At this point, we all know comic-book remakes can fall into the “fantastic” category (e.g., Batman Begins and Spiderman), or the “extreme suckage” category (e.g., Hulk and Fantastic Four…ugh, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little). So with one of the decade’s most hotly-anticipated action/comic remake films just days away, some people are wondering where Michael Bay’s extreme — and expensive — Transformers will fall.
This summer’s blockbuster has finally arrived people. Only it’s not a mere blockbuster, it’s a two and a half hour atomic bomb… strapped to a roller-coaster… filled with snakes… on fire!
The action is off the charts, apparently, and raises the bar an amount not spoken of since The Matrix first appeared on the scene. In the tradition of Jurassic Park and Independence Day (the all-time ultimate summer blockbuster), Transformers should be a blast to watch.
Despite the agony of waiting nearly 10 months between seasons, there’s good news for fans of what is perhaps the most fascinating and dramatic show ever to grace the small screen. From a press conference about the upcoming season 4:
The brain trust behind Sci Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica on Friday announced plans to wrap up the critically acclaimed cult series after its upcoming fourth season.
“This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and, finally, an end,” executive producers Ronald Moore and David Eick said in a statement.
“Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end, and we’ve decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms. And while we know our fans will be saddened to know the end is coming, they should brace themselves for a wild ride getting there: We’re going out with a bang.”
This fall, to soften the blow of having to wait until January of 08 for new episodes, there is going to be a direct to TV release movie which is to encompass the events surrounding Battlestar Pegusus several months prior to the Battlestar finding Galactica.
Once again, as I always do, I urge anyone who has not watched the show to rent the DVDs and give it a chance. Start with the miniseries, and then get a few episodes into season 1 and see if you can quit.
Apparently, Rosie O’Donnell is the only woman to have been interviewed by the producers for the legendary game show “The Price is Right,” for which Barker concluded his final taping last week. Having been with the show since its inception 35 years ago, the white-haired 83-year-old Barker has decided it’s time to pack it in and, you know, try spending his time relaxing. Pffff…lazy. Rosie, meanwhile, is apparently looking for ways to terrorize even more daytime television viewers after recently departing the gossip-athon known as “The View.” Barker even gave her a boost in a recent interview, saying there was “no doubt in my mind she could do the show.” Ugh. The day I hear Rosie screeching “Come on down!” will be the last day I ever watch “The Price is Right.”
UPDATE: The first time I submitted this story to Digg.com, it got censored too, even though it does not contain the key anywhere in it!!!
Some of you may know I frequent the popular social news web site Digg.com. On Digg, users submit stores they find from around the web and other users “digg” (vote) those stories.
Yesterday, a string of letters and numbers that completely unlock the new encryption system being used on HD-DVDs (that’s High Definition DVDs) started circulating on the Internet. The MPAA, of course, which is perhaps the only organization that gets more excited about robbing people of their fair-use rights than the RIAA, does not want that key out and about, or people might actually be able to (gasp) backup their movies. So they started issuing cease-and-desist orders to any web site that had the key posted, and most complied.
The real backlash, however, came when Digg started removing story submissions that contained the key. If you’re not a member of Digg, you need to understand that one of the holy principles of the community is that it is governed by the community. Good stories make it to the front page; bad stories get buried. When Digg bent over for the MPAA and immediately started removing stories, the community responded…with unprecedented force.
I have 5 additional invites showing in My Joost right now, although this article suggests existing users actually have unlimited invites available. See my last post about Joost for details. Post here in the comments if you want an invite!
After being a member of the Joost beta test for a couple of weeks, they have graced me with three invitations to hand out to friends.
For those of you not aware, Joost is a free internet TV service. It is the beginning of what many of us have hoped for throughout the years: truly on-demand TV. There’s a list of channels, you click on a channel, and then you click on the show you want to watch. It starts when you want it, whenever you want it. There’s already a significant number of channels available, from Comedy Central to National Geographic to MTV. While you won’t find every show from those channels’ regular lineups on Joost just yet, there’s good stuff on there now and the content is growing every week.
If you’re interested, just post a comment here (don’t post your email address in the main comment body so the world can see it — just fill out the comment form correctly or register and I’ll get it from my database). First three to reply get invites!
I haven’t seen this anywhere else (it’s not up on the official site yet, as far as I can tell), but this is the best trailer yet for the upcoming Spider Man 3 film, to be released on May 4. This trailer is 3 full minutes long and gives us a good look at what the story is going to be about. I can’t wait!
In case you’ve been living under a rock (or without cable) and haven’t seen the 20 promos per hour that the Discovery Channel has been airing to push its upcoming miniseries, I just wanted to remind you that the incredible Planet Earth begins this Sunday, March 25, 2007. An 11-part miniseries showcasing the most amazing things on our planet, shot entirely in high definition, the show took five years to film and resulted in over 2,000 hours of video. It looks to be one of the most amazing pieces over produced by one of my favorite channels. I strongly suggest you try to watch it. From the series creator:
A hundred years ago, there were one and a half billion people on Earth. Now, over six billion crowd our fragile planet. But even so, there are still places barely touched by humanity. This series will take you to the last wildernesses and show you the planet and its wildlife as you have never seen them before.
Take a look at what is, in my opinion, the best promo spot. It is extraordinarily dramatic…almost gives me chills.
Many of you who know me are aware of my severe lack of respect for grown adults who can’t spell above a fourth grade level, which includes knowing the difference between “their”, “they’re”, and “there”, “your” and “you’re”, “here” and “hear”, “its” and “it’s”, etc. So imagine how shocked I was when I saw the opening title sequence to a show on Discovery called “How it’s Made” (at least they used the right “it’s”): when running through several title screens, each detailing what was going to be on the program, I saw not one but two gross spelling errors.
“Today, on How it’s Made: Amuminum pots…artificial limbs…High-intensity lihgt bulbs…”
This country really scares me sometimes. How could a program like this get past editors, producers, and screeners to make it on the air with such obvious spelling mistakes? It’s like elementary school kids were running the production office. Really grinds my gears. My other personal favorite example of “how many idiots didn’t figure this out” is when you see spelling errors on those giant roadside billboards.
