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Haynerland is the home of my writing about theme parks, travel, podcasting, and much more.
A Kill Bill short from Quentin Tarantino and Fortnite is coming tomorrow
The first time the words Fortnite and Quentin Tarantino appeared together ahead of this new season, it sounded like such an odd fit. For one, Tarantino is an avowed supporter of physical media, to the point that he only screens movies printed on film at his two Los Angeles-area theaters. The idea that he would add his beloved characters to the digital toybox we call Fortnite seemed a bit far-fetched. Now, with a bit of context, it makes a lot more sense. On Sunday, Tarantino's new animated sh...
Fallout: New Vegas shouldn't been a disaster, but it's a masterpiece
The second season of Prime Video's Fallout is arriving next month, and the games are back on my mind. They always are, so back in March, I undertook a complete replay of the core series, which was a wonderful idea that I will do again one day. And after revisiting them all, my opinion remains steadfast: Fallout: New Vegas is the best entry in the series. It's a take most Fallout fans have settled on since the game's release back in 2010 — but you wouldn’t know that based on its launch. When N...
Kevin Costner's Waterworld lives on in this perfect stunt show
Kevin Costner’s Waterworld was a legendary failure — with critics, with moviegoers, with profit margins. With a reported budget of $175 million, and a worldwide gross of only $264 million, the Kevin Reynolds-directed post-apocalyptic blockbuster gifted box-office reporters “sunk!” headlines for years to come. An outlandish premise didn’t help its legacy: Costner stars as a human-fish hybrid badass hero man in a world where the oceans have risen to cover the land and everyone drinks pee to surviv...
Fortnite added the coolest Simpsons weapon imaginable
It's hard to think of a misstep in Fortnite's The Simpsons season so far, unless you count the lack of a Matt Groening autograph Back Bling. Somehow, though, it just keeps getting better. The latest update added a suite of new guns pulled from the world of The Simpsons, including the illustrious Five Gun, invented by curmudgeonly bartender Moe Szyslak in season 9 of the show. In the episode "The Cartridge Family," Moe simply welds five different guns together, explaining, "And that's how, wit...
The new Now You See Me movie is missing a bit of that old magic
Atlas is explaining to the crowd how he plans to trick them, but it turns out, he was preparing to trick us, the viewers, as well. Now You See Me: Now You Don't is a fine movie — although it does have some glaring flaws — but its biggest sin is promising a long-awaited sequel only to deliver something completely different: it’s a reboot masquerading as a sequel, aka a requel....
I need It: Welcome to Derry to slow down with the slingshot lore
The joy of It: Welcome to Derry is how the HBO prequel series expands on the terrifying story created by Stephen King and brought to the big screen by Andy Muscietti. Now, three episodes in, we know how the Hanlon family wound up in Derry, which character connects the Maine town to the Overlook Hotel of The Shining, and even met a horrifying non-Pennywise version of It in the latest episode. And while that's all great world-building, there’s also a line when it comes to creating new lore in the...
It: Welcome to Derry is quietly ruining another classic Stephen King story
We always knew It: Welcome to Derry would connect directly to series co-creator Andy Muschietti's It movies, but as the HBO show plays out, it’s revealing even more shared DNA across the Stephen King universe. Most notably, the well-meaning chef Dick Hallorann from The Shining appears here as a much younger man (a link King wrote into his books as well), and while this seems like a harmless Easter egg at first, it may have some surprising timeline ramifications for that beloved scary story. A...
Dispatch is a Telltale game for management sim nerds
When you first settle in to play Dispatch, you might wonder if you've turned on an episode of Invincible, the Prime Video animated series based on Robert Kirkman's comic. And while Dispatch certainly looks to be taking heavy inspiration from the art style of the show, it creates a unique world of superheroes and, for better or worse, puts you in charge of them. Dispatch is a management sim set in a world where superheroes are so common, they have their own personal 911-style dispatch center to s...
It: Welcome to Derry is a fantastic Stephen King adaptation
Ever since Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace hit theaters, the word “prequel” has had a bad connotation. That’s unfortunate, as even the Star Wars prequels have been reassessed by fans over the years and are now “good, actually.” In truth, there have been many great prequels over the years, from Transformers One and Monsters University to The Godfather Part II, which manages to be both a sequel and a prequel thanks to its shifting timelines. It: Welcome to Derry now joins a long list...
Don't kill Tron, just give it the Predator treatment
We are now two weeks removed from the release of Tron: Ares, and it’s not looking good. According to Deadline, the film is expected to lose over $132 million, which is quite a bit more than previously believed. There are two factors at play there. Not only is the box office performance weaker than anticipated, but new reports show that quite a bit more money was spent on the film than was previously disclosed.
Fallout Season 2 Had Better Not Screw Up New Vegas
The first season of Amazon’s Fallout was one of the best video game adaptations we have ever seen.
Super Nintendo World's Donkey Kong Country Brings Pure Joy To Epic Universe
It was late 2020 when Universal Studios Japan first let guests inside its Super Mario World area of the park, with rides and a slew of minigames based on the Super Mario franchise.
A Minecraft Movie Review - Exactly What You Think It Is, For Better Or Worse
Ten years ago, the idea of a movie based on Minecraft, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, would have sounded like a setup for a joke about the current state of video game films. In 2025, though, it's not only reality but the right choice for the franchise's expansion to the big screen.
Minecraft's Vibrant Visuals Update Is A Massive Step Forward For The 15-Year-Old Game
It's been nearly five years since Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft, added RTX support. The move allowed creators, modders, and the like to turn the block worlds they build into visually stunning landscapes.
The Disney Cruise Hack That Changed My Life (Somehow, I'm Serious)
It took 43 years for me to get an actual massage. I've never felt comfortable doing it because, well, I never knew what exactly it entailed. And I wasn't clever enough to actually look into it. All that came to mind was "I get naked and am alone in a room with a stranger."
In reality, I've never felt like that would be a situation I'd want to find myself in. I'm not comfortable with my body, strangers are weird, etc. That all changed during a recent cruise.
In reality, I've never felt like that would be a situation I'd want to find myself in. I'm not comfortable with my body, strangers are weird, etc. That all changed during a recent cruise.
How Disney Brought The Haunted Mansion To Life On Its New Cruise Ship
It was August 12, 1969 when California’s Disneyland opened The Haunted Mansion, the closest thing to a horror-based ride the theme park had to offer. Over 50 years later, The Haunted Mansion’s presence can be felt at nearly every Disney theme park around the world.
Matthew Lillard Talks Spirits, Horror, and ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ at NYCC 2024
Five Nights at Freddy's star Matthew Lilllard talks about his new spirit company and how he wants to return to Scream!
The Penguin Review - Gotham City Thrives Outside Of The Batman
When it was first announced that Colin Farrell would reprise his role as Oswald Cobblepot from 2022's The Batman in a streaming series, it was a scary proposition. After all, we've seen what happens when a popular superhero movie franchise continues its story on TV. We all saw how Marvel's Agents of SHIELD was not in any way a proper extension of the MCU. And don't even get us started about Inhumans.
Mondo's New TMNT Figures Will Make You Feel Like A Kid--And That's By Design
When Mondo announced its new line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures, made from soft vinyl, the collection certainly stood out from what other collectible companies are offering up from the franchise. In a market flooded with highly articulated "ultimate"-style figures based on everything from the original comic book to the cult-favorite Coming Out of Their Shells concert tour, Mondo's bigger, chunkier reimaginings of the original action-figure line were certainly a unique take.
How Major Bendies Grew From A Podcast About Toys Into A Wrestling Figure Powerhouse
It would be an understatement to say the collectibles space is crowded. There's a seemingly endless number of companies offering various toys, statues, and other pieces of nostalgia-inducing ephemera for almost any age.
Super7's Ninja Turtles Pizza Party Wagon Is An S-Tier Comic-Con Exclusive
Every year, in the aftermath of San Diego Comic-Con, those who were lucky enough to attend (or snag the item of their choice online) marvel at the exclusive toys, apparel, statues, models, and just about everything else that's released specifically for the convention. The exclusives are aimed at different fandoms and this year, if you ask us, Super7 won SDCC with their lineup of Ninja Turtles figures, themed to a pizzeria conceived by the party dude himself, Michelangelo.
AEW Stars Recast Avengers With Wrestlers
MaXXXine's Blood-Soaked Hollywood Setting Is A Surreal Dream Come True
When X, the first movie in what's become director Ti West's epic horror trilogy, premiered, there was no way to tell how deep we'd sink into this bizarre and terrifying world. Now, with MaXXXine, the third installment due out Friday, star Mia Goth is closing out her starring roles in the films navigating a blood-soaked Hollywood.
Ninja Turtles Co-Creator: Mutant Mayhem Evolving Canon Is "Very Important"
When Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem hit theaters, it introduced the franchise to a generation of new fans. It introduced the Turtles, their sensei Splinter, and new friend April O'Neil. Oh yeah, and it also brought an army of iconic mutants from the original animated series to the big screen for the first time.
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