Tag: Amazon Prime

Brainiac On Banjo: A Million Pounds of Bond

Brainiac On Banjo: A Million Pounds of Bond

Diamonds are forever. Hold one up and then caress it, touch it, stroke it and undress it. I can see every part. Nothing hides in the heart to hurt me. “Diamonds Are Forever,” written by John Barry and Don Black.

Generally speaking, I’m not interested in “reality” television. It’s not really reality, and when I want reality from my ol’ cathode ray tube I’ll watch the news until I decide what I really should be doing is updating my will.

There are exceptions. A thousand years ago, I watched Ice Road Truckers because the contestants were as ludicrous as the concept of hauling many tons of stuff across frozen-over lakes that, under the weight of same, could kill the aspirants and — more important — destroy their swag. Much more recently, I’ve been enjoying the challenges of James May, of car wrecking fame, as he ridicules modern manhood by attempting even more ludicrous but somewhat more useful DIY projects. However, these shows (Man Lab is the best, Toy Stories and The Reassembler are almost as entertaining) are built, by James May, to revolve around James May, who is clever, honest, committed and wonderfully sardonic. He’s a mere 60 years old, but probably looks a bit older because he’s spent decades working next to Jeremy Clarkson. He’s also done a number of food-oriented shows and has lunched with Gordon Ramsay, consuming bull penis and rotten shark. Funny stuff. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: A Million Pounds of Bond”

With Further Ado #169: The Vast of Night

With Further Ado #169: The Vast of Night

Halloween is time for scary movies. That’s part of the fun. My utopian Halloween would consist of kids trick or treating, going to a killer (not literally) Halloween Party, and then settling in with a classic monster movie, preferably something from Hammer or Universal’s heyday.

And while we “meant” to watch a lot more movies during the recent Covid-19 lockdown times, we really didn’t, just a few here and there. I’m a little disappointed in myself, if I am to be honest with you.

Having shared that confession, it makes sense we missed The Vast of Night at first. I’m elated we finally stumbled across it. This is a brilliant indie film set in the 1950s at the pinnacle of the scary “Flying Saucer craze”.  It’s both creepy and gorgeous, a tribute to both small town Americana and the fears that bubble up from rural communities.

The heroes are an unlikely pair: a plucky teenager with a part time job, played by former Disney Channel actress Sierra McCormick, and a cool-cat radio DJ, played by Jake Horowitz. These two are actors to watch.

I’ve been learning about Rod Serling and enjoy teaching a bit about him.  Nick Parisi’s brilliant book, Rod Serling: His Life, Work and Imagination provided me with a such a rich background and dialing into Tom Elliot’s The Twilight Zone Podcast adds to my Serling knowledge.  Even so, I was really surprised to find that The Vast of Night takes place in a small town called Cayuga, New Mexico.  As you might know, Serling grew up and eventually returned to the Cayuga Lake area. He even taught classes at Ithaca College, far above Cayuga’s waters. Continue reading “With Further Ado #169: The Vast of Night”

Comic News Roundup: Comics News for the week of 10/5/2020 -10/9/2020

Comic News Roundup: Comics News for the week of 10/5/2020 -10/9/2020

Welcome to our new feature Comic News Roundup. We are giving you a run down of the news from comic book publishers and other pop culture news that was released throughout this week. We have news from NYCC/Metaverse, Archie Comics, Boom! Studios, Scout Comics, Valiant Entertainment, and Amazon Prime.

 


Archie Comics

South Side Serpents:

Archie Comics announced a new one-shot comic that comes out in January 2021. It is set in the world of Riverdale and stars Jughead Jones and the South Side Serpents biker gang.

From the press release:

“I’ve known David and Richard a long time and have wanted to work with both of them,” said Archie Comics Co-President Alex Segura. “David’s a pro — a journalist who’s written some great comics. Richard has a clean, memorable line and is an editor’s dream. So, when we knew we wanted to spotlight the South Side Serpents corner of the Riverdale universe, it made sense to pair them together. The end result is a dark, compelling, and unique take on some of fans’ favorite characters — plus plenty of surprises.”

Here is the cover and solicit:

RIVERDALE PRESENTS: SOUTH SIDE SERPENTS ONE-SHOT
FP Jones is worried for the future of the South Side Serpents. The biker gang is getting old and finding it hard to attract fresh blood. But FP has a plan, and it revolves around his son, Jughead. Hunted by the most fearsome biker gangs in the state, an unwilling Jughead has to step up into the role of leader to guide the Serpents on a perilous journey. There will be adventure, there will be thrills, there will be chases, and there will be death in this special one-shot event featuring fan-favorite characters from the CW Riverdale series.

Script: David Barnett
Art: Richard Ortiz, Matt Herms, Jack Morelli
Cover: Richard Ortiz
Variant Cover: Tyler Boss
On Sale Date: 1/27
32-page, full color comic
$3.99 U.S.


New York Comic Con / Metaverse

This weekend is ReedPop‘s virtual New York Comic Con. As will all comic conventions this year NYCC is not an in person event. Metaverse is hosting the virtual experience that consists of live programming panels, artist alley “booth”. vendor kiosks, and lots of other cool stuff. There is content from the world of comics, anime, film/tv, as well as paid experiences and lots of exclusives. You can find all the fun stuff at https://www.findthemetaverse.com/.

A highlight is the 2020 Harvey Awards Ceremony tonight at 7:50PM EDT.
https://www.findthemetaverse.com/videos/_MW18JGRHko

There was some news that was released regarding a new project by Gail Simone and Jim Calafiore which is sponsored by the Travelers Insurance company. Simone broke the news of this heartwarming project that supports the campaign to reduce distracted driving on Twitter yesterday. Here is the thread to Gail’s storytime, but be warned you may need a tissue, or a box of them.


Boom! Studios

Power Rangers:

Boom! Studios has announce a few new comics this week. They include a new graphic novel in the Hasbro licenced Power Rangers universe called Power Rangers: Sins of the Future.

From the press release:

“BOOM! Studios, under license by Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS), today revealed a brand new look at the original graphic novel POWER RANGERS: SINS OF THE FUTURE, written by Matthew Erman (Bonding), with story by Trey Moore (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), illustrated by Giuseppe Cafaro (Saban’s Power Rangers: Soul of The Dragon), and lettered by Ed Dukeshire. This all-new graphic novel, available on October 28, 2020, features two of the most popular Rangers of all time and what happens to them after the events of the hit Power Rangers: Time Force television series!”

Continue reading “Comic News Roundup: Comics News for the week of 10/5/2020 -10/9/2020”

Brainiac On Banjo #085: Crossing The Stream

Brainiac On Banjo #085: Crossing The Stream

Star Wars! / Give me those Star Wars! / Nothing but… Star Wars / Don’t let them end — written by Nick Winters, 1977

With all the streaming at our fingertips, the entertainment business is making a lot of headlines promoting what they’re going to do once Earthlings return to mobility. But don’t get excited just yet: the only cameras operating right now are working Zoom and not Studio Binder. When Keith Richards self-quarantines, everyone should self-quarantine.

Next week’s launch of HBO Max has turned up the heat. Clearly, studios are concerned about competing for subscribers with promises of new content, which, at best, won’t appear until after the winter solstice. My take on HBO Max is simple: it’s goddamn expensive, and right now they’re running little but reruns. It’ll probably work out because they’re not promoting that fact. But reasonable bean-counters understand that few people are going to maintain subscriptions to HBO Max, Disney+, AppleTV, CBS All Access, Peacock Premium, and Amazon Prime – to name but a very few – all at once. That’s a lot of money, and it’s also more programming than one can handle. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo #085: Crossing The Stream”