Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2384

The Brutal Moments of GAME OF THRONES in Adorable GIF Form

NOTE: The nature of some of these gifs reside within the realm of Game of Thrones Season 6 spoilers so, you know, be warned and such. 

There’s something beautiful about breaking things down to their simplest forms. If an idea can still be conveyed in the barest of bones way then it’s a good sign the source material is telling a good story. With six seasons inside the world of Game Of Thrones, some of the many, many plots can get a bit confusing. And while you can catch up in great detail with our resident GOT Maester Mike Walsh going through the entire series in the coming months, these GOT gifs can serve as the TL:DR version of the latest season.

Created by illustrator and animator Eran Mendel and brought to our attention by a recent post on The Creators Project, each of the 10 gifs below were made for each episode of season six and depict some of the vital information of each episode.

The Red Woman – “The Red Woman”

Clearly one of the most eye-opening moments of the season opener is the secret Melisandre has been keeping from everyone that she is in fact, a Golden Girl.

Home – “Hodor=>Willis=>Hodor”

In episode two we got a glimpse of the past and the sad truth that Hodor wasn’t always Hodor.

Oathbreaker – “A girl has no name (and no weapon)”

A girl might have no name but she certainly has a breaking point, which the waif eventually paid for dearly.

Book of the Stranger – “The Unburnt”

There’s a part of us that wishes Daenerys’ triumphant defeat of, well, everyone of the Khals ended this happy-go-lucky.

The Door – “Bran has a new buddy”

We’re still blaming the Three-eyed Raven for not going over the ground rules of time-travling warging on the first day, but we’re glad Mendel didn’t decide to animate the most heartbreaking act of bravery and sacrifice in the show yet.

Blood of My Blood – “Uncle Benjen – a one trick pony?”

We’re guessing that Uncle Benjen’s flaming mace only came into play this late in the game due to his fire dancing skills being booked solid at arts festivals beyond the wall for months.

The Broken Man -“The Hound’s wishful thinking”

Appropriately named “The Hound’s wishful thinking,” this serves as some possible foreshadowing to a battle we’re all hoping for.

No One – “Sparrows vs The Mountain”

A fairly accurate depiction of the Sparrows attempts to subdue Gregor Clegane. Too bad we never got to see the trial by combat.

Battle of the Bastards – “Bye Bye Bastard”

There may not be a more adorable way to depict one of the more gruesome moments of season six. This is almost a sweet scene if you had no context for Ramsay Bolton’s final moments.

The Winds of Winter – “Shame! Shame!! Shame!!!”

And then there’s this depiction that’s considerably more mild than the horrors The Mountain is likely committing for Cersei.

These visual CliffsNotes of season six are absolutely fantastic and we only hope Eran Mendel continues them for future seasons and even other shows. Be sure to take a look at the massive amount of other animated work Mendel has on his website, and even some bonus GOT content on his Facebook page.

What scenes would you want to see in this format? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

Images: Eran Mendel

PREACHER Review: Is “He Gone” for Good?

Editor’s note: This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of Preacher! Proceed with caution. For reals, if you haven’t yet watched “He Gone”, we highly suggest you do so before proceeding. Okay? We good? Let’s go.

After last week’s season-best teaser, Preacher returns with a much more contemplative opening scene. And it damn well should–since Jesse accidentally sent poor Eugene to Hell at the end of “Sundowner.” At least we thought it was an accident. Of course we also thought Eugene was entirely deserving of our sympathy. But both of those notions are challenged by Preacher Custer in this week’s climactic scene, which pits him against Cassidy, the heathen who has emerged as the holy man’s conscience. Jesse tells him he believes Genesis is part of God’s plan for him, though it’s pretty obvious he’s lying to himself in an attempt to relieve his guilt. The truth that does emerge, however, is that Eugene was fully responsible for putting Tracy Loach in a coma: when he shot her in the head moments before trying to kill himself.

It’s another reminder of how radically the show differs from its source material, since the Eugene of Garth Ennis’ comic book was less dangerous to others. Though he was equally mixed up, with his suicide attempt primarily carried out in imitation of his hero Kurt Cobain. The other big difference highlighted in “He Gone” is one we were already aware of–that Jesse’s late father was also a preacher, as opposed to Ennis’ haunted Vietnam vet. It’s possible, however, that the reason for his murder matches that of his print counterpart. (The presence of a baseball bat will be familiar to readers.) Though here that murder is shown to be the source of Jesse’s lifelong remorse, since we see, in one of a series of flashbacks, his younger self praying for his father’s death, and, in shades of what happened to Eugene, banishment to Hell. As revenge for his turning a troubled young Tulip over to the state.

“He Gone” ultimately reveals just as much about Ms. O’Hare’s past as it does Jesse’s, though with less dialogue. The product of a very broken family, Tulip is revealed to have been a childhood chum of kid Custer who, unlike her future beau, didn’t at all have the love she needed during her formative years. “He Gone” also makes clear that race–an element absent from their relationship in the comics, in which Tulip was a blonde Caucasian–plays as much of a role in dividing them as anything else. It’s all too evident when the adult Tulip returns to her family’s home in the part of town populated largely by African Americans. And it’s almost impossible not to be reminded of this past week’s real-word events, in which the country’s racial differences, including those in Texas, were again made clear to a horrified nation.

As for the show’s central dilemma, and the issue of Jesse’s newfound power versus the free will of his congregation, “He Gone” finds him facing the limits of that power when Odin Quincannon (who’s wrestling with his own father’s legacy) tells him he was not made a Christian by attending his church service, and is therefore coming to claim what he believes was promised him for his “Meat & Power” company. Having driven away both of the women who love him, a distraught Jesse tears the floorboards out of his church looking for Eugene, with the question of just what happened to Cassidy still hanging in the air, and a hateful army marching on his home. It might not match the shock of last week’s cliffhanger, but it’ll do.

Preaching to the Choir

— Young Tulip bit a boy’s nipple off? Damn. That girl was always vicious.

— “Oh. Busy. Corleone-family-wedding-day busy.”

— Cassidy really needs to have Emily over for a Coen Brothers marathon.

— So why doesn’t young Jesse have a Texas accident?

— If Bible belt churches really do stage theatrical productions based on the Old Testament story of Abraham, I’m genuinely curious as to how prominent a role bongos play.

— As God is my witness, I didn’t know vanilla extract was flammable either.

— The funniest part of The Most Awkward Dinner Ever occurs when the oven erupts flames in response to Sheriff Root’s inquiry about Eugene’s whereabouts.

— Okay, one last question… Can’t Jesse simply command someone to go to Hell and come back with Eugene?

What did you think of this week’s episode? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter (@JMaCabre).

Images: AMC

Margot Robbie Schools Us on 50 Aussie Slang Terms

Not all English is the same. Colloquialisms and regional dialects mean that there are countless variations of the language all over the world, and the most distinct character of any particular brand of English is in its slang. You and I may consider ourselves to be fairly knowledgeable of the English language, but start throwing around phrases like “fair dinkum” and we’ll be reduced to context-reliant “tossers.” Luckily, when it comes to Aussie slang, we can rely on Margot Robbie.

In a new video for Vanity Fair, as Laughing Squid reports, the Suicide Squad star and native Australian ran through 50 slang terms in less than four minutes. “Fair dinkum,” for instance, apparently means “far out.” And that was only the beginning of my realization that I would appear utterly uncultured if I ventured down under. At one point she dropped the sentence: “this arvo we’re going to go to the bottle-o and get a couple tinnys.” That translates to: “this afternoon we’re going to go to the liquor store and get a couple beers” (tinny, for the record, can also mean boat).

Here are some other favorites:

Grommet = young surfer

Daks = pants

Chunder = vomit

Hard yakka = hard work

Chuck a sickie = call in sick

Pash rash = the rash-like result of too much kissing

Robbie didn’t know all the words that Vanity Fair threw her way—“doovalacky,” for instance, may forever remain a mystery. But she knew most, and I personally feel much more worldly than I did five minutes ago. So don’t be a “bludger” (that means lazy person in Aussie, not terrifying iron Quidditch ball). Check out the video and learn a thing or two.

Image: Vanity Fair

The Best STAR WARS Exclusives of Comic-Con 2016

In just over a week, Comic-Con is coming back to San Diego and the Force is coming with it! And if you’re looking for new Star Wars  collectibles to pick up SDCC,  you won’t have to look far. The official Star Wars site has released a full list of the various exclusives that will be available at Comic-Con. Casual fans and hardcore collectors should be well served by these offerings. We have our eyes on a few as well, which is why we’re sharing a list of our most anticipated Star Wars exclusives from the show!

Star Wars Socks

These original trilogy themed socks from Static are hilariously goofy, and it may be the only time that we’ll ever be excited about buying socks! Each design is limited to 100, and you can pick up any pair for $20.

C-3PO & Captain Phasma Star Wars: The Force Awakens Premium Edition Action Figures

 

 

Jakks Pacific is offering two exclusives at the show, from its latest Star Wars: The Force Awakens 20″ action figures: Premium Edition C-3PO and Captain Phasma. These will run you $59.99 each, but they appear to be well worth it.

Boba Fett Keepsake ornament

It just wouldn’t be Star Wars without everyone’s favorite bounty hunter. Hallmark’s Beginnings: Boba Fett Keepsake ornament two-pack is is based on the work of Ralph McQuarrie. That’s why he’s rockin’ the full white costume that the artist envisioned him with. The helmet is also based on an early piece of Boba Fett artwork by McQuarrie. We don’t have the pricing info for this one, but fans will also be able to pick it up at New York Comic Con later this year.

Rey’s Backpack

Loungefly is offering a recreation of Rey’s backback from The Force Awakens, which will be limited to only 200. It comes with a Rey-on-a-speeder pin and some eye goggles that should look familiar to fans of the film. You can pick it up for $65 at the con.

Star Wars Skateboards

Something about these First Order themed skateboards Santa Cruz just speak to us. But is it the call of the light or the dark? These boards will go for a cool $100 each at the show.

 

R2-D2 Unpainted Prototype

 

Don’t let the $149.99 price scare you off. This is a terrific variation of Sideshow’s R2-D2 Deluxe 1/6 figure that has the light-up dome and hinged panels of the original. But this time, R2 has a monochromatic silver finish.

We’re also quite taken by two Star Wars exclusives that we’ve previously covered. First is the Hasbro exclusive Star Wars: The Black Series 6-Inch Obi-Wan Kenobi Pack, which you can see here. That one will be $44.99 at the convention, with a limited number available online after the con. The other exclusive is Gentle Giant’s  Chewbacca McQuarrie Concept Mini Bust, which is based on McQuarrie’s initial artwork for everyone’s favorite wookie. We featured that one last week, and we’ve got a gallery that you can check out. It will be $120 at the show.

Which Star Wars Comic-Con exclusives have captured your attention? Feel the Force, and share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Featured Image: Jakks Pacific/Sideshow Collectibles

Images: Static/Jakks Pacific/Hallmark/Loungefly/Santa Cruz/Sideshow Collectibles

Sideshow Toys’ First Look at 12-Inch LOBO Action Figure

In the run up to San Diego Comic-Con International, Sideshow Toys has been hosting an “Online Comic-Con” for the entire month, with at least one new reveal each day. Some of the products they’ve show were ones we’ve known about before, but today they teased that a new 1/6 scale (12 inches, usually) DC Comics collectible would be revealed. And they showed us this…

First Crystal Pepsi makes a comeback, and now this–my ’90s feels are all back in force. That Wolverine-ish hairdo and sideburns, the PMRC warning label button, the excessive line-work on his face, the then-trending cigar enthusiasm…all of it makes me want to find and crank up my Jesus Jones and EMF albums, because damn it, I am alive and I waited for this. It’s unbelievable.

No further information is available on the Lobo figure at the moment, but you can be bet he’ll be shown in full at SDCC. With Deadpool and Wolverine having finally become icons of the big screen as well as the page, the last Czarnian is overdue for his closeup, Dawg. Maybe in one of the Justice League sequels he can be an appropriately threatening foe for Superman, who won’t be able to break this bastich’s neck so easily.

How do you feel about a footlong Lobo? Is the bounty hunter a man out of time, toy-wise, or is now the perfect moment to resurrect his ill-tempered patootie?  How much would you pay for an in-scale Space Hog? Take your best shot in comments below.

Images: DC Comics, Sideshow Toys

Here’s What Not to Miss at SDCC 2016, Day Four

Comic-Con may not be coming for another week-and-a-half, but it’s already time to peek ahead at the ending! Comic-Con International has released the full programming schedule for Sunday, July 24; the final day of the convention. And it’s a decidedly laid back slate compared to the insanity of Friday and Saturday!

Take for example, Hall H; the largest room at the San Diego Convention Center and the home of Comic-Con’s hottest panels. On Sunday, there will be only three panels in Hall H. Can you believe it? But they are a pretty terrific trio!

10:00am | Sherlock
11:15am | Supernatural Special Video Presentation and Q&A
12:30pm | FOX’s Action Showcase: Prison Break and 24: Legacy

Sherlock is kicking off the final day in Hall H with series creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, with producer Sue Vertue, and actress Amanda Abbington (she plays Mary Watson on the show). Sadly, it’s very unlikely that Benedict Cumberbatch or Martin Freeman will appear in person. But if this Sherlock panel plays out like the last one at SDCC, then both Cumberbatch and Freeman will have some recorded messages for the fans. Although we’d certainly love it if they made surprise appearances to talk about the upcoming fourth season.

At 11:45am, all of the main players from Supernatural will be checking in at Hall H, with series stars Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins , and Mark A. Sheppard appearing alongside producers Robert Singer and Andrew Dabb. They’ll be talking about season 12, and they may even bring some footage from the next adventure of the Winchester brothers.

The final panel in Hall H at 12:30 is the double header of Fox revival shows: Prison Break and 24: Legacy. Original Prison Break stars Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Sarah Wayne Callies, and Robert Knepper will debut new videos from the new miniseries and take questions from fans alongside producer Vaun Wilmott. Then the new stars of 24: Legacy, Corey Hawkins, Miranda Otto, and Jimmy Smits will join the returning creative team of Howard Gordon, Manny Coto, and Evan Katz for the first look at what life after Jack Bauer looks like for the world of 24.

Ballroom 20 will go dark for the final day of Comic-Con, but there are still some panels that we’re very excited about. At 11:15am in Room 6DE, Warner Bros. Interactive is going to run the LEGO Dimensions panel, which may be the stage for a few announcements about new characters and content heading to the game. The guests for this panel will include the game’s creative team, and a few unannounced voice actors who reprised their roles for LEGO Dimensions.

Remember that story about James T. Kirk fighting Jesus Christ in Gene Roddenberry’s original Star Trek movie pitch? There’s a lot more where that came from in Room 25ABC at 1pm, as Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross hold court at “The 50-Year Mission: Star Trek Then, Now, and Beyond” panel. Altman and Gross are long time Trek fans and historians who will be sharing stories from their new two-part book, The 50 Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored and Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek.

At 2pm, Comic-Con is celebrating the 20th anniversary of DC Comics’ Birds of Prey in Room 28DE with series creator Chuck Dixon, Gail Simone, Shawna and Julie Benson, and Jordan B. Gorfinkel as they look back at the comic series that started it all, the short-lived live-action series, and even the animated appearances of the group!

Also at 2pm, John Barrowman’s spotlight panel “Anything Goes with John Barrowman” will take place in Room 6BCF. Let’s just say that Barrowman’s appearances live up to that title, and he’ll be telling fans all about the new deal that lets him appear on every DC show that is currently on The CW!

Room 6DE should draw a crowd at 3pm, as Animaniacs Live! will be performed by returning voice actors Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille and Jess Harnell as they sing a few of the songs from the classic animated series alongside series songwriter Randy Rogel. And if you want more singing, there’s no better way to close out Comic-Con than the traditional Buffy the Musical sing-along at 3:15pm in Room 6BCF. This is the annual event held at SDCC by Whedonopolis WhedonCon, and FandomCharities, with Drusilla herself, Juliet Landau making an appearance alongside a surprise guest.

You can check out the entire schedule here.

Which Sunday Comic-Con panels are you most excited about? Let us know in the comment section below!

Image: BBC

Human Slingshot Sends Riders Soaring 300 Feet Above the Ground

Some might look at Wile E. Coyote and think that he dreamed too big, that his schemes for how to catch the Roadrunner were absurd and needlessly over-the-top, but maybe his real problem was that he didn’t dream big enough. I mean, how often did he come up juuuuust short of his goal? Because it would appear all those times he used a human/coyote-sized slingshot he was on to something; he just didn’t make it large enough. Kind of like these wild guys did.

This video comes from Negative4 Productions, and it features BASE jumpers Chris Douggs McDougall and Jimmy Pouchert being flung, by a gigantic slingshot/catapult, over 300 feet into the air of Dubai. The two went from a complete stop to traveling at an astounding 200 kilometers-per-hour (that’s about 124 miles-per-hour my fellow non-Metric using Statesiders), experiencing 6Gs of force in the process. To give you some idea of what that means, a “top-fuel dragster, which can accelerate from 0-100mph in less than a second” reaches about 5.3Gs.

It’s hard to fully appreciate just what was accomplished here until you see the last camera shot, which really highlights how fast they were going and just how high they went. They basically traveled from the bottom of the Statue of Liberty (including its base and foundation) to the top in the blink of an eye.

I wonder if using this method to transport tourists to the top of Lady Liberty this way would make people more or less likely to go? At the very least, it would definitely help keep up with a roadrunner.

Would you be willing to ride this human slingshot? Tell us why in the comments below.

Images: YouTube/Negative4 Productions

Watch This Montage of the Scariest Jumpcuts in Movie History

Focus on these words with your full attention. Read these sentences carefully, slowly, deliberately, thinking of nothing else. Because, as you read them, and they draw you into a serene state of calm THERE’S A MONSTER RIGHT BEHIND YOU!

Okay, yeah, we get it, jump cuts don’t really work so well in print, but man are they great on screen. Even when you totally see one coming, like with the “horrible thing suddenly appears in the mirror” trope, a great monster, ghost, or serial killer popping into frame is a unique, visceral, cinematic experience. One that can even make you forgive an otherwise bad horror movie.

To celebrate that seat-leaping, heart-racing, gasp-inducing trick of the thriller trade, the folks over at Burger Fiction have put together a montage of 40 of the best jumpcuts in movie history. Now there’s no way to do this without leaving some out, and we’re sure many of you will be disappointed that one of your favorites didn’t make it, but this is still a very good list. And, if we’re being completely honest, even though we knew every scene was going to have something awful come out of nowhere, it got us almost every single freaking time.

Here are our five favorites that they included.

5. Large Marge Scares Pee Wee in Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

Image: Warner Brothers

If you saw this as a kid and try to claim now that it didn’t scare you, then you, my friend, are the real monster. Firstly, that movie is sneaky nightmare fuel. And secondly, Large Marge was horrifying. The whole scene is set up perfectly, with the nighttime hitchhike pickup, the darkness and ominous music, and the recounting of the accident, all before we find out a demon ghost is driving.

4. Footage of the First Alien Sighting in Signs

Image: Buena Vista Pictures

There was a time when M. Night Shyamalan made really creepy, quality films (I swear), and Signs is one of those movies. The best scene is when Joaquin Phoenix’s character is watching TV in the closet and the news breaks in with the first known footage of an alien, shot at a children’s party in Brazil. It’s somehow tense and funny, with Phoenix yelling at the kids in the footage to “vamanos,” and then—boom! Alien! It feels real, and I remember the whole audience in the theater gasping the way Phoenix did on screen.

3. The Lake Scene of the Original Friday the 13th

Image: Paramount Pictures

Our heroine has survived, Pamela Voorhees is dead, and now we’re just out on the lake for a serene start to the new day, one that will be free of bloodshed and murder, when dead child monster Jason leaps out of the water and ruins everything. This one still gets me.

2. Carrie’s Hand Comes Out of Her Grave

Image: United Artists

Two and three on our list are basically the same exact gag (this came first), but this one was scarier because with all of the bizarre stuff going on in Carrie it seemed way more possible as not just a dream than Jason’s appearance did. I can’t discuss this moment without having a physical reaction, because I vividly remember the first time I watched Carrie as a kid. It was about three in the morning, and that damn hand popping out ruined my life for at least a week.

1. Ben Gardner’s Head Scares Hooper in Jaws

Image: Universal Pictures

Has to be number one because this is the jumpcut that never, ever stops being scaring the crap out of me. What the hell was shark expert Hooper thinking going into the water at night anyway? Why did we have to see this? What happened to poor Ben’s hat? I think Jaws is a perfect movie, and this is the scariest moment of the entire film.

Okay, so you heard mine, but now we want to hear from you. What’s your favorite scary jumpcut? Pop into our comments below and tell us. Oh, and good luck sleeping tonight.

Featured Image: Buena Vista Pictures

Beautiful DISNEY-Inspired Paintings of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, DUMBO, More

Has there been a more divisive artist in recent American history than Thomas Kinkade? The late painter made quite a name for himself in the ’80s and ’90s with his particular style, consisting mostly of gardens and cozy cottages in the woods, usually painted with saturated pastel colors.

Although his work was almost instantly derided by art critics the world over as being kitschy and corny, prints of his paintings sold in the bucketloads, especially in mall poster stores across America, and on home shopping networks like QVC. It has been estimated that 1 in every 20 American homes owns a copy of one of his paintings, which means it is very likely that your grandma owns one.

Due to his tendancy to paint quaint little forests with running streams and the like, it’s no wonder he was chosen as one of the artists to create an exclusive set of prints for the Disney theme parks. Even in his non-Disney paintings, it’s almost as if you can see Bambi or one of the seven dwarfs just off the frame somewhere.

Among those who definitely love the Disney work of Thomas Kinkade are the folks at Bored Panda, who recently showcased a collection of Kinkade’s Disney series on their blog. The site even goes as far as to say “the late Thomas Kinkade illustrated Disney worlds better than anyone I’ve seen – I’d say even better than Disney itself”. Yeah, I’m not so sure about that, but to each their own.

Among the Kinkade paintings, which you can see in our gallery below, are images inspired by classic Disney fare like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Little Mermaind, Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, and a whole lot more. Even the more recent live-action Cinderella is included, which means that one of Kinkade Studios’ officially licensed copycat artists made it, as the live-action Cinderella came out in 2015, and Thomas Kinkade passed away three years earlier.

What do you think of this Kinkade Disney art? Would you say it’s “better than Disney itself?” Let us know what you think down below in the comments.

Images: Walt Disney Company / Thomas Kinkade Studios

Pop Culture Dissections You Won’t See in Any Medical Books

If you’ve ever wondered what makes certain pop culture icons tick, these intricate and slightly disturbing portraits are certainly for you. Created by Austrian urban/graffiti artist and illustrator Nychos, they ensure you’ll never be able to look at superheroes or Disney characters the same way again.

Brought to our attention by a recent post on The Awesomer, Nychos’ art is like a much cooler version of the science books we had in high school ,as the anatomy of pop culture characters is split apart so that we get an all-too gruesome look inside. The illustrations are intense at first glance, but become more beautiful as you focus on the detail that’s gone into each of them.

These as-gorgeous-as-they-are-creepy pieces of art are part of Nychos’ series IKON that’s currently on display at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York City. The exhibit is held until July 23rd, so there’s only a short time remaining for those in the NYC area to get a chance to see these up close and far too personal. In addition to the dissection illustrations, Nychos also created translucent and “x-ray” versions of some characters that are all too fascinating to look at.

While you can expect a cartoon mouse to already have a perplexing anatomy, it’s the attention to the presumed details that make this one particularly awesome. A closer look at Mickey’s hands and feet to reveal his rodent claws usually hidden by his gloves and shoes. Come to think of it, without the gloves, Mickey would be a bit hard to look at.

Take a look at the gallery below and let us know which of Nychos’ creations are your favorites in the comments!

Images: Jonathan LeVine Gallery with permission from Rabbit Eye Movement