Hello again to each and every single one of you wonderful people far and wide, New and longtime to the next edition of my weekly series of Weird Mind News Room where this week we can discuss about all of the new releases for this week, some trailers of variety and a bit of a hodge podge of News Stories as well, so let us not waste time on the usual introductions and lets get to talking about all things media for another week.
Catch the waves of new releases
Movies
The Surfer
So on the first of the new releases for the week is seeing us hitting the beach, checking out the local scenery and catching a few waves in the process but also having some deep struggles and meanings behind every wave as the first of the releases has us in the water for the new film of The Surfer. The film follows a man (Nicolas Cage) returning to his idyllic Childhood home and his local beach to return and surf on the waves at his old beach with his new son but soon gets targeted and tormented by the locals and soon leads to a spiraling of questioning ones self of it he losing his sanity more and more. Reception on this film has seen a fair been of well recieved reception with praise to its simple concept with a lot of layers and intricate storytelling that may be worth a checking out, and if you want to see it for yourself, you can catch this wave of a film now in cinemas.
Clown in a Cornfield
But if its a bit of horror that you are looking for instead and want to be reminiscent of times of the past to years of being afraid of funny looking people hiding out in the wilderness or local scenery, this one may be for you and coming based on a novel from a few years ago, get ready to meet your new Frendo as we have a new film adaptation of Clown in a Cornfield. The film follows Quinn, a young girl who moves to the town of Kettle Springs with her Father to get a fresh start after the death of her mother and to rebuild the bond with her father. They soon learn the town has fallen on hard times after losing a treasured factory to a fire and as the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions start boiling over, a sinister, grinning clown emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time. Reception on this title has also surprisingly been given some decent reception with praise for its elaborate story, horror elements, kills and just feeling like some interesting invention and well established adaptation of a recent novel and if you want to avoid the cornfields and the creepy music box lure, then you can also catch this new film in cinemas.
Tv Shows
Poker Face season 2
Fore the tv side of things for this week is seeing a return of a established stories from the mind of the man that brought appeal to sci-fi, amixed opinion as to who caused the death of a massive space franchise and of course the mind behind the elaborate and highly entertaining selection of Whodunnit's with Daniel Craig and his charming Southern Twang, but we are not talking on that yet (hopefully a trailer soon by the end of the month with a release date as well) but rather we are talking about another form of a Whodunnit series that is more of a Howcatchem as Natasha Lyonne is back on the road and maybe on the run again and getting caught up in trouble as we have the 2nd season of the Rian Johnson created series of Poker Face. This series will of course continue the misadventures of Charlie Cale, a former casino Employee who has a special ability to tell when someone is lying and on the road again finding herself caught up with strange and wacky characters and guests stars that always leads to a death or murder and ends up finding herself caught in the drama. Reception on this follow on season like the original has recieved some great acclaim reception with praise to its simple murder of the week concept, its humour, guest stars and the charm and appeal of the series with Natasha Lyonne proving to be a great leading lady with a knack for solving murders and if you are up for some mystery then you can catch the first 3 episodes now on HBO MAX in the US and on Sky and Now in the UK and Ireland with new episodes every Thursday.
Video Games
The Midnight Walk
On the games for this week with the first title gives off the vibe of something with a aesthetic of a Tim Burton like tone that something twisted and something dark that come this way and molded and shaped into something with quite the appeal and form as we have the all new gothic adventure morphed in Clay with the title of The Midnight Walk. In this title, you will become what is known as The Burnt one where you will befriend a lost lantern creature named potboy where you will use his flame to light the way through a conflicting world of wonder and horror where you will solve puzzles and survive and outsmart the many monsters eager to devour your little friends flame as you experience five tales of fire and darkness. Reception on this title has been very well recieved with praise to its visuals, its world building and its simple and fun little adventure, with some issues and critiques going towards some of the difficulty levels and puzzle depth but it is an overall fun time and if you are up for playing it yourself, you can play it on PS5, PSVR and PC.
Ventilate (a game some important worked on and developed)
The last of the releases for this week is one that for some may not be the most well known, it may not be the most biggest or highly anticipated, but this final game for this week has something special to me as I have followed this development of this title since this games initial inception as a final year project from college and most of the architecture and building designs was developed and designed by someone important to me and will hold a place in my heart and watching the development of their work from inception to final build has been exciting as in a world of rising machines its time to steam some punks as wee have finally recieved a full final release of the new bullet storm based shooter of Ventilate. This title will have you playing as Rosalyn, a construction worker who must battle her way through the city overrun with corrupt machines and using weapons powered and functioning by Steam pressure, will fight her way to get back to her family and escape from the city. Now while there has not been any reception that I can see so far from it, I have played the original build of the game and I have also spent some cash for this title and played it at launch and I will say that it is a very well made title, has its fun and its challenge to make it an appealing title to play and Will say the visuals of the world that was created by someone important to me look so well designed and detailed and fantastic, the character is an interesting one and so are the enemies and bosses and I will be playing this more in due time and also doing a series on this game as well in the near future. If you want to support the game and try it out for yourself and really support those starting out with their first title and appreciate the hard work and dedication, it is available to play and buy now on Steam.
Trailers for a variety of choice
Squid Game Final season
Onto the trailers with the first in focus for this week is bringing us back to a deep mystery, a selection of childhood challenges that have a sinister undertone to it all and a mission to take it down from the inside and outside as after a bit of a gap in time and for leaving on a cliffhanger ending, we have recieved the trailer for the 3rd and final season of the Korean series of Squid Game. In this season, we will see the continuing fight led by Seong Gi-Hun and the players face off against even more deadlier games, which all have some more dire consequences then the last, while In-Ho welcomes the VIPS back to the island for the final events while his brother of Jun-Ho continues the search for the hidden island, while unaware of a traitor amongst his team. So its a case that this series has really taken the world by storm when it initially first released back in 2021 and the hype for the follow up was expected and after leaving on a grim and uncertain cliffhanger, the likes of the stakes are about to rise even higher then expected with characters we have grown attached to in the last season on the verge of losing everything and their lives in one fell swoop but from the brief tease shown here, it is getting me excited to see how this all ends and hopefully it will be a satisfying conclusion but we will find out real soon as we will be seeing the end of the games in a little over a months time on June 27th.
Grand Theft Auto 6
On the first of the 2 game trailers for this week started off with a surprise drop release of something that I had just touched on just last week in terms of talking about in a delay but I guess this will do for making up on its delay as it is soon time to return to the sunny town of Vice City after a very long time away and learn of a new pair of criminals looking to take down a corrupt system as out of nowhere this week, we recieved a new trailer for the upcoming highly anticipated video game of Grand Theft Auto 6. The plot was also given with the trailer with the game set in Vice city and you will play as Jason and Lucia who have always known that the deck was stacked against them, but when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida - forced to rely on each other more then ever if they want to make it out alive. So to say this game has been an anticipated release has been an understatement as it has been a long time coming and everyone has been waiting for more new looks at the title and for getting their hands on the game in some form or another and it has finally been presented in a new look and I have to say it looks so damn incredible, the realism, the scope, the aesthetic, soundtrack, it is all looking pheonomeonal and it gives me hype that the 8 year development since Red Dead 2's release and the conceptualizing since 2014 has been well worth it. While we do have a bit of a delay announced to it recently, I am sure it will be worth the wait as the game is confirmed for the moment for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S for May 26th 2026 (and likely a PC port and maybe a possible Switch 2 version but that latter one is uncertain.
How to train your dragon
The next of the trailers for this week is seeing us take to the skies to a return of a new live action take of a film that was well beloved and really defined a focus of adaptation and in this instance, it is not one to come from the usual group of Disney and in this instance it is their rival affair of Dreamworks as in the likes of what I feel is the last trailer and the Imax focused trailer for the upcoming Live Action adaptation of How to Train your Dragon. The film will follow the story of the original 2010 movie that will tell the story of Hiccup, the son of the Viking chief of the island of Berk who have a bit of a dragon problem and in the process of a recent attack, unexpectedly captures the fabled night fury dragon where he will soon befriend the dragon and name it toothless and will soon learn the secrets of all there is to learn about these species and change the course of Viking and Dragon history in the process. So it was expected at a certain point that they were going to give a focused trailer to a big part of what appealed with the original animated trilogy and showing that the likes of the Flying scenes for this film are going to go so hard in Imax and from what they have shown in that case it does look amazing and I am sure will be a visual spectacle and may explain the extra 20 mins of film footage to an original film of a trilogy that overtime I think is really great and from hearing in early reactions of this film from Cinema Con that we are in for something special and in this case we do not have to wait too long for this either as the film will be releasing in just under a months time on June 9th or 13th.
The Long Walk
The next of the trailers that we have in the focus for this week is taking another project based on being an adaptation of a classic novel book or story and in this instance and not fully sure if this one has been adapted before is the first book written by an author that has had so many of his famous novels adapted to screens big and small, as we have gotten a trailer for the adaptation of Horror Auteur Stephen King's First novel of The Long Walk. The film is set in an alternate dystopian United States that is ruled by a Totalitarian Regime (well dystopian may be a bit of a strong word currently right now over there) where it will see a group of young men entering an annual walking contest where they must walk at least 3mph without stopping or they will be warned before they are shot and killed and the continued walk does not stop until one boy is left alive. So its a case that the likes of horror with some titles or stories from King doesn't always have to entail some sinister entity like a shapeshifting clown, a rabid dog or a child with some mind reading type powers and rather can be a simple sinister form of a walking contest that gives a bit of a Hunger Games type vibe (which coincidentally the film is also being made by) and what I can get from this trailer gives off the complete vibe of telling what to expect, the tension and suspense that can come from this and I think overall it looks really interesting and I will probably give it a look at when the film itself makes the walk all the way into cinemas from September 12th.
Honey Don't
Now for something with a bit more of a tone and vibe, something with style and class and something with a bit of raw sex appeal, mystery and looking damn good while doing it, as one of the Coen Brothers is back to follow on from hits like No Country for Old Men and last years Drive away dolls to bring a new mystery comedy to the table with a trailer for their new film of Honey Don't. The Film will follow Honey O'Donoghue (Margaret Qualley) A private investigator for a small town who gets herself delving deep into a mystery and series of strange deaths that are all seemed to be tied to a suspicious religious cult that is led by the sex crazed but persuasive leader Drew (Chris Evans). So it is a case that you can tell by some of the Coen's films that they have such a distinct aura to them that you can't help but get drawn into and the star cast for this film from Qualley and Evans and even to some others like Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Billy Eichner and many more will bring some vast appeal to the likes of this film and will also have a sense of being a little sexy, a little cheeky and full of some charm and appeal and I am intrigued to see how this will all come about in the end and I am sure with it premiering at the end of this month at Cannes it could be a big success but I will for sure give this film a look when it releases into cinemas I believe from August 22nd.
The Conjuring Last Rites
ON the next trailer for this week and the last of the film trailers is seeing a bit of truth to the story, unless you would be a skeptic to the paranormal. a series based on cases to case basis for 2 well known investigators and a sense of the horrors and terrors that they faced are about to be brought to the forefront once again as Ed and Lorraine Warren are back for one more final case and their own final case they ever did as we have recieved a trailer for the final entry of the Conjuring series with The Last Rites. With every entry of the series it is based on a true case that they have investigated with this taking place back in 1986 and following their infamous Smurl Case, which saw a family being tormented and other forms of threats and danger from a demon that was a presence in their home for more then a decade. In the likes of some of the cases, a few are well known with these investigators like the original film and their investigation to the haunting in Enfield in the UK to the more obscene or crazy ones like them helping in a court case of someone pleading their killing to the basis of demonic possession and they always have something to them and I am intrigued to see what may come from this one. Now there was a little bit of the trailer that looked like it was nearly similar to the setting of the 3rd Annabelle film but I can see it is a bit different in that case and in all instance I am interested to see how this will all come to an end but we will see this final case when it releases into cinemas from September 5th.
Peacemaker Season 2
Our only tv series trailer for this week is bringing the meaning of what it means to be a hero into question, but in the basis when a conflict arises, this "hero" is about to bring a heavy dosage of Peace as after a few years since the first season and the basis of figuring it into the new universe established, we have finally recieved a trailer for the upcoming 2nd season of the DC comics character of Peacemaker. This season will see Chris or Peacemaker continue on his journey of becoming a vigilante superhero with his new team known as the 11th street kids, while also dealing with struggles to reconcile with his past and newfound sense of purpose while continuing his quest to kick righteous evil-doer ass in his misguided quest for peace at any cost and also dealing with the threat of being hunted down by one Rick Flagg Sr for the death of his son. So it is a case that the original first season was a surprise smash hit and coming from an already great film that introduced the character that it was an entertaining romp and fun to see a character that was an asshole in the film become someone sympathetic in the end and I am all for the 2nd season of this. The real question I have was how they were going to rework and establish this character into the new DCU canon and given their is appearances from new heroes of Hawkgirl, Guy Gardener and Rick Flagg Sr is interesting but will be seen if they will acknowledge his confrontation with the DCEU Aquaman and Flash but I am sure they will work this out in the season and its not too long away as the season is supposedly releasing on HBO MAX and hopefully Sky and Now on August 21st.
Mafia the Old Country
The last of the trailers for this week and the 2nd of the game trailers for this week is a return to a time of the past, to come across the legacy and story of one established family and telling the legacy that builds to the overall narrative of this popular game series as we have recieved an all new gameplay trailer from PAX of the new game of Mafia the old country. The game takes place before the events of the original Mafia game and set in the early 20th century in Sicily during the regime of Mussolini with the title being the rise and formation of the Sicilian Mafia where you will play as Enzo Favara as we see and experience his journey from his childhood of indentured labour in the sulfur mines to becoming a valiant member of the Torrisi crime family. So this series definitely has some level of appeal and foundation as the likes of its popularity has been seen for years with love of the original all those years ago and their appealing followups, to a return of love and to a lot more new fans with the recent first titles remake and trilogy editions and from the looks of this one, it honestly looks fantastic visually and could be a really great story that these games are known for and I feel will fill a void for waiting for the new GTA (and being modestly affordable as well) and we don't have too long away of a wait for this either, as this new title will be releasing on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC from August 8th.
News to cure the blues
Oscars killing the soul with allowing AI movies awards
Now this first story is one I want to keep just a bit brief in terms of the discussion at hand and get straight to the point and I believe I mentioned this a few weeks ago of this being a possibility that was being considered by the Academy, but it seems this week they have decided to make it an actual thing and the decision for this is really stupid. Now what I am alluding to is that a few short weeks ago when I was talking about the Oscars adding a stunt category to the awards and that the voters are now required to watch all the films nominated to make it a more fair and decision based category so it is not all one sided, I did bring up a mention that the academy were considering letting Films made with AI as a consideration for this awards shows and I said that the decision on this was completely stupid. Well it seems my opinions were not listened on that (not the first time and seems to be the usual sometimes) and they have now mentioned that the Academy is allowing films that were made with AI could be considered for winning for Awards and I find this decision to just be a really bad and dumb decision in general. It annoys me with one case is that it has taken the likes of Stunt performers and crew decades to finally get their award recognition at the Oscars (and should get a few for stunt performers and crews and other categories instead of one personally) and yet the likes of AI is being more established in the last like 5 years and gets an option straight away which seems so belittling, but the other issue I see from this and some others have also said is that it will bring a lot of messy and I'd even say some that would be soulless in terms of full finalized productions. We have always heard the usual affair in the modern media market with films saying that "Hollywood is out of ideas" based on the franchises, genres and reboots but there is still plenty of originality out there, but the likes of just using AI which was so far from being functional (and may I see wastes so much energy, resources and money to run) to try and make movies is as I mentioned just going to make things soulless and put so many people in the industry out of the job when this was a whole reason why there was strikes from the actors, writers and even right now with game studios. Like there has been instances where some festivals in the UK had tried to allow some films that were written by AI to be screened but many complained and they pulled it from release, so if there is a complaint from that end, how do they feel it will be from this award shows. Now I do hope that it will not be the focus of every film just uses it and makes things feel so lazy but hopefully we will get this to be avoided or they actually realize its a dumb idea but then again it is the academy so it is hard to say with their choices sometimes.
But what do you think of this choice from the academy, do you see this as being a functional idea or is this whole thing a complete disaster and needs to be avoided and what is your opinion about AI in general? Let me know what you think down below.
Video game news of Gears getting to War, elders finding a ring and Killer Pizza Parties
So the next story in focus is a little bit of some news in relation to gaming that we have a new long awaited addition to a popular title, a release of a classic game on a surprising new hardware and a possible adaptation on the way that could bring some array of appeal in the process, but let us delve into discussing about the gaming news that we have for this week.
So first we will go with the update to a popular game of killer after a group of survivors and this is to do with the popular multiplayer title of Dead By Daylight. Now over the years since its release it has seen its share of killers and survivors of original creations for the game and has seen its share of crossovers with other franchises of horror including Stranger Things, Scream, Halloween and Castlevania just to name a few, but if there was one franchise that many have been wondering when it was going to get a cross over with and many say they have been cryptically teasing in many recent updates over the last few years, it was with the popular series of FNAF. Well after being announced it was in the works in August of last year during FNAF's 10th anniversary, we finally got the unveiling of the new crossover this week with the confirmation of a new map based on Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria and the introduction of a new killer in the form of popular character Springtrap or William Afton and in the basis it is a mix of both the game version and the option of the Film version as well with confirmation that Matthew Lillard will also lend his voice to the character. Now I think its a great move on their end to get him for this and can see this working with a long promotion to the films sequel in December and I'll give this a try as well at some point to see how he functions. It also came to me that I feel if they have him as Spring Trap, that they could also get him for his version of Ghost Face from Scream but can also work as a survivor by making them have a form of a crossover with Scooby Doo and have Lillard back as his version of Shaggy but I am jumping ahead of myself. I am sure it will be worth a try and you can play the character that always comes back when the updates launches from May 25th.
So next on the list is one that I did not expect to hear make a jump to a new console or in general and was just a rumour amongst the grapevine but it looks like the likes of exclusivity of series may be starting to become a thing of the past (which personally I am all for the likes of sharing titles amongst systems and let people play with whatever form they want to play instead of being ridiculed for liking one thing or playing something else is wrong) as it was announced this week that the popular series of Gears of War is getting a new Remaster or Remake of the first game in the series with it confirmed for Xbox Series X/S, PC and for the first time on PlayStation with a PS5 version and confirmed for the release on August 26th of this year. Now this series of games I see as being very popular and the first title was a pretty entertaining title so I will not mind trying it out again with a new coat of paint and even see how it works for all of those systems in focus and hopefully will see more exclusive games for different consoles make the jump to other hardware (Nintendo's will probably still keep their franchises to Nintendo but their 3rd party exclusives will be open to share and hopefully most Playstation fans will not moan and complain about their exclusives on other hardware) but we can see how this first one goes once we are geared up for battle in late August.
The last of the gaming related news for this week is one that has appeared from out of nowhere and the concept may be ambitious but it could be worth seeing made. Earlier this week there was reports that film distribution A24 has been in talks and possibly planning to develop and make a film adaptation of the award winning From Software title of Elden Ring with their focus of director and possible writer being in the form of Warfare, Ex Machina and Civil War director of Alex Garland to helm the project itself. Now the likes of this sounds really ambitious for sure and seeing this being made into something will be quite the feat. I've heard the discussions that the likes of this will be the most expensive project for A24 to date and I can see it work if they make sure that the likes of the lore, narrative and everything else is given the love and respect it deserves in the process. A film version may work but I can also see it work as well as a mini series to really flesh out the world, the lore, characters and everything but I am sure it will be in conjunction with the creators of this title in particular to make it faithful and acclaimed as the game itself. Now if I could personally suggest an idea to it, but I doubt it would be an option, but I would make it like an animated film that has like a tone and style similar to say War of the Rohirrim art style but also mixed with a bit of the unique mixed media that the likes of Spider-verse has established cause this world would look so gorgeous and visually amazing in animation but I guess we will see what comes of this overall. Now at the moment I believe it is just a rumour going about for the time being and nothing has been finalized but once I do hear any updates about this, I will update in a later episode.
But what do you think about this announcements for games, are you excited for the FNAf Dead by Daylight crossover, will you try out the new Gears Remaster and would you be interested in watching a new Elden Ring movie and who would you get to make it. Let me know your thoughts down below and we can discuss more on them there.
Bros of Warner bringing new release windows, Marvel bringing a lead for mutants and a foul mouthed bear gets animated
So the last of the stories for this week is a little bit of some hodge podge collection of some other stories that were announced for this week but just didn't have the collection to give for separate stories and decided to put these last few round up pieces together as just one entry, so without wasting time, lets get into talking on what those pieces are in particular.
So the first of the stories was a selection of some new release dates to come to us from Warner Bros for 3 upcoming projects for a release over the next 2 years. The first of these dates is with the announcement that the next film in the Evil Dead series with Evil Dead Burn has found a release date of July 24th 2026 and has a lead star with Dune 2 star Souheila Yacoub which I can see having the appeal and hopefully will be just as well recieved as the last entry of Rise in 2023. The next announcement was with a new film from the director of the plot twists with M.Night Shymalan's next film with Warner known as Remain, which is a supposed romantic thriller With Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead has a new release date for October 23rd 2026 which will be interesting to see what he'll do with a twist of a romantic thriller type story (or if there is one in general) and will be quite the week of competition as it will be going up against Jordan Peele's next directorial film on that weekend. Last of the release date announcement was with the change and official date for the upcoming Lord of the Rings film of the Hunt for Gollum now has an official release date of December 17th 2027, coming off a recent delay announcement that it was being moved out of 2026 which is fair to do and have it all laid out and structured to be made and we can see how it all comes about in due time with all of these, I am sure they will have their fans and some sense of appeal but we can see in due time when these films release real soon.
So the next of the stories is one that is being eyed and considered to take the reigns of a new film but nothing has been confirmed as of yet, but with the recent and continued success of the latest Marvel film of the Thnunderbolts* (or the new title of New Avengers) it seems to be a case that Marvel is hoping to continue working with the director of Jake Schreier again in the future and it seems they want him for another big team in focus. According to some sources and discussions, it seems to be a case that Marvel is eying Jake for the directing duties of the X-Men film they have in mind which personally after seeing the recent film, I can see him make it work of characters that would not be the most well known or some familiar faces making a presence in the MCU would be interesting and I think he has proved its worth to do it. Now in all cases I am hoping that besides him taking the reigns that with a good writing team, production crew and a solid cast of young rising stars to give their ideal plan of 10 years a focused chance and if the case he was not up for it, then if there was a chance of letting anyone have a second chance to direct a film, I would say to let Edger Wright have a crack at this team of mutants and I am sure either one will appeal in due time. Now at the moment it is not finalized, but once I do hear anything I will let you know in a later episode.
And the last of the focused stories is with the return of another familiar face with this one being a little more foul mouthed and that is with the focused of the character of TED. Now we have recently seen him make a return recently with him getting an all new prequel tv series early last year that was actually surprisingly entertaining and funny to watch and while we wait to hear word about the release of its 2nd season, it looks like its not the only series based form we will be seeing of this character as it was announced that we are getting an animated series based on the character with this being a follow up to the 2nd film that came out about 10 years ago with the confirmation that McFarland, Mark Whalburg, Amanda Seyfried and so other familiar faces from the cast will be involved with the project. Now most case I will see this just being in the similar style to the likes of Family Guy and American Dad, given it is also Seth's shows he created so its likely going to be in that style itself. Now I hope it will have the appeal of that recent series and does not affect the 2nd season for that but I am sure we will learn more about the continuing project overtime when it comes along.
But what do you think of these random stories, are any of these films seem exciting for you, Do you think Schreier is a solid choice for the X-Men film or who would you choose for it and would you watch this new animated form of Ted and do you think it will be good. Let me know what you think down below.
And with all of that, this brings us to the end of the 115th edition of my weekly series of Weird Mind News Room and I do hope that you have enjoyed listening to my ramblings for another week. Let me know your thoughts on everything 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 :)
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