Not Your Average Joe
By now you’ve got to be aware that G.I.Joe:The Rise of Cobra is set to hit the theaters, although the promotional push is not on par with the other Hasbro toy inspired franchise, Transformers. At one time these two titans of molded plastic even starred in a comic book together, but Joe seems to be the one right now who is a bit of a question mark to the uninitiated. What is up with this somewhat silly looking, spastic, ninja-filled, sci-fi, military-esque motion picture? Shawn Lampron already made note of the lack of screening for critics, so is this a sign of Paramount waving the surrender flag? With 170 Million dollars in production and promotional costs, why can a film that appears tailor-made for sequels not getting the buzz out? Could it be that all little boys of 80s past and the little boys of present all know one thing is true? That G.I. Joe will kick ass, and all you crusty, bitter critics can pay like the rest of us. Or will this movie be totally FUBAR? I will attempt to get you into the know, because knowing is half the battle. (Didn’t see that one coming did you?) It’s time to get debriefed!
John Quincy Adams Joins Twitter
This just in from Mashable: John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, has joined Twitter. He can be found at @jqadams_mhs.
This is a project of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and I think it’s pretty darned rad. According to Mashable:
His trials, tribulations, and top books will all be tweeted out. On top of that, the MHS will tweet out maps showing the location of President Adams during his trip to Russia while he was a diplomatic representative of the U.S.
It’s an interesting way to try and educate the masses, and I have already followed the account, but the MHS shouldn’t hold out hope that they’ll reach Generation Y this way—if that is indeed their goal, as Mashable suggests it is—because research has recently confirmed that teens don’t tweet.
What do you think? Will you be following President Adams?
Geek Force FiveCast 206: The Lovely Bones
In which ECC geeks out over the trailer to Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones.
G.I. Joe: No Critics Allowed
According to Yahoo, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra will not be shown to critics. Among those who follow movies like Chris and yours truly, this is usually a frightening bit of news. Often, the studio has a turkey so enormous that they’re hoping for as few reviews as possible heading into that first week. That way, they can get that first big week of receipts until word of mouth puts the movie into the proverbial toilet.
Best of NH Update
Geek Force Five fans rejoiced back in June at the news that our fine site had been named the 2009 Best of NH: Best Pop Culture Blog. Unfortunately, the blurb on Geek Force Five was accidentally omitted from the Best Of round-up in the July issue of New Hampshire Magazine. It will appear in the September issue instead, but you can read it now at nhmagazine.com.
Our favorite line: “In an age when pop culture is America’s most substantial export to the world, and where presidential candidates announce their campaigns on late night television and engage in serious debates with comedians, a blog like Geek Force Five is a force to be reckoned with.”
Pixel and Video Game Soundtracks
Jason Kottke keeps it simple in his post on Pixel, writing “I could have played Pixel all day but my mouse hand fell off.” And I’m right there with him, as it’s a delightfully simple and amazingly fun-to-play game.
The real key to Pixel’s appeal, in my opinion, is the same thing that brings me back to so many of the video games that I love: the soundtrack. I’m not sure where this music comes from, but I want more of it the moment it stops. And I think that has as much to do with why I keep coming back to Pixel as the gameplay itself.
What about you? Do video game soundtracks draw you in? If not, what is it about a video game that hooks you first?
The Trailer for The Trailer of THE LOVELY BONES
Yes, I am actually geeking out about a trailer for a trailer. If there was any doubt in your mind that I am an absolute weirdo, let that doubt be erased like an Etch-a-Sketch in an earthquake. Footage is up now on YouTube (courtesy of TheMovieBox.net) of an Entertainment Tonight trailer for the trailer to The Lovely Bones. The Lovely Bones, in case you’re not familiar is an adaptation of the novel by Alice Sebold, and it’s directed by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.
My only gripe with this snippet is the ridiculous ET voiceover. As Quint from Ain’t It Cool News pointed out, Susie Salmon does not “hunt” her killer from beyond the grave. I hope this is just an indication of Hollywood’s never-ending need to puff things up that don’t need puffing up, and not indicative of the direction Jackson plans on taking the film. But I needn’t worry my pretty little head: we’ll find out soon enough. The actual trailer, sans voiceover, is apparently due to premiere on ET tonight.
Geek Force FiveCast 205: Apatowisms
In which ECC rambles a bit about watching Knocked Up last night, and then gets into comparing Kevin Smith films with Judd Apatow films.
Concept Art for the Forthcoming THUNDERCATS Movie
If you’re a Thundercats fan, pay homage to the fine folks at Pink is the New Blog and Movieline for a first look at the concept art for the forthcoming Thundercats feature film.
I was never a huge Thundercats guy, but I did enjoy the designs of the characters—I loved the glove of Lion-O’s, not to mention everything about Mum-Ra. How about you? Were you a Thundercats kid? And do you share the concerns of Trent Vanegas (PITNB), who writes, “I’m comforted by the fact that the movie will be a CGI film but considering how crappy the CGI movie based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles turned out … well, I think we have cause for concern.”?
Why Trent Reznor Left Twitter
PHOTO: Nine Inch Nails live @ Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON, 6.02.09 on Flickr by Rob Sheridan CC BY-NC-SA
Apparently, Trent Reznor had some really good reasons for leaving Twitter. The Nine Inch Nails frontman cites “scum” like the folks who’ve been targeting this old GF5 article as the reasons for his departure, and provides a sickening story about how far insensitive Internet assholes can take things:
Last night, I had the pleasure of trying to explain this message to an understandably upset Veronica De La Cruz:
@AndreaUrbanFox someone got balls at last! Hey, can I have some of that #Eric money? The dude’s dead, he doesn’t need it lol
Really?
She saw this message because anything with the #Eric hashtag appears on weloveeric.com. I tried to explain to her this person is just a lonely, obsessed, delusional, bitter “fan” who recently posted how the celebrity she’d most like to date is ME. She spends countless hours a day obsessing over me, my fiancee and NIN resorting to ANYTHING for attention. In a reasonably moderated community, these people can be made to vanish - on Twitter, it’s a free-for-all - hence they flock there. It depresses me to think my art and life’s work can attract this kind of scum, and trying to explain to Veronica why someone would stoop to that level of ignorance for attention - and it’s someone that because of me is in her world causing her pain… well, it sucks. If that was your intention you trolling, cowardly pigs - you’ve succeeded.
Moving on.
If you’re unfamiliar with who Eric De La Cruz is, please click here to read a message from his sister Veronica.
