Weird Mind News Room Episode 88: Oct 28th - Nov 3rd

 *Music for reading about the mormon way*

Hello every and welcome to the 88th edition of Weird Mind News Room and happy Late Halloween too for those that celebrated the spooky season, where this week we have a selection of New releases, a small handful of trailers and quite the mix of news stories to look through, so without wasting much more time, lets get to the contents of this week.

From the Passage of New Releases

Movies

Heretic

We start off the week of new releases with a film giving a bit of a creepy vibe with a bit of religious undertones and the turn of an iconic actor in his villain role era as A24 has brought with them an all new thriller in the form of Heretic. The film will follow 2 young Missionaries who become ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse whey they knock on the door of the diabolical Mr Reed. Trapped in his home, they must soon turn to their faith in order to make it out alive. Reception to the new film has been very well recieved with praise for the performances (particularly with main antagonist Hugh Grant) and the concept of the film and its sense of tension and scares, and if you are up for something spooky around this Halloween season (even just post Halloween) you can catch this new film now in cinemas.

Super / Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

The next film for this week is more in the realm of the documentary type film then a full motion picture, but the subject of said film has been an icon of the silver screen for many years with this iconic face being the staple of the project since the very beginning as we have the true tale story of Super / Man the Christopher Reeve Story. The film will tell the life and career of the acclaimed Actor of Christopher Reeve who back in the 1970s became a global superstar when he became the symbol of hope as Superman and the career that followed up to the horrible Horse riding accident in 1995 that left him badly paralyzed, and even while he searched for a cure to his injuries that even through injury and ailing health, he still showed hope and dedication up to his untimely passing in 2004. Reception to the documentary film has been highly praised for its discussion on the life and career of the famous actor and for the respect to the discussion of the trials and situations he went through while also showing a lot of heart and appreciation to the iconic face in film and if you want to check it out for yourself then you can catch this film out now in cinemas. 

Anora

Now for something with a bit more of a mature or adult based story that has a bit of an awards buzz floating around as we are heading over to Neon studios for an all new film of love and deception as we have the all new film of Anora. The film will follow the titular Anora, a sex worker from Brooklyn, who gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and marries the son of a Russian Oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia however, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled. Reception to the film has also been very highly praised with praise to the performances (particularly of main lead Mikey Madison), the direction, story and production of the film and has been a film festival winner and possible big award contender in the process and if you are up for something with a bit more of a mature audience then you can catch this new film out now in cinemas.

Juror #2

The last of the New releases of films for this week is one that has been a bit of a discussion in the element of being overlooked by the studio distributing it, minimizing screen and outcome of box office and trying to bury the film when its a film from an acclaimed actor and director as we have the new film of Clint Eastwood in the form of the courtroom drama of Juror #2. The film will tell the story of journalist Justin Kemp, who is called up for Jury Duty and is involved in the juration of a murder trial that will soon have him stuck with a serious moral dilemma that could influence the verdict and could potentially convict, or free the potential killer. Like all the other films from this week, the film has garnered some great high praise from the cast performances, the narrative, directing and being another hit and maybe final directed film from the iconic star that I feel Warner Bros is making a mistake of trying to hide (like they do with most of their films) and if you are up for a serious drama then you can catch this new film out now in cinemas.

Small Things Like these

on one last new release for this week is taking us to the era of time in my home country that had seen some dark stories and outcomes that could've been avoided but leave a dark mark on the history as we have the new historical drama film of Small Things Like These. The film will be delving into the dark history of the Magdalene Sisters and be set in Ireland in 1985 around Christmas time and follow Bill Furlong (Cillian Murphy), a coal Merchant that makes a discovery at a local convent that makes him confront secrets and parts of his past in the Irish Town of New Ross. Reception to this film has been recieved very well with praise to Cillian Murphy's performance and the rich and dark historical focus that is portrays in the narrative of showing the dark side of those places and if you want to see this film for yourself then you can catch this new film out now in cinemas.

Video Games

Dragon Age the Veilguard

Now on the likes of the games for this week, we are first heading to the world of high fantasy, adventure, magic and dragons as after about a decade of silence, its time to return to the Bioware world of Dragon Age with the new entry of the Veilguard. The game takes place a decade after the events of Inquisition as you play as a rook and joining the members of said Inquisition will team up to stop the evil power of Solas who is looking to perform a ritual to tear down the veil and allow demons and monsterous creatures to slip into out world. Reception to the game has been very well recieved in the critic side of things with improvement of gameplay, story and elements of decent material to lead you on your quest of glory, while the reception on the audience side is a lot more negative with many calling it a DEI hire game and just complaining on elements of it (or seems to be the push from the certain users that will say the same thing about many big companies or games) but I think it looks like it may be worth a try and you can play for yourself as it is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Life is Strange Double Exposure

On the next of the games for this week is taking the mix of some extraordinary powers, a blend of the murder mystery and a fair amount of teen drama all rolled together to bring you the latest entry in the long running life is strange series with Double Exposure. In this game you play as Max Caulfield who will discover her friend Safi dead in the snow and using her extraordinary powers, she tears open a portal to an alternate parallel timeline where Safi is still alive but is in grave danger and with her new power to shift through 2 timelines, it will be up to Max to solve the original timeline murder and stop the other from happening before it is too late. Reception to the title has also garnered some well recieved reception with praise to the story and moral choices and feeling like a fresh take on the expanding series, however like the previous game I mentioned, it has also been hit with a lot of critiques from fans with complaints of bugs and glitches, story being a bit underwhelming and even a few saying some characters were flanderised and don't feel like they should, but if you want to play it for yourself then you can do so now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC with a Switch version coming later this year.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered

The last of the new releases is technically not a new release, but rather a recent game series with a unique concept given a fresh coat of pain in textures and visuals as we have the unexpected remaster to the original game of Horizon Zero Dawn. This remaster will tell the story of the original game that you see you take on the role of Aloy, a young hunter in a post apocalyptic future world overrun by mechanical beasts, as she sets out on a journey across the main game and its DLC expansion to learn about her lost past. Reception to this remaster has been very well recieved that while praise has been given to the upgraded visuals and getting to play the original well regarded title on modern hardware, it begs the question if this game really needed a remaster this soon given the game is less then 10 years old and many other Playstation titles or classic series could be due a proper remaster but if you want to play it for yourself it is available now on PS5 and PC. 

Trials and Trailers

Queer

The first of the trailers for this week is providing another project from the director of the intense and Sweaty and sexualized film about Tennis from earlier this year (a film I have mentioned is a little underwhelming, to me anyways) with another new film that has a bit more of a forbidden love in the era of focus as Luca Guadagino and A24 provide a trailer for their new upcoming project of Queer. Set in 1950s Mexico, the film follows Lee (Daniel Craig), an outcast American expat who soon becomes infatuated with a young man named Allerton (Drew Starkey), a US navy serviceman recently discharged from Jacksonville who will form a bond that will hopefully help to find themselves again. Now I had heard elements about this project for the last few months as it was highly anticipated from the casting and discourse and going off Luca's works, is full of passion and I feel that this one seems to feel a bit like his previous work of Call me By your name (though feels less creepy compared to how it looked in that film, especially after the whole drama with one of the leading actors) but it has garnered some very well recieved reception and will be worth to see if this sweeps a lot of award season appeal when the film releases into cinemas on December 13th. 

Squid Game Season 2

The 2nd trailer for the week is showing the case that you thought all the pain, terror and bloodshed was over, but it seems that the games were only just getting started as we return to the highly acclaimed series with a trailer for the 2nd season of Squid Game. The plot for this new season will follow on from the first season and will see Gi-hun on a desperate mission to expose the deadly truth of the competition after the affects of the hardened demeanor and the scars of the past games. Yet his warning will go unheeded, but soon tensions will soon rise as fellow players soon question his intentions. Now it has been a bit of time since I had watched the original season of the series and it may be worth a rewatch in due time to get refreshed on the story but from the likes of this seasons marketing they have been very elusive about it all and it is only with this trailer now that we have some context but it looks like it is setting up for a big season on the way and we do not have to wait too much longer as the 2nd season will be releasing on Netflix from December 26th.

Star Wars Skeleton Crew

The last of the trailer for this week is delving into the realm of the galaxy far far away for a new take on this expansive galaxy that has a vibe of some other tales of adventure in the world of Jedi's and force users as we have recieved a new trailer for the upcoming series of Star Wars Skeleton Crew. The series will be set after the events of Episode 6 (around the same time period as Mandalorian and Ashoka) and follow a group of four younglings who after a discovery of a ship on their home planet end up getting themselves lost in the galaxy and with the help of a mysterious Force User, they will help them on a grand adventure to get back home. So the likes of a lot of star wars can feel similar with some of the shows all start to blend together and when they try with something different it can work and appeal (like Andor which I am still waiting for Season 2) and some that had potential but everyone just didn't like that much (The Acolyte, which in fairness I did like a fair bit though it had its issues) but this one feels a lot different and has that element of Goonies or Stranger Things in Space and I think it has a unique vibe of a Spielberg Classic and I look forward to checking this out and its not too far away as the series will be premiering with a 2 episode launch on December 3rd.

News to escape the horrors

Jungle Hijinks and Superhero antics have a date for destiny

On the start of the stories for this week, we are delving into the realm of the discussion of some new releases with a hefty amount of content based on the realm of the streaming superheroes and one other new announcement that has seen some of the starts don the capes but more on an adventure that is more then just a game but we shall delve into what is being announced.

So we will start in the realm of the film that is not the massive focus of the realm of superheroes but rather with a film series that has seen a classic with an iconic actor before getting a reboot / sequel around 20 years later that was at first seen as a mess but turned out a lot better then expected and that is with the Jumanji films. Now the film reboot has seen 2 films release within 2 years of each other and with the likes of the 2nd films ending and post credit scene, it was hinting at the elements that the broken form of the game was going to leak into the real world and things may get a little bit crazy but it was a case the film was in the uncertainty due to other commitments and the pandemic but now it seems like the game will come alive once again real soon as it was announced earlier this week that we have a release date for the 3rd Jumanji movie reboot and it is now projected for Release on December 11th 2026. Now this makes a fair bit of sense as at the moment it will not be in any massive competition with big films like Avatar 3 or some other tentpole film (there is the discussion of a new Star Wars film out in December that year but confirmation on that is hazy at best) and it will give enough time for the actors to be ready as some are busy with other projects like films, comedy and music and in the case of Ms Karen Gillan, she is actually pregnant with her first baby so it will be enough time for her to have her child, have the maternity leave and be prepped for the filming that will most likely be happening sometime next year. Now I did enjoy the last 2 films a lot then I expected and I hope that it will have the same appeal and energy as those movies and be a fairly entertaining adventure but I guess we will see how it all turns out in due time.

But now lets look at the aspect that saw the most of the release date announcements and that is with the MCU and specifically the animation and TV streaming side of things as earlier this week we recieved a rundown of all of the projects that are coming to the Disney+ service over the next 14 months in terms of projected release dates and release months with some projects. So starting with the only film announcement for the moment is with the 2nd highest grossing movie of 2024 and that is with the Merc with a Mouth and his angry Canadian friend's grand adventure as the 3rd Deadpool film is hitting the service in 2 weeks time from November 12th which i was thinking it is probably due time for the project and was thinking they were keeping this until the winter season for a bloody holiday but now you can watch it over and over again when the film drops then. It is not the only Marvel project left to come from this year as it was also confirmed that the supposed final season of Marvel's what If is also releasing at the end of this year on December 22nd, similar to season 2 last year and most case it will be the likes of a new episode a day of the multiverse stories and some of them are entertaining and would love to see expanded into a full series or even film version from the comics (like the one of Nebula as a Nova corp agent or the Avengers in the Medieval times setting as 2 examples) but we will see how this comes along by the end of the year.

Going into 2025 we have a confirmation of 3 Live action series and 3 animated projects in the works with all getting a release date and window that will be starting with the new animated Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man series which will dropping first on January 25th next year which has an interesting look and art style of a bit of a 3d Rotoscope element and some comic book colour and vibe that may not be to the level of the Spider-verse films but close enough. Following that I have already brought up recently that the next project is the new anticipated series of Daredevil born again which will be getting a new series from March 4th of 2025 and hopefully will be as gritty and acclaimed as the original 3 seasons on Netflix. Next on the list is a series that has been seeing a lot of delays over the years and that is now we have an official release date for Ironheart which is now coming out on June 24th after a fair few delays and has been ready to go since 2023 and from the footage on the series it does look interesting and I think the suit design looks cool and am intrigued to see how that will turn out in due time. Next is the 2nd of the 3 animated series and it is the element of returning to Wakanda for the new series of Eyes of Wakanda which will be dropping from August 6th of next year and will be showing the history of the hidden advanced nation and see the perspective of the Black Panther throughout history and probably up to the present day. Now it does sound similar to a concept some fan made of the live action series with Joh Boyega in the title role as that series Black Panther but I guess we will see when the series comes around how similar it is. As for the last of the Animated series is one that is spawned from the first season of What If and that is the series focused on the world overrun by the undead as it was confirmed that we will be getting the Marvel Zombie series from October next year which will fit the tone of the Spooky season and will also be interesting to see what other heroes will be the survivors and who has been overtaken by the virus. And as for the last of the releases for the MCU is with the last confirmed Live Action series and this comes in the form of a new hero known as Wonder Man which will be dropping in December 2025. Now in the case of which is that I do not know too much on this character and having a look at the superpowers list, I question what does he not have but it seems like a strange and interesting concept from the small tease in this trailer but I am sure we will learn overtime the concept of this miniseries and hopefully enjoy all the variations of heroes over the next few months.

But what do you think of all these announcements, are there any MCU project on the way you are looking forward to and are you excited for another Jumanji film? Let me know what you think down below.

Do you like Scary Movies with a bit of comedy to them?

The next story for this week is a concept of a film that has seen a fair bit of discussion and a question of if the appeal and comedy of said project will work well in this day and age when the time period for the original films had that appeal work more. Now if you are aware that for a good chunk of the 2000s and up the beginning of the 2010s, one of the most known genres was the spoof film that saw a concept of different films that were released in the recent time period and make as a form of a joke and this was seen in concepts like Epic Movie, Disaster Movie, Superhero Movie, Meet the Spartans and the one that saw the biggest of appeal and longest running was of course Scary Movie. Since 2000 the series has seen a share of 5 movies where the original has become a cult classic and the first sequel is still well beloved by many but saw a decrease in quality to a lot of people as it went on (the 3rd film I still liked a lot) and that was the case due to the change in filmmakers after the 2nd in the form of the Wayans Brothers. You see while they appeared in the original 2 films, they were also the ones involved in the directing and some writing and producing of said films and provided a lot of laughs and set pieces that re remembered 20 years on and it seemed to be a case that they lost the rights to the concept or were fired for unknown reasons as brought up from a recent interview and many hoped one day that they can bring the charm back to the series that made them a household name and it looks like those prayers were answered as it was announced earlier this week that they have obtained the rights back to this franchise and in the same announcement have also unveiled a 6th film is in the works as well. Now while it is a very exciting thing to see the return of this series and the basis of the original creators also taking the reigns on this, it does come with its concerns, mainly in the space about comedy and appeal of the spoof movie as the likes of comedy films have found a difficulty of trying to find that right balance of appealing to many and not having something that will be controversial or heavily debated and on the basis of Spoof films, the last one I remember was the Wayans film of A Haunted House 2 from about 10 years ago which while having some element of appeal, did get a lot of underwhelming reception and there has not been much of a parody concept unless you count the Madea films from Tyler Perry. But I do hope that they can find that balance that it will not cause so much more issues or drama and can come along with a follow up that brings appeal back to the genre and the series roots but I guess we shall see as the film comes along in the near future.

But what are your thoughts to this announcement and are you down for a new Scary movie? Let me know what you think about it in the comments below.

Scary Hospitals, Mysterious animations studios, treasure hunters and music subscriptions

On the last of the news stories for this week is delving into the realm of talking about news on all things video games and this is going beyond the realm of actually playing games but rather it is some stories that relate to other media formats in the area of Film, TV and other means for these stories and I will be giving you a complete rundown of the stories that we have recieved in this era for the week.

So lets start off the news with the story that will relate to the seasonal period that we are in for this week and we are talking on horror and it focuses on a series that alongside Amnesia and even to some extent of Slenderman, helped to revive the horror game genre that was struggling at the time and that was with the series of Outlast. Since 2013 the studio of Red Barrels has been scaring millions of players worldwide with 3 different entries from an investigative journalist or Engineer looking to expose a secret military operation inside a giant mental hospital of strange and messed up patients, to a journalist couple travelling to a religious cult like town in the middle of nowhere that may bring the end times and a multiplayer game set in the cold war era that has you strapped into the mind control machine and forced to do challenges for the company and they all have their appeal and I would say that the original is one of my all time favourite horrors (and just so happened this news started dropping at the same time that I released the first of the 4 part playthrough on my YouTube Channel), but now while the next official numbered title is being worked on as well as constant updates to Trials, it looks like the horrors are heading into the real world as it was announced this week that we are getting a film adaptation of this series courtesy of the studio of Lionsgate. Not much on the likes of the films plot or focus of the film is known as of right now but it is confirmed to have the original games writer involved with the project and one of the biggest producers in horror films in Roy Lee (IT, Barbarian, Late Night with the Devil) so it sounds like the film may be in some safe hands for the moment. This does come to an affect of the studio that is making it in the form of Lionsgate as their last 7 films have bombed both critically and financially and their last film based on a video game of Borderlands has been labelled as one of the worst game adaptations and worst films of the year (personally I don't think its that bad as someone who has not played a game in that series yet) and are already making some big claims right now (they are projecting that their biopic on Michael Jackson will make a Billion Dollars or even 2B but most biopics have not crossed the Billion threshold) but if they allow the creatives to make it work, keep it to the spirit and tone of the games and find that balance then I feel we are in for something scary real soon and look forward to see how it all comes together.

Now for one indie horror title to another, we have some news relating to an update on a film project that has not gotten anything since its announcement back on Christmas last year and that is with the film adaptation of Bendy and the Ink Machine. So a lot of this has been quiet for a good chunk of time and many wondered if we will hear anything in about this project in between the discussion of new games and merch but it looks like we have one new piece for this project and that is in the form of the announcement as to who will be in the directors chair and that was answered this week that the film will now be directed by André Ovredal who has done some work in the realm of Horror and Fantasy with films such as Trollhunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and most recently the Voyage of the Dementer so it seems like a decent choice and his appeal and reception track record has been very well recieved so I feel it will be worth a chance to see how it turns out. I feel it will come down to a decent story from some writers, have some of the creatives from the game involved and get a pretty decent cast and look and appeal to the game series right and I am sure it can be a smash success similar to Fnaf's outcome but I guess we will leanr more as the development of this film continues on.

The third gaming story is taking us to the streaming giant of Amazon Prime and we are talking not on the series of God of War this week but rather the other series that is deep into development of a new take on the series and that is with their own form of Tomb Raider. What we know so far is that the series is in the works and is being developed and worked on with Fleabag star Phoebe Waller Bridge writing and executive producing the series and most things have been quiet since that announcement all the way back in May of this year with one of the big questions for said series was who will be popping on the tank top and shorts and have their hands on the 2 Silver 9mm as the main lead and it seems to be a bit of news that it is down to the final 2 choices. According to some sources, it seems that the final choices that it is between right now is Game of Thrones star of Sophie Turner and Bohemian rhapsody and Plae Blue Eyes star of Lucy Boynton. So the choices of both actresses are a decent choice as it fits the tone of the character of a decent build, both of them are british and I am sure that they can fit the tone and be a decent name on their filmography. Its hard to say who I would go for as while I have not seen much of Boynton in a lot of projects, she seems to be in a lot of serious film roles and projects that it may work to some degree. And as for Turner, I have seen her a bit more of a performance from GOt and the recent X-Men films as Jean Grey and seen clips of her new mini series of Joan, I feel her range feels a little flat or over the top at times but it may just be some element of direction or writing for the project but I feel with any choice for the role will work out. I am sure that we will learn the outcome to this decision very soon but I am sure with whatever choice they make I will see how it all comes together when the series is made for the streamer.

But speaking of streamers for the final part of this news story and it concerns the gaming company giant of Nintendo as they have been doing some jokey stuff as of late I will say. If you have been following this channel for the last few months then you know that I have brought up stories of the company in the process of making the successor to their smash hit hybrid console of the Switch and is looking to release the product sometime next year and it is a case that many are wondering when will we see this unveiling cause it has been quiet for a bit and it seems like Nintendo has heard..... but not in the way you think as for the last 2 or 3 weeks they have been announcing and unveiling some weird products with the first being a Nintendo Alarm clock or the Alarmo and the most recent one announced a few days ago was a streaming app for their massive music library as the likes of trying to listen to their music on YouTube or other Music Streaming services seems very difficult at this time and I find this announce as a very weird outcome or the fact that Nintendo is just trolling us at this point. I mean I would not be surprised that they release the Nintendo Toaster or Nintendo Blender or some other appliance and delay the unveiling of the new console much longer and longer but I am sure that we will see this console either before Christmas or by the end of this fiscal year but I have faith with Nintendo that they will show it at the right time and get so many people (like myself) excited for the new console on the way.

But with all of that, what are your thoughts on this gaming news, are you excited for an Outlast film, do you think its a good director for Bendy, who would you pick for the role of Lara Croft and when do you see Nintendo unveiling their new console. Let me know down below and lets discuss it there.

And with all of that rambling out of the way, this brings me to the end of the 88th edition of Weird Mind News Room and I hope that you have enjoyed this round up of discussions that released this week of all things media. Let me know your thoughts on all of this down below and as always I hope you all stay being wonderful people and have a great day everyday and I will see you all in the next episode :)

Take Care, Keep being you, signing off

Sam H:)