Earlier this year, KickStarter backers pledged more than $620,000 to help RiffTrax mount two live shows — one of which was the recent, much-lauded MST3K reunion. But the first, recorded earlier this year, is now available to stream or download on their site.
Chase time on your own time! Now’s your chance to catch RiffTrax Live: Time Chasers whenever you’d like! https://t.co/q5KX82vcDM
Time Chasers, a low-budget sci-fi flick produced in the wilds of Vermont, was already riffed by Mike and the bots back in the days of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The movie tells the haunting story of Nick, a skinny physicist who builds a time machine using an airplane and a Commodore 64. Of course, an evil corporation gets involved, mistakes are made, feelings are hurt. Eventually, past and future versions of several characters end up running around a Revolutionary War battlefield.
The little-known indie soon became an MST3K classic, regularly making fan lists of the series’ all-time best episodes. Now it joins the likes of Santa Claus and Manos: The Hands of Fate — movies originally riffed on MST3K that have since become RiffTrax Live fodder.
You can purchase RiffTrax Live: Time Chasers to stream or download here.
Lionsgate released the first trailer for ‘Blood Father’ starring a gritty Mel Gibson. This film could be the closest we get to a live-action ‘Old Man Logan’ movie.
‘Blood Father’ stars Gibson as John Link, an ex-convict who fights to protect his estranged daughter from the drug cartel that is hunting her down. In this thrilling action film, John must use his connections from his past life and his skills as an ex-criminal to keep him and his daughter alive.
The film is written by Peter Craig and Andrea Berloff, with direction from Craig. The ‘Bood Father’ cast includes Gibson, Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna, Michael Parks and William H. Macy.
For those who think that these are just people who are paid to put something nice about this movie on social media, Caroline Framke is a respected writer for the website vox.com. Her focus is on pop culture topics.
Just saw the new "Ghostbusters." I liked it better than the original! And I saw the first one like 75 times. #iaintafraid
Kristopher Tapley is an awards editor over at Variety magazine.
The real test for this film will come Sunday evening when the reviews will start trickling out all over the internet. However, if these initial reactions are any indication, it seems as the throngs of Ghostbuster haters have seen their worst nightmare come true. Be sure to keep it locked to monkeysfightingrobots.com as we will have our review of the new Ghostbuster film up on Wednesday morning.
Ghostbusters makes its long-awaited return, rebooted with a cast of hilarious new characters. Thirty years after the beloved original franchise took the world by storm, director Paul Feig brings his fresh take to the supernatural comedy, joined by some of the funniest actors working today – Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth. This summer, they’re here to save the world! The film is produced by Ivan Reitman and Amy Pascal, and written by Katie Dippold & Paul Feig, based on the 1984 film “Ghostbusters,” written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis and directed by Ivan Reitman.
‘Ghostbusters’ will be released in theaters nationwide on July 15, 2016.
Yesterday actor John Cho told reporters that Hikaru Sulu, the character he plays in the rebooted Star Trek franchise, would be revealed as gay in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond. But George Takei, the actor and LGBT activist who originated the role on television, said he thought the decision was “really unfortunate.” According to Takei, series creator Gene Roddenberry intended Sulu to be heterosexual.
Takei told the Hollywood Reporter that he felt the decision to make Sulu gay was “a twisting of Gene’s creation.” He said he had suggested to director Justin Lin that a new gay character be created instead.
But screenwriter Simon Pegg, who also plays Scotty in the rebooted franchise, told the Guardian that creating a new gay character for the franchise wouldn’t have been a good decision.
John Cho as Hikaru Sulu in the rebooted Star Trek.
“I have huge love and respect for George Takei, his heart, courage and humour are an inspiration,” Pegg wrote in a statement. “However, with regards to his thoughts on our Sulu, I must respectfully disagree with him.”
Pegg said he agreed with Takei that it was unfortunate that the Star Trek franchise had not yet featured an LGBT character. However, he said, creating one simply to include a gay character would have been a mistake.
“We could have introduced a new gay character, but he or she would have been primarily defined by their sexuality, seen as the ‘gay character,’” Pegg wrote.
Pegg also argued that Roddenberry’s decision to make every member of the Enterprise bridge crew straight wasn’t an artistic one. It was, Pegg contended, “more a necessity of the time.” And he pointed out that since the rebooted franchise takes place in an alternate timeline, Cho’s Sulu could be gay while Takei’s could remain straight.
“Whatever magic ingredient determines our sexuality was different for Sulu in our timeline,” Pegg wrote. “I like this idea because it suggests that in a hypothetical multiverse, across an infinite matrix of alternate realities, we are all LGBT somewhere.”
The Ramones were four costumed heroes from Queens. They were deeply flawed much like the greatest comic book characters. Every member chose to use their gifts for the greater good. They battled against the establishment and showed resilience in the face of adversity. The story of the Ramones is exciting, tragic and at times amusing. In the year of the 40th anniversary of their debut album let’s take a look at the story of the Ramones and what made them such a special band.
In 1974 the New York music scene was reinvigorated by the appearance of a brand new sound. It was violently raw and completely unapologetic, it was Punk Rock. One of the greatest purveyors of this gritty sound were the Ramones. A group of four misfits from Forest Hills in Queens, NY who have managed to leave a serious mark in music history. July 29 will see the 40th anniversary re-release of the Ramones’ self titled debut album, a ground breaking piece of work that changed the face of music. The band built on foundations laid out by the likes of MC5, The Stooges and New York Dolls but it was this debut album that jump started the punk rock movement in April 1976.
“This music saved rock and roll” – Legs McNeil, Punk Magazine Co-Founder
The Ramones were a breath of fresh air in the 1970s, their aggressive, stop-start sets, that included their early hits were intertwined with aggressive arguments on stage. Despite the outward perception they were an organised machine and had a clear vision for who and what the band was. This was something new for the New York music scene and helped to grow their initial popularity. Often cited as a band under appreciated at their peak (in terms of album sales), their cult status grew in later years and considerably more after the group disbanded in 1996. The Ramones are now regarded among the greatest rock bands of all time.
The Ramones are a band that have remained iconic, possibly more on their influence on music imagery than anything else. The group all grew up as fans of comic books and movies and knew that they had to be both musically and visually innovative. The band adopted a uniformed look of long hair, leather jackets, T-shirts and torn jeans. Inspired by the likes of Andy Warhol, the band worked with art director, Arturo Vega who created nearly all the iconic images surrounding the band, including the now famous Ramones seal.
A lot their early success came from the sheer honesty in their lyrics, they sung about the world and life they knew. It was sometimes violent, bleak and depressing but always pumped with energy and emotion. The Ramones spoke to the disenfranchised youth of America and the rest of the world, they were the voice of a generation, even if no one knew it at the time. The best evidence of this was the amount of bands that began to spring up across America following their relentless touring of the country. From The Replacements to The Cramps to the Dead Kennedys. The Ramones effect was by no means limited to the US, they were key to the emergence of British bands such as, The Clash and the Sex Pistols, who both went on to be even bigger than the Ramones at the time.
The relationships and conflict between the members of the band are almost as iconic as the music and the black leather jackets. The founding members were Dee Dee who played bass guitar and was the band’s main song writer, Joey, on lead vocals, Johnny, the lead guitarist and Tommy, the drummer. Tommy was the first to the leave the band in the late 1970s as he disliked the tour schedule and preferred his role as producer for the band. Joey also actively disliked Tommy for nominating himself the band’s spokesman in the early years.
Marky Ramone was brought in as replacement drummer but was fired in 1983 when his severe alcoholism began affecting the group. Richie Ramone joined and lasted 4 years before he quit the band because Johnny refused to evenly share the revenue from merchandise sales. Marky, now clean and sober returned until the band’s eventual split in 1996.
Throughout his time in the band Dee Dee was a heavy drug user while also suffering from bipolar disorder, this caused numerous conflicts with every other member of the band. In 1989, Dee Dee quit and was replaced by C.J. Ramone who added a youthful energy to the group during their last few years of touring and studio albums.
Johnny and Joey were the only two members to remain in the band throughout their history. Johnny a tough, right-wing conservative and Joey a quieter, left-wing liberal clashed on nearly every issue. The hatred between the two was compounded when Johnny ‘stole’ Joey’s girlfriend, Linda in the early 1980s. As a result, they stopped talking to each other completely despite continuing to tour and record together for the years that followed. Notwithstanding their persistently strained relationship Johnny admitted in an interview after Joey’s death in 2001 that he couldn’t help but be emotionally affected by the loss. It was his deep love for the band and that despite never liking Joey, he was a part of the Ramones. The pair knew what they had, the Ramones were bigger than both of them and stuck with the band despite their irrefutable differences.
In 1996 after 2,262 live shows worldwide and 14 studio albums over 22 years, the Ramones retired, furthermore as of 2014, the four founding members had all died. The Ramones may not have sold millions of records, nor even appealed to mass audiences throughout their tenure but their influence and legacy is undeniable. Bands such as, Nirvana, U2, Motorhead, Pearl Jam, Metallica and Green Day have all cited the importance of the Ramones.
“This music not only stands the test of time, it totally obliterates everything before it and after it,” – Joe Strummer, The Clash
Tom Holland has set the countdown clock for ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’ The actor Thursday night posted a selfie to Instagram in his spider suit high above the set location during filming.
“1 Year until #spidermanhomecoming hits theaters, are you ready…thought you would like to see a little selfie I took earlier 👊🏻🕷,” posted Holland.
Spider-Man is the most popular character from Marvel Comics combined with the excitement of Holland will quickly make Spidey the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Jon Watts directs ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ starring Holland, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Martin Starr, Angourie Rice and Hannibal Buress.
This Friday, Illumination Entertainments newest release, The Secret Life of Pets asks the question, ‘What happens while pets are at home during their owners workday?’ The Secret Life Of Pets takes a very sweet, fun, and profound look at not only what it means to be a pet but also a pet owner. There is a hidden heart in this film that resonates well after the final credits, and the popcorn buckets are thrown away. After week after week of Hollywood regurgitation, it’s refreshing that we finally get an original concept that’s done extremely well.
We start off being introduced to a terrier named Max (voiced by Louis C.K.) and his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper), who like the vast majority of pet owners has a heart full of love for her furbabies. Max loves her equally and lives for the moment each day when she walks in from work. However, one day, Max receives the shock of a lifetime when Katie brings home a stray named Duke (voiced by Eric Stonestreet) to live with them as well. While Max looks like your typical dog, Duke appears to be a cross between a muppet and an elephant on steroids. Well, predictably these two begin to get on each other’s nerves, and their fighting leads to both being locked out of their apartment. Out of their friendly surroundings, Max and Duke are left to fight off feral cats and persistent animal control employees.
However, nothing could prepare these two wayward dogs for their encounter with a ruthless bunny named Snowball (voiced by Kevin Hart), leader of the Flushed Pets gang. After some persuasion on Max and Duke’s part, Snowball takes them underground to the world flushed pets so that they can join their group. They go into a sewer seemingly infested with sea monkeys, snakes, and other animals that have been flushed or forgotten by their previous owners. While this is transpiring, a white Pomeranian named Gidget (voiced by Jenny Slate) who has deep feelings for Max is organizing a search party to find her lost love. She’s able to recruit a red hawk named Tiberius (Voiced by Albert Brooks), who seems more interested in eating her than helping in the search and a half paralyzed basset hound (voiced by Dana Carvey).
What was striking about this film was just how much humor was seemingly at the disposal of screen writers Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, and Bryan Lynch, every time a new animal was introduced into the narrative. They effortlessly wove in lines silly lines like the Sea Monkeys proclaiming “it’s not their fault they were flushed down the toilet .. they don’t look like the package” with poignant moments about the power of love between animals and humans. The Secret Life Of Pets isn’t your typical Illumination film that relies on cheap gags ( which can be funny in moderation), this movie is written with the appropriate balance and has both humor and purpose.Director Chris Renaud goes to great lengths to ensure neither is lost for the duration by keeping the film on an appropriately brisk pace.
Another appealing element to the movie was Renaud’s approach to the animation. Unlike his previous four stints as director (he’s directed every animated feature for Illumination), decided to tell the action sequences from the pets’ point of view. The result were moments captured that made the audience feel they were traveling right next to Max as he raced away from animal control. My favorite part in the film was when Max and Duke were being accosted by the feral cats and Max gets shot upward through the clothes line. Instead having the camera follow him up the building as he flew up towards the top, they set the shot above the dog, and you just see him getting closer and closer to the camera. These types of shots give a unique perspective to the audience as well as a unique approach to both an action and an animated cinematography.
However, what sticks out most of all in The Secret Life Of Pets are the incredible performances the actors gave in voicing their roles. Jenny Slate is outstanding as the love-struck Gidget and Kevin Hart as Snowball will have you laughing so hard that your stomach will hurt. Louis CK and Eric Stonestreet have a real chemistry that is reminiscent of what Tom Hanks and Tim Allen had in Toy Story. It wasn’t difficult to pick up on the sheer joy these actors had in voicing their roles.
The Secret Life Of Pets is the best film Illumination Entertainment has ever made. The narrative is both balanced and constructed beautifully, which will appeal to both children and adults equally. Visually, it’s easily superior to The Good Dinosaur, but the narrative doesn’t eclipse Toy Story. Musically, Alexandre Desplat’s upbeat jazzy numbers add another level of enjoyment to the film.
Overall, it was hard to come up with a word to describe this picture, so let’s find a invent a new one. Hmmm… how about Joytaining? Joytaining is when something brings out such joy and is entertaining as well. I think our new word sums up The Secret Life Of Pets beautifully.
The Lego Movie Sequel just got a little more awesome. Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the comedian best known for creating Netflix’s sensationally good BoJack Horseman, will lend his talents to the upcoming animated sequel, rewriting the 2019 release. There’s no word yet on how much soul-crushing anguish he’ll add to the film.
Variety got the exclusive on the update. Bob-Waksberg will work from a draft previously written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the filmmakers behind the original 2014 film. They’re busy at the moment with a little Han Solo spin-off for Disney, so Warner Bros. decided to hand writing duties onto the man with one of the best animated comedies made today. Miller and Lord will still produce alongside returning producers Dan Lin and Roy Lee.
The Lego Movie Sequel is the first movie Bob-Waksberg will co-write since creating his acclaimed series. However, he also previously worked on 2012’s under-appreciated The Exquisite Corpse Project with his comedy trope, Olde English Comedy. The third season of BoJack Horseman is set to premiere on July 22 on the streaming site. Bob-Waksberg also recently sold his first short story collection, Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory: Bang-Your-Knee, Bust-Your-Heart-Open Love Stories. There’s no word yet on when that’ll hit shelves.
The Lego Movie Sequel will be the fourth animated Lego movie released by Warner Bros. They also have The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie set to hit theaters on February and September of next year, respectively.
20 years ago today, at WCW’s ‘Bash At The Beach’ pay-per-view, professional wrestling would change forever. While some would consider that a hyperbolic statement, it is a fact. After that PPV event, how professional wrestling was seen and its biggest star would be changed forever going forward.
Throughout the 1980’s, Hulk Hogan was synonymous with professional wrestling. Carrying the WWF along with him, Hogan would be the face of professional wrestling to mainstream America. Hulk Hogan was everywhere. Films, television, merchandise, he was a regular guest on Johnny Carson and David Letterman when the WWF toured the east and west coasts. Hogan’s red and yellow was alongside the red, white, and blue of the United States when he faced Sgt. Slaughter for the WWF Title in 1991 at the height of the Gulf War. As we all know, all good things come to an end. Hogan would tire of the grind and go into semi-retirement in 1993.
The Icon Returns
Hogan would sign with WCW in 1994 photo: WWE
At the same time, Atlanta based World Championship Wrestling had a new leader in the form of Eric Bischoff. Bischoff had just been named executive producer and was tasked by then owner Ted Turner to compete with WWF and be the #1 wrestling promotion. Bischoff would convince Hogan to return to wrestling, but with WCW, in 1994 in a bid to compete with the WWF. Nostalgia reigned for a bit, but times had changed. The audience didn’t connect with Hogan like they used to, and over the course of a month or two of discussions, and one big leg drop would reinvent both wrestling and Hulk Hogan.
Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and The Third Man
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash would move from WWF to WCW in 1996 after signing lucrative guaranteed contracts, which had been unheard of in wrestling at this point. Both men were portrayed as “invaders” looking to depose WCW. They were put into a tag team match with Sting, Lex Luger, and ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage. Hall and Nash would talk about their “partner” in the weeks leading up to the match, but the partner would make himself known towards the end of the main event.
“Hollywood” Comes To WCW
Making his next appearance on WCW Monday Nitro clad in black, ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan and the newly christened New World Order would dominate WCW for the next two years. Hogan would also claim the WCW Championship and reinvent himself in the process. The biggest good guy of the 80’s would become the biggest villain of the 90’s, and in turn, make being the bad guy cool. The impact of Hogan becoming a villain and the NWO is still felt today. Nitro would air live each week, giving an element of unpredictability, which would lead to WWF airing RAW live every week, which it still does to this very day.
Very few reach the pinnacle of their chosen industry, Hulk Hogan has done it twice. Once during the 1980’s, and again in the late 1990’s and done it on opposite sides of the spectrum as both hero and villain.
Earlier today, the news broke that Enterprise helmsman Hikaru Sulu, portrayed by John Cho in the rebooted Star Trek franchise, would be revealed as gay in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond. But original series Sulu George Takei says he’s not happy with the change.
Takei, an actor and LGBT activist, told the Hollywood Reporter that while he’s excited that there is an LGBT character in Star Trek, making Sulu gay is out of step with creator Gene Roddenberry’s vision.
“I’m delighted that there’s a gay character,” Takei told The Hollywood Reporter. “Unfortunately, it’s a twisting of Gene’s creation, to which he put in so much thought. I think it’s really unfortunate.”
John Cho as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek Beyond
Takei said Roddenberry had always envisioned Sulu as heterosexual. Screenwriter Simon Pegg and director Justin Lin had perceived the change as a tribute to Takei, who came out in 2005. But when Cho told him the news, Takei tried to convince them not to make the change.
“I told him, ‘Be imaginative and create a character who has a history of being gay, rather than Sulu, who had been straight all this time, suddenly being revealed as being closeted,'” Takei told the Hollywood Reporter.
Takei said he urged Lin to honor Roddenberry’s creation. “He left me feeling that was going to happen,” Takei told the Hollywood Reporter.
But a month ago, he found out in an email from Cho that the film would still portray Sulu as gay. Takei told Cho to go ahead with the promotion for the movie. However, he said that he hadn’t changed his mind about the matter.
What was striking about this film was just how much humor was seemingly at the disposal of screen writers Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, and Bryan Lynch, every time a new animal was introduced into the narrative. They effortlessly wove in lines silly lines like the Sea Monkeys proclaiming “it’s not their fault they were flushed down the toilet .. they don’t look like the package” with poignant moments about the power of love between animals and humans. The Secret Life Of Pets isn’t your typical Illumination film that relies on cheap gags ( which can be funny in moderation), this movie is written with the appropriate balance and has both humor and purpose.Director Chris Renaud goes to great lengths to ensure neither is lost for the duration by keeping the film on an appropriately brisk pace.