Entertainment Weekly got their hands on the first released trailer for S. Craig Zahler’s directorial debut, Bone Tomahawk, starring Kurt Russell.
Four men set out in the Wild West to rescue a group of captives from cannibalistic cave dwellers.
As a fan of western, a fan of horror, and a fan of Kurt “The Man” Russell, this trailer has me chomping at the bit to see just what other horrors lurk off the edge of the frame.
The movie premiered this past week at Fantastic Fest.
Bone Tomahawk is directed by Craig S. Zahler and stars Kurt Russell, Richard Jenkins, Patrick Wilson, Sean Young, Matthew Fox, Lili Simmons, David Arquette, Zahn McClarnon, Kathryn Morris, Sid Haig, Jamie Hector, Michael Paré, James Tolkan, Geno Segers, and David Midthunder.
Bone Tomahawk will be released in the theater and on demand on October 23.
Late Friday, the new Spectre trailer hit the internet and OMG is it awesome! Check it out! Does this get you excited for the lastest in the James Bond saga?
Another month approaches and that means new shows coming to Netflix. A bit shy of good movies this month, but there are plenty quality shows to occupy everyone’s time as they prepare their costumes for Halloween.
1. Batman Begins – (10/1)
The start of the Nolan trilogy. What better way to get someone in the mood for Trick or Treating then by watching the man who dresses like a bat and goes around handing out tricks to all the bad criminals of Gotham city.
2. The Originals: Season 2 – (10/6) & Vampire Diaries: Season 6 – (10/2)
Nothing says Halloween more than Vampires. The sixth season of the original series and the second of its spin off will help to people to play catch up with their favorite Vampire couples. At least it will keep the kids away from watching Twilight.
3. The Flash: Season 1 – (10/6) & Arrow: Season 3 -(10/7)
If you’re a comic book fan and you’re not following these shows then you are doing a disservice to yourself. Watch as Barry Allen gets superpowers and becomes The Flash and his idol and fellow hero, Oliver Queen fights against Ra’s al Ghul.
4. iZombie: Season 1 – (10/6)
To keep the Halloween theme up, let’s check out some zombies. In this new series based on a comic book, a young medical resident finds herself turned into a zombie, but is able to sustain her cravings by working in a morgue. She also discovers she can recall the memories of the deceased after eating their brain and uses the info to fight crime. Who says there are no good zombies?
5. American Horror Story: Freak Show – (10/6)
Nothing like a day at the circus to make you feel at ease. Tapping into the fear of clowns this latest installment from the American Horror Story series makes you wonder who is really the Freaks in this world.
6. Supernatural: Season 10 – (10/7)
This is definitely the month for CW shows. Everyone’s demon slaying brothers are back again, but things are going to be different this time around. Now Dean is a demon. That may complicate things just a bit.
7. Mr. Peabody and Sherman – (10/9)
While not looking as polished as the one the movie Dreamworks released in theaters, fans of the old show might find something to enjoy about the story of a Dog and his boy as they travel through history. If anything, Chris Parnell voicing Mr. Peabody should be good for a few laughs.
8. Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Film Collection (10/25)
The perfect thing for the Disney fans out there. This short collection includes the Tangled epilogue short, Tangled Ever After, The Frozen epilogue short, Frozen Fever, and Oscar Award winning short, Paperman. Definately a must watch for the animation fans out there.
9. Lego DC comics: Batman Be-Leagured – (10/20)
Not the Lego Batman we need but the Lego Batman we deserve. Not the Lego Batman from the Lego Movie but a simple Batman adventure with Legos. Who knows, it may hold people over until the proper Lego Batman Movie in 2017. 10. Popples – (10/30)
Any body remember the Popples? Well for all the 80s kids out there, Netflix will be launching a new series staring those lovable creatures who could tuck there bodies in and bounce around. Who knows, might be entertaining.
Snyder, who helmed the feature film, would be enough to get some fans of the graphic novel on board since he nearly matched the aesthetic of the film to the exact frames of the graphic novel, except for that finale sans squid.
If there is any network that is capable of recreating Watchmen and allowing its content to be unaltered, its HBO.
Outside of each installment of the story, chapters contain a back story that reads much more like a novel than a comic book. These aspects build grandiosity, and would allot potential series writers a more expansive story to navigate. Without having to worry about a two-hour time constraint or overwhelming an audience, this may be the optimal way for Watchmen to be brought to live action.
Fans of the graphic novel were certainly let down by the conclusion to the film, and many will be hoping that the story has a more appropriate finale when appearing on HBO.
What are your thoughts on HBO adapting Watchmen into a TV series? Let us know if you will watch the Watchmen in the comments below!
Anyone who isn’t new to anime will know that every time a new season of shows comes around we are treated with more than a fair amount of programs specifically aimed at titilating the audience. For the most part these shows are, while enjoyed, often brushed away after their run is over and a new set of sexually explicit shows come and take their place. But in the summer season of 2015 we were treated with a rather “monstrous” show formally known as Everyday Life with Monster Girls, or Monster Girls for short.
Now much like its predecessors, Monster Girls makes its trade in providing titilating material for the audience. At the same time, it also tries to incorporate as much slapstick humor and raunchy comedy as possible. And while there are many more attributes that Monster Girls takes from its explicit predecessors, I think that it has refined them in a way that we haven’t really seen before. At least not with this level of “quality”.
How Monster Girls has the same humor, but different
Now at its core Monster Girls is just another ecchi comedy. It’s just this time the subject happens to deal with girls that are monsters. And while that is partly the catch of the show, I don’t think people would have responded so positively to it just for its new angle in perversion. But at the same time, having the girls be monsters opens up some new elements that ultimately break this show out of the seemingly generic mold of commercially produced smut.
Having a world where monster races are slowly being integrated into human society really gives us room for world development that wouldn’t be present in a similar type of show. Monster Girls knows this and usually implements great world building into its comedy and perversion. This makes everything seem real and fresh, plus it scratches some of those itching questions on how a world with monster girls would even operate. Not only that but it gives us the classic comedy of a “fish out of water” scenario.
While we are introduced to a world that is changing due to monster girls, we are also introducing monster girls that know little about this world. So seeing these girls social faux paw’s work as strong comedy just for the fact that it allows their character to be something different. Or at least seem like their actions makes more sense when compared to other harem girls.
Here let’s do a little example where we consider which scenario is funnier. A girl who is dumb and forgetful because… that’s it. Most of the time in a harem show a girl is fitted with a certain personality trait for no rhyme or reason. Her character writing isn’t given any justification for being the way she is. Now lets look how MonsterGirls dresses this type of personality. A girl who’s dumb and forgetful because she is a harpy and suffers from a severe case of bird brain. Now its hard to tell without more specific examples, but in the long run it will be the second one that will continue to be funny. Sometimes having that small sense of justification for a characters actions can be inch between rolling your eyes and rolling on the floor laughing. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds to develop justifications for a characters actions, and it makes them, dare I say it, seem more like actual characters.
Having good characters really opens up the show for some good Friends/Seinfeld style comedy. The show knows this and manages to pair up certain characters that really play off of each other well, causing the scenes that they are together to be funny. I never thought I’d call the chemistry in a harem show good, but the girls in this show have really good chemistry and use that to makes jokes that don’t have anything to do with sex. It’s just funny stuff. Unfortunately the main character doesn’t contribute to this factor, on the fact that he is a generic as they come. But that’s fine because he’s basically just a MacGuffin anyway. (If you want to expand on what I mean by that you can read my editorial about Harems here)
So while there are many shows that have actual character development, it’s often very scarce in these harem shows. But the other edge that Monster Girls has over other harems is that it’s a harem of Monsters. Having snake’s, centaur’s and harpies just makes the range of jokes and physical comedy more open. And while most of this comedy stems from the main character being pummeled by his monster love interests, there are so many monster girls that there’s enough variety in the way they inflict pain to keep it fresh. That accompanied by the sheer high level or animation and crisp art style certainly help max out the effectiveness of these scenes.
Monster Girls brings a fresh brand of comedy to a stale genre. Its range of jokes is as different as the many types of monster girls that inhabit the show. And they pace the jokes in a nice and quick manner, never letting any one joke run stale.
Getting Your Rocks Off To Monsters
Of course all the sexual content is a big factor when reviewing a show that is using sex as its main hook. When you have it be the crux of your series it better be satisfying, and like most things sex appeal comes down to a preference. So its safe to say that you either like the sexy monster girls or you don’t. I don’t think its possible to ignore the monster bits and just get down with the human parts alone too. So unfortunately the monster parts can be a deal breaker. Personally I wasn’t really intrigued by sexy monsters, but the more I watched the more I grew to like it. All I’m saying is that its worth giving a try. Even if you think you don’t find monster girls sexy, you’ll never know until you hear a lamia explain/demonstrate how they’re species has sex.
Sex however isn’t always the thing that you will get off to. Most of the time the things that are sexualized in Monster Girls aren’t inherently sexy. But they manage to turn things like shedding snake-skin, or giving birth to a harpy egg hyper sexualized. And it works, perhaps more than the regular sexy stuff. The show presents something that by all means shouldn’t be sexy but forces you to interpret it as such. This may be just because I’m weird, but I think that if a show can make things that you would never in your wildest dreams thing was sexy, sexy, it deserves some props.
Another thing Monster Girls does well with these sexy scenes is keep them voyeuristic free, most of the time. This really makes the show stand out from other harem shows in terms of whether or not I feel gross for watching it. Monster Girls, while making me a little confused about the boners I’m getting, almost never makes me feel like a creep while watching it and that has to do with one major thing that it does that most harems don’t. It gives the girls sexual agency.
Now what does that mean necessarily? Basically it means that almost every time you see something that is meant to be arousing the female party is, more of less, in control of the situation. This may seem like a moot point, but it helps that the girls are wanting to engage in the acts that you are finding so titilating, as opposed to girls who are being more or less victims to sexual advances of male characters. But Monster Girls is far from perfect and unfortunately slips up in its sexual hijinks. Scarcely in the show you will get a girl being thrown into some sort of sexy situation and there will be male onlookers looking and panting in a very voyeuristic manner. I think this is meant to be played as comedy but since the show usually mixes sex and comedy so well, these scenes seem in congress from the rest of the show. I’m just thankful that they are so scarce.
Monster Girls Toned Down for TV audience
So for the most part Monster Girls fulfills its job, but what if I told you that you weren’t getting the full Monster Girls experience by watching it streaming on Crunchyroll. Well that is indeed the case. Like most ecchi shows the Monster Girls Blu-ray releases will have new cuts of footage revealing even more provocative shots while also revealing nipples in many scenes. And while its understandable that they didn’t have that stuff in the stream (I mean you know this airs on television right), I think that’s it’s a flaw in the way the show is presented. There are many scenes in the anime where its obvious that there is to be more to the scene but it’s just not present because of either Television regulations or incentives to buy said Blu-ray. But while I’m confident that once the home video release comes out in its uncensored glory that all these problems will be solved, I find it rather dumb that the thing I watched on TV wasn’t the whole thing. Now this ultimately didn’t come into consideration when I was scoring the show but I think its something to consider with this show and future broadcasts that you watch. Most of the time you’ll have to buy the home video release to get the real good stuff, thats just the way it is. If your interested in seeing what the uncensored Blu-ray will look like you can check out the NSFW comparison here.
Will Monster Girls have staying power
When you really think about it Monster Girls really won’t change your life or teach you anything. It isn’t suppose to, and that doesn’t make it any worse than a show that does, or tries to. If the contents are presented with the same care and manner that you would see in a show with more serious or thought-provoking lessons, then they are on the same level in my book. And the same reason you would go back to a show like Cowboy Bebop, I dare say that people will come back to Monster Girls in the future. Yes I just compared Monster Girls to Cowboy Bebop. Not because I think they are equals. But the reason you go back and watch Cowboy Bebop is because of how stylized, cool, and refreshing all the characters and story is. And while Monster Girls may not have it down as well as bebop, I think its refreshing and creative enough that there won’t ever be anything that will be able to capture what Monster Girls does in the same way. And hopefully that will give people an excuse to revisit this great show, whenever they feel a tingling in their pants or just want to laugh at its ridiculousness.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge is the stepchild of a franchise that went on far too long. It’s derided, dismissed, and exclusively categorized as a blatant homosexual allegory. Which it is. But it still works, and it works quite well. Elm Street 2 is weirdly isolated from Wes Craven’s original film and the films that came afterwards, but it deserves credit for trying something different with the narrative and pushing the character into new creative territories. The arguments against the picture may be valid, at least to some (most); but for me, the departures from the “rules” and the lonely isolation of this first sequel set it apart from the franchise in interesting ways.
Any devoted horror fan is well aware of the homosexual undertones in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2. There is even a documentary about openly-gay actor Mark Patton, and his feelings on becoming a gay cultural icon following this film’s release. In fact, “undertones” is probably the wrong description, an indication the gay metaphors are somehow hidden. They are not. The story of Jesse (Patton), a friendly teenager struggling with his own sexual identity, is basically at the forefront of the film if you look even a little. Jesse is an affable youth, he has friends and seems to get along okay in school, and he has a young lady friend, Kim (Lisa Webber), who couldn’t spit game at Jesse any harder. But Jesse cannot romantically connect with Kim the entire time, especially in a later scene where a make-out session goes horribly wrong and, for comfort, he goes to his studly friend Roy’s bedroom to stay the night.
But I’m getting ahead of myself and, like I said, we all know the gay tropes.
Jesse and his family have moved in to Nancy Thompson’s family’s old house, as Nancy has been committed to a mental institute (set up for Elm Street 3). This opens the door for Freddy to prey upon poor, weak, confused Jesse. Krueger attempts, and ultimately succeeds, at possessing Jesse’s body, therein allowing him to infiltrate the real world and kill away from the dreamscapes. The central complaint around this film is the rule-breaking director Jack Sholder and screenwriter David Chaskin employ, namely in the pool scene where Freddy materializes in the real world to slash some throats. This rule breaking isn’t unwarranted or out of nowhere, it has been set up the entire film, a film which has been blending and confusing the lines of dreams and reality the entire time.
Consider the insanely unusual scene where Jesse visits the red-light gay nightclub and finds his sadistic coach there dressed in leather. The coach then takes him back to the gym to run and shower where coach is strung up nude and murdered? What an odd, unusual scene, but it’s played to be as such. Is it a dream, or no? There is no definitive evidence to suggest either way. The entire narrative structure plays with the rules set forth in the original film, confusing exploding birds and night sweats with boiler room monsters and Freddy’s influence on reality. It bounces back and forth with verve and dedication.
Robert Englund’s Freddy only appears in 13 of the 87 minutes of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, a steep decline from the original and merely a hint of how he is thrown at us in the increasingly campy “post 3” films. Freddy is still an evil monster here, not a corny self parody. His makeup is also decidedly different here, as Kevin Yagher replaced David Miller in the makeup department. With very little to work from, beyond of a few still photos, Yagher opted to sink in Freddy’s eyes further, darken the makeup, and broaden the cheekbones to accentuate the burn-victim aspects of the character. That, and the brief, dark glimpses of Krueger give the character a more mythical, ominous note.
In my mind I have always separated the first three Nightmare on Elm Street films from the rest. With the bookend Wes Craven directorial efforts of 1 and 3, and the attempts to subvert expectations in part 2, this feels like a true trilogy. Once Renny Harlin tackled part 4, The Dream Master, things went downhill quickly into farce and Freddy became a hokey one-liner machine. In 1 and 3 and, yes, especially in Freddy’s Revenge, Krueger is a menacing and sadistic force, capable of pure evil. And the homosexual allegory at play is also worth noting here as well; it is a time capsule of a film, worth revisiting with a fresh perspective.
The Hollywood Reporter shared the news about a series adaptation of last year’s viral podcast Serial, produced and hosted by Sarah Koenig. Chris Miller and Phil Lord, the duo who created The Lego Movie and who are also attached to direct the Star Wars Han Solo film, will be in charge of this new project after they closed a deal with Fox 21 Television Studios and producers of This American Life‘s podcast Serial.
Both Miller and Lord pitched the idea for a tv series about the making of the podcast (not recreating the case of Adnan Syed dissected during its first season) to the previously mentioned Koenig, and the rest of producers Ira Glass, Julie Snyder and Alissa Ship. All of them will also be executive producers of the series, along with Seth Cohen.
Sarah Koenig, Ira Glass and Julie Snyder. Photo by Meredith Heuer.
Over at Fox 21 TV Studios, who acquired the rights to the podcast, president Bert Salke said that they’re hoping to find a “spectacular writer and look forward to pitching [the project] to outlets very soon”.
For their part, Snyder stated:
“Chris and Phil take an unexpected approach to telling stories and that is so appealing to us at Serial. They experiment. They don’t mimic formulas. Developing a show with them is exciting because we feel like we speak the same language, only they’re smarter than us.”
Nothing else has been announced yet about any details, so we’ll keep you updated. I can venture to say that fans of the podcast should also be excited and confident that this series is already in very capable hands.
Did you enjoy Serial? Will you watch the tv series?
The success of the Archie revival has been on of the more surprising industry revelations of 2015. Despite the strong creative team of Mark Waid and Fiona Staples at the helm, very few predicted that it would engage audiences to the extent that it has. Thankfully, the series has found an audience and we can look forward to a number of spin-off series in the coming months. Issue 3 marks the end of the first story arc, the end of the dream team and the end of our suspense. Finally, after three issues of buildup, the elusive and infamous;Veronica Lodge makes her first substantial appearance.
In the aftermath of Archie’s comical destruction of the Lodge mansion, Veronica arrives at school and from that moment this is her issue. Archie is infatuated, Veronica represents the type of traditional concepts of femininity that Betty rejects. She is a vain, reality tv star obsessed with her looks and knows the power these things grant her within society. She begins as an unlikeable character because from early in the issue, she blackmails Archie into being her servant, threatening to expose his involvement with her mansion’s destruction. This is, in and of itself, could have proven problematic. It is potentially as harmful to vilify Veronica’s embracing of these qualities as it is beneficial to vindicate Betty’s choice to reject them. Initially, it’s seems as if Waid is setting up a clear anti-Veronica vibe within the book presenting her in the worst light.We’re made to feel like many of the characters, not to like her to see her as akin to a Kardashian; famous for being famous. This persists throughout the issue, only for the comic to turn against us, shining a mirror on the sort of extreme attitude that are often promulgated about celebrities. It challenges the reader for hating or loving someone without much cause, without truly understanding them. It criticises the attitudes that fuel the Hello magazines and TMZs of this world. There is some depth here and potential for further character development. In the hands of a skilled writer like Waid,Veronica may grow into a truly complex character beyond the diva she is presented . That being said, the character is the least endearing of the two principal female characters.Veronica represents that one person in your life who you know isn’t good for you, but whom you are mysteriously drawn to regardless. Jughead’s concern for his best friend is one we all share and have all had to combat at some point. On that note, Jughead continues to be delightful and remains the breakout character of the series. Indeed, in many ways, this has been Jughead’s book with the scene in the preview pages being a highlight of the series thus far. I can’t wait to see what Chip Zdarsky does with him when his solo series begins next week.
Fiona Staples’ interiors are, as ever, impeccable. They offer a vibrancy and energy that is unparalleled. The fluidity with which the panels flow from one to the next makes Archie a quick, but very enjoyable read. Her arts subsumes the reader, creating emotional ties with the characters with their feelings become our own. Unfortunately, this marks Staples’ last issue of Archie as her Saga duties resume in November. Her cover for the issue is also beautiful, a perfect representation of the stylish blend of the real and the caricature that she has brought to Archie. Staples will be sorely missed, but deserves a lot of credit for re-invigorating the Riverdale gang and creating a new norm for these characters. If anyone is deserving of an Eisner, its Fiona Staples. She is to be replaced by Annie Wu who will work on issues 4 and 5, with Veronica Fish taking over from issue 6 onwards. Archie Comics is to be commended, continuing the tradition of putting highly talented female artists on the book. This issue is a wonderful send-off for Staples, an artist who much like Ryan Steigman on Scarlet Spider, has left the series much too soon.
If you told me at the beginning of the year that Archie would be one of the best comics on the stands, I would surely have thought you were away with the fairies. Archie has proved is that a solid creative team with a passion for the characters can often be enough to support a book that would otherwise clog up the back issue bins for years to come. The industry will have to reevaluate its previous opinion on slice of life comedies. 2015 is the year of Archie and long may it continue.
Synopsis: “Shōtarō Tatewaki is a normal high school student with a serious demeanor who likes to show off his girlfriend Sakurako Kujō. Sakurako is an extraordinarily beautiful woman in her mid-20s from a rich family who loves ‘beautiful bones.’ The two live in the city of Asahikawa in Hokkaido, and they get involved in various incidents regarding bones.” (Source)
I really like this trailer. The music, the art, the premise. If a certain other show wasn’t airing as well this would be the show I’m most looking forward to. Add to that the mystery genre (one we haven’t seen since Hyouka) and I am super pumped for this.
The only thing many are worried about is the studio, TROYCA, who has only done Aldnoah.Zero so far, which, while a terrible show, still looked good. Another cause of concern is the new director, this will be his directorial debut, but this could also be exciting.
I don’t know, maybe I’m hyping this up too much, but I still cannot wait for it to air.
Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru will begin airing on October 7th, 2015, for the Fall 2015 season.
The show takes places after a tragic end to her short-lived Super hero career. The series follows Jessica as she rebuilds her personal life and career as a detective who seems to get cases involving people with super abilities in New York City. Marvel’s Jessica Jones premieres on November 20th on Netflix.
The series stars Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, David Tennant as Kilgrave, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, Rachael Taylor as Patricia “Trish” Walker, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Marvel’s Jessica Jones is Executive Produced by series Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg and Liz Friedman, along with Jeph Loeb, who also serves as Marvel’s Head of Television.
Marvel’s Jessica Jones is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix.
