We’ve seen trailers and posters for The Wolverine but now it’s time to get a better look at Hugh Jackman’s character in this newest film in the X-Men series. Released today was a new featurette titled ‘A Ronin Story’.
So Wolverine saves Yashida from the atomic bomb? Sounds good to me. However, doesn’t it look like Yashida is now in the hands of Abstergo Industries and their Animus from Assassin’s Creed?
Not only that but surely I’m not the only World of Warcraft player who saw Wolverine walking through the forest next to a bear and thought ‘if I slowly angle away, maybe I won’t pull aggro on that plague bear.” right?
It is hard to believe that not even two years ago, Netflix looked like it was heading towards a certain death. The Qwikster debacle and subsequent hemorrhage of subscribers was predicted to be the end of Netflix, and yet here they are today with multiple successful original series, a deal to revive the cult classic Arrested Development, a widely expanded library through various partnerships with big studios – including Disney – and now a deal to bring Fox’s New Girl to the streaming service.
With KickStarter really coming into its own in the last few years, it seems any creative talent now has the chance to show the fans what they want to see. But with so many projects out there it can be tricky to actually pick one to worth fund, hell you cannot funding. So what makes this new hopefully ongoing series called The Vigilante Diaries different from any other project out there? Well it has Jason Mewes in it for a start! The lovable, cartoon faced simpleton we love from the View Askewniverse is back, and this time he is running the show playing Mike Hanover, a film maker who ends up meeting and videotaping the vigilante of the title while he does what he does best. This mostly consists of killing lots of bad guys. Below is the synopsis from the official funding page.
[box_light]“Welcome—Just being here, you are a part of something new, something never before done on the internet (as far as we can tell.) We had a vision to create a series that breaks rules and pushes the limits of where an online series can go. Vigilante Diaries was born out of our combined frustration with the model of compromising creative due to the restrictions of third parties—advertisers and networks—instead of what matters, the audience.
This is a chance to prove that an audience can actually sustain a series without worrying about whether it was brand-safe or appealed to a specific advertising demographic. It’s about taking control of what entertainment you want to see made, not just accepting what studios think you want.
Vigilante Diaries is a high energy, fast-paced ride into the dark world of vigilante justice, following a pair of vigilantes who take justice into their own hands. Mike Hanover (Jason Mewes) is our storyteller bringing us right into the action through his documentary cameras mounted right in the middle of the carnage that ensues. It’s in many ways like a live-action first-person shooter game but with a gripping story that is just beginning to unfold.” [/box_light]
Now plans are one thing, but does this series actually deliver in the goods department? I am happy to inform you that it does. The first episode has been kindly uploaded onto YouTube (which you can watch below) thanks to Jason and the entire team behind the project. At 10 minutes long we really only get a taste of what this show could offer, and it’s certainly not dull. The story line itself plays out like a modern-day A-Team in a way. The end credits list the team as ‘current whereabouts unknown’ and the story jumps from one drug bust to another at a fast pace. The Vigilante himself, and his partner are great fun. Anti heroes from the Clint Eastwood school of acting, only speaking when they have to, instead letting their actions do the talking.
As far as influences, to say there is a hint of ‘The Punisher’ in all of this would not be untrue. Jason Mewes ‘Mike’ plays a more hyperactive version of Frank Castle’s ex associate Microchip (only with more swearing and comedic gestures). It seems that if The Vigilante ever met Castle they would probably get along, you know, as much as Frank can get along with anyone.
While the font seems to have been inspired by Sin City, this is nothing like that movie. Style-wise it reminded me of the Gerald Butler movie Gamer as the episode is mixed between first person POV, over the shoulder shaky cam shots and static camera shots. It gives the episode a very kinetic and fast paced feel, but be warned – anyone that suffers from motion sickness may need to watch this in small bursts as it is not kind on your senses! The main driving force behind this is Jason himself who manages to juggle his unique brand of humor, and progresses the plot lines at the same time. He is a lot of fun to watch with his hyper active nature only calming down slightly when he thinks he is going to die. The idea of the Vigilante really not liking Mike either makes for fun viewing, and if this ever does get off the ground as a series, that relationship will be fun to watch.
So this is where you folks at home come in. If you watched the first episode and liked what you saw then hop over to Chill.com and help sponsor this series so they can get more episodes produced. If you donate you get the first 2 episodes as downloadable content, so that’s 20 minutes of Jason Mewes in action. Here is hoping that we get to see more of this gruesome threesome and their extended family very soon.
Before watching this, as I always do, I watched several old episodes of Dexter to try to get in the mood. To be honest, I enjoyed the first couple of episodes of season 7 and the season finale was great, but the rest was pretty much garbage. It is hard to see a show with such a unique premise and strong story crumble like this has. Part of me wishes that the show would have ended after Trinity in season 4. Because of this, it has been difficult to get excited about Dexter. What made me even care to watch the premiere of season 8 the night it aired was that this is how the show will all end and I plan to follow it there.
The season premiere begins 6 months after the season 7 finale. Dexter has gotten his life together, obviously unaffected by the shooting of Maria LaGuerta. Dexter has never been one to dwell on the deaths he causes. In fact, if he is affected by anything, it is when he cannot kill, like in season 2 when Doakes was tailing him.
Deb is MIA at the memorial service for LaGuerta and nobody has heard from her in a while. The first time we see her she is snorting coke and screwing a jewelry thief, Andrew Briggs. Clearly, she is having more difficulty coping than her brother. Basically, she’s a hot mess.
After finding out that Deb is on a cocktail of prescription drugs and that she hasn’t checked into her job in 2 weeks, Dex tracks her down at a convenience store. Deb tells him that she shot the wrong person in that trailer. OH SNAP.
I have no clue how super-douche Joey Quinn pulls the tail he does, but we get to see him in action with Jamie Batista. This part isn’t super relevant, I just wanted to give everyone reading the opportunity to take a moment and imagine Aimee Garcia naked…
Matthews brings in a special guest, Evelyn Vogel (Charlotte Rampling), to Miami Metro. She is there to help with a new case. She is a neuropsychiatrist. The victim has part of his head and brain separated before being laid out. She profiles serial killers, so of course Dexter is extra nervous. She seems like she may be a bit of s psychopath herself. She starts grilling Dexter about how the Bay Harbor Butcher was, stating that it’s strange that Doakes had a short fuse. She said that it seemed like the Bay Harbor Butcher operated under some sort of moral guidelines. I really love what she seemed to be doing as I watched it.
Here is Charlotte Rampling back in 1976. (Via Getty Image}
Dexter, with his son in tow, tracks Deb down to a seedy motel so he can warn her the the fence she is waiting is in fact a hitman. Harrison is with him because Jamie took the night off. Father of the year, ladies and gentlemen. He leaves Harrison in the car and escalation of the events result in an altercation with Deb’s target, Mr. Briggs. In a move that goes against all of his M.O. and history of preparation, Dexter stabs Briggs in one of his least impactful killings ever. Upon his return to the car he finds Harrison no longer asleep in the vehicle, and after a frantic 10 second search, finds the boy wandering through the parking light. Dexter picks his son up with bloody hands and a sullen look. After Deb calls the death in to the police, she is spotted by the hit man that Dexter was trying to save her from, “El Sapo”.
At the end of the episode, Vogel brings Dexter some of his childhood drawings. He chases her down and she tells him that she knows he cannot kill her because she doesn’t fit Harry’s code. And my thoughts are…. why did they wait until the end of the episode to make me excited?
In a sneak peek at the next episode, Vogel says that Serial Killers are a gift and that she needs a favor from Dexter. I love that there will be someone new who knows what Dexter is, but after LaGuerta’s theories before her death, his sister being MIA, and the fact that he told Angel “she died because she wouldn’t leave things alone” about Maria, there are already a lot of fingers pointing at Dexter right now. Too many people know or at least suspect him to be much darker a person than they originally thought.
I would give this episode a 2.5 out of 5. It was pretty dull for a season premiere, but it did excite me for episodes to come.
Grizzly Bomb 