It’s Oscar night tonight. Or as we like to call it here at Hush, The Walking Dead night. As John Oliver would put it, “The Oscars: why is this still a thing?”
Speaking of zombies, how do you introduce a new undead series and make it a smash hit? Well, you recruit Matt Smith (11th Doctor in Doctor Who), Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell from Game of Thrones), and now John Bradley (Sam Tarly from Game of Thrones) to star in Patient Zero. There isn’t a lot of info released about the upcoming series, but I do know that British people + zombies = win. Source: The Mary Sue
If you didn’t get enough Interstellar the first time around (judging by Adrian’s review, she certainly did not), you can check it out again in theaters starting yesterday – this time with 12 minutes of unseen footage AND a BOGO free offer at AMC theaters. Source: AMC
I swear, I read it for the articles. Playboy has an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming graphic novel sequel to Fight Club, published by Dark Horse Comics. It will be released at the end of May. Source: Playboy
Zim will be Invading the comic book world, spelling DOOM for Oni Press and all their readers in July. Mwhahahaha.
Alura Zor-El, Supergirl’s mother, has been cast for the upcoming Supergirl CW series. The role goes to Laura Benanti (Nashville) and will be recurring, which makes me think “flashbacks!” Source: Deadline
Lara Croft used some of those extra pixels and gave herself some clothing! Check out the new gear she’ll be sporting in the PS4/XBO release of Rise of the Tomb Raider. Source: Game Informer
Anybody up for Hugh Jackman eventually playing Old Man Logan? If Jacked Man had it his way, he’s play the part of Wolverine forever. Source: E! Online
Who wins in a fight against the Avengers: Age of Ultron and the most anticipated boxing match of the decade? Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are set to face off on May 2nd. I say we are the real winners. Source: ESPN
Black Widow Scarlett Johansson has teamed up with other female artists to create “super pop” as The Singles. Check out their first track, “Candy” at the link. Source: Rolling Stone
Oh, and San Diego Comic Con sold out in an hour – a record-breaking sell-out time. BUT! You can find Hush Comics wondering around Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle at the end of March. They actually have comic book creators there.
Well it seems FOX’s own golden goose, Bill O’Reilly, is under fire for exaggerated claims of his coverage of the Falklands War. Fresh on the heels of Brian Williams drama, I think it’s great we are holding journalists and reporters accountable for their stories. However, I’m much more appalled at the actual bullshit they cover more so than who almost got Gumped (shot in the buttocks) in a war zone. Just my two cents… Source: Former CBS Colleague Eric Jon Engberg’s Facebook
Fanboys, ready to drool? ScarJo has been cast in the live action version of Ghost in the Shell, based off the popular anime. Get ready for some major boobage and baddassery. Source: Variety.
Fangirls, ready to drool? ChanTat (Is that a thing?) has officially put a ring on it; the newly-minted Gambit announced the release date for X-Men Apocalypse, which Remy Lebeau will make his X-debut (we don’t talk about Origins in this house). Source: Twitter.
Agent Carter debuts today. SET YOUR DVR! Or just huddle around the radio with your family like they did back when the show is set (mid-1940’s).
Hold the phones – Mortal Kombat X is getting a comic book prequel, and the first one comes out January 6th; it is a short, digital-first book by DC Comics. Finally! WB is putting those licensing rights to good use.
As awesome as it sounds, Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul is NOT slated to play Han Solo in a spin-off Star Wars film. Screw fact checking; you have a story like that – you run with it. Source: Twitter.
Facebook has become an amazing tool for tracking people’s lives, so says the NSA. Sometimes though, it can provide people with a great research tool. A recent study shows interesting correlations among comic books and gender the last few years. Source: Graphic Policy.
Game of Thrones is coming back in a couple months, and I couldn’t think of a better way to catch up than to watch the Season 4 finale in IMAX, followed by a new trailer for the 5th season. GoT will be coming to “select” IMAX theaters the last week of January. We’ll keep you posted as we find out more. Source: EW.
Riding on the back of an elephant murdering bad guys with flaming arrows is just the tip of this metaphorical iceberg. Ubisoft is willing to think outside the box, and this survey should clear the air about any qualms people might have a bout a straight-forward sequel to Far Cry 4. Screw playing it safe; I want dinosaurs. Source: Eurogamer.
In the race of who has the most of my money guaranteed in 2015, the winner right now is 20th Century FOX, who has produced a Peanuts movie, set to release in November. Snoopy and the gang is back. Good grief that trailer is great!
Everybody’s favorite swashbuckling kitten is getting his own Netflix series. The Adventures of Puss in Boots becomes available January 16th. Source: Netflix.
It’s all fun and games until an entire generation of people don’t know who Paul McCartney is… We really have nobody to blame but ourselves. That new Kanye song “Only One” is ridiculous.
A slew of soon-to-be comic book news is making the rounds:
Warren Ellis is going to do some guest writing on Kelly Sue DeConnick’sCaptain Marvel. Source: CBR.
Mark Doyle is coming to DC Comics to stay as the Bat-book editor. Since heading the Bat-books, there have been a lot of pioneering and adjusting, so this is a good move. Source: ComicsAlliance.
With Brian Buccellato (art) and Mike Miller (writing) taking over creative duties on Injustice: Gods Among Us, expect a must different product when issue #15 drops today. Source: ComiXology.
A cool little twist for Tekken 7 has been revealed; a new camera option will let both players be on the left side of the screen when starting a match. To a lame-o like me, whatever, but to serious competition players, this could be the difference between kicking a 13 year old’s ass and throwing your controller down in rage. Source: Twitter.
X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass 2 director, Matthew Vaughn started poppin’ off at the mouth today when he said that he thinks “Nolan kick-started a very dark, bleak style of superhero escapism, and I think people have had enough of it.” SCOOOORE-BOARD. SCOOOORE-BOARD. Source: The Hollywood Reporter.
Sony is going to continue kicking Microsoft’s ass with these upcoming Playstation features:
Playstation Now will launch this year, and offer so much content for either $20/month of $45/quarter. Sourcer: Wikipedia (super reliable).
Playstation Vue could eventually do away with cable TV, and several major companies are already supporting it. Source: IGN.
Another year is in the books, and we here at Hush Comics couldn’t pass at the chance to rank our favorites of this year’s releases in all types of mediums. Some of the winners will surprise you; heck, some of the results surprised us. The results are completely subjective, and therefore were chosen with infallible logic. We would love to hear your opinions on what we have chosen, or if you thought we missed anything. This should be a fun review before we gear up for 2015.
Click on the link to take you to the “Best of 2014” homepage.
Best Horror/Thriller Movie
Gone Girl
Horns
Nightcrawler
The Purge: Anarchy
Under the Skin
WINNER – Horns
Horns is a seemingly unlikely pick for the best horror movie of 2014, but it was able to steal the win by being by far the most dynamic movie in its category this year. It’s not traditionally scary, or even gory – and it certainly doesn’t fit the whole torture porn thing that is so damn popular these days, but it’s thrilling and plays on the human fears of losing someone you love and the monster that you can turn into through the need for vengeance. In my opinion it at least had a beautiful and happy ending. What this movie really had going for it (other than Daniel Radcliffe *swoon*) is that it told a great love story, that just so happened to include demons, devils, and sociopaths. In a year of horror/thrillers that relied on blood and torture Horns had layers, and emotion and someone who actually knows how to write (Joe Hill) at its helm. We’d all be lucky if a new trend in horror started because of the impact Horns made. – Keriann
Second Place – Nightcrawler
Louis Bloom gets by stealing and scavenging until he picks up a video camera and a police scanner. Bloom, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is dark and intense, which is what Gyllenhaal does best. He starts to chase terrible accidents and crimes happening while the rest of us sleep. He pushes the boundaries every night to get bigger and better shots. Renee Ruso is a local news producer trying to raise her station’s rating so she employees Gyllenhaal. Ruso is fantastic and equally as intense as Gyllenhaal, which is hard to do. They’re both characters I wouldn’t want to be left in a room alone with. I don’t like using clichés like “heart pounding,” but if the shoe fits… Nightcrawler isn’t a mile a minute thrill ride; however, it is an exceptional movie that deserves everyone’s consideration. – Scott
Third Place – The Purge: Anarchy
If you’re looking to really scare the crap out of people, prey on the fears that could most realistically happen. For this, The Purge: Anarchy has gripped onto our feeble minds and burrowed itself there for years to come. In this materialistic, reality-consumed America, the nation sacrifices one night each year to make all crime completely legal. You know, to get it out of our system. Nobody is safe, and nobody will help you. That is 100x scarier to me than an evil doll or serial killers wearing fox masks (“What Does the Fox Say?”). Creating a lot of buzz with such a low budget – Anarchy cleared over ten times its $9 million budget – you can be sure to see new installments of this every year. – Sherif
RUNNER UP – Gone Girl
This story doesn’t have a happy ending , that’s why I like this movie. Amy wants things to go back to the way they were. Nick, played by Ben Affleck, is scared to death of his wife, Amy, knowing she is over the top manipulative and just got away with murder. The story on paper is a mess but this movie is able to spin it all together so well into a cohesive story. There are a few plot holes but nothing too glaring. It’s a clever game of manipulation by almost every character in the movie .The underlying message I got from this movie was, don’t believe any narrative the media tries to shove down your throat, you don’t have a clue as to what’s really going on. – Shane
RUNNER UP – Under the Skin
I don’t think I like the movie. Sometimes when I think about it, I do. Maybe this is the brilliance of the film. It had a friend and I talking about it for hours afterward. I’m not a big fan of the ScarJo at all, but this role was perfect for her because she just has to do her equivalent of a Keanu Reeves Matrix stare. I would have liked more explanation and understanding what is going on with the character and why she is luring men back to this strange house in Ireland. At the same time the film treats you as if you’re part of her story and should already know what her story is. It’s an extreme version of the show over tell. I need to watch it a few more times to really explore the narrative. The most interesting and disturbing part of the film is the ending reveal. The alien inside the human suit is some cinematography genius. And if a film makes me watch it just to understand how I feel about it, then it’s done something right. – Jené
“We Can Do It!: Women in Comics, Television and Beyond” is Hush Comics’ answer to what women in comics mean to the world and to us Visit our page every Monday to learn about a new super lady!
*Note: Yes this article is late. Yay for jet lag from ECCC and hey, I thought it would be cool to publish when Winter Soldier actually came out. Oopsies.
Who:
Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow
Nicknames/Aliases:
Black Widow, Natalia Romanova (ok that’s her given name for you aficionados), Czarina
Skills:
Advanced combat skills and training, acrobat, ballerina, slowed aging due to Soviet experimentation, and a great knowledge of how to use a gun.
Origin Story:
Like most Marvel heroes, Black Widow has been retconned. Either way, her history is way sketchy. I guess that is what happens when a girl is trained by Russia to be a spy and is genetically mutated. Yup, so that is basically her history. Her real name can either be Natasha Romanoff or Natalia Romanova. This just adds to her mystery. She was trained by Ivan Petrovich, and in her retcon, by the KGB. She has been experimented on to make her age slower and make her more agile. She has also had her memory altered so she doesn’t remember significant chunks of her life and is given the memory of being an esteemed ballerina. Originally, Natasha was sent to kill Iron Man. She wore an evening gown with a sweet cat-eye mask with a veil over her face. She was also raven haired before she had her fiery red mane. She met Hawkeye and convinced him to help her. After a failed mission, she was kidnapped by the KGB and brainwashed to kill the Avengers, of which Hawkeye was a member. Because she had fallen in love with him, she eventually found the light side and became good ole American. She also became the 16th Avenger. She has found herself in a romantic relationship with many Marvel characters, mainly being the main squeeze of Matt Murdock aka Daredevil, but she also has been with Iron Man, Captain America, and Bucky Barnes. In her current issues, she is an independent spy who sometimes takes jobs with Nick Fury’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Notably, Black Widow saved Wolverine from the HYDRA and was a leader of The Champions which included Hercules and Ghost Rider. She led them to battle with many baddies including The Stranger and The Crimson Dynamo. Yeah, she pretty much has done everything.
Why is she important?:
Let me count the ways as to why Natasha Romanoff is important. Ok, first, she currently is the female face of The Avengers. I mean she is carrying the entire female population in all the current movies. That’s a lot to handle. And all this is just my opinion of course, but I really think she is the inspiration for two of my other favorite women: La Femme Nikita and Echo from Dollhouse. As far as La Femme Nikita goes, she was also a Russian spy who was used as a tool for the government. And Echo? Well, Natasha was also brainwashed and supplied with false memories. She was made to be super strong and acrobatic. So were the Dolls. Pretty cool, I think. Not only that, but Natasha has kinda saved a lot of our favorite superheroes. Like, their lives. Oh, and she’s smart, witty and can kick a lot of ass. I’d say she is really important not only for the Marvel Universe, but to women ad little girls who go to the movies and read comics. Thank you, Miss Romanoff.
What she means to me:
Honestly, before The Avengers came out, I had limited knowledge of who Black Widow was. But considering my celebrity doppelgänger, Scarlett Johansson, played her, I needed to find out as much as I could. As a little girl, I used to play spy. Didn’t every little girl? Ok maybe about half of us. Anyway, Black Widow is the woman I think of when I wish I had a different life, except in my head, it is a more glamourous world without all that experimentation. Now that I know tons more about her, I think every girl should idolize her. She is a woman who has been through hell and back, is smart as a whip and can kick some serious ass. Yup, pretty much one tough as nails chick. And that’s why I love her.
Natasha Romanoff in the 1960’s
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow
Me as Black widow a few Halloween’s ago!
The current Natasha in 2014’s Black Widow by Marvel
Hey guys! It’s been a whole year since we’ve done this, but with the rise in good independent films and nerd-based movies, we feel like now is as good of a time to get back on it as any. While action films tend to rule supreme, September is a month of promising documentaries and indy films, making up for the super-saturation of action movies this summer.
The third installment of the trilogy following Diesel’s Riddick around a desolate future where vicious creatures rule the darkness. The Riddick series has garnered quite the cult following and it’s not without reason. The sweet special effects, a strong protagonist and a fully-enveloped world helped the previous two films, Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick, carve out a niche in the sci-fi world. Riddick‘s story starts with our main character left for dead on some God-forsaken planet, killing lost of nasty alien creatures and humans that get in his way while he saves a planet from being described. Ya know, pretty much every sci-fi plot since science fiction was a thing. While this film will definitely create some buzz, like most of Diesel’s other flicks, I don’t expect it to make too much noise. That said, this will definitely be a movie I will want to see in theaters. I’ve really enjoyed Diesel’s performances of the first two films and I can’t wait to see how the third one plays out. – S
September 6 – Salinger
Starring: Martin Sheen, Edward Norton, John Cusack, Judd Apatow, many other famous people
Salinger is a documentary centered around the secluded life of legendary author, J.D. Salinger, whose book, The Catcher in the Rye, after multiple murderers (one being that of The Beatles’ John Lennon) claimed that his book inspired them to carry out the murders. It will be a pretty in-depth look at the man behind the myth. Salinger has been described as being “exhaustively researched” by one of its critics; this is something that Adrian (an English major and readaholic) will geek out about, and viewers who are not as well-versed in literature, like me, can look forward to learning a lot from it. The documentary’s director, Shane Salerno, has been working on the film for over eight years, and has co-written an extensive biography on Salinger. Salerno describes the film as a view “inside J.D. Salinger’s private world and shine light on a man named Jerry who lived in the shadow of the myth of J.D. Salinger.” Our book nerds will have a review to look forward to on this film for sure. – S
September 13 – The Family
Starring: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones
A fun spin on mob family comedies, The Family is a tale about a man (played by De Niro) that informs on the mob and enters the Witness Protection program, moving his family to France in order to remain anonymous from the crime family that he snitched on. The best part about the trailer is that his whole family is a bunch of jerks. Their mob mentality hasn’t gone away at all, and from the previews, it’s a pretty humorous look at mafia mentality translated to other areas of life. Surprisingly, laying low doesn’t last long. Explosions and hilarity ensue. It doesn’t look ground-breaking or anything, but it is an original spin on a dated idea. It could be worth a look. – S
September 13 – The Muslims Are Coming
Starring: A buncha Muslim comedians, political comedians (John Stewart, Lewis Black, etc)
The Muslims Are Coming! is a documentary/stand up comedy centered around Muslim comedians trying to break the race barrier with humor. It’s been years since I’ve seen a stand-up movie in theaters, but as an Arab-American, I feel pretty invested in this. The Muslims Are Coming! started off as a Kickstarter campaign, believe it or not. While it’s sold as a stand-up comedy, my guess is that a majority of the film will use personal encounters with Southerners and a slew of celebrity interviews to try to eliminate Mulsimophobia in the film. It also brings to light the issue of acceptance of Westernized Muslims by traditional Muslims. Muslims raised in America often find themselves trapped in the middle, not being accepted by either traditional Muslims or the mainstream American population. It looks to be a pretty decent movie, boasting, “You’ve never laughed this hard at a Muslim.” – S
September 20 – C.O.G
Starring: David Sedaris’ genius, Johnathan Groff (The Conspirator), Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars)
It’s amazing that a film based off anything of David Sedaris’ life is being made at all. If you are unfamiliar with who David Sedaris is, let me clue you in. Sedaris is a bestselling author of creative non-fiction. I wouldn’t go as far as to say his writings are all memoir, because memoir doesn’t necessarily make people laugh. Sedaris has written about all his odd jobs, his life with boyfriend Hugh, his time in NYC and Chicago, and his family and childhood in North Carolina. The reason there has never been a film made of his books and/or stories is because he always felt that his family would be mocked rather than acted and he never wanted them portrayed that way. That being said, I don’t believe Sedaris’ family will take much of a role in C.O.G. C.O.G. stands for Child of God. As a fair warning, this movie is probably not for bigots, homophobes or religious zealots. The story of C.O.G. will be a mixture of stories David wrote about his early 20’s working the apple season in the northwest and then carving clocks with a friend he makes. That being said, I cannot wait to see this film. Sedaris is my favorite author and i know he has had a lot to do with the making of the film. Be ready to laugh hysterically, be shocked and even come away enlightened. – A
September 27 – Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2
Starring: Bill Hader (SNL), Anna Farris (Scary Movie), Andy Samberg (SNL), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog), Terry Crews
As the month’s lone family film, Meatballs 2 looks to pick up where the second film left off. Flint and the rest of Swallow Falls return to a land they had to evacuate after Flint’s food machine forced the population out of town. When they return, it gets all Land of the Lost meets the Food Channel. The entire island has evolved and food creatures now rule over the treacherous land. Every creature is some silly play on names, the most hilarious being the Tacodile… SUPREME! It looks to be full of laughs for the whole family, with a few SNL alumni to keep things fresh for kids and adults alike. I really enjoyed the first installment, so I expect the sequel to repeat the formula that made the original so successful. – S
September 27 – Don Jon
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza
Setting aside my total man-crush on JGL (yeah, he has his own acronym), I’m genuinely excited to see Don Jon. In his writing and directing debut, Gordon-Levitt also stars as a sex-addicted bro-guy who unexpectedly falls for Scarlett Johansson and has to decide if he wants to live his life through porn or whether he wants to settle down with a decent girl. Of course, any time you mention Scarlett Johansson and sex-addiction in the same sentence, I’m sold. In all honestly, though, this looks to be a different approach. I’m sure there will be gratuitous sex in Don Jon, but I think that it will be limited. I see Joseph Gordon-Levitt adding depth to a seemingly shallow film. Don Jon looks like it will be a fun independent film, and hopefully will put JGL on the map as more than just an awesome actor. It’s the film I’m most excited for this month. – S
September 27 – As I Lay Dying
Starring: James Franco, Danny McBride
You may have thought right off the bat that a movie starring James Franco and Danny McBride would be a sequel to this summer’s This is the End. But a second glance at the title, and you may be reminded of William Faulkner’s classic American novel of the same name. As a bibliophile myself, I am always excited to see moviemakers ideas about a book. William Faulkner is one of the best authors in American history, so it shouldn’t be too hard to make a quality film of his genius. James Franco not only plays the main character, Darl, but he also directs the film. The main plot is a family of brothers and sisters must bury their dead mother in a nearby town. Keep in mind that the book was written in 1930, so this will be a period piece. I look forward to seeing where this adaptation takes the viewer. – A
September 27 – Rush
Starring: Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Daniel Brühl (famous German actor), Olivia Wilde (Tron: Legacy, Butter, House, drooooool….)
Blah blah blah, Olivia Wilde, blah blah blah, racing. Wait, what? Olivia Wilde? Sold! Rush is a Ron Howard film about the rivalry between Formula One racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda that is more about the two driving each other to be the best than it is about winning. Lauda is severely injured in a crash (actual footage shown below) and he tries to make a comeback, with the help of Hunt pushing him. While it looks like it would make a really cool ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, I don’t know that I could watch the movie without thinking of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Help me, Tom Cruise, it has Olivia Wilde in it, so I’m automatically interested. – S
That’s quite a bit of movies for September! Look out for October’s preview in a month.
Hush Comics 