Pop Culture

Funko drops, trailer reveals, and panel buzz — Pop Culture brings you entertainment news and fandom updates from across the media universe.

  • Valentine’s Funko Couples

    Looking for last minute Valentine’s Day gift ideas? If you like Funko Pop! vinyls then these couple-themed pairings might be shelf-worthy.

  • Review: The portable charger for juicing your devices (Includes first-hand account)

    It’s con/festival/camping/theme park season, which means it’s time to talk about portable chargers. While most modern phones can easily hold a charge for a full day, that may not be enough during these events. Throughout a festival or trip to a theme park, you may find yourself browsing or uploading to social media more frequently or playing Candy Crush as you wait for lines to let in to the attraction (or bathroom). While camping, your outlet access may be limited and watching downloaded content from Netflix or reading an e-book during your much deserved downtime is going to be draining on your battery. Of course, if you’re a hardcore convention goer, it could be more than 24 hours before you even see your expensive hotel room again and shoddy reception, picture-taking, video recording and minimizing the boredom of endless queues means you’re definitely going to need a boost before you have access to an outlet — because who really wants to be tied to that one spot on the wall with a plug when their battery finally reaches critical.

  • Op-Ed: Oscar post-mortem — You win a jet ski (Helen Mirren not included)

    This year I skipped an Academy Awards preview and decided to just watch the show rather than frequently share my thoughts over 280 characters. Which is not to say I didn’t have my favourites in most categories, or that I didn’t agree/disagree with some of the winners. Instead, I opted to put together a selection of observations in a single post-mortem.

  • ‘Stronger’ trailer is incredibly detailed (Includes first-hand account)

    As a few years seems to be the threshold of “too soon?” no longer being a significant issue, it’s not surprising to see films depicting events that resulted in tragedy begin to emerge in the years following a calamity. Thus, four years after the Boston Marathon bombing, the second movie about the terrorist attack is set for theatrical release. The first trailer for Stronger provides a detailed overview of the film.

  • New characters highlighted in ‘Black Panther’ teaser trailer (Includes first-hand account)

    While there’s always been movies, TV shows and animation to bring popular comic book heroes like Superman, Batman and The X-Men to the screen, there’s also been a reluctance to give the same attention to lesser known properties. However with the success of the previously unfamiliar Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, studios have been more inclined to take a chance on some other great stories. Next up is Marvel’s Black Panther, whose hero was first introduced in Captain America: Civil War.

  • ‘Wonder’ trailer has a lot of heart (Includes first-hand account)

    It’s true that life is full of challenges, but some people face more difficulties than others — and some of them are much more public than others. For instance, having a physical difference tests the bearer, as well as all those they encounter; a person’s reaction is not just a test of their humanity and compassion, but also affects the person on the other end of it. For children, it can be even tougher since insensitivity and cruelty seem to come so easily. But the Wonder trailer demonstrates kids can surprise you too.

  • ‘The Big Sick’ trailer isn’t promoting a typical rom-com (Includes first-hand account)

    The beginnings of relationships, particularly as one gets older, can be difficult. People begin to feel like there’s less time to find “the one” and that most of the good fish have already been plucked out of the sea. Spending any extended period of time with someone quickly leads to, “can I see myself spending the rest of my life with this person?” However, even if one person answers in the affirmative, there’s no guarantee the other person will too. Unfortunately, sometimes fear makes people say things they don’t really mean… and there isn’t always an opportunity to take it back. All of these play out in The Big Sick trailer.

  • Everyone’s just trying to survive in ‘The Gifted’ trailer (Includes first-hand account)

    From popular comic books to an adored animated series to a lucrative movie franchise, it was only a matter of time before The X-Men were granted a live-action television series. Moving in the same direction as Logan, which featured new, adolescent mutants, and the dire future of their kind as speculated in the films proper, Fox and Marvel have developed a show with all new characters in a world in which special abilities are not an advantage. The first trailer for The Gifted provides a lot of information while only revealing a fraction of the story to unfold.

  • ‘The Breadwinner’ trailer paints an empowering hand-drawn story (Includes first-hand account)

    While most people consider animated films to be happy-go-lucky pictures about cute creatures on relatively epic adventures, looking more closely at many of these movies reveals they often also address some serious issues. If one looks even further beyond the mainstream releases from Disney, Pixar and Illumination, they’ll find a number of beautifully animated films that address some adult subjects; and there isn’t necessarily a moral to the story. The medium also lends itself to making certain stories more accessible to wider audiences. The Breadwinner appears to be an example of all these things.

  • ‘The Dark Tower’ trailer is a bit of a conundrum for book fans (Includes first-hand account)

    There was a time when turning a lengthy book or series into a film was considered a challenge and a risk that was often only accepted by television studios in favour of a miniseries. The fear of cutting out too much and engaging the wrath of fans was too great. But then in 2001, Peter Jackson demonstrated there was a right — and profitable — way to adapt a book series for multiple theatrical films, beginning with The Lord of the Rings. Since then innumerable stories have been adapted for the screen, the latest being Stephen King‘s The Dark Tower series, which released its first trailer.

  • ‘The Defenders’ trailer brings the war for NY to Hell’s Kitchen (Includes first-hand account)

    Two years ago, Netflix teamed up with Marvel Studios to provide subscribers with some quality, long-form, superhero content. Beginning with Daredevil in 2015, then Jessica Jones the same year, Luke Cage in 2016 and most recently, Iron Fist, audiences were enthralled by the series’ ability to create exciting stories that still feel true to the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, one thing fans quickly realized is they all occur in a different corner of Hell’s Kitchen. With several crossovers already, it was only a matter of time before the four heroes would meet. The Defenders trailer offers a glimpse of what that team-up will look like.

  • Frenemies make comedy magic in ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ trailer (Includes first-hand account)

    Most movie fans have a list of at least two actors they’d like to see on screen together. Whether it’s because of their similar styles, lofty careers or potential chemistry, one can only hope the pairing would live up to expectations. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino meeting in Heat was everything fans hoped for, while Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence coupling in Passengers was less so. Now, someone out there can check-off Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds from their list of dream teams because the trailer for The Hitman’s Bodyguard is here to prove it’s really happening.