Watch the First 8 Minutes of MTV's Scream TV Series
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I'm not a big fan of horror films, but I've always loved the Scream series. Its slasher horror tinged with a goofy and meta rule book really stood out among a genre where every film was nearly the same. It came out at exactly the right time, too. The rebellious 90s angst was fit for skewering and no better horror film caught the feeling of the time. Which is why MTV reviving the series with a TV show is so weird.
Slasher films (or horror in general) don't lend well to TV, so I'm wondering what the long term effects of this will be. With this first 8 minutes, the series establishes a completely different tone than the original films. Gone is the kooky humor (and pop referential killer), and replaced with faux social medias. On one hand, I'm digging the new tone. There's still a weird sense of humor that a teenager would be in a house that lavish (and will continue walking around in a bikini despite being frightened), and the "Heads up" bit made me laugh. On the other, why take the name if you're going to change everything about the original.
Then again, there was a time where MTV would've censored that gore. The kills in this opening scene are impressive, so I've got to admit I'm hooked. I'll keep an eye out on this show and see if it can keep up this interesting take.
Scream premieres on MTV, Tuesday at 10/9c.
Why Univision Dropping Miss USA is a Big Deal
Through the years, I've learned to dismiss older folks when they make racist comments, thinking they were just a product of their time. I figured if I'd wait it out long enough, all those comments would go away. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case as those negative voices are getting much louder. Last week, Donald Trump announced his bid as candidate for the 2016 presidential election. Normally I'd just ignore him like I do every angry white man, but Trump just started spouting the worst kinds of things.
Along with his stances on gay marriage, health care, and ISIS, he had this to say about immigration laws:
The US has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems...When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. And they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people...It's coming from all over South and Latin America and it's coming, probably, probably from the Middle East.
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Univision (one of the largest Spanish language television networks), rightfully angry at his comments, refused to air the upcoming Spanish translated broadcast of the Miss USA Pageant and will no longer have anything to do with Miss Universe, which Trump partly owns:
Today the entertainment division of Univision Communications Inc. announced that it is ending the Company’s business relationship with the Miss Universe Organization, which is part-owned by Donald J. Trump, based on his recent, insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants. At Univision we see first-hand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious values and the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country. We will not be airing the Miss USA pageant on July 12th or working on any other projects tied to the Trump Organization.
While Trump blames the Mexican government (thinking they put some kind of pressure on Univision to break their $10 million contract due to trade deals or something), he doesn't seem to grasp how big of a move this is for Univision, and how much more it's going to hurt him in the long run. You see, as much as he wants to build a wall to keep Mexican immigrants out, traditional Mexican families make up a huge chunk of the television watching audience. As big networks are finding out, immigrants are one of the few demographics left that subscribe to event television like big pageant shows (basically stuff that you have to watch live to get the full experience instead of on Hulu later). That's why you've seen a greater amount of Latino representation lately (and why pandering programs like Cristela and Devious Maids exist, or in Cristela's case, existed) as those Mexican families increasingly use television to connect with the American lifestyle.
This is going to deal major damage to Trump's television shows, and it's only the start of the landslide. Roselyn Sanchez (who was brought on to co-host the Spanish simulcast of the Miss USA pageant and serendipitously stars on Devious Maids), has left the broadcast, NBC (the network which hosts the brunt of his programming like his numerous Apprentice shows) has separated itself from his comments, ending their business relationship with him earlier today.
As Trump vies for the presidency, he claims he cares less about his precious money. Hopefully he understands how much of that he's going to lose here. As the Spanish speaking audience increases, so does their buying power. Eventually that buying power is going to ring louder than any thoughtless rant from a slowly aging man. Good luck getting that presidential nomination, Trump.
[Review] Glass Chin
I'm a sucker for boxing films. Ever since Rocky Balboa's glory days, just mentioning boxing in a film has me sold from day one. But not every boxing film is made equal. When a boxing film tries to break down the mentality of the boxer therein, there's an increased potential to fall apart completely. There's a fine balance between introspection and action that lesser films don't always know how to handle.
Unfortunately, Glass Chin is one of those lesser films.
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Glass Chin
Director: Noah Buschel
Rating: NR
Release Date: June 26, 2015
In Glass Chin, former boxing champ Bud Gordon (Corey Stoll) has been struggling ever since he lost a huge title fight. As he begins training a young up and comer, he also takes a job as hired muscle for shady businessman J.J (Billy Cruddup). When he's framed for murder, Bud must decide whether or not to abandon his former glory or go down like the champ he always knew he was. With an underdog boxing film like this, which really isn't at all about boxing, there's a nice sense of nostalgia for the boxing films of old. There are plenty of Rocky parallels I could pick out, but it'd be unfair to compare the two. I do have to point out, however, is that both films play with the idea that each person has a "prime" to a wonderful extent. As lackadaisical as the character work is, Corey Stoll really works wonders with the inner torment of a slowly aging man.
Sadly, Corey Stoll is the only one of note in the entire film. The script is overwrought with big, direct speeches. It was admittedly an interesting take the first time Cruddup gave a speech directly to the camera, but after the third time it lost its charm. The same goes for the rest of the film's camera tricks. There are definitely some unique contrasts with wide angled shots, prolonged pauses on sets, and each of these tricks help the film stand out more than any of the actual content ever could. It's just a shame these ideas aren't supported by healthier content. A meandering pace not only slows the film down, but makes these takes harder to swallow. They stand out more for being slightly annoying than potentially anchoring the film's thematic broad strokes. The house isn't built well enough to enjoy the paint job.
As much as Glass Chin falters, I can't punish it for trying. It's a fresh attempt at breaking down the boxing genre that never quite makes it deeper than surface level analysis. Full of post modern philosophical rants that really only serve to bring the film further down, there was indeed some kind of message aching to get out.
But at the end of the day, the overall execution was so off the mark, Glass Chin gets KO'ed in the third round.
The Top 10 Powerpuff Girls Episodes
The Powerpuff Girls, along with the other Cartoon Cartoons on Cartoon Network in the late '90s - early 2000s, were a huge part of my childhood. I mean sure I was supposed to grow out of them by the time Powerpuff Girls came around, but at ten years old, seeing superheroes beat up dudes in a bubblegum world was fantastic. Through the show I learned about blurred gender lines, feminism, and just how badass people could be regardless of sex. Also, the show was just a lot of fun.
Since The Powerpuff Girls is returning to Cartoon Network sometime next year in a new form, I figured it was a good time to talk about the best episodes from the show's original run. Couple of things. I didn't follow any set of rules so you'll see a lot of episodes from the same season because they were just that good, and I tried to choose episodes that married writing, premise, and animation better than the others. So let's get to it then.
Here are the Top 10 Powerpuff Girls episodes.
Honorable Mentions: Major Competition, Candy is Dandy, A Very Special Blossom, Beat Your Greens, Equal Fights, Super Zeroes, Slumbering With the Enemy, Los Dos Mojos, The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!, Custody Battle, Oops, I Did It Again, Forced Kin, Meet the Beat-Alls, Monkey See, Doggy Two, The Powerpuff Girls Movie
E3 2015: Highlights from Nintendo's Press Conference
After Microsoft and Sony's conferences both brought huge announcements, all eyes were looking toward Nintendo to see if they could match. While the overall conference was as fun as it was in years past thanks to Nintendo's increasingly weird digital events as this year brought puppets into the fold, it was an unfortunately light year. Light on huge announcements and only elaborating on video games we've heard about already, it felt a little lacking. We got some new footage of the newly titled Starfox Zero, and it looks great. Platinum Games has their work cut out for them as Starfox looks gorgeous, but ultimately seems to have all of the play style ideas (like different vehicle missions and such) from the canceled Star Fox 2. It's also got a stupid title. Miyamoto said he didn't wan't to number it or title it just "Starfox" since it's not a reboot or sequel, but zero is a number. Either way, the fact that the Wii U Gamepad gives a cockpit first person perspective is pretty neat.
Afterwards, Nintendo showed off a trailer for Fire Emblems Fates (the new two version game), some new Legend of Zelda games for the 3DS, a terrible looking Metroid spin-off, more amiibo stuff, and basically showed off extended trailers for games we knew existed.
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The biggest push for the show had to be for Super Mario Maker and Mario's 30th anniversary. There was nothing new here except the announcement of Nintendo's help for a charity, but that and Yoshi's Wooly World soaked up so much time. Don't get me wrong, I'll be happy to play these games whenever they release, but I look forward to E3 every year with the promise of new stuff to come. To hear about new Animal Crossing and Skylanders amiibo just rubs salt into the already wide amiibo wounds. There's no way I'd be able to buy these at launch thanks to Nintendo really messing up the stock domestically, and thanks to that, I'd never be able to find them ever. I feel for the poor kid who wants a Ness amiibo, or a new K.K. Slider amiibo, and can't get it because Nintendo's essentially only made one batch. amiibo used to be harmless fun, but as the newest Splatoon amiibo show, they're now a DLC delivery device that's actually holding back the progress of the games they are attached to.
Then again, there's a new Mario Tennis coming to Wii U so all is forgiven. Check out IGN for full Nintendo at E3 coverage!
Why The Simpsons is Not As Good As It Used to Be
In season 13, the episode "Gump Roast" has a clip show that ends in NRBQ performing "They'll Never Stop The Simpsons," a parody of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." Along with summarizing the crazier stories over the years like Homer's marijuana use or when Homer thought Bart was gay, it made fun of their current lack of stories with an image of Homer jumping a shark along with joke lyrics like "Have no fears we've got stories for years!" and for the longest time I believed it. While the later seasons were never "classic" territory, there are still plenty of examples I use to show how good it is like "Pray Anything," "The Fight Before Christmas," "500 Keys," and "The Day the Earth Stood Cool." I am one of the few people out there that wanted it to go on forever.
But after watching the latest train wreck of a season, and after learning that the showrunners plan to legally separate Homer and Marge for the upcoming 27th (!) season, I'm giving up. Regardless of whether or not this is meant for a single episode, separating Marge and Homer or playing with the idea in order to get fans talking feels more like grasping at straws than ever before. And with the way The Simpsons is currently written, this can only turn out badly.
This old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be.
ReBoot Returning to TV as Live-Action/CG Series
As 80s nostalgia gives way to '90s nostalgia, it's been a great time to be a 90s kid like myself. Shows from our childhood are getting big screen adaptations, Full House is coming back for a sequel for some reason, and now one of the more asked for shows on the Internet is coming back in a big way. The semi popular computer animated series ReBoot (which ran from 1994 to 2001 on ABC very early in the morning, and that's why few folks remember it), is now getting a reboot itself as a live-action/CG hybrid show according to The Hollywood Reporter.
While the original series was a fully computer animated series (notably the first of its kind) that followed its main character Bob as he fought a being known as "The User" in the Mainframe, the sequel/reboot series titled Reboot: The Guardian Code will focus on four teens (Austin, Grey, Parker, and Tamra) who find out that they're next generations Guardians and have to travel into cyberspace to fight an evil hacker's (named "The Sorcerer") viruses.
The new series, produced Corus Entertainment, Rainmaker Entertainment, and TWC/Dimension Television, will intially run for 26 episodes, and apparently won't even look like the show we remember because kids these days use new technology. As series creator Michael Hefferson puts it:
Technology is ever-changing and Reboot: The Guardian Code will utilize the very technology inherent in the concept of the show—and prevalent in kids’ everyday lives—to drive a new type of relationship across multiple platforms...[ReBoot] will deliver mass appeal with a technology focus, empowering kids with the tools and confidence to chart their own course in a world that is increasingly dependent on and powered by technological knowledge.
Well, here's hoping the actual show isn't as bad as this sounds.
[via THR]
Mega Man Getting a New Animated TV Series
While Capcom has done their best to make sure we'll never play a Mega Man game again, the Blue Bomber still has a huge and devoted fan base. Making guest appearances in other videogame series like Nintendo's Super Smash Bros, continuing a successful run through Archie Comics (even leading to a crossover with Sonic the Hedgehog), and several toys still selling by the boatloads, Mega Man is a property that has surpassed its videogame heritage long ago. Meaning it's time to move on to the next big thing, a brand new cartoon adventure.
According to Deadline, Dentsu Entertainment USA have partnered with Man of Action Entertainment (the company responsible for Ben 10, Generator Rex, Ultimate Spider-Man and Marvel's Avengers Assemble) to produce a 26 episode animated series for a 2017 release to coincide with the series' 30th Anniversary. '90s kids like myself will remember that Mega Man's gotten a cartoon series before and these rose colored glasses remember it being pretty neat. Mega Man has spawned several anime shows through the years too, with Battle Network being my favorite overall. If the new show can have the kind of quality that Man of Action put into Ben 10 and its numerous spin-offs, we're in for a good time.
Although, I'll hold out hope that it looks like that awesome "anime" style teaser for the Korean MMO from a few years back.
[via Deadline]