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Fantastic Fest 2018 –“Overlord” Review: Not What You Expect, But Still a Fun Time

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6 years ago

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If you have seen the trailer for 2018’s Overlord, you may be expecting a Wolfensein-like, action movie with plenty of Nazi zombies, grotesque experiments, and other horror elements sprayed liberally over the films run time. Like so often we see now with modern movie marketing, this is not exactly the case.

The horror elements are in there to be sure, but really only feature heavily in the third act and even then there appears to only be one variety of monster for our heroes to fight. The rest of this movie is very much a traditional men on a mission war film even going as so far to open and close with black and white credit sequences to get you in that 50’s mindset.

This gonna be another undead Kruat hunt sir?

We have our crew of ragtag soldiers, our anything-to-get-the-job-done leader Corporal (Wyatt Russell), our moral compass of a main character Private Boyce (Jovan Adepo), and nearly impossible mission for them to complete. Said mission is to take down a radio tower that not only is a pivotal target for the war effort but also the sight of horrific Nazi super soldier experiments that will make you think Red Skull hiding just off screen.

The action of the film is tight, bloody and satisfying and manages to make the B monster movie stuff not feel out of place with the more gritty and realistic war movie stuff. The opening plane drops sequence is particularly breathtaking and feels like such a successful tribute to Saving Private Ryan you will start to imagine Tom Hanks sitting in one of those landing boats underneath their bullet magnet of a plane.

The cast is also doing great work here. They all may be playing their war movie types but everyone brings their A game and really make a meal of their role. Jovan Adepo is likeable and compelling as the compassionate soldier, Mathilde Oliver brings credibility to her self sufficient female character that we almost never get to see in movies like this, and whatever genius cast John Magaro as the trash talking, gruff soldier should be freaking applauded.

Seriously, Magaro is so good in this I will be shocked if he is not on the shortlist for any wise-cracking soldier parts in the future. The stand out here though has got to be Wyatt Russell who is channeling the early B movie, tough guy charisma of his dad so well, we might as well slap an eyepatch on this kid and get that “Escape from New York” remake started already.

There is a slight hiccup in the pacing of this film. After a heart pounding opening sequence, we are treated to a second act where there is a lot of talk and planning about completing their mission without a whole lot of actually getting it done.

This does provide time for the characters to breathe and develop, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t think to myself “Just storm the freaking Nazi castle already!” a few times. Also, the movie doesn’t want to let any of those war movie cliches go to waste, which makes for a story that doesn’t hold that many genuine surprises. Fortunately, the movie has so much fun that it doesn’t really matter you see most of the story beats coming.

“All right men! File in and stand still for a moment so the audience can play the who-is-going-to-die-first drinking game”

Overlord isn’t revolutionary but a blast to experience. I would recommend catching it in a theater with some friends when it comes out on Nov.9, 2018.

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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13 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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16 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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17 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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