Poptic Nerve

Okay, it's that time again, where we honor those who fought and died for our country, by gouging Hot dogs and burgers while sunbathing at the beach. Why, I’m referring to Memorial Day holiday of course and on this very day, PN will be listing deaths in cinema that we didn't see coming! Now mind you, this list refers to either main protagonists or top supporting cast members. Most Horror films have been omitted because of the constant tropes that feature our final gals and guys, getting whacked, ergo no surprise.  However, let's get our first mention out of the way.. Ben (Night of the Living Dead) The first black protagonist in a horror film, was no "yessir" trope in fact, Ben played by Duane Jones, was the last man standing while fending off hordes of zombies....er, I meant "ghouls" Ironically, when looking out the window to signal help, poor ol Ben the last survivor, was "mistaken" for a ghoul, and shot through the dead from what would be, his

Now that tech savvy Elon Musk has become arrogant to the extent of purchasing Twitter, as a means for expressing "free speech," or in his rather warped ulterior motive to combat what he refers to as the. "Woke virus," let's take a very quick look at how this asperger "AfriCon artist" utilized the social platform as its new landlord. His first order of business is to offer a blue check subscription rate to verify legit Twitter followers.  Those who previously had the blue checks as in celebrities, politicians, etc. were either asked to pay, or have the icons removed. Already that's a bad start as anyone with a credit card can and has, impersonated famous people to the extent of damage control. But that pales compared to his blatant hypocrisy.  Rapper Ice T who is unfortunately one of Musk's followers, once stated, "You have the freedom of speech, just watch what you say.."  That's true in the case of a tweeter who often made dispa

If you were alive and well during the early 2000's you might be aware of G4TV's most popular program called Attack of the Show! Airing from 2004 to 2013, and hosted by Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn, "Attack" or rather AOTS for short, was a live cable television program that aired segments on Pup culture, videogames,  movies, comics and other geek related content. In between these segments, were skits and stunts that reeked of sophomoric i.e., juvenile humor like Olivia Munn landing in a pool of pudding in a French maid's outfit or having a few hot dogs in her mouth all at once! I think they were one of the first shows to give full coverage of the comic con, as well as put Tokyo Game Show, on the map. AOTS was smart to take advantage of the console wars between PS3 and the Xbox 360 via coverage. The archived footage shown throughout this documentary is a testament of how G4TV had successful coverage making the network more of a viable platform. AOTS had its share o

Back in the day when I was a regular commentator at AICN's comment threads, there was a familiar saying, "Death comes in groups of threes." This was true when it came to celebrity deaths. Not only did we lose Jim Brown , Ray Stevenson , but now iconic R&B sensation and Queen of Rock n Roll, Tina Turner. Born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in. Tennessee Tina who started her career as a lead singer for her then husband, Ike Turner's band "Kings of Rhythm " prior to disbanding in 1976, The duo Ike & Tina Turner had released hits such as "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", "River Deep – Mountain High", and most significantly, "Proud Mary.” After 16 years of a tumultuous marriage, the couple divorced. However, Tina made a big comeback in 1984 with hits like "Private Dancer" and "What's love got to do with it” which I fondly remember being used as the end credits for a Miami Vice two parter, Calderon's Re

As if Jim Brown's passing wasn't enough, news about another action star's passing has spread fast! Ray Stevenson best known for films, such as Punisher War Zone, Thor, Kill the Irishman, and G.I. Joe Retaliation among others, has died at 58. "58" WTF! As of this writing, the cause of Stevenson's death is undisclosed. Gregory Raymond Stevenson was born in Northern Ireland, who then migrated to England as a child. Ironically, Stevenson was set to star in the upcoming Star Wars television spinoff Ashoka who he expressed excitement "getting to wield the light saber is just the best feeling in the world.” The actor previously voiced Gar Saxon in “Star Wars: Rebels” and episodes of “Star Wars: Clone Wars” in 2020. While most may remember Stevenson as Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO series “Rome,” it was his role as the Marvel antihero Frank Castle in 2013's Punisher War Zone, that was my first introduction to the actor who went on to star in more action-oriented

NFL Hall of Famer, activist, and actor Jim Brown has made the transition at 87. Brown was one of the greatest players in NFL history, who retired at the top of his game, leaving the Cleveland Browns in order to pursue an acting career.  Aside from the ensemble action film The Dirty Dozen, which was the archetype of the Expendables films, Brown broke barriers by having the first interracial love scene with Raquel Welch in 1000 Rifles.  In 1967, Brown organized “The Cleveland Summit,” which comprised of the nation’s top Black athletes, including Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to support boxer Muhammad Ali’s refusal to serve in Vietnam. While Sidney Poitier had gravitas, Jim Brown eschewed Black machismo on cinema courtesy of Blaxploitation films like Slaughter, Black Gunn and especially the iconic Three the Hard Way costarring Fred Williamson and Martial arts legend, Jim Kelly. Which in my opinion, is the best Blaxploitation movie ever!  Brown has done much for the black community