Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1990
August 12, 2017
Pay Attention to the Background in This Very Weird Sketch
The gang at New Feelings Time (who gave us the best version of Batman fighting Superman) are out with a new sketch that pits the foreground against the background.
Since there’s nothing worse than explain a joke to death, why don’t you watch it for yourself first?
The simplicity of the gag is fantastic, but the sketch really hums as it expands the abilities and storyline of the silent slapstick jogger. It goes from evoking Monty Python’s “Ministry of Silly Walks” to full-on Bugs Bunnying when the jogger starts creepily hitting on the young woman just trying to get a workout in (don’t do that, fellas). It’s impressive that they were able to create stakes (let alone raise them) on a comic concept that could have been a 30-second throwaway.
There’s also something ridiculously pleasant about the two guys having the foreground conversation. Do I hope mustache guy writes his novel? Yes! His friends seem so supportive. Do I hope flannel shirt guy gets the job he wants? Absolutely!
The Jogger has a meta element (intentional or not) that spoofs on the “Are you paying attention?” style videos that circulate constantly on Facebook thanks to all of your aunts. Videos where you’re supposed to count how many times a basketball gets passed, but there’s also a man in a gorilla suit you didn’t even realize was there because our primitive minds are weak and limited. This sketch riffs on that idea while making it glaringly obvious that something ridiculous is happening behind a banal conversation.
How many gorillas did you spot?
Image: New Feelings Time
Hound Tall #36: Asteroids
This month we talk asteroids and how to prevent them from destroying human life! Joining us is Farah Alibay, and comics Brent Weinbach, Matt Kirshen and Eliza Skinner. All the mysteries of the Jet Propulsion Lab revealed!
Follow @MosheKasher on Twitter!
Disney Villains Come to Life in These Amazing Makeup Transformations
Let’s be honest here–the best thing about Disney animated musicals, besides the actual music, is usually the villains. No one does stylish, over-the-top villainy quite like the House of Mouse. If I were a betting man, I’d say that Ursula, Cruella de Vil, Scar, and all the rest are way more popular than the protagonists from their respective films. There’s a reason that Disney put the entire focus of its live-action remake of Sleeping Beauty on Maleficent–she was always the best part.
Now we’ve learned, thanks to the folks over at The Laughing Squid, about a makeup artist and cartoon designer from Paris, France by the name of Audrey Logeais, who is using her remarkable talents to transform people into some of the greatest bad guys from the Disney oeuvre, in tribute to film’s greatest assortment of villainy ever.
Among her amazing transformations are Scar from The Lion King, Jafar from Aladdin, Hades from Hercules, and Bellwether from Zootopia, among several others. And yes, even Kylo Ren from The Force Awakens is in there. Star Wars is part of Disney now after all.
You can check out several examples of her Disney villain transformations down below:
A post shared by AUDREY LOGEAIS (@audrey.logeais) on Oct 6, 2015 at 3:07pm PDT
A post shared by AUDREY LOGEAIS (@audrey.logeais) on Feb 8, 2016 at 3:46am PST
A post shared by AUDREY LOGEAIS (@audrey.logeais) on Oct 8, 2015 at 1:10am PDT
A post shared by AUDREY LOGEAIS (@audrey.logeais) on Aug 28, 2016 at 7:20am PDT
A post shared by AUDREY LOGEAIS (@audrey.logeais) on Apr 10, 2017 at 7:54am PDT
A post shared by AUDREY LOGEAIS (@audrey.logeais) on Nov 23, 2015 at 11:22am PST
A post shared by AUDREY LOGEAIS (@audrey.logeais) on Jan 24, 2016 at 2:38pm PST
You can take a look at more of Audrey’s work on her Instagram and Facebook pages. And it may not be Disney, but there’s a pretty awesome Skeletor from Master of the Universe among her makeup transformations if you take a peek.
What do you think of these amazing transformations? Be sure to let us know what you think down below in the comments.
Images: Walt Disney Company
August 11, 2017
JUSTICE LEAGUE Reshoots May Point to Troubles
With two directors, their films known for having wildly different tones, working on the project, Justice League may be in a bit of tonal trouble. Join Nerdist News Talks Back Host Jessica Chobot, Mothership Writer Amy Vorpahl, Nerdist Producer Jason Nguyen, and Jessica’s Little Buddy Andrew Bowser as they discuss Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Justice League, and TV revivals.
In the latest of Entertainment Weekly‘s Star Wars coverage, director Rian Johnson and Daisy Ridley revealed that The Last Jedi will lean heavily into Rey’s parentage. However, Johnson warns that Rey’s family might not be as important as either she or the audience thinks. That being said, if Obi-Wan isn’t her grandfather I’m going to yell at the screen. Additionally, audiences will learn a bit about Finn’s family, though not necessarily in Episode VIII.
In troubling news, Justice League star Ben Affleck called the movie “an interesting product of two directors” in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. We’d expect someone promoting his movie to be a little more excited about the project, but Affleck has been known to be extremely candid about his opinions on Batman and the DCEU. Since Zack Snyder’s DC films have been dark and gritty, and Joss Whedon’s projects are snarky and fun, we’re afraid the film might suffer from tonal inconsistencies. That being said, we hope we’re wrong, and the movie blows us out of Aquaman’s water.
To wrap up today, the panel discussed news that Bryan Fuller has been “in conversations” about bringing his beloved horror/cooking show Hannibal back for a long-rumored fourth season. Replying to someone on Twitter, Fuller said conversations couldn’t start until two years following the final episode of the third season (due to contracts and all that), and that the conversations have begun by executive producer Martha De Laurentiis. This is great news! We all love Hannibal, but it of course got us talking about a number of other revived and rebooted television shows recently, such as Gilmore Girls, X-Files, and the recently announced King of the Hill
Is there a show that is no longer with us that you think should get a comeback? Let us know in the comments below, and we’ll see ya next week!!
Image: Warner Bros., Lucasfilm
STAR TREK Theme Sounds Downright Spiritual Played on a Church Organ
For millions of Trekkies, the beloved Star Trek franchise is far more than just a show, it’s something akin to a religion. And that makes the Star Trek theme less of a song and more of a hymn, so it’s only fitting that it sounds absolutely beautiful and inspiring when played on a church organ.
While we always love hearing unusual covers of classic music from pop culture played on unique sounding instruments, what makes this one particularly impressive is that the organist for St. Donatus Church in Aachen, Germany, Kantor Ralph Leinen, played this totally from memory after hearing the song for the first time.
Talk about boldly going where you have never gone before. Meanwhile we have trouble remembering our Netflix passwords when we try to watch old Star Trek episodes.
It’s hard to imagine that the song’s composer, Alexander Courage Jr., could have ever imagined just how iconic this piece would become when he wrote it, but it’s as memorable as any theme song in either television or film history. And considering the beautiful future for mankind that Gene Roddenberry envisioned with Star Trek, there’s something special and serene about hearing it come out of a church organ.
And the best part? It doesn’t belong to any one religion, so maybe you can convince your church to play it at your next gathering.
What other songs from pop culture would you love to hear him play on this pipeless organ?
Featured Image: Paramount
Why Transporters are Star Trek’s most amazing tech
Get Back to the Past with a SAMURAI JACK Costume
John D. Spaw, a.k.a Mnamna Cosplay, has been wearing costumes since he was a kid. He’s gone from playing superhero with a towel around his neck to more complete costumes. He took cosplay more seriously beginning in 2013 when his wife helped him make a Deadpool ensemble. He’s been hooked since, and one of his most recent projects is this spot on Samurai Jack.
Spaw’s inspiration came from the recently released episodes of Samurai Jack. The goal with the costume was to make it look like Jack stepped out of the cartoon. Spaw told Nerdist, “That meant staying with a simple small palette of flat colors and no weathering . There is a hand made black cotton robe as the under-suit and the armor itself is 5mm foam. The face, hair, and bandolier were made from 2mm foam, with some simple mesh framing underneath. Everything was hand painted, to try to make it feel more natural. The only piece that I took a little liberty with was the belt buckle.”
Overall, Spaw spent about 30 hours over a two month period crafting his Samurai Jack costume. He had experience making armor, but he said building the foam hair and making sure Jack was recognizable were his biggest challenges. I’d say he nailed it.
Travel down to the gallery to see pictures of the finished costume as well as the work in progress images. If you want to check out more of Spaw’s work–and you should–visit Mnamna Cosplay on Facebook. Head to Imgur to see an album of build photos for Jack.
Do you cosplay or take photographs of cosplayers? Then I want to see your work so we can talk about highlighting your creations in a future Cosplay Friday gallery. If you’re a photographer, maybe we could focus on your images from a single convention. If you’re interested, please get in touch with me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com and send photos you’d like me to feature–the more high-res the photos, the better. Be sure to provide credits for the cosplayers or photographers for each image because giving credit is good manners–bonus points if you include links to relevant Facebook pages or websites. Though I wish I knew all the nerdy franchises, I don’t, so please let me know who or what is being cosplayed.
Images: Courtesy of Mnamna Cosplay
How Joss Whedon is Completely Reshaping JUSTICE LEAGUE
When Joss Whedon joined the Justice League movie late in production, it was assumed that he would only direct and write a handful of new scenes to bring Zack Snyder‘s vision to the big screen. Two months later, it’s become clear that Whedon’s reshoots have gone far beyond the originally stated goals of the studio. The changes ahead are much bigger than simply erasing Henry Cavill’s mustache from another movie. Today’s Nerdist News is exploring the way that Whedon has reshaped the tone of the Justice League film and its signature heroes as well.
Join host and mother of all Mother Boxes, Jessica Chobot, as she runs down everything we currently know about Whedon’s reshoots. This week, director Joe Morton spoke to IGN about the changes that Whedon made regarding his onscreen son, Cyborg. Morton made it clear that his character, Silas Stone, has changed very little. However, Cyborg/Vic Stone is apparently becoming a much lighter character in Whedon’s version of the film.
The most recent trailer may have also shown off more of Whedon’s changes, with Wonder Woman front and center in the story as the characters dropped some of Whedon’s signature dialogue. Snyder’s chosen composer, Junkie XL, was also replaced by film legend Danny Elfman; which practically guarantees the finished movie will have more of a classical superhero score instead of the metal-inspired riffs favored by Junkie XL.
But perhaps the biggest change is the introduction of the Hall of Justice, the iconic headquarters of the League. That was reportedly left out of the first version of the movie, and it didn’t seem like it fit in with Snyder’s angry brooding heroes. But it may be perfect of Whedon’s more upbeat depiction of the League as individuals and as a team.
Are you excited about Whedon’s Justice League changes? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!
For more of Nerdist News, be sure to check out our looks at Gendry on Game of Thrones, The Last Jedi‘s Praetorian Guard, and Deadpool 2‘s Cable!
Images: Warner Bros. Pictures
GAME OF THRONES’ Conleth Hill Insists That Varys Isn’t Really a Merman
Last summer our very own Dan Casey put forth a Game of Thrones theory on The Dan Cave so shocking it threatened to blow the roof off the entire show. After watching the seemingly impossibly fast travels of a certain Spider back and forth across thousands and thousands of miles of sea from Westeros to Meereen, he proposed one hard hitting theory: Varys is really a merman.
Well now there’s a whole new theory to challenge Dan’s radical Varys/mermaid idea, and it comes directly from the man who plays the Master of Whispers himself, actor Conleth Hill: Varys is NOT really a merman!
That’s right, our very own Khaleeseditor Alicia Lutes asked Hill about Dan’s theory when she interviewed the Eunuch at Game of Thrones‘ season seven premiere event earlier this summer. We’d say Hill was having none of what Dan was serving, but that would be an understatement. (See for yourself in the video above–some accusations were made.)
Alas, the actor was pretty adamant that Dan’s “Merman Theory” doesn’t hold water, so we might have to toss this one back. (We like to have fun around here.) Then again, this season Daenerys did make us question everything we thought we knew about Varys, so who’s to say that Hill is telling the truth now, hmm? Something is definitely fishy around here.
But what do you think? Are we swimming against the stream on this one, or is Varys really just a regular old human with access to fast ships? If you’re hankering for more viable theories, we’ve got thoughts on Gendry’s return to the series and Bran’s fateful gift from Littlefinger. Dive into our comments below and let us know what you think about one and all!
Images: HBO
Breaking the Law of Gravity in LAWBREAKERS is Fast-Paced Fun, But Tough to Get Into (Review)
Nearly two years ago, Gears of War Creator Cliff Blezinski unveiled Boss Key Productions‘ inaugural title, LawBreakers: a fast-paced first-person 5v5 hero shooter centered around fierce head-to-head multiplayer competition and breaking the laws of gravity. While the return of the arena shooter (think ) felt like a fresh and welcome return at the time, a certain popular hero shooter (*cough* Overwatch) hit the scene last year and snuffed out some of the excitement. While LawBreakers takes a unique spin on the genre with its anti-gravity mechanics, and balls-to-the-wall action, the game’s bland world-building, and inaccessibility, will likely turn people off.
If you’re familiar with games like Quake and Unreal Tournament, slipping into the speedy chaos that is LawBreakers will feel both familiar, and exciting. Unfortunately, however, not every player will have an easy time getting into the swing of things. The speed on its own isn’t an issue, but it exacerbates the problem caused by a lack of direction/instruction for first-time players. Sure, the majority of the five modes are nothing new; you’ve got your domination and capture-the-flag type modes, etc; but the game fails to explain how or what each of the 18 characters’ hosts of abilities do. Your best bet is to cycle through the characters and try stuff these things out—which is rough to grasp amidst the high-speed chaos around you. As a result, it isn’t as easy to pick up and play as something like Overwatch.
The good thing is that the hero abilities are delightfully varied, mostly balanced, and a blast to use once you’ve got the hang of things. Each character class boasts three special abilities (one of which is an ultimate) and two weapon modes. For most of the characters, one of the abilities will provide a boost to the character’s locomotion style, while the other acts as a grenade or projectile of some sort. But not all of them are structured the same.
There are a handful of support characters on the other hand who allow you to do things like give surrounding players a boost in speed, increase their damage output, protect surrounding characters, or dole out health packs. Despite falling into familiar class clichés, and differing in function, each character maintains an offensive edge. So, while you’ll be switching between characters to accomplish different objectives, you won’t feel powerless out in the field, and tied down simply because you are a medic. That said, the frantic pace of the combat makes support characters feel less important to the outcome of the matches at times. Surprisingly, though, I haven’t found a character who is overpowered, which is a rarity these days. Hooray for balance.
Sadly, where the class abilities shine, the characters themselves fall flat. As I already mentioned, there are eighteen in total (two in each class), but none of them are memorable. There are a few wacky characters packed into the roster, but the roster In fact, most of the time I wasn’t able to differentiate between between these characters from afar out in the field. There were a few I knew by sight (because I was familiar with performing their specials), but the others were nothing but a blur as they passed by. It’s a real shame because the character bios hidden within the menu sounded interesting. Of course, I’ve only been playing the game for a few days, so hopefully things will change once I settle into my favorites.
As for story, all we really know from the get-go is that the crew is divided, with half of the crew belonging to the Law squad, and the other half belonging to the Breakers (hence two characters per class). While a cool idea, the difference between the two isn’t really apparent in the game, and doesn’t hold any weight when it comes to the objective. There’s no single-player campaign to rely on for context because the game is a multiplayer-only experience.
The multiplayer maps weren’t necessarily bad, but they weren’t anything special either when it came to aesthetics. The saving grace was the anti-gravity pockets peppered throughout the map, and the interesting ways in which each character was able to take advantage of their unique traversal abilities, like teleporting, using a grapple hook, or laser propulsion boots (that double as a weapon, of course!) from point A to point B. Want to slide across the map to your objective? Select the Wraith class and teleport in the direction of the anti-gravity zone and prepare to leap to victory.
The Verdict
LawBreakers might not be taking a revolutionary step in the first-person shooter genre, but it is still a hell of a lot of fun thanks to the fast-paced anti-gravity chaos. It boasts a balanced 18-hero (nine-class) roster, action-packed anti-gravity sequences, and snappy mechanics. If you’re a fan of games like Unreal Tournament and Quake, this might be worth a flier at $30. Its unwelcoming aesthetic and learning curve, however,F will make this a hard sell for certain folk. The only question now is how many people will be giving their favorite first-person shooters a break to break the law. Will you be grabbing the game? Let us know in the comments below!
Rating: 3 burritos out of 5
Editor’s Note: This review was completed with a PS4 copy of LawBreakers provided by the publisher. The game hit shelves on August 8, 2017.
Images: Boss Key Productions
RICK AND MORTY Pickle Rick Fan Art Is a Big Dill
Pickles have become so much more than the perfect snack (I will fight you on this) this week thanks to Rick and Morty. A recent episode of the series featured Pickle Rick, which is exactly as it sounds: Rick turned himself into a pickle. His tactic to evade therapy wasn’t his brightest move ever, and Scott focuses on that in his review of the gag. But right now, we’re going to highlight how Pickle Rick has infiltrated pop culture with a look at some of the fan art that’s popped onto the web.
Imagine we’re putting these pieces of fan art in a bottle of delicious brine to preserve forever. And actually, some of this art is forever–like this Pickle Rick tattoo inked by tattooist James Mullin.
A post shared by James Mullin (@jamesmullintattoos) on Aug 10, 2017 at 2:47pm PDT
No, it’s not the only Pickle Rick tattoo I’ve seen.
Heather, a.k.a. thirtyARTsix, captured so many shades of Pickle Rick in her art.
A post shared by Heather thirtyARTsix (@thirtyartsix) on Aug 9, 2017 at 6:04pm PDT
Pickle Rick fits right in with the other pickles in this piece by Bella Pissanetzsky.
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