Just after two weeks of its theatrical release, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE raked in an impressive USD 400 million at the global box office. Achieving this box office number is no mean feat for a superhero animated film, and ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, the sequel of 2018's SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, is now Sony's highest-grossing animated release in history. The film continues its money-making gains at the international box office by crossing the half a billion (USD) mark this week.
ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE follows about a year after the events of the first movie. Back at her own world, Gwen Stacey/ Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld) has been dealing with her personal demons. She is feeling emotionally fraught after losing her best friend Peter, and being not able to reveal her secret identity to her dad. Later on, Gwen is roped in to join the Spider Society, which is headed by Miguel O'Hara (Oscar Isaac), the intense and intimidating Spider-man 2099 from Earth 928B. The secret society had been created mainly to prevent the collapse of the multiverse, and consists of numerous Spider-variants as members.
The BLACK ADAM movie from the DC Extended Universe is now out at the theatres! Black Adam (whose real name is Teth-Adam) is based on the DC character who originates from the same comic book series as Shazam. Unlike the superheroes most people are familiar with, Black Adam is not a “nice” guy. For one thing, he has little compunction in killing people to get what he wants or needs.
Superstar Dwayne Johnson, who stars as the titular anti-hero, has mentioned that the BLACK ADAM movie is his passion project. This is the first time Black Adam is appearing on the big screen. So, to celebrate and promote the movie's release, Dwayne Johnson has created a striking line of performance wear called the Black Adam Training collection as part of Project Rock, his global partnership with sportswear brand Under Armour.
“Black Adam deserved more than a portrayal,” said Dwayne Johnson. “He deserved a transformation. Every training session, every rep, every drop of sweat was my commitment to disrupt the very notion about this character and myself.”
Holy Bat Lair! Red Dot Diva has finally visited XM Studios' life-sized Batcave at their show area in Kitchener Complex, and it made her geek girl heart sing.
The award-winning premium collectibles studio launched its 1:30 scale Batcave on Batman Day 2022 in collaboration with with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC. As you enter the Batcave, you would immediately be drawn to this gorgeous and intricate Batman: White Knight (Batcycle Edition) figure. Love the "flying cape", which imbues the sculpture with a sense of energy.
Sony Pictures' SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, with the adorable puppyish Tom Holland back as Peter Parker/ Spider-Man, is the best comic book movie of the year. This is not counting ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE, which was more of a one-off special event than a blockbuster movie release. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME is a load of fun, and an absolute treat for Spidey fans of all ages.
The movie continues immediately from SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME'S ending. Just before supervillain Mysterio died, he was able to throw Peter Parker's life into chaos by revealing Spidey's true identity as well as framing him for murder. As The Daily Bugle's relentless journalist J. Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons) and the authorities go after Peter, all whom he loves - Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and bestie Ned (Jacob Batalon) - are bearing the consequences of his newfound notoriety. He naively seeks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help, requesting that the wizard cast a spell to make the world forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Unfortunately, the powerful spell got bungled, and all goes awry.
A childhood dream came true for many of us with the release of the first episode of a special video by Tsuburaya Productions, where ULTRAMAN makes his heroic appearance in Singapore. There will be 3 episodes, and the short films are part of a collaboration with Singapore Tourism Board (STB) entitled “SingapoReimagine ULTRAMAN”. The virtual campaign celebrates the 55th year of formal Singapore-Japan diplomatic relations (code named SJ55), and is set to run for 1.5 years. Coincidentally, the year 2021 is also the 55th birthday of the beloved Japanese tokusatsu superhero!
Don't miss watching “Power of Singapore Episode 1” on YouTube, which kicks off in typical old school style with a menacing kaiju who is known as Red King (actually, Red Dot Diva thinks it looks quite cute!) stomping the grounds of Gardens By The Bay, basically doing its thing and scaring the bejesus out of people.
Season 2 of DC'S STARGIRL will premiere on the same day as the U.S. today (11 August) at 9 PM local time. Fans can watch the episodes on Warner TV (Starhub channel 515 and Singtel channel 306) on Wednesdays at the same time.
Created by Geoff Johns (Titans, Wonder Woman, Batwoman), DC'S STARGIRL is a bright spark amongst the sea of superhero TV shows. These days, there is a trend toward apocalyptic and violent story-telling that favour dark or snarky characters and arcs. Such shows include Gotham, Doom Patrol and Titans, that belong to the same media network, as well as Amazon's The Boys. STARGIRL's innate optimism and sincerity is what made Red Dot Diva adore the series' first season so much. It was also fun to watch. Even though the series was skewed to the younger audience, Gen X-er Red Dot Diva still enjoyed the upbeat drama set in a quaint American small town. And there's even a giant robot!
Soon, Red Dot Island will have another superhero to call our own! And, he is even more awesome than VR Man. His name is Sacred Guardian Singa, and he possesses great power from an ancient source of local and South-East Asian origins.
Sacred Guardian Singa is a passion project by Basil Yeo, Gan Meng Yeow and Aydeel Djoeharie, the founders of tokuAsia. tokuAsia first started out as a community built to foster the appreciation tokusatsu entertainment, which includes the likes of Godzilla and Kamen Rider. Their love for tokusatsu movies has inspired them to do a fan movie for many years, and finally, they worked together with other equally dedicated team members and partners, to bring a Red Dot Island version of a tokusatsu superhero to life via a recently formed company tokuAsia Pictures LLP.
A comic book called SACRED GUARDIANS about the origin of Sacred Guardian Singa and his past lives will be launched this year through Asiapac Books. It will be written by Aydeel Djoeharie with illustrations by Alan Bay. And of course, a Sacred Guardian Singa live action series is expected to be developed by end-2020.
For now, the co-founders of tokuAsia are excited to share the Sacred Guardian Singa concept trailer to fans out there:
“We are thrilled to finally be able to present the concept trailer for Sacred Guardian Singa to the entire world. It was always our vision to develop a superhero story that resonates with who we are and our place in this world, yet contains enough universal themes that will appeal to
someone living on the other side of the globe,” said Basil Yeo, CEO of tokuAsia Pte. Ltd.
“The concept trailer gives our audience an idea of the flavour of the Sacred Guardians brand, and the quality that they can expect as we continue to develop the pilot episode, with a view of making a full series by year end. With the incredible level of talent we have on-board the project,
and the amazing support that we have received from our partners and the community, we are very confident that we can take the brand to the next level,” said Aydeel Djoeharie, COO of tokuAsia Pte. Ltd.
Red Dot Diva watched the Sacred Guardian Singa trailer when it premiered at Singapore Comic Con last December. She appreciated how the trailer managed to show a Red Dot Island heart at its core, with relatable South-East Asian faces, recognisable accents, well choreographed fight scenes, and an appealing superhero costume (love the white and gold aesthetic and that lion headgear design!).
**For the non-locals, Singa means lion in Sanskrit. It is where the name Singapore comes from, which means Lion City.
It's the fall in the USA, and that means your TV screen will be filled with superheroes once again!
Warner Asia TV has brought in three series from the DC Universe back to the region's schedule, so it is time for fans to immerse themselves in their adventures in the new season.
Note: There are some spoilers, so tread with caution!
SUPERGIRL
From the House of El, Kara Zor-El aka “SUPERGIRL” returned with a new season last Monday.
In this 5th season of the superhero TV series, Supergirl (Melissa Benoit) faces challenges at work when a new owner takes over Catco, and a mystery shapeshifter villain with a bone to pick with J'onn J'onzz (David Harewood) drops in from the Phantom Zone - and she does it all in a brand new and sleek costume with pants! PANTS!
Kara has also personal issues to resolve with best friend, Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath), who found out about Supergirl's true identity in the last season's finale. Will their friendship be able to survive this broken trust?
Watch new episodes of “SUPERGIRL” every Monday at 9:50 PM (SG/ MY/ PH), 8:50 PM (JKT).
Sony Pictures' animated movie “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” has created waves across the geek world with its simple yet iconic storyline that has a lot of heart and chockful of easter eggs, accompanied by eye-popping dash of colour and a snappy pace. Red Dot Diva loved the movie too, and thought it was the best animated movie of the year.
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” translated the characters from the 2D comic book pages to animated form, by fleshing out the characters whom we love, like Peter Parker (Jake Johnson for the scruffy 'B' version), Gwen Stacy (Hailey Steinfeld), and the latest Spidey hero Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) in such a delightful manner. It made us even feel a little for the villain, Kingpin (Liev Schreiber).
The animated feature is also a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to Spider-man's creators Stan Lee (who passed away a month ago), and Steve Ditko. For those sniffle-worthy moments, do not forget to stay on for the movie's post-credits, for which there are two.
Red Dot Diva's fellow geek pal Wayne Rée watched the movie and loved it as well. Here's Wayne's review of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”:
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I’ll just say it right up front. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” isn’t just my favourite movie of the year, it’s also one of my favourite superhero movies ever, one of my favourite Spider-Man stories in any medium, and easily my favourite Spider-Man movie.
Your mileage may vary on all the Spider-Man live action movies thus far. I personally think that Sam Raimi and Marc Webb’s respective series were both flawed overall, but with moments of brilliance, and while Homecoming very much got the spirit of the character right, a lot of the action was pretty choppy. (Don’t @ me, guys.)
Why Into the Spider-Verse tops all of them for me, however, is that it’s the one that didn’t just nail the spirit of the character, but it also tapped into the idea of why we al love Spider-Man.
Bring up the name Krypton, and the first thing that comes to mind is Superman aka Kal-el. The Superman legend is very well known by now, but do we know what happened in the House of El during his grandpapa's days?
Developed by David S. Goyer and Damian Kindler, a new superhero TV series "Krypton" aims to expand the Superman mythology, and explore new canon about one of the most prominent noble houses of Superman's home planet. The events happening in the series will unfold before Krypton's fateful and explosive destruction.
Seg-el (Cameron Cuffe), the grandfather of Kal-el, is faced with a difficult situation. The House of El is being ostracized, and Krypton's leadership is in disarray. He has to find ways to save his family honour so that Kal-el's future is secure. But that might mean that the planet of Krypton may have to be destroyed, causing his kind to be annihilated.
Did you pop by GnB Comicstoday for Wonder Woman Day?
Red Dot Diva was not able to be there when the shop opened at 12 PM but she heard that there was a good sized crowd waiting to celebrate the occasion! The first 200 folks at GnB were also able to pick up a "Wonder Woman" movie poster each!
Red Dot Diva did manage to drop by the shop after 2 PM to buy a Wonder Woman comic (if you are wondering, it's the anthology "Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman Vol. 1" by
Gail Simone, Ethan Van Sciver and many more creators) as well as collect her fun freebies.
If you were not able to make it there today, Red Dot Diva has four sets of "Wonder Woman" movie posters, paper cardboard tiara/ bracelet sets and pins for to give away!
Thank you to GnB Comics for sponsoring these wonderful items.
To join the contest, simply:
1. Follow Red Dot Diva on Twitter and/ or Facebook
2. Share the contest post on your timeline. Please ensure the post is public.
3. Tweet or post a photo of yourself together with your own real life Wonder Woman (i.e. it should be an actual person!) and elaborate as to why she is a Wonder Woman in 35 words or less.
4. Do ensure that the person in your pic has given you consent to post her photo.
5. Open to Singapore residents only, of age 16 and above. Entries to be submitted by Tuesday, 6 June 2017, 9 PM
6. Winners will be chose by Thursday, 8 June 2017, and notified via Twitter or Facebook Message/ Comments section.
7. Winners must be willing to email Red Dot Diva with more information (e.g. mobile number) to facilitate prize collection. Prize collection will be at Shaw Centre during working hours from Monday to Friday.
8. Red Dot Diva reserve the right to make changes to the contest terms and conditions, as well as replace or change prizes at any time without prior notice.
Thanks to local comic book store GnB Comics, there will indeed be a local Wonder Woman Day festivities this Saturday, 3 June 2017!
Wonder Woman first appeared in "All-Star Comics No. 8" back in 1941. Since then, the Amazon Princess has captured the hearts of fans all around the world for more than 75 years, and has come to represent strength, courage, wisdom and most of all, love.
To join in the tribute to Wonder Woman and her first solo movie debut, GnB Comics will be giving away the following items FREE with any purchase on 3 June 2017, from 12 PM to 7 PM.
The latest X-Men movie "Logan" will premiere on local theatres on 2 March 2017. Lead actor Hugh Jackman has mentioned that this will be the last time he will be performing as the powerful mutant Wolverine, with the trademark adamantium claws.
The Aussie actor has played the role of Wolverine 9 times in the various X-Men movies. More amazingly, Hugh Jackman, who is in his late 40s, have managed to look even more ripped as Wolverine in the recent films than his very first appearance in 2000!
To celebrate the movie's launch in Red Dot Island, Shaw Theatres IMAX® and Twentieth Century Fox have planned some special fan activities. For starters, if you cannot wait for the official premiere date of "Logan", you can already book for a special preview screening at Shaw IMAX theatres on 1 March, 8 PM at SGD 20 per ticket. Each attendee will receive a special "Logan" mini poster! (Do note that the movie has been rated M18.)
Over at Shaw Lido, there will be a photo exhibition called featuring behind-the-scenes from the movie. To pay tribute to the wonderful Hugh Jackman, fans can also leave notes on a message wall.
This is the Batman Movie you have all been waiting for!
The awesomely successful "The Lego Movie" was the film that introduced us to the egoistical but hilarious "I'm Batman-I Only Dress In Black"-LEGO Batman (Will Arnett). Since his superhero personality is too Huge to remain in just one movie, the Bat is BACK. This time, he will be calling all the shots (or he thinks he will be) in "The LEGO Batman Movie", by going up against The Joker (Zach Galifianakis) in order to save Gotham City.
Not quite used to working with a team, Batman also faces challenges battling the band of villains together with orphan Dick Grayson aka Robin (Michael Cera), Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl (Rosario Dawson) and the ever loyal and classy butler, Alfred (Ralph Fiennes).
Directed by Chris McKay, and produced by Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Roy Lee,
"The LEGO Batman Movie" premieres in Red Dot Island theatres on 9 February 2017!
For the last couple of months, Team Batman ,i.e. LEGO Batman himself, Robin and Batgirl, has been meeting their fans at shopping malls and cinemas around the island. Being hardcore fans of #TeamRichGuys, Red Dot Diva and geek-girl pal Jas managed to catch the trio at Cathay Cineleisure the week before Chinese New Year!
The fortunate people who scored tickets to the National Day Parade (NDP) 2016 rehearsal parades last week and this weekend will get to watch a preview of re-enactment about the legend of Badang.
Badang was a local and hunky (he must be, right?) Malay superhero around about the 14th century. Story was that, he defended his village and Singapura from many challengers, including the ruler of India and Java. From one of the notable challenges, Badangmanaged to throw a large rock into the sea, near the mouth of the Singapore River.
One of the fragments, consisting of ancient inscriptions, resides in the National Museum of Singapore. It is called the Singapore Stone.
Included in the goodie bag for attendees of the parade rehearsals and NDP 2016, there will be a little comic adaptation by well-known writer Michael Chiang ("Army Daze"/ "Beauty World") and illustrated by a talented local artist named Elvin Ching, who has done artwork for the MacDonald's "Samurai Burger Returns" commercials.
Also, check out his bicepstuous cover artwork of the "The Legend of Badang" comic above. Red Dot Diva loves the way he made Badang looked determined and gallantly heroic.
Red Dot Diva knows people who knows Elvin Ching. So, she tracked him down and inflicted a list of her trademark nosy questions on him.
Mostly, it was Anthony Mackie who was firmly locked and loaded with quips and trash talk in a show of rivalry against Team Iron-Man. However, the beardy but very hunky Chris Evans was all charms at the "Captain America: Civil War" South-East Asia press conference held at Marina Bay Sands, Red Dot Island on the morning of 21 April 2016.
The press conference was attended by cast members Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie, who was accompanied by Joe Russo, one half of the movie's directing team. The team flew in from another press junket in Beijing, China which had no time difference from Red Dot Island, so if they had suffered any jet lag, it did not seem noticeable at all.
Soon the "Captain America: Civil War" South-East Asia Blue Carpet Premiere will be held at the Skating Rink located at the Marina Bay Sands.
Many of you will be heading there early to "chope" your spots at the outer barricade. Yes, outer. Because there's an inner one within the rink where those lucky ones with the access passes are allowed entry.
Do feel free to share your Blue Carpet Premiere photos by tagging Red Dot Diva on Twitter, and she will be happy to retweet them to the world!
The #TeamCap party won't end after the Blue Carpet Premiere is over though!
Come back to the bay the next day, 22 April, Friday as the cast members of #TeamCap - Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan and Joe Russo - join their superhero powers to take over Marina Bay Sands, the Helix Bridge as well as the Singapore Flyer for a very epic lightup and fireworks display!
The colourful light fest will be a challenge against #TeamIronMan who will be standing ready to light up the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
Be at the Helix Bridge or the Olympic Youth Park by 8PM to watch the showdown. Don't worry, it's free for the public to attend!
Remember to have lots of fun showing off your love for these Marvel superheroes this weekend. The event is going to be crowded and wild so Red Dot Diva reminds everyone again
-- Be Kind to Each Other!
Comic book superheroes seem to be putting Red Dot Island as part of their travel plans this year!
This week, Charlie Cox, star of Netflix's highly lauded Marvel superhero TV Series "Daredevil", dropped by for a few days to meet the media, including a "top secret event" with Harpers Bazaar Singapore. Then, on 28 March early evening, a selected group consisting of 50 pairs of Singnet's subscribers got the chance to meet at Charlie at Comcentre's Singtel Shop!
Thanks to the awesome guys from Here Be Geeks and Singtel's representative, Red Dot Diva had a surprise opportunity to attend the session. How can one say NO to a chance to meet Charlie Cox?!
Locally, there are still many who are not familiar with Singapore-based artist Andie Tong, but Red Dot Diva is pretty sure this is going to change very soon due to the success of his work with Disney's illustrated book series "The Zodiac Legacy", created by the legendary Stan Lee, and co-written by Stuart Moore. It is also Stan Lee's first illustrated book series.
"The Zodiac Legacy" is about the power of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac that have been unleashed all around the world. Chinese-American teenager Steven Lee absorbs the power of the Tiger and gets caught up with the whirlwind of events battling with the Vanguard - a group of mercenaries - who are trying to collect the powers from other hosts and use them for their own selfish means.
The action-packed first book "Convergence" was launched in early 2015. The follow-up book entitled "The Dragon's Return" was released last month, and was listed as a NYT best-seller for Children's Middle-Grade Hardcover!
Andie has worked in Australia and the UK, and is well-known with regular comic conventions goers around the world. He is definitely a familiar face to those who attend STGCC, and Red Dot Diva notices that his booth is usually swamped with fans.
