Baby, It’s A New Musicapalooza!

Put in the earbuds and shift your car into gear because baby…it’s a Musicapalooza!

Edgar Wright’s BABY DRIVER is out this weekend, which means we’re jamming to a whole new Musicapalooza playlist. We’ve got tunes from Cake, Queen, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Journey, Incubus, and more! So, don’t waste another minute. Fire up your Spotify app, click that “Follow” button and get ready for the musical ride of your life!

 

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A Hype To Remember: The Matrix (1999)

The Matrix presented itself as the movie that needed to be seen, and that made all the difference!

 

Y’all. I certainly liked movies a lot before I saw The Matrix, but this is the first film I remember NEEDING to see. In the trailer, Morpheus was all “No one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself” and I was like “HOLY SHIT I NEED TO KNOW WHAT IT IS LET ME SEE IT.”

 

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Tip of My Brain: Name That Movie 6/26/17

Put your movie knowledge to the test with this week’s game!

Here are five more movies for you to guess based on their stills. We’ve put a mix of easy and hard ones in there for you, so have at it and may the best movie fan win!

Let’s do this!

 

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Riddle Us This, Batman: Is Musicapalooza Forever?

QUICK, TO THE MUSICAPALOOZA! WE HAVEN’T ONE MOMENT TO LOSE!

It’s the weekend in Gotham City, which means it’s time for another epic Musicapalooza. The Bats himself – being a long-time fan of the show – picked out all of our songs in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Batman Returns.

 

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A Hype To Remember: Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns turns 25 this week, and to celebrate we’re looking back at the hype for the movie!

 

My introduction to Batman Returns wasn’t typical in that I came to it much later and played the video game first. As a young kid my Batman was the Adam West Batman, so this darker take from Tim Burton never really connected. It certainly looked cool, and piqued my interest thanks to its edgier tone, but it felt “other” to the goofier Gotham I was used to.

 

I decided to take a look back at the hype surrounding this movie, especially since I don’t remember much of the marketing for it compared to the ’89 Batman film.

 

 

For some this was probably “their” movie Batman, and the trailer definitely brought the hype for that. For me, I had much of the same reaction I had for the first movie: “It’s fine.” What I didn’t expect was that in the marketing for this movie (and for the movies themselves) Gotham would feel like a tangible location and not some dressed up “insert-city-here.” That’s unique, and in my opinion one of the legacies of the Burton era of Batman.

 

Do you remember the marketing for Batman Returns? What did you think of it? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Tip of My Brain: Name That Movie 6/19/17

Think you have what it takes to be the ultimate movie fan? Prove it and guess these movies!

We’re avid movie fans over here at After the Hype and we figured what better way to show that than with a game. That’s right, we’re back this week with another Tip of My Brain. Think you’re the ultimate movie fan? Let this be our challenge to you!

Let’s do this!

 

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Queue Up The Musicapalooza, It’s A Ladies’ Night Out!

Hey hey hey, since we’re gonna go to hell anyway, we’ll go out with a bang bang bang! Crash and burn, It’s MUSICAPALOOZA!

The weekend is here and it’s time to let loose with our latest music mix inspired by the comedy ROUGH NIGHT – out in theaters this very minute. So put on your best digs and queue up the Musicapalooza because it’s “ladies night” here at After the Hype HQ. Just try not to murder any male strippers while you’re at it, okay? Please? We just cleaned this place.

 

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It’s Our Fault We’ll Never Get The Next Star Wars

Nostalgia is a big part of our current pop culture landscape, but maybe it’s keeping us from getting the next Star Wars, or TMNT, or Doctor Who.

I think it was either Universal Studios’ announcement of their DARK UNIVERSE franchise or the latest round of “Cowboy Bebop is REALLY getting a live-action series” news that I came to the realization that we’ve given the next generation a bit of a raw deal when it comes to entertainment. Much of the movies, television shows, comic books, and pop culture that have defined our childhood have undergone a revival to aggressively cash in on our nostalgia.

 

In some cases I’ve been very receptive to this; see 2012’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which struck a balance between reminding me what I loved about the 80s/90s cartoon, and making something new out of it for a younger generation of turtle fans. Still, it wasn’t new, and I’d be willing to guess that it won’t have the same impact on the new generation of fans that it had on me and my generation. They inherited the heroes in a half shell from us olds, but we saw its origin.

 

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A Hype To Remember: Cars (2006)

Cars 3 comes out this weekend and it’s only fitting we talk about the surprising first movie. Ka-chow.

 

Sandwiched between The Incredibles and Ratatouille, Cars at first blush feels like a bit of a misstep. It’s a movie where vehicles are the only lifeforms and…well…that’s where the marketing pretty much lost me. Lots of racing stuff that I don’t care about? Check. A sidekick voiced by one of the “kings” of blue collar comedy? Check MATER.

 

I mean, look at this trailer…

 

 

The movie turned out to be way better than I thought it would be, walking a fine tightrope between its themes and the ridiculousness of the premise. After I saw the movie, I couldn’t help but think the trailers, marketing, and toys didn’t do the movie justice. The themes of “respecting your elders” being a “good winner,” honor, and appreciating history are very compelling, complex, and not something you would expect based on the marketing. I absolutely loved the moment where Lightning McQueen gives up the Piston Cup to help The King finish his last race.

 

Cars may not be as good as some of the other films in Pixar’s filmography, but man is it worth a watch. And with the “final chapter” coming out this week, I find myself hyped to see what Lightning McQueen faces next.

 

TOP TEN GREEN LANTERN CHARACTERS!

Batman is a contender, and I have a soft spot for Aquaman, but the Green Lantern is my fave. Here are my top ten green lantern characters of all time.

 

I’ll start with a disclaimer, I’m not an expert on Green Lantern.  I’m a fan, have been for a long time.  But when it comes to the nitty gritty stuff, I may not be the best source.  Now that that’s out of the way, I want to tell you why the Green Lantern(s) is/are amazing, and why I love him/them so much!

 

When people ask me who my favorite comic book character is, I alway pause.  Part of me wants to say Batman, he’s a clear winner for many people.  Then I want to say Superman, Wonder Woman, I have a real soft spot for Aquaman… But when push comes to shove Green Lantern gets my vote every time.  This vote, is a total cheat I know… there are many Green Lanterns and I love them all.   So as a way to celebrate this fact, here we go! A countdown of my favorite Green Lantern characters!!

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