a plausible outcome.

One thing, that I think could happen as Infinity War looms over us, is that I think it is possible, that Black Panther gets a resurgence in the week or so prior to Infinity War, after all, if you’re an MCU fan, and there’s a chance to watch the previous film in theaters, then the following day/week/whatever watch the most current, there’s a strong likelihood that you’ll take that. Will it be some massive swell that pushes Black Panther to the #1 spot on either the domestic or global lists? It seems unlikely (the domestic record is Star Wars: The Force Awakens at $936 million, to Black Panther’s $665 million; globally, Avatar has the record at $2.78 billion, while Black Panther is currently at $1.3 billion) but that doesn’t matter, because it’s potentially going to change a lot of things about how films are made. It bought legitimacy for so many different aspects that may have been overlooked before.

On the other hand, how will Black Panther affect Infinity War at the Box Office? My guess, is that it will help it. From the trailer, it appears that Wakanda is going to play a major role in the film, as well as including multiple characters from Black Panther in addition to the title character. If people loved Black Panther, they’re getting a sequel of sorts, while it’s still in theaters, and I think that will translate to big Box Office numbers, in addition to the fact that the previous 2 Avengers films have both ranked higher than BP so far in the global market, and let’s face it, whether it’s a good film or not, it’s got EVERYTHING, and so this film would have to be absolutely atrocious to not do amazing numbers in the Box Office.

Ultimately, if I’m wrong, and Infinity War somehow kills Black Panther’s momentum, it’s already done so well that it hardly matters, on the other hand, I do think that Infinity War could potentially hurt some of the films coming out in the month or two afterwards. Whether you think Solo is going to be good or not, Disney’s kind of taking a risk putting it a month after Infinity War. I do think Deadpool 2 is far enough away that it should be able to be successful regardless of the shadow that Infinity War casts (either way, chances are Josh Brolin has a good few months).

What I Want to See: Chadwick Boseman

Published on February 2, 2018November 17, 2020 by Michael Christopher Cole1 Comment

Black Panther is coming out next week, and I really wanted to write a What I Want to See in honor of it, but the truth is, that Black Panther as a character was the MVP of the one Marvel movie he’s been in, has had one of the coolest trailers in the MCU, looks like he’s could be the MVP of Infinity War. As a movie, Black Panther boasts one of the more exciting casts, and crews of any MCU film to date. Ryan Coogler coming off of Creed to the MCU is an inspired choice. So I didn’t want to do a What I Want to See about Black Panther. I have faith in this, and What I Want to See, is what they’ve got, I think it’s going to be amazing.

I first saw Chadwick Boseman in 42, as Jackie Robinson, and he was great in that film. Then a year later, he was James Brown, and I haven’t seen that, but again he looked awesome in it. Then we got to see him as Black Panther in Civil War, and he stole the show. This last year, he played Thurgood Marshall in Marshall.

He’s played 3 men who have been hugely important in the conversation of race over the last 70 years, and one of the most important fictional characters in the same area. I really only know about these 4 roles, and I already consider Boseman to be a legend.

What I want to see, is Boseman get to play the big two. The two big names we think of when we think of race in the last 70 years, I want to see him play Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. I think that he has the acting chops, and I would love to see what he can bring to these two characters, and while it may sound ridiculous, I’d be interested in seeing him do both in the same film.

I think that it wouldn’t get taken seriously enough, but with two characters like that, two characters who we often think of as Yin and Yang, it would be really interesting to see what one actor can bring to both roles, to juxtapose them through one actor giving two performances. I think the only man (at least right now) who could do that role, would be Chadwick Boseman. I think he could give enough nuance to distinguish the two roles, and with make up they could make him look like two different people, and what we’d get would be something bizarre, but potentially really incredible.

We’re in a time where we’re seeing some very creative methods of telling historical stories. Hamilton casts against historical race in order to show the spirit of America, we’ve seen time travel tell the story of JFK’s assassination and what his legacy may have been in 11.22.63. We’re ready for something like this, and if you got someone with a really interesting direction style and Chadwick Boseman playing the leading roles, it could be amazing. That’s what I want to see.

PODCAST: 2018 Movie Preview (Part 2)!

Published on January 24, 2018November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey, everybody!

It’s Paul here and I should have had this up yesterday, but better late than never! Here’s Part 2 of The World’s Best Podcast with Paul & Tim 2018 Movie Preview! Of course finishing out the episode with me until Tim makes his triumphant return, is super guest co-host Ryan McDonald! In Part 2 we start smack in the middle of the summer movie season and then finish out the rest of the year. It’s a great Episode and I hope you all enjoy it. Listen here or subscribe on iTunes:

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13823508

PODCAST: The Best & Worst Of 2017 (Part 2)

Published on January 6, 2018November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey, everybody!

It’s Paul

This week on “The World’s Best Podcast with Paul & Tim”, we present Part Two of our monumental episode looking back at the Best and Worst, Films , TV shows, Comics, and more of 2017! In Part One we mostly talked about the best and worst TV shows we’d seen over the past year (with a little bit of talk about movies). In Part Two, we shift focus to our favorite and our most disappointing movies of 2017. Plus, towards the end of the episode I cover some of the big comic book news of the year and list a few of my favorite graphic novels! So, definitely check it out. It’s a great episode. Listen here or subscribe on iTunes:

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13683756

PODCAST: The Best & Worst Of 2017! (Part One)

Published on January 1, 2018November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey, everyone

It’s Paul

So this is it! We made it through 2017! Building World’s Best Media, writing articles and reviews, and recording podcasts have all been an absolute blast for myself and the incredibly talented people who contribute to World’s Best Media. We couldn’t have done any of it with the support of our listeners and readers. So thank you very much, it means the world to us.

Now with this being the end of the year and all, Tim and I decided it would be a good time to do a look back at the best and worst of 2017. We cover everything from the best and the worst movies, comics, TV shows, books, and more. It’s a 2-Part Episode and Part-One mostly focuses on TV. Or should I say content? A large portion of the shows we discuss in this episode come from streaming services. How we watch television has already drastically changed from 10 or even 5 years ago. With big companies like Disney and Warner Bros. starting their own streaming services in 2018 and 2019, things are going to change even more. It’ll be interesting to see where things go…

Also expect a Review of the Netflix show, Mindhunters, later this week. And of course keep an eye out for part two of this episode.

Anyway, THANK YOU! Have a safe and Happy New Year and check out part one the episode below or subscribe on iTunes:

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13683765

Thanks for listening!

-Paul

PODCAST: Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi SPOILER Review!

Published on December 16, 2017November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey Everybody,

It’s Paul

After months of waiting, It’s finally here! Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi has hit theatres at last! We couldn’t wait to dive into this podcast. This Episode is so EPIC that I needed TWO guest co-hosts to handle it! (Unfortunately Tim was out of town this weekend).With me on the show is long time World’s Best Media contributor Ryan McDonald; as well as friend and supporter of World’s Best Media, Mr. Matt Supple. This episode is FULL SPOILERS!!! And there’s A LOT to unpack. So, wait until after you’ve seen the movie (or if you don’t care). There was a lot to unpack and go over, but I think we did a good job. Enjoy! Listen here or on iTunes :

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13595419

STAR WARS RETROSPECTIVE (PART 4): EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE

Published on November 15, 2017November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwright2 Comments

Hey everyone,
Here’s the next in our series of articles looking back at the Star Wars Saga. Today we look back at the one, the only, the ORIGINAL, STAR WARS EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE. This excellent article is written by our very own Ryan McDonald and it is not to be missed. With respect to all of my other fantastic writers, I think this may be my favorite article in our Star Wars series. Enjoy!
-Paul

Star Wars EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE written by Ryan McDonald
Unfortunately, I can’t remember the first time I saw Star Wars, (I can remember the copied VHS tape I had) but I really can’t remember the exact moment I saw it. I feel ashamed being as Tim called me in his Phantom Menace article, a “Star Wars Guy”. I wish I had some great “blown away” story about seeing it as a kid and it changing my life forever. What I can always remember though is, how it felt, or should I say how Star Wars makes me feel. Having watched Episodes I to VI in a single day (ladies, I’ll post my phone number in the comments) I know if someone had never seen a single Star Wars movie, I would definitely have them start with Star Wars Episode IV New Hope. A New Hope has a timeless quality to it that makes it feel brand new every time I see it and I keep getting sucked down the rabbit hole again and again every time I watch the movie.

I think what gives the movie this unique quality is how you’re just immediately thrown into this world. Most movies that take a place in a fictional universe tend to take up a lot of screen time, or even whole movies, setting up the history of the world before they can tell story they actually want to tell. I think George Lucas brilliantly began the Star Wars saga in medias res, with what would later learn was the fourth movie, right in the middle of a chaotic shoot-out between the Rebels and the Imperial army. He has you follow C-3PO and R2-D2, two seemingly unimportant characters as they escape from this conflict, unintentionally find Luke Skywalker and along the way uncover Princess Leia’s secret mission for R2 to find the mythic Obi-Wan Kenobi, thus our first steps into this larger world.

Let’s highlight Princess Leia Organa for a minute here. In my opinion she’s truly the first female bad-ass in science fiction movies. One moment I absolutely fucking love, is when one of the imperial Stormtroopers finds her during the aforementioned shoot-out and says “there’s one, set for stun” like she’s just some defenseless little thing who poses no threat, so I’ll just stun her and BOOM she just blows him away. She seems to have this stigma of being a damsel-in-distress. Yes, the fact that she did have to be rescued and the “help me Obi-Wan Kenobi” message doesn’t really help my case here. I love that she was hurling insults as Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin took her prisoner, tortured her and eventually blew up her home planet. She would later go on in the trilogy to have some truly great moments, like killing the Al Capone of the Star Wars universe, Jabba the Hutt. Princess Leia was a trailblazer in film. I think future sci-fi heroines like Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor owe Leia some kind of gratitude or at least their creators do.

Leia’s rescuers are our two heroes, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. Han was what every fan wanted to be, smooth, all the best lines, coolest ship and he had the best partner-in-crime ever, Chewbacca. Luke was who every fan actually was, the kid stuck in a rut, longing for more. Luke gazing off into the binary sunset on Tatooine with John Williams’ music doing what it does best is the epitome of that Star Wars feeling for me. I whole heartedly believe that a huge part of the success of these films is the Incredible music of John Williams. He’s carved out some of the best themes in movie history, but his music for the Star Wars Saga, is the playbook on how to score anything. Literally every character, moment and scene has some kind of musical acknowledgement. They never felt repetitive or feel copied and pasted from one scene to another, they just felt right. Williams is so fucking good he even makes the background music in the Cantina bar scene memorable.

Speaking of the Cantina, let’s talk about something I never saw before in any sci-fi movie, a dive bar. Filled with every awful looking creature you can think of: yeti-thing, thirsty-rat, butt-face, satan-guy etc. they’re all just hanging out, drinking like regulars you would see at any dive.

One of these scumbags makes the fatal mistake of messing with Luke and attacking old Ben Kenobi resulting in Ben cutting its fucking arm off. The band stops playing and all the patrons are just staring at Ben, Luke and the severed arm on the floor, only to immediately go back to what they were doing, the band continues to play, not giving the slightest shit, CLASSIC DIVE BAR, I love this place.

I obviously can’t talk about A New Hope without mentioning is main antagonist, the one, the only Darth Vader. Without the influence of the prequels, we only knew Vader as the half man/half machine Imperial Commander, who could strangle people with his mind and stuck to his belief in the long forgotten Force. To me, Vader is at his coldest in this installment, strictly business, trying to locate that damn Rebel Base. The only tiny crack we see in his armor is when he sees Obi-Wan for the first time in very a long time. What I love is just how much I felt their history, in the way these two characters felt each other’s presence in this moment. I love how the shot lingers on Old Ben as he walks down the quiet Death Star corridor then comes to a slow stop. We see Vader standing there with his lightsaber drawn, just waiting for him and of course, that breathing.

Their duel that follows is barely a duel really and I don’t think it was meant to be either. Their dialogue during this scene is almost unnecessary; the sound of the lightsabers, Obi- Wan’s facial expressions, Darth Vader’s body movements and the lack of music does it all, you know shit just got real.

Obi Wan sees Luke and the gang escaping, that stirring force theme whispers its way into the foreground again, he holds his lightsaber up to his face, closes his eyes in moment of Zen and Vader takes him down. I remember being full-on panicked when Old Ben died “what the fuck are they gonna do now?”

A New Hope’s final act is Luke in his X-Wing with his fellow Rebel pilots, against Darth Vader and his TIE Fighters in a dog fight along the crevice of the Death Star. Han, who bailed earlier, shows up just in time to knock Vader out of the fight and give Luke a clear path to destroy the Death Star, stopping the Empire…for now.

When I saw the Death Star explode in theatres during the 1997 Special Edition re-release, I think the entire audience reacted as if something had actually blown up inside the theatre, everyone screamed and immediately began laughing and clapping when the scene ended.

The movie of course ends with a medal ceremony for Luke and Han (not for Chewbacca though? I call bullshit) bestowed upon them by Leia and the Rebel alliance leaders. The recipients turn and face the audience as they are applauded to one final reprise of the Star Wars theme and cut to stars in space…and cut to me buying hundreds of toys, making friends who also love these movies, seeing every episode after with these friends and feeling it every time.

May The Force Be With You…

Ryan

P.S. A note from Paul, our Editor In Chief…