It’s… it’s so organized… no words, should have sent a poet…

“What about this one?”

My husband held aloft a horror triple feature, retrieved from the depths of the Blu-Ray bin at Wal-Mart.  A weekend tradition held over from his post-college cheap entertainment quest, we often peruse the $7.88 bins in search of the germs and gems of cinema.  There’s a plethora of decent older releases to be found, but I wanted something off the beaten path to determine if there was any merit in these value-buys.  I looked over the jacket briefly, featuring three older films with a range of actors, everyone from Dennis Hopper to the guy who played Andy Warhol in the opening sequence of The Watchmen.

“Oh, that looks terrible.  I’m in.” Continue Reading »

Yes, I’m talking about Cronenberg again. Hold onto your butts. 

Marketing, in theory, is a pretty simple operation. Well, the operation isn’t simple at all, but the core concept is: Sell your product. Marketing for movies is even simpler. Just copy whatever the latest big trailer did.

I mean, how many of us have mocked the glut of ads aping the “Inception noise?”

Now, you guys want to see a kick-ass trailer that stands out, for a movie that was surely almost impossible to sell? I suggest the trailer for David Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch. Despite the fact that it didn’t exactly light the world on fire, I think its trailer is indicative of the best approach to selling ANY kind of movie. Meet me after the jump and I’ll show you.

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Everything is cool with a little more cell-shading, and that’s certainly the case for this Borderlands-themed PC mod designed and built by CrazyLefty.

It’s part Claptrap, part ammo box, and likely does not have any legendary weapons inside if you crack it open, but who knows? The same guy also built a Dahl-themed dumpster carrying case for his keyboard which is almost as cool. Check that out below.

Side not question: Has anyone played through all the Borderlands 3 DLC yet? Which, if any, are worth picking up and deleting stuff on my Xbox hard drive to install? Continue Reading »

I’m currently in the middle of planning my own wedding, and by planning I mean nodding a lot and going “mhmm, that’s great.”

I can’t help but think it would be a lot more fun if the whole thing was superhero themed, but it takes a special kind of dedication to make that happen. Dedication like this bride and groom.

She’s obsessed with Batgirl, he liked Nightwing. As Batman can’t exactly marry Robin (in most states) it’s the Bat-themed wedding they chose. The sheer level of detail in this gallery is astounding, and it looks like one of the most fun weddings I’ve ever seen. Be sure to check out all the pictures by Dianne Personett below: Continue Reading »

“Modern video games kick the shit out of most ideas of heaven. We’ve built a million immortal Valhallas and conjured realms that at any other point in history would have required several pounds of hallucinogen and a magic spell that transported you inside Salvador Dali. For the last decade, the word “Katamari” has brought more joy and genuine distraction from the world’s troubles than the word “nirvana.”

Go here to see more.

Go here to see one of Leo’s most ridiculous quotes.

“Speaking of DiCaprio, he’s not a very quotable actor. In fact, he’s a bit of a dull interview, which may be why he doesn’t spend as much time promoting his movies as other actors (either that, or he just doesn’t like to do it). I had wanted to compile a list, similar to that of our Robert Downey, Jr. post, on DiCaprio’s best quotes. Unfortunately, that list wouldn’t amount to more than three quotes, at best. However, I did find amusing a quote he made earlier in his career:”

The Countdown

Classic movies that are rip-offs – [Cracked]

Don’t do a Mass Effect prequel – [Insert Coin]

The most hateable guys on TV – [TVOvermind]

The best Astronaut tweets – [GeeksAreSexy]

The Back to the Future cast then and now – [Izismile]

Robocop statue heading to Detroit – [Neatorama]

A gallery of nerdy coffee mugs – [TheChive]

Arrested Development season 4 trailer – [ScreenCrush]

A gallery of babies with beards – [WWIW]

The pros and cons of dating a vegetarian – [GuyCode]

Today’s girl is Natalie Dormer – [Maxim]

What we know about the end of Breaking Bad – [BroBible]

The best superhero board games – [ToplessRobot]

24 is coming back to TV – [Guyism]

Well, since I refuse to watch any footage from the new Arrested Development until I can actually sit down and watch the show series in 24 (I must restrain myself), I have to be content with enjoying Netflix’s other marketing efforts.

Yes, that IS a real Bluth Frozen Banana Stand which popped up in London, though versions are promised to appear in New York and LA as well. Damn you NY and LA, you always get all the fun stuff! Just cause you have…people.

No word if there’s actually $250,000 lining the walls, but I’m sure one crazed fan with an axe might try to find out.

I saw The Great Gatsby this weekend, and though my review doesn’t go live until tomorrow, I’ll say that it was an AV masterpiece, but a rather lackluster film overall. That said, it did have perhaps my favorite trailer of the year so far, which is why the above video is so awesome.

Someone took the 1974 Robert Redford version of the film and recut it into Baz Luhrmann’s modern day adaptation complete with Florence and the Machine soundtrack. I get that the two are based on the same book, but damn, those scenes are REALLY similar to each other, and I have to imagine this film, along with the book, was used as a big point of reference for Luhrmann.

Alright, so my buddy had a rather cool idea for an Unreality contest. He’s looking for a Batman-themed tattoo to put on the arm seen above. You can photoshop or draw your way to victory, the winner will get a free video game and an immortal place on his body. I’ll let him explain the details:

“This contest is for the best entry of fan art (of any kind), where the winner’s submission will be tattooed on my body, specifically my left bicep.  All entries of any kind will be considered including, but not limited to: drawings, photoshop, or even verbal descriptions a tattoo artist could use to make a drawing.  You DO NOT have to be a great artist to win.  As long as I choose your concept, even though I may have it re-drawn, you will be the winner. PLEASE NOTE: Because this is something I will be getting tattooed on MY body, a winner is NOT guaranteed.

The winning submission will receive the video game of his or her choice for any gaming system available, including PC or Mac (Up to a value of $60), and will have the tattoo featured on the site when comleted.

Here are the specifications of what I’m looking for and please be as creative as possible:

• The tattoo is Batman themed, specifically focusing on the the topic of “the good (light) always rises out of darkness.”
• I would prefer the Batman logo in some way, but any Batman themed submissions are accepted and will be considered.
• Regarding the logo, I want it to be recognizably the Batman logo, but to be a unique twist making it one of a kind, sharp, dark, and have a sort of pop to it.
• I want the final product to also include some variation the the text: “We fall so we can learn to get back up.”  The EXACT wording and phrasing of this can be edited in any way to fit your design, as long as the message stays the same and is grammatically correct.
• The rest is up to you, so be creative, make it unique and sharp-looking, and I can’t wait to see the final product.

Please send all submissions, and/or any questions, to: batmantattoo12@yahoo.com and also paultassi@gmail.com (be sure to send him the submissions as well).”

Well, this should be interesting. Alright, make something good so he actually does this! And so I can buy someone a game!

I can respect that people need to pay bills. Hell, we have all done some things we aren’t proud of to make money (I sold bootleg pancakes out of the back of a van once), and that is just a part of life. But nowhere can that be more evident than when a seemingly great actors take ungodly awful roles in a movie that you KNOW they knew better than to take. I almost always imagine the actor, sitting behind closed doors, laughing about it to his closest friends. Hell, there are even examples where the actors or actresses openly admitted they did it for the money and knew the movie sucked.

David Cronenberg calls his cameo in Jason X the role that bought him a new car. But there are certain examples of actors who are heavily respected in the industry taking roles even I would be too ashamed to take, and I have no shame, so what does that say about them? Here are five great actors who fell far from grace during the ninety minute run of most of the movies mentioned here. I am aware it will seem like I am picking on a few kid’s movies, and that may seem unfair or an easy target, but rationalize why an actor like Walken or De Niro EVER needs to pander to an audience of children? That is the real question here. A bad script is a bad script, and all of these alumni should have known better then to allow their faces to be seen in these steaming piles of feces, eagerly passed off as film.

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Well, now that we’re heading into the tail end of the season, I’ve finally figure out how I’m going to format my Game of Thrones reviews from here on out now that I’ve finished the books. Taking a suggestion from a reader, I’m going to talk about the show book-free for most of the review, but I’m going to have an additional section at the end to address comparisons with the book for anyone who wants to read them.

The impression I’m getting is that people who don’t read the books hate hearing about them in reviews for the most part, but those that have read them quite like discussing the differences with the show. Hopefully this will appease both sides, and I’m giving it a shot this week.

This has been a good season so far, but it’s hard to classify this week’s episode as being as pulse-pounding as some of the past installments. That said, major characters don’t need to be offed every week for the show to be good, and it can still shine with a lot of talking. And sex. Lots and lots of sex. Continue Reading »