Who is Riot?

So in only eight days the film Venom will be released. Now the movie is going to feature another symbiote named Riot. But some of you are probably asking who is Riot? Well that's what I'm going to explain.

Creation

David Michelinie the co-creator of Venom continued the Life Foundation story over from The Amazing Spider-Man series to Venom's first solo series, that series being titled Venom: Lethal Protector. There both him and artist Ron Lim created Riot. The character made his debut in Venom: Lethal Protector #4.

Storylines

Part 1 - Venom: Lethal Protector

In the story arc/Venom's first solo series Venom: Lethal Protector Spider-Man and Venom make a deal stating that they'll leave each other along as long as Venom doesn't commit any crimes. After that Venom decides to move from New York to San Francisco. At one point in the story Venom is captured by the Life Foundation where they created five of their own symbiotes who were spawned from Venom. Those symbiotes being Riot, Agony, Lasher, Phage, and Scream. The five new symbiotes would later get into a fight with Venom and Spider-Man but they were later destroyed by a machine triggered by Venom and they were thought to be dead.

Part 2 - Venom: Separation Anxiety

Riot along with his "siblings" would later return in the next storyline Venom: Separation Anxiety. In this story Eddie Brock and the symbiote are held in a special prison separate one another. Sometime later Riot and the other Life Foundation symbiotes find and capture Eddie. The reason being they think Eddie is responsible for killing Agony and they believe he's doing this because he wants to pick them off one by one.



Now I would go into more detail of what became of Riot in this story but then I would get heavy on the spoilers. So if any of you want to read this comic just click on the link.

Part 3 - Carnage: U.S.A.

Now I actually had to skip a story called Venom: Along Came a Spider because once again there was a huge spoiler. Also once again if you want to read that story here's a link. So the basic part of this story is Cletus Kasady (Carnage's real name) has returned and goes west to Doverton, Colorado. In that town he has infected the people there with his symbiote. Now Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Hawkeye, and The Thing go to Doverton to put an end to this madness, but besides them we also see the five Life Foundation symbiotes return. This time around they have new host. The Riot symbiote was merged with Petty Officer Howard Ogden of the MARSOC aka the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (wow that is a mouthful of name for an organization). After bonding with his symbiote Howard along with the rest of his teammates set off to help the heroes stop Carnage.

Part 4 - Deadpool vs. Carnage

Our last story to feature the Riot symbiote is the four part miniseries Deadpool vs. Carnage. After escaping imprisonment in Superior Carnage Annual #1 Cletus and Carnage mention how killing people felt just like the good old days. So they set off to cause more murder. Then in Deadpool vs. Carnage #1 Cletus/Carnage has killed people in a restaurant. Deadpool hears about this news and sets off to battle Carnage. After a few unsuccessful attempts Deadpool would later bond with the five Life Foundation symbiotes one of which is Riot. When all is said and done Deadpool gets rid of the symbiotes. Okay it's not exactly like that but I didn't want to give away the ending too much. The main point I'm trying to say is after this we don't know where Riot or his other "siblings" are. Put if you want to know more about this story here's a link.







So I hope that gives you a basic idea about Riot before Venom comes out. Speaking of Venom I can't wait to see that movie it looks like it's going to be awesome. So until then enjoy getting ready for the Halloween season.

State of The Project (Sept 8th - Oct 6th)

Sept 8th - The Nun Review

Sept 10th - What You Probably Didn't Know About Iron Man (2008)

Sept 13th - Is It True? - The Scooby-Doo Gang Are Escaping The Draft

Sept 15th - The Predator Review

Sept 24th - Road to Dark Phoenix - X-Men Review

Sept 27th - Who is Riot?

Oct 6th - Venom Review

NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU!

Road to Dark Phoenix - X-Men Review

Hello everyone and welcome to my road to the newest X-Men film that will be coming out February 2019 that film being Dark Phoenix. Well hopefully February I'm kind of hoping they don't change the release date again. But enough of that let's begin here in September and end in February.

X-Men is a 2000 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics' team of the same name. The film was produced by Marvel Enterprise, The Donners' Company, and Bad Hat Harry Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox. X-Men was written by Bryan Singer, Tom DeSanto, and David Hayter and directed by Bryan Singer.



The story is a group of people know as mutants live in a world of hate, fear, and prejudice. One mutant who goes by the name Magneto has had enough and decides to change that with lethal force. A team called the X-Men want to put a stop to that while at the same time bring peace to both humans and mutants.

• Negatives

Now this might come off as a nitpick but is it me or did Halle Berry's Maasai accent not work for me. What I mean by that is it didn't feel authentic.

• Mix

I've got nothing to say. So let's move forward.

• Positives

One thing I absolutely love about X-Men was how they kept the theme of humanity fearing mutants. The writers could have easily skipped over that and just make another superhero action flick. But with them keeping that from the comics it added another weight of drama to it's story.

What also made the film great was Magneto. While you understand where he's coming from you don't approve of his methods. Now yes that is in the comics what I'm saying is the filmmakers adapted this perfectly.

Now to talk about the performances. While everyone does a good job playing their characters, it's Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen who are the all-stars of the film. They played the characters so perfectly. So great that I still stand by that no one else can play those characters.

The final thing I'll praise the movie for is the action. Sure now we may not be impressed with it like we are with today's superhero action scenes what with special effects evolving but for 2000 it was awesome to see Cyclops shoot his laserbeam and Wolverine slice stuff up.

X-Men is without a shadow of doubt one of the best comic book films to be made. The theme of discrimination stayed true to the comics and was handled maturely, Magneto was a great sympathetic villain, Jackman, Stewart, and McKellen's performances are still amazing, and the action scenes still hold up. My only problem was Berry's less than stellar Maasai accent.

My final rating is Great

Well that's one film down five more to go. Come back next month when I review X2: X-Men United.

State of The Project (Aug 30th - Sept 27th)

Aug 30th - Raiders of The Lost Media - Mortal Kombat HD Arcade Kollection

Sept 8th - The Nun Review

Sept 10th - What You Probably Didn't Know About Iron Man (2008)

Sept 13th - Is It True? - The Scooby-Doo Gang Are Escaping The Draft

Sept 15th - The Predator Review

Sept 24th - Road to Dark Phoenix - X-Men Review

Sept 27th - Who is Riot?

NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU!

The Predator Review

The Predator (aka Predator 4) is a science-fiction horror film. It's the fourth installment in the Predator film series (sixth if anyone counts Alien vs. Predator & Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem). The movie is produced by 20th Century Fox,  Davis Entertainment, Silver Pictures, and Lawrence Gordon Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The Predator is written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and directed by Shane Black.



The story is a young boy named Rory has accidentally sent an alert to the Yautja aka the Predators back to Earth. A group of soldiers along with a science teacher are the only ones standing in their way. Will they stop the most lethal hunters in the universe or are they just another prey?

Initial Reaction

Now I loved the Predator since me and my dad watched the first movie when I was a kid (yeah my dad let me watch the first movie when I think I was seven. He's cool like that). So naturally I was excited for yet another Predator film since we have gotten one in 8 years. I enjoyed the trailers and that poster I'm using above got me interested. Also Shane Black has directed a lot of good stuff such as The Nice Guys (underrated film give it a watch).

Cons



I've got nothing to say. So let's move on.







Middle Ground




One thing that's a mix bag is the humor. Yes this film does try to be funny at times but not a lot of it works. Some scenes have humor where it felt like it was natural to jokes other times it felt out of place. Another thing that's in a grey area is the editing. Now it's not the worst editing in the world. What I mean is there are times in the movie that you can tell something was cut out or reshot. One other thing the film could have worked on is the other characters. Because besides Quinn there's not much to them besides their definitive characteristics. That doesn't mean I didn't care for the other characters what I am saying is I wish there was more to them.





Pros



One thing I liked about the film was it's explanation of the concept of the Predators making hybrids of their species. I can't say much other than that because it goes into spoiler territory. The film also provide good performances. All the cast played their characters perfectly including the child actor Jacob Tremblay. Hell even Keegan-Michael Key who I thought was going to be the annoying comic relief gave a good performance. The Predator also contains pretty good action scenes. One of my favorites were the special agency guys/Quinn's team fighting the "Super Predator" in the woods. Speaking of the "Super Predator" I really liked this new creature. It was a pure unadulterated badass Predator and I dug each of it's brutal kills.





The Predator may not be the best film in the series but it was still enjoyable ride. The explanation of the hybrids was thought well, the performances were good, the action scenes were fun, and the Super Predator was awesome. What the film could have done slightly better on was the humor, the editing, and give more character development.





My final rating is Okay





So yeah The Predator may be the weakest film out of the franchise but it's not by any means the worst. That dishonor goes to Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.







State of The Project (Aug 27th - Sept 24th)




Aug 24th - What You Probably Didn't Know About Rocky (1976)



Aug 30th - Raiders of The Lost Media - Mortal Kombat HD Arcade Kollection



Sept 8th - The Nun Review



Sept 10th - What You Probably Didn't Know About Iron Man (2008)



Sept 13th - Is It True? - The Scooby-Doo Gang Are Escaping The Draft



Sept 15th - The Predator Review



Sept 24th - Road to Dark Phoenix - X-Men Review





NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU!

Is It True? - The Scooby-Doo Gang Are Escaping The Draft

Hello and welcome to another edition of Is It True? And this time we figure a dark fan theory about the beloved group Mystery Inc. trying to avoid the Conscription in the United States aka The Draft.

Who are The Scooby-Doo Gang aka Mystery Inc.?



Mystery Inc. (or as somebody call them "The Scooby-Doo Gang") are a group of amateur crime solvers/friends. The members consist of Fred Jones, Shaggy Rogers, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and of course Scooby-Doo. They travel the world in the van known as the Mystery Machine and solve crimes which usual just end up being a guy in a mask.








What's The Draft?



The Draft is a system where men between the ages of 18-25 are required to register in times of war. The Draft was used in five American conflicts: the American Revolution, the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Cold War (both Korean and Vietnam War).








The Theory



The theory states since the first cartoon started in the late 60's it was set during the Vietnam War. Since around that time the army was drafting teens the gang was forced to runaway from home to relocate in Canada to avoid going to war. It would explain why in every episode the gang seems to be traveling with no set destination. The theory also gives us the gang's reasons for leaving. It goes like this...



Fred is a military school drop out who's draft number was up and he went AWOL.



Daphne is Fred's girlfriend who can't bear the thought of Fred going to war and possibly being killed. So she joins the gang to be with Fred.



Shaggy is your standard hippie with the case of the munchies, who is against the war and decided to take his dog Scooby on this road trip to protest the war.



Velma is an anti-war activist but decides to join the gang on the road trip when a protest at college got out of hand and turned into a violent riot.







Is The Theory Believable?



To be honest I don't think so. I mean sure the show debuted in the 60's but that doesn't mean it takes place during the Vietnam War. Also if the gang is on the run wouldn't stopping by and trying to solve a mystery just slow them down and have the government get closer to them. Heck if their solving all of these mysteries that's kind of leaving a trail.






So that's going to do it for this edition of Is It True? and it's the last one of 2018. So if your curious about the other post I've done give them a look.






State of The Project (Aug 25th - Sept 15th)




Aug 25th - Sorry There's No Happytime Murders Review



Aug 27th - What You Probably Didn't Know About Rocky (1976)



Aug 30th - Raiders of The Lost Media - Mortal Kombat HD Arcade Kollection



Sept 8th - The Nun Review



Sept 10th - What You Probably Didn't Know About Iron Man (2008)



Sept 13th - Is It True? - The Scooby-Doo Gang Are Escaping The Draft



Sept 15th - The Predator Review






NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU!

What You Probably Didn't Know About Iron Man (2008)

It's time for another What You Probably Didn't Know About and this time we're doing a superhero film. But not just any superhero film the very first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that film being Iron Man. So let's get started.








1. Roughly four hundred fifty separate pieces make up the Iron Man suit.









2. Gwyneth Paltrow based her performance on 1940's heroine. She claimed they were sexy, witty, and innocent all at once.








3. The Mark I armor weighted about ninety pounds.








4. An early draft of the script had Howard Stark be a ruthless industrialist who would become War Machine.









5. According to Paul Bettany, he didn't know which film he was working on. He just did Iron Man as a favor for Jon Favreau.







6. Jon Favreau shot the film in California, because he felt that too many superhero films were set on the East Coast, especially New York. As of this year only 6 of the 19 MCU films feature New York. Those being Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Avengers: Infinity War.







7. It took approximately seventeen years for the film to be made. Originally Universal Studios was to produce the film in April 1990. They later sold the rights to 20th Century Fox. Later Fox sold the rights to New Line Cinema. Later Marvel Studios decided to handle the project.








8. Four hundred extras were actually meant to be standing at the press conference scene, but Robert Downey Jr. suggest they sit down since that would be more comfortable and realistic.








9. An early draft of the script had the Mandarin appear but re-imagined as an Indonesian terrorist.









10. Hugh Jackman was offered the role of Tony Stark.









11. For some of the shots of the first Iron Man armor, Jon Favreau preformed the motion capture himself.










12. The sound used during the target lock on Iron Man's Head Up Display is the sound of the original laser cannon from Space Invaders (1978).









13. Comic book writers Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis, Joe Quesada, Tom Brevoort, Axel Alonzo, and Ralph Macchio were commissioned by Jon Favreau to give advice on the script.










14. During filming a tank accidentally ran over a Aaton 35mm camera.










15. Michael Bay has said this is his favorite Marvel film.










16. Agent Coulson was originally going to have a smaller role. He's role was going to be so small that he was only going to be credited as "Agent". As filming went on the filmmakers noticed Clark Gregg's chemistry with the other cast members it became apparent that they add more scenes with him.









17. The 1966 Iron Man theme can be heard throughout the movie. It's in the casino theme, in Stark's bathroom, and as Rhodey's ringtone.










18. During pre-production, Robert Downey Jr. set up an office next to Jon Favreau's office to discuss his role in the film and to be more involved in the film's screenwriting.








19. Christine Everhart says she works for Vanity Fair. That's only for the movie in the comics she works for the Daily Bugle.









20. Jon Favreau was originally going to direct Captain America: The First Avenger in the manner of a superhero comedy adventure, but he chose to direct Iron Man and give it more of a serious tone.











21. The script was not completely finished when filming began, since the crew were more focused on story and action. So most of the dialogue was ad-libbed. Jon Favreau thought this made the film feel more natural. Some scenes were shot with two cameras to capture the lines on the spot. Robert Downey Jr. would ask for many takes with one scene because he wanted to try something new. Gwyneth Paltrow on the other hand had a difficult time because she never knew what Robert would say next.









22. In October 1999 Quentin Tarantino was approached to write and direct the film. Then in June 2001 Joss Whedon was in negotiations. Later on in December of 2004 Nick Cassavetes was hired to direct with a film release of 2006, but everything fell through. Finally Jon Favreau was hired as the director in April of 2006.

Well I'm finally done with another What You Probably Didn't Know About. I'll do another one of these but I don't know when, so look out for that one.

State of The Project (Aug 16th - Sept 13th)




Aug 16th - I've Cancelled My Aquaman Easter Eggs Post



Aug 25th - Sorry There's No Happytime Murders Review



Aug 27th - What You Probably Didn't Know About Rocky (1976)



Aug 30th - Raiders of The Lost Media - Mortal Kombat HD Arcade Kollection



Sept 8th - The Nun Review



Sept 10th - What You Probably Didn't Know About Iron Man (2008)



Sept 13th - Is It True? - The Scooby-Doo Gang Are Escaping The Draft






NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU!

The Nun Review

The Nun is a gothic supernatural horror film. It serves as a spin-off to 2016's The Conjuring 2 and is the fifth movie in The Conjuring Universe. The film is produced by New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster Productions, and The Safran Company and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The Nun is written by Gary Dauberman and directed by Corin Hardy.




The story is it's Romania 1952 and a young nun has taken her life. A Catholic priest and a novice are sent to investigate the mysterious death, however during this investigation they discover dark and unholy secrets. This mystery also has them crossing paths with a demonic force in the form of a nun.

Initial Reaction

Now I've seen both the Conjuring films and the two Annabelle spin-offs and I have loved them (well expect 2014's Annabelle but no fan likes to talk about that). So naturally I was excited for another Conjuring spin-off. Although as always I do hold my excitement and be skeptical while also waiting to judge the film's final product.

Cons




One thing that got to me was a very big inconsistency. Basically what it was was this I think necklace sort of thing that would help you not be possessed by Valak aka The Nun. But then in the final act of the movie one of the characters does get possessed despite having the necklace. Which just had me questioning. How become during a large majority of the movie it worked but then when we got to the third act it didn't?





Middle Ground




Now I know I said in my Annabelle: Creation review and my A Quiet Place review I said I hated jump scares. But for some reason in this film I didn't mind them too much. I think what it was is some were predictable and other times they actually caught me by surprise.





Pros



One thing to love about this film like the previous Conjuring movies is the atmosphere. From the very beginning of The Nun you just feel like something isn't right even when the titled villain isn't on-screen. Another thing I dug about the film was the backstory to The Abbey (aka the castle our main characters are in). It may not be ground breaking but it was definitely a good story to why the place is as evil as it is. I also liked the performances. Taissa Farmiga and Demián Bichir were great as our heroes and it didn't feel like they were forcing themselves to look scared. Jonas Bloquet (he plays a character named "Frenchie") provided some humorous moments, and Bonnie Aarons played Valak/The Nun amazingly. She doesn't say anything but what made her performance work was all the creepy facial expressions she made.







The Nun is by no means a perfect film nor do I feel like you should rush out to see it, but overall it's still an enjoyable film. The atmosphere gives you chills, the history of The Abbey was good, and the performances were great. Some jump scares did catch me by surprise while others you could see coming a mile away. The only real problem I had was that big inconsistency with the necklace.




My final rating is Okay







State of The Project (Aug 13th - Sept 10th)




Aug 13th - A Rant on The Childhood Ruined Hyperbole



Aug 16th - I've Cancelled My Aquaman Easter Eggs Post



Aug 25th - Sorry There's No Happpytime Murders Review



Aug 27th - What You Probably Didn't Know About Rocky (1976)



Aug 30th - Raiders of The Lost Media - Mortal Kombat HD Arcade Kollection



Sept 8th - The Nun Review



Sept 10th - What You Probably Didn't Know About Iron Man (2008)







NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU!