‘Madea’ star and director Tyler Perry continues his expansion into other genres with the announcement that he would be tackling a World War 2 project for Netflix.
The ‘A Fall From Grace’ director will direct, produce, and write the upcoming film ‘Six Triple Eight,’ which tells the story of “6888th battalion, the only all-black, all-female battalion in the World War II effort.”
Along with Perry, Nicole Avant, Keri Selig, Carlota Espinosa, Angi Bones, and Tony Strickland. Peter Guber of Mandalay Pictures will work on the project as an executive producer.
According to Netflix, “The story of the 6888th Postal Directory Battalion has been kept out of history books, ignored by the national spotlight, until now — nearly 75 years later. On March 14th, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the bill for the women to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest honor.”
Tyler Perry had previously directed other projects for the streaming service including ‘A Fall From Grace,’ ‘A Madea Homecoming,’ and ‘A Jazzman’s Blues.’
Netflix describes the synopsis as follows,
“Six Triple Eight tells the inspiring true story of the incredible and brave women of the only all-black, all-female World War 2 Battalion. These 855 women joined the war effort with little knowledge of what exactly they would be doing, but were quickly given the mission of a lifetime: sort through and fix the three-year backlog of undelivered mail. A herculean task, that most thought to be impossible, the women not only succeeded but did it in half the time they were given. Facing discrimination, unfamiliar land, and a war-torn country, they persevered and sorted over 17 million pieces of mail, reconnecting American soldiers with their families and loved ones back home. The motto that kept them going each day was one they created themselves: “No Mail, Low Morale.” The women of the 6888 weren’t just delivering mail, they were delivering hope.”
The movie is based on an article in Sovereign Media’s ‘WWII History Magazine’ by Kevin M. Hymel.
The anime streaming service HiDive has announced that they have acquired the license to stream the supernatural romance series ‘Touka Gettan.’ The show was developed by the Japanese animation company Studio Deen who released all twenty-six episodes in 2007.
HiDive said on their website, “In the mood for supernatural romance? Then you don’t want to miss Toka Gettan on HIDIVE. Get ready for two episodes every Tuesday starting December 27, 2022…”
Sentai Filmworks released the series for home video on DVD and Blu-ray on December 13, 2022.
Directed by Yūji Yamaguchi, it also features music by Akifumi Tada and writing by Tomomi Mochizuki. It also features character designs by Asako Nishida and the artist known as Carnelian.
The anime is based on a video game that serves as an adult visual novel that explores romance in a supernatural context. Created by the Japan-based developer Root, it was released for PC gamers in 2007 before it arrived on the Playstation 2 in 2009.
“Touka Gettan is set in the land of Kamitsumihara, where traces of magic and legend can still be seen. The land has been under the protection of the Kamiazuma clan since it was founded. The story revolves around Touka Kamiazuma, the main protagonist, and his encounter with a young girl named Momoka Kawakabe who comes to stay with the clan. Their meeting sets off a chain of events that will bring an ancient legend to life.”
It also featured a companion manga that was written by Aguri Soragata, illustrated by Yukio Kumoya, and published by Kadokawa Shoten for their Comptiq magazine. It ran from 2005 to 2008 and was released in two volumes.
‘Touka Gettan’ is a spin-off of the Japanese OVA ‘Moonlight Lady’ which was released in 2001.
This month backers of the HasLab’s Ghostbusters Plasma Series Spengler’s Proton Pack crowdfunding campaign were notified that they needed to ensure their shipping info was up to date because the replicas were shipping before the estimated Spring 2023 release date. In addition, customers in the US needed to update their contact details by January 1st, making it sound like packs would start moving in January or February. Ghostbusters fans across the pond, however, are already receiving theirs!
According to Ghostbusters News, unlicensed nuclear accelerator replicas have sprung up in Ireland. The Instagram account belonging to Ghostbusters Dublin posted pictures and videos of the finalized proton pack today! The pictures show the disassembled cyclotron (complete with Mini-Pufts), and the video covers the startup sound/lighting effects.
In addition, Ghostbusters News received more photos of the HasLab creations, showing off the ALICE pack mounting hardware, the stretch goal “paranormal” display stand, Mini-Pufts, and the optional slime/marshmallow goo attachments. Yes, we also get a look at the only bummer from this crowdfunding campaign Egon’s journal and stickers. Overall, the Ghostbusters Proton Pack looks solid for a $399 recreation. Having bought and sold several $1k homemade versions of the spectral busting tool in the past, I can say that this was probably money well spent. We will, of course, do our own unboxing and review videos once Hasbro delivers ours.
What worries me, though, is that the parts we were told would be removable to create a 1984-styled prop don’t look modular. Ghostbusters Dublin also didn’t say if the stickers are preattached or not. I hope this isn’t the case. The pack comes with a sheet of clean ’84 stickers; I don’t want to put those on top of existing Afterlife ones.
‘The Eminence in Shadow’ is a dark fantasy written by Daisuke Aizawa, illustrated by Tōzai, and published by the Tokyo-based publisher Enterbrain. It was picked up for an anime adaption in 2022 by the Japanese animation studio Nexus with Kazuya Nakanishi working on it as a director. Sentai Filmworks announced that they had acquired the rights to release the anime on their HiDive streaming service who will now release an English dub in December 2022.
Kadokawa Shoten also publishes a manga based on the series which is illustrated by Anri Sakano and is released in the United States in Yen Press. It was first released as a web novel on Shōsetsuka ni Narō.
“For as long as he can remember, Minoru Kagenou has been fixated on becoming as strong as possible, which has led him to undertake all kinds of rigorous training. This wish, however, does not stem from a desire to be recognized by others; rather, Minoru does everything he can to blend in with the crowd. So, while pretending to be a completely average student during the day, he arms himself with a crowbar and ruthlessly thrashes local biker gangs at night. Yet when Minoru finds himself in a truck accident, his ambitions seemingly come to a sudden end. In his final moments, he laments his powerlessness—no matter how much he trained, there was nothing he could do to overcome his human limitations.
But instead of dying, Minoru reawakens as Cid, the second child of the noble Kagenou family, in another world—one where magic is commonplace. With the power he so desired finally within his grasp, he dons the moniker “Shadow” and establishes Shadow Garden: a group whose sole purpose is to combat the enigmatic Cult of Diablos, an organization born from Cid’s imagination. However, as Shadow Garden grows in both membership and influence, it becomes increasingly apparent that the Cult of Diablos is not as fictional as Cid had intended.”
The Japanese magazine Comp Ace publishes a spin-off manga titled ‘The Eminence in Shadow! Shadow Side Story.’
Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, and Dr. Stange are all up against the wall while facing powerful enemies in the latest Marvel Comics pull list. From vengeful clones to cosmic enemies to magical threats, the heroes of the Marvel Universe will not get a moment to rest.
“AVENGERS FOREVER (2021) #12 by Jason Aaron and Aaron Kuder unites the all-Steve Rogers Howling Commandos, the interstellar air force that is the Carol Corps, the Star Panther, the God of Fists, and the Invincible Ant-Man, Tony Stark for the next chapter of the Avengers’ last stand in AVENGERS ASSEMBLE. Together, they are the greatest army of Avengers ever assembled, but will they be enough to protect the Avengers Tower at Infinity’s End? Because Mephisto has come to claim that tower’s secrets, and he’s brought an army of his own,” Marvel said on their website.
They added, “Join the Avengers’ last stand, witness Clea’s reunion with Stephen Strange, spin a Dark Web with Black Cat, MJ, Ms. Marvel, and Gold Goblin, and more by picking up the latest titles this week! From fresh comics to collections and even Marvel Unlimited, find the full list of new releases here!”
They released the list on their website:
New Comics
ALIEN (2022) #4
AVENGERS FOREVER (2021) #12
BLACK PANTHER (2021) #12
DARK WEB: MS. MARVEL (2022) #1
GOLD GOBLIN (2022) #2
MARY JANE & BLACK CAT (2022) #1
NAMOR: CONQUERED SHORES (2022) #3
SABRETOOTH & THE EXILES (2022) #2
SPIDER-MAN: THE LOST HUNT (2022) #2
STRANGE (2022) #9
THUNDERBOLTS (2022) #5
WAKANDA (2022) #3
WOLVERINE (2020) #28
X-MEN ANNUAL 1 (2020) #1
New Collections
CAPTAIN AMERICA: SYMBOL OF TRUTH VOL. 1 – HOMELAND TPB
FANTASTIC FOUR: LIFE STORY TPB
GWENPOOL OMNIBUS HC GURIHIRU COVER
KNIGHTS OF PENDRAGON OMNIBUS HC DAVIS FIRST SERIES COVER
KNIGHTS OF X TPB
LEGION OF X BY SI SPURRIER VOL. 1 TPB
MARVEL STUDIOS’ BLACK WIDOW: THE ART OF THE MOVIE HC
MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC PICHELLI COVER
WOLVERINE OMNIBUS VOL. 3 HC SILVESTRI COVER
Marvel Unlimited
A.X.E.: JUDGMENT DAY #4 [AXE]
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #9
CAPTAIN MARVEL #41
DAREDEVIL #3
EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE #3
IRON MAN #23
MIDNIGHT SUNS #1
MS. MARVEL & VENOM #1
PREDATOR #2
SPIDER-PUNK #5
STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTERS #27
STAR WARS: OBI-WAN #5
VENOM #10
X-MEN ’92: HOUSE OF XCII #5
X-MEN RED #6 [AXE]
These comics will be available for print and digital purchases on December 21, 2022.
It’s very hard to separate the horror action genre and aesthetic from away from the Castlevania series by Konami. So anything that looks remotely similar to its style is going to draw a comparison. Luckily that’s not the only thing that Vampire Survivors leans onto in order to stand out on the Xbox Series consoles and PC. While the visuals and themes are heavily inspired by the Castlevania series, the game itself is entirely unique and very different from what you might expect. It’s still monster-slaying horror action, but not how you’re used to seeing it.
Vampire Survivors only uses a few inputs on the controller to play. You choose a character at the start from a selection of heroes, all of which look VERY similar to Castlevania’s Belmont clan, and run around a map taking out monsters that swarm you. The easiest comparison to the gameplay would be to something like Atari’s 1982 arcade game Robotron, where you move around a stage and shoot groups of enemies that appear. Only in Vampire Survivors, you don’t hit any buttons to fire your weapons and magical attacks, everything is done automatically while you move around.
The automatic attacks are an interesting change to this style of arcade game. You can focus on avoiding attacks and pursuing rewards a lot more, rather than worrying about hitting a button to attack enough times. The pace of attacks starts off slow, but gathering items to boost your attack speed and cool down of your abilities greatly enhances this. Eventually, you can gather enough attacks and ability boosts to become a walking powerhouse that wipes out legions of enemies on screen with little to no effort wasted. Visually it looks ridiculous, but in the midst of a game, it can be very exciting and fun.
Every character starts off with a specific attack or magical spell that fires at whatever is around you. You can level up by collecting orbs from downed enemies to gain new attacks, or by discovering treasure chests to pick up new abilities. Getting new attacks doesn’t take long, provided you’re defeating monsters and collecting all of the orbs you can.
Those new attacks come in very handy because the number of enemies that appear on screen can get massive. Over time, stronger enemies appear alongside the small baddies and do their best to overwhelm you, giving you a sense of urgency to collect more attacks to defend yourself. Bigger foes yield more treasure chests and rewards, so it definitely pays off to go after any big monsters you see appear.
The game has elements of a rogue-like, where you will repeat stages to gather new items and discover secrets, as well as power up your basic abilities before each run. It can get very repetitive quickly but is still very fun. You’ll keep going back in for another run as you inch closer to unlocking new stages and finding new abilities to use in subsequent runs. You can even find and unlock new characters that offer different abilities to start out with, as well as unlock extra options for the main menu and submenu while on a stage.
Certain abilities, like being able to see a map of the stage, need to be unlocked by finding specific relics in certain stages. This can be a little annoying when you feel like you don’t know where to go on a stage, but it’s not detrimental to the overall experience. Other relics have unique abilities that let you further power up your attacks or open new options for future runs and make certain tasks a bit easier. Finding them all is a challenge, but luckily the repetitiveness to find them doesn’t become a chore.
While there are some cheeky nods to Castlevania and other classic games, it’s the presentation that is the best homage. The 16-bit visuals look very similar to the games that inspired it, specifically Castlevania Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood more than anything else. Most enemies you encounter look as if they were pulled directly out of one of those games, which can be a little silly at first glance. The written dialogue in some spots definitely won’t win any awards for creative writing, but if you know anything about the 16-bt era of gaming you’ll see how this is an homage to that era as well. There are even a few iconic phrases that are given a spin that you’ll notice, even though they too are also pretty silly.
If you want a game to play while listening to something else, like music or a podcast, then Vampire Survivors is something you can mindlessly play. It’s simple to get into and will take a little time to uncover everything it has to discover, but it remains fun the whole time. You might not get the humor or fan service scattered throughout it if you don’t know anything about Castlevania, but that won’t prevent you from having a good time running through it a bunch of times.
Have you gotten a chance to play Vampire Survivors? Did you notice all the Castlevania nods in it? Post a comment down below and tell us your thoughts!
NVIDIA isn’t winning PC gamers over this year. With melty connectors and GPU shortages, You’d think the maker of the Shield would want to try to reclaim some goodwill. Nope. Hidden in the company’s knowledge base, as uncovered by GameSpot, Nividia will end the Shield’s GameStream feature, which allows users to stream games in 4K.
According to NVIDIA, an update planned for mid-February will nix GameStream from all Shield hardware. However, in an act of almost incredible kindness, the company will allow customers to use GameStream until then. How generous. The update will not be mandatory; however, there are consequences. To ensure that more people get in line, Shield hardware will lose the functionality of an unspecified number of apps, including GeForce NOW.
“Starting in mid-February, a planned update to the NVIDIA Games app will begin rolling out to SHIELD owners. With this update, the GameStream feature will no longer be available in app. SHIELD users can continue to use GameStream until that time.” – NVIDIA
Of course, NVIDIA does have an alternative it would like you to use once GameStream goes offline. That alternative is GeForce NOW, an app that requires users to pay a fee to stream games in 4K. Monthly membership dues for this service start at $0 to stream for one hour. The next tier allows for 6-hour sessions, 1080p resolution, and up to 60 FPS. If you want 4K, you gotta pay. $19.99 is what you’ll need to lay down to get Ultra HD, 120 FPS, and an 8-hour session.
All good things must come to an end unless you’re using Steam Link. Yes, that option is still available for the time being. It’s doubtful NVIDIA would try to tamper with Steam’s connectivity to a Shield-enabled device, but you never know.
Do you own a Shield? Is it worth paying $19.99 monthly to stream games in 4K? Let us know your thoughts below.
The third wave of Willow action figures was announced this week by Super7. Rather than sticking to the classic Ron Howard movie, the latest batch of 3.75″ tall toys is based solely on the Disney+ series. Oh, goody. So, who made the cut? This is exciting! We’re getting Plank of Wood, Not Val Kilmer, The Key To Everything, and Mr. Paycheck Cameo, to name a few!
Willow Ufgood, Head Cage, Dove, Kit, Jade, and Commander Ballentine. Each figure is $20. Or, if you’re one of those people who is seriously going to collect these, the entire setcan be picked up for $120. So, go ahead and flush that money you got for Christmas down the drain. I mean, at least you’re not buying NFTs. Possibly, in thirty years, you could resell the Willow+ collection for maybe a 10% profit. They’ll fetch more on eBay than a crate full of mint-in-box Rose Tico figures.
Wave 3 will arrive in the Summer of 2023, months after everyone forgets about the Disney+ series.
Photo Credit: Super7
“The magic returns with the Disney+ original series, Willow! Long ago, Willow Ufgood defeated the forces of evil, and now he must set off with a new set of unlikely heroes to make things right again.”
Suppose you’ve not seen the new Disney+ Willow series yet. In that case, I’d suggest skipping it, especially if you’re burnt out on deconstructionist media or fantasy epics constructed via committee rather than a storyteller. However, if you love watching characters tearing each other down, wooden acting, Erin Kellyman, and clothing that manages to stay in absolutely pristine condition through the rough wilderness, Willow+ is for you.
But seriously, the show isn’t great. The original movie wasn’t all that good, but at least it had heart. I’m not sure what Willow+ has, aside from a habit of falling into all the same pitfalls that most modern relaunches of old franchises do. So what’s a new label we can give these pieces of by-committee media? Let us know in the comments.
Fans of Sonic the Hedgehog will most certainly enjoy anything involving the speedy blue hedgehog, regardless of how good or bad it may be. But is Sonic Prime on Netflix interesting enough to be a fun show to watch for non-fans of Sonic? A lot of the enjoyment you get from the show will entirely depend on what you go into it looking for, especially if you know anything about Sonic. Unfortunately, this show is just another average and shallow outing added to Sonic’s ongoing legacy. While it may have a few good moments, the show just isn’t as great as some may have hoped it would be.
The first aspect of Sonic Prime that will either hit or miss with some viewers is the voices of every character. While some voices work well, like Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog’s voices, others sound very out of place. The worst of the bunch is the voice of Knuckles the Echidna, which sounds like a very hard attempt at a unique accent that just doesn’t work. Other voices like Dr. Eggman also sound very weird in comparison to previous iterations of the character. Most of the cast is new to the franchise, but not all of them work with these parts for this story.
Speaking of which, the main plot of the show is not that great either. It’s a good attempt at trying something different for the character but doesn’t end up being good in many ways. Sonic fans will like the fun nods to past games and throwbacks that are littered throughout the show, but beyond that the story is mediocre.
During a battle with Dr. Eggman, Sonic and his friends come across a mysterious crystal called the Paradox Prism. While trying to destroy Eggman’s robots, Sonic shatters the Paradox Prism and is sent across multiple realities with alternate versions of Green Hill Zone. While trying to get home, Sonic comes across multiple versions of his friends and their problems with Eggman and the changes to their world.
The biggest issue with this plot is that we don’t spend enough time in the Green Hill Zone we know, let alone Sonic and his friends the way we know them. The premise of the show feels like something that can be done within a few episodes rather than an entire season. Parts of the variations seem interesting at first, while others aren’t as much, but by the time things are established the show is ready to move on.
It would’ve been far better to spend more time within Green Hill Zone with Sonic and his friends battling Eggman before jumping into the alternate dimensions. The moments we get everyone interacting together in the original Green Hill, the show ends up being a better Sonic the Hedgehog show.
One thing Sonic Prime does get right is the action. Every battle and fast-paced scene that Sonic finds himself in is pretty good to watch. Sonic’s speed is on full display and every other side character gets moments to shine in their own way. Tails uses his tech to his advantage, Knuckles and Rogue the bat glide through the air, and Amy hammers away at her enemies. Alternate versions of the characters have fragments of their original counterparts, but never as good overall.
If you just want another show about Sonic the Hedgehog to watch while tuning out, then Sonic Prime will be fine. But if you were hoping for the show to be a great outing for Sonic and his friends, then this isn’t the show that will do so. At its best, Sonic Prime is an average show with a few good moments that aren’t enough to make it stand out from the rest of the franchise.
Are you a big Sonic the Hedgehog fan? Have you gotten to watch Sonic Prime on Netflix yet? Post a comment down below and let your voice be heard!
When you consider films that deserve to be put on 4K Blu-ray, what titles come to mind? Visually stunning cinematic masterpieces? Beautifully animated movies? How about The Return of Swamp Thing? Well, according to an Amazon listing, a 2-disc collector’s edition of the Jim Wynorski-directed feature is on the way.
On February 7th next year, a newly remastered version of the 1989 sequel to Wes Craven’s Swamp Thing will hit the market. This isn’t just some quickly thrown together, future bargain bin dust collector either. Instead, Lightyear Entertainment put some genuine love into this thing. The film has been restored from “the original interpositive” and will come packed with a slew of new features, commentary tracks, and extras. Check out the complete list of features below.
Photo Credit: Lightyear
BRAND NEW 4K restoration from the original interpositive with Dolby Vision / HDR mastering.
BRAND NEW: Reflections on Swamp Thing 35 years later by Michael Uslan, Producer of both Swamp Thing movies and Exec Producer of all the Batman movies.
BRAND NEW: Music Video by the RiffTones: ‘Your Ever-Loving Swamp Thing’
Original 2.0 and 5.1 Stereo Audio
Audio commentary from Director Jim Wynorski, Composer Chuck Cirino, and Editor Leslie Rosenthal
Audio commentary from Director Jim Wynorski
Interview with Editor Leslie Rosenthal
Interview with Composer Chuck Cirino
Interview with Director Jim Wynorski
Interview with Lightyear Entertainment Executive Arnie Holland
1989 Promo Reel
Photo Gallery (accompanied by Chuck Cirino’s film’s score)
Original Theatrical Trailer (HD Transfer from original 35mm materials)
2 TV Spots
6 Promotional TV Clips
2 Greenpeace Public Service Announcements
The Return of Swamp Thing is played for more laughs than Wes Craven’s film. There are some improvements. The lead character looks much more like his comic book counterpart now, and the creature effects silly in an entertaining way. The inclusion of Heather Locklear is … something. She’s undoubtedly no Adrienne Barbeau. Also, including children as side characters was unnecessary. Then again, the entire sequel was superfluous.
I’m not trash-talking the film by any means. I loved it as a kid. Hell, I even watched the cartoon and had the action figures. But we cannot skirt around the fact that The Return of Swamp Thing was more-or-less a parody. It’s a lighthearted film with a couple of dark moments, and the best thing about it was Monique Gabrielle as Miss Poinsettia. Man, she was smoking hot in that movie.
Swamp Thing’s sequel is an enjoyable watch, but don’t expect anything dark and brooding from Alan Moore’s influence from this era of DC Comics to be represented. The movie never gets into the revamped origin of Swamp Thing. You’ll have to check out the ill-fated 2019 TV series to see that play out in live-action.
If you don’t want to wait for a 4K Blu-ray, you could always go to YouTube and watch the movie for free. It’s in 1080p
