Incredible Hulk Trailer
April 30, 2008
A new trailer came out for the Incredible Hulk movie today. When they first cast Ed Norton as Bruce Banner, I was intrigued by this movie. Frankly I’m not a big Hulk fan, but Norton brings some serious acting chops to the character. The first trailer looked good, but didn’t reveal much about the storyline.
This trailer comes in and shows a well established plot with love, conflict, and characterization. Hulk/Banner seems to be getting a more robust story line with motivations you can relate to. This raises my interest from curious to full excitement.
Tags: comic book, comics, ed norton, hulk, incredible hulk, liv tyler, movie, trailer, trailers
Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People
April 13, 2008
I thought that the new Final Fantasy game was the reason to get excited about WiiWare, but I was horribly mistaken. The key game I am now looking eagerly forward to is Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People from Tell Tale Games!
Now an important safety announcement:
Tags: games, homestar runner, homestarrunner, Nintendo, strong bad, video games, wii, wiiware
Election 2008: A Vote For Hope
April 9, 2008
On October 9th, 2007, I saw Senator Barack Obama speak to a crowd of over 800 in Plymouth State University’s HUB Courtroom. Coming into election season this was the candidate I had the most hope for. After his now famous DNC speech from 2004, I was sure this would be a strong candidate for exciting new and positive directions for America.
Unfortunately, Obama had done little to impress me in his campaign so far. He speaks platitudes without information or actions to back them up. He has done very little as a Senator, except run for president. This does not endear him or his potential as commander in chief to me.
In person, Obama was even less inspiring. His foreign policy experience and knowledge is weak. He even admits this, claiming the Rumsfeld and Cheney have long resumes and a bad track record, so his “lack of resume” can’t be worse. This doesn’t inspire me.
However, when election time finally came, I was left with only hree options: Obama, Clinton, or Edwards. I had come to like Biden, but he’d dropped. Richardson always seemed like a bit too much of a long shot.
Seeing Edwards stuck out for me as terrifying… During his speech he stated that the best approach with Iraq would be an immediate withdrawal which would lead to a complete anarchy, which would lead to genocide, which would force an international humanitarian effort, which would allow the US to get together with the international community to raise a new Iraq from those ashes. Frankly, this stance is entirely unacceptable. There may be problems in Iraq, but genocide should not be your plan. Ever.
I liked Hillary Clinton in person. She spoke well, her policies were well thought out. However, I find her political maneuvering and style distasteful. I find it easier to hate her, than to like her; even when I agree with what she is saying. This causes her to be seen as divisive. We don’t need division in this country. I’d rather see McCain get the nomination than more division in the country.
This leaves Obama. He’s not perfect. I think he needs more experience, but hopefully this can come with a well chosen cabinet. His inspirational nature could be healthy for the nation. So in the end, not sure which way to go even as I walked into the voting booth, I chose hope. Hope that he surprises me and goes the distance. Hope that he can improve America’s image. Hope that what he says is what he’ll do. Hope for change.
Tags: Barack Obama, clinton, election, election 2008, hillary clinton, obama, politics
Iron Man Song Origins
April 7, 2008
Joshua Glen e Boston Globe, wrote a fascinating piece called We Are Iron Man which does an in depth look into the origin of Black Sabbath’s classic rock son “Iron Man”. Was it inspired by the comic? Or are there other potentials? We’ll never know for certain, but the analysis here is interesting and fun.
Tags: black sabbath, boston globeof th, comics, iron man, movie, song
Summer 2008 Movies
March 15, 2008
There is no doubt I am going to spend way too much money this summer if I see half the movies I’m excited about.
Here’s a chronological list of the goodness I’m paying attention to, it’s nearly every week:
Leatherheads - April 4th - So April isn’t summer… but the trio of Clooney, Krasinski and Zellweger looks spectacularly funny.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall - April 18th - One name, Kristen Bell. If you still have doubts, check the trailer.
Iron Man - May 2nd - Can’t miss this.
Speed Racer - May 9th - Visually exciting, mixed opinions on the Wachowski brothers after two crappy Matrix sequels…
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - May 16th - I didn’t love the first, but this looks a bit darker and more interesting to me.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - May 22nd - Another can’t miss. I hope this hold up to the originals.
Sex in the City - May 30th - I don’t care, but my wife could make this unavoidable…
You Don’t Mess With The Zohan - June 6th - Probably wait until this hits DVD, but I generally enjoy Adam Sandler. He hasn’t had a big hit lately, he’s do.
Kung Fu Panda - June 6th - Jack Black as a Dreamworks digitally animated panda? W00t.
The Incredible Hulk - June 13th - The first Hulk movie looked good, but lacked substance. Can Ed Norton put this franchise back on track? Loved the trailer, I’ll be there for this in the theater.
The Happening - June 13th - M. Night Shyamalan had 2 great movies, followed by three increasingly forgettable ones. Zooey Deschanel always intrigues me, but this will get a pass until it hits DVD.
Get Smart - June 20th - The classic TV series was great fun. Steve Carell is perfect for the part, let’s hope he does better with this than Will Farrell did with Bewitched…
Wanted - June 27th - Holy crap. I can’t begin to explain my excitement about Mark Millar’s creator owned book being made into an adrenaline pumping, full blown, summer popcorn flick. (plus Angelina Jolie) This year’s V for Vendetta or 300.
Wall-E - June 27th - If you want more family fare this weekend, Pixar rarely disappoints. (yeah… I hate Cars)
Hancock - July 2nd - Will Smith plays a not-so-super hero. Trailer was enough to get me excited.
Hell Boy II: The Golden Army - July 11th - I’ve been patiently waiting for this since credits rolled on the first film. Must see.
The Dark Knight - July 18th - If you have a pulse, you’ll be in line for this.
The X-Files 2 - July 25th - I’m happily shocked that this movie exists. I miss the X-Files so much…
Star Wars: Clone Wars - August 15th - This new animated adventure existing between Episodes 2 and 3 is flying shockingly far below the radar. I have a feeling this will be the greatest Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi, but no one seems to be talking much about it…
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - November 21st - Not summer, but another blockbuster to look forward to in 2008.
If 1/3 of these are good, this could be a movie summer to remember. See you at the movies!
Tags: 2008, 300, adam sandler, Angelina Jolie, animated, batman, cars, chris carter, chronicles of narnia, clone wars, dark knight, david duchovny, dreamworks, forgetting sarah marshall, george clooney, george lucas, golden army, half blood prince, hancock, happening, harrison ford, harry potter, hellboy, hellboy 2, hulk, incredible hulk, indiana jones, iron man, jack black, John Krasinski, kingdom of the crystal skull, kristn bell, kung fu panda, leatherheads, m night shyamalan, mark millar, marvel, matric, movie, movies, pixar, prince caspian, renee zellweger, return of the jedi, robert downey junior, sex in the city, speed racer, star wars, summer, summer 2008, summer movies, trailer, trailers, v for vendetta, wachowski, wachowski brothers, wall-e, wanted, Will smith, x-files, xfiles, you don't mess with the zohan, zohan
Full Iron Man Trailer
February 29, 2008
Iron Man Exclusive Trailer
More MySpace Videos
Here is the full trailer for the upcoming Iron Man movie. This movie has really shaped up. I’m beside myself with anticipation…
Tags: iron man, marvel, movie, trailer
Wii Sports Boxing, Meet The Z Cam
February 28, 2008
This IGN video is a good taste of what the ZCam from 3DV Systems is all about. However, the videos on their site show the broad conceptual usage of such a device. Basically, this camera has full 3D sensing capability at 60 fps. Additionally, it has depth cut off, so you can configure it to ignore things beyond a certain depth of field.
Some big player will buy this company and their technology. The only question is who? Microsoft? Sony? Nintendo? Sony already has the Eye Toy, but this steps the game up to another level. Nintendo is clearly interested in innovative control with everything they are pushing both with the Wii and the DS. However, I think Microsoft will jump on this. The XBox has not dipped into this market yet at all. Plus, the videos show tons of Windows Vista applications and PC integration. I think this is an almost inevitable acquisition.
Tags: 3dv, 3dv systems, camera, device, ds, eye toy, IGN, microsoft, Nintendo, sony, video games, webcam, wii, z-cam, z-camera, zacamera, zcam
PS3 Head Tracking - Without A Goofy Hat!
February 27, 2008
Johnny Lee shook my world with his proof of concept head tracking hack on the Nintendo Wii, but it looks as though Sony is going to be the company to run with his idea. Further simplifying the use, they use the Eye Toy accessory to do head tracking. From this, they show basically the exact same proof of concept demo Lee is now so famous for.
Though Boom Blox will have the honor of being the first to put this in a game! Sadly, the inclusion is merely an easter egg for this strange but intriguing Wii game…
Tags: boom blox, eye toy, head tracking, johnny lee, Nintendo, nintendo wii, sony, wii
Triple Iron Man Poster
February 23, 2008
This poster showing all three Iron Man armor designs from the new movie looks awesome. It shows the progression from Mark 1, to Mark 2, to Mark 3. Iron Man opens May 2nd, 2008!
Tags: armor, comics, iron man, mark 1, mark 2, mark 3, marvel, movie, movie poster, one sheet, poster
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Trailer
February 15, 2008
I love the Indiana Jones series and I dearly hope this fourth film is as great as the previous three. We will all know on May 22nd. This trailer seems encouraging to me. Harrison Ford looks great back in the role, Shia Lebeouf is an exciting addition to the cast. My fingers are crossed.
Tags: crystall skull, harrison ford, indiana jones, indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystall skull, jones, kingdom of the crystal skull, movie, preview, shia lebeouf, steven spielberg, trailer