Chris Pratt was recently a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and debuted the final trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Check it out:
Refreshingly we don’t get a lot of plot, but we do get plenty of attitude, and of course motherf@cking Kurt Russell there at the end!
What did you guys think? Comment and discuss below.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is written and directed by James Gunn (Slither). The film stars Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) as Peter Quill/Star-Lord; Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora; Dave Bautista (Spectre) as Drax; Vin Diesel (Furious 7) as the voice of Groot; Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) as the voice of Rocket; Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead) as Yondu; Karen Gillan (The Big Short) as Nebula; and Sean Gunn (Gilmore Girls) as Kraglin. Newcomers to the cast include Pom Klementieff (Oldboy), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, Everest), Chris Sullivan (The Knick, The Drop) and the legendary Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight, The Thing).
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is due out in theaters May 5, 2017.
When comparing Jordan Peele’s Get Out with any other horror film, race and specifically the subjective race of the reviewer should at least be addressed if a contrarian point of view is presented. I really Loved Get Out and that’s not contrarian. It is a standard societal warning tale while also being a pitch perfect comedy that lays bare all the machinations that allow a horror film to operate.
What’s probably contrarian is that this film plays at a level about 1/2 the speed of Drew Goddard’s 2012 masterpiece, The Cabin in the Woods. Get Out is a microcosm on a monitor within the universe of The Cabin in the Woods and that’s not a bad thing.
For those of you who don’t remember, The Cabin in the Woods is a deconstructionist horror film which took all the tropes standard to the genre and flipped them on their ends. We got the perspective of why the blondes are dumb in scary scenarios. We understood why the dumb jock who takes charge gets shit wrong. We learned why screwing in the woods is forbidden. In Get Out, we were taught just why the treatment of black people in these certain situations is fucked up.
Get Out and The Cabin in the Woods share such a common DNA that it’s head-scratching to try to understand why the former is performing so amazingly while the latter had an abysmal theatrical run. Firstly, we weren’t prepared for this sort of societal, burn-it-all-down horror in 2012. Blumhouse, which produced Get Out, released Sinister in 2012, a much more standard Conjuring-esque tale that put the production company on the map. That movie was a far cry from today’s socially aware scare flicks, being more a composition of Paranormal Activity and The Amityville Horror.
In 2017, we’re primed and ready for the sort of horror that Jordan Peele is putting out. There’s a reason why that name is so important to this conversation, too. Jordan Peele is a member of the millennial/online community like Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard are not. What Peele lacks in directorial/writing perfection (and don’t get me wrong, his structuring and compositions are top-notch), he makes up for in audience awareness. Everyone of a certain age knows Key & Peele and all the millennial white kids in my screening were talking about how he was able to make this transition before the film started.
What stands out, to me, is that Jordan Peele knows exactly where horror needs to go in the future. He understands what audiences want and knows how to smartly give it to them. Peele also clearly believes in the moving image as his canvas and his directorial career will probably brightly outshine everything else he’ll do. There’s not much higher praise than that.
Except that The Cabin in the Woods did it first, better and with Bradley Whitford.
The Walking Dead is one of the most popular shows on TV, that’s a given. Even after a period of slow burn storytelling, it’s still one of the highest rated shows out there. In a conversation I had recently I thought about this, The Walking Dead is now TV Establishment. It’s a show that is now so entrenched in the television landscape that it isn’t going anywhere. For anyone that complains about the slow storytelling and so forth, it’s now a show that’s firmly established. The series is now one that’s been through so much that it has proven it can stand the test of time. Now you’re probably already thinking, “Why is The Walking Dead now TV Establishment?” well let’s hash this out a bit more. Let the Wesvolution begin!
The Walking Dead is the sort of series that fits perfectly in the TV Establishment.
Now with TV the best way to know a show is now entrenched in our world is what influence it has. For one thing, it has ratings and killer ratings at that. Even when the show lost ratings, it still did powerful numbers on Sunday nights. It is also an influencer in how AMC programs their lineup with Talking Dead and the spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead. Considering that AMC has had a rough time finding any series with the legs this series has, you could say zombies rule the AMC roost. The Walking Dead has become a powerhouse in the TV landscape. When the series is one of the highest rated shows of 2016, even with a ratings drop, that’s saying something. This show is a force to be reckoned with.
I call The Walking Dead part of the TV Establishment because the ratings alone prove it has earned its place there. Now creatively, that’s something to detail in itself. Season Seven has been a slog and a half yet even with that ratings drop, it’s still going strong. When you become part of the TV Establishment, it is tough to get knocked down. Once you are there, you are there and you will likely stay there. At this stage of the game unless something seriously bad happens, it’s going to easily be on TV for ten seasons. It’s interesting to think about too, from popular comic to a bigger than life TV series. Love it or hate it, The Walking Dead is a part of the TV Establishment for a long time to come.
I remember back when The Walking Dead began and no one knew what to make of it. Now look how far it has come my friends. That is crazy.
Now I open up the conversation to you all in the Monkeys Fighting Robots Universe. What do you all think of The Walking Dead? Do you like it as much as you did back in the day? Do you think the series is too big to fail at this point? Feel free to make your voice heard in the comment section below. Till next time, The Wesvolution will not be televised.
Ridley Scott Isn’t Playing Around With Alien: Covenant!
Feast your eyes on the first “official” first look at the newest film in the Alien franchise! Ridley Scott follows up his polarizing film Prometheus with this year’s ‘Alien: Convenant‘.
The cast includes Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride, and many more. Fassbender returns after his role in ‘Prometheus‘.
The film is set to be released May 19, 2017 in the United States.
“The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.”
What do you think? Will you be seeing this film when it comes out?
The 90s were an interesting decade. Technology changed rapidly, Reagan got traded for Clinton with a brief stop at Bush. The economy grew and music went grunge. And the 90s had it’s share of popular television shows. Some of them, like The X-Files or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, have remained part of pop culture. But then there are many forgotten sci-fi shows, like these:
5Earth 2 (1994-1995)
Set in 2192, Earth 2 took place in a world where most humans live in space stations, as the Earth itself can’t support life. Children are growing sick from an unknown and unacknowledged disease that seems to be caused by not living on Earth. So Devon Adair, over the objections of the Council, leads a group of colonists to another world. But the planet isn’t uninhabited, nor is the Council done with them.
Notable for having a female lead, Earth 2 explored many political and ethical themes against the backdrop of colonization. Unfortunately, it also quickly lost the interest of viewers and was cancelled after only one season.
4The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993-1994)
The titular Brisco County, Jr (played by the always amazing Bruce Campbell) is a Harvard lawyer turned bounty hunter, seeking revenge and trying to discover the secrets of the mysterious Orb. Along the way he encounters and joins forces with other bounty hunters, lawyers and inventors.
Set in an 1893 steampunk old west, Brisco County, Jr enjoyed fast-paced humor and genre-mashing action. This one too, lasted only one season, but was well loved by those who watched it.
3Sliders (1995-2000)
This show was similar to the better-known Quantum Leap. In the first episode the lead, Quinn, discovers a way to move between dimensions. After the first jump they lose the ability to return to Earth Prime and so must travel from dimension to dimension, trying to go home. In the beginning the show focused more on alternate history, however in the later seasons it switched networks, lost most of the main cast, and became more action oriented.
Fox aired episodes out of order (as happened later with Firefly), leading to continuity issues. The Sci Fi Channel produced the last two seasons, and the show itself ends on a cliffhanger.
2Seaquest DSV (1993-1996)
In 2018, the United Earth Oceans Organization launches Seaquest DSV, a sophisticated new submarine. Captain Nathan Bridger (Roy Scheider) reluctantly takes command. The show followed the adventures of captain and crew as they protect underwater colonies, explore the ocean, and face unexpected threats.
Seaquest started off as mostly science based, with noted oceanographer Robert Ballard providing information at the end of every show. Then the network decided to bring in a younger crew for the second season, introduced aliens, and angered much of the original cast. The third season tried a name change and a ten year time skip, but it wasn’t enough to prevent cancellation mid-season.
1Babylon 5 (1993-1998)
The best remembered show of any on this list is likely Babylon 5. Ambitiously and meticulously planned across 5 seasons, the show followed the interactions between humans and other species on the titular station as they negotiate a complicated world.
With cutting-edge special effects, the show was almost ahead of it’s time. The world of Babylon 5 is anything but black and white. The show didn’t shy away from topics like religion, war, peace, or hard ethical dilemmas. J. Michael Straczynski guided the show closely and wrote nearly all the episodes.
What other forgotten sci-fi shows from the 90s did we miss? Do you remember these shows? Leave a comment below!
Have you been itching for more Sword Art Online? Well, rejoice all SOA fans. Sword Art Online: The Movie: Ordinal Scale is coming to theaters for a special one night only event. Presented by Fathom Events, the film will be out on Thursday March 9th at participating theaters.
The movie is set after the events of Mother’s Rosario storyline. Kirito and Asuna have begun playing a new game called Ordinal Scale. The draw of the game is its use of augmented reality to make the action come alive. Unfortunately, they soon find something is wrong, a mysterious force is pulling the strings, and it all ties back to their time in Sword Art Online. Will the pair be able to figure out the mystery before its too late?
The popularity of this anime franchise can’t be ignored. It has garnished enough popularity for the original light novels and several games to be release in American. The light novels sold an impressive amount of copies to the point they appeared several times on Manga section of the New York Times bestsellers list. The entire TV anime can be seen at Crunchyroll just in case you need to play catch up before checking out the movie.
Criticism about the series has been mixed. Many feel the first arc of the first season was the best and the anime hasn’t been able to achieve such greatness since. Despite such harsh criticisms, one of the main draws is the romance between Kirito and Asuna, who have experienced many twists and turns in relationship. The couple even came in at number one on Watchmojo.com’s Top 10 Anime Romances list.
Are you looking forward to the next installment of Sword Art Online and plan on checking out the film? Leave a comment below and let us know.
As Marvel television news continues to roll in, the company announced the lead today in their upcoming Inhumans series. Anson Mount, lead actor from Hell On Wheels, will again tackle a starring role as Black Bolt, according to Deadline.
A Different Kind of Crown: King Black Bolt
Black Bolt and his brother Maximus (Iwan Rheon) rule the Inhumans; a group introduced to the Marvel TV universe in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. While each inhuman has remarkable powers, some are more dangerous and harder to control than others. For instance, Black Bolt’s voice has destructive powers which force him to communicate non-verbally and train his mind so that he remains silent even while he sleeps. Inhumans tells the story of the royal family which includes Black Bolt and Maximus. The production team, however, is confident in Mount’s abilities to make this silent role impossible to ignore.
Anson Mount as Cullen Bohannon in “Hell on Wheels”Executive producer and head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb believes Mount is a natural to tackle the unique challenges of playing the Inhuman ruler. “His enthusiasm mixed with his imposing almost regal persona made it easy to see why he is our Black Bolt.” Showrunner Scott Buck echoed Loeb’s sentiments, stating: “Black Bolt is a character whose deep complexity must be conveyed without uttering a single word, and I’m very excited to have Anson on board to bring him to life.”
Based on characters from Marvel comics, Inhumans will release in IMAX theatres next September. After the two-episode, big screen premiere, the show will continue on ABC network. The show will either join or replace Marvel’s current network series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where the Inhumans story line was introduced in season two. Inhumans stars Anson Mount and Iwan Rheon. Episodes one and two are directed by Roel Reine.
Following rumors that Emma Stone might feature as Batgirl in the DC Extended Universe, comic book artist Kode (a.k.a. BossLogic) has shared new artwork showing the recent Oscar winner suited up via Twitter.
Stone, who added the Academy Award for Best Actress to her armory this weekend, is no stranger to the world of comics having played Gwen Stacy in the Spiderman franchise alongside ex-boyfriend Andrew Garfield. Fans have been lobbying for the La La Land star to appear as Batgirl since 2010 and with several DCEU films slated to land in the coming years, there would be plenty of opportunities for a Batgirl debut. These include the Harley-Quinn-led Gotham City Sirens and recently announced Nightwing.
While her casting remains a rumor, for now, the artwork from BossLogic is a welcome appetizer for what may or may not be coming our way. Two images were shared, one showing the La La Land star without the famous Bat-like cowl, the other with the mask in place.
Emma Stone – Batgirl, even tho I want her to play this I would still love for her to be in the marvel universe with @brielarson 😀 pic.twitter.com/UuJeKNHwIq
The caption mentions Brie Larson, who shot to fame following her Academy Award-winning role in Room, who will feature as Carol Danvers (a.k.a. Captain Marvel) in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and standalone Captain Marvel (2019).
If you look closely, you can see that the artist added some graffiti to the background of the drawing which says: “I started a joke. Ha ha ha ha”. While this particular rumor is considered unlikely to be confirmed, fans wait in feverish anticipation for news of Emma Stone’s re-entry into the comic book universe.
Stone’s next big role is the titular character in Disney’s live-action Cruella directed by Alex Timbers, written by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada) and Jez Butterworth (Spectre, Black Mass), slated for 2018 release.
What do you think of these rumors? If Stone were to join Brie Larson in the MCU, who would she play? Let us know in the comments.
The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW) Are Coming To Netflix!
Netflix finally releases the debut date of one of their most anticipated projects. ‘GLOW‘, the comedy about female wrestling in the 80’s, will premiere on June 23rd! All 10-episodes of the first season are going to be released that day.
Allison Brie from NBC’s ‘Community‘ will star in the show. It’s based on the infamous 1980’s female wrestling league called The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling created by David McLane. The wrestling show featured comedy sketches, colorful characters, and seasons that ran like a normal television show. It was a clear attempt to be vastly different than WWE. It seems like a precursor to current wrestling show ‘Lucha Underground‘, which also will debut on Netflix in the coming months.
What do you think of the series? Will you be checking it out on June 23rd?
Let me know in the comments below!
“The series will tell a new fictional story, set in the ’80s, of an actress (Brie) who uses the promotion and pro wrestling as her last-ditch attempt to become a star. Comedian Marc Maron will be playing the role of Sam Sylvia, “a washed-up Hollywood director who has a very complicated history with women”, a character that appears to be inspired by real-life Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling director Matt Cimber. Former WWE and TNA star Kia “Awesome Kong” Stevens is part of the cast, alongside Britt Baron, Jackie Tohn, Kimmy Gatewood, Rebekka Johnson, Kate Nash and Sunita Mani. Chavo Guerrero Jr. worked on coordinating the wrestling scenes for the series.”
Trekkies the world over have been waiting impatiently for nearly twelve years now for a new episode from their favourite franchise. Based on early rumours that put Star Trek Discovery‘s premiere in May of 2017, it seemed as if the long wait would end almost twelve years to the day — Star Trek: Enterprise‘s series finale “These Are the Voyages … ” aired on May 13th, 2005. Sadly, this will not be the case. Like Data’s severed head sitting in a cavern for 500 years, we must wait.
Star Trek Discovery: Les Moonves, More Star Trek
According to an article on deadline.com, Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO of CBS Les Moonves, whom you’d think would know, stated quite vaguely that Star Trek Discovery would air “sometime late summer, early fall we’re looking at probably right now.” Well, that’s reassuring.
Moonves assured reporters at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference that the premiere date was postponed (again) because “It’s important to get it right, and Star Trek is the family jewels.” Hmmm … not sure that’s how I’d describe Star Trek.
Star Trek Discovery: Castrating the Networks
Moonves went on to say, “We’re not going to rush it in. There’s a lot of post production. But I’m very confident based on what I’ve seen so far.” Before he was through, though, Moonves surprised and enraged some die-hard Trekkies when he said, “We know for a fact that the other versions of Star Trek — there were seven other series, some of them were great and some of them were terrible — they all did really well on Netflix. That gave us great confidence that this was the right choice to put the full court press on All Access.”
“I don’t agree with its command style, but I can’t argue with its results!”
I suggest that Moonves surprised Trekkies because there have, in fact, only been six other series on top of forthcoming Star Trek Discovery. I suggest that Moonves enraged Trekkies because I doubt that many Trek fans think any of the other six series were “terrible.” Even Star Trek: The Animated Series has its own quaint charm.
If you’re confused as to what “All Access” is, it’s CBS’s new subscription-based streaming service. Startrek.com reports that the series premiere will air on CBS and CBS All Access. But following episodes will only be available in the United States via CBS All Access. Trekkies around the world will be able to watch Star Trek Discovery on Netflix, except in Canada where viewers will have to watch via Cravetv, a Canadian subscription-based streaming service.
Star Trek Discovery: More Casting Announcements
Despite a persistent rumour that Sonequa Martin-Green, most famous as Sasha on AMC’s The Walking Dead, will play a lead role on Star Trek Discovery, there has still yet to be any confirmation of this from CBS or Paramount. As someone who has written articles pertaining to Star Trek Discovery‘s casting announcements in the past, though, I’ve noticed that a resurgence of speculation concerning Martin-Green’s involvement often coincides with an official, and less exciting, casting announcement from CBS.
In that vein, three new casting announcements for Star Trek Discovery were made a little more than two weeks ago. Sam Vartholomeos will play Ensign Connor, Maulik Pancholy will play Dr. Nambue, and Terry Serpico will play Admiral Anderson. Based on the announcement that two out of three of these characters will serve aboard the U.S.S. Shenzhou, which was mentioned on startrek.com in earlier casting announcements, it’s likely that the new show will follow events on this ship rather than following multiple ships in multiple timelines — another rumour circulating about Discovery. But if this is the case, one wonders why publicity shots feature the more aptly named U.S.S. Discovery rather than the U.S.S. Shenzhou.
Star Trek Discovery: Not So Boldly Going
If Moonves is telling the truth about Discovery‘s postponement, and they’re just trying to get it right, then no Trekkie could blame him and the corporations he represents for this postponement. But, if focus groups and corporate interests are distorting whatever message Discovery may have in favour of higher ratings, and this is the reason for Discovery‘s delay then I have concerns. After all, I don’t want anyone to be too rough with my family jewels … sorry, I couldn’t resist.
