Over the weekend, WWE Champion “The Viper” Randy Orton, struck independent wrestlers of all sizes, shapes, and ages with a “Tweet read round the world.”
Here is the tweet in question, sent no doubt after a few cold ones after a SmackDown live event in Denmark…
This rant set off a pretty extensive chain reaction on Twitter. Some professionals, like Low-Ki, took offense to the Tweet in question…
Unfortunately, you're protected in the wwe. Come out to the real world and test your tantrum with adults https://t.co/AkwK3XNI80
— LOW-KI ロウ・キー セカイノ戦士 (@OneWorldWarrior) May 15, 2017
While others decided to take the high road and make light of the comments..
Gotta love those Young Bucks who took time away from counting all their sweet merch money to accept Orton’s apology.
Any way you slice it, these words are going to create a dialogue through the internet wrestling community.
Whose side are you on? What do you think of Randy Orton and his rant? Leave your thoughts, questions, and comments below. Also, most importantly, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @themikeycuralli!
For a movie featuring Sexy Revisionist King Arthur, giant murder elephants, evil Jude Law, a fetching female Merlin reimagining and a three-bodied sex kraken that feeds on the innocent, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is certainly pretty dull and forgettable. Let alone for a movie featuring Sexy Revisionist King Arthur, giant murder elephants, evil Jude Law, a fetching female Merlin reimagining and a three-bodied sex kraken that feeds on the innocent directed by Guy Ritchie, i.e. the king of the quick cut. What has cinema become?
For what it’s worth, at first, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is a luxurious kind of bad. A highly expensive establishing action sequence finds the aforementioned humongous elephants wrenching havoc for no conceivable reason, while Eric Bana throws his horse over a cliff in order to jump into a crumbling structure holding several men serviced in more ways than one. It’s rich, almost winking ludicrousness that is only matched by the aftermentioned three-bodied sex kraken that feeds on the innocent just moments later. But then the movie takes a straight nosedive into Boringville, with no restroom breaks either.
You see, just before Legend of the Sword takes a pit stop at the Snoozer Hotel, we learn that the mischevious Vortigern (a deliciously malicious Law) is killing anyone that gets in the way of his impending kingship, and if it weren’t for a fleeting rescue during Arthur’s infancy, Arthur would’ve died before he lived. But Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) does live, if away from his royal inherence, in a hard-knuckled life inside a brothel. He’s trained to fend for himself and loot only when it benefits those around him (I sometimes wondered if Legend of the Sword was Ritchie’s inadvertent way to make a Robin Hood reboot, which honestly would’ve been a lot better for his specific style), but in the midst of protecting the ones he loves, he soon discovers that he’s destined for bigger, grander things. He pulls out an all-power sword, Excalibur, which he’ll wield, through the training of a sexy Mage (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) and disenchanted trainer (Djimon Hounsou, giving a better performance than the material deserves, as per usual), in order to bring down his nefarious, evil uncle.
It’s not that King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is especially incompetent. There are a couple inspired sequences, notably from Arthur’s days before ascending to his newfound royalty. There’s a general cheekiness with his banter around his future knights of the roundtable that live up to Ritchie’s trademark signatures. The rustic Scottish score, provided by Daniel Pemberton, gives the film an upbeat energy that makes it flow more than it should. And, of course, the Scottish scenery is quite often gorgeous, especially when Ritchie films in real life environments, away from some ill-advised, poorly designed greenscreen background effects, notably around the overblown third act. But King Arthur: Legend of the Sword lacks the casual, cocky charm of Ritchie’s better works. It’s fun only in spurts, and the moments that do engage you are often too far away and infrequent that you’re mostly left bored by this unnecessary retelling. And that’s without delving into the fact that this take is yet another “this ain’t your daddy’s [blank]” type of studio blockbuster. You know, where everything is edgier, darker and more grounded to divert it from the more whimsical source material, not because it comes with a specific vision or an interesting perspective.
It’s insincere, and even when King Arthur: Legend of the Sword tries to play up the fun, it’s too fake and ill-fitting to make it work. There’s no real enthusiasm to the proceedings. There’s a general wonkiness to everything in the story, from the pacing to the structure, that’s uncomfortable and generally unremarkable. Even the flat-out weird stuff isn’t quite consistent enough to keep you invested. That’s saying something, because did I tell you about the three-bodied sex kraken that feeds on the innocent? It appears at least twice! If you have a three-bodied sex kraken that feeds on the innocent in your new movie and you still find a way to be pretty darn boring, you know you’re probably doing something wrong.
It’s not hard to pick apart the influences here, whether they’re Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings, but those said influences feel like sources of imitation rather than something to aspire to be as good as. The mythology that’s established here is weirdly convoluted for no good reason, and there’s a general lumpiness to the plotting that suggests the filmmakers are trying to do too much with too little time. It’s messy, as you can imagine, but more than that, it’s boring in its messiness. Everything that should be fun isn’t, and everything that should be silly isn’t even all that goofy. It’s astoundingly milquetoast in its execution.
Hunnam, like the rest of the cast, does what he can, and he’s admittedly better than he ever was in Pacific Rim. But Law is the only actor that really stands out. This movie is so forgettable, I completely forgot that David Beckham made a cameo. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is a studio retelling with all the odds against it, and rather than try to win over fans with its innovative approach, it alienates them by making everything that should be fun boring and the things that could be compelling off-putting and odd in the wrong ways. Ritchie and his team appear wholly disinterested in making a King Arthur movie, so therefore we’re often disinterested to watch them half-heartedly make one for us. Perhaps it would be best to keep this sword safely tucked inside the stone. It’s not sharp enough.
UPDATE: FOX has released the first trailer for The Orville has arrived. Enjoy the hilarity below:
FOX has released the first set of photos and synopsis from their upcoming series The Orville, created by and starring Seth MacFarlane. The series also stars Adrianne Palicki, Halston Sage, and Chad L. Coleman.
Check out some stills from the show here:
And here is the official synopsis from FOX:
From Emmy Award-winning executive producer and creator Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, Ted) and directed by Jon Favreau (The Jungle Book, Iron Man), The Orville is a science fiction comedy set 400 years in the future that follows the adventures of a mid-level exploratory vessel.
Its crew, both human and alien, faces the wonders and dangers of outer space, while also dealing with the familiar, often humorous problems of regular people in a workplace… even though some of those people are from other planets, and the workplace is a faster-than-light spaceship.
In the 25th century, Earth is part of the Planetary Union, a far-reaching, advanced and mostly peaceful civilization with a fleet of 3,000 ships. Down on his luck after a bitter divorce, Planetary Union officer Ed Mercer (MacFarlane) finally gets his chance to command one of these ships: the U.S.S. Orville.
Determined to prove his worth and write a new chapter in his life, Ed finds that task all the more difficult when the First Officer assigned to his ship is his ex-wife, Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.).
As the new commander, Ed assembles a qualified, but eccentric crew, including his best friend, Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes, ER), who has problems with authority, but is the best helmsman in the fleet; Dr. Claire Finn (Penny Johnson Jerald, 24), one of the Union’s most accomplished physicians; Bortus (Peter Macon, Shameless), an alien from a single-sex species; Isaac (Mark Jackson, That Royal Today), an artificial life-form from a machine society that thinks biological life-forms are inferior; navigator John Lamarr (J. Lee, Family Guy), whose casual humor cuts through even the most dire situations; Alara Kitan (Halston Sage, Neighbors), a young, inexperienced security officer whose home planet’s high gravity gives her superior physical strength; and Yaphit, a gelatinous creature voiced by Norm Macdonald (Saturday Night Live).
Somehow, Ed and Kelly must put the past behind them and, with the help of the crew, navigate fascinating and sometimes dangerous adventures in outer space, as well as the tumultuous and captivating day-to-day personal relationships with their colleagues.
The Orville is set to premiere this fall on FOX.
Will you be watching The Orville this fall? Let’s discuss in the comments!
Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming film, Mother, stars Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem. And beyond that, we haven’t gotten many concrete details about the project. Until now, that is, because yesterday the director celebrated Mother’s Day with a somewhat unsettling new poster for the film:
— darren aronofsky (@DarrenAronofsky) May 14, 2017
Aside from Lawrence and Bardem, Mother will include Ed Harris, Kristen Wiig, and Michelle Pfeiffer who, thankfully, might be having a bit of career resurgence in 2017. Aronofsky has said that the film will be a hard horror story about an unwanted houseguest, which seems pretty clear now given this poster. The juxtaposition of the soft imagery and the exposed heart in Lawrence’s hands is pretty awesome.
The movie will open October 13th, so expect what will undoubtedly be an awesome teaser and/or trailer in the months before then.
For the last 25 years, Alien 3 has been labeled a disaster, one of many infamous, big-budget calamities scattered along the ditches of Hollywood’s Glory Road. It’s been collectively slotted with pictures like Heaven’s Gate, Ishtar, and Waterworld, movies more well known for the production issues, infighting, and ballooning budgets than anything that may have actually made it to the screen.
But perhaps it’s time to take another look at Alien 3 – even though David Fincher never will. Because this sequel, for all its warts, is more interesting and strange and creative than just about any modern summer blockbuster.
The production issues are well documented all across the internet: power struggles behind the scenes, the rookie filmmaker Fincher being hamstrung by studio orders, a release date before an inch of film was ever shot, edits, rewrites, on and on. There’s no need to cover these bases again. The situation was such a mess it’s often difficult for people to take a step back and even consider the film on its own merits. The movie itself feels almost entirely secondary.
Alien 3 is a product of its time. Much like James Cameron’s Aliens was a representation of the excessive 80s, Alien 3 is a dark and unforgiving relic of the early-90s grunge era, all muted browns and grays and grimy nihilism. It fits into its historical setting, and has only gotten better as a pure film experience over the years.
The idea that both Newt and Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn) were killed off screen somewhere between this and the end of Aliens was always a complaint of fans, and one that never made a lot of sense once the movie is taken into consideration as a whole. This film, expected to be the final chapter in a trilogy, is all about Ellen Ripley’s solo showdown with the xenomorph. Losing Newt and Hicks from the start allows Ripley to end things on her own terms while also allowing this new cast of prisoners to develop around her.
Newt’s subsequent autopsy, a necessary point of the story amped up by Fincher and Co. for geek show gore effects, was also a point of controversy at the time. It’s gruesome, sure, but gruesomeness is the intention of this film. After all, this time around we are stuck on an unforgiving prison planet in the middle of the galaxy, littered with rapists and murderers and the like; a bone-crunching autopsy of a young girl fits right in thematically.
Once the remnants of Aliens are eschewed, the film at hand moves at a deliberate pace, creating two stories to ultimately connect with each other. There is the lurking xenomorph in the underbelly of the prison planet, massacring grunts, and there is Ripley both struggling to integrate with a planet of prisoners who haven’t seen a woman in years and finding a curious romance with the prison’s doctor, Clemens, played wonderfully by Charles Dance. Credit should be given to Fincher (and a team of screenwriters) for giving Ellen Ripley something that had been absent in the first two films: sexuality. While she must shave her head to fend off lice, Ripley actually manages to have a sexual encounter with a man in the film. Ridley Scott had barely flirted with this side of Weaver’s character and her unspoken bond with Tom Skerritt’s Dallas in Alien, and James Cameron avoided it altogether in the sequel.
Then, the movie surprises us. It kills off Clemens in a shocking ambush, sending Ripley and the third act of the film into a tailspin of mayhem. This scene brings about one of the more iconic single images of the entire franchise, the alien inches from Ripley’s face. The eventual xenomorph impregnation of Ripley feels like a forgone conclusion, an inevitable melding of hero and villain, paying off in a terrifically bleak climax.
Time can heal old cinematic wounds, and Alien 3 has benefited from increasingly soulless summer blockbusters in the last 25 years. Fincher’s debut films weird and disjointed and sometimes clumsy, but that’s not necessarily the worst thing.
In 1974, a young actor by the name of Powers Boothe made his stage debut. From his TV character like name to a career packed with memorable characters, 1974 was only the beginning for an actor whose career would span four decades. Powers Boothe passed away On Sunday, May 15th at the age of 68.
Monkeys Fighting Robots remembers
the five best characters played by Powers Boothe
Powers Boothe was on stage from 1974 to 1979, including a stint on Broadway in the play “Lone Star” In 1980, Boothe appeared in the CBS TV-Movie Guayana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones playing the titular character. If you don’t know the story of Jim Jones, it’s a fascinating one. But the basics are this: Jones lead a cult-like group who moved to an isolated region of Guyana and eventually all drank cool-aid that put them to sleep permanently. There’s A LOT more to the story, but as any actor will tell you, carrying a film isn’t easy and doing it while playing what is an evil person only makes it harder. Powers Boothe’s portrayal of Jim Jones received critical acclaim and earned the actor an Emmy Award.
2. Lt. Col. Andrew Tanner
In the 80s, war with Russia was a hot topic and many b-movies released following the logical conclusion of two superpowers going to war. A lot of movies dealt with the fallout of nuclear war. But in Red Dawn, the film looks at the collapse of a peaceful world. A lot of political turmoil leads to an invasion of the U.S. From global communist forces. Powers Boothe was a downed U.S. Fighter pilot who spends little time in the movie but every minute counts. From an exposition point of view, it’s nicer to hear it come from an actor like Boothe. From a story perspective, Red Dawn’s young heroes needed help.
3. Cyrus “Cy” Tolliver
HBO’s Deadwood is one of those brilliant shows that only seems to get better with age. One reason the show is so fantastic is the ensemble cast. Powers Boothe was part of that cast as Cy Tolliver, the owner of a brothel spurned by love which makes him hungrier for power. Boothe was often part of ensemble casts, but his presence and crushed gravel voice always helped him stand out above the rest. As a tragic villain in Deadwood, Cy Tolliver is one of the most unforgettable characters from the show.
4. Gideon “Old Man” Malick
In 2012, Boothe appeared in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers as an unnamed character. The small role as a secretive government agent came and went. In 2015, Boothe reprised the role on Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, and he got a name: Gideon Malick. Boothe’s natural gravitas and the rumble of his voice made him a natural fit for villain-y type roles. As Malick, Boothe caused chaos within the Marvel Universe as one of the leaders of HYDRA.
5. Gorilla Grodd
Say what you will about the DC movies, but from 2002 to 2006 Justice League and Justice League Unlimited did a great job of bringing the beloved comic book characters to life. One of the great villains of the series was Gorilla Grodd, the super-smart, telepathic ape. Powers Boothe provided the voice for Grodd, breathing life into the character as a great voice actor should. Boothe’s voice for Grodd is on that same iconic level as Hamill’s Joker. Boothe also voiced Red Tornado during the run of the show.
6. Rest in the infinite, Powers Boothe.
Thanks for sharing your talents with the rest of us.
Check Out This In-Depth Look At The Netflix Show ‘GLOW’
Pro-wrestling is about to become gorgeous again! The trailer for the upcoming Netflix Original Series ‘GLOW‘ is here. The bumps and bruises of this wrestling show are nothing compared to the behind-the-scenes drama. It will star Allison Brie, Marc Maron, and Beth Gilpin as people trying to find their way in the business.
The show premieres on Friday, June 23rd on Netflix.
Check out the trailer below:
“‘GLOW‘ tells the fictional story of Ruth Wilder (Brie), an out-of-work, struggling actress in 1980s Los Angeles who finds one last chance for stardom when she’s thrust into the glitter and spandex world of women’s wrestling. In addition to working with 12 Hollywood misfits, Ruth also has to compete with Debbie Eagan (Betty Gilpin) a former soap actress who left the business to have a baby, only to be sucked back into work when her picture perfect life is not what it seems. And at the wheel is Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron), a washed-up, B-movie director who now must lead this group of women on the journey to wrestling stardom.”
“‘GLOW‘ is created by Liz Flahive (‘Homeland’, ‘Nurse Jackie’) and Carly Mensch (‘Nurse Jackie‘, ‘Orange Is The New Black‘, ‘Weeds‘). ‘Orange Is the New Black’ creator Jenji Kohan and Tara Herrmann executive producers alongside Flahive and Mensch who are serving as showrunners.”
Don’t forget to check out the Netflix premiere on June 23rd.
Update: After further research, Spider-Man and MvC: Infinite are not “confirmed” for the show. However, I have no doubt that these titles will be shown off.
With 2017’s E3 just around the corner, I’ve decided to take a look at my five most anticipated games confirmed for the show. Since I’ll be attending the Expo this year, I expect the majority of these games to be playable. When the show rolls around, I’ll be sure to give my thoughts and impressions on these games’ demos.
Red Dead Redemption 2
The first Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer underwhelmed me, as it was lacking in real gameplay and concrete information. However, E3 will likely bring us a slew of gameplay and info about the game. I loved the original Red Dead Redemption, and can’t wait for the sequel.
Spider-Man
Although Sony hasn’t showed much, if any, of this game yet, it’s impossible for me not to get excited. Spider-Man is my favorite comic book character, and the fact that we’re getting a new open world game with modern technology is incredibly exciting. Given that Insomniac games, the brilliant team behind Ratchet and Clank is working on Spider-Man, it will surely be a solid title.
Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite
Marvel Vs. Capcom has a special place in my heart. I’ve played the original arcade title since I was five years old, and that interest was rejuvenated with MvC 3 on Xbox 360. Now, we’re getting a full HD title that looks amazing.
Splatoon 2
Splatoon was my favorite game of last generation, and Splatoon 2 looks better in virtually every way. Given that Nintendo Switch is a success so far, this game will be more polished than the first. Considering that the title comes out the month after E3, I expect a lot of details about this one.
Super Mario Odyssey
If you’ve followed my gaming writing for any amount of time you probably aren’t surprised by this. But yes, my most anticipated title is none other than Super Mario Odyssey. Akin to 64 and Sunshine, Odyssey looked absolutely incredible based on its first trailer. Nintendo knows the interest that sanbox, 3D Mario games get, and I fully expect them to show it off in detail at E3
Well, what games are you looking forward to? Sound off in the comments below!
During a recent Facebook live Q & A session, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 director James Gunn confirmed that Adam Warlock will not be appearing in the highly anticipated Avengers: Infinity War.
“Adam Warlock will not be in Infinity War … he will have a future in the MCU. But will it be in Infinity War? It will not.”
This comes as no surprise to me. Assuming you have seen GotG Vol. 2, you’re aware that they are setting up Warlock to be a major player in the MCU’s future. However, it’s obviously too early for that, as we still have the Thanos storyline to settle.
“Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.”
GotG Vol. 2 stars Chris Pratt as Star-Lord/Peter Quill, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon, Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Michael Rooker as Yondu, Kurt Russel as Ego The Living Planet, Karen Gillian as Nebula, Dave Bautista as Drax, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, and Sylvester Stallone in a currently unknown role. The film is directed by James Gunn.
Wonder Woman has a runtime similar to that of Man of Steel and The Avengers.
Thanks to Fandango, we now know that the Gal Gadot-led DC Extended Universe blockbuster clocks in at 2 hours and 21 minutes, or 141 minutes.
It’s challenging to speculate about anything related to a film knowing solely the runtime. Some movies need an extra half hour, while others could be cut down by a chunk. For example, this year’s Logan, a brilliant film that transcends the comic book genre, is 2 hours and 17 minutes – that was a perfect runtime. But in the case of Batman v Superman, while the extended edition still has flaws, it vastly improves the film.
Are you looking forward to Wonder Woman? Sound off in the comments section below.
“Wonder Woman hits movie theaters around the world next summer when Gal Gadot returns as the title character in the epic action adventure from director Patty Jenkins. Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny.”
Wonder Woman stars Gal Gadot as the title character, Chris Pine, Robin Wright as Antiope, David Thewlis, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya, Connie Nielsen, Ewen Bremner, and Lucy Davis.
