Fanboys Anonymous

Welcome to another edition of WEEK IN GEEK here at Fanboys Anonymous—a rundown of some of the events, news and stories that went down over the past few days in the geek culture spectrum.

Here are some of the topics I felt like voicing my opinions about:

Black Widow Final Trailer

Hm....so maybe my theory that Rachel Weisz is playing Taskmaster isn't true.

As far as the content goes, it hasn't changed my opinions about the movie. I'm seeing it opening night, it'll probably be super good, but the trailers haven't stood out to me as anything special and I still feel like Black Widow should've gotten her own movie in Phase 2 or this should have been released after Civil War and not come out now.

Everything Cancelled Due to the Coronavirus

One by one, everything is being postponed or outright cancelled due to the coronavirus. This sucks in so many ways that I'm sure we have no idea the full scope about.

TRON TV Series Plans for Disney+ Scrapped

Apparently, there was going to be a TV series for the TRON franchise on Disney+ but they decided to not move forward with the project.

While we have no idea what the project was and if the ideas were good for it, that sucks. I don't like the original film, but I think TRON: Legacy was a lot of fun (with an amazing soundtrack) and I feel like they're not tapping into some serious potential here.

Roberto Orci hired for Untitled Spider-Man Film

Orci, who helped co-write The Amazing Spider-Man 2, is going to do a film for Sony in this "Spider-Man Universe of Marvel Characters" thing that I really hate. Orci (and Alex Kurtzman) have done some great stuff in the past and had some flops, too, so I don't know how to feel about that other than that I have no faith this project will be a good idea outright just based on Sony's track record.

Welcome to another edition of WEEK IN GEEK here at Fanboys Anonymous—a rundown of some of the events, news and stories that went down over the past few days in the geek culture spectrum.

Here are some of the topics I felt like voicing my opinions about:

RIP James Lipton

The host of Inside the Actors Studio passed away at age 93. That's a good run, but it's always sad to see people go. I was fond of the program and I feel like everything associated with it probably helped make so many more stars in Hollywood than we'll ever know, which is a testament to his contributions.

The Batmobile

We got our first look at the new Batmobile. Of course, they made sure to obscure some of it, so it's not the best look. I don't know why they're bothering to do that. But this just looks like a modified normal car. For a starter thing, I'm okay with that, but I hope this isn't supposed to be Batman in his prime. The car and the suit just look too...homemade. If this is year 2, though, then that's cool.

No Time to Die Delayed

I bought my tickets to the new James Bond film, No Time to Die, only for it to get delayed until November 25th due to the coronavirus. While that makes sense, it strikes me funny that they waited until after the tickets went on sale. Maybe they weren't breaking the box office and figured they could mitigate a potential problem at the same time as having an excuse?

Apparently, there's a chance they take a 30-50 million dollar loss because of this, though. Well...hm...

As requested through our Patreon "Pick Your Poison" tier by Guest Five, Fanboys Anonymous is providing you with another edition of the Group Meeting podcast (episode 31).

This edition is a roundtable discussion about upcoming superhero films set to come out from DC, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney+ series and more.

Make sure to subscribe/follow on whatever platform you're listening, leave your comments on the videos or this post, share this with your friends and geek out with us!

Welcome to another edition of WEEK IN GEEK here at Fanboys Anonymous—a rundown of some of the events, news and stories that went down over the past few days in the geek culture spectrum.

Here are some of the topics I felt like voicing my opinions about:

Jurassic World: Dominion

That's the name of the third (technically sixth) film. Boooooooooooooring.

James Mangold to Take Over Indiana Jones 5

Steven Spielberg is giving up the reigns for the next Indiana Jones film and passing the baton to James Mangold (director of Logan and Ford v Ferrari). Spielberg will stay on as a producer.

I still don't know what they can do with this movie unless they recast his kid and replace Shia with someone else. Then, they can try to get the bulk of the action from someone not Harrison Ford, but...hm...

At the very least, I trust Mangold to do a good job with his job, even if the story might be the biggest problem.

Palpatine was a Clone in The Rise of Skywalker

They never made it official in the movies (shocker...that's been a running theme of these films lately) but in the books, apparently it clarifies that Palpatine's body was supposed to be a clone one just housing his spirit.

So, if that's the case, why don't they just make another one over and over and constantly repeat the process? It's dumb. That's why. All of it has been dumb.

Alfred Molina Cast as Mr. Freeze in Harley Quinn Season 2

Very cool! I don't know Sanaa Lathan, so I can't comment on the Catwoman casting, but I could see Molina providing a good voice for Mr. Freeze. I'm very curious where they go from where the finale left off. I love this show.

Welcome to another edition of 6 Flicks Picks, wherein I list all of the upcoming films that are scheduled to be released in the United States for the month which is about to begin and break down which ones I'll be watching in theaters, which ones I'll wait to rent at home, and which ones I'll be skipping out on entirely. After going through the list, I'll choose which six films stand out to me as the ones I want to see the most, even if there are more or less than six that interest me.

Note: The list below is based primarily off the expanded nationwide USA release dates on IMDB as well as some other random outlets if possible, so some information may be different. If I am missing some of the limited releases or the dates conflict in some fashion, please let me know in the comments below and any adjustments and corrections will be made!

Without further ado, another new month means another new set of films, so what's coming soon to theaters in March 2020?

Onward

Synopsis: Set in a suburban fantasy world, two teenage elf brothers embark on a quest to discover if there is still magic out there.

Will I watch? = Maybe

The Way Back

Synopsis: A former HS basketball phenom, struggling with alcoholism, is offered a coaching job at his alma mater. As the team starts to win, he may have a reason to confront his old demons. But will it be enough to set him on the road to redemption?

Will I watch? = No


My Spy

Synopsis: A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.

Will I watch? = No

Bloodshot

Synopsis: Ray Garrison, a slain soldier, is re-animated with superpowers.

Will I watch? = Maybe

The Hunt

Synopsis: Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don't know where they are, or how they got there. They don't know they've been chosen - for a very specific purpose - The Hunt.

Will I watch? = No

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Synopsis: A pair of teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania travel to New York City to seek out medical help after an unintended pregnancy.

Will I watch? = No

I Still Believe

Synopsis: The true-life story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp and his journey of love and loss that looks to prove there is always hope.

Will I watch? = No

The Roads Not Taken

Synopsis: Sally Potter's film follows a day in the life of Leo (Javier Bardem) and his daughter, Molly (Elle Fanning), as he floats through alternate lives he could have lived, leading Molly to wrestle with her own path as she considers her future.

Will I watch? = No

Inside the Rain

Synopsis: Facing expulsion from college over a misunderstanding, a bipolar student indulges his misery at a strip club where he befriends a gorgeous, intelligent, outrageous woman and they hatch a madcap scheme to prove his innocence.

Will I watch? = No


A Quiet Place Part II

Synopsis: Following the events at home, the Abbott family now face the terrors of the outside world. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realize the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats lurking beyond the sand path.

Will I watch? = Yes


Mulan

Synopsis: A young Chinese maiden disguises herself as a male warrior in order to save her father. A live-action feature film based on Disney's 'Mulan.'

Will I watch? = No


Which films make the cut?

6. The Way Back / The Roads Not Taken — I have no interest in either. Flip a coin.

5. My Spy — There's no way I'm seeing this, but it does have Batista in it and since I cover pro wrestling over on Smark Out Moment and other avenues, I'd get more out of seeing this and approaching it from that angle than some of the other movies.

4. Mulan — To be honest, I haven't even seen the original. It never appealed to me. This doesn't, either, but it's a bad month for movies.

3. Bloodshot — As I've mentioned before when I thought Bloodshot was coming out in February, this is a movie based on a comic book that has actiony superhero-esque elements to it. By default, that's more my speed than a lot of other things, so I'll check it out at some point, even if I don't see it in theaters.

2. Onward — This seems cute and I can't help but assume any Pixar movie deserves the benefit of the doubt that it will be at least decent, if not great.

1. A Quiet Place Part II — I really enjoyed the first one. You bet I'm seeing this.

A few weeks back, Sonic the Hedgehog surprised most people by being a pretty decent film that also surpassed box office expectations. At this point, being both monetarily and critically well-received, a sequel is guaranteed, if not a third film, too.

Before anything is officially announced about those movies, what do I think should happen and what would I do if I were given the keys to the kingdom and creative control?

Welcome to the first edition of FANBOYS FOLLOW-UP—a segment where I take a film or TV show and expand on where I'd like to see the story go from there. I've wanted to do this many times over the years with things like Kick-Ass 3, Incredibles 3, dating all the way back to one of the first posts on this site with my Ghostbusters III idea. Now, it's officially kicking off with this, because...well...why not?

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

We already know we're getting Tails as the end of the last film showed the little guy. It was a necessity. To make a sequel and not include him would be insane.

The last film ended with Robotnik stranded off-world and Sonic comfortable in his new home in the attic of the Wachowski's. We can't completely ignore the relationship between Sonic and The Donut Lord, Tom, nor push Maddie out of the way or anything like that. They need to do something, and there should be something that gets in the way of Sonic's friendship with Tom. That's what sequels pretty much always do.

Here's my quick pitch, as we don't need to flesh out all the little details:

The government was lenient on everyone, but they're still keeping tabs. They notice that something is happening across the planet that seems extremely reminiscent of Sonic's powers. Banks and technological facilities are being robbed in a split second and there's nothing but a blue streak of energy that they catch on camera. Who else are they going to blame but him? Crazy Carl agrees.

Tom goes to bat for Sonic, that he wouldn't be responsible, but the evidence mounts. Meanwhile, there's been tension brewing because Tails has come from Mobius trying to track him down because things have gotten bad and they could use his help. Creatures from that world are being converted into robots that are taking over. It's definitely Robotnik's fault, as these Badniks need to be stopped.

Immediately, there's a great partnership between Sonic and Tails, which makes Tom jealous. He doesn't really know what those two are up to, which makes him suspicious that Sonic is being a rebellious teenager and actually causing these crimes. But hey, Tom's not Sonic's father, so that creates even more tension. Plus, Maddie is pressuring Tom to have a baby and Sonic feels like he's being cast aside.

Then, they get seemingly full-proof evidence that it's Sonic causing these crimes when video surveillance footage manages to capture a picture of him and it has his shape, size, etc.

Who is the real culprit, though? Well, of course, it's Robotnik. I mean, he's the bad guy and all. But in particular, it's Mecha Sonic (aka Metal Sonic—I know they're all supposed to be different, but they shouldn't be, just like how Mega Man and X should be the same robot with some advancements and not entirely different characters). He should appear in Mark I form (Silver Sonic) but eventually, the blue armor and everything in future tweaks is more than enough to fool everyone.

Mecha Sonic is extremely powerful and able to match Sonic's speed, if not surpass it. That's the biggest physical fight of the whole thing, but there are also Badniks and normal drones that Robotnik pilots. That gives Tails something to do (disable the tech that controls the Badniks) and Tom something to do (fight off the drones) in the final battle.

It ends with Sonic being exonerated, Maddie having her child, Tom and Sonic have reconciled, Sonic has a friend in Tails that is closer to his own kind, they can travel between worlds easier through whatever means Robotnik found his way back, and all is well again.

That is...of course, until the tease at the end. The Knuckles Clan or Echnida Tribe or whatever you want to call them is attacked by another variation of Mecha Sonic and consult their prophecy about how they'd inevitably deal with the blue menace. Their cave paintings or scripture or whatever make it seem like Sonic is destined to destroy them through the Chaos Emeralds, and they won't let that happen.

Bonus points for how this is the #2 film and a ton of things revolve around the concept of two. There are two Sonics (real and robot). Tails has two tails. There are two heroes now from the other world (Sonic and Tails) as well as two villains in this story (Robotnik and Mecha Sonic). A wedge between Sonic/Tails and Tom/Maddie that is eventually patched up with their kid. So on and so forth.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3: Triple Trouble

As said, this film revolves around the Chaos Emeralds. There's a flashback to when Sonic was a child and that whole attack from the first film that had the echidnas hunting him. Their prophecy isn't clarified yet, as they've interpreted it as basically "Sonic will bring the end of Mobius through the Chaos Emeralds." Remember how in the games, there are those hieroglyphics that play into this idea? I'm copying that.

Robotnik sent Mecha Sonic to frame him again, so they think this is happening now. He offers to help them kill Sonic if he allows them access to the Chaos Emeralds. Since he's proven himself an ally so far and he's a genius from another world, they trust him and his new sidekick, a little purple wolf-like guy named Nack the Weasel (aka Fang the Sniper).

The head of the tribe is Knuckles. You know him. I don't need to go into who he is, and you know where this is going, too.

Admittedly, I'm not entirely sure what I'd do with the Tom and Maddie portion of this story yet, but I didn't want to sleep on this article any longer. Maybe in time, I'll edit this section with an update. But I do know I want Sonic and Tails to be bros and for the baby Wachowski to be something they watch over and for the kid to be in danger at some point in the movie, as well as some kind of tie-in to Chao.

Then, Sonic and Knuckles basically plays out the way you'd expect it. Knuckles is naive enough to trust Robotnik and acts as a primary antagonist along with Nack, who is more of a pest for Tails to deal with. We've got our Badniks in some fashion and possibly Mecha Sonic is back, but just not as featured. I'd rather have an alternative to that, but I don't think it's smart to throw out Shadow or something and I can't think of another enemy worth putting in the mix.

Robotnik uses the Master Emerald and unlocks Perfect Chaos, which is the real prophecy meaning: Sonic is the one to help stop the destruction, not the one who brings it. Knuckles realizes that mistake and joins the team, giving us Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Tom against Robotnik, Nack, the standard drones and the big bad threat of Perfect Chaos.

Sonic has to go Super Sonic to defeat it. He obviously does, because this is a film for kids and not something dark and depressing that ends in the world's destruction or something. Now that Sonic has proven himself totally not the problem, he's more than welcome to hang out on Angel Island and all throughout Mobius and Earth however he pleases.

Unfortunately, there's no natural way for me to figure out how to cram in more characters like Rouge and Cream, but maybe...just maybe...somewhere in there, you could add Amy Rose. If not, and if these movies do well enough that you can make a fourth, have a plot point be that Amy Rose is Sonic's girlfriend and that changes the dynamics of the group. You can have Rouge/Knuckles and Cream/Tails as the other couples and really market that toward the girls in the audience, too. But hey, I'm sticking with Sonic 2 and 3 at this point, and it's better not to get too far ahead of the game...I mean, movie...I mean, game-inspired movie.

The latest in the line of animated DC direct-to-video films is Superman: Red Son. Is it worth the watch, or should it be skipped?

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

Superman: Red Son
Directed by Sam Liu
Written by J.M. DeMatteis (screenplay), Mark Millar (graphic novel), Dave Johnson (graphic novel), Kilian Plunkett (graphic novel)

STARRING: Jason Isaacs (Superman), Amy Acker (Lois Lane), Deidrich Bader (Lex Luthor), Vanessa Marshall (Wonder Woman), Phil Morris (James Olsen), Paul Williams (Brainiac), Greg Chun (Ambassador Lee), Phil LaMarr (John Stewart), Jim Meskimen (John F. Kennedy), Sasha Roiz (Hal Jordan), William Salyers (Joseph Stalin), Roger Craig Smith (Batman) and Tara Strong (Young Superman)

STORY: B

I had never read the comic before, so this was all new to me. The concept, in general, is a very good one. Not only is the title a good pun, it's also a nice job of flipping the script of the usual Superman story but holding true to some of the ideals from various incarnations.

Admittedly, I do think it probably works better as a graphic novel than a movie, though. There were parts of this that I felt jumped over details that could have been more interesting to dive deeper in, but only in a medium that would allow for it. Actually, it could work as a multi-episode TV show.

CHARACTERS: C–

Maybe C- is being a little generous. Most characters have no depth to them outside of what is face value and what they bring to the table with what you already know about them.

TONE / ATMOSPHERE: B–

ACTION: Meh, it was okay. There wasn't a single sequence that stands out to me, but they weren't bad.

COMEDY: None of this was funny that I can recall, but it wasn't supposed to be.

ROMANCE: Outside of Lois saying the sex is great with Lex and Diana turning down Superman, there wasn't any romance in this. That's okay. That wasn't the focal point.

DRAMA: On the political drama side of things, that is where this film's strengths are.


ACTING: D

The voice acting for the kids bit in the beginning was cringy. Then, many characters didn't get any better throughout the rest of the film. Yikes. That accent just comes off fake to me and even the Americans felt off. Deidrich Bader as Luthor...I don't know. It's not the worst we've had, but it still was strange.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): B

For the most part, the character models were pretty good. JFK looked awful, though.

AUDIO (MUSIC / SOUND): C–

The music was generic enough that I didn't register it. The sound design was okay for my ears.

• Svetlana Lang? Ha.
• Oh damn, Superman straight-up murdered Stalin. I didn't see that coming. 
• Bizarro. Okay.
• Old Wonder Woman gave me serious Linda Hamilton vibes for some reason.
• Nice touch with Superman not aging the same as everyone else.
• We took care of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern...curious where Flash was during all this.
• Luthor not turning out to be evil is astounding.

GRADE: C– (Pass)

There are far worse entries in these DC animated films, but there are far better ones, too. This is an interesting story that I feel is probably much better in its original form rather than this film. I'd recommend it to people who are big fans of the characters, but not the average person—especially not those who are younger and/or only interested in action, as that's not the target audience. For a one-time viewing, I enjoyed the concept more than I enjoyed the movie itself. I'm glad I watched it, but I don't think I'll ever revisit it.

Welcome to another edition of WEEK IN GEEK here at Fanboys Anonymous—a rundown of some of the events, news and stories that went down over the past few days in the geek culture spectrum.

Here are some of the topics I felt like voicing my opinions about: nothing, really.

I don't think there was a single story this week that wasn't just more of the same circle of rumors. "Is Sony still working with Disney on a Spider-Man deal?" Well, we've talked about that for months on-end.

Stephanie Beatriz denies she's been cast as She-Hulk. Okay, so that's a non-story.

More speculation on things like Red Hulk being part of the Thunderbolts in a movie or series. Yeah, that's been going around for months. Unless you have something concrete or new, what's there to talk about?

Sonic is doing well at the box office, like its first week.

I did see Jojo Rabbit, though. I'm late to the game on that. It started out as something I wasn't really feeling, but by the end of it, I was enjoying it. I wasn't super fond of the exact finale of it, but I can see why it got some acclaim.

On weeks like this, I wonder what it is that I've missed, so if you can think of something you can to pick my brain about, just let me know in the comments!

As requested through our Patreon "Pick Your Poison" tier by Guest Five, Fanboys Anonymous is providing you with another edition of the FanTracks podcast, this time for The Batman/Superman Movie: World's Finest. (aka, 3 episodes of Superman: The Animated Series entitled World's Finest Part 1-3)

For copyright reasons, we cannot provide the movie itself, but after a short introduction, you will be told when to sync your copy of the film so you can following along with us and listen to our thoughts on the movie as we crack some jokes, expose plot holes, and discuss anything else that comes to our minds for commentary.

Make sure to subscribe/follow on whatever platform you're listening, leave your comments on the videos or this post, share this with your friends and geek out with us!

Welcome to another edition of WEEK IN GEEK here at Fanboys Anonymous—a rundown of some of the events, news and stories that went down over the past few days in the geek culture spectrum.

Here are some of the topics I felt like voicing my opinions about:

Aladdin Sequel in the Works

An original story, not based on the follow-up to the original film, is reportedly in the works. This could be good or, more realistically, this could be awful. There wasn't really all that much of anything with the live-action version of the film that I liked better than the animated film, which is just flat out better. But maybe there's something to this. I'll probably see it.

Knives Out Sequel

Rian Johnson said that the sequel for Knives Out will feature Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, but everyone else would be brand new to the cast. This makes perfect sense. Why would he still be hanging around that one family? Perfect decision - something completely contrarian to how Johnson approached The Last Jedi.

Rick Moranis Returning for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Sequel

THAT is the movie that gets you to return to acting?!!?! Look, I liked the film as a kid, and I even saw the follow-up stuff, but c'mon now. If Moranis pops up in this and isn't in Ghostbusters, that will be absurd.

First Look at Robert Pattinson in the Bat Suit

Admittedly, everything is masked as all hell to not provide a great look at it. The colors could be strange, or the shape could be weird if not for that light. However, what I CAN see so far, I do like, minus how the symbol on the chest isn't quite a bat.

No Time to Die Theme by Billie Eilish

I mean, it's not catchy. It's kind of a drone. But it's still pleasant to listen to. Just please don't kill Bond or have him retire the 007 number or anything like that.

Lucifer Getting a Season 6?

The next season of Lucifer (season 5) was supposed to be the finale, split between two sections of 8-episode chunks. However, there's now talk that they may bring it back for a sixth season on top of that.

Gimme! I absolutely love this show. The more, the better.

On the latest edition of the Fanboys Anonymous REVIEWPOINT podcast, host Tony Mango breaks down the hits and misses of Sonic the Hedgehog by discussing what worked, what didn't, and whether you should see it or skip it.

Sonic tries to navigate the complexities of life on Earth with his newfound best friend -- a human named Tom Wachowski. They must soon join forces to prevent the evil Dr. Robotnik from capturing Sonic and using his powers for world domination.

Make sure to subscribe/follow on whatever platform you're listening, leave your comments on the videos or this post, share this with your friends and geek out with us!

The 92nd Academy Awards were presented on February 9, 2020 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood and honored the best in film for 2020. Here are the results of all of the winners in their respective categories.

BEST PICTURE: Parasite

BEST ACTOR: Joaquin Phoenix for Joker

BEST ACTRESS: Renee Zellwegger for Judy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Brad Pitt for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Laura Dern for Marriage Story

BEST DIRECTOR: Bong Joon Ho for Parasite

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Parasite

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Jojo Rabbit

BEST FILM EDITING: Ford v Ferrari

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: 1917

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: 1917

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Little Women

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING: Bombshell

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Joker

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from Rocketman

BEST SOUND EDITING: Ford v Ferrari

BEST SOUND MIXING: 1917

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: Toy Story 4

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM: Hair Love

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: American Factory

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM: Parasite

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: The Neighbors' Widow

Welcome to another edition of WEEK IN GEEK here at Fanboys Anonymous—a rundown of some of the events, news and stories that went down over the past few days in the geek culture spectrum.

Here are some of the topics I felt like voicing my opinions about:

Sam Raimi to Direct Doctor Strange 2

You know...this could be pretty cool. He has horror experience, he has superhero experience...I dig it.

The Lodge

Got a chance to see this the other day. I'm not even a big horror fan and I enjoyed it. I didn't at all think that was Alicia Silverstone, though. That took me by surprise.

Parasite

Also finally got a chance to see this, too, and I DEFINITELY recommend it to everybody.
Birds of Prey

I still don't know if I'm going to bother doing a Reviewpoint podcast about this or not. Suffice it to say, if I'm giving my quick thoughts: it is exactly what I pictured it would be, and that's not a good thing. It's not at all a Birds of Prey film. It's just a movie that was made if someone's only goals were to copy Deadpool (but not as good) and focus on Harley Quinn and girl power.

What's up with these slow news weeks?

There isn't anything to talk about anymore that I'm coming across these past bunch of weeks. Maybe its just me. Maybe I'm not tapping into the right information, or I'm just not all that interested in what's going on. As always, if there is something going on that you want my opinion about, let me know.

The nominees for the 92nd Academy Awards have been announced, so it's time for us to talk about some of the surprises, snubs and our predictions of which movies will take home an Oscar in 2020.

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE START:

As always, I haven't seen all the films nominated, nor do I plan on watching a lot of them, even if they win all their respective categories. I'm also nowhere near an expert in any category to be able to fully judge the technical aspects of a lot of these like Film Editing and Sound Mixing, so I'm guessing blindly in those. Still, I tend to do pretty decently with my predictions, so this is all in the name of fun and seeing if this is predictable based on previous years and whatever gut feelings I have.

CHECKLIST OF MOVIES BELOW:

* = I've seen the film
(#) = number of total nominations

* 1917 (10)
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (1)
A Sister (1)
* Ad Astra (1)
American Factory (1)
* Avengers: Endgame (1)
Bombshell (3)
Breakthrough (1)
Brotherhood (1)
Corpus Christi (1)
Dcera (Daughter) (1)
For Sama (1)
* Ford v Ferrari (4)
Frozen II (1)
Hair Love (1)
Harriet (2)
Honeyland (2)
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (1)
I Lost My Body (1)
In the Absence (1)
Jojo Rabbit (6)
* Joker (11)
Judy (2)
Kitbull (1)
Klaus (1)
* Knives Out (1)
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone  (If You're a Girl) (1)
Les Misérables (1)
Life Overtakes Me (1)
Little Women (6)
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (1)
Marriage Story (6)
Memorable (1)
Missing Link (1)
Nefta Football Club (1)
* Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (10)
Pain and Glory (2)
* Parasite (6)
Richard Jewell (1)
Rocketman (1)
Saria (1)
Sister (1)
St. Louis Superman (1)
* Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (3)
The Cave (1)
The Edge of Democracy (1)
* The Irishman (10)
The Lighthouse (1)
* The Lion King (1)
The Neighbors' Window (1)
The Two Popes (3)
* Toy Story 4 (2)
Walk Run Cha-Cha (1)

THOUGHTS AND PREDICTIONS:

Now, onto my predictions, which I'll be updating as time goes on and I potentially watch any of these movies.

BEST PICTURE

THOUGHTS: It's not going to be Little Women or Once Upon a Time. Ford v Ferrari, as much as I was surprised about how much I liked it, has no chance, either. The Irishman might have won if this were a few months ago, but I feel like the buzz went down. Joker's the sentimental favorite for me in some ways, but I think the real fight is between 1917 and Parasite. Marriage Story is still a Netflix film and there's a stigma to that. However, I haven't seen some of these films, like Jojo Rabbit, so I don't want to rank all of them in order. When push comes to shove, I'm going with 1917.

PREDICTION: 1917

BEST ACTOR

THOUGHTS: Joaquin Phoenix. End of story.

PREDICTION: Joaquin Phoenix for Joker

BEST ACTRESS

THOUGHTS: Lupita didn't get nominated for Us? Hm. To be honest, I have no idea about this one. I didn't see any of these movies yet, so it's impossible to judge fairly.

PREDICTION: Renee Zellwegger for Judy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

THOUGHTS: I think Pacino and Pesci are going to cannibalize each other. Hanks is nominated cause he's Hanks and its tough not to nominate him at some point. Song Kang Ho did great, but he'll be overlooked. This is Brad Pitt's.

PREDICTION: Brad Pitt for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

THOUGHTS: It seems like the buzz is around Laura Dern for Marriage Story. I wouldn't know, having not seen any of the films, just like the Best Actress category. Weird that that happened.

PREDICTION: Laura Dern for Marriage Story

BEST DIRECTOR

THOUGHTS: Some years, I feel like there's a strong candidate for winning Best Director instead of winning Best Picture. Not this year. Everyone strikes me as befitting of that consolation idea this year, in that, for instance, Quentin Tarantino would get nominated for Best Picture and Best Director but not win either of them.

PREDICTION: Sam Mendes for 1917

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

THOUGHTS: I sure as hell hope it isn't Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, I'll tell you that. The movie had no real story! Knives Out was a lot of fun, but even though I haven't seen Marriage Story or The Farewell, I'm going to go outside the box a bit and say if Marriage Story doesn't win, it'll be Parasite.

PREDICTION: Marriage Story

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THOUGHTS: Currently, the odds seem to be in favor of The Irishman. I'll go against that. I think this is where we could see Jojo Rabbit steal some notoriety. Little Women seems like a waste, as the story's been done so many times before. Joker seems like they wouldn't want to praise it for the story so much as for the acting. The Two Popes...that has a shot. But screw it, I don't have any money on the line. Let's go with a bit of an underdog.

PREDICTION: Jojo Rabbit

BEST FILM EDITING

THOUGHTS: The odds right now are The Irishman. Really? I don't know...that doesn't strike me as a standout. I was more impressed with Ford v Ferrari in that regard with the races, even.

PREDICTION: 1917

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

THOUGHTS: No nomination for Godzilla: King of the Monsters?! Crazy. Absolutely crazy that The Irishman got nominated, too, as the deaging was rather bad.

PREDICTION: Avengers: Endgame? I could see any of these except Irishman winning.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

THOUGHTS: While I think a lot of recognition will be given to a lot of these films (and many others that weren't nominated, but arguably should have been), ultimately this is 1917 taking it home. It has more elements that people fall in love with. It's a war film, period piece, tells a visual story and has no controversy surrounding it.

PREDICTION: 1917

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

THOUGHTS: What's the most bombastic of the bunch? That's the one that wins.

PREDICTION: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

THOUGHTS: Again...same as Production Design...

PREDICTION: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

THOUGHTS: Part of me says Rocketman could take this, but I'm going to lean more toward Joker due to how its actually a big part of the presentation of the main character who is tied to who might likely win Best Actor.

PREDICTION: Joker

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

THOUGHTS: I haven't heard Little Women or Marriage Story's scores. Maybe they give this to John Williams for a retirement win? Maybe 1917...but I think a big enough buzz was created over Joker's score that I'll give that an edge.

PREDICTION: Joker

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

THOUGHTS: Thank God it won't be Speechless from Aladdin or Spirit from The Lion King. Woof, those were bad. The rest, I have no idea.

PREDICTION: Rocketman

BEST SOUND EDITING

THOUGHTS: I pretty much always pick the same movie for both of these, as I couldn't possibly tell you the difference between these awards.

PREDICTION: 1917

BEST SOUND MIXING

THOUGHTS: Look up.

PREDICTION: 1917

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

THOUGHTS: Toy Story 4, maybe? To be honest, I'm not feeling anything.

PREDICTION: Toy Story 4

THE REST OF THE CATEGORIES

Including:
Best Animated Short Film
Best Documentary Feature
Best Documentary Short Subject
Best International Feature Film = Parasite
Best Live Action Short Film

THOUGHTS: I pretty much never see these films to be able to judge them, so I tend not to bother trying to predict them. However, the one that HAS to be GUARANTEED is Parasite winning International Feature. That movie was really good and deserves at least that accolade, if not Best Picture for real.


This year is equal parts "oh hey, that was pretty good" and lots of "I'll never bother to watch that and I can't imagine anyone will remember this movie even by March, let alone next year, let alone forever." I have a feeling I'm going to do terribly on my predictions this time around. Don't use my guesses for your office pool!

Welcome to another edition of WEEK IN GEEK here at Fanboys Anonymous—a rundown of some of the events, news and stories that went down over the past few days in the geek culture spectrum.

Here are some of the topics I felt like voicing my opinions about:

Another Slow News Week

At least in terms of the stuff I'm tracking and interested in, nothing much was going on. "Chiwetel Ejiofor will probably return to be Mordo" - yeah...no shit. Owen Wilson possibly cast as something in the Loki show? Okay, that might be totally false and we have nothing to go on.

I haven't seen a Fast and Furious movie, so I have no thoughts on the trailer.

If you've got something in mind you think I should address, drop a comment below. Maybe I missed something.

I Did See 1917, Though...

And I thought it was visually stunning and an overall good film. I can understand why it could win Best Picture, although I'm not necessarily rooting for it. I still haven't seen some of the other nominees, so I don't know which one film above all that I'd like to see come out on top. However, if Joker were to win, that would be pretty neat, even though we all know that isn't going to happen.

At the very least, 1917 should win Best Production Design and possibly Best Cinematography. Figuring out a way to make this feel like it was one continuous shot with even less of the random lighting fades to black like Birdman was a major technical achievement that shouldn't be overlooked.

Welcome to another edition of 6 Flicks Picks, wherein I list all of the upcoming films that are scheduled to be released in the United States for the month which is about to begin and break down which ones I'll be watching in theaters, which ones I'll wait to rent at home, and which ones I'll be skipping out on entirely. After going through the list, I'll choose which six films stand out to me as the ones I want to see the most, even if there are more or less than six that interest me.

Note: The list below is based primarily off the expanded nationwide USA release dates on IMDB as well as some other random outlets if possible, so some information may be different. If I am missing some of the limited releases or the dates conflict in some fashion, please let me know in the comments below and any adjustments and corrections will be made!

Without further ado, another new month means another new set of films, so what's coming soon to theaters in February 2020?

Birds of Prey

Synopsis: After splitting with the Joker, Harley Quinn joins superheroes Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya to save a young girl from an evil crime lord.

Will I watch? = Yes (ugh)

The Lodge

Synopsis: A soon-to-be stepmom is snowed in with her fiancé's two children at a remote holiday village. Just as relations begin to thaw between the trio, some strange and frightening events take place.

Will I watch? = No

And Then We Danced

Synopsis: A passionate coming-of-age tale set amidst the conservative confines of modern Tbilisi, the film follows Merab, a competitive dancer who is thrown off balance by the arrival of Irakli, a fellow male dancer with a rebellious streak.

Will I watch? = No


Sonic the Hedgehog

Synopsis: A cop in the rural town of Green Hills will help Sonic escape from the government who is looking to capture him.

Will I watch? = Yes

Blumhouse's Fantasy Island

Synopsis: A horror adaptation of the popular '70s TV show about a magical island resort.

Will I watch? = Maybe

The Photograph

Synopsis: A series of intertwining love stories set in the past and in the present.

Will I watch? = No

Downhill

Synopsis: Barely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation in the Alps, a married couple is thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other.

Will I watch? = No

Ordinary Love

Synopsis: An extraordinary look at the lives of a middle-aged couple in the midst of the wife's breast cancer diagnosis.

Will I watch? = No

What About Love

Synopsis: Two young lovers change the lives of their parents forever when the parents learn from the joyful experience of their kids, and allow themselves to again find their love.

Will I watch? = No

First Lady

Synopsis: Katherine Morales, a woman not married to the President, runs for First Lady, but she winds up getting a better proposal than she ever expected. First Lady is a classic romantic comedy with the backdrop of Presidential Politics and Royal Charm.

Will I watch? = No


Bloodshot

Synopsis: Ray Garrison, a slain soldier, is re-animated with superpowers.

Will I watch? = Maybe

The Call of the Wild

Synopsis: A sled dog struggles for survival in the Alaskan wild.

Will I watch? = No

Brahms: The Boy II

Synopsis: After a family moves into the Heelshire Mansion, their young son soon makes friends with a life-like doll called Brahms.

Will I watch? = No

Emma

Synopsis: Based on the classic Jane Austen novel.

Will I watch? = No

Greed

Synopsis: Satire about the world of the super-rich.

Will I watch? = No

My Boyfriend's Meds

Synopsis: A woman's island getaway with her boyfriend is thrown for a loop when he forgets to take his prescription medications along.

Will I watch? = No

Goldie

Synopsis: A teenager in a family shelter, wages war against the system to keep her sisters together while she pursues her dreams of being a dancer. A story about displaced youth, ambition and strength.

Will I watch? = No


The Invisible Man

Synopsis: When Cecilia's abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.

Will I watch? = No

Wendy

Synopsis: Lost on a mysterious island where aging and time have come unglued, Wendy must fight to save her family, her freedom, and the joyous spirit of youth from the deadly peril of growing up.

Will I watch? = No

The Whistlers

Synopsis: A policeman is intent on freeing a crooked businessman from a prison in Romania. He travels to Gomera, an island in the Canaries, where he must first learn the difficult local dialect, a language which includes hissing and spitting.

Will I watch? = No

Saint Frances

Synopsis: After an accidental pregnancy turned abortion, a deadbeat nanny finds an unlikely friendship with the six-year old she's charged with protecting.

Will I watch? = No

A White, White Day

Synopsis: In a remote Icelandic town, an off duty police chief begins to suspect a local man for having had an affair with his wife, who recently died in a car accident. Gradually his obsession for finding out the truth accumulates and inevitably begins to endanger himself and his loved ones. A story of grief, revenge and unconditional love.

Will I watch? = No


Which films make the cut?

6. The Invisible Man — Weak month. Let's just go with a plot I've seen before.

5. Wendy — They're trying something different, at least. But let's be honest, I'm not going to watch this.

4. Blumhouse's Fantasy Island — They took a weird TV show and turned it into a horror thing? Okay, I'm curious.

3. Bloodshot — It seems very generic, but it's also a comic book kind of movie and that speaks more to my likes than some of the other things on this list.

2. Birds of Prey — It's a DC movie, so I'll see it. It involves a lot of characters I'm very fond of, but the style of the movie, the tone, and the way it is adapting these characters looks HORRENDOUS. I'm not expecting it to be anything but hot garbage.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog — Big fan of the original games on Genesis. This can't be some super amazing movie, but the second trailer convinced me that it should be at least worth checking out.

Welcome to another edition of WEEK IN GEEK here at Fanboys Anonymous—a rundown of some of the events, news and stories that went down over the past few days in the geek culture spectrum.

Here are some of the topics I felt like voicing my opinions about:

Obi-Wan Kenobi Series Cancelled...?

It's on hold. No, it isn't. No, it's cancelled entirely. No, it's just on a delay. Oh wait, it's an indefinite delay. WTF? I give up. If you can't figure out a way to do this story, it's even further proof this creative team doesn't know what they're doing.

Mega Man Live-Action Movie in the Works

Matt Tomlin, who co-wrote the upcoming Batman film, is supposedly writing a script for a live-action Mega Man film.

While I have no idea what Tomlin's work is like and if that's a good or a bad sign, I do think Mega Man is one of the video games that could function as a movie. Let's see what happens.

The Batman's Sounding Worse and Worse

Everything about this movie is scaring me. The fact that they spent years not getting a script going. The casting decisions that increasingly come off as if the goal is "to be different" rather than "to be good representations of those characters." Now, it's supposed to be that the costume is a slapped together mess and the Batmobile is just a regular muscle car?? Stop it. This is going to suck.

Live-Action Bambi

It was only a matter of time. I won't bother seeing it.

Joker's New Girlfriend Punchline

So in the comics, apparently Joker will be getting a new gal pal named Punchline. While I could see this being nothing but a lame attempt at having another Harley Quinn that is "more evil" so they can transition her more into a heroine, this has potential.

Welcome to another edition of WEEK IN GEEK here at Fanboys Anonymous—a rundown of some of the events, news and stories that went down over the past few days in the geek culture spectrum.

Here are some of the topics I felt like voicing my opinions about:

Hawkeye Show on Indefinite Delay?

The planned Disney+ series about Hawkeye is on delay indefinitely. Why? No idea. Is it about Jeremy Renner? Is it that they want to wait until they can get Hailee Steinfeld?

Jar Jar Binks Could Appear in Kenobi

....really? I mean, maybe this is a good idea. Maybe they have something in mind that could add to the character and redeem him in a way. If he's just the regular annoying bumbling idiot, I think everyone will instantly hate it.

Morbius Trailer

Well, I have to admit that even though Morbius has never been my favorite character, nor have I ever liked the idea of vampires being as much of a thing, nor do I like the idea of Sony having any input in the MCU...this looks like it might be the best possible Morbius movie they could have made.

But goddamn, they are STILL dead set on this Sinister Six movie. Stop making me nervous. That is NOT something that should happen.

Oscars Nominations

Joker was the movie with the most overall nominations. Not a lot of other support for the superhero film genre or geek culture movies in general, as 1917 took a lot of spots away for technical awards and such.

I'll be watching a number of these movies if I haven't already seen them and giving my Oscars predictions at some point - hopefully soon with some updates throughout the month.

Billie Eilish for No Time to Die Theme

Very interesting. This could be wonderful or God awful. I'll withhold judgment until I hear it.

Crisis on Infinite Earths Finale

As I mentioned before, as much as I was 100% in for these series for the first bunch of seasons, I fell off, so I'm not as invested as I once was, but I figured I should check these out. Overall, this was pretty damn neat. I could nitpick and point out how it's never going to be the real thing when you have Batwoman instead of Bruce Wayne, you're missing Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, etc...but the fact that we got Ezra Miller's Flash and all these other crazy stuff is just super cool.

Gleek?

Fox Film Branches Renamed

20th Century Fox is now 20th Century Studios. Fox Searchlight is now Searchlight Pictures. Makes sense. No need to have Fox in the name if it isn't Fox anymore.

Welcome to another edition of WEEK IN GEEK here at Fanboys Anonymous—a rundown of some of the events, news and stories that went down over the past few days in the geek culture spectrum.

Here are some of the topics I felt like voicing my opinions about:

Christian Bale in Thor: Love and Thunder??

Rumor has it he's in talks for a role. I'm totally in the dark about what that could be. Cul Borson? Balder? Imagine how crazy it would be if he were Beta Ray Bill.

Beta Ray Bale? I doubt it. It's probably not a crazy comic character like that. But without having a clue what is going on or if there is any validity to this, let's speculate like crazy.

Dennis Haysbert is God in Lucifer

They've recast God for the next season of Lucifer and the role will now be played by Dennis Haysbert. Pretty cool. The guy has a booming voice and a big presence and pairing him alongside D.B. Woodside will make a lot of sense.

The New Mutants New Trailer

After all these years and the Fox purchase, they're still releasing this in theaters??!? I really don't get it and I question the decision. It doesn't seem like this could possibly be the introduction of mutants in the MCU and releasing this film is just going to confuse people. This would be SO much more beneficial to put on Disney+ or Hulu and try to bring in some subscribers.

As far as the content goes, the movie looks interesting and if this wasn't an X-Men related film, I'd be into it, even though I don't like horror films. I just think this is going to be a bad X-Men film and I'm worried about tarnishing the name even more.

Scott Derrickson Steps Down as Director of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Citing creative differences, Derrickson will stay on as an executive producer, but will no longer direct the film. My guess is he wanted to take it even further into the horror side of things and Marvel wasn't comfortable with that, so they ultimately couldn't find a middle ground they were happy with.

While that is a shame, I think they will find someone who can fit the bill. I'm not too worried, especially since Doctor Strange is one of my least favorite MCU films and if a new director can come on board, maybe that person will be more in sync with my tastes.

Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass

It was shown in the Nintendo Direct this week that there is DLC coming to Sword and Shield which will feature The Isle of Armor and The Tundra Crown areas, new Galarian forms, new Pokemon and more.

To be honest, I'm 50/50 on this. I think it's kind of ridiculous the cost is $30 and they spent a lot of time talking about adding clothing, which I hope doesn't mean you're paying that much for just a short area, a handful of Pokemon and the bulk of it is character customization.

The Pokemon are hit or miss. I have to get a better look at some of them. The new ones aren't impressive, but I'm curious where they're going with the Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres forms, in particular.

Birds of Prey Trailer 2

I still maintain that this film is going to be SO awful, they are stuck up their asses about trying to make "different" versions of these characters and being quirky for the sake of it, and that's going to make it a noisy, incoherent mess that hinders each character going forward. This can't possibly be good.

Cinelytic

Warner Bros is going to be using an AI called Cinelytic to help with greenlighting projects. Oh, yeah, great idea. Because we all know projections and metrics that have estimated the box office have been dead-on these past bunch of years, right?

Having a computer tell you whether or not to do a movie is absurd. It can maybe help determine some factors with estimates based on the right types of formulas, but there are so many grey areas that it can't possibly take into account. For instance, is a computer going to know about backlash to Captain Marvel for comments Brie Larson makes? Or is it going to be able to fully judge whether a script is good?

More than likely, all this is going to do is be a filter of "Is it a popular IP? How popular? Okay, it might make X money. Yes or no."

The AI definitely would have seen the star power of Will Smith and Margot Robbie and thought Suicide Squad would be perfect.

As requested through our Patreon "Pick Your Poison" tier by Guest Five, Fanboys Anonymous is providing you with another edition of the FanTracks podcast, this time for Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back as well as the short film Pikachu's Vacation.

For copyright reasons, we cannot provide the movie itself, but after a short introduction, you will be told when to sync your copy of the film so you can following along with us and listen to our thoughts on the movie as we crack some jokes, expose plot holes, and discuss anything else that comes to our minds for commentary.

Make sure to subscribe/follow on whatever platform you're listening, leave your comments on the videos or this post, share this with your friends and geek out with us!