Amidst a slew of fake posts today (i.e. Zac Efron cast as Eddie Brock in the Venom spin-off film), Adult Swim pulled a reverse April Fool’s prank by premiering a new episode of Rick and Morty.
After a series of tweets about the delay of the new season by Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon, he concluded with an April Fool’s surprise – an all new episode. The episode is playing over and over on Adult Swim’s live streaming site, presumably until midnight (UPDATE: The final loop of the episode ended at 12:06am EST). If you weren’t able to catch the episode during the surprise stream, it will most likely appear on Adult Swim’s app, or on demand.
Without giving too much away, the new episode brings the drunken genius Rick, and his neurotic grandson Morty BACK IN A BIG WAY, BITCHES!! What can be said is that it picks up not too long after the second season ended. Here are some other bullet points:
Nathan Fillion
McNugget Szechuan dipping sauce
The Council of Ricks
The “original” Rick
all of which fill this action-packed, hilarious episode. The stinger of the episode hints at an upcoming season of, as Rick puts it, “the darkest year of adventures.”
Rick and Morty is back, and it feels so, so good.
Adult Swim also confirmed with clips during the streaming episode that the remaining episodes will premiere this summer. However, they did not confirm a specific date. Nevertheless, this was a tremendous surprise for fans who have been clamoring for a new episode since October, 2015.
Did you watch the new episode of Rick and Morty? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!
Since 2008, Marvel has released a total of fourteen films as part of their interconnected cinematic universe.
Broken into three “Phases”, these movies include Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger – all of which lead up to The Avengers, which serves as the grand finale of Phase One. In Phase Two, meanwhile, we got Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, and Guardians of the Galaxy – all of which lead up to Avengers: Age of Ultron, with Ant-Man rounding out the end of this block of movies. Since then, Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange have kicked off Phase Three which is set to include Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnorak, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, and the (as of now) untitled Avengers 4. Every one of the movies that have been released so far have managed to score a “Fresh Rating” on Rotten Tomatoes, having been well received by both the general audience and critics alike, and altogether, they’ve amassed over ten-billion dollars worldwide.
With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 due to hit theaters in just over a month’s time, and Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnorak due out later this year, I thought it was time to look back on the films that have come before and reflect on where I think they rank against one another. Mind you, I don’t hate any of the Marvel movies, but I do prefer certain ones over others. Having said that, here we go – starting with my least favorite.
Will Beall, the Aquaman screenwriter, is set to pen the Universal produced Creature From The Black Lagoon, according to Deadline.
Along with the DC Extended Universe film, Beall is credited with writing Legend of Conan, which hits theaters later this year.
The outlet also reports that Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan are producers on the project.
Universale is creating a “monster-verse”, which includes remakes of not only Creature From The Black Lagoon, but also The Mummy, The Invisible Man, and The Wolf Man, among others.
Are you excited to see Beall’s take on Creature From The Black Lagoon? Why or why not? Comment below, let us know!
On Twitter, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 director James Gunn revealed that the film will be hitting theaters in China on May 5, the same day as in the United States. Attached to the message was a new poster, which you can see below.
So happy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be in theaters across China on May 5th, same as in the US! #银河护卫队2 将于5月5日在中国同步上映！这个海报酷吗？ pic.twitter.com/PKXYjl1Gk9
“So happy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be in theaters across China on May 5th, same as in the US!”
This is significant because certain films, including the original Guardians of the Galaxy, don’t release in China until months after other places. With a same day release, less people will have to avoid spoilers online, and it will surely help the film’s box office success.
Plot synopsis: “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.”
Guardians 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.
Earpers, the devoted fanbase of Syfy’s Wynonna Earp converged on WonderCon today to shower the series with praise and to wish it the happiest of birthdays. The series, which returns to SyFy on June 9th, debuted at last years’ WonderCon.
Based on characters created by Beau Smith and a variety of artist, Wynonna Earp focuses on Wynonna, the begrudging heir to a supernatural curse, and her sister Waverly as they rid their town of Revenants first sent to Hell by their famous ancestor, Wyatt Earp.
And like the Earpers, star Tim Rozon, writer and co-producer Alexandra Zarowny, and actress Kate Drummond offered the fans as much praised as they received. “It’s going to be so much bigger,” Rozon said. “It’s a binge-worthy show. And we got to be there from the beginning.” The show also debuted on Netflix today, offering the opportunity for the next generation of Earpers to fall in love with world developed around Smith’s characters by executive producer Emily Andras and writers like Zarowny.
“I’ve been working with Ms. Andras for a good long time,” Zarowny said. They met when both worked on the Canadian fantasy series Lost Girl — which also featured Rozon as recurring bad guy Massimo — where the two discovered that “we have a similar crazy brain.”
“Hers is a little crazier and faster,” she continued. “We connected. We love this genre and we think its important to represent all types of relationships and all types of people.”
But Zarowny said it was a special treat to see characters they developed “in a vacuum” to be inhabited by actors like Rozon and Drummond, and then embraced with the passion the Earpers have already shown to characters like Doc and Agent Lucado.
For Drummond, who starting acting after a ten-year career as a teacher, felt especially lucky to be part of a show with such a devoted following. “Sometimes you read a character and say ‘oh, I know this ice queen part of me,’ she said of Black Badge Division Agent Dolls’ (Shamier Anderson) frosty superior. “In season one, I just popped in from time to time and when I was reading the treatment for season two, I just went ‘Oh my God!'” Sadly, she could not expand on what to expect from Lucado in the new season.
“To be immersed with this group is so special,” she continued. “There’s something about the heart of this show that you just fall in love with the work and the fans and the actors. I’m super blessed to have stepped into this family and watch masters at work.”
“People won’t think [my enthusiasm] is genuine, but it is! What part do I want? Darth Vader’s long lost son, maybe?” added Rozon. “It’s amazing! I’m living the dream. I’m aware of it and can appreciate it. Being a part of this fandom and this show at the beginning, we’ll look back at it as some of the best times.”
Asked if she has a favorite character to write, Zarowny quickly looked at Rozon and Drummond and said, “These two next to me.” She added that it changes based on the episode. Sometimes, it is definitely Doc, but then she’ll get through a scene and imagine how star Melanie Scrofano will nail the jokes as Wynonna.
Continuing the theme, Drummond said her favorite part of the job is working on the stunts. “I need to be in my body and if I’m throwing things or fighting, that’s my happy place,” she said. “Everybody from the set decoration to our directors to lighting makes the stunt look amazing.”
Rozon admitted he prefers kissing scenes to fights, but enjoys doing as much of the stunt work himself, saying “If I can physically do it, I want to do it.” He also praised the stunt team for creating a safe environment for the actors to work. “I trust them so much that there’s not much I’m unwilling to do,” he said. Comparing it to the classic trust exercise, he added that “they always catch me.”
Though, for all the safety on set, he admitted he managed to jab himself in the ribs with his gun between takes just this week.
Returning to the theme of kissing, he told the audience to thank Zarowny for those moments. “We all talk about it,” he said. “When Wynonna gets sexy, it’s an Alex script.”
“It’s what the fans want,” Zarowny said.
“It gets so much better,” teased Rozon. He revealed he has read the season two finale script, but could only offer a laugh and an expansive gesture as his reaction. Fans will get to know what he really means when Wynonna Earp begins its second season on June 9th.
WrestleMania may be the main attraction, but there was other huge news out of Orlando this morning.
According to WWE.com, World Wrestling Entertainment has announced their first annual women’s wrestling tournament this summer that will feature 32 of the best female competitors on the planet representing 17 countries world wide. The announcement was dropped at a WWE partners summit in Orlando, Florida under the brand of “WWE Reimagined.”
WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events & Creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque, brought the WWE Universe the news flanked by WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bayley, WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, and NXT Women’s Champion Asuka.
Also on hand was WWE’s Chief Branding Officer Stephanie McMahon who took to Twitter to share the news, and her enthusiasm for the upcoming competition.
While the participation of all three champions is unknown at this time, the announcement excites fans of the WWE Universe and sports entertainment in general. Many of whom have been clamoring for this long rumored event coming off the heels of both the United Kingdom tournament and the Cruiserweight Classic.
A start date will be coming in the near future, so stay tuned to monkeysfightingrobots.com for all your WWE updates.
After two years with any Titan slaying goodness, the new season of Attack on Titan is back. Is it everything fans were hoping for? More or less, at least with this first episode.
Episode 26, Beast Titan, expects the watcher to know the story for the most part. Their is a brief summary of the first season beforehand but then it goes straight into continuing the story from where they left off. They show the walls collapse, reveal Titans were hiding as humans, and how they discovered and defeated Annie Leonhart all in the opening. If you are a bit foggy on the details this may require a marathon of the first season binge before you watch this episode because from there the episode is a lot of expanding on the plot.
As the title suggests the Beast Titan, another abnormal Titan, is introduced. It’s unique abilities include having animal fur all over its body and maintaining its human level intelligence and speech. Though the less obvious power is how he is able to control other titans. While beings like the Female Titan are able to summon other Titans to do her bidding, she requires a roar which seems to exert a lot of energy to accomplish. The Beast Titan on the other hand is able to simply speak and other Titans obey him. Hopefully he will be around a lot this year instead of simply appearing once and never again for the season.
The new opening is the standard bit we have come to expect from Linked Horizon as the cast suits up to fight the titans. The ending though is creepy. It sounds like a small children’s choir isn’t singing on key while being played over disturbing images of death and titans eating people.
It’s good to see Attack On Titan back, even though they opened on a slow episode of mostly dialogue. Sure there is a bit of action but when stacked up to other episodes, this is a slow beginning to remind everyone there is a lot of plot to expand on this year.
Attack on Titan: Season Two is streaming on Crunchyroll.
With the release of X-Men Prime #1, ResurreXionhas officially begun. The massive Marvel overhaul of all-things X-Men, aimed at winning back mutant-loving comic book readers. Here are ten reasons to believe in X-Men’s ResurreXion.
1. Nightcrawler Got A Haircut
Kurt Wagner has been stuck in this weird medieval warrior phase for too long. Our favorite blue “elf” will be cutting his hair and ditching the chain mail armor for a more traditional look. It’s not that this wasn’t a cool alternate costume for a while, it just wore out it’s welcome. With the entire cast of X-Men characters supposedly returning to former glory, seeing a more familiar Nightcrawler is a good start.
2. The Ladies Are Calling The Shots
X-Men teams have been led by women many times in the past. With a handful of new teams forming, ResurreXion puts three major ladies in charge. Jean Grey will leading the X-Men: Blue team. Kitty Pryde will be leading the X-Men: Gold team (and overseeing all X-Men operations according to X-Men Prime #1). Jubilee will be leading the Generation-X team. It feels great to see these three strong female characters leading us into the next era of X-Men comics.
3. No Bendis In Sight
Brian Michael Bendis is a comic book writing legend, he’s contributed some of the best comics of the last twenty years. That being said, we’re burnt out on Bendis. Marvel has been stretching him too thin and it’s been affecting his books. He’s also been involved with so many of Marvel’s “bigger” books recently, it’ll nice to get some time apart. Not seeing BMB attached to any X-Books (yet) is refreshing.
4. Generation-X
Christina Strain will be writing this series about the less glamorous mutants. This group of “Lovable Losers” consists of Kid Omega, Morph, Eye-Boy, Bling, Nature Girl, Hindsight, and is led by Jubilee. The book will focus on the mutants attending Xavier’s school that aren’t exactly top-tier. These kids aren’t the most stable or battle-ready. It promises to be a comic very different from the other X-Titles.
5. The Time Displaced Teens Are On Their Own
The original X-Men team from the past is here to stay. Jean Grey has made an executive decision to break away from the other mutants. ResurreXion has teased a healthy amount of teams, keeping the kids separate helps the world of mutants seem less congested. Being on their own will also allow them to learn and grow on their own terms.
6. They’re Back To Just Being Feared & Hated!
Mutants have faced extinction over and over again for far too long. With the Terrigen threat being eliminated in Inhumans Vs. X-Men‘s finale, it should be back to basics. It’s also a return to harmony, no more split camps among the X-Men. This allows our X-Gene carrying heroes to get back to what they’re best at, being feared and hated by society for being different!
7. Gambit
Everybody’s favorite Cajun, Remy LeBeau, makes his return to X-Men comics. Gambit will be apart of the Astonishing X-Men “dream team” that Charles Soule is assembling. He’s been in and out of X-Men comics occasionally over the years, but this will be a legitimate team role among other X-Men greats.
8. Costumes
Marvel is making a conscious effort to return the X-Men to their colorful roots. The art released so far for ResurreXion‘s titles showcase a vibrant display of costumes. Not only will Nightcrawler be getting his hair cut, he’ll be sporting his classic suit as well. This also gets Jean Grey out of that god-awful Marvel Girl mini-skirt and into a bad-ass jacket.
9. Return To The Mansion
X-Men comic books are most effective when they take place at home, Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters. Kitty Pryde is in charge now, her first act as headmaster was to return the X-Men to the mansion. She also had Magick return the school to Earth, it’s new home is Central Park in New York City. The ideal setting for X-Men stories in a new location, right in the middle of human civilization.
10. It’s What We Asked For
We dedicated fans have been through a rough couple years of X-Men reading. Marvel hasn’t been very kind to us. We took to the internet, wrote letters, and ranted on podcasts to share our displeasure. We were relentless, we wanted our mutants to return to their former glory. Marvel finally listened and we’re about to get what we’ve been asking for. ResurreXion is a direct response to X-Men fans being treated unfairly.
We’re finally through the dark age, let’s hope Marvel delivers.
Are you looking forward to ResurreXion? Which title are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below!
Lighthouse Keeper is the newest Edgar Allan Poe adaptation to hit the…Poe adaptation market, and it has relatively flown under the radar thus far. While it might be hard to track down, it is suppose to be available on DVD in April. For those of you, Edgar Allan Poe fan or not, unwilling to take the plunge blindly, here is a review from this writer’s advanced screening.
Lighthouse Keeper starts off like a lot like a John Carpenter film. More specifically, it is reminiscent of The Fog. An old man with a stereotypical fisherman look is sitting and drunkenly listening to an old phonograph in the first scene. The music, while not haunting in and of itself, lends itself and adapts to feeling far more eerie in the setting it is played in. An unknown, and only briefly seen, evil seems to be stalking the old fisherman in his dark and dreary home. This transitions to true beginning of Lighthouse Keeper, and visual telling of the film’s synopsis, with a young man washed up on the shore of a peninsula that he seems to have no idea how or why he is there.
This film can be described as a clash between the Boris Karloff/Jack Nicholson lead The Terror and the original John Carpenter masterpiece The Fog, as it permeates most of, if not the whole film. The overall atmosphere, style, and look are very reminiscent of American International Pictures’ and Roger Corma’s early ’60s early Edgar Allan Poe adaptation collaborations, There are some elements throughout the film, such as the reading of his poem Lenore, the usage of another Poe stories’ leading character’s name, and structural issues involving the Lighthouse Keeper’s home that mirror the collage of Poe story information that AIP and Corman use to bring together in said films.
To elaborate on some of those features would be to spoil Lighthouse Keeper, which will not be done here.
The music has a nice old school horror feel, even though songs have copyrights
when you want to use them in your film and digitally produced scores sound silly sometimes, Lighthouse Keeper greatly benefits from the film’s score. The effects are a mix of CGI and practical, but never feel cheap. Well, until this one scene involving a large boat on the sea that takes you out of the carefully orchestrated nightmarish plot momentarily, but it doesn’t completely lose steam altogether.
The location exists in a sort of time warp or vacuum and is never mentioned directly, but one can extrapolate from the attire that it seems to possibly be early 1900s. This was a good setting for a Poe story, as many modernized settings have completely destroyed the atmosphere of his adaptations. This is an old fashion ghost story with an old fashion setting.
The acting ranges from fair to good. The cinematography is just right for the story,
but some of the camera work feels very Indie, but not completely amateurish. Some of the camera cuts between scenes feels too quick and off-putting, but the film at time seems to be nightmarish, so perhaps this plays into a disorientation factor.
There are at least three twists in the film, some you might get, but at least one you will
not. This tends to be the best formula for a multi-twist film.
The biggest gripe would probably be the lack of it actually finding much of a connection
to the original Edgar Allan Poe Lighthouse story. It is Poe-ish, Poesque, but it is not much of an adaptation per say. Granted, the E.A.Poe story is less than a page long, and it is considered by some to be unfinished.
Also, to be fair, it is a far better adaptation than the The Black Cat Starring Bela Lugosi. Look for the final verdict below.
[Image & Video Courtesy of Thunderhead & Millman Productions]
Hard Boiled, the ultra-violent graphic novel by Frank Miller and Geof Darrow is being turned into a film. Not to be confused with the John Woo film of the same name, the Hard Boiled graphic novel tells the story about a Terminator-like robot who goes on a rampage upon finding out he isn’t human but is, in fact, an assassin for a large corporation in the near future. The comic has a strong cult following and is considered a classic.
Bringing the story to life is director Ben Wheatley, who is making the rounds for his most recent film, Free Fire.
I am working on ‘Hard Boiled,’ which is not the John Woo film, but the Frank Miller, Geof Darrow Comic Book.
I’m a big fan of Wheatley’s debut feature film, Kill List, which was a stylish horror/crime film hybrid that put him on the map.
Frank Miller is also no stranger to Hollywood, having been involved with the two Robocop sequels, the adaptation of his own Sin City, and of course the ill-received film version of Will Eisner’s The Spirit.
Geof Darrow is primarily a very well respected comic book artist but has also done storyboards and conceptual work for the Wachowski siblings.
What do you guys think? With the right talent, this could be a unique and exciting action movie. Comment and discuss below!
