Despite previous reports of a second season, HBO has decided to scrap Vinyl. The 70s coke-fueled music industry retread of many, many better films and shows won’t be back, much to the chagrin of dozens of people who watched the entire first season.
In a statement, HBO said “After careful consideration, we have decided not to proceed with a second season of ‘Vinyl.’ Obviously, this was not an easy decision. We have enormous respect for the creative team and cast for their hard work and passion on this project.”
HBO was eager to give Vinyl a second season renewal, going so far as to green light another go days after the season 1 debut. But over time, viewers and critics began to figure out the feint that was Martin Scorsese’s overcooked drama. Personally, I made it through one episode before I realized the show had absolutely nothing new to offer to a scene which had been dragged through literally every artistic medium. It was a terrible show. Everyone involved, from Scorsese to Bobby Cannavale to Ray Romano and everyone in between, is better off moving on to something better that suits their incredible talents.
And HBO doesn’t need Vinyl to move forward; Westworld is just around the corner, and is poised to be the station’s next big thing. That trailer certainly indicated as much.
So put Vinyl in the pile with John From Cincinnati, Luck, and Tell Me You Love Me as one-and-done HBO experiments. The network’s batting average is still quite impressive. They can’t all be hits.
Lucasfilm has kept any information about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story under tight wraps for a while. But with the movie only six months away, the studio is finally releasing character names and descriptions, with Forest Whitaker’s role being the most notable.
Whitaker will be playing a character that hardcore fans will find familiar: Saw Gerrera from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Gerrera was featured in a five episode arc on Clone Wars, starting with episode two of season five. He was an insurgent soldier on his home planet of Onderon, and fought alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.
“Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera is bulkier, more battle-hardened with the years, and maybe a little shellshocked. He has continued to fight; and, as he suggested in the trailer, he has become something — and it’s not quite a hero. Rather, he’s a man who has tried to do the right thing by occasionally doing questionable things.”
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“’Consider him kind of a battered veteran who leads a band of Rebel extremists,’ Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy tells EW. ‘He’s on the fringe of the Rebel Alliance. Even [they] are a little concerned about him.'”
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“One reason we saved his reveal until now, in addition to him having a deeper backstory than the other new characters, is that Saw is an ally to the Rebel squad in Rogue One, but he’s not really one of them. ‘He’s off on his own,’ Kennedy says.”
The official Star Wars YouTube Channel released the following video in conjunction with the reveal:
Pablo Hidalgo then took to Twitter to expand upon the character, and the choice to use him in Rogue One.
So. Saw Gerrera. Yes, to reiterate, he was an idea developed for the proposed live action TV show, but was introduced in The Clone Wars.
When it comes to sequels they really can be hit or miss. Sometimes a sequel gives a fan everything they want and properly continues the adventures of the characters and helps to enrich the plot of the world they exist in. Other times, it’s an absolute train wreck and it makes a fan not only hate the sequel but also takes a bit of enjoyment away from the original installment as well.
Anime is not immune to having bad sequels. Some of them have been so bad they have actually been the last installment in franchise or worse the series keeps going even after it. These are anime’s worst sequels.
10. Samurai Troopers OVAs
This one is a bit more obscure which is why it’s lower on the list. Remember Ronin Warriors? Well it had OVA sequels. One of them had the team fighting a generic villain, the other had them lose their armor in a battle with a Black Inferno armor, which didn’t properly explained they lost them. Finally, a third last OVA series gave the team a new set of armor entirely but ends before they can even have their first fight. This thing went downhill fast and made fans wish they had never asked for a sequel in the first place.
9. Metabots Damashii
How do you do a follow up to a season where the main character went to the world championship? Just reduce the cast, add a stupid gimmick, and take away everything which made the show fun. This was the part of the anime where Metabee got a transformation mode but most of the designs simply looked like bots from the previous seasons. Also a lot of the cast didn’t make it back in this season such as Koji, Karen, and Rintaro, which were fan favorite characters. Even the devout fans of the franchise have a hard time defending this sequel.
8. WXIII: Patlabor the movie 3
Have you ever thought “Let’s have as little of what made the other films and the TV series enjoyable as possible” then you’d have the thought pattern of the creators of the third Patlabor movie. Focusing on a pair of detectives in the Patlabor world the main cast from the TV series gets about ten whole minutes of screen time which is just about how much time the giant robots get as well. Because less giant robots is exactly what people want when they watch anime.
7. Ninja Scroll: The series
Though the Ninja Scroll sequel movies could have easily fit on this list, they are actually disqualified for not being direct sequels and only used the Ninja Scroll name. The TV series on the other hand was a director sequel and goes downhill fast. It posses one of the best first episodes ever, filled with the action, violence, and art quality much like the movie. It sadly never reaches this level of quality again and limps to the finish line with an unsatisfying defeat of the demonic army and Jubei walking off as if nothing happened.
6. Eureka Seven AO
The basic description for this series makes its sounds like it should be a winner. Ao, Eureka and Renton’s son has to pilot a redesigned Nirvash and help to stop incidents involving Scub Coral which can result in massive destruction. How could such a concept not succeed? Unfortunately, Ao, isn’t nearly as endearing a character as his father was and viewers just forced themselves to wait for members of the original cast to show up. Sadly by the time they decided to finally show up it was too late and most had given up before seeing this show through to the end.
5. Gundam Seed: Destiny
The original Gundam Seed was a great series. It introduced a bunch of great characters and some very powerful Mobile Suits to the franchise. Unfortunately the follow up, Destiny repeatedly used a lot of the same story elements of the first and overused flashbacks to the point series director Mitsuo Fukuda who was given the nickname “Flashback em’ all” by fans. The series ended on such a bad note a movie was announced to give the series a proper ending. Unfortunately there will be no movie. There have been eight series since then. It’s not coming out people so let it go.
4. Dragonball GT
Filler is any episode of an anime which has no connection to the original manga it was based on. Dragonball GT was based on no manga and the original creator of Dragonball, Akira Toriyama had absolutely no involvement in it. Even the most hardcore and devoted Dragonball fan has dismissed this series entirely, especially since the introduction of Dragonball Z: Battle of the Gods, Dragonball Z: Resurrection of F, and the new series, Dragonball Super. Of course, it did have the Super Android 17 saga, which was a pretty cool idea but this arc only went on for six episodes. The other 58 of them you can forget about.
3. Macross II
Some series are so bad fans wish they didn’t exist. Then there are the shows which are so bad, they are never referenced again, and are erased from the franchise’s canon. In this well forgotten sequel to the original Macross, a new group of aliens appear with their own singers which they use to control their warriors. A reporter helps one of the alien singers escape and shows her the joys of earth. Unfortunately their efforts result in the destruction of the original Macross in the final battle. Way to go guys, destroy a battleship which helped to bring peace to the entire galaxy.
2. Tenchi Muyo: Ryo Ohki
Why is this series on this list and not the more infamous entry in the franchise, Tenchi in Tokyo? Because Tenchi in Tokyo is bad but can be easily dismissed as a bad show. This series on the other hand wrecked the OVA series, the original introduction of the Tenchi Muyo characters which after all the different spin offs had been looked at as being the proper storyline. Then this series came around and answered everything fans had spent years speculating on as poorly as possible. The mysteries of Ryoko jewels was solved crudely, the evil goddess Tokimi was not only defeated but also starts hanging around Tenchi’s house, and entire series only served to set things up for Tenchi Muyo: GXP, which was the final nail in the coffin.
1. MD Geist 2: Deathforce
How do you follow up the worst anime OVA ever made? Simple, you give it a sequel. MD Geist, a terrible OVA about a genetically engineered soldier who at the end of the first series decided to destroy the world, because he’s only programmed for fighting. The sequel is far from a redemption story as Geist continues to kill but this time goes up against Krauser, another Most Dangerous (Yes, this is what the MD in the title stands for) soldier who is helping to rebuild society. The violence is over the top and not in a good way and the plot makes no sense. This OVA should just be avoided as it offers nothing but poor plot, bad art, and unnecessary violence.
Was there a sequel which you feel is the worst in the history of anime which isn’t on this list? Leave your opinion in the comment section below.
Twenty One Pilots released ‘Heathens’ Tuesday afternoon. This is the first music video to go along with the ‘Suicide Squad’ Motion Picture Soundtrack.
The song is rather bland and doesn’t inspire the chaos that is the Suicide Squad.
‘Suicide Squad’ is directed by Ayer and stars Will Smith as Deadshot, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Oscar winner Jared Leto as the Joker, Jai Courtney as Boomerang, and Cara Delevingne as Enchantress.
The band of anti-heroes will be in theaters on August 5, 2016.
‘Suicide Squad’ Motion Picture Soundtrack
Bohemian Rhapsody
Written by Freddie Mercury
Performed by Panic! at the Disco
I Started a Joke
Written by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb
Performed by Confidential MX featuring Becky Hanson
You Don’t Own Me
Written by John Madara and Dave White
Performed by Grace Sewell (as Grace) feat. Gerald Earl Gillum (as G-Eazy)
Ballroom Blitz
by Sweet
Back in Black
by AC/DC
Mother Brick in The Wall
by Pink Floyd
Bad Girl
by Avril Lavigne feat. Marilyn Manson
Sympathy For The Devil
by The Rolling Stones
The Polyphonic Spree
by Nirvana
Class Animal
by Kanye West
Where Is My Mind
by Yoav & Emily
Goodbye Horses
by Q Lazzarus
Creep
by Radiohead
Purple Lamborghini
Performed by Rick Ross and Skrillex
Heathens
Performed by Twenty One Pilots
Sucker for Pain
Performed by Lil’ Wayne, Wiz Khalifa and Imagine Dragons featuring Logic, Ty Dolla Sign (as Ty Dolla $ign) and X Ambassadors
Standing in the Rain
Performed by Action Bronson and Dan Auerbach featuring Mark Ronson
Gangsta
Performed by Kehlani
Know Better
Performed by Kevin Gates
Without Me
Performed by Eminem
Wreck Havoc
Performed by Skylar Grey
Medieval Warfare
Performed by Grimes
Slippin Into Darkness
Performed by War
Fortunate Son
Performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Nicolas Winding Refn is back with his 10th feature, The Neon Demon. The film is a visually startling, emotionally void tale about the dark, tumultuous holes one can fall into while traversing the fashion industry. Refn isn’t known for his films having substance in the traditional sense, but they do favor excessive glitz and style. He tends to craft his stories around images he wants to show rather than the story dictating cinematography. Refn certainly demonstrated this in Drive anddoes it once more in The Neon Demon.
Normally a movie this devoid of substance would be annoying, but this movie is different … it’s special. Hereis an aesthetically appealing spectacle that’s both unsettling and breathtaking at the same time. You don’t want to watch, but at the same time, it’s impossible to look away.
Jesse (Elle Fanning) is a naïve, eager, and pure 16-year old who moves to Hollywood and instantly lands a modeling gig. After a photo shoot that’s more foreboding than we initially realize, Jesse befriends Ruby (Jena Malone), a makeup artist who has offered to take Jesse under her wing and show her the ropes. One of her initial moves is to drag Jesse to a party that night where she meets two ultra-competitive and vapid models named Gigi (Bella Heathcote) and Sarah (Abbey Lee), who are immediately jealous of the younger Jesse. Jesse lands a meeting with a high profile agency and is told by Jan (Christina Hendricks) she needs to lie about her age and say she’s 19. And this is where the decent begins.
A fashion designer describes Jesse as “a diamond in a sea of glass.” The same can be said about the cinematography in The Neon Demon. The creativity is rich, the symmetry in the framing of each shot so precise that Kubrick himself would approve of Refn’s obsessive eye. And to the devastating use of lighting, Refn’s film is visually decadent.
There is a scene in the movie where Jesse is trapped in a motel room. The owner (played by a sleazy Keanu Reeves) is forcing his way into the room next to hers, and the audience can hear him assaulting a woman. Refn shot this scene by having Jesse go up to the shared wall and place her ear up against the wall. Most directors would have just stopped at that point, but Refn isn’t most directors. Refn illuminates the wall blood red, and thins the wall out to the depth of paper or canvas, conveying a sense of not only the brutality of the act but how helpless Jesse felt at that moment without her even having to say a single word.
The deliberate pacing gives the impression that this all could be a dream, a very violent, dark, and twisted dream. Refn sedates the audience just enough, enhancing the shock of some of the most violent scenes of the year. The narrative, at most, is incredibly simplistic. Fanning, Malone, Bella Heathcote, and Aubrey Lee all portray their characters with such little emotion that the audience is not attached to any of them. It’s as if they morphed from portraying people to portraying images, beautiful, twisted, dark, and sadistic.
Now for those who are fans of Refn, especially when he pushes the envelope, no need to worry because he takes what’s acceptable and pushes it to the limit. This film has everything from multiple stabbings, to thrown up eyeballs, deepthroating a knife, and morgue necrophilia.
Some may accuse this film of misogyny. I agree. But that’s the point Refn is trying to make to the audience. Hollywood can be incredibly misogynistic, and there is a dark side to the town most don’t want to think about.
Illumination Entertainment is the house the Minions made, and they are now expanding beyond their stable franchise with their first non-Despicable Me animated movie – The Secret Life of Pets.
Max (Louis C.K.) is a Jack Russell Terrier, who lives a perfect life with his loving human Katie (Ellie Kemper). When she disappears during the day, Max hangs out with friends. His idyllic life is shattered when Katie brings home a new dog – a big brown bruiser called Duke (Eric Stonestreet). Their rivalry leads to the dogs getting lost in New York, and they have to make their way home – being chased by animal control and an underground group of animals led by a psychopathic white rabbit (Kevin Hart) – while their friends led by Gidget the Pomeranian (Jenny Slate) attempt to find them in the Big Apple.
2016 has offered some great animated movies like Zootopia, Kung Fu Panda 3 and Finding Dory – family films that appeal to a wide audience: The Secret Life of Pets does not match them, aiming more towards a younger audience. Gags are mostly visual, playing on typical pet behavior – my personal favorite being Chloe the obese cat sitting in items that are too small for her and playing with cat toys. These were fun little touches in the animation. However, many of the best jokes have already been shown in the trailers. Some jokes were ripped off from other movies and TV shows such as a fantasy sequence being very similar to Homer Simpson’s daydream of the Land of Chocolate and the dogs obsession of squirrels like the dogs in Up. Others reminded me too much of The Angry Birds Movie – using fantasy sequences – and one joke where one character gets the names of other characters wrong.
Unlike many animated movies who hire a big name cast, The Secret Life of Pets hires a cast of TV actors, SNL cast members and comedians. This works in the movie’s favor for the most part – Louis C. K. made for a fine lead saying what we would expect a dog to say and sounding a lot younger than he really is. Modern Family‘s Eric Stonestreet’s was unrecognizable from his famous sitcom role – his voice being deep and imposing rather than being campy. Jenny Slate has a maniac energy fitting for her role as the energetic little dog, and Lake Bell had the best lines as Chloe – having a sardonic delivery. Albert Brooks was also a delight as the Tiberius the hawk – even if I was thinking at the time ‘where do I know that voice?’
The biggest cast members were Kevin Hart and Steven Coogan. Coogan is turning into a regular for Illumination Entertainment having appeared in Despicable Me 2 and Minions and this time he plays a gangland Sphynx cat who inexplicitly has a Cockney accent. But for someone who finds Hart to be no more than short Chris Tucker his Snowball the rabbit was a character trying to be funny by thinking shouting and screaming is enough.
The Secret Life of Pets is essentially like Toy Story and The Incredible Journey – a movie where we see what our pets get up to when their owners are away and with other pets trying to get back home. There is nothing wrong for movies to use similar storylines – it is bound to happen, especially for big budget and family films who have to play it safe. But The Secret Life of Pets has story beats that can be seen from miles away – particularly involving Duke’s back story. Only the youngest audience members would be surprised by the movie. Also with the invention of YouTube, we can watch animals getting up to crazy antics anytime we want.
The animation is fantastic as would be expected from a movie like this. Chris Renaud, the director of the Despicable Me movies, and Yarrow Cheney, Despicable Me‘s production designer go to great lengths to replicate New York City, and the animals are cute creations – particularly Gidget who is a white puffball. There will be a lot of stuffed toys made of these characters.
The Secret Life of Pets is a kid friendly film where only children below the age of four may find the movie too intense: that is a scene involving a snake. There is little on offer for an adult audience: there was only sporadic laugher at the screening I attended. Illumination Entertainment are masters at marketing and merchandising, and they should make a lot of money from this movie’s related products.
The movie also comes with a short film Mower Minions. It is a quick slapstick affair where everyone’s favorite yellow being starts a gardening business, and their accident prone ways make it a fun little diversion. The Minions work best in short burst.
It’s turning out to be a great week for fans of Mighty Morphin teenagers. First, Bryan Cranston announced that he will be playing Zordon in 2017’s Power Rangers reboot. Today, the studio has released the film’s first teaser poster.
Check out the poster and description below, and talk about it on social media using the hashtags #PowerRangersMovie & #TogetherWeAreMore!
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.
Are you excited for the flick? Let us know in the comments below!
With another month almost over, it’s time to look at the new releases from Netflix. After the barbecue and fireworks are done you’re going to need some geek entertainment to help you wind down. Here are the best picks to keep up your geek credentials.
1. Back to the Future Trilogy (July 1st)
One of the greatest movies about time travel ever comes to Netflix. If you haven’t taken the time to watch this film seize the moment. If you don’t like it, “Then make a like a tree, and get out of here.”
2. Bad Boys II (July 1st)
With talk of Bad Boys 3 on the horizon, you’ll want to take the time to check out the movie which preceded it. This sequel to the 1995 film really found a way to turn up the action and comedy between actors Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. How you might ask? Just watch the chase scene and you’ll find out.
3. Batman: The Movie (July 1st)
The movie based on the legendary TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward swings into Netflix. When all of their villains come together, it’s up to the dynamic duo to take them down. In this case though, taking them down will involve Bat Shark Repellent.
4. Big Trouble in Little China (July 1st)
The story of a truck driver who happens to get roped into a battle involving an ancient Chinese sorcerer. This classic action comedy starring Kurt Russell is a cult classic and is the perfect to thing to watch when you have a craving for 80s action.
5. Beverly Hills Cop Trilogy (July 1st)
Another film which is getting a sequel in the near future (or at least teased at one coming for years), this series features Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a Detroit cop who’s investigation takes him to Beverly Hills. There, he’ll get help from two cops (after driving them crazy) who will help him solve a murder which is close to him and this is just in the first film.
6. Blade 2 (July 1st)
How do you improve a movie which was already pretty good in the first place? Simple. Bring in a visionary director like Guillermo Del Toro to add his own unique style to the project. As Blade works to save his mentor Whistler, he is introduced to a new mutation, which feasts on other vampires and are immune to garlic and silver. To combat them, Blade will have to work with the vampires he once hunted.
7. Gladiator (July 1st)
“Are you not entertained?” You will be when you watch the movie which put Russell Crowe on the map. Watch as he stars as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a general who is ordered to be executed by the army he fought for, has everything stripped from him, and must become a Gladiator in order to exact his revenge.
8. Hey Arnold!: The Movie(July 1st)
Everyone’s favorite football headed kid must do everything he can to save his neighborhood from being destroyed. Not the best of the Nicktoons films but it might be a good idea to check it out to prepare for the Hey Arnold finale which Nickelodeon has been hinting at recently.
9. Lethal Weapon series(July 1st)
There was a time when we looked forward to Mel Gibson films. This was the series which really helped him to become a household name. Together with Danny Glover, the two play unlikely partners who keep getting involved with crimes which are much bigger than they appear. Should they quit? Should they retire? “We aren’t too old for this…”
10. Bojack Horseman, Season 3 (July 22nd)
The third season of the popular Netflix animated series arrives on the 22nd. Watch as Bojack continues to deal with his past and work towards a better future. He may just a need a drink or two to help him on his way though.
Indiana Jones 5 is headed our way, whether we want it or not (and why not, honestly?). But according to Disney’s Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, it won’t be the final time we follow the globetrotting archeologist.
Not only is Indiana Jones 5 not the final chapter, Disney is planning on a – wait for it – Indiana Jones shared universe. Iger discussed the idea with The Hollywood Reporter:
“Not like Star Wars, but we hope… right now, we’re focused on a reboot, or a continuum and then a reboot of some sort… Well, we’ll bring him back, then we have to figure out what comes next. That’s what I mean. It’s not really a reboot, it’s a boot — a reboot. I don’t know. We [got] Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the film. But then what’s the direction? I’ve had discussions about what the direction is, [but] I don’t want to get into it. I don’t think it reaches the scale of the universe of Star Wars, but I see making more. It won’t be just a one-off.”
That’s clear as mud. But it’s obvious the shared universe type franchise is the new status quo. Straight sequels aren’t enough for studios anymore, so we could possibly see Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones hand off his fedora to a new character. Satellite stories and prequels seem tricker, but I’m sure Disney could figure this out.
Indiana Jones 5 is still a long way away, July 10, 2019 to be exact.
Back in May it was announced that DC’s chief content officer, Geoff Johns would co-run DC Films with Jon Berg. Also in May, Johns relaunched DC Comics with ‘Rebirth.’ In addition, Johns co-wrote ‘Green Lanterns: Rebirth’ with Sam Humphries, which focused on rookie Green Lanterns Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz.
Monkeys Fighting Robots spoke with Humphries and asked him if he talked with Johns about Simon or Jessica appearing in the DC Cinematic Universe. Humphries replied with a “no comment.” That’s an interesting answer. If Humphries just said no the conversation would be over. But since the writer of ‘Green Lanterns’ said: “no comment” you know that Johns and Humphries talked about something and Johns has a personal attachment to the Green Lantern he created.
‘Green Lantern Corps’ is in development and doesn’t hit theaters until July 24, 2020. So every possibility is still on the table. There are seven Green Lanterns from Earth, and it looks like this film will be more than just a Hal Jordan show.
Green Lanterns from Earth:
Alan Scott
Hal Jordan
Guy Gardner
John Stewart
Kyle Rayner
Simon Baz
Jessica Cruz
In today’s pop culture landscape, Simon Baz has the most compelling story to tell. Baz is a Lebanese-American Muslim from Dearborn, Michigan who was bullied and persecuted because of his ethnicity. This is a story, if told well could separate the DC Cinematic Universe from the cookie-cutter Disney-Marvel Universe (They’re really good cookies, but still cookie-cutter). Johns, who is half-Lebanese, and a native of Detroit, Michigan created Baz from personal influences.
A team of Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Simon Baz is a diverse formidable lineup rich with storytelling potential.
What Green Lanterns do you want to see in ‘Green Lantern Corps’ film?
Listen to the complete Sam Humphries interview below:
Jesse (Elle Fanning) is a naïve, eager, and pure 16-year old who moves to Hollywood and instantly lands a modeling gig. After a photo shoot that’s more foreboding than we initially realize, Jesse befriends Ruby (Jena Malone), a makeup artist who has offered to take Jesse under her wing and show her the ropes. One of her initial moves is to drag Jesse to a party that night where she meets two ultra-competitive and vapid models named Gigi (Bella Heathcote) and Sarah (Abbey Lee), who are immediately jealous of the younger Jesse. Jesse lands a meeting with a high profile agency and is told by Jan (Christina Hendricks) she needs to lie about her age and say she’s 19. And this is where the decent begins.
