Eric Bana on Star Trek and more...

Woot! One of my current favorite actors Eric Bana, has just signed on to J.J. Abrams Star Trek as the villain. Unfortunately not much is known about the film yet, but I'm definitely getting excited. Now what we really need to find out is who will play the young Kirk???

UPDATE - Ok, it looks like I spoke, err posted, a bit too soon this morning on this story before I'd done a little digging around. Bana's character will be a villain named Nero, but all plot details or a character description are still being kept secret. Startrekmovie.com recently posted a very good interview with Trek writer Robert Orci, where he said that he has just turned in his second draft of the film, and is very pleased with it. He focused a lot on giving the the villain more depth in this draft, although the most important dynamic of the film will definitely still be the relationship between Kirk, McCoy and Spock. Check out the interview for more insight.

As for casting, two of the more minor characters have been announced. Anton Yelchin will play Checkov, and Zoe Saldana will play Lt Uhura. They're both young actors who you might've seen in a few smaller projects, but this is a big step in both of their careers. But the really big rumor of the moment though, is that Chris Pine is in talks to play the lead role of James Kirk. And just who the heck is Chris Pine... well that's a good question. He's been in a few things you've probably heard of like Just my Luck, and Smokin Aces but for the most part he really is an unknown. And for my money, that's a good thing. Word is that he might not get the job though; and not because Paramount doesn't want him, but because he is also up for a lead role opposite George Clooney in the crime thriller White Jazz! I guess when you're hot, you're hot. They'd better decide soon though as Trek is set to start filming this November.

I'll look out for more updates as they come in.

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Tin Man trailer

Sci Fi channel original movie, Tin Man coming this December...

Meet Astro

Hey all, I was surfing around today and came across this wonderful interview with one of the animators on Astro Boy care of the Hollywood Reporter. Also I found another excellent interview with Astro Boy director Colin Brady, right on the Imagi website. Just click on the Astro Boy film tab, then scroll down to below the Introduction. Check em out. As with TMNT it really sounds like they are on the right track with this one. Oh, and finally have a look at this great image from the film. It's probably still concept art, but very cool nonetheless. We can expect Astro Boy in theaters sometime in 2009.

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Knight Rider times two!

So there's a pretty astounding and somewhat confusing story I just read over at Aint it Cool News regarding not one but two, competing Knight Rider projects in the works. Go read the story for the really gorey details. I'll give you a short run down here though.

Basically, the creator of Knight Rider, Glen Larson has been trying to get a Knight Rider movie made for a number of years. He's finally gotten to a point where he has a script that he's developing with the Weinstein's. Everything seemed to be progressing fine, until Universal stepped in. Apparently Universal/NBC owns the television rights to the property while Larson retains the film rights. When Larson refused to move the project from The Weinstein Company to them it really pissed some people off. So NBC is heading Larson off at the pass, and has started developing a Knight Rider television project to be fast-tracked as a two hour backdoor pilot for airing later this year, possibly as early as the springtime.

This truly sounds like a clusterfuck in the making. Is NBC going to rush the pilot to get it out the door giving us some sub-par piece of garbage? Is this just out of spite? or to just screw with the Weinsteins? If the tv show gets on the air it will definitely screw with the film prospects. So what the hell is going on? Logic dictates that one of these projects will fall apart, but which one? And the most important question. how will this affect the quality of either of the projects?

As a fan, I simply want the best story possible. Frankly I think the property belongs on tv more than the big screen, but NBC/Universal's tactics seem really underhanded... I guess, I'm not sure what I want.

Read the AICN story for the full scoop. And I'll post more on this as it develops.

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Semi-Pro teaser trailer

And Will Farrell does it again. I really thought I'd had enough of the zany sports comedies but there's something just totally entertaining about a naked, sweaty Farrell. Check it out.



Semi-Pro is set to come out on Feburary 29th, '08.

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Sweeney Todd trailer

From the twisted mind of Tim Burton, starring the incomparable Johnny Depp alongside Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman, check out the disturbing trailer for Sweeney Todd... The film is set to come out December 21st, '07.

New Iron Man poster

Check out the really cool new teaser poster for Iron Man. very nice.
The film is set to come out May 2nd, '08.

American Gladiators triumphant return!

That's right kids, one of the absolute all time greatest sporting game shows ever is coming back from the dead! NBC recently announced plans to resurrect American Gladiators for a short run sometime mid-season this year and I couldn't be happier. I have some great memories of sitting in front of the tv in the late 80s, and early 90s watching this classic competition of strength, speed, and agility. To me it always seemed like the American Gladiators were the pinnacle of athleticism; the most hardcore of hardcore.

I think by the time the original American Gladiators was on the air I had fully come to realize that professional wrestling was "fake". Of course, that earth shattering realization crushed my spirits so much that it took me some further years to understand that despite being fake I can still respect the work the actors / athletes put into it. And of course now I appreciate it on a whole other level. But this show, American Gladiators, was on the air in those tender years after I had stopped being a kid, but before I was really a teenager into girls and whatnot. Basically I was a young impressionable tween, only besides the word not existing then, we wouldn't be lame enough to call ourselves that. And American Gladiators filled a void in my life.

It was like everything you loved about The Running Man, only without the life or death scenario, but it was totally real! The Gladiators themselves were fantastic, Ice, Blaze, Nitro. I mean those named alone ooze awesomeness. So the news of this juggernaut of a shows return is very welcome. Frankly I think we need this; The World needs this.

NBC is currently holding auditions for both Gladiators and Contestants. Check out this great NPR story on a casting session. And of course you yourself can apply right here!

But that's not all kids, because there's one more nugget of awesomeness coming your way. Guess who they've hired to host this new prime time game show? None other than wrestling legend Hulk Hogan! That's right Hulkamaniacs, the Hulkster is coming back! I know I know, he's been on tv for a few years now with Hogan Knows Best, but seriously, I can't stand watching that show... and I watch crap all the time. So I'm guessing you don't watch it either. And no, Brooke alone is not worth it.... whatever, lets not argue about it. Hulk Hogan is coming to prime time baby! yeah!!! I think that's just perfect casting. Plays into the nostalgia factor, plays into the semi-cheesiness of the show, and face it kids, the man is damn entertaining, just check Suburban Commando, or the genius that is Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n Wrestling... pure gold.

I'll definitely post more on this show as it develops. For now let's just remember the all the good times :)

New AVP - R trailer

Check out this new trailer for Aliens vs Predator - Requiem. It's pretty kickass.



The movie comes out Christmas Day '07.

More Cloverfield updates

So if you've been keeping up on our favorite mystery monster movie Cloverfield / 1-18-08 / Slusho / Overnight you'll see that there has been some interesting bits of activity lately.

Especially the recent discovery of the Tagruato Corporation which can be conveniently found at tagruato.jp. It was found through a series of clues relating back to a new picture (and recipe) on 1-18-08.com. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but now if you go to 1-18-08.com and grab the edge of a picture then shake the mouse, the photos will flip over, some of them revealing more clues written on the back. Go check it out yourself. Oh, and while there wait for 6 minutes to hear the monster roar! Or just check out a good recap of the whole discovery story and the highlights of what the Tagruato page offers to expand this ever growing mystery at Cloverfield Clues. It's by far my favorite Cloverfield blog :)

Anyhow, in a nutshell Tagruato, "Exploring Our World, Ensuring Your Future", is the parent company of among other things, Slusho. Their other subsidiaries include the Yoshida Medical Research, a "genetic research firm specializing in deep sea bioprospecting".... possibly finding the secret nectar special ingredient mentioned on the Slusho.jp history page? Sounds like it could be... They allso own Bold Fortura, a contract engineering firm, who build machines with the unique ability to withstand extreme pressure and temperature... like say maybe the bottom of the ocean... hmm. And finlly we come to ParafFUN Wax Distributers; which besides making crayons is good for such things as preparing specimens for histology (the microscopic study of diseased tissue), propelling your hybrid rocket motors, testing samples in infrared spectroscopy, and moderating neutrons... hmmm, okay. Of course the main business of Tagruato is their Deep Sea Drilling operations. They have 14, $1 billion dollar deep sea oil drilling rigs, the newest of which, the Chuai station, just so happens to be located off the NE coast of America. very portentous. There's more of course and a number of clues to follow up on (check out their Headlines section). I recommend you investigate Tagruato for yourself.

Since I know I haven't been super diligent on updating you guys on the Cloverfield front I've missed mentioning a few other things here. Like how if you've examined the renovated Slusho.jp, you'll see all sorts of interesting new things. Including links to a store where you can buy the very same shirt I missed at comic con and got from eBay, the Happy Talk section where words of Slusho wisdom are dispensed, updates to the history and downloads pages, and of course the Slusho robot flavor combination game. It must be played to be believed.

For a complete list of Slusho.jp updates check out the awesome Cloverfield Clues blog.

Finally there's been one MORE official site related to the film to pop up, jamieandteddy.com is a blog from one of Rob's friends. (Rob is the main guy from the trailer, the one going to Japan.) Anyhow, people on the net have managed to find the MySpace pages of Rob's buddies, which eventually led them somehow to Jamie and Teddy. I haven't really investigated it myself because the page is password protected. But apparently there are currently two video blogs posted there, and they seem to be messages to a friend who is traveling. Is it Rob? Is Jamie Rob's girlfriend? I should probably investigate this a bit more, but there really is a lot of stuff to try to keep up on people ;) You can check out Jamie's first video here and then the newest video here, which was just released today, and also see Cloverfield Clues' analysis here. Expect something more on December 9th...

Really this film is shaping up pretty interestingly. I'm intrigued where Tagurato will lead us. If your looking to get really hardcore into following the developments on the ARG side of things, you should probably be reading the Unfiction forums. That's where a lot of the debate and investigation seems to be going on. For me I think I'll try to mostly stick to the blogs. I'm excited and interested to say the least, but is it dangerous to get myself too invested in the film? Are we going to have another SoaP situation here where the film, even if its good, can never live up to the hype? I hope not. Anyhow, I'll definitely stay tuned. I really can't stop now...

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New Beowulf trailer

I'm really digging this new Beowulf trailer. I think it definitely does the best job showing the relationship between Beowulf and Grendel. err... now that I actually look, it seems that Jolie does not in fact play Grendel; weird. Grendel is being played by Crispin Glover?! I didn't see him in the trailer anywhere, did I? very odd. Cool, but odd. Anyhow check it out.

Tintin to the big screen

I know this has been news for a while now, but since it really didn't interest me as a comic book, I didn't see much need to be interested in the movie version; regardless of Steven Spielberg 's involvement. But it seems I am one of the few kids out there who was never impressed with Tintin. Personally I aways preferred the Asterix series, but I may be alone in that.

Tintin the movie is getting made though, or should I say Tintin the trilogy. And what pray tell, made me perk my ears up? Well firstly it is Steven Spielberg, and we probably should pay attention to whatever films he makes. I mean despite not being terribly interested in the source material; it is Spielberg. Next is the involvement of Peter Jackson. I hadn't realized this but apparently Spielberg is set to direct the first Tintin movie, PJ the second and a lucky director yet to be determined will get to helm the third. Woah, that's interesting...

And now comes the news that the very talented Doctor Who scribe, and Coupling creator Steven Moffat is writing the script for Tintin. Despite my reservations, I just can't help but be curious where this movie is headed. Maybe I will start paying more attention.

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Demitri Martin's Important Things

I'm not sure if you know who Demitri Martin is, but lets just say you should. He's a comedian probably best known for being the "young" correspondent on The Daily Show. You might remember him from such awesome hard hitting news pieces like his Trendspotting series.



He's also put out a comedy CD called These are Jokes that I've heard parts of and think are very funny, and he's had a well received Comedy Central special called Dimitri Martin: Person. Well now thanks to Jon Stewart's production company Busboy and Comedy Central, Demitri will have his very own tv show!

According to the Hollywood Reporter Important Things With Demitri Martin is going to be a sketch comedy show starring Martin, and one would presume a few other people as well, and will riff each episode on a kind of theme, such as "the important things about chairs" which is one of his very funny comedy bits. The show is set to hit the airwaves late next year with at least 6 to 10 episodes. Very very cool.

Chuck and Moonlight

Continuing on the tv front we come to two new shows that I couldn't feel any different about, Chuck and Moonlight.

Chuck, the story of a nerdy guy who works for the Buy More (a Best Buy clone), he has simple geeky aspirations until one day he receives an email from an old friend that contains the encoded combined information of both the CIA and NSA databases. Somehow Chuck manages to absorb these files into his brain and is now effectively a living supercomputer of counterintelligence. So the only thing for the government to do is recruit him and hope this nerd can help them save the free world.

I was somewhat skeptical of this show before seeing it, I mean come on, that premise is a bit ridiculous; and the rest of the show seemed to be trying to entrench itself in something at least resembling the real world. BUT I have to say I was really pleasantly surprised by Chuck. The writing was crisp, the jokes were funny, all the actors gave solid quirky performances. After I got over the cheesy comic book element of Chuck becoming a living computer, I really really enjoyed the show. I think a accurate way to describe this show would be quirky and cute. It's definitely a spy thriller with some decent action and stunts on the surface, but really it's much more of an offbeat comedy. This is one show to definitely check out. And now I can see what a strong lineup NBC has for their Monday nights with Chuck leading into Heroes, and then followed by Journeyman. Looks like my Mondays belong to NBC. Cool deal.



The other show I watched was unfortunately an absolute disaster. Moonlight is TERRIBLE. The story here follows Mick St John, a private investigator / vampire with a conscience. He solves crimes, presumably from the pilot, with the aid of his reporter friend / love interest / girl he saved from vamps when she was a child, Beth (aka the requisite hottie). Part of the problem with Moonlight is that in a post CSI, L&O:SVU world everyone knows that the press and private investigators cannot fuck around with a crime scene. This show has so many antiquated tv cliches from old P.I. shows I was expecting Magnum to walk in at any time. Frankly that would've livened it up a bit, because not only was the show incredibly stupid it is also just lifeless. There was no spark to grab my interest at all . Mostly though I blame this travesty of a show, on the piss poor writing. It boggles my mind that anyone could make this show and not know that it would royally suck. Sorry if I'm overreacting, the show isn't worth getting upset about, it's just bad. Don't watch it, don't waste your time; and don't worry, I bet it will be canceled anyday now. If your in the States and want to, the pilot is currently available to check out for free on iTunes.

Reaper and Gossip Girl

So aside from stealthily avoiding the bears of Yosemite, I've also been trying to catch as many premieres and new season kick offs I can of this Falls tv season. And recently I got a chance to catch up on 2 more new shows, Reaper and Gossip Girl.

Reaper is a show that I knew I had to check out. As a fan of Kevin Smith's Smodcast, I'd heard something of the behind the scenes of his experience directing this pilot episode of this new series, and it really sounded like a pretty fun show. I have to say, while a lot of critics have been kind of luke warm to it, I honestly enjoyed the heck out of Reaper.

The story follows Sam a guy in his early 20s who has yet to actually make anything of his life. He works at a dead end job at a K-Mart like store, his best friend is also a go nowhere slacker, and he doesn't even have the nerve to ask out the girl he likes. The series picks up when Sam turns 21 and finds to his surprise that before he was born his parents sold his soul to the devil. Now the devil has come to collect, but instead of taking Sam to hell, he recruits him to become a bounty hunter collecting itinerant or escaped souls from hell and returning them to their damnation.

Its a funny show, with a good heart and a silly attitude. I know that its on CW which is an automatic turnoff to some people, but I say during the Smallville commercials is worth it for a quirky comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously. I recommend you check this one out.



The other show I checked out, which is currently available for free on iTunes is another CW offering, Gossip Girl. It follows a group of extremely wealthy young people living in the Upper East Side of New York City. Helmed by O.C. creator Josh Schwartz this show plays a lot like a darker, grittier version of The O.C. and that proves to be both a strength and a weakness. Even in just the pilot, it has way more teeth than the O.C ever did, but that also makes it less appealing. The lives of the young and social elite in California seem to involve beach parties, sailing, and looking good in a swimsuit. Whereas the New York scene is darker, and heavier with more emphasis on fashion, nightclubs, and being sophisticated. Maybe its the other element of the show that makes it stand out, namely all the gossip. The show is framed by a narrator, voiced by Kirsten Bell, who gives the viewer and often the characters the scoop on whats what in the lives of these kiniving rich kids. Basically this gives people license to repeatedly stab each other in the back. This show has a lot of people manipulating each other, betrayal, and of course gossip. Its the kind of show that will regularly use the word 'frenemy', and now I just have to decide if I can handle that.

While I think I still prefer the sunny, emo rock scene of the O.C., I'll give Gossip Girl another couple of episodes to grow on me. A darker soap series may be just the thing for the coming winter months.



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Crusoe coming to NBC

The Hollywood Reporter says NBC has ordered 13 episodes of a new series for next Fall (or possibly mid-season) based on the 18th century adventure novel Robinson Crusoe. I've always really enjoyed the book and think that while this could be a really cool series; it has a much bigger chance to be absolutely terrible.

The obvious problem that arises with an adaptation of this material is the fantastically racist elements of the book. If you haven't read the story I would definitely encourage you to do so. It's an easy and entertaining story; and not much weightier than your average young adult book. The story follows the titular character, a castaway, who must learn to survive on a desert island with only the aid of his faithful "man-servant" Friday. Through ingenuity and steely British determination he faces all kinds of obstacles from pirates, to terrible hurricanes, to marauding cannibals.

I don't think Robinson Crusoe, in it's historical context, is any more racist than any other populist story of the time. By today's standards though EVEN as a period piece this will be a very hard thing for a network cable audience to accept. Thankfully NBC is fully prepared to rescue us from examining our questionable past.

According to series producer Ben Silverman "Crusoe will couch the 1719 novel with a contemporary feel and voice, including a 21st century take on race relations, but it will be a period drama, taking place in the 17th century, when the book is set. It's part 'MacGyver,' part contemporary morality tale about race and personal discovery, part comedy, and part 'Castaway' meets 'Survivor'."

I've got to say, this kind of subjective contemporization does not fill me with hope. This smells like a "message" show. I enjoy a pulp action adventure story as much as the next guy, but I'm not sure Crusoe can modernize it's racial sensibility (obviously destroying any historical integrity) without becoming a cheesy cliche. Perhaps unfortunately, this alone outweighs any other aspect of the story. To me this show sounds a lot like a bad mix race buddy cop show set on an island. It's not about the action, even if the action is really great, because that's just a frame for the real story about relationships, and how much the characters can learn from each other. And this series will need to do more than flash some beautiful South Pacific scenery to convince me it can be more.

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New Wall-E poster and trailer

I love this new poster for Wall-E. Its simple but says a lot. Click to enlarge. Oh and as a side note, the international trailer is launching later today.

UPDATE - Here is the nice new trailer. Its good, but I was personally hoping for a bit more. Trust me, once you see the stuff I saw back at comic-con you will be very impressed :)

Gatchaman and Astroboy!

Imagi Animation Studios and the Weinstein Company are at it again. After this summers successful, and very fun, TMNT they have signed on for animated updates of two more classic properties, Gatchaman and Astroboy!

Kevin Munroe who directed TMNT will be the main man behind Gatchaman, which is based on a cartoon series released in the 70s that depending on where you lived and when you saw it under the names Battle for the Planets, and G-Force. It is about a team of teenage superheroes ninja scientists who defended the earth against evil alien invaders who were bent on stealing our natural resources. The plot really didn't make too much sense to me but I wasn't ever a real devotee of the show. If you're still not totally clear, this was the one where the good guys often wore the bird-like uniforms...right. Anyhow, we can expect more on that soon, I'm sure, check out this sweet teaser poster for the movie. Also if you read my Twitter sidebar "Stray Thoughts"(hint - its just to the right) you might've noticed a few days ago that I mentioned that uber comic and animation scribe Paul Dini is collaborating on the scripting for this film. Very nice.


Personally I'm much mre familiar with, and excited about Astroboy. The story follows Astro a robot who fights for justice, usually against robot hating humans, or alien invaders. And in a tragic Pinocchio sort of way, Astro also trys to learn and understand human emotion. It's a very good story that really deserves the big screen treatment. Check out this great pic below. :)


For even more on this very cool development check out the original press release whichI read about on Superherohype! Ok, I'm off to Yosemite all for a long weekend. Hope I don't get eaten by a bear. Later :)

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Justice League moves ahead

With the recent news that Warner Brothers has decided to plunge ahead on a live action Justice League movie to be filmed before the potential writers guild strike next summer news has been starting to develop at an alarming rate.

George Miller of Happy Feet, and Mad Max fame is at the helm directing, and while it hasn't been officially confirmed word is he's looking for actors to fill the roles of Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Flash, and Wonder Woman. I personally am hoping for the inclusion of Martian Manhunter or another female hero, but I won't hold my breath. Also whether Miller decides to go with a Hal Jordan, John Stewart, or I suppose even a Kyle Rayner Green Lantern has yet to be revealed.

This week it was reported that Jessica Biel is in final talks to play the Amazonian princess Wonder Woman. Warner seems to be pretty thick into the casting phase now, testing a lot of new people everyday, so until its final I won't count on anything. Also Warner themselves have said they don't plan to make any casting news official until they have a complete cast to announce. Rumors do continue to circulate though. Perhaps the biggest speculation surrounds whether Warner Bros will be able to entice Brandon Routh and Christian Bale to don their superhero personas and join the team. The current speculation suggests that Warner's isn't even going to attempt this, and we will get a brand new Batman and Superman... obviously if this happens we can safely conclude that Warner's has their heads firmly up their asses. Because what the kids really want is another Superman...The other bit of casting surrounds the long rumored Ryan Reynolds role as The Flash, in a recent interview however I read that he definitely does not want to play the Flash anymore. Apparently he's moved past that point in his career... although I'm not sure to what exactly.

We'll have to keep an eye on this film as it develops. I worry that its getting pushed too quickly through production, and will be total crap. Although, if they actually took their time I don't know that I would have significantly more faith that it wouldn't be crap. A film with this much marquee superherodom riding on it is going to be a bit of a crap shoot no matter what. Will it work out? Who knows. I probably would've gone for launching the characters on their own first like Marvel, and then bringing them together, but this could be a good thing too. And Warner's needs to pick up the pace on their comic book films; or else I'll never get that Wonder Twins movie I've been waiting for.

UPDATE - Just after I posted today, another big piece of news broke on JL. Over at UGO they have, from what people are calling a reliable source, a bunch of SPOILER filled details on the films plot and more. I won't post the info here, but you can go check it out right here. I will say that they mention that Martian Manhunter is in the script, but Aquaman is for some reason not; and that the Green Lantern for the film will be John Stewart (which is basically what I expected). No mention of a bad guy though, but it's really sounding like good stuff so far.

UPDATE UPDATE - EW is reporting that Jessica Biel has passed on the role of Wonder Woman. Oh well...

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Back to You, and Kitchen Nightmares

A couple more pilots have shown up for free on iTunes. Here's my take.

Back to You is a new sitcom starring Kelsey Gammer. He plays a pompous news anchor, named Chuck Darling, who years ago, left the Pittsburgh nightly news to move onto bigger and better things. After an on screen blunder lands him back at his old station though he has to find a way to reconnect with his former colleagues, and make a home for himself. The biggest challenge is dealing with his old co-anchor though, played by Patricia Heaton. She is a woman who Chuck unwittingly had left pregnant with his child. Now upon returning to Pittsburgh Chuck finds he has a 10 year old daughter and a re-kindling romance with his on screen costar.

Back to You is a very typical sitcom, but I suppose it's funny enough. By that I mean sure it's canned, but it's also not especially offensive. I even mildly chuckled at a few jokes and wasn't overly turned off by anything. I think the actors are also uniformly excellent, and that has a lot to do with it's innocuousness. But this is also a show I don't intend to watch. There's nothing special here, but I know there's a market out there for this kind of thing. Maybe years from now I'll sit back anbd watch a weekend marathon of Back to You on TBS. I probably wouldn't mind that.

Kitchen Nightmares is Gordon Ramsey's new reality cooking show. Well, actually its more about managing a restaurant than any actual cooking. In the show, which is an American version of his UK show, Ramsey profiles a new real restaurant each episode. These are restaurants that for one reason or another are teetering on the edge of disaster, and the show follows Ramsey as he swaggers in with all his formidable British menace and basically whips everyone into shape. Of course throwing some money at these restaurants to upgrade their equipment and accoutrement's along the way, only adds to the excitement. I enjoyed the pilot, but once again would not really recommend the show. I've already got enough to watch and I don't need another 'uplifting' reality show. For my money I'd say stick with Hell's Kitchen, Ramsey's other show, and be happy.

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Heroes - Four Months Later

Did you guys catch the season 2 Heroes premiere last night? If you missed it, live in the States, and want to catch up on all the awesomeness, check out Four Months Later at NBC.com for free :)

I have to say I was very pleased with the episode. It didn't try to cram absolutely all of the characters back into the show all at once, and it continued strongly on the mythology. Beware some SPOILERS here. To recap the story follows a few choice characters and caught up with them as the title says four months later. Claire, begins her new life, witha new name, at a new high school in California (i believe) and meets a Tom Welling lookalike with the soap opera name West who is sure to become her new love interest. Hiro Nakamura is lost in the 17th century with his favorite folk hero, legendary samurai warrior Takezo Kensei who surprise surprise is white?!?! We also catch up with everyman cop Matt Parkman who has just made detective, and is doing his best to raise little Molly who has started having some pretty terrible dreams/premonitions once again. There's also a few small bits and pieces with Mohinder who is apparently getting recruited into The Company again, a drunken Nathan who survived long enough to grow a very fake beard, and some of the older generation of heroes, specifically Hiro's father and Nathan's mother as they both receive ominous death threats. Oh, and finally we meet one, or possibly two, new heroes, on the run from a murder rap in Honduras they are making their way up to New York to desperately find Dr Saresh.

I loved how the episode flowed. Like pretty much every episode of Heroes, if there is one specific storyline that falls a bit flat there is always another one to pick it up. Thankfully all of todays stories were for the most part interesting. I liked how Claire is seriously trying to deal with her situation but will obviously never be able to contain herself and not use her powers. .. I mean come on everyone; shes not a robot! I did think her new love interest is a bit cliched, and looked way too much like it was Heroes doing Smallville, but the fantastic scenes with Claire and her father HRG easily made up for it. I also enjoyed Hiros story; my guess is that he will actually end up becoming Kensei himself, ultimately winning the blacksmiths daughters hand and becoming his own greatest hero. Although I loved how over the top David Anders was in this episode as Kenseiu. That guy seems to just always be amazing, and despite the armor I think he's really bulked up since Alias. I will say, the Matt storyline wasn't quite there for me. I think I really just want him to be a better father figure, a better man, and he's just not. And he's left his wife? divorced?! oh Matt, Matt.... what happened? And yes Molly is still totally cute, but she seems a bit too petulant. I had such big plans for her spinoff show with Micah too... oh well, maybe next season.

The big surprise at the end of the episode is of course the reveal that Peter is in fact alive. But where he's been or what has happened to him remain a mystery. It looks like that'll be a fantastic story that unfolds with him. And that he's going to be something of a badass for the next while, at least until he can buy back his memories. very exciting.

I really liked the episode overall and can't wait to see where they bring the series this season. My hope is for a little less mellodrama, and a bit more action. I know everyone has their favorite characters but overall I think we just need a more cohesive single story. Get the heroes together quicker and firmly establish the challenges for this season's story.

A couple of things mentioned in the episode that I think we should keep in mind going forward with the season.

- There is a plague hitting people with this active hero gene (umm... Legacy virus anyone?)
- Someone is out to pick off the remaining older generation of heroes (Hiro's father says: "there are only 9 left")
- Peter's mystery (his new necklace (isn't it the same as The Haitians)? who chained Peter up? how did he get his momory stolen? where has he been for the last four months?)
- Back in the past Hiro saw another eclipse, what is the significance?
- Is Mrs Bennett "in" on the whole Company thing now? What about Lyall?
- Who is behind The Company? What are their plans now?
- Is DL dead? and where is Nikki and Micah?
- Where is the Haitian? Is he still working for Angela Patrelli?
- Where is Sylar??? Its been confirmed he is definitely coming back.

Anything else I missed?

BONK!

This morning I had a little accident at the workplace.

Firstly, you should know I have a lava lamp on my desk. Don't ask why, it''s just there. Secondly, this morning I arrived to discover that Telecom did not put the wires away or clean anything up when they installed our new phones over the weekend. So I came in to find the tower of my computer laying out on the floor, and it was as I tried to push it back in place that the incident happened. For posterity, here is an artist's representation of the events exactly as they occurred.

My boss made me go to the hospital which was probably a good idea. No concussion thank goodness. But I do have a big bump on my forehead now :(

Mondays are no fun.

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AVP Requiem poster

This Christmas there will be no Peace on Earth...


Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem is set to come out on Christmas Day.
A great film to see with the whole family.

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Star Wars on the small screen

TV Guide recently conducted a very good interview with George Lucas where he talked about a number of things including the future of Star Wars; specifically the new Clone Wars cartoon, and the HIGHLY anticipated live action tv series. I'd really encourage you to go read the 2 part interview (part 1, part 2). Or if you just like the SW highlights, please read on...

And please forgive my paraphrasing :)

The Clone Wars cartoon:

- It takes place between Episode II and Episode III
- Expect dark, sophisticated, and PG-13
- They're making 100 episodes total (they're on 40 now, and plan to have 50 or 60 done by the time it goes to air)
- They hope to have it on the air next Fall (ie in one year)
- They're shopping it around, but it will have to be on after 9pm

The Star Wars live action series:

- Scripting will begin in October/November
- It takes place between Episode III and Episode IV
- Follows some minor characters from the films, and makes them central
- No jedi, no Vader, it's much more about the regular people of the universe
- They plan to do 100 episodes total
- They are planning on shooting and producing themselves (ie without network help) then selling them once they're done (IMO a very smart idea)

Also worth mentioning: George is a big fan of Rome, and Jon Stewart.... somehow that doesn't surprise me.

Its a very fun interview, and enlightens a few details about the new Star Wars series' that we didn't know yet. I'm sure there will be more to come on both these shows in the months ahead. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

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K-Ville and Big Bang

So I'll try not to make this post too long, because other than as a public service, its really not worth it. But iTunes has a number of the new shows of the season available for free from their store and I thought I'd comment on two that I just watched.

K-Ville is a cop drama that takes place in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. It's about people rebuilding their lives, following their dreams, and rediscovering hope, aka very heavy handed attempt to pull at your heart strings. The show is trying to play off the endless possibilities and fresh start clean slate mentality of this kind of a situation but for the most part it feels too engineered to make me anything but a little disgusted. I don't think I'd go so far as to say this show is capitalizing on the misfortune of a terrible situation; it is after all filmed in New Orleans, bringing some good revenue to the city, and in general I think New Orleans is a good city with a fresh look not seen on screen much, but I still can't recommend this show. Based on the pilot it seems like they're going to be aiming for a mostly emotional show with a large action element. This is a cop show with, I expect, a lot of car chases, and gunplay. But like every bad cop buddy movie these guys are way too transparent, they go over the line a lot. Police would and could never get away with acting like this. And to top it off in the final minutes of the pilot they threw a totally unnecessary, yet major, plot twist into the mix. K-Ville is not worth your time or the trouble. It might succeed to a degree just because it's subject matter is still a very emotional issue for people, but the fact that FOX placed it against Heroes tells me either they legitimately think it can compete, or they are going to let it die quickly. Check out the trailer for K-Ville below, it airs Mondays at 9pm on FOX.



Big Bang Theory is a pretty traditional sitcom. It follows two genius nerds, who are roommates together and have a very odd couple sort of relationship. They are geeks whose only friends are other uber nerds. No social skills, no cool, no women. But what wacky hijinks will these socially inept dorks have to deal with? In fact its a hot new neighbor girl who moves into the next door apartment. So now they've got to learn to be cool and hopefully make a new friend. Cut to laughtrack, hilarity ensues...

There is a place for these kind of shows, there is a market for them, and this isn't anywhere near some of the truly awful ones that pop up every year, but if you want traditional sitcom I'll still stick with How I Met Your Mother, or even Rules of Engagement over this. Big Bang isn't bad, but if the best thing I can say is theat it has a cool title song, then it probably wont last. Than again, who would've thought According to Jim would still be on the air. Miracles never cease.

The Big Bang Theory airs at 8:30pm Mondays on CBS. Watch this trailer to see pretty much every "joke" in the pilot...

I love New Zealand

After Canada, New Zealand is the greatest place I've ever been. I was really lucky enough to get a chance to spend just over 2 months there back in 1998. It's just such an amazing place.

Unbox and Journeyman

So last night I decided to finally try Amazon Unbox, which I talked about here before. Now that NBC has made the decision that it will not go with iTunes for its next season tv shows, a horrible move if you ask me, they are launching themselves onto Unbox exclusively with a bang.

NBC is offering a number of its new season pilots for free on Unbox, and as you know I've been waiting impatiently for Journeyman (officially premiering after Heroes on the 24th), so I decided I just had to partake in the Unbox revolution. And for the most part I was very impressed. Despite the whole DRM thing and having to watch it on the Unbox player, it was a very good experience. Thankfully their player is extremely nice, so I feel like it was well worth it.

But that's not really what I wanted to talk about here. What I wanted to talk about was the Journeyman pilot. See you have to understand that I have terrible luck picking shows. From Invasion, to Daybreak, and Smith, to The Black Donnelly's. Sure some of the shows I get into are popular, but it seems like when I pre-pick shows to be the best of the new season they often fail. Journeyman has been my most anticipated new show of the season, so you can imagine my trepidation. I want it to be great, even better than its obvious progenitor Quantum Leap, and despite a few murky leaps in logic I think it just might be.

Journeyman has a lot going for it. Especially Kevin McKidd the lead, who thankfully plays it smart. I get extremely frustrated when people in movies or tv shows wont admit the obvious, because 'that's just too incredible...' This protagonist realizes pretty quickly that hes traveling in time, he realizes what he's doing and he even acknowledges the dangers and potential paradoxes right upfront. Also a big plus in my book, it doesn't stumble into the pitfall of Early Edition in that yes he CAN tell people about the time traveling. And while yes I admit a few scenes like 'the Intervention' were really a bit too fast coming, overall this show plays it very smart and realistic. My only concern within the context of the show is the as yet unexplained physics and rules of his travelling; even in this pilot episode I felt like it didn't really make a lot of sense.

I hope this show can find an audience. The Heroes lead in is great, and I think the show has a lot of potential. We'll see if the world is really ready to accept a new time travel show. For my money I'll say yes, and hope my luck with predictions is changing.

That was scary.

Last night while I was on the bus going home we got into a pretty bad accident.

But not with another car. I was on the 48 bus and we were on 24th street almost at Mission. We had just stopped at Bryant i believe, and so thankfully weren't going very fast when it happened. So as we're just pulling away from the curb, there was this huge THUMMPPP. and the bus stops.

Oh my god, we actually hit someone. It was totally fucked up. everyone got off the bus very upset. The guy, an older mexican man was actually lying under the front on the bus. yes, I mean he was actually under the bus... lying on his back with one arm definitely broken going totally the wrong way. Thank god the bus driver stopped and the guy didn't go under the wheel.

It looked to the people in the front of the bus that the man had honestly just tried to cut across the street in front while the bus was still stopped. So scary...

I left after the ambulance arrived. They told the crowd that he was breathing and talking which was a good sign that he would be ok. The whole situation was definitely screwed up though. It's crazy how fast it all happened.

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new Hereos tv spot

Hey guys, are you getting excited about Heroes yet??? only one more week to go ! Check out this new commercial for the second season. pretty sweet :)



As a side note I just read on Comingsoon.net that Del Rayt is going to make a Heroes season 1 book all about those 6 weeks that Hiro spent in the past trying to save and falling in love with the waitress Charlie. The book is aptly titled Saving Charlie. Nice...

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The Plain White Ts show

So earlier this week someone at my work sent out an offer on the internal e-bulletin board offering free tickets to see The Plain White Ts in concert on Wednesday. While normally I would be podcasting that night I knew that Devon is a fan of the band, and figured free is free. So I snagged a few tickets and last night went and saw a truly 'interesting' show.

Here's a video to listen to while you read the rest of this post. It's the single-tear-rolling-down-the-cheek-rock-star-posed video below for their ballad Hey There Delilah. OMG like TOTALLY the BEST SONG EVER!!1!



So by 'interesting' I mean, I really would've loved it, if I were 13 years old, and a girl. I wasn't familiar with The Plain White Ts other than the Delilah song that's on the radio all the time, but I knew they'd been touring around the country with Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes, so I think it was a fair assumption that they'd be on the rock, emo, indie scene. And they sure were, but they were also totally corporate, really clean cut, and brandishing a really fresh faced teeny bopper image. I don't know if I've ever been to a show that was so "Disney".

And these guys really should be on the Disney Channel. The Jonas Brothers should be opening for them, and there should be tweenage girls with posters of them plastered all over their walls. And there probably are. Its not to say the band was bad; they were doing their thing very well, and musically they really were very tight; I was just surprised how bubble gum everything was.

The funniest thing though was that this show was 18+. What a stupid idea. I mean these guys core audience has to be like 14 or 15 years old. Also the crowd was pretty corporate. Speaking of which, the event was put on by Samsung, and not open to the public was really over-branded. I don't know why no one told the band that this is definitively not cool, but they literally twice during the performance took a moment to plug their sponsor. While some tickets were given out on the radio and such, I actually think a lot of people who were there came by their tickets in the same kind of way I did, through some corporate connection. But that, and the age restriction didn't lend itself much to very dedicated fans. I honestly felt that probably a third of the audience was there under some sort of ironic circumstances. It really felt like a lot of the crowd was just humoring the band to an extent, at least I know I was.

It really wasn't a bad show, it just wasn't what I was expecting, and it really wasn't my cup of tea. These scruffy little rock stars are the band that you really want you 13 year old daughter to like because she think they're totally Alt and badass, but really they're completely not. Check out their MySpace for a few of their admittedly catchy pop songs, or watch the super awesome video for the fairly fun song Hate (I Really Don't Like You).

Iron Man trailer hits the net

Check it out peeps.

Since this isn't officially supposed to be up until tonight I'm not sure it will last, but for now you can definitely head over to the Apple trailer page and see the awesome Iron Man trailer.

Its basically a cut down version of the trailer I saw at comic con, with maybe a handful of new shots added, and damn is it ever cool. I'll update this post once I can get it off youtube or somewhere.

Iron Man is set to come out May 2, '08...

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G.I. Joe goes international

Just a quick tidbit on the G.I. Joe film.

Apparently in the script by Stuart Beattie they have decided to leave the US centric version of the Joe team and make them into a more internationally representative force...( might we even call it a coalition of the willing?) Anyhow, they have also added a backronym to G.I. Joe, expanding it to mean Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity. director Stephen Sommers has also said specifically that it is now "an international co-ed force of operatives who use hi-tech equipment to battle Cobra, an evil organization headed by a double-crossing Scottish arms dealer. The property is closer in tone to X-Men and James Bond than a war film." I think we can safely assume that the Scottish arms dealer is Destro. But odd that there's no mention of Cobra Commander, eh?

The scuttlebutt over all this is of course that Paramount is worried about dealing with and representing a very pro-american agenda in an international film market. The War on Terror, is obviously very topical, but is that what we need from G.I. Joe? Maybe its a great opportunity, and maybe its a really REALLY bad idea. Either way, I think these changes are a smart move, and screw it, I'm not going to be too upset if we have to hang out more with Quick Kick than Bazooka, or they change it so Snake Eyes is from Bulgaria or wherever. Maybe it will be a more responsible film for it.

Anyhow, that's the tidbit of news. More, of course, as it develops :)

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Indy 4 has a title...

Get ready kids, cause on May 28th, 2008 it's coming for you

That is the brand new, official title for Indy 4. The title was revealed by Shia LaBeouf at the MTV VMAs tonight. You can watch video of his announcement over at MTV.com Pretty cool if you ask me. I have no idea what the Kingdom fo the Crystal Skull means, but it sure sounds like a good Indy title. What do you guys think?

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Robotech to the big screen!!!

Hell yeah!!!

I frickin love Robotech! Care of The Hollywood Reporter comes some news that just makes me smile :D Tobey Maguire (yes, that Tobey Maguire) and Warner Bros have picked up the rights to Robotech and plan to bring it live action style to the big screen. While at the moment Maguire's company is producing, he is said to be eying up the lead role of ace pilot Rick Hunter.

After the success of Transformers, and the impending ramp up for the live action Voltron film, this was really the next logical step. Of course nothing will beat my favorite mech movie Robot Jox, but while great that story was still a total Gundam ripoff. Robotech however was a legitimately taken Japanese product (really 3 products), reedited, relooped, with a new easier (yet far less sensible) storyline that made it as American as apple pie and baseball.

If you don't know I suppose I'll just on a really basic level say that the story is about mankind fighting off an invasion by an alien race who we've recently discovered some advanced technology from. It features hot shot space pilots in these transformer like robots (called mechs, or mecha), that kick all sorts of ass and... oh man there's really just a heck of a lot more to it. But I'm not sure how much to get into here. The show was just great fun but maybe I'll wait for an easier description before I go overboard. I will say it was one of the first Mech shows to make it Stateside and was beloved by many a kid of the 80s.

There's not really much other info on the project except that it has indeed been picked up. I really am a very big fan of the property, having watched the entire series twice, and read all the books, as well as a number of the comics. Even just a few months ago I finally picked up the ultimate Protoculture collection of dvds for the entire series. I've been slowly trying to get Erica to get into the show, but its tough when we're talking anime. Anyhow, I am very excited about this film and franchise potential. You can bet I'll be keeping my eye on this one closely.

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Journeyman coming soon

Superherohype! which, as I hope you all know, is one of my most favorite sites on the internet, was recently doing an exclusive interview with Kevin McKidd of Rome fame, on one of my most anticipated new shows this fall Journeyman.

In NBC's own words the show follows "Dan Vasser (who) thought he had it all: a loving wife, a great son and a steady job. But life suddenly throws him a curve ball. Dan finds himself traveling into the past with a purpose — impacting people's lives for the better — and sometimes the worse. While doing so, Dan reconnects with Livia Beale, his ex-fiancée, whom he lost in a mysterious plane crash. Now armed with the knowledge of the present, will he be able to save her? What would that mean to his own future? And how would it change a man who thought he had it all?"

Not totally but VERY similar to Quantum Leap, wouldn't you say? Maybe with a bit more personal mystery involved too. Anyhow, I'm pretty excited about the show. You should check out this trailer.

One of the most telling things I took from the interview I mentioned was that this show unlike Lost of Invasion will not be relying on chasing down the mystery, but rather dealing with the more immediate and intimate story. I think that's smart in a way, but it also worries me that we'll end up with too contained episodes. If there's one things that grates on me its purely episodic television. They also mentioned the two main practical rules of the time traveling element of the show, firstly that Dan can only travel within his lifetime, and secondly he is always traveling in or around the Bay Area (ie - San Francisco, California). Dan has to help people along the way, and like Quantum Leap most of the people have nothing to do with his personal life. Unlike Quantum Leap though because Dan obviously stays the same person when he travels back, and because he keeps flipping back and forth from the present to the past he has access to modern information (although yes technically Sam did have Al). Besides all that though the series creator Kevin Falls swears that he's never seen Quantum Leap so it really has no impact on the show...uh huh, sure...

The show looks pretty sweet regardless; and I'm interested to see where it goes.

As a final point, the fine people at SHH! did ask McKidd about those Thor rumors and he responded by saying that they are "semi-true" although that the last he heard they were looking for someone closer to 19 or 20 years old. Maybe he'll be up for someone else in the Norse pantheon? Time will tell on that front.

Journeyman is set to premiere on NBC on Monday nights starting on September 24th, at 10pm. Yup that's right, they even gave it the Heroes lead in. I hope it helps :)

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Dark Knight teaser

I think I might've missed posting this a while back. But in case you haven't seen it yet, check out this teaser trailer for The Dark Knight. Its pretty cool for not actually showing you anything.



On a side note I just saw 3:10 to Yuma today, and Christian Bale gives a stellar performance.

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Conan: Red Nails

I think somehow I missed actually mentioning this story before; but that shall be rectified right now. While we all know that Warner's is working hard to try to get a new live action Conan film (without the govenator) off the ground, there has been been some interesting developments on another front of the Cimmerian barbarian, those being work on the upcoming Conan: Red Nails animated feature.

Red Nails is another hearty adventure following Conan as he stumbles across a long lost city in the desert. Once there he finds political plotting, vengeful feuding courtiers, evil sorcery, beautiful scantily clad, yet demur warrior women, and a load of complex and interesting characters or creatures to bed, or kill. Basically its everything you love about any Conan story, and is considered by many to be one of Howard's best. Now this tale is coming to dvd sometime... soon.

Hard to say exactly whats happening with the film as its been in development for a very long time, and was even rumored to be scrapped after some legal disputes with Dark Horse and the Howard estate, but recently the official website for the film has gone online, and the excellent Ron Perlman (who we all know and love as Hellboy) has been announced as the man voicing the barbarian. So i think its safe to say that this film will at some point, probably very soon, see the light of day.

I know I'm a fan of the material, and Conan in general, but since you might not be as familiar with it, why not go over and browse around the official website, and check out these great pieces of art for the film. I think this will be a really fun, and cool film. Still a few things to see, like what the rating is and how far they can really push it, but I am very interested and I hope you are too. Maybe we'll get a trailer soon. I for one hope so... Until then check out these pics.

What a show...

On Tuesday night I went and saw The Brian Jonestown Massacre at The Independent here in the city. I wasn't very familiar with their stuff before but I have to say I was both impressed and a bit scared. The music, when they actually played was fantastic. But these guys were on stage for probably 3 hours solid and only made it through 10 - 15 songs total. Every song, I mean like EVERY single song must've had a 10 minute bridge in the middle of it. And on top of that the lead singer and backbone of the group Anton Newcombe would regularly stop the songs midway through, like literally force everyone to stop playing, just so that he could yell at member of the audience or his bandmates. It was such an odd experience. Definitely one of the weirdest shows I've been to, but also really good. Their music has a lot of heart, and you can feel the Rolling Stones influence. Check out this sweet performance of Nevertheless...

The reason I went to see them, and really how I heard of them is through my friend Chris, who considers them, alongside BJMs arch-rivals The Dandy Warhols to be one of his favorite bands. He told me about this documentary called DIG! which chronicles something of the rivalry between the two bands, and it sounds just fascinating. Chris called it the best rock documentary he's ever seen. Check out the trailer below.