New Geek DVD Day - 09/23/2008

 

The Good:  The Peanuts Holiday Collection

 

Why It's Good: Admit it. You, along with pretty much everyone else born after 1965, have been raised on these holiday specials. The Peanuts holiday specials are a staple of American culture. We've all seen these movies a thousand times. They're aired every year on multiple TV stations, and we all get sucked into watching them again at some point. But there's a reason for that. It's because they're so damn good. You can't help but not like these shows. They're absolutely classics in american television. I would argue anyone who tells you that they don't like these shows is an evil and heartless person that has no soul.

 



 

The Badass: The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration Giftset

 

Why It's Badass:  It's The Godfather.  Do I really need to say more?  Fine, ok I will.  Not only are these finally coming out out for Blu-ray, but the films themselves have been painstakingly restored to be the dark and gritty films they once were.  To read more about the restoration, you can go here.  I'm dying to see the newly restored prints.  I'm willing to bet the only versions I've ever seen were washed out and faded prints.  Now I'll hopefully get to see the films as they were originally intended to be seen...dark.

 



 

The Awesome:  This American Life - Season 1

 

Why It's Awesome:  Far and away the best weekly radio show in America was given a TV show on Showtime, and somehow they managed to make it not suck.  It fact, not only does it not suck, it's totally awesome.  Keeping the overall feel and scope of the radio show, but mixing it with amazing imagery and a unique directoral style, this show is absolutely captivating.  Each episode of the show picks a theme and then gives you a number of stories on that theme.  The stories are about normal people going about their normal lives, but the show focuses on how truly amazing normal lives can be when you really take the time to look at them.

The Top 50 OMGWTF Moments From Lost

 

The thing that makes the show Lost great are it's WTF moments.  Typically, in most other shows you'll get a couple episodes of buildup towards something big, and then there's a payoff of some kind.  But not on Lost.  No sir.  Instead, they'll give you a couple episodes of buildup, make you think there's a payoff coming, and then they'll do something so strange and from out of left field that it will break your brain.  Then you're left confused, weirded out, and trying to figure out not only what the fuck just happened, but what the fuck is going to happen next. 

 

Well some kind hearted soul has collected a list of The Top 50 OMGWTF Moments From Lost.  And they've added some little comments of their own regarding the moments.  It's a fun read.

 

A warning though, if you aren't completely caught up with the show right now, there are definitely some spoilers to be found amongst the list.  So read at your own risk.

For Those Of Us Who Can't Get Enough Jumping Through Portals

 

 

 

The above video is for the official/unofficial prequel to the smash hit game Portal.

 

The prequel is called Portal: Prelude, and I say it's official/unofficial because, well, it's slightly complicated.  Technically it is not an offial prequel to the game because it wasn't made by any of the people who work for Valve.  This was a mod made by fans so that people get to have more fun shooting a portal gun at walls and jumping through them.  However, Valve is fully supporting the project and has even made the game mod available on Steam.  So if that doesn't make it an officially sanctioned mod, I don't know what does.

 

There are a few downsides though.  Even though the game is free, it is only available for the PC, and you need to own a copy of Portal already to add the mod to.  Directions on how to do that can be found on the game's website.  And the other bad news?  No GlaDOS.

 

Portal: Prelude, as its name states it, is an unofficial prequel to the game Portal. Its story revolves around the pre-GlaDOS epoch, even before she was plugged in. At this time, test subjects were monitored by real Aperture Science employees whose work was tedious, lengthy and repetitive. This is why they decided to build a great artificial intelligence that could both replace them in these difficult tasks, but also take responsibility for many other tasks within the complex and compete with Black Mesa's superiority. All employees of the Aperture Science complex are now eagerly awaiting GlaDOS. Maybe even a little too eagerly, as the upcoming events will tell...

 

So even though there's No GlaDOS, that doesn't mean the game is going to be missing out on the great humor of the first game.  This time though, it'll be funny comments from the researchers who are running the tests.

 

Now I just wish this game would come out on Xbox Live Arcade.  I'm not much of a PC game guy, but I'd buy this in a second if it was availabe for consoles.

Will We Get To See The Return Of Mr. Glass?

 

 

The answer...maybe.  In an interview with MTV, M. Night Shyamalan discussed the possibility of making a sequel to his amazing comic book film Unbreakable.

 

I tell you I get asked about it all the time, so it’s not [an idea] I ever forget,” Shyamalan told MTV News. “I genuinely just asked this question the other day — should I make ‘Unbreakable 2’?”

 

If Shyamalan does indeed decide to revisit “Unbreakable,” he’ll have at least one of the original film’s stars ready and willing to join up — Samuel L. Jackson, who played the very-breakable villain, Elijah Price, in the movie.

 

“Every time I see [Shyamalan], he says, ‘I’ve written this thing for you,’ so I say, ‘why are you always doing these movies I’m not in?’” said Jackson.

 

According to both Shyamalan and Jackson, “Unbreakable” was originally intended to be a trilogy, but a series of bad reviews as well as fan and film critic misconception of Shyamalan’s work quickly tabled the idea of a possible franchise. As Jackson put it, “He was a victim of what Quentin [Tarrantino] was a victim of. ‘Jackie Brown’ is a great movie, but it’s not ‘Pulp Fiction 2.’ ‘Unbreakable’ is a great movie, but it’s not ‘I see f**king dead people.’”

 

If you've never seen Unbreakable, you need to, like right now.  It really is one of the best comic book movies ever.  No, it's not about any superhero you've ever heard of.  And no, it's not about any comic book you can actually read.  What it is about is a regular guy who comes to realize he has these powers.  Powers he can use to help those in need.  Over the course of the film he goes to see Sam Jackson, a man who definitely is not superstrong.

 

Jackson teaches him about comics and what makes a hero. He also explains his theory that comic books are just an exaggeration of real life powers people have, or used to have. It all feels very real and very possible. I was blown away the first time I saw this movie. If a sequel does indeed get made, I'll be first in line to go see it. But what would it be about?

 

“Back then we talked about what the rest would entail,” recalled Jackson. “I broke out of the mental institution. I’m out there doing stuff and ["Unbreakable" co-star Bruce Willis' "David Dunn" is] after me. It’s very cool. He still wears that rain thing, that windbreaker.”

 

So the idea seems to be there, and Jackson’s ready to break out the funky hair-do(n’t) and purple suit, so — bottom line — will we see an “Unbreakable 2,” Mr. Shyamalan?

 

“I do love the [comic book movie] genre, I just wanna make sure that I’m able to express who I am,” explained Shyamalan. “I don’t want to get so lost in the subject that I have to neuter everything that’s me in it, so maybe ‘Unbreakable’ is the comic book thing I should do — I keep coming back to that.”

 

We’ll take that as a solid “maybe.”

 

Damn, I really hope this gets made. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The New Bond Song

 

Want to hear the theme song for the new James Bond film Quantum of Solace?  Then go here to check it out.  It's called Another Way To Die, and it's written by Jack White and Alicia Keys.

 

I wasn't too impressed with it.  It's ok I guess, but as bond songs go it's sort of forgettable.  And why isn't the song called Quantum of Solace?  Most of the other songs are titled the same as the movie that it's the theme for.  Tina Turner sang Goldeneye, Madonna sang Die Another Day, was it too hard to name a song Quantum of Solace?

 

Personally, my favorite Bond song is still The World Is Not Enough by Garbage. Not only is it an awesome song, but it actually feels like a Bond style spy song. And the video for it is awesome. It has a robot version of Shirley Manson that is a giant walking bomb.  How rad is that?  And then the evil robot Shirley kills the real Shirley with a kiss so hot it's smoking...literally.  Any video with hot Shirley on Shirley action is going to win my vote as best video ever, but that's just me.

 

Hey, I wonder if that video is why she got cast as a T-1000 for the Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles show.

Get Into Disneyland...For Free

 

This actually suprises me.  Disneyland, a place I absolutely love but which is well known for being expensive as hell, is allowing people to go to one of its parks for free.

 

Here's the catch, you can only get in for free on your birthday.  All you have to do is register with Disney at the above link and you will get an email confirmation two weeks before your birthday.  Just print that up and take it to the park on your birthday and they'll let you in for free.  You can choose to either get into the Disneyland in California or Florida.  Neither of the other parks are available to choose from, so no Epcot or California Adventure, but why would you pick those over the Magic Kingdom anyways?

 

I'm really stoked Disney is doing this.  It's nice to see the park giving away something for once.  And if you think about it, it really is a brilliant marketing move.  Who ever goes to Disneyland on their birthday alone?  Pretty much nobody, that's who.  So for every free ticket Disney gives away, a half dozen or so friends and family will probably be going with the birthday person and will have to buy a ticket into the park.  It's a sure fire way to sell more tickets to the park, and all they have to do is give out a couple of free tickets. 

 

Regardless of the reasons though, it's still a free ticket to Disneyland.  Bravo Disney, I totally applaud this move.  I hope this becomes a permanent thing at the park.

Just Another Muppet Monday

 

OH...MY...GOD! I don't know how, but I've never seen this before. The above video features Johnny Cash, the man in black, singing a duet...with Miss Piggy.

 

I don't even know what to say about this. The coolness factor of the whole thing has left me speechless. Just watch the video and you'll understand. Miss Piggy shows up about halfway through the clip. And I have to give her credit. She's no June Carter, but she does a damn good job singing with Mr. Cash. And at least she has enough sense for once to not try to steal the spotlight for herself.