He Said She Said

Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to cast your mind back to a couple of Sundays ago when I posted that Supdate including that The Hobbit video. Well, also mentioned in that post were the guys over at hesaidshesaidfm.com, and I promised that I'd do a proper feature on them. Albeit a little overdue, I keep my promises, so this post goes out to them.

He Said She Said is essentially a movie review site; but with a difference. Run by UK couple, Helen and James, the website gives 2 separate reviews of one movie. One by him and one by her, hence He Said She Said. This unique style effectively gives you two opinions, which can not only make their reviews more reliable, but also gives you a taste of different sides to a film. He may love it, while She may hate it, and if you know you're like one or the other you can see what you're likely to make of the movies.

This was when I met James at Kapow! Don't worry, he's not that blue in real life. I think.

They keep their opinions short and sweet, and that's what I like about them. A quick, but crucially detailed, review that I can read just before I decide what to see. Plus, the layouts are slick and easy to read, incorporating a trailer, cast & director list and even the IMDb link for the film. Then, once they've each said their piece and given it a personal rating out of 5, the scores are combined and a short "They Said" section is added, detailing the overall verdict.

  If this sounds awesome to you (and why wouldn't it?) then I cannot urge you enough to visit hesaidshesaidfm.com right now to check out all the movie goodness. Or watch a couple of their daily YouTube videos, where they talk about all the film stuff you'd ever care to know, among other topical things. There's even Twitter too! Plus, I'll likely post a link on my RE:Views to their reviews, as I have been already.

Fun Fact - Helen watched the Back To The Future trilogy at nearly a frame-by-frame rate for her Media and Film Studies degree! Epic!

RE:View: Thor

 

    The God of Thunder gets the Hollywood treatment in Marvel's latest comic-book adaptation of the mighty Thor. Directed by Kenneth Brannagh and boasting a high-profile supporting cast of Natalie Portman and Sir Anthony Hopkins, Thor aims to take the super-hero movie by storm with it's whizzy effects and complex Norse back-story. But does it live up to the hype and expectation? Will it leave you hammered with disappointment, or struck with excitement? And, most importantly, can it manage to pull off fantasy-like Norse costumes without coming off overwhelmingly camp?

Trailer Tuesday: Triple Trailer Madness!

Yeah, because I totally meant those kind of trailers.

Well, there's good news and there's bad news.

The bad news? There's no trailer breakdown today, for both a lack of effort and a lack of trailers worthy of it.
The good news? To make up for this, I'm posting 3 trailers for your eyes, ears and maybe even mouth (if you're into that kind of thing) to feast gluttonously on.

(With all trailers, hover over vid and click top link for proper YouTube page. This means bigger screen and higher res.)

   First up, new indie movie, Another Earth. It's about a duplicate Earth turning up with duplicate humans and duplicate everything. It's a cool, if not slightly chilling, concept put into action by some half-arsed looking story. To be honest, it looks like a cheesy and predictable romance-thriller set among the sweet sounding sci-fi concept. But who knows, it may turn out good. Plus, the music really brings the trailer to a level of both tranquility and corruption or, in layman's terms, poetic awesome. Here it is:

Releases July 22, 2011

Next, is the latest Jason Statham action flick, Blitz. Based around a serial cop-killer in London, it promises some twists and turns and a lot of Statham kicking ass. The villain, named Blitz, certainly rings some Joker vibes from The Dark Knight, if you see what I mean. Besides that, it'll probably be a no-holds barred action film with lots of potty-mouthed yobs and bone-cracking beat-downs. Enjoy:

Coming May 20, 2011

And finally, we come to Warrior. Featuring Tom Hardy of Inception and Bronson fame, Warrior looks like the MMA (Mixed Marial Arts) version of The Fighter. Two brothers return to their MMA routes after a hard time in Afghanistan and teaching respectively, and find that they must battle each other for the final championship. Admittedly, the trailer gives away a little too much, but it seems like the film will not really choose a side itself between the bros. This is obviously a different angle form the Rocky-themed biased boxing flicks which have reigned over the genre for years, and I think the MMA direction will breath some much needed fresh air into it as well. Anyway, here's todays final trailer:

In Cinemas September 9th, 2011

Right then, that's your trailer overdose done for today. Come back next week for a proper breakdown of another upcoming movie. Hopefully.

The Sunday Supdate: 24/04/11

Not much to say about this week. Nope, nothing at all in fact. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

But then there is that small fact that WE HIT 2000 HITS! which I could talk about...
Uh-huh. You heard it right, and probably saw it right (at top of page), the blog has now reached over 2000 hits. 2159 is what it stands at this very moment, which means I've actually got over 100 extra. I think that's quite impressive, all things considering. 4 months, almost, the site's been up and running, so I'm pretty proud with that figure.

    On to other things now, and this oncoming week sees the first of the Super-Hero summer movies being released. Thor hits cinemas on 29th April (Friday), but I shall be seeing it on the Wednesday for some reason. I think it's a preview screening or something, either way it's awesome. So there should be an RE:View of that dropping soon.

    Talking about this Friday, it's the Royal wedding! Now some, if not all, may be screwing your noses up at the thought of some over-glorified posh boy getting married, but I'm kind of looking forward to it. The way I see it, it's history in the making, something you can look back on  and say "I remember that...". Plus if you buy any of the cheesy-as-hell memorabilia of the day, it'll be worth a fortune in the future. You seen how much any of that Diana stuff goes for these days? And besides, you get a day off, don't you?

Okay, that's just too far...

       Anyway, a couple of RE:Views went up this week. Sucker Punch and Your Highness; not the greatest movies I've ever seen, but then again, not the worst. Kind of getting into some better layouts with the reviews now, with a few pictures strewn in between every couple of paragraphs to break it up a bit and keep it fresh. I understand that just solid text can be a bit intimidating sometimes, so I've tried to streamline it a little. Plus, I added a touch of colour to the Trailer Tuesday this week too, to really make some things pop and make it easier to find certain items.

Right, I'm going to sign off now. Have a great week everyone, and always; stay safe and stay tuned. Oh, and Happy Easter!
ATR

RE:View: Your Highness

     From the minds behind the likes of Pineapple Express and the show, Eastbound and Down, comes Your Highness. As a fantasy-comedy at heart, Your Highness tries to mix big name stars into it's crude humour formula, which doesn't always come off too well.


      But don't be fooled into thinking this is a parody movie in any way. The story is actually rather standard fantasy-fare, but with frequent bursts of the stoner kind of humour you would come to expect from leading man Danny McBride. McBride plays Thadeous, the slacker brother of hero Prince Fabious, portrayed by James Franco. When Fabious' bride to be (Zooey Deschanel) is captured by an evil warlock, Thadeous must help his brother on a quest to retrieve his stolen love. On the way there's horny Minotaurs, perverted wizards and a leather-clad Natalie Portman to provide a rather creepy love-interest situation.

This with Danny McBride is a little weird...

           I'm going to be frank; there is a lot of dick jokes. Crudeness and vulgarity reign over any humour throughout the movie, creating a hit and miss comedic scenario. To my understanding, the majority is ad-libbed which would explain why it doesn't always work well, especially among some of the cast who aren't too familiar with this kind of "scripting". That's not to say it's all bad, as there are some real gems among the gags, with a few stand-outs that had me laughing out loud (a certain minotaur "trophy" in particular) and the use of cussing in medieval speech was chuckle-some too (even if it does wear off after a while).
   
     Despite the often atrocious English accents, the acting is on par. Strangely enough, academy-award nominated James Franco was perhaps the weakest here, in my opinion. But McBride is perfectly suited to dopey-sleeze bag Thadeous and Portman does a fine job of the independent warrior woman role. While Justin Theroux plays the socially awkward, evil wizard, Leezar with just the right amount of cookiness. 

Hit and Miss

     Your Highness, with all it's ad-libbing and awkward improv is nowhere near the same standard of other films with the same style, such as Anchorman, but it is a half-decent comedy in its own right. The special effects may be crappy and the fight scenes badly shot, but that's not really what audiences are there for. Although it's about 60/40 with the joke success rate, it's still something that anyone who enjoys this crass and crude humour type should go see, despite the fact that it could've been so much more. If it's not your style, then I'd say to steer clear.


2.5/5 Stars - More "Your Jester" than Your Highness.


What HeSaidSHeSaid thought of Your Highness.

Trailer Tuesday: Rise of The Planet of The Apes

I'm not sure if this is the official poster, but it's all I could find for now.

Planet of the Apes makes a return to cinemas with this big budget reboot from Rupert Wyatt. Starring James Franco (127 Hours) and Freida Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire fame, the prequel boasts state-of-the-art special effects, including motion capture performed by Mocap legend, Andy Serkis. Incidentally, here's an image of me with the man behind the likes of Gollum and King Kong:

Yeah, I know he looks like a hobo, but it really is Andy Serkis!

Sorry, but I've been dieing to get that picture out ever since I found him in a Model Zone Shop ( I don't know why I was in there either...) in London a few months ago. My face is laughable, however, and it is deeply ironic that he actually looks like an ape here.

  Moving on, heres what's going down in Rise of The Planet of The Apes:

"In present day San Francisco, a scientist (Franco) looks for a cure for Alzheimer's disease by experimenting on a chimpanzee named Caesar. The development of animal intelligence brings about a war for supremacy between humans and apes." - IMDB

 1080p lies just one click away!

• 0:14 - Nice little walk into a lightning infsted lab - presumably the one where certain tests on apes are happening.
• 0:19 - Creepy finger through a cage. This doesn't look good for our primate cousins...
• 0:24 - James Franco unveils his plans on curing Alzheimer's. By the looks of the thing on the board behind, they show what a brain looks like with Alzheimer's, what a brain looks like normally and what it does with this new drug they're testing, from left to right. 
• 0:31 - Testing out the ape known as Caesar, Serkis' main role. It seems very likely that this is the lead ape in future proceedings, due to his apparent intelligence before the drug, which ends up landing him in the lab rat seat for it. 
• 0:41 - Testing is getting underway and Pinto's character seems concered. Bloody animal rights activists...
• 0:48 - Something definitely doesn't seem right with the first experiment...
• 0:57 - Looks like the drug has rapidly enhanced the ape's intelligence as it use a hand-crafted tool to attempt escape.
• 1:08 - King-Kong like gorilla smashes out from captivity.
• 1:10 - Now loads of apes are free, as they pour from the (presumable) lab roof.
• 1:12 - By jove! If it isn't Draco Malfoy himself! Or Tom Felton as I think he prefers. His role in the movie is still unclear however.
• 1:17 - The same ape from 1:08 is now running down a road behind a carnival.
• 1:20 - Now that's freaky! Ape, maybe Caesar, watches France and Pinto sleep.
• 1:27 - Caesar find the drug... This must be how they all get free.
• 1:29 - Caesar gives a realisation glance through a window.
• 1:33 - People looking freaked by all the leaves, obviously from all the apes running around up in the branches.
• 1:34 - They trashed the cafeteria as well! Damn, and I was looking forward to Sloppy Joe day!
• 1:37 - The tides have turned as one scientist is watched by all of the apes.
• 1:39 - The Golden Gate bridge is terrorised by the uprising apes.
• 1:42 - Oh Sh... 
• 1:48 - Caesar looking pissed. Got to admire the incredible CGI here though, it's just so life like! 
• 1:54 - Apes Will Rise: August 5th.

So, what'dya think of that? Pretty spine-chilling stuff, eh? There is something underlyingly creepy about that trailer, but I just can't put my finger on why. Or should I say that I can't put my "opposable thumb" on why? Anyway, I think it looks kind of cool, despite the fact it being a (possible cash-in) prequel. The WETA Workshop FX are just mind-blowing though, and I can't wait to see some of that in action. With this new inclusion, it looks like I'm going to be spending a lot of time at the cinema this Summer...

RE:View: Sucker Punch

If I asked you to think of every action movie convention you could, and then told you that they would all be in one movie, what would you say? No way, right? Well director Zack Snyder has attempted just that in his latest cinema outing, Sucker Punch. A hybrid between fantasy/action and thriller/sci-fi, Sucker Punch aims for the same mind-bending plot devices seen in the likes of Inception, but with all the heavy action, can the story keep up?

    The tale follows 5 girls :

• Emily Browning as Babydoll
• Abbie Cornish as Sweet Pea
• Jena Malone as Rocket
• Vanessa Hudgens (Yep - from High School Musical!) as Blondie
• Jamie Chung as Amber

 Locked up in a mental asylum, they attempt to escape by using the power of their minds to find five items that will set them free. Ever seen Rugrats? Well the way that they imagine stuff around them when they're playing is kind of like what happens here, just with more violence and scantily-clothed women. This complex idea however, doesn't always work and will leave you wondering why the hell a battle between a girl and 3 huge Gatling gun-wielding samurai's just took place.

    However, the style and action of these bizarre fight scenes really can't be flawed. Every battle runs smoothly with slow-mo cuts, close up combat and some stunning camera work in places to capture the beautiful choreography at work. Action-junkies will feel right at home here as fights with dragons, steam-punk German zombies and robots, unfold into some truly awesome set-pieces.

The action is crazy-awesome

          As for the multi-layered plot setup, it seems to struggle at times. Most things look to be based on implying things, rather than actually executing them which creates some plot holes and bad pacing issues. If you looked deep into it, there are some real serious themes of rape and abuse going on, but unfortunately these aren't built upon largely due to the 12A rating, leaving the finished product slightly sloppy. Plus the fairytale setup of "3 problems" (i.e. the three pigs houses) gets tiresome after a while and feels like the easy route of plot progression that really doesn't benefit the wannabe-complex script.

          The girls (although none really stand out) give fairly decent performances and manage to carry it well enough. Some more dialogue during fight scenes could have helped build some chemistry between them all though, and a couple characters seem a bit dispensable and only there to make up numbers (namely Hudgens and Chung's roles). On the whole though, the acting is fine.

You can't deny them their hotness...

     I can see what Snyder is getting at here and when closely analysed this could be viewed as a master-piece, but obviously the everyday movie-goer isn't going to get that deep, or even the critics. It seems a bit too like Snyder's film and no one else's, which is why it comes off a little rough. Granted, Snyder's cinematography and imagery is spot on and the action is handled expertly, but that's not going to satisfy everyone, especially those who came for a "mind-bending vision of reality" and instead got what came off like a video-game adaptation. I guess some slack should be given due to the fact that this is the first time Snyder's using his own material and can be somewhat forgiven due to his lack of guidance in the story-telling department this time round.

3/5 Stars - It's certainly fun to watch, just don't go expecting the next Shutter Island.

What did HeSaidSheSaid think of Sucker Punch? Click here to find out.

The Sunday Supdate: 17/04/11

I've got no opening sentence, so let's just get on with this.

Pretty slow week here, considering I haven't been at school. Sorry about the lack of a certain Tuesday feature involving theatrical movie previews, but I just couldn't find the motivation. Never fear, because I've already got the next one figured out. Or should I say I've "opposable thumbed" it out. Eh?

    On an unrelated note, here's an awesome video from Peter Jackson about The Hobbit:

Awesome or what? This movie is going to freakin' rock. And did you know the whole thing's being recorded not only in 3D, but in 48 frames per second! What does that mean? It means twice the picture quality of the usual film standard, baby! 2012, hurry up already! But not the end of the world 2012. You, sir, can wait!

  Saw Sucker Punch earlier today. I won't say anything now, so you'll have to read the RE:View (which should be dropping tomorrow) to get my honest-to-god opinion of Zack Snyder's latest Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Stripper/Thriller epic. And hopefully, I'll be seeing Your Highness on Wednesday, so a RE:View of the Fantasy/Comedy/Another-Film-Natalie-Portman-Is-In movie should also be inbound. Oh, and I'll be picking up the new Mortal Kombat game on Thurs/Fri when it releases, so maybe my first fully-fledged game RE:View could be coming.

  Also, after my post-Kapow! blues wore off, I got in touch with the Beast Cosplayer from the con, and am now recognised by him and his wife, along with their kick-ass review site, hesaidshesaidfm.com! Expect a feature on them very soon.

     1800 hits now, so that's pretty cool. Although I gotta say, I'm a little disappointed with the amount of views my God and Satan post got. After all, you guys did mostly vote for more editorials like that. Oh well, maybe it's God's way of telling me not to mess with religion. Or it's your way of telling me "We don't care.". But perhaps this mention will boost the hits.

  That's me updated out for today. Thanks for reading and stay tuned. In the words of Toby Turner: "Bless your face! If you sneezed during this Supdate* bless you. Peace off." BOOP.

*Supdate in place of the usual "video" that he says.


Buy Mortal Kombat Here!

God and Satan: An Editorial Piece

Arm Wrestle or Arm Union?

After listening to Biffy Clyro's God and Satan, I got thinking.
Just listen to this first line:

"I talk to God as much as I talk to Satan, because I want to hear both sides."

For some reason, I found this really powerful. Just think, throughout time religion has always been very biased toward the God side of things. Even the bad stuff, like the floods and plagues were supposedly him "teaching us a lesson". But could it not be that certain things aren't as Black and White as the bible makes it out to be? That often things happen because God just felt like being a jerk? Or Satan's just a misunderstood angel, crying out for help?  Now I'm not a religious guy myself, and I don't want to offend anyone here, but I'd like to go a little deeper with this.

RE:View: Plague

  If you don't know what he Gone series is about, here's a short introduction to interest you:

"The "Gone" series by Michael Grant (Gone, Hunger, Lies and now Plague) about everyone 15 and over, for reasons unknown, dissapear, leaving everybody 14 and under in an inpenetrable dome, is one of the best series out there for teens. The love child of "Lord of the Flies" and "X-Men", the Gone series is an intense, violent and sometimes saddening narrative, charting the stories of these teens as they deal with the problems obtained from living in the dome: being hungry, searching for water, trying to live some semblance of a life -- and don't forget how the children begin to mutate, gaining all sorts of powers, along with the animals of the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone). And this is just the bare strands of what forms Michael Grants' "Gone" novels." - Amazon Reviewer

 Michael Grant's 4th book in his epic Gone saga, Plague, is perhaps one of the most edge-of-your-seat, heart-in-your-mouth, pulse-racing young-adult novels to ever grace the book shelves. Despite this being the latter middle of the series (a planned six), the quality is as good as ever. Gripping action, emotive characters and some shocking twits help to make this the best so far.

  The FAYZ is at it's lowest point in the 8 months since the dome went up. A deadly flu is sweeping the town, rendering kids to the point of death. And what with the water supply running out, things turn from bad to worse. Over the course of 72 hours and 7 minutes, friendships are tested, dark alliances are forged and blood is spilled.

  And when I say blood is spilled, I mean it. This is by far the most violent and gruesome of the series, and will make you wince and whine at the detailed brutality. And even the romance gets a bit more explicit, if you catch my drift. But luckily, it never feels over-the-top, as with all of Grant's superb story-telling. The Heroes-esque array of characters all still play perfectly into this installment, with their emotions and action laid bare by the tremendous display of thoughtful language, giving an overwhelming sense of relatability and realism.

 But then there is this new layer of historical and political allusion which has been magnified since the events of Lies. These underlying themes of democracy and fascism, racism and power, give the seemingly all-teen book very adult qualities. There are times when events such as the Russian Revolution and even Hitlers rise to power are echoed into the book, leaving faint traces of allegorical genius.

  Obviously, this is not a good point to jump into the series, and it's highly recommended you go from the start. But those familiar with the previous titles can dive in straight away and immerse themselves in this crazy world that is the FAYZ, and experience the finest teen novel out there.

10/10. Just saddened by the prospect of waiting till 2012 for the next one...

Trailer Tuesday: Not Today, Folks...

No, "Not Today, Folks" is not a movie!

  Yeah, sorry about that, but I've got a couple valid reasons. Firstly, I'm pretty wasted after burning through the last 200 or so pages of Plague (RE:View imminent) which was heart-racingly awesome. And the other reason is that there are no decent recent trailers out. Seriously, IMDB is pretty barren at the moment, except maybe this incredibly blunt and in your face Hesher movie that looks kind of... different. Not really worth a break-down though, seeing as it's so painstakingly obvious. Some sweet actors in there though.

  But don't get too upset over this gut-wrenching revelation of suggested betrayal toward you, depriving you of your precious weekly trailer break-down, because patience may prevail. What I mean is, I might do a trailer some other time this week. And the universe is balanced again. Plus, I'm working on some contacts that could lead somewhere new and exciting... Stay tuned.

Kapow! Comic-Con: The Full Report

 As you should know by now, I took a trip to Geeksville yesterday when I attended London's "Kapow!" Comic Convention. Here's how it went, including some razzle-dazzle photos and a few interesting new announcements:

After an... interesting train ride (which included a chubby man feasting on his nose cuisine.) and consequent tube rides, me and my Dad found ourselves here, at the London Business Design Centre. Awesome Green Lantern poster here too.

Hit the link below for the rest:

The Sunday Supdate: 10/04/11

Well, guess who just got back from London's "Kapow!" Comic-Con?

 Yep, nearly 6 solid hours of geeky goodness. Unfortuantely, I won't be able to give you the full report (with pictures) until tomorrow, but rest assured it'll be worth the wait. Unlike some of the queues I stood in... Waited in line for ages, only to be turned away at the last corner, defying me of the Kick-Ass writer/artist's autographs. Ah well, got some good pics of them and there were a few stunning announcements made by Mr Mark Millar himself, writer of Kick-Ass and Wanted. Plus, exciting new Misfits news and some intriguing costumes to look forward to.

   What else has been going on this week? I got an A* on my recent maths mock, if than can constitute worthy news... Saw my sister's college performance of We Will Rock You, which was impressive if a bit awkward at times... Never realised how terrible the story is in that show though. Terrible pacing and the ending just makes no sense. But if it entertains, then who cares?

  Still haven't seen any more movies, but what with the next couple of weeks being school-free I should be able to slot some in. And with all that extra time on my hands, maybe some more editorials/opinions will crop up in the coming days. My Foxy Bingo piece felt quite fresh, despite the foul language, buy hey, I starred it out right? I do like the idea of the Cracked style srticles of "# Reasons Why...", and may use the unique structural style again sometime in the near future.

     As for now, well I think I'll be signing off. Come back tomorrow for my full Kapow! (yes, I do need to put an explanation mark everytime) coverage, and don't forget to pack some spare underwear. Good night!
ATR

Trailer Tuesday: Green Lantern

The new extended trailer for DC's Green Lantern dropped today, showing off some awesome and exciting new tid-bits. As always, I'm here to break it down and explain some of the things included. Enjoy:

"In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan.

Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle, and along with his determination and willpower, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity. With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax…he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all." - Rather Lengthy Wiki Plot Synopsis

Click here for the full-size, full-epic version, with 1080p included!

• 0:10 - Enter Sinestro (played by Kick-Ass and Sherlock Holmes villainous actor Mark Strong) , floating down in front of the glistening Green Lantern monument. Now Sinestro is actually the biggest enemy of the Green Lantern Corps, but obviously he isn't here. At this moment he's still one of the Green Lanterns, and appears to have taken up some place of leadership as he tells the other Lanterns of their greatest threat yet; Parallax. 
• 0:26 - Seen here is two other Lanterns, known as (left to right) Kilowog and Tomar-Re. Kilowog is a Bolovaxian, a race predominantly known for their strength and endurance. After his sector's Lantern died, Kilowog was chosen to be the new member of the Corps because of his skills in machinery and genetics. He is also considered to be one of the Corps' best trainers and recruiters. Tomar-Re I'll talk about later.
• 0:30-1:02 - Now, as Sinestro tells you, Abin Sur (who's on the screen at this point) was the Corps' finest warrior. However, he gets his butt kicked here by the mighty Parallax and narrowly escapes in his awesome space ship. Knowing that death is impending, he commands his ring of power (the Lanterns source of power) to find a new Lantern. Which leads to...
• 1:03-1:15 - First look at Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, the cocky test pilot. After seeing Abin crash, he goes to investigate.
• 1:16-1:27 - Abin gives Hal the ring, as he's been chosen by it. Now this ring (seen at 1:18 and 1:20) is not to be messed with, as it gives the wearer the ability to turn thought into reality. 
• 1:30-2:02 - Reciting the oath to become a Lantern is very important stuff. However, looks like the problem's sorted for Hal as he does it almost subconsciously. 

"In Brightest Day,

In Blackest Night,

No evil shall, escape my sight

Let those who worship, evil's might,

Beware my power... Green Lantern's light!"

• 2:06-2:11 - Hal's first flight by the looks of it. Bit wobbly, but some sweet CGI space scenes.
• 2:19 - Hal arrives at the Corps' base planet, Oa. Note the almost entirely CGI'd costume here.
• 2:23-2:40 - Return of the bird-like Lantern from earlier, Tomar-Re. He, like Kilowog, was a scientist before joining the Corps (on his home planet of Xudar)  and went on to become an Honor Guard for them. Oh, and he's voiced by Geoffrey Rush (The Kings Speech, Pirates of the Caribbean).
• 2:41 - Tomar-Re introduces Hal to Oa in all it's greatness.
• 2:57 - Fancy flying to that monument mentioned earlier.
• 3:03-3:22 - You may wish to pause in parts here, just to take in the variety of crazy looking aliens that are all part of the Corps and listening to Sinestro's speech.
• 3:24-3:29 - The Lanterns all raise their rings in an astounding stream of green light. 
• 3:30 - Uh oh. Looks like someone found Abin Sur (the crashed Lantern from earlier) and his ship...
• 3:32 - And there is that man. Hector Hammond, and as he tries to find out what Abin Sur is, he gets infected by a piece of something, which will give him some extraordinary new abilities.
• 3:39-3:42 - As you can see, the thing he touched has caused his brain to increase in size and now has the powers of Telepathy, Mind Control and Telekinesis, not to mention he can block some of the power rings power. So naturally, a fight occurs between him and Hal.
• 3:44 - That's right; Super green Gatling gun!
• 3:45-3:55 - A series of pretty nifty action snips involving Hal, Hector and the evil Parallax.
• 3:58 - June 17th -Can't freakin' wait. Ooh, 3D too!

Hope you enjoyed that awesome and lengthy trailer, and I hope you enjoyed that potentially awesome and lengthy breakdown. I do prefer analysing superhero movie trailers, because not only do they interest me the most, but it's easy to dig up information on the vast comic history it has. So maybe you learnt stuff from it. Anyway, come back next week for another trailer and another breakdown. 


Want to buy Green Lantern Stuff? Here's the full Forbidden Planet Listing. 

Facing Fears: 5 Reasons Why Foxy Bingo Scares Me S***less

Queue the girly screaming...

Ever seen them pant-wettingly scary ads for bingo site, Foxy Bingo? You know the one with the big prick in a fox outfit making me crap myself and hide behind the sofa each time it comes on? Sure you do, it is the sponsor of The Jeremy Kyle Show after all. Well, nothing gives me the shivers more than them and I'm going to tell you why...

5. He Stalks Women
    Now if you can remember the very first Foxy Bingo advert, which aired in 2006 I believe, I think you'll agree with me that it was incredibly creepy. It included our mysterious fox walking round like he's some sort of rodent pimp, and following various women. Not only does he does he look like a Narnian-esque pervert, he actually slyly watches these unsuspecting women as they go about their daily business. At the end, a man comes up and asks why none of the women are talking, to which the fox replies: "They're saving their chat for Foxy Bingo.". More like you tore out their tongues for your twisted fantasies, you sick b*****d dog.

4. The Outfits
    If you watch this compilation, you may notice that EVERY SINGLE OUTFIT HE WEARS SCREAMS RAPIST. The creepy Hugh Hefner colour scheme not only gives serious vibes of sex offender, it also reminds me of a Scooby-Doo villain I'd once seen as a kid. Except it doesn't look like he just wants to scare those women... And he would've got away with it, if it weren't for those medaling TV censors!

I don't even... 

3. The Mannerisms
    I don't know how they do it, but Foxy looks frighteningly life-like. I'd commend the costume design people for it, if I didn't feel more like killing them for what they've set upon our screens. The ears twitch, the teeth scrape and the tail wags; It's just all too surreal for me. Add to that the way he dances like a 70's disco god and walks like a 1950's African American, and you've got yourself a deadly combination. Maybe he was made in an accidental radioactive leak and is now rising up to become king of the foxes to take over the world. Come to think of it,  there have been quite a few fox attacks in the past year... Especially on babies... Which should have been looked after by their mothers... Who are too busy playing bloody bingo online! My god, this thing's an evil genius!

2. The Voice
    Going back to the original ad specifically (because the recent Geordie Fox ads don't quite strike the same chord), and if you listen to the voice at the end, you may need to change your underwear. Imagine a mix between the voices of a Bond villain an a frog, thrown in with the sound of scraping chalk and you get a general idea of a tenth of the creepiness of his voice...

Worst. Children Entertainer. Ever.

1. The Nightmare
    Okay, so there's one main reason why Foxy makes my trousers go brown, and it's hard wired into the very depths of my thriving subconscious. It was sometime in 2006 when I was just a wee 10 year old. If my memory serves me correctly, my Dad had recently got The King Kong video game on PS2. After a marathon session of watching him play it (the selfish **** didn't give me a go...)*, I got a bit of a headache. I retired to my bed shortly after and found myself drifting off to the world of sleep. Until the Nightmare came.
    Dinosaurs and giant apes everywhere, fighting it out all over my brain. And here's the kicker. Up pops Mister Foxy (the original) in front of it all, frantically clawing toward me and scowling all kinds of stuff. I awoke just before I was subjected to whatever that dastardly fox wanted to do to me. Unfortunately though, whenever I closed my eyes there he was, like a video on loop. I couldn't escape it, no matter what I did...

* Sorry Dad...

 To this very day I'm still haunted by visions of that red headed deviant. Even normal foxes I find freaky now, which is ironic. If it weren't for that dream, my own subconscious, this kind of fear probably wouldn't be nearly as bad as it is. Funny that, how the real fear's only really in my mind... Anyway, thanks for reading if you did so, because it took me a lot of balls to trawl through those adverts to write it. Stay safe now.

The Sunday Supdate: 03/04/11

Happy Mothers Day everyone!

Hope you're all well and coping with your everyday lives. This week's been... somewhat fast, I'd like to say. That of course is in no way a bad thing, I guess. Just felt like it was only yesterday I was typing on about 1000 hits (which has now nearly grown to 1300).  Maybe it's just me. Life seems to be whizzing me by lately, things changing and evolving. And even the hours pass without me knowing. I just looked at my watch and realised it was already half nine. No time for reading tonight I guess...

  So, what's been Sup this week? There were two new posts, if you read them. The usual trailer Tuesday and a slightly different post focusing on seats and the like. If my quote hadn't given it away already, I watched the Scrubs season 8 finale for the 4th time this week. Man, those final scenes never fail to well my eyes up. Yeah, I know I'm such a wuss. Anyway, some of the stuff in it really related to me this time around - about things ending and how they never match what you'd hoped in your head. 

    However, I have get some awesome (and very geeky) news to share. Next Sunday, I shall be going to Comic-Con! Well, Kapow! Comic-Con, which is the UK's equivalent to the mighty San-Diego convention. Expect some awesome photos dropping next Supdate or after, of all the geeky goodness. Comics, movies, TV, games, and of course Cosplay are abound. Don't worry though, you won't catch me in a dodgy costume...

 Coming up... Well, I I recently obtained the book Plague (which you can buy through the link at the bottom), which is the 4th in a series of novels known as the Gone series. I am a massive fan of this series, so it's likely there'll be some sort of RE:View inbound. Also, I'll probably see Sucker Punch soon, because it does look rather awesome. Some negative reviews have turned me off slightly, but I'll be sure to try and get my thoughts across in another RE:View if and when I see it.  And stick around for tomorrow, because I've got something scary up my sleeve. Plus I really should post some more doodles soon...

   Alright, that'll be about it. See you next week (which at this rate will feel like tomorrow) for another Supdate of possible Comic-Con-ness and take care. And remember the polls to your right, people!

ATR

Oh, and I thought it'd be cool to leave my initials at the end of Supdates, all professional like.

Plague (Gone)