Following its debut at the 2017 CinemaCon in Vegas where it was enthusiastically received, 20th Century Fox brought the new official trailer for War for the Planet of the Apes online for Apes fans to check out. Directed by Matt Reeves from a script he co-wrote with Mark Bomback, the latest entry in the Planet of the Apes franchise stars Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Amiah Miller, Karin Konoval, Judy Greer, and Terry Notary. War for the Planet of the Apes opens in theaters on July 14, 2017.
The Plot: In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.
Geoff Pierson and Kiefer Sutherland in ‘Designated Survivor’ episoe 14 (ABC/Ben Mark Holzberg)
“You said he’s running scared. Bring him in,” says President Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) to Special Agent Wells (Maggie Q) about Charles Langford who has been discovered alive and on the run in ABC’s Designated Survivor season one episode 14 titled ‘Commander in Chief.’
The episode begins exactly where it left off with Aaron (Adan Canto) being approached by Charles Langdon (Peter Outerbridge). “I thought you were dead,” says Aaron to Charles who instructs him to follow him into a nearby church. Langdon tells Aaron he needs him to do something for him and that his life depends on it. Their conversation is cut short when Wells and other FBI agents burst in. Langdon manages to slip away unseen while Aaron is taken into custody.
At the White House, President Kirkman meets with Emily (Italia Ricci) and Seth (Kal Penn) to go over the visit with former President Moss (Geoff Pierson). Their meeting’s cut short when the President takes an emergency meeting with Wells and he’s told Langdon wants to make a deal. Kirkman, seeing him only as a traitor, says no but Wells pushes, saying it’s the only good lead they have. John Forstell (Reed Diamond) fears it could be a setup. Deciding to trust Wells, Kirkman tells her to bring in Langdon.
It doesn’t slow down for President Kirkman when he hears there’s a developing situation happening in Naruba, Africa, where a civil war is about to start. Kirkman tells Emily and the State Department they need to do something to help the nation’s victims. If they don’t, it could be genocide and he won’t let that happen.
Wells brings in Langdon and interrogates him, with Langdon telling her the old sob story of his marriage ending and thinking he found love with Claudine, a woman he barely knew who found him fascinating. She seduced him into giving her small amounts of inside information about highway contracts and renovations.
However, when she asked about the Capitol and a special renovated room, Langdon started to realize he was in trouble. She blackmailed him into giving her information. Wells asks why she should believe this story and he shows her the only photo he has of Claudine who he admits didn’t want her picture taken. Wells looks through some of her photos and shows Langdon one. He says, “That’s her.” Turns out Claudine is the mystery woman who met with Atwood about his kidnapped son.
In the situation room, the President is meeting with advisers on the Naruba situation. They agree to send in drones to handle the uprising and to stop the rebels from attacking its capital.
A little while later, President Kirkman meets with former President Moss who has a list of suggestions to fill out Kirkman’s cabinet. Kirkman asks Moss for his thoughts on how he’s doing as president and Moss gives him the cold truth. “You’re reacting, not leading,” says Moss. He continues saying that he would give Kirkman a passing grade but just. Kirkman is a bit put off and bothered by the former president’s honest opinion but continues on with the meeting and looks at his list.
Meanwhile, Aaron is being interrogated by Forstell and discovers the FBI wasn’t following Langdon but were, in fact, following him. He asks if he needs a lawyer and Forstell tells him that as of right now, he’s just a helpful witness in an ongoing investigation.
Alex (Natascha McElhone) returns home with the kids and tells Tom that his daughter now wants him to get her a pony. They catch up on events and she asks how his meeting with Moss went. Tom tells her Moss is not impressed with him. Alex smiles and tells Tom they’ll just have to charm him at dinner.
Kirkman visits Langdon and Langdon reveals the mystery woman hand-picked Kirkman to be the Designated Survivor. Kirkman doesn’t believe him, but Wells encourages him to listen. Langdon goes on to recount the day of the attack on the Capitol, how he got the call to pick him and if he didn’t do it, they would kill him and those he cared about. He left his office and drove to the FBI but didn’t make it because his car was hacked and they crashed it. Langdon was thrown clear and when he came to, he saw the fire where the Capitol used to be. He’s been on the run ever since.
Wells tells Kirkman the footage of the Capitol shows Langdon wasn’t there the day of the attack. Forstell confirms to Kirkman that the car crash checks out, too. Kirkman asks to have the room alone with Langdon and when it’s just the two of them, Kirkman asks him why he was picked to be the Designated Survivor. Langdon says he doesn’t know for sure, but he suspects that out of everyone on the President’s Cabinet, he was the weakest link and not likely to pose a threat to whoever is behind this.
Back in the situation room, President Kirkman learns of a new complication in Naruba. It seems 15 American volunteers have been captured by the militants Kirkman wanted to target with his drone strike. Kirkman is in a no-win situation: he can either go ahead with the strike to save 100,00 citizens of Naruba and sacrifice the 15 Americans or call off the strike and leave the people of Naruba at the mercy of the warlord and his militants. He delays the drone strike for now and attends his previously scheduled dinner with Moss, which is uncomfortable.
After dinner, Moss and Kirkman talk and Moss tells him that being Commander-in-Chief is an awesome responsibility. “It’s the loneliest job in the world,” says the former president. Moss gives free counsel on the Naruba situation and tells him he has a CIA contact who he can call to work out a deal to have the 15 Americans extracted out by helicopter.
Kirkman has to agree not to attack the militants in order for it to work, and Kirkman reluctantly agrees. However, once the Americans are out of harm’s way, Kirkman tells his general that he told the militant leader he wouldn’t attack his troops but never said anything about taking out the bridges leading to Naruba’s capitol. He gives the order for the drones to do just that, with both his staff and Moss in agreement.
Kirkman asks Moss to help him form the cabinet as his new Secretary of State, saying they make a good team. Moss accepts.
At the FBI, Aaron finally gets cleared with Langdon’s confession and is told he’s free to go. Aaron is upset he was a suspect and Wells tells him as she leaves, “These are dangerous times.”
Aaron doesn’t waste much time and pays a visit to the President. Kirkman invites him in and welcomes him back, but Aaron says he’s not coming back. In fact, he’s resigning. Kirkman apologizes to Aaron for the investigation and assures him it was to clear his name, which it has, and now they can get back to the real work. Aaron tells Kirkman that it’s still his job to protect him, even if it’s from him. He tells Kirkman that he’s tainted with rumors and gossip about cover-ups and investigations and that the last thing Kirkman needs while trying to help heal the country is the loyalty of his chief of staff being questioned. Kirkman refuses to accept Aaron’s resignation, but Aaron tells him he has no choice because he sent copies of it to the press before they met.
Realizing he doesn’t have a way to hold onto Aaron, Kirkman tells him it’s been an honor to have him as his chief of staff and Aaron responds by telling him, “Mr. President, the honor was all mine,” as they shake hands. On his way out, Emily asks him what’s next for him. Aaron tells her he hasn’t thought that far ahead. “I’ll try to do the job as good as you,” says Emily. “No, do it better than me,” replies Aaron as he leaves.
The final scene has Wells meeting with President Kirkman who tells her she now reports only to him, not the FBI. She’s in charge of finding out who’s behind the conspiracy and bringing them to justice.
Designated Survivor Episode 14 Review:
Revealing and dramatic, episode 14 titled ‘Commander-in-Chief’ gives Agent Wells both a new lead to follow in the investigation of who is behind the conspiracy inside the government and the new task of reporting only to the President. It also introduced a new ally for Kirkman, as he hires Moss to help him build up the nation. Plus, episode 14 saw the exit of Aaron from the White House and perhaps politics altogether.
The stand-out performance once again goes to Kiefer Sutherland as President Kirkman who doesn’t hold back his contempt for Langdon for betraying his country and his uneasiness with Moss. Initially, he feels as though he’s being belittled and chastised, but he works past that to form an important alliance. Sutherland embodies Kirkman’s inner strength, morals, and, at times, his naive understanding of how Washington really works to get things done, and his portrayal gives the show the anchor and strength it needs. It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing President Tom Kirkman.
With Moss on board as Kirkman’s new Secretary of State and Agent Wells having free reign to investigate the conspiracy, it seems the tables have turned and Kirkman and his team are now – for the first time – ahead in their hunt for those who would bring the country to its knees.
20th Century Fox is showing off a new poster for the upcoming action-adventure film, Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, the Kingsman: The Secret Service sequel was written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman. Colin Firth leads a cast that includes Julianne Moore, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Halle Berry, Sir Elton John, Channing Tatum, and Jeff Bridges. Fox has set a September 29, 2017 theatrical release date.
The Plot:Kingsman: The Secret Service introduced the world to Kingsman – an independent, international intelligence agency operating at the highest level of discretion, whose ultimate goal is to keep the world safe. In Kingsman: The Golden Circle, our heroes face a new challenge. When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called Statesman, dating back to the day they were both founded. In a new adventure that tests their agents’ strength and wits to the limit, these two elite secret organizations band together to defeat a ruthless common enemy, in order to save the world, something that’s becoming a bit of a habit for Eggsy…
Warner Bros. Television has unveiled the first photo from The CW’s new dramatic pilot, Black Lightning, based on the DC Comics character. Filming’s currently underway in Atlanta on the pilot with Cress Williams (Hart of Dixie) starring as Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning. The pilot is executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Salim Akil, Mara Brock Akil, and Sarah Schechter, with Akil writing and directing.
“I knew way too much about the world as a young boy growing up in Richmond, California. I was no stranger to violence, death, hopelessness or the feeling that no one cared about what was happening in my life,” said Akil. “Comics were a great way for me to escape. I was about 13 when Black Lightning was created, and finally there was a Black Super Hero that gave a damn about our neighborhood and our lives.”
Akil added, “Resurrecting him at a time in our society when a sense of hope is lacking…Black Lightning will be that hope. And in updating the suit, it will signal to a new generation that it’s time to harness and release our power, and become our own Super Heroes.”
Black Lightning’s costume was designed by Laura Jean Shannon, an Costume Designers Guild award nominee for her work on Iron Man. Shannon’s credits also include Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, The Jungle Book, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Blade: Trinity, and Good Girls Revolt.
The Plot: The first African-American DC Super Hero to have his own stand-alone comic title, Black Lightning is based on the character created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden in 1977. Jefferson Pierce made his choice: he hung up the suit and his secret identity years ago, but with one daughter hell-bent on justice and the other a star student being recruited by a local gang, he’ll be pulled back into the fight as the wanted vigilante and DC legend – Black Lightning.
Warner Bros Pictures’ presentation at the 2017 CinemaCon began with a video greeting from Going in Style stars Alan Arkin, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine. And while that threesome were part of the presentation via video, Warner Bros brought quite the collection of stars to the stage at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Filmmaker Christopher Nolan was up first to discuss Dunkirk. Denise Di Novi, Rosario Dawson and Katherine Heigl introduced Unforgettable, and Ed Helms joined director Larry Sher to joke around about Bastards. Charlie Hunnam promised a very different King Arthur when King Arthur: Legend of the Sword arrives in May. And Blade Runner 2049 brought Jared Leto, Ana de Armas, and director Denis Villeneuve to the Vegas gathering of National Association of Theatre Owners members.
Writer/director/producer Christopher Nolan will likely be busy come awards season with the World War II film, Dunkirk. Before introducing a short film which he describes as a prologue, Nolan said Dunkirk is at its heart a survival story and one of the greatest stories in history. Nolan’s goal was to make the film in the most visceral way possible, putting the audience on the beach and in the cockpit with the characters. Nolan shot the film in large format celluloid and he used the IMAX cameras to their full effect. He also said that Dunkirk is a film that deserves to be seen on the big screen when it arrives on July 21st.
Blade Runner 2049 star Jared Leto revealed there are very few films that have struck him as deep as the original Blade Runner. Leto said the new Blade Runner has an incredible cast and crew, and he considers it to be one of the great honors of his life to be a part of this production. Villeneuve added, “To see Harrison Ford back in his iconic character, Rick Deckard, was mind-blowing.” After the introduction, a lengthy behind-the-scenes video was shown featuring footage from the set and interview clips with the cast, including Harrison Ford.
Charlie Hunnam helped build the hype on King Arthur: Legend of the Sword by declaring it’s a little bit different from the King Arthur we all expect. Hunnam said we’re used to seeing a noble man who goes on a noble quest to become a noble king. “We’ve decided to do pretty much the exact opposite. Where you meet Arthur in the story is he’s from the back alleys of London where he’s surviving with his cunning and his fists,” explained Hunnam. “He doesn’t even know that he’s born to be a king and when he finds out, he doesn’t want it.” Hunnam said viewers should expect the unexpected, calling it cheeky, naughty, and fun.
The DC universe was represented by Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Chris Pine, and directors Patty Jenkins and Zack Snyder. Warner Bros. wisely scheduled the DC segment to close out their presentation, and Jason Momoa was met with enthusiastic applause as the first member of the Justice League squad to be introduced. Momoa was on stage first to promote the solo Aquaman movie which won’t be entering theaters until December 21, 2018, teasing that he’s seen Justice League and it’s greatest movie in the world. Momoa revealed he’s off to Australia after leaving the CinemaCon stage to begin filming Aquaman for director James Wan. Because production hasn’t yet begun, there was nothing to show from the film. However, Wan did put together concept art and model footage which he narrated in a short video. Wan, who was getting ready to begin production and couldn’t make the trip to Vegas, said Aquaman is a badass and Momoa is the complete embodiment of the character.
Gal Gadot was, unfortunately, unable to attend so it was up to Wonder Woman‘s director Patty Jenkins and Gadot’s co-star Chris Pine to take the stage to show off about 10 minutes of footage from the superhero film. The love story in the film was highlighted in the footage screened at CinemaCon, and Pine described the film as having a Casabalanca theme unlike anything we’ve previously seen in a superhero film. That said, the footage also included plenty of shots of Wonder Woman taking out her adversaries while, at one point, protecting Pine’s character, Steve Trevor.
The Warner Bros Pictures presentation ended with members of the Justice League – Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, and Ray Fisher – joining director Zack Snyder on stage. Snyder did all the talking for the Justice League team, saying it all began with a phone call. For Snyder, helming a Justice League film has been a seven year journey that started with producers Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan asking how he felt about Superman. Snyder said he’s a huge fan of these characters and it’s a dream come true to have them all together in one film.
During the presentation, trailers and video clips were also shown from Bastards, The House, Annabelle: Creation (previously titled Annabelle 2), It, Geostorm, The LEGO Ninjago Movie, and Everything, Everything.
New Line Cinema’s just released the official teaser trailer for It, the horror/thriller based on the bestselling book by Stephen King. Andrés Muschietti (Mama) directs from a script by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman. Jon Silk, Doug Davison, and Marty P. Ewing executive produce, and Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg, and Barbara Muschietti produced the big screen adaptation of King’s popular horror novel.
The It cast includes Bill Skarsgård (Hemlock Grove) as Pennywise the clown, Jaeden Lieberher (Midnight Special), Jeremy Ray Taylor (Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip), Sophia Lillis (37), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), Wyatt Oleff (Guardians of the Galaxy), Chosen Jacobs (Cops and Robbers), Jack Dylan Grazer (Tales of Halloween) and Nicholas Hamilton (Captain Fantastic). It opens in theaters on September 8, 2017.
The Plot: When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.
The CW’s Reign season four episode six found Queen Mary admitting she’s in love with Lord Darnley following an unsuccessful attempt on his life. The episode also featured Queen Elizabeth hiring the most respected doctor in the land (who turned out to be a big fraud) to try and cure Gideon’s daughter, and Leith discovered he’s incapable of sharing Claude with Luc so he allowed Narcisse to buy him off. Also, Leesa figured out Narcisse and Catherine have been tricking her and that King Charles is actually missing.
Up next, season four episode seven titled ‘Hanging Swords’ and airing on March 31, 2017. ‘Hanging Swords’ was directed by Lee Rose from a script by Chris Atwood and Kamran Pasha. The season four cast includes Adelaide Kane as Queen Mary, Rachel Skarsten as Queen Elizabeth, Megan Fellows as Queen Catherine, Dan Jeannotte as James, and Will Kemp as Lord Darnley. Ben Geurens, Celina Sinden, Jonathan Goad, Craig Parker, Spencer MacPherson, and Rose Williams also star in Reign‘s fourth and final season.
The ‘Hanging Swords’ Plot: MARY LEARNS OF ELIZABETH’S ATTEMPT TO STOP HER MARRIAGE — When Darnley (Kemp) gets a surprise visitor, his marriage to Mary (Kane) hangs in the balance. Elizabeth (Skarsten) learns her attempt to stop Mary backfired. Meanwhile, Catherine (Follows) and Narcisse (Parker) find King Charles (MacPherson) and must convince him to return to the castle.
“Don’t we deserve one win after everything that we’ve done?” asks Barry Allen (Grant Gustin). “Life doesn’t keep score, Barry,” replies Iris (Candice Patton) as they argue about accepting Abra Kadabra’s offer to reveal the identity of Savitar in season three episode 18 of The CW’s The Flash.
As the episode begins, Abra Kadabra (David Dastmalchian) surprises two guards at Stagg Industries and steals a piece of mysterious tech. Using what seems to be magic, he traps them in a Houdini-like case and makes it start to fill with water.
Over at S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco (Carlos Valdes) vibes and sees the same future with Savitar killing Iris. Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) suggests they go over what they know and Cisco says the problem is they don’t really know much except for Savitar’s prophecy with its two headline titles: “Killer Frost Still at Large” and “Joe West Honored.”
Barry, Joe (Jesse L. Martin), and Julian (Tom Felton) receive a message about a break-in and murder at Stagg Industries. As they head out to their day jobs, Caitlin calls out to Julian telling him he received a package from the Opera House. Julian tells her he got those tickets a while ago when she told him she’d never been to the opera. Caitlin starts to smile until Julian tells her to take whoever she wants and walks away. Cisco tries to comfort Caitlin, giving her moral support and telling her to give Julian some time to get over feeling betrayed after she finally revealed she kept a piece of the Philosopher’s Stone. Caitlin doesn’t think Julian will ever get over it.
Barry, Joe, and Julian are investigating the crime at Stagg Industries when Barry gets a message from Cisco that Kord Industries is being robbed. Barry races off to catch the thief. The Flash sees Abra Kadabra as he’s trying to leave with another mysterious piece of tech. Kadabra says he didn’t think The Flash would be so young and calls him by his real name, Barry Allen. Barry asks how he knows who he is and Kadabra says he knows all about him, his lady love Iris and her upcoming death, and his fight with Savitar. Barry tries to capture him but only gets a prosthetic arm instead after Kadabra uses his magic again. Gypsy (Jessica Camacho) appears, coming through a breach and hitting Kadabra with an energy blast. Kadabra manages to get up and uses a steady stream of playing cards as a shield to make his escape.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Gypsy brings Team Flash up to speed on Abra Kadabra who it turns out is a criminal from the 64th century and whose nanotechnology makes it appear as if he’s doing real magic. Gypsy reveals he’s on her top 10 collector’s list for the crime spree he pulled off on Earth-19 and all the people he killed. Cisco tries to flirt with Gypsy who doesn’t seem interested this time and only wants to bring Kadabra back to Earth-19 to pay for what he’s done. Barry tells Joe and Iris that Kadabra knows about Savitar and Iris’ death, so maybe he’s the key to them stopping Savitar from killing Iris.
In his work bay, Cisco tries vibing but can’t seem to get a lock on Kadabra so he sets up the satellite to search for anyone vibrating at a different frequency. Gypsy and Cisco talk…mostly Cisco…about the kiss they shared last time she was there and she downplays it. Sensing her coldness, Cisco asks if he’s misread her and she says she’s been busy. Just then an alarm goes off. “Great timing!” yells Cisco and he sees that Mercury Labs has an intruder. Barry, Cisco, Gypsy, and Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale) race off to stop the intruder. When they arrive, they discover he’s really a hologram. It’s a diversion!
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Julian, Caitlin, and Joe are going over some evidence when Abra Kadabra appears looking for something. Joe pulls his gun and points it at Kadabra who uses his tech to make water come out of it. Joe, Julian, and Caitlin race to the storage area of the facility, and Joe grabs the special meta-rifle, but Kadabra stops that too with his magic. Just as he’s about to attack Caitlin and Julian, Barry races in and places the power-reducing cuffs on Kadabra. Seems Caitlin was able to quickly send Barry a message from her phone about Kadabra being at S.T.A.R. Labs. Kadabra tells Barry if he lets him go, he’ll tell him who Savitar is. Gypsy shows up to take him away and Barry knocks Kadabra out.
Team Flash puts Kadabra in the pipeline and again he offers to do a trade. If they let him go free, he’ll tell them who Savitar is. Joe and Iris try ordering him to tell the truth but to no avail. Gypsy says she can’t wait to watch him die and storms off. Cisco goes after her to find out why she hates him so much.
In the medical bay, Caitlin tends to Julian’s flesh wound and apologizes again. She admits she was so focused on not hurting him as Killer Frost, she forgot she could hurt him as herself. She understands if he doesn’t trust her anymore but asks if he could find it in his heart to forgive her. Looking uncomfortable, Julian shakes his head no slightly and Caitlin leaves, telling him he’s good to go. (C’mon, how many times does Caitlin have to apologize?! Get over it already, Julian.)
Barry and Iris debate whether to accept Kadabra’s offer, with Barry thinking maybe it’s the only move they have left and Iris telling him that he will save her from Savitar, not Kadabra. She doesn’t want to let a murderer go free on the chance it might save her life.
Back in the pipeline, Joe talks to Kadabra and tells him he’ll take the deal because it’s his daughter’s life. After a few tense moments, Joe opens the door to the pipeline and pointing the meta-human rifle at him, orders Kadabra to tell him the name. Just as Kadabra is about to say it, Gypsy bursts in asking what Joe is doing. Kadabra once again slips by them.
Kadabra heads to the time vault and steals a glowing orb before catching the elevator. Joe tries to shoot him but fails and just as Caitlin and Julian arrive, Kadabra throws an explosive which knocks them off their feet and across the room. Joe is okay and so is Julian but when he checks on Caitlin, he sees she has been impaled by a pole.
Team Flash rush Caitlin to the medical bay with Iris saying they should take her to a hospital, but Cisco says they can’t because they would discover she’s a meta. Joe reminds everyone they still have a police file on a cold woman who hurt Julian. Cisco suggests they remove Caitlin’s power-controlling necklace so that her cold powers will heal her, but Caitlin says no and that she would rather die than do that. Caitlin tells Julian that she’ll guide him through her surgery to remove the shrapnel which is dangerously close to her liver. Caitlin reminds a very nervous Julian that he was a medic in the Army, but he says he never operated on anyone. Caitlin tells him she trusts him with her life.
Gypsy yells at Joe who’s left the room feeling guilty. She calls into question just what kind of cop he is, which gets him angry and leads to the two exchanging more harsh words. Cisco asks Gypsy why she hates Kadabra so much and she finally admits he killed her partner, both professional and romantic, three years ago.
Julian operates on a wide-awake Caitlin who guides him along as he removes the pieces of shrapnel all while Caitlin is in immense pain. A very concerned Barry and Cisco watch from further back in the room while Iris assists Julian. (Wait! Since when does being a journalist qualify Iris to assist in a major surgery? Shouldn’t Barry be assisting since he’s a CSI and has medical training? What were the writers thinking here?) After the last piece of deadly shrapnel is removed, Caitlin asks Julian, “Can you stitch me up because I need to pass out?”
While Caitlin recovers and Julian watches over her, Team Flash start to brainstorm on how to catch Kadabra. Gypsy tells them she’s figured out what he’s stealing all the tech devices for – he’s building a time machine. “He’s trying to get back to the future,” says Barry. They realize when Kadabra opens a wormhole to time travel in his machine that’s their chance to stop him because it will appear on their monitors. When it appears, Barry, Wally, Cisco, and Gypsy head out to capture him. In a frantic race around Central City, The Flash and Kid Flash chase Kadabra in his hovering time machine while Cisco and Gypsy try to use their powers to stop him from entering the wormhole. Finally, The Flash phases himself through the machine, grabbing Kadabra and making him crash out onto the street as his machine disappears into the wormhole.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, everyone is feeling down because Gypsy is taking Kadabra back with her and they can’t talk her out of it. As she walks her prisoner in to get ready to open a breach, Barry tells Kadabra he has nothing to offer him and he needs to pay for the horrible crimes he’s committed. Barry appeals to the man he might once have been and asks him to help him out by revealing Savitar’s identity. Kadabra tells Barry that Savitar is by far the worst enemy he’s ever faced and he broke him when he killed Iris. He names a few other major enemies and mentions a name Barry and the others don’t recognize, but says he’s happy because in a way it’s like he had a hand in breaking Barry too.
Back in the medical bay, Caitlin wakes up with Julian by her side and holding her hand. He goes on and on about how strong and brave she was and she tells him he did the hard part. “Are you going soft on me?” asks Caitlin and Julian says yes as he bends forward, kisses her softly, touching her wound and making her wince. He apologizes and Caitlin smiles.
Later that night, Iris and Joe are at his house and Joe confesses he feels helpless to save her and it’s killing him. He talks about being scared she would die in her sleep when she was a baby so he would stay up and watch over her. Barry enters telling them he knows how to save Iris. He says he’s going to travel into the future to learn what they need to know to stop it from happening. (Oh yeah, great idea! Because traveling to the past and the future has worked out so well for Team Flash so far…sigh.)
The last scene finds Cisco bringing Caitlin some green jello and she asks where the strawberry jello is. He admits to eating all of it. H.R. (Tom Cavanagh) shows up asking why Caitlin is in bed and she tells him it’s a long story. Cisco gives H.R. grief about disappearing for two days and advises him to tell someone next time. H.R. laughs as he leaves and Caitlin says to Cisco that he was worried about him. Cisco asks her never to tell H.R. that and she begins to say, “Cross my heart and ho…” but never finishes her sentence as she passes out.
Caitlin begins seizing and Cisco yells for help. Julian and H.R. rush in, asking what happened. They all start working on her with Cisco giving her oxygen because she has stopped breathing and Julian doing chest compressions. Caitlin’s vitals tank and she flatlines. Julian tells H.R. to charge the defibrillator and shocks her but nothing happens. Julian instructs H.R. to turn it up all the way and tries again. Still no change. The three men keep trying but Caitlin’s status remains the same. “C’mon, Caitlin!” pleads H.R. as Cisco begins to cry. Finally, Cisco, Julian, and H.R. realize nothing is working. “She’s gone,” says an upset H.R., with Cisco devastated and crying and Julian looking like he’s in shock. Refusing to lose her, Julian rips off her power-controlling necklace while Cisco yells, “No! She didn’t want that!” “I don’t care. I’m not going to stand here and watch her die,” answers Julian who bends down and holds her hand, telling her to come back to them.
Suddenly, Caitlin’s vitals return and quickly grow very strong as her wound disappears. She lets out a cold breath and opens her eyes which are now crystal blue. Cisco says her name and a blast of frost knocks them off their feet and across the room. Cisco looks up and as the cloud of cold frost parts, he sees Caitlin – now changed into Killer Frost – standing up and walking over to them.
The Flash Season 3 Episode 18 Review:
Suspenseful, heartbreaking, and ultimately tragic, season three episode 18 titled “Abra Kadabra” brings the worst prophecy of Savitar’s to fruition by the shocking and emotional death of Caitlin Snow and her rebirth as the evil Killer Frost. It’s clear now that Caitlin is the one Savitar was talking about when he said, “One shall suffer a fate worse than death,” because Caitlin warned Cisco, Julian, and Barry she would rather die than take off her necklace and become Killer Frost.
The stand-out performances in this episode belong to Danielle Panabaker and Carlos Valdes as Caitlin and Cisco. Danielle’s performance as Caitlin while she’s being operated on is incredible, capturing perfectly the unimaginable pain and fear her character is feeling as she guides Julian through the surgery. Carlos displays such heartfelt emotion in the last scene as he’s struggling to save his best friend’s life. The look of loss and devastation on his face is so powerful. (It had this critic teary-eyed.)
With Caitlin’s worst fear coming true and Savitar’s identity still unknown, it’s not looking good for Team Flash’s chances of stopping Savitar from killing Iris. Even worse, it seems that the heart and soul of the team, Caitlin, is gone for good…or is she?!
STXfilms just released the new, epic trailer for the sci-fi film, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Written and directed by Luc Besson, Valerian is based on the Valerian and Laureline comic books from Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières. The cast of the action-adventure includes Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu, and Rutger Hauer. STXfilms has set a July 21, 2017 theatrical release date.
A thousand worlds. One mission to save them all.
The Plot:Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is the visually spectacular new adventure film from Luc Besson, the legendary director of The Professional, The Fifth Element and Lucy, based on the ground-breaking comic book series which inspired a generation of artists, writers and filmmakers.
In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha-an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
Timothy Olyphant and Drew Barrymore in ‘Santa Clarita Diet’ (Photo by Saeed Adyani / Netflix)
Netflix just announced the comedy series Santa Clarita Diet has been renewed for season two. According to Netflix, the series will start shooting the second season episodes sometime this summer. Season two, which will premiere in 2018, stars Drew Barrymore as Sheila Hammond, Timothy Olyphant as Joel Hammond, Liv Hewson as Abby Hammond, and Skylar Gisondo as Eric Bemis.
Season one premiered on February 3, 2017, with all 10 episodes currently streaming to subscribers.
The Plot: In Santa Clarita Diet, Joel (Timothy Olyphant, Justified) and Sheila (Drew Barrymore, Blended) are husband and wife realtors leading vaguely discontented lives in the L.A. suburb of Santa Clarita with their teenaged daughter Abby (Liv Hewson), until Sheila goes through a dramatic change sending their lives down a road of death and destruction…but in a good way.
