Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2222

Soon You Can Own a Life-Sized Replica of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2’s Baby Groot

While director James Gunn has insisted that Baby Groot‘s prominent appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 wasn’t about marketing, even he’s conceded that there are bound to be several Baby Groot toys coming out of the film. But fans who want something more than just a toy also have something to look forward to. NECA has revealed that it’s releasing a life-sized replica of Baby Groot a few weeks before the sequel hits theaters.

On NECA’s official site, the company has posted the first few images of its Baby Groot replica; which is said to be 10″ tall and “created using the actual digital files used in making the movie for screen accuracy.”

The figure itself is made up of hand painted foam rubber. NECA also included a picture of its Baby Groot next to their previous Rocket replica just to illustrate the size and scale.

You can find more pictures of Baby Groot in our gallery below. One important detail left out so far is the price for this replica. But the site notes that it’s expected to be released in April 2017. As much hype as Baby Groot has received so far, we still think that Groot’s going to grow up quickly in this sequel. That means that there could also be figures and statues of Groot’s alternate forms. But even if that theory is wrong, we still think that Baby Groot is the bomb! Or he just doesn’t know how to handle bombs, if the recent trailer is any indication.

What do you think about the Baby Groot replica? Shout “I am Groot!” in the comment section below!

Images: NECA

What would the real Groot be made of?

Lucasfilm Reveals the Winners of the STAR WARS: GO ROGUE Fan Films

Now that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is out in theaters, the winners of the Star Wars: Go Rogue fan film contest have also been revealed. Rogue One director Gareth Edwards; Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels actress, Ashley Eckstein; and a panel of judges convened to pick the very best Rogue One inspired fan films, and there were only seven shorts left standing after the selection process.

StarWars.com had the complete roundup of the Go Rogue winners, which included short films from Mexico, Europe, Australia, Asia, as well as the U.S. and Canada. First up is “What Will You Become?,” the winner of the adult category in the United States/Canada that finds the members of the Rogue One team optimistically planning their futures.

Go Rogue: What Will You Become? on Disney Video

The second video is “One Force,” the winner in the U.S./Canada children’s category which finds K-2SO learning a valuable lesson from his teammates as they take on the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader.

Go Rogue: One Force on Disney Video

U.S./Canada’s Teen winner was the “Krennic’s Wish,” which found the director a little short of the stormtroopers that he needed to carry out his evil plans. At least that was true before a new opportunity presented itself.

Go Rogue: Krennic’s Wish on Disney Video

Southeast Asia’s winner, “The Last Transmission” was surprising because it is a live-action short among the finalists. It followed a Rebel team whose mission to retrieve a high value target hit a snag.

Go Rogue: The Last Transmission on Disney Video

Mexico’s winning entry, “Timmy: Una Historia de Star Wars” is another bizarre one, which finds Jyn Erso and her team attempting to retrieve a stolen pacifier from the Imperial forces to please Timmy before it’s too late.

Go Rogue: Timmy: Una historia de Star Wars on Disney Video

“A Droid’s Legacy” was the winner from Germany, and it envisioned a bit of a crossover between Rogue One and A New Hope when C-3PO and R2-D2 encountered a familiar face on the Jawa transport.

Go Rogue: A Droid’s Legacy on Disney Video

Finally, “Naming Convention” won the prize for Australia and New Zealand with its Robot Chicken-like tone that established how the Emperor and Darth Vader came up with the name for the Death Star.

Go Rogue: Naming Convention on Disney Video

Which of these Go Rogue fan films was your favorite? Let us know in the comment section below!

Image: Lucasfilm

Want to make a Rogue One fan film? Here’s some trivia to get you started.

The Top 5 Batman Comic Book Christmas Stories

Given that he’s so frequently portrayed as a grim avenger of the night, why are there so many great Christmas stories starring the Batman? Perhaps it’s because night is never so well defined as when it stands in sharp contrast against the brightness of day. And few holidays shine as brightly as the one we celebrate on December 25th. While new yuletide tales of the Caped Crusader arrive every year, here are five standouts from his long, rich history, each of which give ample evidence that when it comes to Christmas, Batman is as appropriate as old Saint Nick himself…

“A Christmas Peril!” — from Batman #27

Though the first Batman Christmas story occurred way back in 1942’s Batman #9, the first truly great Batman Christmas story can be found in February 1945’s “A Christmas Peril!” (in Batman #27), illustrated by Joker and Robin co-creator Jerry Robinson. Like a lot of superhero-centric Christmas tales, it takes its cue from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. But its story of a rich, orphaned “Young Scrooge” who’s manipulated by his advisers into partnering with the mob in a crooked Christmas tree sales racket only to learn about the spirit of giving from Batman and Robin serves as an appealing metaphor for an America that was then coming to the aid of other nations during World War II.

“The Silent Night of the Batman” — from Batman #219

Definitive Batman artist Neal Adams crafts his definitive Batman story in this short tale of a Dark Knight reluctant to stand down on Christmas Eve and enjoy the holiday for a change. Fortunately, the good people of Gotham, whom he’s inspired as well as saved, have things under control, giving him a chance to sip some eggnog and sing a carol or two with the Gotham City Police Department.

“Merry Christmas” — from Batman #247

On a frigid Christmas Eve, the Dark Knight runs afoul of a murderous hoodlum who’s prepared to rub out a snowbound family in order to cover his tracks. The well-worn “Christmas miracle” that saves the day actually works thanks to the staging of fabled Bat-scribe Denny O’Neil’s operating at the height of his powers in this short story from 1973.

“The Night the Mob Stole X-Mas” — from Brave and the Bold #148

Brave and the Bold writer Bob Haney was known for his zany, outrageous stories that paired Batman with a plethora of DC’s other superheroes (the inspiration for the Batman: The Brave the Bold animated series). Few are as zany as this 1979 comic that sees the Dark Knight helping pliable sleuth Plastic Man out of his holiday blues by busting a band of cigarette smugglers.

“Wanted: Santa Claus — Dead or Alive” — from DC’s Super-Star Holiday Special (a.k.a. DC Special Series #21)

Iconic Batman auteur Frank Miller cut his teeth on this Christmas story, his first Batman work, in which a criminal posing as a department store Santa has a change of heart. Fortunately, the Dark Knight and another of writer Denny O’Neil’s patented holiday miracles saves the day before the reformed crook can be killed by his former cohorts.

What’s your favorite Batman Christmas story? Let us know below!

Images: DC Comics

The 10 Best Film Scores of 2016

If you’re like me, you can barely stomach a walk to the market without the company of iTunes or Spotify. And though I’m always begging myself to expand my knowledge of music history to previously explored artists of past and present, I actually owe the bulk of my musical library not to the recording industry, but to the movie biz. The magic of film scores is in the way their intent to imbue images with cinematic quality translates to everyday listening. The John Williams, Alexandre Desplats, and Carter Burwells of the world can turn even the act of doing laundry into the climax of your own feature film.

The past year in cinema introduced some mightily intriguing film scores, many of which are by lesser known artists. If you’re as big a fan of movie music as I am, I’d invite you to peruse the below list of my favorite film scores of 2016. Give each a listen—a few of ’em are sure to turn your day into something else entirely.

Arrival

Fans of Arrival have taken great effort to identify the film as “different from other alien invasion movies.” While Denis Villeneuve’s melancholy hit is hardly the only of its genre to deal in weighty subject matter, it is the flavor of Arrival‘s meat that distinguishes it from its extraterrestrial brethren. That such material is played for somber sincerity where it otherwise might translate to grandeur can be thanked in large part to Jóhann Jóhannsson, whose string composition practically sobs along with the audience as the world onscreen succumbs to tragedies vast and narrow.

Mountains May Depart

Music plays an especially big role at each end of Mountains May Depart, an ethereal story about love and time that could only really be effectively bookended by musical notes rather than lines of dialogue. Making the use of the lively pop ballad “Go West” even more effective is its complement in the film’s wilting orchestration. The marriage of these two musical styles is as strange and disarming as Jia Zhangke’s wonderful script.

Krisha

Unsettled by the above tune (and still image of Krisha Fairchild’s stony stare)? That’s the idea. Krisha sends you careening down the mudslide of emotional volatility that amounts from its titular character’s long-put-off reunion with her estranged family. The film’s score, peppered notably with unorthodox efforts in percussion, really extracts the intensity of Krisha’s relapse into drug abuse and depressive behavior.

The Handmaiden

Park Chan-wook’s latest film is a confluence of many different influences, transposing the story of 2002 Welsh novel The Fingersmith, set in late 19th century England, to 1930s-era Korea and Japan. The result of this amalgam is an animal with feet in classical romance and noir mystery, and as such warrants an appropriately haunting musical arrangement. Jo Yeong-wook (whose melodies you may recognize from past Park Chan-wook films like Oldboy, Lady Vengeance, and I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK, among others) keeps as at once engaged with and alienated from the antics of The Handmaiden‘s main characters, who always stay a few steps ahead of the viewer.

La La Land

Many will walk away from La La Land reciting the lyrics to “Another Day in the Sun” or “The Fools Who Dream,” but the film’s wordless melodies are just as integral—perhaps even more so—to painting the otherworldly picture of a land out of time that is starry-eyed Los Angeles. A nighttime jaunt down the quiet streets of your neighborhood, be it Hollywood or Sheboygan, will be immediately transformed into a stroll on the silver screen when accompanied by these tunes.

Moonlight

It stands to reason that a film as placidly tragic as Moonlight, a story about a young man combating his own homosexuality while growing up in a roughneck part of Miami, should entail a score to match. Chiron’s (played by Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes) lifelong journey of self-discovery is backed by everything from weeping piano numbers to stylish R&B ballads, and always to the end of allowing the viewer an even deeper understanding of the hero’s misery than he himself can grasp.

The Fits

Music integrates more directly into the story of The Fits than it does with most of the films on this list, and as such is handled with both immense care and delightful bombast. In the featured number in particular, percussion and woodwind join forces to chronicle 11-year-old Toni’s (Royalty Hightower) reluctant submission to the thrills of dance with attitude and sophistication.

Swiss Army Man

Swiss Army Man gets points not just for the catchiness of its a capella tunes (performed in fact by stars Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe) but for the creative way that such music is weaved into the movie. Functioning as a tangible piece of the story, the score of Swiss Army Man interacts with the evolving and corroding mind of main character Hank (Dano), managing to surprise, delight, and upset with every turn of events.

High-Rise

Exciting, unsettling, and weird—the cornerstones of any Ben Wheatley movie, High-Rise being no exception. Also perfect descriptors of its soundtrack, which is perhaps more brazenly theatrical than any other entry on this list. Because High-Rise takes place in a world altogether distinct from our own, it works wonders that its harmonies are so jarring and uneasy, albeit consistently beautiful.

Jackie

For my money, Jackie features the most beautiful and affecting score of any movie to hit theaters in 2016, which is in no small part why Jackie is my absolute favorite film of the year. While Mica Levi’s brilliant orchestration stands alone as music worthy of your ear, it operates with a tenacity only witnessed once in a blue moon to hammer home the heart of its accompanying film. Director Pablo Larrain’s hyperconscious direction and star Natalie Portman’s tightrope walk between too real and too fake render Jackie the portrait of a woman trying to tell her own story, mostly to herself. And with Levi’s music does this challenging endeavor give way to masterpiece.

What are some of your favorite film scores of the year? Let us know in comments!

Featured Image: A24

Gal Gadot’s Diana Gets Her Sword in New WONDER WOMAN Photo

It’s the last Movie Morsels of 2016, folks! Which means we’ve tried to pack today’s installment with as much cinematic goodness as possible. For starters, we’ve got our latest look at Wonder Woman, featuring a key moment in the title character’s new origin sequence. Plus, a new photo from Alien: Covenant, word on man-god Bill Murray opening a Caddyshack-themed bar, and much more seasonal merriment…

Wonder Woman

I’ll admit I still have mixed feelings about the Wonder Woman featured in DC comic books of the last thirty years. Growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, my generation had a Princess Diana who–as her original creators William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter intended–was much more of a peace ambassador than a bloodthirsty warrior. So it saddens me a little that the image of Diana today’s kids know best is one with sword raised. Still, as far as that image goes, the upcoming Wonder Woman movie looks to do it justice, as we’ve seen in the film’s trailers and photos. The latest of which sees Diana first getting her “god killer” sword on her island home of Themyscira…

.@WonderWomanFilm star @GalGadot steals “god killer” sword in exclusive new photo: https://t.co/D2mwQ9Sp6T #WonderWoman pic.twitter.com/tdiRVggM2R

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) December 22, 2016

[Twitter]

Alien: Covenant

Another day, another intriguing Alien: Covenant pic… Lately, Fox’s marketing efforts have played up the prequel’s connections to Ridley Scott’s original Alien, a push continued with the prequel’s latest photo–featuring a bloody medical bay not unlike the one John Hurt’s Kane was taken to when the titular creature first attached itself to his face in the 1979 classic…

A bloody aftermath of an #Alien attack teased by @20thcenturyfox in latest #AlienCovenant image: https://t.co/WrS1bKSj0E pic.twitter.com/zSbvG1NePK

— Alien: Covenant (@PrometheusFilms) December 22, 2016

[Twitter]

The Lost City of Z

Time for a little real-life adventure… Amazon’s The Lost City of Z, based on David Grann’s nonfiction bestseller of the same name, chronicles the journeys of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who discovered an advanced civilization in the Amazon jungle in the early 20th century. Seeking to prove its existence despite his skeptical scientific colleagues’ discouragement, Fawcett wound up inspiring many a fictional “Lost World” story in film and literature. Starring Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, and our new Spider-Man Tom Holland, the film hits theaters in April. Here’s the very first trailer…

[Amazon]

Sleepless

If you thought Liam Neeson was the only action hero whom bad guys take things from, think again! Jamie Foxx plays a Las Vegas cop on the edge whose son is kidnapped in the upcoming thriller Sleepless. The first clip from the film offers something unusual — a movie kitchen fight in which no one’s face is held against a hot stove!

[Open Road Films]

Caddyshack

Finally today… As if we needed more evidence that Bill Murray is the coolest man alive, the actor is opening a bar and restaurant with his brothers that’s based on one of his most beloved early films — the immortal Caddyshack! To be located inside of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont, just down the street from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, the “Murray Bros. Caddyshack” restaurant is actually the second of its kind, since there’s already one located in the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida; and so it already has its own website, encouraging one and all to eat, drink, and be Murray!

[Slashfilm]

What do you think of today’s top stories? Let us know below!

Featured Image: DC/Warner Bros.

Images: DC, Warner Bros.

Cosplay Friday #193 – Jane Foster Thor, DIABLO III Monk, and More by Melodywise Cosplay

Melodywise Cosplay uses the hobby of cosplay as an “outlet for bringing ideas to life by becoming that idea.” An art school graduate with a passion for video games, sci-fi, and tabletop gaming, she’s inspired by artists who pour their talents into creating those fictional worlds. She turns that inspiration into detailed costumes depicting the likes of Marvel’s Jane Foster Thor and Warhammer 40K’s Inquisitor.

Look:

Jane Foster Thor (Marvel Comics) | Photo by Beethy Photography

Inquisitor (Warhammer 40K) | Photo by Beyond the Darkroom Photography

Drive on down to the gallery below to feast your eyes upon epic ensembles by Melodywise. You’ll find more photos of Thor and the Inquisitor, as well as a Diablo III monk, a Destiny warlock, and Merisiel the Rogue from Pathfinder. Seeing additional creations by her is as simple as following Melodywise Cosplay on ye olde Facebook.

Do you cosplay or take photographs of cosplayers? Then I want to see your work so we can talk about highlighting what you do in a future Cosplay Friday gallery. If you’re interested, please go ahead and email me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com with hi-res photos you’d like me to feature. 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 geek franchises, I don’t, so please let me know who or what is being cosplayed — I can usually figure it out, but I’ll take all the help I can get.

Images: Courtesy Melodywise Cosplay

Half Hour Happy Hour #105: Drunksmas Day 5

Day 5, it’s getting nuts but let’s talk Cons! It’s EP of Con Man PJ Haarsma.

Follow @HalfHourHappyHr and hosts @alisonhaislip, @alexalbrecht and Tom “Super Volcano” Krajewski on Twitter

Watch 30 Minutes of Objects Getting Cut by a Hot Knife

Hey all, how’s the holiday season going? Is it carefree and fun for you? Or is it a bit stressful and uneasy? Whatever the case, do you have a half hour to kill right now? If so, we have something to put you in some sort of serene mood: This isn’t something we predicted we’d say today, but let’s spend the next 30 minutes watching various things get cut by a hot knife (via Neatorama).

You know the saying, “Like a hot knife through butter,” right? Well, that’s how easy it is to watch this video. To understand what makes this video so satisfying to watch, you should know a bit about ASMR, or “autonomous sensory meridian response.” As explained by one of the leading ASMR YouTube channels GentleWhispering, “it’s a pleasant, tingling feeling that you experience when you year unique, soft voices, or hear certain soothing sounds.”

There’s a visual element to it as well, so let’s consider the first clip in the above compilation as an example. After the knife is heated with a blowtorch, it’s then slowly pressed through the middle of a Twinkie, and as that happens, we hear the fire-like crackling of the heat eating up the breads and sugars, and you see the smoke as a small valley is created, dividing the sugary treat in two.

Can we explain why this feels so good to watch? Absolutely not, but we’re totally in. If you’ve run out of episodes of Bob Ross on Netflix to relax to, this is a strong next step.

Featured image: tracy ducasse

Uber Now Lets You Use People as Destinations

We humans are suckers for convenience, and Uber—disrupter numero uno—knows that very well. Want to meet up with your friend who’s at a way cooler bar than the one you’re currently occupying? No problem. Text your friend, get the location, plug it into Uber, and then finish your drink at your less cool bar while you wait for your car to arrive. But what if you want to go straight to your friend and skip the texting? Save that extra 15 seconds? Now you can.

The app’s new Uber to Person function allows users to plug in a person as a destination rather than an address. Simply ping your friend with a location request and, when it’s accepted, voila! You’re on your way to your real destination: human companionship. “With Uber, you are going from point A to B,” Uber product manager Yuhki Yamashita told Mashable. “The new Uber to Person feature recognizes that people aren’t just going to point B, they are trying to get to each other.”

It’s fairly easy to set up, too. Just sync your contacts with Uber, input your friend as the destination, and then both of you will receive ETA and location updates throughout the trip. Your friend can’t move, though; the destination locks once set and then expires after 30 minutes. This seems like a great opportunity to prank the incoming friend because, once the location is set, incoming friend won’t know if “static” friend moves, but “static” friend will know exactly when and where incoming friend is arriving. (And when I say prank, I’m talking birthday surprise party-level prank, nothing too malicious. Remember, these are friends!).

The new product was teased in November as part of the Uber redesign. CEO Travis Kalanick declared that it’s part of the company’s mission to help people “feel like you’re living in the future.” With self-driving cars, this new Uber to Person app, and other modes of profligate convenience, that future is feeling lazier and lazier every day.

What do you think of this new app? Let us know in the comments below.

Image: Uber

Featured Image: Alper Çuğun/Flickr

DOCTOR WHO Gets in the Holiday Spirit with “The 12 Doctors of Christmas”

It just wouldn’t be Christmas without the Doctor! And while we eagerly await this year’s newest Doctor Who Christmas special, the Doctor Puppet team has released a new music video celebrating “The 12 Doctors of Christmas.”

Doctor Puppet creator Alisa Stern teamed up with Scott Ampleford for “The 12 Doctors of Christmas,” with lead vocals by Rebecca Ampleford. In the accompanying video, each incarnation of the most famous Time Lord (except the War Doctor!) is briefly revisited in this Christmas countdown with their most cherished objects. Although we think the fans on YouTube are correct. The Ninth Doctor should have have some fantastic bananas! As an added bonus, the newest companion, Bill, makes her Doctor Puppet debut near the end of the clip as the Twelfth Doctor gives her a gift that’s undoubtedly bigger on the inside.

Ampleford is also offering “The 12 Doctors of Christmas” theme on Bandcamp as Two Joyful Tunes; which also includes another Doctor Who themed Christmas song called “A Rockin’ Timelord Christmas.”

Stern launched her Doctor Puppet channel in 2012 with “How the Doctor Puppet Saved Christmas,” which featured the Eleventh Doctor, a talking Snowman, and a very festive TARDIS.

It’s also become a tradition for Stern to release a new Doctor Puppet Christmas special every year, but she’s also posted several other Doctor Puppet videos on YouTube. You can find the rest by following this link to her channel.

What did you think about Doctor Puppet‘s new Christmas video and song? Respond in verse using the comment section below!

Image: Alisa Stern/YouTube