World’s Best Media

What I Want to See: Jumanji

Published on December 10, 2017November 17, 2020 by Michael Christopher Cole5 Comments

When Jumanji came out in 1995, I was eleven years old, and my Aunt Amy and Uncle Mike brought me and my little sister to see it, and it was awesome. This was possibly the most intense action movie we had seen at that time, and we hadn’t even broken any rules watching it, it was for us!

At the end of the movie, there was a very clear lead in to a sequel, with the board game being found on a beach, and so as it fades to black the whole audience thinks “oh here we go again!”

But this was before it was obligatory that all blockbusters became franchises, and perhaps it wasn’t the box office behemoth I assumed it was, so we never got a sequel. …Until now!

Now, you’ve probably seen the trailer for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, starring Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Dwayne Johnson. From what I have gathered, I am the only one excited for this film, but that’s because I’m the only one who is right.

Here’s the deal, the original Jumanji, was about a board game which pulled one character into it, and eventually spit all of the world of the game out of it into the real world. It was pretty cool, but ultimately it was grounded in the real world, and personally I always wanted to see the world of Jumanji. Then we got the cartoon, and in that we saw the characters of the film go into the game, and it didn’t quite make sense with the continuity but it was still cool.

Welcome to the Jungle!

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, is a video game that sucks four teenagers in, putting them into the bodies of the game’s avatars. The fact that it’s a video game and not the original board game seems to be a major point of contention for people, but honestly we have Monopoly video games, and Lego video games, and all kinds of video games that might seem redundant or unnecessary, so why not magically possessed adventure games in both formats?

There have been reports that Robin Williams’ character will have left an imprint on the game, which means it falls into the same continuity, and I have to be honest, I’m psyched. Jumanji is a great concept, and I don’t think they fully actualized it in the first film, in fact I even liked Zathura, which was just space Jumanji.

One of the cool things about this concept, is that it opens up what they can do with Jumanji. We could see all manners of jungle beasts imagined and real, in a human killing rampage of nature. There are many different terrains the world of Jumanji can inhabit, and so maybe in this movie it’s just Amazonian style jungle, but there are going to be sequels (if it makes enough money, and it has The Rock, so lets face it, it will). That’s the great part about the video game avatars, is that we could have the cast for a full trilogy, but not necessarily have the characters be the same throughout.

In addition to wanting a lot of world building, and exploration of that world, I want cameos. I want Bonnie Hunt, or Kirsten Dunst, or that other kid. I want this film to be the clear baton passing, and then after that, we get to the new Jumanji franchise. Kill off Han Solo in the first film, and move on. That’s what I want to see!

I totally want to see this guy pop up again!

STAR WARS RETROSPECTIVE (Part 7) EPISODE VII THE FORCE AWAKENS

Published on December 8, 2017November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey everybody,

So here it is, our final entry in our look back at the epic Star Wars saga. Thank you so much for reading and supporting this series of articles. Everyone involved has had a blast doing it and we hope to do something similar in the future. I also want to personally thank the writers who contributed to the series. Thank you, guys! You all did a great job. Now all that’s left is to see the new movie! I know I have my tickets to Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi! May The Force Be With You…

-Paul

Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens Written by Paul Wright

We never thought it would happen. A promise 40 years in the making. The fabled final 3rd act in an epic 9 part Saga. We knew that Anakin and The Republic’s story in the prequels would ultimately, inevitably end in tragedy. Now a new, uncharted story awaited us…

I don’t remember when I realized “This is really going to happen. We are getting the final 3 films.”. As I’ve always said seeing Star Wars films have always been deeply personal experiences for me and I was thrilled that as I entered a new chapter in my own life that I’d get to share in The Star War Saga with my friends and family once again. They thrilled me as a kid with the re-released Special Editions, The Prequels illicit many fond memories from my high school and college years, but now I’d get to experience the Saga as an adult. It’s a great feeling.

I do remember the excitement leading up to The Force Awakens. I remember that first incredible teaser released over a year before the film opened. Man, if there’s one thing Star Wars is incredible at, it’s the art of teaser trailers: Andy Serkis’ voice over. A panicked looking stormtrooper, a droid shaped like a ball, a girl on a big speeder, and of course a snow cover landscape with a dark figure unsheathing a red lightsaber with a cross guard. Then… BOOM The Millenium Falcon being chased by tie fighters. The trailer said “Here’s something new, but it’s continuing the story you love.” The idea of watching the fall of the Jedi and Anakin Skywalker’s decent into Vader was interesting (at least on paper). But there were a lot of questions left unanswered after Return of The Jedi and all our key characters were still in play. Finally we’d see that story.

As soon as I heard J.J. Abrams was the director, I knew we were in good hands. I remember him being interviewed for his first Star Trek movie and saying that he wasn’t a Star Trek fan, but Star Wars was why he became a film maker. In fact, if you look back on almost all of his work, he constantly brings up Star Wars as his reason for being a film maker. Personally, I think he did a hell of a job. The worst thing that could have happened would have been if The Force Awakens was… fine. Just a movie, just OK. Terrible is better than “OK” in a strange way. But he didn’t do that, he made a Star Wars film and one of the great Star Wars films at that. Yes the film has it’s flaws, but the movie is exactly what it needs to: a great start to a new trilogy.

What makes this movie work so well is its characters, both new and old. We all fell in love with Rey and Finn. Poe was cool enough, we’d see more from him in subsequent films. Kylo Ren gave us another truly great Star Wars villain. Everyone’s favorite Princess was now General Organa. In hindsight, I like what they did with Luke, it gave us that much more anticipation for the next Episode without being a true cliffhanger. But the man who stole the show was the smuggler who made The Kessel Run in 12 Parsecs…

There are so many things I could bring up and analyze with this film, but today I’m going to focus on one aspect a little more than the others: The Solo family (mainly Han and Kylo Ren AKA Ben Solo.

One of my favorite parts of this film is how Han Solo is portrayed and especially how Harrison Ford plays him. It’s been no secret that Ford has no great love for the Star Wars franchise. I was surprised he agreed to do The Force Awakens, but I think it was a great idea for Ford as an actor. He’s alive in this character and in this film in a way we hadn’t seen him in far too long. It was like, Holy shit, Harrison Ford… its good to have you back. This was not the Han Solo of the Original Trilogy. The thirty years had changed him, this was a man with more depth and perspective than the cowboy smuggler we new and loved. But the cowboy smuggler was still there.

This films biggest weakness is it’s plot. As so many other have said, when it comes to the story, it might as well be a remake of A New Hope. But in one of my favorite scenes of the film, when Han, Chewie, Finn, and Rey are on The Millenum Falcon, that “weakness” actually helps the movie to give us one hell of a great character moment:

Han Solo: This map’s not complete. It’s just a piece. Ever since Luke disappeared, people have been looking for him.
Rey: Why did he leave?
Han Solo: He was training a new generation of Jedi. One boy, an apprentice, turned against him, destroyed it all. Luke felt responsible. He just walked away from everything.
Finn: Do you know what happened to him?
Han Solo: A lot of rumors. Stories. People that knew him best think he went looking for the first Jedi temple.
Rey: The Jedi were real?
Han Solo: I used to wonder about that myself. Thought it was a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. A magical power holding together good and evil, the dark side and the light. Crazy thing is… it’s true. The Force. The Jedi… All of it… It’s all true.

What’s wonderful about this scene is that it brings Han’s story full circle. 40 years ago he stood in almost the same spot and called The Force bullshit to Ben Kenobi. Which gives me the perfect opportunity to point out how significant it was that Han and Leia chose to name their son Ben. This goes back to that new depth to Han that I spoke about before. I think that naming his son Ben was almost certainly Han’s idea, not Leia’s. Leia knew him more as the fabled General Obi-Wan Kenobi The Jedi warrior who fought in The Clones Wars, Han was the one who knew him as Ben in the short time they spent in each other’s lives. This tells the audience that the massive impact Old Ben Kenobi had on his life, was not lost on Han. This old man who Han dismissed as a fool set Han on the path that would define him. The path that led him to everything in his life that mattered. They spend such little time on screen together that fans forget how important Han Solo meeting Obi-Wan Kenobi was. But Han didn’t forget.

Ben Solo AKA Kylo Ren played brilliantly by Adam Driver has the potential to be one of the most complicated, interesting, and best characters in the Saga. As far as I’m concerned he’s already great. But depending on where the story takes him, by the end of the trilogy, he could become iconic. I always felt like this was how Anakin should have been portrayed in the prequels. What made Kylo Ren unique was his struggle not with the dark side, but with his better nature.

That was take on a dark force user that we hadn’t seen before. He saw the light as something tempting him off his path, where the dark side was so easy to slip onto for so many others.

I knew Harrison Ford would die in this movie the second I’d heard he signed on. There was no way he was going to stick around for two more films (they’re lucky they got him for this one). So I knew walking into the theatre, that’d we’d probably be saying goodbye to one of the most beloved characters in cinematic history.

As death’s of legendary characters go, it’s fine I suppose. Killed by his son and falling into an abyss. I still don’t know if Ben Solo intended to kill his father no matter. Had Ben Solo known what he was going to as soon as Han stepped onto that catwalk. Was Han getting through to him or was this the only way that confrontation could play put? I think there was doubt there in Ben Solo. The Dark and The Light inside of him pushing and pulling. Who knows? Unfortunately we all know the choice he makes…
Will he find some sort of redemption like his grandfather did? Does he even deserve redemption?

In the end, what makes The Force Awakens a great chapter in the Star Wars Saga is the magic. It manages to tap into the moments of wonder, the excellent characters, and excitement that make a great Star Wars movie. The stage has been set for Episode VIII. I hope The Last Jedi is The Empire Strikes Back of the new trilogy. All I know is that I can’t wait to visit this world and these characters again.

May The Force Be With You…

(To my female readers.. I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it)

EW.COM Has The First Look at X-Men Dark Phoenix

Published on December 8, 2017November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Check out http://www.ew.com for the full article

Doctor Who: An Introduction to the Whoniverse

Published on December 7, 2017November 17, 2020 by Michael Christopher Cole1 Comment

Doctor Who, is one of my favorite sci-fi shows, and I wanted to write a little about it now, in case there are any non-Who fan’s that might be interested in getting into it. I think I may be the only one here at World’s Best Media who is a fan of the Doctor, and so I’ll be your guide to the Whoniverse.

First, I want to let you know a few things about Doctor Who. The name of the show is a joke, the main character is only known by the name “the Doctor” which often prompts new characters to ask “Doctor Who.” This will be important because if I refer to “Doctor Who,” I mean the show, and if I refer to “the Doctor” I mean the character.

Doctor Who first aired November 23^rd 1963, and continued until 1989 before being canceled. There was then a 1996 reboot/continuation movie which failed, and finally a series reboot/continuation in 2005, which is currently still going on.

The Doctor is a time-traveling alien from the planet Gallifrey, and a race known as the Time-Lords. When the show started, episodes in which they traveled to the past were largely educational teaching history, and when they would travel to the future they would teach about science and technology. Eventually, the show became more or less, just entertainment.

When the first actor to play the Doctor (William Hartnell) became too ill to continue on the show, the producers had to come up with a way of replacing him, which wouldn’t cause too much disruption to the show itself. Their idea, was that Time-Lords (not referred to as such until later) were able to ‘regenerate’ into a new body. This over the last 54 years has allowed for multiple actors playing the Doctor to cross paths, and for the show to go through mini soft reboots of the character every time. The Doctor isn’t entirely the same man, with the same quirks across multiple bodies, which has allowed for actors to play the character differently, and allows it to remain fresh.

Now, my own knowledge of Doctor Who, mainly focuses on the series starting in 2005, although I have made a point of watching some episodes from each of the previous incarnations. As of today, we’re on the 12^th version of the Doctor (except for one that was retconned in known as The War Doctor), but on this year’s Christmas special we will get the 13^th Doctor, and the first female to play the Doctor. I’ll talk more about her in a “What I Want to See: Doctor Who” which I’m planning to be out sometime later this month.

Last think you should know about the plot and structure, is the TARDIS, which is the Doctor’s time-machine, space-ship, friend, and occasional lover. It’s the blue police box that you see at Newbury Comics, or on Facebook. It is essentially an all-powerful vehicle for the Doctor’s personal use. Also, it’s bigger on the inside.

Alright, so know you know the idea of the Doctor, and the tenure of the show, but what I want to talk about is the tone of the show. The show is very much a serialized show, which follows story archs across episodes and seasons, but the tone is not necessarily. The tone can vary from episode to episode, in a way that is similar to something more like an anthology. Some episodes are whimsical and silly, like the works of Douglas Adams (Adams wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but also wrote for Doctor Who in the 80’s) or more serious and dramatic, showing off the Doctor’s emotional range, and then there are some very scary horror episodes.

I thought it might be helpful, if I recommended some episodes based on these different breakdowns, so you can get a sense not only of the character, but of the different tonal shifts. It’s kind of a long list, but I’m covering about 10 years (you’re welcome for not trying to cover 54) worth of TV spanning 4 actors.

So here’s the list:

Rose- Season 1, episode 1. This episode serves to introduce a new generation to Doctor Who. It is a little bit goofy, a little bit dramatic, fast paced, and kind of manages to fit so much of what Doctor Who is into an hour. It also starts us off with Christopher Eccleston who is the Ninth version of the Doctor, as well as introducing us to Rose, whom is his companion. (The Doctor always has a companion, typically a young woman.)
Dalek- Season 1, episode 6. This introduces us to the Dalek, which is a race of armored aliens, which are arguably the quintessential Doctor Who villains. In this episode we also get to see a combination of the Doctor’s wrath as well as the Doctor’s compassion.
Father’s Day- Season 1, episode 8. The reason I’m suggesting this one, is that it goes into 2 things that the show really has a great opportunity to do. They get to tell intricate time-travel stories which are both using the time travel as a plot device, as well as using it as a genuine part of the story. Also it’s a really touching story of the redemption of a character who wouldn’t have had one without time travel.
The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances- Season 1, Episodes 9 and 10. This is a two part story, and it is simultaneously in the top 5 scariest Doctor Who episodes, and a genuinely heart-warming story. I can’t tell you too much about it without giving away too much, but if you want an idea of how creepy it is, imagine a young child in 1940’s England with a gasmask stuck on his face asking everyone “Are you my mummy?” I cannot even do an impression of that voice without my wife getting mad at how creeped out she is!

The Christmas Invasion- Season 2, Episode 0. This is the first episode with David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, and while the plot is somewhat dumb in this episode, it’s a big tonal shift from the previous episodes, and it shows all of the range that David Tennant is going to have as the Doctor. Also it has one of my all-time favorite jokes in the show’s run.
Army of Ghosts, Doomsday- Season 2, Episode 12 and 13. Another two part story (Doctor Who loves 2 part stories), is perhaps best watched after having had seasons 1 and 2 fully ingested to appreciate, but there are a lot of memes that you’ll understand better after these episodes.
Human Nature and The Family of Blood- Season 3, Episode 8 and 9. This two parter is WWI era, and the Doctor thinks he is a human and not a time-lord. It shows a huge moral conflict, and some of the more sinister human villains in the show’s run. This leans on the dramatic/scary side of things.
Blink- Season 3, Episode 10. This is a very Doctor-lite episode, and is very much a stand-alone episode, with the only real piece that ever has relevance again being the villains it introduces. If you’re looking for something scary with an interesting time-travel structure, this is the best episode to start with. Many people have done lists of Doctor Who episodes, and this is routinely placed as the best single episode, or the best episode to show a non-Who fan to try to show them. It’s undeniably great.

The Doctor’s Daughter- Season 4, Episode 6. Some of the episodes on this list are cool in a way that can’t fully be explained, and the only thing that I can specifically point to in this episode is the Doctor’s monologue at the end, but it’s an episode on a future planet with a society of people being cloned rapidly, and killed rapidly in a war they don’t even understand. Honestly, just a cool episode.
Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead- Season 4, Episodes 8 and 9. This episode tells the story of 2 time-travelers, the Doctor, and River Song, who meet while heading in opposite directions via time travel. I don’t want to tell too much about the structure, but at the time that I watched these episodes, this was the most innovative time-travel concept I had seen, and I think still may be.
Midnight- Season 4, episode 10. This is another stand-alone horror episode. I have only watched it once, because whenever my wife and I rewatch the series, she makes me skip over this one, because it creeps her out too much (I think worse than the gasmasks). It’s about an alien virus which takes over a human host on a resort planet’s ‘excursion’ to a diamond waterfall. The whole episode basically takes place in a space version of a tour-bus, and if you’re not genuinely creeped out by it, you should get checked out.
The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End- Season 4, episode 12 and 13. It wraps up some story-lines, and it gives characters their moment to shine, and is a bigger deal than when Eccleston left (because he didn’t like doing the show).
The Eleventh Hour- Season 5, episode 1. This is your introduction to Matt Smith, the eleventh Doctor, the newest companion (Karen Gillan), and it’s a pretty cool episode. It tends to land on the goofier end of things, with the new Doctor making lots of goofy jokes, and with a little more sexual humor (nothing too risqué) than most other episodes. You may not fall in love with the 11^th Doctor in this episode, but maybe you’ll fall in love with Amelia Pond.
Vincent and the Doctor- Season 5, Episode 10. Honestly, the ‘bad guy/monster’ in this episode isn’t the highlight, in fact 7 times out of 10 on Doctor Who the monster isn’t the highlight, but in this episode the Doctor and Amelia, meet Vincent Van Gogh, and their interactions with him are amazing examples of character work.

The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang- Season 5, episodes 12 and 13. These two episodes include appearances by nearly every alien race that the Doctor has faced, a really cool time travel structure (this might be the one that trumps the Silence in the Library and The Forest of the Dead), it has huge stakes and the Doctor delivers a kick-ass monologue. These 2 episodes might be the highlight of Matt Smith as the Doctor.
All of Season 6. Matt Smith isn’t a bad doctor, but he comes immediately after arguably the best doctor, and so it takes a little while to fully get on the Matt Smith train. The 2 part finale of season 5 gets us there, and then season 6 has an over-arching story that is the best season in the shows run. I can’t really emphasize enough that this whole season is a gem. You have the doctor thinking he’s a cowboy, you start off the season and end the season in roughly the same place, with something catastrophic happening, and the whole season fills in the blanks of how you get there. There are guest appearances by Richard Nixon, and one of the creepiest new alien races that the Doctor has to face off against. Sorry, can’t give you any specific episodes. I will however, tell you to skip all of season 7 to make up for the abundance of episodes I’m throwing at you.
Time Heist- Season 8, episode 5. Does the title not sell you on it? It’s a time-travel heist film in just an hour! It’s the first on my list featuring the twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi. That’s all you’re getting.
Flatline- Season 8, episode 9. Honestly, just a really cool Twilight Zone style scifi episode, where the concept is the selling point. Basically, due to dimensional breakdown (like 3D turning into 2D) the Doctor is trapped in his TARDIS, and his newest companion Clara, has to help him get out.
The Husbands of River Song- Season 9, episode 13. This ends up being a companion piece to The Silence in the Library and The Forest of the Dead, but I can’t tell you anymore, because of “Spoilers!”
Pilot- Season 10, episode 1. This is an episode which introduces us to another new companion, Bill (Pearl Mackie) and it might be the saddest episode, but character-wise it’s incredible. Bill, a young lesbian woman living in a foster home as a young adult, is just about the saddest and loneliest character the show has.
Extremis- Season 10, episode 6. This has some amazing work by both Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie, as well as Matt Lucas who plays Nardole. Matt Lucas as Nardole plays off as almost a perfect impression of the Doctor, but he’s almost always relegated to manning the TARDIS. I suspect he was cast because he would make an excellent Doctor if it weren’t for all of the physical toll that the role entails (both Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi had to have knee surgery from all of the running.)

With that, you’ll have an idea of what the show is. I do recommend watching in its entirety, but if you’re just looking to get an idea and start off before Jodie Whitaker takes over the role, these are my suggestions.

Podcast: The Universe’s Greatest Superheroes & Super Villains (Part 2)

Published on December 5, 2017November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey, everybody!

Tim and I finish up our discussion of the best superheroes and super villains of all time and shit gets real deep. Infinity Gauntlets, the nature of good and evil, and we’re pretty sure we caught a ghost on tape! So keep an ear out for that! At the very least, it better than Part 1, so there’s nowhere to go but up! It’s a good one! Listen here or subscribe on iTunes:

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13446238

What I Want to See: Trollhunters

Published on December 2, 2017November 17, 2020 by Michael Christopher Cole1 Comment

You might not have heard of Dreamworks’ animated show Trollhunters on Netflix. Until I talked to Paul about potentially writing about it on here, I wasn’t aware of anyone I knew who had watched it, other than myself. But it’s a great show, and I cannot recommend it enough. I started watching it, because I wanted to watch something that would keep my son’s attention (he was 9 months old when we began season 1) but wasn’t so inane that I would go blank behind the eyes. So, when I saw the poster on Netflix, and it boasted that it was created by Guillermo del Toro (director of Hellboy 1 & 2, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Pacific Rim) I thought it might be a good fit for us.

Trollhunters, is an action adventure cartoon that I think pretty much all ages can enjoy. It tells the story of Jim Lake Jr. who becomes the first human ever to become a trollhunter, when the previous trollhunter is killed in action. (These aren’t really spoilers as it’s kind of all revealed in the first 5 minutes of episode one.) Jim is in high school, and much like other YA fiction, he is thrust into a world that mixes his normal growing up troubles with life and death stakes. In this way, it’s not too original, but it is fun!

Trollhunters, thrives in it’s characters. Jim is less steadfast than a typical Harry Potter kind of protagonist, but is a more believable teen for it, and it makes the call to responsibility even more impressive. Toby, his best friend, plays on the typical scared side-kick trope, while at the same time being a total bad-ass, which shines through in his ability to help out with Jim’s training, and his own desire to do the right thing. Blinky and AAARRRGGHH!!! (that’s how IMDb spells it) are my two favorite characters, because they are the trolls who are tasked with helping Jim to become the trollhunter that the good troll community needs him to be. Blinky is voiced by Kelsey Grammer, and it is endlessly amusing to hear him read lines that seem so silly, with such gravitas.

So, what do I want to see with Trollhunters? Well, in order to answer that, I need to explain something. Jim, is voiced by Anton Yelchin, who died in an accident more than a year ago. Yelchin had finished recording season one by the time he died, but until recently, I hadn’t realized that he had also recorded (not sure if it’s complete or there is some patchwork with another actor) season two.

Yelchin does a great job voicing Jim, but I don’t think he has to be the voice. That is where I come to my point. I’m glad we get two seasons of Anton Yelchin, but I really hope, that Trollhunters is going where it naturally would have, had Yelchin lived. His death was tragic, and I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way, but as far as the story is concerned, I don’t want it to shift to reflect his death.

It’s something that many TV shows, and movies have to deal with, this idea that if someone dies, they have to figure out how to move on with their story, and unfortunately it seems to rarely work out well. When Heath Ledger died for example, he was working on the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, and in order to finish the movie, they recast with Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and Colin Farrell. Because of the nature of the story, it didn’t seem to have too significant of an effect on the movie (which seemed like it may have been a mess regardless) but look at the other posthumous Ledger movie, The Dark Knight. Sure, Ledger had finished The Dark Knight, and so that movie remains untarnished by the flaws of a mid production death, but as a franchise, what would the third film have been had Ledger lived? It’s something I’ve wondered since before The Dark Knight Rises was released.

The point is this, Anton Yelchin is great in this role, but ultimately, we don’t have a Ledger situation, where recasting seems sacrilegious, we have a voice over of a teenage character, and there are a lot of ways of adjusting to a new actor, without being disrespectful to Yelchin, and without having to shift the storyline, or the tone of the story.

Check out Trollhunters on Netflix if you watch the first episode, you’ll get the feel for the show, and I think you’ll fall in love with it! Season two comes out on December 15.

First Look: Robin from the upcoming live action Teen Titans series

Published on December 2, 2017November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Warner Bros is starting their own DC TV streaming service in 2018 (the way we watch TV is about to get real fucking weird. Stay tuned for more from me on that). Among the original content set to debut on this streaming is Season 3 of the incredible and beloved Young Justice Animated series. As well as a live action Teen Titans series. Now we have our first look at the Titan’s team leader and by far it’s most well known member, Dick Grayson AKA Robin:

Robin is being played by Brenton Thwaites best known for being the poor bastard who had to run around with Johnny Depp on most recent Pirates of The Caribbean movie. A few years back he starred in a great little sci-if film called The Signal, which is pretty cool and underrated. Definitely check it out if you can. I was happy with this casting because he’s more or less the right age, he certainly looks the part, and even when he’s been in some movies that are complete DOG SHIT he’s always likable and the quality of some of the horrible movies he’s been in have had nothing to do with his performance.

The mask is a little “wonky”, but otherwise I really dig the costume. It definitely seems to be inspired by the Batman Arkham video games, which is a good thing. It’ll be interesting to see how well some of the other Titans translate to another medium. The roster includes Starfire, Beast Boy, Hawk, Dove, and maybe Raven, but I’m not 100% certain about that last one.

Bottom line for me is obviously I’m very intrigued to see how theyll handle translating this to TV. Dick Grayson is one of my favorite DC characters so I’m really excited to see DC using him in live action. This is the only time we’ve seen him in live action besides Chis O’Donnel playing him in the good awful, franchise killing Batman Forver and Batman and Robin. Side Note: I mean, Chris O’Donnell is like 30 fucking year old in that first flick. So Bruce Wayne just decided to adobt an adult man. That’s a pretty fucking bizarre scenario. If you follow this site at all you know they’ve already got me hook, line, and sinker. Of course I’m going to watch this fucking show.

(Chris O’Donnell’s face in this pic looks like he just saw himself in a mirror)

I’ll be interested to see how this ties into the DC Universe. Will it be it own thing, with it’s own version of Batman, The Joker, etc.? Will it be in the DCEU? Or is it part of The CW’s Arrow-verse? Who know? But I’m looking forward to finding out.

Teen Titans will premiere on Warner Bros. DC TV streaming service sometime in 2018.

Thanks as always for reading!

-Paul

STAR WARS RETROSPECTIVE (PART 6) EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI

Published on November 30, 2017November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hi everybody,

First of all thank you all so much supporting this series of articles. We had a great time putting them together. We’re really getting down to the wire here because today our article is on Star Wars Episode VI Return of The Jedi. I originally asked Marc Rodolfo, the author of today’s article, to just right the article for Episode VI. But I thought it was so damn good, that I asked him to write the Empire Strikes Back article, which we published last week. So this is absolutely one of my favorite articles in this series ( I feel like I say that for every piece because all of them are so damn good, I love them all!). Please enjoy!

– Paul

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of The Jedi written by Marc Rodolfo

Cartoons and Carbonite: A Reflection on Return of the Jedi

I hated Return of the Jedi the first time I saw it. Strange, I know. Especially since I am now such a huge Star Wars fan. But there was a reason for my initial ignorance; Return of the Jedi was the first Star Wars movie I had ever seen. And because it was the first Star Wars movie I had ever seen, I had absolutely no fucking clue what the hell was going on.
At the behest of my mother, I was told over and over “you should watch this movie,” and my mother, bless her heart and all that, didn’t quite remember that Star Wars was a trilogy and that Jedi was the end of that trilogy. See this was the early 90’s before the word “Prequel” became so dirty, and at a time when the words “Special Edition” were still just a mere twinkling in daddy Lucas’ eyes. Star Wars had hit a lull in popularity and at the time, it wasn’t quite on my burgeoning nerd radar. Star Wars, to early 90’s me anyway, was nerd stuff. I had better things to do like watch Batman the Animated Series, or the saturday morning Spider-Man cartoon, or set-up and play out elaborate and dramatic scenes with my action figures from the aforementioned shows. Yeah, Star Wars was nerd stuff and I was, decidedly, not a nerd. Denial is a funny thing.

Anyway, I ultimately gave in to my mother’s suggestions and we went to the video store to rent a VHS copy of pre-special edition Return of the Jedi. If I had been less moody that day, maybe I would have noticed that what sat right next to Jedi on the rack were VHS copies of The Empire Strikes Back and A New Hope; and yes, it was called A New Hope back then. Lucas began his artistic OCD in 81’ with Star Wars’ first re-release. But I was a little jerk back then and DID NOT want to watch some old movie with crappy special effects. Hell, I had just seen Jurassic Park. The dinosaurs looked like they were pulled right out of the past and plopped on a Hollywood soundstage. The rancor…looked like something out of a nightmare version of a christmas special. It was some cheesy claymation crap that made me cringe instead of fear for Luke’s life.

And that…is exactly where I stopped watching. Right at the rancor. I shut it off and counted the days until Jurassic Park would release on VHS. Jedi just couldn’t hold my interest. Besides having no idea what was going on, not knowing who these weird looking robots were, or why Indiana Jones was frozen like he was about to get hit by a car, or what that gross looking slug was all about, or why this guy dressed all in black was talking like some bad ass when he looked like anything but a badass, this stop animation monster was in no way as realistic as the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. I had my fingers stuck in my ears and my feet firmly planted in the ground.

It wasn’t until years later that the trailers for Episode IV dropped in all their special edition glory. “Wait a minute,” I said to myself, “how do I know these characters?” I even remember getting in a short lived tiff with my mother. Now I knew. Now I knew that you weren’t supposed to start with Jedi. How could she have done this to me? Start me off with the END of a story? It was like reading Return of the King without Fellowship, or A Storm of Swords without A Game of Thrones. A New Hope was first. Duh! THAT is why I couldn’t get into Jedi. That is why I spurned it and didn’t give it a chance. And that really was the reason I never liked the movie. Eventually, I saw A New Hope and I fell in love; the rest of the trilogy came after and I fell further into the fandom.

At the time, there not being an internet community to bitch about everything, people actually seemed excited. Star Wars was getting re-released (re-re-released?) and in the way George Lucas originally intended. The special effects were getting cleaned up, the creatures actually looked as realistic as the dinos, and all the little nuances were being perfected. It was time to embrace Star Wars. Of course, this was all in preparation for The Phantom Menace which had hyped me even further, but the excitement was real. I became a Star Wars fan and Jedi, a movie I once “hated,” became my favorite.

Why did I love it so dearly? Jedi was the redemption story for one of, if not, the greatest villains of all time (rivalled only by the Joker). The feeling of finally seeing what was under the mask of Darth Vader was indescribable; I was both alleviated that he was just another guy and saddened that he wasn’t something more.

Yet, I loved every bit of Return of the Jedi. I loved the Max Rebo band’s new song, as corny as it was. I loved the sarlacc’s beak coming out of the pit. I even loved the “Victory Celebration” song that replaced “Yub Nub.” In fact, “Yub Nub” can go screw. I even loved the damn ewoks, as crappy as they seem now. It was also when I fell in love with Leia. Yeah, sure there was the golden bikini and all, but seeing her in the army digs later in the movie during the Battle of Endor, is what really made me fall for her. This cemented my appreciation for a strong woman that wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty and kick some ass when she needed to; Linda Hamilton and Sigourney Weaver were on that list too.

Many complain about the changes of the special edition episodes today, but I was never disillusioned by them. Jedi was a perfect movie in every way. Though I will admit, that as I have grown older, Empire has replaced it as my favorite. As Dante from Clerks said, “[Empire] ends on such a down note. That’s all life is: a series of down endings.” It’s interesting that Jedi was my favorite as a kid and now, as an adult, Empire, the darker of the two, has become my favorite. If that’s not a metaphor for…something I don’t know what is. But Jedi will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s a movie that taught me to give things a second chance, to not judge right away, to embrace my nerdom, to love princesses that kick as much ass as the princes, and to have an appreciation and love for old cinema.

May The Force Be With You…

Avengers: Infinity War Trailer! With Commentary from Paul!

Published on November 30, 2017November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Here it is! At last…. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR! Here’s the full trailer and below I recorded a little commentary. So pull up the trailer on a another device and play my commentary to go along with it! Friends, this looks fucking mind blowing…

My commentary:

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13469212

Podcast: The Greatest Superheroes & Supervillains Of All Time (Part 1)

Published on November 28, 2017November 17, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwright2 Comments

Dr. Paul Wright of S.T.A.R. Labs (Formally with The Baxter Building) leading expert of Metahuman biology and Prof. Timothy Cuff of Arkham Asylum, the world’s premiere mind on vigilante psychology, came together to put together the DEFINITIVE list of the greatest super heroes and super villains in this 2-part symposium. Please enjoy! Listen here or on iTunes:

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/13446054