deerstalker

https://blacknerdproblems.com/new-mutants-15-review/

Writers: Vita Ayala / Artist: Rod Reis / Marvel Comics

Issue #16 of New Mutants is filled with heartache, mistrust, deception and intrigue. We start off with Shadow King working with this rag tag group of C-List mutants; Rain Boy, Cosmar, No-Girl and Anole. It’s all written pretty plainly on the wall. Shadow King stay schemin’, and this time he’s got his shadowy claws pointed at one of the newest and unpredictable mutants; Cosmar.

I really enjoyed the angle they took with welcoming in Cosmar and building up the complications that she comes with. Being a mutant who has had their body deformed, eye enlarged, face disfigured, and body purplized because of their initial lack of control of their powers would make someone want to be their old self again. Being denied this venture would lead the most level-headed down a path of resent and malice, which is why Hurricane Cosmar is a brewing, and Shadow King is sitting pretty in the eye of the storm.

Scout has been a cool character for me to learn about and appreciate. She’s also been the mutant I’ve felt for the most lately, cuz clone girl been goin through it. Last issue she was going hard on the perceived stance on a certain kind of mutant being brought back and received some soft reassurance then kind of got dismissed.

Now she’s being told to learn to think beyond what the humans who indoctrinated her allowed her to know about herself. There are two big takeaways for me here. The use of the word indoctrinate is so perfect and does a really good job of explaining why a teacher like Warpath would want her to learn about herself before trying to support as an instructor. The other thing is these doubtful recurring Scout responses of “For now” and “I guess.”

Alsoooo, if she keeps getting deaded by Daken for makeout sessions, something will be going down real soon.

Last but not least, Wolfsbane is going through it. She’s finally at the point in her life where the child she lost is weighing on her more heavily than she can bare. Eventually, her and Moonstar hit the Lagoon for Doug’s wedding reception, which led to one of the more incredible conversations that have gone down in all of the X-Books lately. I hope all the children reading this book take something away from this scene. Dani explains to Rahne that it’s ok to be conflicted at a function or gathering of friends when something like that is on your mind. You’re allowed to feel sad and to hurt, and it doesn’t take away from the love you have for someone else.

Beautifully written issue by Vita Ayala. Rod Reis does his dope watercolor like artistic thing, as expected. I’m a particularly big fan of the nearly devoid of color white that Reis bestows on Shadow King and can’t wait to see more of this potential threat. This was another good go with the New Mutants, and I’m intrigued where all of these threads are leading.

8 Cheers to “Our great future” out of 10

Reading New Mutants? Find our other reviews here.

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The post New Mutants #15 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://www.themarysue.com/kate-mckinnon-just-wants-to-know-what-still-works/

Saturday Night Live returned last night, with the very first episode of 2021. The cold open featured Kate McKinnon, as herself, asking the question that’s plagued all our minds for a year now: what still works? Kate then interviews several characters as she dissects their respective failings. First, there’s Cecily Strong playing QAnon congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who offers Kate a handgun from her purse. After going through Taylor Greene’s laundry list of hideous beliefs and behavior, McKinnon surmises that “government doesn’t work.”

She moves on to interview Pete Davidson, who played a man who made millions off of GameStop stocks, leading her to remark that the stock market also doesn’t work. This was followed by social media not working, with Mikey Day and Alex Moffat as Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Finally, Kenan Thompson rolls through as O.J. Simpson, who recently tweeted video of himself getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Finally, host John Krasinski comes out as the only thing in America that functions: Tom Brady. And yet despite Brady’s indomitable football skills, most of the country hates him and he’s “a weird Trump guy.” The best part of the skit was clearly McKinnon herself, who cycled through her world weary questions with an all too familiar exhausted disbelief. Yes, everything is bad now. Yes, things are getting better … kind of? Yes, we’re all still unraveling under the overwhelming stress that is simply existing right now.

In the words of another McKinnon creation, Wenowdis. But it’s still nice to see our anxiety reflected with humor and pathos. “I’m “slowly losing my mind along with all of you,” McKinnon intones, before opening the show.

We’re right there with you, Kate.

(image: screencap/NBC)

• Here’s a definitive ranking of the films in the Wrong Turn franchise. (via io9)
• Hailee Steinfeld talks about Emily’s journey in season 2 of Dickinson. (via THR)
• Here’s a look at Studio Ghibli’s upcoming film Earwig and the Witch. (via Collider)
• Tag yourself, I’m “The deep state created COVID in the pantry of a Marxist pizzeria.”

Anderson Cooper trained crows to unionize for the ghost of Hugo Chavez pic.twitter.com/ccn0f7yuRN

— Mrs. S (@eatteachmama) January 31, 2021

• Grab your popcorn and gird your loins: The Snyder cut is coming in March. (via comicbook.com)
• Here’s everything from the Star Wars Holiday Special that is now canon. (via CBR)
• We’re getting a movie version of the hit Broadway play Dear Evan Hansen this year. (via /Film)
• Pushing Daisies is on HBO Max? We know what we’re doing tonight!

Several years ago I produced a TV series called Pushing Daisies. It only ran for two years, but has collected many fans in the interim. I just learned it’s on HBO Max. Check it out if you’ve never seen it. @BryanFuller @KChenoweth pic.twitter.com/TerH43U0nm

— Dan Jinks (@JinksDan) January 31, 2021

Hope you’re having a restful and restorative Sunday, Sue Believers!

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The post Things We Saw Today: Kate McKinnon Just Wants To Know “What Still Works” first appeared on The Mary Sue.

https://blacknerdproblems.com/finding-comfort-in-collection-embracing-your-joy/

It’s been a tough year, and as we approach the anniversary of this pandemic (yup, it’s been almost a year of this) I’ve had some time to think about some of the things that have brought me joy. Obviously, my wife and my family have given me comfort but plenty of personal pleasures have made living in this new world a little bit better. Normally, video games and comic books serve as the ultimate form of escapism for me but lately, I’ve unexpectedly found comfort in my collection of statues, figures, and other nerd related memorabilia to bring me joy.

Humble Beginnings

I only started collecting statues and figurines about five years ago. When I think about how I got here, I honestly couldn’t tell you how it started. I had to really dig deep to think about all the other things I’ve collected in my life. If I look back to before my ridiculous amount of Funko Pops!, the only things that held up space in my life were comic books and various trade paperbacks, which brought me back to my high school years. 

I’m not as big on my high school years as a bunch of others are, but this is a memory I hold dear. I had found a shop right on the way from school to the train station. One day I decided to check it out and before I knew it, I was there every day, after school looking for the newest issues of Ultimate comics or any of my other favorite Marvel books. I think the best part about buying comics was looking for the best variant covers and collecting books not just to read but for the art. Years later this would break my wallet as Marvel started dropping Hip-Hop covers.

Looking back even further to my childhood, I realized that I have always been collecting. Like most kids, toys were a thing to have. However, what really held a special place in my heart were my Pokemon cards. Pokemon dominated the 90s’ and beyond the games, the cards were everything. Buying them, trying to collect them all. I remember loving those cards so much. I never really got into playing the card game too much. No, I found that I had much more fun finding all of the rare and special versions of the cards. 

I even had a binder with page after page filled with my favorite cards. I was proud of that binder, all the different versions of the same Pokemon cards or even the shiny holographic cards that were hard to get. The fun I had buying card packs, not knowing if I would be stuck with the same cards I had before or something rare. It’s a shame that my binder would get stolen later on, which left me devastated as a kid. I stopped collecting novelty items after and even collecting comic books didn’t feel the same.

Statues, Funkos, and Pops! Oh My!

I honestly don’t know what led to my ridiculous collection. What was once a collection of pins and giant dice turned into an assortment of more than 100 Funko Pops! and a few figurines. One thing led to another and soon enough I found myself shopping for just the right bookshelf to display the crazy amount of bobbleheads and statues I had gathered. Family members started even buying me Pops! as Christmas presents.

When we first got the bookshelf, my wife made fun of me. I had a habit of organizing the Pops! just the way I wanted them. The Spider-Man collection was the most important, so all of those needed to go together. Then next came the section of the bookshelf dedicated to my wife’s Pops!, which she called “her girls.” I insisted that those needed to be organized by DC and Marvel girls. The bottom shelves were dedicated to the random movie, television, and animation Pops! we’ve collected. Finally, the top shelf holds the statues I bought for my wife because those are some of her favorite kinds of presents.

This past Christmas I took a good long look at my bookshelf. A bookshelf that was barely able to fit all these figures on because I refuse to take most of them out of the box. I smiled. I thought about how over the past five years, how much fun I had collecting these things. Going to Comic-Con with my wife and collecting all the comics, swag, and toys we could. Dipping and diving into a Walgreens just to find super rare Spider-Man Pops! Talking with my uncle and comparing his collection to mine (he always had the better ones, ones that are worth like $300 +). I even got my wife into it, and we built the collection I have together.

Don’t Take Away Your Own Joy

I know my trophy hall has brought me many things. A community. Trust me, you’re not the only one out there. Sharing my collection with groups, friends, and family, especially those who share your love of the inanimate but well designed, is such a fulfilling experience. A bonding experience with my wife. We both love collecting figures together, it has brought us closer, and over the past couple of years, we’ve taken trips to Hot Topic just to find our favorite Pops! 

We even had a laugh as we exchanged Pops! for Christmas. I bought her Inuyasha verses Sesshomaru and she got me the Spider-Men pointing at each other meme figures. We know each other so well. And as I think about adding more than just Pops! to our bookshelf, I think what I gained the most from collecting is joy.

There is a joy in the little hobbies that might feel insignificant to some but are important to you. I mean, yes, when you simplify it, I’m just buying figures and statues because they look cool and they are dope to show off, but there is nothing wrong with that. We all need personal pleasures. They are a form of self-care. If buying that statue of Punisher and Daredevil throwing hands will put a smile on your face, then do it. 

Many of us look at life and just let responsibility take a hold of us. It can be mentally draining. I know I do. I skip out on so much because I feel like my money needs to be spent elsewhere or that if it serves no purpose, I shouldn’t get it. That kind of thinking stresses you out. As adults, no one is going to know what you want better than you do. In the words of Donna Meagle and Tom Haverford – Treat Yourself!

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The post Finding Comfort in Collection: Embracing Your Joy appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

http://www.thenerdelement.com/2021/01/30/ava-duvernay-joins-as-executive-producer-of-oscar-contender-a-concerto-is-a-conversation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ava-duvernay-joins-as-executive-producer-of-oscar-contender-a-concerto-is-a-conversation

AVA DuVERNAY JOINS AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF OSCAR CONTENDER ‘A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION’ NEW SHORT DOCUMENTARY FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES OP-DOCS, CO-DIRECTORS BEN PROUDFOOT, KRIS BOWERS

NEW YORK / LOS ANGELES (Wed., January 27, 2021) – The new short subject documentary A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION tells the story of virtuoso jazz pianist and film composer Kris Bowers as he tracks his family’s lineage through his 91-year-old grandfather from Jim Crow Florida to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker and entrepreneur Ben Proudfoot and Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers (“Green Book”, “When They See Us,” “Bridgerton”), and executive produced by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay, A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION will have its festival debut at the all-virtual 2021 Sundance Film Festival this week starting on Thursday, January 28th at 7:00AM PST as part of Documentary Shorts Program 2. The film is currently streaming at nytimes.com. The film was produced by Proudfoot’s Los Feliz based Breakwater Studios.

DuVernay and Bowers discuss the film in a pre-recorded conversation. “I was blown away,” DuVernay tells Bowers about her response to his intimate film, which she also called “a balm for these times.” DuVernay says the film captured “an intimacy within the sphere of Black masculinity that is so rare to see, that crosses the generational divide in a way that is rarely seen” and, later, that “it feels like I’m watching an exchange within my own family. I feel like Black people who have borne witness and participated in that exchange, it will feel beautifully familiar. And for folks who feel like that exchange is foreign or does not exist, it will be instructive. But more than anything, it is a record of a great man.”

Kris Bowers is one of Hollywood’s rising young composers. At 29, he scored the Oscar-winning film “Green Book” (2018), and this year he premiered a new violin concerto, “For a Younger Self,” at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Bowers also scored DuVernay’s Emmy-winning limited series “When They See Us.” For all that success, though, he says that as a Black composer, “I’ve been wondering whether or not I’m supposed to be in the spaces that I’m in.”

In the 13-minute film A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION, Bowers traces the process of breaking into new spaces through generations of sacrifice that came before him, focusing on the story of his grandfather Horace Bowers.

As a young man, he left his home in the Jim Crow South, eventually ending up in Los Angeles. Encountering discrimination at every turn, he and his wife, Alice, nevertheless made a life as business owners. Today, their legacy lives on through their family and community in South Los Angeles, where a stretch of Central Avenue was recently designated Bowers Retail Square — in case any question remained about whether it’s a place they belong.

Horace Bowers tells his grandson: “Never think that you’re not supposed to be there.”

Op-Docs is the celebrated series of short documentaries from The New York Times. Begun in 2011 by The Times’s Opinion department, Op-Docs showcases the work of both emerging and established independent filmmakers and artists who explore the most important issues facing our world. Op-Docs, has had a number of recent Oscar® nominated (“Walk Run Cha-Cha”, “4.1 Miles”) and Oscar® shortlisted films (“Stay Close”, “Alone”, “Ten Meter Tower”, “116 Cameras”).

Kristopher Bowers (born 1989) is an American composer and pianist who has composed scores for films, video games, television and documentaries including, “Green Book,” Madden NFL, “Dear White People,” and Kobe Bryant’s “Muse.” He has recorded, performed, and collaborated with the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, and José James. He won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition in 2011 and a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition in 2017 for The Snowy Day. Bowers worked on the score of Ava DuVernay’s Netflix mini-series When They See Us as well as the current Netflix hit Bridgerton. 

Ben Proudfoot (born 1990) is a Nova Scotia born filmmaker and founder of Breakwater Studios, an emerging leader in the short documentary space. A former sleight of hand magician, Ben has pioneered alternative models of short documentary financing and distribution including noteworthy and award-winning collaborations with The New York Times, Charles Schwab, Annapurna Pictures and the LA Phil, earning him a spot on the 2020 Forbes 30 under 30 list. In addition to his work as an entrepreneur, Ben is an award-winning artist and filmmaker, having directed over fifty noteworthy original short documentaries. Ben’s work as a director has been selected by HotDocs, Sundance, Tribeca and Telluride. He resides in Los Angeles. 

FILM TO HAVE FESTIVAL DEBUT AT SUNDANCE 2021 TOMORROW
FULL FILM NOW STREAMING ON NYTIMES.COM

The post AVA DuVERNAY JOINS AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF OSCAR CONTENDER ‘A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION’ appeared first on The Nerd Element.