For me, 2011 wasn’t a great year for movies. I enjoyed a bunch of superhero flicks like Captain Americaand 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 exceptTooth 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: Annihilationand 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?
The legendary George Takei (Star Trek’s Hikaru Sulu!) is calling for “Star Peace” — a movement that aims to unite Star Wars and Star Trek fans against the evil of Twilight. This is truly one of the most worthwhile causes I’ve heard of in years! Naturally, an Asian-American man is bringing everyone to their senses. Check out the video above and let me know what you think (please!).
Now kindly excuse me as I have to find my phaser and lightsaber. Hopefully they both work against bloodsucking teenagers.
This Star Wars musical parody by The Piano Guys is one of the best Internet videos I’ve seen in 2011. It’s funny, creative, and awesome all the same time. The music is great. The costumes are great. The comedy is fantastic. I completely love this video! If I wasn’t poor, I’d donate money to The Piano Guys just for making this highly entertaining video.
How about you? Check it out and let me know what you think (please!).
I almost always see someone wearing Bose QuietComfort headphones when I fly. I almost always laugh at those people. Bose QuietComfort headphones are overpriced and overrated. You can get headphones — in-ear or cans — that cost the same or less…
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, Verve’s Sumatra Lake Tawar, impatiently waiting for Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus, or your favorite Christmas cartoon, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I almost always see someone wearing Bose QuietComfort headphones when I fly. I almost always laugh at those people. Bose QuietComfort headphones are overpriced and overrated. You can get headphones — in-ear or cans — that cost the same or less and sound way better. I’ll take a pair of Etymotic, Shure, Grado, or UltimateEars headphones over Bose any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
In the last year or so, I’ve been spotting a lot of Beats by Dre headphones on airplanes. They’re pretty much Bose for the hipster crowd. They’re overpriced, overrated, and feature exaggerated bass. People think they’re cool and good because of their sharp style, great marketing, and fantastic distribution. I’m not saying that Bose and Beats make bad products; they make good stuff, but you can get much better for your money.
Today I was wondering if there are any brands or products that make you scoff. Do you automatically think “lamer!” when you see someone with Bose QuietComforts? Does your hipster-douche sensor go off when you see someone with an iPad at a coffeehouse? I can’t wait to read your comments! Fire away (please)!!!
I posted this important (and silly) question about The Lord of the Rings on my Facebook page and thought you guys might have fun with it too. “Say Aragorn was a lvl. 12 ranger at the start of The Fellowship of the Ring. What level and class was he at the end of The Return of the King?” I got some really cool and really nerdy answers from a few of my Facebook friends and I’m sure you guys can top it, so have at it (please)!
