Worth Your Consideration #029

• I’d like to begin today’s WYC column with a little bit of rubbing it in for my least-favorite football team in the world, the Indianapolis Colts. Here’s Peyton Manning’s Super Bowl-Clinching Interception Recreated On Tecmo Bowl (courtesy of Best Week Ever).
• And, speaking of must-watch videos, have you seen the third trailer for Toy Story 3? It doesn’t wow me as much as the first two did—I’m past the wow stage anyway, though, and onto the “When is it coming out?” stage—but it is pretty darned nifty, and it sets up even more of the story. I love that we get to meet Ken, and that Barbie compliments him on his ascot. [Via Ain’t It Cool News]
• Now, when it comes to must-see video that ain’t even out yet, there’s one story today that tops the rest (at least for me): Web video producer John Herman and Cinema Suicide head honcho Bryan White are teaming up to produce How To Survive The Strange, which Bryan describes as Bob Vila, Vampire Hunter. It debuts in May, and there’s an open casting call on March 15. Learn more here.
• In far less appetizing news, I present the Taco Bell Cheesy Double Beef Burrito Stuffed Sausage Log. Um, what is the opposite of “Yum”? Anyone know?
• Palate-Cleanser, Part One: Christopher Nolan will help reboot Superman, hopefully with the same (or similar) results as his Batman reboot.
• Palate-Cleanser, Part Two: There appears to be some recording going on at Nine Inch Nails HQ.
• Palate-Cleanser, Part Three: Disney Princesses Letting It All Hang Out.
• And, last but not least, let’s talk about our old pal Kevin Smith. The Internet is in an uproar over the mistreatment of the Clerks director by Southwest Airlines. Many are mad at Southwest, some are mad at Kevin, and a few are even mad at Heather Armstrong, who had “the nerve” to compare her washing machine experience with this latest debacle. Me, I don’t care. Companies in the service industries do wrong by their customers all the time, and there ain’t a one of them that is totally innocent, least of all a company as big as Southwest. Me, I’m much less excited to hear Kevin Smith tell Southwest to go fuck themselves on SModcast than I am to hear more about his bold ideas on how to create fan-financed films.

Worth Your Consideration #028

• Speaking of red band trailers, here’s the international red band trailer for Kick Ass, a film that seems poised to imprint its boot heel upon the tuchus of every geek in the world come this April.
• The heroes of Kick Ass seem hell-bent on proving that you can be a superhero in real life if you try hard enough. Meanwhile, in the two-dimensional unreality of the Marvel Universe, there is word that a rather classic-looking team of Avengers will be debuting in the aftermath of that company’s ongoing Siege event. This is all part of the “Heroic Age” direction that the company is taking its characters, a promotion that is so interesting to this writing that I’m even salivating over a teaser featuring Gorilla Man. And I don’t even know who that is!
• I’d be salivating even more if Marvel—my favorite comics publisher—would get with the program and announce some sort of service for the upcoming iPad from Apple. According to Gizmodo, “comic books will look incredible on the iPad”.
• But anyway, in the interest of keeping things upbeat, how about the news from Ain’t It Cool that Red Skull will be the villain in the upcoming Captain America flick, and that the Invaders will feature heavily in the second half of the film? I’m personally thinking that we won’t get an Invaders team quite like the one highlighted over at AICN, but I think it’ll still be cool. What I think will happen is that the Invaders will be one hero from each of the allied powers, with Cap as their leaders. So, we’ll probably get Union Jack or Captain Britain. But, beyond that, I have no idea.
• Speaking of things from my childhood—did I ever mention that I first became acquainted with Captain America through a hardbound introductory book they had at the Chelmsford Children’s Library?—Sonic the Hedgehog is back! You know me: I’m a sucker for old school games. And, since I never owned a Genesis myself, I’m psyched to learn that I’ll be able to pick up a copy of this for my Wii and finally get a Sonic fix whenever I feel like it.
• While we’re talking childhood, how about this iPhone app that allows you to create your own Sesame Street monster? I’m buying that for my daughter as soon as I get home.
• A lollipop flavor you’d probably never catch Elmo eating: bacon maple, which now, coincidentally, comes laced with caffeine!
• My favorite Super Bowl ad: It’s a tie between the Leno and Letterman ad (which I didn’t see live), the Bette White Snickers commercial (which I did see live), and the LeBron vs. Dwight Howard dunk contest that we got courtesy of McDonalds, complete with a Larry Bird cameo (which took me too long to find online).
• Last, but not least: Kottke is talking up a new service called Chatroulette, which you can find at chatroulette.com (apparently it’s very NSFW). I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but have you? Is it as awful (and awfully good) as Kottke describes?

The Very Filthy and Very Funny Red Band Trailer for COP OUT

I’m on record as having hated the first trailer for Kevin Smith’s new flick Cop Out, but I gotta say that my once (and future?) favorite director has knocked it out of the park with the red band trailer for the film. The jokes are about one-thousand times better, and the interaction between Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan is working on all levels. Mr. Smith and company got their second chance to make a first impression, and they’ve got me craving another dose Cop Out as soon as possible.

Worth Your Consideration #027

I’m collecting links like mad lately, so it’s time for another edition of Worth Your Consideration.

• Let’s start off by linking up the Star Wars burlesque story that Jon mentioned during this week’s episode of Generation Goat. And, if the still image above and other images in that first link aren’t enough to sate you, here’s video of the debauchery courtesy of Geekologie. And, if that still isn’t enough for you, be sure to check out this video of Princess Peach shaking it for Bowser and all the other toads in the audience.
• You know that we love amazingly disgusting (yet somehow mouth-watering) burger photos. Well, here’s another one: Krispy Kreme Donut Bacon Cheeseburgers.
• You know that we also love Nine Inch Nails. Here’s a video of former NIN drummer Josh Freese kicking ass and taking names on a live version of “Wish.”
• Also on the video front, here’s an oldie but goodie: a circa 1984 dealer training video for the then brand-new Macintosh computer.
• Speaking of Apple, didja know that they confirmed they’ll be announcing their “latest creation” on January 27? Rumors indicate that we’ll hear about the fabled iTablet, iPhone OS 4.0, and iLife 2010 (the WSJ seems pretty sure about the tablet’s arrival, and is suggesting that families will share the device). There are also whispers that we’ll soon be hearing about our iTunes media collections living in the cloud.
• One more Apple link: Every Get A Mac Ad in One Place.
• Moving on! It looks like Spider-Man 4 has a director, and it’s Marc Webb, whose (500) Days of Summer is still on my to-watch list.
• Marc Webb once directed a Green Day video ("21 Guns"), and Green Day is going to be the center of the next Rock Band video game. Dude! How’d you like that transition?
• And, oh, if Green Day ever needs a drummer to replace the maniacally, indecently awesome Tre Cool, then they should check out this kid, whose chops, according to Mashable, “will melt your face off.”
• I’ve become kind of obsessed with videos of talented kids lately. Something else I’ve been obsessing over: stats for things that don’t need stats. And here’s a prime example: Charlie Brown’s lifetime baseball stats.
• Moving on! How long until someone runs over a real prostitute in their real car while too busy running over a digital prostitute in the new iPhone version of Grand Theft Auto to pay attention to the road?
• Something that keeps me from tearing my eyes away from the iPhone or the computer, wherever it is I happen to bump into these things: promos for season six of Lost and jokes about how the sixth season is going to make fans like me even more obnoxious than ever.
• Something I wish I could experience for real, and not just through the hype machine: Marvel Comics. I am really digging the poster for Siege that Joe Quesada did, but the pricing for comics is out of control and I ain’t coming back until they get real and bring cover prices down (which will probably never happen).
• Well, never say never, I guess. I mean, if Marvel’s new overlords at Disney keep making decent money on films like the rumored Tim Burton version of the Sleeping Beauty tale, called Maleficent, then maybe they’ll find some way to bring prices down.
• And, not that the House of Mouse needs any suggestions from me on how to make some dough, but here’s one: Disney princesses dressed up as the villains from their movies.

Geek Force FiveCast 285: No More Spider-Man 4

In which ECC expalins why the Spider-Man movie reboot may not be such a bad thing after all.

Thanks to Jon, Buj, and everyone else who e-mailed, DMed, or Tweeted about this story.

Geek Force FiveCast 281: Watchmen

In which ECC geeks out about finally seeing Watchmen (specifically The Ultimate Cut version).

The Trailer for COP OUT Sucks A Couple Of…

It makes me incredibly sad to realize that the trailer for Kevin Smith’s next film, Cop Out, is completely devoid of funny. I mean, I didn’t laugh once while watching it. Not once. And this is coming from the guy who made View Askew films one of the five fingers of Geek Force Five’s inaugural fist when the site debuted two years ago.

Now, part of the problem might be that the script ain’t Kevin’s—some say that might be part of the solution, but I ain’t going there—but I think the larger issue here is Tracy Morgan. This trailer is all about Tracy, and if you don’t dig his shit then you are not going to be amused by the schtick here.

Infinitely more amusing than the movie itself—or, at least more entertaining than this trailer—is Kevin Smith’s account of how the film formerly known as A Couple of Dicks came to be called Cop Out.

Thanks to News Askew for linking this up, but I think I’m gonna sit this one out and wait for Clerks III in 2016 (or at least until Kevin gets back to his own scripts).

5 Movies I Meant To See In 2009, But Still Haven’t Seen

Every year, I geek out about more and more trailers and see fewer and fewer movies. Part of this has to do with having a three year old at home and always forgetting to get a sitter, and part of it has to do with the general lack of money in my bank account, but at least some of it must have to do with laziness, right?

Well, who knows? But here, in no particular order, are five movies I meant to see in 2009, but still have not seen.

• Avatar: Everything I’ve heard indicates that this is a tour de force—except for the dissenting opinion of one of my brother’s friends on Christmas day, wherein he mentioned the concept of the uncanny valley to me—but there just hasn’t been time to see it yet.
• Sherlock Holmes: It’s only been out for a week. That’s an excuse, right?
• Watchmen: Uhm, yes, you may beat me with a wet noodle now. But I do have the ultimate edition on DVD waiting to be watched as soon as I get over my Wii addiction, so please don’t beat me too badly.
• The Princess and the Frog: Either it’s sad that I want to see this at all or it’s sad that I haven’t seen it yet, given the fact that I am father to a three year old girl who is obsessed with princesses.
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The first one being shitty didn’t stop me from seeing it, so what happened here? I don’t know.

Oh, and for shits and giggles, here’s a bonus sixth pick: (500) Days of Summer. Over the summer, I attended a workshop run by Academy Award Winner Ernest Thompson, and during one of our one-on-one conferences he told me I needed to see this film. That’s generally the kind of advice you take, no?

Geek Force FiveCast 277: Any Movie Sucks If You Want It To

In which ECC wonders if it’s only The Phantom Menace that could be eviscerated so definitively, or if that could happen to any flick.

THE PHANTOM MENACE Sucks - And Here’s Why

Red Letter Media’s review of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is 70 minutes of pure, unadulterated genius. I haven’t laughed out loud so much in years. And I do mean years.

Keep in mind that this is coming from a guy who actually likes the prequels, in spite of their many, many faults (many of which are enumerated in this review). So, this dude had to work to win me over. And win me over is just what he did. Watch part one via the embed above or over here, then check out parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Thanks to kottke.org for linking this up.