A new music video from Japan shows four female Japanese comedians covering Ray Parker, Jr.’s Ghostbusters theme song. Following the recent internet troll-storm resulting from Fall Out Boy’s cover, this is actually a welcoming sound.
In fact, many of the initial comments from viewers express relief from the travesty of the Fall Out Boy Fauxbusters track. One important note is the Fall Out Boy cover already has more dislikes than likes on Youtube since its release.
Similar to Hoobastank’s cover of Ray Parker, Jr.’s tune, the Japanese version creates its own sound while still paying respect to the original source material.
Tomochika, Oniyakko Tsubaki, Naomi Watanabe and Shizuyo Yamasaki are the comedians involved in the project. This is in lieu with the all female cast for the main roles in the upcoming film.
One element of the video many die hard fans will appreciate is the homage to the original music video.
The aesthetics of the video borrow heavily from the Ray Parker, Jr. video for the original film. Particularly the use of neon lights to form the set helps to make a connection between the two music videos.
Personally I feel this music track is a greater improvement over Fall Out Boy’s rendition. Their track already attracting negative attention to a film many dread prior to its release. Despite this positive reception, this does not assuage growing concerns with the movie.
Following many lampooned remakes, many fans worry the Ghostbusters remake will be another example of this problem.
But with the music video we can enjoy a cover that actually sounds like the original source material.
THE WRECKERS RETURN! Somebody’s kidnapped PROWL… but does anybody want him back? A lifetime of messing with everybody’s lives comes around to haunt him. Fortunately, he’s always got a plan. In this case… the team of brutal, broken heroes… the WRECKERS!
Writing
With the fifth and final issue released, the second tale of the The Wreckers comes to a close. Much like the first series, Last Stand of the Wreckers the sequel is just as intense and unsettling in a very good way. This isn’t the Transformers series where the characters laugh at the end of an issue or someone makes a witty quip about what just happened. This is the series where the reader spends most of their time reading it hoping all the characters are going to make it out of this one alive. Spoiler (not really if you’ve read the first story): Not everyone does.
The intense violence which these characters experience is disturbing at times to look at but adds to the feel of the book. Writer Nick Roche really did deliver another intense story of the team which is willing to do the hard jobs no one else can.
Artwork
The artwork is detailed and brings a disturbing atmosphere of the comic. For fair warning, if there are any arachnophobes out there thinking of reading this series, you probably shouldn’t. Thanks to the appearance of a certain character who has the ability to turn into a tarantula and Nick Roche (also doing the art for this series) decided to make him look as much like a real spider as possible the book is veritable nightmare fuel for those who hate spiders. It was frightening at times what was drawn on the page and it takes an artist of real caliber to produce a response so powerful.
Conclusion
Once again, Nick Roche has shown the tough side of the Transformers Universe and created a series which fans will want to to check out. If anyone ever needed proper evidence to show what stories the Transformers Comics are capable of telling look no further than Sins of the Wreckers, a series which was able to impact you in ways which will leave you gasping for air when it’s all over.
Following Fall Out Boy’s release of their cover to the Ghostbusters theme song, I felt it best to process the information before giving my two cents. This is a collaboration with artist Missy Elliot and will be a part of the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot’s soundtrack. As with many fans of the original film, reception is not warm. Not at all.
Generally speaking I lost much of my passion for this reboot over the last couple of months. Especially since it is terribly apparent this film is simply a copy and paste film. What’s more, what makes the first Ghostbusters great is simply no where in this attempt.
And this cover is another example of where this movie is going wrong. While the original track matches the tone of the film to a T. It’s catchy, alive, filled with energy, and looking for fun where ever you can find it.
This cover is just…honestly…I have no clue what it’s trying to do. Which is about the same opinion I have for most Fall Out Boy songs.
I’m not saying every cover should be limited by the original piece. Joe Cocker proved that point repeatedly. What bothers me is this film almost wishes to erase the original film from existence. In a fashion similar to taking an eraser to a mistake you make while drawing.
This reminds me of a video from Youtuber Comic Book Girl 19 during the remake of RoboCop. In it she discusses a growing problem of younger audiences forsaking older films for flashier versions lacking substance or even character. And given the outlandish nature of Fall Out Boy’s cover, this only cements my fears regarding this remake of a movie I think should not happen.
DARK JEM PART — concludes! PIZZAZZ rejoins THE MISFITS in time to confront looming threat of Silica. But it will take everyone working together — and performing together — in one SUPER SHOW to stop Silica and The Sickness’s spread once and for all.
Writing
The moment has come and the final battle with Silica finally occurs. Just like the blurb says, the two bands have to work together and find a way to take Silica out. Will they win? You’ll have to check it out for yourself. Just know the issue is definitely worth picking up.
Though writer Kelly Thompson’s conclusion comes a little easier than what was hinted at, looking at it closer there is more going on here. The team has endured a lot and hurt a lot of people while under Silica’s control. They will have to make amends for it and at the same time it’s starting to look like Jerrica isn’t wondering if she shouldn’t just have Synergy be Jem instead of her. Also, as an additional note of what’s to come, The Stingers finally make their comic book debut. Things will definitely not be the same anymore.
Artwork
Sophie Campbell’s art is as vibrant as ever. The battle scene especially memorable as the two bands came together and the battle intensifies. Her work never diminishes and always stays at a distinct level of excellence. Hopefully she won’t be going anywhere anytime soon as the book wouldn’t be the same without her.
Conclusion
The issue wraps up easy enough but considering the the atmosphere and everything which has happened it’s obvious Silica has done damage which will be carried on for issues to come. The issue is emotional and entertaining in a way only Jem seems to be able to accomplish. Also, the Stingers are coming and they will definitely shake things up a bit when they make their debut.
This new installment of the Micronauts seems to be suffering under the weight of its own linage. From the set up and the way characters keep talking there is a lot going on, and a lot of stories which can come from this world but little actual character movement or plot development has occurred. So far, the team took a mission, had to escape to a planet, and have been captured. This isn’t the summary of the issue, this the summary of the first three issues so far. Not a lot has happened with these characters and the book is suffering because of it. It’s not a bad series but it needs to get its act together and start having the characters make some big choices.
The book does introduce an interesting plot point but this is on the final page of the issue. Hopefully from here on Oz and his team will be making the tough calls to help flush out who they are and what they stand for because right now the cast feels generic and boring.
Artwork
Max Dunbar’s art is serviceable, but at times is less menacing for moments that need to be truly intense. Case in point, Baron Zarak encounters and defeats an assassin in this issue but he doesn’t feel intimidating for some reason. It might have to do with the fact he’s no longer the towering figure of mystery he was in the first issue. Still, something can be said for not feeling any type of dread from a character repelling an assassination attempt. Maybe it’s still just too early and it’s obvious Zarack would survive it.
Conclusion
This series is attempting to build a universe which will appeal to new and old Micronaut fans. Unfortunately, the new fans aren’t going to stick around much longer if something of worthy doesn’t start happening in the near future. The action and drama really need to be kicked it into high gear in the next few issues.
With Jason Bourne coming out July 29, it’s time to take a look back at the action franchise, see where it started, see how it evolved, and see where it wound up before Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass decided to return. Welcome to leg one of The Road to Jason Bourne.
The years between Good Will Hunting and The Bourne Identity were strange for Matt Damon. After the success of Good Will Hunting, Damon and his writing partner Ben Affleck had Hollywood open up at their feet. And while Damon followed up his breakout with great turns in Saving Private Ryan, Rounders, and Ocean’s Eleven, his stardom felt like it may have a ceiling.
Any time Damon tried to headline another movie – All the Pretty Horses or The Legend of Bagger Vance, for example – something felt forced about the drama. He was tremendous in The Talented Mr. Ripley, Rounders was admirable, but almost nobody saw those films. Damon seemed destined to live in the periphery of his buddies George Clooney and Brad Pitt, effectively playing the “third biggest star” in the Ocean’s franchise. But then, director Doug Liman came calling, and he had in his hands the future of Matt Damon.
The Bourne Identity is barely based on the Robert Ludlum novel (and the follow up films have virtually nothing to do with them). Liman asked screenwriter Tony Gilroy not to read the books, instead working from the director’s own outline. As for Damon’s involvement, like so many films he was not the first choice. Brad Pitt was originally approached, but passed on it to star opposite Robert Redford in Ridley Scott’s Spy Game. Russell Crowe, Sylvester Stallone (what!?) and Matthew McConaughey all passed. Thankfully. Eventually, it found its way to Matt Damon, and it changed his life forever.
Jason Bourne doesn’t even know he’s Jason Bourne for just about the entire first act of Liman’s terrific franchise starter. After he’s rescued adrift at sea, on death’s door, with bullets and a Swiss bank account number lodged in his body (who hasn’t been there?), Bourne can’t remember the details of his life. He can tie some sweet knots and speak different languages and he sure seems alert and physically powerful. But he doesn’t know his name, or where he’s from, or how the hell he wound up floating in the ocean with two slugs in his back.
As The Bourne Identity slowly reveals its titular character’s life to us, it also shows us Matt Damon is, in fact, a movie star. Not only is he able to handle the physicality of the story, his gradual revelations are key in the success of the story. The audience pretty much knows Jason Bourne is a government assassin, so the drama of figuring that out is left in the hands of Damon, who must gradually come to understand the moral weight of his career and bring the viewer along with him. This is not a film about an assassin getting his memory back as much as its about a former brainwashed CIA weapon reevaluating the consequences of his actions once his brain has been scrubbed and he can start over. It’s a tricky balance, and Damon handles it well.
Bourne’s intimate relationship with Marie (the great, underused Franka Potente) also manages to be incredibly fast for the sake of moviemaking momentum, yet never rings false. Marie is, much like Bourne, a person without any real ties. In her nomadic existence she find the perfect mate: a man who can’t remember his own life beyond two weeks ago. Damon and Potente sell their romance and eventual need of one another, all the while fending off other assassins and dogged police pursuit.
The rest of the supporting cast fills in the periphery of a complete action thriller. Brian Cox and Chris Cooper seethe bureaucratic corruption as hush hush CIA officials. And then there’s a young Clive Owen, playing a fellow Treadstone assassin whose confrontation with Bourne sheds a light on the bleak existence of these people. Liman’s direction is sure handed, because in 2002 we had no idea a filmmaker named Paul Greengrass would eventually take the reigns and completely reimagine the kinetics of the Bourne franchise to stunning results. Here, Liman’s calmer camera works to ease us into this world.
Matt Damon would never be the same after The Bourne Identity. In this film, he found out he could be a superstar about the same time he discovered he was a government assassin. And the audience would discover these things right alongside him.
If there’s one thing each Star Wars film has, regardless of its quality as a film, is an epic opening crawl. Put to the famous Star Wars“Main Title” song, it starts out each film in the saga in a comfortable and familiar way. This may change in a few short months.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Rogue One Producer Kathleen Kennedy spoke about the idea of the film not having an opening crawl:
“The [opening] crawl and some of those elements live so specifically within the ‘saga’ films that we are having a lot of discussion about what will define the [stand-alone] ‘Star Wars’ stories separate and apart from the saga films. So we’re right in the middle of talking about that.”
The notion of a Star Wars film not having an opening crawl likely won’t sit well with many fans, so we’ll have to wait and see if Disney decides to attach one to Rogue One.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, and follows the rebellion in their attempt to steal plans to the Death Star. It hits theaters December 16.
The Bat-Family Goes On A Vacation While Superman Babysits Gotham In This New Lego DC Movie
Imagine how hard it is to plan a surprise party for Batman. Ever wonder what Superman would do when he’s watching over Gotham? That’s the type of stuff you get to see in these Lego DC movies: fun self-aware nonsense with Lego effects.
In this adventure, Batman takes a stroll down memory lane while on vacation with Batgirl and Nightwing. Back in Gotham, Superman and the rest of the Justice League have to handle the mayhem that is Gotham City. We get to see moments like an awkward interaction with Commissioner Gordon and Superman as well as former “Robin” Nightwing getting called out for saying “Holy hole in the wall”. These Lego DC movies feel like parodies of the real DC universe. It’s a refreshing take on the brand that’s known for being too serious.
One of the high points of ‘Gotham City Breakout‘ was the story. For an animated Lego DC movie, we were treated to a great amount of fan service with a cohesive plot. The Bat-Family vacation gets interesting when they drop by to see an old mentor of Batman’s named Madame Mantis. Comics fans are treated to a new backstory where Deathstroke & Batman were trained together by Madame Mantis. This gives some interesting backstory to these two similar characters.
The other story was Superman having to watch over Gotham while Batman is out of town. Superman think he has it under control but he and the Justice League figure out why the Bat-family is always so busy. There’s all out villain mayhem when Joker bust out of jail and brings some evil friends along with him.
Voice acting was totally on point as well. Batman wasn’t voiced by Will Arnett like the future ‘Lego Batman‘ movie but Troy Baker does a great job. The rest of the cast did well with Superman and newly created Madame Mantis being the highlights. Mantis voiced by Amy Hill has hilarious moments while Nolan North brings a dry humor to Superman, the straight man who deals with all this wackiness.
‘Lego DC Comics Superheroes- Justice League: Gotham City Breakout‘ has a July 12, 2016 release date for DVD and Blu-Ray. The film is also available now on Digital.
“Fighting crime is a full-time job and Batman NEVER takes a vacation. That is until he finally agrees to let Batgirl and Nightwing take him on a long overdue trip – leaving Gotham City under the watchful eye of the Justice League in LEGO® DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Gotham City Breakout.”
-WB Animation
Swiss Army Man might just go down as one of 2016’s most ambitious, inventive, and surprisingly engrossing films. Powered by a simple yet surreal screen story and memorable performances from both Paul Dano (Love & Mercy) and Daniel Radcliffe (the “Harry Potter” films), it’s a film that never shies from the unorthodox in terms of what you get on screen.
Yet for all the weirdly wondrous action played out in the course of its 95 minutes, at the heart of Swiss Army Man are nothing less than the very basic questions of human existence. It’s thoughtful, heartfelt, and occasionally hilarious entertainment that needs to be seen in order to be truly appreciated.
What’s it about?
Marooned alone on a remote island in the Pacific, Hank Thompson (Dano) is just about ready to end it all by hanging himself when he spots something curious wash up on the beach. The body of a man (Radcliffe), dressed in a grey suit and tie, presents Hank with the sudden hope that at least his solitude might be at an end, at least until Hank realizes that it’s the body of a dead man.
Except the body isn’t quite as dead as it looks. Specifically, the body is very, very flatulent. In fact, the body has so much gas to expend that it can propel itself through the water.
Being a rather inventive fellow, Hank puts the body’s capacity for flatulence to amazing use in getting them both off the island, across the ocean, and back on dry land. As he begins traveling back to civilization, however, Hank discovers that flatulence is just one of his new companion’s abilities.
What else can it do? Well, perhaps most important to the film’s story is that it can talk, and it has a name: Manny.
Manny, as Hank discovers, has no memory of his life before he became a corpse. He knows nothing of what it means to be alive, to live among other people, to feel emotions or even to die, and the more time Manny spends with Hank, the more he wants to know.
And so the very unlikely pair of man and corpse begin very different but parallel journeys — one of them back to the world he never truly fit into (hence the running away that got him stranded on an island in the first place) and the other to a world and an existence he’s never known.
Innovative direction
Directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively and professionally known as “Daniels”, were awarded “Best Director or Directing” in a U.S. produced film at 2016’s Sundance Film Festival for Swiss Army Man, and its easy to see why. When the script calls for such things as using a flatulent corpse as a jet ski, a wood chopper, an outdoor showerhead (not what you think) or even as a mechanism to fire a makeshift grappling hook, a great deal of inventiveness is needed, and Daniels brings what’s needed and more.
Is there something disconcerting or off-putting about all that plot mileage off of bodily function? Arguably, yes, but in Swiss Army Man it never feels gratuitous or cheap. The farts and bodily function jokes aren’t just there to be funny in that middle-school, farts-are-always-funny sort of way — they’re there to provide almost MacGyver-type inspiration and problem-solving. To make all that work on screen at all, much less to give it the aura of magic realism that it exudes as the film unfolds, is nothing short of an extraordinary achievement on the part of the directors.
Existential questions, earnest emotion add heft
But for all that weirdness (and there’s no denying it’s weird, for all its artfulness), Swiss Army Man has at its core a story filled with heart, and aims to be truly introspective in its exploration of its characters and the nature of humanity itself. To keep audiences engaged in such such heady stuff while at the same time keeping it relatable, the film demands exemplary work from its leads, and that’s exactly what it gets.
Paul Dano has proven exceptional in the past decade, going back to roles in 2006’s Little Miss Sunshine, 2007’s There Will Be Blood, and much more recently 2013’s Prisoners and 2014’s Love & Mercy, when it comes to delivering tangible, relatable fragility in memorable characters. Whether the character happens to be inspired, fanatical, or simply awkward or damaged, the emotional fragility is always palpable and immediately arresting. Here, in Swiss Army Man, he’s at the top of his game, called upon in just about every frame of the film to convey that quality as well as the kind of on-screen charisma necessary for a leading man to carry a film.
Meanwhile, Radcliffe, who of all his one-time “Harry Potter” castmates has been the least shy about tackling unorthodox roles and acting challenges both on the stage and screen, certainly gives his all to playing Manny. In many ways, his is the more challenging role to play in terms of physicality and physical expression. There’s not a great deal of reference material out there for portraying a corpse coming to life in a way that’s not horrifying, so what Radcliffe accomplishes here just in terms of screen presence is memorable in and of itself.
Worth seeing?
All that said, Swiss Army Man may just be a little too out there for audiences who prefer to spend their time at the movies with films featuring more conventional storylines and structures. It’s also a film that by design doesn’t necessarily demand being seen on the big screen.
But if you look forward to films that fall outside of the norm, that dare to tell unusual stories in visually innovative ways, and you’re fortunate enough to live in a area where the film will be released, then you should see Swiss Army Man at the earliest opportunity.
Swiss Army Man
Starring Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.
Running Time: 95 minutes
Rated R for language and sexual material.
On this episode of the Telly Buddies Podcast, we talk all about the latest season of Game of Thrones. Has Cersei crossed the line to become The Mad Queen? Will Jon’s secret challenge his new role at Winterfell? Does Dorne finally matter in the world? How many people pies can Arya bake in secret?
FAIR WORD OF WARNING: The Telly Buddies Podcast often contains spoilers, as this is an up-to-date podcast talking about new developments. This episode contains TONS of Game of Thrones spoilers. Literally, tons. Print out the transcript and weigh it. The math checks out.
Telly Buddies podcast is hosted by Jon Barr, an avid TV fan and writer on Monkeys Fighting Robots (if you didn’t guess). Guests this week are Bryn Gelbart and Simon Johnston. Artwork created by Scott Ginsberg, and intro/outro music is “Nevermind the Books,” as performed by Mourning Todds.
Do you have any topics you’d like to hear about? Send any television-related questions to tellybuddiespodcast@gmail.com. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @TellyBuddies, subscribe to our SoundCloud feed, and subscribe/rate/review on iTunes!
