Alice Drummond, an actress who is most famous to the pop culture world as the librarian from ‘Ghostbusters,’ died on Wednesday in the Bronx, according to The New York Times. She was 88.
Drummond was a Broadway regular in the 1960s and ’70s then went on to be a successful character actress on film and television.
‘Ghostbusters’ (1984) – Alice the Librarian
‘Awakenings’ (1990) – “If You Were Right, I Would Agree With You”
Alice Drummond, you will be missed.
Greg tells a story about his first winter with Steven.
Greg crashes on the coach because of a blizzard and then starts into another flashback. From there, this episode helps to answer one of the biggest questions which has come from taking the harder look at this series as a critic: Why have the Crystal Gems taken so long to adapt human culture? Why haven’t they tried to understand and learn about the world they live in and fight so hard to protect? It’s only in this episode does it all make sense. It’s not in their nature.
The Gems come from a culture which doesn’t adapt well to change. Rose Quartz and her rebellion was a totally new concept, one they had never seen before which is probably why they were willing to go along with it. Their culture has been exactly the same for countless years. Now compare the Gem culture to Human culture and you’ll find a big discrepancy. Our culture isn’t the same as it was a millennium ago, heck it’s barely the same as it was twenty years ago. With new inventions of technology and improvements in science and medicine, human culture is able to move much faster, on a pace many ever thought possible. Looking at it like this, it’s easy to see why an alien race, even one which had a lot of time on the planet wouldn’t be able to properly understand it all and take it in. Just when you think you have everything properly cataloged and managed, change would keep coming.
Just as the Gems found it hard to understand what baby Steven was and why Rose made the choice she did, it was hard for this critic to understand why characters who hadn’t been around for so long couldn’t adapt. With this new look into the series (on top of the sweet and tender moments this episode provided), one of the biggest puzzling aspects of the show has been solved. Now all fans have to do is wait for the next episode which by the look of it may not come until sometime next year. Still, this one was heartwarming enough to keep everyone happy until more comes.
Just in case everyone forgot what it could do, the episode opens with two reminders of the power of Deadly Queen’s ability, “Bites The Dust.” First it shows the character who died previously dying all over again in an effort to show the events which have already taken place in the time loop cannot be changed. From their, the opening sequence is shown through a rewind feature, much like how in the previous arc they had the titles freeze as Dio activated his “The World” ability. It’s a nice continuation of events and something to look forward to in later arcs as the final bosses are revealed with stronger powers and the season moves towards its ending.
The aspect of being stuck in a time loop can be a dangerous plot device to mess around with. Fans of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya are well aware of this fact as a time loop was used in the season for eight episodes with few details being changed. Here though as audience watches there is a great sense of drama and urgency as the viewers are on the edge of their seats. Hayato tries in vain to find a way to break the loop and save everyone from the effect of Deadly Queen but just seems to come up short. It’s one of the best episodes of the entire arc if not the whole series.
The details of the time loop are carefully mapped out thanks to the commercial break for the episode. With the declaration by Kira of things being unchangeable thanks to his ability, it simply adds to the intensity of watching the episode. The assumptions made in the previous episode have come to pass. More of the cast is dying and if Hayato isn’t able to find a way to break the spell, the final three episodes may filled with nothing but watching our favorite characters die repeatedly.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable is streaming on Crunchyroll.
Mister Mxyzptlk is set to appear in two episodes of The CW’s hit show Supergirl, according to Comicbook.com.
No actor has been cast.
The character is a deep cut that Superman fans will appreciate. Mister Mxyzptlk is more of a pest to Supes rather than an actual villain – his goal is to essentially prove that he’s smarter than the Man of Steel. He comes from the 5th dimension and the only way of sending him back is to get him to say his name backward.
Are you excited to see Mister Mxyzptlk on Supergirl? Let us know in the comments section!
When more information on the character becomes released Monkeys Fighting Robots will have it covered.
Warren Beatty is a Hollywood maverick, and his new film Rules Don’t Apply is proof enough. The Oscar-winner has attempting to make a Howard Hughes biopic for the last 40 years. Now, it is finally seen the light.
Despite some attention over Beatty’s comeback, the movie is tanking at the box office. The plot is intriguing, but the story struggles under its own weight. It begs the question of what went wrong?
Rules Don’t Apply begins in 1964 with a press conference about Howard Hughes. We flashback to Hollywood circa 1958. Aspiring actress Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins) goes to Hollywood with her mother Lucy (Annette Bening) to do a screen test. Their chauffeur is young Frank Forbes (Alden Ehrenreich), who aspires to work in business.
After weeks of waiting, Marla is nervous when the screen test does not happen. During this time, she and Frank grow closer, but their contracts prohibit any relationship with other employees. When she finally meets Hughes, the scene consists of an impromptu dinner and conversation, but it leads to her getting a screen test. Ultimately, Marla and Frank begin a relationship, which they must keep secret.
Meanwhile, Hughes starts to worry about his empire, because some are questioning his mental state. In order to keep everything, he decides to find a woman who’ll agree to marry him. Naturally, this results in Hughes popping the question to Marla. Now, Marla has to make a decision about what she really wants.
Collins does a good job as Marla, who goes from naive to jaded. She also gets to showcase her musical skills by singing a ballad titled “Rules Don’t Apply.” Ehrenreich has some nice scenes showing Frank’s conflicted side. His wrestling with choosing Marla or his long-term girlfriend is one of the prominent subplots.
Beatty’s larger-than-life presence as Hughes hangs over the movie. Indeed, his voice can be heard early on, but he doesn’t appear until half an hour into the film. At 79, Beatty is hardly believable playing a man who is two decades younger than he is. Yet the actor has fun as Hughes, and he’s able to go from eccentric to serious. We don’t get much exploration of what makes him tick, but it is implied his lonely childhood had a hand in shaping who he is.
The rest of the cast does nicely in their roles. Matthew Broderick provides a weary, frantic turn as Levar Mathis. Martin Sheen delivers a subtle performance as Hughes’ right-hand man Noah Dietrich. His decision to quit at the film’s half-way point is saddening to watch, because he has stuck with Hughes through good and bad times. Annette Bening brings a maternal, worried presence as Lucy, and it makes one wish she would appear on the big screen more often.
As a biopic, the movie is fairly accurate to the life of Hughes, but it does take some liberties with the historical record. For instance, Hughes’ near-fatal plane crash moves up from 1944 to 1958. Whereas Martin Scorsese’s film uses this as a set-piece, Beatty has it occur offscreen and cuts to Hughes in hospital. The 1947 Senate hearings are similarly moved to the 1950s. It’s as if Beatty wants to cover the gamut of Hughes’ career.
Where Rules Don’t Apply struggles is deciding what it’s trying to be. At times, the movie feels like a love story, but it veers into a drama at others. As a result, the tone goes from serious to melodramatic to comedic. Beatty forgets the main rule of moviemaking: having a story to tell.
Rules Don’t Apply has some good performances, but these don’t save the plot from its shortcomings. It is unfortunate that Beatty’s film isn’t drawing the masses to the box office. Perhaps he waited too long in bringing the story to life. One can only hope this is not his swan song.
A new promo poster for Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok has landed online and it reveals the first look at Thor and The Hulk in their gladiator costumes.
In the image, the Hulk and Thor are prepared for battle. Thor is wielding two nasty looking swords rather than his iconic hammer, while the Hulk is wearing the Planet Hulk costume, with a gigantic battle hammer and red mohawk helmet.
It certainly looks like this art portrays a scene in the movie, meaning we will most likely get to see Thor and The Hulk fighting side by side in the arena. If anything is made clear looking at this artwork, it’s that Thor: Ragnarok will welcome the comic book aesthetic with open arms. Director Taika Waititi isn’t shying away from putting the helmet on screen or showing the cheesier side of the character.
It’s unfortunate that this first poster for Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok has been leaked online. This seems to be a running problem for the studio as artwork for Spider-Man: Homecoming also leaked a few months ago. Hopefully, the studio will gift fans with a high-resolution version of the image.
Thor: Ragnarok is directed by Taika Waititi and will land in theaters on October 27, 2017. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Cate Blanchett, and Tessa Thompson.
The Walking Dead just set another record for itself, a 4-year ratings low record. ScreenRant via TVLine reports that Episode 6 of Season 7, ‘Swear’ had the lowest rating in four years for the series at 10.9 million viewers. Now 10.9 million viewers is still a great number. Most TV shows out there have a tough time reaching 10.9 million viewers even on their best day. Yet when The Walking Dead is sinking like this, everyone pays attention. Hence why you’ve seen many think pieces on the show in the past few weeks. In turn, now we all wonder, is there something to be concerned about with this?
I even wrote a think piece on the ratings of The Walking Dead in the midst of the increasing run time of the show. There’s only so far you can go right now with this series in the discussion of the show. I still stand by my statement, if the ratings are low for the mid-season finale, then AMC should be concerned. Comic Book pacing and TV pacing are two different beasts. The point the series is at right now is also a point where some readers dropped the book. Negan is going to be around for awhile so if audiences are mixed on Negan, that doesn’t bode well in any case.
Still, the ratings on The Walking Dead are amazing, even if they are lower than normal. These stand alone episodes building the new world of Negan and The Saviors up is a cool idea in theory. The most well-received episode of The Walking Dead thus far as been the episode introducing The Kingdom. The other episodes this season have had mixed reactions at best. You have increasing run times, lower ratings, and this makes Season 7 one that everyone ponders.
Now I leave it to you all out there in the Monkeys Fighting Robots Universe, what do you think about the ratings? What do you think about the show this season? Feel free to let us know in the comment section below. Is Season 7 where the bottom drops out for The Walking Dead? We will find out soon enough.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League will introduce fans to some of the most iconic characters in comics. One of those characters, Aquaman will be portrayed by Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa who certainly looks to be enjoying the character and making the role his own.
In a recent interview, Momoa discussed how he personally connects to Aquaman as a character. Sometimes actors can find it difficult to relate to these extremely powerful beings, but it seems like Momoa found a way to relate to his underwater god.
“How I identify with that is kind of being…a bit of an outcast. You see, he wasn’t really too accepted…I wasn’t too accepted. There weren’t any races where I grew up. There’s no Chinese, no Mexican, no Black. I grew up in Iowa. I graduated with like 100 people…I was born in Hawaii, so I would go see my father…[I] just wasn’t accepted on the local side by some people because I wasn’t raised in Hawaii. I identify as being that outcast and not really fitting into two different worlds.”
Jason Momoa will be introduced to the DC Extended Universe in Justice League before appearing in a solo movie directed by James Wan.
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Justice League opens in theaters on November 17, 2017
Announced at the Game Awards, Marvel revealed that Telltale is making an episodic Guardians of the Galaxy game. The game was a secret project until the reveal at the Game Awards. The first episode of the five-part episodic series is set to be released in 2017. It is going to be a digital release for consoles, PC, and mobile devices, with actual specifics for consoles to be revealed later. There will be a physical release of the game with the first episode on it and includes a season pass to let you download the following four episodes as they are released via online updates. No word on a season pass for the digital release but knowing Telltale, there will be a season pass for that as well. So what more is there to know from here? Read on as to what Marvel and Telltale Games have to say on this subject.
“The energizing blend of humor, emotion, teamwork, and full-on sci-fi action-adventure of the Guardians provides an enormously satisfying space to explore through Telltale’s unique style of interactive storytelling,” said Kevin Bruner, Co-Founder and CEO of Telltale Games. “In Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, players will take on multiple roles within the ragtag band of heroes, and take the pilot’s seat in directing their escapades around the universe. We are always honored to be working with the best creative partners and storytellers in entertainment, and working with Marvel on this series leaves us excited to share what we’ve been developing when it premieres in 2017.”
“With story at the core of everything that Marvel creates, who better to team with than master storytellers Telltale Games,” said Jay Ong, Senior Vice President, Games & Innovation, Marvel Entertainment. “Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series fully showcases Marvel and Telltale’s rich legacy of storytelling, and fans will find themselves immersed in an original, character-driven narrative. As part of our strategy to establish a new standard for Marvel games, this is certainly among the great titles to come.”
So after learning what Marvel and Telltale Games have to say on this, how do you feel about this game? Feel free to let us know in the comment section below. Telltale Games has a great track record for sure. For Telltale, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series looks like another success story in the making.
The Rolling Stones are literally a thousand years old, and they’re still making some pretty interesting music.
Their new album is Blue & Lonesome, and what I’ve heard so far really leans into the Blue thing. And now there’s this, a bridge between The Rolling Stones and “Kids These Days,” a music video for their single “Ride ‘Em On Down” starring Kristen Stewart.
Pretty cool video, pretty cool song. Proof that the Stones still have some version of their fastball, taking their sound back to their early grungy blues days. This sounds a lot like “Midnight Rambler,” or something along those lines.
And Kristen Stewart is always fascinating these days.
