Arrow: Meet Mrs. Lance – Alex Kingston Comes to Starling City

January 23, 2013 Amanda Broyles Leave a comment

Excuse me as I need a moment. Arrow is back from hiatus and with that comes more casting news. Today’s news is of a more than likely small character, but not a small name actress by any stretch of the imagination.

It appears as if we will get to meet Detective Lance’s wife and she will be played by none other than Alex Kingston. If you keep up with geek TV at all you know this name as it is none other than the actress who plays River Song from Doctor Who.

Continue reading Arrow: Meet Mrs. Lance – Alex Kingston Comes to Starling City →

GAMING

More Call of Duty: Black Ops 2? You Got It Thanks to the Revolution DLC…and Peter Stormare

January 22, 2013 Chris Tansuche Leave a comment

This could possibly be my favorite Call of Duty video of all time. I’ll get into the rest of the article you view the video but I give props to Peter Stormare, he made this video awesome.

“Now you go pick up my sh*t.”

Obviously it’s not the official trailer of the map but just a fun promotional bit. Luckily there is another trailer for what to expect with the new Revolution DLC, coming out on January 29th first on X-Box Live. It boasts four new multiplayer maps, a new zombies co-op map, a new game mode for zombies, and a new multiplayer weapon called the Peacekeeper that is exclusive to the game mode. There’s more in the video below, which serves as the actual trailer and preview for the new DLC.

Hydro seems like a cool map and having the spillway used to flood and flush out people seems to be a cool element, a la the train in Express. Grind is just going to be a giant chaos map with no real place to hide or hug walls although I can imagine it being a sniper’s haven to like Carrier, which would annoy the living crap out of me. I know Downhill will be a big hit because of people of the white stuff…the snow I mean, not cocaine. Mirage looks cool too because it seems to incorporate wide open space and claustrophobic environments to satisfy everyone involved…unless you’re on the losing end of course.

Die Rise is the new zombie map that takes place in a skyscraper and I’m looking forward to this map because I haven’t gotten into zombies that much in this iteration of CoD but this somewhat reminds me of Die Hard in the high rise so if it provides that type of element to it, I’m sure we’ll play it non-stop. With that, comes the new game mode called Turned, where this time, you take control of the zombie and hunt down the lone human player. If you’re successful at doing so, you then become the lone human player and take turns killing others and the one with most kills as the human player seems to be the winner. At least that’s my assumption looking at the video itself. Regardless, it’s about time we get to see the other side and stalk our human compatriots and make their life hell.

Lastly, we have a new gun called the Peacekeeper coming to multiplayer exclusively. The gun is a hybrid between a submachine gun and assault rifle so you get a bit of the stopping power of the assault rifles, with the versatility of the SMG. Overall, I think this will be a giant success and am looking forward to the new DLC dropping on XBL on January 29th. Too bad for the other systems though because they don’t get the map packs until later but hey, pick up a 360 and join some of the Grizzly Bomb people. I guarantee you’ll be way better than us.

Movie Trailers

Dead Man Down: New Trailer with Farrell and Noomi Rapace

January 21, 2013 Lucy Shaw Leave a comment

Dead Man Down is a crime thriller starring Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper and Terrence Howard. The film marks the English-language debut of Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev, who previously directed Rapace in the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It’s due to be released on the 8th of March. And we have the trailer…

The plot is as follows: Victor (Colin Farrell) is an enforcer to a New York City boss, Alphonse Hoyt (Terrence Howard), who was responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter, an act that Victor seeks revenge for. Victor turns detective when his boss is
under threat from an unknown killer. During this he is seduced by Beatrice (Noomi Rapace), a woman from across the street who saw Victor murder someone, who blackmails him into helping her with her own search for vengeance. I’m telling you this as the trailer doesn’t make it all that clear.

Dead Man Down Trailer Noomi Rapace — Noomi Rapace [via Rope of Silicon]

I don’t know what to make of this trailer. Sure, it’s got two good-looking actors as the leads (and they’re reasonably good at acting, which is always a plus) as well as action and romance, and it may turn out that the actual film is quite thrilling, but it looks so, well, drab. I think it’s aiming for arty. It just doesn’t quite hit it. It’s got something missing.

The most interesting thing about this trailer is that it features a cover of Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Kendra Morris. I’m not one hundred per cent sure who she is but she’s done a fantastic version of the classic Pink Floyd track. Even so it still seems at odds with the trailer. I’m guessing it was to go with the arty vibe.

What did surprise me though was to find out that it was produced by WWE studios. I didn’t even know they had a film production company! They seem to make mostly wrestling videos and films with wrestlers in acting roles. In Dead Man Down the wrestler in question is Wade Barrett, who has a bit part as Kilroy. He’s also from Preston in Lancashire.

Dead Man Down Trailer Wade Barrett Terrence Howard — Wade Barrett & Terrence Howard [via Contactmusic]

So that’s Dead Man Down. A film I might see if it gets good reviews,but not solely on the strengths of this trailer.

Dead Man Down Trailer Poster — Movie Poster via ComingSoon

SNL: 38.10 – Jennifer Lawrence & The Lumineers

January 21, 2013 Amanda Broyles Leave a comment

I’ve mentioned it before, but I look forward to shows after long breaks because they usually are of better quality than those towards the end of a long stretch. Sadly, this week was not one of those shows. It was alright, but not much to write home about.

They started off strong with the cold open, of course anyone who has kept up with the news this past week knew exactly who was going to make an appearance. I loved Bobby Moynihan as Manti Te’o as he nailed Te’o’s constant deer in the headlights look. I was also quite delighted to see Kate McKinnon again (she’s been absent for a while which is odd seeing how omnipresent she was at the beginning of the season) as Jodie Foster.

McKinnon does a fabulous Jodie Foster! Of course one does have to contemplate the stability of the cosmos when you have one SNL actor impersonating an actor, who was impersonating a character done by another SNL actor.

Jennifer Lawrence’s monologue was boring. No two ways about it. The smack talking of other Oscar nominees was amusing to a point but overall, blah. When the funniest part of your monologue is someone else (Bill Hader as Tommy Lee Jones), then something went wrong.

http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/xnxx-92/widget/widget.html?vid=1428979

They did gain some ground with the fauxmercial for Starbuck’s home brewer, the Verismo. Besides being funny on its own, if not slightly racist, it made me realize that I like Vanessa Bayer a thousand times more when she is playing the straight man. Her reaction to the sass talking coffee maker and it’s even sassier manager was hysterical.

I really want to like the Girlfriends Talk Show sketch. I really really really do. Unfortunately I really really really don’t. It’s just boring. However, I will say that I am actively trying to find a way to make myself a “Davide R.I.P.” button because that was by far the funniest part of the sketch. That or the “slimming outer garment”. Other than those two parts (thank you Aidy Bryant) it just falls flat.

Much like when Jeremy Renner was hosting and they did the Avengers sketch, you knew there was going to be a Hunger Games sketch this week. Unfortunately just like the Avengers sketch, it left us a little wanting. There were some definite funny moments, Bill Hader’s beard for sure, and Bobby Moynihan not realizing everyone else was dead, and of course Taran Killam as Peeta, but overall it was just there.

However, the Hobbit as 32 movies bit? That was awesome. Between the titles of the movies and the “reviews”, I was dying. Thank the gods above that it was funny because the “Johnny TwoTones Diner” sketch? It was anything but. I liked the premise, and there were certain moments that were funny, but if there wasn’t a “Girlfriends Talk Show” this would have been the worst sketch of the night.

The Lumineers were refreshingly good. There was no trippy windows 98 screen saver or useless and extraneous dancers involved which was really nice. I’d forgotten what it was like to just watch people sing. Of course they went with the ubiquitous “Ho Hey” for their first offering. Is there anyone on the planet that hasn’t heard at least a snippet of this song by now? Because it seems like it is everywhere- commercials, TV promos, movie trailers. “I belong to you, you belong to me, you’re my sweetheart” is heard every time I turn on my television. Thankfully it’s not too annoying. Yet.

Weekend Update sadly only had one guest and it was the second-hand news guy, Anthony Crispino. I like him only because you can tell how much fun Seth Meyers and Bobby Moynihan have with him. Although I did literally laugh out loud when he said that Fargo, directed by the Aflac duck won a Golden Globe.

Something odd has happened with the last few episodes. For years, and perhaps decades, the sketches following Weekend Update are the ones where you start to wonder what on earth is wrong with the writers of SNL. Were they dropped on their heads too often as infants? Licked lead paint as small children? Smoked too much pot? The questions were endless. However, recently these have been my favorite sketches. I don’t know if it’s me or them, but I like it.

“Top Dog Chef” for example? There is no reason in the world as to why I found that to be so hysterical. Actually I should have thought it was stupid but much like “Maine Justice”, it was fabulous. Of all the random things on the show, I would not have guessed that a Yorkie costume would be the one to end up reused (Daniel Radcliffe was a Yorkie on Weekend Update January of last year). Jennifer Lawrence made a great Yorkie but I think we can all agree that Fred Armisen as the canine Mario Barktali complete with orange crocs was the crowning achievement in that sketch.

The best sketch of the night though? The Minnesota hip-hop morning show. I don’t know if it’s just the combination of Billy and Taran with Vanessa as the straight man, Then add in Jennifer Lawrence as the not so Lyrical Assassin, Busty Rhymes and it was just awesome. A great sketch!

If you haven’t had the pleasure, nay, the honor of seeing the incredible 1974 French soft porn classic, Emmanuelle then the Danielle sketch might have just seemed really odd and from left field. If you have seen Emmanuelle then you know how spot on this sketch was. It was sort of creepy in an incredibly brilliant kind of way.

Last sketch of the night was “Civil War Letters” and was a typical last sketch of the night. Little stupid, a lot ridiculous, and somewhat funny. It was nice to see Tim Robinson again as he’s been relegated to background extra for many weeks now. If the sketch did nothing else, it made us question whether or not Abraham Lincoln was a fan of the “tit pic”.

Like I said at the top, it was a little disappointing of an episode. It certainly wasn’t the worst I’ve seen but it was far from the best I’ve seen. Luckily we have next week to look forward to with the always funny and engaging Adam Levine.

Until next time!

Movie News & Opinions

Kaleb Lechowski Short Film ‘R’ha’ Is An Impressive Look at Aliens vs Robots

January 20, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

Uproxx has showcased a new and exciting short by a new 22-year-old German director called Kaleb Lechowski. Later this month he is arriving in Los Angeles and this little feature is a hell of a calling card for him. The plot involves a mainly one piece scene where an alien has become trapped by a robot interrogator who needs vital information from him. While watching this please take note that Kaleb made this entirely himself, with CGI over a seven month period.

After watching this the obvious parallels between The Terminator franchise have to be mentioned, but the robots themselves look a lot more like the robotic creatures from The Matrix trilogy. They have an organic fluidity to them that makes them fascinating to look at and quite terrifying. The alien looks very much like an oceanic creature with its smooth lines and gill like curvatures (even though we know their home world looks mostly land based). The plot has a hint of Star Wars to it as well; it unfolds like Darth Vader’s interrogation of Princess Leia in A New Hope.

The solo setting works incredibly well in helping to put the focus on the two leads. Also the way these two characters manage to grip us and keep our attention without actually having a lot of facial features is amazing. While watching this I was enthralled throughout. It is easy to see how this piece was going to end however, with the mechanical creature’s references to how inferior organic life can be, becoming something even crueller than its creators could ever be because of its lack of emotions or empathy. The short looks stunning and the voice acting by Dave Masterton really needs to be commended as it shapes these characters and helps to give them life. Hopefully this will not be the last time we hear from Kaleb, as this piece in six minutes has created a sense of tension and amazement a lot of movies fail to achieve at all.

Arrow 1.10 – “Burned”

January 20, 2013 Amanda Broyles Leave a comment

Oh boy, what a return. When we left off before the seemingly forever long hiatus, Oliver had sort of hit is groove on the whole vigilante thing. The people of Starling City were starting to notice and even if the police/Detective Lance weren’t thrilled, the townspeople were enjoying a lower crime rate. Then he has a bit of a run in with the Dark Archer, gets his ass handed to him, Walter is kidnapped, and we find out that the Dark Archer is actually Malcolm Merlyn. Such a good cliffhanger.

Last night’s episode, ‘Burned’, was a love/hate kind of thing for me. There were some aspects that I really enjoyed and others, not so much. Like the involvement of Firefly. If you are going to use very recognizable villains from the DC Universe, especially Gotham, then perhaps make a story around them that doesn’t involve very flimsy elements such as “presumed dead”. The moment the fire chief mentioned that Garfield Lynns was “presumed dead” during the Nodell Tower fire, we knew that he was the firefighter who started off the episode by killing another firefighter. Not only that but much like the Royal Flush Gang, it is really disappointing to see these great characters be used in one episode and then not heard from again. It’s sad. Of course it should be noted that this Firefly was vastly different from the one of the comics, so really it’s not like the Garfield Lynns that we know and love was involved in the first place. No harm, no foul right?

The other disappointing part of the night? The island! Usually the island is great in giving a lot of story in little bits of flashbacks. This time? Well we know that Yao Fei was kidnapped by Fryers and Deathstroke and Oliver killed a man to steal his clothes but that was it. Here’s hoping we see more of the island in the coming weeks.

As for the non-Firefly parts of the episode, well I loved all that. It picked up six weeks after Oliver’s run in with the Dark Archer and in one of my favorite aspects of the episode, Oliver is in a self-doubt spiral. That sounds bad, I don’t like that Oliver was doubting himself per se, but I did enjoy that it’s a side of superheroes you don’t see too often, it was refreshing. Of course having Diggle to be the one to force Oliver to get his act together was a nice return to their relationship that’s been missing a bit of late. Even better, they did most of this alternative superhero therapy without shirts on, this is never a bad thing.

Another thing that was (thankfully) missing? Thea’s obnoxious attitude. Of course I did laugh when she was telling Moira that she needed to “start acting like my mother so I can stop being yours.” Homegirl is a few episodes from being the most obnoxious brat in recent memory and she’s telling Moira that she can’t take a few days to sort out her feelings on yet another missing husband? Okay, yes it’s been six weeks and yes she had something to do with it but still, that would be difficult to deal with. Granted I haven’t arranged to have one husband lost at sea and another kidnapped for snooping into the first husband’s watery disappearance, but if I had, I imagine it would be a tough couple of weeks afterwards. So Thea just needs to lay off.

Of course now that Moira is taking over as CEO of Queen Industries, I’m guessing that will make it easier for her to conspire to do whatever it is they are doing with Malcom Merlyn. I for one can’t wait to see what happens. However, if Walter is dead I am going to be quite pissed.

In a bit of a shock, I really liked the interactions between Tommy and Laurel and Oliver and Laurel. Poor Tommy is trying to jockey for a drawer for his jockeys (I apologize) and of course Laurel is a bit of a cold fish on the idea. The writer’s aren’t going to let Laurel and Tommy ride off into the sunset together because Oliver and Laurel are obviously supposed to be together. So poor Tommy is just going to be led along like a sad puppy until he finally gets sick of it and turns to the dark side with his dad. That’s how I’m calling it. As for now, Laurel and Oliver are still going to look longingly at each other right before Laurel calls Arrow and on that phone that “can’t even identify the manufacturer”, and asks his help. They are setting her up to be a Louis Lane type of thing and I don’t know that I’m cool with it, but I will refrain from judging, for now.

As for the phone thing? Seriously Detective Lance? Seriously?!?!? What kind of douchy move is it to bug a phone to spy on your daughter? Especially when you just saw that the vigilante does protect your daughter! It’s hard to root for Lance as this Commissioner Gordon type if he’s going to keep insisting that Oliver/Vigilante/Arrow (seriously they need to pick a name) is a problem for the city as opposed to a help.

Unfortunately there was no Malcolm, no Felicity, obviously no Walter, and limited Yao Fei. The Firefly aspect was really irritating and overall, this episode was a bit of a downer. I did like the character progression and plot setups but going to have to give this episode a 3.

The promos and pictures for upcoming episodes are looking quite promising, there is so much to look forward to! For now, let’s pour one out for Firefly, a great villain who decided to hang up his murdering hat after Arrow spoke six words to him, apparently in a very convincing tone of voice.

Until next time!

Grizzly Bomb

Monthly Archives: January 2013