Entertainment

The 2018 WWE Superstar Shakeup thoughts.

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

 

The WWE Superstar Shake-up is the 12th edition of the WWE Draft. A select number of WWE Superstars from Raw and Smackdown switch brands from either show with the addition of call ups from their third brand, NXT. The 2018 edition of the Superstar Shake-up had many switches over the course of two days and i will go over each one that got switched over.

FROM SMACKDOWN TO RAW

#1. Jinder Mahal- Mahal coming off a huge push from 2017 is now on Monday Night Raw. He took the United States Championship with him to Raw and his title was immediately put on the line against Jeff Hardy but more on that in a few minutes. His Smackdown run is still debated to this day so hopefully, this will be a fresh start for him on the Raw brand.

#2. The Riot Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan)- With Paige being the new General Manager of Smackdown, it makes total sense to have these three switch brands. But do i think that it was too early for these three to get switched? I do. They have been on Smackdown since November and all three of them have not had a talked about moment at all yet since their debut so lets see what will happen to these three down the road.

#3. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn-I actually did not think that this would happen since they were storyline fired from Smackdown. It appears that Stephanie McMahon (keep this in mind since over 6 months ago, Kevin Owens headbutted Vince McMahon) overruled the decision to keep them off Raw. Will Kevin Owens go back to the main event scene on Raw like he did before, or will him and Zayn will begin in the tag team division. Good pick for Raw in my opinion.

#4. Zack Ryder- His announcement was made via Twitter that he has been drafted to Monday Night Raw. I do not know how they can use him since he has been a comedy act for a very long time.

#5. Fandango and Tyler Breeze- Another comedy act from Smackdown that were never taken seriously by the casual fans. Just like Ryder, i do not know where they will go from here.

#6. Natalya- Natalya i believe is the only female veteran currently on the roster right now. She has had a good year on Smackdown Live last year so i believe that she will be able to help carry the women’s division on Raw.

#7. Mojo Rawley- For some odd reason, i think that either he or someone else who i will mention on the Raw selections will get that “Jinder Mahal push” sometime this year. He was not getting anywhere on Smackdown so i will give him a shot on Raw.

#8. Dolph Ziggler and Drew Mcintyre- Drew needed to go to Raw and Dolph is now back on Raw as well. I already see the fans making the Diesel and Shawn Michaels comparison with these two but i think that Drew will get that “push” i just mentioned on Raw so this is a great choice and we will have to see how well he will do. Anyone noticed that the former 3MB members are all on Raw now?

#9. Baron Corbin- Yeah. He has fought a lot of guys on Smackdown in the past two years and he needs a fresh new start since his disastrous summer last year from losing his Money in the Bank championship match, to losing to John Cena at the opening of Summerslam.

#10. Mike Kanellis- I keep forgetting that he is on the roster but i do not think that he will do much on Raw.

#11. The Ancension- Like Breezango, this is just another tag team to add for depth. No major shakeup here.

#12. Bobby Roode- This is a GLORIOUS addition to the Raw roster and i think that he will do great there. He had a decent run on Smackdown and he still gets a good crowd response every week. I think that a heel run from him is where the money is.

#13. Chad Gable- I thought that him and Benjamin would get drafted to Raw but i think that he should have stayed on Smackdown. Unless he teams up with Jason Jordan, i do not have a good feeling for Gable on Raw.

FROM RAW TO SMACKDOWN

#2. Jeff Hardy- The first televised shakeup announcement that happened on Smackdown started with a bang. I initially thought that the Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins will be drafted to Smackdown, but i was totally wrong. Jeff Hardy did great on his previous run on Smackdown from 2008-2009 so he will do great here too.

#3. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville- These two were paired up with now Smackdown Geneal Manager Paige over on Raw and just like The Riott Squad, they were brought up way too quick but the difference is, these two improved far better than Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan. I thought that these two would be split up but lets see how long that these two will be paired up.

#4. Samoa Joe- Another great draft pick and one i did not see coming is Samoa Joe. Joe was about to start a feud with Roman Reigns on Raw but now it has been scrapped. Joe will be a big deal on Smackdown and it is an amount of time before he has a match with AJ Styles.

#5. Sanity-Another NXT act that has been rumored for a call up since late last year. About time! I know everyone is upset with NIkki Cross not coming up too, but that is fine. Remember Carmella didn’t join Big Cass and Enzo in WWE either right away. She was called to the main roster on her own and benefited a bunch. Cross has more to do – on her own. If she joins the group down the road, fine. But I like her potential as a stand alone act. Sanity did okay in NXT; I am curious to watch it translate on the bigger stage.

#6. Big Cass- Interesting. I imagine WWE will ride with him for a little bit as an upper mid-card heel. Then we can all check out his progress summer time.

#7. Auska- Oh yeah! I thought she might switch with Charlotte. Instead, they are now on the same brand. That is fine but also ironic following WrestleMania 34. Asuka has wiped the floor with the entire Raw women’s division. Now it is Smackdown’s turn. I am a huge fan of this. Her and Charlotte are kept away from Ronda Rousey until the time is right for them to do battle.

#8. The Club- No Finn Balor. Really, that is the takeaway here. The Club on their own…nobody cares. With Balor, fans care.

#9. Cesaro and Sheamus- Another move that was easy to predict. They have done it all on Raw. My take on this is that this opens the door for new tag feuds but also solo feuds. Sheamus and Cesaro will have to remain their single’s careers again eventually. I am ready for that to happen. They can lose and finish their Raw business Friday at the Greatest Royal Rumble event.

#10. R-Truth- – If No Way Jose is on Raw, then Truth can be on Smackdown. They are simply a fun opening match act that gets the crowd hyped up. If WWE does want to give him a renewed push though, they know he is a well respected veteran and more than capable. Win-win.

#11. Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega- The pair of these two will be great for Smackdown. Move over Alberto Del Rio, these two are what fans care about and i think that Andrade will get a shot at the United States Championship sometime within the year.

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The Walking Dead Season 8 Review

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Season 7 of AMC’s The Walking Dead had hits and misses especially with the sheer amount of bottle episodes after the season 7 premiere that turned a number of viewers away. I did not turn away however since i am a fan of the series whether if there is a good episode or not. Season 8 corrected most of the mistakes that season 7 had with a great story with very shocking moments with a great conclusion at the end. Here is my review of AMC’s The Walking Dead season 8.

Season 8 uses material from the comic series of the same name and it covered the All Out War arc from that series. If you would like to read the comic series’ story line that matched the episodes of this season, i would suggest to pick up issues #115-#126. The three communities of Alexandria lead by Rick Grimes, Hilltop led by Maggie Rhee and The Kingdom led by Ezekiel join together to go to war with Negan and The Saviors. The other communities of The Junkyard and The Oceanside played their parts of the war as well. The first battle happened at The Sanctuary as the three units attacked the place and at the same time, navigated zombies to The Sanctuary. While Negan and his group were stuck there, Rick and gang attacked the other outposts that Dwight told them about. During these outposts attacks, Rick met Morales (who has been missing since season 1) and to find out that he is not part of The Saviors, Ezekiel’s tiger Shiva dies, Aaron’s partner Eric dies, and soldiers from each community dies during the attacks. Jesus also convinced everyone to not kill the members who are prisoners or surrendered as other characters debated on why he made this decision.

During this time also, Carl Grimes meets a new character named Siddiq as he ran into him twice this season. Rick was also captured by Jadis and then set free after he convinced her to join the battle with the gang. While this is happening, Eugene who has been on Negan’s side since season 7 made a plan to clear all of the zombies that flooded into The Sanctuary and Negan then plans to attack Alexandria and The Kingdom. The attack on The Kingdom failed as Gavin was killed during the attempted attack, but the bombing of Alexandria happened as Carl tried to sacrifice himself to not only prevent the attack, but to stall Negan as the people of Alexandria secretly leave. Houses were exploded along with cars as Rick and Negan had their first fight. As Negan escaped, Rick finds everyone in the sewers and the big reveal down there was that Carl was bitten. Carl says his goodbyes to everyone and wrote everyone letters (including Negan) along with telling his dad Rick about the visions of the future (those visions of the future is what happens after the time skip after All Out War ends).

The rest of the war involved the infected weapons attack at The Hilltop, Tara wanting to kill Dwight for killing Denise back in season 6 and the deeper conflict between Rick and Negan. Carl’s death affected everyone no matter which side is good or bad. Carl wanted them both to end the war and Negan and Rick were still bloodthirsty to try to kill each other. The final battle took place in an open area as all of the guns of The Saviors deflected thanks to Eugene secretly plotting against Negan (the trick he did goes back to the Vietnam War). Rick and Negan had their final fight as Rick cut Negan’s throat with a broken glass. As Negan falls, Rick told Siddiq to save his life as Maggie screamed out in anger to kill him. Negan lives but Rick will put him in the cell that Morgan built back in season 6. Speaking of Morgan, he went back and forth with his emotional state to whether if killing was worth it or not. He is off now to the spinoff show Fear The Walking Dead.

Overall, i loved this season. I loved season 7 as well, but this season did not have filler or bottle episodes that took away from the main plot. Scott Gimple said that this season will not have bottle episodes and that actually came out true. The most controversial death of all time in this show will have to go to Carl Grimes and that is a decision i will never agree with. But his death actually did bridge in the gap between the final battle that he [Gimple] thought had a gap in the comic series. There was behind the scenes drama also especially when the actor died on set during the filming of one of their episodes and much more. Despite having a decline in the ratings, The show still pulls in an average of 6 plus million viewers a week and is still the number 1 show on Sundays. Season 9 will have a new show runner and i believe we will finally get The Whisperers in that season. Who will play as Alpha and Beta boggles me but we will have to see once it premieres.

The acting is very phenominal. Jeffrey Dean Morgan knocks it right out of the park with his role as Negan and Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurria, Lennie James, Austin Amellio, Steven Ogg and Melissa McBribe stole the show this year in my opinion with an honorable mention to Chandler Riggs as both the 8th and 9th episodes of this season were his best performances since season 4, episode 9.

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C2E2 2018 Recap

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Last weekend was the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo or otherwise known as C2E2 and all of the attendees went to the show to check out cosplayers, buy rare comics, attend panels and to get their exclusive merchandise at the ReedPop area. It is a show for all ages whether if you love comics or entertainment and there were also celebrities there in attendance such as Dave Bautista, Sean Gunn, Charlie Cox, CM Punk, Dominic Purcell, Khary Payton much more where anyone could have had a chance to buy photo ops or autographs.

The panels i have attended were great. Bautista and Sean Gunn talked about Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers:Infinity War and the fans asked questions about those movies along with Bautista’s time in WWE.

I also went to the Khary Payton spotlight panel as he talked about The Walking Dead, Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go.

Tom Kenny, the voice actor of Spongebob Squarepants also had a panel as they celebrated 20 years of the show and he talked about that along with his best moments of doing the show and his favorite episodes and characters. It is crazy to think that the show is still going strong to this day.

The cosplayers that were at C2E2 were amazing and these were the best i have seen below.

I also had the chance to interview key people for the show Supermansion and the upcoming film Daphne & Velma and those are now up on these links below the photos.

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C2E2 2018-Daphne & Velma’s Sarah Gilman and Jennifer Tisdale interviews

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

The upcoming film Daphne and Velma will be released soon and it is a story on how these two characters from the Scooby-Doo universe met for the first time. I had the chance to interview Sarah Gilman (Velma) along with Suzi Yoonessi (Director), Jennifer Tisdale (Producer), and the writers of the film Kyle Mack and Caitlin Meares as we talked about the movie along with their favorite Scooby-Doo moments and much more.

Daphne and Velma will be released on May 22, 2018

 

 

 

New York International Auto Show 2018 recap.

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

This week was the media days of the New York International Auto Show and there was a lot of news that came out of the show. I covered it for two days and there were many new automobiles that were shown for the first time this week which will be available later this year to early 2019. First, i will discuss the World Car of the Year awards.

This is the first major award show of the NYIAS and here are the results.

World Urban Car of the Year: Volkswagen Polo

World Luxury Car of the Year: Audi A8

World Car Design of the Year: Range Rover Velar

World Green Car: Nissian LEAF

World Performance Car: BMW M5

World Car of the Year: Volvo XC60

Many car companies were also there showcasing what will come later this year to next year and i have taken photos of these cars that were also previewed at press conferences

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Stephen Amell, Sebastian Stan, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher Among Top Celebrities Scheduled To Attend Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia, May 17-20

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PHILADELPHIA, March 19, 2018 – Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB: WIZD) continues its 2018 schedule with its 18th trip to the Pennsylvania Convention in Center City Philadelphia at Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia, May 17-20. Stephen Amell (“Arrow,” “The Flash”), Sebastian Stan ( Captain America franchise), the Justice League trio of Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher, Natalie Dormer (“Game of Thrones”), Dave Bautista ( Guardians of the Galaxy) and the Lord of the Rings tandem of Sean Astin and Billy Boyd headline the roster of celebrity guests scheduled to attend the comic con and pop culture extravaganza.

 

Stan, Momoa, Dormer, Fisher and Astin will appear on Saturday and Sunday, May 19-20; Momoa and Bautista will attend on Saturday only; Amell will attend on Friday only; Boyd will appear Friday through Sunday.

 

Other notables scheduled to appear to date include Joe Flanigan (“Stargate: Atlantis”), Jewel Staite (“Firefly,” “Stargate: Atlantis”), Michael Rosenbaum (“Smallville,” “The Justice League”), Charisma Carpenter (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” “Angel”), Holly Marie Combs (“Charmed,” “Picket Fences”) and Thomas Ian Nicholas ( Rookie of the Year, American Pie). More celebs are scheduled to be announced closer to the event.

 

Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia will also feature non-stop live entertainment, gaming, exclusive Q&A sessions with top celebrities, movie screenings hosted by stars and directors and more. Details to follow soon.

 

Wizard World is the home of the most creative comics artists and writers on the planet. Artist Alley in Philadelphia will feature Greg Capullo (“Batman,” “Metal”), Jim Steranko (“Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Captain America”), Mike Grell (“Green Arrow,” “Warlord”), Greg Horn (“Phoenix,” “Venom”), Kurt Lehner (“Gargoyles,” “Marvel Action Hour”), Katy Farina (“Rick & Morty,” “Steven Universe”), Bob Camp (“Ren & Stimpy”), Arthur Suydam (“Marvel Zombies”), Stuart Sayger (“ROM,” “Micronauts”), Steve Geiger (“Punisher,” “Spider-Man”) and many others.

 

Wizard World Comic Con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop culture: movies, television, gaming, live entertainment, comics, sci-fi, graphic novels, toys, original art, collectibles, contests and more. The fifth event scheduled on the 2018 Wizard World calendar, Philadelphia show hours are Thursday, May 17, 4-9 p.m.; Friday, May 18, noon-7 p.m.; Saturday, May 19, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, May 20, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Kids 10 and under are admitted free with paid adult.

 

Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event. Fans dressed as every imaginable character – and some never before dreamed – will roam the convention floor and participate in the famed Wizard World Costume Contest on Saturday evening.

 

For more on the 2018 Wizard World Philadelphia, visit http://wizd.me/PhiladelphiaPR .

My Arcade Gaming’s Mini Arcade Machine Review

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

If you love arcade machines or retro gaming, then this is for you. I have first seen this at the NY Toy Fair and i was interested in trying it out. Here is my review of the Micro Player Arcade that is produced by My Arcade Gaming.

Right from when you see the box, you know it speaks retro and something you used to play when you were a kid. I was given the Karate Champ game and there are many other mini arcade machines made by them including Pac-Man, Galaga, Rolling Thunder and much more coming soon. The buttons work great with no input lag at all. You can also detach the joystick from the machine too if you want just incase if you want to use the directional pad. The feel of the arcade is very smooth but also glossy on the edges just like an original arcade machine. The micro machine takes four batteries but you can also use an USB charger since there is a USB port. There is volume control too on the back of the machine and you can even plug in headphones if you do not want to have outside noise. To turn on the machine, there is a button in the bottom front and it is shaped like a coin slot with the “player one” or “player two” button but you do not have to use quarters to play these machines.

This is a great product and you can buy this for your kids during road trips or for yourself to play and collect. The publisher did a great job making this in an age where retro gaming is still in today’s society. I highly recommend for you to go to your local gaming or comic book store to pick this up.

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Subway Surfers First Game In History to Run Past – One Billion Downloads on Google Play

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Denmark, March 15, 2018, for immediate release – Subway Surfers, the endless runner phenomenon, has been downloaded more than 1 billion times on Google Play. This makes it the first game ever on the platform to reach the prominent milestone.

Originally launched in May 2012 by SYBO and Kiloo, Subway Surfers continues to be among the most popular mobile games around the world. Last year the game broke through its all-time annual download record with more than 400 million mostly organic downloads, and was the most downloaded game of 2017 across the globe.

“We are thrilled to be the biggest game in the world on the Google Play platform. Surpassing 1 billion downloads is a historic accomplishment. In this case history was written by a talented team of developers and a fantastic collaboration between SYBO and Kiloo” says Jacob Møller, Kiloo CEO.

SYBO CEO, Mathias Gredal Noervig, elaborates on the collaboration and future development of the Subway Surfers universe:

“We have really achieved greatness by combining our strengths at SYBO and Kiloo. The continued growth of the game and brand is our focus, and we are excited about future releases, and the animated short films that are launching later this year. The players will have even more great content to consume.”

About Subway Surfers

In Subway Surfers, players take on the role of the graffiti-tagging main protagonist Jake or one of his many friends. They run from the grumpy inspector and his dog through the subway systems of famous cities around the world while collecting coins and dodging oncoming trains.

Since its inception, the Subway Surfers World Tour has visited a well-known destination every month. The World Tour has made 79 visits across six continents! Jake and his chasing guard and dog originally appeared in an animated short movie. Now they are joined by new friendly characters in every update, paying tribute to world cultures and diversity.

The next update will see the World Tour continue in Iceland.

Natalie Dormer of HBO’s Game of Thrones will attend Wizard World for the first time ever in Philadelphia.

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‘Game of Thrones’ Star Natalie Dormer To Make Wizard World Comic Debut In Philadelphia, May 19-20

Natalie-Dormer-3.jpg

‘Margaery Tyrell’ On HBO Series To Appear Saturday And Sunday At Pennsylvania Convention Center

 

PHILADELPHIA, March 8, 2018 – Natalie Dormer , who gained international attention with her performance of “Margaery Tyrell” on the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” will make her first Wizard World Comic Con appearance when the tour hits Philadelphia on May 19 and 20. Dormer, who also earned acclaim as “Anne Boleyn” on the Showtime series “The Tudors,” will greet fans, sign autographs, pose for photo ops and conduct an interactive fan Q&A session at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

 

 

Dormer made her screen debut in Lasse Hallstrom’s romantic film Casanova (2005), followed by a small part in the dramedy “Distant Shores” (2005). After her key role in “The Tudors”(2007–08), for which she was nominated for two Gemini Awards for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Drama Series, she played “Irene Adler/Moriarty” on the CBS series “Elementary” (2013–15), “Cressida” in the science-fiction adventure films The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) and Part 2 (2015), and “Sara Price/Jess Price” in The Forest (2016). She plays the lead in this year’s Amazon Video mini-series “Picnic at Hanging Rock.”


 

Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB: WIZD) continues its 2018 schedule with its 16th trip to the City of Brotherly Love, May 17-20. Joining Dormer as celebrity guests announced to date are Sebastian Stan ( Captain America franchise), the Justice League trio of Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher, Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), the Lord of the Rings duo of Sean Astin and Billy Boyd, among others scheduled to attend the comic con and pop culture extravaganza. A full list of guests to date is available at http://wizd.me/PhiladelphiaPR.

 

Wizard World Comic Con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop culture: movies, television, gaming, live entertainment, comics, sci-fi, graphic novels, toys, original art, collectibles, contests and more. The fifth event scheduled on the 2018 Wizard World calendar, Philadelphia show hours are Thursday, May 17, 4-9 p.m.; Friday, May 18, noon-7 p.m.; Saturday, May 18, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, May 19, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Kids 10 and under are admitted free with paid adult.

 

Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event. Fans dressed as every imaginable character – and some never before dreamed – will roam the convention floor and participate in the famed Wizard World Costume Contest on Saturday evening.

 

For more on the 2018 Wizard World Philadelphia, visit http://wizd.me/PhiladelphiaPR .

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Toy Fair 2018-Keep Calm and Game On Review

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

If you love party card games such as Cards Against Humanity or Apples Apples, Then you can add one more to your collection that you can play with your friends and that is Keep Calm and Game On. This card game has a familiar concept of those two games but it has an interesting twist to the other two games that i mentioned and you will be laughing for hours during your time with the game. So what is in this game? Well it is time to dive in the deck of cards to see what is there.

Keep Calm and Game On is made by Breaking Games and they also have a library of games that you can check out. In this game, Each player is dealt with 6 response cards and the rest of the cards that are in the deck is placed in the middle of the table. Every player takes turns drawing a situation card and they have to read it out loud to the other players. The other players choose one of their response cards and gives it to the judge of the game to read. The judge has to decide of the response cards that was given to him, which response was the best out of all of them. Whichever the judge decides, the player gets a point and control of the situation cards. Then, each player draws another response card to fill their hand and repeat the next round. The first player to have 6 points wins the game. You can also change the rules to how many points the player must have in order to in to your own liking. The cards itself can turn situations into very hilarious responses. For example, one of the situation cards might read “WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS” and then one of the response cards might say “KEEP CALM AND BECOME A SUPER VILLAIN”. The possibilities are endless with this game. The twist comes with the “Panic!” cards as they bring a fun new element to the game such as skipping a judge or discarding responses.

This game can be played between 3-8 players and the age range is between 18+ and older. You can play this in parties or with your friends at gatherings. I highly recommend for anyone to try it and it only takes less than two minutes to understand the gameplay.

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