The Expendables 2

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The Expendables 2 opened this weekend.  I haven’t looked forward to a movie since The Dark Knight Rises, and boy did this movie deliver.  It’s about a team of mercenaries that get hired to recover something in a crashed plane, they wander through some third-world European country and find a bad guy that they need to take down.  Simple enough right?

The good; the opening sequence.  It starts off with a condensed version of the first movie, the team comes in guns-ablazing (as if there were any other way) and they pretty much decimate this Nepalese hide out.  Seeing this masterpiece in the Arclight Dome was perfect, the screen was adequately large so I could see all the bodies flying and being eviscerated, and then the sound was in my face!  It’s the only way to go.
What an opening to a movie, the thing felt twenty minutes long if it was a yard… is that a saying?  Explosions, body count, bullets, cheesy lines – The eighties are/is back, with a vengeance.

We get the old team back together with some additions and we even get more time with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.  The first film had all three of these action stars in one scene, the sequel integrates all them in to the plot, very very enjoyable.  The back and forth with Willis and Schwarzenegger during the shoot out is that first scene in the church amplified and then fuel injected, these guys are such great sports to have done that scene.

The action is amazing, they were able to re-create the tone and feel of the first movie, why can’t other sequels follow this mold?

Van Damne!  He’s in the theatres again!  And we also get Chuck Norris!  These are not spoilers, if you’ve seen the trailers and advertisements you know that these two are in this movie.

How did all these action stars come together to make this greatness?  Please give us a third one.

The bad; I don’t know if there’s much to put here.
I would’ve liked to have seen more Chuck Norris… I know that sounds weird, but with the tone of this movie, they really could’ve played up his part in it all.  It felt as though they only had him for a small window of time, because the bulk of his time is taken doing Total Gym infomercials, but most of his scenes he was in a cutaway of him shooting and kickin’ butt.  The only real time he was with the cast was his introduction.

Van Damne’s death scene was too short, I would’ve liked some more in his last fight.  The man can still kick, that’s for sure.
His hence men were lacking, there should’ve been a pecking order that the team had to work up to before they get to the big boss.  The first film had Stone Cold and Gary Daniels before you got to Eric Roberts, I wanted that repeated for this sequel.

Schwarzenegger mentions that he’s got his team waiting when he meets the Expendables team… what if the team from the first Predator movie showed up as his team, tell me you wouldn’t want to see that?

Overall it was everything I wanted and it certainly delivered.  So avoid this movie if you don’t want  your expectation met or if you weren’t around for the eighties action movie.  This sequel delivers and satisfies.

Stan Lee’s Comikaze is Almost Here

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Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo

September 15-16, 2012

Los Angeles Convention Center

With Stan Lee and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, at the helm, this Comikaze Expo looks to be quite epic.

There is already an event called “Elvira’s Horror Hunt”, which looks to be as they call it on the site:

… outrageous and unapologetic brand of humor and horror film savvy to a competition that’s one part movie review show, one part film festival, and all parts funny as hell.

A full list of events has not yet been released on their site.

Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo states it is a Comics, Gaming, ASci-Fi, Fantasy, Anime and Horror convention, and their guest list reflects that. Todd McFarlane … you remember him? Yeah, he’ll be there.  Tara Strong, famous voice actress, Lou Ferrigno (best known as Incredible Hulk tv series), James Hong, and many more. See the full guest list here.

Last year, Comikaze had a “All That” reunion. And this year, they are continuing to renew our nostalgia (well for older folks like me) by having a “Salute Your Shorts” reunion!

This only the second year of this event, but it looks to be even bigger and better than last years! Stay tuned for more news and updates.

You can buy the full price tickets on TicketLeap here

If you are looking for some discounted tickets for that weekend head over to Goldstar.

 

Read about last year’s report and see pictures of our experience at Comikaze Expo here.

Tai Chi 0 Combines Kung-Fu and Steampunk

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We’ve talked with a bunch of steampunk fans that should probably be excited about Tai Chi 0. The movie poster shows a steampunk yin-yang and clearly states the theme with a tagline: A Steampunk Kung-Fu Throwdown. The film stars Yuan Xiaochao, Angelababy, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Shu Qi and is directed by Stephen Fung. The action is directed by legendary Hong Kong actor Sammo Hung.

Synopsis

In legendary Chen Village, everyone is a martial arts master, and uses a powerful form of Tai Chi in all aspects of their life. Yang has arrived to try and learn it, only to find that it’s forbidden for the villagers to teach their secret style to an outsider. But when a mysterious man comes to town with a frightening steam-powered machine and plans to build a railroad through a village, the villagers realize they may have no choice but to put their faith in Yang, who has a secret power of his own. With action directed by the legendary Sammo Hung (Ip Man 1 & 2), Tai Chi 0 is a full-on steampunk kung-fu throw down that will knock you out of your seat.

Check out Tai Chi 0 in theaters October 19, 2012

source

Beck’s New Abum Will Only Be Available As Sheet Music

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Titled “BECK HANSEN’S SONG READER”, Beck’s newest effort truly embraces the user generated content era. The album, which will arrive the end of this year, catalogs 20 songs presented a colorful hardcover case.

We should really be excited about this album. This release will surely spawn covers by both amateurs and professionals offering their own interpretations. I can’t wait for an explosion of renditions on YouTube.

Even if you can’t read music, the release offers more than just notes by the inclusion of illustrations by Marcel Dzama, Leanne Shapton, Josh Cochran, Jessica Hische, and others truly raises the bar.

source: beck.com

Lena Dunham Created A Promo For The New Yorker iPhone App

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I have seen some of Lena Dunham‘s work via Netflix (Tiny Furniture) and became a fan of her HBO show, Girls (I can hardly wait until the new season starts in 2013!). With movies and a show already under her belt, she now has a new achievement: creating a promo ad for the New Yorker iPhone app.

The promo video shows a very confused Jon Hamm as a late night TV host talking with Lani Darham (Lena Dunham) about the app. It cuts to a demo of the app by her to a Alex Karpovsky (also from Girls/Tiny Furniture). If you think you’re having connection issues while watching this video, think again. The late night TV portion is shot/edited to look like it was recorded decades ago or very low budget.

Jon Hamm is best known for portraying a mysterious, marketing director, Don Draper, on AMC’s Mad Men but he’s no stranger to comedic roles (e.g. Bridesmaids, SNL, 30 rock). He makes a bunch of unchallenged comments like “what’s an app?” and “you can’t watch TV on an iPad”.

Take a look below. I LOVE the awkward handshake at the end and the poke at corporate hype of apps.

But we just have one question: What about Android?

The Dark Knight Rises

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Just saw The Dark Knight Rises. It’s about Bruce Wayne and his one man war on crime. This time it’s eight years after the last movie, The Dark Knight, Bruce’s body is worn down (like an athlete) and so is his faith in people. There’s a plot to destroy Wayne Enterprises and Gotham, which bring both Bruce and Batman out of “retirement.”

The good; the movie is about three hours long, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it. It had me pretty much on the seat of my pants the entire time, beautifully edited.

The acting is great. Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, love me some Anne Hathaway. Much like Charlize Theron in Prometheus, Anne Hathaway’s in that catsuit most of the time, no complaints there.
Gary Oldman as the ever faithful Gordon.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Blake.  Tom Hardy as Bane.  Michael Caine as Alfred the father-figure.  Everyone delivers a wonderful performance.

The Bat, flying thing, what’s great about these movies is the science and logic behind the technology, they make it believable. From the movie physics of the Bat-Pod to the Bat vehicle, I just love it all cause when you watch it move on screen you think, “yeah, that’s how that would move.”

The bad; oddly enough, I do have some complaints. There wasn’t enough Batman, when you’re watching the movie you don’t really notice this, but thinking back, Bruce Wayne is Batman in the end of the first act, and then at the of the third act, I kinda wanted more Batman-time… on screen that is.
Bane’s voice – in the comic books he’s supposed to be Latin-American, I don’t know what accent he has in the movie, but it’s obviously dubbed and very stage present-ish.  In a shot where he’s in the far background of the scene his voice is still coming in very present at the center channel, that bugged me.

*SPOLIER* When Bane breaks Batman’s back, it doesn’t take him long to recover, there could’ve been more passage of time at this point. His back goes from a vertebrae protrusion to doing push ups and scaling the wall to freedom.

*SPOILER* The ending, very easy, almost too easy, and predictable. Much like Nolan’s previous movie Inception, this one ends in a montage and we’re given information visually. Alfred is away on holiday and sees Bruce just like he’d imagined years and years before Batman showed up, he’s sitting at a table with Selina. I wonder how it would’ve been if they’d taken the ambiguity of Inception’s ending and applied it to The Dark Knight? Leaving us with Alfred’s forming smile instead of cutting to Bruce at the table? And then to have Blake’s character’s real name be Robin? That almost felt like the studio pushed that onto the movie. Don’t get me wrong, I liked that the cowl and mantle would be passed along, but why dumb it down?

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, despite the criticisms I state above. I guess I’m so critical of this new film because I extremely enjoyed the previous films
Definitely worth watching on the big screen, and what a way to end a trilogy.

2012 Los Angeles Anime Expo: Talking with Cosplay Fans (Day 3)

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This sure is taking a long time to get posted!

00:00 – SF-A2 Miki (Vocaloid) is known for having a voice similar to Miku.

01:34 – Kaito (Vocaloid) is known for singing and being a computer person tells us how her aunt played a big role in her cosplay efforts

03:13 – Derpy Hooves (My Little Pony) is known for derping and works for a moving company

05:32 – Sister Tender Shall is nice and white but a very evil person. She also cosplays Zombie Miku

08:10 – James (Team Rocket) is missing a wig. He chose this character because it’s fun playing a bad guy. He’s seen many boobs over the weekend and even had some hands-on time. He server for the marines and now works for the cable company

10:04 – Frank West from Dead Rising has a great vented mask. His costume is very impressive for a first time and it’s good to know he’s a caregiver

12:38 – At first, I thought I was dealing with a girl… because of the outfit… then I realized this fellow had just put in lots of time to perfect this look of a death knight night elf from World of Warcraft. He shares the agony of focusing on building his costume

16:27 – Battle Bunny Riven (League of Legends) likes cosplaying different video game characters and beating a game a week

18:59 – John Egbert (Homestuck) is known for being silly and aloof and talks about his first experience with anime

21:25 – Fans of the japanese harajuku talk about crazy fans asking for too many pictures and wanting to be a sex slave

23:36 – Sheryl Nome (Macross Frontier) has been working on her outfit for a year and it really shows. She gets energy from anime and explains she can learn so much from anime. She even did her thesis on cosplay

28:03 – Censorship is a group of guys capitalizing on fans trying to see some skin

30:20 – Some Avatar cosplay fans discuss his method to maintaining his fit body

31:58 – Once again, the Pokemen put on a show

33:34 – Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin (Ouran High School Host Club) are known for the twincest. They talk about the anime scene in Chicago being much smaller. They mention running into some wild fans with interesting requests

37:08 – Gingerbread man doesn’t want anyone seeing his face38:50 – Some swimmer guy is known for swimming and catches me off guard with questions of his own. We discuss Ninja Scroll

 

00:00 – Pinkie Pie (My Little Pony) is known for parties and ball-breaking and discusses the challenges of standing out as in the overly saturated vlog world. Check out his youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/RandomEncountersEnt

03:34 – Moka Akashiya (Rosario + Vampire) is sweet and has a split personality and is slightly crazy like most women. She’s going to school to become a veterinarian and is big fan of venomous reptiles. She traveled all the way from Utah to be at the convention and is also going to the San Diego Comic Convention. Stick around and watch her get proposed to by a horse head fan

08:06 – A group of cosplayers show off their very well crafted Alice in Wonderland costumes and talk about their first experience with anime. Their name is The Antics, but I can’t seem to find them on Facebook

10:28 – Seong Mi-na (Soul Calibur) shares a great story about how she got into playing the game (hint: it all started at a laundromat). She’s a Japanese tutor and shares her experience of being around during the earthquake. She also talks about a hidden ninja village

14:47 Harley Quinn (Batman) gives an intimate explanation of why she likes her character and why she chose her major in college

17:25 – Panty (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt) is known for being an angel that uses her panties to fend off bad guys. She loves cosplaying and hopes to travel around the globe

19:37 – Sally (Nightmare Before Christmas) isn’t much of a chatter but I definitely recognize the group from other conventions

20:57 – Harle (Chrono Cross) is one of the bad characters of the game. Her costume is amazing and she traveled all the way from Quebec and decided to pack costume for her vacation. Her red eyes scare me.

23:12 – Samus (Metroid) loves the complexity of her costume. I don’t remember the character having a Monroe piercing though. She’s a big fan of the red power ranger because he embodies the spirit of the conventions

25:29 – The anime expo dancer shares some time telling us how she got into anime.

26:54 – the infamous red ranger tangos with another cosplayer. Watch out for the bulge

28:38 – Hurcule (Dragon Ball) embraces his character. Once I find out he’s a chef, we talk about his experience with strange orders and the beauty of food trucks

31:15 – Frederic Chopin (Eternal Sonata) loves cosplaying Mega Man and plans to watch a soccer match for the 4th. He really wants to cosplay Voldo from Soul Calibur

34:09 – Katrina (League of Legends) plays a lot and discusses her gaming tactics. She dualed with the Fiddlesticks. She is studying pharmacy because she loves health care but hates dealing with blood

38:15 – Asagi (D) finds the vocalist to be creative. She is studying costume design and wants to create her own fashion brand

39:47 – Facebook profile is funny and getting lots of laughs. You can even place your face in his window and be his friend. I ask him about his history with anime and he discusses the joys of fansubbing. He prefers old anime.

2012 Los Angeles Anime Expo: Talking with Cosplay Fans (Day 2)

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Did you like what we did last year? Here we go again! Check out what this years anime fans.


00:00 – Pink castle crasher is known for throwing rainbows everywhere.

00:53 – this guy is a nameless character from the Monster Hunter series gets his armor from a slain Congalala. He took 3 months making his costume and hasn’t slept in 2 days.

03:18 – LeBlanc from League of Legends has definitely put some time into her costume and has plans to design them for a living.

04:40 – Porco Rosso was a flying ace but avoids planes himself. He’s a video editor that shares his thoughts on 3D.

05:49 – An announcer from an upcoming steampunk webseries, Tinker, is out trying to promote their work. Check them out at on facebook. Their gear was provided by Wonderland Studios (Anaheim)

07:12 – I catch a special rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody performed by some guys and Master Chief.

08:19 – Static Shock is known for putting a shock to your system and shares his suggestion to story tellers of ending things on a high note rather than dragging them out.

10:20 – Gender bender Ran Yakumo from Touhou has a very complicated background as being a boss. She’s a middle child of the Yakumo family. His outfit has amazing stitchwork. You definitely want to go full screen HD for this guy. He also talks about the difference between the Los Angeles convention versus Sakuracon.

13:24 – My Neighbor Totoro is one of Miyazuki’s most noteable works. Her mom helped her with this costume and also helps a lot for Halloween. I express some concern and she tells me she feels like she’s in a sauna but about to take a break. She mentions getting very excited over seeing some no-faces.

15:37 – Madame Red from Kuroshitsuji is known for killing whores and loves her character’s depth and awesomeness.

17:13 – Lulu from Final Fantasy X loves her character’s costume and is seriously warm in her costume.

19:17 – Rikku from Final Fantasy X has taken years to create her outfit.

20:55 – One of the most talked about costumes, Fiddlesticks from League of Legends, bouts with another champion.

21:29 – Morgana from League of Legends isn’t a big gamer because she’s busy studying nutrition. She hasn’t heard about the proposed big soda ban in New York but thinks it’s a good idea. Check her out on facebook

22:54 – Rinoa Heartilly from Final Fantasy VIII is known for looking cute and being the main character’s lover. She talks about the logistic challenges of living far away from a convention.

25:01 – Mumbo Jumbo from Banjo-Kazooie is a magical character.

26:26 – The Green Ranger from the Power Rangers loves that his character took on all of the rangers and the ability to summon his monster on his own. He shares his thoughts on rebooting the series and the joy he had living in Japan.

28:40 – I can’t make out who this character is. She’s known for being pretty and also cosplays Black Rock Shooter. She loves anime because it’s fun to watch.

00:00 – Jinbei (One Piece) spent 3 months working on his outfit because he has no sewing skills.

01:08 – Genderbender Marissa (Tohou) is a jerk and has me looking at myself through his glasses. He notes the weekend is super packed since the X Games were going on at the same time. I ask him how he’s celebrating the 4th of July and without missing a beat he shows me his patriotic undergarments. He’s a civil servant.

02:14 – Dr. Kawashima from Brain Age has plenty to say and is very passionate about the game.

04:14 – Hetalia: Axis Powers represented by Italy, Prussia, Germany, America, England, and Hungary. They say the worst thing they’ve seen is ugly naked people.

07:28 – This version of the Cheshire Cat has a few tattoos recently graduated with a drawing and painting degree that she thinks is useless. Check her out anyway: facebook / jentakeda.com

09:29 – Majora’s Mask (Legend of Zelda) is Japanese and feels a strong connection with Anime. I ask her where the best place to get ramen and she says there’s a great place in Fullerton

12:29 – Axe Cop is a web comic that Fox recently picked up and talks about a few people mixing him up with real security. He’s an actor that’s done some commercials in Miami

14:19 – Who says Twilight Sparkle My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic can’t have a goatee? He loves seeking out knowledge.

16:47 – A steampunk couple explain why they love the genre.

18:32 – Rick Grimes loves killing zombies and cosplaying other zombie killers like Chris Redfield

20:02 – Tony Tony Chopper (One Piece) and Splicer (Bioshock). Tony Tony Chopper is holding cotton that she wishes was cotton candy

22:00 – Batman (cubecrafting edition) is a bit of a mashup and likes everything about anime and is studying criminal justice

23:20 – Reggie “My body is ready” Fils-Aime is a meme that has trouble seeing

24:54 – Thor finished her costume in 3 months because she got lazy. She explains that she likes gender bending because she’s not a big giant strong man but still loves the characters

26:36 – Pico (Boku no Pico) / Yuki (Tsuritama) are having a dangerous amount of fun and probably scaring children away. His water gun is definitely rated mature

28:20 – Jenova (Final Fantasy 7) definitely recognizes me. She talks about the challenges of making a costume being in your head and where she buys her materials. Check her group, SAUCEtown Cosplay. They are one of the best cosplayers out there drawing cameras towards them constantly at conventions. And how does one from SAUCEtown cosplay celebrate the 4th? Eating a trifle, of course!

The Amazing Spider-Man

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Saw The Amazing Spider-Man, it is a reboot.  We all know the story, nerd-loner Peter Parker gets bitten by a radio-active spider, he gains super powers and his Uncle Ben dies in the process.  He learns some life lessons and is the better for it.  But this film does add something different.

The good; I like the swinging scenes, I didn’t think I was going to like the video game like FPS POV angle, but it worked, and it wasn’t over used.  They got a lot of those classic Spider-Man poses in, always love when the film imitates the comic.  The fight scenes with the Lizard are very well done, I love the use of the web-shooters and how they’re choreographed in to the fighting.

Andrew Garfield doesn’t do a bad job, he’s like-able enough and believable enough as the nerd high schooler.  Denis Leary is great as George Stacey, I’ll probably enjoy everything he does anyway.

Without spoiling too much, we get Peter’s parents’ backstory, which is a nice touch.  But that plot line, along with the murderer of Uncle Ben go unresolved by the end of the movie.  Yet, it didn’t bother me at all when the credits roll… strange.

There’s a rather cheesy scene as we approach the climax of the third act that involves Spider-Man being helped by the “common working-class man,” but it works.

The bad; a lot of CG usage.  I miss having a stunt man that has the physical prowess to perform what’s needed of the character.  I miss practical effects, while it takes limitations off of the filmmakers we also lose a sense of, “wow, how’d they do that?”  I remember watching this.
Sure it’s dated, but it’s a guy actually climbing up a building and swinging and doing stuff.

We don’t get any resolution with Uncle Ben’s murderer, Peter goes out in search of this thug and doesn’t find him like he did in the previous franchise.  We also never find out the whole truth of what happened to his parents… I know I put this in the good section, but why were we given these plot threads to begin with?  If they’re going to reboot the franchise and start over with another origin story, why not give us this “new” part of the origin?  Why does everything have to be a trilogy these days?

The scene where the Lizard emerges from the sewers and on to New York’s streets with his bag of “goodies” is so the Sony lot, hahaha, but that wouldn’t bug anyone else but THIS GUY.

Overall, I actually did enjoy this movie.  It wasn’t the best, but considering that first trailer left such a bad taste in my mouth, my expectations were low, then it turns out that it isn’t the worst of the worst, so I was able to enjoy this.  They mentioned Norman Osborn without showing him, such a delight.  Dangling plotlines were unresolved, but masked well so that I didn’t care while watching the movie.  I wish they would’ve had more of the Jekyll/Hyde thing going on with the Lizard.  Andrew Garfield and Marc Webb do a very good job, they were able to craft a story without the set piece of the Daily Bugle or J. Jonah Jameson.

*SPOILER* or speculation… there is a scene during the credits, so stay and read the names of all the people that worked so hard to bring you this film, cause you should… know how to read that is, hahaha.
But Doc Connors is placed in prison, he then sees and talks to a mysterious man… who is this person?  We never see his face.  Is he the voice that’s talking to Connors in his sewer lab?  Is Connors crazy and talking to a dual personality?  Is it Norman Osborn?  Certainly a man that rich can buy his way in to prison.  Or… is it Richard Parker?  Since we never really find out what happened to him???  Dun dun… dunnnnn, Kurtzman and Orci better not screw up the sequel… one can hope write?  See what I did there??

Brave

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I saw Brave at the El Capitan, always a treat at the El Cap.
The short of it, it’s about Merida a Scottish Princess who buts heads with her mother, the Queen. They argue over who and what Merida should be and how she’ll be married off. Through the course of a contest to win the Princess’ hand in marriage Merida chooses to change her destiny, be careful what you wish for… throw in some bits and gags and there ya go.

The good; it’s Pixar, it looks amazing. They pull out all the stops with the hair and Merida is the first female protagonist as well as the first period piece in a Pixar film.

The opening of the movie is incredible. It grabs you immediately with child-like wonder and then slams the brakes as danger approaches. Merida’s learning to shoot a bow and arrow, then wanders off in to the woods. Upon arriving back to her parents… a bear has followed her, Merida’s father, King Fergus, stares down a ferocious bear – opening title card, wow, it had me from that moment.

The spine of the story is very simple and relate-able, it’s about a child growing up and wanting to be their own person, and rejecting the person their parent imposes on them. Who can’t relate to this? It seems that it’s a part of life these days, must rebel and resist… older… people… ah what the hey, money money monies.

The bad; the trailer is misleading. Honestly not much here, just that the marketing was for a different movie. You’d probably never know this from watching those excellent trailers, but the movie is a mother/daughter movie.

I wanted more story and character moments, instead we got more action and thrills. This could be because the lead is a girl so they want to bring in the boy audience with the action.

Overall, check it out. Pixar delivers again. It’s fun for everyone and there’s something for all the members of the family. The brothers never say a thing through out the whole movie, I wonder why that was. Don’t get me wrong, they were still funny on screen, but that question just kept creeping in. Oh, and stay for the credits (as you should), there’s a dedication to Steve Jobs and a scene at the very end.