brain out loud

What Warner Brothers and DC touted as their answer to Marvel's The Avengers, Justice League pulled in a terrible box office on its opening weekend. Original estimates were set around $120 Million, then adjusted to $110 Million after the blockbuster success of Thor: Ragnarok. Unfortunately, Justice League didn't even hit that lower goal. Opening nationwide on Friday, Justice League made a feeble $94 Million. This places Justice League, which was meant to be the grand centerpiece of the DCU, at the bottom of the list of domestic opening weekend box office hauls.   Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice = $166 million Suicide Squad = $133.7 million Man of Steel = $116.6 million Wonder Woman = $103.3 million Justice League = $94 million

After months of behind the scenes drama, Affleck wavering on his role as Batman, Zack Snyder's departure due to a family tragedy, and Joss Whedon's massive re-shoots, Justice League opens nationwide Friday. Sorry, but I can't get excited about what feels like Warner Brothers umpteenth attempt to collaborate the DCEU. Most of that is due to the repeated disappointments they called films. Another part is having once again witnessed the all-too-familiar warning signs. Snyder may have left before production ended, but he was still a major influence...and that is never good. Whedon came in a changed a lot (for what I assume was for the better) including replacing the composer of the score, and completing massive re-shoots that reportedly accounted for 15% to 20% of the final cut.

The news, that Disney was in talks with 20th Century Fox about a possible purchase came out yesterday. Marvel fanboy nerds everywhere were excited by the possibility that the X-Men and Fantastic Four properties would finally join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, before I could even gather my thoughts to brainoutloud the talks stalled.  But hope is on the horizon. Apparently, the reason Disney was meeting with Fox was not to buy back the film rights to Marvel characters; it was to buy the entirety of 20th Century Fox movie studios. Reports suggest Fox wants to become a smaller company, focusing on their news and sports channels. No idea why the talks of the acquisition ended, I'm going to unfairly say it was something Fox did. Disney/Marvel is on top of the world with Thor Ragnarok catapulting the MCU over the $5Billion mark domestically. While out of every 20th Century Fox film, they seemingly only find success with X-Men related movies, still the X-Men Universe comes ...

It has been well over a month since I last brianedoutloud, so let's catch up. The New York Comic Con has come and gone, with no major news you probably haven't already heard. Stephen King's IT was incredible and scary as hell. The well-received movie has surpassed Deadpool as the highest grossing R-rated film of all time and is the first horror film to earn over $300 million domestically. The second chapter has been announced for September 6th, 2019 and even though the squeal will focus on the "Losers Club" as adults, I predict successful futures for the young actors from part one. Particularity Sophia Lillis, who played Beverly Marsh and Finn Wolfhard (from Stranger Things) who played the foulmouthed Richie Tozier. Speaking of Stranger Things, the second season is available to stream on Netflix as of today and looks like a worthy successor to the stellar first season. Netflix has also announced Beyond Stranger Things, an analysis, debate and discussion program...

As noted earlier Hasbro is strict with the images available for the books published under the Amazon Kindle Worlds licensing agreement. Unfortunately this means Mindbender Theater can only be downloaded with the approved cover, seen to the right. But that won't stop me from creating multiple covers for my GI Joe fan-fiction novels, and displaying them on brainoutloud. Sci-Fi and Mainframe unexpectedly encounter Cobra in a treasured Hollywood landmark. The mad scientist, Dr. Mindbender has a sinister plan, an army of Cobra Vipers and a deadly surprise. A destructive battle begins in downtown Hollywood and continues on the highway to Burbank in a daring free-for-all at top speed. Meanwhile, reinforcements Wet-Suit and Leatherneck are on the way when a Cobra Night Raven targets the GI Joe Goliath C130. Fortunately, Slip Stream was escorting the air transport in his Conquest X-30 and engages the Night Raven in an exhilarating dogfight, but the Strato-Viper is far more cap...

All Disney and Pixar animated movies, all live action films, television, and children's programming will be pulled from Netflix by 2019 and distributed exclusively on a Disney owned streaming platform. The consequences for Netflix could be rough, due to the massive amount of Disney content; a partnership they've both benefited from since 2012. I think there are far too many streaming services available as it is. Other than Netflix, you have close competitors Hulu and Amazon Video. HBO is acquiring an impressive subscriber base. A handful of studios already have video on demand services like the one Disney is developing, such as Crackle, owned by Sony Pictures. Several television channels have their own platforms including ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MTV and more. If that's not enough you can rent television shows or movies from your video game console, iTunes, YouTube, cable provider, and so on. Plus, Redbox is still a thing that exists.

Virtually everyday one or more of the nerd websites I frequent are explaining the latest quagmire that Warner Brothers and DC have gotten themselves into. Their attempt to replicate the massive success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been plagued with; confusion, delays, conflicts, an ever-changing slate of films, horrible reviews and above all else Zack Snyder. DC is in a tough spot with the polarizing director. The DC films thus far have been financially successful but critically roasted, attributed to his involvement and preferred uber dark esthetic.

Check out the video I made to promote my second GI Joe fan fiction novel, Mindbender Theater.  Available exclusively on Kindle Worlds for only $1.99. Follow the link in the video description or click the image to the right to purchase the adventure for your Kindle or compatible device. Please rate and review. An excerpt from the book has been included after the break, hopefully to further convince you. Sci-Fi and Mainframe unexpectedly encounter Cobra in a treasured Hollywood landmark. The mad scientist, Dr. Mindbender has a sinister plan, an army of Cobra Vipers and a deadly surprise. A destructive battle begins in downtown Hollywood and continues on the highway to Burbank in a daring free-for-all at top speed. Meanwhile, reinforcements Wet-Suit and Leatherneck are on the way when a Cobra Night Raven targets the GI Joe Goliath C130. Fortunately, Slip Stream was escorting the air transport in his Conquest X-30 and engages the Night Raven in an exhilarating dogfight, but t...

No. The banner image was not made to inform you that "Winter is Coming." Although the current season of Game of Thrones is starting out strong and already half over, the custom banner is to promote my GI Joe fan-fiction novel, Into the Clutches of Cobra-La. When Beach Head and a group of new recruits travel to the Himalayan Mountains for advanced training Lieutenant Falcon and the others make a shocking discovery. What they find changes their mission and their perceptions of reality drastically. They'll have to survive an ancient race of relentless insectoids, savage monsters and even the vicious Golobulus, Supreme Ruler of Cobra-La, if they want to make it onto the GI Joe team. Even Beach Head doubts they'll all make it. Into the Clutches of Cobra-La is available on Amazon.com for only $1.99. Click on the image to the right to purchase the book and download it to your Kindle, or any device compatible with the free Kindle app. Please rate and review.

The 2017 SDCC ended several days ago, and it is well known that the annual event focuses primarily on sci-fi and superhero films. This has been the status quo for the last decade or so. Before Cinematic Universes were the biggest thing Hollywood has ever seen, the San Diego Comic Con was mainly about...you guessed it, comic books. The earlier days of the convention was also a mecca for geeks, nerds, and cosplayers to see brand new toys, action figures, and collectibles. With no plans for another film, no television show or even animated program, GI Joe's presence at the SDCC was extremely limited, mainly to toys and collectibles.

First up, Ben Affleck has categorically denied that he wants to exit the DCEU. I'm not buying it, these rumors have persisted since he withdrew from directing The Batman in late January and had never disputed them...until now. The new director, Matt Reeves, replacing the script, Affleck no doubt worked hard on, had to be a massive blow to his pride. Not to mention, if they actually ever do make the Flash movie it is confirmed to be based on the Flashpoint Paradox arc. During the epic, multiple title crossover event, the Flash travels to an alternate reality where young Bruce was the victim of the infamous mugging instead of parents Thomas and Martha. Dr. Thomas Wayne becomes Batman, but a much more brutal, and sadistic, gun wielding vigilante. An acceptable and established method to replace Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Seeing as how Flashpoint changed the entire DC continuity, ushering in the New 52 line-up of comics, it seems far too early in the cinematic DCEU to use ...

  The 2017 San Diego Comic Con hadn't even went 24 hours before major news, that could shake the foundation of the DC Extended Universe has dropped like a nuclear bomb. Reports from the convention are indicating that Warner Brothers may be planning a contingency should the need to replace Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman be necessary. The studio is prepping for the scenario, meaning they want him gone or they can't stop him from leaving. If you recall, the solo Batman flick has had a rocky road toward development. Nothing surprising considering every DCEU film has had some kind of drama occur behind the scenes.

Disney's D23 Expo, which occurred over the weekend, revealed a lot of information regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as a multitude of other Disney projects. D23, held every two years, is very similar to the annual San Diego Comic Con but exclusively for Disney Studios and owned properties, regardless Disney/Marvel will still have a reportedly large presence at the 2017 SDCC, coming up in a few days. July 20th - 23rd  to be exact There were numerous costumes and props on display for the upcoming Thor Ragnarok and Black Panther movies. Details were released about the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride which has taken the place of the iconic Tower of Terror at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. But the biggest and most crowd-pleasing revelations regarded the highly anticipated Avengers Infinity War mega blockbuster.

Blockbuster season is heating up. Wonder Woman scored great with critics, raking in over $700 Million worldwide so far. Transformers The Last Knight, on the other hand, has a dismal 15% on rottentomatoes and has started out slower at the box office than previous installments. The next tent-pole blockbuster will be the joint Marvel/Sony Pictures production, Spider-Man Homecoming this Friday, July 7th. Reviews are in and most are stellar, stating that this may be the best MCU movie to date. Spider-Man Homecoming currently has a 94% on rottentomatoes and is projected to make a $135 Million on its opening weekend. Trailers do suggest a fun, action-packed coming-of-age adventure finally featuring a young actor who can portray both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. I am not alone with the opinion that Toby McGuire was a good Peter Parker (not counting emo/jazz dancer) but lackluster Spider-Man, while Andrew Garfield was a good wise-cracking Spider-Man but horrible Peter Parker. United Kingd...

  The annual GI Joe convention, or JoeCon, is wrapping up today in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It looked like a fun experience with tons of fans dressed as their favorite Joe or Cobra, contests, special guests, panel discussions, and loads of new action figures and vehicles on the dealer floor. Unfortunately, the GI Joe Convention is not as well covered as the San Diego Comic Convention, Toyfair, Disney's D23 or the bigger experiences. Some bits of information I did pick up follow.

At long last, the DC Extended Universe has produced a decent movie. Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot is getting rave reviews, currently at a very impressive 97% at rottentomatoes. Just to dig at DC, the three films that comprise the DCEU; Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad when combined barely beat Wonder Woman, with a total of 108%. Warner Brothers and the DCEU at first rejected the idea of a shared cinematic universe similar to the MCU, then abruptly changed their mind and have been desperately grasping for a share of the summer blockbuster box office since. After a disastrous start, the DCEU seems poised to release its first major victory. Not only is Wonder Woman resonating with the critics, the film is also estimating around a $175 million score when the movie opens domestically and abroad on June 2. That number will obviously grow as additional foreign markets premiere the film.

Netflix surprised us a few days ago with the release of a teaser for their upcoming Dark Crystal prequel series Age of Resistance. Created by visionary Jim Henson in 1982, The Dark Crystal was a dark fantasy adventure about the balance of good and evil. The character design and sets were imaginative and amazing. The puppets and animatronics were considered groundbreaking, at the time. Despite originating from the mind of the beloved Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets, The Dark Crystal did not make a lot of money during its theatrical run. However, it has become a cult classic and cherished memory of those who grew up in the 1980s.

I watched Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 last week, but haven't been able to brain out loud about until now, sorry for the delay. The movie begins as the ragtag team battles a massive inter-dimensional monster, as shown in the trailers. What the trailers don't reveal is that the battle is set to the entirety of Electric Light Orchestra's "Mr. Blue Sky" and plays like a music video with Baby Groot innocently dancing around as the chaos unfolds. The bad part is that it plays like a music video as the credits role and the movie's logo is displayed. Mr. Blue Sky is a long song, it's an amazing song and one of my favorites, but clocks in around 5 minutes and feels like a waste of time. Fortunately, this is the only time such a thing occurs.

Only a couple weeks to go before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 premieres, on May 5th. The trailers look great and follow the same template as before, pairing action as well as exposition, and humor to a pulse-pounding soundtrack. This time the soundtrack will include hits from Electric Light Orchestra, Cheap Trick, and even David Hasselhoff. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 sits comfortably at 86% on rottentomatoes.com and is predicted to make between $85 - $100 million on opening weekend. Even after the Iron Fist debacle and harsh criticisms, the Marvel Cinematic Universe remains unstoppable.

The mysterious and deadly Cobra ninja known as Storm Shadow is one of the most popular GI Joe A Real American Hero (ARAH) characters ever. With over 50 versions of the action figure to date, according to YoJoe.com, only a handful of characters have been re-released more often. Storm Shadow's counterpart, the Yang to his Yin, the mysterious and deadly GI Joe ninja known as Snake Eyes is the current record holder with about 70 versions of the action figure. These numbers are rounded and do not include foreign versions of the characters. Either the pair of ninjas or the head snake himself, Cobra Commander, are the most popular to sculpt by high-end collectible manufacturers. 1000toys have revealed an incredibly detailed Storm Shadow 12" action figure with loads of accessories and amazing articulation. The 1/6 scale TOA Heavy Industries Storm Shadow figure was available at the Aneheim WonderCon 2017 which took place at the beginning of the month for $230. A fair price for such a...

A few highly anticipated movies released trailers last week, and they all looked great. But that's what trailers do, they hype up the movie. Everybody remembers the exciting Suicide Squad trailers with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody cranked up and - oh yeah - scenes taken out of context, a shift in tone that didn't match the film, and even several scenes (most of which included Jared Leto's Joker) that weren't in the film. Or the inspiring Man of Steel trailer with stunning scenes of Americana iconography and soaring melodies that hid the truly dark, dismal look of the film and a very out-of-character representation of Superman. Trailers mislead us, but why did I single out two DC Extended Universe (DCEU) films.

In the never ending saga of the sinking ship known as the DC Extended Universe (DECU) the solo Batman film possibly starring Ben Affleck has been delayed. Director Matt Reeves has begun work on War For the Planet of the Apes thereby pushing the start of production of The Batman into 2018. The movies original 2018 release date is now impossible to meet and has been pushed back to an as-of-yet specified 2019 release. There is now the obligatory rumor that The Batman is getting the dreaded page one re-write which could be possible as Matt Reeves' contract to direct reportedly gave him complete creative control and the current script was written before he was involved with the film, and that could push The Batman back even farther. This ripple has forced Justice League 2 from its 2019 slot. Originally Justice League 2 was going to compete against the still untitled fourth Avengers film for the summer box office but now Avengers 4 will most likely have an easier opponent in a DC hero...

I have not had the opportunity to watch Logan yet, so I can't brain out loud a review. The weekend box office has not been revealed yet either, but Friday estimates are available. Logan has earned an estimated $33 Million on Friday. This moves the estimated $60 Million opening weekend north of $80 Million. These numbers are on par with Wolverine X-Men Origins, however, I believe hype alone achieved that as the Saturday numbers for Wolverine X-Men Origins weren't great and the second weekend dropped over 60%. Logan's main competition this weekend is Kong: Skull Island, but as long as there is not a significant drop the cantankerous clawed Canadian may come out on top, judging by the new predictions it may be possible. Until I watch the film, hopefully by mid-week, I have to avoid spoilers.

The next installment of the seemingly unstoppable blockbuster machine known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Not much was expected from the first film about the obscure team of space heroes and many industry "experts" were claiming that Guardians of the Galaxy, the 10th film in the MCU, would the first flop. Admittedly it was risky, but the classic rock marketing campaign and the promise of a fun adventure set in the far reaches of space full unique, colorful creatures propelled the movie to a $94 million opening weekend and finished as the third highest grossing movie of 2014. The sequel was a sure thing and is now only a few months away, May 5th to be exact. We know many things about the film; the cast, synopsis, villain, and so on but we probably know less than we'd like to admit, thanks to the secrecy that surrounds a Marvel filming project. How does it connect to the MCU, the Guardians of the Galaxy will be involved next y...

Warner Brothers and DC continue to have problems with the DC Extended Universe, and if things don't turn around soon the ambitious slate of films may get scrapped. There is still no director attached or finalized script for the The Flash movie which is expected for 2018, and after a turbulent month or so during which Matt Reeves, who was the front-runner, withdrew his name only to re-enter it has officially been attached to direct the stand-alone Batman film. Star of this proposed Batman film, Ben Affleck has yet to debunk rumors that he no longer wants to portray the Caped Crusader. Varying reports suggest his contract covers two Justice League films, not a solo Batman film. I also suspect, with the popularity of the character, Warner Brothers would like Affleck for cameos in nearly every other DCEU film. Why do I suspect such a scenario? Justice League Dark from DC was first published in 2011 and starred characters with supernatural powers including John Constantine, Swamp Thi...

Toy Fair, the annual industry trade show took place over the weekend in New York City, and many new and exciting additions to dozens of toy lines were revealed. However, only one of those revelations concerned GI Joe. The second wave of delightful, vinyl figures with oversized heads from Loyal Subjects were on display and they look great. The lack of GI Joe content at the biggest toy industry trade show in the country is not surprising. Fans and collectors already know that a large retail roll-out of a new action figure line is contingent on the GI Joe film franchise from Hasbro Studios and Universal. In fact, most if not all of the toys that line the shelves at the local department store are supported by a movie or television show. That said it does concern me that my favorite assortment of action figure, vehicle and play-set merchandise relies on a horrible movie franchise that's struggling to find an audience and is routinely blasted by critics. Plus the major reveals ar...

Hard at work on my third GI Joe novel for Kindle Worlds, while at the same time doing what I can to promote the first two. I have messed around with video production on and off, my first job after college, the summer I bought an Apple Mac and now with Hit Film 4 Express. Even though it is free Hit Film 4 Express is very powerful. My PC just meets the minimum system requirements, which is enough for me to learn the basics of the software. Maybe after a PC upgrade and purchasing the more advanced version I can make some more impressive movie magic.  My first GI Joe fanfiction novel for Kindle Worlds, Into the Clutches of Cobra-La, is a deconstructed and re-imagined version of GI Joe: The Movie from 1987. Making a teaser for the tale was as simple as splicing up the animated film and arranging the clips in sync with the music. Free music, usable under a creative commons license from freemusicarchive.org. Making a promotional video for my second GI Joe fanfiction novel, Mindbende...

Just a couple of weeks ago Affleck dropped out as the director for the solo Batman film. A film, by the way, which has yet to be officially announced, nor any release date set. Now, on the most recent episode of Collider Movie Talk host John Campea claims that Affleck no longer wants to be involved at all. It's important to note that Campea has been wrong before and his "inside sources" may not be completely reliable. In other words, this is an unsubstantiated rumor. On the other hand, the Collider video did stream live on YouTube yesterday afternoon and so far no rebuttals have been issued from Warner Brothers, DC Films President Geoff Johns, or Ben Affleck himself. DC is currently lining up a director to replace Affleck, with Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) the front runner. Reeves has mainly directed sappy television melodramas like Felicity, until 2008 when he directed Cloverfield. Even though I hate "shaky cam/found footage" ...

Things have kept me from posting regularly, I have been working on my next GI Joe book for Amazon Kindle Worlds, I have picked film editing back up, my work schedule is absurd, and then everything came to a screeching stop with a catastrophic hardware failure. My PC has a 500Gig hard drive. I didn't think that was enough when I got it so I also bought a 1 Terabyte external. I foolishly used the 1 Terabyte external as more storage, not as a backup as it was intended. File upon file of Photoshop projects, folders for my story ideas, years worth of pictures, all my music and more was on the external, and I had no backup. Then, a few weeks ago the external stopped working. I immediately freaked out, feverishly trying to get the most important of data transferred but nothing was working. I jumped online looking for a solution, made a few phone calls but everything suggested that the external hard drive had stopped spinning. The good news was that the data still existed. My only opt...