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A Los Angeles man received a pleasant surprise after complaining about his Norse Atlantic Airways flight. In the clip, which has amassed 426,300 views, a disgruntled Jonas Kilker (@jonaskilker) sat in his plane seat as he vocalised his complaints.
“Not usually one to complain, but I’m gonna complain,” he said. “If I book a 13-hour international flight, I’m kind of assuming you’re gonna bring me some complimentary water, maybe some coffee as well.”
A Los Angeles man received a pleasant surprise after complaining about his Norse Atlantic Airways flight. In the clip, which has amassed 426,300 views, a disgruntled Jonas Kilker (@jonaskilker) sat in his plane seat as he vocalised his complaints.
“Not usually one to complain, but I’m gonna complain,” he said. “If I book a 13-hour international flight, I’m kind of assuming you’re gonna bring me some complimentary water, maybe some coffee as well.”
Olive Garden’s Never-Ending Pasta has been all the rage across social media. Whenever this deal launches every year, people rush to their nearest location to take advantage of it. After all, who doesn’t love unlimited pasta breadsticks, soup, and salad for $13.99? While dining in at an Olive Garden, one group of friends documented an unorthodox method for enjoying the unlimited promotion to-go: by stuffing as much pasta as possible inside Ziploc bags.
Olive Garden hack in action
“How much pasta we can finesse at Olive Garden’s endless pasta deal,” TikTok creator Bridgitte (@halfevil___333) writes in the text overlay.
In the next few years, there’s going to be two different live-action Batmans on the big screen for the first time. We’ll have Robert Pattinson return as the Dark Knight of Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe, and a new Batman: Brave and the Bold film, with a different version of Bruce Wayne for the DCU. Some fans think this will be too confusing for the average moviegoer. Some have even asked James Gunn how the general audience will react. But the truth is, outside comics media has done this with Batman before—twice. First in the ‘70s, and again in the 2000s. Except it was in animation, not live-action.
In the late ‘70s, Batman was appearing in two different incarnations on Saturday morning television. He’d already been appearing since 1973 on the ABC series Super Friends, with Batman voiced by Olan Soule, and Robin played by radio personality and Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, Casey Kasem. Hanna-Barbera produced that series. But on rival network CBS, the Caped Crusader started appearing in a series called The New Adventures of Batman. On this show, Batman ’66 actors Adam West and Burt Ward reprised their iconic TV roles.
Here’s where it all gets tricky. Filmation Studios produced the CBS cartoon. They would later find great success with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. The character designs for this show were based on their 1968 animated show, The Batman/Superman Hour. But on that show, the voices of the characters came from Soule and Kasem. Which is why Hanna-Barbera hired them in 1973 for Super Friends in the first place. With the actors now tied up playing another version of these heroes, CBS and Filmation hired West and Ward instead.
The New Adventures of Batman series produced 16 episodes, but ran on and off for years, up until 1981. It featured Batgirl in a prominent role, voiced by Melindy Britt, who would go on to play She-Ra. Bat-Mite, the imp from another dimension, was the show’s comic relief. The major Bat villains Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Clayface, and Mister Freeze all appeared multiple times, but no Riddler. Well, except in the opening credits, where he inexplicably wore a pink costume. And why no Riddler? That’s because ABC already licensed the character, along with Scarecrow, for use on Super Friends.
While The New Batman Adventures was in production for CBS, network ABC was planning to relaunch Super Friends as Challenge of the Super Friends. This iteration of the show would pit the Justice League vs. the Legion of Doom, made up the DC’s biggest villains. However, Batman’s biggest villains were off the table, thanks to being licensed to Filmation and CBS. So Riddler and Scarecrow were Batman’s representation on the Legion of Doom, and Wonder Woman villain Cheetah was used to replace Catwoman. Joker and Penguin wouldn’t appear on Super Friends until the very final season in 1985.
Flash forward twenty years, and something similar happened again. This time, Batman was wholly under the control of one entity, Warner Bros. In 2004, the Kids WB Saturday morning block reintroduced Batman to a new generation, with the cartoon series The Batman. It featured Rino Romano as Bruce Wayne, and had a more anime-inspired design. Despite the massive shadow of Batman: The Animated Series over its head, The Batman found a new generation of kids who fell in love with it. And they especially loved its 21st-century versions of the Gotham City rogues.
But at the same time as The Batman was airing on Saturday mornings, the ‘90s B:TAS Batman was still fighting alongside his fellow heroes on Justice League Unlimited. The legendary Kevin Conroy still voiced him, and was a continuation of the Dark Knight fans knew since 1992. Just as in the ‘70s, the two competing Batmans aired at the same time, although JLU was on Cartoon Network. Warner Bros. Animation produced both shows, unlike before. But none of the villains appearing on The Batman could appear on JLU, as a self-regulating rule WB Animation imposed on itself.
Just as two decades prior, this caused all kinds of problems for a certain Legion of Doom. When the Legion became the “Big Bads” of JLU season three, they once again could not use a single Batman villain, because The Batman had dibs on them, which is why Mark Hamill’s Joker never showed up in the roster, despite existing in that continuity (and appearing in the previous Justice League series). It also meant Nightwing and Batgirl could not appear, as The Batman also hoarded those characters for their show. Justice League Unlimited and The Batman had different audiences, so we’re not sure why this rule was implemented; however, they adhered to it until JLU ended in 2006. But for a couple of years in the 2000s, we once again had two versions of Batman in broadcast animation.
So what’s the lesson here? Basically, no kid watching cartoons in the ‘70s or in the 2000s had their heads explode from confusion over there being two different versions of Batman on TV. Just as adults can figure out that on the big screen, Matt Reeves’ Batman is a different version than the DCU one that James Gunn will introduce in The Brave and the Bold. Batman, like Spider-Man and Superman, is a big enough character in pop culture that competing versions of him can exist. And we trust that everyone will get it just fine.
The post There Will Be 2 Live-Action Batmans, But Cartoons Did That First appeared first on Nerdist.
These days there’s no shortage of vampire content, but the sub-genre is home to some quality films that definitely aren’t talked about enough. If you can’t wait for Halloween to get your vampire fix, now is the perfect time to check out these underrated vampire films that are just fang-tastic!
Queen of the Damned (2002)
After the success of 1994’s Interview with the Vampire (based on Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles book series) and before AMC’s TV series adaptation of the same name, there was Queen of the Damned. It arrived on the big screen in 2000 and was considered a poorly structured representation of Rice’s work. Stuart Townsend starred as Lestat de Lioncourt, a vampire who creeps out of his coffin at the sound of nu metal and becomes an elusive rock god. However, the film’s real star was Aaliyah’s Queen Akasha, awakened by Lestat and ready to make him her king.
This isn’t a movie to watch for its substance, but the style is undeniably entertaining. Lestat’s brooding is cranked up to 11, occult researcher Jesse Reeves (Marguerite Moreau) is reduced to a bland love interest, and the whole thing is riddled with very cringe dialogue. It’s a bad movie but a good time.
For fans of 2000s nu-metal jams and sexy Black vampire queens.
Where to watch: Tubi
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
Visionary writer-director Ana Lily Amirpour crafted a stylish black-and-white horror feature with A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, the first Iranian vampire spaghetti Western. A lonely Girl (Sheila Vand) goes on nightly prowls around the mostly empty streets of Bad City, an ideal place for a hungry creature of the night to find a snack or two. She also likes threatening children and riding skateboards on occasion. When she comes across Arash (Arash Marandi), she resists the urge to bite him, instead bringing him back to her apartment to listen to music.
Amirpour blends classic vampire mythology with Iranian culture, Rockabilly, and German Expressionism to create this otherworldly, graphic novel-like aesthetic. It’s a must-watch for any horror buff.
For fans of David Lynch, brooding vampire vigilantes, and eerie slow-burn art house films.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Bliss (2019)
When punk rock artist Dezzy Donahue (Dora Madison) gets painter’s block, she tries out a new drug called Bliss, essentially a Long Island iced tea of drugs. It gets the creative juices flowing but not until after she parties a little too hard, has a threesome with her flaky best friend Courtney (Tru Collins) and her male companion Ronnie (Rhys Wakefield), and wakes up sans clothes on a bathroom floor. From there, Dezzy and the audience go on a wild, neon-soaked ride of blackouts, addiction, manic artistry, and possible vampirism. It has a grimy hard rock aesthetic and the SnorriCam style shots put us uncomfortably close to this woman as she experiences a seemingly painful, disorienting vampire transformation.
For fans of Climax, Euphoria, loud music, and trippy visuals.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
Just about everyone is familiar with the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series by now. But five years before it premiered on the WB, there was the movie starring Kristy Swanson as the popular high school cheerleader who also happens to be the “Chosen One.” After the California teen is approached by Merrick (Donald Sutherland), she reluctantly begins her training (wearing the best slayer training aerobics fashion ever). It turns out she’s already inexplicably skilled with a wooden stake. This movie doesn’t ask much from the viewer. It knows a lot of things don’t make sense.
Including the aforementioned Sutherland, Buffy has a stacked cast. Rutger Hauer and Paul Reubens deliver delightfully campy performances as the main vamp antagonists Lothos and Amilyn. It also features young future stars Hilary Swank, David Arquette, Thomas Jane, and Ben Affleck, with the late Luke Perry as Pike, Buffy’s bad boy love interest.
For fans of self-aware comedies, Valley Girl slang, and ’90s-era music and fashion.
Where to watch: HBOMax
Once Bitten (1985)
If you haven’t seen Jim Carrey in this teen sex horror comedy then you’re missing out. He plays Mark Kendall, a sex-obsessed high schooler who drives an ice cream truck and just wants to get laid. While out on the town, aka Hollywood, with his equally horny friends, he meets the seductive Countess (Lauren Hutton) and follows her home to a fabulous mansion. Mark is just what she needs to maintain her youthful glow — a male virgin to drink from 3 times before Halloween. But instead of just keeping him around, she decides to infiltrate his dreams and chase him around L.A.
Once Bitten is a lot of fun and jam-packed with catchy tunes. There’s even a ridiculous impromptu dance-off between the Countess, Mark, and his girlfriend Robin (Karen Kopins).
For fans of Jim Carrey and ’80s nonsense.
Where to watch: Tubi
What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Written and directed by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, What We Do in the Shadows is a mockumentary following the undead lives of three vampire roommates in Wellington, New Zealand. Viago (Waititi), Vladislav (Clement), and Deacon (Jonny Brugh) are from different regions and time periods and have their own styles. But they all enjoy a night out. They have a brief but hilarious run-in with a local werewolf pack led by Anton (Rhys Darby), who scolds his brethren for cursing because they’re werewolves, not swear-wolves.
While the FX series of the same name has gained a fanbase, the original film is often overlooked. I love the series because Waititi and Clement expanded this wacky vampy world and moved the setting to Long Island. The series has a different cast but the OG core trio make a few appearances as members of the Vampiric Council.
For fans of Flight of the Conchords and the mind of Taika Waititi.
Where to watch: I recommend a Shadows marathon beginning with the film on Prime Video and following it up with the series on Hulu.
Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
Shadow of the Vampire is truly a forgotten gem despite earning its lead actor an Academy Award nomination in 2001. The film stars Willem Dafoe as enigmatic actor Max Schreck best known for his eerie portrayal of the titular vampire in 1922’s Nosferatu — a role he played so well that rumors spread he was an actual vampire. Joining him on screen is the legendary John Malkovich as filmmaker Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, a name any film student will certainly know.
Aside from the over-the-top acting style of the time, Nosferatu is far from a comedy. However, you’ll have plenty of laughs watching Shadow of the Vampire. Murnau’s production of Nosferatu is quite chaotic as Schreck’s presence has the cast and crew weary, which is hardly of any concern to Murnau. Though when his essential crew members start to disappear, his patience runs thin.
For fans of Ed Wood, Nosferatu, and film history.
Where to watch: Tracking this one down will require some work since it’s not currently streaming on any platforms. But it’s worth seeking out a DVD copy online or from a library. In the meantime, check out the trailer on Prime Video and watch/rewatch Nosferatu on Tubi while you’re at it.
And before you mention Sinners, the film is FAR from being underrated.
The post Underrated Vampire Films to Sink Your Teeth Into appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.