If you’ve seen 300, then you’re very familiar with the Spartan soldiers’ costumes: A helmet, a cape, a shield, and not a whole lot else. Among those Spartans, only one, Gerard Butler’s King Leonidas, has a helmet with a plume on it. Did you know that the real historical Spartans all had plumes on their helmets? Director Zack Snyder decided to change that detail in order to make Leonidas stand out, and easier to identify in the midst of the film’s battle scenes. That’s just one of the facts featured in the newest episode of You Think You Know Movies!
Have you ever seen those movie ads on TV filled with gushing quotes from critics and thought to yourself, “I saw that movie; it was terrible. Where did they find these positive reviews?” If you have, you’re not alone — and you’re going to love ScreenCrush’s newest series, Critics Are Raving!, which balances the cinematic scales with trailers full of slightly more accurate (and slightly more negative) lines from reviews. Real critics. Real quotes. Really bad movies. That’s what’s Critics Are Raving! is all about.
Based on the images we’ve seen so far (and just the images), it’s fair to assume that Justice League is a movie about A. a long-haired metal-head who starts a rock cover band with a group of people in unnecessarily elaborate costumes, or B. a team of superheroes who spend their time aggressively posing and staring at things offscreen. Either way, it seems like it could be a good time.
In case you were confused about the tone of the DC movie universe, this new Justice League logo should make things perfectly clear: This isn’t your kid’s bright and shiny Marvel Cinematic Universe. Oh, no. This is a heavy metal comic book world where superheroes straight-up SHRED. Can you hear that? It’s the sound of a guitar wailing in the distance, heralding the arrival of heroes in need of a stiff drink and a bar fight.
Today in “news that is hardly surprising,” Zack Snyder directed a scene in Suicide Squad, and no, it wasn’t any of the stuff involving Ben Affleck’s Batman. It was, however, one of the later additions to David Ayer’s super-villain team-up, and it has something to do with that other big DC superhero cameo. Spoilers ahead, obviously — unless you don’t mind that sort of thing.