Did you see what they did there? More clever nostalgia from Threadless. I really must start wearing more t-shirts.
You Sank My Battleship
Did you see what they did there? More clever nostalgia from Threadless. I really must start wearing more t-shirts.
Superuseless Superpowers
13th Bullet BulletproofYour skin turns to Kevlar... eventually.
In-flight FlightYou can fly, but only while the plane you're on is in the air.
(Link via Information Nation)
And in a related note (it's funny how things group themselves togather) the Globe and Mail ran a piece on Super Joes: about "real-life superheroes are donning costumes and prowling their streets, looking to fight crime - or at least shovel a senior's walk."
There are quite a number of caped crusaders out there, and while most appear to be philanthropists with a penchant for Halloween, there are a few of them who clearly have a Watchmen fetish.
They even have a pseudo Justice League, called the World Superhero Registry. Through most of them have MySpace pages, which I think should disqualify them immediately.
The Cat Came Back
The National Film Board of Canada put over 700 films, clips and trailers online last week as a way to mark its 70th anniversary and, frankly, join this century.
The archive is searchable and, even better, the films can be embeded. Cool! So I immediately searched out Cordell Barker's 1998, Oscar-nominated short film, The Cat Came Back.
What a great idea. This should open up a lot of great art to a whole new audience. Bravo, NFB.
An Open Letter From Doc Brown To Marty McFly
Dear Marty — Having recently reviewed the surveillance footage of the events of the night you went back to 1985, I couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback by your spurious reasoning of only allowing TEN FUCKING MINUTES to SAVE MY GODDAMN LIFE. Ten minutes??? Really. You actually thought that you could get from the Courthouse to Twin Pines Mall (I’m sorry, I mean LONE Pine Mall now - way to run over a tree, fucknut) in ten minutes. What the fuck did you think that could accomplish? What were you going to do...From the Nerdist - Click for the rest
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
What better way to tell the tales of mannered, eighteenth century English gentry than with a little zombie mayhem? At least that is the thinking of Seth Grahame-Smith, author of the forthcoming Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen’s beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life!I can just imagine it now...
Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers— and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead.
Zombie Mr. Darcy: May I eat your brain, Miss Elizabeth?
Elizabeth Bennet: You may.
Zombie Mr. Darcy: Brains, brains!
Elizabeth Bennet: Sir, I appreciate the struggle you have been through, and I am very sorry to have caused you pain. Believe me, it was unconsciously done.
Zombie Mr. Darcy: Arrrrgh... brains!
This might even get me to pick up a Jane Austen novel, but probably not. Turn it into a movie and we'll talk.
Link via Ampersand
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Update: The Sunday Times is reporting that Hollywood big wigs are bidding on the rights to the book and "co-author" Seth Grahame-Smith expects to sign a deal soon.
Extra Pulp Fiction
Vincent Vega and "Orange Julius" Winnfield in a great Pulp Fiction parody by Chris Sharron at Threadless. I don't know how people keep coming up with new takes on a movie that's 15 years old this month, but I'll keep posting them if they do.
I'll Stop The World And Melt With You
Three chocolate bunnies meet their slow demise at the hands of three heat sources. Why? You'd have to ask Dutch filmmaker Sander Plug. The slightly creepy, but lilting music is Aviva Pastoral by Nathan Larson and I love the Easter pastels.
Watch it through to the final, blow-drier scene. It's like the opening of the Ark in Indiana Jones crossed with a wind tunnel.
This is from 2007, but ya know, what goes around comes around.
Via Neatorama
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Backlash
You'd think 13 Academy Award nominations would garner you a little love, but it appears not everyone thinks The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is Oscar worthy. Specifically the creators of the Official Anti-Benjamin Button Club, whose goal is to ensure "one of the most pretentious, hackneyed and blatant attempt(s) to win an Oscar ever made" does not succeed. Now I have heard of For Your Consideration campaigns before, but not one to get people to consider not voting for a film. And they really don't like the movie:
There are haikus:
old man you are small
time passes hummingbirds fly
why why three hours
Suggestions to the Academy:
If you like Benjamin Button, you might also enjoy: Turner and Hootch; Licking batteries; Moss
And helpful videos that suggest we may have seen this somewhere before:
The Curious Case of Forrest Gump - watch more funny videos
I haven't seen the movie myself, but they make a compelling case to spend my three hours elsewhere
Sex, Latex and Videotape
While this isn't exactly pornography, these balloon animals are very NSFW. A Durex condom ad called Get It On, it features the best inanimate object sex scene since two loungers got it on in Roof Sex. Thanks for your puerile mind, Dan.
Dr. Manhattan: Better Blue Than Red
The hype for the Watchmen is likely to ramp up, especially as it appears Fox and Warner have stopped squabbling over the film and settled things while I was away the way the do in Hollywood — with a giant dump truck full of cash.
I've not posted about the Watchmen before as I've only recently finished reading it for the first time. I felt I was missing a piece of pop culture cred without this under my belt, so I decided to tackle it before the March release date. If I can't get out to many movies, I might as well read the inspirations. That and I've discovered I have a growing taste for comics and animation.
Now that I have read — and loved — the intertwined, three-pronged plot line, I wonder how a movie will manage to pull it off. I imagine that a lot of the background and pirate side story will have to be excised to get down to the main story. Still, all the trailers I've seen have nailed the look of the book dead on and the ancillary material is doing a great job at expanding the Watchman universe. Maybe that's how they will put together the whole story — multimedia tied to the film itself. I'm starting to get excited.
Via Ampersand
Oscar nominations: Slumdog Button
So Heath Ledger is in for an Oscar nod but the Dark Night gets shut out for both picture and director.A friend of mine, who just happens to be a film critic, says "if you're a professional Movie Critic calling "The Dark Knight" or "Revolutionary Road" The Best! Movie! Of the Year!, then you need to see more movies."
This lays at the heart of the Academy's identity problem. It wants to award the best films of the year, but nobody ever believes that they go — just look at all the Oscar snubs lists — and all the prognosticators who will list both what should win and what will win.
Of course they wont to be popular, but they don't want to be seen to be pandering to the public. Which makes it so hard when that booze-soaked upstart Golden Globes, which is a critic's group, at least nominally.
My point? The Oscars is chasing ratings and credibility and won't get either.
But then they went and nominated Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder, in black face no less, while Wall-E can't escape the Animated Film ghetto. Looks like this is Slumdog Millionaire's year. Who knows what they are up to?
One positive note Waltz With Bashir gets a Foreign Film nominations — everyone should see this film. A blend of documentary and animation about one soldier trying to reconstruct his memories of Israel's 1982 incursion into Lebanon, Waltz With Bashir has grown on me so much since we saw it at the Toronto Film Festival in September, I'd say it was the best picture of year. So maybe the Academy does get some things right.
But other than that, it was mostly anticlimactic. Here are the major nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards:
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon and The Reader
Best Actor: Richard Jenkins “The Visitor”, Sean Penn “Milk”, Frank Langella “Frost/Nixon”, Mickey Rourke “The Wrestler”, Brad Pitt “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best Actress: Kate Winslet “The Reader”, Meryl Streep “Doubt”, Anne Hathaway “Rachel Getting Married”, Angelina Jolie “Changeling”, Melissa Leo “Frozen River”
Director: Danny Boyle “Slumdog Millionaire”, David Fincher “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, Stephen Daldry “The Reader”, Gus Van Sant “Milk”, Ron Howard “Frost/Nixon”
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger “The Dark Knight”, Josh Brolin “Milk”, Philip Seymour Hoffman “Doubt”, Robert Downey Jr “Tropic Thunder”, Michael Shannon “Revolutionary Road”
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”, Viola Davis “Doubt”, Marisa Tomei “The Wrestler”, Taraji P. Henson “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, Amy Adams “Doubt”
Best Animated Feature: Bolt, Kung-Fu Panda, Wall-E
Best Original Screenplay: Frozen River, Happy Go Lucky, In Bruges, Milk, Wall-E
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader
Best Foreign Language Film: The Class, Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, Revanche, Departures, Waltz with Bashir
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My many, many thanks to Pamela Westoby for her stunning tenure at the helm of Popped Culture while I lazed away a week in chilly Florida. She deserves a nomination. And may I also nominate America for Heineken at the 7/11, Denny's Grand Slam breakfast and Target for bringing back desert boots!
This Is So Weekend At Bernie's...
Breaking News! Cheney to attend Inauguration in wheelchair! Apparently the poor bastard pulled a muscle moving his crap outta the Whitehouse and is all laid up. Man's gotta be a capital 'P' Pack Rat to do that kinda damage. Still, it's good to hear he's still alive. If he is in fact still alive.
Finally
I can't think of anything to say that hasn't been covered by every single other blog and media outlet known to man. Except that it's about time. And finally. Finally it's over. We can now all breathe a sigh of relief now that the Bush's have vacated 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. You rock Obama - can't wait to see what you do over the next four [eight] years. Happy Inaugural Day!
Time For A Commercial Break
Normally I'd make a snarky, holier-than-thou remark about how folks who upload these video nuggets need a hobby, but as a viewer who's spent an untold amount of time viewing these vintage jewels, I clearly have more time on my hands than they do. Que sera. It got me through the prime time void known as The Bachelor. I will be forever prostrate in the presence of these video archivists for allowing me to elude Jason Mesnick and for permitting me a skip down techo-memory lane. And what a skip it was. And, yes, I was alive for all of these innovations. Save for the dial telephone. That was only a couple of years before my time.
Alan Greenspan and the Apple II C...cutting edge and prescient!Apple Newton - The possibilities are limitless...you can beam things to other people! And it's only the size of Encyclopedia Brittanica!
How To Use A Telephone! Remember...until Saturday midnight please use your present directory and make your calls in the usual manner!
Oh, House, just press the button!
Imagine! Stereo and video!
Yes, there was a time when folks used these now-overlooked relics. Today I needn't worry about whether a payphone was in proper working order, though, because I'd have to be bleeding from every orifice before I'd use one of the germ infested things.
The greatest invention since colour television itself! And it has all seven functions! And superb cabinetry! Gee! What more could a gal ask for?!
Mmmmmm...cryogenic corn!
In case you've had too much of that Pillsbury good popcorn!
You can shop at the electronic mall!
Welcome aboard! Complete absence of vibration! The travail truly has been taken out of travel...
A steak?! In coach?! That'd never happen today...
Costner? A dog? At work? You are so outside the box, man.
Have I ever attended a meeting...in my bare feet? Well, yes. Yes, I have. Course I got a rather curt email from HR and a pack of OdorEaters, but that's an entirely different story for an entirely different post.
Oh, Crying Indian, how we love thee. As a child of the '70s, I could only end with you.
Blackout!
So we're in the middle of a blackout here in the Big Smoke. Which blows cause the temperature is, like, -29C with the windchill. That's -20F for you Imperialists out there. Bloody cold. By the grace o god I didn't lose power, something that I lorded over Bucky this morning. Strangely, my declarations of "Do you know how lucky you are, cat?" fell on selfishly deaf ears. But that's likely cause he's all cushy and never experienced a temperature extreme in his life. Not like I have. I remember Leningrad 1944, man. Now that was cold. Anyhoo, power outages always make me think of the Lou Grant episode aptly titled "Blackout". I was all about Lou Grant in the late '70s. I wanted to be Lou Grant, which in retrospect is a bit odd. For 9 year old girl. But I also wanted to be either Roy Scheider or Richard Dreyfuss in Jaws, so whatev. Anyway, this particular episode was all about how the The Tribune struggled to produce a paper during a power outage. Compelling drama. Jack Bannon, played by Art Donovan, was all smug cause he'd kept his manual typewriter despite the mocking of his coworkers and was all "who's able to write now, bitches?" A sentiment I whole-heartedly echo. I'm all about the low-tech just so I don't get snookered in power outages and the like. Which is I guess why I've always held a torch for Jack as well. I think back to that episode and think "Dammit. You and your convictions are so sexy." I mean, how is your trusty IBM Selectric II going to save your ass when things go all Mad Max? Just saying. It's all because of and for Jack Bannon that I treasure my dynamo pig flashlight. You will forever be in my heart, Jack. For those within The Zone, I hope you get your juice back soon. Remember to drain your pipes and check on your elderly neighbours!Interesting side note discovered in my morning travels: Terri Nunn, lead singer of Berlin, appeared as a 15 year old girl trying to get pregnant in the second season of Lou Grant.
Pamela Westoby still guesting and ghosting while Barker tans his tush. If you like this, you might just like my book Hoyden!
This Recession Needs More Rachel!
God, it's been a good week. I just ate a bunch of jube-jubes. The remaining time left on the Bush clock can be counted in hours. No one perished on flight 1549. And The Rachel Zoe Project officially launched on Cosmopolitan TV in Canada. What more could a reality TV junkie ask for? We should all thank our lucky stars. Maybe it's the jube-jubes talking, but The Rachel Zoe Project, a Bravo born program, is chock full of all things delicious and delusional. I adore the fact that, during this time of catastrophic job cuts and widespread foreclosures, our dear Rachel is concerned with nothing more than collecting the next Birkin bag and hiding the purchase from her hubby. I mean, I know that's what I'm doing. Except replace "Birkin bag" with "baked beans" and "hubby" with "cat" and you've pretty much hit it head on. Bucky goes as crazy for old Bush Brothers as Rachel does for vintage Balmain. That's right. My kitty goes bananas for cured bacon. That and I think he's got a crush on Duke. But I digress. Despite the ridiculous focus on all things fashion and the wide divide between Rachel's rarified air and the rest of the pedestrian populus, this show is beyond addictive. Between the warring assistants Brad and Taylor, the pursuit of insane couture and the quips of "Do you die?" and "Shutting it down", Rachel and her entourage prove the perfect remedy to roaming the list of want ads and Walmart Deals of the Week. And in the process she actually seems likeable, which, for the Stylist Formerly Known As Raisinface, is quite the feat. Simply put, for me The Rachel Zoe Project provides the sweet escape necessary during these harsh economic times. That is beyond the Heineken and shots of Goldschlagger. Oh, and for you lucky duck Yanks out there, there's even a chance to meet Ms. Zoe. From Obama to Target, you Americans get all the fun. Pamela Westoby still guesting and ghosting while Barker tans his tush. If you like this, you might just like my book Hoyden!
RIP Ricardo Montalban
It's with great sadness that I report that Ricardo Montalban, aged 88, journeyed into the great fantasy island in the sky. One of the first Mexican actors to hit it big, Montalban was known to many as Khan in Star Trek II, but to me he'll always be Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island. God, I loved that show, largely due to the fact that it was one of the few shows I was permitted to watch at the ripe old age of 7. Embarrassingly, when I heard the news today I quipped to a coworker, Lara, "Oh, man! The dude from Fantasy Island died!" Lara, a young 'un, immediately replied, "Fantasy Island? What's that?" I was all "You know - Da plane! Da plane!" and explained how all the hot stars of the day guested on it. Blank stare. I totally had to explain Fantasy Island to her. Which made me feel old. Real old. But I digress. Ricardo, you will be sorely missed. God speed and may all your leather be Corinthian. And this video nugget goes out to Lara. Consider yourself enlightened. Pamela Westoby here guesting and ghosting for the Marvelous Mr. Barker. If you like this, you might just like my book Hoyden!
Dead Show Walking: Prison Break
After four seasons, Fox is finally sending Prison Break to death row. "It just got down to the point where a lot of stories have been told," the network's entertainment president, Kevin Reilly, told the assembled TV critics and bloggers at the Television Critics Association press tour.No kidding. Michael Scofield and his degenerate band of escaped convicts, fallen lawmen, turncoat assassins, drug addicts, murders and rapists have been in and out of prison, double and triple-crossed, shot and maimed more times than I can remember and yet they are still trying to finish "just one more thing."
The show was great in the beginning as Scofield (Wentworh Miller), a brilliant engineer got himself arrested to break his framed, lowlife brother Lincoln Burrows out of jail, with an elaborate body tattoo to guide his way. Scofield was a force of good thrown into the lion's den, but, over the course of four seasons, broke so many laws and crossed so many boundaries that he became no better than those he brought with him, drained of his morale authority.
The cast of Prison Break was the most depraved, unlikable group of characters assembled on TV since Oz, and I say this as a person who watched every episode. This season, I've just been watching with a morbid desire to see them all get killed. Reilly said the decision to cancel allows the series to end on a high creative note. I can only hope the writers follow though on the trajectory of the show and leaves all the characters dead in unmarked graves. Any happy ending would be a disappointment.
That being I will miss there being someone named T-Bag on network television. I can't believe they got away with that one. There was more good news too — it looks like Fringe will continue and has a coveted slot after American Idol. Wow, usually Fox just destroys everything I love.
Toy Story vs...
Toy Story vs The Dark Knight
A good trailer recut manages to blend elements from the audio and video of its movies to create something new and unexpected. It's been awhile since I've seen one that has managed to get it right, but this recut of The Dark Night and Toy Story 2 nailed it, right down to synching up the lips and voices. Plus they cast Woody as the Joker (congrats on the posthumous Golden Globe win, Heath).Toy Story vs Pulp Fiction
There's something about Toy Story that lends itself to recuts. Perhaps it is the digital nature of the films. While this one misses on the lip movements, it more than makes up for it with pure style.300 Toys
When you think about it, there really is a lot of action in the Toy Story films. Toys! Tonight we dine in Hell!Toy Story: The Horror
Miles Mungo recut Toy Story into a wonderfully creepy horror of his own making. This one would give kids nightmares.Toy Story 2 vs Watchmen
And the Toy Story mashup continues into the future.Toy Story 2 vs Requiem for a Dream
Of course the best Toy Story recut ever is this mashup with Requiem for a Dream. Talk about changing the original tone and intent of a film! Pure brilliance. Robot Evolution
A few other takes on robot evolution...
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