The insane journey of the racers continues, but this time it sheds some light on everyone’s favorite mustache twirling villain, Dick Dastardly. Previous versions of this character usually just portrayed him as an antagonist without any real reason why he is such a jerk. Ken Pontac took the time to provide a flashback to before the world was thrown into chaos and show what Dick was like. Yes he was a jerk then too, but his reasons for being a jerk are relatable and it turns out he has a very powerful reason for why he wants to get to Utopia. This issue offers some great development for a character was previously so one dimensional.
Artwork
The gritty and dirty world of the future can sometimes use a little more detail. It’s easy enough to show the world isn’t as clean as it used to be without showing all the characters like they just took a bath in potting soil. Still, the gruesome violent effects that Leonardo Manco adds to the issue makes up for it.
Conclusion
The attempt to flesh out Dick Dastardly as a character is the best part of this issue. With any hope, future issues will showcase more interesting origin stories behind the characters in this grittier and more violent world and explain what makes them tick. It’s good to know it’s more than simply “You get into Utopia” as what is motivating everyone to race.
Frank Cho, prolific comic book artist, is leaving the Wonder Woman title. This follows an apparent rift with writer Greg Rucka. Rucka purportedly tried to censor Cho’s artwork on several occasions, citing them as overly sexual in nature.
In response, Cho is removing himself from the DC title to maintain artistic control over his work.
Cho’s artwork is not without some controversy. Many of his variant covers focus and parody the sexualization of women in comics. Several even break fourth wall to discuss this matter directly.
Following his departure, Cho released a statement to Bleeding Cool Comics saying:
“All the problem lies with Greg Rucka.
EVERYONE loves my Wonder Woman covers and wants me to stay. Greg Rucka is the ONLY one who has any problem with covers. Greg Rucka has been trying to alter and censor my artwork since day one.
Greg Rucka thought my Wonder Woman #3 cover was vulgar and showed too much skin, and has been spearheading censorship, which is baffling since my Wonder Woman image is on model and shows the same amount of skin as the interior art, and it’s a VARIANT COVER and he should have no editorial control over it. (But he does. WTF?!!!)
I tried to play nice, not rock the boat and do my best on the covers, but Greg’s weird political agenda against me and my art has made that job impossible. Wonder Woman was the ONLY reason I came over to DC Comics.
To DC’s credit, especially [Art Director] Mark Chiarello, they have been very accommodating. But they are caught between a rock and a hard place.
I just wanted to be left alone and do my Wonder Woman variant covers in peace. But Greg Rucka is in a hostile power trip and causing unnecessary friction over variant covers.” (source: bleedingcool.com)
Neither DC or Rucka have yet to comment on the matter.
Here’s one example of Cho’s claims of censorship, regarding his work on the variant cover for Wonder Woman #3.
What are your thoughts on the issue? Does Cho’s argument hold water? Does Rucka have room to impose personal tastes on an artist’s work? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
If you came into the season 2 premiere of USA Network’s acclaimed series Mr. Robot seeking answers, you might have left disappointed. But if you were hoping for a thrilling and surprising head game, you got that and so much more.
The two-part premiere featured time jumps, hallucinations and new characters with little introduction. It was all a bit disorienting, and yet, so much fun.
Six Major Takeaways From the Premiere
[WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the season two premiere of USA Network’s Mr. Robot]
1. Post Hack, Everything is a Mess
The hack against Evil Corp has left the world in chaos. People can’t access their money at the banks, “Five/Nine Attack” headlines litter the news and the members of fsociety have scattered.
Darlene has taken up residence inside the home of an Evil Corp executive nicknamed “Madame Executioner.” She’s also babysitting a group of fsociety foot soldiers who get a kick out of pulling pranks and taking selfies. Darlene seems to be struggling with handling things on her own while Elliot is away. At one point she questions whether any of it matters. “We didn’t make things better,” she tells a crowd of followers.
Angela, poor Angela. She went to work for Evil Corp at the end of the first season. When we meet her again this season, she’s become soulless and corporate. She plays hardball during negotiations, she’s short with co-workers and she watches late night self-esteem videos. Angela is detached and it’s painful to watch. But, she still listens to Sonic Youth, so that’s something.
In the meantime, Elliot is off the grid. He’s decided to give “normal” life a try. He writes in a journal and attends meetings at church. It’s all so that he can keep Mr. Robot at bay.
2. Elliot vs. Mr. Robot
Elliot has made so many changes in his life in an attempt to maintain control, but that’s proving to be very difficult. Mr. Robot isn’t going anyway, no matter how much Elliot tries to ignore him.
Mr. Robot has gone rogue. He’s arranging meetings with potential new allies with or without Elliot’s knowledge. That becomes clear during a conversation Elliot has with Ray (Craig Robinson) who mentions they’ve met before. Elliot, however, has no record of it in his journal.
Mr. Robot has also become angry and aggressive, even shouting at Elliot during their interactions. At one point, Mr. Robot shoots Elliot point blank in the head. Thankfully, Elliot sits right back up afterward. But, it’s clear that one of Elliot’s biggest obstacles this season will be his internal struggle with himself.
3. New Kids on the Block
There are several new faces in this season of Mr. Robot.
First, we have Leon (Joey Badass), Elliot’s new Seinfeld-loving friend. The two often meet up for lunch where Leon ponders the point of the show.
Then there’s Ray, who is a dog walker in Elliot’s neighborhood. He also seems to need Elliot’s special set of skills. The big question: What has he arranged with Mr. Robot?
We briefly meet Dominique “Dom” DiPierro (Grace Gummer), a FBI agent assigned to find the person or persons behind the Five/Nine attack.
And then there’s Susan Jacobs (Sandrine Holt), aka, “Madame Executioner.” We know she works for Evil Corp and that fsociety ran her out of her home by hacking all of her electronics.
4. Burn Money, Burn
One of the things I love about Mr. Robot is the soundtrack. The use of music in the series is so powerful. The season 2 premiere feature songs by Sonic Youth and Lupe Fiasco.
During one scene, Phil Collin’s “Take Me Home” is featured and particularly effective.
Fsociety has hacked Evil Corp banks and threatened to unleash its wrath unless an high-level executive delivers $5.9 million cash to Battery City Park. Scott Knowles agrees to carry out the task. He arrives and a bike messenger hands him a backpack that contains an fsociety mask and instructions to burn all the money. He complies and the song fills the background as countless onlookers stop to watch the money burn.
R.I.P all that money.
5. Shot to the Head
Elliot’s not the only one getting shot in the head this season.
Gideon Goddard, his former boss, is confronted in a bar by a man toward the end of the premiere. The man shoots him, claiming he did it “for our country.”
Gideon getting shot was shocking, because he was a good guy. However, in the end, he couldn’t save Allsafe from the consequences of the hack and he couldn’t save himself.
6. Where is Tyrell Wellick?
Unfortunately, we still don’t know. At the end of the first season, we were left wondering what happened to Tyrell during those three days that Elliot couldn’t remember. Tyrell remains mostly absent in the season 2 premiere, except for the few times his picture is plastered on the news. He’s being blamed, along with fsociety, for the Evil Corp hack.
We do, however, get to see how his wife Joanna (Stephanie Corneliussen) is doing following her husband’s disappearance. She has a Fifty Shades of Grey thing going on with a new guy. Later in the premiere, she receives a mysterious box that contains a cell phone. The phone rings and an unknown caller is on the other end. Could it be Tyrell?
The biggest Tyrell reveal comes at the end of the episode. During one of his church meetings, Elliot falls asleep. When he wakes up, he’s on the phone with a familiar voice on the other end: “Bonsoir, Elliot.” So, the voice sounds like Tyrell, after all, that’s the line he’s used many times before when talking to Elliot. But does that mean Tyrell is alive or is it just another one of Elliot’s delusions?
Let me start by saying I’m not much of a cider fan (I don’t even really like apple juice). Typically, I find them too sweet and I just think they leave bad after taste. That’s not to say I didn’t have my share of hazy college nights thanks to too many Hornsby’s, but I’ll take a beer over a cider any day. All of this could not be more the opposite of my wife, who loves all ciders.
That brings us to Two Rivers Cider Company, a Sacramento-area based cider maker who doesn’t just settle for apple. They offer a variety of different flavored ciders including raspberry, blood orange and pomegranate which is what we cracked up this week.
THE AROMA
This definitely doesn’t have an apple smell to it. I’d almost say it doesn’t have much smell at all. I’ll be honest, I don’t know what a pomegranate smells like, so maybe this cider smells exactly like one of those and I just don’t know it.
THE APPEARANCE
This is a pink drink. It’s basically the same color as a Cosmopolitan or a rosé. I guess I should have been expecting a reddish or pink color since pomegranates are red, but I was thinking of the golden color of most
THE TASTE
There’s a lot of carbonation in this drink. So much so that I found it sort of stinging on the tongue, almost like champagne. I typically like my ciders dry, crisp and really cold. This was all of those things. It was not fruity in any way, but lacked flavor overall.
OVERALL
Meh. I didn’t hate it. I wouldn’t drink it again but then again I’ve already stated that I don’t really like ciders so I might be a bad judge. My wife really liked it and would definitely drink it again. I guess opposites do attract.
So we’re still doing these ridiculous Sharknado movies. Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens brings back all your favorite, classically-trained thespians (Ian Ziering, Tara Reid) from the first three “films,” and injects a few new has beens into the fold. It’s The Hoff!
Here’s the trailer:
Not only is there a fourth Sharknado, but now there’s an Oilnado! Here’s a synopsis for you, like it even matters:
“Five years after the East Coast was ravaged in ‘Sharknado 3,’ Fin (Ian Ziering) and his family have been blissfully sharknado-free, but now sharks – and ‘nados. – are being whipped up in places (and ways) that are completely unexpected.”
Aside from the returning superpowers of Ziering and Reid, Sharknado 4 has The Hoff, Steve Guttenburg, and Gary Busey, and many many more spare actors. Tune in to SyFy July 31 to see the next chapter in this celebrated dumpster fire franchise.
Five new posters for the upcoming Saban’s Power Rangers have dropped online, giving us a look at all of the new rangers. Along with these new posters, it was announced that the cast will be presenting at the MTV Fandom Awards on July 24.
“Saban’s Power Rangers follows five ordinary high school kids who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove – and the world – is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover that they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so they will have to overcome their real-life issues and band together as the Power Rangers before it is too late.”
Saban’s Power Rangers hits theaters on March 24, 2017.
James Cameron’s amped up military sci-fi adventure, Aliens, turns 30 this weekend. Aside from Sigourney Weaver returning as our hero, Ellen Ripley, and the Xenomorph still a major issue for humans, very little is comparable between Cameron’s Aliens and Ridley Scott’s original Alien. One film is all high-concept action, the other a claustrophobic haunted house thriller.
Aliens broke new ground in 1986, becoming the first science fiction film to nab a Best Actress nomination for Weaver’s role. It was a major box office success, and it opted to increase just about everything that worked in the original for the purpose of action spectacle. But is it necessarily a better film than Scott’s seminal franchise starter? It probably depends on what you want from your Alien film.
The Case For Alien
Alien is an exercise in quiet tension, measured intensity, and Ridley Scott’s film has the distinct advantage of being the first. But beyond semantics and timing, Scott’s film is just about as close to perfect as a science-fiction thriller can be, and has ever been. While it borrows from sci-fi stories of the past (The Thing From Another World, Invasion of The Body Snatchers), Dan O’Bannon’s screenplay takes those influences and carves its own path of horror.
There are three major (and even more minor) elements that make Alien a masterpiece. First is the cast and their characters, a group of blue-collar space workers. These aren’t Jedi’s or ship captains exploring the universe, they’re tired corporate lackeys reluctant to answer the distress call. And Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto, John Hurt (poor John Hurt), Veronica Cartwright, and Ian Holm, all create a lived-in familial environment amongst themselves. It was, in 1979, a fresh perspective on space travel.
Secondly, H.R. Giger’s Xenomorph is one of the greatest Lovecraft-ian visualizations of pure terror ever put on screen. What’s more, the way it evolves through the film keeps the audience off center, enhancing the shocks. First, it’s hatched from an egg, then it’s a face hugger, then the chest burster (poor John Hurt), then the fully-formed alien. The evolutionary skill of this “perfect organism” is part of what makes it so terrifying.
And then there’s Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley. In most conventional sci-fi films, Tom Skerritt’s Dallas would be the clear hero. But not here, and the decision to have Ripley vanquish the alien at the end of the film and set her up as one of the first female genre heroes was a watershed moment for cinema. Alien was a crucial film, it remains vital and important, and will forever be one of the very best of its kind.
The Case For Aliens
Where Scott’s original film was a claustrophobic thriller with a small cast and one alien killer, James Cameron’s follow up seven years later took everything up to 11. Aliens isn’t the same sort of story, different in tone and scope, and it takes the intimacy of the original and replaces is with wild, kinetic action and thrilling set pieces. This is a military action thriller.
The expansive cast holds its own against Scott’s original. Michael Beihn and Paul Reiser are the standout additions, and while Bill Paxton’s “Game Over Man” Hudson might be the most memorable soldier, he’s pretty annoying. The creation of the alien queen and the battle between Ripley and said queen – with Ripley in the robotic cargo machine – is absolutely thrilling. Aliens runs full bore through its plot and should be vaunted for the fact it earned Sigourney Weaver a Best Actress nominee.
The Verdict
Aliens might be bigger, louder, more exciting with wall-to-wall action, but those things don’t necessarily translate to better when held up to Scott’s original film. There are issues in Aliens that hinder the overall product. First of all, Newt is a beating. There, I said it. She’s brutal, and pretty unnecessary in the grand scheme. And despite the roided-up action in Aliens, the film feels bloated and overwrought at times. And again, when held up next to Alien, a film without a single ounce of fat on it, Aliens stumbles.
The action in Aliens is tedious at times, shooting and exploding and on and on, and the rules of the Xenomorph are pushed aside so the soldiers can blow apart dozens upon dozens of them. These aliens have acid blood, a single drop of which burned through several layers of the ship in Alien. This time around, Xenomorphs are blown apart over and over, their blood and innards flying every which way, and their acid blood does very little damage. There’s some, but given the amount of blood spraying everywhere, it seems the entire set should dissolve. That may be nitpicking, but its also a noteworthy omission for the sake of action.
Aliens is also a dreary and dark film to watch. Scenes are hidden in darkness, murky visuals, and one scene near the end of the second act is lit in a garish red light for far too long.
Cameron’s Aliens has its merits, and should be admired for a number of reasons. But when held up against the powerful Scott original, its flaws shine through. Alien is, hands down, the better of the two pictures.
Warner Bros. put the wheels in motion for an eighth Harry Potter film when the company filed for a trademark on ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,’ according to Slash Film.
‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ takes place 19 years after the events of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ and follows an older Harry Potter, now a Ministry of Magic employee, and his younger son Albus Severus Potter.
J.K. Rowling’s two-part West End stage play is currently in preview performances at the Palace Theatre in London with a grand opening at the end of the month.
The official ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ script book has a release date of July 31.
It’s been a minute since we’ve seen Warren Beatty in a movie. A long minute as a matter of fact; 2001’s Town and Country was his last film role. This fall, Beatty is back in front of and behind the camera in Rules Don’t Apply, where he directs himself as Howard Hughes, Here’s the trailer:
Here’s the (obvious) synopsis: An unconventional love story of an aspiring actress, her determined driver, and the eccentric billionaire who they work for.
As you can see, this isn’t really the dramatized, Aviator-style look at the eccentric billionaire. There’s a bit more whimsy attached to the story, and his afflictions seem to be played for a bit more bittersweet comedy. And Beatty’s Hughes takes a backseat to a budding romance, anyway.
Warren Beatty is all in on Rules Don’t Apply, having both written and directed it as well. The cast is impressive, including his wife, Annette Bening, Lily Collins and Hail, Caesar!‘s breakout star Alden Ehrenreich as the two lovers, and Matthew Broderick, who’s been pretty absent from the screen himself recently. There’s also supporting turns from Martin Sheen, Ed Harris, Alec Baldwin, Oliver Platt, Steve Coogan… I guess it’s good to be Warren Beatty and be everyone’s friend.
Star Trek Beyond had its first official screenings today, and some reactions have hit Twitter. We’ve compiled a list of the reactions down below, and will update as more are released.
Thumbs up. I think most people are going to really enjoy Star Trek Beyond
The film has had an up and down marketing campaign so far. The first trailers weren’t liked by fans, but the most recent trailer blew everyone away and put the excitement at an all time high.
“After stopping off at Starbase Earhart, a remote outpost on the fringes of Federation space, the USS Enterprise, halfway into their five-year mission, is destroyed by a powerful, unstoppable wave of unknown aliens. With the crew stranded on a unknown planet and with no apparent means of rescue, they find themselves in conflict with a new ruthless enemy who has a well-earned hatred of the Federation and what it stands for.”
