Last week I launched this series describing how I play video games with one arm. This week I’d like to write about my favorite gaming moments. Going to the arcade every weekend with my father. As a kid who grew up in the 90s and early 2000’s, arcades were still a thing.
Except instead of quarters lining cabinets within places named Sportsstar 2000 and Funscape, there were gold Namco tokens. Every Sunday my dad would purchase five dollars worth of tokens which was 25 in total. 25 tokens that amounted to 25 new memories and moments every Sunday. My dad didn’t play much as he wanted me to be able to play as many games as possible.
Instead, he would stand to the side of me and coach me. If I was playing Virtua Fighter or Marvel vs. Capcom, he would say things like “Stay on the attack” and “Your special meter is full, Nick. Use it”. I remember when I beat my first boss, my dad dropped our coats he held in his arm, hugged me, and told me how proud of me he was.
I was nine-years-old and the game was Tekken 3. As I mentioned my father didn’t really play games when we went, but when he did he was helping me. When I couldn’t get a hi-score in Skee-Ball, he being a former bowler would take my arm and teach me how to follow through and keep my arm straight. He would help me get as many tickets as possible.
When our tokens ran out and our tickets were counted, the memories did not stop. As my dad would pull me aside and say “Let’s go next door to the movie theater next door and watch trailers”. The Regal Cinemas that was attached to Funscape had a giant lobby with a massive screen overhead. In big, bright orange lights over it were the words “Coming Soon” and trailers would play on the massive screen below them.
After about 20 minutes of watching trailers, my dad and I would pile into his car and talk about the day’s events. Every conversation ending with him dropping me off at my mom’s house and him saying “Ok buddy today was fun. I’ll see you next weekend. I love you”. As a gamer, and as a son, those are the moments I will remember the most.
You can stop trying to forget about 1987’s live-action Masters of the Universe film because the reboot is rumored to begin production this spring!
Look for Sony to dish out the big bucks in making this what fans are hoping for. A few changes from its predecessor, the movie will actually feature the characters from the original toyline that were in the animated series (1983) and it will take place on their planet, Eternia, rather than being warped to Earth.
The crazy thing about MoTU is that it probably wouldn’t exist had it not been for the success of a series of white lies in pitching the toys to vendors by the Mattel creators. When the action figures were initially brought in front of vendors, they questioned whether there was more to the line. One of the creators said ‘there would be a comic book with each figure’. When a question arose whether that would be enough, the creators then said a ‘cartoon was on the way’. They obviously scrambled to achieve both ‘tales’ and came out on top, but the new show on Netflix about all the toys we grew up with, tells the story a lot better. Watch the He-Man episode of The Toys That Made Us.
David S. Goyer will co-write and direct the project, which has a preliminary release date attached of December 18, 2019. That obviously will change unless the powers that be think it is worthy enough to battle Star Wars: Episode IX for big screen holiday supremacy.
Look for casting details to drop at some point over the next few months. Though, if you’re wanting to pass the time, check out the incredibly hilarious ‘He-Man vs. Skeletor’ live-action ads from Money Supermarket and the animated ad from Geico, all below.
The 2018 convention season got off to a great start with Paradise City Comic Con in South Florida. The three-day event hosted tens of thousands of people at the Miami Airport Convention Center. Included in those thousands were cosplayers, gamers, celebs, and general geeky goodness all around.
Friday, as typical of a con’s first day, was calm. There was a crowd drawn to the many celebs who were stationed around the space. I began my snaking through the passages set up between vendors of all kinds. From colorful booths selling anime chibis to indie comic book publishers and artists, Paradise City featured all you could want in the eternal hunt for more merchandise or new things outside the mainstream to enjoy.
Friday featured an off-the-record interview with a Marvel writer. This writer told me a lot of interesting stuff. However, because the mouse has powerful ears, I can’t write about any of it for fear that Disney will hunt me down. However, it was interesting stuff and will perhaps be in my memoirs. I’ll release it just before I move on to the next dimension of life. Suck it, Disney!
The first day was only a trailer for the fantastic cosplay roaming the halls.
Paradise City Comic Convention delivered on every level you’d want a con to deliver. One highlight was what I called “Saxophone Neo.” A guy dressed in all black as if he stepped out of (or into?) the Matrix with a saxophone. In his backpack, a hidden speaker acted as his band. Sax guy wandered the con playing all sorts of hits.
Saturday also featured a moment with Wilson Cruz. The actor starred in My So-Called Life, an emo cult hit from the early 90s if there ever was one. For those who don’t know, it was My So-Called Life that gave rise to everyone’s fourth favorite Joker, Jared Leto. All the girls wanted a guy like Leto. Brooding and handsome, as if chiseled from celestial stone. I don’t look remotely like Leto. I’m more like if a potato became self-aware and sprouted appendages. So I asked Cruz to tell Leto “Thanks for keeping me a virgin in high school.” Cruz cackled. The beauty of human interaction was born again in my cold, cold heart.
Another beautiful story came via Terry Ferrel, known to geekdom as Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Terry is engaged to Adam Nimoy, the son of Leonard Nimoy who played Spock. It’s a Star Trek Love Story I won’t spoil mostly because I’m using it as the basis for a rom-com movie idea.
Nearly every industry puts on a convention of some kind. Personally, I’ve worked behind-the-scenes on dental conferences and electronics conventions. I think something like Paradise City Comic Convention, the experiences felt there, are unlike any other. We almost need a new word for what a con of this kind is like. At most industry places it’s a dry exchange on a solidly professional level. At Paradise City and other conventions of its kind, the spirit of Capitalism and the inspiration derived from art come together in harmony.
A geek convention is like a county fair trapped inside a mall. Every turn into an aisle has the potential of revealing a dazzling costume or the artwork of an unknown but talented artist.
Observations from Paradise City Comic Con:
• Voice actors are taking over. And I will be interviewing a few of them about it soon.
• The Last Jedi made a lot of money but had no impact. Most of the cosplay was centered around video games and anime. It’s almost as if the movie never existed.
• Shout out to Bath Crest. Selling bathroom shower installations at a geek con seems like a shot-in-the-dark. But it’s a wise one. Geekdom is full of old nerds who now own houses. Best of luck with your business!
• Legendary wrestler Mick Foley appears to be a germaphobe. He would only fist-bump with fans and immediately use hand sanitizer right after. Guest after guest without fail.
• The CW had a cellphone charging station with the trailer for Black Lightning playing. Genius.
According to Variety, Warner Bros. is in negotiations with John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein to direct Flashpoint, which will be the first standalone adventure for Ezra Miller’s version of The Flash.
Interestingly, Variety also reports that Warner Bros. initially asked Ben Affleck to direct, but he passed on the project for unknown reasons.
Having penned last year’s massively successful Spider-Man: Homecoming, it’s clear that the duo is well educated in comic-book movies, but they also have a knack for comedy. Daley and Goldstein previously directed Vacation and more recently helmed the Jason Bateman starring Game Night, which will land in theatres later this year.
This news comes just weeks after Warner Bros. announced Walter Hamada as the new head of DC Films.
The James Gunn confirmed on Twitter what some of us might have known or most hoped for, but the third film of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise will be released in 2020.
The sequel will follow the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, which will be the first of a two-part series that will conclude Marvel’s Phase 3 of its cinematic universe. The two films had previously been rumored to be Part 1 and 2 in the Infinity War saga, but it has since been announced that the second installment will be titled differently.
Gunn will again write and direct the next GoTG sequel, which he has done brilliantly with the first two films in the series. In fact, the man is a genius. If you haven’t already, you need to check out some of his other projects. Specifically, Slither and The Belko Experiment. He has also been linked to take the lead on the upcoming Starsky & Hutch television revival.
Rumors are swirling as to who could pop up in GoTG Vol. 3, but fans are clamoring for a Nova appearance. Though the ending to Volume 2 suggested we might indeed see Adam Warlock. Since Disney has regained the rights to mutants and the Fantastic Four, might we see any X-Men or a member of the Four? Gunn has also stated, “We’re going to be setting up new characters. It’s going to really expand the cosmic universe and will be the last movie of this version of Guardians of the Galaxy.” We will have to impatiently wait and see what he cooks up.
The current Guardians are due to appear in Avengers: Infinity War, which is set for a May 4 release, while production just ended on Avengers 4, with a curious, but awesome cake picture the Russo Brothers shared on social media.
The mystery that is the Solo: A Star Wars Story marketing has confused people the world over. The film is set to release in May and we have yet to see a trailer and most of the promotional images were leaked. Today, Disney has helped to settle fans a bit by releasing an official synopsis of the film.
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 releases in U.S. theaters on May 25, 2018.
The synopsis doesn’t add much in terms of information about the direction of the film but does tease an “all-new adventure”. We have yet to see the underground world of smugglers in Star Wars and this film will deliver on that.
Moving onto the controversies around the film, many have speculated that the film should move from the May release date and delay it until December. The December date has become a staple for Star Wars films since The Force Awakens was released in 2015 but Lucasfilm made the decision to move back to the more traditional May date. There’s still time left for Disney to decide to move the film especially since the news came that Fox had moved Deadpool 2 into May which will likely steal box office from Solo. Only time will tell what happens with the newest Star Wars project.
The filmstars Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, and Paul Bettany. The film will be directed by Ron Howard and was written by Lawrence Kasdan.
Marvel Studios has released the first official image from Ant-Man and the Wasp. The still comes from Walt Disney Studios’ 2018 preview kit for the press.
The impressive new image shows Scott Lang aka. Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), accompanied by his partner in crime Hope van Dyne aka. The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) in their heroic costumes.
Check out the image below:
From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes Ant-Man and the Wasp, a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a Super Hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope Van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside the Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past.
Peyton Reed is returning to direct Ant-Man And The Wasp, which starsPaul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John Kamen, Abby Ryder-Fortson, Randall Park, with Michelle Pfeiffer, with Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Douglas.
When we first learned that Sony was developing a Venommovie, we all wondered if Tom Holland’s Spider-Man would make an appearance or at the very least, swing past in the background. For a while, it seemed like the Venommovie would stay separate from Holland’s Spidey and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but a new rumour suggests that we might see the web-slinger in Sony’s first spin-off film.
Jon Schnepp recently appeared on Collider Movie Talk, where he revealed that a few of his “little birds” have told him that Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland, will appear alongside Tom Hardy’s villain/anti-hero in the upcoming Venomfilm.
See what Schnepp said below:
“Spider-Man is going to be in Venom. For the last couple of months, we’ve been hearing how Sony is keeping it all separated, and Spider-Man is in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but every other character that’s in the Spider-Man universe is separate. All I’m saying is that Spider-Man—and I’m talking about Tom Holland’s Spider-Man—is going to be in Venom.”
This is an exciting rumour for any Marvel/Spider-Man fan, but it’s important to note that this is an unconfirmed report and should be taken with an endless grain of salt. It’s possible (and likely) that Tom Holland won’t appear in the Venomfilm and while it would be incredible to see Hardy and Holland in a movie together, it doesn’t necessarily make sense for the characters and the different universes that Marvel and Sony are creating.
Do you want to see Tom Holland as Spider-Man in the Venom movie? Let us know in the comments section!
Gus Van Sant may not always be on top of his game, but his films are nevertheless fascinating regardless of success and failure. Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot, his latest drama starring Joaquin Phoenix as a wheelchair-bound alcoholic and Jonah Hill (unrecognizable) as his friend, has that look of good Gus.
The cast beyond Phoenix and Hill – again I cannot stress how different Jonah Hill looks – is stacked, and the tone is interesting. Check it out:
After Portland slacker John Callahan (Joaquin Phoenix) nearly loses his life in a car accident, the last thing he intends to do is give up drinking. But when he reluctantly enters treatment – with encouragement from his girlfriend (Rooney Mara) and a charismatic sponsor (Jonah Hill) – Callahan discovers a gift for drawing edgy, irreverent newspaper cartoons that develop a national following and grant him a new lease on life.
With Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot and the pulp thriller You Were Never Really Here on the horizon – two complete sentence titles, oddly enough – Joaquin Phoenix is set up for a great 2018.
This will be Van Sant’s first film since the disastrous Sea of Trees, which was a bad move on just about everyone involved. Aside from Phoenix and Hill, the film stars Rooney Mara, Jack Black, and even Udo Kier plays a role. The screenplay is based on John Callahan’s (Phoenix’s character) biography, with Van Sant doing the bulk of the screenwriting. It will hit theaters May 11, just in time to get all that summer blockbuster money no doubt.
Gideon Falls, the new Image Comics ongoing series by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino, is bringing haunting and disturbing psychological horror to comic shop shelves this March.
Gideon Falls #1 Written by: Jeff Lemire Art by: Andrea Sorrentino Colors by: Dave Stewart Letters by: Steve Wands
The lives of a reclusive young man obsessed with a conspiracy in the city’s trash, and a washed-up Catholic priest arriving in a small town full of dark secrets, become intertwined around the mysterious legend of The Black Barn, an otherworldly building that is alleged to have appeared in both the city and the small town, throughout history, bringing death and madness in its wake. Rural mystery and urban horror collide in this character-driven meditation on obsession, mental illness, and faith.
Writing
Gideon Falls is a very tightly written book. It’s a master class in using dialog and conversations as a tool to flesh out characters and drive the narrative. It’s also a perfect example of using pacing to build dread and mystery. As stated earlier, this is something very difficult to do in a medium that relies only on words and pictures. But Lemire makes it work. With each turn of the page, the story not only unfolds further but raises the tension. At one point, during a brilliant parallel narrative sequence near the end of the book, I actually held my breath.
The two main characters, Father Fred and Norton, are both fantastically realized characters. Obviously flawed and carrying burdens and baggage, you immediately connect with them and are drawn into their respective stories. When these two cross paths, it’s going to be a great moment.
Art
Andrea Sorrentino has always been one of the best artists in the business, especially when it comes to panel layouts and page design. Gideon Falls has some of the most inventive and evocative work from Sorrentino yet. His use of negative space creates a sense displacement and unease that heightens the narrative. Panels are placed in unique ways; he is a master as juxtapositioning (just check out the below image for a great example). He also draws faces that carry so much weight and emotion you can feel by just looking at expressions. There is also a texture to his art that is very tactile.
Dave Stewart’s colors work like cinematic photography does in a film. Mood and atmosphere are heightened. You can honestly almost feel the lighting.
And something has to be said about Steve Wands minimal yet no less impacting lettering. The hand-drawn look of the font fits perfectly with the story and ‘sound effects’ have the appropriate punch that makes them essential.
Conclusion
Gideon Falls is going to be one of 2018’s best new books. It has all the components of a classic and is further proof that horror may be the next big genre that the comics medium might make its own. Don’t sleep on this and visit Gideon Falls and The Black Barn.
