Saturday, January 31, 2009

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies


Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen's beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead.

FOTC to hit Boston


*sigh*
I really am trying to go to fewer concerts this year, but things just keep coming up that I don't want to miss.
Any other east coast Thonners up for Flight of the Conchords?
Friday April 17th (I know, the day before the Dead), 8pm, Agganis Arena near BU.
Presale starts Tuesday at 10am.
Let me know if there is any interest.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Big-studio films go for some Super exposure


By Anthony Breznican, USA TODAY

This Sunday, it won't just be the Pittsburgh Steelers playing against the Arizona Cardinals.

Competing for attention also will be the Transformers against an old man tying balloons to his house, G.I. Joe battling biblical buffoons, and Angels & Demons vs. Monsters vs. Aliens.

As everyone knows, the Super Bowl is one of the priciest ad-buys on television, and only the priciest, most popular movies can afford it. Last year, the telecast drew an audience of about 97 million. NBC says a 30-second spot costs about $3 million.

An ad for the sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, opening June 26, is among the most highly anticipated, and the Paramount film is one of several from the studio staking a claim during the game — including clips from the Star Trek reboot (May 8) and the revival of another 1980s kid favorite, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Aug. 7).

"It's hard to find an audience and have 100 million people guaranteed to you. All of us are dying to get to that venue," says Lorenzo di Bonaventura, producer of Transformers and G.I. Joe. "For these big event movies, you want to be associated with another big event."

The DreamWorks Animation comedy Monsters vs. Aliens is buying a full 90 seconds of ad time, and the promo for the 3-D movie, opening March 27, will stand out (literally and figuratively) with paper-and-plastic glasses that are being handed out at grocery stores.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, head of DreamWorks Animation and Hollywood's chief 3-D proselytizer, says the film will use clear glasses in theater, but the disposable colored-plastic ones for the ad are also an update on the old technology, designed to immerse the viewer in the dizzying sci-fi world. He jokes that for grown-ups, "what will make it even better is having two beers before it comes on."

Disney will be showing off the Pixar film Up (May 29), about an old man who attaches helium balloons to his house and floats away on an adventure, and the live-action family comedy Race to Witch Mountain (March 13), a remake of the 1975 original starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a cabbie helping two alien kids get home.

Sony Pictures will present footage of Angels & Demons (out May 15), the Tom Hanks prequel to The Da Vinci Code, as well as Year One (June 19), a comedy starring Michael Cera and Jack Black as a pair of outcasts in early biblical times. "A lot of advertisers are trying to create laughs in their spots," says Sony vice chairman Jeff Blake. "So this wasn't an obvious choice, but it sure is funny."

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Teleportation Is Real – But Don't Try It at Home


From Time, Physics and magic aren't often mistaken, but increasingly, physicists themselves seem to be trying to change that. Last year, a team at the University of California, Berkeley, announced that it had developed materials that could lead to an invisibility cloak. Last month, a group of researchers at Harvard University and the National Institutes of Health reported that it had accomplished something not unlike levitation, causing a microscopic sphere of gold to rise above a glass surface. Now, according to a paper published in the Jan. 23 issue of Science, a team of scientists from the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) at the University of Maryland and the University of Michigan has joined the fun. The current bit of legerdemain? Teleportation.

Read rest here

Does Anyone Really Want to See an Extended Cut of The Blair Witch Project?


From slashfilm, Filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez would like to release an extended director’s cut of The Blair Witch Project, but Lionsgate isn’t interested.

“There’s plenty of fan interest, though not so much from Lionsgate, but I really would love to put out a two-and-a-half hour version of the movie on DVD; like a Criterion edition with a bunch of extra footage,” Sanchez tells Rotten Tomatoes on the film’s 10th anniversary. “The first time we cut the movie, we knew it was too long — it was about two and a half hours. There’s a lot of good stuff that didn’t make the film. I’m really happy with the film and I think we cut it as well as we could.”

So what would be in the extended cut?

“There’s a great confessional with Mike that didn’t make the movie. He also had this great scene in the woods where he lost his mind, started punching trees, it was really hardcore,” says Myrick. “There’s a really cool poetry reading scene in the hotel they spend the night in where Josh and Mike are duelling with their own poetry. At that point in the film we just had to get them into the woods, so as cool as it was it had to go. They shot so much cool stuff and they rolled on everything. I think we could put together at least another hour of really, really solid footage.”

But does anyone want to see a one-hour-extended version of The Blair Witch Project? Rotten Tomatoes also has some previously unreleased behind the scenes footage from the original film, featuring both the auditions and the process of shooting in the wood.

Predator remake by Rodriguez


From filmstalker, There are a couple of big surprises regarding the possible Predator franchise restart, or remake/sequel if you're a little more realistic about it all. First up is the rumour that Robert Rodriguez is set to produce the film, or rather his studio is, but the second big surprise is about the story and how they are set to expand it from the original.

Now if this rumour is true and this is really the way they are going with the film then I think they've totally lost the point of Predator and are diluting the character just like they have in all the sequels and the Alien hook up films since.

You see one of the superb aspects to the first story is the gladiatorial aspect of the two main characters, and the fact that the team get whittled down to a one on one fight because only one of them is strong enough, and his strength is gained through the ongoing battle and his survival through each encounter.

It's also the fact that the Predator is one creature with such immense power, it makes the final fights and conclusion just so satisfying, and Arnie's one liners so good.

However if the rumour that Bloody Disgusting have picked up is to be believed, we're heading for a much diluted Predator and the typical Hollywood ideal that more is better.

Not only do they have a “source” telling them that Robert Rodriguez's company Troublemaker Studios are going to be producing the film for 20th Century Fox, but they reveal that in this film there will be multiple Predators for the tea of elite soldiers to fight against, here's the exact quote they have:

“In the reboot a team of commandoes face down a mysterious race of vicious monsters.”
Great. They've missed the point and Predator will become a cheap copy of the original. I'm sticking with that thank you.

Hollywood please ban the following words in meetings – remake, restart, reboot, re-imagining – and please stop thinking that adding more means it's going to be bigger and better.

The Thing Gets A Battlestar Galactica Makeover


From cinemablend, Hollywood has latched onto The Thing as their latest property to remake. What you’re loyal to John Carpeter’s 1982 version? Sorry that was a remake too. Howard Hawks did it in 1951. Meanwhile they’re all based on a short story. So at least there’s a remake precedent here.

What makes this remake so much more interesting than the average, soulless, Hollywood repurposing is the involvement of one Ron Moore. If that names sounds familiar to you, it’s because you’re a Battlestar Galactica fan and therefore also a super cool person. According to Variety Moore is the executive producer and most brilliant mind behind the new Battlestar, also frequently known as the best show on television. Universal Pictures has hired Moore to write the script for the movie and if they had any sense they would also hire him to direct it to.

Universal does not have a lick of sense. Instead they’ve hired Matthijs Van Heijningen, a director of commercials, to helm their new Thing. On the upside, commercial directors have had a lot of success in the movie world recently. Heck, that’s where Zack Snyder came from. Maybe this guy will have something. Someone seems to think so since he’s also working on an Army of the Dead movie at another studio.

So quick refresher course on The Thing. Well the original novel on which the two previous movies have been based is about a bunch of researchers in an isolated, Antarctica outpost. They find a spaceship buried in the ice, let loose a shape shifting alien pilot. The researchers must figure out which of them it’s replaced and try to stop it from taking over the world. Because apparently, that’s like the lifelong ambition of literally every alien. Personally, I wouldn’t want to run this place. It’s kind of a mess.

Final Watchmen poster underwhelming



On the other hand, this Dr. Manhattan picture is awesome!

HHD Winner - AC!

Zombie Cat Declares AC as the Winner!

The winning Haiku:

Racist zombie warns
Chinese brains leave you hungry
half an hour later

This was a really tough choice and I had it narrowed down to 4. In the end I had to go with the one that caused me to choke with laughter. Congrats AC, this tough choice will be yours next week.

Here are the 3 very close runners up:

Miko, for stating the obvious.

Please, how many times?
Will you shoot them in the chest
Before you learn, HEAD!!

50P, Zombie Shakespeare.

"alas, poor yorick
i ate him, horatio
kept his skull for laughs."

Nowandzen, hilarious!

Blackest eyes staring
Skin cold, pulled unnatural
Victoria Beckham

Did someone say Haikus?

There are several honorable mentions as well. These just cracked me up:

I just ate a kid.
Kid really needed a bath. - 50P
Spicier that way!

A full zombie meal -
Are midgets appetizers? - HS
And kids are dessert

living sushi
fingers are the best
pick my remaining teeth - Desroc

Shy zombie teen asks,
"Hey Mom, why is it always
a not-so-fresh day?" - Chris

Great job everyone!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The League of Cliche Evil Super-Villains T-Shirt



From slashfilm, Joshua Kemble’s The League of Cliche Evil Super-Villains T-Shirt is now available through Threadless. Kemble notes that he got the idea for the design “by looking at a bunch of old cheesy comic books, by none other than Jack Kirby, then busted out the trusty pencil and inking pens, and made the characters…” Printed on a Creme-colored tee (I wish it were available on a darker colored t-shirt)28, and available i sizes from Extra Small to XXXL for $18.

Aint it Cool News declares tonight's episode of LOST to be one of the best ones ever!



Read about it here

Jessica Simpson looks different




Nerds suggest that Sam Rami's latest is a return to horror form?


From slashfilm, It seems like a bunch of Los Angeles-based film fans snuck into a super secret advanced screening of Drag Me to Hell. So is Sam Raimi’s return to horror the real deal? It appears so. Here is a round up of quotes from around the web. We’ll add more when they become available, so check back.

Collider: “If you’ve seen the Evil Dead movies and love them, then you’ll loooooove this movie. It’s the best movie I’ve seen in theaters in such a long time.” … “There are some moments where I just jumped out of my chair. It’s really great.” … “I wish Raimi wasn’t doing Spider-Man 4 and he just did a ton of movies like this. It’s so great to see he still has it.”

elguapo1 on Twitter: “Awesome. Old school Raimi horror at its best.”

AICN (scooper named MiscalledHobos): “This movie…oh man. I didn’t realize how much I missed having this living piss scared out of me.” … “his movie was sincerely fantastic. I love Sam Raimi and, after being turned off by Spiderman 3, I was immensely stoked to see a horror film from him. I can’t recommend it enough.”

AndrewDignan on Twitter: “Sam recycles every great gag from the Evil Dead films in service of a throwaway story. So, kind of awesome.”

Brandon Lee Tenney on Twitter: “It was A LOT of fun and most definitely vintage Raimi at his best.”

GeekTyrant: “It has been a long time since we have seen a horror movie directed by Sam Raimi, and I gotta tell you I loved it! He brought it and he brought it hard! Raimi has still got the skills and he made one of the best freakin horror films I have seen in years! It was everything I hoped it would be and more.” … “For a PG-13 movie it was pretty hardcore and in your face disgusting. There are images in this film that made me gag, and groan out load, at the same time it had me gleefully laughing with Raimi’s classic sense of humor.”

FirstShowing on Twitter: “It was great - now I just want to watch Army of Darkness!”

The Daring Adventures of Bingo TC: “A good suspenseful movie, Sam Raimi still knows how to get get you to be shocked, scared and laugh at the same time.” … “the setup for the twist ending (of course there had to be one) was a little obvious.”

Under the Bridge: Literal Version

Haiku Hump Day: Zombies!

I thought long and hard on my choice of topic. I thought about going with a Marvel comic theme since the last topic was all about DC. Also, Johnny Quest because that show was just aching to be picked apart, but then I thought either of those might leave the ladies perplexed and I really wanted to find a topic that would leave no one out. Of course I thought about cats, but then again I always think about cats and that just would have been too obvious so I had to strike that topic. Besides, hearing about Miko’s recent cat trauma would have made for a lot of sad haiku’s. Poor Riley :(

Instead I chose something we could all sink our teeth into. Be it flesh-eating or Serpent & the Rainbow style tetrodotoxin induced zombification. Romero or Fulci, Viral infection or something from space.

Heck, even Michael Jackson got into the Zombie movement! So any way you can serve them up, we know ‘em, we love ‘em and now it’s time to pay homage to these feisty but loveable flesh-eating fiends.

Give it your best, bloodiest, grossest and funniest effort. I’m quite sure choosing a winner will be about as difficult as stopping the living dead with a bag of marshmallows but I’m up for the challenge. So what are you waiting for? Grab yourself a bowl of warm brains and get to writing. I’m looking forward to all your entries.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I'm obsessed!

I can't get over The Real Tuesday Weld (the London band that may just be one guy, Stephen Coates) and the incredible music and animation that those four words continue to mean. Octopunk introduced me to them years ago by walking into my house, opening his laptop and insisting (before even taking his coat off) that I watch the animated video for their "Bathtime in Clerkenwell" (one of several collaborations with Russian animator Alex Budovsky). (The sequel, "Last Time in Clerkenwell", is even weirder, and its music is vastly more complex.) The below is the first of two new TRTW videos by Giant Squid Eye, who take a completely different approach to a far more conventional song (or is it?)



The entire thing is completely fascinating. Coates calls the style "antique beat" (kind of a musical steampunk? Or would "musical steampunk" be fucking Victorian CoE hymnals?) since it's built on clarinet, acoustic guitar etc., but it's also heavily dependent on an old Roland analog synth (the famous MC-303, the foundation of all Acid House). (!). The cartoon is pretty deep stuff, in my opinion...the Biblical lounge atmosphere is surreal. Anyway I thought you 'thonners might enjoy it all.

UPDATE: Here's the other Giant Squid Eye/RTW video, "Kix," in which they violate the basic laws of space and time.

Miko The Downer...(Sorry 50)

First off, Happy B-day 50! Sorry to knock your birthday post off with a downer.


Miko got home from New Orleans last night, just in time to kill another of his animals...

That fella up there is Riley, and he has been with me since 1996...technically he was Miko the dog's cat (they were in love), and in about an hour, he will be on his way to meet up with his old buddy.

The problem this time, is that Riley sleeps on Amelia's bed every night, so explaining this to her has been fun. *Sigh* Pets suck...

So later tonight, when you are drinking...spill a little on the floor for my homie. (You could do the same thing if you are eating a Tuna Salad sandwich too.)

Fitty's B-day!

If my sources are correct, our very own 50PageMcGee is celebrating his birthday today. Happy Birthday 50-P!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Whirlygirl hustled me


"Come on, JPX, play pool with me, I suck..." Yep, that's what she said all right. I figured, "Well I suck too so what the hell." Well Whirlygirl lied, she's a trickster! She not only kicked my ass but she apparently won all 4 games that she played. Whirlygirl is a liar.

Bijou Phillips knows the history of psychiatry, you don't!


In a recent interview with Paper Magazine, Scientologist Bijou Phillips went off on psychiatric medication, basically telling everybody with depression to just man up. Us Weekly reports:

"My grandparents didn't take any pills, and they were fine," Phillips said in the February issue of Paper. "Just buck up and get over it. Stop being such a f---king pansy."

The budding actress frequents Scientology-sponsored events and spoke out against psychiatry and prescribing patients with medication for such mental illnesses as depression or anxiety.

Yeah, I usually find the best treatment for people with depression is to call them a fucking pansy as well. Because no amount of medication or psychiatric help can compete with just telling somebody to stop being depressed. It works for other things too. Just the other day I saw a guy running around on fire screaming for help and I was like "Hey, quit it!" So then he fell to the ground, stopped moving, and the fire eventually went out. I never saw him again once the paramedics pulled the white sheet over his face, but I bet he's doing great now.

[JPX] Hmmm. I work in a Mood Disorders clinic and I can honestly say that I've never tried this approach. From now on I'm just going to tell my patients to suck it up. Thanks, Bijou Phillips!

Awful movie retains top spot at the box office


By Greg Risling, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Paul Blart: Mall Cop wasn't ready to turn over his box-office badge this weekend as the film about a bumbling shopping center security guard earned $21.5 million to nab No. 1 for a second week in a row.

The comedy, starring Kevin James as the guard who tries to protect the mall where he works from criminals, has now grossed $64.8 million in its two weeks of release and appears on its way to surpass $100 million.

"It's just a very funny film," said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony. "It's not only a great family film, it really is a film that everyone loves."

The third installment of the Underworld series fared well in its opening weekend. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, a prequel that looks at the roots of a feud between vampires and werewolves, made $20.7 million. Its two predecessors —Underworld and Underworld: Evolution— earned $21.7 million and $26.8 million, respectively, in their opening weekends.

The fantasy adventure Inkheart was unable to cast a spell over movie-goers, earning only $7.7 million in its debut. The movie, taken from the best-selling novel by Cornelia Funke, features Brendan Fraser playing a bookbinder with the ability to read characters right out of books and into real life.

"Unfortunately, families didn't come out in larger numbers," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' executive vice president of distribution.

Films that received Academy Award nominations this past week had a strong showing at the box office as studios expanded their release.

Slumdog Millionaire, the drama about a game-show contestant from the slums of Mumbai, earned $10.6 million this weekend as the movie appeared in more than 1,400 theaters. Studio executives said the film, which has now made nearly $56 million, has been boosted by its recent haul of awards, including top honors from the Producers Guild of America on Saturday.

"I think the word of mouth has been very strong since we opened in November, but with the Golden Globes and the Academy Award nominations as well as the PGA, it's the must-see movie before the Academy Awards in February," said Sheila DeLoach, senior vice president of distribution at Fox Searchlight.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button re-entered the Top 10, earning $6 million to boost its total to $111 million. The film, starring Brad Pitt as a man aging backward toward infancy, landed 13 Oscar nominations, including best actor for Pitt. The Wrestler and Frost/Nixon also drew big crowds this weekend.

"This group has gotten the biggest (Oscar) bump collectively that I've ever seen," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracker Media by Numbers. "This lays to rest the argument that Oscar nominations can't help out your box-office numbers."

Final "Watchmen" Soundtrack Details


From darkhorizons,

Music From The Motion Picture Watchmen track-listing is as follows:

Desolation Row - My Chemical Romance
Unforgettable - Nat King Cole
The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan
The Sound Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
Me & Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
I'm Your Boogie Man - KC & The Sunshine Band
You're My Thrill - Billie Holiday
Pruit Igoe & Prophecies - The Philip Glass Ensemble
Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen
All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
Ride of the Valkyries - Budapest Symphony Orchestra
Pirate Jenny - Nina Simone*
*used in the end credits of the "Tales From The Black Freighter" DVD.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Letter to Woody Allen - from Henry Rollins



This is over a year old but if you haven't seen it, it's worth it.

Henry writes a letter to Woody Allen.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

It sucks to get old



Cindy from Three's Company

An evening with JSP


Hey East Coast Horrorthonners, Horrorthon's very own JSP will be in Rhode Island this Saturday. As discussed previously we thought it would be a good idea to meet up at the Cinema Pub in North Attleboro becuase they serve booze and food there while you watch the movie. This brings up the question of the movie. JSP and Whirlygirl will tell you that the movie matters not and the real pleasures of the Cinema Pub is the above-mentioned booze and food options (Whirly and I are crazy about the popcorn there). Movie options are slim. I'll watch anything at the Pub because it doesn't matter.

Go here for movie schedule and times.


My vote would be Valkyrie.

I wonder if he decided yet?


This picture of an undecided voter during the recent election still makes me laugh. He perfectly captures what I imagine the idiots who can't decide look like. Shit, I made my decision in 3 seconds.

2009 Oscar nominations


Best Picture: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,Frost/Nixon,Milk,The Reader,Slumdog Millionaire.

Actor: Richard Jenkins, The Visitor ; Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon ; Sean Penn, Milk ; Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ; Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler.

Actress: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married ; Angelina Jolie, Changeling ; Melissa Leo, Frozen River ; Meryl Streep, Doubt ; Kate Winslet, The Reader.

Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, Milk ; Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder ; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt ; Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight ; Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road.

Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, Doubt ; Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona ; Viola Davis, Doubt ; Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ; Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler.

Director: David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ; Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon ; Gus Van Sant, Milk ; Stephen Daldry, The Reader ; Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire.

Foreign Film: The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany; The Class, France; Departures, Japan; Revanche, Austria; Waltz With Bashir, Israel.

Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ; John Patrick Shanley, Doubt ; Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon ; David Hare, The Reader ; Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire.

Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, Frozen River ; Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky ; Martin McDonagh, In Bruges ; Dustin Lance Black, Milk ; Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, WALL-E.

Animated Feature Film: Bolt ; Kung Fu Panda ; WALL-E.




http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-01-22-oscar-nominations-list_N.htm

I haven't watched LOST yet, please keep comments on this post (which I won't look at)

Awesome Watchmen Dr. Manhattan Viral Video


From iwatchstuff, Watchmen is really upping the quality of these viral marketing schemes. Those Dark Knight viral sites like, the Joker's defaced version of The Gotham Times, The Ha Ha Ha Times, were fun but left lingering questions about why a criminal psychopath would spend so much time on decoupage and scanning. This video about Dr. Manhattan, done in a style that perfectly replicates a '70s network news broadcast, on the other hand, is pretty great--both as marketing and as a companion piece to the film. If this were one of my dementia "bad days", I'd think this was real:

See it here

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Meanwhile, at the Hall of Horror



The winner, by Catfreeek:

Wonder Dog is cool
but he's only in disguise
He's really Astro

A savvy bit of toon-insiderism, and it reminded me of my favorite line from the Wikipedia page when describing Marvin, Wendy and Wonderdog: "none of whom had any special abilities (save the dog’s unexplained ability to reason and “talk”)."

The runner up, by Dana's Brain

Ted Knight, what a voice!
Sweet tones for a crap cartoon.
Must have lost a bet.

These two were neck and neck but I ultimately went with Freeek's because it managed to dis the SFs while also being on their side, and my sister's "crap cartoon" was meaner. Not that it wasn't a crap cartoon...

The honorable mentions:

HandsomeStan

Everyone had tights
But only one without pants
What was Black Bolt's deal?

Kudos to HS for illuminating another important dimension of the character Black Bolt besides his race, fostering a deeper understanding of the man. He wore no pants.

Johnny Sweatpants

I’m Apache Chief
First I’m small and then I’m huge
And that’s about it

The Chief's lameness had been covered earlier in the day by Stan, but the simplicity of this one is pure Japan, man.

There were also a couple of notable lines, which I present out of context for better individual appreciation.

From Miko

Stayed in Darth Vader's Head

Just a wonderful juxtaposition of words and ideas: that you could "stay" in someone's head, and that the someone could be Darth Vader for crying out loud. And best of all...

It's totally true! That is so Darth Vader's head. Is it possible I never noticed that?

From JPX

The "Egg" episode scared me

Ah! Me too! There's that scene at the end in which they find one more fiendish egg marked with "R E," and Aquaman warns it might be a Rampaging herd of Elephants -- so scary! It turns out it was a "Real Egg" squished on Marvin's head as a prank. I always wondered how the elephants thing would've gone down, though.

And from Nowandzen

Lantern, ring and gills

Just roll that over your tongue a few times. Perfect word choices in perfect place. It makes you realize how this ridiculous, obscure art form became so popular.

Thanks, everybody! And I haven't watched Lost yet, so nobody ruin anything.

Reminder: THE 2-HOUR SEASON PREMIERE OF LOST IS TONIGHT!!!


From USATODAY, it's hard to name a series that is as engaging, surprising and flat-out gorgeous as Lost, or one in which every effort and penny expended seems to be put to shimmering good use. This is an epic big-screen adventure done for the small screen — and done in a way that makes most big-screen versions pale in comparison. Having it back is a hopeful sign that maybe, just maybe, better TV things are on the way.

Tell everyone.

Haiku Hump Day, Super Friends!

I'm sure none of you are asking "who are the Super Friends?" but in case you're wondering "who exactly are the Super Friends?" I have compiled some bright and colorful information.


Any of the characters from the above series, featuring Superman, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, their friends Marvin and Wendy and their pet Wonderdog.

Or the second series, pictured above, featuring Superwonderbatrobinaquamanmanman and the Wonder Twins Zan and Jayna, and their space monkey Gleek.

Or the third series, featuring Supwandabat and number of guest stars, like (clockwise from the Indian) Apache Chief, Hawkman, Flash, Black Bolt, Green Lantern and Samurai.

For more characters, you can check the Wikipedia page.

Forgive the bookish sendoff. I doubt any leveling of the nerdly playing field was required, but perhaps I saved someone the annoyance of looking up the name of the Wonder Twins' stupid monkey.

Now off you go!

[JPX]I wanted to add as a reminder that the Super Friends had Super Foes, The Legion of Doom.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Keanu Reeves is a Cowboy Bebopper


From iwatchstuff, THR is reporting Keanu Reeves is attached to play bounty hunter Spike Spiegel, in Fox's live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop. This might be considered "bad" news, considering that Reeves is in his mid-40s (the character is 27) and is not a good actor:

wentieth Century Fox is bringing the Japanese anime TV series "Cowboy Bebop" to the big screen, with Keanu Reeves attached to star as a bounty hunter traveling through space in 2071.
One of the big titles in anime, "Bebop" is set in a time where "astral gates" make interstellar travel possible. Humanity, decimated by a lunar explosion resulting from a gate accident, spread out across the solar system, as did crime, which gave rise to the use of bounty hunters.

Reeves would play Spike Spiegel, a bounty hunter and former member of a crime syndicate. Spiegel, along with Jet Black, a fellow bounty hunter and former cop, are the two pilots of the spaceship Bebop.

Peter Craig is writing the script.

Oh, well. I guess the conversion of a beloved anime into a cash-grab won't be perfect then. There will be this one flaw--that Keanu Reeves is old and not skilled in his craft--and maybe the CGI corgi's expressions will occasionally look unrealistic, but otherwise this will be the exact film of humans pretending to be cartoon characters that everyone never wanted. It's going to rob The Flintstones Viva Rock Vegas of that title before you can recall the full name of The Flintstones Viva Rock Vegas.

Thanks to all the people who sent this in, and sorry for taking to long to get to it. Don't worry--I still care.

8 Racist Words You Use Every Day

#6.Hip Hip Hooray!


How it's Used:

"We won the little league game! Hip hip hooray!"

What You're Actually Saying:

"We won the little league game! Let's go kill some Jews!"


Wait, What?

The first half of "hip hip hooray" is adapted from "hep hep," an old German shepherds' herding cry. That is, actual shepherds from Germany. Not the dogs.

Sounds pretty innocuous, right? Well, it was, up until around 1819, when the citizens of Germany and other neighboring countries began using it as their rallying cry while going Hebrew-hunting in the Jewish ghettos. So keep that in mind next time you're trying to come up with an appropriate cheer at your cousin's Bar Mitzvah.

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Malevolent

 2018  ***1/2 It's 1986 for some reason, and a team of paranormal investigators are making a big name for themselves all over Scotland. ...