Leading into the season six premiere of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty on HBO GO, fans around the world are invited to participate in an immersive adventure that brings to life the two-time Emmy® Award-winning animated hit comedy series. #WORMAGEDDON is a global “living episode” and treasure hunt that features 14 unique and immersivescenes that bridge the events from the season five finale episode with the recently announced season six premiere.
Reaching every continent except Antarctica, spectacular new custom scenes will unfold nearly every day until #WORMAGEDDON concludes with the season six global premiere of Rick and Morty on Monday, September 5 – only on HBO GO – the same time as the US. Fans in the Philippines can also stream Seasons 1-5.
Facing a threat of complete global destruction, the heroes and anti-heroes of Rick and Morty will team up against #WORMAGEDDON. Between the destruction of the Citadel of Ricks at the end of season five and the beginning of season six, a new threat lands on Earth in the form of a mysterious alien worm that aims to take over the planet.
Featuring 14 custom scenes that showcase the worm’s destructive path and featuring fan-favorite Rick and Morty characters, starting on Monday fans are invited to join the hunt and unlock clues to discoverthe nine hidden locations in countries around the world. The first fan to find each hidden location in person will be rewarded on the spot with a life-size golden “Rick” head. Fans can get details and rules on how to participate in the global treasure hunt here.
“To celebrate the new season, we are inviting fans around the globe to take part in an immersive experience that allows them to go on a real-life Rick and Morty adventure,” said Tricia Melton, chief marketing officer for Warner Bros. Discovery Kids, Young Adults and Classics group. “Our world is being invaded by alien space worms so menacing that #WORMAGEDDON has been declared on nearly every continent. The first fan to find the hidden battle scenes around the world will nab a golden Rick head, clearly one of the most collectible items in the universe.”
To set the stage for this new adventure, Adult Swim debuted a series of custom animated shorts about the origins of this dangerous alien invasion. [A Citadel Secret] premiered at the Rick and Morty panel at the Adult Swim Festival Block Party on August 6, followed by [A Journey to Earth] on August 17. The two shorts have received a combined total of 6MM+ global views and counting. Then came the debut of [Threat Level: Wormageddon] in which Rick is alerted about #WORMAGEDDON and enlists others to join him in the battle against the massive alien monster.
Fans can follow along as the beloved characters from Rick and Morty battle to save Earth from #WORMAGEDDON by visiting the show’s official social channels and on RickandMorty.com.
Rick and Morty was the #1 comedy across all US cable in 2017, 2019, and 2021. Since launch, Rick and Morty ranks as one of the top series for HBO Max, and HBO GO in Southeast Asia. Lifetime to date, Rick and Morty has been viewed over 10B times globally, across linear, digital, and streaming.
Cinema One is serving up another set of popular and must-watch Filipino films, so sit back and watch from the comfort of your homes! From comedy to romance to thriller, here are ten films to check out this August on Cinema One channel:
Starring Kathryn Bernardo, Alden Richards September 11
It centers on Joy and Ethan who are Filipino workers based in Hong Kong. Ethan who is a bartender wants to romantically pursue Joy who is a domestic helper and is dedicated to providing for her family.
A man is able to mysteriously phone into the past, talking to his wife before she is murdered. To save her, he has to identify the killer and warn her before he loses the phone connection anomaly.
Starring Maja Salvador, Zanjoe Marudo September 20
Faith and Julius are best friends until they try being a couple where their friendship is tested by the expectations and problems that come with a relationship.
Starring Mario Maurer, Erich Gonzales September 21
A Thai superstar dealing with a very public breakup decides to run away to the Philippines. There, he meets a young Filipina woman dealing with her own heartbreak. The two share their pain with each other and find comfort in each other’s arms.
A film follow-up of BL series ‘Hello Stranger,’ where Mico and Xavier grow closer yet face new challenges as they join a writing camp along with friends and new people.
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For more Cinema One movies this September and for daily schedules of Cinema One, click Here. Subscribe to Cinema One’s Youtube Channel for free full movies! Click Here: Bit.Ly/Cinemaoneonyoutube
[Note: Channel schedules and movie lineup are subject to change without prior notice]
After the success of Stranger Things 4, Millie Bobby Brown will soon return as the young detective in the upcoming sequel film Enola Holmes 2. Netflix has just revealed some first-look photos for the film, alongside the announcement of its November 4 release date.
Check out some stills from Enola Holmes 2 below:
Photo courtesy of NetflixPhoto courtesy of NetflixPhoto courtesy of NetflixPhoto courtesy of NetflixPhoto courtesy of NetflixPhoto courtesy of Netflix
In this sequel film, Enola Holmes follows the footsteps of her famous brother, Sherlock, and opens her own agency. Soon, she realizes that being a female detective-for-hire isn’t as easy as it seems, but just when she was about to close shop, a penniless matchstick girl approaches Enola to ask for help in finding her missing sister.
But Enola’s latest case would prove more puzzling than expected, as the young detective discovers a deadly conspiracy, and she would have to call upon the help of her friends, and Sherlock himself, to unravel the mystery.
Directed by Harry Bradbeer from a screenplay by Jack Thorne, Enola Holmes 2 also stars Henry Cavill, David Thewlis, Louis Partridge, Susan Wokoma, Adeel Akhtar, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, and Helena Bonham Carter. The films are based on The Enola Holmes Mysteries book series by Nancy Springer.
Watch Enola Holmes now on Netflix. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get the latest news on film, TV, and more updates around the city!
Lee Do-Hyun is offered the lead role in the upcoming Korean drama Bad Mom, Soompireports. According to the actor’s agency, Yuehua Entertainment, Do-Hyun is positively reviewing the offer.
Bad Mom is set to be directed by Shim Na Yeon, who has also worked with Do Hyun in the thriller Beyond Evil. This time, Na Yeon will be directing a touching comedy-drama a mother and son from writer Bae Se Young.
The series tells the story of Kang Ho, the role offered to Do Hyun, who becomes a prosecutor just as his mother Young Soon had wished him to be. However, Kang Ho loses his memory and behaves like a young child again. Young Soon, who becomes the ‘Bad Mom’ while trying to do the best for her son, is reportedly being played by Ra Mi Ran.
Lee Do Hyun is best known for his roles in dramas such as Prison Playbook, Sweet Home, 18 Again, Youth of May, and Melancholia. Meanwhile, Ra Mi Ran has starred in titles such as Reply 1988, Avengers Social Club, Miracle That We Met, Black Dog, and Honest Candidate.
More details about the upcoming drama are yet to be revealed. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get the latest news on film, TV, and more updates around the city!
Amidst the fast car chases through, what looked like, a digitally-remade Seoul in the 80s, the nostalgic 80s throwback via style or music or pop culture reference, the charm of its wonderful cast, and all the swagger and bravado of these characters, ‘Seoul Vibe’ also seems to hint or imply at some level of social commentary that I’m not privy to, as I’m not that versed in Korean history.
‘Seoul Vibe’ is a hyper-real, highly stylized action film with a lot of elements of a caper or heist movie. Director Moon Hyung-sung seems more focused on celebrating the 80s nostalgia and the frenetic energy of its story than it is in digging into his character’s inner being. Things are happening so fast and without much of a grounded narrative set-up that a lot of plot points just passed me by.
Photo: Song Kyungsub/Netflix
Set during the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, ‘Seoul Vibe’ follows an ex-convict, Dong-wook (Yoo Ah In), who returns to Seoul after a stint in Saudi Arabia driving for an arms dealer. He’s an excellent race car driver with dreams of racing in the US but his return to South Korea returns him to his troubled past. He discovers that his old neighborhood had been demolished in preparation for the Olympics. From the get-go, we know that Dong-wook and his team are people on the fringes of society and people the government had forgotten.
This social commentary just remains under the surface but is never fully explored. Instead, we are quickly thrust into the plot of the movie. Upon his arrival, a prosecutor (Oh Jung-se) is ready to slap Dong-wook and his friends with arrests if they don’t cooperate and go undercover to gather intel on Chairwoman Kang In-sook (Moon So-ri), a woman involved in drugs and corruption in the highest levels of government.
Photo: Song Kyungsub/Netflix
We don’t know much about Dong-wook except what is said nor how deep his relationships with his friends are but the story goes straight into the caper/heist aspect of the film and through it we see a version of Seoul that is riddled with corruption that has left the underprivileged struggling while being in enamored with American capitalist tendencies (McDonald’s, American hiphop, and American television shows like ‘Knight Rider’).
The story is quite thin as it is more focused on the heist itself, the style, and the thrills and laughs that the film has to offer. Yoo Ah In is joined by an equally charming cast that includes Ong Seong-wu, who plays his mechanic and engineer; Lee Kyu-hyung, who plays his friend who knows the streets of Seoul; Park Ju-hyun, who plays his sister, who is a leader of an all-woman bike gang; and Go Kyung-pyo, a DJ. Their relationships are never really fully explored but you can see that the chemistry of this group is so tight that you can imagine the antics these characters must’ve gone through in their youths.
Photo: Song Kyungsub/Netflix
A lot of the narrative elements of ‘Seoul Vibe’ are just hinted at or implied and you just have to ride along and not question too much or you’ll miss out on all of the fun. I easily let go of the need to understand why this was all happening and just enjoyed the hows and the whats of it all. I relished in the film’s indulgences. Everything is hyper-real, all the actors hamming it up that it creates a tone and atmosphere where you just take it as it is and have fun with it.
It wasn’t after the movie that I did some digging and discovered that 1988 was an important year for South Korea’s history as the country was shifting from a military rule to a democratic one after several huge protests were staged a year before.
Photo: Song Kyungsub/Netflix
While it is easy to watch ‘Seoul Vibe’ as a thin-narrative of a group of outsiders getting a chance to go legitimate by helping the government, there’s a lot more in the way the setting and the references that gives me the impression it has a lot more to say than “just have fun.”
It’s only after reading just a bit of history that I realised that, while ‘Seoul Vibe’ is thin on plot, it is loaded with so much historical context. The film is not just some crazy, stylized action film, but also an attack on corrupt governments that have made life so difficult for some that they have to resort to a life of crime to survive. The irony, in the film, is that these same criminals are now being tasked by a hidden arm of the government to try and bring down the corrupt elements within.
Photo: Song Kyungsub/Netflix
The closest thing to an internal struggle for Dong-wook is the question of whether any of this means anything to him? Because, really, what has the country done for him? It is an interesting question that is posed but never really answered directly.
I’m sure there’s a lot more in ‘Seoul Vibe’ just underneath the layers that I might uncover in the future once I know more about Korea’s history but I still enjoyed it for its crazy filmmaking and its unapologetic love for that era. Yoo Ah In and the rest of the cast are having a blast playing these characters and it is infectious.
My Rating:
.
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Seoul Vibe premieres on Netflix this Friday, August 26.
The hit mindbending thriller Paprika is getting a live-action series adaptation from Amazon, Deadlinereports.
Published in 1993 as a novel by Japanese author Yasutaka Tsutsui, Paprika, further gained popularity when it was turned into an anime film by director Satoshi Kon back in 2006. Now, the new series is reportedly being produced and directed by Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan.
According to the same report, Ash Sarohia will also executive produce under their Rewild banner, alongside Masi Oka, and Hivemind’s Jason F. Brown. Meanwhile, Amazon declined to comment.
For the uninitiated, Paprika follows the scientist Dr. Atsuko Chiba who is working on a device to help psychiatric patients by tapping into their dreams. When a prototype gets stolen and is used by a terrorist to attack people in their sleep, Dr. Chiba uses her alter-ego Paprika to dive into dreams and find out the identity of the terrorist.
Check out the official trailer for the anime film below:
More details about the upcoming series adaptation are yet to be revealed.
There’s no question about the impact that ‘Game of Thrones’ has made globally. It can be argued that it was one of the most impactful and most successful television series of its time with many publications saying it is one of the most ambitious and probably one of the best series ever made for the medium. Despite the backlash it had received over its final season, there are still a lot of people who are searching for the next series that they can invest in as much as they did with ‘Game of Thrones.’
HBO hopes to deliver this was the spin-off ‘House of the Dragon,’ which is set almost two hundred years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’ during a time when the Targaryens sat on the Iron Throne of Westeros, dragons were not an uncommon sight, and there was a reign of peace over the land. Fans of the world that ‘Game of Thrones’ built may want to return and see its history. The events of this series dramatize what is referred to in ‘Game of Thrones’ when they talk about that world’s past. It promises the same level of intrigue and violence that the first series delivered in droves.
But the expectations are high. After 8 seasons of ‘Game of Thrones,’ the show is now going to ask its viewers to fall in love with a whole new set of characters and reacclimate themselves to a different Westeros. As prefaced in the pilot episode’s opening, the Targaryens have ruled the land with the power of their mighty dragons (I believed ten was mentioned) and peace had reigned over their kingdom.
From the production design alone, everything looks different. While, in the ‘Game of Thrones,’ Westeros just came from a civil war, in ‘House of the Dragon’ it is peacetime. While the architecture looks less refined, it’s brighter and cleaner and there’s less debris. It’s that significant little textures that make this show visually appealing.
And within the first fifteen minutes of the show, you already get to see a dragon or two, which is always going to be a highlight of this show. So that’s crossing out some important items off of the checklist. The hour and fifteen-minute pilot goes straight into the action, comfortable that we already are aware of this setting and the milieu that it seldom slows down for us to really get to know the characters. In a way, the pilot feels more like a movie than an immersive fantasy show and that worries me.
Photo Courtesy of HBO
We are introduced to the royal family – King Viserys (played by Paddy Considine), his daughter Princess Rhaenyra (played by Emma D’Arcy), the king’s brother Prince Daemon (played by Matt Smith), and the King’s cousin Princess Rhaenys (played by Eve Best) – and the dynamics of their relationships with each other. Through a prologue, the politics are already a play and the show takes no time to set things in motion. The Iron Throne is still the prize but as the first episode unfolds, it seems this one is fighting for the legitimacy of rulership.
This is a family affair and all signs point to a bloody and messy business in the succeeding episodes.
And while all the elements are there – production design, a strong cast, stunning visuals, and a healthy dose of politics and dragons – the pilot never really stops to settle down and allows us to get to know these characters well. Unfortunately, ‘House of the Dragon’ will be compared to its predecessor and because the first season of ‘Game of Thrones’ didn’t have the budget it did in later seasons, it really focused on character development and world-building. By the time Sean Bean’s Ned Stark brought his wife and children to King’s Landing, we had our favourites and we knew and felt the world fully that the surprise violence (and even deaths) had a powerful effect on us.
Photo Courtesy of HBO
By the end of the episode, I’m still unsure of how I feel about these characters. No matter how good the acting is – and I love the casting of Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra – I don’t feel attached yet to anyone. I’m following the plot more than I am the characters and, for a television series, that’s a dangerous thing. It’s the characters that get you through to the next episode and the next season.
There are some things that stand out. In a negative way, there’s the gratuitous nudity and objectification of women (and men as well, and while the misogyny is part of the world and it is addressed narratively) it just feels like it’s there because it’s a ‘Game of Thrones’ spin-off. At the same time, one of the lords of the court, Lord Corlys (played by Steve Toussaint), is a black man with white hair. Is he a Targaryen? I’m not sure.
It’s so glaring because in ‘Game of Thrones’ there were no people of color in Westeros (though Dorn was inhabited primarily by Hispanic actors) though there were many in Mereen and Pentos and the lands East of Westeros. While I’m all for diversity, it just stood out so much in the first episode. Maybe it will be addressed? Maybe I’ll just let it go after a few episodes? I don’t know but it’s there.
Photo Courtesy of HBO
On the other hand, the ‘House of the Dragon’ pilot episode reaches a fever pitch in a wonderfully edited scene during a jousting match and a birth – these two simultaneous events are the catalyst for the main conflict that is hinted at in the preview of the season at the end of the episode – there’s cinematic genius here as the juxtaposing images of violence and childbirth underscores the dangers of this world and that this period of peace is hanging by a thread.
And with regards to the misogyny, it seems that Princess Rhaenyra’s story would center around her own battle for independence and liberation. There’s talk about a woman’s place in the kingdom and she will have none of that. If the show pursues this and even begins to subvert the gratuitous nudity and sex in the succeeding episodes, then it will start to really veer away from the shadow of its predecessor.
Because ‘Game of Thrones’ has left a big impact upon the world, everyone will be critical of ‘House of the Dragon.’ It’s got tough shoes to fill and can’t afford any mistakes in its first season. The promise is there and it’s off to a shaky start. But if ‘House of the Dragon’ manages to give us characters we can invest in, then it will probably help fill the ‘Game of Thrones’ shaped hole in our regular television viewing habits.
My Rating:
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House of the Dragon premieres on HBO GO this August 22.
GMA Drama has recently unveiled the teaser for the upcoming Filipino remake of the K-drama Start-Up, starring Bea Alonzo and Alden Richards as the Filipino counterparts of Seo Dal-mi and Han Ji-pyeong.
Watch the teaser trailer for the Filipino Start-Up below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InALdMOunoQ
Released in 2020, the Korean series starred Bae Suzy as Seo Dal-mi and Kim Seon-ho as Han Ji-pyeong. Also starring alongside them are Nam Joo-hyuk and Kang Han-na. It follows Dal-mi who aims to be Korea’s equivalent of Steve Jobs. Dal-mi teams up with other young entrepreneurs as she enters the world of start-up companies, but she soon finds herself in a complicated love triangle.
The Filipino remake renames the characters of Dal-mi and Ji-pyeong to Dani and Tristan respectively. Start-Up is Bea Alonzo’s first project as a GMA artist and her first project with Alden Richards. The series also stars Yasmien Kurdi, Jeric Gonzales, Gina Alajar, Kim Domingo, Royce Cabrera, and Boy 2 Quizon.
Start-Up is set to premiere on GMA this September. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get the latest news on film, TV, and more updates around the city!
Jin Kazama and other iconic characters from the hit video game franchise, Tekken, have landed on Netflix through the new anime series Tekken: Bloodline!
The series follows the journey of Jin as he faces the world’s strongest fighters in his quest to take revenge on the monstrous evil that killed his mother. Watch the trailer for Tekken: Bloodline below:
Tekken: Bloodline begins with Jin Kazama as he trains with his mother who had taught him their family’s self-defense fighting style, the Kazama-Style Traditional Martial Arts. Soon, a powerful being descends upon them, and Jin was powerless in protecting everything dear to him. Jin’s quest for revenge leads him to his grandfather, Heihachi, and ultimately takes him to the ultimate battle on a global stage– The King of Iron Fist Tournament.
The anime series also features Paul Phoenix, the true Ogre, Leroy Smith, King, Kazuya, Nina, Ling Xiaoyu, and more. You can now stream all six episodes of the show’s first season, with each episode having a runtime of about 20 to 30 minutes.
Watch Tekken: Bloodline now on Netflix. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get the latest news on film, TV, and more updates around the city!
Wednesday and the Addams Family have arrived in the modern world in Netflix’s new live-action series! In the official teaser trailer of the Addams Family spinoff, Wednesday, we finally get to see Tim Burton’s take on the iconic household.
Watch the official teaser trailer for Wednesday below:
The series follows Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Addams who just got expelled from another school after attacking his brother’s bullies. Her parents, Gomez and Morticia, finally had the bright idea of putting their daughter into Nevermore Academy, a school where she would fit in. But soon, Wednesday would find herself in a “nightmare full of mystery, mayhem, and murder.”
Say hello to Netflix's Addams Family
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jenna Ortega, Luis Guzmán, and Isaac Ordonez star in Wednesday, the new series from Tim Burton. pic.twitter.com/OJIKVxJlbg
From the mind of director Tim Burton, who brought us films like Corpse Bride and Edward Scissorhands, Wednesday also stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman, Gwendoline Christie, Christina Ricci and more. It is set for release on Netflix around fall this year.
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