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Monthly Archives: June 2012
“Bored to Death: The Movie” Coming Soon…Hopefully
For those of you who took part in the joyful HBO program “Bored to Death”, I give you the highest of virtual high fives. “Bored to Death” was a very underrated and entertaining show that was taken off the air before it reached its true potential. The combination of Ted Danson, Jason Schwartzman, and Zach Galifianakis was hilarious and every episode gave us a new and interesting mystery to follow as Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwartzman’s character) cracked the case.
According to Ted Danson, “Bored to Death” might become Bored to Death (note the stylish transition from quotations to italicizing, signifying the change from television to film). That’s right, folks. The movie nobody cared about/wanted to see is now in negotiations to be a real thing. For us BTD fans, this is a gift from the heavens of Jonathan Ames’ mind, but for everyone else, well, they’re probably not even reading this article right now.
WarmingGlow reports:
[Bored to Death], which aired its final episode in November, might have one more outing as a movie. Yesterday at the Monte Carlo Television Festival, Ted Danson told French journalist Pierre Langlas that there was a good chance of a 90-minute movie happening. A rep from HBO tells Vulture that there have “been some conversations” about a BTD movie, but “it’s at a very early stage.”
If this is the real deal, I’m definitely excited. But can we please keep the movie to an incest-minimum during its 90 minutes, please. That would be great. Thanks. After seeing That’s My Boy, I think I’ve reached my incest-quotient for the year.
Review: ‘True Blood’ Season 5 Episode 2 – “Authority Always Wins”
Could it be true? Are we about to watch a season of True Blood that doesn’t make me want to experience the true death? So far so good.
Tonight’s episode was a real doozy! Eric, Bill, and Nora have been captured and imprisoned by the Authority and are experiencing a hearty round of questioning and torture. Even though Nan was a cold old bitch who was on her way to the unemployment lines, Bill and Eric are asked about their involvement in her death. We also learn about the Vampire Bible who tells the story of Lilith, a vampire created in God’s image before Adam and Eve were made to be her food. Both Bill and Eric are asked on repeat if they buy into this school of thought, do they see humans as people or merely food?
Continue reading Review: ‘True Blood’ Season 5 Episode 2 – “Authority Always Wins”
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Season 5 Trailer
The Clone Wars ended on a bit of a high note last season. Darth Maul is back, apparently stronger than ever, shirtless and sporting a nice robotic torso and matching legs. Our hero Obi-Wan Kenobi couldn’t stand up to him and even had to resort to teaming up with bald broad Assaj Ventress to survive. And at the end of this ordeal? Maul is still on the loose along with his equally dangerous brother Savage Oppress. This team up gave a bit to think about as in who will be in Maul’s path when he inevitably begins cutting a swath of mayhem throughout the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Now, from the first trailer from the upcoming season 5 we know a little more.
It was fully expected that Maul will continue to pursue Kenobi. I mean, I would totally be after someone for separating me from the favorite half of my body. Then of course there is the question of Sidious. Would he have known that Maul still lived or would he have just left the poor bastard for dead either way? It appears that Maul will be focusing that part of his rage against Count Dooku, whom he proclaims to be a Sith pretender. So not only will there be a big emphasis on the Maul brothers in season 5, but the Death Watch seem to be returning in a big way. The last time we saw them it was a brief skirmish with Ahsoka that showed us how merciless the Death Watch can be. Jon Favreau returns to voice the slimy Pre Viszla and looks to be leading the Death Watch into persuading the Mandalorians to re-don their warrior ways.
I really can’t agree with this more and truly hope that the show clears up the whole Mandalorian pacifists angle by maybe….killing Satine and her Mandalorians? I know that sounds harsh but in all of the other expanded universe material the Mandalorians were always warriors and bounty hunters with the Death Watch being the worst of them. It doesn’t mean all Mandalorians were murdering scum, but there definitely weren’t pacifists amongst them. Something that would really be welcome is a team up between Darth Maul, Savage Oppress and the Death Watch as is possibly hinted at by Darth Maul’s dialogue in the trailer. It would seem they all have mutual beef not only with the Jedi and the Republic but with Dooku and his Separatists as well. One of the most interesting parts of the Clone Wars may now be a third faction joining the war in the form of the Sith and Death Watch. I wonder if Sidious foresaw that whole thing. Then again this is all up for speculation and I’m sure we’ll find out more after Star Wars Celebration and the summer comic conventions.
Also of note in the trailer is the healthy amount of beloved bounty hunter Embo… and his hat. The hat still shows itself to be useful as a shield and now as a snowboard too! Pirate Hondo Ohnaka appears to be back in action as well, helping Ahsoka out on the planet Onderon. Onderon as you may or may not know plays an integral part in the Tales of the Jedi stories from way back, taking place thousands of years before the Clone Wars and even years before the Old Republic MMORPG. It will be interesting to see if they touch on the stories of ancient Jedi and Sith Lords Ulic Qel-Droma and Exar Kun.
It looks as if the Clone Wars will continue to get better as each season goes on and I can’t wait for fall to start! If you’re interested there is a leaked clip of Embo doing his snowboarding thing below. The quality is so so, but excellent nonetheless.
Xbox 720: Yay or nay?
What’s double the number 360? That’s right, it’s 720. If you couldn’t get that, you should probably review your multiplication tables. Why is 720 so important here? Because that’s the newest version of Xbox that the Internet is buzzing about since last week’s E3.
Many online reputable sources, including IGN and PC Magazine, have reported that Microsoft has plans to release their Xbox 720 sometime in 2013. This discovery should not be surprising since Sony has announced a Playstation 4 and Nintendo Wii U; naturally, Microsoft would want to compete by releasing a new version of their beloved console.
These Xbox 720 plans stemmed from a leaked document on Scribd that is no longer available, since one of the legal companies advising Microsoft recommended the company remove it. If this document was indeed legitimate, we Xbox-ers can all rejoice and start toasting to this new platform and the slough of games that will entertain us for several more years.
Or should we?
Despite the obvious success of Xbox 360 since its release, I am cautious to immediately line up behind what I’m sure will be thousands of others to throw in a pre-order for the new console. Why? Here are the main reasons that are rolling around in my head:
- As is the case with technology, sometimes the first version contains faulty hardware or software. We all remember the Red Ring of Death with many early (and sadly, I’m sure, even recent) models of the Xbox 360, and though I know Microsoft was very good about upholding their warranty, I for one would prefer to avoid having to send in my new 720 within the first year of owning it. I rely on my console to be the one thing that distracts me from the daily demands of life, and I’d prefer that it do that as I’m playing it rather than as I’m packing it up and shipping it off.
- The price… ah, the price. Rumors say that Microsoft wants to sell the Xbox 720 in a bundle with the second generation Kinect for a total of $299 (plus tax, ‘cause that’s the way life goes). While that’s a very reasonable price considering my husband and I bought our Xbox 360 for $199 without a Kinect, that’s still a lot of money for someone like me who still has a crapload of student loans under her belt and is also working a part-time job. Now, this isn’t a deal-breaker, but it does mean I will have to save up to purchase the 720, and should my car break down again, might mean I don’t get the new console right on release day.
- Will the 720 be backwards-compatible? The 360 worked with many original Xbox games, but not all of them. I can only hope the 720 will work with these original games as well, but there’s no guarantee. The developers would be frankly idiotic if the 720 was not backwards-compatible with the 360 games, but any games older than that console may have to consider retiring for good.
You may be thinking that I have a very cynical attitude towards the 720 when it hasn’t even been released yet. Don’t judge just yet; I am an Xbox addict through-and-through, so much so that I worked at GameStop in high school just so I could get free promotional items I’d otherwise have to purchase on eBay. So here is everything I’m stoked for when I read the reports about the 720’s rumored hardware and software capabilities:
- Blu-ray: I never quite understood the phenomenon of this digital format until I went to my friends’ house and watched Planet Earth on Blu-ray through their Playstation 3. Then I went home and glared at my 360. If the 720 is actually going to have a Blu-ray player, I will start buying Blu-ray discs for the first time in my life. It will be like I have my own high-quality cinema in my home, except not really, because I don’t have surround sound or a screen bigger than 60 inches. Those are on my list of items to purchase, after the 720, of course.
- Virtual-reality goggles: There’s not a lot of information out about these right now, except that they are currently being labeled as the Fortaleza project and could possibly receive cell radio and 4G and could be mini-hubs integrated with the 720. This is fascinating because I will FINALLY be able to look like a dork but not care at all because I’ll be wearing frakkin’ virtual reality glasses.
- Kinect improvement: Despite loving the option of having voice and motion-activated games at my fingertips, I hesitated to buy the Kinect solely for the reason I mentioned in #1 above in “bad stuff the 720 could offer.” What I saw my friends doing on the Kinect looked fun and promising, but there were still a few glitches here and there with its sensor range and ability to correctly communicate your commands to the Xbox. With the release of the 720, Microsoft is looking to release a Kinect accessory called Kinect V2, which should improve voice recognition, add a four-player tracking system, a more in-depth 3D playing space, and more. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I’d prefer to spend my money on.
There are of course lots of other aspects to take into consideration regarding the Xbox 720, such as the rumors that claim the 720 will not be able to play used games (don’t even get me started on this one; I may need to save this topic for another post). You also have your gamers who would for some reason prefer to purchase the upcoming Playstation 4 or Wii U, or even those really open-minded gamers who want to own all three. At this point you’d have to bring in a comparison chart for which console might be best for what reasons. For me, though, the thought of an Xbox 720 is enough to tide me over for quite a while. Especially those virtual reality goggles. ‘Cause that’s going to be awesome.
We’ll have more on the rumored PS4 for you later in the week!
Mad Med Episode 513: “The Phantom” Finale
Considering that in the past two weeks the notoriously slow-paced Mad Men had one of its oldest and most popular characters leave the firm followed by one of the partners killing themselves I was expecting, as probably was the fan base at large, some sort of momentous season finale cliff hanger. That clearly was not in the cards. While the season finale, by regular episode standards, did have a couple of surprises, as a season-ender it fell a bit short as far as drama goes.
The episode was titled “The Phantom” and we are treated with phantoms both literally and figuratively. Don, feeling the stress and guilt of Lane’s suicide, is habitually visited throughout the episode by his brother, whom was also a suicide victim and receiver of Don’s tough love. We also get a Peggy Olson appearance this week, and hopefully this will quell the rumors that Elisabeth Moss is done with Mad Men, and she is more than a Phantom. Peggy has her own storyline in fact as she is handed a new account for women’s cigarettes that will, as we know, eventually become Virginia Slims and a major marketing success in its own time. We are witness to a nice conciliatory meeting between Don and Peggy at the movie theater, sans handy I would assume, and the puzzling image of dogs humping outside of Peggy’s Virginia hotel room. It looks like Peggy is here to stay and thank goodness for that.
The other major phantom of the episode comes in the form of Pete’s on-again off-again affair partner whom we learn is the frequent victim/consumer of electroshock therapy. After an uncomfortable encounter on the train, Pete gets a booty call from Beth Dawes and skips out on the Partners meeting for the liaison. Here he learns about her treatment and her desire to have one last fling before her memory is erased and all memories of Pete Campbell are gone. I’m sure there are some people out there who would jump at the chance to have all memories of Pete Campbell erased from their mind, but he does such a good job of being a dick you just shouldn’t do that to yourself. As an added bonus we also get to see Pete punched in the face two more times this episode! He really is a despicable character when as soon as you start to feel for the guy after he opens his heart to the post trauma Beth and confronts her scumbag husband, he acts like a total prick to the good-natured train cop and you are once again cheering as Pete takes another shot to the kisser. Whomever came up with this gem will have to update it with the new footage.
The cliff-hanger for the season finale hinges upon Don and Megan’s relationship. Megan’s acting career has continued to flounder and in this episode she gets desperate and stabs her friend in the back by asking Don to consider her for a commercial that SCDP will be producing instead of her considering her friend who had asked the favor. Megan’s mother is in town, rekindling her romance with Roger Sterling, and Megan’s depressive ways lead to a confrontation between her and Don which may have been the key to changing Don and Megan’s relationship as a whole. Megan’s mom describes her as someone with an artist’s sensibility without the artists talent. Don, after watching Megan’s test reel, acquiesces to her desires and gets her the commercial gig. The big question though, the one we are left with as the woman down the bar hits on Don asking “if he is alone”, is whether or not Don has lost respect for Megan.
Did he give in and get her the gig because he really thinks she deserves it and just hasn’t gotten her break, or is he secretly disgusted at her lack of gumption and willingness to work hard at her art and gave her the job because it’s proof to her callous need to be spoiled. Fortunately the wait for season 6 will be significantly shorter than the wait for season 5 was, but still is too long if you ask me.
Two other things from the finale. SCDP is apparently making money hand over fist and will be moving into a larger space and Roger Sterling is doing LSD again… see gratuitous man ass.
Grizzly Bomb 