Who Won The 2011 Super Hero Showdown?

Way back in February I projected that this summer would be a Super Hero Smackdown. There were four films battling it out to be the King of the heroes: "X-Men: First Class," "Green Lantern," "Thor," and "Captain America." Now they've all busted into the multiplex with their assorted powers, let's take a look back to see how they all stack up.


1. "X-Men: First Class" - Michael Fassbender dominates the summer as Magneto, it's that simple. His final kill is the biggest OSM* of the entire summer and he's doing so much badass shit in the movie it's just straight bananas. That being said James McCavoy is great as Professor X and the alternate history plot is effective and the most original of the summer. This film more than any other this summer has the most scenes that I remember and think back on and say "yeah....that was worth my loot."

2. "Captain America: The First Avenger" - While it's cool to see Magneto killing Nazi's with his magnetic mastery, Captain America is my favorite on screen hero this summer, and it's for his non-action related abilities. One of the key themes in the flick is that Cap is a "good man" and Chris Evans really sells this theme. It's great seeing a hero who isn't an asshole like Tony Stark, a psychopath like Batman, or a emo-baby freak like Superman. Also, the shield throwing was as cool as I hoped it would be. Bonus points for having the best romance of any of the flicks.

3. "Thor" - Unlike some of my pals who thought "Thor" was an abomination, I enjoyed the film. Pretty much unknown actor Chris Hemsworth brings the humor, heart, and hammer time to his performance as the Norse God. Out of all the movies this one had the best production design. I mean Asgard has rainbow bridges, galaxies flowing into waterfalls, and Stringer Bell as the gate keeper to an ancient portal involving an cosmic tree. Not for everyone. (Note...my Dad saw Thor twice and loved it)

4. "Green Lantern" - A buddy of mine who possesses the power of Comic-Book knowledge called this movie "The Frat Lantern," and he's right. I like Reynolds and he's trying hard here...but the story which involves rastafari alien cloud monsters, fighter jets, alien fish with British accents, and Blake Lively just doesn't work. Guest blogger Kosher D once said this was one to be taken seriously, and to that I say... c'mon son.

Until next summer (holy shit next summer) have a good one.

Comic Con Revisted

After taking last year off, I returned to Comic Con and it was glorious. And while I wasn't there for the whole weekend I managed to do enough to bring you these simple Comic-Con reflections

1. While there are nerds everywhere they're harmless. It's the action figure collecting 50 year old dudes that are huffing and puffing while carrying a 60 pound bag of Gandalf replicas that you have to worry about.
2. I met the President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige. I asked him where I could get an "Avengers" T-shirt and if he could give me any information about "Dr. Strange." He said he couldn't talk about either thing, but he did offer me a part as "Dude that Hulk Picks Up" in "The Avengers."
3. It never gets old seeing giant figures of the toys you enjoyed as a child. And in case your rookie self didn't know it...that's Voltron on the right. Respect tha Voltron!
4. When it comes to people giving out free swag it's really a feeding frenzy out there. What you giving out...give it to me...oh you only have it in extra extra extra extra large....thats fine...gimme that shit.
5. When you're at the Con, you hear stories about the worse kind of monster that roams the halls. The line cutters. 
6. There are tons of kids on the floor at Comic Con. They're really pumped to be there, I mean it's a magical place. That being said there is a crazy amount of very scantily clad women walking the floor in their favorite characters "outfits," so simply put it's a dream land for 13 year old boys. (See below).
7.                                              
8. I met Guillermo Del Toro and Tom Morrello and besides both having last names that end in O they both were extremely nice and both were taking down egg white omeletes. Are Egg White omeletes the key?
9. I don't think I saw any of these people put it's pretty funny to read about celebrities who have to go incognito on the floor
10. In between all the madness there is still some heartwarming stuff, like this little guy.    

 

TPG's Chemistry Class: Episode 2 "Thirty Eight Snub"

Party Party Party! Last night's episode of Breaking Bad titled "Thirty Eight Snub" was both one of the happier episodes ever (no-geyser's of Victor Blood) and also one of the most foreboding. I mean you just know that something bad is going to happen right. Also what's up with the minerals? Let's get our lefty draw on and dive in.


1. Technology! Last night's episode seemed to have machines running rampant like a Terminator movie. We had Jesse's brand new stereo equipment (complete with psychedelic lights yo), the roomba, Hank and Marie's mechanical bed, and finally the thirty eight snub nosed pistol. That last one, which the episode is named after is the most important piece of technology out of all of them. With an opening scene discussing the mechanics of using it, it was interesting to see Walter approach it with the how-do-to style of a scientist. Yet even with all these mechanics, not one device brings anyone happiness.

2. But......things aren't all empty. For a little bit there, this was one of the happiest episodes of "Breaking Bad" ever. Jesse was back with his old chums, talking that bullshit and throwing an epic party. I mean let's be honest here, any party where cutting a pizza with scissors is discussed had to be epic right. It was strange seeing Jesse surrounded by so many people, and it just made the end, with Jesse losing it right next to his massive speaker that much more intense. Songs from this party world are all broken down here.

3. He's Back...the real life theorist Dr. Anthony Megamix had this to say about the episode:

Mike killed Gus. (Gus) was absent from the episode and Mike had blood on his shirt at the bar. Some think he has cancer as well which is why he's coughing throughout the episode. I also think Saul is next to go. Mike raised his glass to the commercial of Saul at the bar. 

4. At first I thought that Badger and Skinny Pete's video game conversation was the writer's attempt to inject some humor and knowledge for all the gamer bros that love "Breaking Bad," but reviewing the episode on a whole their conversation takes a new life. They were mainly amped about the various types of zombies both their undead motivations and their foes, but I couldn't help but notice at the end of the episode...Badger said said he needed a brain transplant as him and Skinny Pete did the hangover/zombie shuffle across the lawn. As for Jesse, he just curled up...empty...a zombie himself. No real motivation for anything, totally apathetic, and searching for anything.

5. Give it up for Betsy Brandt who plays Hank's wife Marie. She's been doing great work on this show since the beginning, but this season, with Hank all incapacitated she is doing work!

5. MILD NOT SPICY MIND MELT I really wish I had something epic to tell you about this blue corundum mineral that Hank is really into, but the only thing I could dig it that it is extremely abrasive and hard, with only diamonds being stronger. Then again a blue corundum is also a a sapphire. So maybe it means that Hank acts hard but really ultimately a pansy? He's going to write about a book about Urban poverty? Anyone?

7. I was kicking it with a buddy and he said that he likes "Breaking Bad" but it's really really "arty." I responded with a: "Yess...brah it's arty as hell but Gus Fring son!" But he's got a point, the camera angles and the sound design and score in particular are on some next level shit this season. Last week we talked about cinematography so this week let's notice Dave Porter's excellent score.

8.  Even though he hasn't been around for that long, I love how Gale's coffee machine still lingers the meth lab. It serves as a constant reminder of the simple plain innocent* life that Walt/Jesse took, the coming storm of Feds looking into lab book, an example for the still complex process of cooking,  and as memento of a rosier past for all parties involved

*Innocent - Gale did get excited with the prospect of his own lab.

Unofficial poster for The Dark Knight Rises is Incredible

Via Slash Film

TPG's Chemistry Class: Episode 1 "Boxcutter"

Welcome to my weekly recaps of AMC's "Breaking Bad." I got into this show thanks to all AMC's repeats of past seasons, so this will be my first season that I watch live. The recaps will be in the style of my previous ones for "24," "Lost," "Boardwalk Empire," and "Game of Thrones." Hell I might even throw in a "True Blood" reference if you're watching that to. But in the mean time, let's put on some red and blue outfits and get some acid huh?

1. This has gotta be one of the most dialogue free episodes of TV. Gus Fring (more on him later) said three words the whole episode and Pinkman barely said anything until the final scene. While some people found this to be underwhelming, I thought it was fantastic. It allowed the shows reigning Emmy titans to really dig in and get into it! It also showcased one of my favorite things about the show: it's deliberate haunting thematic imagery.

2. I watched the show with blogger/ TV wunderkind Henning of The Lifting Fog Blog and he pointed how incredible Michael Slovus's cinematography was in this episode. Besides Breaking Bad's obsession with bald dudes (see above picture) the show was really driving home this red/blue thing last night. Red floor, red chemical/murder suits, blue mood lights, red body after getting pulverized by acid, it goes on and on. What does this mean? Of course it's some statement of the shifting duality of the characters but also how patriotic the show is.

2.5 *BONUS* THISLALIFE reader and real life scientist Anthony Megamix had this to say about the real life science of red and blue

Now that you mentioned the blue and red imagery, being that the show focuses on the science, it could relate to the physics aspect of blue and red shifts in physics, in space. stars and objects appear blue when they are traveling towards you because the frequency they appear at is greater than their actual frequency so they travel at smaller wavelengths (blue), so a star traveling towards earth will appear blue and a star traveling away from you will appear red because its image is at a smaller frequency than its actual object and travels at a larger wavelength, its called the blue-red shift. anyway thought it could relate to the shifting of characters as they go further away or towards what we expect from them. walt going away from the righteous science teacher to moral less drug supplier and gus from the seemingly humble chicken restaurant owner to a no nonsense drug pin

3. As I was taking notes watching this episode, I wrote down what a great character Victor is. Had to cross off that "is" and put a "was"....but jesus....that was an extremely violent and gnarly death. I mean I watch HBO and even those shows don't compare in crazy violence to that. Dare I type that "Mike" is a great character for fear of what might happen to him.

4. Walt's vehicle of choice: an Pontiac Aztec is rapidly becoming a key part of the show's imagery. Who would have thought this funky looking SUV would become associated with running over drug dealers, breaking up cop stakeouts, and finally becoming symbolic for the shifting relationship between Walt and Skyler. Is that a good marketing for the SUV Brand?

5. Gus F***ing Fring! Can we talk about this dude? In addition to being a calm reserved negotiator, brilliant criminal strategian, and an exceptional chicken magnate, we can now add stone cold ice in the veins i don't care if i'm covered in blood evil killer to his resume. Naturally is next role is in a light hearted ABC series about fairy tale creatures. Giancarlo Esposito who plays the madman is an acting powerhouse!

6. MIND MELT WITH A SIDE OF BLUE CHEESE I know the last scene where we saw Gale's lab book on the table was ominous, but the real crazy foreshadowing scene took place in the driveway with Walt & Skyler. Take Walt, he's dressed in flashy white pants and red shoes (he's got blood on em metaphorically) and wearing a Kenny Rogers shirt. Skyler, who with her brilliant lying to the locksmith routine, knowledge to call Saul, and sweet face about paying Hanks medical bill with drug money is 95% corrupt is dressing COMPLETELY IN BLACK. In the world of Badger and Skinny Pete...."she's like evil yo!" And don't think I forgot about the significance of dear ol' Kenny Rogers. Check out the lyrics to his most famous song "The Gambler," they hold some serious significance to our characters...."know when to walk away....know when to run....."

Harry Potter Ends Today and I've Had Way To Much Veritaserum

Since it all ends tonight at midnight I figured this is my last chance to come clean about everything Harry Potter. Thanks to some shady contacts at Diagonally I've managed to procure some veritaserum. Whoahhhh, here comes the truth bombs!

1. Selby, Dewey, Zach, and John, back in seventh grade when I bailed on a sickkk NFL Blitz tournament after school on Friday cause I had to do "chores," I wasn't doing chores, I was curled up in a chair reading Prisoner of Azkaban.
2. Let's be honest here, if you're not gonna sorted into Gryffindor, the only other house you should want to be in is Slytherin. The other houses just don't compete
3. I think the real life version of Quidditch is kind of lame. I understand people are really passionate about it, but it seemed like a bunch of Hufflepuff's pretending to be Gryffindor's, it's just not the same.
4. When the book of "Goblet of Fire" dropped I took down a giant two liter of Barq's root beer and a huge bag of Lay's BBQ Masterpiece chips and read it in one sitting. Harry Potter +Junk Food+Caffeine = Heaven.
5. No matter how hard I've tried, I've never been sorted into Gryffindor in any sorting hart ceremony, online or in real life....and this really breaks my heart.....Am I Snape?
6. Lee Jordan is the coolest person in Hogwarts. This is undeniable.
7. Dementors are scarier/better than Nazgul, even if Dementors are clearly Nazgul rip offs.
8. EXCLUSIVE - Rupert Grint will play BRJ in the 500 million dollar adaptation of "BRJ and The Soul of The Universe," coming out in 2020.
9. I once ditched out on a summer job to get the final book, almost got fired, but it was totally worth it!
10. I didn't realize that Padma and Parvati Patil were Indian until I saw the movie. And on that accord I thought Hermione was pronouced Her-meeee-ownnnn for a solid 3 books...yikes guy.
11. My favorite character in the entire series is Remus Lupin.
12. Book 5 is a waste of time. Emo Harry + Lame Prophecy = C'mon JK!
13. Bernie Bott's beans are delicious. Giving them out to strangers at midnight showings is more creepy than it is charming, I learned this the hard way.
14. Goblet of Fire is hands down the best book.
15. The best part of any book is in "Half Blood Prince" when Harry has to poison Dumbledore to get the Horcrux. This was so terrifying, sad, thrilling, and just intense!
16. In my truest hearts of hearts, I always had a sneaking suspicion that Jane Yolen's "Wizard's Hall" was a little more than "inspiration" for everyone's favorite boy wizard book series.
17. Harry should have ended up with Hermione.
18. The story collection "The Tales of the Beedle and the Bard" is a magical book.
19. Marauder's Map or Invisibility Cloak? That is the question!
20. I'm going to miss Harry Potter so much after it's gone. I've met so many people cause we all loved the books. Thanks JK.

Is "The Hurt Locker" a Spiritual Sequel To "Point Break"

"Point Break" was released 20 years ago today and I'm still shocked by the amount of people who have not seen it. I credit this massive tragedy to the fact that people consider just another 80's action film that gets lumped in with "Cobra," "Road House," and "Commando" (Note the writers at THISLALIFE support those films). And while "Point Break" does have a certain 80's vibe to it (see Bodhi's hair brah) it is actually way more than a standard 80's action flick, in fact it has a lot in common with 2009 best picture winner "The Hurt Locker."

Both films examine the seductive rush of pushing oneself to the edge. Think of Bodhi's famous line in "Point Break,"- "It's not tragic to die doing what you love." This theme of men who are seduced by the flirting with power and death runs through all Bigelow's films, but is most prevalent in "Point Break" and "The Hurt Locker." Both films lack a clear antagonist, because the true antagonist lives withint the broken heroes. The antagonist bomb maker in "The Hurt Locker" is never found and Bodhi, the pseudo antagonist in "Point Break" is apprehended but never has to answer to his crimes. There's no real closure because their is no real bad guy.

Think about the final scenes of each film. In "Point Break," Utah reveals he has never stopped searching (or surfing) for Bodhi, who is basically the ultimate rush personified. In "The Hurt Locker" Renner's character is talking to his child and says that "there is only one thing he knows he loves," cut to Renner back in the field...on the edge. This theme of the ultimate is easier to recognize in "The Hurt Locker," but it's there in "Point Break," it's just wrapped in an extreme sports package!

While both films focus on a man's drive to the edge in the pursuit of saving lives/catching bad guys, I know "The Hurt Locker" is a superior film. I also don't have to remind anyone that "Point Break" was also produced by cinematic titan James Cameron, which gives the surf bank robbing masterpiece even more credibility. So on this 20th Anniversay, let's give Point Break the respect it deserves...after all good things come in twos.....so.......GIMME TWO!!

The Dark Knight Rises Poster Drops

No doubt this is a mashup of the mind bending imagery of "Inception," the iconography of Batman, and a promise of destruction. Either way, it's awesome

Films To Inspire Us To Get Back To Space

Today marks the final launch of the Space Shuttle and while it's pretty tragic, I like to be optimistic about the future of the space shuttles and space travel. Nasa.gov are you listening? My reasons for this aren't really that complicated: space, space travel, space exploration, aliens, x-wings, jedis, galaxies, planets, comets, the borg, Oa, are extremely exciting and awesome. So while it's easy to get down that there won't be any space shuttle launches for a while, check out some films that will hopefully inspire us to return to the cosmos

2001
I mean where does one start with this flick. It's both incredibly detailed in how it envisions space travel to evolve and wickedly heady in terms of it's cosmic implications about....everything.......brahhhhhh. I recently saw it on the big screen for the fist time and the level of detail and care put into showing space exploration is astounding. If anyone in NASA needs a shot of inspiration check out this flick, just don't drop any acid when you do, everyone knows how that works out. 

Star Wars: A New Hope
Yo...N.A.S.A. the sooner you create X-Wings, Y Wings, A-Wings, and hire frog people like Admiral Akbar the sooner the public will be ready to get back to space! While you're at it, have some other government agencies make some lightsabers!

Michael Bay
Now before you Wes Anderson junkies start freaking out about including this divise director on the list. Remember that he made "Armageddon" a movie which NASA both loves and hates. The message in that flick is clear that: A) Anyone can be a space hero B)N.AS.A has tons of cool space tech C) Respect space or it will drop fiery rocks on you. Bay also has successfully linked real life Space missions to his transformers reality both in the plot lines and trailers of first and third film. I mean the guy has the real life Buzz Aldrin meetings Optimus Prime in the new one! Respect!

Apollo 13 

I saw this flick on opening night and it blew my mind. As real as it gets when it comes to NASA and space flight this movie is so accurate we watched in science class, and not because my science teacher sucked, but because of it's brilliant lessons of problem solving and teamwork that film conveys. Also the explosions in the launch sequence are choice, also Tom Hanks is the man.

Star Trek (2009)
The deep space jump on the rig that's destroying the planet with some shady red-matter science is a long way off (maybe 20 years tops) but this sequence is enough to get anyone fired up to go to space. Unlike "Star Wars" it has kind of basic connection to science and reality and that scores major points.

Event Horizon & Alien
Just kidding, don't watch these unless you want to start signing petitions for NASA not to explore space/hell/the abyss.

The Right Stuff
Yikes I've never seen this flick, but I had to include because I know my Dad and my older readers who care about space would think I was a real rookie/ferengi (that's for you JP) if I didn't include it.

Sunshine (Update)
My Dad pointed out this title was missing from my list. Not only is it from Academy Award winning director Danny Boyle but it also features real life science in a practical sci-fi setting. I dig how the ship makes it's own oxygen via plant garden, the physicist is the most important person on board, and kick ass soundtrack.

Honorable Mentions
"Space Cowboys" is pretty good, I never bothered to see "The Astronaut's Wife," but apparently it's wack so don't bother. "Galaxy Quest" is notable for being hilarious and "The Last Starfighter" is also notable for being the bomb.com

I'm gonna miss the space shuttle, but sense of wonder in the cosmos in strong. This is mainly in part for a desire to go on my own personal trench run (with my boy Jay Judah as Wedge) to save the galaxy and because I read Astronomy Picture of the Day every day of my life. Go Space!

The Hype Train: "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"

David Fincher's "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is my most anticipated film of the end of the year. I mean let's be honest here there are a lot of great films coming out in the Fall, a couple of highlights include "War Horse," and sequels to "Sherlock Holmes" and "Mission Impossible," but nothing compares to "Dragon Tattoo." Alright, I know what you're thinking, TPG,  you're just missing James Bond and wanna see D. Craig back in ass-kicking mode. Sure that's part of it, but the main reason here is the director called David Fincher.


Before he was getting robbed of the Oscar for "The Social Network," Fincher was making some pretty dark ass movies. "Seven," "Zodiac," and "Fight Club" all come to mind when thinking about his menacing work. Don't get me wrong, I love "Benjamin Button" but having Fincher back in the menacing zone is a good thing for everybody. Hell, D. Craig in a recent interview disclosed about what to expect from the director's vision of the popular Stieg Larson bestseller

And this is a $100 million R-rated movie. Nobody makes those anymore. And Fincher, he’s not holding back. They’ve given him free rein. He showed me some scenes recently, and my hand was over my mouth, going, Are you fucking serious?.

So wow, Daniel Craig has quite the mouth on him huh? But you get the vibe here right, anyone who has read the book knows that the original Swedish film held back a little bit when it came to the super intense torture, rape,violence etc.  To top it off, the cast is also on point. Daniel Craig is a beast, but the supporting cast including Robin Wright, Stellan Skarsgard,  Christopher Plummer, and Joel Kinnaman (who audiences will recognize from "The Killing") is on point as well.

 Fincher is gonna bring it like a director scorned and it's going to be dark, intense, and an incredible cinematic experience from one of the world's best storytellers.

Transformers 3 is a Patriotic Powerhouse of Summer Excitement!

At any given point in a "Transformers" film there is a situation where Optimus Prime gets into fighting stance and issues some tough guy (robot?) line along the lines of "Let's rock" or "Let's finish this Megatron!" If you buy the fact that there is a talking truck with a weapon in the middle of a street getting his John Wayne on then chances are the other stuff (sensical plot, "acting") is secondary to the thrill ride. And boy is "Dark of the Moon" a wild ride.

Shot in 3D by action cinema God Michael Bay the film follows the friendly American Autobots as they fight another Decepticon attack. This new threat involves NASA cover ups, evil human counter-parts on earth, and the invasion of Chicago. Watching the incredible action in the film, it's clear that Michael Bay saw "Avatar" and said....."Ohhhh yeah that's pretty cool Jim...but you know what audiences like better than blue aliens in 3D...Optimus Prime fighting Megatron in 3D!" Bay is already an incredible technical director and even though this is his first time directing in 3D...visually the film is breathtaking. The sound design is chest rattling as well.

What makes the film enjoyable though is the fact that Bay clearly took what didn't work from the previous films and fixed them. Shia who in the past films was kind of passerby to robot insanity, now has to deal with another human who is on the decepticon side. The commandos who in the past just looked good and yelled now have some awesome sequences where they fight (and win) against the robots. And finally the robot battle scenes with the bots are easier to follow and have some real stakes with notable characters dying surprising deaths (lotta robot blood here).

Ultimately though the film wouldn't exist without director Michael Bay. This is the film where he really comes into his own not only as a director, but as a true cinematic auteur. Themes of patriotism, courage, and peace through superior firepower are rampant. There is the obligatory spinning camera shot, the shot of the babe in the midst of the chaos, and rapid fire but still comprehensible editing. Simply put the guy is a legend, the movie kicks ass, and if you want to be entertained go to the multiplex, get a coke and popcorn and enjoy it. When you get it out....enjoy the 4th of July....it's what Michael Bay and Optimus Prime would want you to do!

Buckle up for Transformers 3!!!

I'm so insanely hyped for this movie it's not even funny. It literally could be robots fighting for 2.5 hours and I would love it (I expect it to be). This video is correct...MICHAEL BAY owns. If you don't agree go back to your Wes Anderson... hippie.

Another Sunday.....Another Excellent HBO Show

Hard to believe just last week, "Game of Thrones" was ending and I was depressed that I had a long wait until it returned in 2012. And then Sunday rolled around we had a brand new episode of "True Blood." Say what you will about the season opener, but the show is trashy, funny, and....way more enjoyable than most network dramas. And that's what HBO is really all about: Quality.

It seems like from now to the end of time there will be shows that I want to watch on HBO. When "True Blood" ends, viewers will have a new season of comedies "Entourage" and "Eastbound n' Down" to look forward to. And then there is "Luck," which has gotten a shockingly minuscule amount of press. From "Deadwood" creator David Milch and action mastermind Michael Mann, the show focuses on the seedy world of horse racing. Did I mention it starts Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, and John Ortiz among others.

Finally there is "Boardwalk Empire," one of my favorite shows. Last night they released the season 2 trailer and dayum does it like awesome. No other network has the money to make shows like these (The "Boardwalk" pilot supposedly cost 30 million and the "Game of Thrones" pilot was similar as well), and no other network has the amount of quality talent both in front and behind the camera. Some folks say that HBO is a prison for actors, but if it is....then I'm enjoying the show.

New Captain America Trailer is All About America and Kicking Ass

Not sure if this is a good thing, but I get a serious American Bro vibe from this trailer. Heroes get chicks love rock and roll, and care about their bros so much they'll jump on a grenade. USA USA USA!

10 Good Things About Green Lantern (They're hard to find)

I managed to catch "Green Lantern" in 2D at a drive in Northern California this past weekend. I'll keep this polite and say I didn't care for it.....but I'm all about the power of will/positive energy so here are ten things that I liked about Green Lantern

1. It made me realize how awesome "X-Men First Class" is.
2. Mark Strong plays Sinestro in the film and he's great, the film made me appreciate what a presence this dude is on screen. He was great in "Sherlock Holmes" and  I'm looking forward to seeing him in more roles.
3. It made me realize how much I liked "Thor."
4. Seeing alien landscapes and galaxies on the screen never gets old and I'm pumped that the far out shit I see on "Astronomy Picture of the Day" is closer to becoming a reality (but I guess it's already real).
5. Peter Sarsgaard
6. It made my realize that we are just about a year away from The Dark Knight Rises
7. On some magical business, I really want a green lantern power ring, the possibilites of what you can do with it are endless, however I would mainly stick to conjuring up pizza and free x-box games
8. Reynolds is still pretty funny and likable and the scenes of him flying fighter jets made me wish he starred in the Top Gun Sequel, why cause Top Gun is one of the greatest flicks of all time
9. Seeing Tim Robins on the screen made me think about "Arlington Road" which is in my top 10 movies of all time
10. Captain America comes out soon.

Iron Man as a High School Principal?

This video comes from Jon Favreau's twitter feed. I'm particularly fond of it because it's like the perfect storm of my brothers. One brother is an engineer and big time Iron Man fan and the other is Principal (and an Iron Man fan). Iron Principal!

TPG's Game Time: Episode 10 "Fire and Blood" (SPECIAL DRAGON EDITION)

Last night's season one finale of "Game of Thrones" entitled "Fire and Blood" found us with many characters in interesting places DRAGONS DRAGONS DRAGONS! YES YES YES! THEY'RE FINALLY HERE! Dude.....I love dragons so much...."Dragonheart" is the shit....but this....whoah...gotta do a recap here, let's fire em up and dive in!


Direwolf Badasserry - 2...we got our first glimpse of the Rickon's ferocious wolf Shaggydog (great name huh) and we also got a story about Robb's direwolf killing twelve people in battle. Excellent.

MAGIC! - See above

1. There was a serious outpouring of hate after the show killed Ned Stark. After all he was the face of the marketing for the show, fans were pissed that he was dead....but HBO showed that didn't care about the haters, opening the episode with his blood dripping off the sword. The scenes of the grieving Stark family was so intense though I thought there we gonna cut to a Game of Thrones finale viewing party of people crying while wearing custom bedazzled "Winter is Coming" shirts.

2. I really like that Bran is now buddies with Osha, the crazy woman from the woods, (aka Tonks). She seems to have knowledge of the winter that is coming, knows a lot about magic (and DRAGONS) and in the future I imagine that she will prove crucial in defense against the white walkers.

3. It's hard to believe that lil' ol' Jack Gleeson, the cute kid from "Batman Begins" (see left) would play the most hated character on TV right now. Between cutting out musicians tongues, making Sansa stare at her loved one's rotting heads, and having his mutant/knight slap around his bride to be....I cannot wait til this little shit gets his. My dream is Arya Stark stabs him with "needle."Also was Syrio Forel's head up there on the pike? Will the legendary afro swordsman return, perhaps riding a DRAGON?

4. Speaking of Arya Stark, not only is she rocking an extremely hip hair cut and a new name but she's fallen in with the bastard son of the king, you remember him, his name is Gendry and he's badass blacksmith. The odds that he and Arya will be legendary warriors are about as high as the height DRAGONS fly at.

Alright I'll cool it with the dragon talk.

5. If there is one thing that "Game of Thrones" does particularly well, it's scenes of people making proclamations and oaths. In this episode we had a whole host of victorious knights taking an oath to Robb the King of the North and then we had another version of the ultra cool Night's Watch oath in the woods by torchlight. Oaths...proclamations....always kick ass.

6. Let's pump the brakes to talk about the ever popular Tryion Lannister. He's now going to become the hand of the king and while he needs to listen to more Dr Dre Chonic 2001, but his scene where his father finally accepted him was kind of touching. Also my buddy at the Night's Watch (aka work) pointed out that his girlfriend could be a Dothraki.

7. While it really pained me to see Khal Drogo go out withput an epic throw down battle at least we got to see him rip out someone's tongue through their throat, but I can't help but dream of what he could have been. Hopefully we'll get more of this is this summer's Conan the Barbarian where he plays Conan...the Dothraki....I mean Barbarian....same thing right?

8. As much as I'm literally salivating at the thought of full blown dragons kicking ass next season what really got me going was the entire Night's Watch riding out to meet the white walkers face to face. Way back when this season started we got our first glimpse of the white walkers I knew these bastards were gonna be hard to kill, Seagal style, and now finally those cold little blue eyed demons are gonna get a healthy dose sword/fire to make em wanna sing.....I would like to point out that Thislalife reader Young Hyatt esquire predicts that only the dragons will be able to defeat the white walkers. Three words about that prediction......SIGN ME UP!

It's ben a real pleasure writing these recaps for you this season. And with season two not starting for a year (Dragon CGI is time consuming...no doubt) it will be a while til Game Time returns. That being said if you like my recap style stay tuned as I will be recapping "Breaking Bad" this summer as well as "Boardwalk Empire" in the fall.

SEE YOU IN 2012 !

Moneyball Trailer

I'm hearing that 1) This is this year's "Social Network" 2) Jonah Hill is fantastic in this.

The Hype Train: Prometheus aka Alien Prequel

I recently watched Ridley Scott's "Alien" for the first time and scared the shit out of me. I had seen every film in the franchise and none of them really struck me as scary, cool, but frightening...not so much. But dayum, the 1979 Ridley Scott "Alien" is straight terrifying son. Maybe it's the fact that you don't see the creature in full to late in the story. Perhaps it's the shocking, much hyped but still effective chest burster scene. Or it's the Ian Holm rage-filled smackdown on Ripley, but all these things shivered my bones. Don't believe me, check out the original trailer, which is 99% scarier than any feature film in the theaters now.

But these are only part of the reasons that I'm excited for "Prometheus" aka The Alien Prequel. Let's start with the creative forces first.. It's written by sci-fi wunderkid Jonathan Spaihts who's Black List topping script "Passengers" is one of my favorite scripts ever. But that's not all, "Lost" creator and "Stark Trek" writer Damon Lindelof did a re-write of the script as well. And finally it's director Ridley Scott's return to science-fiction a genre he is a pioneer in (See "Blade Runner" and "Alien for evidence).

The cast is also on point for this film. "X-Men First Class" star Michael Fassbender is on board as some type as android. The original "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" star Noomi Rapace is playing a badass female and Charlize Theron is joining her as well. As if the film couldn't be more loaded with cool actors, Idris Elbra and Guy Pearce are also in the cast. But wait, yeah I get it TPG, it's a dope cast and writer/director combo, but what exactly is it about?

No one knows really knows....yet. Scott has said that the film will focus on the monster dude in the chair in the original film, aka the chap on the on the top of this article. For some hardcore nerd shit you can read about him and his many nicknames here. After that tidbit, there has been talk about the film being about humans who experiment with DNA replication, terraforming technology, and a host of other cool science-fiction business, but generally everything is being kept under tight security. For more information perhaps intrepid readers should look at the Greek legend of Prometheus, who stole fire from the Gods (or are they aliens?).

With an incredible cast, writing team, and director you should be fully on board the hype train for this one. The film comes out July 8th 2012 and will be rated R or PG-13 it hasn't been decided.

**I used the great ALIEN PREQUEL NEWS website as a source for this article, check it out for more info**

How Nostalgia Almost Ruined Super 8

One of the buzz words that circulates around the new film "Super 8" is "nostalgia." This sentimental longing for the past is almost a universal human emotion. I mean facebook is essentially a nostalgia machine, don't believe me, go to your profile, click on photos of yourself and go the first one ever posted, yuppp....Nostalgia! However I found the nostalgia in "Super 8" to be a little un-necessary? Why did this movie have to be set in the past? Have kids changed so much since the 1979 or is it that in our modern world, we've lost our sense of Spielbergian cinematic wonder?

The central story of the film is brilliant. Five kids on the cusp of being teenagers set out to make a film and end up capturing a monster on camera. The monster (and the military who come to find it) begin to terrorize their small town and they're caught in the middle of it all and may even hold the key to saving the town/world/each other. If that sounds a little hokey, it's because it is, but in the best possible ways. Newcomer Joel Courtney as Joe, is a standout amongst the stellar young cast. Each one of them has their own personality, tagline, and skill-set which aids in the story and gives the film a magical "Goonies" vibe.


Director J.J. Abrams has a great handle on how to direct the young kids and to stage the havoc and mayhem the military/monster causes. Say what you will about Abrams but the guy is a highly underrated action director, the scenes here are crisp, clear, and refreshingly devoid of "shakey cam" syndrome which can ruin a film. The explosions, special effects, and monster design are all top notch. Wait, speaking of monster design, the monster looks like a cousin of the "Cloverfield" monster, which looked like "Star Trek" monster, so you gotta wonder if all these creatures are related and JJ is going to reveal this in future and systematically make nerds explodes all at once.

Ahh nerds, not the candy, but the primary audience for this film. This is a film the deliberately conjures up the sense of wonder of everybody felt while watching "E.T.," "Jurassic Park," and "Close Encounters." That sense of wonder is THE NERD IN YOU, the childlike fascination in the unknown and awesome. Because JJ/Spielberg try so hard to appeal to this, they make a choice in the ending which I didn't agree with. I don't want to spoil it, but let's say it involves our hero and the compassion that "Old Man Woodward's Research" supposedly has. It felt un-earned and too heavy handed with it's emotions, too much designed to appeal to the old school nerd wonder and not the story the film had told so well up to that moment. It felt like a red flag that said "see, we're just like those movies from your childhood you love!"

This simple decision didn't ruin the movie at all, it's still great, but it made wonder just why it had to be in there. Are we as viewers craving nostalgic wonder so much, we cannot create create or appreciate it in the present? Kid's these days may not shoot films on Super 8 cameras, but they still make them and they're still awesome. They still get nervous around the opposite sex, are impressed fireworks and destruction, and possess amazing courage in the face of the unknown. "Super 8" is great film, but it could have been a legendary one if Abrams and Spielberg trusted the kids of 2011 a little more and made it about them*



**"Attack The Block" is a film about a group of teenagers fighting aliens in a london Housing project in 2011, it's getting rave reviews and comes out July 29**

Old School Captain America Poster Is Lights Out

This is been burning up the internet today, but I had to post, it's just so damn awesome!

TPG's Game Time: Episode 9 "Baelor"

Sean Bean! Talk to your people man, you deserve better than having to play the guy who gets killed in the first part of the fantasy epic. Just kidding, you're a tremendous actor and your two scenes in this episode were straight legendary! Sucks you had to go out like that instead of fighting to death like in LOTR.  However, there are other things to brew on in this episode, included but not limited dead animals, hilarious comedy, and another Harry Potter actor appearance!

Direwolf Badassery - .5 (we got a mention of direwolf and custom sword)

Magic! - 1 (evil demon witch doctor messing with my boy Drago)

1. With Ned Stark having his final date with a sword, I'm trying to figure out if he was a "good" guy. At the end he sacrificed his belief in the one true king in order to save himself and his family. Kinda weak to back of your convictions of a "soldier" if you ask me. Two weeks ago he put two much trust in the last will of the King, which he doctored in a semi-shady move and prior to that he refused get his family out of the castle. He's a noble man who seems to make terrible decisions, and for this reason I wasn't that destroyed by his death. Am I alone in this sentiment?

2. MILD MIND MELT WITH LIGHT JALAPENO- Readers will know I'm constantly going on about the animal metaphor thing that the show has going on. So this week, we got to see another raven, frequently associated with Bran Stark getting shot out of the sky. Then before we know we get a Stark parting with his head. Also this week we got a horse, frequently associated with the Dothraki getting it's throat slashed. Besides "Game of Thrones" strange fascination with killing horses, does the horse death bode poorly for Khal Drago? I love the guy but he was hurting this week!

3. Jon Snow maynnnnnne. If this dude couldn't get any cooler he has a custom blade with his direwolf on the hilt. And the blade is named "Longclaw," which is also just extremely cool. When the winter comes (which I'm pretty sure it is) Jon Snow will be the medieval version of a space heater. Just straight burning shit up!

4. First we get Tonks on the show and now we get Filch! That's right David Bradley who plays Argus Filch in the Harry Potter films popped up as an old horny Gatekeeper Walder Frey.  Hopefully in future seasons we'll get even more Harry Potter actors. Perhaps the great David Thewlis?

5. Can we please acknowledge how funny this show is? First we got Walder Frey bashing on his family members with colorful insults.. Then we get Catelyn Stark trying to describe a future wife to her son, but failing. We follow that with the latest episode of legendary buddy pairing of the show - Tryion and Bronn, in this episode they meet a sassy asian stripper and get drunk.....cue the laugh track.!

6.  Last week I wondered if they were going to show the epic battles that we see people getting hyped for. Now we have our answer and it's NO....but we will show you the aftermath, a good creative decision on the part of the creators that I'm cool with.

7. Throughout this episode there was a theme of "acting" or "pretending." We had the Eunich talk about how he wanted to be an actor until he "got his balls cut off with a hot knife." Then we had Tyrion's heartbreaking story about the whore who was hired to pretend to care about him. And finally as I mentioned above, we had Ned Stark pretend to care about the King and pay the ultimate price. As we head into the finale we should keep in mind the speech of the elder Targaryen, everyone has to make a choice and stand by it, not pretend to be something their not. CANNOT WAIT FOR NEXT WEEK!

Here's a better death for you Sean Bean!

The Comic Book Joys of X-Men First Class

When I heard first heard about "X-Men - First Class" I was still recovering from the epic disappointment of "Wolverine." Was I ready to trust X-Men again? I loved "X2", shit, I kinda enjoyed "X-Men:The Last Stand" in a popcorn way, but another ensemble flick? I wasn't sure. Well, I can report that "X-Men:First Class" is ass kicking comic book film and highly effective piece of blockbuster entertainment.

Two of the integral pieces of the film are James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Professor X and Magneto. I've always dug McAvoy since the one-two punch of "Atonement" (yeah I saw it!) and "Wanted" where he was shooting holes in people's heads and using their bodies as shields. But Fassbender man, talk about living up to the hype. About I year ago I wrote about how badass he was in the under-appreciated genre film "Centurion,"and he continues to deliver with the menace/compassion combo. The combo of these two actors from across the pond are the heart and soul of the film. There climatic physical/mental/spiritual showdown (that's not a spoiler y'all) at the end is earned and awesome.

But what about everything else? The other members of team work well together, and the scenes of them hanging out and demonstrating their powers are cheesey fun. If I had to pick, I thought Lucas Til and Caleb Landry Jones as Havoc and Banshee were standouts. (Note, viewers might know Jones from this funny scene from "No Country For Old Men"). The action in the film is not as epic as director Matthew Vaughn's work in "Kick-Ass" but it's got enough Oh Shit Moments to keep me happy.

So in the super hero showdown of the summer 2011, I'm going to go ahead and put "First Class" above "Thor" if only because First Class has got the one-two punch of Fassbender and McAvoy, and "Thor" only has the hammer smash of Hemsworth. Check out "First-Class" it's high rate summer movie goodness with some decent substance and extraordinary (sorry, had to) leads at the helm.

TPG's Game Time: Episode 8 "The Pointy End"

Zombies, tongue rips, vikings oh my! "Game of Thrones" is really firing on all cylinders right now and Sunday's episode entitled "The Pointy End" was another blood drenched kick ass episode of television. It's only been 8 episodes and I'm super invested in these characters and their stories. So let's call up our red eyed direwolf and explore. Also peep the new categories that reader James suggested:


Direwolf Badassery: 2
Magic!!!! - 1

1. Finally Khal Drago steps up to the plate and shows us just why he's the resident badass of the Dothraki/television. Let's break down how it all played out:

• Scenes of devastation that the Khal ordered oh, hey there, Khal Drago good to see you again, what's that your seated next to - A pile of heads? +1 for head pile.
• Here comes your wife, no problem, you are willing to proclaim that you are so whipped by her hotness/warrior womb that she can command your men. +2 for admitting your whipped.
• Someone challenges your authority by putting a scimitar to your chest, you promptly moved forward to let them cut you. +3 for resistance to pain.
• A constant stream of insults including but not limited to beetles feeding on eyes, winds tearing people to pieces etc. +4 for creativity with insults.
• Ripping out someone's tongue through their throat. +5 for topping Rambo and a creative kill.

2. I want to apologize to my readers for you overuse of the phrase "Blue Eyed Demons," it is now clear there is some type of magic that the "White Walkers" have that turns normal people in Mr. Freeze clone zombie killers. On the left is what I think is an original "white walker," and I, like Jon Snow's fat friend am convinced that they're different from the human with the blue eyes, pale skin, and lack of body odor. That being said if heat kills the white walkers/ cold zombies, people are really screwed if "winter is coming."

3. A big question I have is just how epic is this show going to get? Forget winter, WAR is coming! We have two sides building armies with vikings who like sex jokes on the Lannister side and old knights who fight with three fingers on the other on the Stark side on the other. Are we going to get some "Braveheart" level carnage?

4. I'm always impressed by the set decoration on this show. Let's take a time out to compliment set decorator Richard Roberts on his work. Sweet tapestries bro!

5. There can only be one Alfred Molina lookalike with a killer accent, adept sword, and even more deadly afro so with the death of Syrio Forel, one must wonder when his kind going to appear on other TV Shows? I'm looking at you "Phineas and Ferb!" 

6. While I love pretty much everything on this show, I have to say the stuff at the white wall is my favorite. The mystery of white walkers, the blue eyed people, Jon Snow's direwolf with the red eyes, the band of outcasts vibe, and creeping dread are all awesome.

7. A great character on the show is Sir Barristan Selmy, who was dismissed of his duties to the realm by bitch ass King Joffrey. Hopefully we'll see him again soon.

8. Ned Stark is trapped in a dungeon with occasional visits from a eunuch, things are not looking good for a redemption for Boromir!

Do recent Dark Knight Rises viral videos hint at Knightfall inspired Story (Plus a mega-rumor!)

Alright, folks this is going to come at you quick so pay attention. One of the many well known Batman stories is "Knightfall," where Bane breaks Batman's back and takes the caped crusader out of the game. How does he best Batman? He breaks a whole host of prisoners out of Arkham Asylum, Batman has to round em all up, and then in his weak state Batman is no match for Bane and snap crackle pop spine snap. So here we go! Today two new viral videos dropped for "The Dark Knight Rises," they are below

Here is the second one

And another one!

So what exactly is happening here? An Arkham breakout? Sounds a lot like the Knightfall story to me. Casting reports have pegged Bane in the new script to be as intelligent as he is strong so this breakout story is looking to be just in line with Knightfall. So if we're following that story, that what do we make of the the fact that Batman has his back shattered in the storyline. HERE COMES THE MEGA rumor. 

There is speculation that Joseph Gordon Levitt will not be playing just a "detective" in the film, but a detective who takes up the cowl when Bruce Wayne is incapacitated. Further speculation indicates that at the film end the Dark Knight has risen, but with Gordon Levitt wearing the mask and Bruce Wayne dead or broken. This would match the news that Nolan is staying on board to produce the next "reboot" of the franchise. It would be a "reboot" only in the fact that a new person is taking up the cowl, but not a total kick-start of the franchise. If you don't think DC/WB would go for something this daring, consider this: The Dark Knight Rises is more than year away, and people are already going bat-shit for it. They can do anything they want.