Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2302

LUKE CAGE Recap: “Step in the Arena” With an Origin Story

Warning: This is a recap, and as such, contains spoilers for the fourth Luke Cage episode, “Step in the Arena.” Get out of dodge if you haven’t watched the episode yet.

It’s possible to tell a superhero story without doing the whole origins thing, but the opportunity to explores the hows and whys of extraordinary people isn’t usually skipped. In the case of Luke Cage, it shouldn’t be. Known as Power Man in Marvel comics, Luke Cage is not a household name. Heck, he’s not even known to everyone who reads Marvel comic books. His origin story hasn’t been told a dozen different times in various formats. So, “Step in the Arena” puts us into Luke’s past and shows how he became invincible.

The flashback was cut with the dire events of the present. You know, the part where Cottonmouth destroyed a building in an attempt to take Luke out with a rocket launcher–just another day in Harlem. Luke being Luke, he survived the over-the-top-but-pretty-perfect attack. He seemed bruised, but he was well enough to start moving the rubble to save his landlord Connie. That led into the flashback.

Luke was once a police officer called Carl Lucas, and he was framed and wrongfully put in jail. From the outset, we know the Luke that arrived at Seagate Prison isn’t the man we know now. He has a lot of hair, for one thing. More importantly, we see Luke reel after a guard punched him in the stomach. We see blood on his knuckles as he cries and beats his hands on the wall. This is a man who is vulnerable in every sense of the word.

Even if he didn’t display hand-to-hand combat skills, Luke’s size literally put him heads and shoulders above the other prisoners and that put him on the guards’ radar. Yes, you guessed it: most of the guards at the prison seem to be crappy human beings, who force the inmates to fight in gladiator style competitions for the sake of money. When the guard Rackham made Luke an offer, Luke pointed out what he was putting on the table is basically slavery. He said no, but eventually Rackham got to him.

The prison’s therapist was Reva Connors, the woman Luke married and the woman Kilgrave made Jessica Jones kill because she knew too much about him. It was weird because going into it, we know she and Luke are going to end up together, so it was impossible not to look for signs of their mutual interest. I noticed a spark because I was examining every look between them, but I don’t know if it would be apparent to someone who didn’t know she was Luke’s future bride.

As it was, the plot pressed a fast forward button on Luke and Reva’s relationship, stopping here and there with barely enough interactions to convince you Reva’s interest in Luke was more than clinical. She opened up to him about her past after Luke pressed her and they started to connect, but whatever was happening was cut short when Rackham threatened Luke with the one friend he did end up making in prison, Reginald, a.k.a. Squabbles. By the way, Shades was in on it and siding with the guards.

To protect Squabbles, Luke started training for the fights. The chemistry between him and Squabbles was natural; we had slightly more time with the pals, but their relationship was way more believable than Luke and Reva’s. Squabbles was in Luke’s corner during his fights, and though Luke got bloody, he kept winning. He sort of lost himself in the battles. Months went by. He stopped taking care of himself and spiraled; it was all about survival.

Reva caught on to his weird behavior and started asking questions that of course put her on Rackham’s radar. Luke got enough time to tell her that inmates who lost fights eventually disappeared–there were rumors that experiments on prisoners were happening at Seagate. Luke couldn’t prove anything about experiments, but he wanted to take Rackham down. Unfortunately, he shared his plan with Squabbles and Shades and others tortured the information out of him.

I hope we’ll revisit Seagate because we only know as much as Luke knew. We didn’t get an omniscient view and didn’t have access to a ton of information. We learned the experiments were happening, but not why. When Luke was severely beaten by Rackham’s minions (again, including Shades), he was put into a tank by the prison doctor to help him heal more quickly. When Rackham interfered, the process went sideways and Luke suddenly realized he could do things like bust through a wall. His exclamation of “Sweet Christmas!” said it all.

So, Luke Cage is not only a superhero; he’s a fugitive. He got out of Seagate and went on the run. They found a way to work Luke’s comic book costume into the escape, from the headband to the yellow v-neck, rather hilariously. Luke’s comment on the ridiculous ensemble was spot on; thank goodness Marvel doesn’t use those sorts of gaudy costumes in the series. Once Luke put aside his yellow top and other snazzy accessories, he met up with Reva.

Back in the present, Luke managed to free himself and Connie from the rubble and have his, “I’m Iron Man” moment with the world. He told reporters his name and by doing so, painted even more of a target on his back. Though if Cottonmouth couldn’t hit Luke with a rocket launcher, what else could he try?

Tell me: What are your thoughts on Luke and Reva’s relationship? Leave ’em in the comments.

Images: Netflix

Puck Soup #19: David Ehrlich, Word Cup of Hockey and More

Greg and Dave welcome Indiewire film critic David Ehrlich to talk about the New York Rangers, hockey movies, his loathing of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, censorship and Lozo finally say “The Force Awakens.” Plus, our eight requests for subsequent World Cups of Hockey, the NHL’s centennial celebration, “World Cup of Hockey: The Musical,” Johnny Gaudreau’s contract, our favorite “The Price Is Right” games and why we hate umbrellas.

Follow @wyshynski, @davelozo and @PuckSoupPodcast on Twitter!

Mike Mignola’s Lost NEW GODS Designs Resurface Online

Prior to unleashing his signature creation, Hellboy, artist Mike Mignola spent several years at DC Comics on titles like World of Krypton, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, and even Jack Kirby’s New Gods during his Cosmic Odyssey miniseries. Mignola apparently also played a large part in the early stages of a New Gods animated project that never went forward. Now, Mignola’s lost New Gods designs have shown up online.

Via Newsarama, the original images were posted on the tumblr account of artist Shane White. It’s an extensive collection of Mignola’s New Gods designs, which carry the flavor of Kirby’s characters while still demonstrating Mignola’s style. Almost all of the major New Gods characters were included here, including Scott Free/Mr. Miracle, Big Barda, Orion, Lightray, Highfather, and of course, one of the best DC villains of all-time, Darkseid.

Scott Free has the most designs out of all of the characters in these pics, which suggests that he would have been the central character in the New Gods animated project if it had gone forward. You can find the rest of Mignola’s designs in our gallery below.

Within the DC Universe, the New Gods of New Genesis and their evil counterparts from Apokolips were essentially space gods who were eternally at war with each other. As part of a fragile peace agreement, Highfather of New Genesis sent his son, Scott Free, to Apokolips to be raised under Darkseid’s rule. In turn, Darkseid sent his son, Orion, to live on New Genesis under the care of Highfather. Years later, Scott Free escaped from the fire pits of Apokolips and became an escape artist named Mr. Miracle. Orion embraced the ways of New Genesis, and he emerged its fiercest warrior against his father.

There’s a lot of inherent potential in the New Gods franchise which has never quite managed to fully catch on with comic fans. Make no mistake: they have a following. It’s just not big enough to carry a monthly comic book series. That could potentially change, if Darkseid and the New Gods become important to DC’s Extended Univervse. But only time will tell for sure.

What do you think about Mignola’s take on these classic Kirby characters? Let us know in the comment section below!

Images: Mike Mignola

Jimmy Kimmel Welcomes Viewers to WESTWORLD…Kanye Westworld!

Even the most ardent fans of Kanye West‘s music would probably admit that the man is prone to making a lot of entertaining statements that don’t always seem to be based in reality. It’s almost as if Kanye exists in his own parallel world that occasionally intersects with our own. Now it’s time to open that world for all to see.

On last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Jimmy Kimmel welcomed fans to Kanye Westworld, his mash up of HBO’s upcoming Westworld reboot and a few choice clips of West. Of course, it took less than a minute for Kanye to declare himself a God, which got the response it deserved from Anthony Hopkins‘ Dr. Robert Ford, and there was a particularly fun bit where Kanye said that he was like “a machine and a robot” while Westworld‘s androids were on screen.

Because the clip keeps Kanye outside of the Westworld theme park, it seemed to present him as one of the creators of this world; there is something fitting about Kanye fueling his Yeezus complex by actually playing God with the lives of the androids who live there. Within the context of the show, it’s hard to say which role fits Kanye best: one of the androids who serves as “hosts” for the visitors, or one of the “guests” who comes to Westworld for their more hedonistic desires. There’s no way to tell here, because the video is over far too quickly! More, please.

Westworld will premiere this Sunday, October 2

What did you think about JKL‘s Kanye Westworld spoof? Is Kanye a guest or a host? Unleash your thoughts in the comment section below!

Image: ABC

TEDDY RUXPIN Is Coming Back, With a 4-Gig Hard Drive

If you’re under 30, this news might not hit your heartstrings the same way it’s hitting mine, but I am freaking the freak out because Teddy Ruxpin is making a comeback! The original Teddy Ruxpin was one of–if not the–first animatronic toys to hit the mass market. The mouth and eyes moved in coordination with the story on a cassette tape, so that that Teddy would “tell” the story himself. Now cassette tapes, boys and girls, were what music and audio were recorded on before CDs, but after LP Records. (We won’t go into where 8-track tapes fit into that timeline, but those are worth a Wiki search if you’re feeling interested.) One of the more impressive feats of the cassettes that were included with the original Ruxpin was that they included two tracks, a left and a right, and it was the right track that actually caused the eyes and mouth to move.

When Teddy Ruxpin makes his triumphant return in August of 2017, he most certainly won’t be relying on cassette tapes. Plenty of animatronic toys have come after Teddy, including but not limited to fad holiday hits like Tickle-Me Elmo, the Furby, and any number of robotic animal companions. The new Teddy Ruxpin will take that mantle and push it forward with its interactive app capabilities. The Youtube channel MommyandGracieShow got the very first look at the prototype for next year’s launch (above), and even to be this far out, the prototype is quite impressive. The new Teddy Ruxpin will replace the original’s motorized eyelids with entirely LCD eyes, capable of a range of expressions as well as emoji-like characters like hearts and snowflakes. A 4GB internal hard drive will hold the various stories that Ruxpin will tell, and with each file sized at roughtly 100MB each, that means 40 different stories. The figure will come pre-packaged with three stories immediately accessible, and the remaining stories will require interaction with the forthcoming companion app.

Details are still relatively scarce with the launch still more than 10 months away, but I feel safe assuming that the app will be available on devices that are at least two generations old when New Teddy launches. Now that smartphones and tablets are so ubiquitous in homes across the country, we can imagine that plenty of kids will get to experience Teddy Ruxpin’s magic in the 2017 holiday season thanks to Wicked Cool Toys. After the original Teddy Ruxpin launched, it became the top selling toy of both 1985 and 1986, and it will no doubt sell well with Gen Xers who have started their own families.

Did you have a Teddy Ruxpin when you were a kid? Do you plan on getting one for your own kids? Is this the first time you’ve ever heard of the talking bear? Let us know below!

Image: Youtube/MommyandGracieShow

“Coral Colors” Short Film Reveals the Stunning Aliens of Our Oceans

You’ve probably heard the old line about how we know more about space than we do our own oceans, but whether or not that’s true doesn’t matter when it comes to finding life, because only one of those options is definitely teeming with fascinating, strange foreign creatures, and that would be the sea.W hen you watch amazing, up-close footage of living coral, which resides under the water here on earth, it might as well be a mass of gorgeous aliens created for a sci-fi film.

This short, titled “Coral Colors” was posted to Vimeo by myLapse earlier this year, but we just came across it over at Laughing Squid, and now we can’t stop staring at its beautiful images. Their goal was “to show movement and the enormous chromatic beauty of corals, a kind of marine animals that despite being one of the oldest animals on our planet, are mostly unknown,” and we’re fairly confident in saying they did just that. We had no idea the science fiction dreams of distant planets were so real, right here on our own planet.

Making this required 25000 photographs over the course of a year. Part of the reason the colors and details are so vibrant is because they were shot with a macro lens, which is capable of capturing up-close images with much more clarity.

The coral here is also shown in time-lapse, since their actual movements are so slow they are hard to see with the naked eye. That’s how we can see one that looks like it’s opening its mouth to seemingly suck in air, like a vegetarian underwater Sarlacc, or the others that look like a pod of glowing neon alien babies hatching. The coral don’t look like domicile flowers floating on a rock; they look as alive as a school of fish being chased by a shark… or even the shark.

Ultimately the filmmakers hope that this short movie will help raise awareness for the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef, which they say is under threat from global warming and industrial projects of the government of Australia. You can visit their site for more information.

(If you remember hearing something about ocean preservation recently it might be because this past August President Obama signed an executive order creating the “largest ecologically protected area on the planet,” when he expanded the Hawaiian Marine National Monument to over half-a-million square miles of both land and sea, more than four times its previous size. That order will help preserve, among other living creatures, coral life native to those waters.)

Besides its being a call to action for environmentalists everywhere, the film is inspirational for aspiring science-fiction writers or filmmakers; they can just re-watch this again and again, because it turns out the coral of our planet is as fascinating and beautiful as any space creatures we can imagine. Now we just have to make sure we protect it from ourselves.

What did this video make you think of? Is it like an underwater Pandora from Avatar? Or a beautiful nightmare of a Stephen King novel? Tell us what this gorgeous, strange coral looked like to you by wading deep into our comments section below.

Images: myLapse

Colin Trevorrow Drops More JURASSIC WORLD 2 Hints

Although Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow is directing Star Wars Episode IX instead of Jurassic World 2, he hasn’t left the Jurassic franchise behind. Trevorrow is co-writing the sequel and producing it alongside Steven Spielberg for incoming director J.A. Bayona. And while Jurassic World 2 is still over two years away, Trevorrow is already teasing what’s coming up next.

During on a guest appearance on Jurassic Outpost’s InGeneral podcast, Trevorrow shared a lot of info about Jurassic World 2, including the fact that it will feature concepts, themes, and even dialogue from Michael Crichton‘s original Jurassic Park novel. “This [film] also has to prove that it has a reason to exist, beyond just making more money. And I believe that it does. There’s a real story to be told here that’s all really sourced from Crichton’s original ideas that could be expanded on…The thing I love the most about what he introduced is this idea…that a mistake made a long time ago just can’t be undone…To be able to relate that to this world, the minute that they cloned a dinosaur, you can’t put that back in the box. And what could be the ultimate result of that?”

However, it doesn’t sound like the idea of militarizing the dinosaurs will be the main thrust of the sequel. “I’m not that interested in militarized dinosaurs,” noted Trevorrow, before he went on to explain that an earlier version of Jurassic World‘s script had Chris Pratt’s Owen in favor of that pipe dream before shifting it over to Vincent D’Onofrio’s Hoskins. Trevorrow added that the sequel won’t be limited to the Jurassic World park as a setting, and revealed that the original film’s structure served as an inspiration for the new film.

You can listen to the entire podcast here, which also features a brief guest appearance by Bayona late in the interview. The site has also summarized the key bullet points, for the benefit of readers unable to listen at work.

Jurassic World 2 will be released on June 22, 2018. Do these tidbits pique your interest further? Let us know in comments.

Image: Universal

Editor’s Note: Nerdist Industries is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.

Here’s what Bryce Dallas Howard would like to see in a sequel:

Unwind with a Glass of HELLBOY Wine This Halloween

When you think of Hellboy, you often think of spirits. Usually the kind of spirits that go bump in the night and need exterminating, yes, but in this particular case, the spirits you’re going to associate with Hellboy are the kind you imbibe. Yes, folks, coming soon, you’ll be able to buy yourself a bottle of custom Hellboy wine (and before someone chimes in and reminds me that wine is technically not a spirit, I’m gonna ask you why you felt the need to ruin a good joke).

Hellboy publisher Dark Horse Comics and Portland, Oregon’s Stoller Family Estates Winery have collaborated to create the 2011 Hellboy Reserve Pinot Noir, which will be available this coming Halloween. The wine label honors Mike Mignola’s beloved nice guy demon hero with an illustration from Mignola himself and colorist Dave Stewart; the image originally appeared as the cover for the classic comic book Hellboy: The Sleeping and the Dead #2.

In a statement from Mike Richardson, President of Dark Horse Comics, he said “I can’t imagine a more fitting drink to both celebrate Mike Mignola’s creative legacy and honor his most famous creation. And it’s only fitting that the first time that fans can raise a glass of Hellboy Reserve Pinot Noir will be on Halloween.”

Gary Mortensen, President of Stoller Family Estate, added, “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Dark Horse Comics on the special Hellboy wine. It’s quite an honor to share our wine with such a passionate fan base and to be associated with the amazingly iconic character Hellboy.”

This is a Pinot Noir, cultivated and crafted with the same passion and intensity that Mike Mignola has brought to the creation of Hellboy for over two decades. The perfect wine to pair with the next issue of the iconic Hellboy. This special bottling is the first in the Hellboy series. The the 2011 Hellboy Reserve Pinot Noir is a limited edition and will only be available domestically in the United States. The Hellboy Pinot Noir is available for pre-order now.

Are you going to celebrate the Halloween season with some Hellboy wine? Let us know down below in the comments.

Featured Image: Dark Horse Comics

Image: Dark Horse Comics/Stoller Family Estate

How Donald Glover is a Master of Multimedia World-Building

If you haven’t heard of Donald Glover—a.k.a. Childish Gambino—you’ve probably been living under a rock (not a 30 Rock, though ’cause he wrote for that show). Glover’s growing fame comes from having established himself in about a half-dozen different facets of entertainment, and in every realm he is delivering intriguing art. That’s obviously not an easy feat to pull off, and in his latest video essay, kaptainkristian explores how Glover has managed to build multimedia worlds and still “keep it real.”

kaptainkristian, who’s been delivering one insightful meditation after another on everything from the genius of Alien’s Xenomorph to the brilliance of Futurama’s comedy, deconstructs Glover’s approach to being a “multi-hyphenate” artist. kaptainkristian notes that even though there are other artists who dip into multiple disciplines, Glover is unique because he doesn’t compartmentalize his personality when jumping from medium to medium.

kaptainkristian also touches on how Glover has dealt with some seriously harsh criticism during his career, especially when he left Community in season five (Troy and Abed in the Morning forever!). Obviously, the critics haven’t slowed Glover down though, as he continues to make sweet sweet music (sometimes on the spot with Reggie Watts), and of course, amazing television: we dubbed his show on FX, Atlanta, a “melancholy masterpiece.”

“The person on stage when I do stand-up is the exact same person who’s doing rap,” Glover says in the video, “they’re the same dude.” Just one dude who can act, write, direct, sing, rap, and, of course, fly SPACE SHIPS!

What do you think about kaptainkristian’s look at Glover’s multimedia talent? Let us know in the comments below!

Image: Universal

New ASH VS EVIL DEAD Video Explores the Best Ways to Kill a Deadite

This weekend, Ash vs Evil Dead season 2 will bring Ash and his team out of their temporary Florida retirement and back into the war against the Deadites. But this time, the Deadites aren’t the only things to worry about.

Starz has released a new behind-the-scenes video from Ash vs Evil Dead, which features Bruce Campbell, Dana DeLorenzo, and Ray Santiago humorously recounting the best ways to dispatch the Deadites. Naturally, Campbell favors the iconic chainsaw of his title hero. The video also opens with a very funny scene between Ash and his father, Brock, as played by TV legend Lee Majors.

Remember Ruby’s creepy demon spawn “children” from the first season finale? They’re back for season 2, and surprisingly, they aren’t CGI creations. As shown in this footage, the demon spawn are actually actors, including some with contortion and circus experience, who underwent full body makeup for their roles. The full effect of the demon spawn in motion is very unsettling, but it’s the type of touch that we appreciate from this show.

Executive producer Rob Tapert also showed off several of the show’s practical effects, which went a long way towards upping the gore factor. Fake arms, bodies, and heads are in play, but the fake blood is always flowing. There is also a glimpse of the show’s new creatures, which may be even nastier than the Deadites.

Ash vs Evil Dead season 2 drops this Sunday, October 2 on Starz.

What did you think about this video? And what’s your favorite way to take out a Deadlite? Unleash your Boom Sticks in the comment section below!

We talked to the cast at Camp Conival, take a look!

Image: Starz