DC Crisis on Marvel's Infinity War (I Also Finally Cast On a Sock)

We’re officially in December! Jingle Bells are ringing all around, it’s the Holiday Season! Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, National Brownie Day, National Oatmeal Muffin Day (Yeah this is real apparently) or Christmas it’s the season for giving and the season for some really nostalgic Christmas specials on TV. It’s also the season for the annual CW Superhero Crossover and you better believe that this year’s will blow the doors off every previous year’s crossover, hands down.

Dubbed “Crisis on Earth-X” this 4 episode miniseries pits the Arrowverse against a world full of Nazis. Yeah apparently on Earth-X the Nazis won World War II and took over the world with a familiar face at the helm. This world has its own lot of Metahumans and Vigilantes but these guys are not the friendly faces we see saving the world on Earth-1.

The crossover kicks off with the prelude to Iris and Barry’s wedding, about time right? With The Thinker gone quiet for now the speedster couple send off invitations to their various metahuman and arrow shooting friends, although a couple of people seem to be missing from the invitation such as Diggle, what gives with that? Anyway the invitation even reaches Supergirl and Alex who seem to be having relationship problems (I haven’t been watching Supergirl) and want to use this trip as an excuse to get away from their own problems, at least for a little while. I loved the fact that the metahumans were actually in a fight while trying to RSVP thought that was funny.

I don’t know why I expected the Wedding to actually happen though; this is The Flash we’re on about. Yeah the marriage almost happened until a bunch of Nazis burst through the doors with an evil Kryptonian known as “Overgirl” at the helm.

With the Wedding ruined the entire Arrowverse is now pitted against these new villains, and one familiar villain. Yeah if you’ve seen the Episodes then you’ll know that these villains are evil versions of the Earth 1 heroes with Oliver Queen as the Fuhrer. So with this you would expect an evil Flash right? Well we got an Evil Flash, just not Evil Barry.

My jaw dropped at the big reveal of this world’s Flash when under that mask was the familiar face of Harrison Wells, or as he’s known by his real name, Eobard Thawne. Thawne is back! Not just any Thawne this actually is the same Eobard Thawne from Season 1 of The Flash and Season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow believe it or not. How many times has this man escaped death? It’s incredible to see Tom Cavanaugh playing this role again, a role in what was probably my favorite in Season 1 of The Flash, making that particular season amazing. I have to say it was hard to understand why Eobard was even a part of this plot, maybe he just wanted to screw with Barry again but whatever the case is this crossover proves that Thawne is back and that we may be seeing him again very soon. Reverse Flash VS The Thinker? Wonder who would outsmart the other.

This is the largest gathering of Superheroes on the TV screen yet (Not counting the animations) and by far it’s probably one of my favorite storylines to come out of the Arrowverse. This 4 episode series is suspenseful, drama filled and actually really heart wrenching when it comes to the sad departure of one of Arrowverse’s longest running characters. You really get anxious to see the next Episode in this series as it really drags you in with cliffhangers around every corner, luckily these episodes were only split up between two days so the wait wasn’t so excruciating. I am a little disappointed in the lack of most of the Legends throughout the crossover and some of Team Arrow. Actually a certain stretchy guy was missing too, which sucks as this would have been a great way to break Elongated Man into the Superhero fold and would have led to some hilarity as he interacted with the Legends, Team Arrow and Supergirl. Not even Martian Manhunter made an appearance this time around. (Is he even in Supergirl anymore?) The writers could of went all out and brought in every Superhero from the Arrowverse but I guess for the sake of not over swamping the show they kept a few out, maybe next year we’ll actually get all of the heroes together for the largest gathering to date.

Anyway without spoiling much else this miniseries is a must watch for DC Comic fans and you can check it out on Hulu and the CW TV app right now! Just go to the App Store either Google Play, Microsoft Store or iTunes on your smart device and search for The CW. Will Barry and Iris finally get married?

Speaking of Smart Devices we actually got ourselves a Samsung Ultra HD 4k Television a week ago and to my surprise this TV really does have some incredible quality, although the App Store is severely lacking. (No CW App on there, sorry guys) This TV makes our Video Games such as the Wii U look absolutely incredible with this TV’s quality enhancer feature. We have had to turn off a few features here and there, such as the auto motion which caused jittering on our older movies and one weird frame refresh rate. There’s also this automatic room light sensor which didn’t work in our Living Room and instead made the screen go way too dark.

The odd features besides the point this TV is pretty great and has some powerful sound compared to our last set. I can’t wait to get a Nintendo Switch and see how incredible that console looks on this TV, which I’m hoping is sooner rather than later but hey I just paid out for a new computer give me a bit on the Switch.

So what do you guys love more than DC? Marvel? Then I got some incredible news for you and myself! The wait is over, the hype has been fulfilled, the Avengers: Infinity War trailer is here! Oh yes we’re finally getting this trailer after months of leaks, illegal recordings from Comic Con and weird theories and you can check it out below!

The trailer starts off with a classic quote from Nick Fury aka Samuel L Jackson with a couple of short clips of the various heroes in their split off locations and a… Humanized Vision? Not sure what that’s all about but we also get to see that Spider-Man ACTUALLY has Spidey Senses! At least I’m assuming that’s why his hair is standing on its end. The narration is soon taken over by Thanos who’s conquest for the infinity stones pits him against the Avengers who have to put their differences to the side to come together one last time against the greatest threat they have ever faced. This movie is going to be jam packed with every single Hero to grace the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I am beyond hyped for this movie, and a little concerned about the future of the Marvel Universe, obviously this movie and Avengers 4 aren’t “The End” per se as we have confirmation of movies that are planned to release after Avengers 4 but how many iconic heroes are we going to see meet their end in this movie? Chris Evans, aka Captain America for one has hinted at his departure from the movie series and I have a feeling Robert Downey Jr isn’t sticking around either. Will there be a reboot of sorts with those parts being replaced or will we see new heroes take up the mantles of all our favorite heroes? Bucky could always take over the role as Captain America like he did in the comics.

Anyway this movie is coming out May the 4^th of next year so get ready for part 1 of an incredible finale of the Infinity Stones saga!

Before I wrap up for today I actually forgot to mention one particular day that is happening. If you’re reading this on Monday it’s actually National Sock Day believe it or not. I haven’t done much knitting over the past few months to much of your disappointment and while I could apologize all day long I’m going to make up for it today with the casting on of a new project, one that I actually need to finish due to lack of this particular item, a pair of socks!

This will be my third pair of socks I’ve knitted since picking up knitting back in September of last year. The yarn is the normal 90% Wool 10% Nylon but I’m not actually sure of the colorway or brand right now so I’ll have to get back to you on that later.

I’ve got a couple of rows knitted already so hopefully this won’t take me months on end to finish, I mean my first pair of socks didn’t take me that long. (My second pair did.) I’m using my trusty 2.75 MM CiaoGao needles (Which I reviewed in this blog here: ) which should mean this socks won’t be as gigantic as my first pair of socks, but no guarantees. Admittedly I got frustrated with this sock at first, maybe it’s because I’m rusty or maybe it’s just because I hate casting on socks. Don’t get me wrong I love knitting socks but I really hate casting them on and getting things joined. The whole process is annoying but it’s way beyond worth it once you get to the third row, beyond that point Socks are really fun to knit.

That’s about it for now however, I still have a dishcloth to finish and I’m actually doing a duo blanket knitting project with my Mum so you’ll be seeing some more knitting from me in the near future.

For now however I’m leaving you guys for the day, I managed to keep this blog under 2,000 words for once which is incredible but mostly due to the point I haven’t really had much time to write anything these past few weeks. Yeah I’m swamped again but it’s really my own fault for not organizing my time better. Anyway have a Happy Holidays everyone!

This was ZAK Entertainment

See you next week!

“There was an idea…”

Giovanni Strikes Back, The Goodbye Girl and Thor Enters Ragnarok

Welcome back to the blog! Did you remember to roll your clocks back an hour? I almost forgot which would have been disastrous. (It’s bad enough my internal clock is messed up again.) Today we have a massive Pokemon announcement which follows up last week’s blog and finally a discussion about a movie I watched recently, haven’t done one of them in a while. Got some other cool things in this blog too so if you’re not interested in Pokemon scroll down till you find a headline you like the sound off. I really want to make ZAK Entertainment like a magazine of sorts.

Before I head into the blog I have a little PSA. So I’m not sure if any of you have heard of this specific recall but I’m putting it on this blog because of how important this is. As of November 2^nd over 37 Million Kidde Plastic Handle Fire Extinguishers are now under recall due to malfunctions. Apparently deaths and injuries have occurred over the years because of these plastic handles malfunctioning as well as becoming clogged. Of course they’re only just now recalling these models and what’s worse is these models being recalled span back to 1973! These Kidde models were sold at places like Menards, Montgomery Ward, Sears, The Home Depot, Walmart and other various department, home and hardware stores. (I don’t know about Lowes don’t quote me on that.)

So don’t fret I have all the information you need through this government link which will explain things a lot better then I will. You can read all about this recall here at https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2018/Kidde-Recalls-Fire-Extinguishers-with-Plastic%20Handles-Due-to-Failure-to-Discharge-and-Nozzle-Detachment-One-Death-Reported?linkId=44227836

Now on with today’s blog!

Giovanni Strikes Back with Team Rainbow Rocket in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon!

Pokemon has been going strong for beyond 21 years now with now 28 main core series titles filled with adventures, trials and many Pokemon to capture, train and battle. Within these games are some rough and tough criminals looking to ruin your journey. We were introduced to the first of these criminal syndicates in the original games, Pokemon Red Version, Green Version (Japan) Blue Version and Pokemon Yellow Version. Team Rocket was a bunch of paper boy cap wearing goons who stole Pokemon and commited crimes for their boss Giovanni all in the name of profit and control over the Pokemon world. Team Rocket also dabbled in some cloning resulting in the main legendary of Red, Blue and Yellow Mewtwo. Team Rocket also played a major role in the anime in the form of Jessie, James and Meowth, three Team Rocket members who sought to steal Ash’s Pikachu for their boss because for some reason Giovanni wanted his own Pikachu… Actually I’m pretty sure Giovanni didn’t even want Pikachu and that Jessie and James are just a little dense.

Giovanni the original leader of Team Rocket, game wise anyway, disbanded Team Rocket at the end of Red and Blue (Firered and Leafgreen) after being defeated by the protagonist. Team Rocket wasn’t the most threatening Team in the world but they sure left an impression on younger me… Mostly for how easy they were. (Giovanni and the Admins weren’t that easy though) Anyway Team Rocket was hands down my favorite villain team in the Pokemon franchise, until Team Skull came around anyway. With Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon coming out in just a week these games are looking to be massive new adventures while incorporating some story elements from Sun and Moon.

I discussed it last week but Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon will be bringing back an old organization after years of them being disbanded… Team Rocket is back! I’ve for the longest time wanted Team Rocket to make a comeback and while Heart Gold and Soul Silver were satisfying it was only a remake of their original revival. Now they’re back for real and we have a new trailer to showcase them.

…

Wow.

Yeah isn’t that pretty unprofessional of me? I am actually speechless after this announcement. The trailer opens up with a remix of Team Rocket’s battle theme from Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal and an opening sequence to the supposed battle against none other than Giovanni. Yes this time Team Rocket is led by none other than the original leader himself Giovanni. Seems he’s come out of training (Or has he? I’ll get to that theory in a second) and has revived Team Rocket himself under the new name of Team Rainbow Rocket which seems like a silly name but the logo is made up of Red, Blue, Green and Yellow which is a pretty sweet nod to the colors of the original games if you ask me. 

Following him are new grunts in outfits that are pretty much the same as the originals besides the cool new colors to the R logo. 

What’s really insane about this new Team Rainbow Rocket is the people joining Giovanni under this banner…  Not one, not two, but EVERY Villain leader to grace the core Pokemon series is returning as… Partners of Giovanni? I have absolutely no idea what is going on here, we got Archie, Maxie, Cyrus, Ghetsis (Dennis, this is an inside joke forgive me), and Lysandre making an appearance, but why?

Really this announcement while incredibly awesome does open up some new questions. Archie and Maxie turned good in ORAS but as you can clearly see this are the original Archie and Maxie from Ruby and Sapphire (Possibly their Emerald counterparts).

Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic depending on which version you played either disappeared into thin air or was trapped in the distortion world.

Ghetsis, leader of Team Plasma was presumably arrested so I guess he could have broken out but he’s wearing his Black and White outfit instead of the outfit he wore in the sequels.

Lysandre, leader of Team Flare… Well you know what happened to him.

Giovanni himself well at the end of Red and Blue he went to train and in the secret Heart Gold and Soul Silver event we find him behind a waterfall preparing to join Archer in the revival of Team Rocket before getting thwarted again by a kid who shouldn’t really be dealing with criminals but hey we’re Pokemon trainers we can handle it.

This is where the multiverse theory comes into play. Now we’ve had this multiverse pretty much confirmed since Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire thanks to Zinnia. Alternative universe were empowered even further with the Ultra Beasts and the Ultra Wormhole which allow travel between universes seemingly with the Ultra Beasts being the ones that dwell in between. Apparently there is a leak floating around that actually predicted Team Rainbow Rocket spot on which does make it for the most part legit but the leak also stated that the villains making an appearance all succeeded in their goals in their respective timelines, with Giovanni bringing them all together to take over the USUM world. With this in mind I don’t believe this Giovanni is from another dimension. If he had traveled from another world where he succeeded in his plans, why would he want to leave that world? This makes me believe this is the Giovanni we thwarted in the previous games, now making a return after years of training and planning. Somehow Giovanni has gained control of the Ultra Wormholes and perhaps he’s using that to bring these leaders together to finally allow him to succeed in his goal of taking over the world. I can see these leaders not cooperating fully with Giovanni however. All these big egos in one building? There’s sure to be some scraps happen between the leaders, which will probably lead to some hilarity.

Seems Ultra Wormholes will play a role in this sudden Team Rocket revival as seen by this amazing poster which I can say is illustrated by none other than who I assume to be Ken Sugimori, because who else would draw something this magnificent? What we can also take away from this poster is the fact it seems Guzma the boss of Team Skull will be teaming up with us! Spoilers for Sun and Moon but in those games we saw Guzma slowly take a bit of a turn from a bad boss villain to someone willing to make a change in his life so if he takes that turn even further we could have a seriously powerful ally on outside when we conquer the new Team Rainbow Rocket. 

Back to the trailer we get to see one of Giovanni’s Pokemon he’ll have at his disposal and it’s a nostalgic call back to the first movie… He has Mewtwo on his team. I kid you not.

In the anime and the manga we see Giovanni as being kind of obsessed with the mythical Pokemon Mew which results in him funding scientists to create a more powerful clone of Mew, Mewtwo. In the Manga and first Anime movie Giovanni temporary has control over Mewtwo before he goes renegade on him. So yeah these two have a bitter history and it seems poor Mewtwo has gotten himself into Giovanni’s clutches again. I wonder if this means the other leaders will have their respective title Legendaries on their team.

So you know what this means? We have not just Team Skull and Aether to handle but Team Rocket, the Ultra Recon Squad (Who seem to be kind of good guys so maybe not them), Team Magma, Team Aqua, Team Galactic, Team Plasma AND Team Flare to handle in this game… That’s insane.

What’s even more insane is the fact that every Legendary to date will be catchable in these games, yes EVERY Legendary except for Mythical Pokemon will be catchable via Ultra Wormholes and it seems these Ultra Wormholes take you to locations similar to the Legendaries’ original spot from their game of origin as seen by this small snippet of Mewtwo standing on a pedestal in a cave, similar to where he was in Red and Blue. Some of these legendaries will be version exclusive and it seems the mechanics behind obtaining these legendaries is similar to Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Ultra Sun will have Raikou, Ho-Oh, Latios, Groudon, Dialga, Heatran, Tornadus and Xerneas as its exclusives while Ultra Moon will have Entei, Lugia, Latias, Kyogre, Palkia, Regigigas, Thundurus, Zekrom and Yveltal as its exclusives. Some Legendaries like the Legendary Birds and Mewtwo won’t be version exclusive while some Pokemon such as Rayquaza will require you have both games and catch both Kyogre and Groudon so prepare to get both versions if you want to catch them all.

Finally this trailer reveals a new battle facility called the Battle Agency! For as long as I can remember I’ve always loved using Rental Pokemon. Pokemon Stadium allowed you to rent all currently available Pokemon and with Pokemon Emerald came the Battle Frontier in which held the Battle Factory which used a Pokemon rental system. Well that concept is making a return in this Battle Agency with a bit of a twist. It seems you become secret agents of sorts with sweet sunglasses included when you enter this new facility. The battle format is 3v3 single format and it seems to be integrated into the Festival Plaza with online functionality added. Legendaries will also be available for rental as well. I don’t really know any more details on this particular mode but it looks pretty sweet.

Thought Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were just copy and pasted versions of Sun and Moon? Bet you don’t anymore. These games are going to be absolutely amazing and I have a feeling there’s some more details Game Freak isn’t spilling just yet. Apparently more information will be dropping November 10^th before the game releases November 17^th.

You can check out the Japanese overview trailer below or by clicking here for some more insight on what the American trailer revealed!

Trust me guys the Pokemon filled blogs will end soon enough I know I’ve been bogging you guys down with it lately but man these games are really hyping me up and there’s so much news to cover. Anyway there’s more Pokemon to come later but until then I haven’t really discussed any movies in a while but a few nights ago I rewatched a movie that’s a timeless classic and a personal favorite of mine and my Mums.

Re-watching An Old Romantic Comedy Film: The Goodbye Girl.

Anyone remember “The Goodbye Girl”? Well if you don’t this 1977 movie, Written by Neil Simon and Directed by Herbert Ross starred Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason in probably one of the best Romantic Comedies to ever be made without it being over dramatic like some can be.

The movie takes place in Manhattan, New York and Marsha Mason plays Paula McFadden an unemployed dancer who lives with her 10-year-old daughter Lucy (Played by Quinn Cummings) and her life soon flips on its head when her boyfriend, famous actor Tony (Played by nobody as he’s never shown in the movie) dumps her and sublets her apartment to a struggling wannabe Broadway actor Elliot Garfield played by Richard Dreyfuss. Hilarity is ensured as Paula fights to keep her apartment and struggles to live with Elliot who has some strange habits.

(The movie is not actually in Black and White)

I don’t know what it is about this movie but it’s so memorable you’ll want to watch it over and over again. I don’t really watch newer romantic comedies (Mostly because I’m not aware of any, it’s not a popular genre anymore it seems) but this along with a couple of other classics which I’ve discussed in the past such as The Money Pit is a much watch. Mum’s love for this movie goes even further and I’m pretty sure she quotes this movie quite often, it’s just that memorable. The dynamic between Elliot and Paula is amazingly written and unmatched against other romcom dynamics in other movies. The characters are all iconic, charming and memorable with such a down to earth story that actually has some worthwhile metaphors for living life fluttered inside of this flick. 

Problem is this movie while being great has actually been quite hard to get hold of. We’ve been watching it through VHS since its release (I wasn’t born when it was released, FYI) and could never find a DVD or digital version of it, until a few days ago. Yes it’s iTunes to the rescue once again! I’m pretty sure it was not on iTunes before in any shape or form but now it’s on iTunes in all its glory. It’s currently $9.99 to buy and while it’s only in SD format (HD would make it look pretty bad to be honest, it’s an old movie.) it’s worth the buy. You can get this movie by clicking the link below! Go add it to your collection.

Mjolnir, to me! 

Getting Pumped for New Marvel Movies, Thor Ragnarok and Black Panther!

Thor Ragnarok as of last Friday has now released in theatres and the reviews are praising the movie. It seems Thor is taking a more light hearted approach will still having the hammer slinging action Thor is known for. Thor is now up against Hela the Goddess of Death as she pretty much makes him her play toy, destroying Mjolnir presumably. In order to take her down Thor will need Loki’s help once again as well as Valkryie and an unexpected Green ally in the Hulk. It’s about time The Hulk gets more screen time to be honest and it seems to me this movie is more of a Hulk: Ragnarok rather than a Thor: Ragnarok. Really looking forward to this movie and I’m assuming for non theatre goers this movie will be releasing February on DVD/BluRay/Digital.

This year seems to be another big year for Superhero movies with Justice League coming out within two weeks and Wonder Woman, Spiderman Homecoming and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 already being released to critical acclaim. We do however have one more movie coming out soon that I’ve not really talked about much, it also has a brand new trailer released for it as well… Black Panther which will be releasing February of 2018 in theatres. I’ve neglected to actually discuss this new trailer so let’s go ahead and dive right in.

Well that’s actually different from what I expected. I was expecting a more traditional and ancient setting but this is a really high tech civilization we’re entering its pretty crazy. Despite this it still seems to be including bits of African culture and magic in with the high tech action. This actually looks pretty awesome and man does Black Panther have a sweet suit. Chadwick Boseman returns as King T’Challa after his first appearance in Captain America: Civil War.

Oh yeah and Bilbo Baggins… I mean Martin Freeman is reprising his role of Everett K. Ross in this movie as well so it’ll be interesting how that pans out but I would of thought Captain America would of played a role in this movie as well due to the nature of Civil War’s credit scene but it appears he’s not casted in the movie, interesting.

Well that’s all for today! I hope this blog wasn’t too long for you but man there’s a lot to discuss lately and it’s mostly news. All the crazy news and announcements should die down soon though so we can get into a more jingle kind of mood for the upcoming Holiday season. For now I'm leaving you guys for now so until then...

This was ZAK Entertainment

See you next week!

Racing to The Flash Season 4 Premiere (Arrowverse 2017)

Oh boy October 10th is drawing closer by the second. Not sure what I mean by that? Well if you’re as much of a comic nerd as I am you’ll know The Flash Season 4 premiers on the CW on that day! While there are 4 CW DC shows (Actually 5 but Black Lightning isn’t connected to the rest, apparently. Might still check it out) The Flash has been the show I’ve been the biggest fan of throughout the past 5 years that the Arrowverse has been around for. Actually the only show I ever really dropped was Supergirl. Arrow I lost track of for some reason but I can catch back up on that through Netflix. Legends of Tomorrw? It actually was pretty great, Eobard was an incredible villain as always and I loved the introduction of the first Vixen and the Justice Society of America. Also Rory was the MVP throughout the entire season. Anyway I’m very eager for Flash, and actually Arrow despite still not having seen Season 4 but they’ve been a little tight lipped about the CW seasons besides a few details regarding the villain of Flash, Barry’s fate and a few details regarding the new Black Canary (Who is actually Dana now) but with this release date closing the trailers are rolling out CW is rolling out the news and trailers for all four shows. First up I’m going to discuss The Flash because I’ve been on the edge of my seat waiting for this next season. Let’s just say things are going to be getting pretty hairy in this new trailer which you can watch below.

Barry has a beard. Not just that full facial hair. Yeah looks like spending time in the Speed Force is the perfect solution for any baby faced man looking to grow a majestic beard, no need for laser combed mustaches. (Anyone who gets this joke gets a cookie.)

Barry’s strength seems to have increased tenfold and he seems a lot more in tune with the Speed Force but going by his dazed eyes and confusion in this trailer I almost thought they were using the whole amnesia storyline again. However in a even more recent interview with the man who breathes life into Barry himself, Grant Gustin from Entertainment Weekly we got some new details regarding this different Barry Allen.

“Initially, Barry is pretty scrambled when he comes out of the Speed Force,” Gustin tells EW. “He’s not himself, he’s talking nonsense. The way I see it, when he was in the Speed Force, he experienced his whole life laid out in front of him from start to finish. So in some sense, he comes out very wise, kind of knowing everything, but he has no understanding of what he’s seen, so he comes out very jumbled and talking what he thinks makes complete sense, but just nonsense to the rest of the crew.”

He also goes on to say that “A huge weight has been lifted and Barry has forgiven himself again of all the mistakes he made the last couple of years.”

A much lighter tone seems to be returning to the series after the darker overtones of the last two seasons which I say thank goodness too. The serious deals with Reverse Flash and his links to Barry were perfectly mixed with the fun moments of Season 1 so if they’re actually adding more fun to the series and preferably less of the Earth hopping I’m going to be pretty excited for this season. I’m not saying Season 2 and 3 were bad I enjoyed them thoroughly but I have to say something was missing that Season 1 had deep in its core.

Oh yeah some photos now give us a better look at Barry’s new suit for the season which looks similar to the one 2024 Barry wore in Season 3 which is sweet.

Looks like this Barry Allen may finally be that Barry we love from the comics so I can’t wait to see this show when the new season premieres October 10^th at 7 PM Central/8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific.

You can read more at this Entertainment Weekly Article written by Natalie Abrams here: http://ew.com/tv/2017/09/14/flash-season-4-spoilers/

Kind of want Barry to keep that beard all season to be honest; he’s doing what Stephen Amell never did.

Speaking of Stephen let’s switch focuses to Arrow! I thought watching this trailer would spoil me on Season 5 but you know what? This trailer doesn’t actually show much that I can understand. I wouldn’t watch this still without watching Season 5 first so just heed that warning.

I can’t say I really know what’s going on but SLADES BACK BABY! Slade is one of my all time favorite villains, hands down. Whether it’s the original Teen Titans animation, comics, or Arrow Deathstroke is just the best.

Oliver’s son (Which he didn’t know he had, go figures) looks to be pretty afraid of his father, or maybe the Green Arrow more so. Also Oliver still doesn’t have the classic goatee that his comic book self has. I’m pretty sure Stephen said if the show made it to Season 6 he would turn up wearing the goatee but ohh well beggars can’t be choosers. Back on a serious note this season looks pretty awesome so we’ll just have to wait for more news. I’ll have to catch back up on Season 5 before I really do get spoiled.

Next up is Legends of Tomorrow which starts where the last season left of, with Dinosaurs.

Yeah that’s a thing. It seems kind of the same thing from last season with fixing all the time aberrations so I really hope they spice things up otherwise it’s going to be pretty boring. According to the Behind the Scenes video the one of the villains is actually going to be from the Vixen animated series from the CW Seed app which is going to be awesome. More insight and storyline regarding Vixen is greatly appreciated I feel like she could have her own show if they wanted to, oh wait. (It’s not actually the same Vixen but you catch my drift, right? That’s a bad Flash joke I’m moving on now.) Rip Hunter is apparently going to not be a regular character anymore but I guess Sara Lance has taken over as leader of the Legends after the ending of Season 2. This season will premiere after the Flash on October 10^th, 2017 so you guys get double the super hero action that day. Are they going to be introducing any new heroes though? I actually like the whole bringing in different heroes and villains each season idea while keeping a majority of the core characters idea.

Supergirl is up next and… Well I’m really sorry for not sounding enthusiastic about the show I gave up on the show halfway during Season 2. I’m sorry but minimal appearances by Superman were not enough to keep me interested and to be honest I didn’t think he was a good Superman anyway.  I’ll probably give it another chance at some point but for now check out below.

You can see more at the CW’s youtube channel so be sure to check that out. Be sure to check your local listings to see what channel the CW is broadcasting to in your local area! (Always wanted to say that.

Did I already mention that Wonder Woman was out now on DVD and iTunes? Yeah it doesn’t take long for movies to hit the DVDs and iTunes lately, which is a good thing to me because I don’t usually watch movies in the theatre. Well I’m bringing it up again because today’s FREE Knitting Pattern feature is directly related to Wonder Woman! I shared earlier on this year an awesome Wonder Woman sweater that looked just like her outfit, just in sweater form. Well now you can wear the Wonder Woman logo around your neck in this awesome colorworks “Wonder Woman Wrap” by Carissa Browning!

This looks AWESOME no doubt about it. It’s simple to knit yet the result is incredible. As always with these kinds of wraps you’ll need fingering weight yarn in whatever color you think fits, Carissa recommends some on the Ravelry page as well as the amount you’ll need. To knit it you’ll need US 4 – 3.5 MM needles, preferably circular needles.

Now Clarissa I need you to elaborate something for me, what abilities does this scarf half? Does it make you fly? Tell the truth? Block bullets? (PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS, EVER) Does it allow you to see the invisible jet? I guess we’ll just have to knit it and find out!

You can become wondrous by downloading this pattern below, it’s available in English, French and Spanish which is awesome for you guys because I actually have viewers coming in from all over the world, I just hope my translator works.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wonder-woman-wrap-knit

Even better there’s a Crochet version of this pattern that works the same way, just with Crochet. I can’t elaborate on that due to not knowing much on crochet but for people like my sister who’s gotten into crochet this would be an awesome project for you!

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wonder-woman-wrap-crochet

Before I end this blog I’d like to say that Socktober is coming up soon. My knitting progress has been kind of on and off due to losing complete control of my life schedule and I keep saying I’m getting it organized but it gets even more chaotic. In the end it’s really my fault but I’m slowly working into the grove of things again, posting only two blogs a week really does help a lot with that. Anyway I’ll be posting a bunch of Sock patterns all throughout the end of September through October and if I’m lucky enough I’ll actually get a pair of socks on the needles so fingers crossed! (Or needles)

This was ZAK Entertainment

See you on Thursday!

Reviewing Marvel's Defenders and Two Old Pals Return to the Pokemon Anime

You have to admit Marvel seems to be king of Superheroes in live action. While DC has had some good Batman movies and I still love the Flash they seem to be struggling to create a universe that lives up to the legacy set by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The MCU isn’t just movies either it has expanded into TV shows and more recently Netflix. Netflix has given some minds at Marvel the chance to build another universe within the MCU starting with Daredevil, starring Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock a blind lawyer who dons a mask during the night due to his enhanced other senses allowing him to kick butt as the Daredevil and basically see without really seeing.

Daredevil released its full first season on Netflix on April 10^th, 2015. Following Daredevil was Jessica Jones, starring Krysten Ritter as a former superhero turned detective with a bad case of PSTD as a bad memory returns from the past in the form of Kilgrave, played by the awesome David Tennant, this show as released on November 20^th in 2015. Another season of Daredevil was released in March 2016 followed by Luke Cage, starring Mike Colter as a former convict turn crime fighter when he is given superhuman strength and unbreakable skin, this show was released on September 30, 2016. Iron Fist was the last series to release earlier on this year (March 17^th) starring Finn Jones as Iron Fist a billionaire Buddhist monk and martial artist who gains powerful chi and is gifted with the mighty iron first power. For some reason out of all the previous shows which were critically acclaimed Iron Fist received mostly unfavorable reviews.

Finally all of these shows have come together in the miniseries Marvel’s Defenders continuing the plot from Iron Fist with some elements from the other four shows (Mostly Daredevil) coming into play. I actually have to admit I have not seen, for the most part, the other four shows as of watching this show which was probably not smart on my part but for some reason I just never got around to watching the shows, especially after I wasn’t too fond of the first Daredevil season so my expectations weren’t very high.

Marvel’s Defenders takes place after the events of the previous 4 shows and continues the evil antics of “The Hand” as they continue to seek everlasting life, their search takes them to New York City, home of Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. 

From Alien Hunter to Almost Immortal Villain

The Hand is made up of 5 leaders (5 Fingers) who are Alexandra played by Sigourney Weaver (Alien), the brilliant mastermind in charge though has some vulnerabilities that are poked at throughout the series.  

Madame Gao, played by Wai Ching Ho who made appearances in Daredevil and Iron Fist. She makes her return in Defenders as one of the 5 fingers and seemingly the voice of reason.

Sowande played by Babs Olusanmokun, the head of the cleanup crew seemingly for The Hand. Sowande is the influence Luke Cage needs to get involved in the resistance against the Hand.

Ramon Rodriguez as Bakuto a former sensei of Colleen Wing who fights with the Defenders.

Finally Murakami played by Yutaka Takeuchi, not much is revealed about him throughout the series but he seems to be the most bloodthirsty one of the lot, especially in his introduction scene which is unnecessarily gory in a way I’m not sure adds anything to the plot.

Joining the hand is Elodie Yung as The Black Sky, an amnesiac resurrected Elektra Natchios after her defeat in Daredevil, which is actually spoilers and I should of watched the first two seasons of Daredevil before this as well as possibly Iron Fist.

Marvel’s Defenders actually starts off a bit slow with a confusing premise of a first Episode but come Episode 3 the plot of the miniseries started to become clear which made watching a little more enjoyable for me. I feel events really begin to pick up with the introduction of Stick played by Scott Glenn (Famous for Urban Cowboy) who is the man who trained Daredevil and a blind warrior himself, also he pretty much kicks ass in most of the shots he’s in, or heads at least. 

Stick appeared in both Daredevil seasons as a premise to Daredevil’s training so it was cool to see him make a return in Defenders. Despite this I’m not sure how I felt about the ending I feel like the plot twist towards the end Episodes kind of fell flat on its face with the ending feeling almost rushed in a way.

The relationships between the four Defenders as they come from vastly different lives to a rocky start of a team is actually one of the great parts of this series and brings a much more down to earth and realistic relationship in comparison to the Superhero team ups of the CW Arrowverse, Legends of Tomorrow included. (Not saying I don’t love those shows.) Luke Cage and Iron Fist’s relationship is probably the strongest in the series and my personal favorite. The team has some bickering among themselves as do all teams when they first gather together but everything as I said feels realistic and down to earth despite all the supernatural occurrences.

The soundtrack for this series was good, some of the soundtrack like the Defenders opening theme were outstanding but some of the other choices of music felt out of place in a way. The sound effects however I found to be subpar to an almost atrociousness, the impact sounds, the punches and the kicks sounded so fake and out of sync with the rest of the show, they could of possibly lowered the sound just a little but even then the actual effects sounded like someone was just dropping a book on a table. Even worse the explosion sound effect in the final episode was broken and just a plain mess compared to how an explosion of that kind would actually sound, or at least sounds in better movies.

Overall I believe if you’ve watched the previous four shows that Marvel’s Defenders is worth a watch but it wasn’t too bad coming into the show with no previous knowledge; past events were explained as the series progressed. It’s flawed I can’t deny it and I felt as if Luke Cage was kind of shafted to the status of a Side Character instead of truly feeling apart of the central characters, which is a shame because Luke Cage was probably my favorite character out of the whole series. Marvel’s Defenders felt like a wrap up to Daredevil and Iron Fist while giving them open doors to new chapters as well as a new future for Jessica Jones, who while wasn’t involved in the plot really shone brightly in this series as my second favorite character next to Luke Cage. Krysten Ritter really pulled off that snarky, sarcastic yet good hearted badass female hero to a key and I’m interested in diving into her own show because of the awesome character that she is. There are also two side characters that shined to me as well such as Simone Missick as Misty Knight a badass police detective from Harlem who seems to be building up to be a major character in Luke Cage season 2 and Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing a former member of the Hand first featured in Iron Fist and is a katana swinging badass lover of Iron Fist himself. Anyway this series as well as the previous four shows are all available to watch Via Netflix so go give them a watch! (There's a Stan Lee cameo but it knocked me on my butt laughing when I spotted it.)

You can sign up for Netflix at http://netflix.com.

Also before I move on Wonder Woman is now on iTunes! You can check that out by clicking the link below.

Moving on I got some major news for Pokemon fans and fans of the original first few seasons of the Pokemon Anime! Two lovable and memorable characters that were major parts of my childhood are making their return after years of being absence in upcoming Pokemon Sun and Moon Episodes! The kick butt, water loving, psyduck owner and tomboy Misty and the ladies man Brock are both returning for two Episodes of the Sun and Moon anime this September 14^th and 21^st! (In Japan, not sure when it’s releasing outside of Japan dubbed yet) The announcement came in the newest issue of the Telubi-Kun magazine in Japan.

For those not aware Brock and Misty were Ash’s traveling companions throughout his Kanto and Johto adventures, with Brock continuing to travel with Ash through to the end of his Sinnoh Journey. Both Misty had returned to take over the Cerulean City Gym full time and Brock had left to become a Pokemon Doctor. While I can’t say I dislike any of Ash’s traveling companions and I’ve been an avid watcher of the show throughout the past 20 years Brock and Misty are by far my favorites and I mean these guys were the original crew that I grew up watching in over 5 movies and many Episodes so it’s tp be expected.

I can’t express how ecstatic I was to hear this news. Apparently Ash, who’s now attending Pokemon School (Which he accidentally got signed up for) in between his Alolan Island Challenge is returning home to Kanto for a special class. He meets up with his old pals and it seems they stick around for some adventures but here’s the awesome part… Brock and Misty both have Mega Pokemon now. Oh boy yes these two have been busy improving as Gym Leaders (Actually I’m not sure if Brock will be a gym leader in this I assumed he was still a Doctor.) as both Misty’s Gyradose which she caught after leaving Ash in Johto and Brock’s Steelix (Which evolved from his trusty Onix from the first few seasons) are both mega evolvable. Ash will actually be battling both of these guys! Yeah Ash here’s your chance to actually earn those Gym Badges you were graciously given.

These two Episodes are enough to make up for my disappointment regarding the upcoming new Pokemon movie Pokemon 20: I Choose You so I can’t wait to see the original crew back together at least for two Episodes. Now all we need is for Team Rocket to follow Ash back to Kanto (Which they will) and for Gary to come back and it’ll be perfect, oh and Charizard you can’t forget him. I actually feel like a little kid again, excuse me.

Now I may be pulling off a crazy and mad theory but does this also hint towards a possible presence of these two in the games? Giving them Mega Stones makes me suspicious and maybe a little too hopeful for a Pokemon World Tournament to return in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

I thought I would add that I’ve actually really come to love the new art style in Sun and Moon (Even though Ash has noodle arms.) it’s so much more fluid than previous seasons and adds a more cheerful mood to the more comedic season that Sun and Moon is and really I feel it’s proven to be great so far despite being different.

Speaking of something related to Nintendo… Remember back in 2015 Nintendo held the World Championships? (Arin from Game Grumps was there, if that rings a bell) Which was a revival of something they did way back in 1990? Well get ready because the Nintendo World Championships is returning once again this year! (I would have announced this sooner but I had no idea it was happening.) 

https://nwc.nintendo.com/

You can be a part of this competition by taking part in the qualifying rounds which are happening exclusively at Best Buys around the world… Okay it’s only in the country apparently and only in New York, San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Dallas, Seattle and Miami but if you can reach these areas click this link here for more info: https://nwc.nintendo.com/! The big event will be happening in New York City October 7^th, 2017. Apparently the qualifiers are using Mario Kart 7, which is pretty awesome to see the 3DS Mario Kart get some love again.

On a more negative note (Is there too much negativity in this blog today?) it appears come November 7^th the Miiverse will shut down on both 3DS and Wii U. Miiverse was a pretty cool social network for Nintendo players to share thoughts and artwork on and this removal is also negatively impacting some major games in a way that is completely ridiculous on Nintendo’s part. First up is Mario Kart 8 which will disable the ability to upload videos to Youtube (Have you guys seen the new Youtube logo? It’s pretty modern and snazzy.) which seems unrelated to the removal of Miiverse. Tournaments are also no more in Mario Kart 8.

Splatoon will no longer feature messages and drawings among Inkopolis but you still have the miiverse like feature in Splatoon 2 thank goodness.

Super Mario 3D World while subtle and not affective of the gameplay will no longer has messages from Miis from the Miiverse floating around the hub worlds.

Super Mario Maker is losing a pretty vital feature for sharing levels with others. No longer will you be able to share levels to Miiverse and comment on levels. You can still upload levels but this is a huge bummer for those looking for feedback on their levels.

Super Smash Bros for Wii U will now have an entire stage completely useless and broken, the Miiverse stage. No longer will those hilarious and sometimes stupid messages pop up in the background from Miiverse. The Tournament feature will also be removed, which I never managed to ever get into a tournament that was active so I’m neutral on that.

Xenoblade Chronicles X’s BLADE report feature is gone, but I’m not sure what that is as I’ve never played that game.

Finally Mario VS Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars is basically useless now. You will no longer be able to play other’s levels or upload your levels. You can still complete the 88 levels in the main game but that’s basically it.

I won’t rant on any longer but I have to say this is a bad move on Nintendo’s part; it wouldn’t have been so bad if features in the actual games weren’t breaking because of this. You can read more at: http://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/27329/~/miiverse-service-discontinuation-faq. Oh yeah and the Wii U home menu is basically going to be a wasteland now, thanks Nintendo. Next time try to make features in your games implemented in ways that won’t break when you shut down certain services. I’m hoping the servers for Wii U and 3DS online games won’t be shut down any time soon unlike the Wii and DS.

Let’s talk about something more positive, pasta! Yes remember that delicious looking Pasta and Salmon meal I had a week ago? Well Mum took that same formula and reworked it, this time with some Spinach Fettuccini instead of Linguine and instead of Salmon some delicious Pork Scaloppini with mixed cheese. 

We got ourselves some Romano cheese and oh my lord it has added a new depth of flavor to our meals besides the parmesan we usually use. You really should try this meal out, you can read the basic ingredients and how it’s all cooked on the end of this blog, it’s the same just we added more butter this time round and different pasta: https://zakentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/08/solar-eclipse-movie-news-pasta-knitting.html.

For today's free knitting pattern feature I'm going to be sharing something real quick but it's an awesome pattern regardless. This is the "Knotted Cables Washcloth" by KnitPicks.

This looks pretty cool actually especially for someone like myself who seems to love cable knitting. I'm not sure how difficult it will be but it looks like a fun challenge regardless of how hard it is, a pattern worth knitting indeed. Looks almost like some sort of fancy architect in a way, knitting architect.

You're going to need US 7 (4.5 MM) needles and some worsted weight yarn of about 100 yards to complete this pattern which you can check out here: http://www.knitpicks.com/cfPatterns/Pattern_Display.cfm?ID=55932220&media=FBK&utm_source=media&utm_medium=marketing&utm_campaign=FBK

(For those read this blog before it got updated, sorry about not including a knitting pattern at first.)

I’m going to leave you guys for the day, hope you enjoyed the read! Don’t forget to check out the new ZAK Entertainment Redbubble where I have some ZAK Entertainment merchandise as well as an awesome 1957 Chevy illustration I did available to purchase on apparel and other merchandise, you can check that out here: redbubble.com/people/zakentertains. Also don’t forget to support me on Patreon so I can keep ZAK Entertainment going. For now however…

This was ZAK Entertainment!

See you on Friday!

Today was a busy day, not going to lie.

[Photo Credits: Marvel, Netflix, ABC, Serebii.net, Telubi-Kun Magazine, Nintendo, ZAK Entertainment, Knit Picks]