Bill Paxton has died at the age of 61 due to complications from surgery, according to a report by PEOPLE.
“It is with heavy hearts we share the news that Bill Paxton has passed away due to complications from surgery,” a family representative said in a statement. “A loving husband and father, Bill began his career in Hollywood working on films in the art department and went on to have an illustrious career spanning four decades as a beloved and prolific actor and filmmaker. Bill’s passion for the arts was felt by all who knew him, and his warmth and tireless energy were undeniable. We ask to please respect the family’s wish for privacy as they mourn the loss of their adored husband and father.”
In the nerd community, Paxton is most famous for his roles in The Terminator, Weird Science, Aliens, Predator 2, Tombstone, True Lies, Twister, Edge of Tomorrow, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
As the premiere of the season five draws near, the journey through the full series of Samurai Jack continues into the second season. Was it a strong follow up to the first or does it pale in comparison?
Story
The interesting aspect of the second season of Samurai Jack is how uneven it is. Despite having episodes with great action and deep storytelling a quarter of the season were episodes more comedic in tone. In comparison this season only gave us two perfect episodes compared to the first season which was had at least four. There is a definite dip in quality this season.
The season isn’t bad though. It’s just the majority of the season comes off as good more than excellent. The season gave us Jack and the Spartans, one of the best episodes of the entire series. Debuting before the 300 movie, it presents a tone and atmosphere which at times puts the live action to shame. It feels like the movie’s creators may have taken inspiration from the episode when they were making the film. Can anyone confirm whether or not Zack Snyder saw this episode or not.
Unfortunately, the lighter episodes do start to drag the series down a bit. An episodes entitled, Jack and his Sandals was dedicated to Jack trying to find a new set of footwear after his sandals are destroyed. It does have some a uplifting moment at the end but it still feels like you watched an entire episode for just one good moment.
As for the three best of the season, Jack and the Spartans is lock as one. One is Jack remembers the past, where Jack reflects on growing up before Aku took his family away and features a cameo by Lone Wolf and Cub. The other is Jack and the Ultrabots, as Jack finds he must upgrade if he wants to be able to take down a threat specifically designed to defeat him.
Art
A lot of less than stellar character designs and backgrounds compared to the first season. More fantastic alien characters like the hunters or Demongo are very striking, but the episodes which didn’t feature such moments seemed to have less detail brought to it. The design of the Scotman’s wife for example seems done entirely for the joke of her being loud and overweight. Again, Jack and the Spartans though almost makes up any negative criticisms on the detail work. Almost is the keyword there.
Music
Much like the art, when the episodes were intended to be more action oriented, more effort was apparent. Not to beat a dead horse but the Jack and the Spartans episode featured music which seemed like it could have been sampled for the live action movie. The more humorous episode like Jack is Naked, used sound effects more heavily and had a less than impactful feel to it.
Conclusion
The journey of Jack continues to be one of great action and beautiful landscapes. Unfortunately, episodes like Jack and The Farting dragon throws off the idea of the series being without a bad episode. There is nothing wrong with episode which are more comical in tone but they still have to be enjoyable. The show became vulnerable and showed it’s flaws this season but didn’t disappoint in entertaining and leaving some lasting impressions.
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What are some of your favorite memories from Samurai Jack season one? Leave a comment below and let us know.
This is Part Four of the Monkey Fighting Robots’ Oscar Predictions for the 89th Academy Awards: Best Score, Song, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing. My prediction system uses 25 years of data from awards and critics to try predict who the likely winners will be. Come Sunday, we’ll see how well it works. Make sure to check back after the Oscars to see if you beat the system!
Best Score:La La Land
Very unlikely: Jackie
The musical will win best score. Go figure.
Best Song: “City of Stars” La La Land
It’s a safe assumption that the musical will win Best Song, so the question becomes which one? “City of Stars” won the Golden Globe and the Critic’s Choice, so that’s where the statue is headed.
Best Sound Mixing:Arrival
Could be: Hacksaw Ridge
Less likely: La La Land
The system was fairly stumped on this one. The BAFTA, Satellite, and Cinema Audio Society Awards are good predictors for sound mixing, but this year is unique: Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge, and La La Land split them, which has not been done in the last 25 years. So frankly, who knows. The BAFTA carries the most weight here, so Arrival is as good a choice as any.
Best Sound Editing:Hacksaw Ridge
Most Likely: Arrival
The system picked Arrival for this one because of its BAFTA win, but I’m must disagree. There have only been three films in the last 25 years to win the Golden Reel awards for both sound effects and dialogue: Letters from Iwo Jima, Titanic, and Crimson Tide. Only Crimson Tide lost the Oscar, and that was in 1995. Hacksaw will be taking the stage on Sunday.
Want to see more predictions? Check out Part 1, 2, 3, and 5 of our predictions here!
What are your thoughts on the 89th Academy Awards? Comment below.
BBC America released a trailer today for the upcoming tenth season of Doctor Who featuring new companion Bill — played by Pearl Mackie — and her understanding of the Doctor.
As always in the new series, the key detail about the Time Lord is this: “He says he’s a man of peace, but he walks in war.” It appears that dichotomy within the character will continued to be explored in the new season even as lead actor Peter Capaldi and showrunner Steven Moffat prepare the series for a new Doctor and a new head writer.
Meanwhile, Bill’s trepidation that the Doctor might be the “most dangerous man in the universe,” has not stopped her from joining Nardole as the latest in a long line of traveling companions.
“I’m having the time of my life,” she says late in the trailer, “and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” A sentiment fans of the series will no doubt sympathize with. But will she continue to travel with him when he regenerates at the end of the year?
Doctor Who‘s tenth season debuts on BBC America on April 15th.
This is Part Three of the Monkey Fighting Robots’ Oscar Predictions for the 89th Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects, Production Design, Costume Design, and Makeup and Hairstyling. My prediction system uses 25 years of data from awards and critics to try predict who the likely winners will be. Come Sunday, we’ll see how well it works. Make sure to check back after the Oscars to see if you beat the system!
Best Visual Effects:The Jungle Book
I believe that Star Wars movies should win every Oscar there is. Luckily, the system is less biased. Considering it won the Visual Effects Society, BAFTA, and Critic’s Choice awards, Jungle Book going to take it.
Best Production Design:Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Close Second: Passengers
This category is hard to pick. There’s very few companion awards, and most are fairly new. I would lean toward Passengers, given that it’s more “Oscar-ly,” but the system says it’s Beasts, so I’ll trust it.
Best Costume Design:Jackie
Unlikely: La La Land
La La Land won the Costume Designers Guild award, which is a plus. However, the BAFTA and the Critic’s Choice went to Jackie, so the Oscar is probably going there too.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling:Suicide Squad
Who would’ve ever guessed that Suicide Squad would be up for an Oscar? Nonetheless, most awards related to makeup went to Jackie, which isn’t nominated. So, I have to go off the the Make-Up Artists & Hairstylists Guild pick, and give the DCEU an Oscar win.
Want to see more predictions? Check out Part 1, 2, 4, and 5 of our predictions here!
What are your thoughts on the 89th Academy Awards? Comment below.
The official Hot Toys Facebook page has released a first look at a new Rocket Racoon figure from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Check out some photos of it below.
To see the full gallery of images, head over the the Facebook page.
What are your thoughts on this new figure? If you’re a Hot Toys collector, will you be picking this up? Comment below!
“Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits theaters on May 5.
It’s been rumored that the next phase in the X-Men franchise plans to re-do the Dark Pheonix saga, and with reports that Simon Kinberg is in talks to direct the next picture, the internet has since put two and two together. However, Kinberg actually commented on the possibility of him directing the film, as well as the Dark Phoenix rumors themselves.
I’m a huge fan of The Dark Phoenix story, and I felt like there was a lot that we didn’t do in X-Men: The Last Stand, which was based on the Phoenix story. [Things] that if we were so lucky to get another chance, we would do differently. I’ve been around movies of this scale for over a decade now. The first movie I ever worked on was Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It’s five X-Men movies in, and there’s The Martian. I’ve been around big movies. To me, what would be new about directing would be having more creative control than I do, as I did as a writer, and even as I do as a writer-producer.
What do you make of his comments? Could we see Kinberg direct a Dark Phoenix X-Men movie in the near future? Comment your predictions below!
The next X-Men film has no release date. Logan, which is set in the same universe, hits theaters on March 3.
This is Part Five of the Monkey Fighting Robots’ Oscar Predictions for the 89th Academy Awards: Best Documentary, Foreign Language Film, Documentary Short, Live Action Short, and Animated Short. My prediction system uses 25 years of data from awards and critics to try predict who the likely winners will be. Come Sunday, we’ll see how well it works. Make sure to check back after the Oscars to see if you beat the system!
Best Documentary:O.J.: Made in America
It has won every single predictive award, in a category that rarely agrees on when a film even counts for consideration. This is a shoe-in.
Best Foreign Language Film:The Salesman
The system basically crapped out on this one, since only one of the predictive awards picked any of the current nominees: the National Board of Review went for the The Salesman. More importantly, the director, Asghar Farhadi, is skipping the Oscars in protest of the travel ban issued by President Trump. The Academy may not be able to pass up the chance to hand Farhadi the win.
Best Documentary Short: White Helmets
The next three categories don’t have enough predictive awards to actually run through the system, so these are just coming off the cuff. White Helmets seems the most likely, considering it has had the most exposure and has already been picked up for a full feature adaptation.
Best Live Action Short:Ennemis Interieurs
This is an intimate look at France dealing with its colonial past by zooming in on a French-Algerian man during an interview in a police station. If that doesn’t say Oscar, I don’t know what does.
Best Animated Short:Piper
Pixar hasn’t won this category since 2001, so it has been a long time coming. Piper is gorgeously animated, and follows such a cute little story, it feels impossible to dislike.
Want to see more predictions? Check out Part 1, 2, 3, and 4 of our predictions here!
What are your thoughts on the 89th Academy Awards? Comment below.
IGN talked to Iron Fist actor Finn Jones about the dynamic between his character and Luke Cage in The Defenders.
“It feels effortless. I kind of feel when you’ve got a duo like this — which is so hyped up by the fans — there’s a worry that it may be too oversold and you may be kind of trying too hard to create that connection — that spark. But actually, between me and Mike [Colter], we get on really well. There’s a really great energy between the two of us actors. He’s so much fun. But then also, as the characters and the way the scenes are written, it’s really interesting the way they are doing it and it’s a real slow build and it feels very real and dynamic and honest. Some of the scenes in The Defenders with Mike have been my favorite so far.”
If you were to ask me, I’d bet on the fact that we’ll be seeing the “Heroes For Hire” team up in future Marvel Cinematic Universe properties. The Defenders is simply opening the door for bigger things to come.
What are your thoughts on Jones’ comments? Comment below!
Iron Fist hits Netflix on March 17, with The Defenders landing on the streaming service at some point in the summer.
Iron Fist:
“Returning to New York City after being missing for years, Daniel Rand fights against the criminal element corrupting New York City with his incredible kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the awesome power of the fiery Iron Fist.”
The Defenders:
“Marvel’s The Defenders” follows Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. A quartet of singular heroes with one common goal – to save New York City. This is the story of four solitary figures, burdened with their own personal challenges, who realize they just might be stronger when teamed together.
The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Cress Williams, who is known for his role in Prison Break and Hart of Dixie, is set to play Black Lightning in the upcoming DC show by the same name.
The outlet said this about the project:
“The drama, originally developed at Fox but ordered to pilot at CW, revolves around Jefferson Pierce (Williams), who made a choice to hang up his suit and his secret identity years ago, but with a daughter hell-bent on justice and 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.”
What are your thoughts on this casting news? Are you looking forward to Black Lightning? Comment below!
Salim Akil and Mara Brock Akil are writing the show’s script, with Greg Berlanti acting as the showrunner.
