deerstalker

https://nerdist.com/article/pee-wee-herman-in-cyberpunk-2077-fan-video/

It’s been almost a year since we lost Paul Reubens, the actor who brought the iconic Pee-wee Herman to life. But fans have ensured the memory of Pee-wee lives on, finding ways to keep him alive in memes and tribute videos. Thanks to the folks at Laughing Squid, we’ve learned about a YouTuber by the name of eli_handle_b․wav. They have edited scenes from the game Cyberpunk 2077 and included Pee-wee from his cinematic debut in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Whether it’s Night City, California, or a 1980s shopping center, one truth remains: you just don’t separate a boy from his bike. There are consequences.

Pee-wee was always trying to look like a tough guy in Tim Burton’s classic 1985 movie. So he somehow fits right into the dystopian future world of Cyberpunk 2077. After all, this is the same Pee-wee who got inducted into the Satan’s Helpers biker gang by putting on an unforgettable dance number. The same Pee-wee who said “I’m a loner, Dottie. A rebel.” Ok, maybe his wardrobe doesn’t go, but nobody’s perfect. This is not the first time that eli_handle_b․wav has mixed classic comedies into video games. On their channel, they have videos showcasing Shrek in Fallout 4, and Austin Powers in Mass Effect. They even had Ace Ventura, also in Cyberpunk 2077.

Pee-wee somehow has a way of turning up in various other movies he originally wasn’t in. Well, in fan-made videos anyway. Some of our favorites include the time he was in Jurassic Park, or when he took the place of Kylo Ren in Star Wars. We don’t think anyone has put Pee-wee on board the Titanic yet, but we figure it’s only a matter of time. Especially now that he’s gone though, we appreciate seeing that face and hearing that distinctive laughter pop up anywhere.

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The post Pee-wee Herman in CYBERPUNK 2077 Somehow Just Works appeared first on Nerdist.

https://blacknerdproblems.com/civil-war-review/

Alex Garland’s Civil War presents a near-future dystopian United States at a time when the United States exists, in reality, as an increasingly dystopian colonial empire at the precipice of collapse. It uses the presently divisive state of American politics to draw audiences in to watch a movie about how much more divisive it can be. It’s a very polished and well-designed movie that delivers a masterclass on neutrality during wartime at a time when, in reality, neutrality enables widescale oppression and terrorism. It talks about any number of things but doesn’t explain anything.

Civil War follows a crew of journalists documenting the potential final days of the United States as we know it. The United States is now divided into four factions. Texas and California have seceded from the country to form the Western Forces and are gathering troops to take on the US military. The journalists are heading to the last stronghold of the federal government, Washington, DC – as it is planned to be besieged by the Western Forces.

There aren’t too many plot holes in this movie, but the ones that exist are looming and overshadow any of the intensity, sentimentality, and emotion this movie wants to leave audiences with. Like, ‘Why is this conflict even happening?’ At no point in the movie does it become clear how these two states (which have no grounded explanation for a political allegiance or alliance) would agree to a coup. We’re given a little information from an interview with the President (played by Nick Offerman) with a quickfire session of questions about a third term and drone strikes on American soil (which already happened IRL). We can start and stop right there, but we’re not.

Civil War follows Lee, Joel, Sammy, and Jesse as a ragtag group of journalists en route to the last real news story left. Joel (played by Wagner Moura) and Sammy (acting legend Stephen McKinley Henderson) are reporters who explore the nature of asking the questions that make people think rather than coming to the door with their own biases. Lee (Kirsten Dunst) and Jesse (Cailee Spaeny) are photojournalists, looking to take the picture that makes people ask questions in place of asking the questions themselves.

The art of journalism lies in its integrity. That ‘integrity’ is achieved by leaving a bias behind and seeking ‘the’ truth. Not one truth. Not ‘your’ truth. A universal truth. That truth is missing from this movie. It’s a piece of fiction, so we shouldn’t go looking for the answers to life in it. However, the movie is grounded in and was marketed as (blame the trailers for that) a reality so close to our own that it comes as a slap in the face of the audience’s intelligence to be faced with the absence of that truth. Instead, we follow the inaction and neutrality of their profession. Through the lens of journalism, Civil War dodges every truth about the ties between politics and war. It treats them the way we would a natural disaster, without any real questioning as to why it ever came to pass. It gets chalked up to some phantom dictatorial event that led to a President’s third term (and the disbanding of the FBI) and never explored beyond that.

The performances are great, so many great actors in a small cast make it easy for them to play. Jesse Plemons as a nationalist xenophobe in rose-colored glasses makes the skin crawl in the best way. That man plays no games in any role. Another thing it does well is go hard for neutrality using the ‘intimate distance’ of photography. Lee digs for the shocking, impactful image that can define a moment while Jesse looks to capture the capturing of that same moment. Civil War does well with defining the distance some people have to the urgent issues they are facing. Some of the strongest scenes of the movie are punctuated by stills ‘taken’ by Lee and Jesse during climatic moments.

Parables around things like neutrality are damning as the film hit theaters while an active genocide, global collusion to empower the genociding forces, mass protests, increased police violence, and the least believed-in American political candidates in an election year are all front and center in the public consciousness. More damning still is that despite a theme exploring the relationship between the ‘intimate distance’ of photography and the neutrality of journalism throughout the movie, it still finds time to highlight Black characters being brutalized onscreen with greater detail than most.

Despite everything it pretended to bring to the table with the trailer, Civil War has no teeth. In its attempt to be a sounding board to the times, it ends up being kind of oblivious as a piece of media. There’s a scene early on where a Black man is being beaten, restrained, and set on fire with Lee standing a few feet away clicking pictures. It left me with a feeling in the pit of my stomach. An ache and pang I’ve felt when I’ve seen police violence enacted on civilians surrounded by throngs of people with phones who outnumber the police. The look in the eye of someone who knows they can get away with murder because of the inaction or neutrality of others brings me to this Max Eastman quote every time: “People who demand neutrality in any situation are usually not neutral but in favor of the status quo.” Civil War feels so much like a demand for neutrality, lest we lose our blessed, stable ‘normality’.

There was such an opportunity for this movie to talk about substantive and pervasive concerns. Instead, it sits like a status quo parable at a time when the status quo is so harmful. Maybe it came out at a bad time. Maybe it isn’t self-aware enough to know that. Maybe folks tried to capitalize on real-life pain and suffering to make a point they weren’t equipped to make. Either way, this movie comes across as a feckless attempt to say…something… and misses the mark.

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The post The Truth has No Teeth: ‘Civil War’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://www.essence.com/news/former-white-house-social-secretary-new-book/

Ellen Shope-Whitley By Rayna Reid Rayford ·Updated April 24, 2024

How did a former hip-hop journalist without a bachelor’s degree land one of the most exclusive positions working for America’s first Black president?

The post Deesha Dyer Shares Journey From Community College To Coveted Career At The White House In New Book appeared first on Essence.

https://nerdist.com/article/could-x-men-famke-janssen-return-as-jean-grey-in-deadpool-and-wolverine/

With so many X-Men characters from the Fox film franchise returning in Deadpool & Wolverine, can we expect to see Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey among them? Janssen previously stated she would not be back for the forthcoming film, but now she’s singing a more uncertain tune. Here’s what she had to say when speaking to the folks at Comic Book about a potential comeback as the host of the Phoenix Force in Deadpool & Wolverine:

I don’t know. I doubt it, but you never know. I mean, I didn’t expect to come back after dying as Jean Grey. I came back as the Phoenix [in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand], and I came back in flashback scenes in The Wolverine, and then in Days of Future Past.

It’s now been a decade since the actress portrayed Jean in Days of Future Past, which came out in 2014. Her role was recast with Sophie Turner for the pair of X-Men prequel films, X-Men: Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix. Nevertheless, fans have wanted to see the original Jean return ever since the altered timeline undid her death at the end of X-Men: The Last Stand. Why bring her and other dead X-Men back if not to use them in something down the line?

So far, the non-Hugh Jackman actors confirmed as coming back for Deadpool & Wolverine are all relatively minor players. We’re talking characters like Deathstrike, Pyro, Sabretooth, and Toad. But what about the main X-Men cast themselves? Patrick Stewart keeps hinting there’s more Professor Charles Xavier in his future. James Marsden has made similar hints about returning as Cyclops. Last year, Halle Berry showed off a photograph of herself in Storm’s signature white hairdo. If all of them return, then we imagine Jean Grey is coming back to the fold as well. We’re crossing our fingers for this Phoenix to rise from the ashes.

The post Could X-MEN’s Famke Janssen Return as Jean Grey in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE? appeared first on Nerdist.