The New Trailer from HBO’s “Westworld” looks Beautiful, Mysterious & Sinister

I have very high expectations for this upcoming HBO series. The premise of the show sounds most intriguing – a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin. Just as my previous ‘rants’ may have come to suggest about the series, this has all the elements to succeed. Jonathan Nolan (co-writer of “Interstellar”, “Memento”) and Lisa Joy are the show creators with J.J. Abrams (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, “Star Trek”) executive producing.

The upcoming sci-fi drama series looks spectacular and will be a nice substitute while we wait for winter to come on HBO’s smash hit, “Game of Thrones”. Check out the just released trailer below!

 
The cast includes Sir Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Ed ‘I’m great in just about everything’ Harris, Jeffrey Wright, and Thandie Newton. The HBO series is set to be released on October 2nd. I cannot wait!

 
The series is actually based upon a 1973 film (that starred Yul Brynner) that was written and directed by Michael Crichton (author of “Jurassic Park”, “Rising Sun”, “Disclosure”). The premise of that film is set in the near future where there is an adult amusement park called Delos, where there are three separate worlds – West World (American Old West), Medieval World (medieval Europe), and Roman World (pre-Christian Pompeii). Each world is populated with life like androids which are programmed for their environment. Park guests are able to pay an admission for an adventure or a sexual encounter (with an android). Things begin to get crazy when these androids begin ‘acting out of place’ and the park creators do not really know how they really work since they were designed by other computers and no one really knows how they work. These androids could be just as complex as humans.

Note: “Westworld” (1973) was followed up with a sequel in 1976 called “Futureworld” and a very short lived TV series in 1980 called “Beyond Westworld”.
Source: Pop Culture Crunch, June, 21, 2016
 
 

Let’ talk about that Doctor Strange movie.

There are ‘most’ of you out there that have no idea who Doctor Strange is but much just like Iron Man, you will likely become very familiar with the name upon the film’s release in November of 2016. The story follows a morally conflicted neurosurgeon after he is involved in a horrible car accident. The accident makes him useless as a surgeon but he ends up discovering the power of magic and alternate dimensions.

It’s pretty ‘out there’ and may not attract many based on that premise alone but the cast of the movie will definitely turn heads. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) has been cast as the films lead a few months ago. If you haven’t seen him in Sherlock then drop everything right now and watch it. It’s the best Sherlock Holmes easily.

Check out the rest of the cast!

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, upcoming The Martian) as Baron Mondo — villain

Rachel McAdams (True Detective, The Notebook) in an undisclosed role — just announced today.

Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer, The Grand Budapest Hotel) as Doctor Strange’s mentor, The Ancient One

Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal TV series, Casino Royale, Valhalla Rising) as a mystery villain

The film comes from a script by Jon Spaihts (co-writer of Prometheus, The Darkest Hour) and directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Deliver Us from Evil). Tonally, the filmmakers involved make sense. Also, remember this is a Marvel film that actually looks to deviate from a lot of the type of movies they’ve been churning out in the last five years or so. So, the change is welcome.

Captain America: Civil War (May 2016) will begin Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which is followed by Doctor Strange. The rest of Phase Three is includes the following movies:

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
an untitled Spider-Man movie
Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War part 1
Black Panther
Captain Marvel
Avengers: Infinity War part 2
Inhumans

If you want a breakdown of the ‘phases’, then check out the Wikipedia listing here.

Marvel definitely does not sound like they’ll be slowing down anytime soon. It seems like every comic book character will be getting their due at the box office. It’s a win-win for comic book fans. Also, who doesn’t like Benedict Cumberbatch?!