Sucker Punch feels like Zack Snyder‘s response to all those awkward and sexist nerds he and his cast have to deal with in Hall-H nearly every year. You know, the ones that cant help but to shout out how “hot” the actresses are during the panel, and without actually asking any real questions or treating them respectfully. Those nerds are the sideline oppressors of Sucker Punch: the revolting-looking Chef and Mayor, the ones that love seeing their women in degrading and sexualized outfits, but don’t care about how or why they’re in said outfits. As long as they get their joy out of sexy women doing sexy things, and nothing outside the basic titillation, they’ll be happy. This is the subtext that many seem to not be getting or talking about from Sucker Punch. Snyder’s work has always been divisive, but never has one of his films been this polarizing, and he knows that. Snyder is well-aware of the response the film has been getting, and he’s the type of self-aware filmmaker who probably expected this type of reaction from day one of shooting. The fact that Sucker Punch isn’t a film for everyone surely must have caused problems along the way, and as Snyder states, the test-screening process was no help in that regard.

This piece contains spoilers for Sucker Punch. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, go watch it before diving in. Once the first images hit, or when the first synopsis hit, or maybe even when Zack Snyder dreamed up the concept for Sucker Punch ten years ago – a time bomb was set to explode twice, and it finally did this weekend. The first explosion was the basis for the existence of the movie, and it continued exploding many, many times during the runtime. The second was the question of feminism. Now that the movie is out, it has also exploded. The reactions from before the film was released varied, and they still do. Some see it as feminism merged with geek culture (which assumes geek culture isn’t sexless to begin with). Some see it as an affront to the advancement of women parading in thigh high boots. One who gives a strong argument for the latter is Angie Han of /film, who writes the hell out of an editorial called “On Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch: Why Ass-Kicking and Empowerment Aren’t Always the Same Thing.” You should absolutely go read it before reading this, although I’ll do my best to condense her arguments (in a fair way) in order to respectfully counter them.

Right around ten years ago Zack Snyder had an idea. An idea that would come to take up about thirty seconds of Sucker Punch, but lend to the film its main character, its title, and its sex appeal. That original idea revolved around a girl named Baby Doll who escaped into the recesses of her mind while dancing for some very bad men. He then partnered with his school buddy Steve Shibuya to start working that into a script. Things were probably going pretty okay on that, but they were about to get a lot better when Snyder found himself helming Dawn of the Dead, my personal choice for best zombie movie ever. You heard that right, Romero. Sitting next to Snyder at the press junket, the man did no less than doodle an X-Wing on a pad of paper while talking, as if he needed anything more than Watchmen to solidify his nerd-cred. Before talking about the visually complex Sucker Punch, Snyder, sitting alongside wife and producing partner Debbie, the director took a moment to give us a glimpse into his filmmaking past, revealing as one might expect he was an early overachiever. One of his student films in the basic introductory film classes was a World War I epic, complete with trenches dug by a rented backhoe. Before you get antsy, I’ll tell you what he said about his upcoming Superman movie: nothing. As in, he’s not allowed to speak of it. Duh. What he did express was [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr felt so trapped by the weight of the world that he escaped into an amazing world inside his mind. Ironically, this world bore a striking resemblance to Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch, what with all the scantily clad, kick-ass hotties running around. Once free of oppression, Kevin took his kids to check out the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie in a desperate hope for Rachel Harris’s approval.

If you are a movie fan, read this website regularly or have ever heard of Mondo Tees…then you know about their amazing poster series. If not, well go on eBay and take out a mortgage on your house to grab some of the older gems from the past. Mondo Tees is always trying to deliver amazing new prints from amazing new artists, and their newest addition is no different. Sometime later today, Friday March 25th, Mondo will be releasing two versions of a new print inspired by the Zack Snyder film, Sucker Punch. These were created by Ken Taylor, who is one of my favorite Mondo artists. Not only are both of these awesome, but they come with some great news as well. Not too long ago, Mondo released their Director’s Series with a few Guillermo Del Toro prints. I think it’s obvious with this post, but you can expect the newest Director’s Series to be inspired by the films of Zack Snyder. New prints will come from films like DAWN OF THE DEAD, 300, LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS and WATCHMEN. The details on these other prints haven’t been released yet, but knowing Mondo…you can expect some amazing artists to tackle prints for these visually arresting films. Check out Ken Taylor’s work below:

Zack Snyder’s return to (mostly) live action hits screens today, bringing to life the fetishistic dreams of many a teenage boy as a mostly female cast in anime-inspired garb storm through mind of the troubled Babydoll, battling dragons, orcs, and samurai. On paper it sounds pretty amazing: sexy young actresses, plenty of firearms, the directing of Zack Snyder, wild nightmare action sequences, and a minimum amount of leather inspired clothing. In small doses, say in trailers and commercial spots, the film looks amazing. Fast paced action, again the sexy ladies, and amazing, lush digital sets, brimming with fireballs and bullet hits. Then some slow motion, and some fast motion and some slow motion again. By now you’re probably starting to predict where I’m going. I said it’s amazing in small doses and in paper, but how is it stretched out to two hours?

Visionary director Zack Snyder took some questions about his upcoming Superman movie at a recent press junket for his latest film Sucker Punch and had some interesting things to say about his approach. So far in his career we’ve seen Snyder do a lot of surreal, ultra violent, ultra stylized action stuff. That’s fun and all in its proper context, but it doesn’t explain how it got him the job of making a Superman movie. When asked about what his approach to this film would be, Snyder said, “I feel like, I mean I’ve said to the studio that this will probably be the most realistic Superman movie ever made. It takes place in the real world much more than [my previous films]… I mean, I’ve just never had the subject matter that needed that, you know what I mean? Like everything I’ve done up to this point really has the benefit of existing in a stylized world.” When the project was first being put together, word was that Christopher Nolan was overseeing it and it was going to take a similar approach to the material that he took when making Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. While Nolan is a pretty universally beloved filmmaker, it seemed like the studio was missing the boat. Just because gritty and street level worked for Batman doesn’t mean it’s going to work for Superman. They’re two completely different characters. And once Snyder’s name was attached to the project, it fanned the flames even [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

What is Movie News After Dark? This is a question that I am almost never asked, but I will answer it for you anyway. Movie News After Dark is FSR’s late-night secretion, a column dedicated to all of the news stories that slip past our daytime editorial staff and make it into my curiously chubby RSS ‘flagged’ box. It will (but is not guaranteed to) include relevant movie news, links to insightful commentary and other film-related shenanigans. I may also throw in a link to something TV-related here or there. It will also serve as my place of record for being both charming and sharp-witted, but most likely I will be neither of the two. I write this stuff late at night, what do you expect?

It’s unclear what sort of dance class these young women are attending, but the standard dress code seems to be whatever they can find at Frederick’s of Hollywood. Maybe it’s a stripper fitness thing. What has been clear, especially from the trailers, is that Zack Snyder wanted to send his Sucker Punch actors out into the robot and dragon-infested wastelands wearing very, very little, and these pictures want to prove that there’s even less they can wear and no fetish they can’t tackle. It’s enough to make Brad over at Rope of Silicon question the sheer amount of dirty old men that will be in the back of the theater opening night.

Warner Bros. has announced the second bit of casting news for their upcoming reboot of the Superman franchise via press release. First they announced that the relatively unknown Henry Cavill was cast as Clark Kent, and now comes the news that veteran screen hotty Diane Lane has signed on to play his mother Martha. That’s right; Diane Lane is playing Clark Kent’s kindly old farmhouse mother. I never thought I would say this, but I can’t wait to oogle Superman’s mom in some patented Zack Snyder slo-mo. Immediately I’m picturing a sequence where a pie is taken out of an oven, a finger dips in for a test, and then some piping hot pie filling is sucked off. Slowly. Probably Clark will fly in through the kitchen window at this point and the rush of wind will cause her hair to blow around. Slowly. Snyder states in the press release, “This was a very important piece of casting for me because Martha Kent is the woman whose values helped shape the man we know as Superman. We are thrilled to have Diane in the role because she can convey the wisdom and the wonder of a woman whose son has powers beyond her imagination.” Values and wisdom? Has he seen Unfaithful? But in all seriousness, Lane is a great actress and I’m sure she’ll do well with the part. I’m excited to see that this take on Superman is drawing an A-lister. That’s a good sign, and it does nothing [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Zack Snyder has been a busy beaver ever since he made 300. That film, an adaptation of a graphic novel by Frank Miller, was able to cross over and hit both the comic book nerd and the frat boy demographics in a way that nothing else ever has, thus creating a perfect storm of young male disposable income going into studio pockets. Execs were so pleased with what Snyder did on the project that his follow up film Watchmen was heavily billed in its advertisements as coming “from visionary director Zack Snyder”. That’s right, three films in and the man had not only hit director’s name in the voice over status, he also got a really cool adjective attached to his name. But today it seems like the upward trajectory of Snyder’s career might have hit a momentary snag. Vulture claims to have inside knowledge that the upcoming sequel to 300, Xerxes has been taken out of Snyder’s hands. This is largely because they need him to focus on his upcoming Superman film. You see, due to a historically long lawsuit between the people currently schlepping Superman product and the estates of Superman’s creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Warner Bros. only has until 2013 to get a Superman movie out before they lose the rights to key elements of the franchise. Rumors abound that Snyder’s upcoming film is suffering from some serious script problems; more specifically that it doesn’t have much of a third act. Speculation is that the [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Now that Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman film has found it’s Clark Kent, it only makes sense that they would begin testing for a Lois Lane that works well with him on screen. What’s Playing got the ball rolling by releasing a list of names that were in the running. The list included Kristen Stewart, Malin Akerman, Dianna Agron, Jessica Biel, and Rachel McAdams. The speculation began. Which of these girls has the right mix of brunette and feisty to pull the part off? Stewart was taken off the list pretty early, mainly due to having too many commitments, but probably also do to a complete lack of feistiness. Akerman was dismissed as being too old for the role, because that last Superman movie worked so well with casting high school kids as decades seasoned reporters with a six year old kid. So that left the choice as being between Rachel McAdams, Jessica Biel, and some girl I’ve never heard of. Decisions, decisions.

Mixed-up hip-hop lyrics aside, Henry Cavill (who you may remember from The Tudors, Stardust, and Tristan + Isolde) has scored the highly coveted role of Clark Kent who (spoiler alert) is Superman. Superman: Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder, now has its star. The positives are clear: he’s a young actor who’s just well known enough to be recognizable, but not nearly well known enough to overshadow the role with his stardom. Plus, he’s just about as square-jawed as they come. The negatives are really just questions. He does a strong job as Charles Brandon on The Tudors, but it’s a radically different role from Supes. It’s unclear what kind of job he’ll do, but he clearly showed something to the casting team, and he’ll be surrounded by the Warners machine, Snyder, and Christopher Nolan. Not a bad group to have in your huddle. Thus, Jon Hamm has been passed over for the role and a 27-year-old will be playing an ace reporter that’s risen through the ranks in the big city. Also, Nicolas Cage will yet again not be playing Superman. Rejoice and lament in equal measure. [Deadline Missionville]

As the only literate Reject, it’s my duty to find the latest, the greatest and the untouched classics that would make great source material for film adaptations. I read so you don’t have to. One thing has become clear in the past week. Despite the comic book movie news flowing fast and furiously, the heroes were all familiar faces. The studios investing the most in bringing comic books to life have lost the plot a bit when it comes to the next few years of heroes to cultivate. Marvel tapping Black Panther is a nice start, but the studios are going to need to find alternate comic books to adapt in order to bring new life to the genre and surprise the fans who think seeing Spider-Man again will be fun but unnecessary. This week, we’ll look at the story of a family of lions in a time of war that remind us that there is no freedom that isn’t earned.

First there was a teaser, and then there was the report from Comic Con. Now, there’s the first full length trailer for Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch – a movie about several young women who escape the oppressive world of their juvenile home through the power of fantasy. Imagine Girl, Interrupted if there were dragons and robot ninja armies to battle. The rich visuals continue to impress, as does the action, and it looks like the story may deliver the kind of mental journey that fans appreciated from Inception earlier in the year. Plus, there’s Carla Gugino with a Balkan accent. Polish your glasses or contacts or your eyeballs directly, and enjoy:

After minutes of speculation, it looks like Warners may have settled on the director of steel to take on Superman. Zack Snyder is an unsurprising name considering his working relationship with the studio and his position as a hit maker (particularly among the comic book world). However, they might need to rethink that “faster than a bullet” thing. [Deadline Topeka]

Fantastic Fest. Perhaps one of the busiest times of the year here on Film School Rejects. In which we cover a bunch of films from around the world, all of which are more likely to fade into the ether before they ever make it to your local cineplex. In fact, so many of the films that we’ve reviewed (with more to come) here in Austin won’t see distribution at all. It’s sad, but true. However, that won’t deter us from covering Fantastic Fest every single year. Why? Because it’s an amazing festival — perhaps the most unique and fan-driven in the entire world — and we’ve got a passion for these movies. The best of them are more than worth the time and effort it will take for you to seek them out. Trust us, we know what we’re talking about. Especially that Rob Hunter guy… And so begins the story of The Week That Was here on FSR….

Zack Snyder has made a talking animal film. You’ve seen them before; some have resulted in catastrophic results and others failed at being cinematic and were stuck at simply being cartoons. Snyder knew the trickiness involved with making such a concept work, but he managed to do it. This is a serious adventure film. Yes, there are the owl jokes, but tonally it’s surprisingly dark and similar to those 80′s kids movies (Labyrinth, Gremlins, etc.) that made you feel both excitement and fright. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is and isn’t what you expect from a Snyder film. It isn’t in a sense that it doesn’t have many body parts flying off or glorious amounts of blood. Where it is similar is in most aspects: it’s epic in scope, nearly every shot is a money shot, and the action has got Snyder’s stamp all over it. I recently spoke with Snyder about the world of animated owls, Terminator references, and why Toy Story isn’t for kids.

The Superman movie Warners is contractually obligated to make by 2012 is still a ways off, but now that Christopher Nolan is involved, there’s even more attention being paid to it. That attention turned this week to the possible directors in line to take on the famous superhero – Tony Scott, Matt Reeves, Zack Snyder, Duncan Jones and Jonathan Liesbesman. Some are denying they know anything about it, some are saying they’ve already turned it down, and none of them are dressing up as Superman and running around their offices pretending to fly. That’s all well and good, but there are some pros and some cons to these names.

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr is coming at you in eye-popping 3D, and like money, he doesn’t sleep. He sets his time machine way way way back to 2002 to pick on Kristen Bell in high school. The story is loosely chronicled in You Again. Kevin also practices some insider trading with Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps then takes flight with a bunch of CGI owls from Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole