Daily Archives: December 1, 2012

TV

‘Bates Motel’ Has Some Teasers; Motel Room Sales Decline After Viewings

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This seems to be the days of Alfred Hitchcock with his imprint and likeness being reintroduced to pop culture recently with movies and television series abound. We had The Girl, the HBO movie; Hitchcock, the Anthony Hopkins film; and now we have some more awesome news on the new A&E series, Bates Motel.

Now, we haven’t heard too much other than the first details of the Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates as a kid series with Vera Farmiga playing his less decrepit looking mother in her youth, but we at have this first picture to show. Which is awesome because I love the house looming large in the background and it creates such a buzz for me in wanting to watch this series. But that’s not all folks! We also got some teaser trailers for you that show absolutely nothing yet definitely set the tone of (hopefully) what is to come. Shall we take a gander?

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1

Want more? How about the 2nd teaser?

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1

So yeah, all you really need is the Inception “BRRHAAAAAMMM” horns and you can make anything epic. Again, it sets a great tone for the series as we try to figure out what about the house makes the people go a little bit….Psycho? Too much? But seriously, looking into the relationship between how the son developed into the adult Norman Bates and the impact of his mother on his future is something we all need to see. With the teasers showing that perhaps the Bates Motel is something not to be trifled with, or at least the family, we might know exactly how dedicated this family is to each other.

Anyways, leave some comments on the bottom or on our Facebook so we can see how excited about this you are or how lame you are if you don’t like Hitchcock. It better be the former because that’s just un-American otherwise. Bates Motel is due in 2013 on A&E.

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Movie Trailers

‘Epic’ Movie Trailer is Out, Ferngully/Avatar Homage?

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Excuse me for a moment as I play the part of the old lady. Kids these days have it so good! Back in 1988 when I was 10 years old, after I walked to school, uphill both ways in the snow, my choices for animated cinematic entertainment were limited. They were good, but very limited. If I remember correctly, 1988 would be the year of Oliver and Company and Land Before Time. That was it!

In 2012, there were more than 10 large studio animated movies. That does not include the Disney 3D remakes, smaller movies, or ones that went straight to DVD. Ten! That is amazing. Not to mention, that quite a few of those would have had an animated short included before the movie. I think it’s safe to say we are in the age of (digitally) animated movies. The bonus of this boom is advances in computer animation combined with the competition to be better, some incredible animated films are being made.

There is a movie coming out next year that exhibits just that.

Epic comes out of Blue Sky Studios, same people who brought us the wildly successful Ice Age movies and last year’s Rio. Those are great movies, but not something I myself would really seek out. However, once I saw the trailer for Epic, I was singing a different tune.

Seriously, that is beautiful. The part when the “decay” comes to life on the tree in a wave motion? I got chills. That looks so cool.

The story is based on William Joyce’s 2001 children’s book, The Leaf Men. If you haven’t read it, I would encourage you to do so, even if you are an adult and think reading children’s books is reserved for only children. It is a great story, no matter what your age. It’s a story that lends itself to being translated to film.

The film version has some big names in the voice department. Amanda Seyfreid (Mamma Mia), Josh Hutcherson (Hunger Games), Colin Ferrell, Christoph Waltz, Jason Sudekis, and Aziz Ansari- those are some rather big names. Then you have the musicians who lent their voices- Beyonce, Steven Tyler, and Pitbull. I’ll admit when I ask myself, “Hmmm, who should be a voice in an animated film about little “leaf men” who fly on hummingbirds,” I don’t automatically think of Pitbull but we’ll have to see how that works out. I’m intrigued.

I wish the trailer had either chosen to focus on the humor of the movie, or the pretty of the movie. If nothing else, they could have worked on the balance between the two. I’m sure there will be more footage released that might do just this and I think it will be to their benefit.

Also? The title is awful. I get that it is supposed to be this “epic” battle between the forces of good and evil but that word is a bit overused nowadays. Not to mention if you are going to call your movie “epic”, you are setting yourself up for potential failure. It is hard to achieve the level of epic and while I admire their “reach for the stars” attitude, perhaps it would have been best to settle for “Not EPIC but still pretty damn good”.

All that said, I’ll still go see it. I like pretty movies, and I like seeing pretty movies in the theatre. I don’t know that I’ll shell out the extra money to see it in 3D but that’s only because personally I am not a huge fan of 3D.

Epic is set to be released at the end of May, 2013.

TV

The Walking Dead: 3.07 – “When The Dead Come Knocking” Review

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After letting this last episode of The Walking Dead absorb into my brain, I must say that it is one of the best of the series. “When the Dead Come Knocking” was spectacular for several reasons, not the least of which being that Rick hot his groove back! I was nervous when he was losing his marbles that he would just remain the group basket case, and they’d need a new leader. Not only did Rick get his shit together, but he also talked to Carl about what happened with Lori. Now, I don’t know about you all, but most of the families I know hate confrontation and love to brush issues under the rug, no matter how serious. This was a proud moment as a Rick Grimes fan. He’s taking care of business again! He also let Carl name the wee baby Grimes, Judith.

Episode 6 ended with Michonne arriving at the prison, and that was the part I was most excited about. I love how she is always protecting herself, to the point where she will put herself in more danger! She had a bad feeling about Woodbury, so she left, putting herself in even more danger to be killed by walkers. She is one seriously badass character.

Michonne passed out from blood loss and Rick and the boys brought her inside of the prison. Hershel fixed up her wound and she was thankful. She was talking to Rick and was extremely defensive, as always. But this is not a trait specific to Michonne, she just approaches it differently. She protects herself by sometimes not saying anything at all, and mean-mugging everyone. Rick treats everyone with the same skepticism and has sometimes had to kill human beings for putting him or his loved ones in danger. I would say that Michonne and Rick are really a lot alike as both will do whatever becomes necessary to protect themselves.

Glenn getting the living hell beaten out of him by Merle was the most horrifying thing in this episode. Although, he did manage to display how much of a total badass he is.

Maggie was, of course, forced to strip the top half of her clothes off  and was almost sexually assaulted. That was hard to watch.  After all of that, she spilled to the Governor where their group was hiding out, because Glenn’s life was being threatened.

Proving she can play ‘awkward topless’ more than one way, here is Maggie in the cinematic classic VAN WILDER 2…

I have been at the edge of my seat since Sunday, awaiting the mid-season finale “Made to Suffer”. Join me on Sunday, as I pick apart the highly anticipated episode and make my undoubtedly incorrect predictions for the remainder of season 3.

5/5 Bears.

 

 

GAMING

What is a Wii Mini and Who Would Want It?

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Is anyone planning to get the new Nintendo console that just came out?  Sure, but which one are you talking about?  Only last year Nintendo released the Wii Family Edition.  Essentially what “Family” means is that you can no longer play Gamecube games, and the unit lays flat instead of up on its side.  Most recently, we have all seen, heard about, and maybe even gotten our hands on the Wii U.  This is the legit new console offered from Nintendo.  Parents beware.  If you go to the store and ask for the new Wii console, a third has been thrown into the mix.  December 7th, a day that will live in infamy, will also foster in the Canadian release of Nintendo’s latest installment, the Wii Mini.

The Wii Mini will have a stellar price tag of $99, but will severely cut back on features.  Not only has backwards compatibility with Gamecube games been eliminated, the unit will no longer support internet access.  This means the glorious Virtual Console will not be accessible.  The two things that could have suckered me into purchasing the 6 year old system will now be void.

At first I was intrigued, but now I am just disappointed.  That was until I looked over to my television set and saw a blast from the past known as the SNS-101, aka the Super Nintendo Mini.  Nintendo isn’t doing anything differently here.  Production will soon cease of all first party Wii games to make way for the new Wii U.  Respectfully so, the classic Wii game is a dying breed.  So it makes sense to come out with an affordable unit capable of playing their most recent over saturated market of games.  The holidays are the perfect time to snag even the Scroogiest of McDucks that STILL haven’t purchased a Wii console.  The SNS-101 was released in 1997 for $99 right when the Nintendo 64 was introduced.  This is a classic move straight from the Nintendo playbook, and the craziest part is that it will probably work.  Nintendo marketing has done an exceptional job over the last 30 years.  They wouldn’t still be relevant if they hadn’t.

So who is the Wii Mini for?

I recommend this as a family oriented gaming system, especially if you have young children.  Few would disagree that the Wii game library targets a younger audience.  Sometimes I find myself in this market.  Though I am tech savvy, I rarely participate in online gameplay.  I just like to put in a game and play.  It’s just me and the box.  In that regards, I actually kind of like the Wii Mini.  Regardless of features, a $99 price tag should prove somewhat appetizing to those that have resisted the Wii madness the past six years.  That being said, I say once again “Bravo” to Nintendo marketing.  The release of the Wii Mini will initially be limited to Canada.  If it succeeds, which I am projecting it will, I am sure it will find its way to all North American and European markets.  So if you bring this one home for the holidays, be safe.  Wii related incidents can be common, and are most definitely hilarious.

Warning: This is not the Wii mini