Weird Mind News Room Episode 38: Nov 13th - 19th

 *its time for the music for the annual weird mind games*

Hello everyone to all of you wonderful people to another 38th annual Weird Mind Games. For those initiated, this is a series where I would delve into all of the newest discussions of new releases, trailers and news that has come across from this week. So without further ado, lets commence the games.

New Release Games 

Movies

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

So we start the all new releases with the commencement of the all new annual Hunger Games and in particular how it began the legacy of the emperor of the world that puts on a spectacle as we journey to the Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. This new film will focus as a prequel set 64 years before the events of the Original novel and set to the backdrop of the 10th annual Hunger games and follow how the leader of Cornelius Snow became the powerful ruler of Panem and how it came to be. Now this film has been hit with a little bit of a mixed reception with some praise to its performances and setting but critiques to its messy 3rd part and the lengthy runtime (may also be due to the lack of an appearance of District 8 Hospital helper), but if you want to volunteer as tribute then you can do so now with its release in cinemas. 

Saltburn

And now for something with a little bit more classy but also a bit head melty as we have an all new Thriller with one of the most prominent rising Irish stars in Saltburn. This new film will take us back to the mid 2000s and follow Oliver Quick, a student struggling to find his place in Oxford who gets invited by the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton to spend the summer at his estate in Saltburn and make it become the summer he will never forget. Now the film has gotten some fairly positive reviews for its presentation and cast and direction and if you want to check out this unforgettable summer you can do so now in cinemas.

Thanksgiving

Now this next film is not a concept you see based around this holiday (given that this is a holiday only really celebrated in the US) but we have an all new horror simply titled Thanksgiving. This will see a group of local townspeople in Plymouth, become the target and part of a major sinister plan of a an Axe Weilding maniac after a Black Friday Riot ends in a tragedy. Now this film seems to have gotten itself some decently recieved reviews given it is from the acclaimed director of Eli Roth, and if you want to spend this holiday dealing with an axe weilding manic instead of your relative that will say the most benile Racist thing you have ever heard at the dinner table then you can do so now in cinemas.

TV Shows

The Crown Final Season Part 1

So the first of the series for this week will see the beginning of the end as we have recieved the first batch of the final season episodes for Netflix's The Crown. Now this will follow the story of the Royal Family and the focus of the most recent monarch of Queen Elizabeth II and will find the series starting out from the mid 90s up to possibly the Jubilee from a decade ago and these first 4 tacking the remainder of the 90s. Now the reception on this season so far Has been a little mixed mainly on the case of some of the more soap-opera, an inaccurate accuracies, but if you want to check out the series for yourself, you can watch the first 4 episodes now and the rest of the season will be releasing in the middle of next month.

Scott Pilgrim Takes off

What do you get when you cross a simple guy in Canada that falls in love with a girl with coloured hair, why you get a new animated retelling of a very popular film and comic book series with Scott Pilgrim takes off. Now this is an adaptation of the series that follows Scott Pilgrim, a young man who falls in love with a girl called Ramona Flowers and for them to have a happy ending, he must do battle with seven of her deadly ex's in order for them to be together in peace. Now the reception on this series has been very strongly recieved for its gorgeous animation and faithfulness to the source material (so much so to include the cast and director of the excellent live action film adaptation from 2010) and if you want to check it out yourself the series is now available on Netflix.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

and now for something on a more Titan Scale, we are heading to Apple Tv as we have an all new Monster series to check out and it comes in the form of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Now this series will span over half a century but most case in the present be set after the events of 2014's Godzilla movie and follow two sibling discovering a deep conspiracy on the organisation of Monarch and learn of the secrets of what they are doing from an ex-military man known as Lee Shaw who has been looking into the whole ordeal for more then half a century. Now the reception on this series has been very well recieved and if you want to check out the series for yourself then you can check it out on Apple TV+.

Video Games

Mario RPG Remake

And to end all of the new releases for this week, we are taking it old school with a new Twist on the RPG formula with everyone's favourite Plumber in an all new remake of Super Mario RPG. Now in this new game you can join Mario and some other odd cast of characters including Peach, Bowser, Geno and Nimbus and many more as you travel across the land to find the 7 star pieces to save the world from the Smithy gang. Now the reception on this reboot has been very well recieved for its faithfulness to the long forgotten classic with some new tweaks to it as well and if you want to play this gem in a new generation, then you can do so now on Nintendo Switch.

Catching Trailers

The Garfield Movie

Starting off on the trailers for the week came on Monday with a new animated take on the Monday hating, Lasagna loving, Orange fat Cat with the Garfield Movie. Now this series will see Garfield tell the story of how he met Jon and also come acquainted again with his long lost father of Vic, who entangles Garfield and Odie to help him with a heist. Now visually it looks very well nice and interesting of a watch, though one thing that many are talking about is the casting of the main lead and it is once again voiced by Chris Pratt as some feel he is not really giving much of an effort with the role (though he sounds close to most of the other voice actors for this cat) but we can see how the whole thing plays out when the film releases on May 24th Next Year.

Migration

Now from animated Cats to animated Ducks as we have another new trailer for the upcoming Illumination film of Migration. Now this new film will follow a family of Mallards as they decide to leave their pond and fly towards a vacation destination in Jamaica and must try to survive as a family in the industrial jungle of New York. Now it looks harmless of a film and visually the worlds around the place look excellent and gorgeous and if you want to check out this film, I believe you can check it out on February 2nd Next year.

Terrifier 3

Now for something that is nearly a year out but has seen a major push of a fan following for a while now as we have an all new 3rd entry to the popular horror series of Terrifier. Now not much is known currently of what to expect for this 3rd entry but in most case will see Art the Clown return in some form to cause a lot more fear and bloodshed and could be possibly happening around the festive season of Christmas. Now I remember the concept of the first one was ok and have heard the sequel is all forms of Fucked up but if you want to check this out, it will be a while as this film will be releasing on October 26th next year.

Madame Web

And now we return to the world of the Sony Spider-Man films that has no appearance of Spider-Man in them, we are being introduced now to an actual hero instead of Anti-heroes of members of the rogues gallery as we are tapping into a form of character associated with the Spider-Verse and this is with the film of Madame Web. Now this will follow the character of Casandra Web, a paramedic in New York who starts to show sign of Clairvoyance and soon must use that method to protect 3 young women that are destined for a powerful future from a dangerous adversary who wants them dead, all while trying to deal with her own revelations from the past. Now to me this trailer feels a little odd to me that it has an interesting feel like Spider-Man meets Final Destination to it and has someone dressed like Spider-Man looking to kill but something seems off to me, maybe its the suits of the 3 young women have that look like it is store bought or has the feel of a fan film but I could be wrong and turn out great, but I am sure that we can find out when this film releases on Valentines day Next year.

Chicken Run Dawn of the Nugget

And now we return to the world of Aardman for the next film as we have an egg-citing new trailer for the long awaited sequel to Chicken Run with Dawn of the Nugget. Now this new film will see Ginger, Rocky and all the other chickens living in peace and Harmony on their bird sanctuary after escaping the clutches of the Tweedy's Farm. However when Ginger and Rocky's young child Molly gets taken to a Factory facility and with all of Chicken kind at stake, they must prep themselves for breaking into a high security facility to rescue Molly and all the other chickens from the evil plans of Mrs Tweedy and her plan to turn them into Nuggets. Now I have been very excited for this film and the reception from some of the early reviews so far seem to be decently recieved and we do not have long to go as the film will be releasing on Netflix on December 15th.

Marvel's What If Season 2

And now we return to the world of the MCU and in particular to its animated counterpart as we return to the all seeing eye of the Watcher as we delve into the 2nd season of Marvel Studio's What If? Now this new season will tell some more new tales from across the Marvel multiverse from Star Lord learning the powers of EGO at a young age that will see Hank Pym, King T'Chaka and a Kree soldier teaming up to stop him, Stark Tower being taken over by bad guys on Christmas, a-la Die Hard, Tony and Gamora surviving on Sakaar and many many more, including stories based on Phase 4 content like Shang Chi and even the introduction of an all new indigenous native American superhero. Now all of these sound like some very interesting concept and will be interesting to see how this all plays out as the series begins on December 22nd and will release a new episode every day over 9 day from its premiere.

Percy Jackson and the olympians

and to wrap up the trailers for this week, we are heading over to the land of ancient gods and meet the newest half god taking them on or protecting the world from their reign as we recieved an all new trailer for Percy Jackson and the Olympians. This new series will follow 12 year old demigod, Percy Jackson, coming to terms with his newfound powers when the sky god of Zeus starts to accuse him of stealing his master Lightning bolt and with his friends help will try and restore order to Olympus before it all falls apart. Now I think this does look visually appealing and seems to be more in favour of being accurate to the book series then the original adaptations from the early 2010s and you can check out the beginning of the series when it drops just in time for Christmas on December 20th.

News of the Battle

The Nominees for Games and things

So to start off all of the news for this week is that we are talking on an awards show and onw that is actually coming up really soon and that is of course with the Game Awards. Now every year in early December, the host with the most of Geoff Keighley brings a 4hour event along and awards the big names in gaming and also to unveil world premiere content like upcoming trailers for games, game announcements and even some other content like last year unveiled the first full clip for the then unreleased Mario Movie and announced some other titles like Death Stranding 2. Now this year we have a lot of really excellent titles to observe and many games had the potential for the top title and multiple nominations. Now I will run down mainly how many each of the top games got in nominations and what is being considered for Game of the year:

So I will start with what has gotten the Game of the year nominations and the 6 games choices are:
-Alan Wake 2

-Baldur's Gate 3

-Marvel's Spider-Man 2

-Resident Evil 4 Remake

-Super Mario Bros Wonder

-The Legend Of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

Quite a strong and difficult choice to choose for that category itself and then as for how many each games got, 2 games garnered the most noms was with Alan Wake 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 with Nominations each, Spider-Man 2 takes the 3rd spot with 7, 3 games of Hi-Fi Rush, Super Mario Bros Wonder and Tears of the Kingdom all got 5, Final Fantasy XVI and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty both got a total of 4 nominations each and to round it out Resident Evil 4 Remake and Street Fighter 6 both garnered 3 nominations. Now it is something that I will delve into a separate writing and video piece where I will go through each category and give my predictions of what may win and what I feel or want to win, but I will have that ready to go by the events premiere on December 7th where I will try and stay up to watch the event (depending on if I got work early in the morning) and you can vote yourself on the awards website.

But what are your thoughts on these nominations and what are your own predictions for who will win what category? Let me know what your own thoughts on all of this are down in the comments and lets talk about them. 

Marvel news and Rumours

So the next story is once again (and becoming an odd pattern) where we will be talking about the MCU but not in a way of any release changes but rather some news relating to the making of 3 films with 2 focusing on casting news and one on a project change so I will give a rundown on them now

So first will relate to the next big MCU project team up of the Kang Dynasty as it was confirmed on Wednesday that director of Destin Daniel Cretton has stepped down from directing the project possibly due to creative differences or scheduling conflicts as he is still attached to the sequel to Shang-chi and the Wonder man series. This also relates to the situation with connecting to Kang actor of Johnathon Majors as it has been discussed that if this upcoming trail is not in favour for Majors that Marvel may consider recasting or changing to their initial plan of Doctor Doom, a character that has been rumoured since Wakanda forever was releasing and most case could appear by Fantastic 4.

Speaking of the Fantastic 4, their has been some casting rumours and information that we were supposed to get an unveiling of the first Marvel family this week but so far all we have is some speculation on who is playing them and the major focus is with Reed Richards as it has been rumoured in this he will be played by Last of Us and Internet Zaddy Pedro Pascal. Now after this rumour from Deadline dropped it soon saw an increase in John Krasinski trending on Twitter or X for him to reprise it from the role in Multiverse of Madness. Now as for the others it seems the rumoured casting is going with Vanessa Kirby (The Crown, Napoleon) as Sue Storm, joeseph Quinn (Stranger Things, Quiet Place Day 1) as Human Torch and then supposedly for the Thing will be played or voiced by Ebon Moss Bachrach (the last one may be inaccurate or spelling the name wrong). There has also been talks that Galagtus is going to be played by Javier Bardem or Antonio Banderas but at the moment all of this is speculation and we will find out more when it is announced soon.

Lastly this is a possible leaked casting but it seems another character is joining the roster of anti-heroes in the thunderbolts as it was leaked that Steven Yung has been cast as the character of Sentry in the film. Now it is unclear if this will have him be the main antagonist or another member of the team but I am sure we will delve more into it when they start filming sometime in the new year.

Of course some of these are just speculation and will learn of some of these eventually, but what are your own thoughts on these rumours and who would you get to direct the next Avengers and play the Fantastic 4. Let me know your thoughts down below.

The cold may bother me after all (Frozen 4 announced)

Now next we are heading over the house of mouse themselves for a quick announcement. Now as you know one of their biggest success stories from the last decade from their library is of course the animated film of Frozen. Now the first film is celebrating it's 10th anniversary in the next week or 2 but it seems they are already looking towards the future as while is was known that we were getting a 3rd Frozen film, it had just been announced on Thursday that we are also getting another sequel to this franchise with Frozen 4 in the works. Now personally I think the first Frozen is a decent film but I see the case that it has gotten so successful that it can become very tedious of how much focus they give to that series over other Disney Princesses like Moana, Rapunzel and others. It also brings concern that it may end up being like the absolute tumultuous mess that was the development of Frozen 2 as the behind the scenes doc showed it was a tough crunch to get it all made by its November 2019 date (And I think it is an OK film, not the strongest but it is fine, I like the animation and some of the songs mostly) so their is that fear that they are doing this cause they either have a good concept for 2 more films or the case they are making them so that they can have major success in  revenue as the sequel was their last major property outside of Marvel and Star Wars to make a billion dollars, but I am sure we will see how it turns out whenever it releases.

I would like to know, how do you feel about another 2 Frozen movies and what are your own thoughts of Frozen 1 and 2? Let me know what you think in the comments down below.

Coyote Vs Acme got canned, brought back and now Warner may be in trouble

Now this story was actually supposed to be brought up last week but since their was so much in that recent episode I wanted to see some form of updates and maybe do a video talking about the dilemma this studio keeps doing. Now if you can cast your mind back to Late July last year, you may remember a situation where Warner Bros decided to write a few things off their release slate and content wall by cancelling a few things including a Batgirl movie with Leslie Grace as Barbara, J.K Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, Brendan Fraiser as Firefly and Michael Keaton as Batman as well as a new animated sequel to 2020's Scoob with Holiday Haunt as well as a lot of animated content on that service as they project to make a profit of 3 Billion, but instead lost 5. Now it looks like it has been repeated as it was announced last week that the planned live action / animated hybrid Looney Tunes film of Coyote vs Acme had been cancelled for a $30 Million Government write off. Now this cause quite the divide among filmakers and those excited to see it as it was starring John Cena, being written and produced by James Gunn. But it seems now they have had a change ti bring it out after major backlash from its sudden cancellation after it was near complete and recieve really strong reception from those that have seen it as the film will now be giving some screenings to execs at Apple Tv, Netflix and Amazon Prime so hopefully we can have the chance to check it out real soon.

Speaking on these cancellations, it has now caused a situation that some US lawmakers trying to get an investigation set up by the FTC to see about these practices of cancelling near complete films with strong buzz all for tax writes off but will have to see how that turns out cause it goes to show that if you have talented filmmakers and creators putting everything into your project and then at the Midnight hour of completion you decide to up and cancel the film for tax write offs then it will cause many creative not to turn to your studio as it seems like that is what they are on the point of doing in general.

But what are your thoughts on all this, will you check out this new Looney Tunes film if given the chance to be screened and do you think that Warner is making a very bad decision by shelving near complete films all the time? Let me know what you think down in the comments section

Look for the Light in revenge in 4K

This last story had a sudden surprise drop as I was busy writing this piece that started as a leak on the PS store that happened an hour before its actual reveal but on Friday evening it was announced that The acclaimed and also controversial Last of Us Part 2 was getting a remaster for the PS5. Now it had been rumoured for a while and was expected to get a port at somepoint but now it has been confirmed and is not too far off release as it is confirmed for the 19th of January and come with some new features. This will include a new Roguelike survival mode known as No survivor that will let you play as the known ones of the series of Joel Ellie and Abbey and some other edition that haven't like probably Dina, Jesse, Lev, Yara and many more. It will also come with some uncompleted lost levels and commentary and some other features so I may give this a look. As I know those that already own it on PS4 like I do can upgrade to the new version for €10 which is not too bad compared to other Ps4 to PS5 upgrades but most case I'd say the same price as Part 1 on PS5 or less but we'll see when pre-ordeds go live. At least it will tide over till the multiplayer and Season 2 of the series drops anyways.

But what are your thoughts on a Last of Us 2 getting a remaster and will you pick it up (I probably will) but let me know in the comments below.

And with that this will bring us to the end of another episode of weird Mind News Room and I do hope that you enjoyed reading a roundup of what to expect from this week. Give me all your thoughts on the releases and everything discussed this week as I would to hear from your responses and even start a conversation and as always I hope you all stay being wonderful people and have a great day everyday doing many great things :)

Signing Off

Sam H