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queensusanthemagnificent · 3 years

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It’s Gushing About Cinderella 1997 Time Again

Okay, so instead of color theory, today, I’m looking at Cinderella’s journey with trust, the Prince’s inability to recognize her at the ball, and how that aspect of the original fairytale got utilized to further along the theme of learning to trust people to love you for who you are.

Part 1: The Prince Meets Cinderella

When the prince meets Cinderella just after The Sweetest Things, there is no magic involved at all, and he’s IMMEDIATELY smitten with her. Just thinks she’s the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen and makes no bones about trying to figure out how to ask her out even after she’s excused herself to go about her day. Cinderella is visibly uncomfortable with the attention, but doesn’t completely turn him away. We know from The Sweetest Things that she WANTS love, that she yearns for it even, but the moment someone turns around and gives it to her, she doesn’t seem to know what to do with it anymore. She’s mostly confused by the prince’s behavior, but ultimately gains enough confidence and chutzpah to call him out on continuing to pester her even when she’s made it fairly clear she’s not interested by asking him if he even knows how to treat a woman.

And of course has her iconic line:

He sticks his foot in his mouth right after by saying she’s “not like most girls” which I will somewhat excuse as we know the prince has grown up massively sheltered and has likely not spoken to many women outside of the trappings of nobility who are all attempting to gain his or his parents’ favor, particularly as a suitor (we also know from a later scene that his mother has been attempting to set him up for a while and this is likely how he has met most women he’s ever interacted with).

Cinderella chooses to be forgiving and admits that she’s led a fairly sheltered life, thus how she’s gained her opinions I suppose, and the prince admits the same and they really seem to connect TOGETHER for the first time before the stepmother interrupts. Despite her choice to try to walk away from the prince when he initially showed interest in her, Cinderella risks her stepmother’s impatience and irritation by turning back one last time to watch the prince leave. She WANTS love, she WANTS to trust that someone could be interested in her like this, but she doesn’t completely trust it to happen or to last.

Part 2: The Prince sees Cinderella at the Ball

The next time the prince sees Cinderella is at the ball. He’s just spent the last several hours making nice with a bunch of women he doesn’t know and isn’t interested in so he can appease his mother. Presumably, he could probably expect the girl he met in the marketplace a few days ago might make an appearance given that the invite went out to all the girls in the kingdom, but he never mentions it. While it was clearly a nice connection to make in the moment, he seems to mostly chalk it up to a successful trip to the village, made nicer by a pretty girl and doesn’t think much about it afterwards, esp since the problem of the ball comes up immediately and his attention gets derailed.

In other words, the prince is not thinking about Cinderella anymore. Not maliciously, but he’s got other things on his mind, so when she shows up and he doesn’t recognize her despite having flirted with her only a few days ago, it’s somewhat understandable. Plus, she’s all made up with a completely different hairstyle and a nice dress and they have only met ONCE, for a few minutes total, several days ago.

But, that being said, while he doesn’t recognize her, he IS once again immediately smitten with her, and he does have that sense of familiarity, he just can’t place where. The problem then comes when he starts to try to guess how he knows her.

His guesses are all related to Cinderella being rich and/or nobility like him rather than considering that commoner girl he flirted with in the marketplace only a few days ago. Cinderella reacts fairly kindly to those guesses, telling him that she can’t swim, so she wouldn’t have been at the lake that summer, or that she’s never been to the mountains where his lodge is. But these assumptions eventually feed into Cinderella’s feelings of inadequacy and her fears that he won’t care for her when he finds out who she really is despite his initial reaction to her in the marketplace.

She starts to get flustered again when he calls her beautiful and her attention is drawn to how everyone around her is looking at them, but is effectively distracted by the Prince beginning to sing and only becomes flustered again once the King and Queen decide to insert themselves into the situation and get to know her and the reality of what seems to be happening hits her. She just intended to go to a fun party and dance a little, but now she’s gotten the attention of the Prince and it’s coming back to her that the point of the ball was for the Prince to find a WIFE. But she can tell, both from the Prince’s earlier comments and the ones made by the King and Queen asking who she is and who her family is, that they’re assuming things about her status that aren’t true.

Cinderella wants to keep living in a fantasy, though, where a Prince could love someone like her, so every time her reality comes into the conversation, she tries to move the conversation away. She wants to live in the bubble of romance the Prince is creating for her rather than talking about her family or what he wants in a wife.

And it works, right up until the clock strikes midnight and that reality crashes down on her like an avalanche.

Despite everything they’ve talked about that night, about how he knows she’s The One despite just having met her, about what he wants in a wife and how she seems to fit that description, about their feelings, Cinderella does not trust that he’s going to like her once he finds out who she is. Because despite how much time they’ve spent with each other (which, according to clock, is about 45 minutes now), he hasn’t recognized her as the girl from the marketplace ONCE.

Cinderella herself never mentions whether she recognizes the Prince from the marketplace or not, but we can fairly safely assume that she does. That moment meant a LOT to her, it was likely the first friendliness she had been shown in a while, especially by a stranger, and it hit her like a ton of bricks. It showed her that someone COULD be interested in her for who she is, could grow to love her.

And of course, meeting the Prince’s family at the ball gives her a sense of what it would be like to be part of HIS family, a family that already does seem to like her well enough and clearly care about their son. It’s everything she’s ever dreamed of having, but they all believe her to be something she isn’t, and she can’t trust that they’d treat her the same if they knew. So instead of risking it all for love, for that dream, she runs again. She’d rather leave it one really good night and a lifelong what-if than get rejected one more time.

Cinderella runs home, back to what she knows, back to what’s comfortable. In the “Do I Want You” reprise, Cinderella appears wistful, but resigned. The Prince, on the other hand, seems almost more confident and determined. He’s smiling at the empty courtyard, even before he sees the shoe left behind. Cinderella is prepared to let everything go, but the Prince no longer is. She told him at the ball is that the problem with most people is that they only dream about things without ever doing anything about it.

So he does. He commits himself to finding her, even WITHOUT the shoe, he’s committed to finding her.

Part 3: The Prince Finds Cinderella

Obviously, the fact that the Prince has the need to go out and have everyone try on the shoe means he still has no idea who Cinderella is. He never asks her name at the ball, so he hasn’t connected her to the girl from the marketplace who DID tell him her name. He can’t just go into the village and ask for “Cinderella” yet. But the fact that he goes INTO the village at all means he has recognized that this girl could be literally anyone, commoner or nobility, and it doesn’t matter to him which it is. He’s making no assumptions about her identity anymore.

And then he sees her. In an obvious throwback to their first meeting, he finds her having just dropped all of her belongings in front of a carriage because it moved in front of her a little quickly.

Backing up, though. Cinderella’s gone through an entire journey during this time period. She left the Prince behind at the ball, ready to leave that dream behind as “impossible.” And gives it one last go with the family she was left with, trying to connect with them, be a part of it. And it fails. Again.

But it gives her the strength to realize that this was never going to work. And while she doesn’t believe she can be what a Prince wants, she DOES believe she deserves to be loved and deserves better than what her stepmother is dishing out.

So, the next day, while the Prince is out with a glass slipper, going through every eligible girl in the kingdom trying to find her, Cinderella is preparing to leave her childhood home and set out on her own. Even when she ostensibly DOES hear the Prince in the house, trying on the slipper with her family, she chooses not to make herself known to him, and walks away.

But not quite fast enough and the Prince sees her.

She is once again dressed as a commoner with no magic involved, and this time, the Prince immediately recognizes her both as the woman from the marketplace AND the woman from the ball. From behind. By referencing their first meeting where he initially made his interest known, he indicates that he still likes her despite now knowing her background, and perhaps even BECAUSE he now knows her background as the first woman he ever met who truly understood how he felt and treated him like a person, with kindness and respect, rather than like a Prince.

Cinderella has a choice here. He recognizes her, yes, but she doesn’t have to play along. She doesn’t have to turn around and admit to anything, she COULD, presumably, choose to keep running. But the fact that he RECOGNIZES her, finally, and still wants her, gives her just enough courage to turn around and trust him and confirm her identity, both as the girl in the marketplace and the girl who fits the slipper.

And it pays off. Trusting someone to love you as you are, having the courage to actually go after your dream, to let it come true, pays off.

Have I mentioned how much I love this movie recently? Because this is PEAK Cinderella, and I love this movie.

#cinderella 1997 #whitney houston #cinderella #rodgers and hammerstein cinderella #brandy norwood #paolo montalban #whoopi goldberg #victor garber

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furederiko · 7 years

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As I said a few days ago, I have prepared this Random News Digest ever since I posted the previous one. Thanks to that sudden unexpected situation on my part, this could be the one and only for the month. Of course, nothing is set in stone just yet. But just in case I'm not posting another ones in the following weeks, with this, you should already be aware of the reason why... *sigh*

Transformers

In a rather unexpected and a bit unusual news, Paramount has decided to release "Transformers: The Last Knight" two days earlier next month. The 5th Michael Bay-directed movie that was supposed to be out on June 23rd, will now arrive on June 21st. It's a Wednesday by the way, which is the unusual fact, because big Hollywood movies like this usually aimed a weekend release. I'm honestly not sure what the primary reason behind this shift, but perhaps... Paramount is pushing it to open at the same date internationally? Such personal speculation makes sense though, because movies tend to open on weekdays in many non-American countries. And the "Transformers" franchise is indeed a bigger name in international market, as proven by the 4th movie. This way, just like what "The Fate of the Furious" have recently accomplished, the movie has a bigger chance to break worldwide opening record. At least for the month of June, or that particular weekend. Anyway, I'm sure fans of the franchise would be delighted by this news. I... guess?

DC Films

Speaking of June, "Wonder Woman" is close to be released as well. I haven't been on social media for the past few days (even without visiting one, my data charge is close to running out! Aaaarggghh), so I can't tell if they have held the first screening for the movie or not (likely not, perhaps in the coming weeks or two?). But apparently, Warner Bros just released a new poster for the movie. For a movie set to be released on June 2nd, I do expect the marketing presence to start getting bigger, and promotion to get louder. Strangely, it doesn't feel that way. For some reason, it felt like WB is holding out a bit on this one, which is NOT a good sign. I mean, even if the movie isn't as good, at least they should go all out when promoting the first female-led superhero movie of the modern age. That alone deserves the biggest attention, right? There's a new trailer airing during the MTV Movie Awards 2017 that was held a few hours ago. I haven't seen it (due to lack of interest? Nah... lack of BANDWITH), but perhaps that's a sign that the studio is taking further step forward. Oh well, we'll see what happens in the near future then... but seriously, I don't have a good feeling about it.

Marvel Studios

Filming for "Avengers: Infinity War", which opens less than a year from now, is still taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was said that directors Anthony and Joe Russo have arrived in the location last week. We know that several actors have been spotted there, like Robert Downey Jr., Paul Bettany, and Elizabeth Olsen. It seemed, more actors have arrived to join the production.

Chris Evans has been spotted at a nearby club in George Street, confirming his participation in the city. Anthony Mackie, recently openly tweeted that he's leaving the location (possibly along with Olsen and Bettany), hinting that his part might have been completed there. Soon after, the upcoming headlining duo of "Thor: Ragnarok", Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, were spotted at the Durham Cathedral, England. The ancient Cathedral was shut down from May 4th to 6th, indicating that it will be exclusively used for the production. It seems Scarlett Johansson was seen in the same place as well, aside from other secretive areas like Waverly Station, Cockburn Station, St. Abbs, Inverness, and High Street's St. Giles Cathedral. Quite a reunion for the core Avengers, right?

They were not alone, because turns out actress Tessa Thompson also showed up there, indicating that her Valkyrie might be arriving on Earth alongside Hemsworth's Thor and Ruffalo's Bruce Banner. While this served as confirmation of the actress' inclusion, in a way, it also potentially teased a potential spoiler to the ending of "Ragnarok". There are also hints that Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange will be involved, which once again, might give us a clue to the character's inclusion in "Ragnarok". Adding to the list of cosmic characters, a stand-in model of Rocket Raccoon was also present. Since Rocket is a CG character, obviously he would be inserted in post production. One would only wonder if he's the only Guardians members there, because their actors might have already filmed their parts in Atlanta instead.

Around the same time, other cast members weighed in their thoughts of the movie to the press, giving clearer details to what we can expect in the movie. One of them, the third Chris of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Pratt thought that the movie is going to be timeless and iconic. "It's going to stand the test of time. It's maybe this decade's movie, if not a longer period of time", he said to Toronto Sun. He also revealed to Nerdist that the Guardians of the Galaxy will be supporting casts, but still has a strong presence in the movie. Considering he's the architect to the Cosmic side, and might apparently stay that way until "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", director James Gunn reiterated the same fact, while admitting that he's "incredibly involved in what happens in Infinity War with the Guardians".

Meanwhile, Downey Jr. once again collaborated with Omaze and openly offered fans for the chance to win an all-access visit to the set. This isn't new, since several other actors have done similar charity projects as well. But the important bit to notice here, is how it pretty much confirmed that the actors will return to Atlanta to shoot more stuff. Since production is wrapping up in just a few months before proceeding to the 2019's "Avengers 4", clearly this set visit will take place very soon. Unless Downey was referencing "Avengers 4". Which reminds me again, we're less than a year away before "Infinity War" hits the global market on May 4th, 2018. That's why the hype is certainly building bigger and bigger everyday!

As for what comes after Avengers 4, there are two confirmed titles so far: sequel to "Spider-Man: Homecoming" that is set to be released on July 2019, and "Vol 3" that will likely take the May 1st, 2020 date. A sequel to "Doctor Strange" has been partially confirmed, but not yet announced officially, since director Scott Derrickson is still busy with other project. Intriguingly, the one that we already started to get a good grasp at, is none other than "Vol. 3". That's because Gunn has already begun planning and working on that sequel. Aside from focusing on some of the bits teased during the mid-credit scenes of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2", which had just hit the US market a few days ago to massive revenue, Gunn teased that Zoe Saldana's Gamora is primed to have a significant role. Gunn had indeed said that all three Guardians movies will form one big story, so perhaps we'll be seeing Gamora's past coming back to haunt her? Especially following their little side adventure with the Avengers in "Infinity War" and "Avengers 4" that involves Daddy Thanos? Who knows, perhaps that one massive cosmic character will play a crucial role in it too, considering the being's romantic history with her in the comics. Hmmmm... I guess we'll just have to wait and see! And of course, speculate on!!!

Marvel TV

Hulu and Marvel TV has officially unveiled the official logo and look for the characters of Marvel's "Runaways" last week! Arriving on Twitter in form of a strong nod to a particular omnibus cover, this reveal might have also confirmed the inclusion of fans-beloved character, Old Lace the Deinonychus. Which will be of course, a completely CGed creature. Interestingly, before the image was announced officially, it was already leaked alongside a quick trailer early on. Assuming the link hasn't been taken down, you can probably catch it on Youtube. Said trailer, that hasn't been openly released until now, showcased the characters interacting with each other, and discovering that their parents are... 'evil'. Which is the gist of their story.

To be honest, I'm feeling a bit mixed with that leaked trailer. While the characters looked spot-on like their comics counterparts, the scene came off rather... cheesy? Somewhat in the same level to Marvel's "Cloak and Dagger" that had its trailer released last month, it didn't work charm for me. In particular when "The Pride" showed up, which looked more like an occult rather than a group of super-powered villains. Apparently, reactions were mixed as well, as some Marvel fans are admittedly still on the fence with it like yours truly, but the rest of the community were thrilled with what they saw. Of course, we've only seen the trailer in poor quality, so we can't really judge it yet. Here's hoping we'll get a better look of it, when it is officially released. Though probably not in the near future, because well, the show will not arrived until 2018 anyway.

It's still unclear until now, whether this show will take place in the MCU or not. Unlike Freeform, which is still part of ABC (meaning it belongs to Disney... you get the point), Hulu is its own company. It honestly doesn't look like this show exists in the same world to the Avengers and Defenders. Because if it is, the contradicting appearance of Tina Minoru alone is already causing huge continuity issue with the "Doctor Strange" movie. But perhaps, it does take place in the MCU, but in a separate reality/universe? Remember, the keyword here is Multiverse, a concept introduced through "Doctor Strange", hence the possibility exists. Hmmm... I hope we'll get a clear explanation to this issue real soon. Otherwise, that means Jeph Loeb and Marvel TV is messing up BIG TIME.

Speaking of MCU, we do know that there's another show that will surely take place in the same reality: Marvel's "The Inhumans"! And look and behold... Entertainment Weekly has debuted the first official look to the mini series last week. And holy terrigenesis, it was... uhm... eh... MEH?!!! O_O. Fans immediately voiced their mixed feeling about it, because eventhough it had some nods to the comics (like Crystal's hair or Karnak's... face tattoo), other parts were glaringly unappealing. I mean, what's the deal with the HAIR of Serinda Swan's Medusa?!!! It doesn't even look like a natural human hair! Seriously, WHY use such hideous-looking WIG, when she only needs to dye her hair brunette or red. You know, just like... Zoe Saldana's Gamora or Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff? Even Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy still looked better! This one looks like FOX-inspired no matter how you see it! Not just Medusa, Eme Ikwuakor's Gorgon didn't even resemble the massive built of his comic counterpart (where's the hooves?), Anson Mount's Blackbolt seemed to have forgotten his pitchforked mask, and Ken Leung's Karnak totally didn't meet my expectation of a famous martial artist. Which shouldn't even be THAT hard to pull off. Isabelle Cornish's Crystal were among the few who looked wonderful, but the only one I was actually fond of was Iwan Rheon's Maximus. Even if I honestly don't understand why he needed the beard. Certainly not because the actor's British, right?! *coughQuicksilvercoughDaredevilcoughDannyRand*

We also got an official teaser that... uhm... eh... was NOT really helping either. Simply because it showed nothing but the logo, through a possible dialogue from someone I assumed to be Maximus (since he talked about freedom, yada yada), and Daphn... er, Medusa. After all, Blackbolt does NOT speak. Never mind the speaking, where's Mike Moh's Triton? Did his bodypaint look too hedious to be portrayed in the same photo? How about Lockjaw?! Showrunner Scott Buck did help confirm that Triton will NOT be a CG character. And also, that the teleportation mutt exists and is "probably going to end up being the audience’s favorite character. We certainly enjoy working with him. He’s fun to write, he’s fun to shoot. There’s not too much more detail than that that I can give, but he is going to be a standout on the show.". That's nice sentiment, but it still doesn't answer the question to why both of them are conspicuously excluded from the photo. Nor the main reason why the Royal Family needs to be cast out from their magical city of Attilan, and spends more time on Earth. A fact that obviously will make audiences question its position and continuity in the larger MCU universe.

If you were among the many those who were disappointed by how his "Iron Fist" turned out, then well, Buck's follow-up statements about this show and how he got involved in it, won't likely inspire confidence either. One of the more concerning fact, was how Loeb approached him and pitched him the project. NOT the other way around! In a way, this somehow signified that Marvel TV liked his interpretation of "Iron Fist", a show that's now sitting at the lowest approval level for any Marvel and Netflix's releases so far. I don't know about you, but to me, there's also a vague indication that Marvel TV was 'quite desperate' to get this show done no matter what. And obviously, that does NOT sound reassuring. Comparison to how Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios operates is inevitable, as their rigorous process to find a director with passion and fondness for a particular project, has been properly documented ("Captain Marvel" being a great example). This was undeniably one of the key to their box office and critical success, a method that brought people like James Gunn, Peyton Reed, Scott Derrickson, and others to deliver movies that reflected their love for the source material. So learning that it's Loeb who wanted Buck to do this, is enough to make me roll my eyes.

The approach sounded slightly different with Buck too. Instead of fully utilizing the Inhumans' visual super power and otherworldly abilities, embracing their larger-than-life weirdness, he opted to make them... 'grounded'. "We approach these all as real people who just happen to have these abilities, so they’re all very grounded people. We try to write them as real as possible, and then have fun with the powers when we can. We want their powers to seem like a very natural part of their personality.", he said. That was... an interesting choice of words, because I frankly believe 'grounded' has become a thing of the past these days, as proven by movies taking more risk by going the other way. But I seriously felt Buck totally 'dropped the ball' when he diplomatically admitted that he has NO CLUE about the source material. Thanks to that, his approach was... "Obviously if you look at those comics from the early ’60s, they’re a very different tone than what we’re doing. It was fun to see how it all began, but I just continued to leap forward. I have not read all of them, but I continue to look through some of them. There were so many different incarnations of the Inhumans, though, so it was more a matter of figuring out, what’s the story we want to tell? Going back and then reading the whole backstory of them all was very helpful, but from that, we just pretty much moved forward.". You know what? I was left speechless after reading that. Many signs are hinting towards failure, and that's concerning.

Which also gets me thinking. We know that the mini series is set to debut on IMAX theatres. It even has a cast of actors with past experiences in both TV and movies. Then why are Marvel TV treating these first two episodes with the mentality of a TV show? No offense to the director, but I sincerely think they should have regarded it as a movie-level instead. After all, eventhough IMAX is co-producing, it would be such a waste of use of that IMAX cameras, if not utilized properly to its highest potentials. Beside, it really doesn't hurt to consult with Marvel Studios, that has had years of experience in the field, just to get it right... right? In fact, the movie division ARE filming "Infinity War" entirely using the same sets of camera right now, so what a nice coincidence! Unless of course... pride stands in the way, which helps explains why the movie division is NOT involved at all (seriously, they could've just hand over the project to them instead). Buck did say that we can expect something 'a little bit bigger' than normal network shows, eventhough his portofolio thus far (he can't even do Shou-Lau properly!!!!) and other comments are saying otherwise. So let's just wait and see if he's actually true to his words... this time. A friendly suggestion though: Take a deep breath, and start crossing your fingers, pray that he won't mess up all over again. Because I honestly fear he will...

Last but not least, it would be a crime to not talk about the first series that started it all. Yes, Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", what else? It might not have the same ratings, nor the number of audience as before, but we wouldn't be getting these other shows if AoS didn't exist in the first place. As the currently airing 4th season is about to air its final two episodes in the coming weeks, the biggest question to its devoted fans is whether there will be a new season afterwards or not. If Deadline's report is to be believed, looks like a renewal is close to reality. Not quite surprising, because reception for the series DOES show an increase lately due to the stellar storytelling of "The Framework" arc. But what I'm more curious about, is whether this 5th season will serve as the finale or not. Surely, we shouldn't be treated with the kind of Agent Carter's cliffhanger experience all over again, should we? I guess we'll learn about this when ABC announces its lineups in the next few days...

Netflix

Oh hey there, the first full trailer for Marvel's "The Defenders" has arrived! If we were treated with a quick and rather annoying elevator tease before, followed by that equally confusing zombie shot via Twitter, Netflix finally unveiled the big one last week.

There's a lot to take in from this short trailer alone. Both the thrills of seeing the lead actors bouncing off each other's throat, as well as the mystery throughout the shots. Yet I'm also quite surprised to see how... SMALL the scope of this mini-series feels. Upon repeated viewing, it becomes more and more obvious, and in a way, disappointing. Just think about it, the Defenders are taking on The Hand in this one, which naturally should've been an ARMY. So it should've felt bigger, right? Instead, we're getting another hallway fight scene, which is basically the fifth time (excluding Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones, who perhaps might get hers in the second season?) already. Why repeat the same formula over and over again? It took such a long time for Marvel TV (and Netflix) to deliver a crossover, so seriously, why not go all out? Also, seeing Mike Colter's Luke Cage and Finn Jones' Danny Rand meeting one another made me grin and frown at the same time. Because dang it, we COULD have gotten a proper "Heroes for Hire" show instead of the somewhat-underwhelming solo for Cage, and sadly-disappointing one for Danny.

Co-showrunner Marco Ramirez talked to Forbes following the release of that teaser, and hinted that we're going to see a change in these characters' mindset. Even if they have had moderate luck in working solo, through the event of this mini-series, they will "realize they have to work together and that they are much stronger together.". Of course, while that's easy to be said in theory, Ramirez admitted that the execution proved to be quite a creative challenge anyway. "It was quite a journey to keep them all very involved and active at every point", he stated, particularly because the last two shows were not yet released during production of "The Defenders". Both he, and Douglas Petrie did successfully brought a strong second season for Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock. So smart money is that they won't have any issue with this one as well. I can only hope that there won't be any continuity issues when it is released. After the poor result of Iron Fist's solo series, I'm pretty sure many eyes have been keeping an eye on Marvel TV closely, to see if they might f-up any further. Hope the best and expect the worse, then! Marvel's "The Defenders" arrives on August 18th, 2017.

Second season for the critically acclaimed "Stranger Things" won't be released until Halloween, but that doesn't mean its audience aren't already excited about it. In fact, some of us probably has been counting the days until that release date. Some of the cast recently talked to Emmy Magazine (via The Playlist) about it, and revealed that we can expect a bit of change in the series. Why? According to Mike Wheeler's actor Finn Wolfhard, the season will be "a lot more dark, a lot more horror-oriented", before adding that audience would probably like it better than the debut season. That certainly an interesting comment, eh? Dustin Henderson's actor Gaten Matarazzo chimed in by revealing an intriguing plot, "They feel a little bad because their best friend is back and he’s not acting like their best friend anymore. He’s changed.". Clearly, he's talking about Noah Schnapp's Will Byers, who DID exhibit some kind of strange supernatural phenomenon as the first season closed its curtain. I have a feeling, whatever it is Will is dealing, would be the driving force of the new season. Seriously, why can't October arrive any sooner!

Meanwhile, the third season of the highly-anticipated comedy "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt", will be arriving real soon. Mark your calendar, fans, because it's coming NEXT week on May 19th, 2017. YESSS... Hi-five!!! To celebrate that, Netflix has released the first full trailer for the new season, that comes with a few surprises already. Kimmy is going to college! And the relationships of both Titus and Lillian seems to be in jeopardy. Oh noes!!! Of course, that's definitely one of the major charm of the series. I just love how it continues to progress its characters, taking them in a real life journey both emotionally and psychologically. It's like watching a close friend or family member growing up on screen! Aaaaaw...

Sure, the series might not work for everyone, but to those who were already hooked, it has become addictive in its own weird way. I mean, I've been re-watching the first two seasons in anticipation to the third. And eventhough I've seen these episodes more than I probably should have, dang it... I'm still laughing like a crazy nerd. Honestly, it's not hard to tell whenever a show is simply good or bad. And this one is certainly among the very best of the recent years. At least for me personally. LOL. The writing, the intricate themes hidden within the story, the brilliant and occasionally dumb deadpan humor, the strong comedic timing from most of its cast and guest stars? It definitely has everything that would keep me satisfied for such a long time, it's more than you could ask for! I'm expecting big things for this new season, and I hope it will be as strong or even better than before. Dang it, forget October, even May 19th feels like ages already!!!

Zero Escape

Following the release of "Zero Escape: The Nonary Games" that contains the first two games in the series, fans of the mystery franchise obviously wondered whether its third, "Zero Time Dilemma" would be getting a HD release for a console as well. After all, the game only debuted less than a year ago (precisely in June 2016) for the Nintendo 3DS, and Playstation Vita. Turns out, fans won't need to wait much longer! Aksys Games has announced that a Playstation 4 version is coming really soon. And by soon, on August 18th, 2017. Sure, the company hasn't officially revealed that release date, but Amazon has already listed it as such. Wow, these companies are lacking in synergy, huh? LOL. Just like "The Nonary Games", the graphic will of course be remastered. It shouldn't be an issue though, because a PC version has already been released previously, just not for the bigger consoles. Now I can't help but wonder if the company is preparing a 3-in-1 combo pack in the coming future? That would be more convenient to play with, because you can easily proceed the story in one media.

Pocket Monsters

"Pokemon Go"'s Worldwide Bloom event should be hours away from ending by the time this post goes up. While it certainly didn't feel as big as previous ones, and to certain extent, practically non-existent (no kidding, where are all the promised Grass Pokemon? My area is flooded with WATER ones instead), I have come to realize that there's a reason to this short lived event. What is that? Turns out, Nianti had just held a huge community event in the US on May 7th, 2017 (which is a few hours ago, in their time region), situated in Charlotte, North Carolina. Collaborating with John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, this experimental event closed off car traffic, and promoted various festivities for pedestrians and bicycle users. Basically, a 'Car Free Day' thingy, eh? As a follow up, Niantic will also collaborate with Open Streets 704, to hold similar kinds of celebration in the future.

This is a good sign, because looks like they are moving forward in realizing the promise they've showcased in the App's teaser trailer last year. I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future, Niantic will be holding their first major event that features a Legendary Pokemon, considering those ones have been absent ever since the App was released. Of course, this makes me curious to know, how Niantic will apply the same concept in countries outside of the US. Should they cooperate with local governments? Or perhaps, via business outlets like Starbucks or McDonalds? I can only hope that there won't be any countries being left out in the process. It'll be unfair to its gamers, right?

Assassin's Creed

Before I wrap up this R-N-D, I'm going to talk about one more rumor, namely about the next game in the "Assassin's Creed" franchise. The last core game released by Ubisoft, "Assassin's Creed: Syndicate" took place in a Victorian Era London, featuring twin Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye. According to WWG, the next game will continue its globe-trotting adventure, by taking place in Ancient Egypt. The title is rumored to be called "Assassin's Creed: Origins", and it is expected to be officially announced at E3 2017 that will be held next month. It is also said to be released on Fall this year. Apparently there will be two main characters of different genders once again. Its gameplay will focus more on exploration, and has a huge scope that might consists of the basics of the franchise, naval combats, as well as travels to countries like Greece. Take this with a grain of salt, but this report feels legit, and sounds like an intriguing idea already. I know I, with my love of "Tomb Raider: Revelations" would be thrilled to give this one a shot, knowing the vast mysteries surrounding the region. Of course, we still have to wait and see whether this is true or not. Ubisoft is expected to deliver their E3 presentation, likely on June 12th, 2017, so fans of the franchise can mark their calendar to anticipate any official announcements during that week...

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