The Elaborate Entrance Of Chad Deity Brings Wrestling Action To The Stage

By

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February 11, 2018

For tens of thousands of years, man has tried to tell stories to each other in one way or another. It likely started with grunts and a form of caveman charades. But it grew to become art, oratory tales, music, television, and film. Mixed into all that is the stage, where people like Willy Shakespeare and Arthur Miller unleashed wonderful stories. At the heart of everything we do here at Monkeys Fighting Robots, whether it’s the latest Batman comic or Marvel movie, is a desire to tell stories.

All this brings me to The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, a play written by Kristoffer Diaz circa 2009 that returns the theatrics of wrestling home to where those theatrics began — the theatre.

WATCH THE TRAILER

Life-long wrestling fan and pro wrestler Macedonio “Mace” Guerra (Pierre Jean Gonzalez) is a technically perfect athlete with zero charisma. Mace plays the role of a perennial loser in the ring. He’s the wrestler who makes the other wrestlers look good. Mace wrestles for the fictional THE Wrestling where the star of stars is Chad Deity (Garrett Turner). Deity is loaded with charisma and stage presence but lacking in wrestling skills.

Gonzalez does the “heavy lifting” in the ring to make his opponents look better than they are. But Gonzalez also does heavy lifting in the play, leading it from start to finish and spending very little time off stage. Gonzalez makes it look effortless, splendid stage acting that’s made all the more difficult when fighting, flying, and falling is also part of the show. Contrasting Gonzalez boyish enthusiasm for the sport is the outrageously magnetic Deity. Garrett’s work here reminded me of Jim Carrey in the 90s as Garrett uses an impossibly malleable face to puntuate some hilarious dialogue.

Mace’s story is so closely connected to anyone who’s ever done a job where there’s little appreciation. Mace makes the bad wrestlers look good. He also lives in a duality; Mace understands and, in fact, loves the nature of wrestling and how it’s greater than the sum of its parts. But, reality doesn’t appreciate the cog in the machine so-to-speak as much as it values what the machine produces and that’s money.

And let it be known, the audience will
experience the elaborate entrance of Chad Deity
towards the end of the first act.

Mace narrates the show as it introduces his passion for the squared-circle. Mace has been in love with wrestling since childhood, and now he gets to be a wrestler. He uses toys as a metaphor for comparing his skill to those of the popular wrestlers who are usually the worst wrestlers. Mace fails to provide the level of crowd control that the hyper-charismatic Chad Deity provides. And let it be known, the audience will experience the elaborate entrance of Chad Deity towards the end of the first act. It definitely lives up to the hype.

Todd Allen Durkin as Everett K. Olsen, is the head of THE Wrestling who is a typical semi-sleaze bag of over-the-top personality. Through Durkin’s money-grubbing smile is something to love. Mace brings a friend into the wrestling fold, an Indian from Brooklyn named Vigneshwar Paduar (Raji Ahsan), who is chock-full of street-smart charm. Paduar has what Mace lacks, but the fast-talking man doesn’t have the desire to wrestle and his short-lived career in the ring is riddled with terror and being forced to play a terrorist.

The Elaborate Entrance throws in some live wrestling action into the second act. The high-flying fun takes place in a ring like any other wrestling event. It’s choreographed here by Jamin Olivencia, a pro wrestler who also doubles as three wrestlers throughout the show. The action mixes up the usual pattern of a show; it also continues to push the story forward so that it creates the right blend of character and action.

The award-winning play isn’t merely about wrestling.

The unique part of theatre stems from its in-the-moment nature. From performance to performance, the words stay the same, but from show to show, things are just a little different than before. Each person that sees a show sees an almost entirely original version of the same story. I bring this up because The Colony theatre on Miami Beach and Asolo Repertory Theatre created a multimedia experience that mixes the precise acting and blocking of theatre with pre-recorded and live video. Scenes play out in a way that allows viewers to watch the action on the stage or see an alternate angle on the video screens.

The award-winning play isn’t merely about wrestling. Mace touches on that deep desire we all have to reach some greater dream. Also, slinking in and out of the story are issues that relate to politics, race relations, and stereotypes. Wrestling is notorious for using cartoonish cliches to the industry’s advantage. The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is a wild wrestling show, with bombastic characters that serve a story with deeper layers. The entire show is a look inward at ourselves as individuals and a country. Do we face reality or escape permanently to false narratives?

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Review: A Dating App Haunts the Superhero World in GREEN LANTERNS #40

By

Jose "Jody" Cardona

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It has been a while since anyone has covered the Green Lanterns of Earth. It has nothing to do with the book’s quality, it just was lost under all of the events. Recently, Jessica and Simon have successfully stopped an insurrection on the distant planet of Ungara. Liseth Vok, one of Ungara’s greatest artists, tried to convince her world to force out any refugees and keep to their own planet. The Lanterns step in, defeating the villainess before she could do more harm to the people. Now the Lanterns go back to fighting something more frightening than evil alien extremists: DATING!

**Some Spoilers Below**

Story:

After helping out a town recover from a flood, the Green Lanterns are asked by another hero to find her lost friend. Simon accepts the case after revealing the missing person is a superhero he dated a while back from Caper. What’s Caper? It’s the newest dating app made exclusively for heroes, which piques Jessica’s interest. As she signs up for it, Simon goes to Cyborg to get a lead where the hero vanished. They soon realize that it’s more than just one hero missing as the list grows to dozens. While Cyborg can’t put the pieces together, the Green Lanterns find the connection: all of the missing heroes are on Caper. This leads to the Lanterns to track down the headquarters of the app as well as a surprise guest character.

This isn’t meant to be a deep, thought-provoking story, but the truth is it doesn’t have to be. You have a pair of fun characters confronting a present-day topic. There is great humor, cool action, and a plot you want to follow. Not because it’s trying to convey some deeper meaning, it’s just a fun set up for a possibly fun story. The last arc devolved from Lanterns performing epic feats to heavy-handed social commentary. There isn’t anything wrong with social commentary, but sometimes you just want a lighter or sillier story. This current story has the potential to turn into heavy commentary as well, but until then, just sit back and have fun.

There is one thing that does bother me about this issue though. The Caper app finds the user’s perfect match for them, and for Jessica, it’s Simon. For 40 issues, Simon and Jessica have grown to be an amazing team and great friends. Why now is this whole romantic angle coming in? In fact, why is there a romantic angle at all?

Art:

The art team does a fantastic job in this issue. Barnaby Bagenda does an extraordinary job designing the Lanterns and their powers. As I mentioned in the Secret History of Task Force X reviews, Bagenda does great work in a sci-fi environment, so having him work on a Lantern book promises imaginative designs. Add that with Ulises Arreola Palomera’s colorwork. Each character is able to pop off the page beautifully. Together, they create a wonderful book to look at.

Conclusion:

Overall, this is a fun issue. It has great humor and cool action from our leads. The art team goes above and beyond and really brings the issue together. If you need something to read this week, give this issue a shot.

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SOLO Creators Promise L3-37 is Unlike any Droid We Have Seen

By

Michael Stagno

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February 9, 2018

The newest droid in the Star Wars Universe, L3-37, voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, that will appear in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story, is unique in many ways. It is not only voiced by a woman, which is huge because, you know, it’s 2018, but also because it is self-modified.

“She’s a complete individual in the galaxy,” Jon Kasdan says. “We wanted to have it be a completely different kind of droid than you’ve ever seen in the movies. And we definitely wanted it to be a female. We thought it was more than time for that.”

Waller-Bridge will bring her ‘fearless and awkward sense of humor’ to the L3 droid. We have yet to hear her as the character, but if you have yet to see her in anything, check out the show she created and stars in, Fleabag, on Amazon.

“The idea is that she’s sort of a mutt, if you will, of various parts of different kinds of droids who has improved upon herself,” Kasdan said.

L3 will serve as a ‘partner-in-crime’ to Lando Calrissian, with whom there is a working relationship and understanding, though it has yet to be seen if the two will be as inseparable as Han Solo and Chewbacca.

“Her A.I. is way up there in terms of I.Q.,” said director Ron Howard. “She’s capable of some pretty interesting conversations and Phoebe is hilarious and brilliant and really helped bring that character to life in ways that are funny and surprising.”

Solo: A Star Wars releases nationwide in theaters on May 25, 2018.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNW0B0HsvVs[/embedyt]

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Warner Bros. Hesitant on a Possible Michael Bay LOBO Film

By

Michael Stagno

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February 9, 2018

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the speculation floating that Michael Bay will helm the Lobo film is currently false. In fact, the presumed production cost would be upward of $200 million, which is leading to Warner Bros. to have second thoughts regarding the project.

THR also claimed that Bay has not yet been offered the gig and there is a rumor that the studio is not too ‘keen’ on the character. So, that said, this project might be on the back burner for now, especially since it is not even present in DC Comics’ upcoming DCEU films list.

An R-rated superhero film is worth a shot from DC when you consider how much success Marvel has had with Deadpool. If done right, the character could be a hit as he is a fan-favorite character. One that is also foul-mouthed, cigar-toting and with an insatiable hunger for mayhem.

If you don’t know anything about the character, here’s a quick rundown. He was born on the utopian planet of Czarnia. He is the last of his kind because he wiped out his entire civilization so that he could be the last of his people. His name, in his native tongue, actually means, ‘He who devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it’. He rides around the galaxy on his rocket-fueled motorcycle as the self-proclaimed ‘best bounty hunter in the galaxy’. He is a weapons expert with super-strength, healing powers and washes it all down with an unquenchable thirst for blood.

Screenwriter Jason Fuchs is actively penning a rewrite in hopes of keeping the project afloat. His rewrite would reportedly scale down the production, which would make WB happy, but not Bay, who prides himself on big-scale action production.

Bay most-recently produced A Quiet Place and the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee. Both films are due in 2018 with Paramount Pictures.

Little else is known about this proposed project, let alone what he would actually look like. His current ‘style’ is below, but he’s definitely been through some ch-ch-ch-changes.

Consider this M.I.A. until further notice.

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George Lucas Offered Advice To SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY Director

By

Jackson Hayes

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February 9, 2018

The position of director has been a controversial one for Solo: A Star Wars Story. Following the exit of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, veteran director Ron Howard took the reigns. It was reported that Howard had to reshoot upwards of 80 percent of the film. That was obviously a tall task and Howard was able to get some help from a familiar Star Wars face.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy revealed that George Lucas was able to lend his expertise to the Solo production:

“He had intended to just kind of stop by and say hi, and he stayed five hours. There’s even one little moment in a scene that — I can’t tell you what, sorry — but in the scene on the Millennium Falcon where George said, ‘Why doesn’t Han just do this.’ It actually is a funny little bit that will probably get a laugh. And Ron happened to be by the monitor and not inside the Falcon and he goes, ‘Oh that’s a great idea,’ and ran in and said, ‘George wants us to do this.’ So that was pretty cool. I think George felt pretty great about that. He could revisit these characters, and I think he felt so comfortable, obviously with Ron being there, that it was just fun for him.”

Lucas sold his company to Disney in 2012 for over $4 billion. Since then he has watched Disney make three films that broke the $1 billion mark at the box office which surely gave him a bit of an itch to get back to the franchise. Hopefully, Lucas was able to give Howard some advice that will help him deliver the film that fans are hoping for.

Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in Solo: A Star Wars Story, an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and encounters the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.

Solo: A Star Wars Story hits theaters May 25, 2018

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Superman’s Black Suit Revealed In Deleted ‘Justice League’ Scene

By

Kieran McLean

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February 9, 2018

A deleted scene from Justice League has found its way online, giving fans a look at the iconic black Superman costume, which was rumoured at the beginning of production.

It seems like the scene was either cut for time, or it didn’t fit with Joss Whedon’s version of the film. However, Warner Bros. has included the new footage in the upcoming Blu-Ray release and now its made its way onto YouTube.

In the footage, we see Clark (Henry Cavill) walking through the Kryptonian ship, where he finds multiple suits. While he picks his typical red, yellow and blue costume, the highly-discussed black suit is visible in the background. It’s also worth noting that the scene features Hans Zimmer’s Man of Steel theme, which is something that I wish Justice League and Joss Whedon had used more of.

Check it out below:

Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists newfound ally Diana Prince to face an even greater threat. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to recruit a team to stand against this newly awakened enemy. Despite the formation of an unprecedented league of heroes — Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash — it may be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions

Justice League will be available on Blu-Ray and DVD from March 13th.

Source: Legião dos Heróis (via Batman-News)

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Exclusive Preview: SUPERGIRL #18 A Must Have Variant By Stanley “Artgerm” Lau

By

Matthew Sardo

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February 9, 2018

Supergirl #18 hits your local comic book store on February 14, but thanks to DC Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive 5-page preview for you.

Supergirl #18 is written by Jody Houser and Steve Orlando, with interior art and cover A by Daniel Henriques and Robson Rocha, Stanley “Artgerm” Lau created the variant cover, Michael Atiyeh worked on the colors for the interior and Cover A, and Steve Wand handled letters.

“Artgerm” Lau’s background in graphic design and advertising is a significant influence in the Supergirl variant this week. The over-the-top 70s vibe he gives Supergirl is stunning, combined with the textured logo makes this a must-have print. DC Comics needs to produce this for the 2018 convention season.

Houser has made a name for herself with her work on Mother Panic for DC Comics, Faith for Valiant, and the adaptation of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story for Marvel Comics. Orlando has been working on Supergirl since 2016, from the launch of Rebirth.

About the issue:
“PLAIN SIGHT” finale! Director Bones and the D.E.O. put innocent lives at risk when they unleash a psychotic alien on the National City Solstice Semiformal with the hopes of exposing Supergirl. With the alien claiming the only way the Earth can stay pure is to eradicate Supergirl, Kara finds herself pushed to the edge and forced not to stay silent anymore. Supergirl must finally stand as the hero National City needs.

Check out the 5-page preview below, click on the image to expand or scroll past to see the images as well.

Are you reading Supergirl, how have you enjoyed the run so far. Comment below.

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Review: Well … At Least We Are 50 SHADES FREED From This Misery

By

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

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James Foley’s Fifty Shade Freed is yet another example of a franchise that’s been around too long. When the first film was released in 2015, the audience at least was filled with anticipation about how far the adaptation would push the envelope. Would we get to see everything that writer E.L James describes so graphically play out before our very eyes? Could Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson effectively portray Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele? In the end, it didn’t matter how terrible the first movie was, fans flocked to see it and thus justified the next two films. Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed were filmed at the same time yet seemingly appeared to take two different approaches. The second movie relied less on T&A and attempted to tell the story of Grey’s warped perversions. Fans still flocked to see it, but the final product was mediocre at best. However, this left the franchise (specifically the third film) with a serious issue. Where was narrative going to go from this point?

Yes, they were supposed to get married but doesn’t that seem like a perfect way to have ended the second movie? Let’s say director James Foley did that, now where does the third film begin? There’s only so many times someone can see the two leads naked until audiences just become numb to the whole thing. The reality is Universal Pictures had an opportunity to make a better film by combining the 2nd and 3rd books into one movie and they choose to go for the money instead. Some fans of the series might cite Harry Potter ‘s multiple adaptations so why can’t Fifty Shades? Are you going to compare source material written by J.K. Rowling with words which were crafted by a former writer of fan fiction? We need not forget these stories were initially meant to be Twilight fan fiction. All James did was make a few changes, and the rest is history.

One can’t help but feel bad for screen-writer Nial Leonard. It would be hard for anyone to salvage usable material from this dumpster fire of a trilogy. He certainly gives it his best shot, and the result is a storyline that had me wondering if Tommy Wiseau had written it. While the marriage and sexual awakening of Mrs. Grey is a small part of it, the majority of the time we are treated to an update on the stalker (Mrs. Grey’s former boss played by Eric Johnson) who tried to kill them in the second film. Is there a connection between this deranged lunatic and Grey’s past? Perhaps the link has something to do with his family? The answer may seem a little obvious but remember this is 50 Shades Freed.

The chemistry between Doran and Johnson is the equivalent of seeing a brother and sister make out in the shower. Their performances were undoubtedly flaccid (pun intended) and lacked any believability. Danny Elfman’s score was piercing and extremely off-putting. The cinematography was nothing special either. Jason Schwartzman attempted to capture the beauty of the Grey’s surroundings by panning each new setting so the audience can take it in.

Overall, we all should feel blessed the long national nightmare which was the Fifty Shades trilogy has finally come to an end. Dornan and Johnson can fade into obscurity, and we can forget this assault on the senses even happened. The lesson Hollywood should take from this is studios should stop while they’re ahead rather than pushing forth a substandard product. However, until audiences stop buying tickets to these awful adaptations, we all will be subjected to them.

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‘INFINITY COUNTDOWN: ADAM WARLOCK’ Reveals New Details & Setup

By

Brandon J. Griffin

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Writer Gerry Duggan has been one of the creators leading the charge for Marvel’s cosmic reemergence. Infinity Countdown: Adam Warlock serves us a setup for the upcoming story as well as reveal some new details regarding the books we’ll be getting this spring and summer.

SPOILERS LIE AHEAD

Duggan’s work on his Guardians of the Galaxy run has played a huge part in reigniting the flame of Marvel’s cosmic side of the 616 universe. History has shown that the healthier that Marvel’s space landscape is, the healthier the entire universe is. It’s important to give readers compelling comics both on and off of Earth.

Gerry proved that he’s the right man for the job and this Infinity Countdown issue is no exception. We spend almost the entire book with Adam and Kang, who both play a big part in what’s to come. Warlock’s role, and how he’s managed to return, are more than passable. It actually matters that a character of his caliber has returned, it’s no cheap stunt.

Michael Allred’s bug-eyed approach to Adam Warlock is a perfect fit. His style does wonders for the Marvel cosmic setting, just as it did during Silver Surfer. Our Warlock history lesson with Kang is a trippy catch-up for those who aren’t so fluent on “Him.” It’s an absolute joy to play I-Spy with all the artifacts within the background of Kang’s home, which is also a subtle history lesson of its own.

Adam Warlock is drawn wearing a lightning bolt (he hasn’t in a very long time) similar to that of Shazam. DC’s upcoming Terrifics series is allegedly a Fantastic Four book because Marvel isn’t doing one. Perhaps Warlock bearing the bolt is a dig at DC for Shazam’s absence from DC Rebirth thus far? I don’t believe this is true, it’s just a fun observation.

The issue itself is a great setup to Adam Warlock’s role in the upcoming Infinity Countdown story. However, the most interesting information comes in the form of the checklist in the back of the issue.

We already knew this was going to be a big deal for all of our cosmic heroes. We also knew that, since Marvel Legacy #1, that the original Wolverine was heavily involved since he has one of the stones. Apparently he isn’t the only “Earther” who’ll be involved.

Daredevil, Black Widow, and Champions are all listed with their own Infinity Countdown tie-ins. There’s also four Darkhawk issues listed, we recently saw him have a one-shot at as a part of Marvel Legacy. Could this mean the cult hero could be returning to prominence? Or at least an attempt to do so?

There’s also a page in this issue in which Kang shows Adam the future devastation that he’s trying to avoid in which Phyla-Vell and Moondragon are shown. Could a GOTG lineup resembling the classic Abnett/Lanning run be around the corner? Probably not, but even just having them back would be nice.

Recently, Gerry Duggan has heavily used the Fraternity of Raptors in his Guardians of the Galaxy run. Getting Christopher Powell (or a new wielder of the amulet) back into the fold could be big for longtime Marvel fans, especially if he’s on the cosmic side of things.

Infinity Countdown is shaping up to be a gigantic part of every Marvel fan’s summer reading. We appear to be in more than capable hands and heading for some magnificent cosmic fun.

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David S. Goyer Exits Sony’s MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

By

Jackson Hayes

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February 8, 2018

The curse of He-Man continues. According to Variety, David S. Goyer has left the upcoming Masters of the Universe film. Goyer was tabbed to write the script for the movie which upon completion excited Sony executives so much they offered him the directing position. The reason for his exit was due to other commitments, meaning the production schedule likely didn’t line up with his availability.

Goyer will stay on as screenwriter having already completed the script and as an executive producer. Sony is currently searching for Goyer’s replacement in hopes of hitting the films December 2019 release date. The project was set to begin casting shortly before Goyer’s exit.

Masters of the Universe is, of course, based on the popular cartoon and Mattel toy line. The property centers around He-Man as he fights to protect Eternia from the villainous Skeletor. This isn’t the first time the popular children’s property has hit the big screen either. In 1987, Masters of the Universe starring Dolph Lundgren hit theaters but was received rather poorly.

The 1987 films poor reception led the property to be locked away for some time. Multiple attempts have been made to reboot the franchise but most have fallen through or been trapped in development hell. Sony will attempt again to reinvigorate one more time and hopefully, Goyer’s script will be the one that does it.

Who do you think should direct Masters of the Universe? Let us know in the comments below!

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And let it be known, the audience will experience the elaborate entrance of Chad Deity towards the end of the first act.

The award-winning play isn’t merely about wrestling.

Story:

Art:

Conclusion:

***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***

And let it be known, the audience will
experience the elaborate entrance of Chad Deity
towards the end of the first act.

SPOILERS LIE AHEAD