29. This year big comic book movie premieres

This is the year of comic book adaptations… is what they say every year for several years. The truth is there isn’t anything like ‘a year’ of comic book movie. What we have is ‘the era’ of comic book movie making. Ever since DC entered the scene that Marvel had been dominating for some time, there are announcements after announcements, trailers after trailers, news after news, clickbait headlines everywhere, fake news, etc. It’s one huge cash machine. Some people express their critical words on today’s movie trends (Jodie Foster). It doesn’t change anything. They like it or not, there are several comic book movie premieres this year and we already know what’s coming next.

In chronological order (no rankings here…): 

1. Black Panther (February 16^th) – Marvel (Disney)
2. Avengers : Infinity War (April 27^th) – Marvel (Disney)
3. Deadpool 2 (May 18^th) – Marvel (Disney)
4. Ant-man and the Wasp (July 6^th) – Marvel (Disney)
5. Venom (October 5^th) – Marvel (Sony)
6. Aquaman (December 21^st) – DC (Warner Bros)

As I mentioned above, it doesn’t stop there. We already know what movie premieres are planned for 2019, 2020, and even more ahead. Some dates might change, some projects may be delayed or cancelled. Anyway, as you can see the cinematic studios that own rights from Marvel or DC comics are really ambitious. There are other studios owning rights from other comic book labels; however, I’ve chosen to focus on these two giants.

Is it good or is it bad that comic book franchises have dominated Hollywood? I enjoy the movies. However, I do understand the words of criticism. At one point it just becomes too much. 

Anyway, let’s just hope that film makers will deliver a high quality product and make us smile. There’s still the potential they could positively surprise even most demanding moviegoers. 

28. The Graham Norton Show

Graham Norton Show is one of my favourites. It’s entertaining, it’s clever (at times) and it makes you aware of how much you’ve improved in terms of English. I’d recommend it to anyone who's keen on Hollywood and British cinema, or to those who like watching talk shows in general. I wasn’t interested in talk shows at first. Then I found the GNS on Youtube and it started: several hour long marathons, untamed desire to watch more and more. For me it’s always that captivating. I just watch one video on Youtube after another.

I should probably start by explaining what exactly the Graham Norton Show is. The show originates from Great Britain. It’s hosted by an extremely likeable, funny guy whose name is, of course, Graham Norton. He’s one of those comedians who are born with adequate facial features to make people laugh…. I mean... to achieve a great success in the business… He doesn’t have to finish a sentence, you already smile. The effect is also achieved thanks to his distinctive, comical voice (there is an episode where Benedict Cumberbatch, who is known for his great imperssions, imitates the voice; it’s worth a watch). What’s more, Graham Norton has a great timing and he lets their guests speak. By the way, his remarks are usually on point. You can’t dislike the guy. A good host is this show’s greatest asset. He encourages his guests to share their weird / awkward / funny / interesting experiences with the audience. And they are mostly great story tellers.

Here you have a small dose of the GNS : 

27. Janice Min

Doing my homework for English classes I found an interesting podcast I’ll present to my professor in less than two weeks. This is an interview with a famous guest hosted by Alec Baldwin. His show is called ‘Here’s the thing’. The famous guest is Janice Min.

Long story short:

Janice Min is well-known in the United States for her work for famous magazines like ‘Us Weekly’ and ‘the Hollywood Reporter’. She started as nobody, as she stated in the interview. Having graduated from the Columbia University, she was hired by Us Weekly’s Jann Wenner (the same guy who owns the Rolling Stone magazine) and worked as the executive editor under famous / unfamous Bonnie Fuller. Because of the clashes between Jann and Bonnie (due to creative differences) Wenner offered Janice a different job. She became the editor in Chief. The newsstands’ sales were high.

The experience she gained there was then used to transform another magazine. The Hollywood Reporter had a hard time trying to keep readers interested. Before the Janice era it was known for low quality dishonest writing. She moved from New York to California and totally changed the magazine’s direction. It became a must read for all industry players. She immediately knew what to do to make that happen.

I’ve never heard about that figure before but having listened to the whole podcast I feel inspired. She’s a gifted and powerful woman admired by many. She wanted to earn some money and ended up totally transforming the business. She’s a wife and the mother of three children. She seems invincible.

And it seems like I’ve found a role model...

26. Post Pyrkon syndrome

Yeah, Pyrkon’s already over and it’s left me with a bottomless pit of sadness in my heart. These were three days of wonderful adventure I’ll never forget.

Just to remind you, Pyrkon is the biggest fantasy convent in Poland. It took place in MTP (Poznań International Fair) and lasted from 18 to 20 May. And just as I mentioned above, it was amazing.

The first day of Pyrkon is usually the one to buy a lot of stuff ‘you did not know exists but after seeing it you discovered it's something you desperately need’ as the Epic Voice Guy had said himself. That was the case when my friends and I came to the ‘Kraina wystawców’, which is a piece of paradise on Earth. To be honest, if you plan to go there, you have to be ‘prepared’ very well. If you belong to the fandom of a popular franchise, you won’t leave the place empty-handed. That's for sure. You can go there on the second or third day of Pyrkon as well; however, the sooner the better as the best merchandise is sold out quickly. The same day I saw him, the Epic Voice Guy. Listening to him copycatting Ryan Reynolds and saying stuff in his amazing voice live was even more entertaining than watching the Honest trailers.

For many participants, me included, the second day is devoted to cosplaying, what might go in pair with some sort of sacrifices (heavy, unconfortable costume, high heels, etc.). Two of my friends were cosplaying Clary and Isabelle from the TV show called 'the Shadowhunters' based on Cassandra Clare’s novel. My costume was related to the Mortal Kombat’s Kitana. We were having fun walking the streets dressed like total weirdoes among other weirdoes and taking pictures with them. Wearing our costumes we participated in lecture about Vikings looking for wives (pl. ‘Wiking szuka żony’) and watched Pyrkon’s masquerade.

The third and the last day was the quietest one. We spent just hours taking pictures with amazing cosplays. 

Now, we’re making plans for the next year’s Pyrkon. I hope it’ll be as fabulous as it was now in 2018.

La Cucaracha team, Pyrkon 2018

25. Talk shows

Here comes another portion of English YouTube content I personally enjoy.

As far as I'm concerned, apart from the Hollywood, Americans are best known for their TV talk shows. A famous guest on the left, an entertainer / a showrunner on the right and both of them sitting in a nicely decorated studio. The guest might be an actor, a musician, a celebrity, even a politician. The showrunner leads a conversation by asking questions or making jokes. These are of course TV shows. However, you can watch the highlights online, sometimes even the entire show. They are pure entertainement for masses and... a great opportunity to do listening! :) My personal favourite hosts are Conan, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon.

Try this as an exercise : 

24. YouTube movie reviews

English students!

If you like watching Internet movie reviews to compare your opinion with someone's else or to make sure if a movie is worth your attention (and money) or not, you have probably figured out there are several YouTube chnnels that provide the content compatible with your needs. Have you ever tried to watch such channels in English?

I personally like to use them to practice listening. Today a lot of YouTube videos have subtitles which help to get through difficult parts. I'd totally recommend you to try it out. It's a good way to work on your vocabulary.

After each review itself it's good to read some YouTube comments. Yeah, it's better to be careful since there are a lot of mistakes. However, even if it's hard to find a greater cummulation of grammar misuses than comment section you can make long vocabulary lists based on it. What's more, you can learn different English registers. As far as I'm concerned, YouTube users make my studying much easier. There is a room for good laughs, too.

23. ArtSpear Entertainment (TOON SANDWICH)

Handbooks are one of the most credible sources one can stick to learning a foreign language. However, the truth is that quite often it's not enough. My personal solution is... the English portion of the Internet.

Yeah, I'm going to write about YouTube again. This time I'd like to present the ArtSpear Entertainment channel which brings the geek heaven to another level. Well, first of all these guys make fantastic animations based on movie trailers. They reintroduce the sequence seen in a trailer but make the takes longer and modify a little bit the lines providing us with hilarious results. That's the basic content. If you follow the biggest movie franchises, there is also something special for you. If you are a geek, you'll be blown away for sure.

First of all...

And now the special thing I've been leading to...

Just for the record, I wouldn't call it a PG-18 content, it's not for children anyway.

Enjoy