Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2110

STAR WARS Black Series Reveals a 6-Inch Rey with Speeder

As Hasbro learned the hard way on the last Star Wars movie, sometimes the marketing plan for the film itself doesn’t give you the best indication of who the most popular figure will be. So when the heroes of the new trilogy became toys, it was assumed Finn would be the big seller because he was the one shown holding a lightsaber in the promo art. When the movie’s big “surprise!” was that the Force-sensitive protagonist was Rey instead, her figures became quite difficult to find.

They may not know yet what or who will be most popular in The Last Jedi, but now that they know what works from the prior movie, they want to be sure everyone gets Rey in some form. To that end, they just announced a new 6-inch figure along with her Jakku scavenger speeder.

This is great news for collectors of vehicles and oversized beasts in the 6-inch Black Series, who may have feared that the gigantic TIE fighter was the last we’d see of them. Like the Speeder Bike, this proves a far more manageable-sized ride, and at a price point of $60, won’t break the bank.

Rey’s speeder features an opening engine panel, net o’ junk, and a dynamic ball-jointed stand that allows the vehicle to pose cruising straight ahead or really leaning into those curves. Rey herself features cloth lower garments, backpack, and removable face-scarf piece.

This seemed like a no-brainer from the moment I first saw it in the trailers–and indeed, a smaller version of this set (4-inch scale) with a kid-focused pop-up weapon was a hot seller two years ago. We finally got the more screen-accurate version for collectors.

Will you be scavenging the wasteland known as your local toy aisle in the Fall, when this is due to hit? Speed into comments and let’s discuss.

Images: Hasbro

Snoke has a new look!

Eating IZOMBIE: Liv and Major Feast on Dad and Daughter Brains

Warning: This article contains spoilers, undead and otherwise, for the iZombie episode “Zombie Knows Best.” Go find some brains to eat if you haven’t watched yet.

“I have mercenary training, god.”

While Detective Cavanaugh ran point on investigating the zombie deaths, Liv and Clive got their first case of season three: a father and daughter car crash. The accident was deliberately caused by another driver, so it was time to eat some brains and solve some murders. Liv ate the dad’s brains because she didn’t want teenage girl brains, which meant those were saved for Major (lol). They had to be able to get both points of view to solve the mystery, after all.

The Meal

For this batch o’ brains, Liv whipped up a chili sauce for hot dogs. I sort of hope this series ends with her collecting her brain recipes into a cookbook and making thousands of dollars selling copies to fellow zombies. Anyway, the brain chili sauce looked appetizing. Bonus: Clive got to see his first zombie meal, and his reactions were priceless.

Major

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Major on teenage girl brain was everything I didn’t know I needed to see. We might not get much of Liv and Major teaming up like this, but it’s a fantastic concept that changes up the formulaic portion of the series.

The brain Major dined on belonged to a competitive ice skater. We haven’t seen him wrestle with as many dietary side effects as Liv, so this brain was perfect for him. The girl was insecure, obsessed with taking selfies, and ready to dole out advice—and all of it transferred to Major. When he noticed Ravi was stressing over the Peyton situation, he shut Ravi’s guilt down. He approached the situation like only a dramatic teen would—his feedback was exaggerated and overflowing with attitude, but if you cut off all the fat and distill it, he wasn’t wrong. Teenage girl brain makes some damn good points.

Teenage girl brain also meant Major was not his usual self in the locker room at Fillmore Graves. He stared at other mercenaries and compares his abs to their abs. He compulsively took selfies. He had some impulse issues. Robert Buckley performed the hell out of the comedic situation.

Liv

On the other side of the table, Liv’s dad brain was supportive and upbeat. She started giving everyone around her mini pep talks and words of encouragement. She was also ready to fix anything because the dad was apparently the handy sort. After the pile of shit Liv’s been through in recent weeks, this brain was exactly what she needed. The positivity, the ability to repair problems and feel like she’s in control… these were good qualities for her to absorb right now. Right brain at the right time.

Because of the father daughter aspect, the interactions between Liv and Major were hilarious. It reminds me of so many relationships I’ve seen in real life. Major kept layering on the drama and being insecure, and Liv was endlessly patient. She put her foot down when she needed to—especially when Major talked about the mixed brain tubes the mercenaries eat to avoid visions and side effects—but mostly she lifted the esteem of everyone around her.

It’s the type of personality I wouldn’t have appreciated when I was a teenager, but now? We could all benefit from having someone in life who always has our backs and will give us a boost. It has to be a two-way street, though; not one person sucking the marrow out of another person’s kindness.

I always learn a little something from the brains our leads eat on iZombie. This time, aside from being reminded of the hormone-induced stress of teenage life, I considered the importance of kindness. Dad brain was enthusiastic towards everyone. I know a couple people who are supportive towards a seemingly impossibly large group of friends and marvel at their energy. My introvert self can’t work on quite that scale, but I can be more of a positive force. We all can.

Did you like seeing Major act like a teenage girl? What about Liv’s fatherly turn? Head to the comments and let me know your thoughts on the episode.

Images: The CW

POKÉMON Have a New Eye Design and The Internet Has Feelings About It

Apparently, there is a faction of Pokémon fans who don’t think the more recently revealed Pokémon look all that much like Pokémon. Maybe viewers and players who have stuck with the series since the beginning didn’t notice anything because the change has happened gradually since the ’90s; but for a fan coming back to the Pokémon world after having been away for a while, something might seem off about the new creatures. Reddit user IanMazgelis thinks he figured out what the issue is: The eyes.

I think that both old and new Pokemon all look fantastic, but I feel that the shape of the eyes is a huge part of why people say that new Pokemon “don’t look like Pokemon.” from gaming

The belief is summed up thusly: new Pokémon look more cutesy than the first-gen creatures, and a lot of that has to due with their softer eyes. Look at the graphic above: The sharp angles of Charizard and Mewtwo’s eyes are a lot more immediately threatening than the round eyes of Greninja and Helioptile.

To further demonstrate his point, IanMazgelis made a series of GIFs showing what new Pokémon would look like with “old-fashioned” eyes, and the result is a creature that looks a lot more menacing, like how the original Pokémon felt. As one Reddit commented put it, “They go from ‘oh, what a cute creature’ to ‘yeah, I can see that one kicking ass with the right training.'”

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Which eye variation do you prefer? The classic cool, or the updated cute eyes?

Images: The Pokémon Company

In THE MIST Trailer, We May Be the Monsters

Stephen King‘s The Mist already made for a pretty great movie by Frank Darabont, albeit with an ending that departed from the novella in controversial fashion. As a TV series, one might suspect that the book’s more open ending would be a great set-up—perhaps for a road-trip series across mist-covered America to find the source of a single spoken word heard over a radio.

It looks like Spike TV‘s going for something significantly different.

The basics are the same: there’s a mysterious mist, mention of the Arrowhead project, and people seeking safety in a store. But it also seems there’s more to it than that: the store is in a mall this time, and there appear to be many more locations. Are there actually monsters lurking? That may depend on what this is:

It seems like a monster when it’s in motion, but in a screen-cap it’s revealed to be more human-shaped. This Mist makes people go mad, which is more like the eponymous atmospheric interference in James Herbert’s The Fog (no relation to the John Carpenter film),  caused by an earthquake and an unleashed bio-weapon.

The Mist is described as “a new 10 episode serialized drama,” which means no open-ended road trip; they have a finish in mind. And on basic cable, it probably won’t be the hero shooting his kid.

What do you want to find hiding in The Mist? Should they have shot the whole thing in black and white? Are homicidal friends and neighbors scarier than monsters? Your opportunity to comment should not be “mist,” so speak out below!

Images: Spike TV

THOR: RAGNAROK Mashed Up with FRAGGLE ROCK is Celestial Silliness

By now, chances are you have witnessed the awesomeness that is the Thor: Ragnarok trailer, right? If not, I suggest you do yourself a favor and watch it immediately, as it is the pure fun antidote to all the negativity going on in the world right now. Director Taika Waititi’s third entry in the adventures of everyone’s favorite buff Norse God of Thunder channels all the right color and energy from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and then manages to add the Hulk, Jeff Goldblum, and one super fierce looking Cate Blanchett. What’s not to love??

So how do you make an awesome trailer like this one even more fun? You add some Jim Henson goodness into the mix, that’s how. Nope, I’m not talking about the Muppets or any of the Sesame Street denizens, I’m talking about the Fraggles from Fraggle Rock. This week on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the talk show host debuted a mash-up trailer that combines the Nine Realms with the realms of Gorg’s garden. Ladies and gentlemen, I present Thor: Fraggle Rock!

In this version of the epic Marvel Studios adventure, it appears one of the Fraggles is the one who begins the fall of Asgard, accidentally bringing about “death and pestilence” upon Odin’s kingdom. And as the end of all things draws near, we prepare to see Chris Hemsworth’s Thor do battle with….the Incredible Hulk Junior Gorg! Unfortunately, we don’t see if Thor ends up battling the Trash Heap too. Now wouldn’t that be something to see?

Was the inclusion of Fraggles the only thing that could have possibly improved the already awesome Thor: Ragnarok trailer? Let us know what you think down below in the comments.

Images: The Jim Henson Company / Marvel Studios

All the sweet Thor trailer Easter eggs!

Gorillaz Released an App That Lets You Tour Their Virtual Home

Gorillaz leader Damon Albarn has been working his fingers to the bone over the past few months to make sure we know that the band has a new album, Humanz, coming out in a couple weeks. Ahead of the record’s April 28th release, Gorillaz have announced a TV show, shared social media story books, and done just about everything aside from getting their own breakfast cereal (although we would be 0 percent surprised if that happened too). Now, the band is getting ready to take over your phone with its new self-titled app, which allows you to explore the group’s home in virtual reality, augmented reality, and in 360-degree environments (via NME).

The app, which is available now on Android and iOS, allows users to explore the band’s abode and even engage them in conversation. It looks like there are some light (very light) RPG elements as well, since there’s apparently a narrative involved in your explorations, and the app will be updated to incorporate more storylines. The app will also be the home of “Humanz House Party,” an app-only event that’ll be the first place we’ll be able to listen to the new album in full. There’s no word yet on when exactly that’s happening, so let’s assume it’ll be within a few days of the record’s release.

It’s hard to be surprised by anything Gorillaz do because they’re so ahead of the curve in every way, but we’re still intrigued. Are you going to grab the app, or skip it and just wait for the album to drop? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Featured image: Gorillaz/YouTube

The Newest POKÉMON Movie is Going Back to the Start… Sort Of

There have been an incredible 19 Pokémon movies since the original one, Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back, was released in 1999. There’s soon about to be a 20th, and it pays tribute to the original season of the anime TV series by going back to Ash’s origin story. This time, though, things are a bit different, and everything isn’t quite how we remember it (via Polygon).

Its title is a direct homage to the very first episode of Pokémon: While that episode is titled “Pokémon – I Choose You!,” the film is dubbed (translated from Japanese) Pokémon The Movie: I Choose You! As it appears in the trailer above, the film does stay very close to the TV series: Ash sees a Ho-oh, he gets an uncooperative Pikachu that won’t go into its Pokéball, and they eventually bond. It looks like that’s about where the similarity ends, though, since the movie includes Pokémon that didn’t even exist in the first generation of the anime and games.

The trailer is gen. 1-heavy until out of nowhere, a Piplup is just hanging out, and we get a look at Marshadow, a brand new legendary Pokémon that was only revealed a few days ago. Also, don’t expect to see much of Brock and Misty, because this time, Ash is joined by a new pair of traveling buddies, Souji and Makoto.

The biggest question we have is when is the English dub going to get an American release? There’s no word on that front yet, but we do know the Japanese film is set for a July 15 release. Do you prefer watching anime in its original Japanese, or would you rather wait for the English version to come out? Sound off on Twitter and let us know what you’re thinking.

Featured image: The Pokémon Company

Let’s talk about another TV show…

The Writers Panel #328: Hilary Winston, Henry Alonso Myers and Lon Zimmet

Hilary Winston (creator, Bad Teacher; Community; My Name Is Earl, Happy Endings); Henry Alonso Myers (Ugly Betty; The Magicians; Charmed), Lon Zimmet (Superstore; Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Happy Endings).

Follow @BenBlacker and Like the show on Facebook!

IZOMBIE: Liv and Major Feast on Dad and Teenage Daughter Brains

Warning: This article contains spoilers, undead and otherwise, for the iZombie episode “Zombie Knows Best.” Go find some brains to eat if you haven’t watched yet.

“I have mercenary training, god.”

While Detective Cavanaugh ran point on investigating the zombie deaths, Liv and Clive got their first case of season three: a father and daughter car crash. The accident was deliberately caused by another driver, so it was time to eat some brains and solve some murders. Liv ate the dad’s brains because she didn’t want teenage girl brains, which meant those were saved for Major. They had to be able to get both points of view to solve the mystery, after all.

The Meal

For this batch o’ brains, Liv whipped up a chili sauce for hot dogs. I sort of hope this series ends with her collecting her brain recipes into a cookbook and making thousands of dollars from selling copies to fellow zombies. Anyway, the brain chili sauce looked appetizing. Bonus: Clive got to see his first zombie meal, and his reactions were priceless.

[image error]

Major

Major on teenage girl brain was everything I didn’t know I needed to see. We might not get much of Liv and Major teaming up like this, but it’s a fantastic concept that changes up the formulaic portion of the series.

The brain Major dined on belonged to a competitive ice skater. We haven’t seen him wrestle with as many dietary side effects as Liv, so this brain was perfect for him. The girl was insecure, obsessed with taking selfies, and ready to dole out advice. All of it transferred to Major. When he noticed Ravi was stressing over the Peyton situation, he shut Ravi’s guilt down. He approached the situation like only a dramatic teen would–his feedback was exaggerated and overflowing with attitude, but if you cut off all the fat and distill it, he wasn’t wrong. Teenage girl brain makes some damn good points.

Teenage girl brain also meant Major was not his usual self in the locker room at Fillmore Graves. He stared at other mercenaries and compares his abs to their abs. He compulsively took selfies. He had some impulse issues. Robert Buckley performed the hell out of the comedic situation.

Liv

On the other side of the table, Liv’s dad brain was supportive and upbeat. She started giving everyone around her mini pep talks and words of encouragement. She was also ready to fix anything because the dad was apparently the handy sort. After the pile of shit Liv’s been through in recent weeks, this brain was just what she needed. The positivity, the ability to repair problems and feel like she’s in control… these were good qualities for her to absorb right now. It was the right brain at the right time.

Because of the father daughter aspect, the interactions between Liv and Major were hilarious. It reminds me of so many relationships I’ve seen in real life. Major kept layering on the drama and being insecure, and Liv was endlessly patient. She put her foot down when she needed to—especially when Major talked about the mixed brain tubes the mercenaries eat to avoid visions and side effects—but mostly she lifted the esteem of everyone around her.

It’s the type of personality I wouldn’t have appreciated when I was a teenager, but now? We could all benefit from having someone in life who always has our backs and will give us a boost. It has to be a two-way street, though; not one person sucking the marrow out of another person’s kindness.

I always learn a little something from the brains our leads eat on iZombie. This time, aside from being reminded of the hormone-induced stress of teenage life, I considered the importance of kindness. Dad brain was enthusiastic towards everyone. I know a couple people who are supportive towards a seemingly impossibly large group of friends and marvel at their energy. My introvert self can’t work on quite that scale, but I can be more of a positive force. We all can.

Did you like seeing Major act like a teenage girl? What about Liv’s fatherly turn? Head to the comments and let me know your thoughts on the episode.

Images: The CW

Deep-Sea Squid-on-Squid Violence Reminds Us There’s Always a Bigger Fish

If you thought Squidward was mean to SpongeBob, you ain’t seen nothing yet. If you wondered why H.P. Lovecraft gave all his scariest monsters tentacles, you’re about to find out.

But first, a nice, peaceful video of the deep sea, as captured by the Australian research vessel Investigator:

Psych! The ocean is a place of danger, not peace. Especially if you’re a smallish squid, baited off the beaten path to grab some food and/or pose for the camera, when a bigger squid decides that cannibalism is a thing that is good and okay for cephalopods to do.

Fans of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, you now have some extra ammunition. No, the video doesn’t prove Jar Jar was secretly amazing, but it does add real-life credibility to the “There’s always a bigger fish” scene.

Now, in the movie, that was of course a metaphor for the immediate invading force on Naboo being used by a greater shadow force that would pounce out of the darkness when ready and devour them. Sometimes, however, a squid eating another squid is just…well…a squid eating another squid. What can we say: ika sashimi is tasty. So watch out, bigger squid: there’s always an even larger sushi chef.

In the meantime, let’s all take a moment to reflect on the fact that none of us are small squids, and that is a positive fact that ought to make your day better. Unless, of course, you happen to be a small squid that has learned how to read this, in which case I bid welcome to our new ink-squirting overlords.

Is it time to prepare for the coming of Cthulhu? Cthomment below and let us know!

Image: Lucasfilm