Weird Mind News Room Episode 101: Jan 27th - Feb 2nd

 *Music for a variety show needed*

Hello there to all of you wonderful people once again to the 101st edition of the weekly series of Weird Mind News Room where it is a discussion for this week that we are talking about a lot of content in the realm of media with a focus on a few new releases, a trailer or 2 and a mixed variety of news stories to come from this week so lets not waste time on the usual intros and lets get to talking about all there is to talk on media to come from this week.

Live From New York its new release time

Movies

Saturday Night

We start off the new releases with a film that has been out in the states since early October but has finally been given a release here and in the form of the release in the year this iconic series has been celebrating it's 50th anniversary as we will be going back that half century to see how it all began with the new film of Saturday Night.The film will tell the story of the ordeal of Lorne Michaels and his ensemble cast as they prep to shoot and film over the 90 minutes until airing the first ever episode of the cultural award winning Saturday Night Live on October 11th 1975 and how everything could've failed on that night with everything going wrong and find a way to make it all work out. Reception on this film itself has been very well recieved with praise to its ensemble cast, the vibe and cinematography, humour and the love and appeal that went into seeing how a show that has been going for 50 years could've failed in its first night but showed that there is always a way to a success story. And if you want to see how this all pulled together in the end, then you can catch this new film out now in cinemas.

Companion

Now we may be another 2 weeks off of the day of romance for many, but it seems we have one that may be out that little bit earlier, but the likes of this romance is a bit more complicated and a lot more technical and violent as the director of Barbarian brings their new form of love story on display with the new movie of Companion. The film will follow Iris and Josh, who along with some of their friends, spend a weekend away at a remote villa for a long overdue vacation. However things will soon turn south and a lot more violent as it is discovered that Iris is actually a sentient subservient companion Android that begins to take control and starts going haywire. Reception on this film has been very highly praised with positives going towards the performances (especially to Sophie Thatcher as Iris), its concept and execution of the deaths and outcome and if you are up for a new take on love then you can also catch this film out now in cinemas.  

Tv Shows

Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man

Now on the side of the 1 tv show for this week that we have on the way, is taking a familiar face that we have been following in the massive growing cinematic universe for the better half of a decade but in this form we are seeing a little bit of a difference in how the story plays out, as we head to Marvel Animation to see a new story of everyone's favourite wallcrawler with the new series of Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man. The series will be set before the events of the MCU Spider-Man films and set in an alternate timeline to the films that will follow the story of Peter Parker's early days of becoming accustomed to the Spider-Man persona while dealing with school, bullies, girls and other messy things that Teens deal with, before he becomes under the wing and mentorship not of Tony Stark but rather of Norman Osbourne. Reception on the series so far has been well recieved with praise to the new take on the MCU and the iconic superhero, story and characters, while some have some critiques on the visual animations and some of the writing, but if you are up for a new take on the webhead, then you can catch the first 2 episodes now on Disney+ with a new episode releasing every Wednesday.

Games

Sniper Elite Resistance

On the likes of the games for this week, it is time to get your gear, load up, suit up and prepare for one man to go against an armada and help to change the course of History, as the soldier with a keen eye and focus with a long range rifle is back to take on an armada on his own as we have an all new entry in the long running series of Sniper Elite Resistance. According to the info for this game, you play as a new character of Harry Hawker (the co-op character you may play as in the last 3 mainline Sniper Elite games) as you take the fight on yourself against the Nazi in Vichy France in 1944 in a story that is set during the events of SE5 and use your sniper rifle to take down the armada. Reception on this game has been hit with a more mixed reception that while visuals and mechanics are still praised the likes of the story and the repetitive nature of this series is starting to show its signs after a long period of multiple games, but if you are up for shooting enemies on any part and especially in the nether regions, then you can play this game now on PS4/5, Xbox One/ Series X/S and PC.

Poppy Playtime Chapter 4

And the final game for this week is taking us on a continued journey deeper into a massive corporation with a very dark secret and what may be found in this facility grows more sinister and scarier upon every section as after a year in the difference, we are back to learn the secrets of Playtime with the release of the 4th chapter of Poppy Playtime. This new chapter will continue immediately after the end of Episode 3 as you enter in the sub level parts of the facility in a place known as the safe haven where they will continue on the way to learn of the secrets and dark past of this facility while crossing with some new creatures like a yarn like lion, a creature made of coloured clay and a creature with a hive mind controlling all of the machinery in this area. Reception to this chapter has seen a mixed reception, that while the continuing story, creatures and scares are decent, the game has seen a lot of complaints in the form of performance issues, mixed appeal on the bosses and gameplay and some other issues that vary by player, but if you want to see how this story will continue as it heads to the ending of the narrative, then you can play this new chapter now on PC (console version probably coming soon).

Hello Kitty Island Adventure

One last new release for this week has been a long time coming, a game seeped in legend since the first mention of the game all the way back in 2006, a game that will change your life and how you see media for many and after all this time, we have finally gotten the release of the game of Hello Kitty Island Adventure. The game will have you play as the title character and all of her animal friends as you set out on a journey to create a wonderful little island paradise and explore, discover and have a grand adventure on this large island location. Reception on this title has seen some pretty decently recieved reception with praise on its visuals, appeal and for being something that has a nice cozy aesthetic and charm to the title for when you want something nice and simple and less over the top crazy and if you are up for playing a new island adventure then you can play it now on Nintendo Switch and PC.

Trailers to bring fear and inspire

Sinners

The first of the 2 trailer that we have recieved for this week is taking us on a trip to the past and tell a story that will provide a sense of past fears, present business and future curses and providing a return to a collaborative effort between Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan as they are bringing us an all new look at their new period piece horror film of Sinners. The film will follow a pair of twin brothers (Jordan in both roles) as they return to their home town to begin their lives anew and look to leave their troubled pasts behind. However it seems like not is all peaceful and simple as once they do they will soon discover an even greater evil is waiting for them to welcome them back. So truth be told with this film, when I saw the first trailer I had a vague idea of what was going on with the likes of a period piece that may have some deeper social commentary that is mixed with a creature horror about a form of vampires or something similar, but after this trailer, it is still unclear of what it is they are showing to try and make it out that their is a lot more to this story then I expect, but from how they present this film and keep it vague has me intrigued and I am not complaining in being confused as it helps to appeal on something that little more (I hope that makes sense) but I guess we will see how this will all come together when the film releases real soon on the 18th of April.

Magazine Dreams

As for the only other trailer for this week is with a film that was set for a release initially early last year but was delayed from the release schedule due to the outcome of some legal proceedings but has now made a return and release with a new distributor as we finally have a release of the trailer for the new film of Magazine Dreams. The film will follow aspiring bodybuilder of Killian Maddox (Johnathon Majors) who will struggle to find human connection in the exploration of celebrity and violence while caring for his ailing grandfather and dealing with his own dangers he is causing to himself on the journey to superstardom. SO the case this film was delayed for a fair amount of time was due to the legal woes that happened to Majors in 2023 over assault charges from a current or ex partner, the dropping from his management and many stories that have come out from his work on other projects about his aggression and other concerns and while the first case about his abuse charges have been dropped and may have been made up (to some degree it is not fully clear), the others may affect the release and appeal of this film but from what is shown it seems like their is a bit of an appeal to the whole project and for a bit of time was even seen as an awards contender but that will remain to be seen but I guess we will see how it all comes about when the film releases in a bit over a months time on March 21st.

News that will go in all directions

The epic focus of an Odyssey Cast

So we are starting off the new stories for this week with the usual affair of the ever growing array of casting announcements for projects and films and in this case, we have one film of a focus to talk on for this week as it is that time again and may be the case will see this start back up for another period of time but we have a another selection of casting announcements for the upcoming film from Christopher Nolan of the Odyssey. As I have brought up over the last few weeks since late October or earlier then that, we have seen the array of casting and announcements that have come for this film including as of up to the start of the week Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and Jon Berenthal and it was the case that more then likely we will see more and more enter the cast and this week is no exception as instead of just 1 or 2, we got the announcement of 6 more additions to the cast as it was announced that we will also be seeing Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Hamish Patel, Elliot Page, Bill Irwin and Samantha Morton all becoming part of his huge historical epic with the rest of the confirmed cast so far. Now there is a few of these familiar faces that have appeared in previous Nolan films before as Elliot Page was one of the primary characters in Inception, Hamish Patel appeared in Tenet, Safdie was in the best picture winner Oppenheimer as Edward Teller and Irwin has not appeared physically in his films but has appeared as the voice of TARS the robot in Interstellar so it seems like some familiar favourites and a new face or two are taking part in this massive series. Now as I mentioned in all other casting stories for this it is still unclear as to who everyone is playing in this film, but I am sure it will be a mix of soldiers, figures from the stories and maybe some of the gods that will be in the way of King Odysseus journey home but I am sure we will get some insight as to who will be playing who as production will begin real soon. I am sure there is probably a few more new additions still to come but it is unclear as of right now but I will of course update if any more comes along.

But what are your thoughts on these new additions to the cast of the Odyssey and who do you see every confirmed cast member playing in this massive literature story? Let me know your opinions and thoughts to it all down below in the comments. 

Netflix and Other things giving some dates to attend to

So the 2nd story for this week is with the basis of some focus to a release date announcements for one of the big streamers dropping a bit of a sizzle reel with some confirmed releases to come from said projects and one other non streamer release that has attached a director from one of this weeks new releases and I will be giving a quick update to focus on what those are in particular.

So I will start with the story that is the focus of the new announced project in the works and it is a series that has had 3 attempts in the last 20+ years to be adapted from its gaming roots from 2 film series and a tv show take too and that is of course with the series of Resident Evil. If you may have seen my adaptation history video from well over a year ago we have seen over the course since the early 2000s has seen a series that is a spin off to the mainline that has lasted around 6-7 films with Milla Jovovich and then about 5 years after the final chapter saw the release of both a TV series that had potential but missed the mark and then a film reboot that combined the narratives of the first 2 games that had a mixed response that did see some potential from the outcome and many had hoped that we will eventually get a proper take on the series and it may sound like this new form coming along is making the promise to do just that as it was announced this week that they have gotten Barbarian and Companion director of Zach Cregger to write and direct the new take on the franchise that is being promised of going more faithful to the series with the main discussion is coming down to the distributor that will helm it as while Playstation productions is getting involved it seems its a bidding war to both Warner Bros and Netflix looking to obtain the film for distribution. So hearing this info it does sound like it is in good hands as going off the reception of his 2 recent films as well as early reports of their next project of Weapons, it may be in some good hands and he has proven he can make a good horror so here is hoping this series about the undead will finally rise to some greatness (outside of some of the animated films that have come out for this series over the years).

So we move onto the date announcements for the big streamer and this is coming to us from Netflix in particular that has confirmed at least 3 new release date confirmations and the end of another series which will start off the release calendar with the confirmation that the new anime take on Devil May Cry will be dropping from the 3rd of April that will be taking a page out of Castlevania and giving it a flashy appeal and look to it all and I hope that this will be as good and entertaining as that adaptation (as well as the adaptation of Cyberpunk too).

Then we have the news that a rumoured date that I brought up about 2-3 weeks ago has now been confirmed as it was announced that the final season of Squid Game has now been confirmed for a June 27th release which I feel is a fair gap between the 2 seasons to give a sense of anticipation and in a time period where the appeal will be high and I am interested to see how the games and series will come to an end and I am sure if its like the first 2 seasons then I feel that it will be a strong ending to the whole narrative (and probably will have to hear more of that unsettling Merry go round song as well).

And the last confirmed release window that we have gotten is for one of the upcoming films on the streamer and while it is not the Benoit Blanc mystery, this will do just as well as it was confirmed that the new take on Frankenstein from Guillermo Del Toro is heading for a release on the streamer sometime in November which I feel is probably a fair window to release it in and if its been pushed out after the Halloween season and more the month after may give me an idea of something else big dropping that month but its unknown as of right now. Though the idea of a new monster creature feature from Del toro is an intriguing one so I will be watching this one with interest.

However there is one that has seen the confirmation that the series is coming to an end sooner then expected as it was confirmed that the 2nd season of the Sandman series will be its last. Now Netflix and the showrunner have come out to say that it is down to seeing there is only enough content left for a season 2 but a part of me feels like the reason for it ending is also to do with the allegations towards the original comic creator of Neil Gaimon that is currently ongoing, but it is hard to tell if its just to do it to avoid any questions and conspiracy to it all. Either way I do hope that the series will stick it well in its final season and does as well as the first. It will be seen when these will come out along with other content like the last season of You, season 4 of the Witcher, Happy Gilmore 2 and more but I guess we will keep an eye on this space and find out when it does.

But with all of them I do want to know your thoughts on these release date announcements and think if they are some decent choices or fit more somewhere else and your thoughts on the choice for a new Resident Evil movie and the end of the Sandman? Let me know what you think of those in the comments below and we can discuss about them there.

Superman has some legal woes and may affect its sense of Hope.

As for the last story for this week is one that has dropped just a few hours as of writing this piece and is one that can be a bit of a concern as it comes to the realm of the topic of a Lawsuit. Now we have seen a fair few in the past and present from companies suing for leaks and bad productions, misconduct or even some with celebrities for many reasons (with one still ongoing since December and has a planned court date for March next year) but this one concerns about the focus of an iconic character that could be affected to many areas of the world and this is to do with the character of Superman. On Friday, it was announced that the estate that own the rights to the character has filed a lawsuit to WB and DC Studios that has to do with some issues on distribution infringements and compensation that has the concern that it adds on an affect of being forgotten in payment and as such will see the film not release in a few key territories which is seen as Australia, UK, Canada and Ireland, which will have a dire effect on many that have been looking forward to watching this title itself and with this lawsuit happening it could see it being blocked in the regions because of it which comes due to some legal clause about a rights renewal from a British legal tradition on copyright that could be null and void 25 years after the death of the original creator and author. Now it does concern me as I am actually looking forward to this film and if it gets blokced from release then I am going to be very annoyed and hopefully it will be fixed very quickly. I am sure in some case that some Snyder fans are happy that this is happening to this version but if in a very rare instance that Cavill is brought back, this would affect that one too and hopefully things are fixed sooner then later and we can all watch the new take on the Man of Steel in the summer.

But what do you think of all of this lawsuit situation and do you see this affect the release of this film in July or will it all be sorted and resolved before he takes flight? Let me know what you think of it all down below in the comments.

And with all of that this ends the 101st edition of the Weird Mind News Room story and I do hope that you have enjoyed the rambling content for another week. Let me know what you think of everything discussed 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 :)