W♥M

Grin and Bear It

Cocaine Bear (2023) Read More Grizzly Bear Grizzly Bear will be headlining the Palace Theatre in St Paul on December 1st. Their latest album Painted Ruins is out now on RCA Records. Serpentwithfeet to open. ....

Read more When Animals Attack.

Cocaine Bear (2023)
cocainebear.movie

What a weird weekend… we’re getting two horror movies based on bears this week.

The first is Cocaine Bear, loosely based on true events.

In 1985, a plane carrying bags of cocaine went down in the woods and an American black bear ingested the drugs. That’s basically the setup for this film. Based on the trailer, it looks like the bear goes on a rampage and murders everyone it sees, while high on cocaine.

This looks more like an unintentional comedy. It could be the next Snakes on a Plane film.

Apparently, this is Ray Liotta’s final performance, before his death in 2022.

Cocaine Bear is scheduled to be released in the United States on February 24, 2023, by Universal Pictures.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)

The second horror bear movie is Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.

Thanks to Winnie the Pooh going into the public domain, low-budget filmmaker Rhys Frake-Waterfield jumped on the opportunity to transformed Winnie into a murdering bear in Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. The 2023 British independent slasher film follows Pooh and Piglet on a bloodthirsty murderous rampage on a grown up Christopher Robin. It’s definitely not a Disney movie.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey will get a United States release on February 15, 2023, and will be in theaters in the UK on March 10, 2023.

Black Bear Kiss

Black Bear Kiss
blackbearkiss.com

Voted best band at the Shropshire Music Awards in 2022, Black Bear Kiss announced their debut self-titled album to be out March 3, 2023.

The upbeat four-piece band from the Midlands formed in 2016, inspired by bands like Foals and Royal Blood.

Their self-titled debut record was years in the making, complicated by the death of their guitarist Rob Jones.

“We are so pleased to share this with everyone”, says singer Chris Leech, “many years of blood, sweat and tears have gone into making this record. We’ve been through so much as a band and to come through everything with this album, shows what we are about.”

The Black Bear Kiss album launch party is set Mar 03, 2023 at The Station, Cannock town centre on the bus station. They are playing tonight (Friday, 17th February) at The Salopian, Shrewsbury in Shrewsbury. Opening support will come from Aaron W Evans, Sig and the Firepilots and “some very special guests!”

The Bear and The Bison

The Bear and The Bison
thebearandthebison.com

Appalachian country and roots rock band The Bear and The Bison’ self-titled debut album came out February 13, 2023.

The band is led by singer-songwriter Mark W. Lennon (Home of the Wheel and Down the Mountain), who said, “I wanted to record some of the songs we had written back in California, so they didn’t get lost. Straightforward snapshot country tunes like ‘Train, Train’ and ‘Misery’… There wasn’t really an agenda, just recording at our own pace, when we could.”

The album features Dean Vivirito (Who Can Sleep) on vocals, Harmony Griffin (Uncle Ben’s Remedy, Leroy Townes) on guitars, Patrick Jackson (Folkfaces) on standup bass, Jim Whitford on lap and pedal steel, Jacob Brockway on pedal steel, Charlie Coughlin (The Brothers Blue) on fiddle, Michael Russeck on piano and Mark Lennon on vocals, guitars, banjo, bass, and percussion.

The Bear & The Bison will be available across all digital platforms February 13, 2023.

mui zyu: Rotten Bun for an Eggless Century

Mui Zyu
muizyu.com

Hong Kong British stirring dream-pop artist mui zyu (Eva Liu of indie-rock band Dama Scout) released her single, “Sore Bear” recently… the single taken from her debut LP Rotten Bun for an Eggless Century, set for release February 24th, 2023 via Father/Daughter Records.

“Sore Bear” is about, “a moment of calm where the protagonist has finally overcome their battles, but accepts there will be more to come. It is about being comfortable with confrontation but also having the autonomy to choose when / if to confront. It’s about protecting yourself with love and accepting that with love there will be loss.”

You can listen to “Sore Bear” on YouTube.

If you are heading out to SXSW 2023, mui zyu will be performing at the event.

Live Dates

March 1 - London, UK @ Servant Jazz Quarters
March 13-18 - Austin, TX @ SXSW

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Countdown to Halloween

Read More Hellraiser Some commonly seen t-shirts were Nightbreed and Hellraiser, which I thought were cool, since I have always thought Clive Barker is genius. Also, this year they had music as part of the show. …

October is the month of horror, as we countdown to Halloween.

Hellraiser (2022)
hulu.com

The first really good horror film to come out this year is the new Hellraiser film, exclusive to Hulu. The 2022 Hellraiser film based on and re-imagined Clive Barker’s Hellbound Heart novella. Barker, himself, wrote and directed the original Hellraiser film in 1987, which set a new standard for horror films.

Instead of just another sequel, like so many of the other Hellraiser films, this new Hulu version created new rules and lore on the Lemarchand’s puzzle box… namely that the box can cut you with hidden blades to feed the box. Once you are marked, the Cenobites will appear to destroy you. The other new rule is that if you solve the box’s six configuration, you are granted with an audience with the Cenobite’s god Leviathan.

I like the new additions to Clive Barker’s original story, and I think it is fresh and exciting to get new ideas to this franchise. I didn’t even mind that Pinhead is now played by a woman. We’ve had different actors played Pinhead in the past, so it’s not out of the realm of possibly to replace the original Pinhead played by Doug Bradley. There’s also a new Chatterer, a new Angelique, and some new Cenobites that I’ve never seen before.

Next to Hellraiser and Hellraiser II: Hellbound, this new 2022 Hellraiser is worthy of the title.

Note: When I first heard that Hulu was making a Hellraiser film, I immediately thought it was a television show. To me, that made a lot sense, to treat the franchise as a regular television program. For example, you can have a death every episode, as the box travel from hand to hand. You can tell so much different stories, based on the box. The comic book did a good job in telling different stories in that universe… and a television show could have the same structure.

Read More Let the Right One In I will admit to having reservations about the American re-make of Let the Right One In, called Let Me In. I mean, if you ever saw the 2008 Swedish film (based on the 2004 best-selling book "Låt den rätte komma in" …

Let The Right One In (2022)
sho.com

I’ve never read the original book, but I am a fan of the 2008 Swedish horror film Let the Right One In. I even thought the American re-make of the film, titled Let Me In (2010), starring Chloë Grace Moretz, was not bad and it told a more cohesive story.

If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s about vampire child who befriends a 12-year-old boy. The way the story is told, it’s not really a horror film, but more like a weird love story.

The new Showtime television series, Let the Right One In, is loosely based on the book. Right away, they made all sorts of changes to the novel, like changing the race of the 12-year-old boy. Eli the vampire girl, they made her Spanish. Her father (perhaps?) is Lebanese, and the whole story takes place in America. They also introduce this secondary story about how they are trying to solve the vampire problem by hunting down and killing the original vampire. There’s also another family with a vampire child. I don’t think these new storylines … I think they did this so they can stretch out the story in a new directions. Again, I haven’t read the novel, so I don’t know how true they are to the story, but I suspect these new ideas were created for the television show.

While it’s too early to judge the series, right now, I am not loving this new TV show. The only exception is that they cast Grace Gummer (Meryl Streep’s daughter) as Claire Logan. I love Gummer when she was in Mr Robot, so I love seeing her in Let the Right One In.

Read More Werewolves In my final installment of Halloween treats, I'm going to compile some songs about Werewolves. I actually had a lot more Halloween-related posts I wanted to do, but lately I have not been home. …

Werewolf by Night (2022)
disneyplus.com

Based on the Marvel Comics of the same title, Werewolf by Night is the latest horror film from Disney Plus.

This might be the first of the new type of Marvel’s Horror titles, which will likely to include Blade, Son of Satan, and other Supernatural horror in their back catalog.

While I understand the film maker’s decision, I actually did not like watching Werewolf by Night as a Black & White (with some splashes of red) film. I think the B&W made it look hokey and cheesy. Like it is a bad Roger Corman film… and perhaps that is what they were going for.

The one redeeming thing about Werewolf by Night is that they introduced Man-Thing, which is one of my favorite “Swampy” creatures (with Swamp Thing and The Heap in that same family).

Description:

On a dark and somber night, a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader. In a strange and macabre memorial to the leader’s life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic—a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster. Inspired by horror films of the 1930s and 1940s, the chilling special aims to evoke a sense of dread and the macabre, with plenty of suspense and scares along the way as we explore a new corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Read more Movies and Television.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Disapointment Television

Read more Television.

Read More Dexter Do you remember how I absolutely hated the final season to Dexter? I guess everybody hated the final season, so the show producers is going to do a do-over. The fresh start will be called Dexter: New Blood …

DEXTER: NEW BLOOD
sho.com

How do mess up Dexter twice?!!??? Universally, everybody hated the final Dexter Season 8. No one was satisified with the last season, especially the “Lumberjack” ending. After ten years, Showtime said they were going to go to fix all that by introducing a brand new series: Dexter: New Blood. Guess what? They blew it again. This new ending sucked.

Overall, New Blood was a good, solid season. I had some problems with it, but it would have been forgiven, if they stick to the landing. Unfortunately, the ending wasn’t satisfying and it ultimately made Dexter an idiot.

I personally believe that the show writers did not understand Dexter.

There were so many problems with Dexter, the reason why Dexter kills is that he has a Dark Passenger. He is compell to kill… so when his foster father, Harry, saw this darkness in him, he gave Dexter a code. There’s are a few rules, but the main ones you should take away from this is, “Don’t Get Caught” and “Never Kill an Innocent”. The thing is, Dexter has to kill, so I don’t buy it that Dexter, hiding in a small town in New York, for ten years, has never killed anyone in all that time. It doesn’t make any sense at all.

The writers of Dexter: New Blood didn’t get Dexter’s character. Dexter is now killing out of revenge, and he’ll kill an innocent cop to break out of jail. That doesn’t make sense at all.

Then the ending is absolute garbage.

I thought I read somewhere that Showtime wants to give Harrison (Dexter’s son) his own TV show. I’m certainly not going to watch it. Horrible.

Read More Expanse Possibly the best Science Fiction television show on air right now is The Expanse (no, it’s not Star Trek: Discovery). As I previously mentioned, I love this show. ....

THE EXPANSE
amazon.com

It is the six (and final) season for the Sci-Fi epic The Expanse. If you have Amazon Prime, which I have through a family account, you can watch the show for free.

Our team seemed weary, spending a lot of time in space hunting down Marcos’ men. Plus, morale is bad, because they lost pilot Alex Kamal last season. What’s strange is that his death had nothing to do with the story, it’s because the writers had to take him out due to some real-life sexual misconduct from the actor.

So this season, we have one-less core member, now Captain James Holden, engineer Naomi Nagata, and mechanic (and badass brute) Amos Burton. The crew is joined by Clarissa “Peaches” Mao, apprentice mechanic and, as of, episode two, Martian Marine Bobbie Draper . I still feel that the crew is missing a pilot for the Rocinante, especially during that space chase where they had Holden manning the ship and then joining the boarding crew.

Unfortunately, for the final season, it didn’t quite feel like a conclusion. The final defeat of Maros felt unsatisfying. I mean, they just made him vanish in the ring? I don’t think he’s actually dead… but we’ll never know, since we aren’t get any more Expanse.

The other big problem with the final season, is the stupid girl and space dogs that opens each episode. First of all, the last season only had six episodes, because Amazon refused to pay for any more. Instead of telling the story in those six episodes, they devoted like 20 minutes to this space dog story that went nowhere. Book readers were delighted, but for the show viewers, I felt like it was a giant waste of time.

I also wished that they would’ve just killed off characters, knowing it’s the final season. I know book readers probably won’t like it, but it would make sense to end Clarissa Mao (she found out she was going to die anyway), or have Bobbie Draper die as she takes out the giant cannon.

Read More Star Wars Beginning with a new interview with Joker’s voice actor Mark Hammill (Star Wars) and ending with a music feature, featuring composers Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion, and Lolita Ritmanis. ....

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT
disney.com

No one likes The Book of Boba Fett. The story is slow, and more than half of it is told in flashback. No one seems to know what the point of the new Boba Fett show is all about.

The worst part is when he employed a local cyborg street gang (on Vespas), the show suddenly felt like it was made for children.

Then when the all-Mandalorian episode showed up, it really demonstrated how awful Boba Fett has been. Mando shows up, he cuts this guy in half, it’s all-action! Meanwhile, Boba Fett, in four episodes, had not moved an inch in story.

To recap: Boba Fett takes control of Jabba's criminal empire on Tatooine. This causes the Jabba's cousins, "The Twins", trying to assassinate Boba. Boba then hired a gang of cyborg street gang, and then we find out that the Pykes are the real enemy.

The other storyline is told in flashback, which tells the story about how Boba Fett escaped the sarlacc and his long journey. Personally speaking, I didn’t need this backstory, to me, it’s always better to keep his backstory a mystery. The more you find out about Boba, the less cool he seems to be.

I guess the biggest disappointment for me is that Boba Fett just sucks in this show. Clearly, The Mandalorian is the much cooler character… and seeing him in Episode 5, made me really wish I was watching the new season of Mandalorian.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Rogers: The Musical

Read more Television.

Read More Hawkeye Admittedly, the latest Disney Plus’ show, Hawkeye started off extremely slow… even with a double episode release for the pilot. What they should have done was released the first three episodes at once …

HAWKEYE
marvel.com

The Disney Plus’ show, Hawkeye just aired their finale last night. I have previously mentioned that Marvel just have a problem with sticking the landing, as seeing in their previous shows, WandaVision, Loki, and Falcon and t he Winter Soldier. How did Hawkeye do? It’s 50/50, I felt that they wrapped things up nicely… however I did have some problems with the show overall.

Spoilers ahead. If you haven’t seen the finale, please go watch it now.

Despite only being six episodes, it felt like it could be told in three or four episodes, as the season seemed so slow to get going. You’re not quite sure what the threat is… and when they finally introduce the major villain, The Kingpin, as the cliffhanger to Episode 5. So there’s virtually no backstory for the big boss on the last episode (I suppose they just assume you followed his story from the Netflix’s Daredevil show).

So the problem is that instead of getting the brutal, violent Kingpin, we get a Disney version… who comes off like a laughable buffoon. In fact, Hawkeye doesn’t even fight Kingpin, it’s up to Kate Bishop to hold her own (and she does). With already Taskmaster being a massive disappointment in the Black Widow film, and now with Kingpin, we can agree that Marvel just has a problem with their villains. How can they fix this? Just look at what Netflix did with Kingpin – that’s how Marvel should approach this deadly boss.

Sure, the hero has to triumph, but can we make it more a struggle to get there? All they did was have Kingpin lose fight after fight. Kingpin never had a chance! It’s ridiculous!

That is the biggest disappointment in the Hawkeye show, the final boss fight.

If you stick to the ending credit, you get to see the full Broadway Musical performance for “Save the City”. You saw snippets of this on the Hawkeye pilot, but now you can see and hear the full musical number. It’s simply great. That’s because it’s written by Broadway veteran Marc Shaiman, and I believe the singing cast are also musical players: Adam Pascal, Ty Taylor, Rory Donovan, Derek Klena, Bonnie Milligan, Christopher Sieber, Shayna Steele.

Save The City (From "Hawkeye"/Audio Only)

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Disney Plus and Minuses

Read More Marvel Critics and audiences both loved Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which recently landed on streaming (after it debut in theaters in early September). I can see why normal people would like Shang-Chi, it really introduces ....

Read more Television.

THE ETERNALS
disney.com

After an exclusive run in theaters, Marvel’s The Eternals will be heading to Disney Plus on January 12, 2022. Unlike Disney’s previous experiment of making subscriber pay extra to watch some premium movies, they’ve decided The Eternals will be available for free (you still have course need to pay a subscription fee to access D+).

In addition, Eternals will be one of the Marvel movies presented on Disney+ in an “IMAX Enhanced” version, which will give subscribers an expanded aspect ratio.

I haven’t seen it yet, but according to Rotten Tomatoes, The Eternals ranked the worst Marvel films of all time… even lower than Black Widow (which I thought was so-so) and Shang Chi (which I absolutely hated). Just based on how everyone say that The Enternals is not a Marvel-esque film, I feel like I’m already hating it. I guess I can’t make that judgement yet until I finally see it on Disney Plus this January 12th.

Hopefully, Spider-Man: No Way Home will save Marvel from a series of terrible films.

Read More Television The new Marvel Studio/Disney Plus series Loki is pretty good so far. I say that, but as history would have it, these Disney Plus shows do … …

HAWKEYE
marvel.com

Admittedly, the latest Disney Plus’ show, Hawkeye started off extremely slow… even with a double episode release for the pilot. What they should have done was released the first three episodes at once… because, man, episode three sure made up for all the setup in the first two episodes.

The show took inspiration from the Hawkeye comic book by Matt Fraction & David Aja, and clearly the art direction was stolen from Aja’s art style.

Taking place after the Avengers: Endgame, Hawkeye finds himself saving a Kate Bishop in his old Ronin costume. One thing leads to another, and now all Hawkeye wants to do is find his way home for Christmas.

What I like about the series is that you hear Christmas songs everywhere! There’s lots of Easter Eggs for comic book fans, and I think it does a good job in balancing humor and seriousness. The funny stuff, like Larping, may actually be too silly… but as far as I’m concern, the fight sequences and action makes up for the unbelievable comedy.

Like all previous Marvel television shows, like WandaVision, Loki, and Falcon and t he Winter Soldier, none of these Disney shows ends very well. They sure have a strong start, but it just always fails to stick the landing.

I’m hoping, since the Hawkeye show is based on the comic book, that it should have a good ending. If anything, at least it would set up the Echo show or, perhaps, a new Black Widow series… although there’s a lot of buzz that this show will re-introduce Daredevil and the Kingpin.

Read More Star Wars Beginning with a new interview with Joker’s voice actor Mark Hammill (Star Wars) and ending with a music feature, featuring composers Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion, and Lolita Ritmanis. ....

BILL BURR
billburr.com

Comedian, Bill Burr is wrapping up his 2021, this December.

For television, especially Star Wars fans, they might actually know Burr as Mayfeld on Disney Plus’ The Mandalorian. Say what you will, but I felt that Mando saved Star Wars. Disney really destroyed the brand with their movies… but thankfully, at least th TV shows didn’t suck. Everyone is really looking forward the new third season to The Mandalorian (entitled The Book of Boba Fett) in 2022.

Anyway, Burr has made a name for himself with his Monday Morning Podcast (it’s one of the most downloaded comedy podcasts), as well as appearing on Saturday Night Live last October, as well as appearing on movies and television shows.

Tour dates:

Dec 16 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
Dec 16 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
Dec 17 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
Dec 18 – Indianapolis, IN – Clowes Memorial Hall
Dec 30 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theater

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting

Read More Shaw Brothers While U.S. companies have long abandoned re-releasing classic Shaw Brothers films in America (nobody will buy these Chinese films here), other countries, such as Hong Kong or the United Kingdom, they are still …

Read more Movies and Television.

THE CHINESE BOXER
88-films.myshopify.com

I’ve previously mentioned that there is just no market for high definition Shaw Brothers films in the USA. In fact, the last official BluRay release was Five Element Ninjas by Tokyo Shock in 2012… prior to this Web of Death by Well Go USA (under their Sword Masters banner) and Five Deadly Venoms by Dragon Dynasty, in 2011. Let’s just say that there is just a lack of HD representation of these classic Shaw Brothers films.

If you wanted these films in Bluray, you basically have to import them from other countries… which I have been doing with 88 Films, a company based in the UK, specializing in this niche market. Thankfully, their latest release for Jimmy Wang Yu’s The Chinese Boxer, is available domestically in the USA (their first simultaneous UK and US release).

The film came out November 9th, which arrived on my doorstep on the same day, thanks to pre-ordering it via Amazon. The retail price is $29, but these are usually discounted to $20 or $25… which is a normal price for these type of releases. Like Criterion and Arrow, the 88 Films features a full clear case in a nice slip case, featuring new artwork by “Kung Fu Bob” O’Brien. For the first pressing (“Limited Edition”), it comes with a folder poster and a booklet, featuring ‘Hong Kong’s Famous Fight Life’ by Andrew Graves… as well as a nice reversible cover artwork (new artwork vs original artwork).

There is also a brand new audio commentary by journalist Samm Deighan, plus interviews with journalist David West and actor Wong Ching, which were produced by 88 Films.

Like with all the previous 88 Films releases, this HD transfer (restored HD Master in 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio) is pretty amazing. I think the HD is very impressive, considering these films were produced in the 70s.

So, going forward, I’ll just purchase 88 Films’ US releases. The next Shaw Brothers film to be released in the US/UK will be Disciples of Shaolin. It is available December 13th, which I will pre-order in early December to make sure I get the film before Christmas.

I’m also hoping that 88 Film goes back and perhaps re-issue their previous UK-only releases for the US market. There are some out-of-print films that I would love to get my hands on… but unfortunately, I’m not sure if there is a big market in America for these films.

Read More Jet Li Jet Li Collection Bluray, a disappointment. The problem with buying things online, sight unseen, is that it can be disappointing. As much as I think companies like Best Buy don't stock the movies I want (they're never going to sell the B …

ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA
criterion.com

I wasn’t a fan of the Once Upon A Time in China movies, simply because I don’t really like “historical” films, or films based on real events. This series is based on China in the late 19th century, and it’s most famous for introducing the (international) world to Jet Li.

Even though I didn’t like the films, the fact that all five films are collected in a nice boxset and released by Criterion, I may have to pick it up for my collection. It retails for $130, but currently it’s on sale for about $60 (which is a fair price for five films).

Here’s how Criterion describe the boxset:

One of the pinnacles of Hong Kong cinema’s 1990s golden age, the Once Upon a Time in China series set a new standard for martial-arts spectacle and launched action star Jet Li to international fame. It brings to vivid life the colorful world of China in the late nineteenth century, an era of immense cultural and technological change, as Western imperialism clashed with tradition and public order was upended by the threats of foreign espionage and rising nationalism.

Against this turbulent backdrop, one man—the real-life martial-arts master, physician, and folk hero Wong Fei-hung—emerges as a noble protector of Chinese values as the country hurtles toward modernity.

Conceived by Hong Kong New Wave leader Tsui Hark, this epic cycle is not only a dazzling showcase for some of the most astonishing action set pieces ever committed to film but also a rousing celebration of Chinese identity, history, and culture.

Six-Blu-ray Special Edition Collector's Set Features

• Includes "Once Upon a Time in China and America" (1997)
• Rare alternate audio tracks
• New interview with Tsui Hark
• Excerpts from audio interviews with Jet Li
• Deleted scenes, documentaries, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage
• And more

Read More Jackie Chan And let’s not forget that these guys ‚ “introduced” Jackie Chan to America using their single ‚ “Kung Fu”, as part of the promotion for his film Rumble in the Bronx. …

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
marvel.com

Critics and audiences both loved Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which recently landed on streaming (after it debut in theaters in early September). I can see why normal people would like Shang-Chi, it really introduces Kung Fu into the Marvel Universe on a massive scale (if you don’t count the Iron Fist television show). However, as someone who’s seen better martial art films, I wasn’t impressed with Shang-Chi. In fact, I hated Shang-Chi… in my opinion, it’s not a very good film.

To me, this is two films, one that took place in modern times with Shang-Chi, and the other is about his father, The Mandarin. The decision to splice the backstory with the modern story was jarring. I might be enjoying following the modern-day story and it’s suddenly interrupted with a story about the past.

Most people haven’t read or own a collection of the original Deadly Hands of Kung Fu or the Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu series, so I know the source material really well. Shang-Chi was originally Marvel’s version of Bruce Lee… if Bruce Lee’s father was Fu Manchu. Since Marvel doesn’t really have the rights to Fu Manchu anymore, they decided to re-write Shang-Chi’s story to have him as the son of the Mandarin.

I don’t mind the changes, it made sense that they would go in this direction… but I really didn’t care for the backstory to the villainous Mandarin. What I really wanted to see was the story of Shang-Chi, not his father. It’s not that I don’t find it interesting, but they really could’ve moved all the “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” stuff to a special on Disney Plus or make it a stand alone movie.

As for the Kung Fu part, I’ve seen better. For normal people, I think they might be blown away by the bus fight scene (a lot of people are raving about this scene)… but I think it’s just fine. I would recommend checking out any early Jackie Chan films, to see how he would do it better and more realistic.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

We♥Comics - Planet Comicon PANELS 2021

Read More Planet ComiCon Planet ComiCon Kansas City (August 20, 21, 22), Bartle Hall, $35-210 The region’s largest comic book and pop culture event returns to downtown Kansas City with a three-day extravaganza that will please fans …

We return again to our weekend at Planet Comicon Kansas City, the region’s largest and longest-running comic and pop culture event held at downtown’s Bartle Hall, for a closer look at some of the most interesting Panelsheld during the three-day event.

Panels are among the best chances to hear what your favorite celebrity has on their mind, listen to behind-the-scenes humorous stories, potentially have a chance to ask your own question, and occasionally get to see or hear something completely unexpected. 

Sam Jones

Sam Jones

Best known as Flash Gordon from the 1980 film with the memorable Queen soundtrack, a falling out with producers unfortunately scuttled a planned film trilogy.  Jones later starred in the late 80’s NBC series The Highwayman, but is probably more known to more recent audiences playing himself in the two Ted films. 

Jones has been in some 66 films, but freely admits he’s maybe seen half of them at best, though remains thankful and doesn’t regret any previous roles, big or small.  The 67-year old also revealed that as hard as acting can sometimes be, it’s more difficult raising his children and now six grandchildren, but also more rewarding.

Roy Thomas

Roy Thomas

The legendary writer/editor has been in the comics industry for almost six decades, starting out as a fan growing up in southeast Missouri and rising through the ranks to work on every character imaginable (at both Marvel and DC) and became a Hall of Famer in 2011.

Thomas was enthusiastic when asked to bring Conan the Barbarian to comics (a risk for Marvel at the time), having read pulps like Weird Tales as a teen and knowing about the Robert E. Howard source material. Thomas as Editor-in-Chief was often on a budget, so had to think extra creatively and highly values the time he spent directly with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as they expanded the Marvel Universe, comparing their partnership to that of Lennon and McCartney, but joking that each would have claimed doing 97% of the total work. 

Gaten Matarazzo and Gabriella Pizzolo

Stranger Things

Two of the young stars of Netflix’s Stranger Things spoke to a crowded ballroom with a welcome young energy and were obviously glad to be in town for their first convention appearance in almost two years.  Both were self-described “Broadway Babies” starting young and honing their skills on the live stage, and taking a cue from Stranger Things’ season three, convinced the crowd into an early sing-a-long of “The Never-ending Story”(...Limahl would be proud).

Asked about the upcoming season four which started filming in March 2020 and managed to finish with health protocols in place, both remained contractually tight-lipped but did cop to their favorite musicals – Matarazzo saying Les Miz, Into the Woods and Sweeney Toddwhile Pizzolo showed her affection for Ragtime and Avenue Q.  They had even forgotten they had first met ten years ago while Matarazzo appeared in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert until they were reminded.

Dennis (Hopeless) Hallum / Kyle Strahm

Hopeless and Strahm

In a Breaking Into Comics panel, the two locally based creators each related their own story of getting that initial foot in the door with the comics industry and continuing to create original work.  Both advocated hard work with no shortcuts and the value of networking, especially with editors, as they are the gatekeepers that request the work.

Supernatural cast (Katie Cassidy, Felicia Day, Emily Swallow, Rob Benedict, Samantha Smith and Kim Rhodes)

Supernatural

One of the most anticipated panels of the weekend, fans got to ask about favorite episodes, any chances of a possible continuation of the series, and what they might change about their individual characters if they had the chance. 

Cobra Kai cast (William Zabka and Martin Kove)

Cobra Kai

While co-star Ralph Macchio’s cancellation was unfortunate, the duo entertained the crowd and promised some surprises for season four of the streaming series (also just renewed for a season five), available this December. All were initially worried about signing on to the series, acknowledging the pressure involved to get the show “right” for the fans. 

Both have become more recognizable in public (for better and worse) and when asked if they ever ad-lib lines on the show, both deferred to how the script reads, saying “you don’t fight a well-oiled machine”.  When asked what they would be if not actors, Kove deadpanned answered “a time traveler” while Zabka kept things grounded, saying probably a filmmaker.

Stephen Amell

Stephen Amell

The star of CW’s Arrow and the just premiered Starz wrestling drama Heels, was joined onstage by wife Cassandra and the panel started with a fan dressed as Buddy from the “Elf” movie who had it on his bucket list, to shoot arrows with Amell.  A couple Nerf bows appeared and both were aiming at Amell’s wife, each with miserable but fun results. 

Amell took in a Royals game the day before and were also in nearby Lawrence the day prior, wandering downtown and stopping into a used video store and spotting DVDs of the early Arrow seasons. Deciding to sign them, he was initially refused a Sharpie from the clerk, who didn’t recognize him, but another thankfully did (and the seasons quickly sold). 

Amell admitted that he wished that Arrow would have met Bruce Wayne during the show’s run, and also wanted the trademark Oliver Queen goatee but knew sacrifices had to be made along the way, to better service the overall show and always liked its street nature, compared to other superhero shows.  When asked what his Arrow training regiment consisted of, Amell replied “Weights, cardio, diet,...and fear!”

Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley)

Cindy Williams

The retro TV actress spent her birthday weekend at the show, charmed by show staff visiting her booth to serenade her on her special day.  She recently debuted a one-woman show called “Me, Myself and Shirley” which will reveal numerous anecdotes about the classic comedy. 

Williams mentioned the famous "Schlemiel! Schlimazel!” from the show’s opening, was actually how co-star Penny Marshall and director brother Garry counting their steps to school as children

Jodi Benson

Stephen Amell

The voice of Disney’s The Little Mermaid for the last thirty-six years came across as very positive and whose favorite joy has been the fans’ reaction to her voice work.  Benson has represented Ariel in every category- from digital, to merchandise, to gaming and in other media, saying the one time she did not voice Ariel was for a licensed toy vanity set, which her young daughter received one Christmas, but immediately could tell it was not her mother’s voice as expected.  Needless to say, Disney people were on the phone to the manufacturer the next day. 

Benson reminisced about her early years, originating the song “Disneyland” on Broadway for 1986’s Smile, and praised working with Disney lyricist Howard Ashman (and the recent documentary Howard) and Alan Menken who composed the Little Mermaid score as well as other hits like The Little Shop of Horrors. 

Britt Baker

Britt Baker

The current AEW (All Elite Wresting) female champion is actually a dentist by day in Winter Park, FL.  The Pennsylvania native only began wrestling in 2015, but quickly gained attention and joined AEW in early 2019.  Well spoken and personable, she related the story of filming a bout during the pandemic, in front of only a few dozen vaccinated fans, all raucous with high energy to make up for missing numbers.  During the match, Baker suffered a broken nose but played up the drama, knowing how much the fans appreciate the showmanship.

Baker said her dream international match destinations would be to stage one in the UK and/or Japan, mostly due to the fans in each country, being so passionate about the sport and Baker’s finishing move, dubbed The Lockjaw, is one she’s very proud of. 

Misha Collins

Misha Collins

The angel Castiel from CW’s Supernatural was one of the big draws of the weekend, filling the large ballroom for his solo panel.  Wearing a “♥KC” t-shirt, fans immediately connected to him and very open to Collins and everyone listening about how his character influenced their confidence in overcoming personal odds, gender-preference reveals, and life-changing moments.

Collins lightened things up mentioning the 1967Impala featured in the series, couldn’t realistically have driven as much as it did without constantly breaking down, and was proud that the show was set in the Midwest.  His favorite part of his character was the powers he had, which also gave him more overall freedom.  As to a potential title of a Castiel autobiography, Collins first replied “The Humans Who Broke Me” which got a laugh, then thought and changed it to “For Love”.

Greg Cipes

Greg Cipes

The seasoned voice actor best known for Beast Boy from Teen Titans Go! (as well as Astro Boy, TMNT, Ben 10, and more) came out with his small dog in hand, singing about waffles then had the crowd meditate to start his session.

His own voice-acting beginnings started as a child, making prank phone calls and horsing around on a CB radio, and Cipes is no surprise, a big fan of the old Crank Yankers show.

Cipes loves his life in Venice Beach as a self-described vegan free spirit and frequent surfer and calls his fellow voice actors on Teen Titans Go! all close friends and an extended family. 

===

Start counting the days, after necessary postponements to make the 2021 edition finally happen, Planet Comicon Kansas City returns to its more traditional schedule, next held on April 22-24, 2022.

(click any image to enlarge, photos by Brian Davenport / Beed Photography)

My Hero Academia

Sam Jones

Stranger Things

Stephen Amell

AEW Britt Baker

Misha Collins

Roy Thomas

Cobra Kai

Cindy Williams

Greg Cipes

Supernatural panel at Planet ComiCon Kansas City, Bartle Hall (2021)

john (johnc@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

We♥Comics - Planet ComiCon Kansas City 2021

Read More Planet ComiCon Planet ComiCon Kansas City (August 20, 21, 22), Bartle Hall, $35-210 The region’s largest comic book and pop culture event returns to downtown Kansas City with a three-day extravaganza that will please fans …

Crowds in the thousands flocked to Bartle Hall in downtown Kansas City over the weekend to attend the three-day Planet Comicon Kansas City, the region’s largest and longest-running comic and pop culture event which celebrates comic books, science fiction, superheroes and fantasy, and its creators. 

The fact that the show (in existence since 1999) was even able to carry on as a safe and fun event, was a minor miracle in itself- since their last show inMarch 2019, pandemic-related cancellations and postponements left its return in doubt (wristbands, lanyards still showed the original March 2020 dates), but organizers were able to pull things together, despite many virus protocols and the city’s current strict indoor mask mandate, to put on a very welcome and well-received weekend.

In coordination with the city’s Health Department, a free walk-in Covid vaccination clinic was also offered to anyone in the community needing the vaccine, with a free officially licensed Baby Yoda, the Child Mandalorian pin offered as additional incentive. 

A wide array of guests were present, despite some pandemic-related and schedule conflict cancellations, including celebrities from shows such as Supernatural, Cobra Kai, Stranger Things, Entourage, and Disneyshows, along with comic creators, authors, artists, voice actors, cosplayers, wrestlers and more.

The dealer exhibit space of comics, collectibles, anime, nostalgia and memorabilia, along with gaming and entertainment spaces, covered over seven football fields worth of area and the show was generally busy, especially on Saturday with aisles often elbow-to-elbow and dealers mostly saying they had a very successful weekend. 

Guests that attended included:

Supernatural cast (Misha Collins, Felicia Day, Emily Swallow, Rob Benedict, Samantha Smith and Kim Rhodes)

from CW series Arrow- Stephen Amell and Katie Cassidy

Cobra Kai cast (William Zabka and Martin Kove)

from Netflix’s Stranger Things- Gaten Matarazzo and Gabriella Pizzolo

Disney voices- Jodi Benson (The Little Mermaid) and Irene Bedard (Pocahontas)

Kevin Dillonfrom HBO’s Entourage

AEW wrestling stars Christian Cage and Britt Baker

80’s Flash Gordon Sam Jones

and retro TV stars Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk) Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch) and Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley) who spent her birthday weekend at the show. 

Comic creators included Marvel and DC legendary writer/editor Roy Thomas, longtime DC artist Doug Mahnke, Black Panther artist Afua Richardson, Iron Man/Star Wars scripter John Jackson Miller, and many from the local area and region. 

Celebrity meet-and-greets and photo opportunities were available (some with safety plexiglass between) and one of the best ways to learn about these attendees or ask them a particular question, was to attend their public Panel discussion/Q&A.. 

We’ll be covering those more in depth, in an upcoming separate post.

Despite the necessary virus-related cancellations and date postponements, consider Planet Comicon Kansas City a great success – able to provide fans of the genre a near sense of normalcy with a well-attended, varied, safe and fun three-day event. 

The one silver lining of having to wait through calendar delays for the 2021 edition, is that the show is already hard at work, planning its return for April 22-24, 2022, a mere seven months from now.

(click any image to enlarge, photos by Brian Davenport / Beed Photography)

Princess cosplay

Star Wars Tusken Raider

eSports gamers

Predator display

Disney villians

Monty Python cosplay

SheRa and Harley Quinn cosplayers	Star Wars Tie Fighter	Star Wars The Armorer
Cosplayers	Star Wars Droid factory	Art Print Dealer

Ghostbusters

anime cosplay

cosplayers

Art Print Magazine style

Black Window cosplay

Planet ComiCon Kansas City, Bartle Hall (2021)

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TV: Rick & Loki

Read more Television.

Read More Mark Mallman Did you miss Mark Mallman’s double appearances at the Icehouse last March 25th and 26th? No problem, catch him again at the Icehouse this upcoming Saturday, July 9th. …

RICK & MORTY
adultswim.com

Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty recently started their fifth season… and it’s their craziest season yet. There are so many crazy things that happened in the first two episodes, that the Captain Planet parody episode is a nice breather. For once, in Season 5, the Planetina story is focused, with Morty falling in love with the elemental creation.

At first, it’s all good, but eventually you realized that Planetina’s idea of protecting the earth is to basically murder humans.

The best part of the episode is actually Minneapolis-related. Apparently, during Morty’s “sex” scene, the song you hear, “Flowers” was by Ryan Elder and Mark Mallman!

We’re very proud to see Mallman on one of our favorite shows.

If you haven’t seen the latest Rick & Morty episode, you can watch the “Flowers” music video on YouTube.

New episodes of Rick and Morty will air every Sundays at 11pm on Adult Swim.

Read More Television Disney Plus’ first original Marvel Production, WandaVision, proved to be a hit with fans. With the currently Marvel Comics films being put on pause due to the big COVID virus, moving production to a weekly television…

LOKI
disney.com

The new Marvel Studio/Disney Plus series Loki is pretty good so far. I say that, but as history would have it, these Disney Plus shows do really well in ramping up the story… but they just can’t stick the landing. Both Falcon and the Winter Soldlier and WandaVision ended badly, or at least unsatisfying, so I feel that Loki will follow its predecessors.

We’re only on episode 4, but it’s my favorite so far. Loki was taken by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) for violating the time line. Instead of “pruning” him, Agent Mobius (played by Owen Wilson) ask Loki to help him catch another Loki variant that is running around killing the Time Agents and stealing their Time Bombs.

It turns out that the Loki variant is a female Loki, who actually has powers and looks of the Enchantress… but for the television show, they’re calling the female Loki, “Sylvie”.

So in the new episode, the TVA caught the two Loki’s and we finally met the Three Time Lords… but obviously someone else is pulling the strings. While the easy answer is that Kang is behind this, another theory is that it’s actually the computer, Miss Minute.

Both theories are plausible, but personally I think maybe it’s actually another Loki that is behind the scene (maybe with the help of Kang?) Wouldn’t that be a hoot? It was Loki all along!

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Hero TV

Television Disney Plus’ first original Marvel Production, WandaVision, proved to be a hit with fans. With the currently Marvel Comics films being put on pause due to the big COVID virus, moving production to a weekly television…

Here’s a roundup of Super-hero-ish television shows.



FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER
disney.com

I think it’s safe to say that the latest Marvel Television series, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, is a hit. While WandaVision started off strong and impressive, it didn’t quite stick the landing. The show runner admitted that COVID actually prevented them from doing all the things they really wanted to do with the ending. Some characters basically disappeared at the end, that’s because they couldn’t travel to do filming and their parts were basically cut.

Unfortunately, WandaVision, and now Falcon, Marvel has a problem with ending their shows. It starts off well enough, but they just can’t stick the landing. In the Falcon’s case, it felt rushed and ultimately just sets up for Season 2, or perhaps, Captain America 4.

The worst part of the show’s finale was the speech that Falcon, in his colorful new costume, at the end. It just sounded too preachy…. And really didn’t belong in the show. I really felt the show should have explored more on John Walker’s murder of a “terrorist”. Perhaps ended with the Falcon and Winter Soldier taking Walker down and bringing him to justice. Maybe have Walker do a little time, before trying to redeem the character and turning him into USAgent.

For a six-episode show, there were just too much going on: John Walker, Battlestar, The Power Broker, the Flag Smashers, Batroc the Leaper, Isaiah Bradley (the Black Captain America), Dora Milaje, and Baron Zemo. With only a few episodes, I wish they would have just concentrated on some of the ideas: the Super Soldier serum and John Walker. That would’ve been more compelling than adding the whole Flag Smashers and their revolutionary cause.

Clearly the M.V.P. of the show is Baron Zemo, who proved himself to be a really likeable villain with certain morals. I am hoping to see more Zemo in the future.



INVINCIBLE
amazon.com

I have to admit, I wasn’t terribly excited to hear that Robert Kirkman had a new show called Invincible, based on his superhero comic book of the same name. This is because his Walking Dead show had gotten worse with each season. The writing was so bad that I had to give up on the show altogether around Season 6 or so (it was after the war with Negan).

Since the first three episodes of Invincible were on Amazon Prime, I decided to give it a chance... and you know what? It’s actually pretty good. The first episode ended up in a bizarrely violent end, and it had enough mystery that kept me interested. After watching the first three episodes, and while waiting for the next one to air, I picked up the source material (the original Image Comics) to give it a read.

Based on what I’ve read and what I’ve seen... they’re both very different from each other. If you’re a comic book reader only, you can get into the show without feeling bored. Personally speaking, I think the TV show does a better job in telling its story. The comic book, at times, did not seem to have a direction, and it felt like they were making things up as it went along. For example, one of the key player isn’t introduce in the comic book until much later... while the show definitely had plans for this character from the start.

Anyway, the show is available on Amazon Prime, so if you’re a member, you can watch it for free. I’m not sure what the pricing is if you don’t have Amazon Prime, but based on per episode costs, I would imagine it to cost $2 per episode. As of this writing, only four episodes are available to view.



THE NEVERS
hbo.com

Joss Whedon created The Nevers, but due to the scandals, he removed his involvement with the HBO show. It’s still very Whedon-ly, like Victorian British girls fighting in corsets.

In the world of The Nevers, there was an alien spacecraft that that “touched” all some people in London, England. Everyone that it touched ends up having super powers. The show made it seems like only women were “touched”, but apparently there were a few men that also had powers (such as the henchmen that could walk on water).

Maybe I didn’t pay attention, or maybe it’s because I’m very early in the show, but I never really understood the show’s name of “The Nevers”. Shouldn’t they call the show “The Touched” ?

Anyway, comparing this show to previous Whedon’s ideas, this has elements of Dollhouse and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What I mean by that, is that it’s typically a Whedon show to feature beautiful young, strong women as the leads. Since this is cable/HBO, the show doesn’t shy away from showing boobs and buttocks… which was not expected for a Whedon production.

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