One of the most critically acclaimed shows on Max (formerly HBO Max) is coming to an end, with it revealed today that Tokyo Vice’s second season will be its last. The show starred Ansel Elgort as American journalist Jake Adelstein, upon whose memoir the show was based. In it, Adelstein, a crime reporter, relocates to Tokyo and becomes embroiled in the world of the Japanese Yakuza. Ken Watanabe played his mentor, a detective investigating organized crime in the city, while Rachel Keller, Sho Kasamatsu and Rinko Kikuchi co-starred.

The pilot episode for the show was famously directed by the great Michael Mann, who also served as one of the show’s executive producers. It was originally commissioned at a time when Warner-Discovery was hoping to make HBO Max a hub for high-end series, only for many of their shows, including Raised by Wolves, The Flight Attendant, and now Tokyo Vice being axed after two seasons. Virtually all of their dramas have been cancelled by this point with the exception of their Pretty Little Liars reboot. On the comedy side, they’ve had more success, with Hacks being a word-of-mouth hit. To note, the show was a critical hit (season one made our best TV of 2022 list) with many thinking the recent second season (which aired this winter after a long delay) was even better.

Despite the cancellation, which didn’t sound unexpected, in a statement creator J.T. Rogers and executive producer Alan Poul sounded happy with the way the show ended: 

“Over the last five years Max has made sure we got to tell our story. They have supported us through thick and thin. Not only did they give us these two seasons, they said yes when we asked to end season one with a series of cliffhangers, and they said yes when we asked for two extra episodes so we could land the plane in the way J.T. had always envisioned. 

We’re grateful not only to Max, but to our partners Fifth Season, who sold the show around the world, and made it a global success story. They were in the trenches with us always, guaranteeing that we could make the show we wanted to make. The response from both the press and from fans, in particular to Season 2, has been overwhelming. It’s been thrilling to find out how deeply viewers have engaged with our characters, and to hear how they are clamoring for more.

We know there is more story to tell. Of course we’ll see what the future holds, but we are indeed grateful to have been able to share this story on Max until now.”

Are you bummed that Tokyo Vice is over? Let us know in the comments.

The post Tokyo Vice cancelled by Max appeared first on JoBlo.

Indie platformer Kitsune Tails was announced back in 2021, and after three years of waiting it’s finally releasing soon. During the June 8 Wholesome Direct, developer Kitsune Games announced Kitsune Tails will be launching on August 1, with a demo currently available on Steam. After spending time with a press demo…

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Indie platformer Kitsune Tails was announced back in 2021, and after three years of waiting it’s finally releasing soon. During the June 8 Wholesome Direct, developer Kitsune Games announced Kitsune Tails will be launching on August 1, with a demo currently available on Steam. After spending time with a press demo…

Read more…

June 8th marks National Best Friend Day, so you should really reach out to your nearest and dearest to let them know just how important they are – hey, that’s what Ryan Reynolds did! In a new promotional video for next month’s Deadpool & Wolverine, the partnership between the titular superheroes is highlighted, which not only adds more excitement for the movie but shows the twisted bond that the two have.

In the footage, Deadpool hits on the dream team factor, saying, “Deadpool and a Wolverine. Can you imagine the fun and the chaos?” Later, Deadpool remarks, “Us? A team? The answer is yes!” OK, so Wolverine then proceeds to nick Deadpool when they try to shake on it, but the sentiment is there, at least…Another clip shows the two out to eat, with Wolverine kindly asking Deadpool to hide his face while they are eating, providing us with the following banter: “It’s super hard to eat while I’m wearing it.” “It’s super hard to eat when you’re not.”

Getting Deadpool and Wolverine properly back on the big screen together has taken a lot of time and effort. But as Hugh Jackman previously explained, he knew it had to happen. “Literally just like a bolt of lightning came this knowing, deep in my gut, that I wanted to do this film with Ryan, for Deadpool and Wolverine to come together…I swear to you, when I said I was done, I really thought I was done.” Reynolds, too, took credit, saying, he kept bugging him until he had no choice but to give in and go along for the ride. Now that’s some BFF behavior right there!

But outside of putting the spotlight on the partnership of Deadpool and Wolverine (and, really, Reynolds and Jackman), the new spot also brings us a previously-heard dig at Paul Rudd, a look at Dogpool and, as keen-eyed viewers were quick to point out, a probable hint at the appearance of Lady Deadpool. Plus, there’s a new version of Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow”, renamed (natch) “Red and Yellow”. Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26th.

Will you be checking out Deadpool & Wolverine on opening weekend? Do you think it will live up to the hype and build-up? Drop your thoughts below!

The post Deadpool & Wolverine celebrate Best Friends Day with new trailer appeared first on JoBlo.

It was eclectic week of gaming news, and we’ve got a diverse sampler platter for you with the week’s biggest stories, or at least, the biggest ones from before Summer Game Fest kicked off on Friday. For more on that, see our roundup of everything shown off at this year’s Keighley-fest, and our look at the games shown…

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It was eclectic week of gaming news, and we’ve got a diverse sampler platter for you with the week’s biggest stories, or at least, the biggest ones from before Summer Game Fest kicked off on Friday. For more on that, see our roundup of everything shown off at this year’s Keighley-fest, and our look at the games shown…

Read more…

Bad Boys, Bad Boys, watcha gonna do? Watcha gonna do when they come for you?

It’s hard to believe, but we’ve only gotten four Bad Boys movies despite it being an almost thirty-year-old franchise. With Will Smith’s stardom reaching truly epic levels, he never really had time to become a “franchise” guy outside of Men in Black (which he eventually left as well), which, in some ways, has been a blessing to this buddy cop series. While audiences are a bit sick of franchises that crank out movie after movie, the Bad Boys films are still pretty fresh, so when they return occasionally, audiences are happy to see them (with the series showing no signs of waning). But, of the movies, which rule the roost as the best of the best? Let’s take a look with our Bad Boys movies ranked list!

Bad Boys For Life (2020)

Just like the Mad Max series, I’d wager every Bad Boys film is decent, with them all just varying degrees of good. Of the four films, my least favorite has always been Bad Boys For Life, as I felt a bit shell-shocked by the fact that Michael Bay had left the franchise and that the action under new directors Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah seemed lower wattage, with too much of the focus being on making this a “team” movie (with the introduction of AMMO) to turn the franchise into a Fast and Furious-style series, complete with post-credit sequences and teases.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)

However, Adil and Bilall upped their game for the next film in the franchise, bringing the focus back where it belonged, on Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s Mike and Marcus. They doubled down on the buddy cop aspect that made the franchise so good in the first place, and they also benefited from the fact that they didn’t have to spend the movie introducing the new supporting characters, as the AMMO cops were already well-established. 

Bad Boys (1995)

That said, I tend to enjoy the Michael Bay Bad Boys movies a bit more, as his action sequences can’t help but be a lot more potent. His high style transformed what could have been a run-of-the-mill action movie into a star-making franchise. It’s hard to over-estimate what a huge movie this was for Smith, turning him (overnight) from a TV star into a full-fledged action hero. It also made Martin Lawrence a way bigger star than he had been before, with him also being a sitcom vet (and NC-17-rated comedian) who, for many years to follow, would be a hugely bankable lead, with movies like Blue Streak (underrated) and Big Momma’s House making him a crossover star. This is where it all began, with Bay giving the film a potent sense of pace and style, with Tea Leoni, an excellent foil to our cop heroes.

Bad Boys 2 (2003)

With Smith, Lawrence, Bay and Bruckheimer all at the top of the A-list by 2003, Sony was willing to do anything they could to entice the fellas to make a sequel. What they got was one of the most excessive, ultra-violent, and out-of-control movies to ever come out of a major studio, and I love it. From the opening shoot-out with the KKK (featuring a young Michael Shannon) to corpses on the freeway full of drugs being run over by our heroes to a war movie ending that seems plucked out of Black Hawk Down, Bad Boys 2 is a wild ride, and I love it. Too bad it seemed a little too radical for audiences back in 2003, with it only being a mild financial success compared to the other movies Smith, Bay, and Bruckheimer were routinely churning out at the time. 

Do you agree with our rankings? Let us know in the comments!

The post Bad Boys Movies Ranked: From Worst to Best appeared first on JoBlo.

Some cliche somewhere said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This has proven to be the case for me and especially when it comes to fan art. I have always sought out great fan art and have wanted to share it with as many people as possible. “Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net” is the outlet for that passion. In this column, I will showcase the kick-ass artwork of some great artists, with the hopes that these artists get the attention they deserve. That’s the aim. If you have any questions or comments, or even suggestions of art or other great artists, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.

Alien by André Barnett

The Batman Who Laughs by Jonathan Edward Mills

The Birds by Jenny Brewer

Breaking Bad by Nuno Fernandes

Cereal Mascots by Steve Chesworth

A Clockwork Orange by Salvador Pombo

Deadpool and Wolverine by Kevin Power

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga by Huan Do

Police Story by Poochamin

Sailor Moon by Danmakuman

The post Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net: Alien, A Clockwork Orange, Deadpool & Wolverine, Furiosa appeared first on JoBlo.

Over the last few weeks, box office pundits have debated whether Bad Boys: Ride or Die had the makings of a box office hit. The predictions have been all over the place, with some thinking it would open similarly to The Fall Guy and Furiosa with $30 million, while others thought it could hit $50 million (we predicted $40 million). According to Deadline’s early box office figures, the movie is opening above expectations with an estimated $52 million over the weekend. While that’s about $10 million shy of what Bad Boys For Life made, let’s not forget that the film opened before the pandemic, at a time when movie theatre attendance was a lot healthier than it is now. A $52 million start is a major success for Sony, with it arguably the first major money maker of the summer.

While some might point to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes as another hit (which it was), it was also a huge-budget movie. Bad Boys: Ride Or Die reportedly only cost around $100 million, which is a bargain for a movie like this and assured the franchise will likely continue for years to come. Notably, it also proves that audiences are welcoming Will Smith back to the big screen (post-Oscar slap), giving him a much-needed hit film under his belt.

Sony also has the runner-up at the weekend box office, with The Garfield Movie on track for just over $10 million this weekend, which is a very small 26% decline from last weekend. However, the box office news isn’t all rosy, with Ishana Shyamalan’s The Watchers having a poor opening for WB, with it unlikely to make more than $7 million over the weekend, with it posting a deadly C-minus CinemaScore rating. Ouch.

We’ll be back tomorrow with our full box office wrap-up. Did you go see Bad Boys: Ride or Die this weekend? Let us know in the comments!

The post Box Office Update: Bad Boys Ride or Die the first major hit of the summer? appeared first on JoBlo.

As Dementus put it, hate is “one of the greatest forces of nature.” But he did miss just how closely hope can be tied to it – and George Miller has displayed this in a pretty incredible way, casting a bullied teen in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. If you remember, Quaden Bayles appeared in a heartbreaking viral video back in 2020, expressing how hurt and despondent he was over being teased for his dwarfism. But now you can see him as War Pup (master of the Bommy Knocker) in Furiosa, showing that hope should always win out over hate.

Alongside Quaden Bayles, George Miller also cast Sean Millis, a singer with Hunter’s Syndrome, in Furiosa. Millis, like far too many, was also bullied online for his looks, with rather disgusting comments hurled at him over his appearance. Fortunately, people like Miller continued to stand up for him, with even Furiosa star Chris Hemsworth coming to his defense: “Let me ask you this, how many of those people who throw hurtful comments your way have you ever met in person? I bet not many!’Because most of them hide under a rock or a blocked account with all the other cowards who are afraid to ever be vulnerable and put themselves out there because they’re afraid of being rejected themselves so they attack the world before it attacks them. What a lonely existence that must be. Don’t even look at that rubbish mate, don’t even give them that satisfaction.”

But neither of these casting choices in Furiosa should have been a surprise, as George Miller has made something of a habit of standing up for those bullied online. Even before this, Miller cast Quentin Kenihan – an actor and advocate who was born with osteogenesis imperfecta – as Corpus Collosus in Mad Max: Fury Road. But lest you think Miller is just handing out roles like this, Kenihan once remembered, “The good thing about Fury Road was I auditioned three times for George. It wasn’t some meeting and I got the role, he made you work for it. And that was the same for the other disabled actors cast in the film as well.” Sadly, Kenihan passed away just a few years later.

So let’s hear it for George Miller, a champion for the bullied and those with disabilities. It’s always great to hear stories about the industry’s good guys.

The post George Miller cast bullied boy from viral video as iconic War Boy in Furiosa appeared first on JoBlo.