Stellar Blade is a PlayStation 5 sci-fi action exclusive about fighting monsters and saving humanity in a stylish post-apocalyptic world. So why are thousands of its self-identified fans signing a petition to “Free Stellar Blade” from censorship? The answer is surprisingly complicated and kind of sad.
Stellar Blade is a PlayStation 5 sci-fi action exclusive about fighting monsters and saving humanity in a stylish post-apocalyptic world. So why are thousands of its self-identified fans signing a petition to “Free Stellar Blade” from censorship? The answer is surprisingly complicated and kind of sad.
Exactly ten months have gone by since MGM+ announced that they had ordered a third season of the sci-fi horror series From, and since we’re now also about halfway to Halloween, this seems like the perfect time for them to unveil a teaser trailer for From season 3. You can watch the teaser and get the first look at the season, which will begin airing sometime this fall, in the embed above.
Written and created by John Griffin, From is described as a “contemporary sci-fi horror series”. The show aims to unravel the mystery of a nightmarish town in middle America that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.
The cast of From includes Catalina Sandino Moreno and Eion Bailey as married couple Jim and Tabitha Matthews, who are “struggling in the aftermath of a personal tragedy and suddenly find their family trapped in the town. Together they must find a way to keep their children safe, struggling to come to terms with this new reality even as they desperately search for a way back home”; Harold Perrineau as Boyd Stevens, “the sheriff whose Draconian rules have held the fragile town together, even as he searches for a way to escape this seemingly inescapable nightmare”; David Alpay as Jade, “a brash, entitled tech hot shot”; Elizabeth Saunders as Donna, “the earthy, strong leader of Colony House -the town’s separatist faction”; Corteon Moore as Ellis, “the estranged son of Sheriff Boyd and a resident of Colony House”; Hannah Cheramy as Jim and Tabitha’s adolescent daughter Julie”; Shaun Majumder as Father Khatri, “who cares for the spirits of the townsfolk”; Simon Webster as Jim and Tabitha’s son Ethan, who is gravely injured during the story; Ricky He as Sheriff Boyd’s deputy Kenny; Elizabeth Moy as Tain-Chen, Kenny’s mother and operator of the town diner and supply depot; Chloe Van Landschoot as town medic Kristi; and Pegah Ghafoori as Fatima, who considers Ellis to be the love of her life.
MGM+ head Michael Wright provided the following statement (via TVLine): “The first two seasons of From captivated critics and terrified and engaged fans, who have formed a thriving online community that is trying to put the pieces together week by week as the secrets of the nightmarish town — and possibly beyond — are slowly revealed. We can’t wait for fans to see the surprises ahead in Season 3, which promises more scares and mysteries, but also more answers.“
Executive producer Jack Bender added: “We’re so grateful for the support of our fans and Fromily this season. We have a lot more story to tell… and shocking, weird roads to take you on, with plenty of answers along the way.“
From comes to us from Midnight Radio and AGBO. Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg, Mike Larocca, and showrunner Jeff Pinkner serve as executive producers alongside Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo, plus John Griffin and Bender, who directed the first four episodes. Adrienne Erickson is co-executive producer.
What did you think of the From season 3 teaser trailer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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Once set up at the Max streaming service, the TV series Dead Boy Detectives, which is based on characters Neil Gaiman created for DC Comics in the pages of The Sandman issue #25, is now calling Netflix its home, having moved away from Max last year because it “doesn’t fit with DC executives James Gunn and Peter Safran’s plans for the DCU.” The show premiered on April 25th (you can read our review HERE) – and to mark the occasion, a new addition to the team here at JoBlo.com, Kyanna Mondezie, was given the opportunity to conduct interviews with several members of the cast: George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri, Kassius Nelson, and Yuyu Kitamura. You can hear what they had to say about their experience working on the show by checking out the video embedded above. Also interviewed were series creator Steve Yockey and showrunner Beth Schwartz.
Since these characters were introduced in the comic book The Sandman, it seems fitting that they ended up on Netflix, as the streamer is also home to the live-action The Sandman series.
George Rexstrew, making his screen debut, and Jayden Revri of The Lodge play the title characters in Dead Boy Detectives. The third lead of the show is Kassius Nelson of Last Night in Soho. The eight one-hour episodes of the series will follow the Dead Boy Detectives — Charles Rowland (Revri) and Edwin Paine (Rexstrew) — who decided not to enter the afterlife in order to stay on earth and investigate crimes involving the supernatural. They are joined by Crystal Palace (Nelson), a living psychic medium.
Also in the cast are Lukas Gage (Euphoria) as Thomas the Cat King, who can transform into a Siamese cat and is always happy to make a deal, but shouldn’t be trusted; Briana Cuoco (The Flight Attendant) as Jenny, described as a mildly punk butcher and a confidant of Crystal Palace; Jenn Lyon (Justified) as Esther, described as a witch obsessed with youth and immortality; Yuyu Kitamura (The Expatriates) as Niko, a boarding school student intent on joining the Dead Boy Detectives agency who now lives above Jenny’s butcher shop; Caitlin Reilly (Hacks) and Max Jenkins (Dead to Me) as Litty and Kingham, who are “tiny foul-mouthed dandelion sprites who are a rude annoyance to the Dead Boys,” and Ruth Connell (For the Love of George) as Night Nurse, a demon that controls the flow of souls in the afterlife.
Connell is a carry-over from Doom Patrol, as she previously played Night Nurse on that show. But Charles, Edwin, and Crystal were played by Sebastian Croft, Ty Tennant, and Madalyn Horcher on Doom Patrol.
The pilot for Dead Boy Detectives was written by Steve Yockey, who also serves as executive producer alongside Jeremy Carver and Berlanti Productions’ Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and David Madden. Yockey and Carver previously worked together on Supernatural. Yockey was co-showrunner on The Flight Attendant, while Carver was showrunner on Doom Patrol. Yockey serves as showrunner on Dead Boy Detectives alongside Beth Schwartz, who was previously a showrunner on Arrow and Sweet Tooth.
Netflix shared this official description of the show: Meet Edwin Payne (Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Revri), ‘the brains’ and ‘the brawn’ behind the Dead Boy Detectives agency. Teenagers born decades apart who find each other only in death, Edwin and Charles are best friends and ghosts… who solve mysteries. They will do anything to stick together – including escaping evil witches, Hell and Death herself. With the help of a clairvoyant named Crystal (Nelson) and her friend Niko (Kitamura), they are able to crack some of the mortal realm’s most mystifying paranormal cases.
Have you watched Dead Boy Detectives yet? If so, let us know what you thought of the show – and of our cast member interviews – by leaving a comment below.
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Matt Damon would somewhat reunite with his Good Will Hunting and Ocean’s series co-star Casey Affleck in Oppenheimer. However, they would not share a scene together in Christopher Nolan’s historical epic. The two are set to star in an action-comedy-heist movie that brings them back to their native Boston in The Instigators. The heist film is co-written by Affleck, but will be directed by the Road House remake‘s Doug Liman. Affleck says, “The inspiration for this was definitely Midnight Run and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” He also stated that he’s always “wanted to do a buddy action comedy.”
Entertainment Weekly has the first look at The Instigators, which features images with the co-leads and their co-star Hong Chau, who recently worked with Damon in the critically and audience-panned Downsizing. The plot, according to EW says, “Damon costars as Rory, a desperate father who reluctantly joins forces with Cobby (Affleck), an ex-con, ‘to pull off a robbery of the ill-gained earnings of a corrupt politician,’ per the official synopsis. When the heist inevitably goes sideways, the unlikely pair ‘find themselves engulfed in a whirlwind of chaos, pursued not only by the police but also backward bureaucrats and vengeful crime bosses.’ Along the way, they somehow convince Rory’s therapist (Hong Chau) to join their ‘riotous getaway.’” The film also stars Jack Harlow, Paul Walter Hauser and Ving Rhames.
Affleck also puts the plot into his own words, saying, “The Instigators is about two strangers who are hired for a heist. They become frenemies and then become friends while Jack Harlow yells at us, Paul Walter Hauser insults us, Ving Rhames hunts us, and Hong Chau keeps us alive.” Damon says he was drawn to the project because “Casey Affleck and [co-writer] Chuck MacLean had created some great characters and a really fun world. More than anything, it was a chance to work with Doug and Casey together that I was the most excited about. And it’s always great to go back to Boston.”
Director Doug Liman kicked off the Bourne-portion of Damon’s career with 2002’s The Bourne Identity. Damon added, “I absolutely love working with Doug. I can’t believe it took us 20 years to find something else to do together. Doug is one of the most creatively tenacious people I’ve ever met. He just won’t stop until the movie is as good as it can be, and that is the best possible thing you can feel from a director. I trust him completely.” Liman reciprocated with his own excitement, “It was so fulfilling to see how each of us has grown. And by that, I mean to see how much Matt has grown. And not just as an actor.” He added, “With Bourne, I was inviting Matt into my world. But with Instigators, I was very clear being dropped into Matt’s family. And all that history, good and bad, is on the screen.”
The Instigators hits select theaters on August 2 before streaming globally on Apple TV+ on August 9.
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For a lot of people, indie game POOLS will lean into horror territory. While the walking simulator doesn’t have any monsters chasing you down, the liminal design of its environment is very capable of unsettling the player. Long, interconnected rooms of tiling and oddly-shaped bodies of water sloshing back and forth…
For a lot of people, indie game POOLS will lean into horror territory. While the walking simulator doesn’t have any monsters chasing you down, the liminal design of its environment is very capable of unsettling the player. Long, interconnected rooms of tiling and oddly-shaped bodies of water sloshing back and forth…
Gaming frat house and influencer group FaZe Clan is going back to its roots, apparently. Co-founder Richard “Banks” Bengston assumed control of the organization late last year, and on April 27, he decided to purge 17 members in a devastating reboot that left content creators shook by the decision-making.
Gaming frat house and influencer group FaZe Clan is going back to its roots, apparently. Co-founder Richard “Banks” Bengston assumed control of the organization late last year, and on April 27, he decided to purge 17 members in a devastating reboot that left content creators shook by the decision-makkng.
Just take a sneaky peak back on the movies we’ve covered so far on our ARNIE REVISITED series, and the Austrian Oak had already covered several genres in his rise from bodybuilder to Hollywood icon. Raw Deal and Commando were straight-up action movies, while his work as Conan was an epic mix of action and fantasy. You can even argue that The Terminator is a classic 80s slasher flick, and not simply the revolutionary sci-fi masterpiece it’s generally regarded as. However, he hadn’t managed to blend both horror and science fiction in any of his previous movies, in the way he did with the film we’re focusing on in today’s episode – Predator. It was such a huge success for both star and franchise that it not only helped to further cement Arnie as a Hollywood icon, but also created a franchise packed with sequels, a prequel, crossovers, video games, graphic novels, and so much more. Sure, some of the content in the Predator franchise may be somewhat hit and miss, but there’s no denying the iconic nature of the first movie, with its memorable one-liners, gory deaths and awesome jungle based action.
As we found out in our last episode, the ‘Austrian Oak’s’ last movie before taking on deadly camouflaged aliens, 1986’s Raw Deal, was a decent action flick, but not necessarily an iconic entry in his back catalogue. So, the actor was more than likely on the lookout for a script that could elevate his career and also expand upon the genres in which he had already found great success. Was Predator the movie to achieve all of this? We all know it was, of course, but just how exactly did the sci-fi epic come to be such an iconic movie of the 80s? Well, it’s time to work on those biceps, and embrace your inner goddamn sexual Tyrannosaurus, as we find out here, on ARNIE REVISITED.
Another thing I mentioned in our Raw Deal episode, was the rivalry between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, and how their movies were often in the marketplace together, duking it out for that much sought after box-office revenue. So, amusingly, it was one of Stallone’s most iconic characters that led to Predator being made; if you believe the long-standing rumours that is. Following the release ofRocky IV, in which we see the Italian Stallion take down Dolph Lundgren’s pumped up Ivan Drago, a joke circulated around Hollywood that if a fifth Rocky movie was to be made, he would have to fight an alien, given that he’d run out of earthly opponents.
Screenwriting brothers Jim and John Thomas took inspiration from the joke, and wrote a screenplay based upon it called ‘Hunter’. The original concept focused on ‘what it is to be hunted’ and featured a band of alien hunters that sought out various different targets. This was streamlined to be one extra-terrestrial hunting the most dangerous species, humans, and in particular the most dangerous kind; a combat soldier. Also, because there were constant special forces operations happening during the period in which the movie would be based, Central America was chosen as the films’ setting. However, as the Thomas brothers were still an unknown quantity in Hollywood, they struggled to gain any attention for their project, and eventually took the risky idea of slipping it under the door of 20th Century Fox producer Michael Levy. This turned out to be just the break they needed as Levy brought the screenplay to the attention of fellow producer Joel Silver, who gave the project the green light. He brought on his former boss Lawrence Gordon as co-producer and hired Nomads director John McTiernan as the movie’s director.
In terms of the cast, obviously our favourite ‘Austrian Oak’ got the call for the lead role of ‘Dutch’, saying at the time when producers Silver and Gordon approached him; “The first thing I look for in a script is a good idea, a majority of scripts are rip-offs of other movies. People think they can become successful overnight. They sat down one weekend and wrote a script because they read that Stallone did that with Rocky. Predator was one of the scripts I read, and it bothered me in one way. It was just me and the alien. So we re-did the whole thing so that it was a team of commandos and then I liked the idea”. The movie had its leading man then, but what about the rest of its macho jungle dwelling elite paramilitaries?
Well, believe it or not the mussels from brussels, and recent advocate for mountain cold light beer, was originally cast as the Predator. Which, looking back on the character we see in the movie, seems like a pretty wild choice. Van Damme was chosen with the intent that the physical action star would use his martial arts skills to make the Predator an agile, ninja-like hunter. However, when the relatively diminutive star was compared next to his bodybuilding, six foot plus co-stars, it was pretty clear that a more physically imposing man was required to make the creature more intimidating. Also, Van Damme allegedly constantly complained about being too hot in the suffocating suit, as well as the fact that he would only appear on screen as the Predator. Ultimately Van Damme was removed from the movie, and they instead turned to seven-foot-two actor Kevin Peter Hall, who had form in playing larger than life characters, having just finished work as the sasquatch in Harry and the Hendersons. Rounding out the cast as Arnie’s elite band of soldiers was Rocky’s Carl Weathers as ‘Dillon’ while pro wrestler and former Navy Seal, Jesse Ventura, was cast as ‘Blaine’, thanks in no small part to his formidable physique. Rounding out the main players were the likes of Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves and Bill Duke, who Arnie had a rumble with in 1985’s Commando.
Filming on the movie began in March 1986 and, as per the end credits, was entirely shot in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and Palenque Chiapas Mexico. However, sometimes big budget Hollywood productions can’t get in the way of true love, and first unit production was halted so that Arnie could get to his wedding in time, being flown in a private jet, courtesy of the production, to Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. On March 26th he was married to Maria Shriver, and the couple had a whirlwind three day honeymoon while the second unit picked up additional shots. Also, in order to stay in the shape required for the muscle-bound action, Carl Weathers said that the cast would get up at 3am to work out before the day’s filming, with the actor also claiming to his co-stars that his physique was naturally given to him, only to then secretly work out when everyone else was out of sight. In fact, such were the physical demands of the movie, Schwarzenegger had gym equipment shipped out to Mexico so that he and his co-stars could work out before filming began.
It wasn’t just staying in shape that the actors had to contend with. Visibility in the Predator suit was limited which made the tussles between Arnie and Kevin Peter Hall more perilous than they should have been, with the actor saying that, “when he’s supposed to slap me around and stay far from my face, all of a sudden, whap! There is this hand with claws on it!”. Hall stated in an interview that his experience on the film, “wasn’t a movie, it was a survival story for all of us.” with one example being that the actors having to wade through foul and stagnant water that was full of leeches.
REVIEW: Let me just start this section of the article by saying that I absolutely adore Predator, and for the most part I’ve found a lot of merit in ‘some’ of the sequels and other instalments that have followed. I was far too young to catch Predator when it first hit cinemas in 1987, not for want of trying mind, so, I had to wait until its home entertainment release on VHS to get a sneak peak. By which I mean waiting for my considerably older brother to acquire a copy and for us to watch it with his pals when our folks had gone out for the night. We were all obsessed with the ultraviolent VFX, especially the open chest cavity and blown-off arm scenes, the ridiculous machismo and, of course, the forever quotable one-liners.
The movie’s narrative also plays out perfectly with the plot kicking off as Schwarzenegger and his comrades venture into the jungle in search of South American officials who have been kidnapped by terrorists. The team track and locate the fugitives but soon discover they’re up against a lot more than terrorists, when they find the skinned bodies of green berets who Dutch knew, hanging from the trees. Of course, unbeknown to the team at the time, the Predator is behind these grisly killings and, thanks to an opening shot of an alien spacecraft deploying a shuttle to Earth, we already know the antagonist is an extra-terrestrial. The alien’s mission on earth is to hunt armed and dangerous human quarry and it’s not long before Arnie’s crack squad are slowly picked off in wonderfully brutal ways. Director McTiernan constructed the action with the kind of efficiency that he would go on to perfect with the similarly legendary Die Hard a year later in 1988, stringing together the mayhem and kinetic action with great aplomb.
Unlike some of Arnie’s other more kitsch 80s movies, Predator plays out with a perfect level of credibility, and, more importantly it’s aged well, despite some of the language and terms used by certain characters probably never surviving the script-writing stage nowadays.Predator has become a science fiction, horror and action classic and is clearly not just another dumb 80s Schwarzenegger flick, combining fluid direction with cheesy but hugely entertaining one-liners and gory set pieces. Plus, its villain is so iconic that it surpasses even Arnie’s Tarzan like makeover for the movie’s conclusion, and deservedly set in motion a huge and lasting future for the character.
LEGACY / NOW: Predator was released on June 12th, 1987 in US cinemas, with a gross of $12 million dollars over its opening weekend, making it the number one film at the time. Over the year it was the second highest grossing movie, behind Eddie Murphy’s juggernaut sequel, Beverly Hills Cop II, which is a great result for a movie with a relatively untested premise, but albeit with a massive star attached.
Critically, the movie was met with a somewhat mixed reception. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 80% based upon 60 reviews, and the site’s critical consensus reads, “Predator: Part sci-fi, part horror, part action – all muscle.” This is only relevant if you listen to the views of those on that particular website, of course. From the more contemporary reviewers, The New York Times described the movie as, “grisly and dull with few surprises”, Cinefantastique wrote that, “the militarized monster movie tires under its own derivative weight” while The Los Angeles Times proclaimed it to be, “arguably one of the emptiest, feeblest, most derivative scripts ever made as a major studio movie”. More positive, however, were The Hollywood Reporter who said that the movie is a, “well-made, old-style assault movie” and a “full-assault” visual experience. The UK’s Empire Magazine also praised the movie, saying that, “Predator has gradually become a sci-fi and action classic. It’s not difficult to see why. John McTiernan’s direction is claustrophobic, fluid and assured, staging the action with aplomb but concentrating just as much on tension and atmosphere. A thumping piece of powerhouse cinema.” I’m with Empire on this one!
So then Arnie fans, that’s just about all we have time for in this episode, but as ever the most important aspect of these retrospectives for all of us here at JoBlo, is YOUR take on the movie. Did Arnie and co manage to create a film with a cool premise, badass action and a legacy that deserves to be associated with the now legendary alien manhunter? Or, should it be skinned and strung up like one of its ‘Prey’? Pun intended. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section, and we’ll see you wonderful action fans next time, here on ARNIE REVISITED!
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