Since its release on PlayStation in 1999, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater has sold over 5 million copies. When it comes to what’s next for the franchise, Tony Hawk will not be a part of it. The legendary skateboarder took to Twitter on Monday to announce he and Activision are parting ways. “To anyone asking me to ‘remaster’ old games, or complaining about THPS servers being down: Activision owns the THPS license but I am no longer working with them,” said Hawk.
He continued, “If I had the skills/authority to reboot servers or code games for newer systems on my own, I would be happy to…”. In 2015, Activision released Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5.
But last year its online servers were reportedly shut off. Causing some players to take to Reddit to voice their frustrations. By shutting off its servers many of the game’s features and content became unavailable. Causing the latest and possibly last installment in the franchise to become basically unplayable.
If Hawk’s departure does lead to the franchise’s end, there are two other games looking to capitalize on it. As rumors of Skate 4 continue to circle around, while the Kickstarter project Session is still in development.
Each new entry in the Marvel cinematic universe brings a batch of easter eggs, plot threads, and teases. With Avengers: Infinity War being the culmination of the universe thus far, Kevin Feige claims it will wrap up all these plot threads. Here’s what Feige told Cinemablend:
With Infinity War, we are paying off every little thread, every little tease, that we’ve had in what will be 18 films prior to Infinity War. There’s never been anything like this. Being able to, film after film, tease at a larger story. Really building these stories up until a conclusion, while at the same time, introducing an entirely new direction for the future.
What storylines from previous Marvel films do you want tackled in Avengers: Infinity War? Chime in below with your thoughts.
The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
Avengers: Infinity War features Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Pom Klementieff, and Josh Brolin as Thanos.
The Oscars are this upcoming weekend, and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a heavy favorite to bring home some gold. The film’s writing and performances have received heaps of praise from critics and fans alike, with Sam Rockwell’s turn as Officer Jason Dixon being one of the most talked about performances of the year. But there’s something special about this character other than Rockwell’s performance, a very minor nuance that only eagle-eyed viewers and comic book fans would notice, that reveals Dixon’s fate in the film’s first act, further exemplifying McDonagh’s brilliance.
*Spoilers Ahead for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*
Jason Dixon is an asshole. He’s not only obnoxious and painfully stupid, but he’s just the worst kind of cop there is: the kind that thinks the rules don’t apply to him. He’s openly racist, is accused of torturing black prisoners, and proudly throws people out of their windows in broad daylight. Dixon is the closest thing Three Billboards has to a villain. But then there’s the twist. After a letter from his deceased mentor and idol tells him to let go of his hate and learn to love, Jason decides to turn his life around, and almost becomes the story’s hero in the process.
It’s a beautiful character arc, well-written and totally unexpected. Unexpected, that is, unless you’re a comic book fan. See, it’s a minor character trait, and the characters only call attention to it once, but Dixon is an avid comic reader. And his favorite title seems to be Incorruptible, written by Mark Waid with various artists and published by Boom! Studios.
In a blink-and-you-miss-it shot, we see what looks like Volume 7 of the series on Dixon’s desk.
Now, on a very basic level this is ironic and worth a chuckle. “Heh, the most corrupt cop in Ebbing likes a comic called Incorruptible. That’s cute.” But there is so much more to this Easter egg than meets the eye.
Incorruptible is a spin-off of another Waid series, Irredeemable. However, where Irredeemable shows the shift of a superhero to a supervillain, Incorruptible does the opposite. It’s the story Max Damage, world class bad guy who decides to switch sides and play hero after his archnemesis breaks bad. Sounds loosely familiar, right?
We see Dixon sporting an INCORRUPTIBLE shirt very early on in the film when he confronts Mildred, Red, and James in the bar.
Yes, Dixon’s arc is very reminiscent of Max’s, minus the superpowers and archnemesis. And also like Max, Dixon learns that it’s not so easy going from universally hated to hero. No one wants to trust you after all the pain and damage you’ve caused. It’s a long, uphill battle, and redemption is probably never possible, but if you truly want to do good, you need to do it in spite of that.
Jason Dixon’s switch is one of the most surprising and impactful parts of Three Billboards, and Martin McDonagh secretly showed you it was going to happen right from the start. It just further exemplifies the nuanced brilliance of this film – brilliance in its writing, its direction, and its set/costume design. We’ll see on Sunday just how much the Academy appreciates that brilliance.
Kevin Smith suffered a massive heart attack this weekend. Smith shared a selfie with fans from the hospital, assuring everyone he was still “above ground”, but if he’d performed his second show of the weekend instead of attending to his health, the story may not have had such a happy ending.
Chris Pratt and Kevin Smith
In reaction to the news, many people reached out to Smith over social media, sharing their well-wishes for a quick recovery. And why shouldn’t they? One of those people was Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt, a man who has not been shy about his faith or his beliefs. When Pratt offered Smith his prayers post-heart attack, fans took issue with the offer and let him know.
James Gunn, director of the Guardians series, had a message for Pratt, Smith, and the fans, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Gunn came to Pratt’s defense in a series of nine tweets, discussing his own practice with meditation and prayer, and asking fans to take a more positive view of Pratt’s offer.
So I just read Chris Pratt’s tweet to Kevin Smith saying he would pray for him & made the mistake of reading the comments, many of which go off on Chris for saying he’d pray. I think people misunderstand the backlash against “thoughts & prayers.” (thread)
Gunn started his tweet storm with one of the most prescient reasons for the backlash against Pratt’s tweets—the negative connotation that “thoughts and prayers” have in America in the wake of increased gun violence and police brutality. While that negative connotation is well-deserved, it is not the thoughts and prayers that should change. Instead, Gunn argues, the sentiments in different context should be followed up by action. In some cases, however, prayer or kind thoughts might be all someone can offer. Smith’s heart attack is one of those cases.
No one expects Chris Pratt to shoulder doctors out of the way and perform heart surgery on Kevin Smith. Nor does Kevin need Chris to pay his medical bills. So I think his prayers are appreciated, and about all he can do.
Pratt has not responded to either fan reactions or Gunn’s series of tweets. It’s likely that he won’t, in the grand tradition of turning the other cheek and/or ignoring the comments section of anything on the internet. The way Gunn handled the situation, however, is a lesson in grace under fire.
The return of the original Odinson is imminent as Marvel is set to launch an all-new series, which will be spearheaded by Jason Aaron and Mike del Mundo.
The new series will serve as part of the publisher’s massive renewal of some of its key characters and will task Thor with the mission of reclaiming Asgard’s artifacts, which have been scattered across Earth. Along the way, the God of Thunder will face some ugly truths, go through a laundry list of hammers and come face-to-face with the Juggernaut!
“The thing I’m most excited about though is getting to work with Mike (del Mundo) again. I loved the beautiful craziness he brought to the pages when we did Weirdworld together, and things are even wilder and more beautiful here. There just aren’t many artists in comics today whose work I love and admire more than Mike’s, so I feel incredibly fortunate to be launching this new direction for Thor with Mike by my side.”
Thor #1 will be the fourth ‘new beginnings‘ title to drop on June 13, 2018, which will be preceded by Avengers #1 (5/2), Venom #1 (5/9), Black Panther #1 (5/23) and The Immortal Hulk #1 (6/6).
Click HERE for the official release from Marvel on the upcoming series.
Can you pick a winner? Are you a film buff? Do you want bragging rights for an entire year? If so, you should enter our 2018 Academy Awards Oscar Challenge.
It is the easiest five-minutes you’ll ever spend trying to win a Bluray. Pick the winner from each category, the runtime of the 90th Academy Awards show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, supply a valid email address, and click submit.
The winner will receive a Bluray of his or her choice of film from the 2018 Best Picture pool.
The contest is now closed, thank you for entering!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Sweepstakes ends at 5:00 p.m. PT on 3/4/18. Open only to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., and Canada, 18 or older. Grand Prize winner will have the most correct predictions, with a tie-breaker of the OSCARS runtime. If there is still a tie, a winner will be picked at random. The Grand Prize Winner will receive a Bluray of his or her choice from the 2018 Best Picture category. Grand Prize Winner must provide a mailing address. Limit one (1) ballot per person. Void where prohibited.
Coco hits Digitally in HD and 4K Ultra HD™ and on Movies Anywhere on February 13, and on 4K Ultra HD,™ Blu-ray,™ DVD and On-Demand on February 27 and the home release is loaded with bonus content.
Anthony Gonzalez the star of the film, spoke with Monkeys Fighting Robots back in November and tolds us why he loves
“I love, first of all, the music, it is amazing. I’ve been singing and acting since I was four years old and I knew since then that I wanted to sing and act for the rest of my life and to be in a movie where I can do both of these things is just incredible and I’m just blessed to be in this wonderful movie. And I also love that it celebrates this wonderful celebration, the Day of the Dead. It’s specifically Mexican culture but this celebration can be universal because who doesn’t have ancestors that have passed away, and in the Day of the Dead you can be with them and connect with them once again,” said Gonzalez.
If you loved Coco, you’re going to enjoy the bonus content as you get to go behind-the-scenes and get a better understanding of the filmmaking process.
BONUS FEATURES
Deleted Scenes with Introductions – Director Lee Unkrich and co-director Adrian Molina talk about the deleted
scenes and the part they played in the development of “Coco.”
Día de los Muertos – In this musical extravaganza, the colors and excitement of Día de los Muertos come to life as we
meet superstar Ernesto de la Cruz.
The Way of the Riveras – A musical number in which Abuelita and Miguel prepare their Día de los Muertos
celebration while she teaches him Rivera family history and traditions.
Celebrity Tour – Héctor, a Land of the Dead tour bus guide, agrees to help Miguel, revealed to be a living boy, on his
quest to find de la Cruz.
The Bus Escape – The Rivera family catches up to Miguel and Héctor and attempts to halt their mission to find de la
Cruz.
Alebrije Attack – Miguel and Héctor are interrupted on their journey to find de la Cruz by a fierce alebrije.
The Family Fix – After de la Cruz reveals his true colors, the Rivera family puts their dismay aside and comes
together to repair the smashed guitar needed to send Miguel home.
To the Bridge – As the Land of the Dead counts down to the end of Día de los Muertos, Miguel and de la Cruz come
head-to- head on the marigold bridge.
Filmmaker Commentary – Presented by Lee Unkrich (director), Adrian Molina (co-director) and Darla K. Anderson
(producer).
The Music of “Coco” – Collaborating with musicians of Mexico and some unique instrumentation, this documentary
explores the beautiful fusion of music essential to the story of “Coco.”
Paths to Pixar: “Coco” – Explore how the film crew’s personal stories resonate with the themes of the movie itself.
Welcome to the Fiesta – A musical exploration of the skeletons that make the Land of the Dead in “Coco” so
wondrous and intriguing.
How to Draw a Skeleton – Pixar artist Daniel Arriaga gives a lesson on the quick and easy way to draw skeletons
using simple shapes.
A Thousand Pictures a Day – Join the “Coco” crew on an immersive travelogue through Mexico, visiting
families, artisans, cemeteries, and small villages during the Día de los Muertos holiday.
Mi Familia – Developing the Riveras was a labor of love that took the cast and crew on a deep dive into the meaning
of family.
Land of Our Ancestors – Watch Pixar artists lovingly construct layer upon layer of architecture from many eras of
Mexican history, bringing the Land of the Dead to life.
Fashion Through the Ages – The cast of characters in “Coco” are from many different eras, making for some
magnificent costuming opportunities.
The Real Guitar – The majestic guitar that spurs Miguel on his journey through the Land of the Dead is a unique
creation. Watch as it is initially designed by a Pixar artist and ultimately realized as a real instrument by a master
luthier in this poetic ode to craftsmanship.
Dante – How the crew fell in love with the uniquely Mexican breed of Xoloitzcuintli (or “Xolo”) dogs that inspired
Dante.
How to Make Papel Picado – Join Pixar artist Ana Ramírez González as we learn how papel picado is made
traditionally, and then try your own approach to this beautiful art form.
Un Poco “Coco” – A montage of original animated pieces used to promote “Coco.”
“Coco Trailers” – Trailers include “Feeling,” “Dante’s Lunch,” “Destiny,” “Journey” and “Belong.”
Where do you rank Coco among the other PIXAR films? Comment below.
The 80s is famous for its pure action movie mayhem and few did fighting better than Bloodsport. The film released in 1988 with none other than Jean Claude Van Damme as the star. Though “based on a true story,” Bloodsport was a Street Fighter movie (sans whiz-bang SFX) at a time when the fighting gaming genre was in its infancy. And the truth behind it all is highly questionable.
Full disclosure, I have a deep love for this movie.
Bloodsport is dripping with 80s cheese in all the best ways possible. It stars an actor with questionable talent but endless charisma who can fake a good fight while some synth music plays away. There are great one-liners, sex, fighting, flashbacks, chase scenes, and yet more fighting with a main villain who is terrifying and unforgettable.
Full disclosure, I have a deep love for this movie. I’m well aware that’s it’s a borderline terrible film. Van Damme’s acting is painful at points. But it’s pure stupid fun. And if you’re a fan of fighting video games like Street Fighter, Super Smash Brothers, or any of greats in the genre, then Bloodsport is a cheesy must-watch.
Bloodsport begins with a montage of fighters. One by one we see these fierce warriors.To be sure, Bloodsport, like much of wrestling and action stories in the 80s, is hilariously playing on stereotypes. In just 2-3 second scenes, we learn that this guy is powerful, this other guy is agile, another is defensive. Last we meet Frank Dux played by Van Damme who is a military soldier.
Frank runs away from his superiors to honor his surrogate father, Senzo Tanaka (Roy Chiao). You see, Frank was a wayward child, but after showing his true self to Tanaka, the martial arts master began caring for the boy. Tanaka trained Dux as a fighter. Now, years later, Dux is invited to the Kumite, an underground tournament for fighters from all over.
Soon after his escape, Frank arrives in Hong Kong which inspires a flashback sequence. Frank grows up slowly over the course of this part of the story. From a teenager all the way up until he’s Van Damme again, the film leads us through Dux’s life with Tanaka, including some rigorous training. Van Damme shows off his signature leg split. It all ends with Master Tanaka’s death.
We’re now back to present day Dux. We leave the gentle plucks of the Japanese-influenced score for the 80s synth beats of modern-day Hong Kong. Dux is on a bus where he meets another fighter, a tall, gruff American named Ray Jackson (Donald Gibb). The pair bond over a video game, Karate Champ, get it?
Being underground, the Kumite is like FightClub; you don’t talk about it. But being an 80s movie, that only means a plucky female journalist is trying to write a story. In Bloodsport, Leah Ayres plays Janice Kent, and the actress’ bright smile works its way through a serviceable performance. Kent also plays the requisite love interest for Van Damme’s Dux.
“Okay, USA!”
The military was against Frank participating in the fighting tournament. So, two agents are hot on the trail of the awol soldier. Playing one of those military investigators is Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker.
Act two begins when Frank and Ray are lead to the Kumite by Victor Lin (Ken Siu), their handler for the tournament. The tournament organizers refuse to allow Dux in unless he can perform some magical punch called the “Death Touch.” After a moment of tense concentration, with all the eyes of other fighters looking on, Dux blows up ONLY the bottom brick in a stack of bricks. The scene ends with the first words from who will become Frank’s nemesis, Chong Li: “Brick don’t hit back.” The antagonist is played by Bolo Yeung who featured in hundreds of martial arts films. Yeung even faced off against Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon.
Following our moment at the Kumite, Frank gambles the life of Janice with one of the Arab fighters. Frank saves Janice from what we can only assume is a life of indentured servitude. The pair hit it off after that. It’s an odd first meeting between two potential lovers, but hey, it’s the 80s, and this is not a particularly clever written film.
“That’s why they call this thing Bloodsport, kid.”
Finally, after all that, we return to the Kumite for what is the first of many fighting sequences. There’s an exposition intro by the head of the tournament. Like a video game, he explains the reason for the tournament and how it functions. During the sequence, Van Damme and Chong Li stare at each other. Ray Jackson stares too. And it all feels a little homoerotic.
The first fighting sequences in the Kumite sets up each major fighters’ style and attitude. Jackson is the first to fight for the “good guys,” and he wins easily. However, a confident Jackson also taunts Chong Li.
As Chong Li prepares to fight next, Jackson delivers a touch of exposition. This dialogue is accompanied by a macabre change in the soundtrack. Chong Li is the bad guy and rightly deserves ominous synth buzzes.
Next up, Van Damme’s Dux. In his first fight, Frank quickly defeats his opponent. In fact, Dux breaks a world record at Kumite for fastest knockout. The record-breaking event angers Chong Li who was the previous record holder.
At this point, I’m coming to the end of my review. There is still another hour of the film. However, there is nothing more to note. Bloodsport doesn’t surprise much along the way. There is no twist. Dux gets to fight in the tournament despite the military investigator’s best efforts to stop him. He gets the girl and beats the bad guy despite all odds. Van Damme also gets a last-laugh moment to cap off what is a movie with no underlying message other than being awesome and whooping ass.
Have you watched Bloodsport? What are your thoughts on the
classic fighting film featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme?
The Walking Dead returned for the second half of Season Eight Sunday night with all eyes on the fate of Carl Grimes and the progression of ‘All Out War.’
In the end, all a person has is their honor, and that was the focus of ‘Honor.’ When you have accepted that your life is finite you can become free and untethered; Chandler Riggs brought this to the screen as Carl. Danai Gurira fresh off her Black Panther success brought an intensity and a mother’s compassion to the episode that was raw emotion. When Carl passed the torch to Judith, it touched a nerve, and it was hard not to get a little misty-eyed as Judith started to cry.
Morgan’s character arc is insane as he falls back into the abyss of death and destruction. The tension that Carol and Morgan built was well played as they try to rescue Eziekel. It was interesting to see Carol in the role of samurai and Morgan play the part of the rogue. Every episode always contains a special effects shocker, and I would love to meet the writer that decided Morgan’s kill maneuver would be to pull a person’s intestines out through a gunshot wound. That was crazy-town, and the reaction from Eziekel and Carol was perfect. Morgan brought a real horror to the episode unlike any other character before. Morgan turned into Jason Voorhees!
The Walking Dead has never been about the zombies or the battles, it’s about human the interaction and the evolution of the characters, good or bad. As the parallel storylines in ‘Honor’ came to a head, the philosophy of the show was bright and shining through the grit and grime of The Walking Dead Universe by the time the credits rolled.
Carl went out on his own terms Sunday night and brought a new mission to the show.
What did you think of tonight’s episode? Comment below.
The Mercy is a biopic about Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor who disappeared when competing in The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1968 – a race for sailors to navigate around the globe solo.
Donald (Colin Firth) is a father-of-three, inventor and the owner of a small electronics company. When he finds out about the race around the world he sees it as an opportunity to promote his company and more importantly become famous. His enthusiasm is quickly dashed by a series of setbacks and if he is unable to complete the race he would face financial ruin. The Mercy is the third feature film by director James Marsh and was adapted by Scott Z. Burns. Marsh previous films have been dramas set in particular periods, Shadow Dancer was set in Northern Ireland during the early ’90s and The Theory of Everything was set from the ’60s to the ’80s as it looked at Stephen Hawking’s relationship with his wife. Marsh is great a recreating these periods and he does it again with The Mercy – the set designs were so authentic that the film does look like it was filmed in the ’60s.
Marsh also has a keen interest in family and relationships. The Theory of Everything was pretty obviously about the Hawking’s relationship and Shadow Dancer was about a single mother in Northern Ireland being used as an informant for MI5 – and the film looked at the complex relationship between the informant and her handler. The Mercy also has this family focus. Donald has a loving family and a supportive wife, Clare (Rachel Weisz) – but the trip takes its toll on them. Donald suffers from guilt when he decides to cheat whilst in England, the Crowhursts suffer such hardship that they have to go on welfare.
Even with a running of an hour and 40 minutes The Mercy is a slow and methodical film which will leave audiences divided – this happened with Shadow Dancer and it happened here. Some may appreciate the slow burn approach but others might become bored and lose interest.
The bulk of the film focused on Donald at sea and the depression he falls into. He is constantly maintaining his boat which puts a physical and mental strain on the man and it is compounded by the fact that if he quits he loses his house and business. What makes his isolation and depression worst is the guilt and shame he suffers when he decides to lie about his progress. It was an excellent portrayal of isolation that someone who undergoes this sort of challenge goes through and when Donald wrote in his logs and recorded tapes there was a similarity to Ellen MacArthur, a British sailor who broke the record for the fastest time to circumnavigate the world in 2005 – and her video diary where she got very emotional.
In recent years Colin Firth has changed his image from being a heartthrob in romantic films to a serious dramatic actor and role like Donald Crowhurst would have been particularly challenging. Firth captures Donald’s unfounded optimism as he prepares for the voyage, the doubts that creep in when he is forced to set – despite the boat not being ready – and finally his depression and isolation. Despite Donald’s lying about his progress Firth, Marsh and Burns made sure Donald Crowhurst was a sympathetic figure and his reasoning for why he does it – since he has risked everything to feed his ego.
The film was based on Donald Crowhurst’s logs and audio recordings but the filmmakers still had to fill in the gaps. His boat was found abandoned in the Caribbean and no one really knows what happened to him – although the film favors the standard interpretation that he took his own life.
The Mercy is a film that is lifted by the talents of its cast, look at mental health in such an extreme situation and had great cinematography and production design. But it one of those films that only requires the one-viewing.
