#jessie ennis queen of comedy

[queenhawke]

"What is so funny?" "Nothing."

Mythic Quest S02E08

[helshades]

Hard to deny that we live in an age dominated by the superhero. That classic Superman chestnut, “Look up in the sky!“, feels as apropos as ever when you can’t drive down a major road without Tony Stark’s mustachioed mug or Clark Kent’s Kryptonian biceps flexing down at you like judgemental gods. They rule the box office, they rule the pop culture conversation, they rule the graphic t-shirt real estate at every coffee shop. We’re about one particularly effective after-credits scene away from fandom spilling over into actual worship—pull up any video from inside Hall H if you don’t believe me—which means there’s no better time to ring up The Boys.

Adapted by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Eric Kripke from the Dynamite comic series by writer Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the eight-episode Amazon series has a wickedly sharp eye for what an actual modern age of superheroes would look like. Costumed vigilantes come with an army of publicists to craft public apologies. Major media corporations schedule the crime-stopping “team-ups” that would drive the optimal amount of social media engagement. And there’s the possibility that the superheroes themselves, so shiny and glossed in front of a camera, are the type of A-list TMZ trash-monsters in their private lives who might smash a man’s skull during a particularly aggressive round of analingus. This is an actual thing that happens in The Boys. A lot of wild things happen in The Boys. But underneath all that superpowered ass-murder is genuinely one of the most timely TV series I’ve seen in a long time.

Our way into the mayhem is “Wee” Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), a completely normal A/V salesman living a completely ordinary life until a super-fast superhero named A-Train (Jessie Usher) literally runs through his girlfriend Robin (Jess Salgueiro), turning her into a cloud of blood and guts. A-Train is essentially untouchable as a member of The Seven, the world’s premiere superhero team, along with aquatic fish-talker The Deep (Chace Crawford), silent ninja Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), the invisible Translucent (Alex Hassell), superstrong ass-kicker Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), and the squad’s Superman-esque leader, Homelander (Antony Starr). Quieted with a half-assed apology and ironclad Non-disclosure Agreement, Hughie’s thirst for revenge leads him straight to Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), former leader of an under-the-radar squad that worked to keep the “supes” in check: The Boys.

Running parallel to Hughie and Butcher is the story of Starlight (Erin Moriarty), The Seven’s bright-eyed and optimistic new recruit who quickly learns she’s joined a team of corrupt corporate suits, perverts, and murderers. The two plots intertwine, and soon a grand conspiracy emerges surrounding the mysterious super-steroid “Compound V” that could completely destroy the superhero game and the mega-corporation that funds it, Vought.

The Boys operates on a few different levels, all of which the creative team nails on one level or another. It’s your classic gettin’-the-band-back-together story, as the Compound V conspiracy convinces Butcher to track down the rest of the retired Boys, Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) and Frenchie (Tomer Capon), who are eventually joined by the hyper-violent killing machine known only as The Female (Karen Fukuhara). It’s also a pretty dang intriguing mystery tale dressed up in tights and capes, as well as a pitch-black comedy filled with enough flying guts, exploding dolphins, and C-4 shoved into a person’s unholy crevices to keep even the sickest of you puppies squirming.

But where the writing staff really excels is in the world-building. They’ve kept large chunks of the comic book story intact while also stripping away a bit of the X-Treme Edginess—I like Garth Ennis a lot, but Garth Ennis is occasionally too Garth Ennis for his own good—and setting it firmly in a setting that’s both comic-book elevated and so perfectly 2019. Superheroes argue not about the number of lives saved, but their cut of the merch and box office sales raked in from the Vought Cinematic Universe. ESPN runs 24/7 coverage of a race between speedsters. SEO experts and video editors cut together image-boosting clip shows of The Seven interacting with the common folk. (Possibly my favorite joke in the entire show is the fact newcomer Starlight’s segment is placeholder text that just says “Starlight relating to people.”)

And with that comes a really dark, unique relatability to the material that’s completely different than any on-screen comic book series out there. Though we don’t live in a world of actual superpowers, we do live in one filled with supremely shitty people in extraordinary positions of power and wealth. Tune into literally any news outlet of your choice—or just log on to Twitter dot com—and you’re bombarded with the latest government figure or Hollywood elite who was caught and/or just outright said the depths of their sheer shittiness. It makes you long for the days when a celebrity’s name trending meant they were just dead, not a sexual deviant. The Boys, similar to the comic series, leans hard into this idea: What if the rich, powerful fraudsters and public masturbators of the world were actually sitting in the position of the gods? It’s the darkest material on the show, but the story approaches it unflinchingly. There’s a real stomach-churning familiarity to a high-ranking member of The Seven dropping his pants in front of Starlight and asking how badly she wants to be a part of a superhero team. But even the worst parts come with a sense of wish fulfillment; as awful as it is to see and recognize a world run by all-powerful assholes, it’s thrilling when you realize The Boys is really about how ordinary people can fight back.

As Starlight, Moriarty shines brighter and brighter with each episode, a fantastic foil to Quaid’s increasingly twitchy Hughie. The cast is pretty electric across the board—especially Karl Urban out there throwing around c-words like his name is Cookie Monster—but there are two performances in particular that really make the story tick. Antony Starr is terrifying as Homelander; he plays the main supe like a petulant child given the strength of a nuclear bomb—a Shazam who also burns people’s faces off—and it’s chilling how quickly the actor switches between Homelander’s toothy-smiled choir boy image and the stone-cold persona below. Standing behind him is Elisabeth Shue as Madelyn Stillwell, Senior Vice President of Superhero Management at Vought. The Oscar-nominee is perfectly icy in the role, and low-key the most terrifying character on the show. As the mass murders and war crimes pile up around her, Madelyn is just booking the dates and scheduling the meetings, proving there’s nothing more horrific than a suit who signs lives away with a smile.

If there’s a complaint to be had about The Boys, it’s that its first eight-episode run ends awkwardly, right in the middle of the narrative with several loose threads dangling and a few key characters left forgotten in the home stretch. You have the sense the creators were pretty confident given the fact casting announcements started to pop up before a season 2 was confirmed. [UPDATE: Which it was, just now, at Comic-Con.] But the roller-coaster ride to that abrupt end is something you must experience. Like Alan Moore‘s Watchmen in the late-80s, TV series has the chance to be the superhero deconstruction of our time. Less a peek behind the curtain, and more a seedy glimpse behind the social media likes and box office numbers, a story that manages to be heartbreakingly relevant while still finding time to have Karl Urban kill a room full of goons with a super-powered baby.

Oh shit, did I not mention Karl Urban kills a room full of goons with a superpowered baby earlier? Yeah, man. Watch The Boys. A lot going on there.

[rbbox]

Continuing to garner a resounding fandom from viewers across the world, The Boys, the popular superhero satire series, is all set to present them a desi touch of the show. In a recent announcement, Amazon Prime Video today revealed that they have roped in Bollywood actors Arjun Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Disha Patani to dub for the Hindi version of the show.

Cast as Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), Homelander (Antony Starr), and Starlight (Erin Moriarty) respectively, the actors are set to bring their own signature flair to the soon to be launched Hindi version of the popular series. Lauded for being unabashed and unsubtle, The Boys is a glorious dark-comedy fantasy series based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The superhero satire created a significant fan-base in India with its season one and has returned for yet another phenomenal season 2.

“The response that the first and second seasons of The Boys has received from fans across the world has been nothing short of phenomenal.” Gaurav Gandhi, Director and Country General Manager, Amazon Prime Video India, said, “At Prime Video, we are continuously committed to working towards what our consumers need and the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions of The Boys is perfectly in line with their demands and expectations and ensures that such a popular show reaches out to a wider and diverse audience. With viewers across the country looking to consume foreign shows in their spoken language, we’re extremely excited to bring popular actors and fans of the series, Arjun, Rajkumar and Disha on board and are excited to see them add their own style to these wonderfully wicked characters.”

Voicing the foul-mouth William ‘Billy’ Butcher, Arjun Kapoor said, “I have been a huge fan of the series ever since it released on Amazon Prime Video. The character of Billy Butcher, much like the series, has a unique charm and an impressive character arc. Billy’s wild sarcasm and his alluring ruggedness spoke to me and I can’t be more excited to voice this delightfully-vexed vigilante.”

Ace actor Rajkummar Rao, dubbing for the ‘Seven’s’ leader Homelander, commented, "The Boys is one of my favourite series on Amazon Prime Video. It is fascinating to watch Antony Starr as Homelander – an infuriatingly complex character that everyone loves to hate. Voicing for Homelander has been extremely exciting and I hope that the audiences like what I have done with my voice for Homelander. It's been a great experience doing this."

Lending her voice to the sweet, yet powerful, Starlight aka Annie January, Disha Patani said, “Starlight is probably one of the most humane and grounded amongst the Vought army. You can’t help but feel for her. Having said that, she’s not to be trifled with and terrifying when provoked. So when Amazon Prime Video approached me to lend my voice for the character – there really was no doubt in my mind! Dubbing for the character has been such a fun experience and I hope the audiences are able to enjoy “The Boys” along with my character and her journey in the same way I did.”

Along with Hindi, the series will also be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu. The dubbed versions are set to launch on Amazon Prime Video on October 28th, giving the audience yet another reason to once again watch their favourite show! The second season of the Amazon Original Series The Boys premiered on Amazon Prime Video with the first three episodes having released on Friday, September 4.

The even more intense, more insane Season 2 finds The Boys on the run from the law, hunted by the Supes, and trying to regroup and fight back against Vought. In hiding, Hughie (Jack Quaid), Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capon) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) try to adjust to a new normal, with Butcher (Karl Urban) nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Starlight (Erin Moriarty) must navigate her place in The Seven as Homelander (Antony Starr) sets his sights on taking complete control. His power is threatened with the addition of Stormfront (Aya Cash), a social media-savvy new Supe, who has an agenda of her own. On top of that, the Supervillain threat takes center stage and makes waves as Vought seeks to capitalize on the nation’s paranoia.

The Supes of The Seven also include Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), The Deep (Chace Crawford) and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell). Recurring stars in season two include Claudia Doumit, Goran Visnijc, Malcolm Barrett, Colby Minifie, Shantel VanSanten, Cameron Crovetti, PJ Byrne, Laila Robbins and Giancarlo Esposito returning as Vought boss Stan Edgar, among others.

Based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys was developed by showrunner Eric Kripke (Supernatural), who also serves as writer and executive producer. Joining Kripke as executive producers are Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen (Preacher), Evan Goldberg (Preacher), and James Weaver (Preacher), Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz (Prison Break) and Pavun Shetty (New Girl), as well as Phil Sgriccia, Craig Rosenberg, Rebecca Sonnenshine, Ken Levin and Jason Netter. Ennis and Robertson also co-executive produce along with Michael Saltzman.

The second season of The Boys premiered with the first three episodes on Friday, September 4, and new episodes available each Friday following, culminating in an epic season finale on October 9.

ALSO READ: Arjun Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh to reunite on October 24 for their film shoot

October 26, 2020 at 12:53PMArjun Kapoor, Disha Patani, Rajkummar Rao to lend their voice to the Hindi-dubbed version of Amazon original series The Boys https://ift.tt/2TqN08Q

[ri-vyooblog]

The Boys

HEY PEEPS!

I have FINISHED this frickin gem on AMAZON PRIME VIDEO! This show is a must see! It is based on the comic series of the same name by Garth Ennis!

The show follows four men who take it upon themselves to keep Superheroes under control, specifically Vought International’s elite team, The Seven.

The Boys:

Karl Urban (you MUST know this Star). He was Eomere in Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, Return of the King, Judge Dredd in Dredd,  Vaako in the Riddick Film Series, and Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the Star Trek reboot films. A damn good actor, peeps! In this black comedy, he portrays Billy Butcher, the violent leader of The Boys who is willingly to do almost anything to “spank the bastards (superheroes who get outta line) back in place”.

Jack Quaid portrays main character Hugh Campbell, who joins team after horrifically witnesses his fiancee killed by one of The Seven and suffers PTSD throughout the first season.

Tomer Kapon as Frenchie, a multi-talented Merc who has a shared history with Butcher as part of the original The Boys time prior to the series’s events.

Laz Alonso (Fenix Calderon Fast & Furious 6) as Mother’s Milk, the sensible, well spoken, and educated team member. He and Frenchie share a mutual hatred for one another.

Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko / the Female, the mute member of The Boy and their most lethal physical weapon.

The Seven:

Antony Starr plays Homelander, the All-American team leader of The Seven who wants autonomy of his image.

Dominique McElligott as Queen Maeve, long-time member of The Seven experiencing burnout.

Erin Moriarty is Starlight, the newest member of The Seven. Naive, genuine, and heroic.

Jessie T. Usher as A-Train, a speedster of the group who wishes to keep his rep as “the fastest man alive.”

Chace Crawford as Kevin / The Deep (the Series’ Aquaman), the self-absorbed dolt of the team.

Nathan Mitchell is Black Noir, the strong and silent type hero.

Alex Hassell portrays Translucent, a Supe possessing invisibility.

Recurring Characters:

Elisabeth Shue as Madelyn Stillwell, the VP of Vought International.

Simon Pegg (Star Trek, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) plays Hugh Campbell, Hughie’s dull dad.

This show is amazing from start to finish! It is a Black Comedy Superhero series that explores contemporary issues surrounding media’s narrative of celebrities as larger than life icons. Ironically, they’re people like us all, who through the pressures/stresses of maintaining their status, make choices that have severe layered consequences on themselves as well as the everyday folk who worship/cross them. The Seven (5 this season) are as developed as The Boys they encounter over the 8 episode arc. Each character expresses a relatable side of humanity (specifically the primitive sides). This is perhaps one of the most grounded, gritty, unrelenting takes on the superhero genre I have seen to date! Two Thumbs WAAAAAAYYYYY UP!! YOU MUST CHECK THIS ONE OUT!