One good thing that came out of the hell we all have endured over the last three years is that some companies realized remote workers are not taboo. This was a boon for people who drive far distances to work, albeit with a few caveats management had to sort out. Finally, however, one major company, Amazon, is ready to get employees back into the office this year.
Via PC Mag, we learned that Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, has called to cut back on how many days remote workers can stay home. Although Jassy did not give specific examples, the CEO alludes to teams working better when they are face-to-face in a corporate memo, “When you’re in-person, people tend to be more engaged, observant, and attuned to what’s happening in the meetings and the cultural clues being communicated.”
He offers his firsthand experience with in-person brainstorming sessions, “This rapid interjecting happens more often in-person because people feel less inhibited about jumping in or even interrupting sometimes.” Although working remotely is advantageous for the single worker, I can understand that this decision is for the betterment of various teams.
With a few exceptions, Jassy will terminate full-time remote work as of May 1st. This change will see most employees returning to the office for “at least three days per week.” But, again, he offered no tangible evidence for this move aside from a personal account and anecdotes. Was there a noticeable downturn in quality?
I have managed remote workers before, and that experience showed me that it’s always a mixed bag of quality. Ambitious workers will do everything possible to prioritize communication, while others treat it as a reason to put in half the effort. Something quantifiable can be observed over time to show a dip or surge in productivity, but I’m unsure how Amazon’s various departments judge theirs.
What do you think of remote work? Let us know below.
Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a mixed bag of emotions and quality, which is why it was important for the next phase of the MCU to get started on the right foot. Anyone hoping that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania would be a nice change of pace may find themselves disappointed, but not for the reasons you might think. While there are connections to the larger threat looming over the MCU, this third Ant-Man film does little to get everyone hyped up for what is happening now, let alone what comes later in the Multiverse saga. We might enjoy seeing Scott Lang and some of his supporting cast, but his movies still haven’t reached the higher peak of Marvel movie quality.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania takes place after Avengers: End Game, with Scott Lang enjoying the fruits of his adventures. His relationship with Hope Van Dyne (The Wasp) has progressed, along with his relationship with his daughter Cassie Lang after the infamous Snap from Thanos. But while his ego has gotten the better of him, Cassie has nurtured her skills as a young scientist with the help of her grandfather Hank Pym. She experiments with mapping out the quantum realm and sends out a signal into the subatomic world, causing everyone to get sucked into it. While the group tries to figure out a way back home, Janet Van Dyne dreads returning to the quantum realm because of a previous encounter with a being known as Kang the Conquer. What unfolds is a comedic adventure with weird creatures and cities, along with a ton of quantum madness that looks trippy and out of this world.
The humor of the previous Ant-Man movies is present in this third outing, with a lot of inside jokes that fans of the MCU will catch onto quickly. The big issue however is that both the first and second halves of the movie feel unbalanced. The beginning is full of jokes and setup with a lot of fan service but ends up never truly paying off by the ending. The second half is much more action-packed and heavy on the Phase 5 connections, with references to the multiverse that almost feels out of place in some instances. It almost comes off as making up for the lack of connections from Phase 4 to the multiverse threat of Kang that fans know is looming over the MCU. When Scott and the crew first enter the quantum realm, many characters they meet don’t even refer to Kang by name, which seems rather unnecessary.
The other unfortunate part of the movie is that many of the jokes just don’t land well. They don’t feel as funny as they probably should, especially for a character whose previous films have solid humor in them. You might get a laugh here and there, but you won’t find yourself laughing as often as you may have hoped. Some jokes or gags feel awkward or just not that good and end up taking away from the gravity of everything going on.
Scott Lang is cheery and goofy, while his daughter Cassie feels like she’s already a genius at a young age. Unfortunately, Hope seems to take more of a backseat in this film compared to everyone else, despite the film being called Ant-Man and the Wasp. She definitely has an impact on some of the bigger moments of the movie, but it does feel like Cassie and her grandparents have a greater presence here than she does. It might not be the case when you look at the number of minutes everyone has on screen, but it sure does feel like that when watching.
But what about Kang, is he at least menacing as the new MCU threat? Jonathan Majors does a good job with the limited material he has here, but his character is going to be better served in other MCU projects. This variant of Kang isn’t at full strength or as powerful as he will be, despite being hyped up to be incredibly strong. When on-screen, Kang sucks up the attention in the room but feels underserviced by everyone around him. It almost seems like the villain should’ve been someone else for Ant-Man to battle and save Kang for an Avengers film instead.
Speaking of other villains, MODOK is where the movie falls flat. In the comics, MODOK is a super-genius level enemy with a crazy design, while also being a major threat to various heroes. However, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania reduces MODOK to a lackluster joke, both in his design and his relevance to the plot. The special effects on MODOK don’t look that good, nor does it even feel like it meshes well with the rest of the movie, let alone the MCU itself. He’s not funny, not menacing, and not very interesting. He just looks weird and out of place. The sad truth is that if this is the only time we get to see MODOK appear in any other project, then it’s for the better. There are little to no redeeming factors for this version of the character.
If you follow all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and want to be in the know of where the franchise is going, then you’ll get a tiny bit from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The final post-credits stingers at the end of the film have the biggest connections to Phase 5 and afterward, but everything else is shallow at best. Although the movie is not terrible, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is definitely not on the higher end of Marvel films you’ll see.
Are you a big Marvel fan who watches all the movies and series? What do you want to see in the MCU next? Post your thoughts about everything in the comments below and let us know!
The next wave of toys inspired by the 1980s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon is on the way. Presto, Sheila, and Eric round out the core cast of characters from the show. Hasbro Pulse is currently taking pre-orders for the figures, which should be shipping out around the beginning of August. So is there enough goodwill left after Hasbro’s OGL debacle for people to care?
Each character is $24.99 and, unfortunately, comes packaged in windowless boxes. Considering we’ve seen some issues with the G.I. Joe figures of late sporting terrible face sculpts and paint applications, how can collectors ensure that their expensive purchases aren’t subject to such production line mess-ups?
Eric, my personal favorite character from the show, has only one accessory: his cavalier shield. The glow effect is removable from the shield. He comes with a d10 and, of course, his signature smarmy look.
Shiela the Thief comes with a d6, hood, invisibility cloak, and partially translucent cloak. Sadly, she does not feature any other translucent accessories, but I expect Hasbro will release a 100% clear version of her sometime in the future.
Presto really lucks out with the accessories in this line. He has two magical effects parts, a d4, and interchangeable hair, allowing him to wear the pointy wizard cap.
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
As mentioned earlier, Hasbro’s quality control may be slipping regarding these more expensive figures. It’s easy to hide these problems when it comes to windowless boxes. However, since the G.I. Joe Classified figures are still traditionally packaged, we can see plain as day that things are getting sloppy:
How did one of the most addictive games in the world escape from behind Iron Curtain? According to a new trailer for Apple TV+, the story is full of espionage and action. So was the quest to liberate Tetris from Russia really a life-or-death struggle?
Nah, it’s just Hollywood being Hollywood. However, the recently released trailer for the upcoming Tetris movie looks excellent. If you can look past the whole “inspired by” angle, Tetris: The Movie seems fun. Taron Egerton looks like he is having a great time playing Henk Rogers, the man who helped snatch Alexey Pajitnov’s creation out of the grip of a communist country. Jon S. Baird, the director of the excellent biopic Stan & Ollie, directs Tetris. The film will premiere exclusively on Apple TV+ on March 31st.
In reality, the tale of Tetris’s journey from the Soviet Union isn’t super thrilling, but it is interesting nonetheless. The software licensing to Nintendo or any other non-Russian-owned corporation was full of red tape. However, the epilogues of the people involved with the entire Tetris fiasco are worth noting because some are pretty tragic. Check out the Gaming Historian’s hour-long documentary on the subject here.
The only thing I’m not liking is how all the colors are muted like there’s a gray filter over everything. Just because something occurred in the past or in Russia does not mean the color palette needs to be toned down.
I’ve often wondered if the Game Boy would have succeeded as well as it did if it’d not been for Tetris had not been the pack-in game. When I was a kid, we could only afford the system itself. So I got a lot of use out of that Tetris cartridge. Oddly, I’ve rarely encountered the title’s arcade version. I can count less than five occasions where I’ve seen Tetris in an arcade, including recently in Orlando while hanging out with DJ Slope.
What was your first experience with Tetris? Let us know in the comments section below.
Discotek Media is bringing the 2007 horror anime ‘Mononoke’ to home video on Blu-Ray. Fans will be able to enjoy all twelve episodes of the series from Toei Animation and director Kenji Nakamura.
Five story arcs make up the entirety of the show with writers Chiaki J. Konaka, Ikuko Takahashi, Michiko Yokote, and Manabu Ishikawa.
The DVD release will have both the original Japanese voice acting as well as the English dubbed version. While it will be released on March 28, 2023, it is currently available for pre-order on the Right Stuf Anime website.
You can watch the teaser trailer below:
The series stars Rie Tanaka, Toshiko Fujita, Kōzō Shiotani, Eiji Takemoto, Yūsuke Numata, Aiko Hibi, Ryusei Nakao, Daisuke Namikawa, Yukana Nogami, Daisuke Sakaguchi, Tomokazu Seki, Yasuhiro Takato, Eiji Takemoto, Norio Wakamoto, Haruna Ikezawa, Houko Kuwashima, Hikaru Midorikawa, and Ako Mayama.
Wikipedia describes the synopsis as follows,
“Mononoke follows a wandering, nameless character known only as the “Medicine Seller” (voiced by Takahiro Sakurai). The series is made up of individual chapters in which the medicine seller encounters, combats and subsequently destroys mononoke. The mononoke are a type of ayakashi, unnatural spirits that linger in the human world by binding themselves to negative human emotions. The Medicine Seller always proceeds in the same manner, using his knowledge of the supernatural to fend off the mononoke until he can learn the spirit’s shape (Katachi), truth (Makoto) and reasoning (Kotowari). Only then can he unsheathe his sword and exorcise the demon. The English subtitles translate these three necessities as Form, Truth, and Reason.”
The series received a 2007 manga spin-off from Square Enix and was illustrated by Ninagawa Yaeko who did a sequel for Tokuma Shoten in 2013.
‘Mononoke’ itself is a spin-off of the anime horror anthology ‘Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales’ from Toei Animation.
DC Comics is bringing back a fan-favorite title with ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold.’ Planned for a spring 2023 debut, this new reboot will be an anthology featuring the Dark Knight in team-ups and bring back the iconic ‘Batman: Black and White’ short series.
“An All-New Dawn of DC Anthology Series Debuts in May With the Return of ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold,’ DC Comics said. They noted it will be available “in Comic Book Shops and Participating Digital Platforms On Tuesday, May 16,”
DC added, “Throughout DC’s history, The Brave and The Bold has been the launching pad for some of DC’s most beloved and enduring characters and teams, including The Suicide Squad, Justice League of America, Metamorpho, The Element Man, Teen Titans and more. The series has also hosted incredible team-up stories featuring Batman. This May, Batman: The Brave and The Bold returns in an all-new ongoing anthology series, with more tales of The Dark Knight, plus stories spotlighting super heroes from all corners of the DC Universe. This can’t-miss first issue features four thrilling tales, including the writing debut of one of DC’s top artists.”
The first issue will feature Tom King (Batman/Catwoman), Ed Brisson (Batman Incorporated), Jeff Spokes (Wildstorm 30th Anniversary Special), Dan Mora (Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Detective Comics), and Mitch Gerads (Mister Miracle).
One of the stories will retell the story of Batman’s first encounter with the Joker which promises a “tale of loathing, lies, and laughter, this may be the most frightening Joker story in a generation.”
The original ‘The Brave and the Bold’ began publication in 1955 before ceasing in 1983. Batman became the central character beginning with issue 59 and saw him primarily as the main protagonist until issue 200.
It became the basis for an animated series ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold’ which ran for four seasons between 2014 to 2018.
The Japanese film company Toho Animation Studio and OLM are bringing author Natsu Hyūga’s fantasy romance series ‘The Apothecary Diaries’ to life as an anime. Norihiro Naganuma is serving as both the director and the writer of the show, with a planned release sometime in 2023.
Yukiko Nakatani has joined the project as the character designer, Crunchyroll reports. Kevin Penkin and Alisa Okehazama are working on the music for the animated series.
Toho and OLM also released a trailer for the series,
The series began as a 2011 web novel by Natsu Hyūga before being picked up as a 2014 light novel series published by Shufunotomo and illustrated by Touko Shino.
‘The Apothecary Diaries’ Fan Wiki describes the synopsis as follows,
“In the East is a land ruled by an emperor, whose consorts and serving women live in a sprawling complex known as the hougong, the rear palace. Maomao, an unassuming girl raised in an unassuming town by her apothecary father, never imagined the rear palace would have anything to do with her—until she was kidnapped and sold into service there. Though she looks ordinary, Maomao has a quick wit, a sharp mind, and an extensive knowledge of medicine. That’s her secret, until she encounters a resident of the palace at least as perceptive as she is: the head eunuch, Jinshi. He sees through Maomao’s façade and makes her a lady-in-waiting to none other than the Emperor’s favorite consort… so she can taste the lady’s food for poison! At her lady’s side, Maomao starts to learn about everything that goes on in the rear palace—not all of it seemly. Can she ever lead a quiet life, or will her powers of deduction and insatiable curiosity bring her ever more adventures, and ever more dangers?”
There are two manga adaptions. The first is published by Square Enix since May 2017 and illustrated by Nekokurage. The second began publication in August 2017 released by Shogakukan titled ‘The Apothecary Diaries: The Palace Cloister Mystery-Solving Notebook of Mao Mao.’
Warner Media is releasing a new animated series for mature audiences to Adult Swim and HBO Max from showrunner Jason Ruiz. ‘Royal Crackers’ is a new cartoon comedy set to be released in the spring, following a family fighting for control of a snack company.
“Royal Crackers was once the king of snacks, but the empire is crumbling. When the family patriarch, tyrannical company founder Theodore Hornsby Sr. ends up in a “super coma,” the rest of the Hornsbys will take their lack of talent and business acumen and try to make Royal Crackers the success it once was,” Warner said in a statement.
Ruiz explained, “Like most kids, when I was a young child, I had the stereotypical dream of making an animated television program about a mediocre cracker company and the family of desperate weirdos who run it.”
“In this childhood dream, I wanted it to air on linear TV and then stream on an app the following day. Thank you to Adult Swim and HBO Max for making that little pipe dream come true,” he added.
Ruiz will also work on the project as the executive producer with Seth Cohen (“The Last Man on Earth”). Titmouse (“Home: Adventures with Tip and Oh,” “Baby Shark’s Big Show!”) will be producing the show.
You can watch the trailer below:
The television series stars Ruiz, Andrew Santino (“Dave,” “Here’s the Rub,” “I’m Dying Up Here”), Jessica St. Clair (“Veep,” “American Housewife,” “The Deep Dive” podcast), David Gborie (“Exploding Kittens,” “All Fantasy Everything” podcast), Maile Flanagan (“Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks,” “Naruto,” “Not Dead Yet,” “Boruto: Naruto Next Generations”) and Fred Tatasciore (“Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal,” “Batman: The Brave and the Bold”).
The show will debut on Adult Swim on Sunday, April 2, 2023, and will make its way to HBO Max on April 3, 2023.
Now comes the time when a great decision must be made. Do you choose the Rocky who fought Clubber Lang or the Rocky who went up against the lab-created Soviet machine Ivan Drago? If money is no object, why not pick up both?
Premium Collectibles Studio has announced two new Rocky statues based on Rocky III and Rocky IV. While the statues are identical, the significant differences come down to the color and patterns on the champ’s gloves, boots, shorts, and ringside robes. You’ll have to choose between the classic Italian Stallion gold or the patriotic red, white, and blue trunks.
Both statues are limited to 325 copies and are priced at $1,300 each. At 1:3 scale, the slugger from Philly stands 26″ tall with a 13″ wide square base. If you don’t want the Italian Stallion to wear his robes, they can be hung on a display rack.
Expect the champ to ship out sometime between September and November of this year.
Photo Credit PCS
Photo Credit PCS
Photo Credit PCS
Photo Credit PCS
Photo Credit PCS
The Rocky III statue comes with the following:
Fabric Shorts, Towel, And Removable Robe
Display Rack for Robe & Towel
Boxing Ring Styled Base
Photo Credit PCS
Photo Credit PCS
Photo Credit PCS
Photo Credit PCS
The Rocky IV statue comes with the following:
Fabric Shorts, Towel, And Removable Robe
Display Rack for Robe & Towel
Boxing Ring Styled Base
The statues have not yet shown up for pre-order, but they can be RSVP’d at Sideshow Collectibles. Other PCS 1:3 scale characters from the franchise are also available, such as Ivan Drago and Apollo Creed. If you’re looking for Rocko from the first two films, Sideshow has a set of two available for $2,105.
Which movie from the long-running underdog story is your favorite? Let us know below.
DreamWorks appears to be following in the steps of Disney for creating live action remakes of beloved animated movies, starting with one of DreamWorks Animations’ highly regarded trilogy movie series How To Train Your Dragon. Dean DeBlois is the director as well as the writer. DeBlois was the original director of all three of the animated movies.
Universal has already set a date for when the feature will be released, which will be March 14, 2025. According to reported sources they are well into the development phase and are in the midst of the casting process.
This movie will mark the first time a live-action remake is being directed by the same as the one who created the animated movie versions. Because DeBluis has mainly animation experiences, veteran movie and theatre producer Marc Platt will be assisting him as he has produced many live action movies like Legally Blonde, La La Land, and most recently Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid. Marc Platt is also producer of the movie adaptions of Wicked, Disney’s live-action Snow White, and the currently untitled Scott Pilgrim anime series.
The How To Train Your Dragon trilogy is loosely based on the 12-book series that was first published between 2003 to 2015 by UK author Cressida Cowell. The story is set in a fictional Viking time period centering about a young Viking named Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, and his journey to ”becoming a hero, the hard way”. By year 2015, the book series had sold over seven million copies worldwide.
The first movie came to theaters in 2010, with co-directors DeBlois and Chris Sanders, with DeBlois directing the other two movies on his own. The other two movies came out in year 2014 and 2019. DreamWorks’ How To Train Your Dragonfocuses on the unlikely friendship between the young Viking Hiccup and an injured dragon named Toothless. What makes this trilogy interesting is the way they aged the characters within each movie, bringing about a sense of time passing by and things changing in life as they do in coming-of-age stories. The first movie was such a hit with audiences that it earned more than $1.6 billion at the box office.
The challenge for the live-action movie is how to find the balance between the cuteness of the dragons and the believability of the dragons being real in a live-action sort of way. That can either make or break a movie, among other things. How cartoonish should they go with the dragons, and how realistic should they be?
In the meantime, here are two fun clips on the Toothless character:
Will this mark the beginning of the DreamWorks live action remakes much in the same way Disney has become known for over the years? What do you think about the live action remake? Or the possibility of future remakes of other DreamWorks Animation films? Let us know!
