Suicide Squad

I’ll admit, I was one of those people mildly excited for Independence Day: Resurgence. Not only did the film return both Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman  —  as well as the up-and-coming Maika Monroe  —  it was also a welcome trip down memory lane to the original Independence Day, one of the first really big blockbuster movies I remember seeing in theaters. I know I’m not the only one whose interest in the film was pure nostalgia; as it turns out, this link to the past is exactly why Will Smith chose not to come back for a second film.

Jared Leto’s gritty ’n grilled take on the Clown Prince of Crime was easily the most controversial part of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. Early photos of Leto’s tatted-up Joker drew heavy criticism from fans and launched a million jokes on social media, where he was compared to everything from a Juggalo to a Hot Topic mascot — and that was before we found out about his wacky on-set “method acting” antics, which permanently cemented his status as a ridiculous human being. But if you thought that version of the Joker was obnoxious, boy do we have some concept art for you.

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.

For an actor whose superhero prospects haven’t always been stellar, Nicolas Cage sure does love superhero movies. His role as Big Daddy in Kick-Ass was the most positively received, but critics and audiences alike were lukewarm-to-cold on his Johnny Blaze in the Ghost Rider movies (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is actually a good movie, okay). Cage isn’t salty about it though, revealing that he really did enjoy this year’s three most recent superhero movies (minus Doctor Strange).

After a month of anticipation, "Treehouse of Horror" binges, and spooky Twitter names, Halloween is finally upon us. This special day means so much to so many people, and one of the greatest joys it gives us is licensed costumes based on comic book properties. Some of them are incredibly detailed and accurate to the source material, some of them are hilariously bad, and some, somehow, manage to be both. We've rounded up some of the best comics-themed Halloween costumes from this year to provide you with some last minute inspiration for the big night.

There was a lot wrong with Suicide Squad, but visually it was one of DC’s more adventurous offerings, setting it apart from its predecessors Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman. It couldn’t quite get away from the rainy, dingy, dark Zack Snyder aesthetic, but gosh darn it, they tried to put some pops of color into the DC cinematic universe. Today, some very cool concept art has surfaced ahead of the film’s video release, showcasing how imaginative a lot of the initial character designs were — especially for Enchantress — before all the artists were probably informed that they could use any color they want, provided the color was between dark gray and darker gray.

Margot Robbie is returning for Warner Bros.’ Harley Quinn spinoff, but this time she’ll be in front of and behind the camera.

September has arrived and this notoriously slow month at the movies often spells instant death for new releases. It certainly meant on a dead-on-arrival start for The Light Between Oceans and it spelled total disaster for Morgan, which debuted at number 17 on the box office charts despite being released into more than 2,000 theaters. But this week isn’t all doom and gloom! This slow week gave some much-needed breathing room to a few August releases while allowing Don’t Breathe to have a strong second weekend at the box office.

Somehow, Good Smile found a way to make Jared Leto's Suicide Squad Joker even more of a creep than he was on screen. I'm not even sure how that's possible considering all the ridiculous things we know about Leto and his Joker, but they did it. This is the kind of thing that happens when you try to chibi-fy deranged sociopaths though. They come out of the wash looking even weirder for wear. While the Harley Quinn doesn't fare quite as poorly in her transition to Nendoroid form, it's still a little bit weird having a cutesy girl that looks like a cherubish child in hot pants and a belly shirt. Some things that works for more realistic action figures just don't make the leap as clearly for the Nendoroid form. That doesn't mean Good Smile won't try though.

DC's Rebirth has only just begun, but already the two biggest teams in the DC Universe are headed for a confrontation. This December, the Suicide Squad and the Justice League won't just cross paths, they'll collide in Justice League vs Suicide Squad, a new six-issue mini-series written by Joshua Williamson and featuring art from Jason Fabok (at least for the first issue).