Double your pleasure with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (wait, that sounds naughty)! Here’s the latest movie poster and trailer for The Avengers. I’m still cautiously optimistic about the movie (team movies are difficult), but the latest trailer has nullified most of my caution. It just looks big and exciting and fun! What do you think?
You’ve seen the interview with director Blake Freeman and star Jason Mewes. You’ve watched (and were dazzled!) by the on-set interview with the legendary Casper Van Dien. Now check out the trailer for the videogame movie Noobz!!! In addition to the four main characters going on a zany road trip to play in a videogame tournament featuring Gears of War 3, highlights include my pal Adam Sessler playing himself and the awesome Jon Gries (Lazlo from Real Genius!) being the awesome Jon Gries.
I’m totally psyched for this movie. It’s kind of like American Pie for gamers. Check out the trailer and let me know what you think (please)!
Earlier in the week I woke up to the television playing a making-of feature on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I honestly thought I was dreaming, because this is the stupidest f*cking movie I’ve heard of in the last decade. I knew I wasn’t dreaming when one of the actresses said something along the lines of, “He was passionate about ending slavery, but he was also passionate about killing vampires.” The sheer stupidity of that comment woke me the hell up.
Is it really that hard to come up with an original plot and an original hero? Have things gotten so bad that we’re taking revered historical figures and placing them in asinine situations? I’m waiting for the sequel — John Adams: Werewolf Killer, which will be followed by Theodore Roosevelt and the Mummy’s Curse. In the immortal words of Randal Graves, “What the hell is wrong with this world?”
In case you missed any of the “Best of 2011” stories, here are links to your fellow RPadholics’ picks for the best game, videogame graphics, videogame sound, movie, and gadget. While you’re here, feel free to leave any “Best of 2011” choices that weren’t covered last week. From your favorite comic book, Netflix rental, TV show, sports team, coffee, fast food, WWE Superstar, and more, use this post to get 2011 out of your system (please)!
For me, 2011 wasn’t a great year for movies. I enjoyed a bunch of superhero flicks like Captain America and Thor, but I’m still haunted by the craptacular failure that was Green Lantern. As a huge mark for the comics, the movie was the most traumatizing film I’ve seen in years. 15 minutes of cool outer-space sequences didn’t make up for all the garbage that took place on Earth. I’m still pained that Ryan Reynolds made Hal Jordan look like a tool. Ugh.
When I can block out the painful memories of Green Lantern, the movie I enjoyed the most this year was Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The special effects were impressive. Andy Serkis and James Franco were fantastic. Freida Pinto didn’t get to show off her talents, but I enjoyed staring at her. The writing was strong. And lastly, the scenes in San Francisco made me miss the second city I considered home. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is much smarter than your typical summer blockbuster movie. I didn’t see a ton of movies this year, but this was clearly the best one.
Now it’s time for your picks! What was your favorite movie of 2011?
Here’s a photo gallery of Activision CEO Bobby Kotick portraying Oakland A’s co-owner Stephen Schott in Moneyball. Obviously I was dazzled by his performance. It’s not like I see EA CEO John Riccitiello or Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot starring in any movies. Only Kotick has enough charm and star-power to run a videogame mega-publisher and go toe-to-toe with Brad Pitt.
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As for the movie itself, I enjoyed it but was mildly disappointed. I loved the book Moneyball. I also went to a lot of A’s games between 2000 and 2002. While I understand that the movie is a dramatization, some of the liberties and omissions were annoying. For example, in the movie the A’s signed Jeremy Giambi prior to the 2002 season as a cheap replacement for his more talented brother Jason Giambi. In reality, Jeremy Giambi was on the team since 2000. The movie barely mentions Eric Chavez and Miguel Tejada. Both were at the height of their powers and big reason why the A’s were so successful. Hell, Tejada was the American League MVP the year the movie took place!
Anyway, that’s straying too far from the point. Moneyball shows that Bobby Kotick clearly has a future in Hollywood playing rich and powerful antagonists.
While I wasn’t high on The Dark Knight Rises trailer, I completely lost it when I saw the trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I loved Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films and I’m sure I’ll dig this movie too. The tech nerd in me (most of me) loves that Jackson is using Red Epic 3D cameras. Those super expensive cameras pack some serious tech and should make the movie look brilliant. Also, Gandalf is cool.
Anyway, kindly leave your thoughts on The Hobbit trailer when you have a chance.
Here’s the latest trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. Loads of my friends are raving about it, but it doesn’t do much for me. I don’t think it’s bad at all, but I’m not blown away like some of my friends are. Also, I hate Bane’s mask. I mostly dislike Bane’s entire outfit. Surprisingly, I’m mostly unmoved by the trailer.
How about you? How do you feel about the new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises?
In a move that I’m going to file under “It’s About Frickin’ Time You Hacks!”, Time Warner Cable has signed a deal with HBO for the HBO Go and Max Go streaming services. I’ve been extremely envious of my friends that have been able to enjoy the extensive library and advanced programming on HBO Go. Unfortunately, Time Warner Cable took its sweet-ass time to give its customers progressive features. I write this as I stare at my antiquated TWC cable box with its caveman UI. Before I start getting angry at TWC (again), here’s a clip from the press release:
Time Warner Cable today announced the upcoming launch of HBO’s authenticated online video destinations, HBO Go and Max Go. The companies will run a brief beta trial and then the service is expected to launch to all Time Warner Cable customers who subscribe to HBO in the next month. Time Warner Cable customers who subscribe to HBO and/or Cinemax will have free, unlimited access to the corresponding online services at any time, on any computer in the U.S. with a high-speed Internet connection, as well as a host of other devices, including the iPad.
This would have been 50 times more useful to me when Game of Thrones and Entourage were still on. Hopefully the service will continue to offer advanced episodes in 2012. I’m genuinely excited for the service and will definitely use the hell out of it when it goes live. That said, if my next apartment offers AT&T U-Verse or Verizon Fios, I’ll drop Time Warner Cable’s sorry-ass service — easily the worst I’ve ever had — in a second.
Meh. Let’s close this on a happy note. HBO Go is finally coming to Time Warner Cable subscribers!!!
Congrats to my pals at Machinima for nabbing the exclusive premiere trailer for GI Joe 2: Retaliation. After watching the trailer, I’m actually kind of psyched for it. Aside from a few slick action scenes featuring Snake Eyes, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra was horrible. As a GI Joe mark, I wanted the first one to be great, but it ended up being one of the most disappointing movies I’ve ever seen (Green Lantern currently holds the top spot). Here’s a binary breakdown of my thoughts on GI Joe Retaliation.
Good: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Roadblock immediately grabbed my attention. He is, after all, the most electrifying man in all of entertainment. This role takes advantage of his action skills and receding hairline! Seriously though, I’m all about supporting The Rock’s movie career. I’ve seen all of his flicks except Tooth Fairy. I’m confident that he’ll do well in this movie.
Bad: I’m concerned about director Jon M. Chu, simply because the last movie he directed was — get this — Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. How the hell to you go from Bieber to GI Joe?!?
Good: You know, I’m not much of a Bruce Willis fan, but I love him as Joe Colton — the original GI Joe. That’s just great casting. It’s an ideal role for him at his age. His cholesterol line in the trailer killed me. Fair play to Bruce!
Bad: Although it looks like he’s taking a backseat to The Rock, Channing Tatum still has a big role as Duke. I can’t stand that guy. If John Cena had a little bitch brother, it would be Channing Tatum. I know he’s handsome and the girls love him, but his bad acting lacks the unintentional comedy of Paul Walker’s dazzling performances. Maybe we’ll all get lucky and he’ll die in this film.
Bad: The movie looks like it has campy moments that are more stupid than funny. In the first movie, the scene with the accelerator suit gave me a migraine. “What does it accelerate???” *dramatic pause* “You.” Ugh. The trailer for Retaliation already has one of those moments. Cobra takes over the White House…and promptly installs curtains. That’s so evil stupid, but it’s good to know that international terrorist organizations higher evil decorators.
Good: I’m looking forward to more Ray Park (Snake Eyes) action scenes. He’s a fantastic talent. I’ve been digging his work since Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and was thrilled that millions of people loved him as Darth Maul. He’s arguably the most prominent Westerner in telegenic martial arts (though I wish he’d fully exploit his Scottish heritage and say all his lines like Scrooge McDuck). I really hope he gets that Iron Fist movie he’s wanted for years before he gets too old.
Anyway, let me know what you think of the trailer when you get a chance? Do you think the movie will be better than the first one? Are you looking forward to GI Joe 2 Retaliation?
