Weird Mind News Room Episode 49: Jan 29th - Feb 4th

 *Music Squad: play the Justice League*

Well hello hello hello to all the wonderful people in all form of Gender, personality, sexuality and all important figures that I see you and respect you to the 49th edition of Weird Mind News Room where we will be delving into all their is to talk about from the week of new content in media. So lets not waste too much more of your time and lets get to talking all thing media.

New Release Squad

Movies

Argylle

so starting the week of new releases, we have the newest spy flick with a lot of twists and turns and an all star casts with the newest film from Matthew Vaughn with Argylle. Now this film follows Elly Conway, a reclusive Author of a best selling series of spy novels who ends up being part of an extensive espionage mission when it turns out that all of her stories on the spy of Argylle have turned out to be very closely accurate to how they played out in the real world. Now the reception on this film has not been receiving the best reviews that while some praise the performances and action set pieces, they find the extensive twists and the runtime to be a bit of an affect on the whole ordeal. Now I know I will be giving this a watch in the next few days and you can check this film out now in cinemas.

Migration

To any of the US readers that may see this next one may be wondering why I have this film here as it has been out since Christmas in America but we have only recieved the film this week and that is the newest animated film from Illumination (not the only story we are talking about with them) with Migration. Now this follows a family of Mallards who decide they want to get out and see the world beyond their home at the pond and decide to migrate for a vacation in Jamaica while also having to deal with the urban jungle of New York along the way. Now the reception on this was decently received for its visuals and simple story and message even if it is not the most original of stories in the process but if you want to check it out for yourself to see with the whole family then you catch it now in cinemas.

Orion and the Dark

Now for the last of the films of this week is another new animated film and this is coming to us from Dreamworks and Netflix with the new film of Orion and the Dark. Now this story follows Orion, a young boy that is afraid of..... well just about everything but especially the dark. So when the embodiment of Dark takes him on a journey with some of his pals, he will make it his mission to show there is nothing to be afraid of and do so before the sun rises on a new day. Now the reception on this film has garnered some very decently recieved reviews for its story, message and tone and if you want to check it out for yourself it is now available to stream on Netflix.

TV Shows

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

As for the tv show for this week is seeing a film that brought together a popular celebrity couple together with the original film version has garnered a new update with the series of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Now this series will see two professional spies temed up together to go undercover as a married couple of John and Jane Smith. Now the reception on this one has also been well recieved for its tone, comedy and the strong chemistry of the 2 main leads and you can check out this full new series all now on Amazon Prime.

Video Games

Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League

And for the last of the new releases this week is probably the most talked about on the internet and that is with the newest game from Rocksteady studios with Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League. Now in this new Multiplayer co-op (or single player) game you play as Harley Quinn, Dead shot, Captain Boomerang and King Shark as you are assigned by Amanda Waller with an impossible task of killing the Justice League who have been brainwashed by Brainiac to destroy the world. Now this game has garnered what I would say is a very mixed reception with praise mainly going to its concept, story, characters and visuals with some critiques of its gameplay overtime, its repetitive missions and the basis of it being a live service game (as well as a strong complaint about the outcome for one character). Now I haven't played it myself and I will play it cause I have been looking forward to this game and what I have seen from gameplay  and some channels I watched who enjoyed it I think it looks like a lot of fun and even if I have seen one or 2 outcomes I think it still looks like a fun time (plus their roadmap seems to be making a lot of sense and is decent from their promises) but if you want to try it out for yourself then you can play this now on PS5, Xbox series X/S and PC.

Trailers of a team up

Despicable Me 4

Now this one released at the end of last week but I had already written up the piece and kept it for this one but it seems we are about to be bombarded with this extensive marketing with the return of this series as we have the first trailer for Despicable Me 4. Now this new film will see that Gru is a happy man with a loving wife, 3 young girls (that do not age even after 4 films), a minion army, a good job and now a little baby boy of Gru Jr (which means that you are telling me that Gru did the absolute despicable to Lucy, I do not know how to feel) but it all becomes a worry when the family is threatened by a villain known as Maxime Le Mal (played by Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale Girlfriend Valentia (played by Sofia Vergara) and they must go into hiding. Now I think these films seems to be ok and I'm hoping the film is a decent watch and the villain is entertaining cause I do not know how much minion content that can be taken at this rate but we will find out as more content releases for this film and this film releases on July 12th. 

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire

Now when you feel a chill and it does not look good, who are you gonna call? Yes we have recieved an all new trailer for the upcoming 4th official canon entry in the Ghostbuster Franchise with Frozen empire. Now this new film will see the cast from the original team up with the kids and adults of the relative of Egon as they team up to take down a new chilling threat that has been unleashed from an ancient artifact and if not stopped could create a 2nd Ice Age upon the earth. Now I liked the last movie and the original 2 are also a fun watch now and again and I think it looks decent and hopefully it turns out good when this film releases into cinemas on March 22nd

Sonic x Shadow Generations

Now for the first bit of news that will involve this next trailer with the characters in this trailer (as they'll be mentioned in 2 of the news stories this week) we got word of a remaster to a popular game in the fast blue hedgehogs library and now it has been confirmed with the questionable titled Sonic X Shadow Generations. Now this game is not a new dating sim game of Sonic and Shadow (and I'd advise to put safe search on when looking for that) but is the announcement of a remaster to the popular Sonic Generations game that saw Modern Sonic team up with Classic Sonic in an all new anniversary game. Now this version seems to be taking a page out of Bowsers Fury and adding an all new Shadow side story to the game that will feature aspects from the adventure and his own spin off game (although I have no idea if the game will have guns) but we will find out how it plays when the game releases on PS4/5, Xbox one / Series X/S, Switch and PC sometime this fall.

Death Stranding 2: on the Beach

Another trailer that dropped an all new look that we have been quiet about for over a year now is from the visionary mind of Hideo Kojima with the unveiling of his gameplay for the sequel to Death Stranding with Death Stranding 2 on the beach. This new game will have you play as Sam Bridges as you continue your journey across vast lands and fight against the strange creatures of the Strand to find other survivors and ask the questions along of the way of should we have connected in the first place. Now these games are ones that are seen as "what does it mean" cause I am certain that most people (and even Kojima himself does not know what the game is about) but we will have time to figure it all out as the game will be releasing sometime next year.

Megamind Vs The Doom Squadron

And to wrap up the trailers for this week is with the trailer I was not expecting to see and the outcome is one that I do not know how to feel about but we are talking about a sequel to the 2010 classic Dreamworks film of Megamind with Megamind vs the doom syndicate. Now this film follows on from the original with Megamind becoming the hero of Metro City and forming a new crew of heroes to take on his old team of the Doom syndicate. Now what I have learned with this is that it is the plot of the original tie in video games from the original films release and that it is also the fact that none of the films cast is involved with this and I really do not know how to feel about it when they could've given us a sequel like a Puss in Boots Last Wish effort but I guess they were busy with some more adaptations and the newest Kung Fu Panda film (which I will give a pass to cause I love that series). Now this is also tying into a new series releasing on the same day entitled Megamind rules where he will make it a mission to become the first Superhero social media influencer, which just feels wrong and will make it dated. I guess we'll find out how it turns out when they both release on March 1st. 

News Flash

Remembering the legacy of a boxer, a leader and a fighter

So I wanted to just start off this bit of news with a sad announcement of a passing of a legend in film and television and that was with the Actor of Carl Weathers. Now to some you may recognize his performance as of recent in the role of Greef Karga over the 3 seasons of The Mandalorian as well as directing around 9 episodes of the show, but besides his role here he has also been known for his roles as Adonis Creed in the first 4 Rocky Films, Col. Dillon in Predator, Derick Peterson in Happy Gilmore and many more roles in film and tv. He was also a very strong sports star and had a career in his early days in the NFL and he will be remembered for his work for many years to come from fans of his work and professionals he worked with including Adam Sandler and Sylvester Stallone. He passed away a few days ago at the age of 76 peacefully in his home surround by loved ones and I hope that this legend of acting will rest in peace.

Going from flying with Dragons to flying on their own

Now onto the first of the news stories and we are staring with a certain pattern of the news this week which is all based on the focus of casting news and we start with news courtesy of the DC universe. Now we have entered the period where we will be seeing the beginning of Gunn and Safran's planned vision for the DCU and one of the planned projects for the first wave of films and shows is one focused on the character of Supergirl. Now initially my thoughts were that they would keep Sasha Calle on from the end of the Flash movie into the new universe as they did with John Cena's Peacemaker and Xolo Mariduena's Blue Beetle, but this new casting rundown has proven that may not be the case (unless she is brought back for the likes of an elseworlds film or a Crisis on Infinite Earths film) as we have seen the confirmation of who will be donning the cape for Kara and it is with Austrialian actress of Milly Alcock. Now she is a more up and coming actress but to fans she is known for her excellent (albeit slightly short) performance of Rhaenyra Targaryen in the Game of Thrones Prequel of House of the Dragon and honestly I think she is quite a great choice performance for the character (also side note she would've been a great choice for an MCU version of Gwen Stacy as well). Now it is a case that we will see her make her first appearance in the upcoming Superman movie which is projected to start filming this month or next month and then will be starring in her own film of Woman of Tomorrow which will be following on sometime afterwards so It will be worth an interesting look as to who will be taking on directing duties for this film but I am sure we will learn more about it soon.

But what are your thoughts on this casting and do you think they made a good choice on the casting of Kara or should they have continued with Sasha Calle? also who do you see directing this film when it gets to pre production phases? Let me know your opinions down below in the comments.

The cast grows for the fast blue Hedgehog and return of the funny Moustache man

Now for the 2nd story will be delving into the next story of the casting news and this is a follow up to the news from last week which was talking about the upcoming 3rd entry in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series. Now this is not a follow up on those rumours of who is playing Shadow in the film but rather we have some news that followed along with an official look at the new logo for the 3rd film (that also has a supposed remix of the song Live and Learn in the 20 second teaser) but what we can mention is one that was up in the air for a bit and the confirmation of some new cast members to the list and I will start with the news that Jim Carrey and most of the cast from the first 2 will be making a return in the 3rd movie and see Eggman come back in some capacity which is always a plus. Now as for the other confirmation, we have seen an extensive list of other cast members joining which have included Kristen Ritter (Jessica Jones), Alyla Browne (three thousand years of longing), James Wolk (Mad Men), Sofia Pernaz (The Brave), Cristo Fernandez (Ted Lasso) and Jorma Taccone (Loney Island) have also been added to the cast. Now it is unknown of who is playing who but to give some predictions, I am feeling that Browne will be playing the young girl of Maria, Ritter will either be Rogue or Amy with Pernaz playing the other role (or even introduce Blaze), and then for the other roles one of them could be shadow but it is unknown right now or it could be the introduction of the Chaotix team with possibly Vector and Espio or even the likes of one of Eggman's Robots and for some reason Jorma is going to play big the cat and we get about 20 minutes of the film solely dedicated to fishing. Now I can see any of the male cast play Shadow or a Metal Sonic but for Shadow I still feel Hayden Christenson may still be playing the role for that film but we will have to see when they confirm who is playing who and what other characters appear in the series as the film plot gets revealed and once I hear anything I will update you in a later piece. 

But what are your thoughts on these castings and who do you think every actor will be playing in this and are you happy for the return of Jim Carrey for the 3rd film? Let me know your thoughts and choices down below and lets discuss who is playing who

Playstation had a bunch of games unveiled this week

Now I have already mentioned 2 games unveiled in this next story in the trailers but this week we got a new entry in the PlayStation State of Play directs that they did and this one saw a selection of some new announcements and some new looks at games that we are expected to see coming out and I will be delving into all that was unveiled here in a brief round up.

As mentioned above we saw the announcement of a remaster for Sonic Generations with a new Shadow The Hedgehog expansion attached with it that will be coming out in the fall of this year and that Death Stranding 2 got a new subtitle of On the Beach and will be coming out in 2025. As for some of the other announcements, we got some new footage for the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake that looks cool but am questioning why there was a heavy rock music used in the trailer which just made it less unnerving. But it was made for it as it was announced an all new Silent Hill game was announced as the Short Message that released after the event for free so will be given a go of that when I can, we saw some launch trailers for the upcoming releases of Helldivers 2, a launch trailer for Legendary tales and a new season info trailer for the Splatoon like game of Foamstars that were all coming out next week. Dave the Diver, one of the most popular indie games from last year was getting a release on PlayStation in April of this year and also will be receiving some Godzilla DLC the following month. We got a new look at the gameplay and story for the upcoming release of Dragon's Dogma 2 and Shadow of the Ronin coming out at the end of March, we got a new look at the story and gameplay of the new game from the developers of Bioshock with Judas which is coming out soon as well. AS for late 2024 we got the announcement of a new VR entry in the long running Metro series entitled Metro Awakening and we got the announcement that we are getting a remaster to the 2015 PS4 game of Until Dawn for PS5 and PC that kind of looks a little less better (I am mainly going off the Psycho's Mask at the end of the trailer as they change his eyes which makes it less menacing). The last thing I want to bring up is that Hideo Kojima himself made an appearance at this state of play where he announced that besides working on Death Stranding 2, its film adaptation and that OD game with Jordan Peele, he has also announced an all new planned tactical espionage game coming out sometime soon which will see him return to the style of his Metal Gear Solid games but have no idea when that one will be releasing as of yet. Now that is all that was announced and they are decent game announcements and I am sure we will see more over the rest of the year (and then most case Nintendo will give their Direct in the next week or so) but there is another State of Play out next week that will be focusing on the Final Fantasy remake follow up out at the end of the month so all in all a decent line up from the PlayStation direct.

But what are your thoughts on this and is there anything in this direct you are looking forward to and what did you hope for releasing a new look at in this that missed out? let me know what your thoughts are below in the comments section.

An official name for a crazy man and the rumoured for a directors last

And the last of the news stories for this week is an announcement and a rumour mixed into one as we have gotten 2 new projects that have had a little bit of some news unveiled from this week and I will give both the updated info now.

First off is some new unveiling to the upcoming sequel to the 80s classic horror comedy of Beetlejuice. Now if you are aware (and have seen my recent blog post) you may know we are getting a sequel to that film coming out this September and while we are a little bit away from a trailer we have received an all new poster which is a nod back to the first films ending, but also gives us the name of the sequel which is now going by Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice (with a possible 3rd film adding and extra name onto it to have him summoned) and I think it is a fun little play on approach for the upcoming film. Now usually when a poster for a film releases a trailer is not too far behind, so most case we could see the first trailer for this film releasing possibly in the next week by around Superbowl but I guess we will have to see when that event rolls around.

and as for the rumoured info we are talking about the upcoming release of the final film from Quentin Tarantino which is his upcoming project entitled "The Movie Critic". now the plot for this film is unknown and no cast has been announced as of yet (or a release date) but we have have received our first supposed casting for this project and that is with actor Brad Pitt. Now they have of course worked together as Brad starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2019 Tarantino film of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (a film I think is a decent watch that has its issues but may need to give another viewing) and it makes sense to see them team up again for another project. Now whether or not this will have him as the main lead of the film is anyone's guess but I am sure as more and more news starts to come along and Quentin starts to get to work on his film into production, I am sure we will see the official casting get released onto the interwebs as well as a plot and release date for the film but all we can do now is speculate on the rumoured casting and this final film.

But what are your thoughts for both of these smaller stories, are you excited for the Beetlejuice sequel and who do you think will be in Tarantino's final directed film? Let me know what you think down below in the comments and lets predict some other cast for that film.

And with all of that ramblings out of the way, this brings us to the end of the 49th entry in the Weird Mind News Room and I hope you enjoyed all of the discussions in the episodic series I do every week while I try and find the motivation to finish the other stuff like reviews and rewatchathons. Let me know your opinions on all that was discussed like if you've seen any of the new releases, watched the trailers or your thoughts on the news stories below and lets start a conversation. As always I hope you all stay being wonderful people and have a great day everyday doing many great things and I will see's you all in the next piece :)

Take Care, keep being you and signing off

Sam H