Trailer Roundup: K-11, RED 2, and Olympus Falling…

February 5, 2013 M. Neumann Leave a comment

This is Grizzly Bomb’s Trailer Round for February the 5th in the year of 2013…

[tabgroup][tab title=”Olympus Has Fallen”]

The first thing that comes to mind is, “Merica!” Though heavily reliant upon CGI, this trailer is intense nonetheless. Where else would you be able to receive visuals of this nature? It takes us way back to the year nineteen hundred and ninety-six when we saw the Whitehouse blown to pieces by a city sized space ship in Independence Day. It’s truly a disastrous sight that we would never wish to see in real life, but in a film, it should make one phenomenal story.

Gerard Butler is forced to come out from behind the desk to save the president of the United States Aaron Eckhart. Hostage take overs have been done eight ways from Sunday, but this still looks entertaining and worth checking out. There is something to be said about making a generic story seem appealing.

Director: Antoine Fugua
Stars: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Ashley Judd, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Jaye Williams, and Melissa Leo.
Release Date: March 22, 2013

[/tab][tab title=”Upside Down”]

Well if it isn’t the most blatant commentary on social status possible? At least they mix in some amazing green screening to keep the story fresh.Boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl are destined to remain apart due to class restrictions. That would about sum it up, but if you use Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess, you’ve got yourself a movie.

Director: Juan Solanas
Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Jim Sturgess, Timothy Spall, Agnieshka Wnorowska, Neil Napier, Jayne Heitmeyer, James Kidnie, and Frank M. Ahearn.
Release Date: March 15, 2013

[/tab][tab title=”K-11″]

The first thought that came to mind when watching this trailer was, “Is this a real thing?” I suppose it makes sense. If I might have thought transgendered individuals had it difficult as it was, I didn’t even think about what jail would be like.

So thank you Jules Stewart for giving us a look. Yes, I am talking about Kristen Stewart’s mother. Personally, the only redeeming quality I have seen so far is that Jason Mewes is on the cast list.

Director: Jules Stewart
Stars: Goran Visnjic, Kate del Castillo, D.B. Sweeney, Portia Doubleday, Jason Mewes, Sonya Eddy, Luis Moncada, and Tommy Lister.
Release Date: November 26, 2012 Italy

[/tab][tab title=”Citadel”]

As described this film is, “An agoraphobic father teams up with a renegade priest to save his daughter from the clutches of a gang of twisted feral children who committed an act of violence against his family years earlier.”The entire trailer, I couldn’t decide what was real and what was inside his head. It almost appeared to be a paternal postpartum depression. Is that even a thing? I guess you have to check it out to find out.

Director: Ciaran Foy
Stars: Aneurin Barnard, James Cosmo, Wunmi Mosaku, Jake Wilson, and Amy Shiels.
Release Date: March 1, 2013

[/tab][tab title=”Red 2″]

So what would be more interesting than following the lives of assassins? How about when they are aged and retired?

In this second installment, we continue to follow Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) who is clearly trying to enjoy retirement. That doesn’t work out too well when he suddenly becomes everyone’s top target.

Director: Dean Parisot
Stars: Bruce Willis, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, David Thewlis, and Byung-hun Lee.
Release Date: August 2, 2013

[/tab][/tabgroup]

Movie News & Opinions

Rumor Report! What’s in Store for the Hulk in Marvel’s Phase 3?

February 5, 2013 Scoot Allan 2 Comments

A lot of components came together and brought their best to the table when last summers explosive hit The Avengers finally arrived in theaters. There were some great moments from the team and the rest of the cast, but one that stood out was the new approach to the Hulk, who had already gone through two somewhat disappointing films to get to the Avengers.

We are now entering Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which brings us sequels to all the main players and the team with no mention of the Hulk. Even the new possible franchise Guardians of the Galaxy gets to be a part of Phase 2, presumably leaving the green guy in the dust until Avengers 2. Mark Ruffalo is signed on to 6 films, so it’s obvious we would expect some features centered on Hulk to come sooner rather than later. Well, that seems to be the case according to the latest scoop from Latino-Review’s El Mayimbe. Be warned, there are some serious potential SPOILERS below, so if you’re going to whine about it later, STOP READING. And definitely don’t watch this video from EM explaining everything.

Continue reading Rumor Report! What’s in Store for the Hulk in Marvel’s Phase 3? →

Night Cheese and Ham: Celebrating ’30 Rock’ and Seven Years of Fantastic TV

February 5, 2013 Amanda Broyles Leave a comment

As 30 Rock wraps up its 7 year run, it is very easy to mourn its loss. Instead, like any other good funeral, we should be celebrating the life of one of TV’s most recent great sitcoms. It is a show that has worked its way into many fan’s everyday lexicon and is full of one-liners that should stand the test of time.

It may not have been a ratings darling, but the fans of 30 Rock are a fiercely loyal group. For seven years we’ve followed the friendship of Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy. We’ve watched in wonder as Tracy Jordan and Jenna Maroney somehow found a way to top themselves. We’ve questioned what the hell was wrong with Kenneth. From the first season we’ve wondered if Liz Lemon was ever going to be able to save herself from herself and find the happiness she so desperately sought.

Like Liz Lemon, you will most often find us eating cheese at night and requesting that someone bring us some ham.

Night cheese and ham. That right there is the secret to 30 Rock’s greatness. Why? Because it is unassuming, it’s ridiculous, and most of all, it’s smart. A show that you have to really watch to catch all the fast dialogue, and pay attention to get all the jokes. It’s a refreshing change.

Sadly, we live in the age of predominantly stupid television. There are obviously bright spots, but those are most often found in the drama category. Sitcoms are seen as a 30 minute package for the same old jokes week in and week out. You don’t really need to have a vested interest in a sitcom anymore. You can watch one episode every few weeks and not feel like you’ve missed anything because every episode they will tell you exactly why each joke is funny. Every week of Big Bang Theory sets up the guys as nerds, and every single joke stems from that simple concept. 30 Rock’s jokes were often like a long con. You look back and realize that they’ve been setting it up for seven years only to have the final payoff in the last scene of the show. There were always allusions to the idea of Kenneth living forever, but at the time it just seemed like weird Kenneth being weird Kenneth. Turns out, he does live forever!

This is what set 30 Rock apart. It rewarded viewers for watching. It’s like we were let in on the inside jokes. Yes, there were obvious recurring themes like Liz’s love of bad food, and Jenna’s obsession with herself, but those were not the focus of the entire show. In the finale, there were plenty of throwbacks to old jokes and while watching it I felt like I was just playing a game of “hey, remember when?” with an old friend.

In every game of “hey remember when?”, there’s that moment where you get a little catch in your throat and realize that even though there are jokes and humor, at the same time there’s been a tenderness. Even though 30 Rock never played up the drama side there was still a humanness to it that caused you to nod your head and realize, “yeah, I know exactly what that feels like.” That is what sets a great sitcom apart from a run of the mill sitcom.

Perhaps my favorite episode of a sitcom ever is “Where You Been, Fassbinder?” in season one of The Dick Van Dyke Show. It’s Sally’s birthday and through one funny misstep after another, she finds herself alone. Even her cat has ditched her! Of course it all works out and ends up being quite humorous in the process. I first watched that episode probably more than twenty years ago. It still makes me laugh and cry to this day. Twenty years from now I’ll probably think of Liz Lemon standing in the airport waiting for her newly adopted twins and have that same feeling. There aren’t that many shows that have that kind of impact, I can assure you people won’t remember much of Two and a Half Men beyond the basic premise decades from now.

While I don’t think it was Tina Fey’s responsibility by any means, it’s undeniable that she has changed the face of women in comedic television. Everyone knows about Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Betty White, Mary Tyler Moore, and countless other funny women through history. Problem is, even though many of those women were also fantastic business and creative minds, they were mainly known for their performances on screen. Tina Fey turned the tide on that thinking. There are just as many people who see her as a funny writer, not just that funny chick who was Sarah Palin on SNL. Whether it was her intention or not, she has paved the way for an entire new generation of women created television.

So is 30 Rock a candidate for our Gone Too Soon category? No. It was time. The fact it had seven years really is amazing. The ratings were never very good, and they were dwindling as the years went on. However, for me and the ten other people who tuned in each Thursday, it will be missed.

Images: NBC

Great Hera! CW Passes On ‘Amazon’, But Wonder Woman Might Still Have a Chance

February 4, 2013 Amanda Broyles Leave a comment

Poor Diana, at first blush it seems like she just can’t catch a break.

After the fiasco that was the NBC attempt at a Wonder Woman show, it looked as if the CW, who has had success with comic book based television, was all set to put their own pilot, Amazon, to production this summer with a premiere this fall. Sadly, that is no longer the case.

However, all hope is not lost because it appears as if they are only sending it back to the screenwriter, Allan Heinberg, in hopes to make it stronger because they are of the belief that it could be another hit, much like Smallville and this year’s Arrow. When they first started looking at casting the show (under the super secret code name Isis), Heinberg had not yet finished the script. I’m sure they could have gone forward with the pilot as it was, but in the interest of creating yet another possibly long running show, they decided to put it off until it is more polished. This is actually really good news.

[box_light]Getting another DC drama on the air has been important for the CW, especially in light of the success of Arrow this season, so Amazon remains a high priority at the network, sources say.

via Deadline[/box_light]

As of now it looks like Amazon will premiere either in the mid-season, so January of 2014, or in the next pilot season which would be fall of 2014.

If you’ve been playing along at home, you will realize that there is a possibility of shows about Green Arrow, Booster Gold, and Wonder Woman on television at the same time. This might be the definition of heaven. So geeks, let’s all gather together and offer up a toast to the success of The Avengers, without whom, we might not have this moment. Who knows when superheroes will be this cool again? Let’s enjoy it while we can!

Arrow: 1.12 – “Vertigo”

February 4, 2013 Amanda Broyles Leave a comment

So late this week! I apologize, I was too busy trying to get the Yao Fei fan club back together. That’s right, “Vertigo” has restored my faith in humanity! Yao Fei has redeemed himself in my eyes, as well as Ollie’s but more on that later. Let’s discuss the rest of the episode first.

As we learned last week, there is a new drug in Starling City and it’s a fantastic little trip called “vertigo”. Thea was enjoying it a bit too much as she found herself driving her car into a telephone pole. Of course the driver of the other car involved ended up dying so now Thea has been brought up on vehicular homicide charges. I can not be the only person that was hoping she’d go away to prison never to be heard from again. Especially with this episode! Oh my god they took teenage petulance way too far. You are looking to go to prison probably for a very long time if not the rest of your life and the only thing you’re worried about is if your mom was schtupping her son’s best friend’s father while her husband was missing? Seriously Thea? Just go off to jail and make everyone happier.

Of course Oliver just had to get involved in the case. He wouldn’t be Oliver if he didn’t. So he goes off to the police and meets and old flame, McKenna Hall (played by Janina Gavankar aka Shiva from ‘The League’) who is now a detective. Her name is very frustrating because how cool would it be to have Shiera (Sanders) Hall aka, Hawkgirl, on the show? That would be rather kickass. Of course it would be difficult given their “no meta superpowers” stance but still, it would be cool.

No shocker here, the police aren’t really too keen on having Oliver help them out. Also not a surprise, Oliver goes after him anyway. This episode fully illustrates how frustrating the writer’s decision to have the villains be one and done. Seth Gabel (Fringe) did an awesome job as ‘The Count’. I would love to see more of him. Obviously the way they left the episode certainly left the door open for his return but I’ve been saying that about Deadshot in the pilot so what do I know? Back to Gabel though – I loved him as Vertigo. He was sufficiently unhinged and just a bit manic to make it work. His first scene where he gave the guy the option to shoot himself or suffer the effects of ‘vertigo’? Deliciously evil.

Another part of this episode I really liked? The call back to the third episode, “Lone Gunman”, when Diggle get’s shot with Deadshot’s poisoned bullet and Ollie takes him back to the Arrowcave to make him Yao Fei’s tea. This time Ollie gets a pretty substantial dose of ‘vertigo’ and Diggle is the one helping him back to the lair and fixing up a nice cuppa. Although Count Vertigo is gone, it looks like we’ll see his effect on at least the next episode as Oliver appears to be feeling a little off as this episode ends.

Of course, it’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Felicity and she has been great in these last few episodes. The back and forth between she, Oliver, and Diggle have been something to look forward to each week. Of course really it’s the exchange between Felicity and Oliver and then the “you’ve got to be shitting me” reaction of Diggle. He has perfected that “wtf is happening right now?” look. Best look though? When Oliver “killed” the guy during the meet-up with Bratva. Hands down. Poor Diggle looked like Ollie had just punched him in the junk.

I damn near squealed with delight when we found out where Oliver learned the “kill a man but not really” trick. I’d like to say that I truly believed in my heart of hearts that Yao Fei was a good guy all along, but I had my doubts. I apologize Yao Fei, I should have known that you could never betray Oliver like that. I’m still not sure what your end game is but I’m happy to see that you at least have Oliver’s best interests at heart. I imagine it won’t be the last time we see you and your fellow ass-kicker, Deathstroke. I’ll be waiting with bated breath.

Thing I’m most looking forward to? Now that Felicity has given Oliver the book of names, surely he’s going to bring her onto Team Arrow. Right? (SPOILER) It only makes sense for how much longer can he keep up the ridiculous cover stories when he shows up asking her to Google things for him? We’ll just have to keep watching!

This episode wasn’t as good as last week, but was still pretty strong and the return of Yao Fei… going to go with a 3.5 out of five.

Until next time Arrow fans!

Super Bowl Commercials: Best and Worst of 2013

February 4, 2013 Amanda Broyles 1 Comment

Yea yea the Ravens won and the 49ers lost, but we all know what’s important here – the commercials. So let’s dive right in and look at some of the best, and of course, some of the worst from last night’s Super Bowl XLVII.

I’m a good news first kind of gal so let’s start with the best offerings of the night.

Being from St. Louis, I’m a sucker for those Budweiser Clydesdales. Even more so, the one sentimental commercial Budweiser does each year with the Clydesdales. They are often a highlight for me and this year was no different. The board might have sold their souls to the highest bidder and taken down a city’s proud claim to fame with it, but they can still put together a heartwarming ad spot.

What do you get when you take Oprah’s voice, the USO, and images of military homecomings? A tear-jerker. There are a lot of people crying foul this morning saying that Jeep is “using” the military for their own corporate end and that the words “whole again” are incorrect because we are a fractured country and it’s just Obama propaganda and for the love of all that’s holy people, it’s a commercial! Are there people who will go out and buy a Jeep specifically because of this ad? Maybe. That’s what ads are for, but they could have just gotten up and told us how awesome Jeeps are and why we should buy one. They didn’t and their resulting commercial was quite nice.

The funny commercials didn’t seem that funny this year. Either I’m getting too old for the average commercial humor, or they just weren’t that funny remains to be seen. However, Tide did a great job this year with “Miracle Stain”. I literally laughed out loud when the guy was telling the story of how the Joe Montana shaped stain ended up on his jersey. That and “stain on a stick” had me rolling. Well done Tide.

This seemed to be the year for poignant and sentimental and Dodge/Chrysler hit the ball out of the park. Even if you aren’t a God person, or a truck person, or even a farmer person, you have to admit their spot was beautiful. Combining Paul Harvey reading his “So God Made a Farmer” with pictures of farmers and their families and their land was so well done.

Unfortunately you can’t have good without the bad so here goes.

Can we all come together and agree that it’s time for Psy and “Gangnam Style” to ride off into the sunset? He’s done a Super Bowl commercial so now he can go ahead and let the clock run out on his 15 minutes? Seriously, it’s old now.

Gildan makes tshirts. In my experience, Gildan makes tshirts that retailers purchase to screen print their own image onto. I don’t know that I’ve ever gone out shopping with the express intent of purchasing a Gildan tshirt. Their commercial did nothing to change that. It probably wins the “what on earth was their goal with this ad?” award of this Super Bowl.

Apparently Coke has been running commercials in the last few weeks of the first part of their “Coke Chase” and then encouraging people to go and vote for their favorite team who will then win on Super Bowl night. There were no winners with this ad. None at all. If you hadn’t seen any of the previous Coke commercials (like myself) you saw the first commercial and thought “oh well that’s cute”. Then you saw the second commercial and thought “I really hope they weren’t expecting people to be waiting for this because it is awful.” Granted they are dealing with 30 second increments but that was the most anticlimatic commercial in recent memory. Maybe next year Coke.

The entire universe, even including those without internet or television, agrees that Go Daddy had the worst commercial of the night. One might go out on a limb and suggest that it was the worst commercial ever.

Of course there are plenty of people who are crying foul that those who hated it just do so because it was a nerd kissing a supermodel but they are wrong. It is disgusting because no one, NO ONE, wants to hear that or see tongues that close up. The worst part? They edited that down! There is an extended version out there that includes a lot more tongue and it is just that much more revolting. Blech.

However we can thank Go Daddy for removing numerous things from the list of “grossest thing ever”.

Watching and listening to my dog lick himself two inches from my face.
Andrew Zimmern chewing. (seriously they need to either move his mic or edit that in post because it’s bad.)
Lindsay Lohan in Liz and Dick
The word ‘moist’.

So there is it, this year’s best and worst Super Bowl commercials. But wait! What about all the awesome movie trailers that aired during the game? Well you can check all those out over here- Super Bowl XLVII Trailers and TV Spots!

Let the countdown to football season begin!

KRONNER’S EDITORIAL NOTE – This was probably the weakest year for Super Bowl ads in memory. No Clint Eastwood or Eminem talking about how sweet Detroit is, no ‘Terry Tate: Office Linebacker’, and way less boobs than normal. The only memorable commercials of the year for me were the ones with Tracy Morgan and the old people at Taco Bell. Boom.

http://youtu.be/zO0O9LH06bk

http://youtu.be/KvxZcULxfKw

and finally, a few days BEFORE the Super Bowl, GEICO released this gem – which would have been the best of the night if it qualified…

http://youtu.be/C_0fyUYB3cA

Also, Leon Sandcastle:

Grizzly Bomb

Yearly Archives: 2013