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When it comes to having compelling female superheros most comic fans agree of the big two, DC leads the charge. Marvel isn’t without any interesting ladies in spandex though (most of them being in the X-Men), and among those names stands Carol Danvers, the former Ms. Marvel.

You heard me, former.

You see in 2012 Carol took over the mantle of Captain Marvel, the name of the former male character she had been made into the female equivalent of back when she first gained her powers. There have been a few characters to use the name over the years after the original Captain Marvel died, but none stuck around long enough to have any lasting impact. Both Carol and Marvel were making a statement with Carol taking up the mantle of her much beloved male counterpart.

Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel

This bold move however left Marvel with a problem, what to do with the name Ms. Marvel. While Carol taking up the mantle may have been great for the character and showing the more progressive side of Marvel, it also left them with one of their most well known and beloved female titles completely vacant.

So to correct this Marvel is set to relaunch the book with an all new character taking up the name. This new Ms. Marvel will be 16 year old Jersey Girl Kamala Khan, a young Muslim woman who gains powers due to the Terrigen Mists Inhuman ruler Black Bolt, spread across NYC activating powers in people with Inhuman ancestry. This is fitting as the first Captain Marvel was a a member of the alien race known as the Kree and both Carol Danvers gaining powers and the Inhuman race coming into being are due to interactions with the Kree. Marvel is tapping G. Willow Wilson, a talented writer who has drawn inspiration from her own Muslim faith in her previous comic works Cairo and Air to bring Kamala to life with co-creator of The Runaways Adrian Alphona on art duties.

New Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan

Wilson had this to say about the upcoming series:

“I wanted Ms. Marvel to be true-to-life, something real people could relate to, particularly young women. High school was a very vivid time in my life, so I drew heavily on those experiences–impending adulthood, dealing with school, emotionally charged friendships that are such a huge part of being a teenager. It’s for all the geek girls out there, and everybody else who’s ever looked at life from the fringe.”

This move shows is just further proof of how much Marvel is on the top of their game right now (the heinous mismanagement of Spider-Man aside). The House that Stan Built could of thrown any female character in the role as a simple stopgap measure, instead they took it as a chance to get creative and do something interesting. While Kamala isn’t the first female Muslim created in Marvel’s history, she will be the first to star in a solo series.

With Ms. Marvel premiering in February of next year and Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez relaunching Captain Marvel in March it is fine time to be a Marvel fan. I will be picking up both these titles when they come out, happy to see more of my good friend Carol, and to make a new friend in Kamala.

Are you excited about the new Ms. Marvel? Are you going to pick either it and/or Captain Marvel up when they come out? Let us know in the comments below. Also let us know who your favorite female Marvel character is. Mine’s Mary Jane.

Via IGN and Marvel.com

Following in the footsteps of the 2012 Total Recall remake (remember the fact that that exists?), another Paul Verhoven classic is being reimagined/remade/rebooted/reintroduced to modern audiences; Robocop. The new trailer has just hit and it’s time to assess whether it will be coming with us, dead or alive.

The plot seems basically similar to the original 1987 film. In the not too distant future of 2028, officer Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is a loving husband and father who is killed in the line of duty. Murphy’s body is then used by the robotics industry titan OmniCorp as part of their latest experiment to create a half man/half robot police officer. Thus, Murphy is reinstated onto the Detroit police force as Robocop, Omnicorp’s prototype who searches for his humanity. The trailer can be seen below;

I’ll just make my biases clear right now; I love the original Robocop. It manages to blend all this horrific gore, cultural satire and genuine human emotion into one entertaining package. It showed the skills Paul Verhoven had as a director and managed to age quite well over the past quarter of a century. So naturally, I should have been apposed to the idea of a remake. However, I wasn’t initially. Robocop as a franchise has pretty much been wrecked since the onset of the 1990s, with two far lesser sequels, a lame cartoon and way too many SyFy quality level mini-serieses than anyone was asking for. So, starting fresh isn’t that awful an idea, especially with up and coming action director Jose Padilha of the Elite Squad films behind it. Then, that first trailer for the 2014 film hit in September and it left me so cynical about the entire thing, making the film feel like generic action schlock that just so happened to be named Robocop.

Well, the final product is only a few months away and from the looks of this new trailer… there’s still a lot to be desired. In terms of positives, I’ll say this much; this second trailer at least gives me the impression that they’re trying to integrate social commentary into this remake. The scenes with Samuel L. Jackson promoting the idea of Americans embracing the robotic police force and Michael Keaton formulating the idea of a cyborg cop with a conscience show that the filmmakers are trying to bring in some satirical elements, which shows a bit of reverence for what the original was trying to accomplish in terms of inhumanity with corporations and the media’s influence over the masses. There even seems to be a few cool updates on the commentary as well, particularly with Jackson’s character being a stand in for the various news pundit type of personalities we’re all too familiar with in the last decade or so.

That all being said, everything else still seems like a generic sci-fi/action film. The effects aren’t that impressive, most of the actors don’t seem interested in what’s going on and the humor seems painfully corny (“Robo-phobic”? “Bad Cop, Robocop”? Really guys? REALLY?). Even the social commentary feels thin and under cooked in favor of the action. What worked so well about the original film was how much it embraced being over the top in all arenas, whether it be the social commentary, the violence or the performances, while still managing to squeeze some solid emotion out of Alex Murphy’s plight as he searched for some remaining humanity within him. Based on the both trailers for this remake, there doesn’t seem to be that much spark or imagination shining through at all. It all just feels so lifeless and hollow.

What about the rest of you out there? Is this new Robocop destined to give the franchise new life or will it end up being worse than Robocop 3? Post your opinions in the comments below!

Via YouTube

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The OG are back! And with them they bring all that is good and right in the world. Like, for instance, how about a new segment of “Jason Murphy is Furious”? That’s pretty damn right, if not righteous.

Chris, Martin and Beau are joined by special guest Sam Eidson, star and anti-hero of the hit cult film Zero Charisma as they talk about what madness (or a sad lack of madness) that erupted (or didn’t) this Halloween, a look at more of the new TV season, including American Horror Story and The Walking Dead, and much more!

Okay, so remember that scene in The Dark Knight Rises where Bane is just beating the absolute crap outta Batman in the sewers? It showed how relentless and brutal Bane was, smashing Batman’s mask, and in all honesty, made Gotham’s Dark Knight look like a little pansy. There is a great line before the end of that fight, where Bane says, “Ah yes! I was wondering what would break first. Your spirit… or your body.” When I saw the trailer for The Raid 2: Berandal, I felt like a masochistic Batman, getting my face violently bashed in until I was erect. So before we discuss the trailer, you should get your ass beat first. Then we can talk:

Ho…ly… shit. That is all I can say to this. This is such a visceral assault on your senses, and it seems that the scope of this film will be a lot larger then its predecessor. I was a HUGE fan of The Raid. It was like watching a ballet of brutality, although the word “ballet” may be a bit too theatrical for the fighting style. The great thing about the fighting style in that film, which is called Silat, is probably the most brutal form of martial arts I have ever seen. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the whole flamboyant style of fighting we see a lot of in Chinese martial arts cinema, but Silat is such a grittier and brutal style. There is no prancing about, doing fancy flips for the sake of fancy flips. It’s very practical and gets straight to the point. Beat the absolute shit outta you, and then move on to your next target, the hell with showmanship. So you can bet your whimpering little ASS, that I will be first in line to see this movie. Now excuse me as I get some life insurance, because I will probably need to leave the theater in a body cast.

So fellow OOUies, is your life insurance good enough to watch this trailer? What’s your favorite martial arts film? Whatever it is, comment below, let One of Us know!

Via Twitch

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Welcome back to OneOfUs.Net’s ongoing episodic sci-fi radio comedy: Infinite Variations.

When last we left our heroes, they had just discovered that they’d been abducted and marooned on an apparently derelict spacecraft. There was much dismay.

Now they must search the width and breadth of this star-hopping leviathan for supplies, for possible other passengers, and especially…for a control room.

Will our wayward geeks be able to find a way to steer the ship? Will their petty bickering over who gets to be “captain” end up destroying them all? Who does Todd keep talking to?

Enjoy this chapter? Then stay tuned for the further adventures of Infinite Variations!

Character designs by John Gholson
Cards and Coloring by Ryan Dunsmore

Previously on INFINITE VARIATIONS!

I am getting sick to death of all these “will they or will they not happen” projects. Every week there’s “news” on Ghostbusters 3 and how it’s almost ready to go, or how the script is almost done; then there’s news about how it won’t ever happen or the constant flip flopping on rather or not Bill Murray is in or out. Now with the success of the Evil Dead remake the rumors started churning full speed about the possibility of a sequel to not only the remake, but also to Army of Darkness with Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell on board.

Recently Campbell let loose that the sequel was going to happen and now he’s quickly backed off on that opinion by telling fans to not get excited about it after all. Campbell’s statement isn’t that the film WON’T happen, simply that at this time there’s no movement on a sequel and until there is a release date or even a production start date it’s impossible to tell if a sequel will or will not happen.

After Evil Dead premiered the excitement over a sequel quickly heated up and as interest in an Army of Darkness sequel started surfacing the rumors were that not only would there be sequels for both, but that the two universes would exist in the same timeline and meet cross paths. All the excitement seems to have subsided a bit with Campbell’s comments about the Army of Darkness sequel going on the back-burner and rumors that Fede Alvarez might be out of the sequel to the Evil Dead remake- which he negated on his Twitter account while also poking at the back and forth of the Army of Darkness back and forth.

All of the flip flopping for all hugely popular franchises is enough to make a fan dizzy. Time will certainly tell, but between Ghostbusters 3, Army of Darkness 2, Evil Dead 2 and Beetlejuice 2 I am developing a serious headache with the abundance of contradicting statements, news and rumors and only hope everything straightens out very soon.

What sequel would you rather see? What did you think of the Evil Dead remake? Does all this constant back and forth of news make you care less if a sequel ever happens? Sound off below!

Via: /Film, IGN

A month ago, a ragtag corps of regular readers/listeners threw caution, and their better judgment, to the wind and applied to be interns for OneOfUs.Net.

We knew our audience was passionate, creative, and informed, but we had no idea how well their talents would lend themselves to our strange little experimental website. Some of them write daily news, some of them toil behind the scenes to edit audio and manage our content flow…some do both and/or all!

On behalf of all the OneOfUs overlords, I would just like to say a massive thank you to these hard-working, criminally underpaid pop culture warriors. If you have a moment today, let Chris Harrison, Dimitry Pompee, Angelo Eularia, Caitlin Turner, John Eckes, Luke Crum, Mason Daniel, Thomas Mariani, Cory Drake, and Fabio Sequeira know that you appreciate their contributions to this website as much as we do.

Intern-Net, we salute you.

In the beautiful and blood soaked lands of Westeros, it is always a mystery as to what will happen, and who will die. From midgets, to prostitutes, to dragons and decapitations, this dark and gritty world is a wonderful time to submerse your self in. Game of Thrones has essentially become a phenomenon, not only in television, but in all of pop culture.

As season 3 concluded, the audience was left on such a huge cliffhanger, that even Gabe Walker would be pissing himself. As season after season gets produced every year, there is one question that should be on everyone’s mind. George R.R. Martin has not yet completed the series, and is known to be a very slow writer. When will his next book The Winds of Winter be published? Well I guess there is two questions, because the next one should be “Will he finish the book in time?” Mr. Martin had this to say to the Sydney Morning Herald:

“It is great that so many people are eager for the next book and certainly these are the people who are paying my bills and allowing me to have a house across the street from my other house,” he says. “But at the same time, sometimes I just wish they would stop pressuring me about it. It will be done when it’s done. I’m working on it. I don’t know what else I can say: I’m a slow writer, I’ve always been a slow writer, and these are gigantic books.”

Now, I have never read the books, but I am a huge fan of the series. I know I know, the books are better than the show right? That’s how it always is I assume. I have nothing against reading the books, or reading in general, I just don’t think reading the books would change my experience of watching the show for the better. That aside, after reading that segment, my respect and admiration for Mr. Martin has skyrocketed. My one fear about the show catching up to the books, was that George would rush out the story, and slap together sub-par material to keep up with production. So when people keep asking about his next book, only for him to come out and tell everyone, “Fuck off! It will be done when it’s good enough to be done,”(paraphrasing) I just fell in love with the guy. This shows that he is more concerned with his craft, rather than satisfying the fans. So with that being said, I eagerly await the next verse in this Song of Ice and Fire!

So what are your thoughts? We want to hear them! Comment below, let One of Us know!

Via Sydney Morning Herald

Saw is one my favourite franchises. Each year I looked forward to the next iteration and seeing the story continue. I was disappointed when the franchise came to a close with Saw 3D. The film was incredibly flawed and didn’t have the originality or darkness that Saw 6 (one of the best since the original) had.

Last year, there were mumblings of a remake which I wasn’t too keen on. I’m not a fan of remakes in general and I didn’t want to see a retread of the first Saw which for some, is the best, (or only good) entry into the franchise.

However, Bloody Disgusting has reported that Lionsgate are actively seeking to develop a brand new sequel that, sources say will be Saw 8 rather than a reboot. It’s been three years since the last Saw and a break was exactly what the franchise needed to find a new direction and a new injection of creativity. Saw has many plot points and threads left to explore and I am pretty excited at the possibility of seeing those play out.

What say you? Are you excited about another Saw? Or should it remain chained in the bathroom forever?

Source: Bloody Disgusting

The Wachowskis are not strangers when it comes to science fiction. The reason why The Matrix was so revolutionary (ignoring the rest of the trilogy), was because it implemented innovative camera work, and an inventive way of layering a story’s structure. The film also had some moments of deep existential contemplation, as well as having fun with exaggerated philosophies.

When they wrote V for Vendetta, despite having its issues, the narrative there was a strong libertarian undertone, almost to the point of being anarchic, which to be fair, the original graphic novel was also kind of celebrating anarchy and freedom of government. Nonetheless, the film had a lot of heart, and hinted at their passion for liberation and fun sci-fi (perhaps we should have known one of them would have a sex change sooner eh?). Now, before Cloud Atlas is to be discussed, it should be mentioned what their new goal is, with Jupiter Ascending.

This time around, it seems that the film stars Mila Kunis as Jupiter Jones. She is apparently at the rock bottom on the intergalactic social hierarchy. However, for some reason, the queen of the universe wants her killed, hiring a genetically engineered bounty hunter played by hunky potato Channing Tatum. (I wonder if Lana Wachowski has a crush on him?) this is what the Wachowskis had to say about their latest movie, as quoted by Cinema Blend:

“It has a lot of things from a lot of genres that we love. It’s got a lot of original action, it’s got a lot of romance.”

It is also interesting to note that Andy Wachowski mentioned that production went a lot smoother than it did with Cloud Atlas, however, the visual effects seem to be more “complicated.”

I am excited about this film, only because Cloud Atlas was kind of a mess. The film definitely wasn’t a bad movie, rather an overly ambitious one. The complex narrative structure required us to follow six different plots, all being connected through a sort of existential “connectionism.” The problem isn’t within it’s narrative structure, but rather the frequent jumping around in genres from period piece to sci-fi, in a way that felt very choppy and jarring when it happens. With a complex narrative like this, it requires a runtime that exceeds what the film medium is able to offer. It seems like the best way to tell this story would be through television. That way, we have time to soak in the different narratives and genre hopping. After six seasons, each season dealing with each plot line and ending with a transition to the next world, we then can end it in a made for television film with a high production value. Cloud Atlas as a film, was destined to fail, however, they did extraordinarily well with what they accomplished. People tend to be too harsh on the film, calling it pretentious. There are two facts as to why this is a bit hyperbolic:

1. The film was never trying to be smarter than the audience:

Their hearts were in the right place, as you can tell that they had a huge passion for the story trying to be told. They really wanted to adapt the novel in all its glory in hopes to successfully translate its ambition. Had this been the product of a completely original screenplay, then I might be inclined to use that word pretentious.

2. The film is one of the most expensive independently financed film ever:

There was no backing from major Hollywood, which when watching the film, makes perfect sense. This is not a film intended for the mainstream. This is a very art-house niche targeted movie. So if the independent studios (which may I emphasize that these are independent studios, meaning they don’t have money falling out of their ass), are willing to throw down 102 million dollars, you can bet your ASS that they must have liked the idea.

Cloud Atlas aside, I am really excited for Jupiter Ascending. It seems that this film is going to lean more towards telling a fun little space adventure with awesome visual effects and action. My hope is that they shook out all their complex story ambitions in their previous efforts, and find a better balance between substance and storytelling like they did in the original Matrix.

So, are you excited to see Jupiter Ascending? Where would you take Lana Wachowski out for a date? Whatever is on your mind, comment below, and let One of Us know!

Via Cinema Blend

Marvel Seeks To Marvel With New Ms. Marvel Book

Trailer Reaction: ‘Robocop’

THEOG: Episode VIII

The OG are back! And with them they bring all that is good and right in the world. Like, for instance, how about a new segment of “Jason Murphy is Furious”? That’s pretty damn right, if not righteous.

Teaser For ‘The Raid’ Sequel Will Break Your Face

Infinite Variations: Chapter 2–The Helm

Welcome back to OneOfUs.Net’s ongoing episodic sci-fi radio comedy: Infinite Variations.

When last we left our heroes, they had just discovered that they’d been abducted and marooned on an apparently derelict spacecraft. There was much dismay.

Now they must search the width and breadth of this star-hopping leviathan for supplies, for possible other passengers, and especially…for a control room.

Will our wayward geeks be able to find a way to steer the ship? Will their petty bickering over who gets to be “captain” end up destroying them all? Who does Todd keep talking to?

Enjoy this chapter? Then stay tuned for the further adventures of Infinite Variations!

Previously on INFINITE VARIATIONS!

‘Army of Darkness 2’ Will It Happen or Not? Bruce Campbell Says Yes! Woops I Mean No…

Happy One-Month Anniversary, INTERN-Net!

A month ago, a ragtag corps of regular readers/listeners threw caution, and their better judgment, to the wind and applied to be interns for OneOfUs.Net.

Intern-Net, we salute you.

Winter is Coming… Eventually

Lionsgate actively developing ‘Saw 8’