Volts48

hyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyype

Stone Ocean confirmed.

About f***ing time!

Five years ago, David Bowie lost his battle with liver cancer at the age of 69. In many ways, his loss was a perfect allegory for 2016.

I can't say I was a huge fan of David Bowie before his death, I was familiar with his singles from the 70s, my dad certainly did his best to get me interested in him, but I didn't really get Bowie growing up.

It was only after his passing, spending time with my dad, going over his old copies of David Bowie's albums, the stuff that had the non-singles that I grew to really see the creative genius of his work. He was an artist who was never truly satisfied sticking to one genre and feeling boxed in to produce the same record again and again.

He was audacious. He was creative.

He was, in no better terms, an original.

There was this tweet that I read a day after he died that I memorized because it felt like a perfect descriptive for the man and what a massive loss it was to lose him.

"We could lose Matt Damon and have another one of him the next day.

We will never have another David Bowie."

Perhaps it's through the passing of creative minds like him that we finally recognize the unsung genius of his work and we see just how much more he could've given us all if he had more time.

But then again, perhaps it's through his final album, "Blackstar," we get to see that genius on display and experience that genius, and the heartbreak, again and again.

I remember the first time I sat down to listen to the album with my dad, we were doing really well, my dad admiring the unconventional use of saxophones used throughout the album, but it was at the album's finale, "I Can't Give Everything Away" that I finally broke down.

The whole album felt...so self-reflective and so personal. A candid admission of himself and his personal doubts and acceptance of his time coming to an end...

And he was, almost having to apologize to his fans and family that "he couldn't give them everything."

You're wrong, David.

You gave us so much, that we kept demanding more and more without giving back in return.

And so long as we continue to share your wonderful works and share in the admiration of your brilliance, you'll never have to apologize.

Please...please tell me you're all okay or at least someplace safe.

At the time of writing this, 7 people have been killed by these wildfires raging through California, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Colorado and Washington State.

One of them was just a 1 year old child found in the burnt remains of a car.

Christ...I can't even...I don't want to even...

Please, Please, for anyone watching this page...please let me know you're okay. Even if you're not in the range of the fires or you don't live on the West Coast, I just...I just need to know if people are okay.

Been forever since I've said anything regarding film and television media, and there were obvious reasons for this. With Covid-19 having crippled the economy and more or less left the film industry in a spiralling freefall of uncertainty whether or not there is even a future for budding film-makers, actors, editors, etc. Of course even in these uncertain times as movies are being released for video on demand and streaming services, there is a possibility that the film industry will shift in a different direction.

Time can only tell, but one thing is for certain, the trailers that were revealed at DC FanDome this year, a virtual event done completely online with actors, producers and directors all streaming from home to speak to fans and discuss future projects coming out of Warner Bros and DC Comics.

Some of them look exciting and instill a sense of optimism that there will be a time when we can return to the big screen theaters again or to get us all pumped for the newest games. And others, just have me scratching my head and thinking "um, pass."

So instead of being depressed by the massive amount of Covid deaths, wracked with anger over political corruption and crying in a corner with fear, let's take a looky-loo at what Warner Bros is offering:

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GOTHAM KNIGHTS

Since Warner Bros. Interactive struck an oil well with the Arkham games and with Rocksteady declaring "Batman Arkham Knight" was the last one they would work on, clearly this was an opportunity to move on and try to develop other games based on other DC Comic book characters right? Perhaps an open-world Green Lantern game where you fly through space, visiting planet to planet to defend the universe from evil in a Mass Effect kind of manner, or perhaps a retro side-scroller Justice League Dark beat em up game or a Superman game that doesn't suck? Instead we get a continuation of the Arkham story and, much like Arkham Origins, Rocksteady is not involved, WB Games Montreal is.

In terms of plot, it seems Batman is legitimately dead (sure he is) and Gotham has fallen into corruption and chaos without the Bat there to instill it. It'll take the combined forces of his allies, and Red Hood, to curb crime on the mean streets of Gotham while doing battle with a few familiar faces and a new threat in the form of the Court of Owls.

Gameplay wise, it looks like the same old thing we've seen before, grappling around an open world, though with a few new gameplay elements that allows for cooperative play between playing as either Barbara Gordon's Batgirl, I assume the game will explain how she is no longer wheelchair bound, Tim Drake's Robin, who is...much younger than I recall him being in Arkham Knight, Dick Grayson's Nightwing and Jason Todd's Red Hood (again, I assume the game will explain why he's fighting on the Bat Family's side) and each utilizing unique abilities beholden to them, such as Robin using short-range teleporting and Red Hood shoots people with glowing bullets. But one particular element shown for this game brings to mind the RPG elements of Dark Souls or Assassin's Creed Odyssey where your punches inflict points off from the target you beat up and certain enemies, especially bosses as was explained in the gameplay demo, will level up along with you, adding to the challenge. Then again, seeing as this formula proved to be easily exploitable by Ubisoft to coerce players to buy micro-transactions to get XP boosts just to complete AC Odyssey, I'm a little hesitant to get too excited for this game if that is the direction they are going with.

Still, it's a handsome looking game, but I'd rather wait and see what else WB Montreal has up their sleeves regarding this title. Release date expected for 2021 for Xbox X, PS5 and Windows.

SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE

And speaking of Rocksteady games!

From beating up criminals on the mean streets of Gotham to blowing up and shooting Braniac minions on the shiny buildings of Metropolis....and having to kill the mind-controlled Justice League apparently. Oh goodie, what's next? We have to shave God's beard?

In terms of presentation, the trailer is fantastic. Clean and crisp visuals actually set in the DAYTIME and fun characters with unique personalities to bounce off one another. Gameplay wise, there isn't too much I'm able to gleam from the trailer, but GamesRadar reports the game will allow for cooperative play if you want to play with friends but for solo players, allows players to switch between the four set characters; Harley Quinn with her baseball bat and a grappel gun, King Shark doubling as TF2's The Heavy, Deadshot using a jetpack and arm guns and Captain Boomerang able to, well, throw a boomerang and teleport with it. Sounds cool. Apart from that, very few details outside of a release date of 2022 and expect it to be available for Xbox X, PS5 and Windows.

THE FLASH SEASON 7

I thought the show was being canceled this year, but I guess it must have been renewed when I wasn't paying attention. :shrug:

I admit, I haven't been too up to date with The Flash show, I was aware of the Crisis on Earths crossover event but apart from that, I've been totally behind on the CW-verse. But based on this trailer, I can surmise Barry Allen is losing his speed powers, Mirror Master is a woman now and f*cking with the heroes by sending mirror clones of their loved ones to...do evil stuff. I repeat, I know so little as to what is going on and I'm not really that certain as to who is still watching this show anymore given the low viewership of the last season. But who knows? Maybe I'm being cynical? Perhaps there is a strong audience that are going to watch this season eagerly and if that is the case, then more power to them. Seventh Season is expected for a January 2021 release.

Speaking of the Flash, there were some talk that Ben Affleck was signed on for the standalone Flash movie with Ezra Miller as was Michael Keaton, as to who he's playing, all we have is speculation as to who he plays. But seeing as time travel and multiverse-hopping ties into the Flash mythos, there is a likelihood Keaton could don the cape and cowl once again. Filming has not started due to Covid-19, but the release date is expected for June 2022.

BLACK ADAM

Wait, we're finally getting this movie?

This Dwayne Johnson vehicle has been in talks for the past decade. I can't tell you how many times I would hear talk of this movie and suddenly go kaput.

Although this time there's an actual director behind the camera, Jaume Collet-Serra, whose filmography has typically run into the realm of "eh, they're okay" with Adam Sztykiel, the same writer behind such films as "Alvin and the Chipmunks Road Chip" and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul" and the Dwayne Johnson movie "Rampage." Still, the fact Dwayne Johnson has stuck with the project this long speaks how much he must care to see this come to fruition. There's even talk that the film will feature characters from the Justice Society of America, notably Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, yet no casting calls for who will play Hawkman, Cyclone and Dr Fate.

Even though this trailer is comprised of concept art, it certainly shows some promise for December 2021.

Just watch as it gets delayed again.

Also, while there was no footage, it was announced the upcoming Shazam sequel's title, "Fury of the Gods," would be released November 2022, despite Covid-19 delaying production.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE SNYDER CUT

Oh joy...the version of the Justice League that Snyder fanboys kept whining about for a year is finally becoming a reality.

Hooray.

It's not coming to theaters, it'll be an HBOMax original, so you're gonna need to pay for a subscription to that, and, as reported by IGN, the Snyder Cut will run around 4 hours.

Yup, 4 hours.

And unlike Avengers Endgame, the Snyder Cut is just the same movie, just with leftover footage and additional visual effects, music, sound and editing, all costing additional $30 million just to put this self-indulgent project together.

The only question I have regarding this version is...why?

Just looking at the footage above, it makes the whole thing look more dour and colorless. Say what you will about Joss Whedon's theatrical cut, at least that had more color and had a sense of humor. Sure, it dropped some story threads and gave us a pretty bland villain with Steppenwolf, but at least it's entertaining to watch. This movie, it just...feels like a stumbling corpse trying to juggle. Yeah, it's impressive to look at a zombie juggling bright bouncy objects into the air, but with the ear, nose and fingers falling off while the corpse juggles, it's more sad than it is cool to watch.

I don't know if I'll see it or not when it comes around, but I can safely say, this doesn't wow me. But I imagine the Snyder fans will go crazy for it so...good for you.

THE BATMAN

May I ask what is up with including "The" in front of the title in movies these days? From "The Birth of a Nation" to "The King's Man" to even "The Suicide Squad," it becomes a little annoying when discussing films that share similar titles and can even get confusing.

Like, imagine in the future if you're having a conversation with someone and you're talking about Michael Keaton's Batman and someone mistakes you're talking about this one or that 2004 TV show with Rino Romano- it can get a little confusing.

Seeing as Matt Reeves, the director of this film, cited the plot is more like a "Batman Year 2" element, so why not call it "Batman Year Two," though that would require having to answer where Year One is so...ya know, forget I said anything. Let's just call it "The Batman?" because of the question marks shown in the trailer.

Apologies for that off-tangent rant, in all seriousness...I'm actually intrigued for this movie.

Sure, visually it looks so muddy and sterile, minus the bright red, and I'm a little iffy on it's use of Nirvana's "Something in the Way" for the trailer, but even with what few images we get to see, the plot has some serious mystery here. Given that the antagonist is The Riddler and the last time we got one on the big screen but Jim Carrey in the role, it will be interesting to see if this take is less comedic. And then there is Robert Pattinson as Batman. While I don't like what they did with his hair, he doesn't speak much, but when he does, he sounded all right and the suit doesn't look as ridiculous as I was fearing. I guess...I'm actually kinda curious as to what they're doing here? Huh...that's a weird feeling to have.

Now it should be noted that production was halted due to Covid-19, hence why what you are seeing here is only 30% of the movie that was shot before production was halted. There were talks that production would continue in September with filming to be done in England in order to complete the film by it's October 2021 release date. Good luck to 'em.

WONDER WOMAN 1984

Not gonna lie, I kinda miss the Blue Monday by the New Order song used in the first trailer. Really sold the 80s vibe. But I digress. This trailer looks great visually, love the visual look in the desert as Diana flips cars over, although I will say the ending battle part with Diana and Cheetah, I get the feeling it's to hide the extra work needed for those rendering on Cheetah's fur so, hence why it's so dark.

But that's just nitpicking. Kristen Wiig's performance has me curious as hell with how she plays the character, especially given the interviews she has given. Pedro Pascal's character looks like your cliche "I'm a businessman who wants to take over the world" shtick and Chris Pine's return, a lot of questions behind that one. I enjoyed the first movie despite some of its hiccups in it's narrative. When we are able to return to the movie theaters, I'll certainly look forward to seeing this one. Release date is October 2, 2021.

THE SUICIDE SQUAD

Hell to the yeah, saved the best for last.

After James Gunn, writer/director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, was fired from Disney due to right-wing trolls tracking down his old tweets and posting them back online to create outrage, Warner Bros picked him up and gave him the chance to create a Suicide Squad movie like how he wanted to make it.

And where "The Batman" had to be placed on hold for production, Gunn announced that Covid-19 hadn't slowed him down in the slightest, after all, he had wrapped production in February 2020 before the virus hit the States and announced that he spent his time editing the movie while under quarantine.

With an impressively huge cast full of iconic and obscure characters ranging from the DC Comic universe (from Flash comics to Firestorm comics to Booster Gold comics) and a talented writer/director leading them all in what was described to be "a gritty 70's war movie," this Suicide Squad movie looks like it's aiming to go leaps and bounds above the dumpster fire that the 2016 David Ayer movie turned out to be.

Oh yeah, there's also a reveal for a third season of "Titans," a release date for Aquaman 2 aiming for 2022 and talk of Netflix cooperating with Neil Gaiman on an adaptation of "The Sandman" despite the delay due to Covid-19.

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But what did you all think? Anything stick out to you? Any of these trailers get you excited? What did you personally think of the virtual event?

And remember, while times are incredibly hard right now, we all could use some distraction in our lives to keep us from falling into despair. Whether it's through a joke or a favorite show or movie, so long as we can remain together, we can make it through this.

Stay healthy and safe folks.

Edit: Hey, remember when we could embed youtube videos onto journals? Yet another feature that was done with ease before DA changed that and I'm not sure how to embed that. Hooray. -_- Edit 2: Oh, that's how. Well that's kinda easier but also, a little message would have been helpful DA.