In a story exclusive to pioneering “geek’ website Ain’t It Cool News, the trailer for the long in the works film, 5-25-77, was revealed today. AICN’s Harry Knowles (who has seen a rough cut and has been championing the film since it’s inception almost a decade ago) calls it a “geeky Dazed and Confused“. I see a bit of Almost Famous in it a bit as well. Check out the trailer below.
The film has had a long, turbulent history that has been covered across the internet for ages. Everyone from SlashFilmto IndieWire has at one point covered it over the years. It’s one of those stories/projects that popped up every once in a while and also kept me wondering if it would ever make it to an audience. Glad to see it’s finally happening! What do you guys think? Are you excited for this to finally come out for us to see? Comment and discuss below!
5-25-77 is written and directed by Patrick Read Johnson. It stars John Francis Daley, Austin Pendelton, Collen Camp, and Neil Flynn. It is scheduled for release on May 25, 2017.
After last week’s shocking cliffhanger, Attack on Titan episode 30 begins by giving us something which has never been shown in the series before: Snow. Yes, a flashback to basic training shows snow for the first time in this world. Think about it, there has never been a snow covered titan ever. Of course there isn’t one here either so don’t get your hopes up.
How many times is the show going to beat us over the head with the idea Christa is the perfect person and all others in this series, Nay the world are ants compared to her greatness? We get it people! She’s an awesome character. Most of the episode showcases on her and Ymir’s relationship and the how and why Ymir has always been there for her. Frankly the more you look into it, Ymir’s behavior sways between tough love and just being a jerk to Christa. Yeah, she’s willing to finally step up and stop being such a terrible person when the chips are down but really what about all the other times in their relationship? Better to have a friends around who are nice to you all the time instead of only when you are in a life or death situation.
This episode draws to a close with a great moment as the cavalry finally arrives to save their friends. A surprising realization also comes in the form of Aaron announcing his first kill. Once you take a moment and realize it, outside of when he is a Titan this is the first actual kill he has had the entire series. Man Mikasa really is the only thing keeping him alive most of the time isn’t she?
Good action, great drama, and a some nice bits of character development. This episode has it all but it don’t get too comfortable just yet. Next week’s episode looks to be even more action packed.
Attack on Titan: Season Two is streaming on Crunchyroll.
Across his cinematic history, we’ve seen Superman defeat Lex Luthor, General Zod, and Doomsday, but never his greatest foe: the Klu Klux Klan. Thankfully, this will play out in a new film from Lotus Entertainment and Paperchase Films, according to Empire.
“Given [his history], it figures that the Man of Steel would one day take on the men of hate. Superman was shaped as a force for openness and fairness and a positive future for all. The KKK was openly anti-Semitic, hostile to liberal democracy, and wanted to turn the clock back.” – Rick Bowers, Author.
Superman Vs The KKK adapts the 2012 book Superman Versus The Ku Klux Klan: The True Story Of How The Iconic Superhero Battled The Men Of Hate, written by Rick Bowers. It explores the true story that inspired the 1946 radio drama The Adventures of Superman episode, “Clan Of The Fiery Cross.”
On the book, Lotus Entertaiment co-founder Bill Johnson said, “The themes of this true story fall right in line with the type of stories that inspired me to want to make movies in the first place.”
“Fighting the forces of evil with brain over brawn, artists taking down bullies, and the power of a good piece of content, it’s a real case of truth being cooler than fiction.” -Marc Rosen, Producer.
The story follows Stetson Kennedy, an activist who went undercover in the KKK in 1946. He contacted the producers of The Adventures of Superman, hoping they’d be interested in using what he had learned for a story arc. He provided information on codewords, rituals, and more. The producers jumped at the chance, and the rest is history.
“The story behind Superman Vs the KKK really struck a chord with me. Right away I knew I wanted to relive it by being a part of the nonviolent resistance against oppression.” – Marco Vicini, Producer.
Katherine Lindberg (Wet Hot American Summer) is set to write the script. Lotus Entertainment previously produced Maggie, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin, and helped distribute A Hologram for the King.
What are you excited to see in Superman Vs The KKK? Let us know in the comments!
Snatch Game from Season 9 is going to one of the most forgettable in ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race‘ history. With such a memorable cast, there were some high hopes but most of the contenders fell flat. While there were some standouts, the majority didn’t click.
Two weeks ago, I made Snatch Game predictions. Find them by clicking here!
Below is a power ranking of all the performances from Snatch Game.
10. Cynthia Lee Fontaine as Sofia Vergara
– There’s a reason Cynthia went home because of this performance. It’s just horrible. For her to have multiple years to work on this, it’s sad she couldn’t do anything with Sofia Vergara. Relying on her thick accent wasn’t enough and this ended up sending her home.
9. Farrah Moan as Gigi Gorgeous
– As soon as Farrah was announced to be playing Gigi Gorgeous, most fans wrote her off instantly. It’s a unique choice for Snatch Game but she couldn’t make it funny. Farrah Moan is lucky she had a great Madonna runway look because this was bottom 2 material.
8. Peppermint as Nene Leakes
– Poor Peppermint. Her performance as Nene Leakes was hard to watch. You can tell she was in her head and it caused her to stumble. Even her look wasn’t so striking, nothing really screamed Nene. Thankfully, Peppermint does a solid lip-sync!
7. Aja as Alyssa Edwards
Other than having some terrifying makeup, there’s nothing memorable about this. To write this article, I even had to look up who Aja was for Snatch Game. If the other’s weren’t as bad as they were, Aja would’ve been in the bottom because of this horrid Alyssa Edwards impersonation.
6. Trinity Taylor as Amanda Lepore
– Based on the looks alone, Trinity Taylor’sAmanda Lepore was a knockout. Instantly recognizable and nailed some mannerisms, Trinity did just find. She didn’t impress too much but didn’t bomb so she’s placed firmly in the middle.
5. Valentina As Miss Colombia
– As soon as you saw Valentina’s look, it earned some laughs. Even her first few jokes were good but comedy is obviously not her strong suit. The Miss Colombia gimmick also feels slightly dated by the time of airing so that hurt the performance as well.
4. Nina Bo’Nina Brown as Jasmine Masters
– One of the predictions I nailed is Nina Bo’Nina Brown as Jasmine Masters. It felt like the obvious choice with Nina’s hilarious Youtube videos but there’s still some doubts. While it wasn’t the show-stealing role that many hoped for, there was plenty of chuckles.
3. Shea Coulee As Naomi Campbell
– Shea Coulee’sNaomi Campbell is one of the best of the night. Almost so good that she should’ve been in the top 3. The look wasn’t as striking as I’d hope but the accent and personality were there. Each week, Shea is showing she’s a top 3 contender.
2. Sasha Velour as Marlene Dietrich
– Why Sasha Velour doubted herself with this performance is beyond me. Usually, these legendary older stars do very well in Snatch Game. The performance wasn’t laugh-out-loud worthy but it was better than most. Also, the Marlene Dietrich look was very on-point.
1. Alexis Michelle as Liza Minelli
– The only other performance I predicted correctly, Alexis Michelle as Liza was the best of the season. It’s going to be one of the best of all time because it’s just that good. From the look to the quirks, Alexis nailed everything.
Check out this week’s episode of Untucked for more Snatch Game shade.
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Who are your favorite from Season 9’s Snatch Game?
Gundam Thunderbolt episode 6 took me by surprise this morning. It was a pleasant change of pace to wake up to a new episode of one of the best war stories ever told. This episode dealt with one of my favorite characters of the One Year War, Io Fleming. This is a great series, so please stop if you haven’t caught up yet, spoilers ahead.
Action!
I had zero expectations going in as I haven’t read past what constitutes the first season of the manga. Gundam Thunderbolt however, always catches me by surprise.
From memory, I don’t remember the last Gundam series that had such an amazing water themed battle like the one shown here. Everything, from the way the more experienced aquatic Zeon forces utilized the terrain to how Gundam Atlas’ appeared, was captivating. Seeing the Feddies lose is always a treat, but this one-sided massacre had me feeling things.
It doesn’t help that the writer for this series makes the characters feel so human. They all have this special thing they are fond of. For Io, it’s jazz. For Daryl, it’s those old pop songs. A character introduced in this episode named Lieutenant Bull had a love for bobble heads and baseball. The way they are written just reminds you of someone you know. This could be your brother, your cousin, or your best friend. It makes the fight for what they believe in, that more real.
Another enjoyable aspect of the fight was that we got to see the pilots put in their suit’s energy towards different systems. We saw Bianca power up her beam sabers, her legs and later Io attempted something similar.
Did the guy in the Grublo die from drowning or the pressure?
Flirting with Danger
Protagonist
Let’s take a minute to talk about how Io was this episode. The man has one of the best weapons of war in his hands in the form of a Gundam. What does he do? Take a bunch of unnecessary risks and damage that could be avoided. He’s an experienced Gundam pilot yet somehow still finds the time to be as reckless as possible. He lost all of his equipment within minutes, and also managed to drop his beam sabers at the end.
Now don’t get me wrong, that all plays into the charm of his character. A friend of mine described him as being like James Bond. I can completely agree with that statement. He is reckless, has infinite charisma, and never truly thinks his plans through, but also gets things done. Fleming is also highly imaginative, which he proves when his leg thrusters are broken and he moves all the power to his sabers to push him upward. It’s realistic that in the moment Io forgot the finer details of the suit such as its pressure limit or that sabers can overheat. His character would lose from being an overly calculating type so this all works out in the end for him.
It also helps that Io Fleming is a few letters from James Bond’s creator Ian Fleming‘s name.
The moment Io realized he had no chance to survive alone.
Second star
Io Fleming is great? So is Bianca Carlyle. She is equally as interesting as he is, if not more, since she’s a new character. Ranging from her love of Jazz to the stories her tattoos tell of her military career, she’s a great person. I personally enjoy her frantic style of fighting where she does whatever is needed to live. It’s like seeing a cornered animal fight to live another day. When that Zeon Major pitied her for being a woman, she didn’t take that lying down; she crashed both of their suits. Bianca pulling an Io to go shoot the dude’s head on foot was amazing. She’s the quintessential warrior where sex, race, or age doesn’t matter. We were also treated to a great scene when Io finally found someone to treat as an equal in Bianca.
Bianca was about to shoot some dude surrounded by penguins in the back! Ice cold.
A Lesson
The last part of the episode is where we were reminded that war is terrible. Seeing both the Zeon and the Federation grieving for their lost ones was heartbreaking. That’s the reality of war we often forget, both sides think they are right and we’re all people at the end of the day.
Oh by the way how tight has the music been this season? If the first season’s jazz felt chaotic and loud, this season’s feeling melancholic and more controlled. That Japanese cover of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good was the cherry on top.
Gundam Thunderbolt is a realistic take on war using giant robots with deeply captivating characters. This episode has me hyped for the other 2 episodes and I cannot wait to see where Io and Daryl’s factions take them. Waiting a month for another episode feels absolutely fair as we are treated with amazing quality in animation, soundtrack, and story. If you’re looking for series to get into the Universal Century, I definitely recommend this one as it’s separated enough that you can watch it as a standalone, while also being connected to the bigger picture.
Are you planning to check out Logan in black and white? I know I’ll be heading to the theater on May 16.
“In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.”
Logan stars Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/ Logan, Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, Dafnee Keen as Laura Kinney/X-23, Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce, Doris Morgado as Maria, Richard E. Grant as Dr. Zander Rice, Stephen Merchant as Caliban, Elizabeth Rodriguez as Gabriela, and others.
Down below, watch Monkeys Fighting Robots film critic EJ Moreno talk about Logan in his series, “About Last Night”.
In getting ready to write this article, I discovered something about myself: I’m not a big fan of movies from the year I was born, 1981. Oh, to have been born a year earlier, the year of The Empire Strikes Back, Airplane, The Shining and many more. Since going back in time to convince my parents to conceive me a year earlier wasn’t an option, I dug into my top five flicks from 1981. It turns out there were some pretty noticeable gaps in my viewings from the year I was born. For example, I have never seen An American Werewolf in London or The Road Warrior. Now, in my defense, these pictures were rated R, so I can hardly be looked down upon for not having seen them when I was 0. I have, however, had 3 decades since then to catch up, so feel free to come at me in the comments. If you’re having trouble, here’s a template: “You haven’t seen _________? What the hell is wrong with you?!” Alright, on to the movies:
History of the World: Part I
Not one of my favorite Mel Brooks movies, but even a lower-tier Mel Brooks movie is better than most movies. For my money, Mel Brooks as Moses beats Charlton Heston any day. Gregory Hines, Dom DeLuise, and Madeline Kahn all help round out this funny flick.
On Golden Pond
Oddly enough, I watched this flick for the first time only a few months ago, while working my way through a list of Academy Award winners and nominees. I don’t imagine I’d have cared much for this movie if I had seen it years ago, but I appreciate Henry Fonda’s portrayal of cranky old man Norman Thayer, Jr. now that I’m getting older and crankier. The movie takes a very personal look at relationships, primarily Norman’s relationship to his loving wife, played by Katherine Hepburn; his relationship (such as it is) to his daughter Chelsea (played by real-life daughter Jane Fonda); and his relationship with grandson Billy Ray. The film is quite moving at times and actually pretty funny at others, as in the clip below, in which Chelsea’s new boyfriend, Bill Ray, gets to know Norman.
While the musical numbers grow tiresome, the rest of this movie is pretty great. Unsurprisingly, this movie is better to me as an adult than it was when I was a child (back then I was a bigger fan of The Muppets take Manhattan). Five-year-old me was unable to appreciate the self-aware meta jokes, John Cleese’s performance, and the hilarity of Gonzo contemplating jumping out of a hot air balloon to his death.
Stripes
Having seen this flick only once, in 1999, and remembering very little about it, other than that it made me laugh, I decided a quick refresher was in order and watched it again. Starting its first act with a depiction of boot camp and then plunging into a live-combat situation, Stripes has a lot of similarities with another war movie of this era, Full Metal Jacket. Unlike FMJ, Stripes features John Candy mud wrestling strippers and a Winnebago equipped with flame throwers and rocket launchers. Advantage: Stripes. Bill Murray at this time was perfecting slacker comedy and Harold Ramis is every bit a match for him.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
There’s nothing I can tell you about this classic that you shouldn’t already know. It’s almost universally acknowledged as one of the greatest movies of all time. Spielberg and Lucas introduced us to Indiana Jones, a hero so cool that we never even noticed he was named after a state that isn’t in the least bit exciting. Raiders has everything: action, humor, suspense, Nazi-punching, a thieving monkey, and a sword fight for the ages. You can feel the love for 1940’s film-making throughout. It’s like The Maltese Falcon with more face-melting.
What is your favorite film from 1981? Comment below.
In the wake of last issue’s shocking death, Lilly and her team of aliens must infiltrate the enemy ship with one goal in mind: find Eva!
Writing
After a long delay due to a changing of the guard, Satellite Falling is finally back. When a book takes a long break, it’s usually important to make a come back with a phenomenal issue which will help everyone remember how good it was before the gap in time. This issue manages to pull off this feat gloriously by putting the main character through hell and high water.
Lilly just can’t catch a break this issue. After it’s revealed that someone did die last time (was totally banking on the “psyche gotcha” moment to happen), they raid the enemy ship. There, Lilly is able to confront Eva, who proceeds to give her an emotional punch to the gut no one would see coming. Meeting with an ex isn’t the most pleasant experience but writer Steve Horton really sells it as being shear torture. Really makes you want to know what is going to happen next in this series.
Artwork
There two sets of art teams who worked on this book. Though Stephen Thompson penciled the whole thing he inked only the first part of the book with Lisa Jackson doing color works. The later half would have Austin Janowsky on inks and Alex Lozano on colors. The art shift between the two teams is noticeable. Not bad but it does stand out. You can’t tell at first but as the issue goes on it starts to stand out more. This is still a very impressive display of art and it will be interesting to see the how the team handles a full issue.
Conclusion
Good to have this series back. It still remains a powerful bit of human drama mixed in with some very interesting science fiction elements. Now let’s cross our fingers and hope it doesn’t take so long for the next issue to come out.
Following the “worst-kept secret in the universe,” CBS recently announced four new cast members for Star Trek: Discovery, set to air in the “late summer, early fall” of 2017. The Discovery casting announcement included a fifth new character but not a fifth new actor, Shazad Latif who was going to play Klingon commander Kol will instead play Lt. Tyler. So, Star Trek fans have nine more names to learn rather than ten.
Clare McConnell appears to be relatively new to TV and film with just two credits on IMDb, Jason Long’s This Is What It Sounds Like Falling Out of Love with You and Daniel Warth’s Dim the Fluorescents, set for release in the fall of 2017.
Kenneth Mitchell’s TV career spans 16 years, first playing Spencer Matthew on Leap Years and most recently playing Deacon Joe Hurley on The CW’s Frequency.
Damon Runyan has a varied career in both TV and film, starting out on the small screen in an episode of Soul Food in 2002 and appearing most recently in Sound of Christmas.
Rekha Sharma had a lead role in Ronald D. Moore’s revamped Battlestar Galactica and even has some Star Trek experience, having appeared in a totally non-canon episode of Star Trek Continues, a fan-made show that follows the exploits of Capt. Kirk and his crew after their five-year mission had ended.
Star Trek: Discovery Casting – What We Know
Star Trek: Discovery Casting – The Federation
So far we’ve got eighteen names, unless I counted wrong. We know that three of them will play Klingons, one of them will play a member of never-before-seen alien race, and one of them will play a space-fungus expert. We know that Star Trek: Discovery is set around a decade before Capt. Kirk started his five-year mission. We also know that the show will feature at least two starships, the USS Discovery and the USS Shenzhou.
We know that the USS Discovery will be commanded by Capt. Lorca (Isaacs) and the USS Shenzhou will be commanded by Capt. Georgiou (Yeoh). We know that a cadet whose name is “Tilly” (Wiseman), chief of security Cmdr. Landry (Sharma), and the previously mentioned space-fungus expert Lt. Stamets (Rapp) will be aboard the Discovery under Capt. Lorca’s command. Capt. Georgiou, on the other hand, will command Ens. Connor (Vartholomeos) and the Shenzhou’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Nambue (Pancholy).
Star Trek: Discovery Casting – The Klingon Empire
We know that T’Kuvma (Obi) seeks to unite the Klingon houses, and that Kol (Mitchell), his protégé, is a commanding officer aboard a Klingon ship. We know that L’Rell (Chieffo) will command that ship’s battle deck. These Klingons will probably do great honour or dishonour to their leaders Dennas (McConnell) and Ujilli (Runyan).
Star Trek: Discovery Casting – Familiar Faces
We also know that for better or worse we’ll see a couple of characters that have appeared in previous Star Trek iterations. Always willing to provide a logical ear, Sarek (Frain) will make an appearance as will the con man Harcourt Fenton Mudd (Wilson).
Star Trek: Discovery Casting – What We Don’t Know
Whether or not it was intentional, previous casting announcements have been vague about which ship First Officer Burnham (Martin-Green), Lt. Tyler (Latif), and Lt. Saru (Jones) will serve aboard. There’s also an Adm. Anderson (Serpico) in the mix, so we’ll have to wait to see exactly how he ends up jeopardizing the lives of the people under his command.
Shirtless Bear-Fighteris one of my favorite titles for a comic, possibly ever. You can’t help but smile and that’s exactly what I did. It’s the story of the comic in one title, he’s a man named Shirtless who fights bears. This has to be the easiest comic book to explain to someone ever. You know what you’re getting into, you know what you’re about to read, and it will still surprise you. That’s how I felt by the end of reading the first three issues. Prepare yourselves for an unusual but wonderful article here. Sit back and relax as I dive into the wonderful world of Shirtless Bear-Fighter. You know what you’re getting into but you ultimately only know the half of it. Strap yourselves in for a bear fighting good time and on with the show!
Yes the title says it all but there is way more to it than you’d realize. Shirtless Bear-Fighter even surprised me by the time I was done with the three issues.
For one thing, this is one of the funniest comics I have read in a long time. Comedy in comics isn’t easy, and Shirtless Bear-Fighter does it with absolute ease. Considering this book is filled with endless Bear puns and more, it works well. Jody LeHeup and Sebastian Girner are two people that make this entire world work. In these three out of the five issues you get an amazing look at how crazy this comic series is. Bears invade Major City and now two government agents have to convince Shirtless to help them out. That’s the basic premise of the book. Yet once Shirtless makes his presence known, it only gets crazier. A hint of what’s to come: Shirtless rides in a Bear Plane. You read that right. There’s even more madness to come and you’ll love every second of it.
The two agents, Burke and Silva even have their own twists and turns throughout the three issues. Burke has an especially crazy history that you have to see to believe. Even how Burke tries to get Shirtless to help is a thing of beauty. How the Agents connect to Shirtless is hilarious and out of left field at points but it’s a lot fun to see. Shirtless even reveals quirks himself along the way: shirts are his kryptonite, pancakes are to always be called flapjacks, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Now as for the shirt thing, you have to see it to believe it but it all makes sense, trust me. It gets deeper from there too, as the invasion of the city dovetails into more madness. It’s clever and completely and beautifully bonkers.
I’m keeping this spoiler free too, as Shirtless Bear-Fighter does have spoilers. Trust me when I say you have to see it to believe it.
It is tougher than you’d think to talk about this without spoilers, yet you will all appreciate it more knowing as little as possible. As you may be wondering why the bears are attacking the city, why does Shirtless fight bears, and – trust me – your questions will be answered. There’s even a Hillbilly Warlock which has to be seen to be believed. Your mind takes quite a bit of a beating here but when it comes together it is totally worth it. There is a reason for everything, and by the end of the third issue I was sold on all of the lives of these characters. LeHeup and Girner crafted a non-stop action festival of beautiful madness and comedy and all the characters are a lot of fun. Put it this way, reading these three issues are some of the most joyous fun you will have reading a comic. Embrace it.
Now with all the mind boggling yet beautiful madness of Shirtless Bear-Fighter, the art team of this book gels it together.
The art team for Shirtless Bear-Fighter deserves a lot of props, from the artist to the letterer. I’m going to break format here and talk about the letterer first, Dave Lanphear. Lanphear’s lettering is such a strong part of this comic. As this comic is a big, bold, and wild adventure, the lettering had to match and Lanphear nails it. From the peaceful “Chirp Chirp” of the birds having a rounded friendly look, to the growls of the bears with a rough edgy feel, it all works. Even the normal lettering has this beautiful exaggeration to it that fits it perfectly. That and the lettering for “Bear Punch!” and the rest of the Bear-Attacks were a thing of beauty. Pay attention to all of this and see just why lettering is so important to a comic.
For the rest of this comic, the rest of the art team works well in conveying the tone of this book. Nil Vendell Pallach has a style just exaggerated enough to fit the madness of this story. The Bears in a rage look suitably intense, and Shirtless looks like a wild man. It’s spot on. It’s fast, frantic, and intense action at points too, in between beautifully baffled expressions. The expressions really help this book as it’s all about reactions to the craziness. Another factor here is Michael Spicer’s colors, they’re all bright and fitting to the tale. Yes it has dark moments but really the tone is so brilliantly bonkers that the colors need to be bright. This is ultimately a fun tale and the colors suit the universe.
Shirtless Bear-Fighter is one of the more crazier comics I have read or as I said in the last paragraph, brilliantly bonkers.
Shirtless Bear-Fighter is something you shouldn’t miss. The first issue is released on June 21st, and everyone needs this comic in their lives. If the first three issues are any indication, the entire five issue run should be one amazing story. I hope you all give this a shot so we can have more. Shirtless Bear-Fighter: it’s about a man fighting bears and I am happy to live in a world where this exists. Read it and embrace this beautiful world for yourself starting in June.
