It’s been a rough week, so I don’t have a ton of snark in me right now. I will say that the schedule has been released for the upcoming MeTV Toons channel, and I’ve got to say I’m sort of surprised how excited everyone is over it. I mean, these are the shows that I used to HATE growing up, yet I guess their absence over the past few decades has caused folks to love and revere them? If a show wasn’t trying to sell me a toy, I wasn’t really interested, so that pretty much swept away Hanna-Barbera and the like. At a glance, I’m really only intrigued by the 2 PM hour on Saturdays. Otherwise, I’ll be over here, watching the TV that I foolishly pay for…
Trailer Park
Squad Busters (Mobile Game)
This isn’t my usual fare, as mobile games aren’t really my thing. I’ve got a 60 year old cousin who’s obsessed with Candy Crush, and that’s really all I needed to know about that game. Still, this ad campaign did what it needed to do in order to get my attention. I saw the shorter version on TV, and I was like “Ugh, Ken Jeong again…” Don’t get me wrong – I’m sure he’s fine, and he just wants to work, but he and Will Arnett are in that “I’ll take anything you’ve got!” column when it comes to getting work. But when I saw Christina Ricci, I was like, “Well, she’s better than this! And is that Hemsworth?!” After Googling about the ad campaign, I found this full-length version, and let’s just say I was NOT disappointed! I’m still never playing this game, but I can still file it away in my brain as That Game With The Cool Ad, right next to those Super Mario Bros 3 commercials where it was taking the world by storm.
Camden (Hulu, May 29)
It’s sort of weird when I don’t know about a particular music scene or movement. I mean, I’m like Layla Miller: I know things (I wonder how many folks will get that reference…). That said, I had never heard of Camden before this trailer, yet it touches on tons of artists I’ve loved over there years: Amy Winehouse, Oasis, Coldplay, etc. And before you think it’s just a White British Thing, here’s Nile Rodgers and The Roots?! Yeah, I’m going to have to add this to The List.
Wolfs (Theaters, September 20)
When I first saw that Apple TV+ logo, I thought I was going to have to launch into my patented spiel about how it’s the one streamer I don’t have, so I won’t watch, yadda yadda. Luckily, this is one of those getting a theatrical release, like Aryglle (which I never made it out to see…). Let me just point out the obvious: these two are incredible together. I love that Hollywood didn’t force them into a string of buddy movies, dulling their chemistry. They work together every few years, and the magic is still there. This looks great, just as a concept, but when you add in the casting, it looks PERFECT. And written & directed by Jon Watts? Sure, he’s behind all those MCU/Sony Spider-Man movies, but I won’t hold that against him…
Things You Might Have Missed This Week
- Nicholas Galitzine, Anne Hathaway’s love interest in the recent The Idea of You, is the latest sucker to be cast as He-Man in the LONG gestating Masters of the Universe movie.
- Richard Dreyfuss went Full Boomer at a Jaws screening over the weekend, where he reportedly came onstage in a dress, and then went on a tirade about youth gender identity. Reportedly around 100 people walked out, and the venue issued an apology. What are you doing, Mr. Holland?!
- The title has been revealed for the second Knives Out sequel: Wake Up Dead Man. This is one of those situations where punctuation is important. I mean, is it Wake Up, Dead Man? Or is it Wake Up Dead, Man? Maybe that will be revealed in the movie? I dunno, man…
- Is Marvel about to lose their Blade? Mahershala Ali is in talks to costar with Scarlett Johansson in the next Jurassic World movie, which is slated to start filming in a couple of weeks, with a July 2, 2025 release date (!)
- James Gunn revealed that the writing team for the upcoming DC TV Lanterns series is comprised of Lost‘s Damon Lindelof, Ozark‘s Chris Mundy, and comic writer Tom King.
- Netflix is developing a Minecraft series, which has a distinct “How do you do, fellow teens?” stench to it…
- A live action Dungeons & Dragons series that was in development at Paramount+ has been scrapped, due to “Creative Differences”.
- In a recent interview, voice actor Pamela Adlon revealed that the King of the Hill revival would feature a time jump, where her character Bobby Hill would be a 21 year old fusion chef living in Dallas. Yeah, let’s just put this in a vault somewhere…
- Madonna is being sued by a fan for several infractions at a March 7th concert, alleging that she refused to allow the air conditioner to be turned on in the venue and that she breached contract by being late taking the stage. The most egregious claim, however, is the fan claims they were subjected to “pornography without warning”, as topless women on stage simulated sex acts. Um, he knew who he was going to see, right? The star who once released a controversial book called Sex? This is like going to Peter North’s Deli, and getting mad that he used too much mayo!
Ya know, when the week began, it looked like the small woman taking on the mighty Disney might end up having the best week. I mean, I can’t think of anything I’d watch a 4-hour video on, but modern society continues to surprise me at times. You all were picking up what Jenny Nicholson was putting down, as she went all Zapruder film on the failure of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. She was even interviewed by Rolling Stone about her takedown of the Disney experience. And then yesterday happened.
I only dip my toe in politics over here, but this is kinda historic, so I think I’ve got to do it. Yesterday, a Manhattan jury found former US President Donald Jermaine Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in his hush money criminal trial. You’ve got to imagine that, somewhere out there, the ghost of Ken Starr is saying “Damn, son!” Who knows what this means? With what we’ve already witnessed, probably nothing. Merely an entry in a future edition of Trivial Pursuit. Or, maybe I’m wrong. We’ll just have to see. But DJT did not have the West Week Ever. But you know who did? Or, rather, who is about to? Every MSNBC pundit. Their writers probably didn’t sleep last night, but you’re about to get around the clock coverage like it’s Baby Jessica all over again! The bagels are flying and the matcha is flowing at 30 Rock at the moment. So, I’m saying anyone with badge access to the 3rd and 4th floor (oddly specific, but I’m something of an NBC fanboy) is having the West Week Ever!
