Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is Worse Than You Thought

TMNTLeo

I, too, stared in disbelief (via The Movie Guru’s Blog)

Last week, in response to early negative reviews, Megan Fox said, “How much money did Transformers 4 make? Exactly. Those people can complain – they all go to the theater. They’re gonna love it – and if they don’t love it, they can fuck off, and that’s the end of that.” And was she ever right. Even with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 20%, TMNT made $61.5 million in North America, beating out the light-years-better Guardians of the Galaxy. That 62% of audiences is why we can’t have nice things.

More than just a horrible piece of filmmaking, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a perfect expression of White Male Bro privilege that pervades big summer movies. It is the ne plus ultra of douche. If TMNT were a person, it would be wearing a deep-V and shutter shades, pushing a red plastic party cup into your hands. Which is screwed up beyond all recognition, considering that the majority of the Nickelodeon film’s intended audience shouldn’t even be at that party.

TMNTbro

Found on Reddit. Avoid going to Reddit. This particular subreddit is especially terrible. (via)

I’d warn about spoilers, but you’re not going to go see this movie anyway. (I hope.)

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Bong Joon-ho, Snowpiercer, and the Legacy of the Korean New Wave

As director Bong Joon-ho’s first Hollywood collaboration Snowpiercer takes American theaters by storm, many reviewers have praised the film’s socio-political underpinnings. In the film, in the year 2031 after a second (manmade) Ice Age has covered the planet in snow, a single train with an “eternal engine” carries the last surviving members of humanity in a constant loop around the world. A class system aboard the train sees the upper class living comfortably in the front section, while the lower classes are cramped in the back. The plot follows Curtis (Chris Evans) as he leads the “tail section” in a revolution, fighting their way toward the front of the train. Snowpiercer isn’t Bong’s first foray into social commentary, however, nor is it as cutting or focused as his gut-wrenching Memories of Murder or the monster movie/family drama The Host. In fact, audiences might find it interesting to learn more about the Korean cinematic movement that gave birth to filmmakers like Bong Joon-ho.

Curtis and his band of rebels in the post-apocalyptic Snowpiercer [via Alamo Drafthouse]

Curtis and his band of rebels in the post-apocalyptic Snowpiercer [via Alamo Drafthouse]

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Geeking Out

  • Frozen director Jennifer Lee will be adapting A Wrinkle in Time for film! Very important question – will Calvin’s “dream boat eyes” comment to Meg be turned into a song?
  • Don’t miss this interview with Tom Reis, author of The Black Count, which details the story of Général Thomas Alexandre Dumas (father of author Alexandre Dumas), and is currently being adapted for film!
  • For those who watched and loved Guardians of the Galaxy, you can have your very own dancing baby Groot!
  • Despite the panicked rumors, Studio Ghibli is not closing, just merely taking a hiatus.
  • What can Doc McStuffins teach us about “colorblindness”?
  • Sometimes you have to laugh instead of cry: “Smile, Bitch!” training camp.
  • Congratulations to Keke Palmer, who will be joining the Broadway cast of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella! Palmer will be the first Black actress to play Cinderella on Broadway.
  • Afternoon hilarity – Korea’s Photoshop Trolls.
  • Video we didn’t know we would love so much – a mom reacts to KPop, or specifically, Rain’s abs.
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“We’re No. 1!” A wrap Up, Part 1

We’re No. 1! is a weekly feature looking at first issues in new comic series, as well as one-offs and special releases. In his reviews, Jeff highlights stories with diverse characters and plot lines Geekquality readers can care about, as well as points out comics that miss the mark.

The past two years of putting together We’re No. 1! have been a wonderful ride and I hope it’s also been enjoyable to you, our readers. Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to look back at what series have stood the test since their #1 issue, enduring as great examples of inclusion and representation. But first, a look at a new release that helped me put things in focus, as I look back and prepare for a change in direction.

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Storm #1 brings us to the new ongoing series for the first Black female superhero in Marvel’s history. It’s almost hard to believe that in almost 40 years since her creation by writer Len Wein, Storm has never had an ongoing solo series of her own. Here, she’s handled beautifully by writer Greg Pak (Code Monkey Save World, X-Treme X-men) and artist Victor Ibañez. Storm has always been the nobility in the X-Men’s backbone, that leader of high moral standing and unbreakable will that the team coalesced around in its darkest times. More so than any team leader, Storm has stewarded the X-Men and the young mutants in their care though terrible tragedy. In the new series, Storm comes to the aid of some local humans caught in the path of a deadly tsunami. The perils of global climate change are nothing to the mistress of weather, of course, but Pak deftly utilizes her extreme compassion combined with her role as a leader, making Storm a shining example in comics. Storm a role model to so many readers that it’s impossible to keep it out of the pages of the story itself, as she befriends a local child and helps one of her student make a difficult decision about her education, all in the same story. This was an excellent debut for her book, and I hope to keep reading it for a long time to come. Continue reading

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Geeking Out

  • First a lady Thor and now a Black Captain America! Interested in who has carried the shield before Sam Wilson? io9 has you covered.
  • The upcoming Power Rangers movie will be written and produced by X-Men writers Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, and screenwriter Roberto Orci.
  • Unfortunately, Season 5 of Game of Thrones does not seem to have any female writers or directors.
  • The problem with “not all men.”
  • Navajo teen Raquel Redshirt is supporting her community through solar science.
  • JC Penney displays mannequins inspired by real people.
  • The United States Census released a cool interactive map showing how many (or how few) STEM majors then go on to work in their field.
  • Comic Book Cartography is a treasure trove of maps and diagrams from comics
  • We’re intrigued by Virginiaan upcoming (2015) computer game, “influenced by the weird, surreal mysteries of the 1990s.”
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Geeking Out

  • Congrats to Lena Waithe, writer and producer of Dear White People, who will be writing a pilot script for BET based on her YouTube series “Twenties“!
  • The British Film Institute has implemented diversity standards for projects that receive their funding. Amma Asante’s Belle is one film that has met these standards.
  • Get as drunk as Cersei with the Wines of Westeros!
  • Orange Is The New Black, awesome feminist show, still has a boob problem.
  • There are lots of Emmy nominations to be excited about this year! And although Tatiana Maslany wasn’t among the nominees, we eagerly await the return of Orphan Black, just renewed for its third season.
  • MAC is releasing a Marge Simpson-inspired line of cosmetics that will premiere for a special one-day sale at San Diego Comic-Con.
  • Women’s attendance at NYCC has steadily increased over the past three years (over 60%!)
  • It’s always a good time to circulate this – a list of Black superheroes.
  • Onion’s AV Club series “Special Topics in Gameology” is a great bit of reading on desolate spaces and landscapes in video games.
  • Dog shaming, cat shaming and now, dice shaming!
  • A first glimpse at Jim Rodda’s 3D printed Barbie armor.
  • Closing the digital divide is Black Girls CODE, giving young girls from under-represented communities lessons in programming lessons like Scratch and Ruby on Rails.
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Deliver Us From Evil (and Fake Bronx Accents)

Buddy cops, except not.  Photo courtesy of The Verge

Buddy cops, except not.
Photo courtesy of The Verge

Snap Synopsis: Buddy cop movie, except one is a Bronx cop and the other a priest.
“OH, SHIT!” Moments: Don’t trust birds. Don’t trust dolls. Definitely don’t trust bird dolls.
Trigger Warning: One graphic instance of animal cruelty.

There’s nothing quite like an exorcism movie, combining the best elements of different horror sub-genres: the spookiness of a supernatural flick and the grotesque body horror. Although naysayers may call them tired and cliche, it’s hard to deny that exorcism flicks are capable of triggering Pavlovian reactions of discomfort in us, no matter how familiar we are with the tropes.

Deliver Us From Evil doesn’t reinvent the wheel of exorcism movies, but it’s entertaining – and more importantly, scary – enough. NYPD Sergeant Ralph Sarchie (a wonderfully graying Eric Bana) has a special “radar” for sniffing out particularly bad juju, and what should have been a routine domestic violence call one night puts him on a trail of something far more sinister, something that decides to follow him home. Continue reading

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Geeking Out

  • Community is returning for a sixth season on Yahoo AND it will be getting a movie! #sixseasonsandamovie lives on.
  • The American Gods series that never quite found a home has been picked up again by Starz, Bryan Fuller and Michael Green as showrunners.
  • The number of female game developers has more than doubled since 2009, though they still make up less than half of all developers.
  • Work-life integration is no longer just a “woman’s” issue in STEM.
  • Moving away from coded ads, mainstream advertisers are finally openly courting gay consumers.
  • Lauren Arrington, lionfish researcher, publishes her first academic paper at age 13.
  • Grace Banu is the first transgender woman in Tamil Nadu to be accepted to an engineering college.
  • Carol Rosetti drew a series of empowering and touching drawings reminding everyone who is in charge of a woman’s body.
  • Relive your junior high days with a Trapper Keeper iPad case!
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“We’re No. 1!” The Penultimate Edition

We’re No. 1! is a weekly feature looking at first issues in new comic series, as well as one-offs and special releases. In his reviews, Jeff highlights stories with diverse characters and plot lines Geekquality readers can care about, as well as points out comics that miss the mark.

Marvel is really ramping up their push for the upcoming release of Guardians of the Galaxy in theaters. Unfortunately, neither Gamora nor Drax (portrayed by Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista respectively in the upcoming film) feature in any of the three new GotG books out this week. So for now, we’ll just have to wait and see how they fare onscreen.

SL1The first of the three books focuses on the team leader who is (unsurprisingly) a blond white man. He’s not a terrible person, but a bit wayward in this new series The Legendary Star-Lord #1. Peter Quill’s origin story is thankfully limited here, as he manages to battle the alien Badoon for a valuable crystal stashed away in an interstellar orphanage, and save the children in the process. He also manages to have a slightly smarmy sort of “what are you wearing” interstellar holographic phone tryst with Kitty Pryde of the X-Men that’s a little offputting. Frankly, I’d rather see Kitty (one of my all time favorite X-Men) standing with Star-Lord kicking some butt, rather than have her depicted in her pajamas at the X-Compound grading papers and flirting with the book’s male lead. She has that potential, and the book might even go there, but I’m not sure I’m interested enough in it so far to follow along. Continue reading

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Geeking Out

  • We don’t usually cover sports here but we’re happy to see some diversity on our American team in the World Cup!
  • 20th Century Fox is rebooting Predator, with Shane Black set to write and direct.
  • Did you know it’s been 10 years since The Notebook came out? Read this hilarious Vulture post as one writer watches it for the first time.
  • Speaking of anniversaries: 30 years ago Purple Rain (the album) dropped. Re-read this beauty: Questlove’s Master Class on the Gospel of Prince.
  • “What the extraordinary Orphan Black proves is that the geek community is not just ready for one type of badass woman; it’s ready for (at least) five.” (Spoilers alert!)
  • Friendships that make us giggle: Michael Dorn and Marina Sirtis. Watch them take a friendship quiz about each other. Bonus – SHE CALLS HIM DORNY, AHH!
  • A long but worthwhile Star Trek related read, breaking down the linguistic patterns of the Tamarians.
  • Need a little pick-me-up? Have some adorable pugs dressed as Game of Thrones characters.
  • Moss.fm asked comic artists to draw Batman with their eyes closed.
  • Gail Simone has a message for aspiring female comic creators.
  • Rarity’s Boutique on Etsy has released three new Studio Ghibli-inspired hoodies.
  • Some wise words from Mindy Kaling.
  • This Tumblr had us cackling and simultaneously dying inside.
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We’re No. 1!

We’re No. 1! is a weekly feature looking at first issues in new comic series, as well as one-offs and special releases. In his reviews, Jeff highlights stories with diverse characters and plot lines Geekquality readers can care about, as well as points out comics that miss the mark.

24097This is another light week, with a standout for me being a new series featuring Emily The Strange. Emily and the Strangers: Breaking the Record #1 is a true sequel to her most recent series, and it maintains all the delightful highlights. Emily and her diverse new group of friends have assembled into a new band, and she’s at odds with some bandmates over their next direction. Emily thinks music is all about “rockin’ out” and making art, rather than making money. Her witty dialogue and fabulous original vocabulary abound as she hotly debates with bandmate Evan on the merits of a new recording contract offered to her by Awesomely Awesome records, whom she vies as “The Man.” Emily continues to be a fantastic example for young readers: a girl who never apologizes for her ideas or her identity, but her new friends round her out well, even when they argue. Emily does concede their points, now and then. She’s as dedicated to her ideas, her inventions, and her music as she ever was, but she is also willing to listen to the people around her. Continue reading

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We’re No. 1! Short and Sweet edition

We’re No. 1! is a weekly feature looking at first issues in new comic series, as well as one-offs and special releases. In his reviews, Jeff highlights stories with diverse characters and plot lines Geekquality readers can care about, as well as points out comics that miss the mark.

We’ll be keeping it short and sweet this week, but we wouldn’t want you to think that’s because there weren’t many great comics on your local store shelves this week. There were wizards, spaceships and adventures galore, but this week three really great books stood out above the rest of the new series.

TWTD_1APossibly the most complex and wonderful new book in quite a long time is The Wicked and the Divine #1, from Image Comics. From the longstanding comics superstar team of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, we’re presented with an unusual mythology: the gods of old have always been real, all of them, and every ninety years, twelve of them are incarnated as humans and walk among us. They are revered or loathed in equal measure, and then after two years, they die. The current crop exist in the open, proudly proclaiming their supernatural nature and living lives as super celebrity pop-stars. The sheer volume of action adventure in this first issues would be impressive, even without the fantastically original concept, and it’s a gripping plot line worthy of a read all on its own. But it’s the modern day imaging of these deities from across all spectrum of human mythology that’s so captivating, no matter what might be happening to them. I’d watch Lucifer, the Shinto god Amaterasu and Sakhmet reincarnated as three young women (with a heavy David Bowie fan thing going on), if they were just reading the paper and drinking tea. It’s exciting to imagine them as super celebrities, exceptionally unapologetic women with no fear of how the world sees them. Gillen’s story is about the worship of art and the fetishization of celebrity, about why people love the talented and the outspoken, but it’s told from the point of view of these gods. It turns the examination of religion and fervor into an exploration of identity in a masterful and original way not seen in comics before. Continue reading

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I Read a Book: The Fan Fiction Studies Reader

This review written by Keidra Chaney originally appeared on The Learned Fangirl. It is being cross posted here with permission.

hellekson_busse_webThe Fan Fiction Studies Reader, an anthology of influential academic literature in the field of fan studies, is edited by Karen Hellekson and Kristin Busse, the co-editors of the independent academic journal Transformative Works and Cultures, from the Organization of Transformative Works, which promotes the academic study of fan culture and fan works.

For those already familiar with the academic study of participatory fan culture, many of the selections here will be familiar: Henry Jenkins’ landmark Textual Poachers, a chapter of Camille Bacon-Smith’s book Enterprising Women, Francesca Coppa’s Writing Bodies in Space: Media Fan Fiction as Theoretical Performance. The reader is split into several components: “Fan Fiction as Literature” covers much of the same ground as Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World (previously reviewed here); gender and sexuality within fandom is approached in the “Fan Fiction and Feminism” section, the social dynamics of fan communities is explored in the “Fan Communities and Affect” section. the performative aspects of fan creation are tackled in the “Fan Creativity and Performance” section. Continue reading

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