Comic Years |
- Most Anticipated Games of 2022 – The Top Releases Coming This Year
- Return to Hogwarts Review – The Harry Potter 20th Anniversary Special Is a Love Letter to Fans Everywhere
- The Spy Who Loved Me Retro Review: Blunderball
- Who Are The Garbage Pail Kids – History Of The GPK New HBO Series
- Flop Era: Body of Evidence – One Of The Last Of The Box Office Erotic Thrillers
- Spider-Man Actors And Cameos In No Way Home – How It Came Together
| Most Anticipated Games of 2022 – The Top Releases Coming This Year Posted: 03 Jan 2022 03:35 AM PST If you’re like me, then the New Year rings in a lot of excitement. Overall, 2021 ended up bringing us some incredible games. For another pandemic year, we had no shortage of great things to play. 2022, however, could end up being something historic. From the return of some major franchises to brand new IP and some surprises, there’s a lot to look forward to. In fact, there’s something for everyone heading into this year. Additionally, we know that many years bring surprise announcements we didn’t see coming. That said, here are the most anticipated games of 2022 that, release date or not, we expect to play in this New Year. Elden Ring – One of the Leading Games of 2022 Image Credit: FromSoftware I’m not one to fawn over the Dark Souls games. That said, I do recognize them as some of the most influential games of the past two decades. In fact, they’re so massive to the industry, George R.R. Martin quit pretending to write The Winds of Winter to work on the story of the newest Souls-like. Just kidding, George. Elden Ring was delayed to February 2022 last year, and nobody batted an eye. That’s how you know people want to play this game. Whenever it arrives, they’ll be ready. Mixing the gameplay of Souls titles and a brand-new fantasy world from the minds of Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki, what could go wrong? This is a definite title on top of many most anticipated games of 2022 lists. Added bonus, we get it pretty early in the year! Elden Ring releases on February 25, 2022. Horizon: Forbidden West – A Sure-Fire Hit for Sony Image Credit: Sony One week before Elden Ring releases, we return to the world of post-apocalyptic America. That’s right, friends, our favorite redhead robot dinosaur hunter is back in a brand new adventure. Much like Elden Ring, Horizon: Forbidden West also experienced a release delay. That said, everything we’ve seen of the game is absolutely what you’d want from a sequel to Zero Dawn. Sony knows how to bring us AAA single-player experiences, and this is sure to be another gem for the PS4 and PS5. Backdrops like a ruined San Francisco and the Yosemite Valley will provide us with familiar environments to explore. It’s likely to be one of those early 2022 games we talk about all year long. New items and freeform climbing are also going to make this game a lot of fun to just immerse ourselves in. Don’t stress about having to wait too long for this one. Horizon: Forbidden West releases on February 18, 2022. Pokémon Legends: Arceus – A New Spin on the Pokémon Games Image Credit: Nintendo While I’m still loving every minute of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, I’m ready for a new adventure. One thing that many of the mainline Pokémon games can’t boast is a lot of variety. You catch monsters in turn-based combat, fight other trainers, and collect badges. Pokémon Legends: Arceus dives into a new way to experience the world of Pokémon, taking elements from other franchises under the Nintendo umbrella. I can’t say I’m comfortable with calling this one a Game of the Year contender, just because we still don’t know what it’s going to be like to play this game. While it’s one of the biggest games coming out in 2022, it’s still sort of a mystery. We’ve seen surprisingly little gameplay so far, so we’re sort of going into this one a bit blind. That said, it’s so exciting to know we’re getting a new way to experience this iconic IP. With some gorgeous art styles and plenty of Pokémon lore mixed in, I’m thinking this will be a hit. Pokémon Legends: Arceus releases on January 28, 2022. Starfield – Bethesda Games are Tough to Beat in the Most Anticipated Category Image Credit: Bethesda I’ve visited the Starfield website more times than I’d like to admit. It’s one of the most anticipated games of 2022 and for good reason. Imagine the exploration and RPG elements of something like Fallout or The Elder Scrolls. Now, take that experience to space. Hell yeah, right? Who says no to a Bethesda game set in space? There’s a lot to still learn about this game. Given the high-profile role the game played in summer game conferences, we’ll likely see more of this one later this year. That said, I don’t know if anything could make me not want to play the game at this point. Bethesda’s grand return to major releases in the games industry is a brand new IP. That’s enough to get me on board on day one. Starfield is set to release on November 11, 2022. Gotham Knights – WB Games Montreal’s Grand Return to DC Universe Video Games Image Credit: WB Games Montreal I feel like once a month I find a way to praise the Batman Arkham games. WB Games Montreal handled one release in that series, Batman: Arkham Origins. Personally, I loved the small differences it offered alongside the Rocksteady-developed games. I’m eager to see the spin of WB Games Montreal put on the ability to control many members of the Bat-Family. In terms of the most anticipated games in 2022, this is going to be a big one. Controlling Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood while taking on the Court of Owls is like DC Comics fan’s dream. Mine too, even though I can’t say I’m up to date on all of the lore and history of the Court of Owls. Luckily for me, I have time to catch up on the comics before this one releases. Hey, maybe you’ll even see a post about who the Court of Owls is here at Comic Years before then. No release date yet for this one, but it is set to hit shelves in 2022. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 – The Most Anticipated Game of 2022 Image Credit: Nintendo Last but not least, what else could win our most anticipated game of 2022 other than the sequel to one of the best games ever made? When people started saying Breath of the Wild was the best game ever, I sort of scoffed a bit. Then, I thought about it. I think they may be right, no matter how grand the declaration is. We still don’t have a release date for this one yet, but it’s bound to be the biggest game of the year when it comes. My best guess for a release announcement: E3. Nintendo loves using its pre-recorded E3 presentations to make big announcements. Look for this summer to be the start-up to the real hype train for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. Let us know what you’re looking forward to most in the New Year! If you have a few most anticipated games of 2022 to share, then drop them in the comments. We hit the top-tier titles in this article, but we’re previewing much more this month on Comic Years. Keep reading for all things gaming, comics, and pop culture. Featured Image Credit: Nintendo Most Anticipated Games of 2022 – The Top Releases Coming This Year |
| Posted: 02 Jan 2022 11:11 PM PST We read, watch, and write things as a way of entertaining ourselves. Series and films can suck us in for a few hours. We learn things, escape from ourselves, and feel all of the emotions that there are. But for some content, it can be even more special. There is a generation out there that was raised on Harry Potter, and the 20th anniversary celebration lets us reflect on all of the ways it has shaped our lives. This Return to Hogwarts review will show you whether it’s just a cash-grab or something more meaningful for fans. We can’t really spoil Harry Potter for you, because Voldemort has been gone for quite some time. However, this post will spoil some of the more intimate moments in Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts. But don’t worry, you’ll still want to stream it by the end of this article. Return to Hogwarts Review – We Really Do Go BackAuthor J.K. Rowling released seven Harry Potter books between 1997 and 2007. The fantasy series follows the titular hero, a young wizard, through his coming-of-age in a magical world. Unlike most youngsters, he finds himself pitted against the dark Lord Voldemort from the day that he is born. He, along with his friends Ron and Hermione, spend their childhood fighting evil and finding out the importance of love and friendship. The books were successful enough on their own. More than 500 million copies have been sold worldwide, and it is the most popular books series of all time. They have been translated into 80 different languages, too, showing that their impact has reached every corner of the planet. The film franchise began shortly after the release of the fourth book. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone premiered in 2001, after an incredible labor of love going on behind the scenes. And here we are, in 2021, still re-watching them. Our Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts review isn’t exactly an analysis of the content, but instead reflects on how such a retrospective special can make us feel.  Image via Warner Bros. Pictures. The Harry Potter 20th Anniversary Special Takes Us Back To Humble BeginningsThere are two common starting points for Harry Potter fans. Many of us were youngsters at the time of their release. We saw books targeted at our age group and fell in love with the magical world within them. The other group is filled up with parents who read or watched them with their kids, understanding that they weren’t just reading any old children’s book. But there is another entry point into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and it is only accessible to a smaller crowd. These are the folks that were actively involved with the creation of the films. The actors, directors, producers, and more. Nobody knows it better than them, and they’re here to tell us their story. Fans who are entering Return to Hogwarts would walk away with a negative review if they’re anticipating a sequel of sorts. Instead, it is a retrospective special that works more like a documentary than anything else. We are given new content, like deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, concept art, and insight into what went on throughout production. But it’s the honest conversations between the cast and crew that make it the delight that it is.  Image via HBO Max. Emma Watson Is Still The Hermione We Know From HogwartsThe retrospective special features over a dozen cast and crew from the franchise. It’s easy for so many faces to make things feel hectic or crowded, but instead, it feels like we’re walking with old friends. What helps boost our comfort levels is none other than Emma Watson, a.k.a. Hermione Granger, one-third of the Golden Trio. Not only is Emma the one to guide us back in our return to Hogwarts, but she also takes more of a facilitator role in her discussions with the rest of the trio, Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter.) There are times where conversations seem tense like the trio is not comfortable being forced to reflect on their days. But her excitement over the world, even outside of her own involvement, helps us get past it. Her vulnerability also provides us with a glimpse into some of the conversations that we didn’t see. Fans will not be surprised to hear that the actress almost left the franchise halfway through the films, but the special walks us through some of the rationales behind her decision-making process. Watson claims that the weight of fame gave her a reality check about just how deep she was with these films, and we aren’t surprised. The boys agree, recognizing that she dealt with a lot of it on her own. Many of us can remember the disgusting days where tabloids counted down the days until her 18th birthday when she would be “legal.” Countless headlines talked about her financial earnings, like we all deserved to know how she spent every dollar. She was the feminine face of the franchise, and she was just a kid. They all were. But the special does not delve into some of the darker parts of their experiences, instead choosing to keep the magic alive.  Image via Warner Bros. Pictures. Fun Anecdotes For Everyone In This Return to Hogwarts ReviewAlmost everybody returns to share stories about their time on set. Some are familiar, while others share tales that we might never have expected. Perhaps the best of them all arrives when Daniel reunites with Helena Bonham Carter, who played the Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. Their friendly chemistry is electric compared to the actor’s stillness around the rest. They also reveal that he had an old crush on her. And we get it. It’s Helena Bonham Carter, for gosh sakes. Radcliffe also reunites with Gary Oldman (Sirius Black.) Their embrace makes us wish that they were in character, seeing one another after Black’s tragic end in the fifth film. There is also no shortage of stories for the cast that has passed. The special features a lovely tribute to the fallen, including Alan Rickman and Helen McCrory.  Image via Warner Bros. Pictures. A Review Of How Return To Hogwarts Handles J.K. RowlingWe’re no stranger to the ongoing controversies following the creator of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling. She has distanced herself from many fans, thanks to some outdated opinions on Transgender folks, among other things. We had previously been led to believe that she would not be taking part in the special, but she is there. And we get it, it would be impossible not to show her face at least once. She did create the franchise, after all. Instead of featuring an out-of-place moment to discuss her controversy, or choosing to omit her entirely, Return to Hogwarts shares comments on pivotal parts of the filmmaking process. What is unique to her commentary is the very noticeable “filmed in 2019” text right next to her head, as if the studio wants to tell us, “Don’t worry, we didn’t ask for her back after the controversy!” This method works. Her comments are found less often than others, including those who had less to do with the franchise. It does not take away from the magic going on around her, but it also shows fans that the studio does want to distance itself further.  Image via Warner Bros. Pictures. Our Final Review Of Return To HogwartsHarry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts doesn’t feel like an awkwardly timed special that is there to bring more subscribers to its streaming home, HBO Max. The 20-year anniversary seems like a fitting time to air it, and the involvement of such core cast members is enough to make us feel back at home. Where the special finds most of its success is how it navigates feelings of love and comfort within a franchise. You can see the importance of it exuding from each cast and crew member. They aren’t just paid stars; they’re fans, just like us. Hogwarts lives on inside of us, and they aren’t escaping it either. You Can Stream Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts on HBO Max now.Readers, have you gotten a chance to watch the retrospective special? Let us know if you agree with our review of Return to Hogwarts. While you’re in our comments section, drop a memory of your involvement with the franchise. Did you grow up reading the books or watching the movies? Did you find it later in life? We want to know! Featured image via HBO Max. Return to Hogwarts Review – The Harry Potter 20th Anniversary Special Is a Love Letter to Fans Everywhere |
| The Spy Who Loved Me Retro Review: Blunderball Posted: 02 Jan 2022 07:16 PM PST And we’re back with the James Bond series. Yes, it’s been a minute since we did this. Number one, I really didn’t enjoy the last one, as you can tell from my Retro Review of The Man with the Golden Gun. And number two, I had some personal stuff. (I was trying to irradiate Fort Knox.) Anyway, let’s Retro Review the heck out of The Spy Who Loved Me. By the way, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, then you should start like James Bond does with Dr. No. Essentially, though, this is a series in which I review retro stuff and I’m currently working my way through the James Bond canon. Pretty complicated, I know. Joshua has also legally mandated that I tell you that I knew nothing about James Bond beyond what everyone knows, like the catchphrases and the famous lines–“I want you to die,” etc. On to the love! Our Love Is Nuclear: A Plot Summary of The Spy Who Loved MeI know y’all will find this hard to believe, but there’s a madman out there that wants to take over the world. Yes, I know–this is a brand-new James Bond plot. This time, the madman in question is Karl Stromberg (Curt Jürgens). And yes, it feels like they’re running out of good names for bad guys. Anyway, he wants to destroy the existing world with nukes, then rule over Atlantis. Uh, not the ancient mythical city, but one he’s built in the ocean. More specifically, he wants to nuke New York City and Moscow simultaneously, using captured submarines from the UK and the Soviet Union, respectively. They’ll blame each other, which will trigger World War III, and with it, complete nuclear annihilation. All the while, Stromberg will be safe in Atlantis. Is that scientifically accurate? Well, probably more so than hiding in a fridge.  image via Eon Productions/United Artists Anyway, MI-6 gets the first hint of this plan when someone starts shopping a submarine tracking system. They dispatch Jim, but he’s not the only one on the case. The Soviet Union sends Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach)–KGB codename: Triple X, OF COURSE–to get her hands on the plans. She is a beautiful, capable, and saucy woman, so I’m sure there will be no improprieties between her and the United Kingdom’s horniest secret agent. Cut to like, five minutes later, when they’re sparring in Egypt. And by “sparring,” I mean actual fighting, although you should know how this is going to go by now. She’ll be frosty, he’ll keep making single entendres, and the last shot of the movie will be him, checking her mouth for poison. With his mouth. Bonding Agent: The World of James Bond ContinuesNormally, this is where I’d talk about what this movie added to the canon. But as I’ll discuss further in the review section, The Spy Who Loved Me feels largely like a retread. Q is here, for instance, but mostly to make anxious noises and deliver his own catchphrase imploring James to pay attention. However, his appearance in this film is notable for two reasons. Number one, this is the first time someone addresses Q by his actual rank and name, Major Boothroyd. (Amasova has the honors.) And number two, he delivers a pretty cool gadget. Actually, “gadget” is too small to accurately describe it, because he gives James an underwater car. Named Wet Nellie (in a callback to Little Nellie), it’s a Lotus Esprit S1 that’s been converted into a submarine. And I could tell you who owns it now, but I don’t care to. Moving on. Maybe the Bondology is where this film distinguishes itself from its predecessors. Because like the Major Boothroyd mention, there’s something special about the theme song, too. That song, “Nobody Does It Better” by Carly Simon, is the first Bond theme not to share a title with the film. The title is in the lyrics, though: “The spy who loved me/Is keepin’ all my secrets safe tonight.” And as far as Bond themes go, it’s fine. They are as apparently proud of it as “Live and Let Die,” as like that song, it reappears throughout this movie. But it’s no “Live and Let Die.” It’s really no “You’re So Vain,” the ne plus ultra of Carly Simon songs in my opinion. That tune is packed with clever lines and surprising references–who would ever think a great pop song would mention Nova Scotia? This movie’s song, on the other hand, features lyrics that sound like Kiss rejected them from “Love Gun.” Like, “There’s some kind of magic inside you/That keeps me from runnin’/But just keep it comin’.” (And yes, it’s incredible that there hasn’t been a James Bond movie called Love Gun.) The Spy Who Loved Me Retro ReviewIt’s hard to think of things to say about a movie that doesn’t really have that much to say. I know that other critics have been generous with this film–it currently has 81% approval at Rotten Tomatoes, for instance. I’ve also read that it was Roger Moore’s favorite of his Bond films. But ain’t our differences what makes us special? Because I did not love this one, I say, diplomatically. For one thing, as I’ve already hinted–in bold neon–there’s a sameness to this movie. When I first read a brief plot summary, for example, I saw a blurb about underwater stunts. My first thought was, ah, here we go again. That’s because the underwater shenanigans in Thunderball were one of the things I really disliked about that movie. Then when I was writing out my own plot summary above, the familiarity struck me. I was like, haven’t I seen a James Bond movie with a nuclear angle? Yes, I have. It was in Thunderball! We’re only ten movies in and we’re already repeating plots. That actually wouldn’t be that big of a deal under normal circumstances. I don’t mind seeing a variation on a theme if it’s interesting. But there’s nothing really new here, including the fact that I’ve already said that in this review.  image via Eon Productions/United Artists But look, I get it. James Bond movies were still big earners, so I’m sure there was a strong “if it ain’t broke” attitude behind the scenes. However, this movie also brings to mind another well-worn phrase regarding the definition of insanity. (In case you are firmly wedged under your rock, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.) So, while I can understand that they were hesitant to stray from the formula, I’m not asking for a wild deviation. Just enough to make it fun. Live and Let Die, as well as Diamonds Are Forever, are variants on the basic Bond recipe. Still, they worked for me, because they were engaging. This movie, on the other hand, just goes on. It feels like they keep billing each subsequent one as the biggest yet, as if that’s a selling point. It’s not. Instead, in this case, at least, it’s bursts of action punctuating a lot of tedium, and it lasts about a half hour too long. Jaws (Richard Kiel) was kinda fun, though. But that’s just my opinion. As always, tell me yours in these comments or on our social media. And join me for the next Bond adventure, which took a cue from Star Wars, which released the same year as this movie, inspiring a dang space story?! They made me sit through a Thunderball redux to see some space stuff??? Aw, man. The Spy Who Loved Me is available for rent through various platforms.Give us your review of The Spy Who Loved Me in the comments below and let us know if you’re with Roger Moore on this being your favorite of his films as 007. featured image via Eon Productions/Universal Artists The Spy Who Loved Me Retro Review: Blunderball |
| Who Are The Garbage Pail Kids – History Of The GPK New HBO Series Posted: 02 Jan 2022 11:16 AM PST A lot of weird, amazing stuff came out of the 80s. Shoulder pads, homoerotic animated Mattel toys, Knight Rider, tons of good stuff. Sauntering down the line between good and awful was the unique phenomena of the Garbage Pail Kids. Part sticker, part myth, the history of the Garbage Pail Kids is a pun-filled reaction to another popular toy of the time, but they quickly grew beyond that because the market for cursed iconography was largely untapped until the Furby came out in 1998. With the HBO Garbage Pail Kids series on the horizon, it is time to look back in time and answer the question: who are the Garbage Pail Kids? Who Are The Garbage Pail Kids?In 1982, Coleco Industries industries took a brave stance and said to the world: "kids are cuter when they're plants," and thus the Cabbage Patch Kids were born. Disgustingly cute, the lore of these plastic and fabric children was that each grew in, surprising fact incoming, a cabbage patch. The children grew in cabbage, and each was supposedly unique, came with a birth certificate, and were very hard to find during Christmas of 1983 despite no scarcity of other leafy greens being reported at the time. These toys were marketed toward young girls primarily, and imagery associated with them was about what you'd find in modern day baby-toy commercials, except the babies grew in cabbage. In reaction to the success of Cabbage Patch Kids, cartoonists Art Spiegelman and Mark Newgarden worked together with manager Len Brown and artist John Pound to create the first round of Garbage Pail Kids. If any of those names sound familiar, Art Spiegelman is the creator of Maus, the Holocaust story as told through mice, and Len Brown was one of the creators of the Mars Attacks cards, which has art you've definitely seen even if you don't know it.  Image via Topps But that's just who made them. The Kids themselves are much more than the people who made them. To summarize a huge library of cards, spinoffs, and the single most cursed movie to ever reach a screen, GPKare the fusion of gross children and puns. Cards would feature cartoonish art, usually a child-like figure with some kind of malady, and below their grim façade there'd be a name that was usually some kind of wordplay. The first series had cards like "Up Chuck," which had a child barfing on it. Or Busted Bob, who was some kind of awful doll with all his limbs torn off. Or, my favorite, Adam Bomb, which had the iconic art of a kid sitting on the ground in a suit and tie with a mushroom cloud ripping out of the top of his head. It was a fun satire that was meant to make fun of something overly cute by sprinting in the opposite direction, but then, like young Adam bomb, the cards blew up. The History of The Garbage Pail KidsThere is a fundamental truth that anyone who has ever opened a pack of trading cards knows the second they bust open that foil and smell the cardboard addiction within: collecting stuff is fun. And not long after they came out, there were a lot of cards to collect. Every card art came with two name variants, so already that's two of every card you need. Then there were the rare cards, or the ones that became rare as time went on. The original run cards had 15 series, over 1,200 cards. That's not even counting the variations. The first set came out in 1985, the 15th in 1988. Pokémon could never. Like Pokemon, GPK cards were largely banned in schools. If you've ever seen a child cry about trading their favorite Tangela for an Arcanine on the playground, you can only imagine the hysterics when little Timmy gets a vision of the future and realizes the Nasty Nick first printing he just traded will be worth $7,500 in 40 years. As of 2006, they are also banned in Mexico. Getting back into Pokémon is easy, but GPK has actually geography it’s not allowed to touch. Word still out if the HBO Garbage Pail Kids will air in Mexico.  Image via Topps With their massive commercial success, naturally there'd be movie and television deals. An animated series based on the GPK was created in 1987, but it was never released in the United States due to widespread complaints from parents. The viscerally negative reaction to on-screen Garbage Pail Kids did not end there though. In 1987, Topps partnered with the Atlantic Entertainment Group to create The Garbage Pail Kids Movie. This live-action movie made it to theaters, and you truly need to watch it to understand just how lucky we are to have the movies we do now. The GPK movie was, and remains, unique in just how rough it is to look upon. Instead of using makeup to create the warped and deliberately gross features of these awful children, they had these huge, bulbous fake heads that tried way too hard to look like the cards themselves. Except you can't have live-action bodies with cartoonish heads, which is why this is one of the most unsettling movies you’ll ever watch, even in the cold light of day nearly 4 decades later. Words can't do it justice. Here's a clip. Show it to your friends, even if they don't know who the Garbage Pail Kids are. The Fall of a Trading Card TitanThe GPK movie was an albatross that Greaser Greg took down with a switchblade behind a movie theater. The movie was a critical failure, and the audience hated it too. As of 2021, it has a 27% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and this is one of those times where they’re definitely right. It is not a good film. It was a sign of the end for GPK. Sales faltered as interest in gross children waned. Once a hot ticket Christmas gift, 1988 kids were all about Koosh Balls and that newfangled Nintendo gizmo. 1990 would be the first year without a planned set of GPK cards in 5 years. The series was done. Until 2003 when the "All New" series came out with 80 new cards! The All-New cards would continue until 2007. These cards had foil art, Scratch 'n Stink cards, foil reprintings of the originals, and they were on fancy 2003 paper which was glossy and didn't routinely run out of different colors of ink.  Image via Topps The All New cards brought interest back to the series. After 7 All New rounds of cards, they switched to the Flashback series, high quality reprintings of the first 8 card series. Then the Brand New Series which added around 280 new cards. Then the Chrome series, which was the first that had cards only instead of stickers. The series just kept going. GPK are like Optimus Prime. Every time it seems like they're about to die, they pull through at the last minute and then you got em for another 20 years.  Image via Topps Who Are The New Garbage Pail Kids?The future is in flux for GPK. Something is about to happen that has happened twice before, and never with success. We may not be the generations that get interstellar flight or the generation that got to circumnavigate the globe for the first time. But we are the people who get to see an animated HBO The Garbage Pail Kids series, and this time it has to be good, right? Right?  Image via Topps The HBO Garbage Pail Kids series is supposedly going to be family friendly and suited for audiences of all ages. For a series that had its last animated series canceled before it even aired, that's a bold promise. The series is being developed by Danny McBride and Gordon Green of Rough House Pictures, and Josh Bycel of Solar Opposites. There's not much other information out on the series yet, but it is the future of The Garbage Pail Kids after a long history, and it's in the hands of people who loved the cards as kids, so maybe this time it'll go well. Either way, these horrible children born as the antithesis to lettuce babies will live on long after all of us. If you want to know even more about the history of The Garbage Pail Kids you can still find cards, the movie, or there’s even books by Goosebumps author R.L. Stine!Tell us about your favorite GPK memories, art, or rare finds in the comments! Featured image via Topps/HBO Max Who Are The Garbage Pail Kids – History Of The GPK New HBO Series |
| Flop Era: Body of Evidence – One Of The Last Of The Box Office Erotic Thrillers Posted: 02 Jan 2022 07:29 AM PST One night, I was curious about Willem Dafoe. (I am often curious about Willem Dafoe.) I learned little details like the fact that he grew up in Wisconsin, which does not seem correct. And upon doing a deep dive into his career, I remembered films he was in that I had completely forgotten. Some movies I'd seen and then apparently consigned to a memory hole. Others, though, I've never gotten around to watching. One of these was Body of Evidence, an erotic thriller starring Madonna. I didn't know much about the movie, except that the general consensus was that it was bad. I wanted to see for myself, though. And thus was born my series wherein I reevaluate famous movie bombs. So welcome to Flop Era, Body of Evidence, the film that sparked the whole thing. And you can begin the series with Flop Era: Ishtar. They Don't Make Pictures Like This AnymoreAs I said, Body of Evidence is an erotic thriller. That makes it rather unusual today, because we don't see a lot of movies like that, at least not in theaters. They had their heyday largely in the 80s and 90s, then disappeared. As for why, that's somewhat puzzling.  image via MGM/UA An easy answer is that our cultural tastes change. After all, we don't exactly see a lot of Westerns these days, either. Along with that, the movie industry itself has changed. As we all know, it's harder for original material to make a dent at the box office. That's not to say that it doesn't, but it's an indisputable fact that superhero movies and family fare dominate. Even a movie that's ostensibly original, like Free Guy, relies a lot on familiarity, including superhero references and cameos. Writing for Vice, Christina Newland proposes that the erotic thriller fell out of favor because they're ultimately movies about ugly people. Not ugly on the outside, mind you, but spiritually hideous. As she puts it, "…they ask us to assume the worst of both men and women." That's a nice segue to talk about this movie. So is Newland’s assertion that “The women of the erotic thriller might be evil, but the men are plain old dumb.” That’s basically the plot summary for this film, but I’ll elaborate a bit further. The Body of the Plot, With Little Evidence to Dissuade Us That It’s a FlopAs the movie opens, a soon-to-be Rich Corpse reposes in bed while a homemade sex tape plays. Yes, his character has a name, but it doesn't matter. Everything that matters about him is in that nickname. For…reasons, the police quickly decide it was a murder. They also decide, because she stands to benefit financially, that the person responsible must be his partner. That is Madonna, by the way, or rather, Madonna playing Madonna playing Rebecca Carlson, an art gallery owner with a bitchin' houseboat. Does she look like she just stopped by the set on her way home from the “Bad Girl” video? Yes. Carlson hires Frank Dulaney (Willem Dafoe) to defend her. He seems like a pretty capable attorney, but outside of lawyering, he's a prize ding-dong. And as such, he himself enters into a sexual relationship with Rebecca. Because this is, again, an erotic thriller, the emphasis is on the erotic. By that, I mean that the film treats us to scene after scene of bodies slappin'. It's all pretty mild by today's standards, though. Watching Madonna drizzle candle wax onto Willem Dafoe, for example, feels like nothing when you've seen what Charlotte Gainsbourg does to him in Antichrist. (Or just read the Wikipedia plot description, because you love yourself too much to sit through all that.) Anyway, they be banging. And somewhere in all the hot wax and other fluids, there's a mystery about whether or not Rebecca actually had a hand in Rich Corpse's death. Along with the sex scenes, the movie generously gifts us with extended courtroom drama. Thrill as Dulaney and DA Robert Garrett (Joe Mantegna) argue over procedural minutia while Judge Mabel (Lillian Lehman) says, “I’ll allow it, but you’re on thin ice, counselor,” or whatever. Flop Era: Body of EvidenceDespite being seeped in sex scenes, this is the least erotic movie about sex I’ve seen in a long time. Rebecca is supposed to be a femme fatale, seducing every man in her orbit into sex games fraught with the possibility of danger. But like I said, it’s all as tame and soft as a lamb. The sex scenes aren’t exciting or titillating; instead, they feel rote. Insert tab a into slot b, etc. Part of that has to do with Madonna herself. While she is obviously a cultural icon, her impact on culture and pop music was (apparently) never enough for her. I say that because she has repeatedly insisted on trying her hand at acting. Unfortunately, Madonna is a powerful personality and she just can’t subsume that personality into most of the characters she’s played. That includes Rebecca. Instead, Madonna is cold and flat where Rebecca should be warm and inviting. After all, the premise of the whole story is that men just can’t resist her sexual powers. However, between the writing and the acting, there’s little evidence to support this argument. Well, there is her body. Oh, God–is the title a pun? Incidentally, this film came out a year after Madonna’s photo book Sex and her album Erotica. The title track’s video, along with the book and this movie, all share one fatal flaw. The sex they depict is joyless and so self-serious that it’s ripe only for parody. So absent erotic thrills, what we’re left with is a bog standard legal drama. Unsurprisingly, those scenes are pretty boring, even with all the sexy sex talk and the way the courtroom observers gasp like Victorians every time they hear about like, handcuffs. In addition, the case ends up turning on a plot twist that in retrospect, how do you say, problematisch? Ah, the 90s. So, Flop Era for Body of Evidence is confirmed. Madonna’s body looks amazing, though. (And despite how this sounds, I love Madonna…’s music.) Body of Evidence is available for rent through a number of services and is also free through Tubi.Did you think Body of Evidence was a flop? Why do you think Hollywood stopped making movies like this? Let us know your thoughts with us on our social media or in these comments. featured image via MGM/UA Flop Era: Body of Evidence – One Of The Last Of The Box Office Erotic Thrillers |
| Spider-Man Actors And Cameos In No Way Home – How It Came Together Posted: 01 Jan 2022 11:23 PM PST Spider-Man has been at the top of every conversation over the past month. Whether you’re a fan of the franchise or not, it’s getting people talking. And the Spider-Man: No Way Home actors and cameos are to thank for such discussions. Let’s dig into how all of the elements came together to make it the billion-dollar-making movie of 2021. Spoiler warning for Spider-Man: No Way Home. If you haven’t watched the movie, check out our spoiler-free review to find out if it’s right for you. Trust us; you’ll want to head into this movie without any spoilers (especially if you’ve made it through 2021 without being spoiled!) How The Spider-Man Actors and Cameos Came TogetherSpider-Man: No Way Home brought back a lot of familiar faces. It wasn’t just the current Marvel Cinematic Universe characters that we were delighted to see. Instead, the action flick brought back heroes and villains from films outside the universe. This included highly anticipated returns of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man, along with their respective villains. All of this happened thanks to a spell that was miscast by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch.) When Tom Holland’s Peter Parker tries to change the effects of a spell mid-cast, Strange ends up causing a tear in the multiverse. So, anybody who knows the real identity of Peter Parker in all universes finds their way to our Spider-Man du jour. Drafting the return of so many characters, many tied to iconic actors, is no easy task. A recent Hollywood Reporter interview with the film’s screenwriters, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, helps give some insight into what happened behind the scenes.  Image via Sony Pictures Releasing. The Spider-Man No Way Home Actors Saved The DayStudios can’t just approach actors and say, “Hey, do you want to come back?” Especially after years have passed since their initial appearance. This might have worked for some Spider-Man: No Way Home cameos and actors, but not all of the ones we got. Studios need at least some idea of what their return will look like, along with what it will mean for the franchise’s future. Despite the risk of a potential no, McKenna and Sommers were confident enough to start writing the script of their dreams. This included all the cameos and actors that we got in No Way Home. It started with a simple wishlist of previous actors. McKenna claims that all they could do was “act like we’re getting everybody that we want and let the powers that be reach out to those people and see if this can actually become a reality.” Sommers mirrors these sentiments, sharing that they had to commit fully. And if it didn’t work out, then they’d “scramble.” Fortunately, it doesn’t look like they had to do much scrambling. Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, Rhys Ifans, Thomas Haden Church, and even Charlie Cox returned for the final cut. We can’t imagine who would have been on their wishlist that they didn’t get.  Image via Sony Pictures Releasing. How Did They Get All The No Way Home Actors?It would be easy to say that all the No Way Home actors and cameos returned for the money. We’re sure that enough of it could have swayed even the most hesitant actor, but it seems like that wasn’t the case. Salaries for the stars have not been confirmed, but some news outlets report that Maguire and Garfield took home about $1 million each for their appearances. Though we wouldn’t be surprised if this was later proven false, and their wallets were far fatter. We can assume that the villains and cameos in Spider-Man: No Way Home took slightly less than the heroes. Anything around $1 million seems low, even for the folks with the least amount of screentime. For comparison, Robert Downey Jr. made as much as $15 million for his appearance in Spider-Man: Homecoming. He was on screen for less than half the time that Garfield and Maguire spent in No Way Home. If it wasn’t money, then what convinced them?  Image via Sony Pictures Releasing Spider-Man Actors and Cameos Returned For The Right RoleMcKenna and Sommers agreed that some actors, including Alfred Molina (Otto Octavius) and Willem Dafoe (Norman Osborn), were game from the get-go. But not everybody was, and it came down to showing what they were doing with the film. McKenna explains the work further, sharing:
It’s one thing to pitch an idea to an actor and have them eager to join in. It’s another thing to have them suit up and stand in front of the cameras for a fleshed-out concept. It seems as if it all boils down to a good script that respects their characters and the work that they put into it. While McKenna and Sommers also agree that the actors trusted them and the studio, but they also wanted to have their own influence on things. Some of the most crucial moments of the film, like Tom’s Spider-Man’s decision not to kill Osborn, were ” brought by Tobey and Andrew's ideas and shaping of what they thought their characters could bring to this story.” With great power comes great responsibility, and it seems like the folks with the power to make a great movie turned things out responsibly. You Can Watch Spider-Man: No Way Home In Theaters Now.Readers, were you surprised at how the Spider-Man: No Way Home actors and cameos fit into the film? Let us know your thoughts on how it all came together. Featured image via Sony Pictures Releasing. Spider-Man Actors And Cameos In No Way Home – How It Came Together |
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