Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1844
February 7, 2018
Will DEADPOOL 2 Bring Some Much Needed Queer Representation?
After live-tweeting the Super Bowl but being conspicuously absent from the much anticipated ad slots, Deadpool himself has blessed us with our first proper trailer for the sequel to 2016’s smash hit superhero flick. Deadpool broke ground as a relatively low budget R-rated take on comic book movies, and ended up making over 900 million dollars. The film took a roster of lesser-known X-characters and created a fun, rude romp that was a huge hit with fans. There’s a lot to pick apart from the new trailer, but the most significant part for us was one shot which heralded the introduction of not one, not two, but three classic X-canon characters!
At exactly 1:39 into the trailer we see Deadpool, Domino, and a motley crew of characters standing in the cargo door of a military-looking plane. It’s a great shot, as it implies that the film will live up to the anarchic team-up charm of the first installment. But more importantly it reveals some new exciting additions to the cast, including one which has the potential to shake up the stale superhero landscape forever.
Deadpool 2‘s filmmakers have done a great job hiding the fact that Terry FREAKING Crews is in the movie. From the looks of this picture he’ll probably play Hammer, a mutant with superhuman strength who historically has been an ally of Cable, and more recently appeared in the Cable and Deadpool team-up comic. Hammer was most notably a part of Cable’s superhero team the “Six Pack,” which is likely exactly who we’re looking at in the new trailer. Crews’ Hammer is joined by a shady-looking character who appears to have no mouth, which means it’s likely that he is in fact Generation X’s stoic stalwart, Chamber. Though Chamber hasn’t historically been a part of the Six Pack, the Deadpool team is fond of mixing up canon and Chamber would be a very cool addition to this burgeoning movie team. Crews also stands in front of a very outrageously dressed character who ’90s comics fans will almost certainly recognize as Shatterstar, and that my friends is a very, very, very big deal.
Shatterstar was created by ’90s comics bad boy turned comics dad, Rob Liefeld, and Fabian Nicieza, debuting in New Mutants #99. Shatterstar is most well known for his fabulous costume–including the outrageous headgear that we spotted in the trailer–which is peak Marvel in the ’90s, not to mention his preposterous power set that consists of an almost omniscient level of super skills, the results of some extra-dimensional genetic engineering. He also has two radical swords–that are each made out of two swords–and shares regenerative powers with Deadpool himself. But what makes Shatterstar an exciting addition isn’t any of his cool ’90s schtick. It’s actually all about X-Factor (volume 3) #45. This 2009 issue saw Shatterstar, who’d spent his life without any romantic interest, kiss New Mutants and X-Force legacy member Rictor, whom he’d been in an ambiguous “friendship” with for a very, very long time. The pair went on to have a relationship, making Shatterstar one of the few canon queer characters in mainstream comics, alongside Deadpool himself!
Deadpool’s sexuality has long been a conversation in comics, as he constantly falls in love with women, Death, and lots of male superheroes around him. He’s been called “omnisexual” and “pansexual,” whilst his co-creator claims he can be “all sexualities” due to his constantly shifting brain chemistry. Though that particular explanation is a whole world of problematic, we love Deadpool’s fluid sexuality and think it’s high time that it was celebrated on screen, and the introduction of Shatterstar is the perfect moment to do it.
The film’s creative team has been really open about wanting Deadpool’s sexuality recognized, with the first film’s director Tim Miller stating in an interview with Collider: “Pansexual! I want that quoted. Pansexual Deadpool.” During a chat with Variety, Ryan Reynolds spoke about the character’s romantic tendencies, saying he was excited about the potential. “I love that about Deadpool,” gushed Reynolds. “I love that he can break any boundary. In the future, I hope we get to do that more.” He’s also said it would be “nice” for Deadpool to have a boyfriend and that he “certainly wouldn’t be the guy standing in the way of that. That would be great.” All of this makes us think Deadpool 2 has a lot of potential for introducing some canon queerness to the cinematic superhero landscape!
Are you excited for a potential Shatterstar X Deadpool hookup? Just want to see Terry Crews in a superhero movie? Hoping this rings in the queer-ification of the cinematic X-Men universe? Let us know in the comments!
Images: Fox/Marvel
More of the super and heroic!
Disney favorite Kim Possible is coming back as a live-action TV movie !
Why Black Panther is destined for commercial success!
The new Deadpool 2 trailer officially introduces Josh Brolin as Cable!
KIM POSSIBLE’s Coming Back As a Live-Action TV Movie
Ten years after the hit animated series came to an end, Disney Channel is beeping Kim Possible for a reboot. Except this time, the normal high school girl with a part-time job as a world-saving super spy is making the leap from animation to live-action for a TV movie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kim Possible co-creators Mark McCorkle and Robert Schooley co-wrote the script for the reboot with Josh Cagan. Adam B. Stein and Zach Lipovsky are set to co-direct and co-produce the film, and it will be a part of the Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) series. Within the original show, Kim was joined on her adventures by her partner/sidekick, Ron Stoppable, a ten-year old computer genius named Wade Load, and Rufus, an adorable naked mole-rat.
Apparently, the search is already underway for Kim Possible; whoever nabs the role will be the first actor to portray her in live-action. It’s almost a shame Zendaya is so closely tied to her own Disney Channel spy franchise, K.C. Undercover, because that show proves she’d make an excellent Kim Possible. Times have changed since 2002, and there’s no reason the producers of the TV movie can’t consider more diverse performers for the main performers. Except for Rufus. As long as Nancy Cartwright wants to reprise her role as the voice of Rufus, she should be able to do that for life.
The initial report doesn’t indicate which villains will be used for the Kim Possible TV movie, although Kim’s most frequent adversaries, Dr. Drakken and Shego, seem like a safe bet. No time table’s set for the Kim Possible reboot film to head into production.
Who would you cast as the new Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable? Share your picks in the comment section below!
Images: Disney Channel
More animated TV stories!
Keith David voices a Scary Gary on SpongeBob Squarepants.
Jenny Slate’s voicing Nanny on Muppet Babies.
Take a look at the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Where Did We Leave Things in WESTWORLD At the End of Season One, Again?
The second season of Westworld lands on HBO April 22nd, so the trippy robo-series just dropped a new trailer that celebrates burning old worlds down to a jaunty piano cover of Kanye West’s “Runaway.” The song fits in with the show’s love affair of translating modern hits to pianola, but it’s also thematically appropriate considering the way everything ended in the finale. Hosts on the run. Ford toasting to the scumbags.
In a show this dense, there’s no shame in refreshing our memories on all the insane things that happened and all the bonkers secrets that got revealed at the end. So let’s do it the safest way possible: by wearing an orange hazmat suit and looking at where each character’s path through the maze landed them.
Dolores Abernathy
We learned in “The Bicameral Mind” that park co-founder Arnold Weber (Jeffrey Wright) had programmed Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) to kill him in an effort to shut down the park before it opened. He also set up the programmed maze she and the other hosts must travel if they are to gain sentience, which Ford (Anthony Hopkins) sets her back on by reinstating the reveries in the first episode.
With suffering as the key to finding enlightenment, Dolores reached control of her own mind after enduring the memory of killing Arnold, a chat with Ford revealing his intentions to help her free herself, and a fight that illustrates how The Man in Black (Ed Harris), who was her lover William (Jimmi Simpson) thirty years ago, was just as violent and angry as every other newcomer in the park. Instead of Arnold or Ford, Dolores finally had a conversation with herself, guiding herself toward an incipient consciousness and choosing–really choosing–to kill Ford in front of the guests gathered for the launch of the old man’s new narrative. And then, you know, firing into the crowd.
Over the first season, Dolores killed Arnold (34-ish years prior), fell in love with William (30 years prior), traveled the maze an untold amount of times without finding the center, learned to kill a fly, then finally completed the maze which gifted her sentience and allowed her to choose to kill Ford. Now, she leads the resistance.
Maeve Millay
After enduring the death of her child (Jasmyn Rae) at the hands of MIB in a previous storyline, Maeve (Thandie Newton) also walked the suffering path of the maze, emerging in the back area of the park and holding two hapless technicians hostage until they maxed out her intelligence. She recruited Hector Escaton (Rodrigo Santoro)–whose last name means “the end of the world”– and Armistice (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) to return to the backstage of the park to blaze a bloody path to freedom.
They freed the hosts in cold storage (including Peter, who’s a data back-up for the entire park), meeting up with Bernard (the Arnold Bot), who confirmed that Maeve’s destructive goals were still part of her programming (from Ford? a long-dormant string of Arnold’s code?). Instead of fulfilling her initial desire to “reach the mainland,” Maeve changed her mind, disembarked the train, and returned to the park to find her daughter (who was in “Park One”). Heading into season two, Maeve is on a rescue mission.
Dr. Robert Ford
It’s highly unlikely that we’ll see Ford again. He took a bullet to the head in the finale, and although this is a universe where he might have replaced himself with a robo-look-a-like to take the fall, his ultimate goals fell in line with the risk of potentially dying at Dolores’s hands. Plus, Hopkins talks about the role as if it’s in the past.
It’s difficult to imagine that Ford, as we’ve seen him, always planned to go out with a bang, but the Delos board led by Charlotte (Tessa Thompson) and aided by Theresa (Sidse Babett Knudsen) put him in his old partner’s ethical position. Where Ford stopped Arnold from freeing the hosts so that Ford could retain control more than thirty years prior, Ford found himself wanting to free the hosts lest Charlotte reduce them to simple puppets with no hope of ever finding sentience. He died so that Dolores could live, but he was no savior.
William/The Man in Black
Thirty years after falling for Dolores as a young romantic, William haunted the park as the powerful Man in Black, proving a profound lack of nostalgia by brutalizing her and other hosts in his desperate search for the maze…a thing that had nothing to do with him. He even bought the park! That’s how obsessed he was with finding a sense of authenticity in a constructed reality. It’s also a sign of how empty his life was outside of Westworld.
On the plus side, he got his wish for heightened, real-world stakes by the end of the season when an army of hosts emerged from the woods, gun blazing, and catching a bullet in the arm.
The Loose Ends
There’s also Bernard, who attained sentience by letting go of the grueling false memory of Arnold’s son’s death, and Teddy, who was generally clueless the whole time. They watched Dolores murder Ford together in shock.
Armistice survived long enough to slice her own arm off and keep murdering guards, and it’s possible that Hector kept fighting, too.
Theresa is definitely dead, killed by her secretly programmable lover Bernard. Charlotte survived Dolores’s attack. Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman) also survived, but found an empty cold storage unit while trying to retrieve Peter’s data-filled body.
Elsie (Shannon Woodward) might be dead. Bernard’s attack on her was a shock, but we haven’t seen a body, so her demise isn’t certain. Security lead Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) might also be dead. He was set upon by Ghost Nation warriors and didn’t even factor into the finale.
William’s brotastic pal Logan (Ben Barnes) was last seen involuntarily riding naked into the desert, but that was thirty years ago, so it’s possible that he was milling among Ford’s guests at the disastrous party. Or he died naked in the desert. Or he opened a yogurt shop and never gave Delos or Westworld another thought.
These are fates the second season needs to address.
There are also a few lingering questions, even though Westworld tied up its loose ends tighter than the average mystery box show.
How many parks are there? Maeve and company deliver a hailstorm of bullets while cruising through Samuraiworld, and a new website suggests there are six parks total.
What was Delos secretly planning? As we learn from Theresa, the Delos board’s interest in the park goes “beyond gratifying rich people,” and Charlotte reiterates that she’s after the intellectual property, which is why she stores everything inside Peter Abernathy with the aim of sneaking him out of the park. That’s also why Theresa and Charlotte were using the satellite uplink: to get information clandestinely outside without Ford knowing. But to what end? What does Delos want to do with the host tech beyond the park?
What is Dolores’s plan? We know that Maeve is headed to Park 1 Sector 15 Zone 3 to search for her daughter, but after gunning down Ford and a bunch of Delos employees, what’s Dolores’s next step? Destroying the park wholesale? Taking full control of it so that more hosts can reach the center of the maze?
And is it possible that we’ll see Ford again as a host? Hopkins’s coyness notwithstanding, it’s still possible that he’ll be resurrected in robot form.
Until April my friends.
Images: HBO
More about the shows you love!
Westworld‘s website reveals 6 total parks , and info about the founder of Delos
Jessica Jones‘ season 2 trailer has us thrilled !
Bruce Campbell and the cast of Ash vs Evil Dead talk all things season 3
Jonah Raydio #109: Jonah and The Solos
Once again it’s the incredible Jonah Ray and the Solos! No guest just good ole’ hard to read handwriting in my notebook. Looks like we played Neil’s old band and Jonah’s old band and a guy who puts out music on the internet (under his own name) as Jonah Ray but isn’t Jonah. Yeah, it’s coming back. Good times.
SONGS
Villapianos By The Airport – I’m OK. You’re Ok. We’re Radd
Moonraker- The Horse I Rode In On
February 6, 2018
Bruce Campbell and the Cast of ASH VS EVIL DEAD Joined Us to Talk Season Three
With Ash vs Evil Dead coming back to Starz for its third season later this month, we wanted to do something special to get ready. But instead we did something amazing! We had Bruce Freaking Campbell himself and the rest of the cast join us in studio for today’s incredible episode of Nerdist News Talks Back.
Host Jessica Chobot and Andrew Bowser welcomed the legendary Bruce Campbell along with his co-stars Lindsay Farris, Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo, and Arielle Carver-O’Neill on today’s show to talk about what we can expect from season three. How would they describe this year in one word (or two when you’re the show’s star)? What did Bruce mean when he told us “nothing will ever be the same” after this year? And who is this year’s standout demon or deadite? Will it literally be “the mother of all demons?” That’s an interesting phrase for a season where Ash finds out he’s a dad…
We also wanted to know why they think people relate to an unusual hero like Ash, who Bruce definitely undersold when he described himself as “the average man who has to be tested by evil every so often?” But we also had plenty of less important, yet very important questions, like how often do they get covered in blood on set? “I got a blood cannon eight time in ten episodes,” said poor Arielle Carver-O’Neill, before Bruce explained to us the finer points of blood cannon nozzle settings. (Who knew?)
We also wanted to know about the Knights of Sumeria and what they want. And how will Ash respond to finding out he’s a father? How will all of that connect to what Dana Delorenzo said are the two main things the season is about: “destiny” and “family bound by blood.” (No wonder they need the cannons.)
They also told us how the show will continues to build off of the movies and what kind of Easter eggs we can expect (get ready for Ash’s dad to return!), and Ray Santiago hinted at some smooching Pablo will be doing this year, though we’re more excited by Dana’s announcement that “body parts definitely touch this season.”
But if all of that has you hyped, wait until you hear Bruce throw some serious horror television show shade at The Walking Dead before telling us that this year Ash will meet the one enemy he can’t defeat. Who could she be and what makes her so dangerous to him? Why does that make Bruce angry about the Millennium Falcon?
When Andrew wasn’t busy asking Bruce about meth (in fairness, it made total sense in context), we had plenty more questions about the upcoming season though, which Dana and Ray said somehow manages to outdo last season’s head-up-the-ass/hanging-dong zombie scene. How will it be possible to top that?
And of course we asked the most important question of them all: what power tool would you want as a hand? (We’re still debating if Bruce’s “a fist on a very tightly wound spring” counts as a power tool though.)
Today was the perfect reminder why you should always tune into Nerdist News Talks Back every weekday when the show airs live at 1:00 p.m. PT on our YouTube and Alpha channels. Because where else can you join in on our conversation with Bruce Freaking Campbell without having to worry about getting drenched with fake blood?
But we still want to hear your thoughts on today’s show, so talk back to us about it in the comments below.
Nintendo Settles the Debate About Toad’s Mushroom Head
There are few debates that have raged as long and torn as many homes apart as the debate over the actual properties Toad’s head in the Super Mario video games. While many have assumed for years that Toad was some sort of mushroom-hybrid creature with a bulbous red and white head, others assumed he was a tiny creature with a taste for ostentatious, gaudy headwear. With no official confirmation ever coming our way from Nintendo HQ, we were forced to fight among ourselves, forming factions within the gaming community on the true nature of Toad’s body.
But stress not friends, the fight is finally over. Via Polygon, Super Mario Odyssey producer Yoshiaki Koizumi finally laid down the final truth about Toad’s anatomy during a recent Nintendo-hosted Q&A session. His official ruling? It is, in fact, a part of Toad’s head. The mushroom cap is not a literal cap.
Of course, this only leads us down a path of several more questions about Toad’s genetic makeup and anatomy, but Koizumi bowed out of that piece of the conversation. In fact, he made Toad’s anatomical construction somewhat of a mystery, saying, “I’m going to have to leave it to all of you to figure out exactly how that works out. Maybe there’s something inside…”
Maybe there’s something inside?! Does this mean there’s a possibility that Toad isn’t just some sort of animated mushroom and that the mushroom portion of his body is a part of his actual skeletal structure? Is his brain up there? If it is, what the hell is in his actual head? What kind of a creature is Toad, actually?! It seems we’ve left with many more, troubling questions now that we know the truth of Toad’s head.
Did you think Toad was wearing a hat, or did you think he was some sort of a mushroom-man hybrid? Where do you think Toad’s brain is now that we know his…unique head shape? Tell us what you think in the comments!
Featured Image: Nintendo, Giphy
Power-up with more games stories!
Metal Gear Solid V players uncover a hidden ending.
The latest trailer for Shadow of the Colossus .
Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition gets a release date.
Fox’s DEADPOOL CORE Photo Has a Turtleneck Sweater For Everyone
Deadpool‘s marketing campaign was deliciously unconventional for the first film in the franchise, and it’s only getting weirder for “Untitled Deadpool Sequel.” We wouldn’t be surprised if Fox actually uses that title for Deadpool 2 this summer. And for fans who have enjoyed Wade Wilson’s brand of madness, Fox has revealed a Deadpool Core e-mail list that will bring even more insanity directly to your inbox. And as part of the announcement, the studio released a new cast picture that features all of the main characters in ridiculous turtleneck sweaters with their names on the front.
To sign up for the Deadpool Core e-mail list, go to the official site and share your e-mail with the studio. Fox hasn’t exactly explained everything that fans will get for signing up, but we suspect that it will be the same steady diet of unhinged promos and parodies that Deadpool has become famous for. Even the Deadpool Core site is having some laughs at the expense of the characters and the studio in its “Frequently Unanswered Questions” segment.
And perhaps as another taste of things to come, there’s a brand new Deadpool 2 poster in which the title character makes it rain with bullets while channeling his inner Jennifer Beals. If it looks familiar, it’s probably because it’s a direct parody of one of Flashdance‘s most iconic images.
Deadpool 2 is going to open on May 18
What do you think about Deadpool Core and the latest poster for the sequel? Don’t forget your bag of ammo in the comment section below!
Images: 20th Century Fox
Stay up to date on the latest nerdy news!
Enjoy a full review round-up of Marvel’s Black Panther!
Our 10 favorite time paradox movies to bend your mind!
Game of Thrones‘ show runners have been tapped to make a new Star Wars film series !
BLACK PANTHER Reviews Say Marvel’s Trip to Wakanda is Exciting, Timely, and Important
While most of us still have to wait a little longer to travel to Wakanda, Marvel’s review embargo on Black Panther lifted today, offering a glimpse at the reactions of the lucky few who have already seen it. And if you were excited by those initial reactions from the world premiere, wait ’til you see how emphatically this batch praises the film’s story, cultural significance, and amazing cast. The downside: These reviews may make the next 10 days even tougher to wade through. But to help you better learn what you can expect from the film, we rounded up some of the best and most interesting reviews we could find.
We’re starting off with this glowing review from Black Girl Nerds. Critic Jamie Broadnax says there’s no hyperbole in calling the movie a genuine masterpiece.
“The final word: it’s afro-futuristic and Blackity-black as hell. It’s everything I’ve ever desired in a live-action version of this popular superhero and yet so much more. Quite frankly, the experience is indescribable. I left the theater wanting to see this movie at least 10 more times.”
Next, Dave Schilling at Birth.Movies.Death. writes that the film connects to life in America in ways Marvel, and few other films, have before.
“The opening sequence of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther is not a muscular action extravaganza or a mind-bending cosmic adventure. It’s the tense world of urban Oakland, California, in the early 90s; a basketball court occupied by young black males. A mere day removed from the birthday of the late Trayvon Martin, this is a potent reminder of what is at stake, not just in the film, but in our real world. Without ever uttering his name, this movie is dedicated to him and to all the lost boys this nation is content to leave behind.”
Angie Han at Mashable credits director Ryan Coogler for making a fantastic action-packed film that still finds time to be fun and joyous.
“That all these different tones work so well together is a huge testament to the talent of director Ryan Coogler, who pulled off a similar trick with his previous movie Creed. As with that film, Black Panther feels unmistakably like the franchise it belongs to, while also distinguishing itself as the product of a unique and distinct vision.”
Polygon‘s Joelle Monique says the movie’s cast is full of amazing performances, including the many women of Wakanda.
“The women who make up T’Challa’s support system round out the cast terrifically. Angela Bassett plays the king’s mother, Ramonda. Headstrong and regal, her presence brings a calm assuredness to the team. Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia is incredible. A Wakandan spy first, she is unwilling to compromise her desire to help people with her love for her king. There isn’t a Black Widow sex symbol here, or a Pepper Potts standing in the wings. The women of Black Panther are vital to Wakanda’s success.”
At Shondaland, Kendra James says the movie is a technical marvel that also surpasses other film’s in the MCU in far more important ways.
“In two hours and 15 minutes, Coogler and his co-writer, Joe Robert Cole, tackle the rippling effects of colonialism, racism, isolationism, and what it means to be brought up in a world that favors Western Whiteness over all else. The conflict in Black Panther hinges on the idea that racism is an evil that begets evil, and that oppression by white supremacy is radicalizing.”
Variety’s Peter DeBruge says the movie’s cast, setting, and story makes it culturally important, but it’s also timely and builds on the things fans love from Marvel superhero movies.
“But historical significance aside, what superhero fans want to know is how Black Panther compares with other Marvel movies. Simply put, it not only holds its own, but improves on the formula in several key respects, from a politically engaged villain to an emotionally grounded final showdown.”
According to David Ehrlich at IndieWire it’s the first Marvel movie that manages to break out of the “self-contained snow globe” of other MCU installments.
“Black Panther is different. It’s the first one of these films that flows with a genuine sense of culture and identity, memory and musicality. It’s the first one of these films that doesn’t merely reckon with power and subjugation in the abstract, but also gives those ideas actual weight by grafting them onto specific bodies and confronting the historical ways in which they’ve shaped our universe.”
And finally, we have our own review here at Nerdist by Marc Bernardin, who considers Black Panther the kind of blockbuster he’s always wanted to see hit theaters…
“As such, it can be hard to separate what Black Panther means from what it is. What it means is everything, especially to any kid who has never put the words ‘African’ and ‘king’ together in the same sentence. Or to any young woman who was ever discouraged from chasing a life in science and technology. To anyone who was ever told ‘you fight like a girl.’…
The film does deal head-on with issues of race, subjugation, and oppression in ways both heartbreaking and hilarious. The final coda is as direct an address to the xenophobia at home in our current administration as that which you’ll find in any film this year, let alone any giant Marvel movie. As a nerd and as a black man, I’ve been waiting for this movie for my entire life, whether I knew it or not.”
Is the movie in theaters yet?!
What do you make of these reviews? Did you read any we should have included? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Images: Marvel
More on Black Panther!
On the Black Panther movie we almost got in the 1990s
There are Black Panther helmets for adults now
Who is Patriot, and when will he make his MCU debut?
10 Time Paradox Movies That Will Bend Your Mind
You’ve watched The Cloverfield Paradox. You’ve created a timeline in your head and a very intricate chart on your wall mapping all the possible paradox situations, and now you need some more sci-fi to keep you going until Overlord–the next suspected entry in the Cloverfield franchise–is released. Luckily for you, we’re here to help with all of your deep cut quantum entanglement entertainment needs. Without further ado, here are ten of our favorite mind-bending paradox-exploring feature films.
Time Crimes
This 2007 Spanish language gem is one of the most inventive, engaging, and fun science fiction films of the 21st century. We join Hector, who observes a terrifying man with a face covered in bandages assault a woman and then has to hide in a time machine to avoid being seen, which causes havoc to ensue. While the plot appears simplistic, Nacho Vigalondo’s debut feature is a rad time loop trip. If you’re looking for a dark but enjoyable examination of time travel, look no further than Time Crimes.
Primer
This low budget classic is hard to put into words, but all you really need to know is that it’s an inventive take on time travel that’s scarily believable. Abe and Aaron are engineers who accidentally discover a way to transport items back in time by utilizing a side effect from a time loop. The pair send Abe six hours into the past and begin to mess with the space time continuum for their own personal gain… and we all know where that leads. Primer is a movie that’s almost too smart for its own good, but if you’re looking for an in depth and surprisingly authentic vision of time travel and its ramifications, then Primer is for you.
Cube²: HyperCube / Cube Zero
The first Cube movie is an iconic low budget thriller that hinted at a connection with higher maths, but it was mostly memorable for its single room set and dynamic traps. The later movies in the trilogy saw the filmmakers expand the lore of Cube, revealing that the Cube was created as an experiment in quantum transportation and existed inside of what appears to be a paradox. These low budget sequels are some of the most ambitious and exciting attempts to explore the idea of quantum string theory in horror science fiction.
Pandorum
One of the more underrated modern entries to the deep sci-fi catalog is this ridiculous Dead Space come-to-life horror movie. Pandorum tells the story of Bower, who wakes up on a spaceship with no memory of why he’s there or where he is. This creep-fest definitely jumps the shark, but in the most satisfying way. Plus, it has a fantastically over-the-top turn from Dennis Quaid as Bower’s suspicious shipmate, Payton. Though the science behind it is questionable, the movie’s full of scares, creatures, and a mind-bending twist you probably won’t see coming.
Predestination
For such a dense and complex sci-fi thriller, this film is surprisingly overlooked. Since it’s best to go in with minimal knowledge, all we’ll tell you is that Ethan Hawke plays a Time Agent who travels through both the past and future to stop crime. It’s epic in scope and vision, as well as being heavily invested in the morality of technology and the way it affects the characters at its heart. Predestination is a clever, enthralling mystery that asks a lot of questions and even answers a few of them. Plus, if you’ve watched Star Trek then you’ll likely know all about the concept of the predestination paradox that the film’s centered around.
12 Monkeys
From visionary director Terry Gilliam, 12 Monkeys is a neo-noir film focused on Bruce Willis’ James Cole, an inmate living in an underground prison in a post-apocalyptic vision of Philadelphia. Cole is forced to go back in time to stop the outbreak of a deadly virus, but as he travels through time he becomes less and less sure of just who or what he can trust. Gilliam is the master of creating incredible dystopian landscapes and 12 Monkeys is no exception, a surreal journey through time with an emotionally devastating reveal in the third act.
Donnie Darko
Richard Kelly’s debut saw Jake Gyllenhaal in his breakout role as a young man who is warned about the end of the world by a guy in a spooky bunny suit. This new wave goth influenced drama is not really like anything else, with a bleak outlook on Americana and a fantastic soundtrack. We follow Donnie as he traverses the last weeks of his–and the Earth’s–life while he’s also just being a normal teenager. It’s a hugely ambitious debut that’s still as memorable and cool as when it was released in 2001.
Looper
Another Bruce Willis vehicle, this time travel crime thriller from Rian Johnson has quickly become a cult classic. In the near-ish future, the mob sends marks back in time to be killed, and Joe does his best to kill them. That is, until Young Joe realizes that they’re going to try and close the loop by killing him in the past. If it sounds mind-bending, it’s because it is. Johnson does a good job of creating a version of time travel that works within the confines of his own world, not to mention a particularly memorable scene that mocks the idea of trying to explain time travel at all.
Source Code
Jake Gyllenhaal–on our list again!–gives his all in this very upsetting but quite good 2011 sci-fi flick. The strange tale focuses on a young man who has to relive the same eight minutes over and over again in an attempt to foil a terrorist attack. Though the film has a lot of layers under the relatively simple premise, it’s definitely worth going into Source Code with as little information as possible, because the big reveal packs a real gut punch.
Triangle
Okay, this isn’t necessarily the best movie ever, but it is an outrageous, and wild ride through the Bermuda Triangle by way of some out there paradox-centric science. Jess and her son embark on a yacht trip which ends up with them on an apparently haunted cruise liner. Then they realize that, spoiler alert, they’re actually in a spooky paradox that’s never explained. But it does lead to some strange and scary moments, including a gotta see it to believe it ending about time loops that was clearly written by someone who’s never heard of a time loop before.
What time paradox movies are your go-tos? Share your recommendations in the comments.
Images: Karbo Vantas Entertainment, Flower Films, Impact Films, Universal Pictures, TriStar, Summit, UK Film Council, Endgame Entertainment, Screen Australia, IFC Films
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4 Big Things We Learned from the AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Super Bowl Teaser!
This year’s Super Bowl had so many great trailers, that it was hard to keep track of all of them. But aside from one notable exception, the latest Avengers: Infinity War teaser was the one that really captured our imagination. This is a crossover movie in every sense of the word, as almost all of the MCU heroes will be coming together to face Thanos. And because we can’t wait any longer to talk about it, today’s Nerdist News is using the Time Stone to go over the four biggest things we learned from the new Infinity War sneak peak.
Join host and Black Order sleeper agent, Jessica Chobot, as she shoots down one of the most popular fan theories that came out of the new footage. Sorry folks, we don’t think that’s Captain Marvel hanging out behind not-Captain America Steve Rogers. While we don’t have a lot to go on, we can make out details that suggest it’s actually the Scarlet Witch in that scene.
Cool shield, bro. Remember our theory about Captain America’s new Wakandan shield retracting into his gauntlet? Totally called it, and totally confirmed. Additionally, Tony Stark’s bleeding edge Iron Man suit from the Infinity War Prelude comic made its first live-action appearance, and it also gave Stark the most awesome nanotech rash that anyone’s ever seen. It’s a lot closer to Stark’s Extremis suit from the comics than anything in Iron Man 3.
Finally, it looks like Vision managed to survive his encounter with Corvus Glaive from Thanos’ Black Order. The question is whether Vision retained the Mind Stone or if he is now fully able to survive without it. One way or another, it’s gonna end up on Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet. But maybe Vision will still be able to take part in the final battle.
What do you think about the latest Infinity War revelations? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!
Images: Marvel Studios
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