Author: Trafficblast

Plus, Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña (Miguel Diaz) discusses Miguel’s recovery, William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) talks about his bond with Miguel, and Mary Mouser (Samantha LaRusso) and Peyton List (Tory Nichols) talk about Sam and Tory being the new Daniel and Johnny.

Dave and Chris give their overall reactions to Season 3 and talk about the ending. They discuss what worked, including Kreese’s origin story, Kumiko, Hawk’s redemption, and Miguel’s recovery. In contrast, they also talk about what didn’t work, such as Robby’s storyline, and lots of misunderstandings. And of course, Season 3’s best moments, like Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence finally teaming up!

James Mangold, the director of movies like Logan, Ford vs. Ferrari, and Walk the Line, is speaking out in the wake of yesterday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol. In a series of tweets, he called on fellow producers and directors to boycott Fox News.

“Watching lawlessness in our capital–thugs supporting a coup–& deeply saddened,” Mangold wrote in a tweet. “The Murdochs have inflicted so much racism, sexism, and virulent lies & damage to our nation.”

Mangold wants movie makers to deprive the Fox News Network not just of appearances, but ads too. “Fellow content makers, we must cancel appearances on Fox & use our power to keep ads 4 our shows off Fox,” he continued.

Mangold’s words are resonating with many following the riots, but some pointed out that some of the director’s most successful films, like those listed above, were made for Fox. “I’m sorry, but when did you realize this? Before or after you made MULTIPLE movies for Fox? I respect your work, but talk about hipocrisy. You’ve helped this. The Murdoch’s have been known a**holes for decades. This is where it was leading,” one user replied. Mangold responded, saying that “there’s a difference between a**holes and traitors, but you still make a good point. I should’ve stood up sooner. We all have lines we draw, often we draw them too late, hoping for change. I regret ever helping the Murdochs make a dollar in the past. They are deplorable.”

Disney dropped the Fox name from its movie and TV studios following its acquisition of Fox’s library last year, and Fox News is a separate entity not included in that acquisition, so Mangold isn’t endangering any of his planned or potential future projects with these statements.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC Comics have announced the cast for the upcoming Justice Society: World War II film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie will feature an ensemble cast led by Stana Katic (Quantum of Solace, Castle) as Wonder Woman and Matt Bomer (Doom Patrol) as The Flash. This new film will therefore be a continuation of a series of collaborations between those two actors, who first worked together in the DC Universe Movies series in 2013’s Superman: Unbound.

They top a cast that also includes Elysia Rotaru as Black Canary, Chris Diamantopoulos as Steve Trevor, Omid Abtahi as Hawkman, Matthew Mercer as Hourman, Armen Taylor as Jay Garrick, Liam McIntyre as Aquaman, Ashleigh LaThrop as Iris West, Geoffrey Arend as Charles Halstead/Advisor, Keith Ferguson as Dr. Fate, and Darin De Paul as Roosevelt.

A drawing showcasing the designs for some of the starring superhero team in Justice Society: World War II has also been released, which you can see below.

Justice Society: World War II comes from a script co-written by Meghan Fitzmartin (Supernatural, DC Super Hero Girls) and Jeremy Adams (Supernatural, Batman: Soul of the Dragon).

The film is expected to hit HBO Max, though a release date has not yet been announced.

Now that the third season of Cobra Kai is out on Netflix, we’re left with a lot of questions about the future. What happens next between Johnny and Daniel? How will Kreese continue to ruin lives in the valley? And most importantly, how many massive karate brawls can happen before all of these teenagers are sent to prison? What the show is also doing, though, is showing how history can repeat itself.

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Season 3 of Cobra Kai on Netflix. If you haven’t seen the new episodes, stop reading now and get to it.

When first introduced in Season 2, Tory (Peyton List) seemed to be the perfect foil for Sam (Mary Mouser). She was a girl with an edgy attitude, plenty of fighting skill, and wound up dating Sam’s ex, Miguel (Xolo Maridueña). By the end of the season, though, what could have been seen as a normal teenage rivalry went into overdrive during the high school karate riot heard ’round the world. Tory did some serious damage to Sam, all because of a boy.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve seen it before. This particular story is well in line with the plot of The Karate Kid, in which Johnny (William Zabka) and his Cobra Kai goons wreak havoc on Daniel’s (Ralph Macchio) life after Ali (Elisabeth Shue) leaves one for the other.

Of course, times are different now and this generation’s version of Johnny and Daniel are taking things to extremes the original movie couldn’t have fathomed, whether it’s the aforementioned karate riot of the insane Christmas brawl throughout the LaRusso house in the Season 3 finale, which left kids bloodied and battered.

Where does it end, though? The feud between Johnny and Daniel essentially continued for three decades, only finally coming to some kind of peace in Season 3 of Cobra Kai. Are Sam and Tory doomed to suffer the same fate? Honestly, the most likely answer is probably.

“I think, in my brain, it would take quite a long time to get there because there’s just so much anger and damage on both sides,” Mouser told GameSpot. “I like to imagine that this rivalry continues on for another 30 years. And we find out then.”

While it does sound like a great idea for a sequel series, the actress did admit seeing the two of them work together is’t out of the realm of possibility.

“I think that my dream moment is when some other enemies come in and Tory and Sam have to team up for a brief moment to take them out,” she said. “And then immediately after they’re like, ‘But screw you and see you later.'”

Given how dedicated the two are to their opposing ideals, though, don’t bet on that happening anytime soon. In fact, when asked about what the immediate future between Sam and Tory looks like, List could only say, “This is only going to get worse, and this isn’t going to get better anytime soon.”

Cobra Kai Season 3 is streaming on Netflix now.

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Although Monster Hunter has been around for nearly two decades now, it wasn’t until 2018’s Monster Hunter World that the series truly exploded in popularity. Thanks in no small part to its myriad quality-of-life refinements, World opened the traditionally dense franchise up to a new audience and became Capcom’s best-selling video game to date, and the series’ next installment, Monster Hunter Rise for Switch, builds upon World’s strides with a greater emphasis on exploration and mobility.

We had a chance to play an early access version of Monster Hunter Rise’s forthcoming demo, which offered a small taste of the game’s different weapons and features. The demo consisted of two training missions, designed to acclimate players to the game’s basic controls and new mechanics, as well as two proper hunts: a “beginner” quest to slay the new Great Izuchi, and an “intermediate” quest revolving around the returning Mizutsune.

The backdrop for both hunts was the Shrine Ruins, an expansive bamboo forest dotted with cliffs, stone shrines, and waterways. The locale lent itself particularly well to showing off the Wirebug, Rise’s most notable new gameplay wrinkle. Like Monster Hunter World’s Slinger, this creature functions as a sort of grappling hook, allowing you to swing through the air and wrangle monsters. Despite these cursory similarities, however, the Wirebug is functionally quite different from the Slinger. For one, rather than latching directly onto a monster, you’ll be using the Wirebug primarily to slingshot yourself toward or away from it, making the tool more about mobility.

You begin each quest with two Wirebugs on hand (and can temporarily pick up a third one while out in the field). To use them, you need to hold down the ZL button and press either X to swing up into the air, A to propel yourself forward, or ZR to swing in the direction your character is currently facing. The Wirebugs can be used consecutively, but each one will have a brief cooldown period afterward, so you’ll need to deploy them with care while in the heat of battle. There’s a bit of a learning curve to using the Wirebugs given the different button combinations you need to remember, but once you get the hang of things, these actions make maneuvering around the world much more enjoyable than previous Monster Hunter games.

The Wirebugs have a few additional uses as well. If you deploy one while your weapon is drawn, you’ll unleash a special “Silkbind” move. Each of the game’s 14 different weapon types has a unique attack when used in conjunction with the Wirebugs, which helps them retain their distinctness and gives you an incentive to experiment with different weapons. Moreover, if you attack a monster enough times with Silkbind moves, you’ll eventually ensnare it, opening the opportunity to mount it and initiate the new Wyvern Riding mechanic. While atop the beast, you can command it to attack another monster or launch it into a wall or some other nearby object, stunning it.

Taken all together, these actions dramatically alter how you approach hunts. This is especially true for something like the Great Sword, my own preferred weapon. Maneuvering around with the Great Sword has never been particularly graceful, especially when the weapon is drawn. Thanks to the Wirebug, however, I was able to close the distance between a monster much more quickly and even use the Wirebug to dash away, retreating just before it could retaliate. This greater degree of mobility feels very satisfying and adds another layer of nuance to monster encounters.

Maneuverability in general seems to have been a big focus for the development team, as the game introduces other ways to get around more quickly. This is obvious in Rise’s other headlining innovation, the Palamute, a new canine companion that can accompany you on hunts. While the Palamute offers some offensive assistance when battling monsters, it’s particularly invaluable when it comes to traversal. At any point during a quest, you’re able to hop on your Palamute and dash around without depleting any stamina. Not only is this a significantly faster way to travel than roaming about on foot, you can also run vertically up climbable walls while riding the Palamute, letting you reach elevated areas in a fraction of the time it would normally take.

Even more importantly, you can pick up materials and use items while riding the Palamute. This comes especially in handy during a hunt, as you can hop on your Palamute and run around while sharpening a dulled weapon with a whetstone, something you could previously only do while stationary (thus leaving yourself open to attack). After a couple of hours of questing with the Palamute, it’s difficult to imagine playing a Monster Hunter game without it.

Rise also incorporates many of the other quality-of-life improvements introduced by Monster Hunter World. Potions, steaks, and some other items can be consumed while on the move, even on foot, so you’re no longer forced to come to a standstill when using an item, as you were in older Monster Hunter games like Generations Ultimate. You can also fast-travel back to camp from the map screen and pick up endemic critters. These function like items and offer a helpful bit of aid during your hunts, encouraging you to explore and collect resources.

Although we’ve only sampled a small portion of Monster Hunter Rise, its new mechanics enhance the series’ gameplay in appreciable and exciting ways. Rise launches for Nintendo Switch on March 26. The game’s free demo goes live publicly later tonight, January 7, and supports solo and online play. As is the case with the full game, however, you will need to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to play the demo online. The game is also releasing alongside three new Amiibo figures that unlock special layered armor sets. You can read more about Monster Hunter Rise in our preorder guide.