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Meth Addicts Fight The Undead in 'FIEND' by Peter Stenson And We're Giving Away a Copy!

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When Chase Daniels looks out his window and sees a little girl in umbrella-print socks disemboweling a Rottweiler, he’s sure he’s just done a bad batch of meth. But when the same girl breaks down the door and flashes Chase and his friend Typewriter a bloody smile, what feels like a bad trip becomes all too real. FIEND (Crown Publishers; July 9, 2013), the debut novel from blazing new talent PETER STENSON, is a gripping, foul-mouthed, drug-fueled take on the end of the world as we know it.

As Chase and Typewriter emerge from their days-long drug binge, they find the streets of Minneapolis a bleak wasteland dotted with hellish versions of their neighbors: skin peeling off their faces, teeth bared and chomping for the taste of human flesh, a sickly sinister giggle signaling their arrival. It’s the apocalypse, and while Chase is in for the fight of his life, it’s also his first and last opportunity to finally save the day.


The ultimate antihero, who lists meth right alongside weapons, food, and shelter as his survival essentials, Chase sets off to rescue (and win back) his ex-girlfriend KK. Their romance is the only kind you could expect for two addicts who met in the psych ward: an endless cycle of ultimatums, recoveries, and relapses. Now at the end of the world, Chase is seizing his last chance for happiness with his true love.

Mixing the gritty authenticity of Breaking Bad with the surrealism of The Walking Dead, Stenson has cooked up a zombie novel remarkable for both its credibility and heart. Stenson spent his youth struggling with drug addiction and FIEND spares no gory details when it comes to using. This nightmarish fantasy of the zombie apocalypse is also a powerful firsthand portrait of addiction—nothing, not even the walking dead, can distract Chase and his band of meth-head survivors from their next score.

As Chase, Typewriter, KK, and her tagalong new boyfriend fight to stay alive and find someone to cook the next batch of crystal, they realize the drugs that have been slowly killing them for years are the only thing keeping them alive. All remaining survivors are addicts, the speed coursing through their veins somehow warding off the zombie virus. Their struggle to “keep their heads straight” with meth while staying alert enough to think clearly and defend themselves is a gut-wrenching look at how addicts prioritize drugs over everything—including their own survival. However this singular focus may be just what the group needs to survive.

Stenson’s blistering prose is truly addictive—in turns darkly funny, gruesome, and bitterly honest, FIEND is one hell of a zombie novel, a thrill ride through an apocalyptic wasteland of drugs, guns, addicts, and the undead.

PETER STENSON received his MFA from Colorado State University in 2012. His stories and essays have been published in The Sun, The Bellevue Literary Review, The Greensboro Review, Confrontation, Post Road, Fugue, Harpur Palate, The Pinch, Blue Mesa Review, and elsewhere. He is also a recovering addict and has been sober for 10 years. He lives with his wife and daughter in Denver, Colorado.




And we're giving away a copy!

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PACIFIC RIM (review)

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By Joe Yezukevich
Produced by Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni,
 Guillermo del Toro, Mary Parent
Screenplay by Travis Beacham, Guillermo del Toro
Story by Travis Beacham
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, 
Charlie Day, Rob Kazinsky, Max Martini, 
Ron Perlman, Clifton Collins, Jr.

Legendary Pictures / Warner Bros. / Rated PG-13


Pacific Rim is a movie that starts off running and refuses to relent until the end.

With giant robots fighting giant Kaiju beasts that make Monster Island look like The Muppet Show, it is the gold standard by which all sci-fi blockbusters should get made.

Except for the dialogue.

We are introduced to the main character Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam of Sons of Anarchy) through a voice over that lays down a history of how giant monsters began emerging from a dimensional rift in the depths of the Pacific Ocean some time in 2013.

 The world responded by banding together to create the giant robots called Jaegers (German for "Hunters"). The Jaegers are controlled through a neural network by pilot duos to allow a left and right brain control and because it is too much for one person to pilot alone. Raleigh pilots one with his brother who gets aced by a Kaiju as they are piloting, forcing Raleigh to pilot his Jaeger back to land by himself and setting him up as an outsider from the rest of the Jaeger pilots.

Flash forward five years later to a world giving up on the Jaeger program in favor of building giant walls around the Pacific Rim. However, the leader of the Jaeger program, Stacker Pentecost (Idris Alba of The Wire, Luther, Prometheus), has a blockbuster plan that could close the rift using the world’s few remaining Jaegers.

Elba’s Pentecost is just the leader the world needs in a time like this: focused, dedicated and willing to lose everything for his dream. This is the kind of character children want to grow up to be and he plays the part with unflinching conviction.

Most of the characters are fairly stock in trade (with the exception of Ron Pearlman’s fantastic black marketeer Hannibal Chau) and, let’s face it, will translate well in the upcoming video game tie-in. However, it is the robots that will make the video game exciting. Pacific Rim has some of the most bad ass robots to hit screens since Robotech or Force Five. The CGI portaying the robots battling the monsters is gorgeous, especially in the Battle for Hong Kong, which rages from the Pacific into the streets of Hong Kong. It is as mesmerizing as the Man of Steel battle between Zod and Superman and almost as destructive.

Is there anything besides the fighting?

Sure, there is a love story between Raleigh and his brother’s replacement pilot, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), Pentecost's adopted daughter. There is the fighting/rivalry between Raleigh and fellow Yeager pilot, Chuck. There is the story of Stacker and his adopted daughter. There is the story of Geisler (Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Gottlieb (Burn Gorman of Torchwood), two scientists battling each other over the right way to forecast the monster attacks.

These stories all tell tales of duos, whether or not they get along. In the end these stories are all about balance – like the left-right brain hemispheres that control our bodies or those of the Jaegers. The pilots connect consciousness in order to ably pilot a Jaeger as a duo and because of this connection, most of the time pilots are either closely related or have another similar bond with their co-pilot.

Guillermo del Toro has created in Pacific Rim a worthy successor to his visionary movies like Pan’s Labyrinth or Hellboy 2. The one thing that the movie lacks, but appears to strive for, is dialogue that might impress as much as the effects and mythology do.

If a sequel to this is made, I hope this blueprint is followed, except, maybe they could sharpen the speaking parts a bit?

Boston Cinegeeks! We've Got Tickets to 'RED 2' To Give Away!

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In RED 2, the high-octane action-comedy sequel to the worldwide sleeper hit, retired black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device. To succeed, they’ll need to survive an army of relentless assassins, ruthless terrorists and power-crazed government officials, all eager to get their hands on the next-generation weapon. The mission takes Frank and his motley crew to Paris, London and Moscow. Outgunned and outmanned, they have only their cunning wits, their old-school skills, and each other to rely on as they try to save the world—and stay alive in the process. Starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker with Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren; Catherine Zeta-Jones, Byung Hun Lee, Brian Cox, Neal McDonough. Written by Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber. Directed by Dean Parisot.

And we're giving away passes to a screening in the Boston area on Tuesday, July 16th.

To get your passes (while supplies last), click at the link below.

https://www.gofobo.com/rsvp/promotion/75786540c4c0e114db96e5dab62caa12


Red 2 is in theaters nationwide July 19, 2013.



ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: "Pilot" S1E1 (review)

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by Elizabeth Weitz
Before I begin let me say that I held out little hope that Orange Is the New Black would be any good.  Perhaps it's because I had been subjected to Netflix's streaming cruelty in its last two offerings of Hemlock Grove and the disastrous Arrested Development Season 4 (I'm leaving House of Cards out of this equation as I had no desire to see it, I'm sure it's just fine).

I didn't think this tale of an upper-class white woman being sent to Federal prison was going to be any better.

How delightfully wrong I was.

Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling)  heading to prison

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MY TOP 5: BEST NATIVE AMERICANS IN FILM

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As we put away the fireworks and hot dogs from our July 4th celebrations, we should remember who we took this country from as we won our hard-fought independence. It's a tough thing to be a proud citizen of the US while still trying to come to terms with the fact that we fought that war not only against our oppressors, but also against people that we oppressed.

A few months ago I saw a documentary called Reel Injun (2009). It's about the portrayal of Native Americans on the big screen through the eyes of themselves and white people.

Here are some of the best of those films…not all of them necessarily starring Natives as Natives, but we'll get into that.

And no, Johnny Depp as Tonto didn't make the cut.

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WTF FRIDAY BATTLE EDITION: Britney Spears vs. Ms. Voice...Who Will Annoy You More?

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In this inaugural launch of the WTF Friday Battle Edition, two songstresses go head-to-head to win the title of "Most Annoying Song to Have Ever Been Written and Performed".

In one corner we have Ms. Britney Spears who, at the ripe age of 31, is still trying to grasp onto her youthful sound of yesteryear when she dressed as a Catholic School Girl, and who now seems a bit too mature for auto-tuned breathiness, and in the other corner we have Ms. Voice, a keyboardist R and B singer who....Look, they both are horrible and I don't know which one is actually worse (although Ooh La La by Spears for the Smurfs 2 movie might actual edge out Ms. Voice for sheer oddity) so let's just move onto the battle shall we?

You're going to need a minute to settle yourself before going on, perhaps a shot of NyQuil will help.

All right, here we go:

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Half-Empty Mouses

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People have been baiting me to critique the new Mickey Mouse cartoons made for the Disney Channel, executive produced by Paul Rudish. I tried to keep quiet, because I thought the one that debuted in March, Croissant de Triomphe, was staged and written like a video game and completely devoid of character.

To quote a crusty animation veteran friend, "That's not Mickey Mouse."


But the subsequent entries that have appeared in the past few weeks, No Service, Yodelburg, and New York Weenie, are significant improvements.

For limited TV animation, these could be far worse. Along with successfully reviving the energetic, Depression era/pre-corporate shill Mickey, there is clever design, drawing, color, staging, and cutting in all of them, much of the merit certainly attributable to uncredited industry stalwarts like Aaron Springer and Stephen DeStefano working on them in some capacity.

Indeed, it's gratifying to see kids' cartoons be cartoons again, and there's no denying that these cartoons are being made by very talented people. And that fact precisely reveals what these cartoons aren't, and what they could and should be.

True, it's fairly ridiculous to look at a lot of TV animation under a microscope. Criticizing these shorts, made under a soul-crushing budget and schedule, for art direction mistakes or looking too Flash-y (actually Harmony) and not like Freddie Moore's portfolio is ridiculous, akin to decrying Rocky & Bullwinkle for not being as well-animated as Bugs Bunny. If the blame needs to be made, it's on the bloated corporate overlords who've decided its most iconic characters aren't worthy of a bigger bankroll.


2D animation of Mickey Mouse has been obscenely rare in recent years, the last of which was the 2004 direct-to-video movie The Three Musketeers, another earnest attempt victimized by the animation sausage grinder and studio politics.



Goofy got a sole reprieve in 2007 with the well-received How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, but that short did not usher in a revival of fully animated comedy cartoons like it should have. In the interim, Mickey has only been widely seen in computer animated shows and movies aimed at a toddler audience. The burden is therefore on these new shorts to be an introduction to the characters most kids have only seen in theme parks and on merchandise.

While not in the same realm as what passes for average fare on the Disney Channel, these cartoons are more than likely to be lost in that sea of junk and be as quickly forgotten just as they were made.

Anyone working in TV animation wants and deserves to have more time and money, but these cartoons strike me as particularly disheartening examples of where it could have made all the difference: if Disney had made more of an investment, they could have easily more effectively introduced the characters to a broader, younger audience.

This is, of course, the Disney Company, a behemoth uninterested in long-term common sense or its artists.

Which brings us to the worst thing about these cartoons: the appalling lack of screen credit. The Ottawa based Mercury Filmworks, who animated these cartoons, managed to squeeze a microscopic credit into the titles that you'll probably have to skip back to see, but that's it. I had to dig around the various animation news sites or wait for an artist's "I/my friend worked on this" post to show up in my Facebook feed to find out who did what.

Why is this happening?

Is it 1940 and animation artists are once again denied the meager opportunity to be blamed for a cartoon's success or failure (which was probably beyond their control anyway)? With hotshot Disney feature folk being laid off without any residuals and the amazing technology at hand only being used to express conciliatory memes and hash tags, it certainly seems so.

And rest assured, Bob Iger and his underlings like it that way.

After the jump check out all four of the new shorts.

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HAPPY B-DAY CHAIR Will Give You All The Love You Need On Your Special Day...Provided You Like Steak and Have Friends Willing To Wish You Well Via Facebook

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In Brazil, Outback Steak House and what I'm assuming is a Molester Robot, teamed up to create a very special chair that will "hug" you should you receive a birthday shout out on Facebook.

It's all quite sweet and nice UNTIL YOU REALIZE YOU ARE BEING GROPED BY AN ANDROID CUSHION.

Have we really evolved as a species to the point where we are employing mechanical demons to touch us in order to feel some sort of connection?

Lord Vader, help us all.

Video of the chair after the break.

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TOP 5 Strangest Ways To Die

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The only way to leave a lasting impression on humanity is either by having a successful life or being notable in death - the Wicked Witch Of The East’s only claim to fame was having a house dropped on her, after all.

But, people die in real life in equally strange and unexpected ways.

Coconuts that fall from trees kill around 150 people every year, around 20 people die from falling out of bed in Britain annually, and from 2003 - 2007, 108 people in the United States died because of cows. While death is inevitable, clearly we should all be worrying more about how exactly we’re going to pass on.


Although there are plenty of dumb ways to die, here is our list of some of the weirder ways in which people have kicked the bucket:


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AND THIS IS WHY You Don't Ask the Crazy Guy To Play Your 'Finish This Lyric' Game

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When you wish to engage the public in a game of Finish this Lyric and capture it on video for the masses, you might be better off steering clear of the Crazy Guy who will most likely use the opportunity to engage in some anal humor.

Of course, this is merely a suggestion.

Video after the break.

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PLASTIC FILMTASTIC Presents 'Pacific Rim'

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Monsters, robots and toys, oh my!

Plastic Filmtastic returns with history's first and only weekly stop-motion animated film review podcast!



OBLIVION Arrives on Blu-ray/DVD 8/6; Digital on 7/23

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This groundbreaking cinematic event stars Tom Cruise as Jack Harper, the lone security repairman stationed on a desolate, nearly-ruined future Earth. When he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft, her arrival triggers a nonstop chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows, and leaves humanity’s fate in his hands. Academy Award® winner Morgan Freeman joins Cruise in this “visually stunning” (Pete Hammond, MOVIELINE,) explosive story from the director of TRON: Legacy and the producer of Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
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BEWARE THE BATMAN: "Hunted" S1E1 (review)

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By Stefan Blitz
The Dark Knight.  The Caped Crusader.  One half of the Dynamic Duo.

He's Batman, and the new series, Beware The Batman, is the latest animated series following the brilliant Batman: The Brave and the Bold.  And like pretty much every incarnation, the character has been slightly reinvented again. 

In a very fast paced episode, Grant Morrison creations Professor Pyg and Mister Toad are targeting Gotham City's rich and powerful over a shady real estate deal, capturing Simon Stagg and Michael (Mister Terrific) Holt.  An attempt to capture Bruce Wayne results in the capture of Alfred Pennyworth and The Batman is off to rescue the kidnapped men.  The episode ends with Alfred introducing Bruce Wayne to his new driver, Tatsu Yamashiro.


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DEXTER: "What's Eating Dexter Morgan?" S8E3 (review)

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By Caitlyn Thompson
I take back by comments about Deb being super annoying – Jennifer Carpenter gives a gripping performance of a broken drunk.

She gets a DUI but don’t worry, Quinn will rescue her and Elway has vitamin drinks.

Everyone is on the fix-Deb train. Even Dexter has a cute video of her being a hero. It’s a little too late everyone. Won’t be a quick fix for Deb.

The episode highlights Ms. Morgan’s increasing physical and mental decay caused by her guilt. Her stuttering confession to Quinn is really nice and heartbreaking. I liked the connection between these two in this episode. Unfortunately though, Quinn calls Dexter to rescue Deb from herself. Damn it Quinn.


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BOSTON Cinegeeks! We're Giving Away Passes to 'THE TO DO LIST'

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Featuring an ensemble cast of today’s top young comedic talent, including Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”), Bill Hader (“Saturday Night Live”), Andy Samberg (“Saturday Night Live”), Christopher Mintz – Plasse (Superbad), Donald Glover (“Community”) and Rachel Bilson (“Hart of Dixie”), comes the raunchy teen comedy THE TO DO LIST. Brandy Clark (Plaza) is a Type-A, over-achiever with a list of things she needs to do before college – buy a computer, read the classics, stock up on shower shoes for the dorm – when she suddenly realizes her college prep needs are far from the realm of Bed, Bath and Beyond. That is, she finds she’s seriously lacking knowledge in a subject most other girls her age are beyond proficient in – Sex. Determined to become educated in ways college guys expect, Brandy sets out with a new, quite literal ‘to-do list’ filled with all the risqué extracurricular activities she missed out on in high school.


And we're giving away screening passes to see it at the AMC Boston Common on Monday, July 22nd at 7:00pm.

To claim passes, click on the gofobo link below while supplies last!






For more about The To Do List visit:

JOURNALISM SUPER FAIL: When You Are Covering the Crash of Asiana Flight 214, You Might Want to Verify If the Pilot's Name Really Is Sum Ting Wong BEFORE Going On the Air

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JOURNALIST /ˈjərnl-ist/ n. a person who writes for newspapers or magazines or prepares news to be broadcast on radio or television (addendum: this person also has to possess the ability to know when their chain is being yanked).

Over at San Francisco's KTVU, a news report concerning the names of the pilots who flew Asiana flight 214 which crashed and burned on the runway at the SFO airport last week, was broadcast out to the viewing public. Now, normally this wouldn't have been a big deal, I mean, all a journalist would have to do for the story would be to call and get the names of the pilots, verify those names via several sources and then comfortably release them to the public knowing that what they were reporting was factual.

But did KTVU do that?

Nope.

Instead they took the word of a summer intern over at the NTSB (question: Don't news organizations already have trusted sources within various organizations like NTSB?) who overheard the names from someone (which is apparently good enough for KTVU) and then, over the television air waves, said the following names OUT LOUD without any hint of surprise:

Captain Sum Ting Wong 
Wi Tu Lo 
Ho Lee Fuk 
Bang Ding Ow 

Ah yes, well done journalists, well done.

After the break is the actual news report.

Feel free to weep over the blatant racism, I know I did.

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Rowling's Psuedonym, EBook Clubs, Gaiman Goes For Gold and More!

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"The Cuckoo's Calling" Secret Author 
Turns out J. K. Rowling has secretly written and published another book under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

Truly Novel Bookstores 
The WSJ on some of the greatest bookstores on the planet.

B&N Shakeup 
Barnes & Noble gets a new CEO as time becomes tougher for the remaining bookstore chain giant.

"Mortal Instruments" Clothing 
Hot Topic cashes in on young adult fantasy series with tie-in fashion line.

The Psychology of Abandonment
What does it take to make you quit a book? Goodreads has a handy-dandy flowchart.

Best of the Summer
NPR's top six recommended reads for the summer.

Comics Sales
In 2013 comics and graphic novels continue to improve and sell very well.

DOJ on Apple 
Why is Apple the ring leader in ebook price-fixing?

Open Letter to the Big Six 
Publishing is in a turbulent state and here's what the big six publishing giants need to do to survive.

5 Ways to Fix It 
The Daily Beast on the five ways to fix the publishing industry, but will they do it?

Emily's Books Book Club 
A new ebook book club that is looking to change the way ebooks and book clubs are seen.

Save 1,100 Scifi Books From Destruction 
Over a thousand science fiction books are in danger and here's how you can save them.

Neil Gaiman's Unplanned Signing World Record
Neil Gaiman maybe have been the world record in number of signed books in a single sitting . . . multiple times, during his recent Ocean at the End of the Lane tour.
                   

Happy Birthday to the LAVA LAMP: Fifty Years of Cool Wax!

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In the mid-Fifties, a former WWII pilot and post-war British accountant named Edward Craven Walker was at a local English country pub called Queen's Head along with a friend, and found himself staring at a homemade egg timer made by one of the pub's regulars.

This particular object, which Walker described as a "contraption made out of a cocktail shaker, old tins and things" dated from WWII, and was filled with two immiscible liquids (liquids that do not mix together).

As the contents, "odd oily globules" were heated upon the pub's stove, the wax rose and signaled that your egg was ready.

Inspired, he purchased the egg timer/lamp and worked for a decade and a half tinkering with various liquids and containers in an attempt to create a better version. He achieved his goal in 1963.

Walker filed a patent for a "Display Device" in 1965 and but had already started merchandising his creation in September of 1963 as a company called Crestworth Ltd. using the name Astro Lamp.

Edward Craven Walker

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TRUE BLOOD: "Fuck the Pain Away" S6E5 (review)

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By Caitlyn Thompson
First off, great title.

There comes a point in a TV series’ life when it may or may not be coming to a close any time soon. This lack of an end date forces writers and creators to keep selling the show to viewers because despite how bad it is, they’re still watching.

Because of this, new story lines are necessary. Pasts are altered, new problems just days apart from old are created, and every ounce of soap opera drama that can produce a nude shot or two is meat for another pointless subplot with the minor characters of the show.


The writers are throwing everything they've got at the wall and seeing what sticks.

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BRUCE LEE Is Resurrected For Johnnie Walker Blue Whiskey

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The late, great martial artist, Bruce Lee, gets resurrected via CGI in the new "Game Change" ad for Johnnie Walker's Blue label (I guess because it takes a Dragon to appreciate the beverage's smooth texture going down one's gullet).

And while I don't necessarily like the idea of bringing dead celebrities back into the world in order to shill products, I will admit that VFX company, The Mill, did quite a good job with him (it took the company about nine months to finish the ad- which also managed to snag the blessing of Lee's daughter Shannon).

Video after the break.

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