School House Rock is awesome. Star Wars is awesome. Put the two of them together and you get on overload of awesomeness! Here’s a mashup video featuring School House Rock’s “Interjections” song set to scenes from various Star Wars movies. It’s a really well done video that’s funny, cool, and educational all at once. Continue reading “School House Rock / Star Wars Mashup (Interjections)”
Tag: Movies
Comcast to Punish Pirates By Being Obnoxious
ISPs are starting to reveal precisely how they’re going to punish violators of the Copyright Alert System six-strike anti-piracy policy. My favorite punishment, so far, is from Comcast, which will castigate its customers by being dicks. According to TorrentFreak:
After four alerts the ISP will “hijack” web-browsers of suspected serial pirates with a persistent pop-up notification, making it impossible to browse the Internet. The pop-up will disappear after the customer “resolves the issue” with a Customer Security Assurance professional.
Well…that’s one way to do it. For many people, losing Internet service is a worrisome penalty. Adding obnoxious pop-ups to the mix seems unnecessary. It also costs money to implement the notification system and to pay the Customer Security Assurance professionals that respond to appeals. It’s Comcastic!
*sigh*
This whole thing is a fantastic waste of time and money. It’s so frustrating, but hardly surprising, that ISPs are making huge efforts with the Copyright Alert System instead of taking Internet speeds — and technology that would take advantage of those speeds — to the next level.
I wish ISPs had faces, so that I could punch them.
Netflix Movie Catch Up Time!
Over the weekend, I caught up on a bunch of movies I’ve been meaning to see. All three featured protagonists that are old and washed up. I’m hoping that the choices were a coincidence, but I fear that these movies reflect my current state of mind. Ha! Anyway, here are a bunch of thoughts on Skyfall, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Here Comes the Boom.
Skyfall: I was supposed to attend a screening for this, but don’t remember why I missed it. That’s a regret. This movie has everything I want from a James Bond film — fantastic action, beautiful women, slick cars, and charmingly goofy lines. While I’ve been impressed with Daniel Craig’s run as Bond, Judi Dench and Javier Bardem rocked in this movie. Craig was very good, but his costars were great. Dench blended fierceness and vulnerability perfectly, while Bardem rocketed to the top of my list of favorite Bond villains. The only problem I had with the film was Ralph Fiennes. Whenever I saw him, I thought he was going to perform the cruciatus curse on Bond. That Voldemort hangup is totally on me and not the actor or the movie.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: I remember this movie getting tepid reviews, but I enjoyed it. It’s not as good as the first three Indiana Jones films, but it has some nice moments. Part of it was nostalgia; it was nice seeing Indy and Marion together again. Karen Allen is old, but her smile is still captivating and I dig her rapport with Harrison Ford (though I was hoping Starman would pop up to form a love triangle). Cate Blanchett makes a fetching Russian communist. I had visions of her sexily saying, “Stupid moose and squirrel,” as she stood over me in bed holding a riding crop. The action sequences — the bread-and-butter of these movies — were thrilling and laced with nice comedic moments. Normally, that Shawn LeBeef kid bugs me, but I didn’t mind him here. Yeah, the movie felt formulaic at times, but it’s a fun formula.
Here Comes the Boom: This was clearly the worst movie of the three, but I have the most to say about it. The premise seemed absurd to me and I wanted to see if Kevin James could make me believe he was an MMA fighter. He didn’t. BUT, the movie almost comes together for four reason.
- Neil Diamond — “Holly Holy” plays an important of the movie. Lord Neil is one of the few deities walking among us mere mortals. The musical choices are rounded out by a scene featuring “Faithfully” by Journey.
- Kevin James — As an overweight and charming comedian that writes, the guy is pretty much my role model. Seriously though, he has charisma and there are well-written lines of comedic dialogue sprinkled through this mess.
- Henry Winkler — The Fonz is awesome at making mediocre and bad material hilarious. He definitely got the most out of this role. I can’t think of many people that would have been as good.
- Bas Rutten — This was the huge surprise here. El Guapo was frickin’ hilarious. I had to tweet him after I saw the movie and the MMA legend wrote back! He had unexpectedly great timing and delivery. I hope he does more physical comedies in the future, because I think he’d do well (you know, before joining the cast The Expendables 6). Wait…I see my dream buddy movie featuring Bas Rutten and Russell Brand!
So yeah, this movie wasn’t very good, but it had some interesting elements and Rutten was a pleasant surprise.
If you’ve seen any of these movies, let’s talk about them in the comments section (please!).
Coffee Talk #571: Are You Ready For the Six-Strike Rule?
Rumor has it that those evil Internet service providers will start using the Copyright Alert System six-strike anti-piracy policy today. The companies kicking it off are AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon. The six strike part of the equation is easy enough to understand; your ISP will give you six warnings about downloading or sharing copyrighted material before punishing you. The consequences vary from provider to provider. They include bandwidth throttling, cutting off access to certain web sites, and temporary suspension of service.
There are some interesting pitfalls and…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, 2013 Oscar snubs, wishing herpes on J.A. Happ for breaking Curtis Granderson’s arm, or revisiting the PlayStation 4 unveiling now that you’ve had a weekend to think it over, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Rumor has it that those evil Internet service providers will start using the Copyright Alert System six-strike anti-piracy policy today. The companies kicking it off are AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon. The six strike part of the equation is easy enough to understand; your ISP will give you six warnings about downloading or sharing copyrighted material before punishing you. The consequences vary from provider to provider. They include bandwidth throttling, cutting off access to certain web sites, and temporary suspension of service.
There are some interesting pitfalls and potential loopholes. How will ISPs handle offenses detected in shared environments? If you’re getting heat at home, will you be able torrent at a coffeeshop or shared office space? Will virtual private networks (VPNs) see a surge in business from downloaders that want to mask their activity? Implementing the six-strike rule is going to be a nightmare and I hope every major ISP in America suffers. Those companies deserve an expensive venture for reaping huge profits and not spending the money on infrastructure. They’re inhibiting technology and limiting consumers.
More importantly, how are you going to deal with the six-strike world? Are you going to quit torrents? Are you going to purchase a VPN subscription? Or will you throw caution to the wind and deal with the consequences as they come?
Michael Bay Nabs Megan Fox For Ninja Turtles
Michael Bay has announced that Megan Fox will appear in the upcoming Ninja Turtles movie he’s producing. Many fans have speculated that Fox will play April O’Neil. While I’m totally down with seeing Fox in skimpy clothing, I’m a little bit scared of the movie. It has gone through some strange twists and turns, and I sincerely doubt it will be faithful to the source material. It’s suppose to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, but later transformed (get it?!?) into Alien Turtles and is now being referred to as Ninja Turtles. Rumor has it that Leonardo and the gang will not be the focus of the movie. Instead, it will allegedly star the turtles’ pal Casey Jones.
Hopefully the Fox rumor is true and the Casey Jones rumor doesn’t pan out. I loved the original Eastman and Laird comic books, so I’m hoping for something similarly grim and gritty. My fear is that Bay will make a big-budget version of that stupid TMNT cartoon. Oy.
The Price of Being Batman and Iron Man
Ever wonder what it would cost to be Batman or Iron Man? Yeah, I’ve never thought about it either. Thankfully (for your amusement), the people at HomeOwnersInsurance.com have! Check out the large infographic below that breaks down what Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark have have to pay to maintain their superhero lifestyles. Costs include equipment, housing, staff, transportation, and more. The final bill is…ouchie. Continue reading “The Price of Being Batman and Iron Man”
Yet Another GI Joe: Retaliation Trailer
The countdown to GI Joe: Retaliation continues with a new trailer! This time around:
- There’s more mountain-top ninja-fighting with Snakeyes and Jinx
- One of the coolest scenes of mass destruction is shown
- It’s revealed that Zartan is standing in for the POTUS
- The Rock is still awesome
- Channing Tatum still sucks
- Old Bruce Willis is still kinda cool
Jason Momoa to Play Drax the Destroyer?
Jason Momoa (best known as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones) has allegedly been offered the role of Drax the Destroyer in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Latino Review reports that Momoa killed his screen test and was offered the part. The site says that his agents are working on finalizing the terms.
While I loved Momoa in Game of Thrones, a lot of moviegoers thought he was lame in the latest Conan the Barbarian movie. No matter what he brings to the table, I’m certain that Momoa will be exponentially better than former WWE Superstar Dave Batista would have been. Last month it was rumored that Batista was in the running for Drax. Thankfully, comic-book fans will be spared Batista’s acting.
What do you think of Jason Momoa as Drax the Destroyer? Will he bring his Khal Drogo fierceness? Or will he sputter like Conan?
Monsters University Trailer #2
Here’s the second trailer for Pixar’s upcoming Monsters University. The movie tells the tale of how James P. Sullivan (Sully) and Mike Wazowski met in college. As a total mark for Monsters, Inc., I’m super looking forward to this film. Monsters, Inc. is my second-favorite Pixar movie and, despite its success, I believe it’s woefully underrated. Its combination of humor, charm, and heart is incredible.
The trailer covers the first meeting of the two monsters and shows how they were rivals in college. Prime gags include a snail monster trying to get to class at a glacial pace, a monster dorm party, and a monster football game. The trailer gets bonus points for using Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart.” While I didn’t get a sense of the movie’s “heart,” the humor looks fantastic, the animation looks superb, and I’m sure I’ll get warm fuzzies after watching it. It is a Pixar film, after all.
Please check out the Monsters University trailer when you have a chance and let me know what you think!
Justice League Movie in Peril?
By the fire pits of Apokolips! Rumors are swirling that Warner’s Justice League move is falling apart. With Marvel (Disney) enjoying enormous success with The Avengers, Iron Man, and several other movie franchises, Justice League was supposed to be DC’s mega-team superhero blockbuster. Badass Digest’s Devin Faraci wrote:
I’ve now heard from multiple sources that the Will Beall script for Justice League has been scrapped. The story from each source is the same: it’s terrible. Some sources seem to think the whole movie is going to fall apart and never happen, while some believe that Warner Bros will keep moving forward, unwilling to lose the superhero arms race.
The studio has been unable to get the interest of a quality director, reportedly because of the script. Without a script and without a director, Justice League seems unlikely to meet a 2015 release. The question is will it ever be released at all?
I’m somewhat bummed by the news. While I enjoy all kinds of comics, I’m definitely more of a DC guy than a Marvel guy. It would have been awesome to see the Justice League hit the silver screen in all their glory. That said, I haven’t been satisfied with many DC movie projects. Super Returns was mediocre, Green Lantern was traumatizing, and The Dark Knight series was more of a Chrisopher Nolan franchise than a series of Batman movies (loved parts of it, other parts…not so much).While a Justice League movie has the potential to be awesome, I would prefer no movie at all rather than a Green Lantern-like crap fast.
Any of you bummed by this Justice League development? Do you think the movie will see the light of day? Or will it be totally scrapped?