Weird Mind News Room Episode 180: August 3rd - 9th
*You scream, we all scream but not for that treat but music*
Well hello again to all of your very wonderful people across the information superhighway. My name is Sam and I am the host of the usual weekly series of Weird Mind News Room where I will be back to provide a selection of tasty treats of New Releases, Trailers and Some news stories overall that will not leave you feeling sick to your stomach. So lets not waste time on the usual introductions and lets get to talking on all things media for another week.
The New Release Man
Movies
The Ice Cream Man
On the first of the new releases for this week is one that has become the next title online with a lot of heavy discussion but not in the good way as we have experienced this appeal in the past as children of hearing the specific chimes of a very colourful truck to the delight (or creepiness) of all for a possible tasty treat from this sweet maker, but in this case it will be one that will be a little more of a deadly sinister soft serve as we have the release of the newest horror known as Ice Cream Man. The film will see an Idyllic summer turning into sheer terror as a mysterious and silent Ice Cream Man starts serving up sweet delights -- With horrifying results. Reception on this new film however has been very poorly recieved as many have complained on its poor take on the concept, lacking humour and tone. It has also been hit with major complaints about an excessive use of Generative AI (a taboo in any media and in general) as well as very touchy subjects on racial jokes, Pedophilia and even an excessive focus of Eating disorders and bulimia (and taken the focus of knowing some that I care about who have dealt with that disorder, that is a difficult thing to accept) and seen now as one of this years worst films and if you want to check it out it is out now in cinemas.
Super Troopers 3
But moving from horror to more of some over elaborate action comedy, it is time we return to the small town state for this group of officers that may not be the most strongest or smartest but they will find a way to get the job done and keep their town safe for the means of the law as we have the release of the all new entry of popular series with Super Troopers 3. The film will see the return of the Broken Lizard comedy team as we see Farva's wildly over the top Indian engagement to Thorny's older sister spirals into chaos and the rest of the troops and the rest of the troops must navigate Thorny's schemes to break up the relationship, while they are trying to crack a pernicious new drug ring - all to save the day and maybe the wedding themselves. Reception on this film is a bit more better recieved but still in a mixed reception like the previous entries with praise on the cast performances and concept, though the elements of the humour and comedy can be a little over excessive and can feel a little lacking in the outcome but if you want to check it out for yourself and see how this trilogy comes to an end then you can check it out now in cinemas.
TV Shows
Ricky Gervais Alley Cats
Moving to the tv side of things for this week and will all be focused in the realm of animation with this first one going for a little more in the realm of the British comedy where the man that gave us the original comedy of the workplace and on the morals of continuing to live when everything in your life feels gloomy, they will be taking a focus to the side of animation and toe the streets and back alleys and focus on those animals that will find ways of domestication as been a little out of their ideals as we have the release of the newest animation of Ricky Gervais Alley Cats. The series will follow the trials and tribulations of a group of feral British cats from all walks of society, who seek companionship while ruminating on everyday life. Reception on this new series has not been that overly well recieved as while the idea can work and some fans of Gervais will find something good in it, the jokes and other aspects and it being overly self indulgent has not helped it in the overall appeal, but if you want to see it for yourself then you can watch it now on Netflix.
Futurama Season 14
The next series is a return to the far future, give or take around 1000 years and return to a corporation that has continued to evolve and become a focus as while some elements of the modern past beginning to make their presence again in the future as we have the release of the 14th season and continued revival of Futurama. this of course will see more misadventures of Fry, Leela, Bender and the rest of the Planet Express team as we see them deal with more elaborate ordeals of relationships, life in the 31st century and some other things like lab grown meats, AI, exploit scams and more all with a bit of a futuristic spin on things. Reception on this new season so far seems to be still decently recieved that while it may not have too much of the emotional heart that some of the original seasons peak had, it still has an appeal of comfort and humour that the show has always been used to but if you want to head on another futuristic adventure then you can catch the first 2 episodes now on Disney+ with a new episode dropping every Monday.
Star Wars Visions Presents: The 9th Jedi
But keeping it to the futuristic aesthetic for the last of the shows for this week, while the last one was more grounded on a future earth, this is more in a galaxy far far away and telling of a story that started off as a simple one off tale from a vast variety of stories across the galaxy and will be given them their own full tale overall on becoming a legend in their own right that started being a simple delivery merchant as we are returning to one of the many tales from the stories of Visions with the focused narrative continuation with a series on The Ninth Jedi. Based on the episode from the first and third season, the series will follow the daughter of a Lightsaber-Smith who is being pursued by dark forces as she makes a delivery of the newly crafted sabers across the galaxy. Reception on this new expanded story seems to be very well recieved with praise on this expanded narrative and visually appealing animation and showing that some sense of the world and stories from this IP still have a lot of potential and appeal when given the right concept and if you want to check it out for yourself then you can catch the full season of episodes now on Disney+.
Video Games
Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls
Moving to games now and we will start on the focus to the overall focus to the realm of going all out in the vast area of fierce battles, powerful heroes and all in the sense of wondering what is causing these heroes and adversaries to team up and do battle against one another as we have a new multi team brawler in focus now as we have the release of the all new title of Marvel Tókon Fighting Souls. The game will see you create teams of 4 heroes and villains across the vast narratives of the pages of Marvel comics who will be brought together to prove as the planets champion while they find a way to stop the Champion, an Elder of the universe that has chosen earth as its next target to produce some worthy opponents after many planets have proven unsuccessful to them in the process. Reception on this new fighter seems to be very well recieved with praise on the roster, visuals, gameplay and narrative with most of the issues and complaints of the title aimed at the overly required PSN system, even on PC to play the title but it seems like a proper legacy follow up to the Marvel vs Capcom series and if you are up to playing the title yourself then you can play it now on PS5 and PC.
Beast of Reincarnation
The next title in focus is one that is a surprising new title coming from an overall studio and branch that is more often known for their work on another companies big IPs where it was about catching them all, but it seems with this new title of theirs that while that take seems to be still in the realm of some strange hybrid creatures, the gameplay in mind will be a lot more akin to some other challenging titles, as Game Freak, the company behind the recent Pokémon series is bringing an all new title to multiple platforms with the release of their new title of Beast of Reincarnation. Now the title is set 2000 years in the future in 4026 Japan and you will take control of Emma, a young sealer and her giant white hybrid wolf Koo as you explore across this post apocalyptic land that has been ruined by corruption and reclaimed by nature as you try to fight against dangerous corrupted creatures and piece together the backstory of how it came to all of this. Reception on this title has seen some mixed to modestly well recieved opinions with praise towards the visuals and concept, though some feel the blending of a JRPG with a Soulslike feels a little unbalanced, the narrative doesn't always work and the combat can feel very lacking but there is proven potential (and many have now wondered if it is this studio that is the real responsible outcome to the mess the recent Pokémon has faced then the main studio) and if you want to play it for yourself then you can play it now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC (and likely will be on Switch soon enough).
Big Walk
The last of the new releases for this week will be a focus of something that looks like a goofy premise and characters will be giving a game and focus on something many of us gamers will not experience too much and that is to be going outside and touching grass but it seems this title may help do it for us, as House House games, the company behind Untitled Goose Game, brings us their new big expansive Co-op title as we have the release of their new game of Big Walk. In this title, you and a group of your friends will do as the title says and head on a big walk through this massive bushland as some goody spherical things as you solve puzzles found along the way and find ways to communicate in many different forms. Reception on this title has been very well highly recieved with praise on the simple concept, the cozy approach, the visuals, puzzles and it being seen as one of this years best reviewed titles overalls and a great new game to play with friends and if you want to head out on a walk of your own, then you can either go outside or play this now on PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, Mac and PC.
Trailer Trooper
Violent Night 2
On the first of the trailers for this week is akin to another trailer that we recently talked about 2 weeks ago where the concept and time setting of talking on it is not in our discussion right now and that is on the side of the holiday season, but instead of the usual take on an overdone narrative, this time we will return to a version of the festive figure that will be taken the focus of the Naughty or Nice rule a little more serious, especially in the circumstance that he has found himself in this time, as we have the release of the trailer for the upcoming sequel to Violent Night. Now the film will see Santa (David Harbour) finding himself on the Naughty list after finding the purpose to continue the tradition at the end of the first film but along the way losing the meaning of Christmas. Now sapped of his magic, he must rediscover the true meaning while taking a job as a Mall Santa and must then find a way to protect the Mall from a ruthless gangster and his crew out to kill the Viking legend. So I remember actually watching the original film a little while ago and I have to say in all honesty that first one was surprisingly entertaining and Harbour really fits the character really well with it having a bit of his own twist in folklore as well and it seems like there is still a lot of appeal from this new entry to come. I also appreciate that they are going to implement the other half of Mrs Claus with Kristen Bell taking that mantle in this and it seems to work well with both (plus this will give an idea of her portraying the role of Amy in next years Sonic movie) and overall I am for sure checking this out when it does as the film will be making its delivery into cinemas from the 4th of December.
Primetime
The last of the trailers for this week is one that I talked on a few weeks ago that came out of nowhere and was a surprise to be sure but one that caught my interest, which seems akin to how this films inspiration had approach their target and calling them out when it does, as it will be time to have a seat right over there as we have the release of the official full length trailer for the new film known as Primetime. The film will tell the origins and the rise in the creation of the dateline NBC News Magazine series To Catch a Predator, which saw host Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) confronting adult men looking to do sexual favours with minors and get lured to a sting house to serve justice on these dangerous individuals. So I remember the first teaser being very cryptic and telling so much in so little time and in this case now with more in focus and getting an idea of their recreations of the sting operations of the original television series and follow up that it looks like they will be quite the thriller to go along with. I have to also say Pattinson just really goes deep into a role whenever possible and is the real MVP star then the ones that say its Chalamet (but I see that latter person playing the same person all the time) and I feel this could be the film that may be an award season contender and I hope it is but I am sure I will be having a seat in that cinema screen when this film reportedly releases from the 25th of September.
News of feeling reincarnated
Hodge Podging on those casting and projects
So its another week of the news stories and another focus to the overall take on the side of the usual array of the Hodgepodge as we will be delving into a few small stories in the focus to some casting additions and some updates and announcements of a few projects to come from it as there is in a focus, but lets delve into and see what the news has in store for us this week.
So we will start on the focus of the casting news and updates and with this first story is with an update to an upcoming adaption that has had a bit of an unforeseen circumstance on one of its castings and that is with the new Amazon adaption of God of War. Now the last time we talked on this adaption was about 2 or 3 weeks ago when it was reported that the main lead of Ryan Hurst was going to have to be recasted after he suffered a really bad injury on the set by tearing a muscle and their approach on this was to mainly just recast the role instead of letting them recover when they already had 4 episodes done for the show (and likely was half of the first season covered) and it seems in this case we will be seeing a recasting already in mind and focus with an ideal choice already considered for the rile by the studio as it was reported on Monday that the frontrunner and their focus ideal for the role is with Guardians of the Galaxy and Dune star Dave Bautista to take on Kratos. Now I will say that he would fit the role very well, he does have a fair sense of performing the serious and comedic and I am sure he can do the more emotional depth to this character and I feel overall it could work. The only concern I have is if this is a case will this affect another performance that people would prefer him to portray from another IP as many have fancasted and hoped he would take on the role of Marcus Phoenix in a planned adaption of Gears of War but maybe it could be a case that he could take on both as we have seen many adaptions have actors and actresses appear in multiple game series (E.G Jack Black in Mario, Borderlands and Minecraft) so maybe it can work out. Now I am sure we will see what will come of it all and I do think its a solid performance can be done here and given that Atreus may have to be recast for the next season, I just hope it will be an actual solid adaption but if I hear anything new about it all then I will let you know in a later episode.
Speaking of adaptions, we do have another one that we know is on the way that has been quiet for a fair bit of time and I felt we would've had some form of footage unveiled a week or 2 ago from Comic but it seems it will be set for another day and that is with the focus of the upcoming film adaption of The Legend of Zelda. Now the film is about 9 months away and the likes of any footage is probably well due in the next week or 2 and while we have the idea of who is playing the mute hero of Hyrule and the princess herself, there has been a fair bit of speculation as to who will be taken on the overall role of the demon king himself from many predictions as to who it will be, but that has now changed as of this week as it was announced that the Young Rock star of Uli Latukefu will be portraying Ganondorf in the new adaption and honestly I am perfectly fine with this casting and choice as he would have a solid build, his face looks close to the character and he would work well for the physical embodiment and I am happy they are going with a more unknown actor then the usual known and overused stars so I can appreciate their choice here and hope to see him in some form real soon. It is however not the only casting or confirmation as well as a few hours later it was confirmed that Severance star Dichen Lachman is also in this title and will be portraying the role of Impa in the film and may explain who the character was with Zelda from some of that leaked images from the film set in New Zealand with her as Zelda's Bodyguard and she definitely has a close look to the role so I am sure it will be interesting to check it out. There is one other confirmed casting addition to the film and will be one that is more of a post humourous one as it was also confirmed the late Sam Neill is also set to be in this upcoming title but his role in this film has not been confirmed. In my guess of things he could be one of those obscure characters from one of the titles or else he may be this films take on the King of Hyrule or something but I guess we will have to see when the film gets some sense of footage soon enough. Now in all sense of things I feel the chosen roles for this film are really interesting and I am liking the approach to it, the only I really have is if this will adapt a specific game in the series or if it will just be an entirely new narrative but I guess we will see come the release on April 30th next year and if any more new casting additions happen I will let you know in a later episode.
On the last of the casting based stories, it is the only superhero based narrative in focus for this week and will not connect to how much money Spider-Man made in their opening weekend cause damn that was a payout opening weekend, but rather we are looking more into the future as we have a reported new casting for the upcoming take on the Mutants and X-Men. Now last week we did get a casting of Samara Weaving as Emma Frost and while there was some other reported listings like a rumour of Darce Montgomery being eyed for the new take on Wolverine (from what has been rumoured) we do have another casting that may possibly be a confirmation with this one being reported of Heartstopper and Wild Robot star Kit Connor reported to be portraying Scott Summers or Cyclops in this new take and project. Now the approach and focus of this casting is a strange one as his casting would be one that I would have really as a first choice but we have seen these concepts before about castings for things that seem a bit odd then turning out to be a solid choice (like with the MCU when Robert Downey JR was first cast as Iron Man and look how that turned out) so while I can't see it currently, I will not fully brush it off straight away. Now I think in this case it is only just reported and nothing has been made fully official, but what I have heard is reportedly that they will be unveiling the possible full cast of this MCU take on X-Men next week at D23 alongside some other Marvel content so maybe we will see who is portraying who at the event along with other announcements from the different areas of Disney, but for now nothing has been made official and once I do hear anything I will let you either next week or in a later episode.
Back to adaptions again, but in the focus for this next story does have some connections in the superheroes with the main star helping to develop this next project as we are once again talking about Warhammer 40K. Now last week we did mention on the story that Henry Cavill is busy working on the live action series of this and also brought news that Horror auteur Mike Flanagan had joined on to write the series, but in this case its not focused on just one of these shows but rather there will be another hefty amount of Warhammer on the way as while we have the live action series, it was also confirmed by Cavill this week that an animated series based on the IP will also be in the works with this series being helmed by the showrunners and developers behind Love, Death and Robots and the recent Secret Level series (with a 2nd season of that on the way.... eventually) which in turn will be based on the episode that appeared in the first season, which has been an episode many people really enjoyed in general. Now the idea of this I feel can make sense that having 2 variations of this IP in live action and Animation will be an interesting one and I can feel that if one appeals over the other then there is a sense of success and can be overall a decent watch but I do hope both of them will work out overall and be well worth a decent watch. Now as things stand it is only confirmed in the works with no ideal window of when we can see either of these tv series, but once I do hear anything new I will let you know in a later episode.
Now speaking of video games, this next story is one that has been reported in some way in very small aspects throughout the last few years but in this case with more recent news there is a world being build and a return to one of a virtual place that had a lot of exploration to be had as it may be soon time to put on the headsets and full body gear as it was announced that a film adaption to the book of Ready Player Two is in the works. Now this was confirmed earlier this week by Zach Penn who had been writing and developing the script as a follow up to the 2018 film from Steven Spielberg, who will also be back but in this case just as a Producer for this follow up. Now I am surprised over the years on the case that many people didn't overly like this film, but I know at least I personally did in the likes of the visuals, concept and that from what I know they fixed a lot of issues and aspects that were present in the initial book so the likes of the follow up is one that does appeal to me. Now from what I know and I need to finish reading both books is that the sequel novel is a lot more messier and feels a bit in some way as a rehash of the first books quest but has a bit more of darker tone and some have emphasized it would work more as a film so maybe we will see this adaption have a massive improvement over some of the messier bits of the book and be a decent adaption and I look forward to checking this out. Now as the moment of all of this there is no indication as to when we can expect this follow up or who will be directing or if any of the original films stars will be back in this sequel, but if I hear anything else I will update in a later episode.
The last of the project announcements and updates is one that has a bit more of an abrupt ending to it all and it seems that while we have seen these games before, it looks like the other forms across the globe may not be in full form as it was announced this week that the planned US take on Squid Game from filmmaker David Fincher has likely been shelved and will not be moving forward. Now most of the reasons for this comes down to the DP for Fincher's projects mentioning that it is likely not moving forward with Fincher busy with the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel and reshoots and some other projects that it seems like it is going to stay as a Korean based series instead, and the cameo from Cate Blanchett is likely not connected to the show anymore. Now do I see them try and make a new take on this series set in a US or European country or other parts of the world, likely so, but I feel it will pail in comparison to what made the original 3 seasons of the Korean series work and appeal that much more, but in all regards you never know with Netflix when they will run a good concept into the ground or never let something with potential have a good enough lengthy run. For now we will see what will happen to this IP and if there is any new updates to this I will let you know in a later episode.
But what do you make of these stories, do you see Bautista as a solid Kratos and will he also be Marcus in a Gears of War adaption, do you see the choices for Ganon and Impa being a great choice and who do you see Sam Neill playing, do you think Kit Connor will be the new Cyclops and who else do you see cast as the other mutants, Will you be watching the 2 Warhammer series and will they work out, are you excited for a Ready Player 2 adaption and who do you see helming it and do you see a new US or other country version of Squid Game or should it be left as a one off thing? Let me know what you think down below.
And with all of that, this ends the 180th edition of Weird Mind News Room and I hope you enjoy the ramblings for another week. Let me know your thoughts on all that was discussed this week 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 :)
Comments
Post a Comment