Weird Mind News Room Episode 109: March 24th - 30th

 *Need some music just to feel something from the pain*

Hello again to you all once again to all of you from near and far beyond to the 109th edition of Weird Mind News Room where we are once again are delving deep into the realm of all things media to talk on the array of new releases, some trailers or 2 and a couple of news stories to provide a platter of selection in entertainment, but enough wasting time on intros and lets get to talking about all things media for this week.

Release a caine

Movies

Novocaine

The first of the new releases for this week is what I see as the big new release for the week that will see an ordinary man go on a journey to save someone he loves but it seems this man has some sense of conditions that may benefit him in the long run as Jack Quaid is taking justice in his own way in the all new action comedy of Novocaine. The film follows Nathan Caine, a bank teller who has a rare condition where he cannot feel pain no matter the injury who ends up going on his own accord to rescue his co-worker and love interest (Amber Midthunder) after she is taken hostage from a group of bank robbers. Reception on this new title has seen some well recieved reviews with praise to the concept, the lead performances including that of Quaid and for its humour and methods of action and if you want to check it out for yourself then you can do so now with it out in cinemas.

A Working Man

The next film is another film of all action from one of Hollywood's Hard action stars to come from the UK as a simple tough man has a job to do with the all new action film of A working Man. The film follows Levon Cade, a former soldier in the Black Ops who left that all behind to live a simple life working in construction. However, when human traffickers kidnap his Boss's daughter, his search to bring her home uncovers a world of corruption far greater then he ever could have imagined. Reception on this new film has seen a bit more of a mixed outcome response that while taking their best methods for adapting a story and Statham being an appealing action lead, the film lacks a lot of the intricate layers of the book it is based on that is less of a detective action thriller and more of an over the top action flick instead, but if that appeals to you more then you can also catch this new film out now in cinemas.

The woman in the yard

So if the the likes of an action comedy, or simply all action does not appeal to you and you want something that may give you a sense of unease or spooks then you may be in luck as we have an all new offering from the studio of Blumhouse with their all new film release of The Woman in the Yard. The film follows Ramona, a woman crippled from grief and an accident that saw the death of her husband and tries her best to care for her 2 children on a rural farm. Sadness soon turns to fear when a spectral woman dressed all in black appears on her yard with the warning of "Todays the Day" and as she grows nearer and nearer to the home, Ramona soon realizes that she must protect her children from the figure who simply won't leave them alone. Reception on the film has also seen a mixed to more underwhelming reception that while the concept has an interesting idea and could lead to some deep questions and appeal to it all, the film lacks a lot of substance and a bit in the horror department but if you want to check it out for yourself then you catch this film out now in cinemas.

Video Games

Atomfall

On the first of the 2 game titles for this week is one that will see us take a page from a world gone to the ruins of a nuclear fallout but have a setting of a more cozy countryside aesthetic as the studio behind sniper elite and Zombie army have brought us their all new open world RPG game of Atomfall. Set in an alternate 1960s and 5 years after the events of the real life 1957 Windscale fire in the UK, you will take on the role of a civillian living in this massive quarantine zone in this lake district as you scavenge for scraps and resources and fight against mutated creatures, doomsday cults, rogue military and robots and try and find and uncover the secret as to what happened in this area. Reception on this title has seen some very well recieved reviews with praise to its visuals, its setting, story and gameplay contents, though some elements of stealth, combat and lack of fast travel has seen some issues and some other bits here and there, but if you want to explore the British countryside and find some answers then you can play this new title now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Trailers with a differing outcome

Andor Season 2

On the first of the trailers for this week is with a focus on the world of a galaxy far far away once again as we are taking a more of a focused approach to a story about the building hope of a rebellion that when a galactic empire towers over the galaxy, the sparks of a resistence comes from a few brave people and this is one of those people as we have recieved another new trailer for the upcoming 2nd and final season of Andor. This upcoming season will carry on the story of Cassian Andor and the emerging Rebel Alliance as it tells this season over the course of its next 4 years leading up to the discovery of the super Weapon of the Death Star and the events of Rogue One. It is a case where there was a tonal shift between the first trailer and this one where the first one was more light hearted and action heavy where this one gave the action and more of the serious tone and it is a case I think that so far that this season is already shaping up again to be another hit on its hands in a focus of the likes of the 1st season and the first 2 season of Mandalorian and I for one am excited as I think it will be a well rounded story leading to the film that was amazing and we do not have too long of a wait as the final season will be dropping in about a months time on April 22nd on Disney+

Final Destination Bloodlines

The next trailer for this week is in the focus of the showing that no matter how much of a risk or how long a life you will have, things may get cut short or in this case this was a planned unexpected outcome that runs in the family as after a near 15 year gap since the final entry we have gotten a new trailer for the film series of unexpected deaths with Final Destination Bloodlines. The film sees a college student that has been experiencing a recurring nightmare that foretells her family's demise and returns home to find the answers from the person who may know the way to prevent it. So truth be told it is a case with the likes of this series is one that I have not seen much of or been a focus to watch it as someone who has hemophobia (intense fear of blood, bone and gore in graphic detail) that it would be something I would probably get weak or faint at watching but I can see where the appeal of the series can be found and usually some of the deaths are pretty good so I am sure this could have its appeal of expanding some lore to it all and for those that want to see the outcome for some peoples demise, it is not too far away as the film will be released into cinemas from May 16th.

One Battle after another

The final trailer for this week is one from a well respected director bringing with him a new focus and take on a story full of twists, turns and some deep cover investigations as we have recieved a trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's new take on a classic novel with One Battle After Another. The film, based on the 1990 novel Vineland will follow a group of ex-revolutionaries reuniting together to rescue one of their own's Daughter when an evil enemy of some of them has returned after being presumed dead for around 16 years. So in most case with Anderson's films I have heard a lot of interest and praise to his films with previous titles like Licorice Pizza, Phantom Thread, There will be Blood and many more and I sense that he has a unique style and makes some appealing films (which seems to have also seen Warner making a dumb decision with this by supposedly trying to interfere with the initial cut like they always do) but from what I have seen here it does look interesting and has quite the appealing cast and I may give this a look in due time and you can as well as the film will be released into cinemas from September 26th. 

News to ease the pain inside

The names produce, The Producers

The first of the news story is with an update to a story that was brought up a few weeks ago and this is in relation in the discussion with talking about the ongoing development of the next entry of 007 at the company of Amazon Prime. A few weeks ago the only information that we got about this franchise was that it was now being helmed by Amazon and that the original producers of Broccoli and Wilson were no longer the main focus producers of the franchise (Which was done out of essential spite by Bezos cause Broccoli didn't like him and they kept declining his ideas of spin offs) and after that it was unclear as to when we will hear any word of new faces of the franchise..... that was until this week. We have a range of announcements from this week for this franchise with 2 rumoured ones and one that has been confirmed with those rumoured ones being that the next James Bond may be aiming for a late 2027 release and as for the likes of the director being rumoured to be Gravity, Roma and Children of Men director of Alfonso Cuarón may be being tapped to direct the new film after initially declining to direct one of them a few years ago so maybe he had a change of appeal of giving some new take on this long running series. But those are rumours for now and we do have one confirmed one and that is with the focus of the new choice of the producers for this franchise and that was confirmed to be Sony Pictures producer of Amy Pascal (who had helped distribute some of the recent Bond films) and the other is David Heyman who has produced some previous British based films of the Harry Potter series and the Paddington films, so the choice of them is not a bad shout. I know some will complain about Pascal's involvement because of their handling of the Spiderman adjacent films but I feel if you look at the other projects they have worked on they may have an appeal of a focus to their work but I will give it a chance to see how it turns out and give it a chance (and the case those other 2 original producers are still involved with the series anyways). It will be an interesting perspective to see what will come from the likes of this series now and who is going to be the next Bond but I guess we will see in due time about it all and once we hear anything I will update in a later episode.

But I want to know your thoughts on this, do you think it is a good choice for the new producers of this series, do you see a new Bond in about 2 years and who would you get to direct the film and be the new 007? Let me know what you think down below in the comments.

So many chairs (so far), A diary Writer in the Arconia and the mother of a camp killer

Story 2 for this week is the usual array that we would normally see on this weekly series and that is with the addition of some of the casting news that has popped up and in this case there is a lot to talk on in terms of this week and let us fly through all that was announced.

So the first one is what I feel is the first batch of cast members that were all started as an idea to bring together a group or remarkable people and that is of course with the MCU and the upcoming Avengers films, specifically the initial Kang Dynasty now going by Doomsday. On Wednesday of this week during a 5.5 hour live stream, Marvel and the Russo Brothers did this live stream to announce 27 members of the upcoming first of the 2 new Avengers films and the cast that will be playing them with some new faces, some familiar and a few surprise ones as well and in this instance I will be going through and list every single name announced so far. So those hero include Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Letitia Wright as Black Panther / Shuri, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Wyatt Russell as US Agent, Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor, Ebon Moss-Bacharach as the Thing, Simu Liu as Shang Chi, Florence Pugh as Yelena, Kelsey Grammer returning as Beast, Lewis Pullman as Bob/ Sentry, Danny Ramirez as Falcon, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Winston Duke as M'Baku, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Patrick Stewart returning as Professor X, Ian Mc Kellan returning as Magneto, Alan Cumming returning as Night Crawler, Rebecca Romijn returning as Mystique, James Marsden retuning as Cyclops, Channing Tatum as Gambit, Pedro Pascal as Mr Fantastic and lastly Robert Downey JR as Doctor Doom. So as you can see there was a lot of names announced in that one event but I feel in all sense it is not the last of the announcements to come from this cast as some big name missing cast members include the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, a few of the original Avengers of Hulk, Hawkeye and War Machine, the confirmed additions of Chris Evans and Haley Atwell, Brie Larson, Paul Bettany or any of the character heroes that were introduced from the TV series including Moon Knight, Kate Bishop, Daredevil, Ms Marvel, Photon, She-Hulk or a whole lot of other additions to the cast, but they have mentioned that there is plans for more to be announced and to come in due time that I am sure it will be a massive lineup with some being saved for Secret Wars probably (they mentioned a while back that their was about 50 characters for this film so I am sure they have it planned) but for now it is a good amount to be excited for as they head into production and I am sure if more updates come along for the likes of these cast announcements I will update in a later piece.

Now with the big cast announcement focus out of the way, we have 2 smaller cast announcements of one new additions for these 2 upcoming projects that are both still exciting and the first is taking a trip to New York and to a stay at the Arconia as the complex is getting itself an all new guest staying for the season and that is with 2 time Oscar winning actress of Renée Zellweger is joining the cast of the 5th season of Only Murders in the Building, following from the appearance of some other big names stars like Paul Rudd, Myrle Streep, Dan Levy, Eva Longoria and many more iconic faces. What her role in this new season will be is anyone's guess but given there was a focus of a discussion to an investigation team tease at the end of the last season, she could be a client or a possible suspect but we really do not know at this point. Either way I am excited to see how she will be involved with this new season and looking forward to whenever season 5 does drop and if anyone else will be stopping by in the Arconia for a stay.... or a possible murder.

But speaking of Murder, we are moving away from the city to the wide open spaces of Nature for this last casting and it was a series I thought I remember saying a long time ago had been shelved as we have recieved a casting for the upcoming prequel series based on Friday the 13th of Crystal Lake that will most case tell the story of Jason and his mother and their killing of campers and sex crazed camp counselors from what I can guess, cause we already have one addition to the cast and that is with actress Linda Cardellini playing Pamela Voorhees. Now it is not the first time that Linda has played a character in a series based on spooky creatures and monsters as she has also been the one to stop these creatures after playing Velma in the original 2 Live action Scooby-Doo films from the early 2000s so I feel it makes the most sense on that end for stuff like this. At the moment that is all that was announced for this cast as well of any production updates but I am sure in due time we will get the casting for the counselors, campers and Jason himself but I will update when I can in due time.

But what do you think of these casting announcements, who else do you see joining that Avengers Lineup, who else will be in the new Only Murders season and who would you cast in the Friday the 13th prequel? Let me know your thoughts and choices down below in the comments. 

Nintendo's gaming adventures Part 1 and a trip to another kingdom soon

The 3rd story for this week is with the surprise of an event I did not expect for this week and more would be talking about them next week, but earlier this week on Thursday, we got the surprise announcement of a new Nintendo Direct this week that while not being anything for the new console was all focused on some titles coming to the 1st switch over the next few months (and most case some that will be coming to the new console) that may not have been the best but I feel will save a main course for the next one but still some good announcements in the event and lets get to talking on them.

They started off the event with an all new look at the HD 2D remakes of Dragon Quest 1 and 2 to complete the trilogy of remakes that started with 3 back in November last year which showed off more of the title and gameplay following the new aesthetic of the original remake and while no release date was given with it, we still have a confirmation of a 2025 release so we can keep on eye for when that does release.

The next announcement came in the form of a new entry of the popular AI: The Somnium Files title with the new entry of No Sleep for Kaname Date as you help your AI counterpart of your detective lead find a way to survive against their entrapment inside an escape room like location on the Moon which will be a unique blend to puzzle solving and a fair bit more and this will be dropping on the console from July 25th.

A new case and a mystery will be resolved from a classic era with an all new remaster of the title of Raidou with the mystery of the soulless army that has you solve the case and battle it out with unleashing demons against those that are will stop you from uncovering the mystery and the title will be worth a try when the entry makes it debut from June 19th this year.

Then we have the title of an all new take on a game first seen in an episode of Secret Level with a new take on Pac-Man with shadow Labyrinth that sees the classic arcade game getting a new Metroidvania style adventure that could be interesting and appealing to the likes of the game like the episode was and we will be exploring this strange land when it releases from July 18th.

A classic title from an early Nintendo or from the PSP era is making an all new release and remaster with the 2 entries of the marching music game of Patapon replay that will have you fight to the beat and become the hero of the lands and its not too long from the release which is confirmed now to be coming out on July 11th.

We then saw I believe with the first of the farming games with the next entry of the Story of seasons franchise with the Grand Bazaar that will have you working in a peaceful village, making new friends and even finding a mate and these games are usually always an appeal for many that need some peaceful appeal and you can take a stay in this town when it releases on August 27th.

One of the big titles to have been shown off at this weeks direct which I believe I heard is not going to be seen next week (allegedly) was we recieved some new gameplay for the highly anticipated 4th Metroid Prime title which shows off some of the new alien planet of forests and ruins and even the ability of some new ancient powers that Samus will obtain to help some ancient beings in saving their planet from corruption or deadly creatures and invaders. This looks great and visually appealing and I am sure will be a launch game for the new console but we have no official set date but is still confirmed for 2025.

Some familiar faces are dropping in for a drink as we have an all new game of Disney Villain cursed cafe that using unique blends and some potions and ingredients from Yzma, will help serve up a tasty treat for some of the iconic villains of the Disney era and can help shape and evolve the story from the outcome and you can also take a trip there now as it launched on the same day as the event.

As for the likes of wanting a bit more magical and in a unique pixel art style, then the next title of Witchbrook has you covered of attending a school to become a powerful sorcerer by taking classes involving rituals and other means and also getting involved with other magical and non magical people in the world around you and if that appeals you can play this title from Winter 2025.

In the focus of the first of 2 little compilation titles the first game was a new 2d hand drawn adventure of The Eternal Life of Goldman as you travel across the land with his strong and magical cane to fight against some monsters and will be worth an adventure when the game releases in the holiday this year.

Then its taken to the stars to shoot your way to victory with a collection of titles based on the popular series of Gradius origins that include the first 2 titles and the 3rd entry as well making a trip worth fighting for when it releases on August 7th.

Its then time to rock out and be prepared for battle to the beat as we have the newest entry music rhythm game of Rift of the Necrodancer with some of the classic tunes as well as some titles with dlc from Pizza Tower and other indie titles and you can battle to the beat as well as it launched on the same day as the event.

Then from the little digital devices to the full fledged game, we have an all new game based on the popular property of Tamagotchi with a trip to the plaza to explore and take a visit to 11-12 shops there and may be a fun adventures for fans of the series and you can take a trip when it releases on June 27th.

We then took a focus to the wide world of Pokemón with the new title follow up of Legends with ZA as you will explore the vast region of Lumiose City seen in Pokemón X and Y as you catch the pocket monsters, battle it out to be the best and a whole lot more adventures in this city and it will be worth a visit down the line as we will be releasing onto the console in the later half this year.

It will be time to get groovy to an all new game in the popular series of the Rhythm Heaven with the all new title with Groove that will see you play to the beat over the course of some quick fire events of mini games and it will be worth to see when the Game Grooves its way onto the console in 2026.

Then we have a bit of the first of 2 technical pieces with the first one being beneficial for the future consoles or having a 2nd Switch game for helping with digital download games with the introduction of the Virtual Game Card that will allow you to transfer digital games to another switch you own with each as well as lending out other games to family and friends locally and can play them on lend for up to 2 weeks before they get sent back once the time is up and has been also confirmed to be working with the new Console too and this update will be beneficial and will be launching on the console in an update in April.

Then we have the 2nd compilation trailers of the event with the first game being the Squanch Games first title of High on Life was announced for the console with a release of the 6th of May.

The cosmic space surfing game of Star Overdrive got a new look at some gameplay and focus and will be blasting off and surfing across the cosmos when it launches in 2 weeks on April 10th.

The next entry of the village sim life games from the event with the unique fantasy aesthetic on top of an ancient peaceful creature has appeared with the Wandering Village that has some unique Idea and appeal and will be worth the journey in a cozy town when this releases from July 17th.

It then will be time to take some battle for the purpose of entertainment as you and some friends will be taking part in the creation and battle as a team to be crowned the king of meat which has some appeal and I am sure will be worth a play when it releases later this year.

A rough landing crash of a plane leads to an adventure on an island to make it a paradise as we will be getting a title of Lou's Lagoon when it will be releasing sometime this Summer.

Some more gameplay was shown for the new entry of the Fantasy Life series that shows some of the island management and combat and will be all for exploring the vast story when the game makes its way to console on May 21st.

The last of the game announced to release on the same day was the all new remaster of the Saga Frontier sequel with an all new stylized art form, improved gameplay and visuals and seems like it could be worth a try and you can get it now on the E-Shop.

A collection of some trippy and isometric puzzle solving titles will be making its way to the console with the first 2 titles in the Monument Valley series getting a release to the console as you uncover the mystery of the strange geometric perspectives and save it from some dastardly creatures with these first 2 games dropping on April 15th this year.

It also came the announcement that the 3rd title of the series will also be coming to the console but that will take a little more time and will be dropping on the console sometime in the summer.

Now to ask if anyone is up for some golf as we have the newest entry of the popular series of Everybody's Golf with the new entry of Hot Shots that has some free for all, tournament and unique form of crazy gold to play and try out and will be worth to see who is the best of the best when the game releases sometime this year.

For the appeal of the arcade classics of some classic heroes, we got the announcement of an all new game of Marvel Cosmic Chaos as a pair of heroes team up to save the world from a cosmic attack of the skrulls and can play alone or up to 4 player co-op of some of the favourite characters from the Marvel Comics and will be fighting to save the day when the game releases something in the holiday season.

The last of the game announcements from the direct was a surprise one as it is one that many have been demanding for and that was with an announcement that we are getting a follow up to Domodachi Life for the switch that will have your miis and characters go through the day to day and experience an array of oddities and will be all explored in due time when the game launches on the console in 2026.

There was one last announcement and this was done by Mr Miyamoto himself as he unveiled an all new app known as Nintendo Today that will be an application for some day to day news and excitement with a focus for all new content on Nintendo and the upcoming switch 2 that launched on the same day on all mobile devices which brought the direct to an end and one that is not the most exciting but I get it is expected more for the one next week. There was however one announcement to come from this new app.

As a day later on Friday, Nintendo announced on the app that we have gotten a release date for the upcoming Live Action film based on Legend of Zelda with a now confirmed release date of March 26th 2027 which will see it go against the next film in the Monsterverse series and releasing a week after the 4th film in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise so it will be a battle for sure. While I am interested I do have a few questions which would be: who will be cast in this film, which of the games will it be based on in particular as it is confirmed they are aiming for a trilogy of movies filming in New Zealand from later this year and the important Question is if Link will be mute or if he'll talk in this film. I have a few ideas of casting focus but I am sure we will learn more closer to release or we may get some information next week from Sony's event at cinemacon but I guess we can find out soon enough.

But what do you think of this direct, is there any of these tech pieces or games you are the most excited about and are you excited for a film based on the Legend of Zelda and who would you cast in it? Let me know your thoughts on it all down below and we can discuss them there.

Could these Meddling Kids and their Dog solve the mystery of these death traps and strangers?

 The last story for this week is with a duo of some new announcement and updates for some projects that were initially announced a while ago and have gotten some updates in the future, but we have talked a lot today and let us delve into talking about what was announced.

So this is just a quick update to a story that I talked about last week but this is to do with the ordeal drama of the turmoil involving the new entry based on Saw. Last week I mentioned that the film may have been shelved or cancelled due to some turmoil at the studio of Lionsgate and just at the start of the week we got the confirmation that the film has now been removed from the release calendar from September 2025 due to this. It is not going to be left vacant for a horror title as it was quickly filmed by another sequel that is coming out this year which is the 2nd chapter of the Strangers that followed on from last years entry which will now take its place. Likely case is I see the 11th Saw film get a release in due time and most case in the following year for the likes of that but the appeal of the Strangers will be worth to see going off the appeal and reception of the one from last year but I am sure we can see in due time for both of those projects.

Speaking of some horrors and spooky outcomes, we have an update to a story that I believe I talked about about nearly a year ago at this point and that was the case of a rumoured Live Action series based on the character of Scooby Doo. Well it has now been given an update and the series is now going ahead with a 8 Episode series with the streaming giant of Netflix. Not much is known right now but the simple plot summary sees longtime friends of Shaggy and Daphne reunite at a summer camp and team up with scientific townie Velma and strange but Handsome Fred to solve the mystery of a lonely lost great dane puppy who may have witnessed a supernatural murder. SO the likes of this sounds like it could be an appealing concept and if there is one plea that I can give to the people at Netflix, it si taht to get some good talent that is up and coming, don't make it cringy and feel outdated very quick and do not try and make it like that God Damn Velma tv series or we will have a problem. At the moment we don't have an idea as to when we can expect this to be released but once we hear any word on this I will update you on a later episode.

But what do you think of these stories and announcements, will we see the 11th Saw film happen and are you excited for another Strangers film and will you watch the new Netflix take on Scooby Doo and who would you cast as the main gang? Let me know what you think down below.

And with all of that out of the way, this brings us to the end of the 109th edition of Weird Mind News Room and I do hope that you have enjoyed listening to my rambles for another week. Let me know your thoughts down below on all that was discussed this week and as always I hope you all stay being wonderful people and have a great day everyday doing many great things and I will see you all in the next Episode :)

Take Care, keep being you, signing off

Sam H :)