Comics creators come together to celebrate their mutual love of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers! From short stories like “The Origin of Goldar” to “What Would Happen If Bulk and Skull Became Rangers?”, this oversized anthology collection features contributions from creators like Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Rob Guillory (Chew), James Kochalka (Monkey vs Robot), and more!
Writing
The first Mighty Morphinannual from Boom! Studios is a wonderful offering of different short stories all taking place in the Power Rangers Universe. Tales such as “A Week in the Life” by Kyle Higgins tells a simple story of Jason trying to balance his school, his life, and being a Ranger all at the same time. “A Spot of Trouble” looks at Trini and Kimberly as they try to help with a party, only to find it under attack by monsters. Each of these stories offers a very interesting look at what different writers and artists can accomplish with the different characters and settings.
The story which really makes the annual so good is “Only The Strong” by Trey Moore. It offers a perfect mixture of deep storytelling while tapping into the different mythologies which came together to make Power Rangers the long saga is has become. With any luck, Mr. Moore will have another opportunity in the future to write and draw more stories in this series.
Artwork
The different art styles in the book don’t really accentuate one another, but instead seem to stand out on their own. Marguerite Bennett’s style in “A Spot of Trouble” helps to sell the story as much more whimsical, like something out of a fairy tale. Jorge Corona’s style from “What Makes A Ranger” has a roughness to the story which makes it appear harsh but heartwarming all at the same time. Each story is unique and offers a different take on many familiar characters.
Conclusion
This celebration of the Power Rangers truly is a welcomed sight. It helps to prove all which can be done with the tapestry of the mythology behind the Power Rangers Universe. Hopefully this is not the last time a group decides to get together to celebrate how much this series means to them.
The first TV spot for season 3 of The Flash has been released. Check it out below.
“Blinded by anger, Barry unwittingly plays into Zoom’s game and uncovers the evil speedster’s true goal: to destroy all Earths in the multiverse. In the race of his life, Barry ultimately gets the upper hand against Zoom and defeats his nemesis. But unable to celebrate victory, Barry makes a world-shaking decision and speeds back in time to the night his mother died to stop Reverse Flash from killing her, irrevocably changing his past and redetermining his future.”
Season three of The Flash speeds onto The CW starting October 4.
Director Joe Carnahan is doing what most directors do about their upcoming projects, pumping them up in the media to build excitement. And he says his next project, Bad Boys 3 – which is now called Bad Boys for Life – is “the strongest script” yet.
According to Carnahan, [Bad Boys For Life is] the strongest script of any of those movies. Hands down. In a walk over. Unless you’re Toy Story 3, usually third ones aren’t the strongest, and I think this one will be the strongest of the trilogy thus far.” He also says “there’s a lot of funny shit in this movie,” which kind of goes without saying.
Now, the Bad Boys franchise has never been anchored by some whip smart screenplay as much as it was bolstered by the brilliant chemistry and riffing between its two massive (at the time) stars, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The original Bad Boys is one of Michael Bay’s best, and Bad Boys II is… something indeed. Calling it “great” feels really weird, because it’s really awful and hateful and extreme. But, if you’re able to separate what cinema should be from what it is here, in this hermetically sealed alt-world of Michael Bay insanity, perhaps Bad Boys II is a work of mad genius. Curtis Waugh certainly thinks so.
Bad Boys for Life will release January 12, 2018 (eek!). But we know Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back, obviously, and Joe Carnahan is directing. As for that screenplay, well, it’s written by Joe Carnahan with assists from David Guggenheim and Anthony Tambakis. So there’s that.
ONE-MAN SEIGE! ACTION MAN moves in on DOCTOR X’s secret Alpine headquarters — but things don’t go as planned, either on the way in… or the way out!
Writing
In previous reviews, the main complaint about this series was for a title called Action Man, there really wasn’t much actually drama to make the action suspenseful. There hadn’t been any major plot points revealed or sudden twists which really left any impact. The third issue changes everything and delivers a punch in the gut no one saw coming. Writer John Barber really increases the pace and provides double the speed and story development of the previous two issues. It makes for a great read and leaves you with a cliffhanger which will truly make the reader count the days until the next issue is released. This review is intended to be as spoiler free as possible, but this much can be said: You won’t see the ending coming from a mile away.
Artwork
The artwork continues to be the perfect style to deliver the kind of effects needed to tell a great action story. Artist Paolo Villanelli delivers great scenes of violence and intrigue throughout the book. The flow of character’s actions and the different explosions are especially noteworthy.
Conclusion
This series finally hits it out of the park and delivers an issue which really makes you want to keep reading. When the book is released as a trade, it seems as if this first story will be the perfect way to introduce new fans to the idea of who Action Man is and what he is about. Now, all they have to do is keep the energy going and this new incarnation of the character will become a must read for fans of James Bond looking for a good spy adventure comic.
A few weeks ago, we got a brief but captivating little teaser for La La Land, the upcoming musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, and directed by Whiplash wunderkind Damien Chazelle.
That trailer was charming and beautiful, but the first time around we only got to hear Ryan Gosling belt out some lines. In this second trailer, however, we get to exclusively hear Emma Stone’s pipes as she sings a melancholy tune. Check it out:
Written and directed by Academy Award® nominee Damien Chazelle, LA LA LAND tells the story of Mia [Emma Stone], an aspiring actress, and Sebastian [Ryan Gosling], a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern day Los Angeles, this original musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams.
So there you have it. La La Land looks like a dreamy, magnificently-shot picture, and should draw in even the faintest of musical fans. Like me.
Set photos from ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ hit the internet every day, and the latest round of photos looks like Odin is the crazy homeless guy on the street corner.
It has been long rumored Odin will be the comic relief of the film, as he will be trying to warn earth of the apocalypse.
What’s your opinion on using Odin as comic relief?
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Sir Anthony Hopkins. Taika Waititi directs with Kevin Feige producing the film.
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ will destroy the universe on November 3, 2017.
Might the WWE Universe finally be on board and ready to cheer Roman Reigns on?
It’s been a whirlwind ride for Roman Reigns since the day The Shield broke up. Touted as the future, WWE had him on a fast-track to the top. That move was met with constant backlash from the WWE Universe and despite the criticism, it all culminated with Roman Reigns winning the WWE Title from Triple H at WrestleMania 32.
The Roman Empire was set to take off.
And then one mistake by Roman Reigns put those plans on hold.
After losing the title at Money in the Bank, Reigns would go on to serve a 30-day suspension for a violation of the Wellness Policy. His suspension would end in time for him to wrestle at Battleground. He would go on to lose cleanly to WWE Champion Dean Ambrose in the triple threat main event.
Reigns’ fall from the top would continue on the first live episode of Smackdown in the WWE Draft where he slipped to the 2nd round.
Roman Reigns would hit rock bottom the next week on Raw where he would go on to lose a #1 contenders match for the WWE Universal title to Finn Balor.
For the first time since October 2015, Roman Reigns was not in the main-event of a WWE pay-per-view.
And for the first time since his days with The Shield, the WWE Universe might be ready to cheer “The Guy.”
Out of the main-even picture, a program with the United States Champion Rusev is exactly the type of feud that can help build Reigns back up.
You can argue the current relevance and importance of the U.S. Title but with the recent brand split, the championship should have enough on-screen time to push it back to prominence.
Rusev is a good enough heel that fans won’t turn on Reigns and start cheering the Bulgarian Brute.
And while Roman Reigns didn’t capture the title at SummerSlam (match ended in a no-contest), his quest for U.S. gold could be the first step to rebuilding the Roman Empire and the first step to getting the fans to cheer Roman Reigns on.
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn took to his Facebook page to release a new piece of concept art for 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Check it out below.
The sequel features returning actors Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Batista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, and Michael Rooker; Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russel are making their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the film.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits theaters on May 5, 2017.
CBS films invite audiences deep into the heart of Texas in its heist drama Hell or High Water. Directed by David Mackenzie, this is a slow, simmering cauldron of intrigue, both well-crafted and deftly acted. For those who are fans of Chris Pine, forgo seeing him playing Captain Kirk and witness his most gripping performance to date.
Two brothers, Toby and Tanner (Chris Pine and Ben Foster), are faced with the prospect of losing the property their mom had her entire life. They have until the end of the week to come up with enough money to pay off her reverse mortgage plus interest, or face foreclosure. Rather than coming up with a conventional way to raise that type of capital, the brothers hatch a scheme to rob multiple branches of The Texas Midland Bank, which also happens to hold that bank note.
Retiring foul-mouthed Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) is assigned to this case and quickly deduces that this is no ordinary string of bank robberies. It quickly becomes an intense Cat and Mouse game between the two brothers and law enforcement as they attempt to stay one step ahead of them as well as make their Friday deadline.
Hell or High Water is splendidly shot, and that’s due to the talents of Giles Nuttgens. Nuttgens manages to capture the dusty and opaque pallet of Texas while also leaning into moments which heighten the intrigue of this film. For example, he manages to include plenty of open panoramic shots including many of the abandoned homes and businesses in Texas, giving audience members both a feel for vast openness and the economic issues in the Lone Star. The getaway scenes were also shot with extreme precision. As Toby (Pine) speed away from each heist, they took the vehicles down side streets and Nuttgens stays with tight shots on the car.
Taylor Sheridan once again crafts a wonderful screenplay with rich characters. This should come as no surprise as he showed off his writing prowess recently in Sicario. Ben Foster, Chris Pine, and Jeff Bridges all deliver stellar performances. Foster is perfectly cast as Tanner, the loose cannon with an itchy trigger finger. Pine delivers the best performance that he’s ever given on screen as Toby, the conflicted brother who’s loyal to his family even if it means breaking the law. Jeff Bridges does what Jeff Bridges does best, have a commanding presence on screen and show audience members why he’s a legend.
It’s not often that a film of this caliber shows up at the end of the Summer movie season, but after a collection of disappointments, I’m sure glad it did. Hell or High Water is not only the best film of the summer; it certainly will be one of the Top 10 films of 2016.
The term Guilty Pleasure is all too well-known in the anime industry, as most people brush it off. Well I think there is something to the term “Guilty Pleasure” and it all stems from you as a person and what kind of values you hold. The anthem of being guiltless about what you watch or what you like is being thrown about in every community, not just Anime, but I’d like to look at the correlation between what makes a guilty pleasure and how it is effected by your values, and just maybe imply that there are some shows that you should feel bad about watching. I always used to remember my parents saying, “you are what you eat.” I like to relate that to what you nourish your mind with as well. Guilty Pleasure’s are complicated things to talk about, but pretending they don’t exist is just stupid and reductive.
So to begin we have to come to some common ground on the predication that there is an inherent right and wrong to the universe, and just thinking doesn’t make it so. Most people can’t seem to find common ground on subjects like “guilt” nowadays because people are more concerned with “their truth” as opposed to “the truth”. There isn’t a thing called “your truth”, “your truth” is your feelings. Now we can find some common ground on what we feel, but if we can’t hold it up to some grand law of the universe then there’s no worth in justifying it at all. So before we move on, unless you’re willing to accept there is a universally right and wrong and we can perceive that as humans, this reasoning wont make much sense to you. I’m not saying that my view of the world is 100% correct, all I’m saying is that there is a view of the world that is. Perception isn’t always reality and thinking doesn’t always make something so.
Guilty Pleasure is something you are guilty of, duh. So where does this guilt come from? Well it comes from you doing something you know is wrong or bad. I could go on with examples but I think we all have had those experiences. This is going to get real personal, if that wasn’t already apparent, so let’s go into my guilty pleasures.
Hentai… never mind, moving on.
So I talked a lot about why I liked Fate/Kaleid Liner Prism Illya in a previous article, and while that’s still true, I would consider it a Guilty Pleasure. Even for all the cool things this show has, it is ripe with loli fan service and portraying little kids in a sexual nature. Kids should be seen as innocent and that sexualizing them is taking away that innocence. So I in turn feel guilty about watching something that is glorifying something that I feel is wrong. Now nobody is perfect in the words of Hanna Montana, and I gotta work at it again and again till I get it right. (I will not apologize for that joke) Now I can enjoy the show for its other aspects and believe me, I do, a lot. But I can still recognize that a big part of something I like is glorifying something that is wrong. Shows that glorify something that is inherently wrong or bad are all Guilty Pleasures. That doesn’t mean they can’t also have merit, but if a core theme of something is wrong then it probably would be better if you didn’t watch it. But to er is human and we all do it, such is why Guilty Pleasures exist.
Another form of Guilty Pleasure is something like the aforementioned “hentai”. When you like something you know is bad. This can be observed again in Fate/Illya. Someone could watch these little girls get all sexual with each other and enjoy that part of the show. They might know its wrong but still like it and that’s something they need to carefully balance as a person. This kind of Guilty Pleasure doesn’t always have to be justified in the anime you’re watching, but it directly related to why “you” watch it. Part of the reason I like Death Note is the beginning episode’s where Light drunk on power, killing criminals. Of course this is wrong and not at all condoned by the shows narrative, but I get pleasure out of him taking the role of God and judging the cruel and vile. I know this is wrong at that no single human should have that kind of power or do so from a place of hatred. But its something I still like to imagine, and I feel guilty for enjoying part of a show that way. When a show brings out a certain lustful or hateful emotion out of you, you got yourself a Guilty Pleasure.
There is shame in doing some things and even though we don’t like admit it, it doesn’t help by choosing to ignore it. Sure I still watch shows I know I probably shouldn’t and I’m sure you do too. Ignoring that fact wont help us grow as people. What you watch, like it or not, has an effect on you. Just because you do something or watch something and liked it doesn’t mean you have to justify it. I’m certainly not justifying the loli fan service in Fate/Illya. And I do feel guilty for liking a show that has that much bad stuff in it. However it doesn’t necessarily make me, or you a bad person for liking something that is bad. What does though, I dare say, is knowing something is bad, and justifying it anyway. Or not recognizing something as bad and choosing to accept it just to make you feel good. So go and watch your guilty pleasures for now, I know I will. But have some hope for tomorrow, or the next day, or whenever that you wont have to feel guilty about what you watch, and you’ll know inside that you didn’t compromise your morals for a Japanese cartoon.
Retiring foul-mouthed Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) is assigned to this case and quickly deduces that this is no ordinary string of bank robberies. It quickly becomes an intense Cat and Mouse game between the two brothers and law enforcement as they attempt to stay one step ahead of them as well as make their Friday deadline.