W♥M

Female Assassins: Kate, The Protege, Gunpowder Milkshake

Read more Movies and Television.

Read More Kill Bill The latest releases are The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1984) (Alexander Fu Sheng’s last film) and Clan of the White Lotus (1980) (which inspired much of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill). …

KATE (2021)
netflix.com

The action/thriller film, Kate landed on Nextflix last night to terrible reviews. Based on various Female Assassin films, I think this one is actually one of the better ones. Sure, it’s not breaking new grounds: the assassin with a heart of gold, the assassin with nothing to lose (she has less than 24 hours to live), and the assassin trying to find out the mystery behind her “last job before retiring”.

I thought director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan did a fine job with the script he was given. I like the hyper-stylized action sequences, obviously highly influenced by Japanese manga. Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead did a great job in the role of Kate, although I find the name of the film rather boring. They should’ve named the film “Seasonal”, which is her assassin name they reference before she was poisoned.

Woody Harrelson, plays Kate’s trainer and handler, and the first time I saw him in the film, I pegged him as the mastermind behind Kate’s final killing spree. Surely it couldn’t be that obvious?

There is a slow down in the plot when Kate has to kidnap Kijima’s neice, Ani, at a Band-Maid concert, to lure the Yakuza boss out of hiding. The unlikely teamup of Ani and Kate becomes almost like a bad comedy.

Critics compared Kate to John Wick or Kill Bill, but I think a better comparison is to La Femme Nikita, particularly when you saw the flashback with Kate’s first assassin mission.

Synopsis

Slipped a fatal poison on her final job, a ruthless assassin working in Tokyo has less than 24 hours to find out who ordered the hit and exact revenge.

Read More Lionsgate If you buy new Lionsgate movies, you are now required to download their Lionsgate VIP app to get access to your digital copy. Of course, the first thing I did was trying to bypass this by using their website …

THE PROTÉGÉ (2021)
protege.movie

I think a lot of action fans really liked The Protégé from Lionsgate, but I had some problems with it. We’ll get into that later.

The Protégé is a story about Anna (played by Maggie Q), an assassin seeking revenge for the murder of her mentor/father figure Moody (played by Samuel L Jackson). Along her journey back to Vietnam, she meets her rival, another assassin called Rembrandt (played by Michael Keaton). I had no problems with the cast, but I think it’s rather the tone of the movie. All the action seemed like a joke, like the characters knows they’re bullet proof or something so the audience never really think the main characters are ever in trouble. That goes for all three major leads. That’s my main problem, never once did I believe any of these actors can fight. Even if the actors did their own stunts, I just didn’t buy it as an audience.

My other problem is that for a movie to take place in Vietnam, it sure didn’t look like it. In fact, none of the actors appearing in the third act of the film were even Vietnamese (or Asian)! I know this probably has something to do with COVID restrictions of shooting in another country, but at least employ Asian-looking henchmens.

I think the movie is fine, but I probably won’t be buying the Bluray when it comes out.

Synopsis

Rescued as a child by the legendary assassin Moody (Samuel L. Jackson) and trained in the family business, Anna (Maggie Q) is the world’s most skilled contract killer. But when Moody – the man who was like a father to her and taught her everything she needs to know about trust and survival – is brutally killed, Anna vows revenge. As she becomes entangled with an enigmatic killer (Michael Keaton) whose attraction to her goes way beyond cat and mouse, their confrontation turns deadly and the loose ends of a life spent killing will weave themselves even tighter.

Read More John Wick Thankfully, the link contained a reference to the one-time generated code - and I manually typed that into Vudu account on my computer to finally get a digital copy of John Wick 3. …

GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE (2021)
netflix.com

This Netflix film, Gunpowder Milkshake is absolutely terrible. I think it has to with the comical over-the-top action. I know some people thinks it’s cool, but it just takes me out of believing in the film.

The people who liked the film, defends it by saying that it’s just a dumb fun movie and you don’t really think that hard, you’re going to have a good time. You can say that for any of the Fast and Furious movies… but at some point, I just want a good story. Unfortunately, Gunpowder Milkshake, doesn’t deliver on the story or the action.

The film stars Karen Gillan as Sam, a young assassin, who would team up with her assassin mother, Scarlet, to save a young girl called Emily.

I think the writers tried to build up this assassin world, by introducing “The Library” with their assassin librarians (which includes Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, and Carla Gugino). It sounds like John Wick and the Continental Hotels, and that weird assassin world.

Synopsis

When an assassin veers off mission to rescue a child, she triggers a war with a powerful crime syndicate — and reunites a gun-wielding sisterhood.

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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: MOTU and AHS

Read more Television.

Read More He-Man The new Masters of the Universe: Origins line, by Mattel, updated the original figures, but adding in updated sculpts and more articulation… so for the first time they can bend their knees and elbows. It’s pretty awesome. …

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION
netflix.com

The much-anticipated Masters of the Universe: Revelation (Part 1) dropped on Netflix on Friday (July 23).

If Kevin Smith’s intent was to continue the story of the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated cartoon, it misses the mark. He-Man was the show for the boys… She-Ra was the show for the girls. To have Revelation a show with all female leads of Teela, Evil Lynn, and Andra (new girl character), it felt like the wrong choice for a boys cartoon.

If you understand the original cartoon and its toy origins – it’s a product designed for boys. That meant that there were rarely any female toys. The toys we had were Teela, Evil Lynn, and the Sorceress. Suddenly the 1% of girl characters are now the main subject of Revelation, it just didn’t sit right with many fans.

The reason why it’s the Teela show is because (spoilers), they killed off He-Man and Skeletor in the first episodes. The rest of the show is Teela’s quest to reunite the two Power Swords and bring magic back to Eternia. She’s aided by Evil Lynn, Andra, Roboto, and Orko, on this quest. Ultimately Roboto and Orko dies, leaving only the the girl characters by Episode 5.

When they killed off He-Man for the second time (stop killing He-Man!), I can already see the writing on the wall…. It only makes sense that Teela will become the new He-Man (or She-Ra?).

I think Double Toasted put it best, when they described Revelation like seeing a concert where the main headliner leaves the stage and you’re left with the opening band . Just to clarify – we came to see He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, but what we got was Teela and the Masters of the Universe.

The one thing that I really like about the new show is that the animation and character designs are amazing. As far as I’m concern, the animation is a million times better than anything Funimation ever produced. I like how they modernized all the characters… making them more realistic. I also really love the new toyline, I own a full set of the first wave of toys. Unfortunately, the show suffers from the storyline and the choices and directions that Kevin Smith decided to go in.

Of course, I’ll end up catching Masters of the Universe: Revelation part 2, later this year, to see how it will end. I’m not excited about it, but I’ll watch it. If Revelation ends terribly, hey, at least I still have the toys and my DVDs for the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and the He-Man and Masters of the Universe 2002 cartoon.

Read More American Horror Story American Horror Story is one of the show that has its ups and downs for me. The 'haunted house' story of the first season started out great. Then as it started to wind to its conclusion, I sort of fell out of love with it. ....

AMERICAN HORROR STORIES
fxnetworks.com

I’ve previously mentioned time and time again that I really love the American Horror Story series… my favorite being American Horror Story: Coven. Like many long-form television shows, AHS does suffer from being trapped in not having enough interesting story to stretch to 12 episodes. In fact, even in some later seasons, the show cut it short to 10 episodes (Apocalypse) and even as low as 9 episodes (1984).

To solve this the show creators, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, is experimenting with a spinoff series called American Horror Stories… which are self-contained episodes. So far, only three episodes have aired, and, so far, I’m interested in more.

I wasn’t that into the first two episodes, which further the story of Murder House by introducing new residents … and creating a new Rubber Man (Woman). I think my main problem with the Rubber Woman story is that I didn’t care for the main character Scarlett. Even though the story was broken into two parts, Episode 1 and 2, it still wasn’t enough to explain to the viewer how/why Scarlett was so comfortable being around ghosts that haunts the Murder House.

The best episode so far is Episode 3, “Drive In”… about a movie called Rabbit Rabbit that causes its viewers to become violent and insane. The concept isn’t new, you’ve seen it in The Ring, or that recent Warning Do Not Play film, which causes the viewer death or insanity if you view the movie. In the AHS episode, two teenagers survived the drive in (they didn’t watch the movie because they were too busy making out) and decided to hunt down the director and stop him from releasing his movie in other theaters.

I’m interested in seeing more… the next episode of American Horror Stories will air on FX on July 29, 2021.

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Free Stuff: Watch Dogs 2, Sunstone, and Peacock

Read More Weekend Gamer Wow, Epic Games is giving away some great free games. Last week, they offered Grand Theft Auto V and this week it’s Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. Normally these are $60 games, but free, I’m definitely signing up and doing two-factor, anything you guys want. …

Read more Weekend Gamer

WATCH DOGS 2
ubisoft.com

The idea behind the Watch Dogs 2 giveaway was you were required to watch the game maker’s livestream called Ubisoft Forward. Unfortunately, people who watched it didn’t receive their free copy. One of the problems was that you were required to have your Twitch and Ubisoft account linked or you had to use their Uplay client. People couldn’t log in, people didn’t link their accounts, people just got really mad at Ubisoft.

To make good at their failed experiment, Ubisoft has decided to just give away the game to anyone that registered with their account over at register.ubisoft.com.

You’ll receive an email saying that you’ve received Watch Dogs 2 and various in-game content in your account.

Anyway, I never bought the first Watch Dogs… but now having Watch Dogs 2, I might go back to the first game if I like the second (especially if there is a sale).

Ubisoft’s upcoming Watch Dogs Legion will arrive in stores on October 29, 2020.

SUNSTONE
imagecomics.com

Artist/writer Stjepan Šejić recently offered fans all six volumes of his adult comic book Sunstone for free on digital... adding, “If you prefer them in print, they are available in bookstores like Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, Book Depository, Amazon and some comic stores.”

I love the idea that digital comics should be free (or at least very low-costing), since I feel that digital version costs almost as much (if not sometime more), than their print version. That doesn’t make any sense to me, considering that with digital, you don’t have to pay for ink, paper, distribution, comic store shelves, mail, storage, etc.

Anyway, after working on his Black Label comic Harleen, Šejić expressed his dissatisfaction with working with DC Comics. Even though his work may have had a wider reach, it doesn’t make up the point that Šejić won’t own his Harleen creation. Instead, it is the property of DC Comics… and if they choose to in the future, they can hire someone else to write another Harleen series - much like how they dishonor Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ work on Watchmen by releasing Before Watchmen comics.

Anyway, before you download Sunstone, be aware that the book is geared towards adults… so lots of weird sex/bondage stuff. Download at dropbox.com

PEACOCK
peacocktv.com

Look, I hate NBC’s name for their streaming service Peacock. I mean, how can they get away with the words pea and cock in the same word ? Also, just the idea of a Peacock doesn’t exactly conjure up images of a streaming service.

I actually had no interest in yet another streaming service. The space is just too crowded. You have Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, CBS, Roku, Apple TV, and recently HBO Max and Disney+. How can Peacock compete with these other services? Well, their answer is that it’s FREE.

Well, you’ll still have advertisements, but considering that you still get ads with CBS and Hulu, despite paying for their services… a free with ads for Peacock is appealing. There is a non-ad version they are calling “Peacock Premium” (also includes additional contents not available in the free version), which is about $5 a month. However, before I pay, I really need to see what contents I am getting…

Peacock will go live this Wednesday, July 15, 2020. I’ll check it out and may update this page.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

TV: Warrior Nun and NOS4A2

Still in lockdown here… Here’s another roundup of television shows I’ve been watching lately.

Read More Television I think the show’s title, Devs, is a bad one. I didn’t know what that title would imply, and it took a lot of recommendations from friends and family, before I begrudgingly decided to check it out. Spoiler alert, I really love Devs. …

WARRIOR NUN
netflix.com

Many of you know that I started collecting comics in 1985. At the height of my collecting days, particularly in the 90s, there were many independent publishers cashing in on the crazy comic book explosion. I remember seeing Antarctic Press’ Warrior Nun Areala by Ben Dunn hitting the market in the mid-90s. I thought the concept was silly, taking two mis-matching things and combining it. A fighter nun? It’s fun, like a fast-moving turtle.

I’ve picked up a few of Ben Dunn’s comics, Ninja High School (Eternity Comics) and the giant-robot series Dynamo Joe (First Comics), so I was already familiar with his anime/manga influence. What I liked about what he was doing was taking something from Japan and adding a Western flair. They even had a term for this type of mashup, calling it “Amerimanga”.

I suppose his creation Warrior Nun Areala is his biggest hit, considering that Netflix produced the television show Warrior Nun by Simon Barry. Although the show’s story is different than the original comic book, the television show did borrow a lot of concept of the Warrior Nuns mythology. You don’t need to know the comic book when you’re watching the show, as it’s almost two different entities.

The Warrior Nun show is about a long-running Warrior Nun order, defending the world against Hell, thanks to their training and a leader with the power of the Halo. In the pilot, their leader is killed and the nuns hid the Halo in recently deceased orphan named Ava Silva. The Halo resurrected Ava and, thus, her reluctant adventures with the Warrior Nun began.

The only Eastern-influence in the show seems to boil down to many of its fight sequences (which are actually really good). There’s something badass about nuns doing Kung-Fu and taking down groups of enemies.

The story is not amazing and its portrayal of the Catholic is unrealistic, but if you can look past the silly idea of battle/weapon-cladded nuns, you’ll have a good time.

NOS4A2
amc.com

I hate the spelling of NOS4A2. I can never spell it and I can’t really wrap my head on how it is supposed to sound like “Nosferatu”.

The second season just started on NOS4A2 on AMC, and I’m eager to see how the show will end. If you didn’t know, Season 1 of NOS4A2 was only the first half of Joe Hill’s novel. Season 2 is suppose to end the series (I do not believe there will be a Season 3).

If you’re not caught up, NOS4A2 is a story about Vic McQueen, a girl with the ability to travel anywhere using her “knife” and her Shorter Way bridge. She soon discovers Charlie Manx, who feeds on the souls of children using his Rolls-Royce Wraith, and is determined to stop Manx.

The title is a little misleading, as NOS4A2 is the license plate, and that Manx is not really a true vampire - at least not in the traditional way. His victim-children lives in “Christmasland”, and resembles nightmarish vampire-like children (complete with sharp pointy teeth)… but, again, not traditional vampires.

If you’re a fan of Locke & Key, I think you’ll enjoy NOS4A2. So far, only three episodes of Season 2 of NOS4A2 have aired. Some episodes are a miss for me, particularly the additional backstory of Charlie Manx, which was told in Season 1, but expanded for Season 2. I just had no interest in his life before becoming the monstrous Wraith character.

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Weekend Gamer: The Witcher 3 on Nintendo Switch

Read More Games I'm a big fan of CD Projekt, the maker of the Witcher series. One of the main reasons is that they allow their games to be played offline on a PC, which is how I prefer to play my games. In return, I'll always support the software company …

I haven’t played The Witcher 3 since May 2015 (when it first came out on PC). I honestly can’t remember if I ever beat it, as I’m the type of player that wants to close out all quests before taking that final battle. Certainly, I got really, really far into it… and reconsidered playing it again when the Expansions and DLC came out a year later.

When The Witcher television show came out last year on Netflix, there was a massive uptick on newfound fans playing the game again. That’s because, like the game, the show was very well done and had a compelling story.

So… why am I playing The Witcher 3 again? Partly because I’ve forgotten almost everything about the game, but also because I started playing The Witcher 3 on the Nintendo Switch in 15 to 30-minute increments at work. It’s slow-going, but I have limited time with it.

To get the massive game on the Switch, the developer had to make sacrifices, so, as a result, the game looks incredible ugly, compared to its PS4, Xbox, and PC versions. If you can get past the low resolution and junky details… it is nice to get the game on a mobile device. Alternatively, if you have the first generation Switch, you can always dock it to the television and play the game with a traditional game controller - but it’ll still looks fugly compared to the modern consoles.

The other thing about the Switch version is that the loading time is much slower compared to the PC version (especially with NVME storage).

There is cross-save between the Switch and GOG version for The Witcher 3, which is pretty amazing when it works.

How to use Cross Save on the Nintendo Switch:

1. On the Main Menu, chose “CLOUD SAVES”
2. Choose STEAM or GOG.COM
3. Log in with your credential
4. Choose STANDARD EDITION or GOTY EDITION
5. Choose LOAD GAME or UPLOAD

There is no automatic Cloud Saves, so you’ll have to manually do this every time you decide to go back and forth.

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Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Read More Netflix Critics absolutely hates Netflix’s The Witcher. The reason is that they don’t generally love the source material (a series of fantasy books) and they don’t play the video games. …

INTO THE NIGHT
netflix.com

Into the Night is Netflix’s first Belgian original series. The apocalyptic sci-fi thriller is based on Polish science fiction novel The Old Axolotl by Jacek Dukaj.

The show starts off with a NATO officer hijacking a commercial flight to try and escape the sun, which he heard from NATO scientists that the sun was killing humans. This set off a frantic race against the sun, with no plan and intense drama between the passengers. Every episode ends with this throbbing electronic beat that begs the viewer to play the next episode to find out where the next destination the plane will land.

One of most interesting thing about the story, and it’s not just about how everyone is going to survive, but the fact that all the passengers are interesting and diverse. We have a racist security guard, an airport cleaner, an ex-helicopter pilot with nothing to live for, a co-pilot, a stewardess, a Russian mother and her sick son, an internet celebrity, a nurse, a Turkish gangster, a mechanic… plus a few other surprises as the plane picks up three surviving passengers.

Details:

Into the Night
2020 TV-MA

Passengers and crew aboard a hijacked overnight flight scramble to outrace the sun as a mysterious cosmic event wreaks havoc on the world below.

Starring: Pauline Etienne, Laurent Capelluto, Stefano Cassetti
Creators: Jason George

Read More Snowpiercer Sounds like a heavy metal band doesn't it? Well I just saw the uncut version of Snowpiercer film. I think it's good, and I'm compelled to write about it. I didn't know it was based on a French comic book (Le Transperceneige), but you don't …

SNOWPIERCER
tntdrama.com

Based on both the South Korean film Snowpiercer and French comic book Le Transperceneige, this TNT television show debut on May 17, 2020, a few weeks earlier than their original May 30 poster date.

I have not read the comic book, but I love the movie. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t explain too much about the people in the last car of the train. The TV show does a better job explaining that they were basically stowaways.

With more time, due to the nature of episodic television, the show will explore and give better background to the people on the train. With 1,000 cars to explore, we have a long way to go before we reach the engine room.

Like the movie, and the original source material, the story is really a commentary on class system.

The show focused on an ex-homicide detective from the tail end investigating a serial killer loose on the train. We’ve only seen the pilot, and it’s good so far.

Details:

Set more than seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, Snowpiercer centers on the remnants of humanity who inhabit a perpetually moving train, with 1001 cars, that circles the globe. Class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival play out in this riveting television adaptation based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel series and film of the same name.

STUMPTOWN
abc.com

ABC recently announced that they’ve renewed Stumptown for a season two in 2020 (or 2021 due to the CORVID-19 pandemic). In case you didn’t know, this show is based on the comic book series of the same name, created by Greg Rucka, Matthew Southworth and Justin Greenwood.

If Rucka’s name sounds familiar, that’s because he wrote some great Detective Comics, Wonder Woman, and his first comic Whiteout was made into a movie, starring Kate Beckinsale. Netflix is also in line to release The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron, based on Rucka’s comic book! Rucka is red-hot at the moment.

Anyway, Stumptown is about an ex-military-turned-private investigator Dex Parios, living in Portland, Oregon. The other star of the show is actually her dumpy car with a cassette player that will constantly play 80s hits.

About:

Dex Parios is a sharp-witted veteran with a complicated love life, gambling debt and a brother to take care of. Her skills make her a great PI, but her style puts her in the firing line.

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Sci-Fi and Fantasy Television shows of 2019

Watchmen Read More Watchmen Anyway, I'll be taking it easy today, maybe re-read The Watchmen as I just saw the movie in theater over the weekend and was really impressed. As an old comic book fan (especially when it comes to the genius of Alan Moore), I loved it - …

Read more Television.

WATCHMEN
hbo.com/watchmen

HBO’s Watchmen Television show is possibly my favorite TV show of 2019.

The TV show expands on the influential Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons comic book… and it totally works. Instead of re-telling the story in a television format (like how the movie retold the graphic novel), what the show producers did was tell a different story – one set 30 years after the original event. And they honor the original work, by keep in the giant squid monster and going with that idea (in the movie, they changed the ending). It’s clear to me, based on all the homages that the writers all knew (and are fans) of the source material. It’s the love of those things that expands into their story.

One of the coolest thing they did in the show was give Hooded Justice an origin story. And you’ll never guess who and why he wears the hood! It’s unbelievable smart how they answered all the questions you may or may not have about the first “super hero”. In the comic book, they reference the original Minutemen, but you never really got much of a back story for any of those characters… so it’s very cool that the TV show explored Hooded Justice.

As a big fan of the graphic novel, I’m going to have to give it a big thumbs up. I love the comic book, and seeing that story taken to the next step, I love it. Unfortunately, I feel sometime that fans unfamiliar with the comic book (or have only seen the movie), might not fully enjoy all the little Easter “Eggs”, or somewhat complicated plot in the show. The show might be too clever for the average viewer.

I don’t think show creator, Damon Lindelof, should do a Season 2, there’s really no good reasons for them to continue this story.

Witcher Read More The Witcher I also picked up The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, at Walmart, which came with a lot of bonus items like a DVD and Soundtrack (all at the normal cost of a game product). They are on the right track, I definitely …

WITCHER
netflix.com

Critics absolutely hates Netflix’s The Witcher. The reason is that they don’t generally love the source material (a series of fantasy books) and they don’t play the video games. Since they don’t know the books or games, there’s a disconnect and they’re just lost and confused. One critic was so bored, he or she skipped a few episodes to get the plot moving. One critic just cringed at all the nudity.

Sure, there’s nudity, and actress Anya Chalotra (Yennefer) is very comfortable in her birthday suit, but who cares? I didn’t mind it and I think it’s true to the Witcher universe.

I think the biggest problem I have with the show is that I might know too much about the world of the Witcher (via the CD Projekt Red’s games) and was very disappointed to see that the actress (Anna Shaffer) that played Triss Merigold isn’t a redhead (as seen in the game).

I also have a certain vision of Ciri (from the game) that didn’t entirely matched with actress Freya Allan. I know not everyone is going look like the video game, but c’mon, Henry Cavill, is a straight match for the video game version of Geralt of Rivia, even down his “hmph” and talking to Roach, his horse.

I guess it just comes down to if the actress is good, it shouldn’t matter what they look like.

Anyway, the wide divide of critics vs fans is obvious to me - this genre television is meant for fans and clearly not directed to “professional” critics. If you look at Rotten Tomatoes, this divide is also seen in The Orville (fans love it, critics hated it) and Batwoman (fans hated it, critics loved it). As a fan of the game and television, I would have to think that the critics just don’t understand.

Expanse Season 4 Read More The Expanse Song of the Show: "Heroes" by David Bowie BONUS: The Walking Dead: Season 6 (part one), The Expanse. …

EXPANSE
amazon.com

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.

In the world of the Expanse, there are three major factions: Earth, Mars, and the Belters… and the show is so smart (or rather the books it was based on is so smart), that it looks the long-term effect of living without gravity, etc.

Originally, SyFy produced the show. It was probably too expensive for the network and probably wasn’t worth what they were paying for their audience. The show looks fantastic, and the stories are amazing.

Admittedly, the show does take a little patience. The first three season of the Expanse is actually just the “setup” to what the Expanse is really about! It’s so epic, that it took that long to get to the point. Unfortunately, right when they got to the new worlds - SyFy cancelled the series!

There was a massive campaign, put on by the fans, to get another network to continue the series. Through a random chance meeting with the cast, Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos, he decided to just finance the fourth season!

The fourth season sees our favorite crew, James Holden and his crew (Naomi Nagata, Alex Kamal, and Amos Burton) investigating this new planet. There’s complications, of course, Belters vs the Earths (Royal Charter Energy), and Holden caught in the middle.

My biggest complaint about Season 4 is that it seemed like a really short story. They’re basically stuck on this planet and eventually in these ancient ruins (built by the original creators).

My other complaint is the storyline with Bobbie Draper on Mars. It just felt like it wasn’t going anywhere… I know eventually her path will lead back to Holden, but it’s not in Season 4.

I love seeing Detective Joe Miller back, and I love the new villain, head security Adolphus Murtry. Although, if you ask him, he doesn’t think he’s the bad guy, he’s only looking to protect his crew.

Anyway, give me more Expanse!

Mr Robot Season 4 Read More Mr Robot After resisting the television show Mr Robot on USA Network, I gave in and watched the first season. It was pretty good, it did remind me of plot from Fight Club... and despite figuring out the “twist” midway into the first season …

MR ROBOT
usanetwork.com

I love Mr Robot. After a long two-year break, I was ready to get back into Mr Robot on its final season.

Unfortunately, I have not been loving Season 4 at all. I feel like maybe they kept digging a hole in the story, especially since they setup one lone hacker, Elliot Alderson against the Dark Army (a cyber-terrorist organization of hardcore killers and assassins). There’s no contest… and the only reason why Elliot is alive is that BD Wong (aka Whiterose) is allowing him to live.

I understand it’s just a television show, but I’ve always thought the story and characters were grounded in reality and I can relate to the interesting hacks that Elliot was pulling off.

With Season 4, the story appears to take place in the course of a day or two days - leading up to Christmas. In those few days, you see that Elliot does sleep or eat all day! There was that getting lost in a park in the middle of nowhere, the big police chase, getting kidnapped, and then the big White Rose hack. I mean, take a break from getting hit by a car and falling down a bridge!!! It’s just hard to believe.

The show also feels very different, starting with the episode with Darlene and Dominique. That ending of will they or won’t they make it on the plane is just awful. It’s like some bad romantic comedy.

Then there’s this alternate dimension episode, which felt really out of place for Mr Robot! I couldn’t believe it, and it just didn’t make any sense.

The final two episodes will air tonight (December 22nd), and, as of this writing, I have not seen it yet… but I’m not exactly looking forward to finding out how it will end.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Best horror television shows of 2018

Read More Television Originally meant to air in 2019, SyFy released their pilot episode of Deadly Class early on their website (December 20). The show is based on the 2014 Image Comics book the same name by Rick Remender and Wesley Craig. …

Here are the best horror television shows of 2018.

Read more: Comic book-related television shows (2018), Comic book-related television shows (2017), and DC Comics to Films (and TV) in 2016.




CHANNEL ZERO
syfy.com

If you like horror, you really need to check out SyFy’s Channel Zero. This is, by far, my favorite horror show. Each season is a new storyline, so you don’t have to watch them from the first season to the latest. In fact, as much as the man made of tooth is super scary, I would recommend starting with No-End House (Season 2), as that is just a wonderful story.

There’s really not a bad season, although I do admit sometime pacing of the show may be slow, but they all work out in the end.

Since I recently saw The Dream Door (Season 4), that’s still fresh in my mind. It’s about a girl who can bring her imagination to life, by creating these odd “dream doors”. The imaginary creatures in the show is frightening.

What I didn’t know is that these shows are based on something called “creepypastas”, a term that I’ve never heard of before. The word describes “horror-related legends or images that have been copied and pasted around the Internet.” If you’ve heard of Slenderman, he’s actually one of the more famous creepypasta creation.

Nightflyers

NIGHTFLYERS
syfy.com/nightflyers

Also, on SyFy, is Nightflyers, the new television series based on George R.R. Martin’s book and short stories. If you think this is “Game of Thrones in Space”, it is not. This is basically a horror show, set in space.

Since I haven’t read the books, going in on the pilot was very confusing. The filmmaker decided to show us the ending of Nightflyers in the pilot, and for the remainder of the series, it’s building up to that endpoint. I did not love that, considering that I now have knowledge of who is a psycho and who will die.

The show is about the spaceship Nightflyer, flying to make contact with this alien species. They think their best chance of communicating with the aliens is to bring on a telepath (they’re called “L1” in this world). Unfortunately, the show decided to bring on a crazy, mentally unstable (even dangerous) L1.

Watching the show, and watching every character being tortured in some ways, made me think: why can’t they

Anyway, it’s a weird GRRM future, with computerized human, bee lady, laser spiders, etc. The ending of the first season kind of leaves it open for season 2... which I am assuming will continue the story (but I think it should’ve ended with Season 1).

Nightflyers

INTO THE DARK
hulu.com/into-the-dark

Airing once a month, each episode of Into the Dark’s theme is about the month’s holiday. For example, the first episode, “The Body” took place on Halloween night. Since each episode is self-contained, it can be really long (some running over 90 minutes).

So far, all of the episodes are pretty quirky and interesting and worth checking out, if you have a Hulu subscription.

My least favorite episode is probably “New Year, New You”, simply because it’s about these girl internet celebrities, which I can’t really relate to at all.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I’ll be very interested in seeing how the show deal with that holiday.

The Terror

THE TERROR
amc.com/shows/the-terror

Although the ending to AMC’s The Terror wasn’t at all what I had expected, the lead up to the show is actually very horrifying. It’s a very slow burn, but definitely worth checking out if you like horror/drama shows.

I actually thought the show was interesting enough to buy on Digital, but probably won’t bother with the discs.

The first season is based on Dan Simmons’ 2007 best-selling novel, about Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition to the Arctic in 1845–1848. Since the show ended definitively, so I’m not exactly sure how AMC is bringing the show back with another season in 2019.

Haunting of Hill House

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE
netflix.com

The Haunting of Hill House is a long, re-imagining of the Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name. It’s a haunted house show, but actually the majority of the show is in flashback. The family all moved out of the haunted house years later... but events all lead them back to Hill House.

The show is recommended if you enjoy ghost stories, but sometime the whole supernatural-thing doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me. Everything ties up neatly at the end, where you get the whole explanation.

Even though the horror elements are truly terrifying, the heart of the show is the family.




WORST HORROR SHOWS OF 2018: I won’t go too deeply into it, but I really, really hated the last Fear the Walking Dead and latest The Walking Dead series. It’s a huge fall from grace, as these shows were, at one time, very good. So what happened? Since the showrunning brought over Morgan to Fear, they killed off the entire original cast and made Fear into Walking Dead. Meanwhile, Walking Dead continues its terrible Negan storyline. I’ve been sick of Negan, and it’s all we got for the past three years: Negan, Negan, Negan. Unfortunately, with Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) leaving the show (to star in his own Walking Dead movies), I “fear” that the Walking Dead will now become the Negan show. Yuck.

Also, Hulu’s Castle Rock is just not very good. The concept is pretty cool, especially because it’s based on the characters and stories of Stephen King... but the execution is just not that great. The same can be said for all of Stephen King’s TV adaptions (The Mist television show in 2017 or Under The Dome in 2015). King’s stories just don’t translate well to television, I guess.

NOT HORROR SHOWS OF 2018: This isn’t really a horror show, but everyone is saying that Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is “horror”. There may be elements of spirits and demons, but I think it’s just too cute to classify it as horror. The other “horror” show that everyone loves is Ash vs Evil Dead. While I am a fan of the movies, I think the show is just too goofy and funny to be horror. Maybe more comedy than horror. It’s not a great show, and I’m kind of glad that they have canceled the series (even though I own all three seasons on Bluray and digital!)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Comic book-related television shows (2018)

Read More Television I did enjoy The Punisher quite a bit, which was a win, considering that I thought Iron Fist and The Defenders were lackluster. Ever since The Punisher appeared on Daredevil, I knew he would spin off in his own series… …

As you may have noticed, I’m still in hibernation mode. Not going on and going on “staycation” have left me plenty of time for some gaming and watching plenty of television.

If you were interested in checking out Comic Book shows (2017), where we mentioned: The Punisher, Happy!, The Gifted, The Runaways, and the really disappointing The Inhumans.

Below are some recent 2018 comic book-based television shows.



DEADLY CLASS
syfy.com/deadlyclass

Originally meant to air in 2019, SyFy released their pilot episode of Deadly Class early on their website (December 20). The show is based on the 2014 Image Comics book the same name by Rick Remender and Wesley Craig.

I haven’t read the comic book, but watching the show sounds like “The Breakfast Club” for Assassin School. It’s based in the 80s, so there’s plenty of great 80s alternative songs on the soundtrack, including The Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen.

Perhaps the reason why SyFy is airing Deadly Class early, is to distance themselves from the upcoming Netflix’s Umbrella Academy (another school show - for Superheroes).

A couple of things worth noting: (1) former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins is the Science teacher and (2) a character referenced Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s classic X-Men run.

So far: I’m hooked! I can’t wait to see the second episode in 2019.

Sabrina

THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA
netflix.com

Not the first television show based on Archie Comics’ favorite witch Sabrina. This new Netflix show The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is actually pretty good, thanks to its excellent writing team and lead actress Kiernan Shipka. The first season ended well and the special Christmas show A Midwinter's Tale arrived just before Christmas.

The show is not exactly horror, but is a cross between Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Think of it as part of the Riverdale universe, only I don’t think we’re going to see a crossover anytime soon.

You can’t take show too seriously, but it isn’t exactly comedy either.

Titans

TITANS
dcuniverse.com

Titans was originally meant to air when DC Comics’ DC Universe launched in September, but instead was delayed a month because DC wanted to premiere it at New York Comic Con. I think it was a bad mistake, because the service launched with basically no original content, other than the 20-30 minute daily news show called DC Daily (which actually was put online for free).

Before finding its home on DC’s streaming service, the show was in development for TNT. Ultimately, TNT turned down the show... and based on the episodes I did watch, I can see why. It’s slow, and it’s unnecessary violent.

According to the showrunners, the show is based on Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s New Teen Titans, but with a much, much darker tone. The problem is that the Teen Titans have never been this super violent before (we’re talking about Robin stabbing a guy’s penis with a hedge trimmers or scrapping a guy’s face across a wall). Needless to say, I am a fan of the source material, but this TV show isn’t really a faithful adaption at all.

While there are fans of this new Titans show, I found it really disappointing. On top of that, the show ended an episode early (originally 12 episodes, but cut down to 11). There’s no real resolve, and fans will have to wait a full year to find out what happened next.

Fans outside of the USA, International Netflix is premiering the show on January 11, 2019.

Black Lightning

BLACK LIGHTNING
cwtv.com

I actually forgotten about this CW’s show Black Lightning, which debut in January 2018 to strong interests. The show is predominately a black cast (with plenty of hip-hop and modern black culture), definitely a first to stand out against the rest of CW’s shows: Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, etc.

My favorite thing about Black Lightning are the villains: Tobias Whale (an albino black character who hates/looks down on his fellow black gangbangers) and Syonide a mysterious assassin (originally male in the comics!).

Unfortunately the villains couldn’t save the show for me, I just stopped watching it, because the storyline felt somewhat boring to me. I would have really love a show about a black man struggling in a white man world, but instead, it’s typical CW super heroes stories. When they planted the seed that his daughters would become Thunder and Lightning, it’s almost too cheesy, and I just dropped out.

Again, I love the villains, but the standard super-hero stuff was just a little predictable to me and I just stopped watching it.

Cloak & Dagger

CLOAK & DAGGER
freeform.go.com

Originally, I was really excited to check out Cloak & Dagger, available on Freeform. However, after watching the first few episodes, it just didn’t reel me in. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t relate to either characters (a rich girl or an athlete).

Also, the pacing seems really slow to me, but critics loved it and Freeform has already renewed the show for a second season - to air in July 2019.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic