Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the latest film from the Sonic franchise from Paramount. Directed by Jeff Fowler, Ben Schwartz returns as the Blue Blur alongside Colleen O’Shaughnessy as Tails the Fox, Idris Elba as Knuckles the Echidna and features Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog. It also features James Marsden and Tika Sumpter as Tom and Maddie Wachowski, and Jim Carrey as both Ivo and Gerald Robotnik. Rounding out the cast is Lee Majdoub as Robotnik’s lackey Stone, Tom Butler as Commander Walters, Krysten Ritter as Director Rockwell and Alya Browne as Maria.
Picking up from the last film, a secret weapon known as Shadow has escaped from the custody of Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N.) and Sonic and his friends are called in to stop his rampage. But the overwhelming power of this new hedgehog is more than any of them can handle and in their desperation they’re forced to make an alliance with an old enemy. But the journey to stop Shadow will the reveal the root of his trauma, the sins of G.U.N.’s past and Robotnik’s long-lost relative and the ensuing battle may be more than our heroes and the Earth can take…
The crew of nerdy-ass voice actors are back for a third season of Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina as the familiar crew of Laura Bailey (Vex), Liam O’Brien (Vax), Travis Willingham (Grog), Marisha Ray (Keyleth), Ashley Johnson (Pike), Sam Riegel (Scanlon), Taliesin Jaffe (Percy), and Matt Mercer return for more adventures in the D&D world of Exandria. Newcomers include Mara Junot as J’mon Sa Ord, Rachel House as Dohla, with Debra Wilson as Pa’tice and Luis Carazo as Zerxus. Returning cast includes Indira Varma, Stephanie Beatriz, Sunil Malhotra, Esme Creed-Miles, Gina Torres, Aisling Franciosi, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Will Friedle, Fred Tatasciore, Troy Baker, Kelly Hu, Cree Summer, and the late Lance Reddick as Thordak.
Continuing from the end of season 2, Vox Machina have secured a great victory in securing three Vestiges of Divergence, great artifacts with the powers of the gods, and have slain Umbrasyl of the Chroma Conclave. But to defeat the rest of the draconic cabal, more Vestiges must be claimed and the quest for them will lead them all over the world, into the depths of hell itself, and in the sights of old enemies and new. And if they’re to stop the Cinder King’s mad plan that would bring the world to ash, an alliance of convenience with a treacherous deceiver may have to be made. And that could cost them more than they can imagine…
Will & Harper is the latest documentary from Netflix directed by Josh Greenbaum. The documentary features Will Ferrell and Harper Steele on a road trip across America, visiting places Steele trekked through back when she went by Andrew. In a way, reintroducing the country to who she is now.
This is an unusual case for me; for starters I haven’t really reviewed a documentary before and unlike film, television, or books I’m not looking for things like plot, character development or the like. And unlike many documentaries, I can’t judge it based on accuracy or whether it’s being fair in its critique or message. This is the journey of two friends across their home.
The other big part is the subject of Harper’s transitioning, a hot-button topic for many. For my part, I have known and know people who are trans, some I knew before they transitioned, others I have only met through the internet. I have strived to be kind and understanding perhaps to make for a time in my adolescence when it was easier to not be kind or understanding.
But the focus of this documentary isn’t to focus on hot-button topics or the discourse of the trans community in America (not even when the two bump into Eric Holcomb), but a journey. There is an ugliness shown, and I’m glad that the documentary was more than willing to share who said what in their less than kind tweets. And there are certainly the moments of self-reflection and the feelings of self-loathing. But the heart of this is a road trip between two friends cracking jokes, visiting new and familiar places and maybe asking questions about transitioning that Will, or the viewer, might have.
What makes this documentary so noteworthy is that it knows exactly what it wants to do. To see the world, to have a good time and to do so with with a close friend. Ignore the bad faith arguments, ignore the outrage grifts, and ignore the “Won’t someone think of the children?!” hysteria. They may exist, and there are times when it feels overwhelming. But this about two friends reaffirming their friendship and when you have that, those ugly comments look and feel so small.
Just crack a joke and share the road and if you can do that with a buddy, all the better.
This is a bit unusual, I tend to focus my works on reviews and on the thankfully few occasions, wrote tributes to recently passed icons of geekdom. This isn’t about a person, but a place. A place that has been very special to me throughout the years. And no, this place is not dying nor going out of business, just moving to a new location. But this store was founded the same year, heck, only a month a way from when I was born and in the ups-and-downs of the business world for a small, independent comic shop to remain in the same place for three and a half decades is no small feat.
I’m not the best person to tell this story as such I’ll make it short, but before I can tell you of what this place means to me I have to tell you about Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff.
Batman: Caped Crusader from Amazon Prime is the latest animated series to tackle the Batman universe under the creative direction of Bruce Timm. It stars Hamish Linklater as Batman, Jason Watkins as Alfred, Eric Morgan Stuart as Commissioner Gordon, Krystal Joy Brown as Barbara Gordon, Diedrich Bader as Harvey Dent, Michelle C. Bonilla as Renee Montoya, John Dimaggio as Harvey Bullock, Gary Anthony Williams as Arnold Flass, and Cedric Yarbrough as Rupert Thorne. Rounding out the cast there’s Minnie Driver, Christina Ricci, Dan Donohue, Tom Kenny, Toby Stephens, Reid Scott, McKenna Grace and Jamie Chung.
My Adventures With Superman returns for another season on Adult Swim and sees the return of Jack Quaid as Superman, Alice Lee as Lois Lane, and Ishmel Sahid as Jimmy Olsen. It also features Joel de la Fuente as Sam Lane, Debra Wilson as Amanda Waller, Max Mittelman as Lex Luthor, Chris Parnell as Deathstroke, Darnell Brown as Perry White, Andromeda Dunker as Vicki Vale. Rounding out the cast there’s Byron Marc Newsome, Jesse Inocalla, André Sogliuzzo, Zehra Fazal, Leila Berzins, Jason Marnocha, Rhea Seehorn, with Michael Emerson and Kiana Madeira.
Picking up where the last season ended, our trio of Clark, Lois, and Jimmy continue their work at the Daily Planet bringing integrity (and just a bit of hijinks) to the news while Superman continues his own brand of working helping the people of Metropolis. But all is not well in the city, Task Force X is now under the complete control of Amanda Waller who alongside their new benefactor, tech genius Lex Luthor, is bringing their war against Superman to new lows. Besides repeated human rights violations, they’re bringing a new tactic in, a public relations campaign against the Big Blue Boy Scout. Combine that with the new stresses in their jobs and relationships and Clark and Lois’ relationship might be over before it’s had a chance to truly get off the ground. And the alien threat that drove Task Force X into such extremes twenty-two years ago? It’s directed its attention to Earth and to Superman…
Some odd years ago I posted more than a few thoughts on my both a brief history of the Paper Mario series and my general dissatisfaction with the recent games and where the series was going. I wrote about how much I disliked that the games dumbed down not only the immersive quality of its RPG gameplay but everything about characterization and plot. That gimmicks took the place of strategy and bad executive decisions cut storytelling potential at the knees. I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect things to get better and any future praises or accolades could be summed up as, “Well, at least it’s better than Sticker Star.”
Then everything changed, with the release of one remake.
Yes, the remake of Super Mario RPG by ArtePiazza from last year sent a wave of wonder throughout the Nintendo fandom. If this mostly ignored relic of the Super Nintendo era could get a fully remastered, new moves, new graphics, new everything kind of remake what about more popular games? Could they get the same treatment?
We didn’t need to wait long for that answer.
So that brings us to The Thousand-Year Door, now originally I was going to give myself a week so that I could complete the game and post all my thoughts, however between other complications and the simple fact that I am a slow and deliberate gamer, I decided to instead focus on what it’s like playing this and how I feel about this remake.
To start things off, there’s a couple things I’m not crazy on: one is the overall darker look, not the tone, I mean the actual lack of light in some cases. I get that some areas are underground and parts of Rogueport are meant to have a seedy look to them, but at times it feels like I have strain to see some of the vividly detailed background that was so much clearer in 2004.
Speaking of visuals, it’s taken a page from newer games like The Origami King and made most of the world resemble an arts and crafts project, really emphasizing the “Paper” part of the title. Ordinarily I wouldn’t mind, but as I’ve mentioned before that this crafted look makes it feel less like it’s taking place in the Mushroom Kingdom and more like a fictionalized world within the Mushroom Kingdom. Emphasizing the non-canon nature by making it look off-putting.
However, these are all minor nitpicks in the grand scheme of things, minor bits that just stand out to me and aren’t really worth the effort of getting upset over. Even the lower framerate that every critique and review has brought up is merely a little bump in the development road. And one thing can be said about this game’s development is that it is a labor of love. Every bit of music updated, jokes and clever writing preserved, even the tedious bits of backtracking have been reduced. Make no mistake, the team behind this remake loved the original as much as we did and the painstaking process of updating the game but still remaining true to its roots is on full display. From the major changes like adding an easier form of fast travel in the central hub to little things like updating the title screen every time a new partner is added the party.
I worried a lot about the future of Paper Mario and I can’t say those fears have gone away though they’ve certainly lessened to a degree after seeing early sales reports. But I do feel hopeful that the games will progress from the low-quality dip that hit back in 2012. And a portion of this comes from one of the most popular characters to come out of this game.
For those who might not be aware, Vivian (pictured above) was originally written as a trans woman in the initial release, but not in the North American and German localization where she was written as just female. Considering the hot-button issues still going on with trans both fictional and in real life, this was a surprising but truly welcome thing to see. If the game is willing to rectify past exclusions rather than keep it the same for the sake of “that’s how it was when it first came out” then who knows what other forms of progress can be made? Progress where no one feels excluded and can find representation in gaming.
In short, I’m positively delighted that this game exists and I’m glad a new generation will be able to experience the adventures of Mario and his friends in one of his greatest tales ever told.
Ask the average Millennial what their first exposure to the X-Men franchise was and chances are you’ll one of two options: The Bryan Singer film from 2000 or the animated series from Fox Kids back in 1992. Despite being firmly entrenched in the 90’s, the lack of budget for the animation (a problem that showed up across the series) and some frankly hammy performances from the voice actors the series is still highly regarded among fans. Drawing from a combination of Chris Claremont’s acclaimed run on the comic with some influence from Jim Lee’s work, the show set the standard for adapting comic books that was never matched by Fox’s series of live-action films. There was humor, drama, adventure, romance and even with the more hammy or outlandish performances you can bet that Canada’s voice talents of the era were giving it their all. And the opening theme song was nothing but pure hype.
So when it was announced that the series would continue suffice to say, excitement was high.
Set one year after the series finale and the attempted assassination of Professor Xavier and his departure with Lillandra to the Shi’ar. Unknown to the public, he’s declared legally dead and a wave of goodwill for mutantkind has spread as a result. In the meantime, the X-Men continue to stand against hatred and bigotry and Scott and Jean prepare for the birth of their child. However things are soon thrown into chaos with the resurgence of extremist groups like the Friends of Humanity sporting new and dangerous weapons. The return of long-time adversary Magneto with the will and testament of Professor Xavier. And new, sinister forces from old foes emerge from the shadows, and not even the X-Men may be able to stop the coming onslaught.
The miniseries is a fascinating piece of media, allotted more budget for production and the cast than the average television series but not as much as the average major film release. Created like a television series but with a self-contained story and with no intent of creating a second season; a beginning, middle, and end was created and that’s the whole of it. And from the 70’s all the way to the early 2000’s some miniseries have become important parts of television history and helped launch a fair share of careers. In 1980, an adaptation of the James Clavell novel Shōgun captured America audiences; starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune it became one of the most famous miniseries ever made…In America at least, in Japan views were a bit more mixed. Which brings us to this remake.
Shōgun is the latest miniseries from FX and was created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks. Based on the novel, its story is a fictionalized tale of the life of William Adams, an English navigator who came to Japan and ended up serving as an advisor of Ieyasu Tokugawa, becoming one of the few non-Japanese to become samurai. The series stars Hiroyuki Sanada (who also acted as a producer) as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne, Anna Sawai as Lady Mariko, Moeka Hoshi as Fuji Usami, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Yabushige, Takehiro Hira as Lord Ishido, Néstor Carbonell as Rodrigues, Tommy Bastow as Father Martin Alvito and Fumi Nikaidō as Ochiba no Kata.
Avatar: The Last Airbender by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko was very much a lightning in a bottle piece of animation. A sixty-one episode action/comedy/drama series made before tight-fisted studios began slashing budgets, or action-based series were cancelled in favor of shorter eleven minute segment shows. It was a show that not only perfectly balanced each of its action, comedy, and drama, but one with a fully realized world and lore that not even modern shows or fantasy novels can pull off. The result? A massive fanbase that still continues on even after the series ended in 2008. A sequel series, comics that expanded the main cast’s story, full on novels, games, etc. Performances that launched numerous voice actor’s careers into the big leagues and gave the late, great Mako Iwamatsu one of the best performances in his long career. And one of Nickelodeon’s most critically acclaimed programs in its continuing history.
Sadly it also came with more than a fair share of problems too. Most infamous was M. Night Shyamalan’s live-action adaptation Last Airbender which has gone down as one of the worst adaptations ever made and indeed, one of the worst films ever made. Since then, there’s been a lot of buzz about whether it’s a series that needs any adaptations or expansions at all. Some wanting to see more from their favorite franchise and others who just want it to be left alone. Which brings us to Netflix’s attempt.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is the latest live-action adaptation from Netflix and overseen by Albert Kim and formerly the original series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It stars Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Uncle Iroh, Matthew Yang King as Appa and Momo, Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula, Mariah Zhang as Suki, Ken Leung as Admiral Zhao, Amber Midthunder as Princess Yue, with James Sie reprising his role as the Cabbage Merchant and Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai.
Matt the Media Hunter 