Link Tank: Wonder Woman Director Patty Jenkins Thinks Streaming Movies Look Fake

Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has some choice words to describe movies that go straight to streaming. “Patty Jenkins is still very unhappy about how the release of Wonder Woman 1984 played out. Her second Wonder Woman movie came out in theaters and HBO Max simultaneously as part of Warner Bros.’ pandemic release deal with the streaming platform, and it failed to get as much attention as the first flick. We previously reported that the director had referred to the hybrid rollout as ‘heartbreaking’ and ‘the best choice of a bunch of very bad choices’ at CinemaCon.” Read more at…
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Dune Review: A Sci-Fi Legend Is Born

The spice melange is a psychotropic substance that floats across the surface of planet Arrakis like puffs of dandelions. This seems right since Denis Villeneuve’s interpretation of that world in Dune is similarly all-enveloping for any who lay eyes on it. It’s an experience intended to overwhelm and intoxicate. More than a few years have come and gone since a picture this vast in scope and immersive in intent has found the ambition (and financial support) to conquer multiplexes. But make no mistake, Dune is very much a film with conquest on its mind, both as a narrative and as…
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Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Final Season is a Bit of a Letdown

This article contains spoilers for Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 8 episodes 7 and 8. The uneven final season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine continues this week with two episodes that feel like by-the-numbers installments that do little to dramatically improve the feeling that Season 8 has been a disappointment. By trying to serve two masters — responsibly telling stories about policing in a post-George Floyd world while also telling silly detective stories — Brooklyn Nine-Nine has given viewers tonal whiplash.  The dramatic moments don’t quite land and can feel heavy-handed, while the laughs simply have been few and far between. While “Game of…
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Shang-Chi Soundtrack List: Every Song From the Movie Album

One is likely to have many thoughts flit through their head while watching Marvel’s latest epic origin story Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. “Wow, Tony Leung really is handsome.” “I didn’t realize [REDACTED] was going to be in this!” But chief among those thoughts is sure to be: “Am I crazy, or does this soundtrack slap?” Well dear, reader, you are not crazy. The soundtrack for Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings does, in fact, slap. Marvel apparently agrees as it was sure to release the 18-track album the moment the film premiered in theaters…
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Why Blowing Air Into NES Cartridges Is Gaming’s Greatest Urban Legend

Like many of you, I grew up never questioning the effectiveness of blowing air into an NES cartridge that wasn’t working. Not only did it just make sense at the time, but the fact that the method always seemed to work was all the confirmation I needed that it was retro gaming’s ultimate “lifehack.” Years later, though, I started to hear people question not only how this method became so popular in the first place but whether or not it ever actually worked. At first, the idea that someone would doubt the effectiveness of blowing air into an NES cartridge…
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The Real Martial Arts Behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

This article contains some minor spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In the pages of Marvel Comics, Shang-Chi is known as the “Master of Kung Fu.” So when Marvel Studios announced the character to help usher in MCU Phase 4, the one thought on every fan’s mind was that whoever gets cast in the lead role better really know Kung Fu.  In the wake of Netflix’s Iron Fist, Marvel’s other Kung Fu master, there was a lot of skepticism. Marvel had scored with the previous Netflix series Daredevil, which delivered some of the best small screen…
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School of Rock Still Shows Why We Need a Jack Black Movie Musical

School of Rock is back! On Netflix, that is. This is excellent news. If we can ignore the fact that Jack Black’s character Dewey Finn does some seriously illegal, borderline sociopathic stuff in the film’s story, while also tanking an entire school year for a classroom full of precocious kids, Richard Linklater and Mike White’s family film absolutely rocks our socks off. It’s a modern classic that has spawned a Broadway show, TV adaptation, and countless click-baity “What are the kids from School of Rock doing now?” articles. Of course the chief reason why this movie goes so hard is…
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Annette

Los Angeles, today. Henry (Adam Driver) is a stand-up comedian with a fierce sense of humor who falls in love with Ann (Marion Cotillard), a world-renowned opera singer. Under the spotlight, they form a passionate and glamorous couple. With the birth of their first child, Annette, a mysterious little girl with an exceptional destiny, their lives are turned upside down.Rated: RRelease Date: Aug 06, 2021
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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: What the Post Credits Scenes Mean for the MCU’s Future

The following article contains spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. With Black Widow set largely in the past, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is technically the feature film kickoff to Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the exception of the end credits scenes, it’s the first Phase 4 feature set in the aftermath of the Thanos Snap or Blip, and it introduces a set of characters and a region of the MCU that we have not yet explored. But like every Marvel movie, Shang-Chi also includes two scenes at the end…
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What We Do in the Shadows Season 3 Episode 1 Review: The Prisoner

This What We Do in the Shadows review contains spoilers. What We Do in the Shadows Season 3 Episode 1 What We Do in the Shadows season 3 episode 1, “The Prisoner,” moves quickly through the blood and raw meat left over from the slaughter of the season 2 finale, “Nouveau Théâtre des Vampires.” The episode is named for the faithful familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), who took out about 70 percent of the most powerful vampires in the Tri-State area. When the episode opens, he is being held in a cage while Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak), Nadja of Antipaxos,…
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What We Do in the Shadows Season 3 Episode 2 Review: The Cloak of Duplication

This What We Do in the Shadows review contains spoilers. What We Do in the Shadows Season 3 Episode2 What We Do in the Shadows  season 3 episode 2, “The Cloak of Duplication,” finds Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak) and Nadja of Antipaxos, (Natasia Demetriou) in a battle of will, strength, and endurance as they vie for the top seat of the local Vampiric Council. As the episode opens, it appears there is little middle ground for the two bloodsuckers. Nadja vows to fight to the very last ounce of her being to claw the top position from the former…
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What We Do in the Shadows Season 3: What is an Energy Vampire Anyway?

This article contains spoilers for What We Do in the Shadows season 3’s first two episodes. Boredom, tedious, tiresome, flat. These are not the first words which jump to mind when thinking of vampires or comedy, but What We Do in the Shadows wields them like secret weapons without sacrificing a single laugh or scare. The FX horror farce, which is a series adaptation of the 2014 feature film created by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, follows four vampires. They have been roommates since, well, forever, but one is different from the rest. Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak), Nadja of…
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Misha and the Wolves

A young orphaned girl survives the Holocaust by fleeing her home in search of her parents, escaping Nazis by sticking to the woods and living with wolves. Author Misha Defonseca’s story is an incredible one, and not just because of the wolves. Her memoir took the world by storm, but fallout with her publisher-turned-detective exposes the shocking truth beneath Misha’s deception. A real-life mystery unfolds, with a slate of characters individually revealing pieces of the puzzle in this stranger-than-fiction revelation. [Sundance]Rated: Not RatedRelease Date: Aug 11, 2021
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We Need to Do Something

After Melissa and her family seek shelter from a storm, they become trapped. With no sign of rescue, hours turn to days and Melissa comes to realize that she and her girlfriend Amy might have something to do with the horrors that threaten to tear her family - and the entire world, apart. Rated: NRRelease Date: Sep 03, 2021
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Could The Walking Dead: World Beyond Jadis Casting Set Up the Rick Grimes Movies?

Anne a.k.a. Jadis (Polly McIntosh) has come a long way on The Walking Dead. First introduced as a quite literal garbage person in The Walking Dead season 7, Jadis received the honor of being the character that brought Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) to safety so that he could live another day…and get his own spinoff movie franchise. Now the character is on to big things once again. AMC announced today that actress Polly McIntosh will return to the franchise and reprise her role as Jadis in The Walking Dead: World Beyond season 2. They also released a new trailer with…
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Does Netflix’s Red Notice Really Look Like a $200 Million Blockbuster?

If one were to devise a formula for box-office-breaking blockbusters, then Red Notice would resemble the hypothetical end product. How else would you describe a frenetic actioner bearing a buddy cop dynamic, headlined by the A-list trifecta of Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, with a budget believed to be in the range of $130 million to $200 million? However, this particular product has been long set to stream exclusively on Netflix, where it will stand as the streamer’s most expensive feature. Now, the release of the Red Notice trailer touts what that exorbitant bill has bought. The reluctant…
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Horizon Forbidden West Upgrade System Ignores PS5 Shortages

Sony has revealed how Horizon Forbidden West‘s PS4-to-PS5 upgrade system will work, and the details of this disappointing pre-order policy loom large over PlayStation’s upcoming September 9 PS5 showcase event. Horizon Forbidden West will launch on February 18, 2022, for PS4 and PS5. If you buy the Standard or Special Editions of the game for PS4 (which cost $59.99 and $69.99, respectively), you will not receive access to the equivalent PS5 versions of the game. You will still be able to play those PS4 versions of the game on PS5, but they will not benefit from any of the enhancements…
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An A.P. Bio Season 4 Episode Guide with Showrunner Mike O’Brien

Fittingly for a show about high school, A.P. Bio’s writers are often tasked with the least enjoyable aspect of education: homework. “One of the ways we try to find new areas in stories is just by writing assignments and homework,” A.P. Bio showrunner Mike O’Brien tells Den of Geek. “We’ll all go home and write. I often call them sketches or scenes – just some little thing.” O’Brien’s homework assignments have apparently paid off as they’ve allowed the comedy to reach four seasons, the first two of which aired on NBC and the following two on streaming service Peacock.  A.P.…
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The Best Digimon Cards and Decks for TCG Tournaments

This article is part of our Collector’s Digest editorial series powered by: The new Digimon TCG finally made its English debut earlier this year, and it’s already making a name for itself. More players flock to the game with the release of each new set, and a real tournament scene is starting to heat up.  If you want to enter a tournament and make real waves, you can’t just play with any old deck. Here’s a look at some decks making waves in the Digimon TCG scene and how to put them together: Rookie Rush Average overall price: $100-200 If…
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How Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms Delivers a Real Mortal Kombat 2 Movie

When Mortal Kombat II hit the arcades in 1993, it was a massive hit. It took the first game, improved the gameplay, and gave us more of the gore and dark humor we loved. Plus: more fighters, more ninjas, more Fatalities, more finishing moves, more secrets, and better visuals. It solidified the franchise’s hold on pop culture, and even convinced Nintendo that including a little blood and gore in a video game isn’t the worst thing in the world. Two other things that really helped kick things up a notch were the game’s atmosphere and story. The first Mortal Kombat…
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