With the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming we finally get to see Michael Keaton play a super-bird! For the first time. Ever. (I mean, aside from Birdman.) And he’s apparently super good at it. Like scarily good. But we’ll get to that in a second. It’s Jessica Chobot’s birthday! That means resident Chobot-understudy Dan Casey is joined by Associate Editor Kyle Anderson, Nerdist News Writer Joan Ford, and Editor-in-Chief Rachel Heine on Nerdist News Talks Back. In addition to Michael Keaton, they discuss the best and worst Pixar movies, as well as a Sesame Street–Beastie Boys mashup.
One of the main criticisms of Marvel movies is that their villains are, for the most part, pretty forgettable. Marvel focuses on its heroes, sometimes at the detriment of its villains. That trend seems to have been uprooted with Homecoming, with Keaton’s sinister villain stealing the scenes he’s in. Though he doesn’t have a ton of screentime, Keaton’s scenes cement him as an acting powerhouse. We at Nerdist loved Spider-Man: Homecoming, and you can read our review here.
D23 is right around the corner, which means more Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar than we could ever hope for. But we’ve talked enough about Star Wars and Marvel, so let’s focus on Pixar. For over a decade Pixar was the undisputed king of animation, but the last few years have seen a small but noticeable dip in quality. Inside Out was great, but films like The Good Dinosaur, Cars 2, and Brave received mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. Either way, we’re incredibly (see what I did there?) excited for The Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4. Pixar still has its magic, just maybe not all the time.
YouTube user IsThisHowYouGoViral seems to have figured out exactly how to go viral. All you have to do is take a beloved children’s character and insert it into a Beastie Boys music video. Using scenes from the movie Follow That Bird, this video is the closest we’ll get to a true Big Birdie Boy. Actually, Big Bird is pretty hardcore, so maybe it would have happened eventually.
You can watch and interact live with Nerdist News Talks Back every weekday at 1:00pm PST on YouTube and Alpha, and catch up with the archives just after the show!
Image: Marvel Studios, Pixar
