Welcome back to the Hero Express, your one-stop sometimes SPOILER filled shop through the news filled world of superhero’s in Film, TV, Video Games and whatever else floats your boat.
Continue reading Hero Express: Lizard Revealed, Hawkeye Spin-Off, and MiB III
Hip Hip Hooray! It is that time of year again! Time for egg nog, thousands of tangled strings of lights, and paying homage to the Christmas movies that we love so much.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation released in 1989. There are several plot points in this movie all of which are based around one main goal for the Griswold family: have a great Christmas.
First things first: The Griswolds need a Christmas tree! In one scene, Clark (Chevy Chase), Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), Audrey (Juliette Lewis) and Rusty (Johnny Galecki) went to chop down a Christmas tree for their home. The entire journey was absolutely hilarious. Everyone was freezing to death, and Clark had delusions about how glorious this tree would be… so it was too big for the house. Clark also forgot the saw, so when the tree is shown on top of the car, it is shown with roots attached.In sticking with the theme of extravagant Christmas decorations, Clark and Rusty put over 25,000 lights on the house. They struggled to get them on throughout the episode.
Another great scene is when family members began arriving to the Griswold house. First, I must mention Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) who had one of the best lines in the movie: “Merry Christmas! Shitter was full.” Then, there is elderly Aunt Bethany (Mae Questel), who wrapped a cat as a gift. Fun fact: Mae Questel did the cartoon voices for Betty Boop and Olive Oyl. Christmas Vacation was her last on camera role before her death. I love all of the crazy family members because it reminds me of my bizarre family. We are all insane, but we love each other.
The dinner was disgusting, and difficult to watch. The turkey was…. dry? It was basically non-existent. I cannot even describe how vomit-inducing the rest of the random side-dishes looked. Suffice it to say, it was bad.
Every year, Clark gets a Christmas bonus from his work. He is expecting a large bonus this year, and has already decided to use it to put a pool in their backyard. However, when his letter is delivered, Clark, he finds out that instead of a Christmas bonus, he has been given a one year subscription to the jelly of the month club. This sets Clark off into the best tangent I have ever seen in any movie to this day:
Eddie kidnaps Clark’s boss. His wife and the police show up at Clark’s house, and when his boss explains that he didn’t give the employees their Christmas bonus, she is clearly upset with him. His boss then gives him a much larger than expected bonus, sending Clark into a cartoon-like fainting spell.
The movie ends with a very touching moment outside the Griswold home when all of the lights are on and the family is close together.
This movie is one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time for several reasons::
*This movie has some of the most frequently quoted memorable lines of any film.
*I got to see Julia Louis-Dreyfus attacked by a squirrel. In my mind, it was real.
*Cousin Eddie. I know that I don’t need to explain but I will. I have never seen such a hilarious portrayal of a happy-go-lucky white-trash man than Cousin Eddie. He never disappoints.
*The Griswold kids are always different! I love that Audrey and Rusty are played by two different people in every movie.
*Aunt Bethany was asked to say the blessing at dinner, and instead said the Pledge of Allegiance. Every time I see this movie, even though I know it is coming, I laugh hysterically.
For these reasons and many more, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation gets 5/5 Charlie Brown Christmas Trees. An absolute must see Christmas flick.
For more COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS – Click it Here! Also Check out our COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN…
2011 has been one of the biggest and most memorable years for the video game industry that I can remember. An amazing library of games has come out in the past 11 months, and we were treated a massive fourth quarter that likely took a huge toll on your wallet. As 2012 draws ever-closer and with thanksgiving just passing by, I think it’s time we reflect on the best titles of the year. So here it is, the top 10 games of 2011:
I’ll be completely honest; I’m cheating here. Those of you paying attention should know that Mass Effect 2 actually came out in 2010. I’m copping out by using the PS3 port that came out in January as a brand new release because even as a game I’d already played on the more responsive PC, ME2 is one of the most impressive space-sagas I’ve experienced in any medium.
The galaxy you explore as Commander Shepard is as deep and fully realized as those in Star Wars, Star Trek or any other galactic fantasy out there but what really makes Mass Effect 2 an amazing video game is a great story, real choices with actual narrative impact and satisfying, tight combat mechanics.
It’s a good enough package that a year later it would otherwise tie for 2nd place on my list of 2011’s best games, but I can’t quite overlook that it already came out in 2010, so I’ve compromised and put it at #10.
RECAP AND REACTION: I still feel terrible for Rick. Even in the opening scene he looks somber and morose. I want to give him a hug and tell him everything is going to be okay. The first line in the episode: Glenn tells everyone that the barn is full of walkers. This obviously begins a fight. Shane says that the walkers need to be taken care of or they need to leave the land and head out. Sophia is still out there, dead or alive, and Carol and Daryl say that they cannot leave yet. Rick wants to wait to talk to Hershel because they are guests in his home and they cannot just kill his “sick” loved ones.
Rick goes to talk to Hershel and explains to him that the way they see walkers differs. Rick explains that the way the world is out there is not how Hershel saw it on TV when things first happened. He also tells Hershel that Lori is pregnant. Rick says that either they survive at the farm or they die out with the walkers.
Rick tells Shane that he talked to Hershel and that they are still negotiating. This is the first time that I have ever felt bad for Shane. Rick tells Shane that Lori is pregnant and Shane congratulates him. It is obvious that Shane is broken up by it. He doesn’t know that Rick knows about him and Lori. He clearly has questions.
Maggie pleads the group’s case when she overhears the conversation between Hershel and Rick. She told him that he has changed, and that he taught her differently. This conversation is interrupted and Hershel goes to get Rick for help. Two of the walkers who he knew got stuck in a local marsh. Hershel tells Rick that if his people are going to stay, he needs to treat the walkers like human beings.
Continue reading The Walking Dead: Season 2, Episode 7 – “Pretty Much Dead Already”
RECAP AND REACTION: As we know from episode 8, Dexter finds Travis and helps him escape from Gellar’s chains. Dexter takes Travis to a motel and goes back to the police department to investigate.
When Deb is in her therapy session, she opens up more about Dexter. Also, about all of the insanely bad things that have happened to her in her life. The therapist suggests that they see each other more than once a week… understood.
Quinn… scumbag… lost his gun and his phone in a romp with a stripper.Oh no… not a stripper… a waffle house waitress. An old one. Oh gosh, some karma for Quinn is delicious. When Quinn for some reason thinks that he has the right to tell off Batista, they get into a fist-fight. This part could have been very entertaining. It was not. Someone’s gun could have gone off, someone could have gotten thrown in front of a car… yet nothing interesting happened and the fight was broken up by a passer-by.
Part of the reason Dexter is helping Travis and including him in his plan to get Gellar on his killing table is because he wants to give Travis the second chance that he, himself never got. Although I think that is very sweet, why does Dex suddenly have a soul? Why does he care what happens to Travis? WHY is Dexter so damn friendly this season? I miss the cold-blooded loner. Gellar somehow evaded Dexter and Travis and kidnapped his next victim, Casey. Casey is an atheist professor whom Gellar loathes.
Alright gang, fire up your DVRs and get ready for FX’s best shows not about Bikers or bars in Philadelphia to return.
First is the animated brilliance that is Archer. The story of a self-indulgent, American James Bond-Type (a comparison he doesn’t welcome), and the barley functional agency by which he is employed, Sterling Archer is television’s most entertaining spy. And come Thursday, January 19th, he is back on FX.
That follows though, the premiere of the 3rd season of Justified, which will air 2 nights earlier on the 17th. Justified is maybe my favorite show on all of television, and is the earlier casting announcements (here and here) are any indication, this newest season is primed to continue the 2 years worth of excellent programming we’ve come to expect.
FX continues to edge out Showtime, AMC, and HBO as my favorite network for original programming.
Grizzly Bomb 