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007 Arrives at Home in February with SKYFALL


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GIRLS "Bad Friend" S2E3 (review)

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By Caitlyn Thompson
My word of the review: Potential.  This episode of Girls followed a long awaited sexual encounter with Marnie (Allison Williams) and Booth (Jorma Taccone), and monitored the cocaine-induced shenanigans of Hannah (Lena Dunham) and Elijah (Andrew Rannells). Shoshannah (Zosia Mamet) and Jessa (Jemima Kirke) were given two minutes onscreen so can’t say much about their personal progress. The additional of a ex-junkie in the building? Saw the ending coming a mile away.

HBO Girls S2E3 "Bad Friend" Lena Dunham

I really thought there was potential for Marnie and Booth to be sexy, but instead, Dunham decided to take it in a goofy direction. Their scenes felt awkward and the ultimate sex display was weird. Why couldn’t Marnie have had a normal hot scene? Last year she was slow and frustrated with Charlie (Christopher Abbott) and this year she’s desperate. The character seems to be becoming impulsive and slightly dumber than last year and so kind of irritating. I liked that Marnie was rather motherly last season. She, along with most other characters, are being stripped down to the most imperfect and awkward forms of themselves for the sake of laughs and at the expense of real character growth.

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Damning with Faint Praise: RUBBER

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Somewhere in the American desert, a tire named Robert comes to life. It makes its first wobbling attempts to move across the landscape.

Gaining confidence, it crushes a box. Then struggles with a bottle. A crow stares at it, and the tire discovers that it can destroy things with its mind.

Quentin Dupieux, Rubber, cult cinema

While an unnamed audience watches through binoculars, the tire encounters humans.

And then the real killing starts.


Verdict
I never thought I would call a movie about a tire poignant and interesting, but Rubber is both those things.

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DOWNTON ABBEY S3E4 (review)

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By Christopher Cerasi
I don’t think I have ever been as moved or cried as much during a single episode of television that I can remember. Last night’s Downton Abbey was heartbreaking, had some incredible performances by Elizabeth McGovern (Lady Cora Grantham) and Allen Leech (Tom Branson), and a taught, deft script by series creator Julian Fellowes.

Is there anything more shocking than when a beloved character dies on TV? It’s usually tragic, sometimes avoidable, and always, always heartbreaking. With a villain it’s easy to cheer their death, but when it’s someone who is a real heroine, there is nothing to root about at all. With last night’s episode of Downton Abbey, true tragedy has come in the form of the unexpected – and it certainly seems avoidable – death of Lady Sybil Branson née Crawley (Jessica Brown Findlay). We’ve seen death on Downton before with the loss of William Mason the footman (Thomas Howes), and Lavinia Swire (Zoe Boyle), but it is only with this episode that death claims a member of our beloved Crawley family.

Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern,Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jessica Brown Findlay, Maggie Smith

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WAKE IN FRIGHT (review)

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Produced by George Willoughby
Written by Evan Jones
Based on novel by Kenneth Cook
Directed by Ted Kotcheff
Starring Gary Bond, Donald Pleasence, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay, John Meillon, Jack Thompson

An oddball film, originally released in 1971, Wake in Fright has been resurrected from obscurity and given a digital overhaul, much to the delight of champions of the long-lost film, such as Martin Scorsese. (Though other critics either have terrific memories or caught a screening of the film over the years, as Leonard Maltin has featured a three-star review of the film – under the alternate title Outback– in his perennial guide for quite some time now).

The re-release poster has gushing appraisals as well: “It left me speechless” and the like. Having seen the film for the first time, I honestly don’t know what all the fuss is about. It’s an interesting, worthwhile movie, to be sure, but it hardly knocked my socks off.

Wake follows a mild-mannered if snobbish schoolteacher in a tiny town in the Australian Outback as he tries to make his way to see his girlfriend in Sydney for the holidays. He ends up stranded and broke in Bundanyabba – affectionately referred to by the locals as The Yabba – and begins to lose his moral grip.

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SLAMDANCE 2013 Review: JUG FACE

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By Dean Galanis






 
Jug Face
Produced by Andrew van den Houten, Robert Tonino
Written and Directed by Chad Crawford Kinkle
Starring Sean Bridgers, Lauren Ashley Carter, Larry Fessenden, Sean Young, Daniel Manche

An intriguing if ultimately undernourished horror outing from first-time helmer Chad Crawford Kinkle, the awkwardly titled Jug Face is NOT a spoof or even a comic/horror tale along the lines ofTucker and Dale Vs. Evil. It’s a mostly straightforward, simple story of a group of backwoods families who are beholden to an evil deity known as the Pit – as that is where it apparently resides.

To be fair to said deity, as long as it receives a sacrifice every now and then, it leaves the families well enough alone, and in fact will even cure ailments if all is well in the balance of things. The sacrifices are decided by a spellbound pottery-maker, Dawai (Sean Bridgers, who’s very good), who under the whim and influence of the Pit, makes a jug from clay embroidered with the visage of the next victim.
When young Ada (Lauren Ashley Carter) discovers the next jug has her face on it, she panics and hides it in the woods. This sets in motion a string of grisly events among the families.

Jug Face, Slamdance, Chad Crawford Kinkle, Sean Bridgers, Lauren Ashley Carter, Larry Fessenden, Sean Young, Daniel Manche

Kinkle does a decent job of making the families’ lives and beliefs credible. They aren’t raving religious fanatics, they’re just resigned to the reality of having to appease the Pit to survive. Solid actors like the always-welcome Larry Fessenden (director of the terrific Habit and Wendigo) and Sean Young (!) bring extra credibility to the proceedings.

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SEND YOUR KIDS OVER THE MOON With Their Very Own Rocket Ship

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Kate's Creative Space

I know that in this day and age, the best way to show your ungrateful hell spawn how much you love them is to hand over your debit card and pin number and hope that they don't wipe you out financially. 

But perhaps there's another way to garner praise from your little succubi without watching your credit score plummet. Like, maybe, by spending an afternoon of bonding over cardboard, decorative paper and highly sniffable glue to create a fantabulous rocket ship that will surely make the little ones happy for ten minutes.

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THE REPLACEMENTS: REUNITED FOR SLIM

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Formed in 1979 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, The Replacements were one of the great groups that merged a love of classic rock, hook-laden bands such as The Beatles (they named one of the albumsLet It Be), The Rolling Stones, and Badfinger with the proto-punk of The New York Dolls and the more recent snap of The Ramones, The Clash, The Jam and The Dead Boys.

In their early sloppy, alcohol-sopped party rock days, when they weren't downright terrible, they could be a short distance from their musical heroes, The Faces

The Replacements, Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, Chris Mars, Bob Stinson, Slim Dunlap, Steve Foley
Rod Stewart and The Faces defined great drunken Rock and Roll

When they summoned up a melodic beauty in a song's refrain, they could reach the cosmos of one of their other major influences,Big Star.

The Replacements, Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, Chris Mars, Bob Stinson, Slim Dunlap, Steve Foley
Big Star with Alex Chilton (right)

Through their earlier days the line-up was founder/guitarist Bob Stinson who, in an effort to keep his little half-brother out of trouble, presented Tommy Stinson with a bass. Adding their friend, guitarist turned drummer Chris Mars, the new band, Dogbreath, would cover Ted Nugent, and Aerosmith, standard stuff for 70's kids to play.

Paul Westerberg would eventually join Dogbreath, and eventually become both the main vocalist, primary songwriter and second guitarist. After discovering all the British punk bands also including The Damned and Buzzcocks, they became The Impedimentsand then, after being fired and banned from a church hall venue, they became The Replacements.

The Replacements, Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, Chris Mars, Bob Stinson, Slim Dunlap, Steve Foley
The Replacements tear it up n the early -80s


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HELP FUND an iPhone Cup Holder That Will Allow You To Walk, Text and Scald An Innocent Bystander

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Coffee, Starbucks, iPhone, Indiegogo

We as a species love to multi-task like a Motherf*cker, so how awesome would our techno-future be if someone could create a cup holder for our over-priced coffee while we walk around uploading pictures of our food to Facebook?

Well, that future could arrive in a matter of weeks if we all put our money where we store our duckface pics...online.

That's right people, at fundraising site Indiegogo, you can help create a little product known as the UpperCup that will make our lives so much easier (as opposed to maybe, I don't know, putting down the coffee cup and finishing up that Angry Birds Star Wars level).

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The Pull List: Avengers #3, Fables #125, Green Lantern #16 & More!

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Check out what I checked out this week.

Whether the comics are inspiring or disappointing, I read them all.

Welcome to The Pull List.

And, as always...Spoilers ahead!


Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Wolverine, Hawkeye, Spider Woman, Cannonball, Sunspot
Avengers #3 (Pick of the Week)
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Jerome Opena
Colors: Dean White, Frank Martin, & Richard Isanove
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99

The Avengers were put together to fight the fights no hero could defeat alone. That was a while ago. Times have changed and threats are bigger than ever before. “We need to get bigger” is Tony Stark’s response.

Jonathan Hickman gives us two stories that flow together seamlessly. ThorIronMan and others are trapped on Mars by god-like foes while Hickman takes us to previous events where Steve Rogers accompanies Stark on a mission to expand their roster. Some selections are obvious while others not so much, and then you have those who declined the invitation.  The gorgeous artwork of Jerome Opena was a pleasure to look at and impeccably captures Hickman’s grand vision of a new initiative.

Some heroes got more page time than others and some made an indelible impression such as Spider-Man being unable to break through something, and when he complained about it, the next panel shows Wolverine and the word, SNIKT!

Even a smaller image of Captain Marvel flying into fight highlights the majesty of Opena’s work. While the battle on Mars ended very abruptly, it didn’t take away from the awesomeness that was this issue.

I’m not the biggest Hickman fan, but with three issues into this Marvel NOW series, he seems to be on to something epic.

Grade: A

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STACKED WINE Makes Copious Boozing Even More Classy

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Wine, Vino, Booze

Wine can be very intimidating to some people (I mean, occasionally there's a cork involved..WTF is that all about?) but there's no reason to stare longingly at that bottle of vino with fear now that the nectar of the vine comes in prepackaged stacked plastic glasses for you to graciously pair a steamed  Hebrew National dog with.

Just pop off each 187ml glass of Stacked (an entire stack contains the same amount of alcohol as one 750ml bottle of wine) and throw it back with the same carefree nature you usually reserve for Bartles and Jaymes and finally enjoy the bliss that is the blood of grapes.

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The Rock Returns To Win The WWE Championship

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Royal Rumble, WWE, wrestling, John Cena, Wrestlemania, The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, Vince McMahon, CM Punk
By Atlee Greene

The Rock made his in ring return, last night, at The Royal Rumble, and laid the smackdown on CM Punk to become the new WWE Champion. The Rock was granted the title shot on the 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw back on July 23rd, 2012. The same evening, CM Punk hit The Rock with a cheap shot clothesline which was the genesis of his heel turn. (Becoming a bad guy)

CM Punk was the longest regaining WWE Champion of the modern era by holding the title for 434 days. Punk is a highly respected in the industry and is that rare breed of a wrestler who can talk the talk and walk the walk.

Royal Rumble, WWE, wrestling, John Cena, Wrestlemania, The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, Vince McMahon, CM Punk

The finish came where the trio known as The Shield power bombed Rock through a table while the lights were off in the arena. This blackout was meant as cover so Punk wouldn't be stripped of the title which was an edict sent down from WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon, last Monday on Raw.

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TUESDAY BLUs (& DVDs): This Week's New Releases 1/29/13

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Every week, we'll be letting you know which Blu-rays and DVDs will be available for purchase or rental starting today.

What looks good to you?

Femme Fatales: The Complete First Season

Inspired by and styled in the tradition of pulp stories, film noir and graphic novels, this provocative hit series tells the stories of dangerous women who find extraordinary ways of coping with their problems, channeling their survival instincts and bringing out their inner guile.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2

The Dark Knight along with new sidekick Robin have finally reclaimed Gotham City and allowed a ray of hope to penetrate the reign of terror that The Mutants had cast upon his city. With Batman back in the spotlight the extended media coverage has awoken a far worse evil at Arkham Asylum The Joker! Forever destined to be mortal enemies The Joker has a diabolical scheme that may pull Batman down to the darkest levels of insanity. While on the horizon a global catastrophe races towards Gotham and with it comes a familiar face The Man of Steel though this time he has Batman in his sights. Witness as the aging Dark Knight wages a tireless war against crime while proving that courage and will are indeed timeless.


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THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: HYRULE HISTORIA (review)

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Review by Emma-Jane Corsan
Just over 25 years ago a gaming franchise began that changed my life and while that may sound melodramatic, I assure you it isn't. The Legend of Zeldahelped me through a childhood of isolation and bullying. I found strength in the Triforce and the words 'courage', 'wisdom' and 'power' became my mantra throughout my teenage years. In fact, my very first post for Forces Of Geek was all about that.

So it's no surprise that I shrieked with joy upon hearing about the Legend Of Zelda: Hyrule Historia and I was equally excited to be given a chance to review it. I vaguely knew that Nintendo had released such a book in Japan but was unaware of plans for a wider distribution and translation by Dark Horse.

Needless to say, I was over the moon to learn of its impending release and even more excited when pre-order sales for the book knocked 50 Shades of Grey off of Amazon's #1 spot (If that's not a sign that the geek will inherit the Earth than I don't know what is!).

For those of you who were lucky or quick enough, there were only 4000 limited edition books up for grabs, I imagine getting your hands on one now will cost you an organ or two and a hell of a lot of bidding on eBay.



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IS IT LIVE, OR IS IT MEMOREX LANE? An Epic Look Back At Some Old 80s Commercials

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If you aren't too busy being productive, why don't you spend the next 50 minutes of your life surfing a gnarly wave of nostalgic goodness with this compilation of '80s commercials.

Why?

Because the hair is big, the clothes are day-glo and there's almost too much moon walking.

But what will really stand out for those of you who are old enough to remember the days of trying desperately to get the waviness out of your VHS tape, is an overwhelming realization that you once enjoyed EVERY FUCKING THING BEING SHOWN.

And that kind of embarrassment is almost too good to pass up.

Memorex from Smash TV on Vimeo.

Source: Awesome Robo

Begun the Harbinger Wars Have: The First Event of the Resurrected Valiant Universe

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Back in the 1990s, Valiant Comics was a major player in the industry.  With solid characters carried over from Gold Key like Solar, Man of the Atom and Magnus, Robot Fighter along with originals like Shadowman and X-O Manowar, Valiant gave readers fantastic alternatives to the likes of Marvel and DC and, along with the fledgling Image, brought a lot of competition to the markets.

Of course, they were also key contributors in fueling the speculator boom of the era with their gimmick covers and issue #0 offers being made available only by collecting and cutting out the coupons inserted into a slew of other, often completely unrelated, titles, but while they were around, they sure were fun.

Image, Valiant, 90's, FAIL
And let’s not forget the much maligned Deathmate crossover between Valiant and Image!

Of course, like a lot of companies, they seemed to fly a little too close to the sun too quickly and faded into bankruptcy and obscurity, threatening never to be heard from again.  A few half hearted revivals came and went, but it seemed Valiant really was dead.


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JESSE PINKMAN Thinks You're A Bitch

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Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad

I'm spending the week in abnormally warm Texas with my family, so, yeah, the word Bitch has been flying around me with the same ease one would breathe in and out (thanks mom).

But hearing a lovely supercut of Breaking Bad's Jesse Pinkman throwing around the "B" word kinda makes all the family drama seem a little more tolerable...well, that and emotionally numbing myself through recreational pharmaceuticals.

It's the little things that you hold on to when you are in incredibly close quarters with the people you share DNA with.
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The Dream of the '90s Is Alive On Basic Cable: Melissa & Joey

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The dream of the '90s is indeed alive--but on basic cable, not in Portland.

Networks like TV Land, Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel have found success with the format by drawing on nostalgia to attract viewers.  TV Land in particular has hit upon the winning formula of sticking established sitcom veterans together with stock plots, resulting in surprise hits such as Hot in Clevelandand Happily Divorced.

Until recently, ABC Family largely traded in preteen drama, and while that's still their favored direction, they've also struck gold with their own multi-camera sitcom success story.  The network has joined its corporate cousin The Disney Channel, as well as Nickelodeon, in hitting the Jeff Franklin/Miller-Boyett family sitcom well.  But like TV Land, they've also taken two old professionals and put them together: in this case, Melissa Joan Hart (who also produces) and Joey Lawrence.  

Since its inception, Melissa & Joey has been a solid performer for the network, but it's also become the most dependable '90s nostalgia rush for kids of our vintage.  I've watched and enjoyed it--to my great surprise--so it seemed like a no-brainer that T.J. has also seen it.

To my even greater surprise, I was wrong.  Upon my recommendation, he gave it a try...

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THE FOLLOWING: "Chapter 2" S1E2 (review)

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By Steve Ahlquist
Picking up where last episode left off, we watch as Jordy (Steve Monroe), described as a "disorganized killer with a low IQ" tricks his way into a sorority and murders a bunch of women. Though we don't witness the murders themselves, the aftermath is quickly and viscerally shown."


The Following, Fox, Kevin Williamson, Edgar Allen Poe, James Purfoy, Kevin Bacon
Jordy on the job.
Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) has ordered his loyal band of serial killers to kidnap his own son.

Follower/babysitter Emma Hill (Valorie Curry) convinces the boy that they are going on an adventure, hiding out from the father. When the boy asks why his father is so bad, Emma says, in typical creepy cult-follower fashion, "Maybe your Dad is not so bad, maybe we just need to understand him."

In a series of flashbacks we learn about Emma, a bookish nerd girl with a passion for literature who meets Joe Carroll at a book signing. Later visiting him in prison, Carroll sets her up with another of his followers, Jacob Welles (Nico Tortorella), who was pretending to be gay with fellow follower Paul Torres (Adan Canto) last episode. Emma stabs her domineering MILF-y mother in the back, and seals her up in the walls Poe-style as her new boyfriend looks on in adoration. Their Bonnie and Clyde tightness bothers fellow follower Paul, who would rather be killing their kidnap victim and Emma.

After all, a serial killer's got to kill, right?

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