Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2315

JUSTICE LEAGUE Trailer Gets the Retro 8-Bit Treatment

Despite my, shall we say, very mixed feeling about Batman v Superman, I’m still beyond excited for next year’s Justice League movie. It’s the movie I’ve been waiting for pretty much my whole life, since I’ve been an old school DC Comics fanboy since before I could even read comics. This is in part to growing up in the era of Super Friends on Saturday morning, Christopher Reeve as Superman in movie theaters, and endless reruns of the ’60s Batman and the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman shows on weekday afternoons. So the Comic-Con trailer, with its lighter tone that actually looked fun, did nothing but fill my heart with joy.

Also filling my heart with joy is the latest retro videogame 8-bit trailer from the folks over at JoBlo, (via Cinemablend) who have brilliantly taken Zack Snyder’s Justice League trailer and put it through the old school SNES/Sega Genesis style game filter. This should give everyone who grew up in the late ’80s/early ’90s all the nostalgic warm fuzzies. And just like all those classic video games of yore, this one has the scrolling dialogue in text boxes instead of any voice actors, because that’s just how we used to roll.

All the Justice Leaguers from the original trailer are represented here: Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince, Jason Momoa as Aquaman/Arthur Curry, Ray Fisher as Cyborg/Victor Stone, and Ezra Miller as the Flash/Barry Allen. Sadly, no Superman, since he didn’t make the trailer. And no Green Lantern, since Warner Bros. un-wisely chose to keep him out of the movie (I’m still not happy about that). This is just the latest JoBlo produced retro-videogame style video of a recent trailer, joining other recents like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Jason Bourne, and Captain America: Civil War. You can watch the entire video above.

What do you think of this latest retro style 8-bit trailer? Give us your thoughts down below in the comments.

Breaking down Justice League‘s tactical Batsuit.

Image: Warner Bros.

Todd McFarlane Confirms a New SPAWN Movie Is in the Works

When he first made his debut in 1992, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn quickly became one of, if not the, most popular superheroes of that decade. In fact, the Image Comics mainstay is also one of the few heroes not named Batman to get a movie adaptation during the ’90s.

The superhero explosion of the last few years, combined with the knack for studios to reboot everything, meant it was only a matter of time before Al Simmons made his return to the big screen. Now, it appears we are one step closer to that reality.

In an interview with Tiffany Smith on AMC’s Geeking Out (via ComicBook.com), McFarlane himself revealed that he is almost done writing the new film. “I’ve finished the script, and I’m in the process of editing. It’s 183 pages, and [producers] usually like 120. I still think it’s going to end up being about 140 because I’m putting in details for myself,” he said. Considering that most superhero movies run well over two hours nowadays, I am not surprised.

Also interesting is how different this version of the movie seems like it will be from the 1997 film. According to McFarlane, you will barely see Spawn throughout the film. He will be more like a ghost rather than a full-on superhero in a rubber suit. McFarlane compared this version of the antihero to Spielberg’s Jaws, where he will always have a presence, but will only be visible for a short time.

As a fan of the early days of the comic, I am looking forward to seeing this darker version, as the ’90s film seemed to be going more for a “Batman vibe” rather than match the tone of the source material. Seeing McFarlane’s true vision come to life will for sure be something to check out.

So what do you think? Are you excited to see Spawn come back to theaters? Do you feel this character’s time has passed? Let me know on Twitter or sound off in the comments below.

Image: Image Comics

This WALKING DEAD Parody Reveals Negan’s Victim… Right After This Coffee Break

Since the season six finale, Walking Dead fans have been either waiting on pins and needles or complaining nonstop online in anticipation for this October, at which point we’ll finally get to see who Negan’s victim is.

In the meantime, MADtv has provided us with a way to help deal with both the anxiousness and anger (depending on how you decide to cope) with this parody sketch. MADtv takes us back to the finale, with Negan (Amir K) pacing back and forth in front of the group, slowly taking his time before finally choosing his victim. If you think Walking Dead fans have it rough, it seems the group has to deal with something far worse… aside from the fact that eventually one of them is going to die, of course. After having to endure long explanations about poisonous spiders, a coffee break, and even a massage, they finally tell Negan to just kill Carl, something they (and a lot of us) seem to have been thinking about for quite a while.

Just to add to the frustration, we don’t even get to know who “parody dies” in this parody sketch. I fell on the “What the heck?!?” side of the argument myself, so I was happy to see delaying the reveal for six whole months didn’t just anger me. It was more irritating than drama inducing.

So what do you think? Is what was happening this whole time? How do you think fans will react when the killing ACTUALLY takes place? Let me know on Twitter or sound off in the comments below.

Did The Walking Dead confirm that [spoiler] lives?

Image: MADtv/YouTube

Scream at a Wall: The Bourgeois, Mustard Gas and Roses, and More

Autumn is upon us. Summer is a corpse. The dead-eyed children are back in school, which means it’s time for a recap of this week’s best hardcore, metal, and punk rock. We dug through the record crates to find the new tunes we think you need to spin and rage to. Looking for some new death metal to set the mood this Fall? Got you covered. Need some grindcore to get your Autumn off on the right foot? Say no more. Strap in kiddies; it’s time to rock.

To get things going, we have a premiere from Tulsa punks The Bourgeois. Below, you can check out the video for the rockin’ song, “Be Careful With That Sound, It’s Antique.” The song hits hard and is filled with bitter angst, which is perfectly mirrored in the story of the video. When you think of punk rock, when you think of hardcore, you undoubtably think of fashion commentary, right? Sure, some bands tackle the government, others battle with authority forces like religion or the police. The Bourgeois take things a step further and turn their attacks to the horror known as cargo shorts. Dark stuff.

The band told us, “‘Be Careful With That Sound, It’s an Antique’ is about our band trying to cut through the noise in a world full of constant stimulation. We wanted the video to be a metaphor for that futility, and we figured that getting people to accept the awfulness of cargo shorts was commensurate with our struggle.” That’s deep. This video is just one more reason to love this band, so check it out and The Bourgeois as your new hard rock overlords. You’ll dig their sound, we promise.

 

Mustard Gas & Roses’ new album is one hell of a bleak soundtrack. Becoming is masterfully epic and haunting, the sort of album you don’t just sit and listen to. You experience it. Songs like “Let it Roll,”  which you can take a test spin on below, conjure all kinds of images and feelings. These instrumental tracks tell a story and it’s a heavy, dark tale. There’s elements of Explosions in the Sky here, but heavier and more rock driven. Mustard Gas & Roses create their atmosphere through riffs, punishing drums, and a slow building momentum. It’s the perfect soundtrack to a dark Fall evening or a crisp Winter morning. If you need a score, something to help propel you through your day, Mustard Gas & Roses’ Becoming is the way to go. It can turn the simply mundane into the supremely epic.

(MetalSucks)

 

Super Unison’s Auto is easily one of this year’s coolest releases. It’s a slick and angry punk rock album that hits hard from start to finish. The band has just released a video for the song “You Don’t Tell Me.” It’s a cool little number that melds and shifts into different images of the band. Singer and bass player Meghan O’Neil is a freaking rockstar, filled with a casual grace and explosive ferocity. Fans of her past project Punch know that she hits harder than just about anybody out there, and there are certainly traces of that in Super Unison. That said, Auto is more focused than anything Punch ever released. It has a confident swagger to it. It’s hard-hitting punk, sure, but there’s a straightforward rock n’ roll bite to it that makes Super Unison a band in a class all their own. This band is just flat out awesome.

 

The return of Planes Mistaken for Stars is something we are still wrapping our heads around. The fact that we’re going to get a new album from these dudes is so exciting and unexpected. We loved the first track we heard off of Prey: a mean and jagged song called “Fucking Tenderness.” Now, we’ve got another track to gush over, and this one’s everything we love about the band. Unflinching and raw, “Riot Season” is catchy and intense. Like the best Planes Mistaken for Stars tracks, it’s fuzzy and cutting, like drinking a Coke filled with shards of glass. Prey is a still over a month away, but we are in full countdown mode. Every hour that passes gets us closer to holding this bad boy in our hands. We need more Planes Mistaken for Stars in our lives.

(Stereogum)

 

With the album title Requiem for Hell, Mono paint a pretty clear picture of what you’re going to experience when you hear them. It’s a slow moving dreamscape of sounds. Mono rolls over you, enveloping every part of your soul. It’s pretty at times and starkly dark at others. There’s something sad is this music, something painful and sharp. If you liked that Mustard Gas & Roses song from earlier, you’ll undoubtedly love this. Cinematic and sweeping, Requiem for Hell is unescapable. It’s an album we’ll be talking about for years. Once it’s in you, it lingers and grows. Give in and listen to Mono.

 

This is not a drill, people! Converge’s masterpiece Jane Doe is being repressed! That’s right, you can order it here. This is your chance to own one of the most important albums of the past few decades. If you don’t have it on vinyl, click that link and order it, now. No excuses, just do it. If you have somehow been reading this weekly column and you have never heard of Jane Doe, take a moment and experience it below. Originally released in September 2011, Jane Doe unknowingly captured the darkness and fear that eclipsed the United States. It changed the way people thought about hardcore. It allowed many of us to embrace the angst and fury inside our hearts. It’s easily one of the most important records ever produced in America and nobody saw it coming. The cover imagine alone is iconic. The opening riff is one of the most recognizable intros to an album ever. It’s amazing, in every sense of the word, and you should own it. We all should own it.

 

Lastly, we’ve got some death metal to propel your weekend into greatness. Ulcerate are monstrous and their music captures that. Just listen to “Abrogation” and get crushed. This is that brand of technical death metal that just grinds and pummels, it’s an endless see of riffs, growls, and breakdowns. Ugly as ugly can be, Ulcerate takes no prisoners. As you prepare to practice the dark arts this Halloween, turn on some Ulcerate and light a candle. There’s like a 50/50 chance you’ll summon a demon without even trying.

 

Hey, that’s it for us this week. What are you spinning lately? Got a heavy playlist you need the world to hear? Sound off in the comments below.

Image: Mustard Gas & Roses

Gif: Cartoon Network

Benjamin Bailey writes for the Nerdist and can be found on Twitter talking about Godzilla, comic books, and hardcore music.

OVERWATCH Player Masters DJ Lucio with Turntable Controller

If there’s one thing that separates us as human beings from our lower primate brethren, it’s the ability to make things more fun and less efficient. And that is exactly what YouTuber WhyBeAre did with his new Overwatch control setup. Using the turntables from DJ Hero, WhyBeAre managed to play an entire game of Overwatch as the game’s very own DJ, Lucio. Sure, it was a custom game against bots, but we’ll give him a pass for ingenuity.

Using the right turntable to control the camera, the left to move, and various buttons for Lucio’s other abilities, WhyBeAre actually isn’t half bad. There are a few problems with the setup, though. For one, if Lucio’s speed boost is turned on the character cannot stop moving forward. Additionally, the aiming function doesn’t allow him to look up or down, meaning he can only target people at his chest level, but head shots are overrated anyway. Right? This also ensures that he’ll definitely be on your team and never on the enemy team and why can’t I just get a good team for once in a… Sorry. This game takes up too much of my life.

Overwatch is optimized for mouse and keyboard and controller, but hopefully Blizzard will see that turntable support is the way of the future, much more than virtual or augmented reality. At least we have something new to hold us over until Sombra comes out.

What do you think of WhyBeAre’s new way to play? Do you and your friends use your own weird controller setup? Let us know in the comments below.

Featured Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Let the LATE SHOW Celebrity Chat Line Fulfill Your Late Night Gossip Cravings

Back before “cutting the cord” or “DVR” were parts of our vocabulary, TV watchers actually had to sit through the commercials during their favorite shows. One of the staples of late night commercials were the “chat lines,” where you could supposedly talk to other people in your area. They tried to fool you with an 800 number, but then made you provide a credit card number to continue. (Don’t ask me how I know. I just DO).

Thanks to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, not only do we now have a chance to feel the nostalgia of staying up late and watching TV when we can’t sleep, but we also have a chat line that might finally be worth calling. Reported by Vulture, The Late Show Celebrity Chat Line will connect us with some of our favorite celebrities, who will talk to us about all the “steamy” behind-the-scenes stories from Hollywood.

Interested in Bryan Cranston’s resume? He’ll run through the whole thing with you. Talk with Whoopi Goldberg about the possibility of a Sister Act 3. Want to know how John Krasinski looks so suave and sophisticated during his talk show appearances? These are just some of the exclusives you’ll get on the Celebrity Chat Line. Just dial 1-644-600-LATE (5283).

Oh, and for you doubters out there, the number does in fact work. You are welcomed to the chat line by Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), who then runs you through the prompt options. So if you are looking for that hot Hollywood gossip you won’t get anywhere else, grab your phone right now.

So what do you think? Is this a chat line worth getting out your credit card for? Let me know on Twitter or sound off in the comments below.

Image: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube

Could a MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Prequel Be on the Way?

It was the sequel that nobody asked for, coming 30 years after the previous installment, and with a re-cast lead in the title role. And yet Mad Max: Fury Road ended up being the best, most satisfying summer blockbuster of 2015. Actually, it was one of the best movies of that year, period, and ended up being one of the very few genre films to get recognized with any Oscars. Ever since, fans have been wondering just when director George Miller would be returning to the post-nuclear exploits of Max Rockatansky.

Well, take this latest captial-R Rumor with the usual hefty giant grain of salt, but if this new report from Australia’s Herald Sun (via Collider) has any truth to it, then it seems that the a Mad Max: Fury Road follow-up is not only already in pre-production at Warner Bros., it could actually start filming in Australia as soon as this year with George Miller returning to direct the film. Even more surprising: The project will allegedly be a Furiosa prequel. Here is the actual quote from the Herald Sun:

The prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road starring Tom Hardy will be filmed in and around Broken Hill. Pre-production is gearing up on the multi-million-dollar action-packed Warner Bros franchise, with NSW’s Broken Hill Studios Miller’s first choice for shooting, which could start as soon as later this year. Mad Max 4 was plagued by delays when extended rain turned the desert green and the uber director had to move location to Namibia. The script is said to focus on the backstory of Furiosa, played by Oscar winner Charlize Theron.

And here is where I come in and burst everyone’s bubble. First off, director George Miller has already stated several times that although he has more Mad Max stories left in him—two more actually, to give Tom Hardy a trilogy just like Mel Gibson had—he wasn’t planning to go back to Mad Max’s post-nuclear world right away, instead making his directorial effort with a completely separate project. Now, he could have changed his mind about that, but if he has, he’s kept very quiet about it.

Second, if it’s actually a prequel focusing on Charlize Theron’s character Furiosa (which, I think, is what we all really want) then why would Tom Hardy’s Mad Max character even be involved? They didn’t even meet until the events of Fury Road.

Then again, you just never know, it all might very well be true. We’ll have to wait for Warner Bros. to confirm or deny it. In the meantime, we’ll just have to be content to watch Fury Road on cable or on Blu-ray for the millionth time.

What do you think of fifth visit to world of Mad Max? Are you as excited about the potential as we are? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.

Image: Warner Bros.

Apple II Gets an OS Update 23 Years Later

There are always little bits of technology we can’t give up, even after they’re out of date. Maybe you still have a beloved tamagotchi or an old flip phone in your sock drawer that you can’t bear to throw out. Maybe you even have a Teddy Ruxpin in your parents’ basement. (That sounds like the beginning of a horror movie.) Some of you probably love your old computers, but not as much as this guy does! Software developer John Brooks just released an updated operating system called ProDOS 2.4 for the Apple II GS (the GS stands for graphics and sound) in honor of its 30th anniversary. It’s the first update released since 1993 and will even work on the original Apple ][ and ][+.

Brooks posted the info on CalApple.org, and you can play around with ProDOS 2.4 “in a Web-based emulator set up by computer historian Jason Scott,” according to Ars Technica. One of the features is called Bitsy Bye, which allows you to navigate floppy drives. Just steal the ones your hipster buddies are using as super cool coasters. You can also use hacked USB drives, according to the article. It runs in less than 1 kilobyte of RAM. The ProDOS 2.4 “floppy” gives you all sorts of goodies like a MiniBas BASIC interpreter and an “Unshrink” expander to uncompress files that are Shrinkit archived.

Bitsy Bye does some other cool stuff as well. Its program launcher runs on all Apple II computers and CPUs 6502, 65c02 or 65816. It displays and scrolls through up to 2,733 files per directory and you can find files by typing the first letter of their filename. Just imagine the possibilities! It’s got disk imaging programs to move files from actual floppy drives to USB drives. You can check out all the stats from Brooks himself right here.

Does this give you flashbacks of the days with a dark screen and green letters in all-caps? Do you have fond memories of your parents spending hours on one of these things? Tweet me/us @JennaBusch/@Nerdist and let us know your favorite piece of old technology, and let this old stuff soothe your soul that has been tortured by thoughts of how many AirPods you’re going to lose.

Image credit: Luc Legacy/Flickr

THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN Delivers a New Teen Classic With Anger Issues (Review)

Every teen movie strives to capture that delicate tragicomedy blend of angst and energy that made adolescence such a dizzying ride. Still, the genre overflows with failed films that feel pandering, hokey or painfully out of touch. Thankfully, in the tradition of teen classics like Clueless, Mean Girls, and Juno comes The Edge of Seventeen, a brilliant coming-of-age comedy with anger issues.

Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Kelly Fremon Craig, The Edge of Seventeen centers on misfit Nadine (Pitch Perfect 2’s Hailee Steinfeld), a fireball of anxiety, self-doubt, and snark. While her studly and smart older brother Darian (Blake Jenner) seems to have the world on a string, this socially awkward and perpetually volatile junior struggles to catch the eye of her bad boy crush, and feels crushed by the perpetual nitpicking of her mother (Kyra Sedgwick). Nadine’s only emotional support is her childhood friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson) and her acerbic history teacher Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson being a bastardly delight). So when her bestie and brother start dating each other, Nadine’s fragile self-worth is shattered, sending her on a hilarious and occasionally heart-wrenching emotional rollercoaster.

Since she broke out with True Grit, Steinfeld’s been mired in underwritten moody teen roles (Begin Again, Barely Lethal, Term Life). But Craig’s script finally gives this dynamic and daring ingénue (who memorably made an anthem about masturbation) something she can truly sink her teeth into. Her sharp comedic timing and animated mugging makes Steinfeld a perfect scene partner to smirking Harrelson and his withering wit. In one particularly mortifying/hysterical scene, this reluctant mentor reads aloud a regrettable and ranting sext Nadine sent to a peer (“I want you to put your mouth on my…tits…”) As Nadine wriggles in abject embarrassment begging for Mr. Bruner’s help, he coolly advises, “You need to watch out for run-on sentences.”

The supporting cast delivers. Richardson has a breezy warmth that instantly sells Krista and Nadine’s friendship, swiftly grounding the stakes of its loss. Almost impossibly brawny, Jenner looks the part of the golden boy, and brings earnest angst when called upon. Sedgwick sears as a sneering mom, and Hayden Szeto is adorably and authentically gawky as the soulful nerd Nadine overlooks. Still, Steinfeld and Harrelson’s chemistry offers the film’s most outrageously funny scenes.

Though much of its runtime relishes is the humor of humiliating social situations, Steinfeld likewise lands its darker moments. Her on-edge smile and fiery glare fall away to reveal a girl on the verge of falling apart. Nadine is a turmoil tornado, spinning in self-focused fury yet sucking those around her into her drama. Just as Alicia Silverstone’s charisma helped audiences forgive Cher’s cluelessness, Steinfeld’s natural charm helps smooth the edges of this deeply angry heroine, who shoots off childish insults as readily as she rolls her big brown eyes in stark infuriation. Not even Diablo Cody let Juno get as flawed, raw and furious as Craig’s heroine, who has no hyper-witty one-liners to soften her emotionally reckless moments. Allowing a teen girl to be this angry in a commercial comedy is transgressive, refreshing, and fills an previously unacknowledged absence in the class of teen comedies.

For all its angst, The Edge of Seventeen feels bright and celebratory, ultimately urging Nadine to an empathy that ironically makes her feel less alone in her pain. While the final act feels haphazard and overly sunny, this barbed and bouncy comedy is electrifying, bold, and wickedly entertaining.

Rating: 4 burritos, messy and magical. 

Images: STX Entertainment

Walmart to Open State Fair Fried Food Restaurant Inside a Store

Our nation is obsessed with fried food. Why wouldn’t we be? The golden crunchiness, the delicious knowledge that it’s absolutely terrible for us, the lovely way it blurs the edge of our hangovers–it’s glorious! Generally, the best place to grab these golden heart attack-producing items is at state fairs, but the people of Plano, Texas (and those of us who will do anything to get there) are about to get a new place for deep-fried happiness. According to Dallas News, a new fried food restaurant is opening in a Walmart in Plano on September 20. You should maybe start lining up now.

This nirvana is called State Fair Treats, and it’s coming to your rapidly-expanding bellies from famous fry-man Isaac Rousso, frequent finalist and winner of the Big Tex Choice Award at the State Fair of Texas. Rousso wants to expand this idea to other Walmarts and told the site, “At the end of the day it’s incredible that you have someone like Walmart believing in a small entrepreneurial guy and seeing the potential of what we can bring.” The restaurant will feature a 45-item menu “celebrating the treats families enjoy every year when they make an annual pilgrimage to the fair,” according to a press release. 45 items? That’s a lot, and though you can fry anything, according to a chef friend of mine, it stretches the imagination. It seems like Rousso’s up to the challenge. He apparently won contests for items like Rousso’s Cookie Fries, Deep Fried Cuban Roll, and Fried Pop Tart. They can fry butter. Did you know they can fry butter? And Jello. Someone really did that at the Texas fair.

State Fair Treats will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, though if Rousso is smart, he’ll do an all-nighter on the weekends for those with the munchies. Hey, it worked for Taco Bell. Rousso has six year-round workers, but his expansion plans are pretty extensive, though right now the restaurant isn’t funded by Walmart. They’re the landlords. Rousso estimates that about 2 million people hit that particular branch of the store every year, so the likelihood that this will be a hit is high.

We don’t know the menu yet, but if you do a little Google search for weird fried foods, you come up with some delightful items like fried beer, fried Kool-Aid and fried ice cream cheeseburger. There is even a fried Twinkie hamburger and fried bubblegum. You know why this restaurant is brilliant? You stuff yourself with greasy snacks, then roll yourself over to the pharmacy section of Walmart and purchase some items for your gastric distress. Genius!

So, would you go here for lunch every day? Maybe for Sunday brunch to fix the damage you did to yourself the night before? Tweet me/us @JennaBusch/@Nerdist and let us know your very favorite fried food (or the one that terrifies you the most). Because we love you, we’re including this video from The Culinary Institute of America, teaching you to fry food safely. You don’t want to become a fail video on YouTube, do you?

Featured image: Lee Cannon/Flickr