Warner Bros. Television’s Sunday programming block at 2015 New York Comic Con kicked things off with a bang, when they treated fans in attendance to a couple of high-octane sizzle reels featuring footage from the new seasons of The CW’s hit superhero series Arrow & The Flash. Check out the footage that took the Empire Room by storm right here. The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c and Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8/7c, both on The CW.
The Gundam franchise is an enormous to say the least, in Japan that is. As for America, it’s never really caught on to the mainstream anime fan base. Even the nostalgically loved Gundam Wing isn’t rated very high by anime fans who aren’t reminiscing on their childhood. But that’s not to say their aren’t hard-core Gundam fans in the states. It’s just I’m not one of them. My favorite Gundam series has to be Gundam Build Fighter followed by Unicorn as a close second. The only things I’ve seen besides those are 00 and Seed/Destiny. So I’m not one who’s particularly well versed in the “Universal Century” timeline of Gundam. And if you aren’t either that’s perfectly fine because Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans has your back. Of the few Gundams I have seen this one is already standing out from the rest and it’s not too hard to figure out why.
For me the thing that always has been inaccessible about Gundam is the politics, and believe me every Gundam (well besides Build Fighter) loves its politics. Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans starts out like most Gundams with some deep, in media res, politics. Only as opposed to other series in the past, I understand what is going on only after watching the episode once. The delivery of the “plot” is easily digestible and it doesn’t linger or pretend we have to care about whats going on just yet. It just gives us some good plot points on what the relationship with mars and earth is, and why this group called “Gjallarhorn” wants to kill the martian equality spokes girl Kudelia Aina Bernstein. For now its all we need to know and the show doesn’t try to give us early information of foreshadowing to make it seem like it has dramatic depth. Its counting on the fact that the characters that the story surround are compelling enough to keep you interested in what is and will happen to them.
Which is another great thing about this show that I don’t really see in any Gundam shows (Remember though I haven’t seen many). Orga and Mikazuki are a treat, and I don think there has ever been a relationship as interesting as theirs in a Gundam show. At least not one that is a major focus of the show. It’s great how Orga and Mikazuki can be so opposite of each other and still be brought together by the same goal. It’s also easy to see how they deeply depend on one another to help find the meaning to go on in the cruel and ruthless planet mars.
Sure their bond is deep, but its the rest of the Chryse Guardian Security force that really lets us get to know the motivation of both these characters. Honestly I don’t think they’ve spent time with any child soldier who I haven’t liked. It’s a ragtag team of child soldiers, which is easy endearment bait. But the show knows better that to leave it at that so they tone down the depression of being child soldiers and focus heavily on them trying their best to cope with their situation together. Which is more compelling to me. Its still a hard show and it lets you know that the lives these “child soldiers” are living is terrible, but its not playing off as edgy tragedy bait.
As for Kudalia, I’m not quite sure how to think of her yet. Sure it seems like that everyone else is condemning her for being sheltered nobility that doesn’t know anything, but the show doesn’t frame her like that. It’s really interested in her growth of understanding and isn’t so much as blaming her for not knowing but helping her come to terms with the reality. Given my past experience with Gundam (which again I haven’t seen a lot of) there is always some less progressive plot points with the female characters. Gundam has never been known to have strong female characters and usually focuses on the bad ass males. Hopefully they will do some interesting things with her, but we’ll have to wait and see on that one. There is another girl character as well who seems to be interested in Mikazuki romantically. Thats something to look out for as well.
The art and visuals are what you expect from a Gundam show. The characters look very appealing and never really go off model. The desert setting, which is usually very bland in most shows, is able to remain pretty with the soft palette and bright colors that they incorporate.
Only two episodes and I’m hopefully optimistic for where Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans is heading. The message in this show seems more basic than others, which is good in the long run as to not seem convoluted. It’s about kids fighting for a better life in a world that is trying to do everything to not let that happen. And boy do I want to see Orga and Mikazuki help shift that status quo. As for now, all I can think of for next week, is if they will still be shirtless when they go into space.
Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans is streaming for free on Daisuki.net
I’ve been writing with Monkeys Fighting Robots for a few months now so that makes us family .. right? Well, family shares big news and I’ve got big news to share with you all. My wife and I are expecting our second child (a boy) in January of 2016. We couldn’t be more thrilled about this and our son, Charlie, is going to be a great big brother, even at three years old. Right now, Charlie’s days are filled with trying various acts that cause his mother and I to have a heart attack and watching his favorite show, Thomas the Tank Engine. Let me slightly correct that previous statement, when I say watch Thomas the Tank Engine I mean watch it… All the time. So I decided that enough was enough and I would begin the search for alternative shows for my son Charlie and for my new son, TBD, to watch. Now, conventional wisdom would dictate that I would call friends or people that I know and ask for some advice, but that would mean I would have to use a phone and that can be such a drag. So, I decided to do the obvious and ask people on the internet (for those of you wondering .. this where my wife rolled her eyes and walked away from my computer screen). I put the question out .. What are the best children’s cartoons I should introduce to my two sons? And boy or boy the results were quite interesting.
5) Peppa The Pig – From what I’ve gathered, this show revolves around Peppa, a female pig, and her pals. Each of her friends are a different species of mammal. Every episode tends to feature typical activities and Peppa saying “no” a ton. Truthfully, the last thing I need is Charlie and our second son saying “no” all the time, so I’m not sure this one will make the cut.
4) GI Joe (80’s edition) – Yes! What better show to teach my two sons that difference between good and evil? GI Joe would also teach my boys to not trust anybody who’s wearing a mask that obscures their entire face. If you don’t see my point … would you want your boys to trust Cobra Commander or Darth Vader? If those reasons don’t seal it, then who wouldn’t want to expose their boys to the voice acting prowess of Sgt. Slaughter? I guess now I know and knowing is half the battle.
3) Adventure Time – So I flipped this show on to give it a go and I am truly convinced that this show must be what it feels like to be tripping Acid. Apparently this story is about a 12-year old boy name Finn as he battles evil in the land Ooo. Ooo was the noise that was being shouted as I agonized making it through one episode. I guess if I need to ground the boys down the road I could punish them by enduring this very trippy show.
2) Scooby Doo – Okay, now we are talking.. this is my speed and I feel that it teaches great lessons to any and all children. For starters, it shows the kiddos that you shouldn’t trust any strangers, especially if they have last name withers (did you ever notice that the writers on Scooby Doo would generally make the villain some sort older stranger who was referenced as Old man ___ )? It would teach my sons that if you are ever in a pickle to reach out to closest world famous basketball team to help him out. Finally, it teaches children that dogs make the worst plans.
1) Animanics – I would have to say Animanics was the best suggestion I received and it wasn’t even close. A show with old-fashioned wit, slapstick, and pop culture references is the perfect show to introduce to my sons. Each episode was generally comprised of three episodes mixed in with a few skits. A show that both my wife and I grew up on and it contains valuable lessons in it such as never irritate a squirrel . It could also show our boys the importance of higher education, even if that means they want to go to Acme University to earn their toon degree. Above all else, it would be shared experience that my wife and I could pass on together.
What do you guys think? What Children’s cartoons would introduce to your children?
In an effort to give you the latest and the greatest in the world of pop culture, we are always monitoring all parts of the internet trying to give you what you want … exclusives! A few moments ago a video surfaced online from the Daredevil panel and it’s the new trailer for season 2. I hope you enjoy
The Horror Advocate makes cases for the under-appreciated cinematic treasures that lurk just beneath your bed. If your horror film is publicly derided, undeservedly ridiculed or generally forgotten, you may find yourself in need of… The Horror Advocate.
Resolved: David Slade‘s 2007 film, 30 Days of Night is one of the most gorgeous, poetic and Western vampire films ever made.
The movie, making excellent use of the natural occurrence of a polar night, explores the vistas of the snow-laden land in America’s northernmost city. Though creative license is taken with just how dark things get and how quickly, the story picks up the terrifying sticks laid down by something that actually occurs in nature. You can feel the cold and desolation when looking out past the boundaries of town.
Once the film settles within the town of Barrow, we are drawn in by what is clearly a close-knit and warm community of people. The shared experience of dealing with nature at its harshest brings an already established sense of trust between the residents. They depend on one another to live each and every day. This makes the community a difficult one to ingratiate yourself with, and with good reason outsiders aren’t looked upon kindly.
When The Stranger (Ben Foster) ambles into town, it isn’t unlike a Western when an unknown rustler enters the town saloon, causing a stir and uneasiness. Only, this Stranger isn’t out to steal cattle, he’s here to pave the way for something more sinister.
The film focuses on the splintered relationship between Eben (Josh Hartnett) and his ex-wife, Stella (Melissa George), when she is stuck in town for the month-long polar night, having missed the last plane out of town. The eggshells being walked on by each mirror the ways the townsfolk must deal with the town’s new intruders.
Once the vampires enter town, they don’t do so senselessly or scattershot. They have a plan and are very, very good at this. Led by Marlow (Danny Huston), the creatures aren’t treated as once-human, romantic beings deserving of empathy. These are monsters, through and through. They speak an ancient language and behave as diseased hunters, cold and remorseless. The movie doesn’t spare a single beloved character. The weak get picked-off often and those without an immediate hiding spot or a weapon aren’t shown the slightest sense of mercy. The attacks are brutal, swift and meticulous.
In what is arguably one of the greatest, most harrowing sequences in the history of the horror genre, the camera travels through and over Barrow’s main drag as the initial attack rages on below. The vampires tear open the bodies of their victims, splashing their vital red blood against the backdrop of pristine snow drifts. The movie stays quieter than most, ignoring sudden blasts of strings for the airy winds of the environment, making each attack feel less about circumstance and more about inevitability. The vampires are smart and relentless, giving our dwindling group of survivors absolutely no hope that they’ll be able to hold out an entire month.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76j5W4wT2mM[/embedyt]
As the film goes on, our hero realizes that there are no options in this situation. He must relent and accept the fact that life can’t go on as it once did, that no one will survive unless he does what is necessary. In our own lives, we often can’t let go of the past. We lock ourselves in rooms with ghosts created by our own stubbornness. What’s worse is it doesn’t just hurt us but everyone within reach. It’s an evil, destructive power, not letting life move on without that previous element. Eben must let go of his relationship with Stella, the threads of which tormenting those around him. Only in this situation, letting go of that past means laying down his humanity in order to give the innocent a fighting chance. To be clear, he doesn’t choose death. He chooses to use the evil against the aggressors and fight. He’ll never be the same again, but his death isn’t certain.
In an initially one-sided but quickly decided battle between Marlow and Eben, Eben manages to secure life for the town’s survivors, if not for himself.
With the battle finished, and the fate between Eben and Stella resolved, they share one last sunrise together. The final scene, in which Stella holds Eben as he chooses not to live as a monster, he turns to ashes in Stella’s arms; their love now just ashes in the ether. Eben may not actually get to move on in life, but everyone is now free from the sins of the past and the evil which would have consumed them all if they didn’t choose to fight.
30 Days of Night is poignant, beautiful and, all poetics and metaphorical resonance aside, a damned entertaining horror film for the ages.
Have you seen this guy?
The next time we will see Ruffalo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be Thor: Ragnarok.
Thor: Ragnarok is directed by Taika Waititi, Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle are working on the script, and the film stars Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Jaimie Alexander, Ray Stevenson, and Anthony Hopkins.
Thor: Ragnarok will destroy the universe on November 3, 2017.
Just like in his later adventures, Young Black Jack (Hazama) just can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble. The second episode starts with Hazuma waking up after being kidnapped. Turns his loan shark(Taro Taachiir) wants Hazuma and a few others including Dr. Yabu to pay up. How? By giving their heart to a cult leader who needs a transplant. Hazuma insists no doctor would perform such an operation but Taro tells him of a doctor named “Doctor Joker” and says that Black Market Doctors will do anything.
Unfortunately, Dr. Joker is a no-show and its falls onto Hazama to perform the operation with the other donor, a man named Raymond. Raymond had come to Japan to make money to save his sick daughter and is willing to give up his heart to do so. Hazama himself is trapped between his hatred for men who think they can buy everything and the temptation to “play god’ by performing a heart transplant in a time when the operation was still controversial. No spoilers but it’s really the type of episode that helps to showcase how Hazama conducts himself with the great medical skill he possesses.
This episode helps to introduce the world of the “Underground medicine” that Black Jack was known for operating in later in life. Though he has a distaste for it now, the rest of the series may prove why he eventually went down this path. For now we see some good character moments as Hazama feels temptation to explore more with medicine and Yabu is willing show talk of his pain from the past to help keep Hazama grounded. A short and touching episode of the how our friends can help us in our dark times.
For some reason Japan makes it a point to showcase being surrounded by a bunch of women who wish to shower men with love and devotion is somehow a bad thing. Our latest evidence for this theory comes in the form of the new show Ore ga Ojo-sama Gakko ni “Shomin Sample” Toshite Gets Sareta Ken which translates to I was abducted by an Elite All-Girls School as a Sample Commoner. Fans will probably just end calling it by its nickname of Shomin Sample</em> just so they can save breath.
The story introduces Kimito Kagurazaka who, as the title suggests, has been abducted to be the “Sample Commoner” at a prestigious all girls academy called Seikan Academy. Thanks to their elite life style and lack of contact with the opposite gender, the school is finding that once their girls do get out in the rule world they are so overwhelmed by what they see they degenerate into internet addicted shut ins. How social awkward yet surprisingly proper are they are they you might ask? After inspecting Kimito’s cell phone (a device they have never seen before) for just a moment, one girl in the class returns it with a handwritten thank you note and cookies, all in a box you’d see at a fancy department store. Rich people problems right?
Hoping to rectify this, Kimito will be there to instruct the girls on what it’s like living in the outside world. Thanks to his annoying childhood friend Eri, the school believes Kimito is not only gay but has a severe muscle fetish. A delusion he has no choice but to go along with as the sadistic maid, Miyuki Kuju has threatened to remove his genitals to protect the girls of the school if he is indeed straight. “I love muscles,” is Kimito’s immediate response. Smart man.
Kimito is also dragged off by girl named Aika who demands he kiss her. Not because she loves him but because someone told her that kissing a commoner would grant her a wish. The girl is incredibly gullible. Her wish? To become the most popular on campus. She decides that she will work with Kimito and form “The Commoner Club” where Kimito will teach her all about commoners on a more private level so she can become the wisest and thereby most popular girl on campus.
The show is more than your average Harem show. Kimito as a guy with a normal healthy libido and a love of women’s thighs would probably love to show his affections for the girls but doesn’t wish to lose his genitals. The show is fun and has an innocent to it that is entertaining and should provide the of school fun for those who are searching for this kind of show in the fall season.
Three of the four Defenders got together for a selfie at New York Comic Con Saturday afternoon. Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Power Man (Mike Colter), and Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) were waiting for Iron Fist to show up but he never arrived.
Phase One of Marvel’s TV plan is to have individual seasons of the heroes named above, and then have a 10-episode The Defenders mini series that brings them all together. Jessica Jones comes out in Novembers, season two of Daredevil will be out in April of 2016, Luke Cage is currently filming its first season. The only character to be established is Danny Rand (Iron Fist).
Netflix announced back in July that you should expect a Marvel Series to be released every six months.
The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and Elektra (Elodie Yung) got together for a photo as well.
At #nycc for @daredevil! pic.twitter.com/rZmU7C9Xi5
— Daredevil (@Daredevil) October 10, 2015
Moments ago Jared Leto posted the following photo on his twitter account. Could he be part of the planned Warner Brothers announcement at New York City Comic-Con? Will it have something to do with Suicide Squad or maybe something even grander in scale.
— JARED LETO (@JaredLeto) October 10, 2015