Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2226

THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE Delivers Sick And Unique Thrills (Review)

In 2011, Norwegian director André Øvredal thrilled audiences around the world with his witty and wild found-footage creature feature Trollhunter. Now this monster-loving filmmaker has returned with his English-language debut, the intimate and intense Autopsy of Jane Doe.

Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox co-star as Tommy and Austin Tilden, a father and son team of coroners’ responsible for uncovering the cause of death of any unusual cases in the rural town of Grantham, Virginia. The pair work happily together, blasting rock radio and pondering the methods of murder while elbow deep in in grisly cadavers, their pleasant mood a stark contrast to their grim family business. But trouble brews for the Tildens. Tommy and his girlfriend (Ophelia Lovibond) are plotting a life away from the mortuary, but this dedicated Daddy’s Boy worries over who will look after his widowed father if he’s not around. However, these personal dramas fall to the side when a bizarre body arrives.

Found on the site of a gruesome triple murder, this unclaimed female corpse is seemingly pristine, no cuts, no bruises, no apparent cause of death. A spooked sheriff (Michael McElhatton) drops her off, demanding a full report by morning. And so father and son Tilden get to work, cracking open her chest and diving in. But the deeper they get into the corpse and their investigation, the stranger the things that happen in their remote little morgue. Lights flicker. Strange noise echo down dark halls. The dead rise. The laws of nature bend at the will of this unusual dead girl, unfurling a story sick, satisfying and sensational.

The screenplay by Ian B. Goldberg and Richard Naing shrewdly centers in the Tilden morgue, trapping our heroes below ground and in a familiar place made strange. Its intimacy turns claustrophobic, the film’s low-budget working in its favor using lighting and suggestive terror gags to tease audiences into a state of frightened frenzy. Adding gravitas is Øvredal’s central cast of heavy-hitters. Hirsch and Cox reject the campiness common in haunted house flicks, favoring a more grounded and thereby impactful performance style. They sell the rich bond between father and son, and by extension make the horror of their situation all the more disturbing. Yet the undersung hero of this thriller is Jane Doe herself.

Newcomer Olwen Catherine Kelly bares much of her body in service to The Autopsy of Jane Doe. She is never given dialogue or even motion to create the menace and motivations of her monster. Yet Øvredal’s direction shoots her in such a way that she feels fleshed out. Her frozen expression reads in turn as smirking, heartless and heartbroken, juxtaposed by a biting sound design, and insightful editing from Peter Gvozdas and Patrick Larsgaard. Remarkably, cinematographer Roman Osin manages to shoot a naked woman in a way that avoids horror’s tendency toward sexual objectification and body horror. Taking a cue from the Tildens, his shots regard Doe’s body not as object of lust or disgust but of mystery. It’s a delicate balance that makes this a uniquely smart and thrilling ride.

Contained and terrifying, The Autopsy of Jane Doe reminds me of the best of Tales From The Crypt. Its story is cleverly concise, save for the rushing of its enigmatic antagonist’s complicated backstory. The father and son team are efficient archetypes, with a twist of the morbid delivered in their mortuary work. And through this, we get the simple staging necessary to build a tale of tension, terror and trauma. While lesser horror auteurs slather their sets in blood and attempt to awe with outrageous gore, Øvredal offers a more sophisticated and scarier story that pulls audiences to the edge of their seats, then pitches them back in genuine fright to deliver one of the best horror films of the year.

4 out of 5 burritos.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe hits theaters Wednesday, December 21, 2016.

The POWER RANGERS Movie’s New Goldar Is Certainly… Gold

We’ve known for a while now that the upcoming Power Rangers reboot would be taking some liberties with the classic characters from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. However, the redesign for Rita Repulsa’s henchman Goldar may be the biggest departure yet from the ’90s TV series. A new Power Rangers toy commercial from Bandai has revealed Goldar’s as he is set to appear in the film, and he looks like a melting candle of gold.

We spotted the ad via io9, which also featured the Power Rangers’ MegaZord easily defeating the golden Goldar. Hopefully, he’ll put up a better fight in the film!

For those of you who never saw the TV series, Goldar was some kind of anthropomorphic ape-wolf with wings. The new Goldar has a similar shape, but not the distinctive face that we know and… kind of like.

Believe it or not, we actually do have a pretty good idea about why Goldar appears this way in the film. But it involves some spoilers for Power Rangers, so consider yourselves warned!

In a recent episode of Nerdist News, we covered the rumors that Rita Repulsa was once the original Green Ranger, millions of years ago. In the present, Rita will supposedly try to resurrect Goldar to help her conquer the Earth. And since this Goldar is literally made of gold, Rita is going to have to rob a few banks to get the gold that she needs to make her monster grow!

Yes, it’s a little silly, but there was always some inherent goofiness in the Power Rangers TV series. As long as the film is entertaining, we’re fine with it.

What do you think about the Goldar redesign? Make your thoughts known in the comment section below!

Images: Saban/Bandai

Hear all the details on Rita Repulsa’s story in the Power Rangers movie

5 Tech Breakthroughs in 2016 that Prove 2017 Might Be Surprisingly Bright

It seems reasonable to say that the world’s zeitgeist significantly shifted in 2016. (“Unexpected” will probably be written down in the history books/VR archives quite a few times for this year’s chapter.) But while it’s hard to say whether that shift will lead to calmer seas or that tidal wave from the end of Deep Impact, there are some extremely impressive and — gasp! — hopeful signs from the tech space this year signaling that the near future may be surprisingly bright.

So, in the spirit of what Bill Gates would call “inventing our way out” of a whole mess of problems, here are five of the biggest tech breakthroughs from 2016 that may make 2017 a seminal year for how humankind interacts with, and benefits from, technology.

1. AlphaGo Beats World Champion Lee Sedol in $1 Million Go Match

At first glance, DeepMind’s A.I. system, AlphaGo, beating Lee Sedol in a $1 million Go match may seem like an equivalent achievement of say, DeepBlue beating Kasparov in chess in the 90s, or Watson taking home the Jeopardy! title in 2011. But there are three big reasons AlphaGo’s win is significantly different: DeepMind’s AlphaGo learned how to play Go and mastered it, Google owns DeepMind, and this year, Google launched an A.I. program dubbed “Google Assistant,” which is likely to become ubiquitous.

In the near future, it seems that the depth of DeepMind’s A.I. and the breadth of Google’s domination as a search platform are going to dovetail, and soon millions and millions of people will have access to an A.I. assistant that’s going to learn how to interact with humans. Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, said at this year’s Pixel keynote that Google’s goal is “to build a personal Google for each and every user.” And while something like Siri may not be all that world changing, a “personal Google” means we could be in for a genuine J.A.R.V.I.S.-like assistant in 2017.

2. SpaceX Lands a Reusable Rocket on a Drone Ship

One of the biggest highlights in the tech world this year was SpaceX’s landing of their reusable orbital class rocket, the Falcon 9, on a drone ship out in the middle of the sea. And if that sounds like it was amazing to watch, that’s because it absolutely was.

Heading into 2017, we can plan on a lot more moments like that one, but more frequent, and much bigger. This is because SpaceX will be, for the first time, attempting to launch and re-land its Falcon Heavy rocket. While a single rocket stage landed on the drone ship earlier this year with the Falcon 9, the Falcon Heavy will attempt to land three rocket stages after returning from Low Earth Orbit.

3. Magic Leap Demos “Mixed Reality”

In terms of potential near-term disruptions in the social and gaming spaces, 2017 is going to be all about the continued rollout of VR headsets like the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, and Playstation VR, right? Maybe… but maybe not! Augmented Reality (AR) is just around the corner, and this year’s Magic Leap demo of its “Mixed Reality” demonstrates why this tech may soon change the way we interact with computers in a fundamental way.

The Magic Leap demo highlights the potential of near-term AR because the “Mixed Reality” it offers aims to give users “a neurologically true perception” of the world with its graphics. The graphical objects generated with Magic Leap will aim to be indistinguishable from real objects unless you touch them. Magic Leap’s CEO, Rony Abovitz, told TechCrunch that Magic Leap, which he referred to as a “baby Apple,” already has a billion dollars in funding and, in terms of production, is in “go mode” rather than research mode; 2017 could be consumers’ first time to test out a new type of reality.

4. Unveiling of the Tesla Model 3

If we’re going to combat global warming and switch over to a renewable source of energy, why not look good while doing it, right? That’s the Model 3 in a nut shell, but there are so many other reasons to get excited for Tesla’s first mass market vehicle.

The Model 3, set to roll out at the end of 2017, was unveiled this year, and is likely going to stand as a turning point in the adaptation rate of electric vehicles. The Model 3 has a relatively reasonable price tag of $35,000, and once Tesla has demonstrated that this is the kind of car the public wants (Tesla’s already received at least 400,000 pre-orders), other car manufactures will have to follow suit.

5. Solar Impulse Flight Around the World

While the idea of a plane totally charged by its own solar panels probably won’t catch on as a mainstream form of aviation, Solar Impulse’s successful flight around the world was a halo moment for solar power, and the movement toward renewable energy in general.

Note: most awkward high-five in human history at the end of this video.

It’s undeniable that climate change is one of the central risks facing humanity, and the Solar Impulse flight, while not directly a game changer for renewables, does signal a shift in the attitude toward them. In 2017 we’ll likely see SolarCity (now owned by Tesla) begin to roll out their solar roofs, and Google says that by 2017 it will run entirely on renewable energy. Bill Gates (and a bunch of other super rich people) has also launched a $1 billion entity, the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, which will be investing in a future of “emission-free innovation.” All of this means that 2017 will likely see a big surge in renewable energy innovation, and hopefully a (literally) brighter future.

What do you think about these five technological breakthroughs? Were there other big moments from 2016 that you think will bring about big changes in 2017? Let us know in the comments below!

Images: SpaceX 

ROGUE ONE Character Joins STAR WARS REBELS, and More TV News

Rogue One is a thing that happened for many of you over the weekend. If you haven’t seen it, don’t worry—no spoilers about the film here, but I do want to share that a character from the movie and Star Wars: The Clone Wars is coming to Star Wars Rebels. Learn about it in today’s TV-Cap, get some information on The Handmaid’s Tale, discover some Lost in Space casting news, and more.

Looks like Saw Gerrera is coming to #StarWarsRebels soon! @CoffeeWthKenobi #RogueOne pic.twitter.com/MMYcwr2TN5

— Rebels Reactions (@RebelsReactions) December 17, 2016

Save the Rebellion. Saw Gerrera, first introduced in The Clone Wars and most recently seen as a reclusive anti-Empire extremist in Rogue One, is coming to Star Wars Rebels. Twitter user Rebels Reactions spotted a poster at Toys R Us teasing the character’s arrival. Saw’s likely to appear in the next episode of the animated series, airing on January 7. It’s titled “Ghosts of Geonosis,” and the Rogue One: Visual Guide has a timeline for Saw mentioning he helped on a mission to Geonosis. Exciting stuff, guys! [Nerdist]

Father and Son. The Man in the High Castle is back on Amazon with its second season, and it’s embracing a father and son theme this time around. Learn more with Sydney’s interview with Luke Kleintank (Joe Blake).

An Adaptation. Sam Esmail, creator of Mr. Robot, is looking at his next project. He’s going to adapt Fritz Lang’s Metropolis as a television series in another two-three years (hey, he has Mr. Robot to work on). Learn more here at Nerdist.

Family Complete. Netflix’s reboot of Lost in Space has found its Penny Robinson. She’s the last member of the family to be cast, and she’ll be played by Mina Sundwall (Maggie’s Plan, Law & Order). [CBR]

Class Wars. Hulu’s bringing Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale to the screen on April 26, 2017. What do we know so far about the drama? Carly has all the information right here and bonus: you can see the first round of promotional photos from the show.

Fight Time. Batman and Superman can’t stop fighting each other. It’s happened in film, and it’s happening in Justice League Action. Footage from the new cartoon shows Toyman making Batman and Superman duke it out in a fighting game called “Blvd Brawlers 2: JLA.” See if you can catch a nod to Superman II in the clip. [CBR]

Rogue Host. Saturday Night Live will be back with new episodes beginning January 14, and they’ve announced the next host: Rogue One star Felicity Jones will take the reigns with musical guest Sturgill Simpson. [Deadline]

Climb the Wall. Nerdist’s very own Chris Hardwick has a new game show with LeBron James. The Wall, airing on NBC, is kind of like a big Plinko game. Learn all about the stakes here at Nerdist.

Another SWF. The next movie to head to the small screen could be Single White Female. NBC has placed a script commitment for a modern day reboot of the 1992 film. The television series is set in San Francisco and would focus on Hedra and Allie (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bridget Fonda, respectively, in the film). Get more details at The Hollywood Reporter.

Revival Possibilities. The ’70s are calling, and they’re telling us to reboot all the decade’s sitcoms, apparently. Variety reports Sony has its eyes on rebooting All in the Family, The Jeffersons, and Good Times. It could be interesting to see these stories and characters set in the modern day, but it could also be interesting to do something different and original. What do you think? [Nerdist]

Did you watch the Justice League Action premiere? What did you think? Tell me in the comments.

Featured Image: Lucasfilm

New JOHN WICK 2 Trailer Looks Perfectly Simple, Old-Fashioned, and Badass

It looks like the dog lives this time.

That’s what you needed to know, right? The one hang-up that kept you from telling absolutely everyone you know that they had to see John Wick was the fact that some people simply will never handle the sort of thing that incites the film altogether: the murder of Keanu Reeves‘ beloved pet pooch.

This time, things look simpler. A contract is taken out on Wick himself when he refuses to do… a thing. But even if the plot is different this time around, the first film’s amusingly old-world touches will continue; we see the Continental Hotel for Hitmen make a welcome reappearance, plus also an old-fashioned telephone operator bank.

Further details tease rather than enlighten. What is Laurence Fishburne’s role in the sequel? Who is the hitwoman who speaks in sign language? How are they bringing back Bridget Moynahan as his dead wife? Is the plot really going to matter? (Spoiler: probably not.)

Our hope is only that the bigger budget doesn’t mean replacing all the great choreography of the original with larger action stunts. It was the straightforward, simple fights that won us over the first time. He’s John Wick, and he kills everyone in his way. Simple formula with no need to be fancied up. But rest assured—”Wick goes off” is a nice, basic tagline that indicates a no-nonsense approach so far. They could have gotten all punny and said, “This time he has a dog in the fight.” We’d all have laughed, but it wouldn’t really be in character.

Are you jonesing for John’s return? Leave a dogged comment below!

Image: Lionsgate

The Jackie and Laurie Show #51: Surrounded by Squalor

This week Jackie implies that she and Laurie are old and Laurie wants it stricken from the record. Plus Jackie strives to make life fair (turns out, its not…) Laurie loves comics who are neurotic for no reason. And the ladies realize that together, they are one perfect woman.

Comic of the Week: Alycia Cooper @alyciacooper

Follow @jackiekashian and @anylaurie16 on Twitter!

Follow the show! @JackieandLaurie

Stephen Colbert and Jon Batiste Put Batman Into All the Holiday Carols

We are in the midst of the holiday seasons, and that means it’s time to set your Pandora and/or Spotify apps to the proper stations to hear all your favorites. This past Friday on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, they took some of the classics and arguably made them even better.

As posted on Colbert’s YouTube channel, Stephen was chatting with bandleader Jon Batiste about their favorite carols when Jon says that he doesn’t like the classic “Jingle Bells, Batman smells” song. When you think about his reasoning, it actually makes sense: The Joker gets away because Batman has car trouble.

Stephen and Jon then have the audience stand up where they proceed to do better by the Dark Knight and replace Christmas carol lyrics with Batman references. “The First Noel,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” and “Angels We Have Heard on High” all got the Bat-treatment.

I was 100% on board until the last song, which was a medley chronicaling all of the different actors that have played Batman from Adam West to Ben Affleck. They even made sure to include Val Kilmer’s nippled bat-suit. HOWEVER, conspicuous by his absence in the song was arguably the greatest Batman of all, Kevin Conroy. I could listen to “Well, I think they were just going with the movie versions” arguments all day. It doesn’t make it right. Having said that, this video is still a great way to get you and yours into the holiday spirit, or in any case, marathon some Batman movies.

So what do you think? Are these versions better than the originals? What other holidays should be “batified”? Let me know on Twitter or help the Joker get away into the comments below.

Image: Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube

Speaking of Affleck…

New Short Documentary FIND MY PHONE Tracks a Smartphone Thief

As smartphones continue to become even more advanced, it seems like smartphone theft has only gone up as thieves come up with new ways to disable their stolen goods. But what happens to a phone after it gets taken? Student filmmaker Anthony van der Meer asked that question after his own phone was stolen in Amsterdam. And the result was an intriguing new short documentary film, Find My Phone.

Via The Next Web, van der Meer set up a sting with a new smartphone loaded with spyware, only to find that it wasn’t that easy to get it stolen again. When a thief finally took the bait, van der Meer didn’t manage to film the event. However, the man who took his phone neglected to take steps to protect his identity. Van der Meer used that as an opportunity to spy on the man for weeks while documenting it on camera, which led to the release of Find My Phone.

While watching the man, whose photos are obscured in the film, van der Meer began to feel an odd sort of kinship towards the thief who had stolen his phone. With so many details about his life available to van der Meer, it was almost as if he knew the man. But when van der Meer attempted to track down the thief and see him in person, the result was unexpected.

What did you think about Find My Phone? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Image: Anthony van der Meer

Previewing Chris Hardwick and LeBron James’ New Game Show THE WALL

“The Wall giveth and The Wall taketh away.” This is definitely not the wall that’s been in the news lately; this is a wall that can change people’s lives for the better in an instant. NBC’s The Wall is a new game show hosted by Nerdist’s own Chris Hardwick, who also executive produced the show along with NBA superstar LeBron James.

The Wall is a fast and simple game show that features a gigantic four-story high wall, built for one purpose–to change peoples’ lives. Think of it as the world’s largest Plinko game, but this one has incredibly high stakes. In every episode there’s a chance to win 12 million dollars and with a single drop of the ball, a contestant can win 3 million dollars just like that.

The rules are straightforward, a contestant gets a question correct and a green ball falls down the wall; where it lands will add the value of the slot to the players’ winning total. That’s all well and good until a missed a question occurs. That’s when an ominous red ball will fall and with its arbitrary landing, the value is cruelly deducted from the team’s total. It’d almost be sadistic if it weren’t so entertaining.

The game sounds simple enough, but the teammates really have to work together to build up their huge cash prize. Back in September, I previewed an episode and sat in on a panel with creators and executive producers Andrew Glassman and Maverick Carter, who, along with LeBron James and Chris Hardwick, talked about their experience working on the show.

Hardwick said, “There’s highs and there’s lows and there’s heartbreaking moments but then in a second, it can all change. And that’s exactly the kind of journey, I assume or hope people take away from this show, is being able to experience that.”

During the preview I was surprised to find myself completely riveted and emotionally connected to what I was watching. I didn’t expect that from a game show. As the stakes got higher I noticed that the other viewers in the room and I were all on the edge of our seats waiting to see what would happen next, cheering and shaking our heads right along with the players we were watching.

Everyone can relate to the stories of the contestants who are made up of two-person teams related by family, friendship or life experience. The show is based on wanting good things to happen to good people and you find yourself as a viewer rooting for the best outcome.

You can get a sneak peek of The Wall on NBC Monday, December 19 at 10p.m. and if you miss it during the holiday rush you can catch it again on Monday January 2 at 10p.m. The show debuts in its regular timeslot on Tuesday January 3 at 8p.m. ET/PT.

Will you be watching the special preview of The Wall on December 19? Let us know in the comments and tweet @nerdist and @justjenn on twitter to let us know what you think!

Images: NBC

Jake Roper from VSauce Proves the Devastating Effects of the HOME ALONE Booby Traps

Over the last few years it seems the internet has turned a critical eye on one of the most beloved holiday films ever made and come away with one conclusion; Home Alone is actually Lil’ Die Hard. OK, well, maybe more than one conclusion because a lot of the fans have come to realize that the traps that protagonist (and junior psychopath) Kevin McCallister came up with in the 1990 film would have done substantially more damage than what was presented to us.

Jake Roper, from the incredible Vsauce team, gave the world a bit of an early Christmas gift this year by analyzing a few of the booby traps from the film. In a recreation of the McCallister home, Roper set out to test the hand-burning hot doorknob, the swinging paint cans both Wet Bandits received to their faces, and an added bonus of the crowbar to the chest that Marv doles out to Harry. The results of the tests are… frightening, to say the least. Turns out, the doorknob is substantially more dangerous to Kevin and the safety of the home than it would be to the bandits as the temperatures needed to transfer enough heat to the outside knob would likely first melt the door or at least set it on fire. The crowbar to the chest would have sent Harry to the morgue since the recreated blow would have punctured his lungs and heart, but that’s inconsequential as Kevin McCallister would have have already murdered both of them with the paint can trap.

The impact from a swinging paint can is absolutely devastating and, as shown in Roper’s video, would nearly knock your head off of your shoulders. This display of Home Alone mayhem has proven what we’ve always suspected: Kevin McCallister would be a murderer if it weren’t for the two burglars and their super-human ability to take such abuse.

What are your thoughts on the tests? Kevin would be in prison if it weren’t for the durability of the Wet Bandits, right? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

Image: Vsauce3