Marvel Highlight: The Punisher

Almost two weeks ago, we released our first "Marvel Highlight" article on Marvel's Daredevil. You can read the article for a history of the character on screen by clicking here. This week, we are returning with another Marvel Highlight covering the highly popular character, The Punisher. This character recently crossed over into Daredevil's world, therefore we have a lot to cover on what has happened with this character and what to expect in the future. Hold on to your body armor, because you're going to learn about the most gritty character in Marvel's world, The Punisher!

© Marvel Comics

Brief History

In 1974, writer Gerry Conway and artist John Romita, Sr. debuted the legendary character known as The Punisher with Stan Lee being the one who suggested the characters name. Initially the idea was to call the character "Assassin" but luckily we ended up with the more suited Punisher title. The character sticks out amongst the other in Marvel's extended catalogue due to his willingness to kill in order to achieve justice. In comic book history, the good guy's usually don't kill. Somehow, The Punisher achieved fame even with this dark desire to end crime permanently. The characters real name is Frank Castle, and is frequently presented as a U.S. war veteran. It's a very dark journey that later turns Castle into the Punisher we know today. After a decline in popularity in the 90's, The Punisher was revived and has since become somewhat of a fan favorite in the comic book community.

© Marvel Comics

The Punisher Films

It was 1989 when Frank Castle made his first film debut as The Punisher. The character was played by actor Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV), who was described as indestructible. Unfortunately, films in 1989 couldn't be as true to their comic book companion material as they can now in 2016. The film received terrible reviews and was described as "cheesy". Due to the failure of the first film, it would be 15 years until the character was given a second chance on screen.

In 2004, actor Thomas Jane was given the opportunity to portray the character on screen against the evil Howard Saint, played by actor John Travolta in one of his more villainous roles. This film took from two of its comic book sources, The Punisher: Year One and Welcome Back, Frank. Regardless of the characters second chance, this film once again received negative reviews. Later down the road, this film became a fan favorite for those who enjoyed the character. Regardless, most fans believe the character still was not given a faithful comic book interpretation.

A sequel to the 2004 film was planned regardless of the negative reception. Due to creative differences between multiple people involved in the film, the sequel essentially developed into a remake by the name of Punisher: War Zone. The film went on to be released four years later in 2008 and would mark Marvel Studios first attempt at producing a Punisher film themselves. This go around, actor Ray Stevenson was given the honor of portraying the character. Unfortunately, once again the film received negative reviews. While the film did portray the extreme violence The Punisher is known for, it still was untrue to its comic book source material.

© Marvel Daredevil 2016

The Punisher on Netflix's Daredevil

Nearly two weeks ago season two of Netflix's Daredevil was released to many positive reviews. Marvel's success on Netflix continues to grow, with high expectations for their Jessica Jones and Luke Cage shows as well. Within this season of Daredevil, The Punisher was revealed to be the main focus of this years story. Played by Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead), many people say that the character stole the show this season. This interpretation of Frank Castle received the highest praise the character has ever seen in live action. In fact, the reception is so positive that people have began campaigning for the character to receive his own show. Knowing the way that Marvel works, they enjoy satisfying their fans cravings. Aside from initial plans to start a Punisher show on Netflix in January, his warm reception in Daredevil likely led to the definite creation of such a show.

© Marvel Comics

To sum it all up, after three consecutive films about the character receiving bad reception, The Punisher seemed to find his way on Netflix. We're very excited to see what happens in the future with the character, and it's likely that Jon Bernthal will be deemed the true Punisher for years to come. That's all we have for today, but please continue to join us in the future for more upcoming movie news and rumors, as well as our next Marvel Highlight arriving soon! If you're a fan of the comic book adaptations, check out our post on the most anticipated comic book films of 2016 by clicking here! Keep your shotguns handy, because nothing can stop the Punisher! Check us out next week for the best in the film world only on Crave Cinema!

Universal Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon

Dating back to the 1920's, Universal Studios created a legacy by putting out some of the most provocative horror films of all time. Ranging from The Phantom of the Opera to Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Wolf Man there has never been quite a collection of standout films in this genre of the cinema world by any other film studio. In 2014, Universal Studios released a new film by the name of Dracula Untold. Like other popular film connections such as the Marvel Universe, Dracula Untold marked the beginning of a unified collection of Universal horror classic remakes. In 2017, the next story to be retold is the tale of The Mummy, starring actor Tom Cruise. These remakes will be created with the assistance of the talented writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. One of the remakes coming to fruition is the story of the Creature from the Black Lagoon!

Photo credit: Thomas Hawk via Foter.com / CC BY-NC

The Creature from the Black Lagoon has not seen a new on screen rendition since 1956. That means this year marks 60 years since a film about the character has been released! Today I am going to talk about the upcoming Creature from the Black Lagoon remake and why it is one of the most anticipated films of the new Universal Monsters Cinematic Universe. First off, a little bit about the creature and the remakes journey to fruition.

On March 5th, 1954 director Jack Arnold released a film that would go on to become one of Universal Studios legacy horror classics. Universal has had a superior history of popular horror creations, starting with The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1923, The Phantom of the Opera in 1925, Dracula and Frankenstein both in 1931, The Mummy in 1932 and The Invisible Man in 1933 to note a few of the popular choices. It wasn't until nearly 20-30 years later that The Creature would join the ranks of the Universal Classic Monsters.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon tells the story of a scientists search for a fossil connection between land and sea animals, only things take a turn for the worse when our lead actors discover this creature is not ancient history just yet. The Creature was originally played by actor Ricou Browning, who acted as the Gill- Man in the water scenes due to his past with water shows, and by Ben Chapman, who notably played the Gill-Man on land sequences.

Photo credit: State Library and Archives of Florida via Foter.com

Ben Chapman was a former Marine, and was selected to play the Gill-Man due to his large stature. Unlike Browning who played The Creature in water scenes, Chapman was more commonly used in promotion of The Creature for numerous events. As you can see in the picture, The Creature costume, essentially the water version, wasn't so efficient looking but, for the time, was notably intriguing.

Originally, the idea of a remake has been thrown around since 1982 with John Landis pushing it. The original remake script was eventually cancelled due to the idea of 3D being used, but did feature the use of two creatures rather than one. In 1995 the idea of a remake resurfaced but was passed upon by Peter Jackson who was in pursuit of the King Kong remake we received.

After many different people had worked on the script and ideas for the remake, things seemed to have faded for the creatures future. After all this time, work is once again underway on creating a proper remake for the legendary Creature from the Black Lagoon. Scarlett Johansson is being considered for the lead role of the film, and Jeff Pinker (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) is currently writing the script. While it may be many years until this film rejoins the Universal horror film universe, the 60 year long journey will likely leave us with a very dark retelling of a story that many of recent generations truly never knew.

© Universal Pictures - All Rights Reserved

That's all we have for our first Universal Monsters article, continue to read our blog for the latest updates on this horror universe and keep an eye out for our next article on The Mummy remake arriving next year! Stay relevant with the most detailed information on upcoming movie news and rumors by reading our blog, and as always, don't forget to Crave Cinema!

Marvel Highlight: Daredevil

In 1964, legendary comic book writer Stan Lee with the support of Bill Everett and Jack Kirby created the character known today as Matt Murdock, or Daredevil. The character followed through with intentions to be one of the edgier members of the comic book universe. The story is of a boy who is blinded after being exposed to a radioactive substance in the neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, New York City. The substance increases his senses intensely so that he can essentially know whats happening without his eyes. Throughout his adult years, Murdock takes on the Daredevil suit to avenge his later father and change Hell's Kitchen. All while portraying a lawyer in his real life, Murdock becomes one of the most notable comic books characters who recently is getting the attention they deserved. Today, I'm going to touch a little on the characters existence on film and television.

© 2016 Marvel Entertainment

Daredevil (2003 Film)

Nearly 13 years ago, 20th Century Fox released the first film rendition of this character that cinema has seen. After a few planned television series never came to fruition, this what the first time the character who see itself get a proper treatment. Featuring Ben Affleck (our next Batman) as the titular character, the film became a moderate success with both good and bad reviews. The film derived scenes heavily from the comic books. Regardless of this, the film strayed away from the darker material that the character had been known for. This created issues and ultimately made this become the only film of the intended Daredevil series. While Ben Affleck reprised the roll in a spinoff film Elektra, that film went on to become a box office dud. For years after, there was continuous talk of creating a Daredevil reboot. Slowly, over time, the rights to Daredevil at Fox Studios began to expire and this would conclude this point in Daredevils live action history.

© 2003 Twentieth Century Fox

Daredevil (2015 Series)

Ten years after the feature film debut of Daredevil, the rights reverted back to Marvel's possession in 2013. While initially pitched as a film, the idea went on to become part of a Netflix series. It was mentioned that Murdock was only trying to save Hell's Kitchen, not the world. This allows for the series to be told through Netflix much more fluidly. Fortunately, the series will be combined with three others to lead to a Netflix 'team up' superhero series. When the show was released in 2015, it received nothing but high praise from viewers and critics alike. Notably for the characters dark rendition that the series deserved, Charlie Coxs' performance as the title character and Vincent D'Onofrios' depiction of the series villain Wilson Fisk. The first season successfully reinvented the live action depiction of the character, and gave a solid history of how he came to be. This year, Season 2 was just recently released to Netflix introducing other characters from the comic books history. These characters include Punisher and Elektra. Season 2 also recieve fantastic reviews as well as a preview to the upcoming companion series on Netflix to Daredevil and Jessica Jones, Luke Cage. Similarly, the word is that a fifth series will be placed on Netflix eventually focusing on the Punisher character. Due to the series success, it is likely that season 3 will be scheduled to debut next year!

© 2015 Marvel Entertainment

There has been numerous mentions that if the series was successful, there would be a chance that the character would receive his own feature film. Not only are all of the Marvel films massive financial successes, the series have been following suit on Netflix and regular television. With the introduction of characters such as Punisher and Elektra, it is likely that more series and film will appear around new characters for years to come. If you find yourself in Hell's Kitchen, make sure you know everything there is to know about the Daredevil by watch the series on Netflix. Fortunately, there are many marvel series for you to also get your fill on. Keep a look out for our Jessica Jones highlight in the near future. Until next time, don't forget to keep up to date on upcoming movie news and rumors only at Crave Cinema!

The Ingenious Ideas of Pixar

In 1974, a computer lab was established in the New York Institute of Technology by a man named Alexander Schure. Eventually, a group came together who worked in the lab under Shure's direction, with the dream of creating the worlds first computer animated film. Some of these members left to join a new group, The Graphic Group, under the Lucasfilms brand. Some time later, the group decided they wanted to create an independent company. While selling something called the "Pixar Image Computer" to create funds, the group focused on creating their first computer animated film. The group came to find even more funding by the late Steve Jobs, who put a fortune into the company. Flash forward to 1995, Pixar had finally released its first film Toy Story. From here on out Pixar revolutionized the animated film world with each and every release. To this day, Pixar films are some of the most highly recognized and positively anticipated animated films of the decade. With Finding Dory on the horizon, today I'm going to talk about some of the most ingenious creations this studio has put out in the world.

The Toy Story Series

In the world of Pixar, this series is somewhat of a legendary tale. The original 1995 film was a massive success and holds phenomenal reviews from people around the world. The series gives life to the toys that we all played with when we were young. It shows the world from their perspective and is considered one of the most ingenious ideas of its time. Lead voice actors Tom Hanks and Tim Allen cemented themselves as these characters delivering outstanding performances. The film even went on to earn itself an Academy Award. For a companies first product, this was a home run. In 1999, Pixar returned to the world releasing Toy Story 2. The film grossed nearly half a billion dollars in its run, and showed the true value of the series beyond a one hit wonder. At this point, people began to cherish the characters of the film as a household name. It took 11 years before Pixar decided to release Toy Story 3, ending the trilogy on a strong emotional note. The film talks about what will happen to the toys once Andy, their owner, finally goes off to college. The film features a moment that is sure to make anyone who cares about the characters drop tears. The Toy Story series can nearly be identified as the perfect trilogy, with very little mistakes to its name. Some time later, a great idea must have crossed the minds of the Pixar team as they have now announced Toy Story 4 to be released in 2018. The film will tell of a love story between the characters Woody and Bo Peep. You'll be able to return to the heartwarming world of Toy Story on June 15th, 2018.

Toy Story	Toy Story 2	Toy Story 3
$361,958,736	$485,015,179	$1,063,171,911

Toy Story Series Worldwide Box Office Gross

Finding Nemo & Finding Dory

In 2003, Pixar released another film to critical acclaim, called Finding Nemo. The film tells the story of a clownfish searching the entire ocean for his son with the help of a fish named Dory, a blue tang with short-term memory loss. The movie went on to gross nearly $1 billion in its release. It is considered one of Pixars strongest properties aside from their Toy Story series. In 2016, a sequel by the name of Finding Dory will be released and tell the story of Dory from the first film and her search for her own family. The film took ten years after the first to be announced, and has its returning cast from the first film to help move the project along swimmingly. Ellen DeGeneres, who voices Dory, is extremely fond of the role and has been excited to help this film come to fruition. You can find plenty of lost fish in the sea this year with Finding Dory on June 17th, 2016.

The difficult part of compiling a list of great Pixar films is that every single Pixar film is a great film. Aside from the films mentioned above, the studio released A Bug's Life in its earlier years as its second film. While the film doesn't rank as high as the other series, it holds its own as a strong title. Pixar would also develop legendary properties such as Monsters, Inc and Monsters University. The films tell the story of the monsters in your closet from their perspective. With another strong voice cast of actors such as John Goodman and Billy Crystal, the Monsters series is one of the most well regarded Pixar series alongside the Finding Nemo and Toy Story series. The list could go on and on, and chances are, you have seen one of the films and hear of nearly all of them. Pixars slate of films continue to grow under their acquisition by Disney. Yet, the heart and soul of Pixar still remains behind each new title. The company prides themselves on not only worthy sequels, but consistent original films. This year marks the first in which the company released two brand new original films. The first film, Inside Out, is an ever-growing property that has already latched onto the population. The other film they have released, The Good Dinosaur, is making waves as of lately. While not as popular as Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur seems to be well received. If you haven't seen any of these films, you have to pick a few and spend a lazy Sunday feeding your inner child. Pixar knows the formula for success, and we are excited to see what the future brings for this captivating company!

"Animation is the one type of movie that really does play for the entire audience. Our challenge is to make stories that connect for kids and adults." - John Lasseter                          "'Toy Story' we found, sorta by accident, because we didn't know what we were doing, the idea of being replaced by somebody. Everybody has that fear, or encounters this jealousy at some point." - Pete Docter                          "Animation is about creating the illusion of life. And you can't create it if you don't have one." - Brad Bird                          "I remember as a kid having a balloon and accidentally letting the string go and watching it just float off and into the sky until it disappeared. And there's something about that, even, that feels very much like what life is, you know, that it's fleeting, and it's temporal." - Pete Docter (Referencing Up)                          "At Pixar, we do a million versions of the movie, and every one of them goes through their awkward teenage phase where it's terrible and doesn't make sense, and we just keep working on it." - Dan Scanlon                          "'Monsters,' everybody has the thought of monsters in your closet as a kid, and more importantly, the idea of becoming a parent. We're always kind of looking for those emotional nuggets. They're always at the heart of the story." - Pete Docter (Referencing Monsters, Inc.)

I will leave you off with other Pixar films not mentioned in this article that deserve recognition...

• Cars (2006), Cars 2 (2011) & Cars 3 (2017)
• The Incredibles (2004) & The Incredibles 2 (2019)
• WALL-E (2008)
• Up (2009)
• Ratatouille (2007)
• Brave (2012)
• Coco (2017) ~ Pixar's next original film