Weird Mind News Room Episode 94: Dec 9th - 15th

 *music for the battle and the hunt*

Hello again to all of you wonderful people out there in the interwebs and beyond to the 94th edition of Weird Mind News Room where we are once again back at it with talking on all of the new releases, a few options of trailers and some of the News stories to come out of the week and there is a little more substance compared to the last few weeks but lets not waste time and lets get to talking about them and all other things of media

The Helm's Deep of New Releases

Movies

Kraven the Hunter

On the first of the big new releases is seeing you hone your skills, sharpen the senses and get ready for the hunt for begin as we have now recieved what is essentially (as of this rumoured reporting) the final film from the Sony verse of Spider-Man films without Spider-Man that has been long overdue and that is with the newest film of Kraven the Hunter. The film will follow young Russian Immigrant Sergei Kravinoff, as he sets out on a mission to prove to be the greatest hunter in the world and also the most feared and take back his life and get revenge against his ruthless father Nikolai. Reception to this film like every entry in this sony verse has been hit with the usual negative reception and while the performance of Aaron Taylor Johnson has some praise to his role and some aspects work like the element of the R-Rating, it has been hit with the abundance of issues like bad CGI, writing being bad and its more silly then serious but it may do ok and while it seems to be setting up a sequel from what I have heard (like the 3rd Venom also did) I think it could still happen if the likes of the sony verse comes back with a better focused plan or they become part of the MCU but if you are up for the hunt then you can catch this film now in cinemas.

Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim

As for the 2nd big blockbuster film of the week, is a statement that has been long dormant and was the discussion of many moons of this time of year in the past but it seems those legends have returned as we are heading back to the lands of Middle Earth for an all new tale in an all new format as we have recieved the all new animated / anime style film of Lord of the Rings The War of the Rohirrim. Set 183 years before the events of the original trilogy, the film tells the legend of Helm Hammerhand, a legendary king of Rohan, and his family as they defend their kingdom against an army of Dunlendings and will have a focus on the unnamed daughter of the king. Reception to this film has been slightly mixed but also a little modest in its reception with praise to its visuals, its action and its performances, but has been critiqued of some stilted animations and the elements of if this story about how helms deep got its name or how the daughter of the king has not much of a relevancy to the story altogether in the wider middle earth but is still seen as a decent film overall and if you are up for some great visuals and hopefully great battles (and hopefully one cinema nearby will sell those Hammer popcorn buckets), then you can catch this film out now in cinemas.

Queer

For the last of the new films for the week is one more in the realm of the indie or award season based films that will see the based of forbidden love in a different time and place as A24 is back again with an all new adaptation and love story in the form of the new film 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. Reception to this new film has been garnering some positive reception with praise to the performances (particularly with Daniel Craig as a highlight) and the well focused love story, though some elements on its plot or adapting of its book are a little mixed in its regards but if you are up for something with a little bit of romance over big blockbusters, then you can catch this new film out now in cinemas.

Carry On

as for one more new film to release for this week, is taking us to the realm that for many at this time of year will see them fly around the world to be with loved ones for the holidays and this is the one thing that would be the biggest fear to deal with at this time of year or in general as we have the new thriller film from Netflix of Carry On (not the comedy series of films). This film will see a young TSA agent (Taron Egerton) who becomes the target of a dangerous individual who is black mailing him into letting a dangerous nerve agent device onto a flight on Christmas Eve and will be a case if this will come down to saving thousands or millions of passengers, himself and his dear love or if he may cause the death of thousands. Reception to the film has been very well recieved with praise to the performances of leads Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman and help to work around a simple and possibly basic plot with some great execution of a thriller and if you are up for something with a bit of tension then you catch this new film now on Netflix. 

TV shows

Dream Productions: from the world of Inside Out

Moving over to the realm of the TV series, we are heading back to one of my favourite studios and the studio with the highest grossing film of the year with Pixar as we are taking a dive again into the world of what goes on inside our heads but instead of the focus to the emotions (who still have some presence in this) we are looking at what we see when we close our eyes at night as we have recieved the all new midquel miniseries from the world of Inside Out with Dream Productions. The miniseries will take us to the dream production studio deep in the mind of Riley over in long term as we follow the likes of a documentary style film crew as they follow around the creatives at the production studio and show how they create the dreams for the young Riley and how much chaos and focus to make everything runs properly and not fall apart with a unique take on how dreams are made when we sleep. Reception to this limited series has been mainly positive with praise for its unique take and approach to the series, the visuals, humour and heart that went into what is essentially a 3rd Inside Out film, though some elements feel a bit too negative a feel too samey to get a lot of the mass appeal of the 2 films that came before. Now I have watched this and I really liked it, most complaints I had would be for it to be longer with a few more episodes and some of the leads are a little negative and have a little rushed character development but its not too much of an issue and I feel they could do another series of this set after the 2nd film with more crazy ideas and if you want to check out the series for yourself, you can catch all 4 episodes now on Disney+.

Secret Level

For the 2nd and last show for this week is seeing us take a new form of one element of adaptation and this comes in the realm of video game adaptations but instead of just the focus to one of them, we have a wide variety as we have recieved the all new anthology series of secret level. The series will see us take a dive into the world of some of the most memorable or recent video games of the past and present from the likes of Mega Man, Sony, Sifu, Armoured Core, Dungeons and Dragons and even to Pacman and tell some new stories with these characters in some tales we haven't seen before or even some more weird ones that we would not expect. Reception to this series has been a little mixed but still decently recieved with praise to its visuals, some elements of its story and characters and for being something new from the creatives of Love, Death and Robots, though some of the episodes have been hit with a mixed opinion of if this needed to be longer, needed this much humour or if this one was really necessary (like the one that every talks about of the yellow sphere that eats dots and ghosts) but if you are up for something visually appealing and unique you can catch the first 8 episodes now on Amazon Prime video with the 2nd batch of this first season out next week.

Video Games

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

And for the final of the new releases for the week and the only game of this week for taking on the trail of a massive globe trotting adventure and coming off the last one of the film series as everyone's favourite whip cracking, Nazi punching archaeologist is back for an all new big game adventure as we have the last of the blockbuster games of the year with Indiana Jones and the great Circle. This game will put you into the shoes of Indy and set in-between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Last Crusade and teaming up with an investigative journalist, will discover a deep conspiracy and ancient treasure from all the great monuments around the world that will form a perfect circle around the globe and must use his wits and skills to outsmart the enemies of the Nazi's and find the treasure before it falls into the wrong hands. Reception to this new adventure has been very well recieved with praise to its visuals, gameplay, story, puzzles and combat and been seen as a better follow up over the last 2 films in the series (though would be one that is a fan of the one from last year) and if you are up for a globe trotting adventure, then you can play this now on Xbox Series X/S and PC with a PS5 version coming out next year.

Trailers and tribulations

28 Years Later

So the first of the 2 trailers that we have for this week and both consisting of the elements of horror or monsters is taking us back to a series that has been a critically acclaimed series from its original film from over 20 years ago and will be seeing how as a virus ravanged on on how many have adapted to the element of survival as Danny Boyle and Alex Garland have returned once again with the first trailer for the long awaited sequel of 28 years later. The plot will show the audience that it has been almost 3 decades since the rage virus escaped from the biological weapons lab and will see many who have been living in a ruthlessly enforced Quarantine have found ways to exist, live and thrive amid the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily defended causeway, but when one of the group leaves the island on a dangerous mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well. So if there is anything I can say about this as well as everyone else online has been saying but whoever cut this trailer together is a god damn magician as this gives us so much insight but very little on the plot and focus and how they go about showing everything in its form and how things have evolved over they years is really exciting and I look forward to see how this comes about. I know this is also the start of a new trilogy of films with the 2nd being shot back to back and being directed by Nia DeCosta (The Marvels) and is apparently finished filming and also seeing Cillian Murphy back from the original that everyone thinks is this zombie but I think it's been confirmed that its not but I am invested and am looking forward to this new title and its coming closer as we have the film releasing into cinemas from June 20th next year. 

Castlevania Nocturne

As for the 2nd and last trailer for this week that I could find (I could do some for Game Awards but many are vague in their announcements) we are heading to the realm of more video game adaptations and on a series that has seen many mass appeal since the original series anime started nearly a decade ago and has been chugging along in releasing a full series and its spin off and its time to return to that continuation once again and return to the battle of the families of monster killers and their fight against the undead king as we have recieved a trailer for the 2nd season of Castlevania Nocturne. The new season will follow on from the first seasons narrative as we follow Richter Belmont and the rest of the vampire hunters be joined by Alucard, as they race to stop Erzsebet Bathory's dark and terrible plans of taking over the world by any see fit. So its a case I can say that for a success of an adaptation, the castlevania one was something I was surprised would pop off this hard but it has proven to be a major appealing success and if this is promising more bigger scope, scale and action and the most craziest fight scene in the series so far then we are in for something big and we don't have too long to go for this series as the new season will be releasing onto Netflix from January 16th next year.

The Day the Earth blew up: A looney Tunes movie

We have one more new trailer for this week that will see a project that was worried that would get the shelving from the one studio that seems to always write things off for some tax purposes that seems to make them lose more money then actually earn much back as we are seeing some iconic characters of animation return to save the planet from a very sticky situation as we have the trailer for the upcoming film of The day the earth blew up: A looney tunes movie. The plot will follow Daffy Duck and Porky Pig who after a series of antic that occour at their new job at the bubblegum factory, both will discover a secret alien plot to take over the Earth via mind control. Soon it will be up to the duo as well as Petunia pig to work together to stop the invaders while also trying to not drive each other insane in the process. So I have seen a few clips and pieces for this project already and its a case that the film has the appeal and charm of the classic Looney Tunes films and cartoons of the past and I have heard nothing but great reception to this project since its premiere at annecy and I look forward to seeing the whole film play out. At the moment it is scheduled for release on February 28th in the US and March 27th in Australia but nothing yet for the UK or Ireland but hopefully that will be resolved and given a date very soon.

The hunter of media News

The Win's , L's and surprises of the gaming event

So we start off the news stories with the first story being a follow up to the video I just posted a few days ago that early took me out for getting it done but we are giving a follow up to the winners and some announcements to come from the recent Game Awards that took place this week and we have quite a few I want to talk on on some of the big winners and some announcements that surprised me and was also surprised by the amount of winners I had gotten accurate but lets us delve into all of the events that unfolded.

The big winner with the most wins was the little robot who could that walked away with 4 of its 7 nominations which included the Game of the Year and Best Game direction as well as the best Family game and while it was a mixed opinion, I think it was well deserved in its win. As for the other big titles in the games section that were not some of the small technical side of things, Black Myth won for Gamers Choice and best Action Game which I feel was deserved and would've been the choice for game of the year (and case need to play the game at some point). As for the Indie scene, it was a clean sweep for the Balatro title for both categories which I felt was expected to win those and a few other titles all winning a few awards here and there with the 2nd biggest winner of the night going to Metaphor: Refantazio with 3 wins. Now there was not a big win for every game as there was 3 with a fair few nominations that walked away empty handed and that was with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Shadow of the Erdtree and Silent Hill 2 (which I know someone said that because it didn't win that the game awards was rigged because of it but it comes to the likes a bit of the remaster and remakes had a tougher chance for wins I think) but overall many deserving wins and a few that were a little mixed. If I recall of the 26 nominations I gave my thoughts on, I got 21 of them correct which is about an 81% accuracy which I was impressed with on the accuracy (and if you want to see which ones it was then you can see it in this video version here. 

But as on the likes of the announcements, there was a few that were the most appealing and surprising to me that some I have seen cause a bit of discourse online (mainly on the case of the male gamers complain about that most of these big titles are focused on women which is just stupid) but I will give a couple of announcements that were the most surprising to me.

the event started off strong with the unveiling of  new Ninja Gaiden with Ragebound and it is nice to see a return of a classic difficult and fast fight challenge and we have a confirmation coming out in 2025.

The popular indie title of Dave the Diver is back again for another round of DLC and expansion with a journey deep into the jungles for more new adventures and shall be on the way into the later part of 2025

connecting back to one of the new releases, the secret level episode about Pac Man seemed to be a promo for a new metroidvania take on the character with Shadow Labyrinth that may be worth a try out and could be good to see a new take instead of a similar outcome for all forms and is on the way next year.

one I was thinking we were a bit of a time away from seeing anything was an unveiling of first look to the witcher 4 that is showing us we are taking on the role of Ciri this time around (and Geralt is still present in the game in some level but they are keeping it quiet for the moment) and so far from this cinematic she looks great and it looks epic (I am saying she does cause it seems once they are a playable main character, suddenly they look ugly but I think she looks great and badass and stop listening to so much complaints) and I look forward to see more overtime in the future.

Now a title that looked hype as hell before the concern kicked in was a new standalone based on the world of Elden Ring with the unveiling of Night Reign that is a new Co-Op experience that I have heard is a possible battle pass system thing that may be a bit of a concern but hopefully we will see it come around and actually be really good like other From Software titles and is on the way somepoint next year.

Now a studio that has finally returned after nearly a decade but the studio behind Ico and Shadow of the colossus is coming back with a new game called Project Robot that seems like an interesting concept and worth a check out as it comes along real soon (and hopefully won't be overly delayed like Last Guardian).

Game of the year winner of It takes 2 with Hazelight studios are back with a new co-op narrative of Split fiction of 2 friends who find themselves jumping back and forth between their 2 styles of stories they make of fantasy and sci-fi in order to get out of a machine they are trapped in and if its like those 2 games of the past then I am all for it and hope to play with a certain someone (and those other games too) and will be coming out on March 6th next year.

they unveiled some new gameplay for Borderlands 4 which unveiled a look at the new antagonist for the game and looks like it could be good and will see when it releases sometime in 2025.

A surprise reveal from the night was the announcement of a new entry of the Virtua Fighter series that will be made from the Yakuza series and is on the way sometime in the future.

speaking of Yakuza, we have a form of a new type of game similar in that universe known as Project Century that is set in the early 20th century Japan that looks really good and will be worth a try when it comes out in the future.

speaking of a return to a classic series, the classic game of Turok from the N64 is back with a new revival game that looks like it is going bigger, badder and visually appealing and be worth a try in the near future.

we finally got some footage and more of the story to the upcoming entry in the Mafia series that looks like we are getting more of the origins of this career and looks fantastic and will be worth a playing of when it comes out in summer 2025.

a surprise but welcome reveal is we are getting a sequel to the beloved title of Okami that was unveiled and will be worth a try when it comes out sometime in the future

and the final big announcement and the only title prediction I got right was the newest IP from Naughty dog with Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet that is going all sci-fi and from the concept it gives me the vibe of 2 songs from TWRP of Black Swan and Starlight Brigade mixed with some guardians of the galaxy and I am very excited to see what this will be about and will keep an eye on this overtime and play this when it does drop in the future (and part of the side that is excited cause everyone is just either mocking it with old jokes or other things).

But with all of that I would like  to know your thoughts on what was discussed this week and what games did you think should've won or be announced from this awards shows? Let me know your thoughts on it all down in the comments below.

Those are some nice globes

Now for this next story, I will try and keep things brief as we have another award show discussion as we finally got some nominations for the upcoming event of the upcoming Golden Globes that were unveiled this week and will give some quick insight of the big nominees for the year of film and television.

On the basis of the most nominated in each side of things, the most nominated at this event was the Netflix film of Emilia Perez with 10 nominations making it the most nominated comedy / musical film in the history of the Globes since the 11 nominations for Nashville in 1975 and rounding the 3 biggest nominees for the most in film is with The Brutalist with 7 nominations and then rounding out with Conclave at 6 nominations. Also am happy to see some animation not getting trapped to one category as both of my favourite animations of the year have recieved multiple nominations with Wild Robot getting 4 and Inside Out 2 getting 2 nominations and love to see them get some love as well for the upcoming academy awards so lets make it happen with that. I will say there is one element of this that is confusing that some horrors and films I see more as dramas are also nominated in the comedy category which I wonder how that works but if they get nominated then they get nominated.

As on the likes of the tv side, our top 3 seems to be 2 regulars of these award shows with the most of 5 nominees going to FX's series of The Bear and rounding out the top 3 with 4 nominations each is also from Hulu or Disney with Only Murders in the Building and Shogun with a variety of limited series like the Penguin, Ripley, True Detective: Night Country and Baby Reindeer all getting multiple nominees for performances or best shows of the year so it is all to play for in the future. Not sure if I will get much of a video on this but I will see down the line for the likes of my predictions can happen but don't hold out on that but we will see and I think the choices are all well deserving of their nominees.

But what do you think of these choices and who do you see winning the awards. Let me know your choices down below in the comments.

Reboots, revivals and sequels galore

Now on the 3rd story for this week is bringing us an array of so many different topics of discussion of the week that covers the realm of announcement of sequels, remakes and revivals that were announced from this week that were mixed in with some casting news but we will keep that to the last story but for now lets talk on what came out from this week in terms of these reveals.

The first announcement from the week is one that I was thinking was unlikely to get a sequel but I guess there is another story to tell as it was announced on Tuesday Night or early Wednesday morning that we are getting a 4th film in the Meet the Parents series and see Robert Deniro return for this film as well as Ben Stiller as (apologies if the name is rude) Gaylord Focker. Not sure where else they can go with this series as the last one was about ben Stiller and his wifes "little fockers" and being parents and was for certain Deniro died in the last one but I believe it was only a heart attack but survived through the whole thing. Unless it is a case of their kids all grown up and heading to college or something but I have no idea, it could be interesting but I guess we will see how this all comes together.

Onto the next annoucement and its from the one part of any film aspect that is a common things every year at this rate and that is with a new live action remake from Disney as while we anticipate the release of Mufasa next week and prepare after for both Snow White and Lilo and Stitch in 2025, amongst more on the way, we have another new name being added to the selection and that was the announcement on Wednesday that we are getting a live action remake of the 2010 and 50th Disney animated title of Tangled which is the story of Rapunzel. Now no cast nor release date has been made yet but we do have a confirmed director in the form of Michael Granday who is directing the upcoming Robbie Williams bio of Better man and also directed one of the most loved film musicals of the Greatest Showman so he has an idea of working well with musical films. Its a case I have heard one name that everyone wants as the choice for Rapunzel and that is with Florence Pugh but while I think its a decent choice, it will be down to see how this comes together in the end and I will keep an eye on further updates (also controversial opinion but I think this film is a much better film then Frozen, don't at me, its my own opinion).

On the likes of the 3rd announcement for the week is with the concept that one of the stories from last week was the concept of a revivial of a 2000s comedy classic of Scrubs and have seen a lot of classics from the past get a revival over the years and it looks like another smash hit from that era is making the same approach as it was announced on Thursday that we are getting a new revival to the classic series of Malcolm in the Middle with the confirmation that Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek coming back as their respective character for this new series for Disney+. Now as things stand it is unclear of if we will see the other brother of Reece, Dewey, Francis or Jamie appear in the series as of the moment but I do hope that it will have the same charm, appeal and humour of the original series as even after being finished since the late 2000s and even the case that their was a somewhat epilogue in the form of an alternate ending of breaking bad where the whole series was just a dream for Hal in the seriesbut I hope it comes together for the so far 4 planned episodes and I will watch with interest.

now on one small announcement with endless potential but it looks like 2 worlds are colliding for this next project as it was announced this week that the Pokémon company is teaming up with claymation studio of Aardman to create something new and exciting in stop motion, maybe either a new film, series or something of a mixed of multiple media variety and while things are kept very under wraps we will probably find out more by the release of the project in 2027.

We have been quiet on the likes of one thing this week and that is with some news relating to the realm of the superhero genre and while its not a focus on the heroes for this story but rather for the likes of a villain that would be interesting to see being worked into a film adaptation as it was announced we are getting a film based on the Batman villain of Clayface and that this will also be directed by one of the masters of horror with Mike Flanagan which already gives me an idea this film will be some form of a dark body horror and I am all for it as its a case that if we can't see it be in the more grounded reeves verse then a elseworld solo film of this will work just as well and ready to see how messed up this can be.

this last one might have been just denied as of writing this but I am going to add it in as it is a possibility of it happening but are trying to keep it quiet but according to some sources it has been rumoured that we may have a sequel to the highest grossing film of 2023 on the way in the form of a sequel to Barbie and that the duo of Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach are currently in the early stages of development to the project with writing and stuff. Now as of writing some representatives for them have come out to deny any of these reports as true, but it could be the case it is to cover up that they may be in the very early stages with an idea for a story but want to keep it very hush hush for the moment until the time is right. But in all instance if it does come along, I honestly would not mind seeing a sequel to this as I liked the first one which you can see from my review of this film and if its a case I can go with the one that I see as the Barbie to my Ken then I am all for that but I guess we'll see in the future if that does become a reality.

But after all these announcements, I wanna know which one are you most excited about and who would you see make a return or be cast for some of these projects? Let me know your opinions in the comments below and we can discuss them there.

Casting some odd faces for many projects

As of the last of the stories for the week is giving the mention I first give which is of course the discussion of the casting news of the week and we have a few mixed variety of announcements to come from this week so lets give a deep discussion on these announcements.

The first bit of casting news is taking us to the superhero realm and this time with the focus to the MCU as one of the big announcements this week is we have another 2 returning faces for the upcoming massive project of the next Avenger film as it was announced that both Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell will both be back for this new film with them being unclear as to who they will be playing. Now in most case with Atwell it will either be her normal Agent Carter role or as her performance as Captain Carter from the What If series as well as the brief cameo in Multiverse of Madness but for Evans it seems its not the likes of his iconic role of Captain America or even as his old role of Johnny storm. there was some speculation that he was going to be captain Hydra which could still happen but it seems the role he is going to be is the character of Nomad, which we got a form of in Infinity War (and is actually the hairstyle look I go with when I make the very rare annual visit to the barbers) but was not the full version of said character which would be great to see that version of that look again cause many were sad to see him lose that in Endgame but I am excited to see both of them return and intrigued to see how this will turn out in the end.

the next casting news is taking us to the galaxy far far away as we have some news relating to an upcoming project on the world of Star Wars and that is the next film that is on the way out in the form of the Mandalorian and Grogu movie as it was announced that the character of Rotta the Hutt, one related to previous crime lord Jabba the Hutt will be in this film and will also be voiced by the Bear star of Jeremy Allen White. Probably the most strange casting I would expect for this actor and expected someone more sinister or focused like a Jedi master or something but I am sure it will be interesting to see that voice come from this creature and expect for him to talk about great cuisine but I guess we will see when the film drops in 2026.

Now for the likes of some Biopic news and this is once again talking about the likes of the planned four film Beatles Bio films and we have another confirmed casting from a long standing rumour and that is the case that the 2nd Irish actor has been cast as the British music Icon as Rising Irish star of Paul Mescal has been cast as band member Paul McCartney joining Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr for these films. So it seems likely that those rumoured castings were true from all those weeks ago and I am sure they will announce the confirmations of George Harrison and John Lennon very shortly but I think the choice for this band member is a decent one and will be intrigued to see how he comes around to bringing this iconic figure of music to life on the big screen.

The last story of casting is coming to us on the aspect that relates to a remake that feels a bit unnecessary and that is with the planned retelling of the 2000s classic of American Psycho as it was possibly confirmed that they have found their new version of Patrick Bateman and it is Oscar Nominated and Elvis Star of Austin Butler. Now the likes of this actor has proven himself over the last few years in his range from the king of Rock and Roll, to a fierce Harkonnen warrior and even the rebellious kid from a biker gang that I would be intrigued to see him take on the sadistic psychopath, but its again also the case of if we need this remake in the first place given how relevant this film has become as of recent with countless memes for said character but I guess it will come about when the film enter development in due time some point soon.

BUt with all of this casting news I wanna know your thoughts on these projects of casting and who you think they will play or who you would cast for some of these roles? Let me know what you think down below

And with all of that, this brings us to the end of a much more longer 94th episode of Weird Mind News Room and I hope you enjoyed the extensive ramblings for another week. Let me know your thoughts on all of this down below and as always I hope you all stay being wonderful people and I will see you all in the next episode and blog :)

Take Care, Keep being you, signing off,

Sam H :)