Film & TV Friday: The Zombies Are Coming

So Black Panther's doing okay, huh?

This is Film & TV Friday.

The Top Story

I have still not seen Black Panther. This is a failure on my part. In my defense, I'll say we're moving in less than a week, and that plus work plus Steemit have not left ANY spare time. But damn, the film's doing amazing boxoffice. Just astounding. I knew it was gonna do very well, but it's done even better than I thought.

In Other News

• Joss Whedon Exits 'Batgirl' Movie and I am glad. Let me tell you, that reaction would have been impossible a few years ago, but when Joss was Boss. But since then, we've had Age of Ultron, and then his unshot Wonder Woman script was leaked and was just awful, and a bunch of nasty personal stuff about him came out and... well... sometimes people who were at the vanguard at some point find complacency and don't seek to grow and evolve, and end up behind the times. And I think that's Whedon right now. And I hope he can do the work to get himself to the now, because he can be a very powerful voice for good, and a great storyteller.

I'll state for the record that I want a Batgirl film written by Gail Simone, with a director that's there to make that script as beautifully as possible. A Gail Simone/Lexi Alexander film? HERE FOR IT.

• The Greatest American Hero reboot finds its star. I loved the original series, and love switching the protagonist from a white dude to a biracial woman, as it could allow for a fresh story.

• Natalie Morales cast in the titular role in NBC comedy pilot "Abby's." I have loved Morales since her lead role in the criminally under appreciated The Middleman, and enjoyed her work in every show since. I'm glad she's getting another shot at a lead role.

Wide Release Films Opening This Weekend:

Film	# of Theaters
Game Night	3,488
Annihilation	2,012
Every Day	1,625

Source: BoxOfficeMojo

Game Night looks like it could be a fun film, but Annihilation is the real story here, for multiple reasons.

The biggest being that this is a star studded, big budget film, getting a mid-size release in the US, Canada, and China, and a Netflix release everywhere else (in less than a month). This is happening because one of the producers wanted a "less complicated" cut, and the director and other producer refused. I hope the film is great and does very well. It's a big film, cast with a diverse bunch of women in most major roles, and it's also based on a book by a man I know personally and have had lunch with, Jeff Vandemeer, so this is super exciting. Personally, I'm afraid it's too horror-y for me, but we'll see.

TV Show Premieres This Week

Show	Season	Country	Network or Service	Day	Time
Ash vs. Evil Dead	3	US	Stars	Sunday	9PM EST
The Walking Dead	8b	US	AMX	Sunday	9PM EST
iZombie	4	US	CW	Monday	9PM EST
McMafia	1	US	AMC	Monday	10PM EST
Unreal	3	US	Lifetime	Monday	10PM EST
Survivor	36	US	CBS	Wednesday	8PM EST

Source: TV Guide

Well, this is quite a week, huh? We've got 3 zombie shows coming back, one veteran reality show, one show about a fake reality show, and a Russian mob show. Every single one of the returning shows is a show I've quit on, so I guess I'll give McMafia a chance.

Trailers

A fairly lean week of trailers. Let's see what we got.

Kings

This is the film in which Daniel Craig plays a literal white savior and I am not here for it.

On Chesil Beach

This looks like a depressing drama based on a depressing novella. I'm sure Saoirse Ronan is wonderful in the lead, but I sure ain't gonna watch it.

The Forgiven

A film about Desmond Tutu's part in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This week's trailers are DARK, huh?

Blockers

And finally, a film about parents trying to stop their kids from having sex. I'm done. Let's forget this week's trailers ever happened and move on, okay?

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