The Underground — Issue #124
Everything you need to know about in this weekly series: Jackie Chan goes dark in his new film, a documentary on an underwater forest in the Gulf of Mexico, the new Transformers is torn apart by Red Letter Media, and Nintendo is bringing back a classic console with a bunch of games just in time for the holidays.
At Social Underground we go beyond the mainstream stuff and see what’s underneath the surface. What should we get into, listen to, read, eat or watch? If there is something in our culture that needs attention that’s our job: Show you the underground things that you need to know about: Books, music, television, movies, comedians, art, and whatever else we can find to get you into something you never knew about. That’s The Underground.
1. The Foreigner looks like Jackie Chan is going dark and gritty. Jackie Chan movies are always a thrill watching him demonstrate his martial arts abilities, but also his tolerance for getting hurt doing his own stunts. Many of his movies give you a reason to stay in your seat in the theater because you get to see all the behind-the-scenes of all the stunts.
This time, Chan is out for revenge. It teases us with the classic stunts, but shot by director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Goldeneye), who is spectacular at films like this.
Premise: A restaurant owner (Jackie Chan) goes on a mission of revenge after his daughter is killed in a bombing by rogue Irish terrorists.
For a moment, I thought this was another version of that movie from the early aughts with Arnold Schwarzenegger titled Collateral Damage. This is proven to be wrong since it mixes in the fact that Chan’s character is a highly trained badass.
Sit back, relax, and then start pumping your fist as you watch Jackie Chan get serious in the trailer for The Foreigner below.
2. The Underwater Forest is a new documentary that will make you wonder about the planet. When you think about life on our planet, you may think we have all of the species of plants and animals discovered. This is obviously not true, which is why the ocean scare the hell out of me. Imagine how scary it is to know that the mysteries of the ocean are still mysteries, and then think about jumping in the water with 2 miles of water below you with nightmare fish. No thanks.
Premise: The Underwater Forest, a new documentary by Ben Raines produced by This is Alabama, details the discovery and exploration of an ancient cypress forest found sixty feet underwater in the Gulf of Mexico, due south of Gulf Shores, Alabama. The forest dates to an ice age more than 60,000 years ago, when sea levels were about 400 feet lower than they are today.
Water rises and lowers in response to hot or cold the planet is. Right now, it’s rising fast, but it’s interesting to think of what this forest would’ve looked like 60,000 years ago. I’m sure if we got a chance to see it, we might have to have a heavy Wooly Mammoth coat on.
Take some time to learn some stuff about an ancient forest that is now below the Gulf of Mexico.
3. Transformers: The Last Knight gets the Red Letter Media Mr. Plinkett review. If you have never heard of Mr. Plinkett’s reviews, you should really YouTube them for incredibly detailed and hilarious breakdowns of films (Star Wars prequels, especially).
The most recent chapter of garbage dumps attacking each other — Transformers: The Last Knight –– has been savaged by critics, and has finally been the first film in the franchise to bomb in America. It only took 5 movies for people to realize that these movies are tragically bad, yet perfect for ridicule.
Plinkett’s reviews are often long and amusing, but this one will catch you off guard. It will take you a moment to realize the joke. Enjoy.
4. Nintendo is releasing SNES Classic Edition in September for a cool $80 bucks.
Remember when the NES classic was released and was sold out immediately, then discontinued? I was totally pissed off until I realized I had a worked NES in my basement. This time, the SNES will be available for a limited time with 21 games (one of which is the unreleased Star Fox 2).
I also have a SNES in my basement, but I like the idea of having the games already in the console so I don’t have to keep messing with cartridges. Here is the list of games the SNES Classic comes with preloaded:
Contra III: The Alien Wars™
Donkey Kong Country™
EarthBound™
Final Fantasy III
F-ZERO™
Kirby™ Super Star
Kirby’s Dream Course™
The Legend of Zelda™: A Link to the Past™
Mega Man® X
Secret of Mana
Star Fox™
Star Fox™ 2
Street Fighter® II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
Super Castlevania IV™
Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts®
Super Mario Kart™
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars™
Super Mario World™
Super Metroid™
Super Punch-Out!! ™
Yoshi’s Island™
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars™ is one of my favorite RPG’s of all time. It really used the full power of the SNES when it was made, and still looks better than some Playstation RPG’s. This is controversial, but I prefer it to Final Fantasy 7. That’s probably because that was one of the first RPG’s I played besides Chrono Trigger.
The SNES Classic Edition comes out September 29th. I suggest some parents but their children this. These are some classic games they need to play to appreciate where gaming is currently. Plus, they’re just better games.
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Jeff Sorensen is an author, writer and occasional comedian living in Detroit, Michigan. You can look for more of his work on The Huffington Post, UPROXX, BGR and by just looking up his name.
Contact: jeff@socialunderground.com