My Thoughts on Mark Wahlberg being Cast in the Uncharted Movie

It's a movie based on a game. It was going to suck no matter what. I know Max Payne was horrible, but Mark Wahlberg was just the feces-based icing on that crap cake.

I know that a lot of people wanted Nathan Fillion to be Nathan Drake in this movie but really, it is better to be disappointed going into a movie like this rather than having high hopes. After all, it might not be as horrible as you think it will be.

Yes, it is going to be horrible, no doubt about it, but it might not be Battlefield Earth bad, and it certainly can't be as awful as Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. A just god wouldn't allow that.

But really, I can't get excited about any movie based on a video game these days. I've been burned too often because they always screw them up. Then the people in your life who don't play games watch these movies and look at you funny because they can't contemplate how the source material for such wretched creations could be captivating on any level.

With Mark Wahlberg, at least we can all have an excuse and just blame him for how bad the movie is, because if you do end up seeing this movie, try to imagine Mr. Fillion having to wade through the ocean of crap that Wahlberg is going to have to swim through.

In the end, I am sure that he is going to be relieved he didn't get this role.

TSA Screening: A Pop Cultural Perspective

Now there has been a lot of discussion as of late about the Transportation Security Administration's (and by extension, the security personnel at airports around the world) use of backscatter security scanners and "enhanced" patdown procedures.

I thought it would be interesting to look at these real world events through the lens of pop culture by asking what if you had seen what is going on today in movies and on television in the past... how would it have been painted?

For instance, if you were watching a movie from the the mid-1990's and these kind of procedures were featured during any part of the movie, you would instantly know you were watching a dystopian science fiction film. Think about it.

I mean, think about even Total Recall and its computerized x-ray machine that only showed a person's bones. That wasn't a very pleasant society, was it?

If you were watching an episode of 24 or a movie and what the TSA is doing today was shown happening at the airport in a foreign country, you might be inclined to believe that you were watching the actions of a repressive regime, and the not so subtle odor of corruption would also likely be involved. If it was from a movie in the late 1980's, they may have made it something that the Warsaw Pact countries were doing, or dictatorship in Africa or South America, and in the 1990's, it would have likely been a Middle Eastern country doing such things.

If you were watching a fictional movie about the American Political system and the events leading up to the deployment of the Backscatter Security System were recounted, by the end of that film, the people who did that would be under indictment or have taken their own life.

And if you were watching a movie or television show where the patdown experience was so extreme that sexual abuse and rape survivors were literally breaking down and crying, or those with physical infirmities were made to perform outrageous acts or humiliated, like being forced to show their hidden prostheses or covered in their own urine just so they could fly, those heaping those indignities would not be sympathetic, would they, even if they were just following orders.

In all the cases I've mentioned, the societies that are doing these things end up on the wrong side of things every time and are evil. If this is the case in fiction, why would it not be so when these very same things are happening in real life.

I know that terrorism is a threat, but no matter what measures someone dreams up, there are those who are determined to destroy, and they will come up with creative ways to do so. Ironically, sometimes they seemingly get their ideas from fiction as well.

So putting a bunch of money in a former political appointees pocket and making everyone else miserable is not the answer. Because this all ends with the flying public having to show up to the airport 3 days early and naked just because someone took an Ellen Degeneres joke and ran with it.

Sunday Video: French Disko

I love Stereolab, but I laugh every time I watch this video.

Why?

The people dancing in the audience.

It is like they scooped up every young adult subcultural stereotype from the early 1990's, threw them in an audience with cameras and told (or paid) them to dance.

And I am especially amused by the idea that while the band was performing, they were getting to see how silly some of those people looked out in front of the stage unfiltered. I would have loved to have heard the conversation backstage after that.

Especially about this dude:

Seriously man, what were you thinking? I know it isn't nice to mock the fashion choices of the past, but come on. I can't think of any time this would be a hip look.

Week 29: Pageant of the Transmundane

For the weird news opener of the week, do I need to go further than stating the following: Sarah Palin. North Korea. Allies.

Anyway, this week's winning entry comes to us from The Droid You're Looking For.

In this case, it is a series of Failed Ghostbusters Product Endorsements, my favorite of which is the Chocolate Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

And since this week's winning entry has to do with the Ghostbusters, I thought Homer playing that role would be the most approriate image.

Congrats. Here is your badge.

The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogging village to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

This is not a meme. This is an award that I give out, and thus, I am not "tagging" you.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

Awesome Webgame: GunBlood

I've played a lot of web-based flash games, but yesterday I stumbled upon one which is both simple in concept, but still incredibly compelling.

The game is called GunBlood, and it simulates in a slightly cartoonish fashion the gun duels of the Old West.

You begin by selecting your character. I haven't found any profound differences in how they behave, so it is more about finding one whose look you like the best.

You then face your first opponent. You play by rolling over the chamber of your gun at the bottom of the screen, wait for the countdown to finish before aiming at your opponent with your gun. If you are quick and accurate, your opponent will be killed before they even get a shot off, but if you aren't, well, things can get dicey. Depending on where you and your opponent get hit, either or both of you can end up on one knee or on your back and stomach, but if you still have ammo and some life left, you can continue the fight.

What I found especially thrilling was the fact that even the earliest opponents can beat you if you screw up, so each fight is tense in the best possible way. And since the gunfights generally last only a few seconds, you end up in some situations where you have to react very quickly if you want to survive.

For a game based on such a simple concept and execution, it works amazingly well.

How My PS2 Collection Stacks Up To The Critics Best-Of Lists

If you read my entry for the Coalition of Awesomeness's Geek Obsession theme (or if you've been reading Culture Kills for a significant amount of time), you know that I have, how shall I put this... a healthy collection of Playstation 2 games.

With today being the American Thanksgiving and last month being that console's 10th anniversary, I thought it would be interesting to look through a couple of best of lists for it to see how my collection stands up. I think I did very well.

Let's begin with Gamepro's most recent list of the 36 Best Games for the PS2. I've put the game I own in bold, and the ones I used to own in bold italic.

1. God of War 2
2. Resident Evil 4
3. Shadow of the Colossus
4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
5. Okami
6. Final Fantasy XII
7. God of War
8. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater / Subsistence
9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
10. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty / Substance
11. Gran Turismo 4
12. Hitman: Blood Money
13. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
14. Ico
15. Guitar Hero 2
16. Kingdom Hearts 2
17. Final Fantasy X-2
18. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
19. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
20. Tekken 5
21. Devil May Cry
22. Twisted Metal Black
23. Burnout 3: Takedown
24. Bully
25. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
26. Silent Hill 2
27. TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
28. Onimusha: Warlords
29. Lego Star Wars: The Video Game / Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
30. We Love Katamari
31. Black
32. SOCOM 2: U.S. Navy SEALs
33. Marvel vs. Capcom 2
34. Escape from Monkey Island
35. SSX 3
36. Fight Night Round 3 

Then there is IGN's list of the Top 100 PS2 Games.

1. Shadow of the Colossus
2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
3. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
4. God of War II
5. ICO
6. Okami
7. Kingdom Hearts
8. Grand Theft Auto III
9. Gran Turismo 4
10. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
11. Burnout 3: Takedown
12. Guitar Hero II
13. Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
14. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
15. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
16. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
17. Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
18. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
19. Rez
20. Resident Evil 4
21. God of War
22. Katamari Damacy
23. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
24. Final Fantasy X
25. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
26. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES
27. Frequency
28. Guilty Gear X2
29. Soulcalibur II
30. Guitar Hero
31. Dark Cloud 2
32. Black
33. Ridge Racer V
34. Beyond Good & Evil
35. GrimGrimoire
36. Amplitude
37. Viewtiful Joe
38. TimeSplitters 2
39. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
40. Jak 3
41. Ratchet & Clank
42. Devil May Cry
43. Bully
44. Odin Sphere
45. Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny
46. ESPN NFL 2K5
47. Suikoden III
48. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
49. Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec
50. Gitaroo-Man
51. Twisted Metal: Black
52. NBA Street Vol. 2
53. Rogue Galaxy
54. Silent Hill 2
55. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
56. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
57. Tomb Raider Anniversary
58. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
59. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
60. Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
61. The Warriors
62. Mercenaries
63. Primal
64. Aggressive Inline
65. WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain
66. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
67. Psychonauts
68. Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love
69. Star Wars: Battlefront
70. Tourist Trophy: The Real Riding Simulator
71. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
72. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
73. Kingdom Hearts II
74. Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
75. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
76. Ar Tonelico 2: Melody of MetaFalica
77. The Mark of Kri
78. MVP Baseball 2005
79. Final Fantasy XII
80. Spider-Man 2
81. SSX 3
82. Burnout 2: Point of Impact
83. Transformers
84. Gungrave
85. Manhunt
86. Battle Engine Aquila
87. Project Eden
88. Monster Rancher 4
89. Viewtiful Joe 2
90. Dead to Rights
91. Colin McRae Rally 3
92. Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories
93. Fight Night 2004
94. Killer 7
95. SSX Tricky
96. Max Payne
97. SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs
98. Madden NFL 2005
99. Karaoke Revolution
100. God Hand

And there is Complex's list of their Top 25 PS2 Games. In addition to the other demarcations, I have also italicized games I have a version of.

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (2005) (I have Snake Eater)
2. God of War (2005)
3. Ico (2001)
4. Final Fantasy X (2001)
5. Devil May Cry (2001)
6. Tekken 5 (2005)
7. Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal (2004)
8. Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
9. Silent Hill 2 (2001)
10. Jak 3 (2004)
11. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
12. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)
13. SOCOM II: U. S. Navy SEALs (2007)
14. God of War 2 (2007)
15. Gran Turismo 4 (2006)
16. Okami (2006)
17. Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner (2003)
18. Kingdom Hearts (2002)
19. Katamari Damacy (2004)
20. Persona 3 (2006) (I have Persona 3: FES)
21. Virtua Fighter 4 (2002) (I have Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution)
22. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (2003)
23. Guitar Hero II (2006)
24. Final Fantasy XII (2007)
25. Burnout 3: Takedown (2004)

So yeah... it's official. I am a freak.

Midweek Video: Charles Bronson's Killing Hipsters

I have a Death Wish against hipsters.

The George Lopez Divorce

I should begin by stating that I am not mocking this parting or the individuals involved.

And this post is an exception to a way of thinking I've been rather clear in demonstrating.

After all, I've been rather critical of celebrity relationship reporting in the past, but in this case, my morbid curiosity is getting the better of me because there is a rather unique issue in this particular split which is really making me wonder.

You see, about 5 years ago, George Lopez was suffering from a disease which caused his kidneys to shutdown and die, and his wife gave him one of hers.

And now they are divorcing.

You can sell a car or a house, you can share the custody of a child. But how do you quantify a body part that helps keep one party alive. Would it even come up in the discussions?

Because if it did, I could see it being used as a huge bargaining chip, the trump card in any disagreement.

Say George Lopez doesn't want to pay a particular amount of money per month for alimony... I could see his soon to be ex-wife or her lawyers stating that I guess the fact that she gave him a kidney isn't worth anything.

And apparently he was cheating. How do you cheat on someone who helped you stay alive? Infidelity is horrible, but that just takes it to a whole new level of dick moves.

Given that another famous victim of infidelity (Sandra Bullock) helped get his first sitcom off the ground, he is really burning some bridges too.

Now I am not a fan of Jay Leno, but somehow George Lopez has made himself less likable than him. That is a mean feat.

A Pairing Full of Destiny

I would so watch this as a cartoon series or read it as a comic. Powdered Toastman and Deadpool... a pairing full of destiny.

via New Grounds.

Confession

I still haven't seen any of the Harry Potter movies since the first one (or read any of the novels).

Oh, the horror and the shame.

Now There is Going to be a Buffy The Vampire Slayer Reboot without Whedon

Oh For Fuck's Sake.

Honestly, you are telling me that this is the best idea that producers can come up with.

They couldn't send a page out to USC or another institution of higher learning within 40 miles of the studio and pluck some film student at random from a class and give them a million dollars to make a movie? I mean, that would probably end up being as cost effective as the above idea, and knowing college kids, they'd end up with a horror comedy about some form of undead creature anyway, so it would work out anyway.

Note: I am neither a fan, nor detractor of the series in question (or Joss Whedon for that matter).

I have to stop being shocked by these stupid, lazy ideas, I really do. I should expect less. A lot less.

Sunday Video: Topic A with James Urbaniak

Basically the voice behind Rusty Venture interviewing the supposed writer of the Shark Jumping episode of Happy Days. And much like the Venture Brothers, it gets awkward in a wonderfully funny way.

Week 28: Pageant of the Transmundane

I read the following headline this week: "Lawnmower getaway attempt goes bad." I don't know how a lawnmower getaway would go well. Ever. I mean, you can chase someone on a riding lawnmower on foot.

Speaking of which, the winning entry this week comes to use from the ever humorous Jerks in Your Area.

In this case, it was an entry based on a Craigslist ad which was titled I will destroy your band for $300, where someone offers their services as a quiet, yet effective band destroyer.

And since this week's winning entry has to do with being in a band, (and I mentioned something like this earlier in the week), I thought Homer at Band Camp would be the most fitting image for this week's bounty of laughs.

Congrats Alec for this epic find and writeup. Here is your badge.

The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogging village to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

This is not a meme. This is an award that I give out, and thus, I am not "tagging" you.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

Friday Favorite: Thoughts from The Lineup

My somehow relevant comic about what people are thinking while waiting for Harry Potter in line. I put this together at StripGenerator back in July 2007.

This once again proves that everything I did in the past was gold, pure gold.

I Guess I Should Have Read Comics All Along

There is a scene near the end of American Pie 2, where Jim and Nadia are sitting in a lighthouse, and the former realizes that he loves the quirky and adorable band geek Michelle, and he states "I am a band geek, I just never joined the band".

Well, yesterday I realized I was a comic book guy but I just didn't read them.

Now, I know that at some point in the past, I wrote an entry for Lee at Quit Your Day Job in December 2008 where I explained why I didn't get into comic books, but after something catastrophic happened to his database, it was lost forever, but I did indeed write something to that effect.

I could have just let that slide and not mentioned that I had made those arguments, but I like to admit my seeming hypocrisy rather than hide it.

So here are a few of the reasons why I am a comic book guy (man, I hate saying it that way), but I don't read comics.

Lucha Libre: I am utterly fascinated by and intensely interested in Mexican wrestling, a world of scripted story lines between groups of very strong and acrobatic men in masks with a clearly marked line between the forces of good and evil. The names are also interesting to note in this context. Translated, there is King Mystery, The Saint, The Blue Demon, Psychosis, Man of A Thousand Masks, Black Shadow, Darkness and Cyborg amongst others. Are those not comic book hero/villain names?

Serialized Drama: I've made no secret of my former infatuation with a couple of soap operas. But even as an adult, series like 24, Prison Break and Alias, also had my full attention, where it was important to watch all the episodes in order to understand how the story was unfolding, and each of the lead characters of those series are extraordinarily talented in one way or another.

Animation: Let's look at some of the shows that I liked as an adult: The Venture Brothers, Dragon Ball Z, Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law, Ugly Americans, Drawn Together and Futurama. All have either something specifically to do with superhero-type characters or have fantastical elements within otherwise mundane settings which lend themselves to the comic form (and in DBZ's case, it was actually adapted from manga, so it has a head start in being like a comic already).

Movies: The type of movies that I love are very action-oriented, but in a stylized way, and in thinking about it, it occurred to me that a lot of the sequences I liked could be encapsulated easily as a sequence of comic frames. Kill Bill, Fist of Legend, and Hot Fuzz all come to mind when I think of action-oriented movies that I love that have a comic book feel to them. Even looking back at older movies that I enjoy, like Once Upon a Time in the West, they too, fit this model. And that isn't even mentioning films like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Sin City which are adapted from comics themselves.

Video Games: I wonder if playing as a cel-shaded masterthief who happens to be a fox, a special forces agent who is trying to prevent the implementation of giant nuclear mechs while fighting superhuman bosses and having really weird conversation on a codec, a Vin Diesel-lookalike who battles aliens, zombies and villains throughout time and a kickass female bounty hunter who goes after space pirates and a particular alien species would make me more or less likely to like comic book heroes. Hmmm. That's a tough one.

Now, I just have to find the comic-reading equivalent of a band camp geek. I don't have a lot of hope for that personally speaking.

Gathering My Favorite Posts: Can you Help Me?

I am working on putting together a list of my favorite posts as an introduction to what I do here at Culture Kills. When I moved to the new Blogger, I had forgotten that I can actually do that now (along with the Blogger Burnout Advisory System)

Now I have a number of posts which I know will be on that page, but there might be a few which were the favorites of you, my readers, that I wouldn't have thought of.

So, are there any posts which you really liked?

How Not to Steal a Movie Concept

I read an interesting bit of Hollywood dirt yesterday, something which was likely common knowledge for a lot of people, but which I didn't know.

It seems that the special effects firm working on Battle: Los Angeles, which is about a group of aliens attacking that city, also decided to make a movie of their own.

That other movie happens to be Skyline which just came out, which is about aliens attacking Los Angeles. Hmmm. Interesting.

This leads me to a question: if you were a producer, would you hire an effects firm that clearly took your ideas and equipment to make a competing movie that could potentially damage your film's reception. I certainly wouldn't.

Given the box office returns for Skyline, it looks like this was really a case of career suicide for everyone involved. And I am sure Sony, the studio behind Battle: Los Angeles will be pursuing every legal option they have in their arsenal against this firm as well.

The First Thing I Said When I Saw This Picture

Simon Pegg has a Book?

Sunday Night Video: Dueling Michael Caine Impressions

Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan are on a show called The Trip reviewing restaurants. In the midst of their first meal, they trade Michael Caine impressions. Brilliance ensues.

Week 27: Pageant of the Transmundane

A Kentucky man was forced to eat his beard last May because of a dispute involving a lawn mower. I can't make stuff like this up (and no one got really hurt in this incident, so I thought it was ok to talk about it).

This week's winning entry comes to us from the blog Boo Ya Pictures.

In this case, it is a picture of a couple of kids dressed up for Halloween. As the Mythbusters.

And I am sort of cheating with this week's image, as it is a Halloween Simpsons image featuring a comical orange-haired character. Hey, it worked for me.

Congrats. Here is your badge.

The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogging village to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

This is not a meme. This is an award that I give out, and thus, I am not "tagging" you.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

My Perfect Storm Going Into Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Did you ever find out that you had inadvertently studying for an exam you didn't know you were going to have?

Well, apparently, for the last 6 months, I was unwittingly watching/playing the perfect storm of materials for my first viewing of the film version of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I watched it on DVD last night, and it wasn't until this morning that all the pieces came into place.

Now, I did read the first two volumes of the graphic novel, so I was not entirely ignorant of at least part of the narrative, and I was interested in the series because I love video games, especially River City Ransom, which has come up quite a few times here. And my love for the work of Edgar Wright is well-known, so I am familiar with his work in film and on television.

Anyway, Edgar Wright put out a list of the 10 movies which influenced his vision of Scott Pilgrim, and there are some interesting little tidbits in it.

Before this year, I loved The Phantom of the Paradise, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Amelie, and I was familiar with Danger: Diabolik, and I saw them all within the last 6 months.

Now, I haven't seen #1 on that list, but I did listen to the Midnight Movie Club discussion of Flash Gordon back in June, and was entertained by that. 

And about the same time, I happened to get into a Kung Fu watching phase, and I watched in the span of about a week Five Fingers of Death, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and Shaolin Soccer (though in my post, I hadn't gotten to that point yet, as I had watched Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer ended up in my DVD player that weekend. So I ended up seeing or experiencing 8 out of 10 of the movies he listed.

Strangely enough, the reason I got back into Kung Fu movies had to do with the fact that I had just finished God Hand, and I was looking for films which matched its frenetic hand to hand combat on a one-to-many scale, and there were a few moves which were very much in keeping with Kung Fu Hustle. The hero of God Hand is a loveable jerkass who slowly begins taking responsibility for the great power he has been given.

In July, I got a copy of Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution off of Goozex, and even though in the past, I had stated that I didn't like pure fighting games anymore, but somehow, at that moment, it reignited a love for the genre which I thought was lost forever. So for the next couple of months, I took a healthy stroll through the Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Tekken, Samurai Shodown and Mortal Kombat universes, with stops for some Marvel vs Capcom 2. I fought a lot of people. I even started getting in Mugen, and at some point, that is heading into crazytown, because that is where you can actually see how characters from multiple franchises stack up.

And in the midst of that fighter lovefest, I took a little break to play No More Heroes, a game that stylishly tells the story of a supergeek who is surprisingly good at wielding a beam katana and working his way through a list of ranked assassins and loads of coin (and blood) fountaining mooks in an game which also references other games, and someone I know got Hot Fuzz on Blu-Ray, and I got to see it in clear digital resolution... and watch a commentary with Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright.

Almost as an afterthought, in late October, I thought watching the complete Dragon Ball Z saga would be a good idea too, what with the Super Saiyans and drama and such.

Oh, and I caught Shaun of the Dead on Halloween.

Other little bits and pieces that are also at least coincidentally related to this came up at The Coalition of Awesomeness. For instance, during my post about my insane PS2 collection, I mentioned that there were titles that I had always wanted as a kid, and I remember that list to this day. One of those games had been Clash at Demonhead, which is the name of a band in the movie.

Then there is the fact that in the movie (at least), Scott learned how to play the battle theme from Final Fantasy II.

So basically, going into Scott Pilgrim, I had exhaustively refreshed my memory about fighting games, beat 'em ups, kung fu movies, Dragon Ball Z, the work of Edgar Wright and thought about classic Nintendo/SNES games quite a bit.

To say I enjoyed it would be an understatement. At this point, if the series/movie didn't exist, I would have to probably try to create something like it, because really, how often does half a year of your life end up being culminated by someone else's creation so succinctly. It is amazing how things work out sometimes.

And in writing this, I feel incredibly geeky.

Express Checkout: Jump Street, Kanye, Global Warming

- With all this talk about the Jonah Hill-written/produced/starring production of 21 Jump Street has me thinking about just how cool of a concept it originally was. Baby-faced cops fighting high school crime. No wonder it was successful on the fledgling Fox. Granted in other teen movies, those same characters would be the hated narcs who were wrecking everyone's fun, but it is all a matter of perspective really.

- I finally get Kanye West, and I feel so silly that I didn't see it before. Kanye West is a troll. As a veteran of the internet, I should have seen it earlier, but really, I wanted to give him as limited a benefit of the doubt as I could. But honestly, it is so obvious looking back on everything he has ever said or done publicly, because the idea that this isn't just an Andy Kaufmanesque act scares the living crap out of me.

- There is a Republican Senator who has revealed that he doesn't believe that global warming is a problem because of the covenant God made with Noah, so it just can't happen because when God wants to destroy us, he will. And that man, John Shimkus wants to head the Committee on Energy and Commerce. I am sincerely interested in reading/hearing the things he was saying about the prospects of nuclear annihilation during the Cold War, because I am sure there was also a pithy little passage in there about it not being possible because of another covenant with God. But he doesn't want Iran to have nuclear weapons (I don't either, but that is another story), so I guess he does believe mankind can mess up the planet. Hmmm. Interesting. *facepalm*

My Suspension of Disbelieve Shattered In A Trailer

You know when you have a moment where you see something during a movie that completely takes you out of it? I had one of those moments watching a trailer last night.

I was watching Conan (huzzah!) and a trailer for the new Paul Haggis film, The Next Three Days with Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks, and I was totally getting into it.

And then there was that moment that I mentioned.

Russell Crowe opened a car door with a tennis ball. That doesn't work.

If it was a comedy, I would have shrugged it off, but the film is setting itself up as a tense action/thriller, and knowing that particular method doesn't work makes me question the rest of the film. It pops my suspension of disbelieve completely.

I know that perhaps the filmmakers didn't want to show the viewing audience a real method of beating an electronic lock, which I would accept. Other than that, it detracts from the moment for me.

Awesome T-shirt concept

Ash + Doom = Awesome

Sunday Video: Avatar/Scott Pilgrim Trailer

Since Scott Pilgrim is coming out on DVD this Tuesday and I just finished watching Dragon Ball Z, I thought this mashup trailer of Avatar The Last Airbender and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World would be awesome for today.

It just fits so well together.

Week 26: Pageant of the Transmundane

I always start these things off with a weird news story, and this week, I don't think there was anything weirder than the Asian man who tried to sneak into Canada wearing a latex mask which made him look like an old white man.

This week's winning entry comes to us from the blog Golberz.

And in this case, it is a collection of vintage pulp novels cut in such a way as to make them into 3D artwork. While I don't like to see books being abused, I still thought the whole concept and execution was pretty awesome.

Since this has to do with pulp novels, I thought another image from Max Glikman's excellent Pulp Simpsons images would be the most appropriate image for this win.

Congrats. Here is your badge.

The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogging village to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

This is not a meme. This is an award that I give out, and thus, I am not "tagging" you.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog. 

How Did They Do That?

Am I the only one who thinks it is hilarious that someone has managed to break their TV playing a game with the XBox Kinect?

They broke their tv playing a game without a controller. I mean, at least with the Wii controllers, the people who broke their TV's had something substantial in their hand that could break their set, but in this case, they did what couldn't be done. That deserves some slow applause.

If I didn't use two Nelson Muntz pictures yesterday, I would have put one up today.

Nelson Muntz Laughs at the Nightly Talk Show Numbers

The Daily Show beats Letterman and Leno in the key 18-49 demo for the month of October.

Oh, and now David Letterman is beat Jay Leno across the board last week too. Leno's numbers have been generally lower than Conan's the entire time, and now he has slipped so far Letterman is catching up.

It looks like the ratings are going to be very interesting next week with the premiere of Conan on TBS. I am utterly fascinated about how this is going to all shake out now.

My Statement to the MidMoClub Re: Battlefield Earth

The Midnight Movie Club recently took on the epic failure that is Battlefield Earth, and because my mic was broken at the time, I sent Dan a statement to read about the movie. I have included it below.

"This is what it is like when a steaming pile of excrement is lovingly shaped into a movie. Unfortunately, I guess the kind of loving care that went into this movie is the same sort that Joan Crawford lavished on her daughter in Mommie Dearest. It is the sort of film that had to be crafted with sadistic joy, because that is the only explanation I can come up with for its general lack of quality aside from the possibility that Uwe Boll made it. I am sure Nic Cage's agent sent him he script and ever he turned it down.

I mean, Starship Troopers Marauder had the excuse that there was no budget to explain its horrific nature, but this... what fiend thought this was a good idea. And it's not like the book it was based on was stellar either... Hubbard must have been getting paid by the word for that atrocity against literature, because Battlefield Earth the novel is even more half-baked than the "religion" he created.

If John Travolta wasn't in it, I would have thought that it was designed to make Hubbard and Scientology look bad. That's what I would have done, because if it wasn't for Travolta, it would be an epic work made out of hatred.

But you know, I feel really bad for Forrest Whitaker. He has an Oscar, but he still has this on his acting resume. And let's not forget, it killed a studio. Granted, it was the studio that brought us such classics as Ballistic: Sever vs Ecks, the Get Carter remake and Half Past Dead, so perhaps this is the movie's one bright spot.

Everyone involved should be put in stocks and sent to every town in the world that the film opened in theatrically so they can be pelted with vegetables, batteries and/or whatever small items that people can find. And even then that wouldn't be enough punishment.

And yet, it still isn't the worst movie I've ever seen. That's the scary part."

What can I say. I am a passionate person sometimes.

In Lieu of Election Coverage: Demi Lovato

I could write about the election or the video game related court case that is before the Supreme Court, but I thought I would go in a different direction.

Demi Lovato.

Now, you all know I am not a huge Disney guy, and I don't follow the lives of any of their famous young stars, so when I read the full statement of what was actually going on... well, I totally understand why she left that tour and sought therapy.

I am thinking back to when I was 17 or 18, and just imagining having a relationship with someone, having it go sour and then having to continue to work with them in a very public setting in a professional way, and while doing so, having to observe that person get over me and move on with someone else.

That would be bad enough. But then there was all the other pressure she was getting from her other professional commitments too, the endless promotions and filming and so many other things that were heaped upon her in so short a time.

If it was me, I would have broken down so much sooner than she did. Stress and emotional turmoil together is a deadly cocktail, and in her position, where she was always in the public eye and in a professional setting she had to be perfect... it is totally understandable that something had to give.

Thinking about this incident has made me think about some of the snap judgments I have made about other individuals in the past and made me perhaps see that I was entirely too hard on them, and I likely owe a few of them an apology.

What if the Quaids Were Telling the Truth

Now, I don't believe them... I think they are trying to escape the monetary and judicial consequences of their own actions.

However, the idea is one which tickles my fancy. If it was a movie or a novel, it would be a fantastic premise, and it could explain a lot.

I am sure OJ Simpson would be willing to run with this idea too if he could get away with it. After all, it would be a somewhat plausible set of "real killers" that he could look for.

And it might be a surprisingly good explanation for why so many actors and musicians die when they are 27, and what happened to Natalie Wood, Tupac and Biggie.

But as I said, it is just a grand lie.

Because think about it... if such a cabal of assassins existed, would the Quaids be safe in Canada. They had apparently gotten to David Carradine in Southeast Asia, so how safe could Hollywood North be?

Hopefully David Fincher will direct a version of this premise sometime in the future, and that Oliver Stone doesn't run with it instead.