Well Hello again to each and every single one of you very wonderful people (unless you do evil things), my name is Sam and as always I am back to present you another episode of the weekly series of Weird Mind News Room where for another week we are delving into another round of New Releases, Trailers and News stories of all forms of entertainment for you. So lets not waste time on the usual introductions and lets delve into all things media for another week.
New Releases worthy of making a new lover for
Movies
The Bride!
For the first of the new releases for the week is giving the focus to the ideals that in this life we find a sense of love and compassion in some form and sometimes that sense of love may be cut short in a sense of tragedy, but it can still be a case that even in death love can still provail, even if this form of love is man made for the companionship of a man made monster as its time for a bit of Gothic Horror romance as we have the release of the new film from Maggie Gyllenhaal with The Bride! Set in 1930's Chicago, Frankenstein's Monster (Christian Bale) asks Dr. Euphronius to help to create a companion for him. They give life to a murdered Woman as "The Bride" (Jessie Buckley), that soon sparks Romance, police interest and a lot of radical social change. Now reception on this title in particular has been quite the divisive one from what I have seen from critics with some saying its one of the most appealing monster films of recent memory and some comparing it in tone to Joker Folie a Deux (which if I recall I did enjoy a fair bit), but mainly sits at a mixed aspect with praise on the performances and visual aesthetic of makeup and costume, though the films sense of mass appeal and Bonnie and Clyde esque story may be much to be desired. But if this may appeal to you and see which side of the aisle you may find yourself on then you can catch this film out now in cinemas.
Pixar's Hoppers
For our 2nd film of this week is with the animation focus of the week and the first of 2 from the studio that I hold a big old spot in my heart (next to my dear starlight and some other things) and its time for the merging of humans and animals to become that little more closer connected then it seems to be and when it seems that all seems normal, things are about to get out of control as we have the newest original film from Pixar with the release of Hoppers. The film will see a group of Scientists from a university create a revolutionary machine that will invent a way for human brains to inhabit mechanical bodies and we will follow Mabel Tanaka, an animal loving girl who will use their technology to put their mind into a robotic mechanical beaver and use it to communicate with the animals and help to stop a construction companies plot to destroy the local animal habitat. Reception on this new original has been very well recieved with praise on its visual animation, humour, characters and narrative and seen as one of the highest scoring films from the studio since the 4th Toy Story and seeing a continuing trend of stories and films from the studio continuing a return to form and appeal to many people that have felt this studio was starting to fade (it never will to me) and if you want to check it out for yourself then you can also catch this new film out now in cinemas.
TV Shows
Ted Season 2
For the one tv show for this week, its time we return to the past for a bit more of a continuing story of how one wish from a child brought his stuffed best friend to life and we will be returning to the growing pains of their teenage years of family struggles, personal discoveries and developments and things getting a lot more foul and crude as we are back with the release of the 2nd season of the popular comedy series of Ted. The new season will take us back to 1994 which will focus on the high school senior years for Ted and his best friend John, exploring their dysfunctional family dynamic with John's Parents and cousin Blaire, amidst more raunchy humour and heartfelt moments as they navigate teenage life, hinting at new challenges and deepening their bond. Reception on this new season like the first season is very well recieved with praise on its humour, tone and surprising amounts of heart present in the follow on season and being another success overall and if you want to check it out yourself, then you can catch the full season now on Peacock in the US or on Sky and Now in Ireland and the UK.
Video Games
Pokémon Pokopia
For the first of the games from this week is giving us such a tonal whiplash from the heavy action title from last week (I mean I was a bit on the fence of his return but now I would not mind Leon Kennedy choking me out with his muscles.... what who said that) to a more cozier slice of life title with the worlds most popular franchise in an all new way of life for these pocket monsters as its time for us to take a trip to this new colourful world and build it to your liking as we have the release of the new title of Pokémon Pokopia. In this new sandbox based game, you will play as a Ditto who has transformed into a human trainer and will use your unique copying abilities to create a peaceful sanctuary for you and your fellow Pokémon and find a peaceful way of living, as well as living with some friends across their little lands of sanctuary. Reception on this new title has been very well recieved with it currently being ranked as the highest scoring entry in the Pokémon series as of late with praise on its mechanics, gameplay, cozy nature and a whole lot more and if you want to play it for yourself it is available now on the Nintendo Switch 2.
Scott Pilgrim EX
For the 2nd game of this week is bringing it back old school style as we are going in the more arcade aesthetic and a return to a surprise follow up to a side scrolling beat'em up classic as we are heading back to Toronto to battle more possible Ex's with the release of the follow up with Scott Pilgrim EX. In this new follow to vs the world, you will take control of Scott or Ramona as you battle your way across Space, Time and Toronto to defeat 3 powerful groups of The Vegans, the Robots and The Demons in order for you to save Scott's Bands teammates who were taken by Shadowy forces. Reception on this follow up has been well recieved with praise on its gameplay, characters, visuals and narrative, even if the likes of most critiques may be the price compared to length or some possible technical issues possibly but you may get that with the usual releases and if you are up for a retro throwback you can play it now on PS$/5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 1 and 2 and PC.
Marathon
For the last of the new releases is giving us a bit more to the focus to the realm of some all out multiplayer action as its time for a return of a series that has been around for 3 decades making a bit of a return in the present as we have the release of the all new multiplayer battle title of Marathon. This game will have you in a PVP outcome as you battle against different groups across different maps and locales across a vast space station in order to obtain supplies and extraction mechanics for their chosen team all in the sense of victory. Reception on this title has been seen as decent in terms of critic reception but a little more divided from audiences and players as while the mechanics and gameplay have been well liked, it has been hit with controversy over plagiarism, as well as the case of most critiques being on really rough UI mechanics and aggressive Microtransactions on the console but the studio is looking into resolving that and if you want to play it for yourself then you can play it now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC
Trailers of many levels of power
Scary Movie 6
Now on the first of the trailers for this week is a return to a form of genre that has gone a little out of style initially but with some recent success things are about to get scary, crazy, crude and I am for sure outright offensive as after a decade in silence and the return of the original duo that started this series we have gotten the official first trailer for the 6th film in the Scary movie franchise. While there is not a major focus of a plot right now, the films brief premise at the moment will see a group of friends reunite when a masked killer that they encounted over 26 years ago returns to cause havoc. So I will say that it has been quite the journey for this series as the original 2 films in the franchise were seen as classic in the realm of the spoof comedy, up there with the likes of the Naked Gun films, Airplane and Hot Shots that were seen as some of the best and then following the sequel it saw the rights being taken by the original creative of the Wayans Brothers and be produced by the company that was run or had some stock with Weinstein and it saw them begin to lose some quality overtime but it has returned back to the original creatives and I can feel it could have some more potential again of some unhinged nature tone. I feel if anything that there has been so much material in the realm of horror in the last decade since 5 that it has so much to pull from and from what I see it does look entertaining and well worth a watch and hopefully its a success, but I guess we will find out in due time as the goofs and scares will be hitting cinemas from the 5th of June.
Pinocchio Unstrung
On the side of the only horror based trailer for this week is seeing a return to a franchise and universe that has only really started just a little over 3 years ago but it has been a case that besides the budget and quality of levels that they are consistent and will try and turn beloved stories to us as children into some twisted dark outcomes and this time we give the focus to the little boy that is made from wood that while in the original will learn more appealing values, this version is going for a more grotesque approach to become real as we are returning to the world of the Poohniverse with the release of the trailer of Pinocchio Unstrung. The film will see Geppetto introduce his grandson, James, to a magical doll called Pinocchio and soon develops a friendship. However, unaware of Pinocchio's Naïve nature, James introduces him to the world, resulting in the doll going on a crusade to rid of all things bad and in the process find a way to become a real boy. So it is definitely a case that we have seen quite the array of versions of this character both in animated and live action forms and while the case that some can be in the realm of uncanny valley, most times you can deal with the character, but in this case I don't know what it is but the design is really unsettling. The fact as well of seeing the behind the scenes clips of this film and they actually made a physical moving Puppet is quite impressive craftsmanship and is also more unsettling to me and they are really going in the more serial killer / body snatcher type with this one which I feel makes it that more unsettling and I have to wonder where in the timeline does this place the film to that big crossover film they are planning with the other characters from Jagged Edge, but I guess we will learn on that eventually (and the case as well that they got the original Freddy Kreuger to voice a more twisted form of Jiminy Cricket which I feel fits well). Now while there is no release date for this yet (similar to how it was over here for the one on Bambi and Peter Pan still) the film is still set to come alive sometime this year.
Lanterns
Now for the 3rd trailer is taking us over to the realm of some superheroes and in this case from the first teaser that has dropped has caused a lot of debate on some elements that I feel are maybe misconstrued from this first glance, but we are returning to the slowly but ever expanding world of the new DC universe where in the sense of the Brightest Day and Blackest night, that no evil shall escape their sights as while we were introduced to one version of the character just last summer, its time we see what the other 2 well known versions of the corps of galactic protectors have found themselves mixed up in as after some delay and wait we have finally gotten the first official trailer for the upcoming new series of Lanterns. The series will follow members of the lantern corps, a group of heroes and intergalactic peacekeepers given extraordinary powers from powerful rings. This will follow two of those members of experienced Lantern Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and new recruit Jon Stewart (Arron Pierre) as they are tasked to investigate a murder in a small town in Nebraska, which soon leads them to darker mysteries and reckonings. So it has been a case that this series is one many were excited for and now there is a bit of a mixed opinion now that has come from this for many reasons, from the lack of green in the show, to the suit in focus they show briefly, to some CG or other elements feeling very lacking or why the show is called Lanterns when its mainly just focused on 2 members of the Green Lantern Corp, but I feel many are taking it from the small teaser and there is a lot more then just that, as its a case that sure its focused on Jordan and Stewart but I know for certain the other Lanterns of different colours will have some presence in this (especially given that more then likely Sinestro, who has turned to the Yellow lanterns will be involved somehow) and that it makes sense to focus on the familiar as the driving force and build to introduce the other coloured corps over the series. Personally I liked the tone and feel to this of it having like a True Detective with a superhero tone to it and feel like it could be one of those shows that has some poor trailers or marketing but is actually really good (similar to what I can say the 2019 Watchmen series turned out to be for many) and I am intrigued to see what will come of this project in due time and while we have no official date set in stone, we do have the idea that the lantern light will be shining onto HBO Max sometime in August.
The Boys Season 5
For the 2nd of the superhero trailers of this week, its time for everything to go big or to go home as the many events that have occoured in the last few years have culminated all together into an all out conflict and sense of martial law about to become dangerous that the world where heroes are a common occourance may see the demise of humanity all in the focus of ego and soon it will come down to some rag tag group to stop the true instigator as we have the release of what I assume is the final trailer for the final season of the Boys. Coming off the event of Season 4 and Gen V Season 2, the world is now under the rule of Homelander's reign and are subjected to his erratic, egomaniacal whims. Hughie, MM and Frenchie have found themselves prisoners in a Freedom camp while Annie struggles to mount a resistance against the overwhelming supe force and Kimiko is nowhere to be found. But when Butcher reappears ready and willing to use a virus to wipe out all supes off the map, he sets in motion a chain of events that will forever change the world and everyone in it. It's time for the climax people, big stuff is gonna happen. So I will with anything with this series is that if there is one thing I can definitely say is one to discuss is that on the focus of hoping that with all of it in motion to be made that the final season for this will turn out as a success instead of a mess as its the most easiest thing with any series to get finished wrong or turn out poorly, with recent ones like Stranger Things as an example of a long running show having a bit of a messy conclusion. I would say I am excited for this final season but I am also cautious as from what I understand from it at the moment is that the show may have altered the ending of the comics from what I have recalled or have been told from those that know a little more about the contents but I have hope that it will turn out well but I guess we will see as the final season will be making its presence known from a months time on Amazon Prime from April 8th.
The Amazing Digital Circus Episode 8
the final trailer in focus for this week technically will go against my rule when it comes in the realm of the 2 week cut off point but in the focus for this instance I will allow it as it was a point to focus on an upcoming episode of a series that has taken the internet by storm (and will also need to be a case of not bullying the creator like some did did cause of their statement of who the main characters are) but it looks like the fallout of some events from a previous episode is about to take affect as we have the release of the trailer for the 8th episode of The Amazing Digital Circus. Now not much is really know of what to expect for this episode but it looks like it will be seeing the aftermath of the revelations and events of the Beach episode with the cast learning to figure out a way to avoid some unknown circumstances, we may learn of the characters past and hope that the affects to the main ring leader is not going to cause that much danger for all. So it has definitely been a rollercoaster for this series since its inception about 3 years ago and it looks like we may be on the way to an end that many may not be satisfied with or could confirm or disspell their theories of what it all means or what may happen but from the brief tease shown, things are beginning to fall apart but I guess we will find out soon enough as the new adventure and episode will be dropping on March 20th (maybe I'll stream when its going live).
News from a new perspective
The focus in studios and the various stages of their processes or updates
For the focus of the one story of this week is the usual weekly serving of the Hodge Podge special where I will be delving into some of the stories that vary in tone and concept and have them all come together into giving some insight onto those topics while also delving into some stories that you may have missed from this week, but lets get into it.
So I will start with some big news for this week and we will be focusing on some aspects of the realm of some studio shakeups and changes and this is with an update to a story I talked on at an earlier part last month cause it seems the news that has come along in focus that was showing concerns back then but it seems to be coming to fruition as it was announced this week that the title of Highguard will be coming to an end and is confirmed to be shutting down from the 12th of March, so next week, making the title lasting a total of six weeks online before shutting it down, making it longer then the likes of The Day before that lasted a weekend and Concord that lasted 2 weeks. Now the signs of this were first shown when some people spotted artists and developers from the studio announcing that they were let go from the studio and were looking for work and it seemed that this title was doomed from that aspect, even with them having a skeleton crew left to run the title and initially having a full year road map planned out and shown as well, but it seemed from the placement at the Game Awards from the unveiling, very little marketing and the mixed appeal about the likes of live service based games, it seemed it was going to have a rough hill to climb but it looks like it was too good to be true. It seems such a shame for when a game has a sense of passion from some developers and just gets bodied by people online that just join the pipeline of "game bad" without giving much of a reason to it and I know the likes that game development is difficult from my experience in college and from someone I care about who worked tirelessly on the game they made too (which you should check out) and I do hope that the developers of this title get a chance for a win and for all the artists and programmers will be back on their feet in no time but I guess we will see in due time but we shall pour one out for a game that could've had a chance if given enough time.
But speaking of studio shakeups, this one is a bit more of a sad one and one I actually didn't bring up as it was about a week or 2 ago, but we have lost another well liked studio as sony announced back in late February that the company of Bluepoint games will be shutting down, after only being acquired by the publisher about 5 years ago. Now the studio you may not be the most familiar at first, but these were the developers that made some of the best remasters and remakes of the recent era including the Nathan Drake collection, the remake of Shadow of the Colossus and Demon Souls and a few other remasters and remakes sprinkled in there and they made some top quality remakes, and also fixed some issues with some original titles in them as well. Now while this is sad there is one other reason this will hurt a lot of Playstation fans as it seems they had another remaster or remake in mind and is one that for many that tune in for the State of Play's or awards that they hope at one of them they will unveil a long awaited port, remaster or follow up to the beloved FromSoftware title of Bloodborne and it seemed they were planning it and pitched it but it seems the original developer was the one to shut it down from happening, which I feel is a poor move on FromSoftware's part because there has been a demand for this to get a new 60FPS update for PS5, a sequel or a port to the PC for a decade at this point but it seems they are really against printing more money for that studio. Now they seemed to have not been the only studio interested as since Bluepoint's announced closure, it seems around 10 other studios have pitched making a remaster, remake or help in a sequel or PC Port for this title but it seems to be down to the original dev studio to make it. I think personally if anything to let the studio go out strong with a swan song with a remake and port for this classic entry would make the most sense but in all sense I am sure there will be a point of seeing a follow-up to this title but I guess we will have to demand and wait for a little longer. As of now, nothing has been made official but if anything new comes about I will provide it in a later episode.
So it has been a bit of a week or 2 of quietness on my end with some discussion of this topic but we are once again talking on another story and reportedly rumoured set from the company of LEGO. Now we have talked on some other sets over the last few weeks that were confirmed or rumoured from Snoopy, Shrek, Tintin, Pokémon and even a sequel to the large Mario Kart build from last year (which I feel we will talk on next week if its unveiled on Mar10 Day) but for this new one that was reportedly rumoured is a set that has had a series of sets based on this series a very long time ago and is coming back with a new special large build and that is with everyone's favourite underwater fry cook of SpongeBob. It was reported earlier this week that a planned new set based on the street that SpongeBob lives on is on the way and will be a large build set that will consist of Spongebob's Pineapple, Squidward's Tiki home and Patrick's Rock and come with those 3 minifigs as well as one extra one of Gary the Snail. Now on the basis of the price it is reported to cost around €220 and will be set to drop on September 1st, but nothing has been officially unveiled as of yet. Now SpongeBob has had its share of sets back in the day with a few based on his home and street, as well as ones for the Krusty Krab and ones on the Chum Bucket, Bikini Bottom general, Miss Puff's Boating School, a Bus and even Sandy's Rocket and a giant buildable rocketship. Now while a new SpongeBob set sounds appealing (as I did have a few of these as a kid) I feel that they should make it more in the realm of the small medium sets they used to do and have this as the largest set but make it a bit more affordable as it seems the case that this would really appeal to a lot of younger LEGO fans and fans of SpongeBob and there has been so much demand for a full scale and full build version of the Krusty Krab and other locations from the show (and the case there has been some knockoff brands of the range that many see as being so much better) but maybe they will see how well this does before any decisions are made. At the moment as I mentioned this is just some rumoured reports but if there is any change or confirmation, I will provide it in a later episode.
For the next section, we will be giving a focus to the realm of some animation and its another focus for this week in the realm of Pixar as we have gotten some news in the focus of their next plan and also an update about some changes to the studio. Now there has been some news on the approach that Pixar may be going towards for their new project as it seems they are aiming for the ideals of trying to be more in the realm of keeping things about relatability for all instead of more in the focus of what a few films and projects from the studio have been from this decade which is in the realm of more personal stories that were seen with the likes of Turning Red, Elemental, Luca and Elio (more of that last one in a moment) which sure I can understand going back to the time period where many loved the output of Toys coming to life when we are not around or Monsters hiding in our closets that is part of their normal 9-5 job, but I feel of having more of that balance of classic or appeal to all and some personal stories also help in the appeal overall to me. This is where it is seen with some new stories as according to the Hollywood reporter while we know of 2 sequels currently on the way in a few years (which is not counting this years Toy Story 5) with a sequel to Coco set for sometime in 2029 and a 3rd Incredibles which seems to be now aiming for a release in 2028, another classic from the studio is set to release in a few years as it was confirmed that the early development of a Monsters Inc 3 is in the works (though technically this would be Monsters Inc 2 cause the last film was University, the prequel to the original) which I would say I am very excited for as the original is one of my all time favourite movies. While I appeal to some follow up stories for other projects (which I recall in some form they did mention also a little while back they had plans for a 3rd Finding Nemo film but no idea on that) I feel the original and personal stories should also be prioritized, which brings me back to the whole ordeal with Elio, as a while back when I first talked on this film, reports came out a week after the films release that the movie was heavily different to what it was initially planned and that it had to be altered from a more personal focus of the main character being a bit more flamboyant but trimmed it down probably by the demand of Disney who seems to be against it and then do a mass amount of Queer baiting in their own projects and I hope in some form that we will see the original version sometime in the near future. Overall I feel I hope that Pixar will see a lot more appeal and interest in the future as I love this studio and enjoy seeing their new films and hope these will turn out well in the future, but in the case I will provide some updates about new project when they release in later episodes.
Now for some shorter bit of news but an update to another favourite animated project of mine, we have gotten some news to a follow up to an award winning animated film that had some success in the box office and reports a follow up was on the way, well now we have been given the official greenlight just this week with the confirmation that the sequel to The Wild Robot, with it now set to be titled as the Wild Robot Escapes is now in active development at Dreamworks. The film has also been confirmed with some returning talent and new heads of the project with Nimona director Troy Quane, set to direct the film with the first films head of story Heidi Jo Gilbert, who will be taking over directing duties from original director Chris Sanders, though Sanders will still write the project. In the concept of the follow up will see Roz and Brightbill find a way to escape the facility that she has returned to at the end of the original movie and must find a way to get back home to the island once again to help protect their new found home and family of the animals and establishes more in the character development and will be going based on the 2nd novel of this series. Likely case with the cast will see the return of Lupita Nyong'o as Roz, Kit Connor as Bright Bill and Pedro Pascal as Fink but I am sure we will see what will come of it and what new additions will be added for new characters and some possible recastings (one being the Possum mother due to the recent tragic passing of Catherine O'Hara) but overall I am very excited to watch this sequel (and likely case to be in complete floods of tears by the end of it). Now at the moment there is no indication as to when the film will be released, but I am sure if anything new comes along I will provide that in a later episode.
The last of the stories in focus of the animated discussion is on one in the period we are talking on and I have to talk about it cause the outcome is slightly annoying me as we have to talk a little on the Oscars. Now the likes of whether I will get the video written and made for this is unclear at the moment but in this this case I need to talk on some drama that has occoured in the realm of this category as it seems to be a continued pattern from last year with this category and the respect this medium gets (which seems like a pattern with Chalamet also facing some scrutiny about his opinions on Ballet and Opera, both arts that fit into the same category of Film and acting and his family have a history in Ballet so it may have affected his chances) but similar to last year it seems we have voters that have not seen all of the nominated projects and have half assed voting but in this case, a few have specified that they are completely skipping the animated film category altogether which really does not make any sense whatsoever. The fact in the case that they will spend probably 5 times the length of the 5 animated films runtime combined for the other films when there is a more breezy runtime on these 5 films from about 78 minutes to the longest being 110 Minutes is just baffling. I may bring it up in the actual video of the Oscars of the one thing I can agree with the YouTuber Schfrillias is that the academy has more and more not caring about the Animated films when they gave a damn no less then 10 to 15 years ago with animated segments and characters presenting awards (and some even being nominated for best picture and other categories) and I feel if you are not going to vote or watch all that is nominated then its a null and void vote and should be the case to replace it with someone that will watch all of them and decide their rankings to better cast the vote overall. I apologize for ranting about this but I had to in the case about just loving this art form where I feel that Animation gives more expressiveness, emotion and even more creativity then most films that get nominated in the other categories (Half of the best pictures this year are based on Books, sports or reworked lives of some people) and if the case that one of your best picture directors has made it clear that Animation is Cinema, then I feel they need to give the art form a lot more of a chance then just overlooking the genre.
And to wrap up the last of the stories for this week is in the focus of some news in the world of Law, but unfortunately its not the case of a new take of Law and Order, or a film on Better Call Saul or a 7th mainline Ace Attorney entry (hopefully one day we have a new announcement) but rather we are looking into the real world of this lawsuit as this one is quite the extreme form to have suddenly appeared out of nowhere because it was announced at the end of this week that the gaming company of Nintendo is apparently suing.... The US Government. Yes Nintendo is going after the government to sue them all based on that terrible orange man and his tariffs (who was best friends with a nonce and is all over the nonce files and needs to go) and apparently it has not been specified as to how much they are actually looking for but it apparently cost a fortune in funds for them to ship, process and develop those consoles, especially in the case of them being announced the same week that the Switch 2 pre-orders went on sale back in April last year. This is quite a sight to behold and honestly if Nintendo is the one to cause the decline of the US government it would be the funniest thing to happen. Now whether this will go ahead will have to be seen but I know that company and their lawyers are quite ruthless so we will see what will come of this lawsuit, but if any new news comes about this I will provide it in a later episode.
But what do you make of these stories, do you feel HighGuard could've had a chance if it kept going, are you sad of the closure for Bluepoint and will we see something new with Bloodborne, will you be buying the new LEGO SpongeBob and do you think they should bring this theme back, are you excited for more Pixar sequels and do you think a balance of originals and follow ups will work, are you going to watch the Wild Robot sequel, do you think the voters who avoid films at award shows shouldn't count as votes and do you see Nintendo actually winning in this court case against the US government? Let me know what you think down below in the comments.
And with all of that, this brings us to the end of the 158th edition of Weird Mind News Room and I hope you enjoyed the ramblings for another week. Let me know your thoughts on all 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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