Weird Mind News Room Episode 123: June 30th - July 6th

 *Music to revive a world of Dinos*

Well hello again to all of you wonderful people again to the latest edition on this side of the Information Superhighway of the 123rd edition of Weird Mind News where of course for this week we have a small selection of some new releases and Trailers and a little hodge podge selection of news stories from this week. So lets not worry on the focus of introductions and let us get to talking on all things media for this week.

The Rebirth of New Releases

Movies

Jurassic World Rebirth

The first of the new releases is the next film of the big blockbusters for the summer where we will see the case that we remember the creatures and species of the past being something we never know fully about how they were the ultimate species of this planet. 65 million years past and we see a crazy genius bring them to life in the form of a park, get lost in a city, lost on the island, get the vision to return in a bigger way and then see them become amongst society and now in the case of it being dormant for a bit of time, they have returned but this time they are a lot more different then we remember as we return to the franchise that really was 65 million years in the making with the all new entry in the Jurassic series with Jurassic World Rebirth. This new film will be set 5 years after Dominion and the worlds climate has evolved to become more inhospitable for the Dino's where they now reside in more remote tropical locales. The film will follow Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), a Covert Op, who is hired by a pharmaceutical company to work with DR Henry Loomis (Johnathon Bailey) and Henry Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) on a top secret mission to a forbidden island that was the original research facility for Jurassic Park and locate the 3 largest Prehistoric species of the land, sea and air and extract some DNA samples in the hopes of being used to create some revolutionary drug that will save countless lives. However this expedition is not going to be easy as while the planet has evolved over the years, so has these creatures to where a new breed of mutations have now begun to take shape. Reception on this new entry in the franchise has been a bit more mixed as while the lead performances and the visual effects have been well recieved, some of the issues seems to stem from a few characters in the film, the story being a little so-so and the film having a little too much humour and comedy in the film but if you want to check it out for yourself then you can catch this new film out now in cinemas.

The Old Guard 2

Now for the first of 2 streaming films is taking a return to a follow up of a film from the early days of the pandemic that in this strange world, no one really lives forever but in the case of this group that statement may have some holes in it and it may come to aid them in the journey of chaos and self destruction all for the keeping of this secret as we have seen the release of the sequel of the 2020 and comic book adaptation of The Old Guard. The film will see Andy (Charlize Theron) and her team of immortal warriors continue their mission to protect humanity with this time they will have to face off against a formidable new foe who threatens the very fabric of the Old Guard , while also dealing with the return of an Immortal who had been thought to have been long lost to the passage of time. Reception on this follow up however has seen it be a lot more panned compared to the original, as while the likes of the appeal of continuing the story and the characters are a positive, the film lacks an engaging narrative or much in terms of substance but it could be something that may appeal overall as a simple popcorn flick and if you want to check it out for yourself then you can watch it now on Netflix.

Heads of State

As for the last of the new films for this week is with a film that is all parts action, some big name stars in the leading roles and the case of some of the project of focusing on characters in the realm of leaders or political figures driving the world into the brink of a possible catastrophe as we will see John Cena and Ildris Elba teaming up for a new film known as Heads of State. The film will follow US President Will Derringer and British Prime Minister Sam Clarke as we see the likes that these two have a not so friendly and very public Rivalry. However When air force one get show down over enemy territory, they find themselves on the run and working together to thwart a global conspiracy that threatens the entire free world. Reception on this new film seems to be seen as mixed to mostly modest with much praise to the action and leads of Cena, Elba and Priyanka Chopa Jones, the film may be a little bit of a mixed appeal in terms of its political messaging with how the world is going on right now in the mess of politics currently (but we are not getting into it) but it may be worth a fun little popcorn flick and if you want to check it out for yourself then you can catch this new film now on Amazon Prime.

Tv Shows

The Sandman Season 2 vol.1

Now the last of the new releases for this week and the only tv series in focus is in the case that we have the case of focus in the world of many that dreams are a strange and wonderous concept and in the base of this series adaptation, it may be something that many had hoped for, but with some current issues with its creator, the concept like the world and those inhabit it in the series could lead to some possible nightmares but after a bit of a gap since the first season we have gotten the first half of the final season to The Sandman. This season will see Dream having rebuilt his realm after his captivity for over a century, must soon have to face the fallout of his past actions, which include unresolved family tension and resurfaced old conflicts where he'll confront gods, monsters, and mortals, on a path of forgiveness fraught with twists and turns that may potentially cost him everything. Now the reception on this 2nd season so far has seen some decently positive reception with praise for the continues story, characters, setting and faithfulness to the adaptation and will depend now on if the rest of the season will appeal overall, though I also see some possible enjoyment and critiques could be from the allegations towards the creator of the comic, but if you want to check it out for yourself,, you can catch vol.1 of this final season now on Netflix, with the 2nd volume dropping in 3 weeks time on July 24th.

Trailers of evolution

Project Hail Mary

On the first of the trailers for this week is one that will be taking us to the far reaches of space on a mission that in the case of what is needed for the job in knowledge is perfectly reasonable but in the basis of who they get for this mission is really way out of his depth and league but he may be the only one who can save the day as we have have the first trailer for the release of the next adaptation of a book of the author of The Martian with the trailer for Project Hail Mary. The film will follow Ryland Grace, a school professor who awakens on a spacecraft with no memory of himself or of his mission. When his memory slowly returns, he deduces that he is the sole survivor of a crew sent to the Tau Ceti Solar system in search of a solution of a soon to be a catastrophic event heading for Earth. Now in the search for Answers, he must soon rely on his vast array of scientific knowledge, sheer ingenuity, and human will - but he may soon realize that he will not have to search alone. So I didn't know too much on this project but was a case that I learned from the likes that its the 2nd novel from the author of the Martian (great film), it has Ryan Gosling (Literally me) and is also being helmed by Lord and Miller of Spider-verse and LEGO movie fame and all that combined gave me a lot of appeal and interest in the project (plus a fellow media reviewer an content creator on social had recommended that I read the book as well as its one of their favourites) and from what they have shown it has the appeal of visual and some decent concepts and projects and will be worth seeing if it will work itself into being well adapted as I have been told it is a difficult novel to do so with but I am sure we can make a judgement on it in due time when the film blasts off into cinemas from March 20th next year.

The Running Man

As for the 2nd trailer for this week, it comes to a question that you would how far and how dangerous of a job or challenge you will go through just for the chance of making it through alive and have a better chance for your family and loved ones, even if the possibility that this so called challenge is a blood sport that is programmed for the purpose of entertainment? Well for the focus of out next trailer in mind, that will be a question that gets answered as Edgar Wright has returned after 4 years since his trip to Soho as he's back with the first trailer for his own take on the classic action film of the Running man. The film is of course based on the original 80s novel by Stephen King and set in an alternate 2025 where the economy is in ruins and worldwide violence is high that sees a massive popular worldwide television game show called the Running Man see contestants earn big cash prizes by trying to survive for 30 days from being hunted down and killed by professional hitmen by any means necessary and will see our main focus of Ben Richards become the next contestant on the run and may soon lead to him wondering if this an elaborate scheme and find a way to shut it down and provide a better life for him and his family. So in the case I would remember the original film from the 80s or 90s with Arnie himself playing the lead role in this project and it can be a case of trying to compare to the one of the past to this as well as the book its based on. So far from what was shown it gives me an appealing vibe of a Stephen King Novel done in the unique Edgar Wright filming style and humour and what has been shown does look great and appealing to me in general and in most case with this one I am excited for it already and look pretty cool. Now it is not too long away and if you want to check it out for yourself, the film will be running its way into cinemas from November 7th this year.   

The Cat in the Hat

And for the last of these trailers oh wouldn't you know, its taking us to a land of so many places you'll go, to a land so colourful and very strange at that, and all from told from a tall talking cat, as we have a first trailer so please stay where you are sat, as we look at the first trailer for the all new animated Cat in the Hat. In this first fully animated film version of this story, The Cat (Bill Hader), does what he does best - spreading joy to kids in his own hilarious signature way and transport them on a magical journey to worlds they have never seen before. In this case he takes on his toughest job yet for the I.I.I.I. (or the Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, LLC) to cheer up Gabby and Sebastian, a pair of siblings struggling with their move to a new town. Known for taking things too far, if it all fails it could be this agent's of Chaos last chance to prove himself.... or else he will lose his magical hat. Now in the case I do like the original book from Dr Suess of this talk well dressed cat and of course, if you know me as well, even if some of the imagery can be a little cursed then and now the live action 2003 film with Mike Myers is still a cult classic comedy to me. But on the likes of this film I was immediately taken appeal from the very colourful and lively animated world they have created and how there is a distinction between the normal world and the Cat's magical world and home and I am so mesmerized and appealing to it and seems to have some very interesting voice talent connected to it as well. Now the likes of some of the jokes in the trailers are not the fully strongest but it is still a case I would see it appeal and so far it does have me interested to check out and I look forward to doing so and its a bit of time before this adventure begins and you can head on that adventure when it releases into cinemas from February 27th next year. 

News of prehistoric proportions

A life memoir, a return of a family (with Qs) and an adventuring archeologist?

Now for the focus of our first stories on this news section with this one is more of an array of projects that don't overly connect with one another but they all have a case of announcements or rumours of being on the way in due time and I felt to place them all in one distinct news story, so lets delve into the projects announced or updates to some of this week and see what we got.

So the first of the stories is with the focus of an announcement of a project that has some big names attached in the development and starring of the project and is all being based from a recent bestselling memoir of a former child star (as well as presumably the one woman show they named after the memoir as well). As it was announced on Tuesday of this week that Apple tv+ is planning to make a limited series on the memoir of I'm Glad my Mom Died from Writer and former Actress Jennette McCurdy, who is confirmed to be the showrunner, producer and co-writer of the planned 10 episode series with Ramy Writer Ari Katcher. The other big name that has also been confirmed and will be involved is with Morning show star Jennifer Aniston is confirmed to be an executive producer on the project and also confirmed to play McCurdy's late mother in the project. Now it will be interesting to see what they will make of this project in particular as I have read her memoir in full and while it has a fair bit of humour and nice moments in there, it also has a lot of messed up and very tragic and emotional moments in there as well and from what I can see from her life, her mom is, pardon my words, but a fucking nutjob who is bordering on the likes of a real crazy showbiz mom pushing a dream onto her child that never wanted it (which sounds a lot like a young adult former child star now that keeps doing the most weird and annoying shit for attention and in all case I blame the mom and some of the questionable people she is friends with, but I guess in this case that Karma's a Bitch and they should've known better). But I would say to check out the memoir for yourself as it really shows a lot of messy lives that some may have and we should not take it all for granted and I am all interested ins seeing how she adapts her life into a Limited series. At the moment there is no confirmed projection as to when we can expect it but once I do hear anything I will update in a later episode.

But speaking on the concept of family, it is time to rev up the muscle cars and get the corona beers on ice as we are heading back to the franchise that has overtime gotten crazy and over the top in stunts and logic all in the name of family and that is of course with the Fast and the Furious Franchise. Now it has been over 2 years since the first part of the supposed final 2 parts of this series was unveiled and released to audiences in the form of Fast X (which I must once again bring up like I did in my review for it, they had a great opportunity to call that one Fast Ten your Seatbelts but they didn't) and there has many a discussion as to when are we expecting to see the last film in this franchise and resolve the cliffhanger at the end of X. Well it was unveiled in some way as a Fast and Furious like event where we have an idea of when we can expect this finale which according to Vin Diesel at the event, it is now aiming for a release in April 2027. Now that is all good and well and we could just leave the story there, but the added bits that he brought up with the last request in particular brings up a lot of questions and concern. Now the release date is all good and they plan to bring it back to the roots which is of course the street racing scene, but the biggest question of all of this is that he wants and plans to try and bring back Paul Walker's character of Brian for the project and this where I feel its a little overblown as for those unknown, Paul Walker was a big character of the franchise up until the 7th film as tragically while a good portion of the movie was filmed, he tragically died in a car accident before filming wrapped and for a good chunk of it was made using his brothers and blooper or deleted scene material and a little of the uncanny valley CGI to give his character a heartfelt send off at the end of that film and that was where I thought it would be for that character, but it seems that is no longer the case. Now I don't know how they will try and add him in as likely case it will be his brothers again with the CGI or god forbid they use AI for this and make it worse and I am all for saying that we don't need Brian for this, let his character rest and have a normal life outside of all the chaos going on cause it will make the send off pointless and also cause a massive inflation of the budget (which you already did with X being nearly 400 million in budget to make) so I guess we will see how it comes about. Now how much of a planned presence they have is unclear but I am sure if anything does get brought up I will add it to a later episode once anything does comes along.

But speaking of something being brought back even when it came to a satisfying end, we have been getting reports from this week from a couple of sources that Disney is planning in some way to try and reboot the series of Indiana Jones in some way. Now this does go against the words of the series main star himself of Harrison Ford, that when he goes, so does Indy and that its planned to stay that way, which makes the most sense as you can try all you want but Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones through and through and them going against the wishes is going to be a question as to why they won't listen. Now I feel to them there is a loop hole for it due to the recent success of one thing and that was with the recent Indiana Jones and the Great Circle game that had Troy Baker as the role of the iconic character, but with that it was him doing an impression of a more younger Indy from the original trilogy and not fully trying to make it their own thing and not like something else. Now I know there was talks that if it were to be a case of continuing or rebooting they were initially aiming for Guardians star Chris Pratt for the role but I think that was shot down by Ford as well so I am not sure in what they are aiming for and I do feel that they could leave it as this and mainly just go in the direction of keeping it with stories in a video game format like a follow up to great circle and even a full packaged version of the film series in LEGO (which they did initially with the original trilogy and the 4th game a year later so a 5 story game would appeal). For now it is all rumours and reports but if something does come up about it all I will of course bring it up in a later episode.

But what are your thoughts on these stories, are you excited for a limited series take on McCurdy's memoir, do you see bringing Walker's character back for the last Fast and Furious a good thing and do you see a reboot of Indiana jones as a good idea or leave it alone? Let me know your thoughts on these down below.

The messy ordeals in the world of games and gaming adaptations

The 2nd of the stories for this week all have a bit of a selective form and focus in the realm of some news stories talking on the likes of some gaming related stories from the likes of some casting, shakeups and development issues and changes from the world of gaming studios and adaptations, but we can get into that now in a moment so lets gets started.

So the first I will keep it brief and for this one connects back to a story I gave in focus for last week as we have gotten some more new additions for the upcoming new film adaptation of Street Fighter that was announced with one that has been confirmed and another that has been in a bit of a rumour focus. The first announcement was that they have presumably cast the villain role for this film as it was announced that The Suicide Squad and Late Night with the Devil star David Dastmalchian has been cast as the iconic villain character of M.Bison, with the last person to play the role was the late great Raul Julia in the 90s film and in all sense I think overall he is a really great choice for that role as he can really go weird and crazy and over the top and I think the choice is a solid one at that and look forward to him really playing into the villain role well. As for the other role that has been discussed there is reports of another performer that may be in the role and it seems to be coming again from the world of Wrestling as it has been reported that WWE superstar Cody Rhodes may be in the running for the role of Guile in the film. Now I mentioned last week that their was someone reported to be playing Guile and that was with Reacher star Alan Ritchson but that may have been a possible fan casting but could still be a rumoured choice as well. I think so far in the options that for that character it will work either way as they can go the distance in the performance and everything and I am sure that given the chance will prove their worth but I guess it will be seen if any confirmed casting for that character will happen. Now I feel we will see some more castings appear in due time but I am sure we will see how it comes about and once I hear anything new for this project I will update in a later episode.

Now the next one is still staying to the world of the adaptation and this is to do with the popular, if a little recently mixed adaptation of the acclaimed Last of Us series from HBO. Now its been about a month since the 2nd season came to a conclusion and we know for the likes of the 3rd season in general that it will be a more focused story focused on Kaitlyn Dever's role of Abby, which is how it will be the case in the original games narrative as well and will likely see a bit more of her friends and also the introduction of the characters of Lev and Yara, 2 scars kids that help Abby on her journey and all seemed well and good and may be swell and end it there.... but thats not the focus of the story as we have a bit of a shakeup in terms of hows running the show as it was announced this week that co-showrunner and original games director Neil Druckmann has announced that he will be stepping back from showrunning duties for the upcoming 3rd season of the show. Now the reason is not to do with the likes of any falling outs with the studio or from Craig Mazin, but rather he wants to help with some focus and assistance with the upcoming projects from the studio of Naughty dog as they are deep into development of their newest title of Intergalactic: the heretic prophet as well as an unknown 2nd title (which likely could be a Last of Us Part 3 or even some other new series or a return to an old one like Uncharted or Jak and Daxter). Now it was also confirmed in the case that one of the writers for the show and the sequel of Hailey Gross has also confirmed to have reportedly left the project but that one is unclear, unless to also help with the upcoming projects. Now in the case with this, there is a sense of concern but also I feel it may still work out in some regards as concern that yes, those 2 worked on both games and adapting them into a series works more in the way of having those that know their stuff will appeal in working it into a proper adaptation (which was some point me and a friend from work briefly discussed about as we were both watching at the same time) but I give a little bit of hope in the case that with the case of Mazin will still make a proper solid 3rd and any other season stories that may come from this afterwards as you tend to forget that this man also created one of the finest mini series of all time with Chernobyl as well as some uncredited writing for the likes of Dune Part 2 and Wicked as well as some writing for Mystic quest so I feel he will still give the love and support to the adapting of this series and I am sure will still get some help from Neil and some from Naughty Dog on the project in due time. The only question I really have is when we will get that 3rd season as I feel if people wait too long for it their will be complaints and I feel in some form it will probably be at most likely next year as there is still like 2/3rds of the story left but I am sure we will get some idea in due time but if anything else changes for this project, I will of course update in a later episode.

and the last of the game focused stories for this week is one that is a bit more of a downer story as we have to talk again on the likes of shakeups in the gaming industry as we have seen another set of lay offs for the gaming field and this time it is with one of the big console publishers of Microsoft and Xbox as it was announced that a further 9K people were let go from the company (not sure if 9000 just recently or across the 4 times over the last 2 years) and with this case has saw a selection of games being cancelled and shelved. This includes a new title from long time studio Rare that was known as Everwild that has been in development for about 6 years now, the small Irish game studio set up by John Romero and their new Shooter IP has been reportedly cancelled and the possible studio fully shut down, the IP of Forza Motorsport is no longer a thing but the Forza Horizion series will still be in development and in tact, an unannounced MMO known as Blackbird that was being praised by Phil Spencer just 3 months ago is no longer happening but the biggest one that was a disappointing announcement to me was with the cancellation of the new take on Perfect Dark by the Initiative and Square Enix which was in the works or announced over 5 years ago. Now many have speculated these games were cancelled in more in a focus to go to the concept of AI with the studio which I feel if that is the case I would be so pissed off if that is the case, but I feel in the realm of all of these raising tariffs and prices for development that it is not just affecting Xbox but nearly the entire gaming industry. This is where the likes of the actress that was cast for Johanna Dark in the reboot and where many people on social media and other projects have started to come together and I will be also getting into the focus and that is with a movement that has started to really take off in the movement known as Stop Killing Games that will help bring in a new law to stop studios from cancelling games that have potential or have a lot of development done on them, as well as the case for the law of making sure that the games you buy, whether digital or Physical, means that you own them and not be just shuttered or made out that you don't own them after spending big bucks on them as is and not listen to the lies of some developers or heads of studios would like you to think. Now if you have not signed already and you are from Europe (there may be one for the states and other continents but I am not 100% sure) then I urge to help make it a movement more stronger and spread the word when possible and if there is a success we can have a chance in the future to really make it a success and hopefully the case that some of these titles that were cancelled will have a chance to be released for all of us to play in the future.

But what are your thoughts on all of these stories, do you think it is some solid choices for the more over the top film casting for Street Fighter, do you see Mazin continue to make a great adaptation of last of Us without Druckmann and are you sad of any of these cancellations and do you see any of them come back in the future or will it be too much of a lost cause? Let me know your thoughts on these down below.

This communiverse may have had some issues and drama

So this last story is one that is not a one off thing and seems to be a case that its becomes a common occourance with this as we are talking on some content that seems to be altered from the house of Mouse and its subsidiaries of studios they have under their banner and in this case we are heading over to the studio that I love so dearly as we have to talk on Pixar. Now if some of you may not be aware or if you recall from 2 weeks ago but Pixar currently has a new film out in cinemas known as Elio which is sadly underperforming and I mean really underperforming being the lowest earning Pixar release, which is a shame as I saw it last week and I loved it and I think it deserves more love and eyes on the project as it tackles some well meaning concepts and themes about loneliness and a little on Identity (and also gives a case that the main lead is very coded of someone on the spectrum and we can appreciate the representation) but it seems that it may have been a lot more and there was a lot of changes that occoured over the development of the project with some being asked to change by some higher ups at Pixar to fix some issues and becomes something of a shell of what was a possibly even better story. Now according to some artist that told the Hollywood Reporter, the film initially had a lot more of a focus in a case with a theme of Identity with the character being more queer coded which related to the original directors visions of connecting more of him growing up and being an openly gay filmmaker. A lot of the change started happening when the film was initially first shown at a screening in Arizona and while a lot of test audience scores were positive, no one raised their hand to say they would watch the film in cinemas and then got the case that they got some notes of changes to be made for the film from the higher ups. Now the film did do well in terms of critical reception but many in the studio has emphasized the version that is released is the worse version as the likes of the identity tone has been trimmed down from a character with a lot of personality and more themes about gender identity (and the whole space abduction story too) to something that is a little too generic. Now many assume that it was the Main distributors of Disney, but some have said it may be from the Pixar Studio itself and it is hard to say and just a little mixed in opinion. Now its not the first time that this has seen some discussion of being heavily changed or caused backlash as we again mention people get their undies in a twist over a brief 2 second kiss in Lightyear and then they heavily alters aspects about Riley having a thing for another Girl in Inside out 2 or of course just this year with their original series of Win or Lose that had to alter a story that focused on a character that was Transgender (and while elements of that character are still seen, it is not heavily focused on). Now my thoughts on this is that with both on the opinions of the film and on all of this is that I enjoyed the film, I went to go see it and support it as I love this studio and while it has some issues, I still think it is an overall great film in general. For the likes of the BTS issues and everything, it is a shame in the likes that there is so many great stories that are told from that studio and if there was any studio that I feel would tackle stories with more modern themes like Gender, Sexuality and other forms like that it would be this studio and I do hope it is a case that they can find a way to make it work in the likes of letting people tell these more diverse stories and not have to be butchered or cut down from the higher up studio as I feel it is well due a chance and a change and I hope we will see some more stories like that in the future and in the case of some that will bitch and more about whatever they complain about DEI or whatever, then so be it but telling some more expressive stories is more then enough.

But what do you make of this story in particular, do you feel that they should've kept the original story for Elio or if you have seen it, do you feel the version released worked more then enough for you and would you be open for more diverse projects from Pixar to be more relatable and open for many? Let me know what you think about it all down below in the comments.

And with all of that, this brings us to the end of the 123rd episode of Weird Mind News Room and I do hope that you have enjoyed these ramblings for another week. Let me know your thoughts on everything that was discussed down below and as always I do hope that 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 :)